Report: In test dogfight, F-35 gets waxed by F-16

[OutdoorDad]

Arrow.

Enough said.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Arrow.

Enough said.

Yes, this trumps technology every time. Just watch the movie and see that it's true!

 

[femurphy77]

I remember the dagger and the Bomarc and yes, I am not young.

My Grandparents lived on Key West from the late 50's until they passed. I remember standing on the back patio looking at the huge earthen mound that shielded the one of the many missile battery's on the island. 2 times a day they would elevate/rotate the birds. I always tried to watch through Gramps big (to me at the time) spy glasses. One time I caught a glimpse of a reflection.......It was someone watching me watch them. I was maybe 12.
The birds were hard to distinguish what they were but they were there for Cuba

My dad was stationed in Key West from 76-80ish (hardship assignment to the max)(not really), I "think" they had NIKE batteries there but probably a foggy memory after all I was 18 when we moved there so had other things on my mind! We had a battery out of our back door about 1 mile or so. I do remember it was the 1/65th ADA, he was administrative at that point so I never got to go into the weapons area.

A bunch of us went to Miami one weekend and coming back the guy that drove, who was active duty, said he knew a "shortcut" home! Miami to Key West has no shortcuts so anyway we're out tooling thru the 'glades trying to figure out where the hell we were and he spots an ADA site out in the middle of nowhere. He hangs a starsky and hutch U-turn in the middle of the road and comes roaring to a halt right at the front gates of this remote site. Naturally the .50 in the guard tower swings our way as do the weapons the sentrys are carrying as he jumps out of the car and moves way too quickly towards the guys with the guns. I distinctly remember the sentry saying "face down now or die sir"!

Fortunately we survived, figured out where we were and someone else drove the rest of the way home that night!

 

[Thor]

Key West Missile defenses

 

[Thor]

Arrow.

Enough said.

Good airplane...the 5 they built. It never exceeded Mach 2 in testing so still not as fast as the 106. They cancelled the program because NORAD deployed Bomarc's to address the bomber threat.

It's big advantage over the F-106 was AIM-7 Sparrow missiles. Nothing an upgrade couldn't have fixed though.

 

[churchmouse]

Key West Missile defenses

The birds I saw were a lot bigger than the Hawks pictured.

 

[Thor]

Might not have been a SAM then...maybe one of these? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MGR-1_Honest_John

 

[churchmouse]

The Bomarc was a northern tier weapon that was positioned to hit the most likely bomber routes. I believe the furthest south they were deployed was VA. FL was defended with Nike and Hawk missiles. Key West with Hawks only I think and then not until about the Cuban Missile crisis.

Even so, it's probably a good thing that you never wandered over for a closer look...military security folks tend not to have much of a sense of humor.

I was only 12/13 but was using the distance to the top of the mound from the ground as a reference. Another "Non-Scientific" churchmouse application....

 

[churchmouse]

Might not have been a SAM then...maybe one of these? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MGR-1_Honest_John

That looks more like what I saw in the bunker. My uncle was Army and Chief Warrant with on base (Navy) activity's as to security. He mentioned those birds were aimed at Castro more than a few time.

 

[BugI02]

The birds I saw were a lot bigger than the Hawks pictured.

Nikes?

View attachment 39994

 

[churchmouse]

Nikes?

View attachment 39994

Nope. Was not that sophisticated.
But.......this was 1962 or 3...........I lived through the age of Aquarius.......

 

[Thor]

Nikes?

View attachment 39994

The Nike sites were on the mainland...up around Homestead.

 

[actaeon277]

Starfighter F-104

...Darryl Greenamyer World Speed Record..

 

[Thor]

I remember seeing the Italians and Turks flying the Starfighter in Europe back in the 80's. If we had missiles and radars at the time that could have lived up to the capabilities of the Century Series fighters the Cold War would have been over in the 50's.

 

[femurphy77]

Key West Missile defenses

I stand corrected, they were indeed HAWKS, Alpha battery was about mile out our back door on Fleming Key.

 

[churchmouse]

I built a few models of that plane. Loved it. The footage in a few good men was great.

 

[findingZzero]

You want nimble? Base the aerodynamics on the hummingbird. Try to make a stable airframe turn like a flung lead pipe. That's what the computers do for the lead pipe. Better yet, create a skin that generates vacuum and zero gravity and you can move like a jet pack in space. I'm almost there.....

 

[Birds Away]

You want nimble? Base the aerodynamics on the hummingbird. Try to make a stable airframe turn like a flung lead pipe. That's what the computers do for the lead pipe. Better yet, create a skin that generates vacuum and zero gravity and you can move like a jet pack in space. I'm almost there.....

That will only be achievable with drones. The human body can't withstand that many G's.

 

[churchmouse]

That will only be achievable with drones. The human body can't withstand that many G's.

That will always be the limiting factor. You can design the best restraints possible but you organs will still move.

 

[findingZzero]

Yes, there is that.
This past year was the hottest year on record, I heard. I watched a movie last night 'Snowpiercer' (Netflix) where to fix the warming planet they sprayed a chemical in the air. It worked so well that the planet froze solid. All that was left of humanity was on an endlessly moving train. Do you like trains...?

After all the honey bees die, how 'bout drones for pollination in our Brave New World?

When you are young you know you will die, but not in your lifetime......