On Mon, 09 Feb 2004 21:13:53 GMT, "Dudley Henriques"
wrote:


For the the fast jets, as Ed and some others have already mentioned, they're
not all that difficult to fly, but for someone trying to steal one, it would
be a systems nightmare for the thief even if external power was available.

Lemme think about how many private pilot/fast-jet wannabes are gonna
survive a J-75 AB light and takeoff roll with the nosewheel still down
past 190 KIAS or coming into the overrun at 210 KIAS and getting it
down with sufficient runway to stop.

First try at a traditional "flare" is going to result in a balloon
that will have to be seen to be believed.

I recall a "re-qual" check for an old friend who needed "jet currency"
before going to A-10 school. In a T-38 he chopped the power and
"rounded out" at fifty feet in the air. I caught the bird on first
bounce with full AB and finessed it back into flight before a second
impact. Scared the bejesus (and maybe more) out of me.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8