***A10 Birds***

[Raghu]

Nice photos, Jim. We never get to see such aircraft here.

[Raghu]

Nice photos, Jim. We never get to see such aircraft here.

[RealMash]

Nice Pics , aehm pigs?
Aren´t they called "Warthog" or someting?

Btw. they do flyby my parents Place in Germany quite often to do an Training attack on an Highway Bridge _in_use_ nearby.
They really are slow. my dad was in Service, and he was at theregimental Headquarter when some A10 did an simulated attack. He said that they were standing on their wing ("Messerflug" in German, because the wing cuts the air like a knife...) and slowly did wind their way through some trees, which were spaced apart far anough. He said it was a frightening view.

Sometimes they become a little enervating, because they can do that all day long. And even on Sundays. They did some extended practice before the Gulf war, and you can estimate if they are up to bombing something by taking count of their schedule.

But they are better than the Helicopters. Some months ago one night one was hovering over a hill nearby-all position lights switched off! This is not allowed in non military controlled airspace!

So my Dad decided to have a little fun, he took the Night vision device I bought him for christmas("simple" generation 1 version) -aimed-and used the IR Illuminator. He said that the Pilot started to move around the cockpit in a frenzy-and half a second later the lights were switched on again.

I am not sure that an IR illuminator could carry that far, but the IR Devices on Helicopters surely are much more advanced, and might throw an alert or something because it could mean somone aiming at you. So the Helicopter beat it, and my dad could go back to bed to get some sleep ;-)

Cheers,
RealMash

[tiger98]

Thanks Atkins! I've heard similar stories about them taking multipule hits and still be able to fly! They are quite a machine! Jim

[tiger98]

Thanks Raghu. You would have a hard time missing them if they were flying near you! Jim

[tiger98]

RealMash. Yes they are called Wart Hogs. I enjoyed your story of what you remembered about them and the helicopter! :-) Jim

[squirl033]

RealMash wrote:

Nice Pics , aehm pigs?
Aren´t they called "Warthog" or someting?

Btw. they do flyby my parents Place in Germany quite often to do an Training attack on an Highway Bridge _in_use_ nearby.
They really are slow. my dad was in Service, and he was at theregimental Headquarter when some A10 did an simulated attack. He said that they were standing on their wing ("Messerflug" in German, because the wing cuts the air like a knife...) and slowly did wind their way through some trees, which were spaced apart far anough. He said it was a frightening view.

Sometimes they become a little enervating, because they can do that all day long. And even on Sundays. They did some extended practice before the Gulf war, and you can estimate if they are up to bombing something by taking count of their schedule.

But they are better than the Helicopters. Some months ago one night one was hovering over a hill nearby-all position lights switched off! This is not allowed in non military controlled airspace!

So my Dad decided to have a little fun, he took the Night vision device I bought him for christmas("simple" generation 1 version) -aimed-and used the IR Illuminator. He said that the Pilot started to move around the cockpit in a frenzy-and half a second later the lights were switched on again.

I am not sure that an IR illuminator could carry that far, but the IR Devices on Helicopters surely are much more advanced, and might throw an alert or something because it could mean somone aiming at you. So the Helicopter beat it, and my dad could go back to bed to get some sleep ;-)

Cheers,
RealMash

i'm not sure what the laws are in Germany, but in this country, "painting" a military aircraft - or even a civilian one - with any kind of targeting device will earn you a very unpleasant visit from government authorities. it doesn't matter if the nav lights are on or not, aiming an IR or laser designator at any aircraft is a really bad idea...

[RealMash]

Well, no visit as yet-and it was a foreign aircraft in our airspace not adhering to international law, targeted by a veteran soldier-if I would have been the Pilot, well, I would not have been advertising what I have done. And would have warned others to not hang around this place.

But your mileage may vary.

Cheers,
realMash

[tiger98]

For those interested here's an enlargement of one of the above A-10's to better show the 'load' their carrying! Jim

[RealMash]

Yup, in fact, some strong armament-sidewinder (air toair-O.K. for defense i thought it was all AMRAM and such by now?), Maverick Air to Ground, but there seem to be more that I can`t readily identify...

Maybe something to throw out decoy?

Btw. is it true that the Pilot is not supposed to fire the gatlings for to long, as the resulting thrust might slow the plane down to stall speed?


Cheers,
RealMash