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Jeremy Reimer's Blog
I am a writer, developer, futurist, and one-half of the Knotty Geeks podcast.
Interests: Astronomy, newLISP, Science Fiction.
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Canada is purchasing the wrong ZIG.
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| Jeremy Reimer | Posted on: Fri Apr 13 12:20:07 2012 | |
 Joined: Fri Nov 19 10:21:20 2010 | One of the many fascinating details about the F-35’s woes is that a lot of the problems are software-related: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/initial-f-35-jets-could-be-unable-to-track-troops-talk-to-older-planes/article2245111/ According to this article, the F-35s will have to wait for a "software upgrade" due in 2019 (and the software is ALREADY behind schedule-- I hope the people involved in the project have read the Mythical Man-Month!) in order to tell friend from foe and communicate with other planes. According to Wikipedia, the software for the F-35s is being written in C++, which was supposed to make development faster, but it ended up with the opposite result. | |
| Jeremy Reimer | Posted on: Fri Apr 13 15:23:25 2012 | |
Joined: Fri Nov 19 10:21:20 2010 | I kind of like the idea of purchasing Super Hornets... they aren’t quite as "sexy" as the F-35s, but they are also a proven platform and have twin engines (which is a HUGE deal when flying long distances or over water, as much of Canadian flying involves) Probably not going to happen though. | |
| Jeremy Reimer | Posted on: Fri Apr 13 15:25:52 2012 | |
Joined: Fri Nov 19 10:21:20 2010 | Also, if they want something sexy, they could get Su-35s... I think, scientifically, this is the sexiest airplane ever built. | |
| Ajar | Posted on: Fri Apr 13 16:46:40 2012 | |
 Joined: Tue Dec 14 17:53:33 2010 | It is indeed pretty attractive. It’s interesting, getting Canadian news from outside Canada. I knew it would be different, but listening to NPR on my drive to work instead of the CBC, you kind of forget what you’re missing. | |
| Riso | Posted on: Sat Apr 14 05:41:54 2012 | |
 Joined: Fri Jan 21 04:43:46 2011 | Man, the F35 is even more of a disaster than I thought. | |
| AllYorBaseRBelong2Us | Posted on: Tue Apr 17 23:58:36 2012 | |
 Joined: Sun Dec 5 06:23:12 2010 | Jeremy spake: "I kind of like the idea of purchasing Super Hornets... they aren’t quite as "sexy" as the F-35s, but they are also a proven platform and have twin engines (which is a HUGE deal when flying long distances or over water, as much of Canadian flying involves)" Why not next block F-15s or Rafale? For some reason, the French are having a horrible time selling it to anyone besides India, and it’s not like Canada has any carriers (although maybe having a carrier fighter lets them participate more in Nato offenses...) | |
| Riso | Posted on: Fri Apr 27 04:20:37 2012 | |
Joined: Fri Jan 21 04:43:46 2011 | The F-35 is a boondoggle. It’s time to throw it in the trash bin. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/04/26/the_jet_that_ate_the_pentagon Interesting article on the new and many failings of the zig. | |
| Jeremy Reimer | Posted on: Fri Apr 27 11:06:26 2012 | |
Joined: Fri Nov 19 10:21:20 2010 | I think the main problem was right at the beginning, when they were designing the plane. They wanted it to be stealthy and super-advanced, but cheaper than the F-22. Then they wanted it to be good at air-air as well as air-ground. Then they wanted it to be a good carrier plane for the Navy. Then they wanted it to be a plane they could sell to lots of allies. It’s just too much! You end up with this:  | |
| AllYorBaseRBelong2Us | Posted on: Wed May 2 20:29:19 2012 | |
Joined: Sun Dec 5 06:23:12 2010 | Canada should consider this:: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn6nx_GGERQ&feature=context-vrec | |
| AllYorBaseRBelong2Us | Posted on: Wed May 2 20:35:21 2012 | |
Joined: Sun Dec 5 06:23:12 2010 | They tried to save money by making it "modular" enough to for three different aircraft needing to be capable of three different missions and sharing as many parts as possible. Making the JFS STOVL, however, really changed the entire paradigm of the project. AYB is at least glad they kept the STOVL model for the United States Marine Corps, as if you drop that STOVL capability, you’ve basically removed what shot the entire program in the foot years after the fact. Might as well start over with a new airplane. On the flip side, the F-35 is going to have world-class avionics and weapons. Pretty much it’s still going to get the first shot against anything else (besides the Raptor) currently in the air. | |
