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EricTheRed

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? Combat aircraft sometimes break for no good reason.

And seeing as how this just happened, the wreckage is in the ocean and the pilot in hospital I don't really see how they could have reported a reason for the crash outside of pure speculation.
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Harriers do sometimes break. Also, they are widely considered to be some of the most difficult aircraft to operate ever made, meaning that "pilot error" is quite common with them.



One of the "weak" points of the Hawker Siddley Harrier (insert British flag here) is the engine intake which leaves the aircraft prone to engine failure at extremes of airspeed; At hover it's susceptible to ingesting it's own exhaust which is a short route to flameout and the intake was never designed or adaptable to transonic / supersonic speed making it again susceptible to flameout (turbojets actually require a subsonic airflow).

Maybe the driver was going either too fast or too slow, which from my personal experience of US rush hour traffic is exceptionally dangerous!

Mike.

Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable.

Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

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Maybe the driver was going either too fast or too slow



Do they give you The Goldilocks Award when you get certified on these things? :|



No... Well. Don't think so.

BUT... You operate the thing within it's limits and it's potential problems are well known. Then again, we Brits have had these things somewhat longer than you'se colonials... And you ARE building copies - kind of like the Chinese copy stuff & it just isn't as good.:P

Mike.

PS: Anyone remember when the RAF sent Blackburn Buccaneers to Red Flag (mid 1980's) & a 30 year old Brit aircraft completley pi$$ed on the F-15Cs?

Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable.

Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

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PS: Anyone remember when the RAF sent Blackburn Buccaneers to Red Flag (mid 1980's) & a 30 year old Brit aircraft completley pi$$ed on the F-15Cs?



Nope, too young.

But I have seen cockpit video of a very middle aged dude with a WW2 'tache and glasses flying a Buccaneer in a mock attack on Navy ships. It was fucking insane! Supersonic at 50 feet off the deck - what an aircraft.B|
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...Supersonic at 50 feet off the deck...



Hmmm... Must have been a training exercise, they were usually lower in combat. In Gulf 1991 there was (supposedly) discussions among Buck pilots about whether it was safer to fly past the nose or the arse of a camel!:ph34r: Under it would be likely to hurt it's legs.

Mike.

Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable.

Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

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The Marine, who was in the water for more than four hours, was returned to Florida for medical treatment.

The Coast Guard said the pilot was suffering from mild hypothermia, but he appeared to be in good condition.

The U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier went into the water about 20 miles east of St. Augustine. Witnesses reported seeing a parachute deploy from the aircraft, and the pilot's wingman saw him eject, the Coast Guard said.



Kudos for the pilot for living.

But doesn't four hours seems like a DAMN long time to be in the water? When both witnesses & wingman observe the incident, 20 miles off the coast" (If the report is correct.)

Not being critical of the rescuers, lots of things to go wrong there, just wondering what is a "normal" time to effect a close, safe-waters military rescue.

You can have it good, fast, or cheap: pick two.

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Maybe the driver was going either too fast or too slow



Do they give you The Goldilocks Award when you get certified on these things? :|



No... Well. Don't think so.

BUT... You operate the thing within it's limits and it's potential problems are well known. Then again, we Brits have had these things somewhat longer than you'se colonials... And you ARE building copies - kind of like the Chinese copy stuff & it just isn't as good.:P

Mike.

PS: Anyone remember when the RAF sent Blackburn Buccaneers to Red Flag (mid 1980's) & a 30 year old Brit aircraft completley pi$$ed on the F-15Cs?

I remember something about one of your Vulcans flying undetected well inside continental USA years back. What a sweet aircraft.:)
Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

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I remember something about one of your Vulcans flying undetected well inside continental USA years back. What a sweet aircraft.



One of the sweetest pieces of footage I've ever seen is of the Vulcan prototype at its first airshow appearance, doing a half loop with a roll off the top from takeoff on engines that produced only 2/3's of the thrust that the aircraft was designed for.
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I remember something about one of your Vulcans flying undetected well inside continental USA years back. What a sweet aircraft.



One of the sweetest pieces of footage I've ever seen is of the Vulcan prototype at its first airshow appearance, doing a half loop with a roll off the top from takeoff on engines that produced only 2/3's of the thrust that the aircraft was designed for.

I saw one at the opening of the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport way back. It went through the low and slow breath-taking maneuvers. It was the best thing shown that day imo. Concorde was there also.
Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

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The Harrier is arguably the single most difficult and dangerous aircraft ever flown, and it takes exceptional skill to handle that beast.

I think Harrier pilots would be a shoo-in to be astronauts. After all, they've operated an airplane that has spacecraft-like features.

Glad the pilot's okay. I'm surprised it took so long to recover him, though. Wonder what caused the delay.

mh

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"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

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I remember something about one of your Vulcans flying undetected well inside continental USA years back.



And in 1982 we flew a series of missions where Vulcan's flew non-stop to the Falklands and back to bomb the Argies - a round trip of nearly 8,000 miles.

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And in 1982 we flew a series of missions where Vulcan's flew non-stop to the Falklands and back to bomb the Argies - a round trip of nearly 8,000 miles.



Unfortunately we did end up having to leave one in Brazil.....
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I remember something about one of your Vulcans flying undetected well inside continental USA years back.



I'm sure that it was one of the "Red Flag" games out at Nellis or similar between The Falklands & Gulf I. Britain sent part of it's err... VENERABLE bomber force over to act as intruders against USAF & USN fighters acting as defenders. It's always nice to play against something different - All the better if the opponent is flying obsolescent planes against your state of the art shiny things.:ph34r:

The Buccaneer had been desighed from the outset to fly at around Mach 1 at extreme low level & Vulcans had been similarly modified over the years for low level penetration 'cos that was the only way we were ever likely to penetrate Soviet airspace with the kit available to us.

Anyway, the net result was that US F-14s, 15s & 16s just couldn't catch, let alone stop the Bucks as they smoked in at 20-50ft AGL & Mach 1.B| The targets weren't so much overflown as underflown or "scraped"!:)"The highest those bastards (the Bucks) ever got off the ground was when they landed!":ph34r::ph34r::ph34r:

Incidentally, if you have enough money.... [:/] Then you can always go & play at a place called "Thunder City" in South Africa.

http://ultimatehigh.productionarea.com/fastjet/index.php

http://www.thundercity.com/

Mike.

Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable.

Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

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Incidentally, if you have enough money.... Then you can always go & play at a place called "Thunder City" in South Africa.



I saw a program on descovery wings only a week or so ago where John Nichol (if you rememver he was the tornado pilot shot down during GW1) went there and flew in the SA Buccaneer. Great aircraft.

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Y'know what I want to fly at thunder city?

The English Electric Lightning. Fastest interceptor we ever produced with an initial climb rate of 50,000ft/minute!!

From standing start it got to 35,000ft in 2.5 minutes. It was 20 years before another aircraft could even match it on that frontB|
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Guess you're gonna have to become a tornado pilot, get shot down and paraded through the media before starting up your own tv show.



So d'you have, like, an application form I could fill in?
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