A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008 - Gizmodo Comments

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

nobodyzhome — Fri, 23 May 2008 16:29:33 EDT

oh, wow. That first sentence was bad. Time to go back to sleep.

nobodyzhome

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

nobodyzhome — Fri, 23 May 2008 16:28:38 EDT

@divided421:
I believe I was read somewhere they also had to reformulate the powder used in the shells the cannon fires to minimize the O2 depleting effects. Oh, and those shells are fracking huge!

nobodyzhome

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:37:31 EDT

@divided421: Didn't the LASTE system stop this from occurring? I could swear it's been in use for awhile. I think since they called it the A-10a.

Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

thefonz101 — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:39:01 EDT

@Maksimir: the gatling gun only spins, it doesnt shoot anything, and the bombs are just fiberglass mock-ups

thefonz101

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

rodfury — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:41:36 EDT

I'd like to answer a couple questions I have seen today. First, the gatling gun fire 40 .22 blanks(not much kick). Second, the clip that had the landing gear down was a required pass for the competition. And finally, the real A-10 had flown in before the show and that was the only time anyone saw it. Unfortunately he did not make a second pass.

rodfury

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy! — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:36:57 EDT

I think this is my new favorite airplane. It's not fast, it's not the prettiest, but it's so fucking awesome, that Gizmodo has convinced me to love it the most.

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

shenanigans61 — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:18:03 EDT

Great plane.
Piss poor landing.
Sorry, but it was just bad. I could do better in a 20mph crosswind.

shenanigans61

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

ps61318 — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:02:42 EDT

@divided421: I could make something out of "massive weapon" and "nosegear"

...but this has been a pretty dignified discussion so far....

ps61318

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

divided421 — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:01:54 EDT

Kaiser-Machead got his cannon explanation correct - and the nose gear is mostly off to the right, to accommodate the massive size of the weapon. With 1/2 the thrust being counteracted by firing the avenger, the biggest problem we have is that nose tends to fly up during a burst. Also, there were major concerns over the oxygen-depleted exhaust of the cannon stalling the engines depending on the angle of attack. Luckily, for survivability and practicality, the engines are mounted up high, mitigating some of these concerns.

divided421

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

divided421 — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:52:32 EDT

Yes, the plane is currently slated to fly until 2028 (although some say it will make it longer). It is scheduled to be replaced by the F-35, which does not cover the same types of ground as our 'Hog, nor does it offer ground troops the same level of protection. This this IS a flying tank. The current upgrades include a semi-digital cockpit (the original model is ALL analog buttons/switches - terrifying), smart precision weapon interfaces, next generation radios / communication equipment and most of the fleet are getting a new pair of wings.

divided421

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

macnewb — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:35:18 EDT

My brother in law builds these and am frequently impressed with the engineering that goes into get a plane perfected, scaled, and tuned.

He never lets me fly one though...

macnewb

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

daybringer — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:27:15 EDT

I personally prefer the XB-70 and secondly the SR-71, but thats just me speed over power any day.

daybringer

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

Fmunkey — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:24:37 EDT

Aw man... My dad loves the A10, and I was sick this weekend so we didn't go. Next year though, I am going!

Fmunkey

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

sisedi — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:21:39 EDT

Oh my 29 heaping pounds of trust, I'd let that plane catch me.

sisedi

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

hnkelley — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:17:02 EDT

@strider_mt2k: If we're going old school, I have to go for the Chance Vought F4U Corsair. How many time did our guys over the Pacific make it home despite the plane being full of bullet holes? Love that thing!

And I've always loved the A10 just as much. These guys did a great job!

hnkelley

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

DigitalNoise — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:08:02 EDT

I think it is/was every A-10 pilot's wet dream to get any Enemy aircraft infront of and inrange of that gun...

Damn. Guess I'll be going home for lunch...

DigitalNoise

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

ps61318 — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:47:34 EDT

@divided421: So is there still active development on the ol' Warthog? Always liked that plane...

Used to waste gobs of time starting out the window at the test flight line for McDonnell-Douglas - F15's, F18's, and AV-8B's - the first two taking off and ascending straight up, follow it as high as you can, watch for the spin, roll, and flyaway.... I miss that job. Got nothing done for almost a year....

ps61318

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

Jesus Diaz — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:42:47 EDT

@divided421: Glad to know Lockheed Martin people follow us.

Jesus Diaz

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

Jesus Diaz — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:42:08 EDT

@tomaartist: What are you talking about? The landing gear retracts just fine.

Jesus Diaz

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

JChristopher — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:40:40 EDT

Where do I get the depleted uranium rounds for my model?

JChristopher

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

tomaartist — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:16:00 EDT

with all the effort to biuld this a-10,
great job by the way,
why doesn't the landing gear retract.

tomaartist

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

divided421 — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:57:38 EDT

Awesome! I am one of the computer systems engineers for the A-10C Warthog (C for precision engagement) here at Lockheed Martin, and am honored to see people love the plane as much as I do! The triple-processor 'computer' he uses mimics the triple-computer system we added. This guy is unbelievable!

divided421

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

ottermann — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:37:39 EDT

Do Want!

ottermann

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

hypereric — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:28:36 EDT

@kahri: You oughta see they guys who spend gobs of money on making 5' - 7' R/C balsa battleships, then spend countless hours making them look realistic, only to have battles with them and sink each other (CO2/BB's).

hypereric

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

kahri — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:15:51 EDT

so that's how rich old men go broke.

kahri

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

hypereric — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:13:20 EDT

i wonder if he kept the airfoil true to scale, and that's why gyro's are needed for takeoff and landing(?)

hypereric

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

Gann — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:11:27 EDT

@Kaiser-Machead: I thought that the cannon mount was shifted off center so that the actual bullet trajectory is in axis with the aircraft's thrust vector.

Oh, and anything called a 'tank killer' is badass in my book.

Gann

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

wagnerrp — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:01:02 EDT

@apeguero: The nose gear is off to the side. However if the cannon were down the center of the fuselage, the nose gear would not fit.

wagnerrp

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

pferde_schwanz — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:52:37 EDT

can someone do some research on this "working gatling gun" ? i'm at work but need to find out about this ASAP. if this is true, i need to go refinance my mortgage.

pferde_schwanz

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

apeguero — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:43:23 EDT

I thought the cannon on the A10 was at centerline and the nose gear was off to the side. I thought the A10 was built around the cannon which is why it's a bad-ass of an aircraft. The Titanium Bathtub can be closely matched by the Soviet equivalent Su-25. I think the A10 is a better aircraft but I'm sure others will disagree.

apeguero

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

Rususeruru — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:42:04 EDT

Amazing RC and aircraft

Rususeruru

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

Bender — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:41:34 EDT

I'd like to know what "fully functional" means in regards to the gatling gun. Airsoft maybe?

That is a thing of beauty. It's a good thing I never got into RC planes, otherwise I could see myself starting on a very expensive project in the near future.

Bender

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy! — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:40:01 EDT

@wagnerrp: Woops. My bad. Thanks for correcting =S

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

Brian — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:38:09 EDT

@wagnerrp

Dang! beat me to it!

Brian

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

wagnerrp — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:35:25 EDT

@Kaiser-Machead: The cannon fires right down the centerline of the aircraft. If this were not the case, firing the cannon would cause the aircraft to violently yaw, at a detriment to accuracy.

The cannon was shifted to one side of the fuselage and configured to fire at the 9 o'clock position (rather than standard 12 o'clock) to give the designers somewhere to put the nose gear.

Your other point is almost correct though. The cannon produces roughly the same thrust as of one of the engines. The A-10 is built for survivability, so one engine is far more than sufficient for operation. The cannon will slow the aircraft significantly, but will not cause it to stall.

wagnerrp

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy! — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:32:46 EDT

@SigmundTheSeaMonster:

Interestingly enough, vectoring thrust was tried on planes like the F-16, seen here:

Interestingly, there's something mechanically erotic about the way the nozzle moves around, but that's another story.

://video.google.com/videosearch?q=F-16%20vectoring%20thrust&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-USiurl=http://i.ytimg.com/vi/rt3neRLquDI/default.jpg

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

CaptainKodak — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:32:38 EDT

Pew, pew, pew...

Punch out Maverick!

CaptainKodak

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

strider_mt2k — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:31:00 EDT

@SigmundTheSeaMonster:
That's a great list, but I'd have to throw in the P-38 for some additional old-school goodness. :D

(Flown in a B17? Lucky devil!)

strider_mt2k

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

fsusmithc2 — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:17:15 EDT

Ugg... too slow, somebody allready beat me to it. My apologies.

fsusmithc2

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

fsusmithc2 — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:16:50 EDT

@SigmundTheSeaMonster:

Just a small correction: The Tomcat was in Top Gun but it is the F-14. The F-15 is the Eagle or Strike Eagle.

fsusmithc2

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

James — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:10:51 EDT

Sweet. but needs more real a10 footage. Loves it.

James

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

apeguero — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:10:40 EDT

@SigmundTheSeaMonster: Sorry man but the F15 is the Eagle. The F14 is the Tomcat.

apeguero

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

Lester56 — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:02:51 EDT

a fooking amazing!

Lester56

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

phantam — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:59:02 EDT

my uncle builds these, spends like 90% of his time building them, but he builds f16's mostly... you can't tell from the videos just the sheer size of how big these planes are they make your model planes look like trinkets...

my uncle was really excited when they switched from using turbo props inside the engines... he was like a 45 year old kid in a candy store when he got his first 3500$ jet turbine for his models... :)

phantam

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

SigmundTheSeaMonster — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:58:16 EDT

The A-10 "Warthog" "Tank Killer"...ranks in the top 5 favourites:

-B17 (actually got flight time in one)
-SR71 (how a 50's tech plane rivals all)
-F15 Tomcat (TopGun romanticized this workhorse)
-A10 (ambush alley)
-F22 (vectoring thrust...sexy)

SigmundTheSeaMonster

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

DarkNight_DS — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:43:54 EDT

Increase the range, mass produce it, load some real bombs in it and use it in a real war.

Looks more menacing then the remote control planes they use already.

DarkNight_DS

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy! — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:38:12 EDT

I wonder how much kick that mini gatlin has. The full sized plane's gun is so powerful, it had to be put off center of the plane's axis so that it doesn't stall it out when it fires.

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy! — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:36:28 EDT

I can imagine just sitting there teetering it on my hand going "ffbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rakakakakakakaakakakkak!"

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

vote Obama — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:35:58 EDT

It's a fantastic plane and one the Russians really never got to terms with ....

especially the firepower

vote Obama

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

Log1c — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:34:10 EDT

I really liked the F4 Phantom, but the A-10 is also fucking awesome.

That is one hell of a replica, I'd bet the Gatling gun is probably a pellet gun or something...

Log1c

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:31:35 EDT

@strider_mt2k: At summer camp once, two A-10's were flying over the camp doing maneuvers for practice or something. I think they saw it was a camp, and decided to give us a cheap show. That's when I saw how graceful they are despite their bad ass looks.

Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:30:04 EDT

The A-10 is singularly my favorite plane in the whole world. I wonder if the guy went to all of the trouble to make it as survivable as the real thing.

Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

strider_mt2k — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:29:24 EDT

What a great plane to reproduce too!
Tough, great handling, and LETHAL!

One of my favorites.
Who WOULDN'T want one of their own??

Incredible work, just incredible.

strider_mt2k

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

superbryant — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:24:59 EDT

this was in popular science its sweet..

superbryant

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

Darrone — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:22:25 EDT

I can't believe it was ONLY 12,000. twin turbines and a fully functional gatling gun?

Let's just be fair and never call this a "hobby" again.

Darrone

A10 RC Model vs the Real Thing at Top Gun 2008

Maksimir — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:12:14 EDT

Ability to drop bombs and a fully functioning Gatling gun?? WTF?? How is it not illegal to build and own one of these? And where the hell do I get one - I'll make those damn chipmunks pay for defiling my garden!

Maksimir