On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 13:00:31 GMT, "Bjørnar Bolsøy"
wrote:


I saw this video of some Swiss Airforce Mirages playing about
between mountains and lakes and was wondering about that the
typical speed would be for such manoeuvres?


Depends upon the tactical mission. If the mission were air/air, then
the speed would be something a little bit above corner velocity for
the aircraft (corner is the min indicated airspeed to generate maximum
allowable G). If the mission were ground attack with a TOT then it's
likely to be a ground speed that is a multiple of 60--that translates
quickly into miles/minute for easy navigation calculations.

Of course with GPS and continual update nav displays that sort of
mental gymnastic is increasingly unnecessary. Then revert to first
speed--just above corner.

All that means the Mirages were probably running around in the 400-450
knot range. "Dancing the sky on laughter-silvered wings...."



Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
"Phantom Flights, Bangkok Nights"
Both from Smithsonian Books
***www.thunderchief.org