it seems that F-35 can’t end it’s failure series. despite GAO audits, model of building military equipment for biggest army in the world didn’t change a bit since end of second world war. they’re still ordering and building things that will bring maximum revenue to military vendors and not what military customers actually need. i immediately got back to one of the articles i’ve read recently in ACM Queue - responsive enterprise: embracing the hacker way....
after reading ridiculous, made up story of british SAS, hiding under alias “Andy McNab”, trying to tell his version of Rambo&Commando-style fictious account of Iraq operation i couldn’t find story that was so exaggerated and made-up. in reality, his total ineffectual commanding style and bravado led to death one of his own team members, and injuries as well as captivity for rest of them. that was independently verified by Michael Asher and Peter Ratcliffe....
…a book by Steve Davies is a very interesting coverage of USA pilots testing Russian Soviet-era MiG 15s, 17s, 19s, 21s and 23s at Tonopah range. the same that was used to test Lockheed F-117 and launch to simulated sorties with F-4, F-14, F-15, F-16 and F-18s coming in from Nellis AFB as part of Top Gun training. there’s next book on the same topic waiting for me in stack. recently, i was digging through a lot of air combat material, mainly because of getting hold of Osprey Combat Aircraft series....
you could meet me sometimes during late night hours on Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer servers. now, i decided to change environment a bit and return to love of my life - flight simulators. i dusted off CD with Microprose Falcon 4.0 and i’m downloading BMS patches while reading about Allied Force (CD is already on my way from one of the Amazon warehouses). i’m still using Saitek Fly 5 but if i’ll be able to find more time to fly - there are couple of better sticks out there....
it was a rule some time ago, right now its rare luxury - to have time to sit down with book that’s not about networking and spend time reading it from start to finish. i got back to most of Stanislaw Lem books, Anthony Beevor monography of both Berlin and Stalingrad battles. i’m still in front of Norman Davies ‘Uprising ‘44’ (i’m ashamed to admit, but no, I haven’t read it yet)....
i’ve read two books recently, essentially as you can say ‘on one breath’. our polish books, important ones. first, legendary today is Black crosses over Poland by Stanisław Skalski. every military aviation fan should read this one, because it brilliantly and lively describes how it was in september 1939 to fight loosing war for polish sky. it was relentless, there was no integrated strategy, but pilots shown their best. cruel reality of second world war squeezed and twisted their lifes and they tried to live through it....
probably everyone watching TV and listening to the radio, or with Internet access knows about Belarussian Su-27 crash. two-seater version went down, killing both pilot and weapons operator. the flight itself, before the crash, was beautiful - as usual in the case of russian fighters. the real honor for sacrifice goes however to both pilot and weapons operator. why? despite the fact, that the fighter hit high voltage lines and they were perfectly capable of ejecting, they decided against....