Flashers??? :-o I wish that I get to see flashers every now & then. “We are not cutting people off, we are testing their combat reflexes” :roll: NICE! I used to like your wit Jen, until that stupid comment! I drive a truck for a living. You wouldnt believe the idiots that I see every day. Most of them seem to think that a 50,000 pound truck can stop in about 30feet, at 50 mph. Those are the same people that think that we have the turning radius of a skateboard. I’m pretty sure that new vehicles dont have turn signals either. But they do have cell phones! I’m always amazed at the complaints that my drivers and I get. The funny part is, how the story changes, as soon as I tell them that the truck is equipped with a video system. I urge the person calling, to file a complaint with the local police, so that I can forward the video to the officer, taking the complaint. I tell them their license plate number, and what I saw on the video.That usually shuts them up. :roll:
Posts made by desertrat
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RE: Hazard Flashers Don't Create Parking Spaces!
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RE: Yankee or Dixie Quiz
Yankee…… Having been born in New York, its good to know these things…
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RE: Which WWII fighter would you fly?
German tech during the war was unbelievable. It took us to the 80s to develop the stealth tech the germans had 40 years prior. And when we did develop it, we just stole thier idea.
Actually Zooey, The Northrop M1M flew succesfully BEFORE the December 7th attack on Pearl Harbor. After the attack, it was classified. Northrop had numerous “Flying Wing” designs and by virtue of their design, had low radar signatures, as well as long range, and high speed. Many of the German “Stealth” designs had low radar signatures, because they were built out of wood. Aluminum was difficult to find towards the end of the war. The piston engined B-35 Bomber, and its jet powered developement, the YB-49, suffered a political death. Although there were some developmental problems, the official story of the cancellation, was due to the low bombing accuracy. The lack of accuracy was caused by the tendency of the airplane to “Yaw”, which is like sliding sideways. This caused the bombardier to site the target slightly off the line of flight. This problem was fixed by “Little Herbert” a stability augmentation computer. Its likely, that the Luftwaffe would have had the same problems, if their Horton flying wings were allowed to develop. Sorry, just another one of my un-solicited history lessons…. I’ll be good now.
Although, it did take a while for us to get BACK to the flying wing design, I am proud to say the we got it right with the B-2. I’m also proud to say that I was a part of that program, Both at Secret City, (Pico Rivera) and Plant 42, Palmdale.
As far as going into combat with a plane, probably the P-51 Mustang. As for just a joyride, ME-262… Though my loyalties would probably steer me to the P-61
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RE: Education Reform
My Daughter, now 15, was NEVER taught, I before E except after C…… Reform HELL… Lets just teach them the basics!!! And what about the guy driving around Denver, with something about the Denver “Donkies” ( thats sarcastic lingo for BRONCOS. It should have been spelled “DONKEYS” :roll:) painted on his rear window? The City & County of Denver VOTED to RAISE taxes for a new stadium, yet voted down a tax increse (there’s a joke there… Spelling. Get it?) for the schools!!! :-o
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RE: Fuzzy Mathematics (Extra Credit)
:-o And to think, I have chickens here, on the farm. Eggs…… The other white meat…
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RE: Explain your avatar / screen name
desertrat comes from the time spent at the numerous Desert resorts of Southern California. Fort Irwin comes to mind as one of my favorites. I actually go by the name of Thunder, on a few other forums that I frequent. It was a name that I got long ago, but it stuck, after an accident that I had while working on the Northrop ATB. The B-2 Bomber program. Thunder goes BOOM… :roll: Get it? The Avatar is from a wargame that I made up before I found A&A. Its a 144th scale V-1, that I’ve yet to figure out how to implement it into the game. But it looks cool.
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RE: Where do the Super Bowl losers t-shirts and hats go?
I heard, that there is acutally a “Loosers Museum” where a piece, of NFL memorabilia, from the losing team, is put on display….
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RE: (Discussion) What other games do you play?
As I said before, I made this up before I found A&A, so as far as the rules go, other than my simple, “Move & Shoot”,well I have no idea. (I’m speaking of using A&A rules here) But now, allow me to set a scenario…. Just for the sake of this scenario, lets say that the M-4 Sherman, and the Pzk IV were an even match. But typical Pzk IVs had a few heavy Panzers that ran with them, Panthers & Tigers. A Sherman was no match for a Tiger, but by its production numbers, it was likely that a Tiger was highly outnumbered, I’m guessing 30 to 1? In our fictional town, the Allies would enter from one side, as the Axis enters from the other side. the roads are wide enough to allow two or three tanks to travel side by side, and the distance between some buildings allows the Shermans to go between them, but not the larger Panzers. (historical most tanks can go through buildings, but not here) Now imagine that the Shermans were lucky, and destroyed all the Pzk IVs that they had met with, a few Tigers which stand alone. In the open Field, the 88mm gun, and thicker armor would allow the Tiger to pick and choose. But in the middle of an intersection, with 3 M-4s attempting a frontal assault, 2 on one side, 1 on the other, and 1 more headed down the street for a rear assault. Possible? Absolutely. Destroyed tanks are left where they stand, with a tuft of cotton to denote them as damaged. In this manner, they now become obstacles. A single tank, can push another tank out of the way, but does so at a reduced rate of speed, reverse for example. This allows for either blocking a street or un-blocking a street. If you shove about 6 destroyed Shermans in the middle of the road, you have sealed off that street. Interesting so far, wouldn’t you say? Another sticky scenario is if a tank goes between two buildings, its possible that the turret could not rotate, for a clear shot, or to protect its rear side. How about a tank destroyer? Jagdpanther. Good armor, excellent main gun, no ability to shoot other than straight forward. Two M-4s at the front for bait, one on each side at close range to take it out. I think, that an urban combat situation offers loads of opportunities here. Whats your input?
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RE: (Discussion) What other games do you play?
frimmel, I appreciate the input about spaces on the game board, and its definitely something that I’ll need to spend some time with. But the reason that I chose to use a “Distance” that each tank could travel is two fold. First of all was actual straight line movement for cross country travel, and/or roads that do not follow the layout of the hexes. Secondly, fast tanks, such as the M-18, have a speed that is about double the speed of the average Panzer. Now although the M-18 normally used “Shoot and Scoot” tactics, my thought was that by using spaces, the M-18 could literally run through an intersection, and not allow a shot from the German tank. Simply put. If a Tiger I can travel at 24mph (4 hexes) and the M-18 could travel 50mph (8) hexes, the M-18 could travel completely across the street, and thus , not allow an opportunity for the Tiger I to shoot. By using “Distance Blocks” I could make the M-18s distance, short enough to allow end “end of move” so that it would be in the open for an attack. Then the slower Panzer speed could be adjusted by making its “Distance Block” only half as long as the one for the M-18. This leaves me with many options here that now need to be explored. One of which is, maybe my town should be re-designed to lay out with the hexes. One of the things that I will need to look at is the amount of spaces each tank could travel, and still allow opportunities for attack. I think that the obvious choice here is to scrap my initial ideas here, and just figure out a set of alternative “Urban Combat” rules for A&A. Any ideas?
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RE: How many people have your name?
248,974 people have the same first name as me. 255th most popular……COOL. The scary part is that only 99.9% of them are male. I’m sure that there is a joke in there, I just cant seem to find it… As for my last name… I’m the only one.
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RE: F4U Corsair
Thank you AgentOrange. I was fortunate enough to be on the B-2 Bomber build team. At that time, I volunteerd to work at the Western Museum of Flight in Hawthorne California. I was also fortunate enough to meet many of aviations greatest pilots. And was one, of only two people, to speak at the Aircraft Boosters Club, (Northrops history club) more than once. Although I’m not involved in the aviation industry anymore, airplanes have been a major part of my life. Now all I’ve got to do is figure out this A&A game….
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RE: (Discussion) What other games do you play?
Please allow me to say, first of all, that I made my own game before I found Axis & Allies. I was looking for a close quarter combat type of game. As such, I i made up a set of rules, movements and scoring, that allows me to use 1/144th scale tanks, inside a city, made mostly of paper buildings, though there are a few plastic models in there. The vehicles move a certain distance, according to road, cross country, or reverse speeds. I use small blocks to measure the distance. Shots are to be fired only if LOS is clear. A partial LOS shot is allowed, with a reduction in the appropriate score, if the tank is in sight. For example, if only the front half of the target is showing, because the tank is coming around a corner. As I learn more about A&A, I cant see why this scenario, cant be used in A&A, as an actual battle within a city. I’d be more than happy to post a few pics, and/of rules, if anybody is interested.
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RE: F4U Corsair
Northrop was developing the “Turbodyne” engine as an engine for their B-35 Flying wing bomber. The Gas turbine engine, as it was first named, was an excellent engine prospect in that it produced no vibration or rotational torque. It seems that the suction & thrust principles of the gas turbine engine weren’t appreciated, as much as its ability to provide rotational power for the XB-35s counter rotating propellers. Northrop was later ordered to divest itself from further engine development, and the rights were sold to General Electric. Hit the books! I apologize for spouting off here. I’ll keep the unsolicited history lessons to myself from now on.
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RE: Kremlin Model
The scale is incorrect at 1/300. But I’m sure that you can enlarge it to the correct size. http://www.paperlandmarks.com/spasskaya-tower.htm
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RE: F4U Corsair
So, as you & I hijack this thread, where was Americas first attempts to upgrade to jet engines, and in what manner, other than that the Bell XP-59 and Lockheeds P-80? There was a TOTALLY different project, and application, what was it?
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RE: F4U Corsair
Hey Sherman… Either you spent a heck of a lot more time around airplanes than I have, or you read the link that I posted. You’ve got it word for word. The “long hood” problem is why taildragger usually weave back & forth, on the taxiways…
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RE: F4U Corsair
Actually, The F4U Corsair went into British Carrier Service BEFORE it went into American Service. The US Navy was reluctant to certify it for carrier use, the Marines typicaly used it from land bases. But it was indeed, an American aircraft in British service…. I found this, after I looked for a bit…Â http://www.aviation-history.com/vought/f4u.html (edited for clarity)
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RE: V-1 rocket
Thanks guys… Should I make some available for sale? :roll:
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RE: V-1 rocket
Good points Der Lieter…. I guess that I should learn more about this game…
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V-1 rocket
Ok. So I made a V-1 for my game. http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b68/thunder_/v-1.jpgTaking into consideration, that it was “aimed” (and I use that term loosely) at the enemy, its ranging device was set, (I’ll provide details in anybody wants them) then it was launched, with an 1800# warhead, towards its target, how would a person use this in A&A?