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08Dawg

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    First an AT-6...

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Found this on another site and thought it might be of interest. Anybody heard anything about it?

    New gunship flies to Paris Air Show debut

    By

    Stephen Trimble

    on June 6, 2009 12:14 AM |

    ShareThis

    http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/AT-802U_2.jpg

    http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/AT-802U_3.jpg

    The Air Tractor AT-802U is now en route from Olney, Texas, to Le Bourget, France, to be unveiled at the Paris Air Show, said Lee Jackson, design engineer.

    Featuring an armoured fuselage, a 10hr loiter time and the ability to haul more than 8,000lb of payload, unarmed AT-802Us have been operated by the US State Department in South America since 2002 eradicating drug crops, Jackson said.

    Air Tractor is now offering the weaponized AT-802U Air Truck to the US Air Force and other militaries to serve as a a trainer/light attack fighter. After its international debut in Paris, the PT6A-67F-powered turboprop will

    return to Olney for a series of wepaons and sensor integration trials, he said.

    The AT-802U must overcome its stigma as an old-fashioned tail-dragger, but Jackson sees its lack of a tricycle landing gear as an advatange in the irregular warfare role. For lighly trained pilots forced to make hard landings on remote strips, the two main gears offer a great advantage, he said.

    The aircraft may find its true niche in an operational setting like Afghanistan, he said. It's an interesting idea. The Afghans need a sturdy trainer and attack fighter. The ability to spray the Taliban's poppy fields might also come in handy. Apture™ Photos and promotional materials courtesy of Air Tractor

    The Foglesong Thread

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Doc's wikipedia page has been thoroughly cleansed, and in all amounts to about a long paragraph now. Must have somebody watchdogging it for him. All it says about his time at Mississippi State is that he was there...nothing else, at all.

    Booze Talk

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    Shiner beer is amazing. Better on tap than in the bottle, though. As for liquor, I just discovered Crown and Dr. Pepper this past weekend. I usually drink Crown with Coke, but this new combo is really smooth.

    Gunships arriving at Cannon

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    New gunship plan: 8 modified MC-130Ws

    By Sam LaGrone - Staff writer

    Posted : Tuesday Jun 2, 2009 16:28:08 EDT

    Special Operations Command plans to convert eight existing C-130 variants into multi-role gunships to support the wars in Iraq in Afghanistan.

    As part of the fiscal 2010 budget, the Defense Department has set aside $31.6 million to begin equipping eight MC-130Ws with limited gunship capability, according to budget documents. The additional firepower will buttress the two dozen aging AC-130H/U Spectre and Spooky gunships, Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz and Air Force Secretary Michael Donley told members of Congress during a May hearing. The AC-130s are in high demand in Iraq and Afghanistan for night-time flyovers.

    According to the Defense Department’s special operations budget, existing MC-130s would be modified to include “an armed over-watch capability including sensors, communication systems, precision guided munitions and a single medium-caliber gun.”

    Gunship recapitalization has rated high on Special Operations Command’s wish list, according to analyst Roger Carstens, a former Army special operator, in a paper titled “The Future of Special Operations Forces.”

    The eight converted MC-130Ws would have a modular weapons system allowing the plane to be easily reconfigured for other special operations missions, unlike more traditional gunships with fixed gun positions, said Special Operations Command spokesman, Maj. Wes Ticer.

    The MC-130W Combat Spear flies missions that include moving assets and troops in and out of forward areas and aerial refueling of special operations helicopters.

    The latest plan to convert MC-130Ws is less ambitious than an earlier proposal to field a fleet of 16 C-27 gunships. The light-cargo Spartan would have been modified to act as a more agile companion to the existing fleet.

    Those plans were scrapped after the C-27 original buy of 75 aircraft was cut in half and the Army was dropped from the joint program.

    The new Air Force gunship plan has similarities with a bid from the Marine Corps to create its own modular gunship.

    The Corps has is soliciting a contract with Lockheed Martin to develop the three Harvest Hawks, a KC-130J with a targeting sensor, operating station, Hellfire missiles and 30mm cannon, according to a proposal from Naval Air Systems Command.

    When did the AC-27 get scrapped? First I've heard of it.

    Lackland Buffoonery

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    I don't get why some brass get irritated if I have my cover sticking out of my leg pocket...

    -kp

    Wait, you've actually had somebody pissed at you about that? Where the hell else are we supposed to put it?

    Lackland Buffoonery

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    Though I had no reason to go to Lackland anyway, now I think I shall avoid it like the plague. Looks like it's had a shoe infestation.

    Of course, it could be a golden opportunity to piss off a random shoe. "Hey LT, roll your sleeves down, and give me your discrepancy form!" "Sorry chief, I'm from Randolph."

    Lackland Buffoonery

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    Why does the Air Force have such a stick up it's collective ass about running with headphones? It's not as if a driver can't see when in your PT gear with that big huge reflective target on your back.

    North Korea at it again

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    To say the least, that would be a target-rich environment for our pointy nosed brothers stationed out there. On the other hand, Seoul is unfortunately close to NK and would be kinda screwed...I still think there's little motivation for an invasion at this point.

    I'd bet the boys on Guam would get a hell of a chance for some carpet bombing, too.

    If it happened, I'm not so sure the Chinese would get involved. Everything I've heard seems to say they've tacitly washed their hands of the Jonger and his cronies.

    The Officers Club

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I dunno...at least at Randolph the club's a pretty good place to hang out on Friday nights. The crud is actually crud, i.e. we actually hit people, and most Fridays there are a good number of people there. Hell, I knocked a two-star flat on his ass about two months ago and he got up laughing. Gen. Lorenz, who lives here, encourages the use of the club, as opposed to sending the fun police mutawa hunting down any slightly enebriated officer. Once I leave here, I have a feeling I'll miss the Auger.

    Private Pilot License (PPL) questions

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    2 on the test score helping out your oral exam. I studied hard, and I had a 97 on my written test. My oral exam was about an hour and fifteen minutes, and none of the questions were really that difficult. Another guy at my flight school had something like a 78 on his written, and he got grilled for almost three hours. The examiner told me as much at the end of that part. Do well on the written and the oral will be easy. Don't do well, and you'll have an interesting time. And remember it's open book, too. If you don't know a question, look it up! The examiner will be testing you as much on your ability to do some research and find the answer to a question you don't know as he is on your rote memorization. And finally, don't get nervous. When your CFI signs you off to take the checkride, you're a private pilot. You're just defending that to the DPE.

    Civilian Gate Guards

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Aside from the awkwardness, I'd think it would be common courtesy. If the gate guard, ex-military or not, is courteous enough to render a salute, I would be courteous enough to return it. We have civi gate guards here are Randolph, and while they don't salute, they present a professional image. I'd be alot of them are retired military anyway.

    Nav Hours count for FAA Certifications?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Your nav experience will help you if you're flying civi on side. Radio comms, regs, stuff like that, and I think higher SA. But you can't count the hours. When you go up for your instrument rating, some things will be directly applicable and will probably give you a little bit of a leg up, but again, there's no logging nav time as simulated instrument time, for example.

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