Posted on 04/24/2012 6:41:06 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
Bump. Stealth came from the Soviets! But the Ruskies were too stupid to know what they had. Capitalism vs. Communism. (tagline brought ot you by...the Soviets)
What a GREAT story! We used to be so aggressive and open and innovative.
Nowadays we end with turds like the F35.
That F-117 is quite a bit sharper than the DC-3 that I had my first flight on in 1955.
I thought I was so cool and was treated like a queen.
The 35 is really an awesome plane. The problem is Unions and committee decisions are killing it. As a pure piece of tech, it’s great.
>>The 35 is really an awesome plane. The problem is Unions and committee decisions are killing it. As a pure piece of tech, it’s great.<<
It was... it was... :(
The current F35 exemplifies the definition of a camel as a mouse built to government specifications.
Can you imagine the result if the F15, A10 or ST71 had committees and agendas running roughshod on them? None would have had the mastery of their respective spaces (and I shiver to think the still-best MRFs F/16 and (S)F/18 would have ended up.
We lost our way. The killing of the F-117 is the best example of just how bad it has become.
Totally agree.
“The current F35 exemplifies the definition of a camel as a mouse built to government specifications.”
That is the perfect description of the situation. Going back to the Skunk Works book, sure there was typical govt red tape, but those guys, like you were getting at, had none of the BS of today. They refused to deal with it. Heck, the very way Kelly Johnson set up the SW was to eliminate the BS. And the results spoke for themselves.
Hell, the dude grabbed a plane, flew around until he found a big enough dry lake, made a call and had Area 51 built in a few months. No eco impact reports, union contracts et all required.
Indeed we have lost our way.
its Have Blue... :)
I never worked at the Skunk Works, but I had friends that did. I worked at Northrop ASD on the development of the B-2 Bomber (also stealth).
FYI I also worked on the Nike Hercules missle system (since it was mentioned in the article).
“The Skunk Works” by Ben Rich, dog-eared as the book is , remains one of my favorites.
The excerpts from a Desert Storm F-117 pilot detailing the first night of hostilities over Baghdad is descriptive beyond all.....he knew he was going to survive when bat carcasses where littered around the aircraft as it sat in the revetment.
Read the chapter on Kelly Johnson’s management principles (his 15th rule).
Outstanding text.
operational
That’s one of our birds from the 410th Flight Test Squadron.
It's Sandra Fluke's personal jet.
I was in ROTC summer camp at Holloman AFB in 1976. We got to visit the RATSCAT facility. As I remember, I saw models of B-1B aircraft among others. There was another Flight from our ROTC camp that went to visit the RATSCAT on a different day - I was told that when they showed up, they had to wait in their bus for a while as technicians scrambled to cover up some models. I believe there was a scheduling mistake. Only years later did it occur to me that they were testing early models of Stealth designs at that facility while I was there.
The lecturer was the author of Sled Driver and retold the altitude check story - I think that it included a speed check as well...
By “Sled” do you mean the rocket sled track. Its been long enough my memory is fuzzy, but I know we saw at least one “shot” on the track while I was at ROTC camp. Can’t remember if it was just a rocket test or an ejection seat test. (Saw so many videos/tapes over the years can’t remember what was “Live” and what was “Memorex”!!) Seem to remember we were there for a test shot when the test was cancelled/aborted for technical reasons. Been a lifetime ago.
Yes - that’s what I meant. By the way, the British/Falklands war was going on about that same time (early to middle 80s). I know the Brits took a significant hit on one of their battle ships (i think maybe the only real threat the Argentians mustered during the conflict). Later, they made some design changes on their hull and wanted to test the difference. My understanding is they mounted a simulated hull at the end of the sled and “launched” a dummy missile at it. Real Myth Busters kinda stuff. Loved to have seen that.
Given the current state of things, the Brits could be back at it with Argentina. Our President hasn’t (won’t?) help things.
Yeah, I thought of that as i was writing.
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