willedoo

A very good point, Kaz. In that context, it does make you wonder what the best fighter type would be for Australia, considering there's very few options. The likelihood of a major armed air conflict between large powers is probably very slim in this day and age. The only large powers not completely in our club are China, India and Russia. India doesn't seem to have a problem with East or West (except Pakistan), China is too economically tied to the West for anything other than a small mis-understanding to occur, and NATO and Uncle Sugar, for all their sabre rattling, wouldn't dream of taking on Russia. Probably the only direct future threat we would have would be the possibility of a small or medium skirmish with regional near neighbours. So unless that happens, our requirements for fighter aircraft are what they are now - being our big buddy's little buddy in their global adventures so we can pay our alliance dues. In that case, it wouldn't matter what we had, as we would be in that role as a token force only. And compatibility with the US would be a big issue, hence the F-35. In the case of possible conflict with near neighbours, maybe the Su-35 would be the best option. The problem there is that politics and support logistics wouldn't allow us to have them. The US, for the first time in history, only has one product on the shelf, so failing the F-35, the only other option is European. But powerful friend or not, it would be disturbing in a few years time to lose air superiority in this region. We've certainly put all our eggs in one basket. Cheers, Willie.

A very good point, Kaz. In that context, it does make you wonder what the best fighter type would be for Australia, considering there's very few options. The likelihood of a major armed air conflict between large powers is probably very slim in this day and age. The only large powers not completely in our club are China, India and Russia. India doesn't seem to have a problem with East or West (except Pakistan), China is too economically tied to the West for anything other than a small mis-understanding to occur, and NATO and Uncle Sugar, for all their sabre rattling, wouldn't dream of taking on Russia. Probably the only direct future threat we would have would be the possibility of a small or medium skirmish with regional near neighbours. So unless that happens, our requirements for fighter aircraft are what they are now - being our big buddy's little buddy in their global adventures so we can pay our alliance dues. In that case, it wouldn't matter what we had, as we would be in that role as a token force only. And compatibility with the US would be a big issue, hence the F-35. In the case of possible conflict with near neighbours, maybe the Su-35 would be the best option. The problem there is that politics and support logistics wouldn't allow us to have them. The US, for the first time in history, only has one product on the shelf, so failing the F-35, the only other option is European. But powerful friend or not, it would be disturbing in a few years time to lose air superiority in this region. We've certainly put all our eggs in one basket. Cheers, Willie.

Looks like the Tiger livery is Transaero. They seem to have all Boeings, but a fairly old fleet - 12 year old up to 20 year old.

Looks like the Tiger livery is Transaero. They seem to have all Boeings, but a fairly old fleet - 12 year old up to 20 year old.

Looking at the Aeroflot fleet, they don't run any old Tu's any more. Apart from 20 new Sukhoi Superjets, the rest are all Boeing and Airbus. http://www.aeroflot.com/cms/en/flight/plane_park

Looking at the Aeroflot fleet, they don't run any old Tu's any more. Apart from 20 new Sukhoi Superjets, the rest are all Boeing and Airbus. http://www.aeroflot.com/cms/en/flight/plane_park

Luckily the Siberian Tiger has friends in high places. Saving the tiger from extinction is President Vladimir Putin's pet project. It would possibly be gone now without his efforts (and that of others) over the last few years. Cheers, Willie.

Luckily the Siberian Tiger has friends in high places. Saving the tiger from extinction is President Vladimir Putin's pet project. It would possibly be gone now without his efforts (and that of others) over the last few years. Cheers, Willie.

$23,000 for the Difter. I wonder what the helmet would be worth. I'd guess at least that or more with all that gear on it. Cheers, Willie.

$23,000 for the Difter. I wonder what the helmet would be worth. I'd guess at least that or more with all that gear on it. Cheers, Willie.

It looks like the USAF has given Rockwell the green light to produce the F-35 Gen 111 Helmet Mounted Display System. They seem to have finally got the bugs out of it enough to go to production. http://www.rockwellcollins.com/Data/Products/Displays/Soldier_Displays/F-35_Gen_III_Helmet_Mounted_Display_System.aspx It's interesting to note the maximum ejection speed of 550 kts. It still seems a long way short of the equivalent helmet system developed by Zvezda for the T-50 PAK-FA in relation to bail-out speed. Cheers, Willie.

It looks like the USAF has given Rockwell the green light to produce the F-35 Gen 111 Helmet Mounted Display System. They seem to have finally got the bugs out of it enough to go to production. http://www.rockwellcollins.com/Data/Products/Displays/Soldier_Displays/F-35_Gen_III_Helmet_Mounted_Display_System.aspx It's interesting to note the maximum ejection speed of 550 kts. It still seems a long way short of the equivalent helmet system developed by Zvezda for the T-50 PAK-FA in relation to bail-out speed. [ATTACH=full]37336[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]37337[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]37338[/ATTACH] Cheers, Willie.

Yes, the one at Point Cook is not an ex RAAF Phantom, it's a U.S. F-4 painted to represent one of ours.Here's a brief history of the Point Cook Phantom: http://www.airforce.gov.au/raafmuseum/exhibitions/tech_hang/phantom.htm It would be nice to have one of our originals, though. Hopefully the two survivors are still there in Arizona. They should be I guess, as it's doubtful they would have been converted to target drones as they've been phasing in the older F-16's for that role. One of them was offered to a museum in Idaho a few years ago as an F-4G, but they already had one, so it stayed at the boneyard. I think out of the original 24, one was lost here, and of the other 23, very few remained as F-4E's after returning to the States. A lot were converted to F-4G's and then target drones. Cheers, Willie.

Yes, I think the converted An-2's will have a good future in Russia for a variety of reasons. I suppose marketing, parts in stock, loyalty etc. all play a part, but the sanctions have also been a big boost for Russian domestic industry. There's been a big push by government to regain a large degree of self reliance which has been steadily lost since 1991. There will no doubt be big incentives to buy local. Cheers, Willie.

I can't remember the name of the Russian company that's planning on re-vitalizing the An-3 turbo prop conversion project. But they were hoping to get contracts to do quite a lot - I think with Garrett engines. The problem is that the An-2 is the only viable regional passenger plane in a lot of more remote regions, due to access and strips etc.. They've been looking for a more modern alternative for some time, to deliver more power, lower fuel costs and better range. The An-2/An-3 turboprop conversion seems to be the best way to go. There was another issue with fuel; I think there are ongoing avgas shortages pushing the price up, but plenty of jet fuel. Cheers, Willie.

I haven't been to Amberley for more than three years, but on that last visit there was some talk of a wish list to try and get one of our old Phantoms returned to Amberley. Jut wondering if anyone has heard any more on the subject. I haven't checked in a long time, but in 2012 there were still two left, both in the Arizona Bone Yard. I can't remember if they were still in original F-4E configuration, or converted to F-4G's. It's sad that these things don't happen for lack of funds. If all the politicians were to donate one month's travel entitlements, we could have an original RAAF Phantom and plenty of spare change left over. Cheers, Willie.

The aerobatics start from about 16 minutes onward. Cheers, Willie.

The F-35 programme seems to be a bit similar to some other projects that seem a good idea at the time, eg: restoring an old car. By the time you realize that you probably shouldn't have gone down that road, you're already too committed to back out. For the first time the West has put all their eggs in one basket, and the question is whether we're relinquishing our air superiority for the next twenty years. Supporters of the F-35 quote stealth, technology etc. as winning the day, but it does look a bit like the basic airframe and power plant might be a bit of a dud. Interesting to read a quote from one of the top U.S. military people involved with the programme ' never again will we build a fighter while we're still designing it'. One problem with relying on stealth is that the opposition is currently ahead of us in that field and radar technology as well. Possibly by the time the F-35's are fully operational, the high tech aspects of it might be obselete, leaving us with a slow, poorly armed, un-maneurevable easy target. Another question is - is dogfighting really obselete. Only the West seems to think so. The Russians for example have always subscribed to the theory that eventually it will always come down to a tangle. They still put a high emphasis on dogfight training to this very day, and in doing so, push their aircraft way beyond the limits that Western pilots are allowed to. There is still a possibility that, stealth or no stealth, everybody's run out of missiles and they've all missed their targets. In that case, the only option for our little blowflies would be to bug out. Only problem is that the Sukhois are faster and they still have guns as a reserve. And Kiwi303 is right on the money - whether Russia, China, India or any other capable adversary, all they need to do is throw junk fighters at the F-35 to run it out of missiles, then send in the big guns. Another possibility is that by the time the F-35 is fully, truly operational and combat capable, the T-50 will be being sold in an export version to countries in our region. We're not allowed to buy them, so it looks like we might be up s**t creek without a paddle for a long time. We'll just have to rely on everyone liking us. But that's air to air combat. Another issue is that the West has fallen way behind in air defences. The opposition's surface to air superiority and jamming capabilities are another big concern, effectively neutralizing aircraft like the F-35 as a ground offensive weapons system. The F-35 would be a good capable aircraft against third world countries, but I doubt anyone would seriously think of putting them up against the real players. Not without a lot of fine tuning anyway. Cheers, Willie.

Great stuff, Dean. Thanks for posting. Cheers, Willie.

Thanks Michael, that's an amazing collection of photos. Cheers, Willie.

Recently checked out the website of the British Aviation Enthusiasts Society. http://www.baes.org.uk/ They must have a lot of fun. Cheers Willie.

Kaye, is that the one from the plane that landed on Lake Armadeus looking for Lasseter's gold, or another one . Cheers, Willie.

After reading your post, Michael, I did the same and I'd agree. Very interesting. Looking forward to the documentary. http://brokenwings.com.au/ Cheers,Willie.

Thanks Darren; another thoroughly enjoyable clip. There must be a lot of good memories there. Cheers, Willie.

Cessna O-1 Bird Dog, serial number 51-4981 is on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida. Web address of the museum is http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/, and looks like it would be an amazing place to visit. The list of aircraft displayed is at http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/explore/exhibits-and-collections/aircraft-on-display Clicking on the O-1 Bird Dog link brings up a photo and brief history of '981. It made it's way to the Naval Museum after being donated by the crew of the USS Midway after it's famous carrier landing by Major Buang-Ly with his wife and five children. '981 was the Bird Dog flown by Australian FAC Garry Cooper, during his detachment to the USAF in South Vietnam in 1968. At some stage before the carrier landing in 1975, it must have transferred to the VNAF and is displayed as such at the museum. It's a bit sad that they had to defer the museum's 50th. anniversary celebrations which were to be held on the weekend just gone. The museum is shut down and all the staff laid off due to the Government shutdown. Just as a side note, Garry Cooper's book, ' Sock it to 'em Baby - Forward Air Controller in Vietnam' is a great book; well worth reading and documents a fair bit of 981's history during his tour of Vietnam. [ATTACH=full]1945[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1946[/ATTACH] Cheers, Willie. [ATTACH]18484[/ATTACH]