[shubhamAT]

But the childlike excitement is still there the moment i look at the aeroplanes

Same here. I stay close to HAL and every single time i hear a flying machine's sound, i jump to the balcony. Watching the LCH's first official flight was a real treat and so was the sight of a Mig 21 about to land at old airport when it went right above my car in Marathalli.

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by shubhamAT

Same here. I stay close to HAL and every single time i hear a flying machine's sound, i jump to the balcony. Watching the LCH's first official flight was a real treat and so was the sight of a Mig 21 about to land at old airport when it went right above my car in Marathalli.

You are quite lucky, my friend. Its the perfect place to stay for any Indian aviation freak.

The only fighters I spot flying nearby are Jaguars and MiG-21s possibly from AFS Jamnagar. Like you, I simply run up to the terrace to catch a glimpse of the fighter and identify it & its subtype( if its Jaguar IS/IM or MiG-21MF/bis).

Since I stay quite near to Somnath, I get to spot lots of choppers - IAF Mi-8s( ferring VIPs) , IN/ICG Chetaks & Dhruvs flying along the coastline. I can now identify the helo based on its engine sound. The Chetak's Turbomeca engines are the sweetest sounding helo engines in the world.

[_raVan_]

The first boeing 787 has been delivered to ANA.

Boeing officially delivers 787 Dreamliner to ANA, future of air travel finally arrives -- Engadget

[skanchan95]

For anyone who is interested in Naval Aviation, specifically our Naval Aviation history, this book is a must have.

Downwind, Four Green - Saga of valiant Seahawk Fighters

I got my copy recently, and its an a absolute delight to read. It is written by Vice Admiral Vinod Pasricha(IN, Retd) and being a former Sea Hawk pilot himself, there may have been no better person to write such a detailed book on Indian Sea hawk fighters. In the end, it has details and serial numbers of all Sea Hawk variants( FGA.6s, ex- German Mk.100s & 101s) that served with the Indian Navy.

[suhaas307]

Not much from my side, but something, nevertheless!

[skanchan95]

The second pic looks like a Fulcrum. Where was it taken?

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by skanchan95

The second pic looks like a Fulcrum. Where was it taken?

Was holidaying in Goa, sitting by the pool and fiddling with my new camera when I saw this and decided to snap it! Thank you!

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Was holidaying in goa, sitting by the pool and fiddling with my new camera when I saw this and decided to snap it! thank you!

Nice, it must be one of the Navy's new MiG-29K/KUBs. The Navy's 303 Black Panthers Squadron is based at INS Hansa in Dabolim.

[PGA]

Can we revive this thread, I am an aeronautical engineer by profession and do love these birds. Let me put up some snaps I clicked during one of my visit.

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by skanchan95

The second pic looks like a Fulcrum. Where was it taken?

Originally Posted by skanchan95

Nice, it must be one of the Navy's new MiG-29K/KUBs. The Navy's 303 Black Panthers Squadron is based at INS Hansa in Dabolim.

Yup, it is a Fulcrum! (MiG 29 Fulcrum NATO name) I guess seeing the year the pic was taken, it must have been on test. They do have a land based ski jump ramp to train rookie pilots in doing carrier take-offs. Well, KUB's seem to have come long way from their ancestors which are called as "Smoky jets".

Originally Posted by PGA

Can we revive this thread, I am an aeronautical engineer by profession and do love these birds. Let me put up some snaps I clicked during one of my visit.

Yes of course! I was always wondering, how can some such people not exist here in TBHP. Great pics of the "Blackbird". Can you share more? I will also share mine.

[PGA]

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

Yup, it is a Fulcrum! (MiG 29 Fulcrum NATO name) Well, KUB's seem to have come long way from their ancestors which are called as "Smoky jets".



Yes of course! I was always wondering, how can some such people not exist here in TBHP. Great pics of the "Blackbird". Can you share more? I will also share mine.

Good to see some smoke emanating out of this thread.

That surely is a MiG 29, can't make out if its is K or KUB. KUB is a twin cockpit version of the same ac. All MiG 29's are powered with same motor ie RD 33 and it does spew out a lot of smoke.

Other snap that I had put up is of Bell X-1E, this 'bullet' has a long history. It was an experimental aeroplane built with a sole purpose of crossing sound barrier in level flight. Chuck Yeager flew in Bell X-1 to become the first man to break sound barrier in level flight. All these aeroplanes were built only to generate aerofoil data which could be used for the future generations. Considerable number of them crashed resulting in many fatalties.

Another snap of one of my all time favourites, a Luftwaffe Me 109, Do we share some common bonds here AlphaKilo?

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by PGA

Good to see some smoke emanating out of this thread.

That surely is a MiG 29, can't make out if its is K or KUB. KUB is a twin cockpit version of the same ac. All MiG 29's are powered with same motor ie RD 33 and it does spew out a lot of smoke.

Other snap that I had put up is of Bell X-1E, this 'bullet' has a long history.

Another snap of one of my all time favourites, a Luftwaffe Me 109, Do we share some common bonds here AlphaKilo?

Klimov and Saturn are my favourite OKB companies!Not to forget the MiG design buereau. My all time favourites from them is the MiG 31 Foxbat or the IAF MiG 25 "Trisonics". Below is an image of the first crew from the Navy getting trained/retrained to fly the first squadron of KUB's. Sorry I don't have the source for the image.



Bell X-1 Always reminds me not of the successes it achieved rather only of its disasters!

My all time favourite is Me 262

We do share a lot! I am a Aeronautics bachelors -> Ex-Pratt and Whitney design engineer, upgraded now to space technology.

[skanchan95]

The Naval Fulcrums are powered by RD-33MK Sea Wasp engines with FADEC, they are supposed to be less smokey compared to RD-33 powered Air Force Fulcrums and produce 7% extra power. Not sure if the IAF Fulcrums undergoing upgrades to SMT standards are receiving new engines.
So impressed are the Russkies with the Naval Fulcrums that that they are retiring their Su-33s and replacing them with MiG-29Ks for the Kuznetsov's fighter wing.

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

My all time favourites from them is the MiG 31 Foxbat or the IAF MiG 25 "Trisonics".

Correction mate . The MiG-31 is called the "Foxhound" and the MiG-25 the "Foxbat". Pity we did not acquire the Foxhound to replace our MiG-25Rs. While the Trisonics current ride is the SU-30MKI, it really can't match the Foxbat in terms of sheer speed & maximum operational height.

[Ricci]

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

Klimov and Saturn are my favourite OKB companies!Not to forget the MiG design buereau. My all time favourites from them is the MiG 31 Foxbat or the IAF MiG 25 "Trisonics".

Great ! another (esp Russian) aviation enthusiast!
The MiG-31 is given the NATO designation Foxhound. Was sad to hear the simultanous retirement of two iconic jets in 2006 - the F-14 Tomcat from US Navy service, and the MiG-25 from IAF service (still flying in Russia and middle-east though ). The choice to have the Superbug succeed the Tomcat was even more wrenching, esp after reading the flaws in the Super Hornet and the pilots and commanders preference for the Tomcat due to its power, speed and range/payload performance over the Hornet/Super Hornet , a few derisively called it Subpar Hornet , I am glad it didn't win the MMRCA bid ! And I am curious as to why in the high altitude trials , only the 2 Eurojets were considered meeting requirements. From what I know, even MiG-21s operate out of Leh, so a MiG-29/MiG-35 and the F-16 should not have any trouble operating out of Leh , they're among the best in the T:W ratios.

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

My all time favourite is Me 262
We do share a lot! I am a Aeronautics bachelors -> Ex-Pratt and Whitney design engineer, upgraded now to space technology.

Now I am even more in awe of you ! Did you work in military/fighter engines by any chance, F100 series particularly ?

Originally Posted by skanchan95

The Naval Fulcrums are powered by RD-33MK Sea Wasp engines with FADEC, they are supposed to be less smokey compared to RD-33 powered Air Force Fulcrums and produce 7% extra power. Not sure if the IAF Fulcrums undergoing upgrades to SMT standards are receiving new engines.
So impressed are the Russkies with the Naval Fulcrums that that they are retiring their Su-33s and replacing them with MiG-29Ks for the Kuznetsov's fighter wing.

Correction mate . The MiG-31 is called the "Foxhound" and the MiG-25 the "Foxbat". Pity we did not acquire the Foxhound to replace our MiG-25Rs. While the Trisonics current ride is the SU-30MKI, it really can't match the Foxbat in terms of sheer speed & maximum operational height.

The Russians are replacing the Su-33 due to its size, their smaller carriers mean more numbers of jets is desired , plus it seems the Su-33 weight hinders take-off payload options.
Quite ironic when then MiG-29 was earlier rejected in favour of the big Sukhoi ! Even the new RD33s are smoky, but visibly less in new build jets. Those are the 2-stroke equivalents of the airborne world !

Trisonics are disbanded, I think , since there's no point having a Mach 2 jet operate in a squadron specifically created for Mach 3 recon jets. We had only 6 (or 8) MiG-25s and all were reconnaissance only, no fighters. So MiG-31 would not be chosen anyway, they are expensive. They may not do Mach 3.2, but MiG-25s reportedly didn't cross Mach 2.83 either unless situation demanded it - like missile threat. The R15 engines weren't capable of sustained Mach 3 performance, they'd soon require replacement with new engines, while the D30 of the MiG-31 can sustain Mach 2.8 which is also the max sustained/redline performance of the MiG-25. I never had the chance to see/hear the Foxbat , must be one amazingly loud jet at takeoff.

Speaking of performance, the P-42 (Su-27 prototype) did make some FAA records still unbroken as of now, after it broke the F-15 Streak Eagle's records. That was pure hot-rod jet, practical military requirements dulled the performance though.

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by Ricci

The Russians are replacing the Su-33 due to its size, their smaller carriers mean more numbers of jets is desired , plus it seems the Su-33 weight hinders take-off payload options.

Yeah, exact reason the IN chose the MiG-29K over the Su-33. Even the Russkies realise it is overkill for the job at hand.

Originally Posted by Ricci

Trisonics are disbanded, I think , since there's no point having a Mach 2 jet operate in a squadron specifically created for Mach 3 recon jets. .

No 102 Sqdn may be not be known as "Trisonics" anymore, but they re-equipped with the Su-30MKI out of AFS Chabua. Prior to 220 Sqdn "Desert Tigers" re-equipping on the Su-30MKI, One-Oh-Two were the last to re-equip with the MKI in early 2011.