Unique Military Weapons

[Coyote]

Originally Posted by Easy 6

You’re clearly the real deal Mr Coyote

What’s the hottest craft you ever jockeyed?

Favorite= A-4M Scooter. Hottest= F/A-18 V tail bandit
Most fun=AH-1 Whiskey. most unique= AV-8B Jump jet followed by MV-22 Protor.
I worked a lot of operational testing and then got senior enough where I joyrided a lot of other folks stuff. All Navy/Marine stuff prior to the F/A-35. Old guy stuff mainly.
Subjective of course.

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by Coyote

Favorite= A-4M Scooter. Hottest= F/A-18 V tail bandit
Most fun=AH-1 Whiskey. most unique= AV-8B Jump jet followed by MV-22 Protor.
I worked a lot of operational testing and then got senior enough where I joyrided a lot of other folks stuff. All Navy/Marine stuff prior to the F/A-35. Old guy stuff mainly.
Subjective of course.

Cool, thanks... I’m aware of the 18 and Harrier, but will have to look up the others after work

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by Coyote

Favorite= A-4M Scooter. Hottest= F/A-18 V tail bandit
Most fun=AH-1 Whiskey. most unique= AV-8B Jump jet followed by MV-22 Protor.
I worked a lot of operational testing and then got senior enough where I joyrided a lot of other folks stuff. All Navy/Marine stuff prior to the F/A-35. Old guy stuff mainly.
Subjective of course.

A-4M Skyhawk - single engine Pratt & Whitney, delta wing first flew in 1954. Nuclear capable at low altitude using a “loft” technique. Combat action in Vietnam, Yom Kippur war and the Falklands... still being used by Argentina, lol

F/A-18 - one stop shop for all things death from above, highly capable air to air and air to ground. Twin engines with legendary durability to withstand brutal carrier takeoffs and landings. First flight in 1995. Many changes over the years such as switch from oval intakes on Hornet, to rectangular on the Super Hornet... proven stud in countless actions

AH-1 Cobra - twin engine attack chopper, the first of its kind iirc. First flight in 69’. Too much action to list, a true legend and if I had to guess it’s the Apaches daddy... does the pilot/s sit in anything like the titanium “bathtub” as Apache crews for survivability?

Osprey - is this thing the death trap it’s made out to be or what, just how stable is that thing, really?

[Coyote]

Originally Posted by Easy 6

A-4M Skyhawk - single engine Pratt & Whitney, delta wing first flew in 1954. Nuclear capable at low altitude using a “loft” technique. Combat action in Vietnam, Yom Kippur war and the Falklands... still being used by Argentina, lol

F/A-18 - one stop shop for all things death from above, highly capable air to air and air to ground. Twin engines with legendary durability to withstand brutal carrier takeoffs and landings. First flight in 1995. Many changes over the years such as switch from oval intakes on Hornet, to rectangular on the Super Hornet... proven stud in countless actions

AH-1 Cobra - twin engine attack chopper, the first of its kind iirc. First flight in 69’. Too much action to list, a true legend and if I had to guess it’s the Apaches daddy... does the pilot/s sit in anything like the titanium “bathtub” as Apache crews for survivability?

Osprey - is this thing the death trap it’s made out to be or what, just how stable is that thing, really?

Hornets were way earlier. First combat use in 86. Libya. I know. Marines had Iron Hand role shooting HARMs (also first combat use- tested live against Libyan SA5s) Super Hornets are whole nuther aircraft really. Navy will have limited Stealth accordingly.

AH-1s Zulu (given name Viper to avoid the connotation of your Granddad’s Cobra) is a hell of an evolution from original Cobra and advent of attack helos. more in common cockpit wise with F/A 35. I thought didn’t go far enough. I lost but argued for a single seat attack Osprey

Protors or Ospreys are James Bond like capabilities. Maintenance intensive still. Improving. Safety? Got a rep early and tough to shake. Some mechanical mishaps. Pilot Error for others. Lost a good friend early and he diagnosed the problem correctly and then had a fight with the 3 flight computers all the way down.

It costs a lot of capital any way you want to count it, chasing innovation. Making helos go far and fast (Ospreys) and jets hover (Lightning IIs & Harriers) Particularly when you’re the smallest service. But the other girls are usually looking to control our aircraft operationally. Innovate or die.

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by Coyote

Hornets were way earlier. First combat use in 86. Libya. I know. Marines had Iron Hand role shooting HARMs (also first combat use- tested live against Libyan SA5s) Super Hornets are whole nuther aircraft really. Navy will have limited Stealth accordingly.

AH-1s Zulu (given name Viper to avoid the connotation of your Granddad’s Cobra) is a hell of an evolution from original Cobra and advent of attack helos. more in common cockpit wise with F/A 35. I thought didn’t go far enough. I lost but argued for a single seat attack Osprey

Protors or Ospreys are James Bond like capabilities. Maintenance intensive still. Improving. Safety? Got a rep early and tough to shake. Some mechanical mishaps. Pilot Error for others. Lost a good friend early and he diagnosed the problem correctly and then had a fight with the 3 flight computers all the way down.

It costs a lot of capital any way you want to count it, chasing innovation. Making helos go far and fast (Ospreys) and jets hover (Lightning IIs & Harriers) Particularly when you’re the smallest service. But the other girls are usually looking to control our aircraft operationally. Innovate or die.

What happened to you, Coyote?

This guy was an EXTREMELY heavy hitter in the realm of all things military and political

Please come back!

[eDave]

Originally Posted by Easy 6

What happened to you, Coyote?

This guy was an EXTREMELY heavy hitter in the realm of all things military and political

Please come back!

I've been wondering about RandallFlagg.

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by eDave

I've been wondering about RandallFlagg.

Same, hopefully he's just neck deep in writing his book