Real or Photoshop?

[Jafar]

Found on the web (it must be true)- apparently this same pilot is the one who flew his jet through the Tianman Cave the same weekend. I remember somewhere on this site I saw a thread where someone mentioned tickets were being sold to watch that. I wanna see a picture of that!

http://www.szed.com/szdaily/20060322/ca2232823.htm


Actually I found other news reports that said they gave it up and didn't fly through the hole. Couldn't get it up I guess.

Apparently they canceled the cave fly through. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-03/18/content_4316347.htm

Sounds like the Russians will have one more SU-27 in their inventory because of this decision. Can you imagine one of those big ugly Flankers flying through that little hole?

Here's some shots of guys doing it in 1999.

http://www.haute-voltige.com/inter/photos/gallery/tianmen_cave99/index2.htm

As for the picture, I'm voting fake. As someone already mentioned, what's up with the extended refueling probe?

 

[Jafar]

Not sure if this is real or photoshopped but I turned this

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/277/08908313gv.jpg

into this

http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/7837/0890831edit9gr.jpg

in about fifteen minutes. Not great, but If I had an hour to work on it I think I could get it to look very realistic.

I'd say this case is closed. Nice work. I've been trying to learn photoshop for a while now. What a powerful program.

 

[LR25]

The horizontal stab is in the nose down position, a little.

 

[YourNameHere]

I'd say this case is closed. Nice work. I've been trying to learn photoshop for a while now. What a powerful program.

Although I do use photoshop, I did this alteration with Paint Shop Pro, retail price around $60.

 

[troy]

If it's Airliners.net, it's real (isn't it?)

 

[Gorilla]

I think the jury will be out on this indefinitely, but don't underestimate the Russian airshow guys. They are both very talented and utterly insane. If they want to do a pass at 8 feet, they'll probably be able to.

Evidence: To me the biggest factor is the location of the missing gear, which would be off the pavement. The AOA issue is a non-factor, at 400 to 500 knots, any AOA is going to be miniscule. The AOA vs airspeed is not a linear curve, and at any higher speed, it's going to be quite flat. The stabilator position argument is irrelevant until we know more about this particular platform. Heat plume: the velocity (say 500 knots) will contribute to a reduced plume. the huge plume you see even at idle is due to a lot of exhaust gathering in a high concentration due to the slow speed. I think at high speeds, it's going to be pretty diluted. If he's at 500 knots, at sea level, those throttles are nowhere close to military, they're probably well back from the detent. Nozzles: Big time evidence for real photo. They are closed, indicating some throttle setting well above idle, but below afterburner.

All this is pure opinion, of course. I think it's real.

The guy in back may be voicing a RA to the pilot in front. As you fly this low, this fast, your focus tunnels more and more forward rather than down. His ability to look inside is zero, hence a guy in back saying "8 feet... 7.... 8..." etc would work, or maybe the RA is auto-voiced.

Good thing for us that the MiG and Sukhoi design bureaus were both well behind the west in electronics, sensors, and avionics, because their airframe and powerplant technology is every bit as good as ours, probably better.

 

[bssthound]

Gorilla, having flown pointy-nosed jets, brought up some excellent, real-world points. I know, I've seen 400 knots screaming down a runway just above gear-up altitude. Like Gorilla says, AOA is gonna be miniscule.

Another thing, the paintshop pro alteration does look real, except for one thing. Nobody is gonna be straight and level just above the ground . . . . with the barn door out!!

 

[wmuflyguy]

Not sure if this is real or photoshopped but I turned this

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/277/08908313gv.jpg

into this

http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/7837/0890831edit9gr.jpg

in about fifteen minutes. Not great, but If I had an hour to work on it I think I could get it to look very realistic.

The stabilator in your picture is in the opposite position as the one in the airliners.net photo.

 

[mule]

Different angle?

http://app.newsgd.com/NewsGD/UI/NewsGDSkin/Gallery/275.aspx?camid=275&picindex=12

Looks pretty real to me. Fuel probe is out on this one too.

 

[LJDRVR]

Real

I retract my assertions. It's real. I don't have the link handy right now, but there's another photo of the same demo taken from across the runway. 2-3 feet higher, but definitely the real thing.

Crazy-ass Russian demo pilots!