Unborking the [Ukraine] discussion

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  • V1mV1m Registered User regular
    That period is still ongoing.

  • hlprmnkyhlprmnky Registered User regular
    I’m not a petroleum engineer, but I would guess that the cracking tower is also probably among the highest density items of “difficult to source or reproduce engineered shit” per cubic meter in the whole joint, next to maybe the room full of computers that monitors everything.

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  • redxredx I(x)=2(x)+1 whole numbersRegistered User regular
    edited August 27
    It's a cracking tower, it is full of petroleum products in a gaseous or vaporized form. (and hot enough to spontaneously change into other more useful hydrocarbons).

    they also may be fairly willing to be involved in secondary explosions.

    redx on
    They moistly come out at night, moistly.
  • V1mV1m Registered User regular
    As an end-of-thread bonus: Ukraine has released footage of an Su-25 being downed. Also another oil depot has been hit in Rostov (no time off for the firefighters)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh9tpg4ZUPg

  • V1mV1m Registered User regular
    OK, one last EoT bonus:

    https://www.kyivpost.com/post/38083
    The Russian commercial aviation issues Telegram channel “Авиаторщина (Aviatorism)” reports that pilots from one of the low-cost airlines from the Aeroflot group, Pobeda Airlines, are complaining their management have instituted a potentially dangerous fuel procedure.

    The aviators say that their aircraft are being refueled to levels that are dangerously close to, in some cases below, the minimum levels, necessary for a particular journey...

  • ArbitraryDescriptorArbitraryDescriptor changed Registered User regular
    edited August 29
    (*) I agree that my checked item may be jettisoned in the event of a slight headwind. [+$0]

    ( ) I do NOT agree that my checked item may be jettisoned in the event of a slight headwind. [+$50]

    ArbitraryDescriptor on
  • HydropoloHydropolo Registered User regular
    How many gallons of fuel do you have to save to overcome the cost of buying a new airframe (ignoring all the people on board)

  • Commander ZoomCommander Zoom Registered User regular
    Where's the box for acknowledging that they may be jettisoned?

  • evilmrhenryevilmrhenry Registered User regular
    Hydropolo wrote: »
    How many gallons of fuel do you have to save to overcome the cost of buying a new airframe (ignoring all the people on board)

    I think it's more likely that the plane needs to make an unscheduled landing at a closer airport because it had a slight headwind and wasn't able to make it all the way to the planned airport.

    The real problem is the combination of an aging fleet, lack of maintenance (and because everything's old, there's more things that need replacing), and a brain drain (so the people dealing with the emergencies that inevitably occur have less experience). And greedy management, of course. That's perfect conditions for the kind of disaster that kills everyone on board.

  • Mr RayMr Ray Sarcasm sphereRegistered User regular
    Hydropolo wrote: »
    How many gallons of fuel do you have to save to overcome the cost of buying a new airframe (ignoring all the people on board)

    I think it's more likely that the plane needs to make an unscheduled landing at a closer airport because it had a slight headwind and wasn't able to make it all the way to the planned airport.

    The real problem is the combination of an aging fleet, lack of maintenance (and because everything's old, there's more things that need replacing), and a brain drain (so the people dealing with the emergencies that inevitably occur have less experience). And greedy management, of course. That's perfect conditions for the kind of disaster that kills everyone on board.

    I'm honestly surprised we haven't seen a high-profile disaster in the Russian aviation industry yet, that we haven't tells me the whole thing is probably being held together by the few remaining professionals who still give a shit... but that only goes so far as they're repeatedly told to do more with less.

  • Kane Red RobeKane Red Robe Master of Magic ArcanusRegistered User regular
    It may even be that Russia is starting to feel the pinch from all those refinery smoking accidents and they are staring down the barrel of a fuel shortage. Jet fuel is a rather refined product after all.

  • GiantGeek2020GiantGeek2020 Registered User regular
    It may even be that Russia is starting to feel the pinch from all those refinery smoking accidents and they are staring down the barrel of a fuel shortage. Jet fuel is a rather refined product after all.

    A refined fuel for a more civilized age. Before the dark times. Before the Putin.

  • SpectrumSpectrum Archer of Inferno Chaldea Rec RoomRegistered User regular
    (*) I agree that my checked item may be jettisoned in the event of a slight headwind. [+$0]

    ( ) I do NOT agree that my checked item may be jettisoned in the event of a slight headwind. [+$50]
    Don't give Spirit and Ryanair any ideas.

    XNnw6Gk.jpg
  • shrykeshryke Member of the Beast Registered User regular
    Spectrum wrote: »
    (*) I agree that my checked item may be jettisoned in the event of a slight headwind. [+$0]

    ( ) I do NOT agree that my checked item may be jettisoned in the event of a slight headwind. [+$50]
    Don't give Spirit and Ryanair any ideas.

    The pilot is walking down the aisle handing out parachutes:
    "This flight is making an unexpected early stop at whatever we're currently flying over. A parachute fee will be added to your ticket."

  • V1mV1m Registered User regular
    It may even be that Russia is starting to feel the pinch from all those refinery smoking accidents and they are staring down the barrel of a fuel shortage. Jet fuel is a rather refined product after all.

    The Omsk refinery that was either hit or had a catastrophic accident a few days ago produces produced 10% of all Russia's refined oil products. That's a lot, especially when more than 10% of other capacity has also been hit, and your nation is at fucking war.

    I was watching Konstantin the other day, and he mentioned that from his experience he believes the Ukrainians are targeting cat crackers specifically because the required mechanisms to produce specific distillates can only be imported from the west. They're heavily protected and patented trade secrets, requiring a great deal of very specialised mechanical and metallurgical knowledge to design and produce. Russia can try and reverse-engineer them, sure; I've no doubt they're trying. That's not something that can be done on the cheap and in a hurry though, and if you try then you stand a very good chance of re-'sploding your cat cracker.

    Does this mean that the Russian military will run out of fuel? No, overall probably not - although Ukraine are also putting a deal of effort into fucking up the supply lines, so local shortages and temporary interruptions are certainly on the menu. If Ukraine keeps wacking every oil depot within range, then it will become slower and more inefficient for Russia to keep moving that fuel to the front lines.

    The civilian economy, though? As Konstantin rightly observed, high prices at the pump are one thing; no gas at all at the pump is another.

  • DonnictonDonnicton Registered User regular
    CNN reporting that Colonel Oleksiy "Moonfish" Mes, one of the biggest spearheaders for getting Ukraine their F-16s, has died in an altercation with Russian forces. Cause of death not known but they don't think it was pilot error.

    https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/29/europe/ukraine-f16-crashes-intl/index.html
    A top Ukrainian pilot was killed when a US-made F-16 fighter jet crashed on Monday, just weeks after the long-awaited planes arrived in the country, a Ukrainian military source told CNN.

    The Ukrainian Defense Forces do not believe pilot error was behind the incident, the source added.

    Pilot Oleksiy Mes, known as “Moonfish,” was killed in the crash while “repelling the biggest ever aerial attack” by Russia against Ukraine, said the source, adding that the pilot was buried on Thursday.

    The crash is being investigated and international experts will be invited to participate in the probe, the source added.

    ...

    Moonfish and another pilot Andriy Pilshchikov, known by the call sign “Juice,” became the faces of Ukraine’s campaign to get the F-16s.

    It was an uphill battle, but Juice and Moonfish pulled through it together. They were young and enthusiastic, spoke good English and were willing to fight to get the US jets into Ukrainian skies.

    Flying the F-16 was their dream and when Juice died in a plane crash during a combat mission last August, Moonfish made it his goal to fulfill it.

    Of the two, Moonfish was the quiet one: an aviation geek not keen on publicity. But when Juice died, Moonfish had to take his place. In a rare interview with CNN, he admitted that if Juice were alive, he’d be giving interviews.

    A man of few words, passionate about his job, he had his emotions under control. A straight talker who knew everything about F-16s.

    “Andriy was the ‘ideas man’ and the main driving force behind it all,” Moonfish said. “And I feel responsible to him for ensuring these planes arrive.”

    Speaking to CNN while in training, he said it was necessary for him and other Ukrainian pilots to undergo a truncated version of the training. “We would have had a lot of time to study the jet completely in peacetime, but we do not have the time,” he said.

    In a statement issued later on Thursday, the Ukrainian Air Force said Moonfish destroyed three cruise missiles and one attack drone on Monday, before he was killed the crash. The air force said he was posthumously awarded the rank of colonel.

  • Inquisitor77Inquisitor77 2 x Penny Arcade Fight Club Champion A fixed point in space and timeRegistered User regular
    Fuck Putin.

  • Commander ZoomCommander Zoom Registered User regular
    🫡

  • LabelLabel Registered User regular
    Son of a bitch.

    I think Ukraine had what, 6 jets in country as of the start of F-16's? And a similarly low number of pilots, presumably?

    I imagine that's got to be a significant loss, so early in the F-16 program. Damn.

  • override367override367 ALL minions Registered User regular
    edited August 29
    The only response is to have the US start directly giving them F-16s in vast numbers

    Do it Biden

    Lend lease is right there

    override367 on
  • Commander ZoomCommander Zoom Registered User regular
    Proposed: the next thread should be (initially, at least) subtitled the Moonfish Memorial Thread.

  • NitsuaNitsua Gloucester, VARegistered User regular
    Moonfish and Juice Memorial thread. Since he did as much as he did because his friend was no longer there to be a part of it and be able to fly those planes. From reading that article, I get the impression Moonfish would want it shared with his close friend Juice.

  • Mr RayMr Ray Sarcasm sphereRegistered User regular
    As someone with no particular expertise other than paying attention to the appropriate OSINT sources, I have a massive amount of respect for the Ukrainian airforce. They have consistently gone above and beyond with minimal to no resources, suffered massive losses for understandable reasons given the sheer disparity of forces involved in the Ukraine conflict, and yet still continued to make a substantial contribution to the war effort the whole time. Every single pilot in the Ukranian airforce, living or dead, is a goddamn hero in my book.

  • Hahnsoo1Hahnsoo1 Make Ready. We Hunt.Registered User, Moderator mod
    It's past 100 pages. Time for a new thread.

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