willedoo

That was the first built Buran that was destroyed in the collapse, the only one that went into orbit. I think the one I posted above is K2 , which was never completed. Not sure which variant this one is. It's at MAKS, maybe 2011. They painted it on one side visible to the public, but the photographer made his way around the other side for a photo. .

Second Buran still in the abandoned hangar.

Thanks ozzie, that's very interesting. Cheers, Willie.

Yes, looking at photos, I think you're right, Peter. It has an extraordinary long front leg even by Navy standards. Cheers Willie.

Totally agree. Can't verify the accuracy, but a Wikipedia article on F-4 variants lists only two YF-4M prototypes. Surely deserving of restoration for a museum display. Taking into account the amazing story of the original F-4 development, add to that the political drama and engineering challenges of the British version, there's a great historical story there. It deserves better than the scrap yard.

So sad... US built YF-4M testbed for the British Phantom FGR.2, derelict in Scotland and eventually cut up for scrap.

It looks a bit like Navy TA-4J Skyhawk Trainer, but not positive. Cheers, Willie.

Does anyone know the location of the Catalina photo. It looks a bit arid. Cheers, Willie.

China's new 3 ton payload drone has made it's maiden flight: http://www.rt.com/news/313909-china-new-heavy-drone/

It will be an interesting comparison, even if we have to wait three years to read it. I guess at the end of the day, F-35's as close air support would be better than no close air support. Cheers, Willie.

I thought we already had that situation. But maybe some nut jobs are nuttier than other nut jobs. I guess some news on Syria will show up sooner or later to get back on thread.

Well, the conservative side, both state and federally don't seem to have any bright and shining stars in the wings these days. Bring back John Gorton, I say. At least he liked a beer or twenty.

I guess they'll just get together and hug koalas like last time.

I guess only time will tell what happens there. Russia and Egypt have just finished Presidential level meetings and have supported in principle a broad based coalition with Syria to defeat IS. Nothing might come of it yet. Obomber is unlikely to join forces with them, and Assad, quite understandbly, wants nothing to do with the countries that have sponsored terrorism and civil war in his country for the last few years. It's difficult to imagine a situation where two opposite coalitions would be striking IS at the same time. I doubt Russia would operate there against IS without some sort of approval from the West. On the other hand, if the West was crazy enough to attack government forces, it could hot up a bit.

That would be a good idea - Conroy as Defence Minister. Instead of phone cables, we could give him some big aeroplanes and ships to play with.

I don't know if this has been posted before. It's a US pilot's assessment of the Indian Sukhoi Su-30MKI during the Red Flag exercises. It's about 20 minutes long, but interesting comparisons between the Su-30MKI, F-16, F-15, Raptor, MiG-21 Bison etc.. The video seems to be split by an ad about half way through, needs to be clicked off to continue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA1mZF3FQhc

I think the CWA would do a good job.

It looks like MiG is going ahead with the development of a light fighter to eventually replace the MiG-29. They say it will be loosely based on the experimental MiG 1.44 and includes some MiG-35 technology. http://sputniknews.com/military/20150825/1026159304/russia-aircraft-mig-pakfa-jet-stealth.html

The above link stopped working last night. If I find another one, I'll post it. Watching it last night, I would say RT's coverage and camera work is a bit lacklustre compared to previous years. I only watched it for about an hour - the A350-900 doing laps was interesting. A Su-30 did a very uninspiring display, an Mi-8 and a Karmov hovered around a bit, a T-50 took off and went somewhere, and that was that. Hopefully tonight there might be a bit more action.

Not sure how long this live link will work for. http://www.rt.com/on-air/maks-2015-air-show/

Very close.It's a Tu-128UT trainer version. Only 10 were made; the monstrosity at the front houses the instructor. A good case of a nice aeroplane getting hit with the ugly stick. Cheers, Willie.

Nice lines. Or more accurately, the bashed crab look.

The Chirok air cushioned amphibious prototype will debut at MAKS-2015 this week. http://www.rt.com/news/313337-chirok-amphibious-reconnaissance-drone/

On the subject of collecting - apologies in advance for sounding like a cracked record, as I've mentioned this before on another forum, but it's worth noting. As we all know, there's various hazardous substances present in aircraft components, eg. asbestos etc.. One that is often overlooked is the presence of radium paint ( glow in the dark lettering) in older aircraft gauges. Most of it was phased out in the 60's so it usually applies only to gauges of older vintage. Over time, the paint can degrade and produces a fine dust or powder which can be absorbed into the skin, but is most risky when inhaled. If the gauge is well sealed with no cracked glass or perished seals, most will not register any noticeable emissions. But for people who collect a lot of gauges, it really is worth spending $100 on eBay for a cheap hand held dosimeter, so gauges can be checked as acquired. I don't have a big collection, only twenty or so, and all read about the same as the normal background radiation, ie. virtually no emissions. However, I have one that reads about 450 times normal background radiation directly at the gauge. This gradually decreases with distance until at about two metres, readings are normal. The gauge is unissued, in mint condition with no obvious points where radiation could escape from the radium paint. It's the very common 'Blinker' oxygen flow indicator found on many U.S. aircraft, such as the B-17, P-51 etc.. [ATTACH]24422[/ATTACH] These were made by different contractors like Delco etc.. It's worth noting that I have another identical Blinker that is part of an MQ-1 oxygen equipment test kit, and it reads normal, no noticeable emmissions. In the case of the radioactive one, if it was on a shelf beside a computer desk where someone spent a lot of time, it would eventually lead to an unhealthy cumulative dose. I think it's quite rare to come across a gauge emitting that much radiation - it seems far too high for the amount of radium paint involved, but it's a good example of why all gauges are worth checking with a cheap geiger counter. People can buy these gauges on eBay and have their kids in contact with them, not knowing what the risks are. With any older gauge, removing the glass or dismantling the gauge for cleaning is also risky business. Cheers, Willie.

Russia has plans to develop a partially reusable launch system. The lower booster will be winged, similar to a space shuttle and able to glide back to an airstrip and be re-built. The system includes disposable second and upper stages. http://sputniknews.com/russia/20150820/1025977349/russia-reusable-space-rocket-system.html