Questions tagged [military]
For questions relating to military aviation or possible effects of a country's military on other forms of aviation.
748
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0answers
85 views
Could anyone provide me with the performance charts for Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker?
I am looking for the Long Range Cruise Maximum Operating Altitude performance against the weight of the plane, all engines operating. Would be grateful if someone could point me the way.
9
votes
9answers
3k views
Novel Research: Best way to sabotage a Hawker Hurricane in 1940/41?
Essentially, one of the central events in my work-in-progress novel is the sabotage of a Hawker Hurricane in Malta by a member of groundcrew. I originally had this as him loosening an aileron so that ...
4
votes
1answer
173 views
Can a jet-engine aircraft fly all the way to its service ceiling at its maximum takeoff weight? [closed]
I am trying to understand how high an aircraft can get to at its maximum takeoff weight (minus whatever fuel is consumed in getting to that altitude). Can it make it all the way to its service ceiling?...
6
votes
2answers
512 views
How do fighter jets pre-flight so quickly?
Military fighter jets can get in the air and to their target in minutes and faster than almost all other aircraft. How do they achieve this considering that a normal pre-flight alone takes ~10-15 ...
0
votes
1answer
124 views
How many nuclear weapons have been lost- and not located or recovered-- from aircraft in crashes or other mishaps? [closed]
How many nuclear weapons have been lost- and not located or recovered-- from aircraft in crashes or other mishaps?
2
votes
2answers
168 views
Battle Damage Checks / Procedures [closed]
Studying the damage model of DCS, especially on Warbirds, I encountered an operational doubt about the Battle Damage Checks.
Here is the question:
Suppose that after a sortie you are RTB, and you don'...
2
votes
2answers
246 views
Do jet nozzles reset after the engine is off for a while?
I have seen jet engines with nozzles being able to dilate to adjust for throttle and things of the sort, but the question I have is, if the engine is turned off, does the nozzle "reset" to a ...
-1
votes
1answer
233 views
Why are the cargo doors of the C2 Greyhound open during flight, even when not delivering cargo?
You may find this strange, but I have a love for the C2 Greyhound and E2C Hawkeye. I noticed that when flying, the C2 Greyhound often opens its cargo doors. Is this for a better view, training, or ...
17
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3answers
5k views
Why doesn't the US Navy utilize seaplanes?
I understand that seaplanes are usually prop planes but for cargo planes it would be beneficial in times where large cargo supply operations need to be carried out on non-carrier operations.
1
vote
1answer
237 views
Why aren't the 'White shirts' in charge of removing the arresting wires on an aircraft carrier?
I understand that the green shirts are in charge of catapult maintenance, but why are they the ones that remove the arresting cable on US aircraft carriers? White shirts are the landing officials, so ...
4
votes
1answer
190 views
Does 'Fat Albert' Have any significant modifications?
The Blue Angels use a C-130 known as 'Fat Albert' in some of their shows. Other than the paint job and smoke, are there any significant differences between 'Fat Albert' and a standard C-130?
4
votes
1answer
905 views
What is the proper protocol in the US regarding abandoned aircraft not deemed safe to fly? [closed]
Security forces in Guatemala detected a plane entering airspace on 4 Nov 2021. They followed through and found it abandoned, with evidence that it transported illegal drugs. After an assessment by ...
14
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1answer
1k views
What does "closed traffic" mean?
I'm a Japanese ATC working in Japan.
I want to ask about "closed traffic". I checked 7110.65 for this.
Question 1: What is successive operation?
One day I was on duty and the air force pilot ...
2
votes
0answers
117 views
Can anyone help identify this turbine blade?
At the local army/navy surplus store and found this in a "junk" box. Got it for $1. Would live to know what airframe this came off of. Im new to this so compressor blade? Compressor turbine?
...
40
votes
1answer
8k views
What is the meaning of these stencils, usually found on military planes?
I am wondering what these markings (which I found both in the French Super Etendard and in the British Tornado) indicate? They may be something relevant for the maintenance crews.
18
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6answers
6k views
How does in‑air refuelling work from a strategic point of view?
There's plenty of articles explaining how in‑air refuelling works from a technical point of view, and this is not what I'm after.
What I'm struggling to understand is what's the point to begin with.
&...
1
vote
2answers
131 views
Is it possible to graduate from ADFA and then apply for an airline job? [closed]
I am a current year 10 student wanting to become a pilot. I am choosing between going to ADFA (Australian Defence Force Academy) to take a course in aviation and the airforce fast jet pilot and going ...
2
votes
4answers
338 views
Countermeasures taken to prevent reverse engineering of military fighter jet technology? [closed]
Inspired from this news -
The immediate question after reading the news will arose in the minds of novice people like me that - How the aircraft manufacturers cope with this issue? Which leads to ...
1
vote
1answer
220 views
What were the typical military training aircraft of the mid- to late-1930s in USA?
I am writing a novel that includes 1939 to present. I am interested in what pilots in training first used when they were entering flight school during the mid-late 1930s in USA. Can you advise me?
9
votes
1answer
4k views
Did WWII fighters do a roll before engaging to identify themselves to radar operators?
There's some folklore in the radar world about the Nazi fighters doing a roll before engagement to mark them to a German radar operator. This makes a lot of sense because it allows you to change your ...
27
votes
5answers
9k views
How is radar used to help aiming a gun on fighter jets?
I know gatling gun is fixed mounted to the airframe of the plane, thus cannot be rotated left/ right or up/down. However watching DCS pilots dogfighting with opponents they sometimes mention their ...
1
vote
1answer
259 views
Do any RAF helicopters have skids instead of wheels?
Are there any current, or Cold War-era, Royal Air Force helicopters fitted with skids as standard?
I seem to recall hearing, when I served, that RAF helicopters only ever had wheels, whereas skids ...
3
votes
0answers
149 views
How effective was the computer-controlled gunnery on the B29?
The Boeing B29 Superfortress was equipped with multiple gun turrets which were linked to a central
computerised fire control system. This training film covers the gunner's control interface, which ...
15
votes
2answers
5k views
Did the last US plane to leave Afghanistan have support from the control tower?
CNN's says says that
The last US military planes have left Afghanistan, Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of US Central Command, announced Monday at the Pentagon. The US departure marks the end of a ...
3
votes
1answer
249 views
Is there a procedure for canopy static discharge before the pilot egresses from the cockpit?
Is there a procedure for canopy static discharge before the pilot egresses from the cockpit?
8
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1answer
380 views
Can anyone identify this 1920's era biplane bomber?
What is the aircraft in this photo? My great uncle is in the back row second to the right. He was born in 1900, so I think this photo is from around 1920. I think he was based at Kelly Field in San ...
4
votes
1answer
2k views
Why do the B-2 Spirit's split elevons seem almost always deployed?
Looking at images and videos displaying B-2 spirit, it seems like split elevons are most of the time deployed, even at high speed. Why is it so?
Having some aerodynamic surface deployed generates drag ...
4
votes
1answer
223 views
Why did the Soviets not make radio contact with Korean 007?
I was reading recently about the shootdown of Korean 007 and it is clear that it was very tense times between the American and Soviet governments.
The one point which struck me as weird throught the ...
0
votes
0answers
142 views
Is Sapphire Stone Used as Windshields on Military Aircraft?
The optical clarity of of colorless sapphire stone and its unique refraction of light and strength for example, is not comparable to the clarity, etc. of amorphous/glass laminates.
0
votes
1answer
332 views
What is the origin of the following aviation slang terms?
I'm researching some aviation slang terms. I have difficulty in finding the origin of the following words and phrases. I would be grateful if you can help me. The words and the phrases and their ...
24
votes
2answers
5k views
Why don't militaries use ram-air parachutes?
Military parachutes for use by humans (both paratroopers and distressed aircrew) tend to be of simple round or (more recently) cruciform design:
(Image by the United States Army, via Wikimedia ...
7
votes
1answer
2k views
How does drone reliance on GPS make it 'semi-stealthy'?
I saw this on CNN today.
For months, US intelligence and military personnel in Iraq have been raising alarms about the risk to American forces from these newer, more sophisticated Iranian-made drones....
6
votes
2answers
6k views
Why was the C-5 considered the largest plane possible?
We started to build the C-5 and wanted to build the biggest thing we could
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_C-5_Galaxy
The An-225 is 50% larger and has a shorter life.
Did they mean the C-5 was ...
12
votes
8answers
4k views
What kind of injury would force a Navy EA-6B pilot to stop flying and take a desk job?
Currently, I'm writing up a character bio for a game, where the character is a former naval aviator who becomes a JAG Corps lawyer who can be quite active during investigations and combat.
I've been ...
19
votes
4answers
7k views
When a bomber releases a huge payload of bombs, why don't they collide with each other in mid air?
Below given are images of bombers releasing many bombs at the same time.
Why don't they collide with each other?
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vote
0answers
227 views
Tail Warning Radar on the P-51
One of the "features" of the P-51 was a tail warning radar that was supposed to let pilots know if an enemy fighter was on your tail.
However, a P-51 pilot told me that they generally ...
5
votes
1answer
163 views
What was the most efficient cruising altitude of the Lancaster bomber?
An earlier question concerning lower high altitude cruising fuel efficiency of the B-29 bombers with 4 x Wright R-3350 air-cooled radial Cyclone engines made me wonder about the Lancaster bomber, ...
24
votes
1answer
4k views
Did LeMay actually require crews to remove their guns on B-29s?
There is a persistent rumour/storyline that, during and after the successful low-level raids on Tokyo in March 1945, LeMay ordered that all B-29s remove their guns, except for the tail gun. However, I ...
6
votes
0answers
249 views
How did Soapy get to fly Hornets?
Allegedly, in early June 1983, while flying a Sea Harrier during a NATO exercise off the coast of Portugal, Royal Navy's Sub-Lieutenant Ian "Soapy" Watson found himself in a rather ...
0
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0answers
47 views
Does a fighter aircraft slow down when firing machine guns? [duplicate]
I imagine the recoil of a powerful machine gun or cannon would decelerate a plane significantly. Is this an issue?
0
votes
1answer
177 views
What should a Pilot do if they encounter foreign military jets? [closed]
Say you're flying an amateur-built plane just out over the waters of, say, Alaska. And then you encounter a fleet of maybe 5 foreign military jets directly above you, and then you get radio ...
7
votes
2answers
481 views
What is the expected reaction of a civil airliner pilot upon an invalid request from a fighter jet?
After asking a question about the recent diversion/pirating of the Ryanair flight in Belarus (that got closed, but has a nice answer), I got to wonder about how the pilot should have had behaved in ...
6
votes
3answers
478 views
What aircraft equipment produced the three recordings of unidentified aerial phenomenon released by the US Pentagon in 2020? What does black signify?
I don't follow these things closely and my question is carefully scoped to ask ONLY about the type of aircraft equipment used and what the various gray levels in the images indicates.
In CNN "The ...
1
vote
1answer
138 views
Is it possible to use multiple primary radars to determine an object's location in three-dimensional space?
My question is this: if, for example, I have multiple radars across an area, tracking a particular airborne object, can I use the returns from the radars to determine the geographical location of an ...
9
votes
1answer
681 views
Why paint a British roundel on a non-British Lynx?
In recent years, some of the Westland Lynx helicopters of the Portuguese Navy have undergone some form of mid-life update (MLU) in order to have their engines and avionics upgraded. Also, allegedly, a ...
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1answer
227 views
Does any USAF fighter jet use surfaces near the front for pitch control?
Some European fighters like Eurofighter use frontal surfaces for pitch control. Does any US fighter use this configuration? And what are these surfaces called?
3
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1answer
209 views
Does/did Russia or the Soviet Union ever fly rocket planes?
Did Russia or the Soviet Union ever have their own experimental or military rocket planes (other than the Buran), or did their military merely use jets and other non-rocket aircraft? America flew ...
12
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2answers
2k views
How does a U.S. military air traffic controller become a civilian air traffic controller?
If a person is working as a United States military air traffic controller and then they get discharged, do they have to go through additional training and tests to work as a United States civilian air ...
4
votes
4answers
544 views
Why hasn't the US military performed aftermarket modifications on certain aircraft?
The US military emits more CO2 annually than several countries. Winglets have been proven to work well in the commercial sector to reduce fuel burn, therefore reducing both CO2 emissions and fuel cost....
2
votes
0answers
135 views
Why are some US fighters' canopies tinted while others are not? [duplicate]
Ok, I'm sure we've all seen how some particular US fighters have tinted glass canopies (I'm not sure what you would refer to the glass as), while others do not. Looking at the currently in-service ...
