Quads and Guns!

- February 11, 2018

This week we finally started doing some air-to-ground training at work. It is such a relief after so long doing emergencies and air intercept training; it feels like taking a nice shower after doing something really dirty. I have had to rack my memory for details of the GBU-12 - this is a 500lb Paveway II bomb. Paveway II was just starting to be replaced when I joined 617 Squadron in 2002 and then was taken out of RAF service about 10 years ago - it seems strange going back such a long way on such a modern programme! The UK won't use this bomb on the F-35, we will instead use Paveway IV which is much better.

I know that at least one person who will read this is interested in technical data, so here it is! Paveway II was the first generation of laser-guided bomb to be brought into military service. It is more accurate than the ballistically-aimed bombs which it replaced, but still has several drawbacks. Firstly, it can only be employed in relatively good weather as the laser seeker on the front of the weapon needs to see the laser spot on the target which would be designated from an airborne laser designator (eg Litening III in the case of Tornado) or a ground-based designator. This was a real problem in Kosovo and Bosnia and resulted in quite a few wild bombs before the cause of the problem was identified. Paveway II utilises "bang-bang" guidance which is where the control canards are either neutral or at full scale deflection; this bleeds energy from the bomb, particularly as it approaches the target and attempts to make larger flight path corrections to stay on course. The weapon also suffers from trajectory sag which is the tendency to be pulled below the intended flight path due to the effects of gravity; this reduces impact angles and therefore penetration capability and in some circumstances can lead to "case slap" where the bomb impacts at such a shallow angle that it breaks up prior to detonation. Finally, the fuze and laser seeker pulse repetition frequency code have to be set pre-flight and cannot be altered once airborne. But on the plus side, it's cheap!

The Paveway IV was designed to overcome all of these issues; it is fully cockpit programmable on the ground and in-flight and has fuzing which ranges from super-high airburst to long post-impact delay and anything in between, impact angle and azimuth are also programmable and it has improved guidance logic which employs "nudge-nudge" guidance to prevent energy bleed and trajectory sag. It also has a GPS receiver for use in adverse weather conditions and an inertial measurement unit to provide guidance commands in the event that GPS is jammed, spoofed or unavailable for some other reason.

I have been scouring Youtube this week and found a few interesting videos: this one shows what $400,000 buys when you invest it in a flying helmet.

Also this week, I took delivery of my long-awaited Fei Yu WG2 wearable gimbal for my GoPro:

WG2

I have found that my GoPro videos are often very shaky, especially when I am mountain biking or have the camera mounted on the car. So after a little research, I ordered one of these from BestBuy at the beginning of January but it took until this week to finally arrive. I need more footage and time to edit a video together before I post anything, but hopefully by next weekend I may have something.

On Friday night, I went back to Waddell's Longhorn Corral. Again. Helen's cousin, Phil, was visiting Phoenix with work, so I was invited out with Helen, Jason and Phil for dinner and drinks and it would seem that Waddell's has become the go-to bar for any British visitors. It is a fun place, though.

Here is the only snap I have. It's a bit like a Where's Wally picture, you have to find the following:
The four of us.
A cowboy who took a shine to Phil.
A chef who enjoys his job.
An advert for some horrible American beer.

Jason, Helen, Phil, Magnum PI and me!

Then on Saturday, Jason, Phil and I went out for a day of quad riding, drinking and shooting guns in the desert. I am in the process of piecing together a video, but for now a few still shots will have to suffice:

Massive truck

Trailer and three quads

Helen's Zombie Defense Jeep

Quads unloaded and ready to go

Easy going

Medium going

Hard going!

Time for a rest...

...and a beer...

...and some shooting! We did a bit of target practice on some prickly pears, so don't worry - nothing died! Jason brought two pistols with him; I'm still not sure if they were for hunting, law enforcement, or something else completely...!

Here's a photo of me making a secret sign that only 12 people on this planet understand:

Stag do secret sign

I was lucky enough to find a fibreglass whip aerial with a flag on the end that had snapped off a dune buggy, so I attached it to the back of my quad to help me try and blend in a bit better.

America!

We drove for about 35 miles off road to a small town called Crown King. It's an old mining town at 5771 feet above sea level - nearly 1 mile up! It has a population of 133 and is now a destination for off roaders of all types. There's an old saloon with some fairly strict rules: