Re:Props: Small Planes for Small Wars
by sitkack on Monday October 02, 2017 @11:49PM
(#15389983)
I think war is dumb on lots of dimensions. But the Rutan Mudfighter looks like a great, economical aircraft https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG9LlHcX8lg for killing lots of small armed people.
I didn't make it through the 1980s video long enough to learn if the aircraft has any protection for the pilot, like the A-10 is famous for ("titanium bathtub" and all that).
Re:Props: Small Planes for Small Wars
by nradov on Tuesday October 03, 2017 @09:14AM
(#15392146)
Those cheaper aircraft won't seem like such a great deal when the single engine fails and the pilot gets tortured to death on YouTube after ejecting over enemy territory.
The article doesn't mention anything about drones / UCAVs, which seems like a major oversight.
Re:Props: Small Planes for Small Wars
by nradov on Wednesday October 04, 2017 @12:31AM
(#15398266)
Right and that was another terrible decision. The V/STOL F-35B variant was only practical with a single engine because twin engines would have caused dangerous thrust imbalances during landing. But that constraint forced the F-35A and F-35C models to also have single engines for commonality, resulting in lower speed, higher drag, and reduced survivability. The whole program is full of misguided compromises like that.
Re:Props: Small Planes for Small Wars
by newsmania on Tuesday October 03, 2017 @10:54AM
(#15392795)
People these days don’t really seem to care much if a serviceman dies. Now if the terrorists wife dies in a raid, people act like something far worse has happened. This plane will help target terrorists better because it’s slower.
Basically a Bayliner glued to a minigun.
I didn't make it through the 1980s video long enough to learn if the aircraft has any protection for the pilot, like the A-10 is famous for ("titanium bathtub" and all that).