Subject:
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Re: Secret Agent Theme for 2001? (was: Re: New S@H Catalog)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Fri, 8 Sep 2000 16:53:05 GMT
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Viewed:
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866 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Stephen F. Roberts writes:
> Selçuk Göre <ssgore@superonline.com> wrote:
> <CHOP OTHER STUFFE>
> >
> > If you want to take photos or made some electronic survey, you may be
> > right about SR-71, but you don't need anymore since the effective use of
> > spy satellites. But if you want carry and drop something (human, etc.)
> > what can you do with a SR-71? Parachuting it while cruising at an
> > altitude around 100,000 feet, at a speed around 3.5 mach?..:-)
That could be a spectator sport, not unlike dropping large melons
from the rooftops of tall buildings. "I believe it will land some-
where inside this 200-km circle..."
> > His logic is completely true here, since from the beginning of the
> > thread, since people here are talking about delivering something, not
> > surveying.
> >
> > Not a better spy plane, but way better spy carrying plane, I
> > suppose..:-)
>
> ...When I used to work for an airport maintenance service, my boss
commented that the CIA really liked using little Cessna like planes that had
an incredible lift to wingspan ratio and could fly at 35mph. I got to watch
one take off one day and it took off on a length of runway shorter than my
driveway. In terms of being able to drop into somewhere and get back out,
short of a helicopter, these little planes were perfect (and undoubtedly are
cheaper and more fuel efficient than a helicopter... and a good bit quieter).
A 50 foot clearing would be plenty to park one.
In addition to needing V/STOL capability, any craft doing pickup
and dropoff duties would need good time-over-target, something
that jet aircraft don't have (both because of the speed and the
fuel consumption / noise issues). The most welcome sight for
troops beleaguered under fire in Viet Nam was a "Spooky" (C-47
gunship mod) or an AH-1 Skyraider, because unlike the Thuds or
B-52s, they might stick around and would carry the ordinance to
make that time good. Of course, helicopters were even more
welcome, but until helicopter gunships became relatively common
piston-engined planes carried the load for close-support. (Even
the A-10 can't perform quite the same duties.)
But as to the light aircraft, they can be extremely quiet--the
exploits of the Fi-56/156 and its derivatives (the German Storch)
are legendary, including putting down on a mountaintop to rescue
Mussolini from prison. Supposedly the plane really needed only
about 100m for takeoff and landing with a standard 2-person load.
There is a suggestion that for individual spy insertion, the CIA
may have gone over to ultralight or microlight aircraft--they're
cheap, can be made quiet easily, and best of all they have almost
no radar cross-section. What's more, you can disassemble them,
and some varieties will take off in a stiff wind by themselves if
you don't lash them down.
Anyhow, my .geeky NLG 0.02.
best
LFB.nl
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