pretty planes


I used to live in a town that was home to a WWII air base and was used as a place where planes were decommissioned after the war. The aluminum was smelted down or whatever you do to recycle it.
Anyway, the leftovers seeped into the runway that still exists. When it rains, the seepage balloons so it looks like that section of the runway has giant boils or blisters.
They repair the runway every now and then, but every time it rains the big humps return.
I think it might be some sort of environmental hazard as well as an inconvenience for taxiing aircraft.
 



$160 Billion over budget and 7 years behind schedule.


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/61/F-35A_flight_%28cropped%29.jpg/640px-F-35A_flight_%28cropped%29.jpg
Lockheed Martin F-35



Brought to you by those nice people at Lockheed Martin. It has been labeled "acquisition fraud."

Whoever was responsible for this ginormous clusterfuck at both the contractor and at the Pentagon deserves punishment.





What do you expect? It's an airplane designed by an international committee to do a specific job that no one can describe with any accuracy.

SHE worked on Tomcats in the 80's. E-warfare stuff. Those were seriously bad ass at the time. I think the F-22 Raptor is about the best in the world right now.
 
A little flashy. I got family flying a less flashy unit off a moving deck on the other side of the world right now. I want to see him come home.

Yeah, The demo aircraft gets a fancy paint-job every year. This year, being Canada's 150th, it's a bit over the top... but still for an airshow performer, kinda cool. ;)
 
CF-100 Canuck
Only Canadian designed and built fighter aircraft to enter production.
First straight winged jet powered plane to exceed the speed of sound in a dive under control.
Designed for 2000 hours airframe life. Was found to be able to go to 20,000 hours.
Entered service in 1953 finally withdrawn in 1981.
Pictured without wing tip weapon/fuel pods.
http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/SoberalManny/7579L.jpg
 
Stenciled inside the landing gear door of an A-10, it said: "Friends don't let friends drive F16s." I think this F16 driver is getting his money's worth.

Urban legend has it that when somebody asked Chuck Horner (Air Boss, Desert Storm) about his son choosing A-10's instead of F-16's when he graduated from the Air Force Academy he was quoted as saying:

"I don't have a son, he died of brain of damage..."


https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7273/27103955841_c4878fd713_b.jpg
 
The Avro Arrow certainly has made it's mark on the Canadian nation myth list. Most public sentiment would blame the Yanks for it being cancelled. America wouldn't want a country like Canada exporting advanced aircraft to just any body! Probably just too pricey. The BOMARC nuclear tipped SAM system was much cheaper.

In many ways quite advanced. Not so much in others. Still would have been nice to have been built. Who knows what it may have done for Canadian aeronautical industry. Maybe Bombardier would have a competitor. And Canada could have it's own high tech fighters.

One can dream.
 
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