Royal Australian Air Force [RAAF] News, Discussions and Updates

[SpazSinbad]

For whatever reason the previous downloadable PDF is no longer: Horizonsvol19issue2

However the two page PDF article inside is attached below from HORIZONS 2014 VOLUME 19 ISSUE 2. The PERFECT FIT Annette Busbee

I forgot that the visors are custom contoured for each pilot so not swappable to another pilot (same as helmet liner). Helmet outer shell swappable though.

 

[SpazSinbad]

Entire 3.8Mb PDF is here: Horizonsvol19issue2

The two page PDF article inside is attached below from HORIZONS 2014 VOLUME 19 ISSUE 2. The PERFECT FIT Annette Busbee

I forgot that the visors are custom contoured for each pilot so not swappable to another pilot (same as helmet liner). Helmet outer shell swappable though.

"...Once Kalsow and Breuer have the measurements and the helmet components – most of which are produced at our company’s facility in Wilsonville, Oregon – they begin assembling the helmet. This process includes custom-milling each helmet liner so the helmet fits the individual’s head comfortably and maintains its stability under high gravity (G) maneuvers. “Our helmet liner must stand up to the pressure of high G manuevers so the optics package remains aligned with the pilot’s field of view,” Kalsow noted.

When the helmet is assembled, the pilot comes in for a fitting during the second contact day. It’s at this time that the optics package is aligned to the pilot’s pupils and the display visor is custom contoured – a process that must be done precisely so the pilot has a single focused image at infinity...."

 

[SpazSinbad]

OOoops - more custom bits....

"...“When we get our helmet fit, there is actually a complicated scan process that takes an image of our heads and provides a laser cut-out foam insert for the helmet that is molded to our heads. Then there’s ear cups that close the helmet around our head and a custom nape strap in the back that basically locks the helmet down on our heads. There’s very little, if any, motion in the helmet when we move our head around. Very well balanced, a very well fit and it feels great wearing the helmet. It’s very specific to each individual pilot.”

Pelkington also talked about the difference between the traditional G-suit, which offers pilots about a G and a half of
protection, to the one used by F-35 pilots. “Some pilots acclimate to the Gs by genetic makeup, some by experience and can develop a tolerance for 5-ish Gs. With the new suit you can now go up to 7 or 8 Gs without ever having to strain. When you’re focused on pulling Gs -- on making sure your eyesight doesn’t gray out – your mind isn’t thinking about the adversary or the situation or the awareness of the battlespace. When you can pull 7 or 8 Gs without having to think about it, combined with the fusion of all the systems and the display on the glass set up the way you want to see it…it’s an amazing reduction in pilot workload.”..." 24 Sep 2013
F-35: New fighter creates new culture for 21st Century and beyond > U.S. Air Force > Article Display

 

[Takao]

Sounds exactly the same as Top Owl.

Certainly likely to become the standard for helmets of all types, including infantry and armoured fighting vehicle crew.

 

[SpazSinbad]

DO you mean the 'helmet fitting' is just the same as TOP OWL? BTW I did not realise there was my double post above. Initially the PDF could not be downloaded. I dunno.

 

[Takao]

DO you mean the 'helmet fitting' is just the same as TOP OWL? BTW I did not realise there was my double post above. Initially the PDF could not be downloaded. I dunno.

Yep. a standard outer shell with a laser cut inner shell that can be moved from helmet to helmet. Keeps aircrew hair inline too.....

 

[SpazSinbad]

Yep. Nothing worse than helmet hair.

 

[ngatimozart]

Yep. Nothing worse than helmet hair.

Sorry couldn't resist

 

[vonnoobie]

Nocookies

Well appears the Goon is still at it. Had got past the firewall but then accidently clicked out and cant again but for the most part he apperantly came up with a simulation showing China using Su-35's to attack Darwin being defended by Super Hornets, F-35's, E-7's and Tankers supporting them.

For him to make his situation work from what I gathered required the RAAF to be flying only at 30 - 35,0000 ft, The Chinese to be at 50 - 55,000 ft and for the RAAF to only fire from where they already are rather then gaining altitude first, Oh and for the Chinese to go into super cruise and outrun the missiles while firing down on the RAAF tankers and E-7's before bombing Darwin.

Not an expert in any sense but I imagine once the E-7's spotted the Chinese forces they would advise the combat air group to fly closer to there altitude automatically negating the Goons simulation. Not counting the fact that they would need air bases near Australia to use them (There carriers will have the J-15 which also doesnt have a super cruise feature).

Its the kind of simulation I expect from a pimply faced 14 year old that refuses to listen and learn.. Just sad really.

 

[ASSAIL]

And now Goons rubbish appears on YouTube. Start from around 2:15 onwards
He’s certainly won the self promotion stakes

 

[SpazSinbad]

The link to THE AUSTRALIAN is broken (I guess it is not a free article either). Anyway that video is brain dead. I had to stop before I finished up similar. Can't you tell by the title?

 

[ngatimozart]

And now Goons rubbish appears on YouTube. Start from around 2:15 onwards
He’s certainly won the self promotion stakes

I wonder if Goon is Puffin 51. Well I left a caustic remark.

 

[vonnoobie]

I wonder if Goon is Puffin 51. Well I left a caustic remark.

So I seen, My silly ass wasted 15 minutes typing out a reply to each one of his claims even knowing he probably would learn and listen lol.

 

[ngatimozart]

So I seen, My silly ass wasted 15 minutes typing out a reply to each one of his claims even knowing he probably would learn and listen lol.

No hope there.

 

[alexsa]

Nocookies

Well appears the Goon is still at it. Had got past the firewall but then accidently clicked out and cant again but for the most part he apperantly came up with a simulation showing China using Su-35's to attack Darwin being defended by Super Hornets, F-35's, E-7's and Tankers supporting them.

For him to make his situation work from what I gathered required the RAAF to be flying only at 30 - 35,0000 ft, The Chinese to be at 50 - 55,000 ft and for the RAAF to only fire from where they already are rather then gaining altitude first, Oh and for the Chinese to go into super cruise and outrun the missiles while firing down on the RAAF tankers and E-7's before bombing Darwin.

Not an expert in any sense but I imagine once the E-7's spotted the Chinese forces they would advise the combat air group to fly closer to there altitude automatically negating the Goons simulation. Not counting the fact that they would need air bases near Australia to use them (There carriers will have the J-15 which also doesnt have a super cruise feature).

Its the kind of simulation I expect from a pimply faced 14 year old that refuses to listen and learn.. Just sad really.

Ha.... I am just trying to figure out how an Su-35 could go to super cruise still carrying a full load of stores and external fuel tanks. Pretty sure JORN would have picked them up tanking on the way ...... sorry ..... I forgot this was clearly a work of fiction.

What a tool

 

[SpazSinbad]

On page 302 of this thread there is jabbajabba about NGJ & Growlers. Here is some more.... Four page PDF of the complete article is attached also. Interesting that the USMC F-35B 'missed it by that much'.

JAMMING FOR THE NEXT GENERATION Oct 2018 Jamie Hunter
"...[The Growler] still carries the 1970s-vintage AN/ALQ-99 tactical jamming pods. The advent of the Next-Generation Jammer (NGJ) was always planned as part of the incremental modernization of naval electronic attack. Raytheon is about to start integration work that will unite its new AN/ALQ-249 NGJ mid-band pod with the EA-18G, with initial operating capability aimed for 2022....

...Raytheon’s NGJ solution was selected by the US Navy in 2013 as the first step towards replacing the ALQ-99 family. It beat off competition from Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems and ITT Exelis (now part of the Harris Corporation). Increment 1 of NGJ focuses on the mid-band jammer, whereas NGJ increment 2 will develop a low-band pod. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) issued a draft statement of objectives on June 29 for an Increment 2 preliminary demonstration contract, which will lead to a formal request for proposals later this year. Low-band typically includes early warning radars and voice communications frequencies. Increment 3 is for the high-band jammer, which will complete the replacement of the suite of ALQ-99 capabilities for the US Navy and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Growlers.

MID-BAND JAMMER
CAPT Michael Orr, program manager for airborne electronic attack systems (PMA-234), said,... the biggest step-change in the ALQ-249 over the ALQ-99 as being, ‘the mechanical technology [of the old pod] compared to the digital AESA [active electronically scanned array] of the NGJ,’ which will allow the pod to jam more accurately and quickly. The challenge for NGJ mid-band has been the need to produce an immense amount of power in a pod carried under the wings of a tactical fighter that will be required to make years of carrier landings. The combination of high-powered, agile beam-jamming techniques and cutting-edge solid-state electronics gives the navy an open systems architecture pod that can be upgraded and reconfigured as threats and requirements evolve. The huge ram-air turbine in the ALQ-249 is fed via large air scoops on the side of the pod. Slocumb admits that weight ‘was a challenge’. ‘This is a very dense package,’ he says referring to the equipment inside the pod, which is also thought to generate huge amounts of heat. Indeed, heat concerns are believed to have undermined previous plans to fit a bespoke version of the Raytheon system in the F-35B weapons bay for the US Marine Corps to facilitate an electronic attack EA-35...." Combat Aircraft Magazine October 2018 Vol.19 No.10

 

[Raven22]

Ha.... I am just trying to figure out how an Su-35 could go to super cruise still carrying a full load of stores and external fuel tanks. Pretty sure JORN would have picked them up tanking on the way ...... sorry ..... I forgot this was clearly a work of fiction.

What a tool

I’m still trying to work out where the Su-35s have taken off from. The way to defend Darwin from Su-35s is to deny them a firm base within range. If the strategic system has been turned on its head such that the Chinese have uncontested airfields within a tactical fighter’s combat radius of Darwin, the comparative capabilities of the F-35 and Su-35 aren’t going to be particularly relevant.

I learned long ago not to get emotionally invested in the opinions of people on the internet. Life is too short.

 

[ASSAIL]

The link to THE AUSTRALIAN is broken (I guess it is not a free article either). Anyway that video is brain dead. I had to stop before I finished up similar. Can't you tell by the title?

Only put it there because of Puffin5....goon! But yes I agree.

 

[seaspear]

Would the tailoring of the helmet have anything to do with earlier reported potential injuries to pilots necks particularly those of a lighter frame

 

[Boagrius]

Not as far as I know. To be fair the whole neck injury hooplah was a bit of a beatup - existing helmets like JHMCS carry similar restrictions, especially when NODs are used. I am sure there are others on the forum who are more knowledgeable on the subject though.