Well, the F-35 is about to come out. But after that...yeah, care and feeding of the human pilot is a huge chunk of the weight and complexity in a modern jet. Not to mention an RPV fighter could take a lot more than 10 Gs if it didn't have to worry about incapacitating it's occupant.

 

I have yet to replace a part marked "Lucas", but I have replaced a few marked "Ford".
Of course, this is probably because Lucas went belly-up the year before my car was made. Talk about luck! Of course, Bosch is not much better, just ordered a made in the USA distributor for my wife's Porsche to replace that piece of junk Bosch unit. I guess Bosch has a good name in the EU because they were being compared to Lucas.
I'll stick with GM and their "WeatherPac" connectors. I love those things.
Well, maybe an ex-Lucas employee got a job on the Aston assembly line, as I spent some time a couple of weeks ago re-terminating the connectors for my left headlights and turn signals. Seems they crimped to the insulation and just had the exposed copper stuck up the barrel of the terminal. Talk about a bad connection! Just amazed it worked for so long.

 

I will go against an RPV any day. Just pick the time, place, and make sure its armed, because it is going to make one large bang when I knock it out of the sky, Jet 1 are you in

 

One last thing Trock55, let us know what GM finds the problem is. A good dealership will figure it out.

 

F-35 is about to come out. But ... http://www.f-16.net/news_article1619.html

 

We should have a separate Jet thread...

Isn't the F-35 a compromised pile-of-junk like the F/A-18 was? I know the Raptor is a serious piece of aluminum, but the F-35 is trying to be everything for everyone. I mean, why would the AF need anything with the structure to land on a carrier? Kind of like having an IndyCar that can also run in the Baja1000...

And, I know it shows that I have little respect for the F/A-18 (but more than I have for the flying Winnebago (F-14)), as the F-16 can literally fly circles around the F/A-18 (and, yes, I have friends that fly F-18s and I've been in the simulators). Of course the F-16 cannot carrier the payload of the 18 or land on a carrier. But the AF didn't buy any 18s and they are getting stuck with the 35s. I think a canceled engine is the least of this aircraft's problem.

Let the floodgates open...

 

Yes we need a jet forum. Now about the CF-18. I have 250 sorties in the Gulf War as tactical support and she never let me down. One engine failure at an Airshow in Cleveland and the Blue Angles helped me out. Yes the Blues fly the F-18 and put on one great show, they always have, even going back to the Bearcat days accorrding to my Dad. Both the F-14 and the F-16 have there missions as well as the F-18. I would have liked to fly the Super Tomcat with the F101 engines. I only think that the reason the F-18 came into the picture was political. It's still a great ship. Don't get me started this is all I am going to say. Now let's talk Hybrid.

 

When kklein's profile said Canada and he talked about blowing RPVs out of the sky, I suspected he was a CF-18 driver...

Our defense procurement system still sucks. We need the F-22 to start replacing old F-15s and the older pre-Block 50 F-16s, but then Congress cuts the buy amount, the unit price goes through the roof, and then it's too expensive. Then we have the F-35, a low cost stealth multirole bird that's supposed to leverage the F-22 R&D and be economical, but somehow its unit price is creeping close to the F-22. So why not just buy more Raptors? Except the Marines need their V/STOL version to replace the Harrier.

Go ahead, start a jet thread...

 

"Yes we need a jet forum."

http://warbirdinformationexchange.or...5c33bc75dd0d35

its more of a WWII forum and there are some real noodlemen here but also a lot of knowledge....yep i'm jet1 there as well. Sign up we have some pretty good discussions on occasion. I regularly have battles with the "oh my god you shouldn't FLY warbirds they are to precious and should all be in museums" guys. Then I point out to them the canadian warbird museum that BURNED DOWN consuming a perfectly fine lancaster bomber. that usually stops them---for a while!
as to RPV's they won't be used in air to air, although I have flown with some close to Lund Nevada (you figure out what thats close to) and they can hold their own due to the no g-lock factor.
as to the f-35 it will be pretty much dead with the loss of the engine program. If you get a chance watch a raptor those things can do amazing things with the air! but alas---its all for naught.

 

"..as to the f-35 it will be pretty much dead with the loss of the engine program."

I'm not an expert on the F-35 program, but it looks pretty alive to me:

http://www.jsf.mil/index.htm
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/products/f35/

"Then I point out to them the canadian warbird museum that BURNED DOWN consuming a perfectly fine lancaster bomber."

The Yankee Air Museum at Willow Run burned down, too. What is it about air museums? But I agree. The best part of a P-38 Lightning is hearing it as you watch it fly by.

OK, that's my last airplane post here...