When wars were colder, planes were cooler!

That low flying Tornado has been outed as a photoshop BTW.

Found these yesterday…

Looking rather sad – they should be indoors and being restored…

Here comes the noise.

Nice to see the russians are developing as quickly as the rest of the world these days since the demise of Communism

Well they are trying some interestingly new things out…

Sukhoi SU-47 Berkut (Golden Eagle). NATO codename “Firkin”. 🙂 As well as the forward-swept wings it is also claimed to have some sort of plasma field-based stealth system – really!

…….it is also claimed to have some sort of plasma field-based stealth system – really!

I reckon a slightly tipsy Russian official might have been spinning a line to an equally afflicted aviation reporter in the hospitality tent at Farnborough.

Well they are trying some interestingly new things out…

Sukhoi SU-47 Berkut (Golden Eagle). NATO codename “Firkin”.

Late to the party again! NASA did this ages ago.

X-29

ACTUALLY the germans across the pond did it before everybody!!

curses beaten to it!

I’ll shove a pic up anyway because it’s such a gnarly looking thing

Has to be the SR-71 Blackbird. It’s utterly beautiful, and even more so close up. And it really was the height of technology – inertial navigation was in its infancy with the SR-71, so they fitted astro-navigation. It actually tracked the stars to maintain its position fix.

Nowadays with laser gyros we have it made, but that was such an incredible solution at the time.

Sootyandjim that chinook photo reminded me of that Tomb Raider movie sequence…

knew i would find it, always think this has to be the coolist low level flying out there http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5kLrXhx_LY

Oh dear. This thread is fitting in nicely with the coffee and single malt spotter stuff.

Late to the party again! NASA did this ages ago.

X-29

Yes, the yanks played a little with forward-swept wings 20+ years ago, but they never did anything more with it. The X-29 was purely an experimental plane. The Berkut may actually reach production or at least feed into something that gets produced. The F-22 and F-35 are boringly conventional in appearance in comparison.

“…inertial navigation was in its infancy with the SR-71…”

Didn’t the V2 have such a system?

re. Forward swept wings. The US tried it with the X-29. IIRC there were no real advantages. Certainly not enough to warrent continuing the programme/developing the technology. One (now largely outdated) advantage was horrendous turbulence immediately behind the aircraft (chase planes had to hang well back), which could be useful for dogfights.

And if anyone’s really bored, here’s the SR-71 flight manual.

http://www.sr-71.org/blackbird/manual/

Yet to find the “If the engine warning light appears, consult your authorised Lockheed service centre immedately”, mind.

Sorry, was meant to be:

Someone has a Starfighter sitting in there paddock 😯
Not to mention the beautiful Hunter, interesting Meteor & a Supermarine Swift I believe.

pity to see them just rusting away like that bit of gloss paint would make them look like new ❓

I’d guess at a Seahawk given the folding wings.

More low-flying, this time back with the SR-71 Blackbird which seems to keep cropping up.

Had the pleasure once of standing behind the last public scramble of 6 Vulcans – at an airshow, long time ago in my youf…. what an amazing noise (and sight)

More recently, at a local WW2 event (ok, not cold war….) had the pleasure of talking to a tail end gunner from a Lancaster – a grade A scar on his left forearm where he’d taken a (large) bullet which wedged between the 2 bones. His favourite anecdote – pilot coming on the radio saying the enemy was getting close, gunners response was o’course – sod of they’re 100ft closer to me!!

My little offer (sorry if its been done, to long a thread to wade though).

Back end of the cold war A10 Tankbuster

‘Tis indeed a shame to see thise lovely old aircraft rotting away.

They are all at the Second World War Aircraft Preservation Society at Lasham in Hampshire if anyone else wants to visit…

Anyone ID this for me please?

They are all at the Second World War Aircraft Preservation Society

Now there’s an organisation who’s title is a misnomer!

could be a de havilland drover DHA-3

Yes indeed, aracer! That thought crossed my mind too… They do have couple of WWII era aircraft but nothing of great interest to me, so I didn’t photograph them.

Thanks problem_child.

it does have a DH look about it

Yep, it’s a Drover.

Might have to pay a visit to Lasham. Thanks, Julian!

Still can’t believe this thread is still going!

Very early cold war here….a bit tenuous, but a lovely plane!

The DH Beaver.

Look me up if you’re going to Lasham CFH! Not far from here. There’s always the Museum of Army Flying at Middle Wallop as well…

I used to watch the A10’s live firing at the live fire power demo’s at battlesbury barracks in warminster in 1987/88. What a awesome sound they make when the gun lets rip, almost like a loud fart!

Without doubt, the “coolest” cold war plane (in fact coolest plane ever, even including Concorde IMO) is the Lockheed Martin Blackbird SR71.

Yup very nice plane indeed.

Isn’t the eurofighter a downgrade rafale?

Isn’t the eurofighter a downgrade rafale?

Nope, not in any way, shape or form. Totally unrelated projects.

Isn’t the eurofighter a downgrade rafale?

Oooohhh. A bit of Gallic sabre rattling there.

Downgraded as in Better — yes

well they look very alike, if you compare the shape and dimension from wiki it’s obvious the planes share the same “frame”. Plus before coming to soton never heard about the eurofighter, hence the question.

if you compare the shape and dimension from wiki it’s obvious the planes share the same “frame”.

*Facepalm*

CFH I just had a look on wiki and it’s not very clear, but as far as I could read, eurofighter started as a collaboration between UK, France and germany before the project saw france pulled up. So that is probably why both plane look very similar. I have no time to get more accurate resources, but I’ll try to pop to the library this week

A plane is what you use to remove wood from a door, aircraft are what you can see many pictures of in this thread.
Oh and Juan, unfortunately for the French Airforce the government of France made the decision to pull out of the Eurofighter project purely for political reasons and hence have been left with an aircraft that has an ergonomic nightmare of a cockpit, very basic systems that still don’t function properly, a serious problem with excess weight and very empty order books, (orders are needed to off-set future up-grade costs which will now be met by a smaller customer base). The only advantage it has over the Typhoon is its ability to land an aircraft carrier, but seeing as the one nation within the Typhoon project that wants a carrier borne fighter is buying the F35 its difficult to see what an aircraft nearly two generations behind the F35 offers to carrier aviation.

While we’re on the subject on French aircraft… have we had one of these?

I always thought it looked too big for such a slender shape…

Designed to carry a single, big and powerful bomb.

Scary times.

400! If you are ever paiing Montrose, a visit to the flight museum there is well worth it.