
Props: Small Planes for Small Wars - smacktoward
http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/props-small-planes-for-small-wars
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skybrian
I'm wondering why the article doesn't say more about drones? Seems like they
could be even cheaper.

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sitkack
I think war is dumb on lots of dimensions. But the Rutan Mudfighter looks like
a great, economical aircraft
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG9LlHcX8lg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG9LlHcX8lg)
for killing lots of small armed people.

Basically a Bayliner glued to a minigun.

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unwind
Not to pick nits, but there's nothing "mini" about the GAU-12 Equalizer cannon
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GAU-12_Equalizer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GAU-12_Equalizer)).
Scary stuff.

I didn't make it through the 1980s video long enough to learn if the aircraft
has any protection for the pilot, like the A-10 is famous for ("titanium
bathtub" and all that).

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nradov
Those cheaper aircraft won't seem like such a great deal when the single
engine fails and the pilot gets tortured to death on YouTube after ejecting
over enemy territory. The article doesn't mention anything about drones /
UCAVs, which seems like a major oversight.

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woodandsteel
F-35's are also single engine.

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nradov
Right and that was another terrible decision. The V/STOL F-35B variant was
only practical with a single engine because twin engines would have caused
dangerous thrust imbalances during landing. But that constraint forced the
F-35A and F-35C models to also have single engines for commonality, resulting
in lower speed, higher drag, and reduced survivability. The whole program is
full of misguided compromises like that.

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woodandsteel
Well the F-16 is also single engine, as are a great many other successful
fighter planes.

