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Old 04-19-2014, 11:44 AM
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stormlion1 stormlion1 is offline
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Location: Vineland, NJ
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff9650 View Post
Oh heck yeah it would. Back when I was taking aviation maintenance at a 2 year college back in 1988, I talked with someone who had just left the navy and his last post was the USS Midway. Knowing that the Carrier was all Hornets, I asked about how sensitive the Sidewinders heat seeking warheads were. He told me that he was walking by a Hornet that was fitted out one day and he heard some strange noises coming from there. When he walked back, he heard the same noises again. On the third time back, he looked over and noticed the warhead seeker was following him, and with that, the vanes on the missile was adjusting themselves to target him. So if the sensor on a Sidewinder (which is a Chapparal, just renamed) can track a human, then it can track a P-47.
Which means it was armed and sitting on a grounded planes launch rack. Which is kind of scary when you think about it.
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