The spaceship that looks...out of place...in the future

POSTED BY: Steve580
UPDATED: Monday, May 3, 2004 22:30
VIEWED: 9385
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JASONZZZ

Tuesday, April 20, 2004 5:27 AM

The A-10 is a thing of beauty, the way it sounds, the way it loiters and spits DUs opening up the enemies like little cans of sardies. It's definitely a little workhorse, it takes all the hits and keeps on ticking. I've heard that A-10s used to complete its full missions, dropping all its ammo, then limbs back to base after taking so many hits that only half the damn plane left.

Quote:
Originally posted by Thundar:
The Firefly class was a workhorse. Completely functional like the A-10 aircraft. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I Love the A-10 and I Love the Firefly class. All Serenity needs is the A-10's gatling gun.

STATIC

Tuesday, April 20, 2004 5:51 AM

The Apache ain't winnin' no beauty contests any time soon either.

I've had the distinct pleasure of conducting joint operations these past many months with the A-10 drivers and I can tell ya. . .that's one ugly bitch, but she does the job better than anything else, so I still love 'em. And the Air Force guys are so darn classy, they say the exact same thing about us '64's.

I love it when conversation turns to topics of Aviation and aviation-related things.

==================================================
"Wash. . .we got some local color happening. A grand entrance would not go amiss."

GUNRUNNER

Tuesday, April 20, 2004 6:20 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Jasonzzz:
it takes all the hits and keeps on ticking. I've heard that A-10s used to complete its full missions, dropping all its ammo, then limbs back to base after taking some many hits that only half the damn plane left.

I've read that the 30mm gattling guns from the 70's on (Russian ZSU-30s) could cut a A-10 up bad and thats why its being retied.

Ofcourse I wouldn't want to be in any aircraft when a Russian CADS-N-1 system pointing at me! I think that its taken to land with a armored tank like thing too!

The Firefly CCG Web Site:
http://mywebpage.netscape.com/Bllm119/firefly_ccg_web_site.htm
>Help out today!

BROWNCOAT1

Tuesday, April 20, 2004 12:39 PM

Serenity may not be sleek or fancy, but she is still beautiful. It is what she represents, what she is to her crew that makes her so. For Mal she is freedom and a means to stay beyond the reach of the Alliance. For all of the crew she is home.

Sure she is a workhorse, that is what freighters are for all intents & purposes. I don't think I have ever seen a pretty or high tech looking freighter. They don't need to be to haul cargo. So long as they are reliable and get the job done, that is all that counts.

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

DAVEY

Tuesday, April 20, 2004 12:42 PM

i always thought of serenity as the equivalent of the old dakota or dc3, some of those old girls(the ones with a half decent mechanic)are still flying now

SAMURAIX47

Tuesday, April 20, 2004 5:42 PM

And did anyone slo-mo the shots from Safe of the 'police station' where Mr. Tam bails out Simon just after the commercial break. A couple Star Trek: Next Gen shuttlecraft fly by without the warp nacelle lights on.

Jaymes

KUGELBLITZ

Friday, April 30, 2004 3:25 PM

Hmm, I thought that the A10 was built to take hits from the 23mm stuff the Russians used on their AAA platforms.

Yep, Serenity is ugly but in a classy way, like the Hercules or the DC3. There is so much function there that she cannot be just a chunk of ship (or boat).

"We are exporting democracy because we have all of this unused democracy lying around at home. Why not make some money doing it?"

ROCKETJOCK

Saturday, May 1, 2004 2:04 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Static:
The Apache ain't winnin' no beauty contests any time soon either.

I love it when conversation turns to topics of Aviation and aviation-related things.

==================================================

Serenity, and by extension the entire Firefly class has the beauty of pure functionality. She is, in her way, as aesthetically pleasing as the classic B-17 Flying Fortress, in that every part of her design is relvevant to her purpose.

Notice though, that she is not without deliberate artistic touches; the asymetric skylight windows in the common room/galley for example, or the way her shuttles resemple ladybugs -- I sometimes wonder if those lovely shuttles were original equipment, or if Firefly class were designed with bays able to acomodate a number of common shuttle designs, and Mal just got a good deal on a matched pair of Ladybird class short-range craft.

One of the major disgruntlements I have with the show's short broadcast life is that we never got to see other Firefly class transports, including the more primitive type Book had flown with (the type without extenders, which I infer means they lacked the variable-pitch engines that make Serenity so agile.)

Oh, and Static, for the record, my nominee for the all-time most beautiful aircraft of all time is the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. Never such a perfect blending of aesthetics, adaptability, and pure functionality in a package built for heroes.

"You can't enslave a free man. The most you can do is kill him." -- Robert A. Heinlein

GUNHAND

Saturday, May 1, 2004 3:17 AM

I agree pretty much with everything said about Serenity and Firefly class ships in general.

However, since the topic has drifted towards aircraft and beautiful and deadly ones I have to give props (pun there eh?) to the F4U Corsair. Beautiful bird.

I've had the pleasure to see one doing low flyovers at an airfield and let me tell you, it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, you can definately see why the Japanese nicknamed them "Whispering Death", it was downright eerie. But in a good way.

Besides it was one of the few times that the Navy being tighted about equipment actually worked to the Corps' advantage and that makes me all sorts of pleased.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
"Oh hey, I got an idea. Instead of us hanging
around playing art critic till I get pinched by
the Man, how's about we move away from this
eerie-ass piece of work and get on with our
increasingly eerie-ass day, how's that?"

My eerie-ass website:
http://gunhandsfirefly.homestead.com/Index.html

11THHOUR

Saturday, May 1, 2004 5:07 AM

One of the aspects I love so much about the look of Serenity is her "bio-design". The literal firefly like rear end, thorax-like body leading to a "neck", and the bird/bug like "head" shape. Serenity's design incorporates so many living creature aspects that she takes on the look of a living creature herself!

She's alive...

11thHour

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"She's my good girl." - Kaylee

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