HeyEng

The powers that be keep insisting that these are not balloons, but also not saying that they are lighter than air vehicles, i.e. dirigible or airship which is what I assume they are. I don’t know why there is such a marble mouthed narrative to these latest shootdowns compared to the first balloon, but maybe because there were photographs of the first balloon out there so it was much harder to control the narrative!

https://www.duffelblog.com/p/report-all-female-crewed-chinese?fbclid=IwAR1ZR5q7n0u6b4jZ0Vqlm9dV_RkClCd6Ilcke-xnTIDuA7q3274CiOz22HE

Anybody have tips on how to make a tinfoil hat? I never had the need to make one so any help would be appreciated!

A craft that does not have wings nor it lighter than air that can traverse intercontinental? I also saw on TV a senator who said they had over eight briefings on the original Chinese balloon but none so far on these new ones. And if these are aliens, I’m kind of disappointed that they are so easy to shoot down, I mean where’s Klaatu ordering Gort to use his lasers to disable the missiles?

DW News claimed that the object shot down over Lake Huron was “octagonal” shaped and Senator Chuck Schumer said these could “possibly” be balloons! Well let’s hope so!

Damn, I wished they worked in my neighborhood!

Crap! I’m failing as a sexiest! Is there a video of an all female garbage crew picking up trash?

Yea, when are going to celebrate the first all female road crew laying asphalt in the summertime!

“Unidentified silver/gray cylindrical object” shot down over Alaska and Canada! It’s like they are deliberately trying to create conspiracy theories! I would have called it a drone dirigible but hey, what do I know!

Task and Purpose has done a decent job of reporting this story (not too bad for a grunt!) https://taskandpurpose.com/news/air-force-c-17-oklahoma-runway-damage/?fbclid=IwAR1Q1zQEqrizLtE1SI0-PLG-TiPm3I8rSyO-Z8nF8IODPrJAuLL8xeoUqAg

To reiterate, it's not that it can be done but why the need? Many airlines practice a pilot incapacitation scenario as part of simulator training (heart attacks in the cockpit are not uncommon in the airlines) and no doubt the KC-46 is capable of fully coupled RNAV RNP type approaches (when I was still in, we only did RNP enroute due to the ARINC database issue but that is another story) so yes it can be done. However if the AF is serious about this there's a ton of Flight Ops regs that will have to be changed i.e. duty time, pax, hazardous cargo, ICAO restrictions, etc. Would this apply just to the KC-46 or all multi-engine transport? What about the B-1 and B-52? I suspect that none of these questions have been thought of in the big puzzle palace and this demo amounted to nothing more than a stunt!

We have not even discussed flying IMC either, are we going to allow single pilot to shoot an ILS down to minimums in the WX or more likely restrict single pilots ops to VMC. What about Ocenanic crossings? Some sort of ETOPS like restrictions for single pilot ops?

Well I started a new thread about single pilot ops not realizing it’s being discussed here on this thread. Is this exclusive to the KC-46 or being tried on other aircraft? I would think some platforms like the C-17 would be more difficult due to the width of the cockpit and trying to reach the gear handle, etc. If it’s exclusive to the KC-46, the obvious question is why? Is there really that much of a need for this? I’m sure restrictions for crew duty day, flying with pax, etc. will all have to be rewritten. And just ask the pilots of United 328, United 1175, and Southwest 1380 just how busy it gets when you shell out an engine at cruise let alone at V1!

All I can say to this is….has the AF gone nuts! https://www.amc.af.mil/News/Article/3203884/mcconnell-completes-kc-46-flight-with-limited-crew/

Apparently Rotax engines are a target of organized crime (at least in Europe for now). They are showing up in Iranian drones purchased by Russia and being used in Ukraine. https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/bizarre-theft-wave-targets-same-rotax-engines-used-in-iranian-drones?fbclid=IwAR2BeFr1ribbpa62UkTrl4klDu-wzhr_O867JfQmLCzbN3EcM0OeTQ7D9mk

From a purely analytical perspective, the choice of location is interesting. It’s points to a sophisticated underwater special operation under the noses of various NATO anti-submarine defenses, and makes any future repair difficult. If I were Putin, I would have staged an operation on land and then blame it on Ukrainians, Refuseniks, Ursula Von Der Leyen, Pu**y Riot, or any of Putin’s enemy of the week.

NATO is saying it was (no surprise) sabotage! https://youtu.be/z5rRZdiu1UE

They said that the pipeline was not active so I wonder what’s bubbling out, maybe pressurized with inert gas or something to keep any seawater out?

Apparently some Danish F-16s recorded this damage to the Nordstream pipeline after three underwater explosions were detected: https://www.forsvaret.dk/da/nyheder/2022/gaslakage-i-ostersoen/?fbclid=IwAR3c3zuQW7yg8FfkE4sq4HMsOT1DW-CZec4zGmOTA4ba0LCa9YAlYVKQOuE

Apparently there was a crash of a Cessna Citation into the Baltic due to what looks like a loss of pressurization. Fighters were scrambled when there was no response to ATC as it flew on autopilot until it ran out of fuel: https://youtu.be/ZDFHOW6DxdA

Part of me says… punish him for missing out on CBT training, reflective belts, DTS, the Sandbox, General Order #1, PT uniform, ABU’s, white then green then black then brown then sand T-shirts! I’m probably missing a few things!

I doubt this is the first time this has happened: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/08/05/did-airman-offer-bribe-pass-fitness-test-ramstein-officials-investigating.html