The Airplane Thread

03-10-2026

In March of 1953, a Grumman F9F-4 Panther of VMF-223 had a Very Bad Day when landing aboard the newly recommissioned USS Bennington (CVA 20). The F9F's tailhook broke and the aircraft somehow made it over or through the barrier designed to avoid a landing aircraft from continuing forward.

The Bennington's forward elevator was in the lowered position at the time and the Marine F9F continued forward and fell into the elevator's deck opening with its engine running. There was great danger as there were fuel piping systems in the area, but greater disaster was averted and the Panther's engine was shut off without causing a major fire.

The first photo shows the deck layout of the Essex class carriers such as the Bennington before the angled deck was introduced; note the outline of the forward elevator. The second shows the F9F plunging into the forward elevator opening. The last shows the result -- two damaged Marine F9Fs. Fortunately, there were no fatalities. One sailor on the hangar deck was seriously injured and ended up being medically retired from the Navy; others suffered less serious injury.

An image attached to this post, provided by the poster

03-11-2026

Llarry wrote
Speaking of the US. Air Force's special operations aircraft, while the service uses a variety of aircraft of different types the most important USAF specops aircraft is the C-130 Hercules. Improved recent-production J models have replaced earlier Hercules in recent years. There are multiple versions in use:
— MC-130J Commando II. The last of these was delivered in early 2025 and they serve at multiple locations, including at the training unit in New Mexico and overseas at RAF Mildenhall, UK, and at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. The MC-130J is the "Swiss army knife" of USAF SOC, performing clandestine infiltration and exfiltration, aerial resupply, aerial refueling of rotary-wing and tiltrotor aircraft and leaflet drops — all over unfriendly territory. 57 are in service. A recent addition is a new (Silent Knight) radar just under the windscreen, enhancing low-level operations at night and in bad weather.
— HC-130J Combat King II. the HC-130J is the Air Force's long-range combat search and rescue support aircraft. It can refuel HH-60s and CV-22s which recover survivors. 39 are in service.
— AC-130J Ghostrider. The AC-130J gunship is one of the most fearsome weapons in the USAF inventory, specializing in attack — particularly at night. It is armed with 30mm and 105mm (!) cannon, as well as a variety of missiles and bombs. The AC-130 has a long history dating back to the Vietnam War. 30 are in service.
— EC-130J Commando Solo. This Hercules variant is the special operations psychological warfare broadcast studio in the sky, capable of broadcasting TV or [...]

Speaking of C130J-30, we have the Youngstown Air Reserve Station (YARS) facility co-located with the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport a couple of miles away by the way crow flies.

Serves as the home of the 910th Airlift Wing (910 AW). Air Force Reserve Command unit flies C-130 Hercules aircraft for airlift and a unique aerial spray mission.

YARS is currently replacing its aging fleet of eight C-130H Hercules aircraft with new C-130J-30 Super Hercules planes in a three-year, one-for-one conversion process. The 910th Airlift Wing received its first C-130J-30 in July 2024, with the full transition expected to be completed by mid-2026.

03-11-2026

SpeedBuggy wrote
Speaking of C130J-30, we have the Youngstown Air Reserve Station (YARS) facility co-located with the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport a couple of miles away by the way crow flies.

Serves as the home of the 910th Airlift Wing (910 AW). Air Force Reserve Command unit flies C-130 Hercules aircraft for airlift and a unique aerial spray mission.

Do you know what the aerial spray mission is? Is it for firefighting?

03-11-2026

Llarry wrote
Do you know what the aerial spray mission is? Is it for firefighting?

Controling disease-carrying insects, pests, and vegetation, dispersing oil spills and creating wildfire firebreaks.

They are actively working on upgrading the Modular Aerial Spraying System (MASS) including developing nighttime aerial spray

03-11-2026

Llarry wrote
Do you know what the aerial spray mission is? Is it for firefighting?

Chemtrails! :lol:

03-11-2026

ezaircon4jc wrote
Chemtrails!

If they would just spray here for mosquitoes ...............

03-11-2026

In November of 1952 a Douglas F3D-2 of VMF(N)-513 got the first jet night fighter kill of the Korean War.

The F3D was not a sparkling performer, but it had jet performance, a decent radar and a crew of two (pilot and radar operator).

03-11-2026

SpeedBuggy wrote
If they would just spray here for mosquitoes ...............

We used to have to work the Med Fly Navajos (PA31) for years, throwing sterile medflys out the back. I think they had a guy in the back with tiny scissors cutting the 'nads off the flys before releasing them.

03-12-2026

Just ran across this interesting article about Japan's submersible aircraft carriers and bombers from WW-II:

https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/japans-underwater-aircraft-carriers/

03-13-2026

The USA apparently lost a KC-135 Stratotanker over Iraq today in some sort of non-combat incident, and a second KC-135 was apparently damaged but landed safely in that same incident.....

03-13-2026

Llarry wrote
In November of 1952 a Douglas F3D-2 of VMF(N)-513 got the first jet night fighter kill of the Korean War.

The F3D was not a sparkling performer, but it had jet performance, a decent radar and a crew of two (pilot and radar operator).

Those early jet fighters were a tough transition according to my dad. He flew mainly the F4U Corsair and then they put him in a McDonnell F2H-2 Banshee.
He knew jets were the future, but those early ones didn't have a lot of power.

03-13-2026

sygazelle wrote
Those early jet fighters were a tough transition according to my dad. He flew mainly the F4U Corsair and then they put him in a McDonnell F2H-2 Banshee.
He knew jets were the future, but those early ones didn't have a lot of power.

They had speed but lacked acceleration. The pilots of that era -- like your dad or mine -- would be astounded by a modern high-performance tactical aircraft. Or maybe even by a modern transport or trainer.

In 1963-64, as a Navy Captain, my dad flew A-4s, including the A-4E model with the J52 engine, which is still used as an adversary aircraft, so I suppose he had an inkling of the future.

04-02-2026

One of the forward-based combat units of the U.S. Air Force is the 35th Fighter Wing at Misawa Air Base, Japan. Misawa has had two squadrons (36 aircraft) of F-16Cs for some years. Now the first few of 48 planned F-35As have arrived to replace the F-16s. Misawa is no stranger to the F-35, though, as the Japanese Air Self Defense Force operates F-35As from his Northern Japan location.

The 35th FW's F-16Cs carry tail code "WW" standing for Wild Weasel, as they specialize in the suppression of enemy air defenses. With the arrival of the F-35As this may no longer be the case. I haven't seen one of the new F-35As painted up yet.

04-03-2026

Does anyone have information about what has happened to our forum member Dang3r's user avatar

Dang3r ?

He's MIA since quite some time now and rumored to have perished.

He used to post also in this thread and his avatar pictured a German Panavia Tornado (TTTE event at the Royal International Air Tattoo in 2015).

His 'Custom User Title' was changed to "Deceased".

May D. rest in peace.

An image attached to this post, provided by the poster

04-03-2026

Misawa was my last AD tour in logistics was there from 93-96 with a 5 month tour of Dhahran in 94. Many a Tornado and EF-111 were there at that point till the bombing in 96 then everything went back to Al's Garage.

04-03-2026

In case anyone hasn't heard yet, the Blue Angels have been canceling shows recently for security reasons:

https://www.flyingmag.com/blue-angels-grounded-may-cancel-more-appearances/

.

04-05-2026

Relieved that the missing US WSO who ejected from his F-15 in enemy territory has now been rescued .

04-05-2026

M5Rick wrote
Relieved that the missing US WSO who ejected from his F-15 in enemy territory has now been rescued.

Me, too. But apparently at the cost of at least one HH-60 rescue helicopter and a number of injured personnel and aircraft damaged by Iranian fire.

The U.S. military will expend great effort to recover aircrew who go down in enemy territory. I fully support that, but they sometimes do so at great cost in human life.

The media have referred to "Blackhawk" helicopters being used to search for and rescue the USAF aircrewman. The Air Force's HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter is based on the Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk but is a very different beast: Refueling probe, radar, electronic warfare systems for self-protection, armament, armor. If I had to guess, I'd say twice the price or more compared to an Army UH-60M.

04-05-2026

Loss or an A-10C, scuttled a C-130 of a J type type variant and two helo's from what YouTubers say but the Col is debriefing and heading to DC most likely.

04-05-2026

Llarry wrote
Me, too. But apparently at the cost of at least one HH-60 rescue helicopter and a number of injured personnel and aircraft damaged by Iranian fire.

The U.S. military will expend great effort to recover aircrew who go down in enemy territory. I fully support that, but they sometimes do so at great cost in human life.

The media have referred to "Blackhawk" helicopters being used to search for and rescue the USAF aircrewman. The Air Force's HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter is based on the Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk but is a very different beast: Refueling probe, radar, electronic warfare systems for self-protection, armament, armor. If I had to guess, I'd say twice the price or more compared to an Army UH-60M.

He had to be rescued whatever the cost to helicopters and other aircraft, one or two helis that got stuck in soft sand had to be destroyed rather than let them fall into enemy hands and the fallout if the Colonel was captured doesn't bear thinking about.

04-06-2026

The first pair of Boeing T-7A jet trainers have arrived at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas. Assigned to the 12th Flying Training Wing, these aircraft will be initially used to train instructors -- it will be next year before students start training on the type.

The T-7A will ultimately replace the long-serving Northrop T-38. The aircraft is a joint Boeing-SAAB design. The USAF plans to buy at least 350 and possibly as many as 475 of the aircraft.

The Navy is also on the hunt for a new advanced jet trainer and the T-7A is a major contender. The Navy has decided that student carrier pilots will not be required to qualify in carrier landings before getting their wings -- a major cultural shift. The reason is that modern aircraft have Precision Landing Mode that makes carrier landings easier. The exception will be pilots of E-2D Hawkeye aircraft, who will still qualify while in training. Navy purchases are likely to total 200-plus trainers.

04-06-2026

The most numerous U.S. military aircraft is the Sikorsky H-60 (manufacturer's designation S-70) which is used by all U.S. military services, as well as by several dozen other nations' militaries and some civil users as well.

The H-60 started life as a helicopter to replace the Army's UH-1 "Huey" of the Vietnam War era. The Army was looking for across-the-board improvements: performance in hot and high conditions, reliability, load-carrying capability and crashworthiness.

Sikorsky's design competed with a Boeing-Vertol design -- the YUH-61A -- for the contract and first flew in 1974. Sikorsky was selected as the winner in 1976 and the UH-60A Black Hawk (or Blackhawk) entered Army service in 1979. The Army ordered large numbers of the new aircraft, which soon dominated Army aviation. The A model was produced from 1977 to 1989. Twin General Electric T700 turboshaft engines of 1,500 hp each were developed at the same time and similarly became the gold standard of utility/troop carrier aviation in the Army.

By 1989, the UH-60A was replaced on the production line with the UH-60L model with more power and an improved gearbox. Many A models were modified to L standard as well.

In 2006, a further improved UH-60M began production. The M model featured 2,000 hp engines, improved rotor blades and electronic instrumentation. Many earlier models have been updated to UH-60M standards, but the M remains in production.

While the Blackhawk's primary mission is troop transport, other variants have been developed. Among these are UH-60Q and HH-60M aircraft for medical evacuation. Another is the VH-60M, which is used for VIP transportation in the Washington, D.C, area.

In a category all their own are the special operations variants of the UH-60. The first of these were 30 MH-60As modified with upgraded engines, forward-looking infrared (FLIR), night vision compatible cockpit, armament, aux fuel, etc. These were assigned to the Army's 160th SpecOps Aviation Regiment in the early 1980s.

Ten years later the MH-60As were replaced with MH-60Ls with general improvements. Some had inflight refueling probes for refueling from USAF tankers or Army H-47 Chinooks.

The MH-60L Direct Action Penetrator (DAP) is a heavily armed SpecOps gunship.

The next variant was the MH-60K which is configurable as either an assault helicopter or as a gunship. All include a refueling probe and terrain-following radar.

The most recent variant for the 160th is the MH-60M, which builds on the improvements of the previous models and includes 3,000 hp YT706 engines (developed from the T700). I believe that all previous MH-60s have been updated to this standard.

There is also a stealth variant of the MH-60 that was revealed in the aftermath of the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden in 2011. Details are still not available.

According to the latest data I've been able to find, the Army Blackhawk variants total some active 2,276 H-60s. This does not include foreign military sales, which are plentiful.

Garage

1 Series

2 Series

3/4 Series

5 Series

6/M6 Series

7 Series

8/M8 Series

M2

M3/M4

M5

X1/X2

X3/X4

X5/X6

X7/XM

Z4

BMWi

The Airplane Thread