For those who like Aircraft pictures

J. S. Bach · March 10, 2023

Be nice from the Air Force Museum in Dayton:

rob D2 · March 10, 2023

Decades back as a cadet, I watched some A10s strafe a target at Holbeach range. You wouldn’t want to be on the other end of that cannon

6990WitherslackHall · March 10, 2023

BBMF Hurricane at Scarborough last year.

I'm off to the Yorkshire Air Museum in Elvington tomorrow so I'll have a few photos of aircraft to share then.

Peter Kazmierczak · March 15, 2023

Globemaster ZZ174 was circling around our house for much of this afternoon, doing low-level training runs past Bournemouth airport. Weather was very dull, with a low cloud base.

Peter Kazmierczak · March 15, 2023

Must clean that gutting over the front of our garage...

Edited March 15, 2023 by Peter Kazmierczak

KeithMacdonald · March 18, 2023

For those that like making big fast model aircraft...

Quote

RNAS Culdrose squadron design and build its first drone ~ The Royal Navy’s drone squadron has taken its expertise in uncrewed systems one step further by building its own quadcopter. Personnel from 700X Naval Air Squadron have built their first remotely-piloted air system in what was said to be a 'milestone moment' for the Culdrose-based team.

https://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/23219660.rnas-culdrose-squadron-design-build-first-drone/

Quote

Drones capable of flying up to 400mph are to be based out of Helston as the Royal Navy moves into a new phase of military technology. The Navy has now taken delivery of new jet-powered Banshee drones, as the navy forges ahead with the use of remotely-piloted air systems (RPAS). Developed by defence company QinetiQ, the Banshee simulates threatening aircraft to help the Royal Navy stay at the cutting-edge of air defences. They were first trialled on the aircraft carrier HMS Prince Of Wales in 2021.

https://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/23389704.royal-navy-banshee-drones-based-cornwall-rnas-culdrose/

Edited March 18, 2023 by KeithMacdonald

rob D2 · March 18, 2023

I guess the fast drones have replaced the Hawks as threat simulators. It’s the future , but it’s a pretty dull one

KeithMacdonald · March 18, 2023

2 hours ago, rob D2 said:

I guess the fast drones have replaced the Hawks as threat simulators. It’s the future , but it’s a pretty dull one

Maybe someone will correct me, but (IIRC) at the moment the threat simulators are still the "private airforce" of Dassault Falcon 20s and ex-Czech Air Force L-159s, run by Draken Europe.

https://www.edrmagazine.eu/new-aggressor-training-for-raf-fighter-squadrons

It would make good sense to use those fast drones as well, but (at the moment) they are just Royal Navy toys. 😀

burgundy · March 18, 2023

7 hours ago, KeithMacdonald said:

https://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/23389704.royal-navy-banshee-drones-based-cornwall-rnas-culdrose/

Banshees have been around for a long time. The latest version seems to be jet powered and I assume that there are some fairly clever electronics that give it more capability than the 1980s version.

Best wishes

Eric

Andy7 · March 18, 2023

4 hours ago, KeithMacdonald said:

Maybe someone will correct me, but (IIRC) at the moment the threat simulators are still the "private airforce" of Dassault Falcon 20s and ex-Czech Air Force L-159s, run by Draken Europe.

https://www.edrmagazine.eu/new-aggressor-training-for-raf-fighter-squadrons

It would make good sense to use those fast drones as well, but (at the moment) they are just Royal Navy toys. 😀

The Navy use the Hawks to simulate missiles or enemy aircraft to target ships that are in workup.

Every Thursday the Navy have a war (known as the Thursday war) where the Hawks are very busy.

PMP · March 19, 2023

17 hours ago, Andy7 said:

The Navy use the Hawks to simulate missiles or enemy aircraft to target ships that are in workup.

Every Thursday the Navy have a war (known as the Thursday war) where the Hawks are very busy.

The hawks were retired last year except for the red arrows, and the 200 series in use for pilot training at raf valley.

rob D2 · March 19, 2023

22 hours ago, KeithMacdonald said:

Maybe someone will correct me, but (IIRC) at the moment the threat simulators are still the "private airforce" of Dassault Falcon 20s and ex-Czech Air Force L-159s, run by Draken Europe.

https://www.edrmagazine.eu/new-aggressor-training-for-raf-fighter-squadrons

It would make good sense to use those fast drones as well, but (at the moment) they are just Royal Navy toys. 😀

Another private contract - haven’t they learnt from the pilot training debacle you can’t outsource everything ! And Rishi promising to train Ukr pilots- with what !?

I can’t see how you can simulate a threat with a L159 unless it’s got lots of electronics to make it look like a current generation fighter somehow

Andy7 · March 19, 2023

58 minutes ago, PMP said:

The hawks were retired last year except for the red arrows, and the 200 series in use for pilot training at raf valley.

I need to keep up. Thanks for correcting me.

I worked at Culdrose for 2 years (2006-2008) and they were part of the furniture (FRADU) back then.

KeithMacdonald · March 19, 2023

5 hours ago, rob D2 said:

And Rishi promising to train Ukr pilots- with what !?

i wondered the same when i read this article.

Quote

As part of recent talks, the Prime Minister has boosted the UK’s training offer for Ukrainian troops, including expanding it to fighter jet pilots to ensure Ukraine can defend its skies.

The training will “ensure pilots are able to fly sophisticated NATO-standard fighter jets in the future”.

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/britain-to-train-ukrainian-fighter-pilots/

It seems like most of the commentators are scratching their heads as well, wondering what it means. Is it US F16s at RAF Lakenheath? Or just flight simulators? Or what?

jjb1970 · March 19, 2023

Some night time pictures from Ho Chi Minh City Tan Son Nhat airport. This is the international terminal, narrow bodies seem to embark/disembark out on the airfield and use buses to the terminal so the aircraft at the terminal itself tend to be the same large twin of international airports you see everywhere. I suspect the domestic terminal might be more interesting.

jjb1970 · March 19, 2023

A couple of pics from Changi T4 while waiting for my flight to Ho Chi Minh. I do like Vietnam Airlines livery.

jjb1970 · March 19, 2023

An airline I like, and which people seem to assume I'm just being contrarian, is Vietnam Airlines. Yet I am completely sincere. I just flew to London with them and it was an excellent flight.

The flight Singapore - Ho Chi Minh is only two hours, so short haul, but they have a genuine business section and not just economy seats with the centre seat out of use and a head rest cover. And a full meal service served on ceramic dishes. Which is very nice for short haul.

Vietnam uses a herringbone configuration for business class pods, personally I prefer fore-aft alignment of seats but it’s not such a big deal to have the seats at an angle. A problem with many pod designs is that the footwells taper in and feel quite restrictive and uncomfortable. These do taper in but footwell space is fine. The IFE selection is OK, not class leading but most people should have no trouble finding stuff to watch. Food was very good, mainly Vietnamese but with western options. The flight attendants were immaculately presented, very friendly and helpful. They do lack a little of that polish of Singapore Airlines and ANA flight attendants but they were very nice, and enthusiastic and that counts for a lot in my opinion. The uniform is elegant, the female attendants wear ao dai, senior staff seem to have a gold ao dai and more junior one turquoise. Male attendants have a pretty standard shirt, tie and waistcoat.

The 787 was spotlessly clean and fitted out to a good standard. No matter how many times I fly on the 787 I still find the electro-chromatic windows a great feature. I may be different to many as I actually find that if I compare aircraft fitted out to an equivalent standard then I don’t notice any difference between the 787 or A350, the only reason I notice a difference with the 777 is it is big. Ditto 737 and A320.

I find many review site and magazines for all services and products like to inflate differences to a silly extent. I have flown a lot of airlines, and provided you compare like for like (i.e. compare business with business for a full service long haul carrier, short haul LCC with short haul LCC etc) most are generally equivalent in overall experience. Yes there are differences and some are a bit better, but the differences are more about preference and style in most cases. And personal preference does matter. I love ANA, they’re very good but the main reason I lift them up is I love Japanese food, I like good sake and Japanese cinema and I love their livery. In fairly recent times (recent enough to allow a meaningful comparison) I’ve flown long haul business with quite a few airlines and none of them were bad, all were good and more than acceptable (as they should be given it is a premium service level). My favourites are more about how particular airlines match my own personal preferences. And Vietnam are certainly up there. In fact I’d put them in my upper half largely because the food was good, I like their livery and the cabin crew were nice.

A pet hate is people comparing apples and oranges and arriving at a silly conclusion. Value matters and whether something delivers what is claimed. A few weeks ago I flew Jetstar Asia to Jakarta, it was basic low frills transport but they delivered what they claim and I was perfectly happy. No, it wasn’t SQ business class but it wasn’t claiming to be, and if people want premium service from a premium airline then they need to pay for it. I get annoyed at times when people whinge because their Easyjet flight was basic, well, yes, and it was always going to be basic because that’s what it is. Products and services should be evaluated on the basis of what they are rather than what we might want but don’t want to pay for.

rob D2 · March 19, 2023

Absolutely . If you pay £30 for a london - glasgow with ryanair , expect £30 of customer service .

What really makes me laugh is the FB comments on some airlines - a bit like some of the comments on model producers here ,, "please fly inverness - ouagadougou , im sure it'd be really popular "

Edited March 19, 2023 by rob D2