Comments by "Ray Purchase" (@raypurchase801) on "Talking About Jet Fighters" video.

  1. Imagine Diane as an air traffic controller. "Steer 23 degrees no 230 degrees no twenty-twelvety degrees and descend to 20 feet. No, 2000 feet. No, 230,000 feet. Watch out for traffic coming from your left, no your right, no your other left and 30 feet below you. Or 3000 feet above. From your right no your left. Or dead ahead".
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  2. UP, UP AND AWAY!
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  3. The Folland Gnat was partly designed by a chap who'd designed the SE5a fighter of WW1. The Gnat was originally designed to match the US Navy's requirement for a carrier-borne fighter which didn't need folding wings. The Skyhawk won that contest, but India required an inexpensive fighter and decided to build the Gnat under licence for its own use. Their Gnats were sold off in the 1980s, some going to the USA where they starred in the movie, "Hot Shots!" The Hunter was a phenomenally well-loved aircraft, but the nationalised aircraft industry assumed they couldn't sell any more and ceased production. Then air forces came calling and asked, "Can you build us some more?" So BAC set up a production line to take old Hunters to pieces and rebuild them with modern avionics. Both the Gnat and the Hunter served in battle with the Indian Air Force. Both were a delight to fly, and knocked aircraft out of the sky which were, on paper, superior in every way. One of the distinct advantages with both aircraft was their excellent rate of serviceability. Both aircraft could be rearmed, refuelled and repaired more quickly than their counterparts from MiG and so on. This was based on the experience of engineers who'd worked on the Hurricane in WW2. Doubling the serviceability of your aircraft will double the size of your air force, a maxim which was carried through to the Harrier. Both the Gnat and the Hunter were showing their age, so British Aerospace designed the Hawk as a replacement for both aircraft. The production line was established ahead of the first flight, because the design was so good it was recognised no further modifications were needed. The US Navy required a new trainer. Lots of European contenders took their designs to the US for a fly-off: Aermacchi, Alphajet and so on. Every manufacturer brought TWO examples in case the first broke down. The British only brought ONE Hawk. When the Americans asked, "Why?" the Brits replied, "Because it's British and it won't break down". The Hawk won the contest and entered service with the US Navy. I encourage persons with greater knowledge to append their replies and correct any errors.
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  4.  @chaptermasterpedrokantor1623  Agreed.
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