Rhona W

Ace Combat: The Global War

That's all really useful stuff, man, thanks!

Would you like me to put some stuff up about various weapon systems and their guidance, and the differences between them? I'd be happy to help with the technical side of things.

Ace Combat: The Global War

The Mage said
I feel like I'm the only one here who doesn't research that much into foreign naval stuff.......

I have a very curious nature and an insatiable desire to learn things. Especially about military organizations, and their hardware and how they use it. I do a lot of writing for fun, as well as running RPG's, and I also read a lot of military thrillers as well, and if something is mentioned, then I tend to go away and look it up afterward for my own interest to find out more about it. Plus I'm probably a lot older than most if not all of you, so I've had a lot of time to work on that knowledge as well.

The Royal Navy - if you've not guessed - isn't foreign to me, as the French Navy isn't foreign to Rafale, as I'm English. Living where I do, there's a lot of people who are or have been in the Navy, and I've also been aboard a couple of ships on open days, as well as taking the harbour tour a couple of times as well as visiting the museum here in Portsmouth. So you pick up things here and there. But that all pales alongside simply having the desire to read and research about things.

Ace Combat: The Global War

Lost Cause said
Technically, they aren't even Aircraft Carriers. To get them past the Bureaucrats they were classified as "through-deck cruisers" instead.

Well, exactly. Just goes to show what kind of strange beasts they are really, and how defence politics are just so weird and full of back-talk and double-speak to get things done.
That said, they are impressive to see coming into the harbour (or were, anyway, when there was more than one), and while they aren't massive juggernauts of airpower, they've still done a good job when called on.

Rafale said
I still think retiring the entire Harrier fleet just like that was a bad decision.Also, you wrote French aircraft carrier. As of right now, the Marine Nationale only has one aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, despite the official doctrine calling for two. The CDG is a mighty fine ship (perhaps the best in Western Europe), but I wonder if retiring/selling the Clémenceau class carriers was such a wise decision, considering how they were both adequate carriers. I hope the Foch (now called the Sao Paulo, in Brazilian service) gets used well, as it will always have a special place in my heart since my great uncle has loads of stories from when he served on it. I mean, the Clémenceaux were only built ten years before the Invincible classes, and the Illustrious is still used by the British... *grumble grumble, rant rant*

Couldn't agree more about the Harriers, and apparently the general opinion of the public is the same, as is that of the soldiers who'd served with the Harriers. It was a hugely unpopular decision, but one everyone was force to live with, sadly. At least they went to the USMC, rather than just to be scrapped or rot away somewhere. It's a shame that they'll be used for parts, but at least they're doing some good.

I didn't realise that about the French carrier, so apologies for the mistake there. I've always through the CDG was impressive as well.
I hope the Sao Paolo, as she's now named, is well looked after too. I've read she's been equipped with Skyhawks, which I approve of as I love the A-4. I hope that the Brazilian Navy gets a lot of use out of her, and that she does a lot of good in her role there, as she did with the Marine Nationale.

The Mage said
you guys get REALLY upset when it comes to Ships....

Ships cost a lot of money, and ship building and maintenance create masses of jobs for people - it can be pretty important to some regions economies, let alone for the political message an aircraft-carrying ship turn up on someone's doorstep can send. The UK and France also still have a lot of overseas dependencies as well, and have both historically had strong naval traditions (frequently in fighting each other xD)

Also, y'know. Ships are pretty cool.

Ace Combat: The Global War

Lost Cause said
Actually, think I will still use the Corsair for now, and stick her in a Hornet when I get the chance.

Woop-woop, Corsair-Five!

Rafale said
The Royal Navy (as far as I know) can only use V/STOL aircraft on their current carriers due to their size (the Harrier, for example). It's the main reason they decided to go for the VTOL F-35 (lol) instead of the dedicated carrier model, I think.EDIT: And if you look on the wiki, the Royal Navy is indeed the main customer of the Magnificent Lightning (export model).

Hi, I live in Portsmouth, where the Royal Navy keeps it's aircraft carriers... or used to.
The current class of aircraft carrier used by the RN is the Invincible-Class. They weren't designed for the same specifications as the US or French aircraft carriers, and are primarily anti-submarine warfare platforms that can carry helicopters and STOVL aircraft.
They're due to be replaced with the Queen Elizabeth-Class which will be much larger, and could be configured for standard CATOBAR (Catapult Take Off, Barrier Assisted Recovery) or STOVL landings, but have been ordered for STOVL (I believe) pending the delivery of the JSF.
Because the new carriers are so huge, they're having to dredge Portsmouth Harbour to make it deeper, and rebuild a lot of the berthing facilities at the quaysides to accommodate the new carriers.

Currently, due to the decision to retire the ENTIRE Harrier fleet of both the RAF and the RN, along with two of the three carriers we had in service, our Navy now has no fixed-wing aviation to launch from it's carriers. Instead, they're being used as 'helicopter carriers', and have deployed Apaches during the intervention in Libya.

Who's Checkerboard One and Two?

To be fair, you didn't ask me who Angels 1-8 are, so does it matter? I figured we'd just been plucked out of our units for whatever reason. Otherwise, are we all going to have to come up with names for full squadrons, or play flight leaders? I'm confused now.

GEARS - Mecha Sci-fi with Anthro characters. RP in a detailed, story-driven world.

I'll try and make my next post a bit more leading so everyone has something to talk about, or leads you all into having to talk to each other, since at the moment none of your characters hardly know one another's names, let alone anything else :P

Blackout 2030

It'd kind of be a nice character-building idea for the whole team that as we work together more and get to know each other (in character) as well, we all - for those of us who don't know it - start to pick up sign language by proxy and familiarity, since we spend more time together, so Anna can talk to everyone.
Just a thought, but it'd be nice for the warm-and-fuzzies

Blackout 2030

Lord Pie said
She actually just text me to say that this morning she went into the hanger where the commercial plan she is working with was supposed to be to find out it had been moved and replaced with a Royal Navy Merlin MK1 Helicopter, complete with missile carriers and top of the range radars and a glass cockpit :p

I really like the Merlin - seeing one up close at an airshow was pretty impressive. It was at Southend, so it was hovering over the water, probably a bit closer and lower than it should've been. The pilot and co-pilot waved to us xD
I'm doing okay, thanks, to answer as well. Similar to our esteemed GM, I'm without a job currently, which has left me feeling more than a bit low, and my GF may also be about to end up in the same position, so things aren't great on that front. However, I am applying for many things.

The knowing of many languages thing would probably adequately cover sign-language to get back to that topic, and my character would seem likely as a candidate given his background, but as said, I was planning to wait for a response from Rusalka too, as it's her character after all.

Blackout 2030

Would it be an unwelcome idea if I gave John some knowledge of sign-language? I imagine it might help with keeping conversation going amongst the group is all.
I apologize that my post isn't better, but I was just trying to get something up, and introduce my character to the group. I feel a bit left out of things both OOC and IC at the moment, so I should try and get more involved.

Blackout 2030

John had remained quiet so far, listening to the others' reactions to the brief before speaking up himself. The sudden arrival of the young woman's lover surprised him, but didn't disrupt the flow of things much, and he tuned back into the situation.
So far, they seemed like a fairly easy to get on with group; all professional and eager to discuss business. Since introductions were in order, he spoke up from where he'd sat on one of the pews closest to the altar.
"Good morning," he said with a slight smile. "I'm McIntyre, though I end up getting the nickname 'Old MacDonald' from some people, since I'm older than most of my colleagues. My specs, as Mr Pathfinder put it, as human intelligence, negotiation and information gathering. I'm also good at 'hide and seek' too, and similarly related things, such as observation and assessment".
He regarded the others, taking a mental note of their handles. Their youth surprised him to some degree; he had expected older operators like himself, or at least one closer to his own age. All the same, they knew what they were doing, or else they'd not be here in the first place. He was impressed that already, they were forming a plan.
"Regarding our mission - I think getting eyes-on to the tower, as well as the camera footage, would be an advantage to our plans. Observation from a distance to establish what the situation is, and how many are present there, and what they're doing, how professional they are, that kind of thing".
He nodded to the group. "Good to be working with you, too".

GEARS - Mecha Sci-fi with Anthro characters. RP in a detailed, story-driven world.

Silver had found a chair to sit in. Expertly position equally between the door to the main passageway through the Landcruiser, near the door to the Kitchenette from the common area, and to his own office and suite; the fox sat comfortably in a sprawl. Ashers walked his way, and his tail wagged a little in greeting before he sat up to answer her question.
"Price, right?" he said with a nod, before replying. "Well, Price - Officially speakin' there's been a few unusual incidents. A squad of GEARs went missin' for almost a week, and then turned up again, fifty miles from where they oughta be, an' the crew has no memory of the intevenin' time. Plus the L/OS modules had no record of the period either. A couple of similar things have happened too; rumours of GEARs with no pilots or repeating the same phrases over the radio. Radio or Laser-comm messages from no defined sources. Things that've happened more'n once that someone wants lookin' into. Stuff that ain't necessarily dangerous, but could be if it keeps happenin'. Jus' tryin' ta find out who's doing this stuff an' why, mainly".
He looked at the white-furred vixens' face to gauge her reaction to the info - it sounded like the stuff of the darker corners of the 'nets conspiracy theory hangouts, but he'd been given the brief to investigate, so someone thought it was serious. Selling it to the unit though, may prove harder. Not that he could blame them.