Were you into jets growing up?
- Thread starter Bornstarch
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A while back, Matchbox made planes featured in Top Gun Maverick including what Ace Combat called the T-50 and I think Matchbox called Enemy Strike Jet (Su-57?).
I did buy a F-14 Hot Wheels and Matchbox F/A-18 and a Tomica F-35.
I did buy a F-14 Hot Wheels and Matchbox F/A-18 and a Tomica F-35.
I think Smithsonian Channel had a newer Blue Angels TV special and maybe Air Warriors show that showcased a diff jet/helicopter per show. I think it might be in Paramount+ or Freevee or PlutoTV.
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I don't discuss this kind of thing much usually but it is relevant. What I did in the military wasn't anything to do with flying, but I was able to fly around in the basic trainer plane at the time, the Bulldog,
several times, when the instructors weren't busy.
Maximum speed: 130 kn (150 mph, 240 km/h)
Stall speed: 54 kn (62 mph, 100 km/h)
Never exceed speed: 185 kn (213 mph, 343 km/h)
Range: 540 nmi (620 mi, 1,000 km)
Service ceiling: 16,000 ft (4,900 m)
g limits: +6g -3g, with no longer than 15 seconds sustained inverted flight.
Rate of climb: 1,034 ft/min (5.25 m/s)
Wing loading: 18.2 lb/sq ft (89 kg/m2)
We would do aerobatics and after getting more experience, simulated WW I style dogfights. I remember the loop the loop, barrel roll, aileron roll, stall turn and we started learning the Cuban Eight but I don't remember that one very well, it's more complex. There are lots of other manouevres too. Obviously to be good at this you have to be very talented. It's physically uncomfortable. We had to put on flight suits, over our clothes, meaning I was too hot, and snooker referee-style white gloves. The parachute is cinched up to be snug while you're sitting, so you can't stand up straight. We also had to wear lifejackets when there was water, which were only light but still added to the heat and bulk. And a big, heavy helmet.
I never even felt I was going to be sick, although I know someone who was, but the weightlessness, hanging upside down, weird accelerations in different directions were something to endure for me rather than exhilarating. Like I said I'm scared of rollercoasters. I remember how heavy the helmet was when pulling positive g, pressing down on my head and neck. I remember the feeling of the 'elevator doors' starting to close when doing that. Of course even the maximum 6 in a Bulldog wouldn't be much to a pro jet pilot. Although they have g suits.
Anyway modern jets have computers and homing missiles that can hit enemies miles away, not that being a fighter pilot nowadays is easy. But in this era of technology there were no computers as such, you had to do everything by eye and your spatial coordination. Friends and foes zooming around really fast in three dimensions with your life on the line put a great strain on the pilot mentally. Of course my life wasn't on the line but I could still feel the brain strain.
My grandpa was in the RAF and although he wasn't a pilot he had a lot of interaction with WW2 pilots, and from him and I think from books and stuff I remember some funny stories about them. Everyone in the military, in combat is under mental strain and a certain number of people have breakdowns to one degree or another. Combat refusal (for instance you're sent out to patrol ten miles east and look for trouble, but you just go five miles, sit and drink tea for the length of time it would take you to do the rest of the distance, then come back and report you did the full patrol and nothing happened), hiding in the bunker or below in the ship and refusing to come out etc. But apparently due to the great mental strain of that era of air to air combat a lot of pilots would be permanently burnt out after only a few months of fighting. They would be able to instruct, or go and take aerial photos and that kind of thing, but not fight any more, even though they were super fit 22 year olds. I think they said 'their nerves have gone'.
Apparently also the contrast between the basically normal peacetime life on an air base in the UK, and in a few minutes being in deadly combat, back and forth, was also bad for their mental health. Although of course you could be on an air base abroad or a carrier or something, but that would still be comparatively comfy and safe. On their time off they would do things like race motorbikes through the narrow, winding country lanes around the airfields, at night, with no headlights. Of course there was a lot less traffic in those days and things weren't as strict. Or ride bicycles down steep hills blindfolded, with people shouting "Left! Right!" etc for them to steer. I suppose because they needed the speed and danger.
Edit: I remember you're constantly having to crane your neck in all directions and look as far out to the edge of your field of vision as possible, with the helmet on, which is uncomfortable, and when you twist your neck it also restricts the blood flow somewhat, making you more susceptible to GLOC (g induced loss of consciousness). You also have to try and look into the Sun, if it's out - that's a great place for the enemy to come at you from, which also isn't very nice.
Edit 2: I have also remembered that fighter pilots used to be given a lot of amphetamines, which would help maintaining the energy, concentration and courage lol. Probably still are.
several times, when the instructors weren't busy.
Maximum speed: 130 kn (150 mph, 240 km/h)
Stall speed: 54 kn (62 mph, 100 km/h)
Never exceed speed: 185 kn (213 mph, 343 km/h)
Range: 540 nmi (620 mi, 1,000 km)
Service ceiling: 16,000 ft (4,900 m)
g limits: +6g -3g, with no longer than 15 seconds sustained inverted flight.
Rate of climb: 1,034 ft/min (5.25 m/s)
Wing loading: 18.2 lb/sq ft (89 kg/m2)
We would do aerobatics and after getting more experience, simulated WW I style dogfights. I remember the loop the loop, barrel roll, aileron roll, stall turn and we started learning the Cuban Eight but I don't remember that one very well, it's more complex. There are lots of other manouevres too. Obviously to be good at this you have to be very talented. It's physically uncomfortable. We had to put on flight suits, over our clothes, meaning I was too hot, and snooker referee-style white gloves. The parachute is cinched up to be snug while you're sitting, so you can't stand up straight. We also had to wear lifejackets when there was water, which were only light but still added to the heat and bulk. And a big, heavy helmet.
I never even felt I was going to be sick, although I know someone who was, but the weightlessness, hanging upside down, weird accelerations in different directions were something to endure for me rather than exhilarating. Like I said I'm scared of rollercoasters. I remember how heavy the helmet was when pulling positive g, pressing down on my head and neck. I remember the feeling of the 'elevator doors' starting to close when doing that. Of course even the maximum 6 in a Bulldog wouldn't be much to a pro jet pilot. Although they have g suits.
Anyway modern jets have computers and homing missiles that can hit enemies miles away, not that being a fighter pilot nowadays is easy. But in this era of technology there were no computers as such, you had to do everything by eye and your spatial coordination. Friends and foes zooming around really fast in three dimensions with your life on the line put a great strain on the pilot mentally. Of course my life wasn't on the line but I could still feel the brain strain.
My grandpa was in the RAF and although he wasn't a pilot he had a lot of interaction with WW2 pilots, and from him and I think from books and stuff I remember some funny stories about them. Everyone in the military, in combat is under mental strain and a certain number of people have breakdowns to one degree or another. Combat refusal (for instance you're sent out to patrol ten miles east and look for trouble, but you just go five miles, sit and drink tea for the length of time it would take you to do the rest of the distance, then come back and report you did the full patrol and nothing happened), hiding in the bunker or below in the ship and refusing to come out etc. But apparently due to the great mental strain of that era of air to air combat a lot of pilots would be permanently burnt out after only a few months of fighting. They would be able to instruct, or go and take aerial photos and that kind of thing, but not fight any more, even though they were super fit 22 year olds. I think they said 'their nerves have gone'.
Apparently also the contrast between the basically normal peacetime life on an air base in the UK, and in a few minutes being in deadly combat, back and forth, was also bad for their mental health. Although of course you could be on an air base abroad or a carrier or something, but that would still be comparatively comfy and safe. On their time off they would do things like race motorbikes through the narrow, winding country lanes around the airfields, at night, with no headlights. Of course there was a lot less traffic in those days and things weren't as strict. Or ride bicycles down steep hills blindfolded, with people shouting "Left! Right!" etc for them to steer. I suppose because they needed the speed and danger.
Edit: I remember you're constantly having to crane your neck in all directions and look as far out to the edge of your field of vision as possible, with the helmet on, which is uncomfortable, and when you twist your neck it also restricts the blood flow somewhat, making you more susceptible to GLOC (g induced loss of consciousness). You also have to try and look into the Sun, if it's out - that's a great place for the enemy to come at you from, which also isn't very nice.
Edit 2: I have also remembered that fighter pilots used to be given a lot of amphetamines, which would help maintaining the energy, concentration and courage lol. Probably still are.
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I was very much in to both, in high school.
Went to a military recruiting conference and expressed my interest in following the path to become a pilot. They sent me to do a physical and i found i had a blood condition that would make me more susceptible to loss of consciousness at high G or altitude and that killed that dream. They did try to recruit me to other paths but i was not interested.
I was also a big NFL Jets fan at that time, and they were arguably my favorite team.
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