BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

Don't worry.  This is a one-parter. It comes around on a seemingly regular basis. Either here, in the Facebook group, or some other media; someone will spout off that golden nugget that attempts to put a nail through everything I and others like me have tried to do over the last few years.  That nugget reads like the following: Those close to the F-35 program sing its praises.  Its critics are those who have never flown on it or worked on it.   It raises an interesting point. Why trust a random blogger over test pilot who flies the aircraft?  Why trust a scathing aviation reporter when official press releases are saying everything is tickety-boo?  What does it matter to us, anyway?  It isn't as if we will ever fly this airplane. While it is true that us aviation enthusiasts, bloggers, critics, and other layman are not as "connected" with the program as the pilots, executives, and politicians anchoring their careers to the JSF, there i...

"F*** the taxpayer!" I'll be back to (quasi-)regular posting soon, but in the meantime I'll post this. I hope  it's a photoshop.  The ridiculousness of an F-35B performing aerial refueling from a V-22 Osprey while hovering and the afterburner on is just too much to believe. The fuel being burned is likely faster that that being transferred. What would be the possible reason to do this instead of more traditional in-flight refueling? WAY UNSAFE! Whatever.  The 10-year-old in me still thinks this is kinda cool.

The Buffalo roams...  But for how much longer? Canada is in desperate need for fixed wing search-and-rescue (FWSAR) aircraft.  It's current fleet of CC-115 Buffalo aircraft started service with the RCAF in 1967.  Like the Sea King helicopter, there is nothing glaringly wrong with the Buffalo current performance, but it is getting more difficult and expensive to maintain and find parts for this Canadian icon.  These new aircraft will also relieve the CC-130H Hercules from its search and rescue (SAR) duties. The process to procure new FWSAR aircraft has been ongoing for close to 10 years now , with next to no movement into the process.  Compared to replacing the CF-18, finding an acceptable FWSAR aircraft should be a relative cakewalk, politically speaking.  The aircraft themselves are likely to be far more affordable than cutting edge jet fighters, and Canadians are generally far more willing to see their tax dollars being spent on equipment devoted ...