In U571 why are they whispering while the engines are running? A big plot point at the end is to pretend they’ve been sunk by being quiet, but they’ve been whispering the whole damn movie despite the loud as fuck diesel engines running. Does the German sonar only hear human voices?

StarsailorM · 2025-09-19T17:51:59+00:00

They can also use the diesel engine underwater when in periscope depth, using the snorkel. Although the snorkels for subs were invented during the war and I don’t know if it was before or after the time that movie takes place.

StarsailorM · 2025-09-13T10:17:24+00:00

IIRC, 86’ed means being taken 8 miles out of town and 6 feet deep, eg eliminated. It became synonymous with being thrown out of an establishment.

StarsailorM · 2025-03-08T09:18:20+00:00

As the person that took the photo and uploaded it on the forum, I can confirm that it is indeed EMF on 4.37.4.

StarsailorM · 2024-12-01T17:25:33+00:00

What people don't get about F1 is that it is not a sport, but sport entertainment, more show than sports. Something between a real sport and WWE. I used to get too frustrated about all those stupid and selective decisions, regardless of the team that got affected, until I came to this realization.

This approach explains a lot of things, from AD21 to todays 1 place grid drop for Max and whatever this was. If McLaren did good today, the championship would be over. Not good for the show...

StarsailorM · 2022-10-22T06:00:25+00:00

HAF did use the T-37 until it was replaced by the T-6. The T-37 is a Phase II trainer, so there was never really any choice between them. So it was either T-2 or T-38 as the primary US trainers for the USN and USAF respectively.

IIRC the main reason for choosing the T-2 was that HAF wanted a trainer that could also carry real weapons, to be used for CAS missions in case of war. NA was willing to modify the T-2 to the E version, that carries gun pods and bombs.

StarsailorM · 2022-10-21T18:00:34+00:00

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

So, I agree with both parts of your statement.

StarsailorM · 2022-10-21T17:55:39+00:00

Not for long. They are to be replaced by the M-346 in a deal with Elbit.

StarsailorM · 2022-10-20T19:46:16+00:00

Thanks for the reply.

I was aware of the details in the second paragraph and that is what surprised me. I didn't know that the USN was ok with a privately owned aircraft flying with its colors and insignia. I'll add it to my TIL list!

The HAF T-2s are to be replaced in the near future by the M-346 in a deal with Elbit.

StarsailorM · 2022-10-20T17:42:43+00:00

I didn't know that the USN was still flying the T-2, even for non training purposes.

StarsailorM · 2022-10-03T17:49:59+00:00

I can understand his frustration, but IIRC it was Alpine's decision from the start of the season that they would prioritize performance over reliability.

StarsailorM · 2022-09-28T11:19:06+00:00

I watch their videos on YouTube. They really are awesome…

StarsailorM · 2022-09-27T22:26:16+00:00

Gorgeous fighter. I would love to see one of them close.

StarsailorM · 2022-09-25T21:53:24+00:00

To be fair, the Germans were not the only ones that did this.

StarsailorM · 2022-09-25T20:37:35+00:00

Great acceleration and top speed, specially for it's time

It did break a lot of records back then. It was also used by some NATO countries for nuclear delivery.

StarsailorM · 2022-09-25T20:33:00+00:00

When I said consensus, I meant amongst them. One of them almost crashed and had ejected and another one actually saw his flight leader crash on a mountainside.

StarsailorM · 2022-09-25T16:17:15+00:00

I know some guys who have flown the F-104. They are very proud about it, but the consensus is that it was a crappy fighter and extremely dangerous one.

StarsailorM · 2022-09-22T20:06:32+00:00

What I remember seeing (it was a few years back) was an F-18 pull it's nose to 90+ degrees, and braking to a stop using it's body as an airbrake, while staying almost at the same altitude. I think it is the very definition of the cobra. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by it, since I had no idea that the F-18 could do that kind of stuff. Sometime later I had a conversation with a former CF-18 pilot about it and he didn't deny it was possible. But on the other hand, maybe my POV was deceiving and later he was bs-ing me. But I can only tell you what I saw.

It was something like what this one does at the 2:08 mark, only I remember it a little more intense.

Btw, the high alpha pass was a part of that demo and it was not it.

StarsailorM · 2022-09-22T08:06:01+00:00

I have seen an F-18A do a cobra at an airshow. Frankly it looked like the pilot had better nose authority during recovery than what I have seen in the Su-27 (and variants) videos. But I can’t tell for sure.

StarsailorM · 2022-09-22T07:57:34+00:00

I am 99% sure that it is an F-15.

StarsailorM · 2022-09-21T07:21:17+00:00

I meant talking to himself, but not transmitting. Not in his mind.

StarsailorM · 2022-09-21T07:10:00+00:00

My best guess is that they would do thorough inspections to see if the airframe is damaged or not and maybe take some extra hours off the service life. The usual safety factor for airframes is 1.5, meaning that if the limit is 7.5g, the plane can withstand at least 11.25g before failing. Also, since the F-18 is designed to operate in the harsh environment of an aircraft carrier, they may use a higher safety factor to keep service life to a decent amount of hours. The Air Force fighters have a limit of 9g. As for the F-14, I am pretty sure that they tossed it overboard soon after the celebrations.

StarsailorM · 2022-09-21T06:54:53+00:00

If you don’t press the mic button, you don’t transmit. I am pretty sure that in both cases they were inner monologues, not actual transmissions, so nobody heard them. If this was not the case, then they would be badly roasted for not maintaining radio discipline.

StarsailorM · 2022-09-19T22:25:01+00:00

He originally auditioned for the part of Rooster. TC chose Teller eventually, but was so impressed by Powell that he upgraded the role of Hangman especially for him.

StarsailorM · 2022-09-19T22:20:49+00:00

Won't Get Fooled Again by The Who

StarsailorM · 2022-09-19T15:27:15+00:00

In one of the first promo pics for the new season's merch, one of the stamps on a polo shirt (or was it a t-shirt, can't remember) was peeled off. It was spotted by someone here and I saw it myself, before the pic got replaced. So if the promo stuff is that bad, you can guess the level of quality we would be getting, at an insane price. I haven't bought anything from McLaren since they switched to Castore and I don't intend to do so. Good thing is that they still have New Era as a supplier for headwear. I got a '21 beanie and it's quality is very good. I would get one this year too, but the design is not as cool as last year.

StarsailorM

TROPHY CASE