[vreihen16]

Introducing the B-21 Raider:



https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...s/73817630007/



.

[flybigjet]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

Introducing the B-21 Raider:



https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...s/73817630007/

Introducing (at an absolute *minimum* of) $700M PER PLANE.

And honestly? There are *so* many ways to hide the actual cost (Government Furnished Equipment, seperate contracts under different non-reporting fund cites, etc) you're realistically looking at double that price.

Per plane.

Yikes.

R.

PS: Here's an example of how it works. You say that the jet costs $XXX Million per plane. Buuuut, you don't include what is called "Government Furnished Equipment"-- i.e. the Government goes out and buys a bunch of very spendy avionics and electronics (which can cost more than the airframe) under separate contract.

Then, they "furnish" it to the airframe manufacturer, and it doesn't cost into the "per unit price" of the airplane.

Or, you put the price of the aircrew, training, maintenance personnel, spare parts, training devices, facilities, etc. under separate contract-- you need all of that stuff for the jet to fly, but it doesn't count into the price of the airplane.

The Feds are good at all sorts of financial gimcrackery to make things appear cheaper than they are.

R.

[M-technik-3]

That is so true, that is why Congressional members get rich. INSIDER TRADING. Illegal to you and I but not for them.

[other_evolved]

No picture, but I did recently find my late fathers flight logs dating from the 60's to the 80's. He started on a little Cessna, and by the end was logging L-1011's with Eastern Airlines. It is pretty cool to see the tail numbers and trip details from something so long ago.

[Llarry]

A brief introduction to black Navy fighters.

The custom started in test squadron VX-4 at Point Mugu, California, during the era of the F-4 Phantom. A single F-4 was painted overall black with a Playboy bunny in white on the tail. In the 1980s, that F-4 was retired, and an F-14 was painted in the same scheme.

As far as I know, the custom died out when VX-4 merged with VX-5 to become the VX-9 Vampires.

But I just found an F-18F (I believe; it's hard to differentiate details on a black airplane) of Top Gun at the Naval Air Station, Fallon, Nevada, in all black scheme so apparently the tradition continues.