Crickets....
#1276
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It was either a launch rail issue or the Sidewinder wasn't secured on the rail correctly by the ordinance crewmen that loaded it. Had the pilot actually fired it, it would have had a visibly burning motor and wouldn't be bouncing off the deck so, NO, it wasn't the pilot's fault.
#1277
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It was either a launch rail issue or the Sidewinder wasn't secured on the rail correctly by the ordinance crewmen that loaded it. Had the pilot actually fired it, it would have had a visibly burning motor and wouldn't be bouncing off the deck so, NO, it wasn't the pilot's fault.
#1278
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Forward momentum, the plane had just landed. The plane was stopped by the arrester gear, the Sidewinder was jarred loose when the plane was stopped. This isn't rocket science.
#1279
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I did some research and the press release said the same. Of course when the military screws up they at times do damage control. The thing that stands out to me is that in both pictures the Sidewinder is level with the deck as if the gyros are active keeping it level. How far is it from the F-18 to the end of the deck? Maybe 200’? That’s a lot of momentum. But hey at least you didn’t say “ rocket surgery “ which isn’t a term I heard once while at Aerojet Rocketdyne.
#1280
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Where the plane stopped is really dependent on which arrester cable the hook caught since the first wire is about 200 feet from the rear of the flight deck with the last being about 350 feet. When you add another 200-300 feet for run out of the cable, that takes the plane up to within 100 feet of the forward end of the angled deck if it caught the "4" wire. Since an F-18 has a landing speed of 134 knots (154MPH), that means that Sidewinder was doing that speed when it left the rail. The missile would have impacted the deck probably 75-100 feet ahead of the plane and bounced its way down the flight deck until it went over the forward end. If you look closely at the first picture, you can see the forward fins are in contact with the deck while, in the second picture, the rear fins are dragging on the deck with the forward ones just above it.
#1285
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Hi Speed,
I'm pretty sure when that image last appeared I was in agreement that it's most likely a balloon.
However, with the way my next mention of the topic of Balloons went, that's a grenade whose pin I ain't willin to pull;
Balloon thoughts........
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I'm pretty sure when that image last appeared I was in agreement that it's most likely a balloon.
However, with the way my next mention of the topic of Balloons went, that's a grenade whose pin I ain't willin to pull;
Balloon thoughts........
![Wink](https://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/images/smilies/wink.gif)
#1288
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Thank Speed, I didn't figure it was aimed at me, I just didn't want to see us blow up the thread.
How bout that 59 Caddy concept car? The good ol days when the space race influenced everything!
How bout that 59 Caddy concept car? The good ol days when the space race influenced everything!