Too much grass? That looks like the foliage that is indigenous to that area.

See the AW&ST article that ftb posted. I agree that it looks like a very modified UH-60 tail rotor section.

PG,

While I almost always appreciate your perspective, I don't always agree with it.

So, I'm very glad we're in complete agreement with regard to the Bill Brown administration.

Please correct my memory, but wasn't he brought in (as MEC Chairman) to save us from the problems of the Shelton era?

It's true, stealth helicopters are nothing new. We had them back in the 80s.

http://www.mrgarylee.com/wp-content/...05/airwolf.jpg

Supersonic too. The Marines carried over some of the advanced technology to the Cobra...

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7xnitOh-ku...helicopter.jpg

I fear what will happen if this thing lands in the wrong hands. According to AWST after the F-117 went down in Serbia the Chinese paid a lot of money over the years (or supposedly did) to villagers to get parts they had collected as souvenirs. What if this was good technology and landed in the wrong hands? They could develop the red version of our stealthy helicopter...

http://www.bloom-enterprises.com/aw/aw091.jpg

ode to helicopters...

It is somewhat normal to carry thermite grenades to destroy the classified elements of some helo's - especially so in areas where we are not at war.

ode to helo's #2

YouTube - Sikorsky CH-53 A Sea Stallion Helicopter

Due to the geekiness of my last post I present a palate cleanser...

http://www.betvega.com/wp-content/up...odds-picks.jpg

Nice.

I ran across this looking for a 3rd ode... it's Ferd in his F15/Newk days.

Yes - he was brought in immediately following Shelton. And Contract 96 was negotiated on his watch with the special "early out" for 500 guys (two of which were on the Negotiating Committee at the time). Bill Brown did NOT take the early out, though he retired a year or two later.

Also, as an aside, the 500, which increased to 505(?) or so, were so senior, many of them ended up taking the "early" retirement deal but not leaving until their age 60 normal retirement anyway, due to training constraints. So the supposed movement that the rest of us were going to see never materialized. At least we got to keep the four year contract with a 2% paycut up front, and four years of no raises....:mad:

Though, in all fairness, we did get 6% profit sharing checks almost every year. At least that's what I recall.

Thanks all. This is a first so pretty ignorant. Sounds like I will take a sim. A little stir crazy anyway and the spousal unit is asking me to leave. She is use to running the show while I was in the military. I think I am cramping her lifestyle.

speaking of palate cleansing...ode to Centro America

YouTube - Colombia Bikini Open