The plot is quite ridiculous and full of holes and technical problems, but to answer your questions:
- A sonic boom can shatter windows and it doesn't even need to be at low altitude. But as far as I know, it can't blow a car, that part was a joke. One thing that could possibly blow a car is getting directly behind a large jet engine at full thrust, but this didn't really look like it was the situation there.
- You're absolutely right about asking why Walk'n didn't use his cannons. The funny part is that when they show Walk'n's plane breaking left after Kass' plane, it only carries 2 Matra R550 Magic missiles (short-range, heat-seeking missiles). When he shoots Kass' plane, the missile being fired is a Matra Super 530 which is a medium-range, radar-guided, much more expensive missile that you would never use in a such a situation.
- He rams it and you are again right. It looks really dumb, as if both planes were made of solid steel. If a Mirage 2000 rams into another the way it was shown in the movie, their wings would shatter and they would both burst in flames. On the other hand, one dangerous maneuver that is indeed possible is to put one wing tip gently under another and roll in one direction to make the other plane roll and turn in the other direction. During WWII, some British pilots (mostly flying Spitfires and Meteors) had developed this skill pursuing V-1's in order to make the German flying bombs roll and crash in the countryside before they could reach populated areas or other targets.
In any case, IMHO the main merit of this movie (which I enjoyed) was in the aerial cinematography and editing. Everything else was very childish.
reply
share
mark-1306
16 years ago
I agree. The movie is hokey, but the cinematography is outstanding.
And you're absolutely right about the collision scene. Both aircraft's wings would have snapped completely off. Fighter aircraft are light and relatively strong, but they are stressed at certain points. An impact like that, on the tip of the wing and at that roll rate, would have bent the wing right off the aircraft.
Good call on the WWII British pilots. However, I just want to clarify: they never actually touched the V-1 bomb's wings. They would slide their wing within inches of the bomb's wings in order to disturb the airflow. As the bomb rolled, it would destablize the gyro-driven navigation system and cause it to crash.
reply
share
nighthawk936
15 years ago
i thought for a moment, and i am guessing if this can be the answer:
2. he shoots a medium range radar guided missile to destroy it completely, where as the IR missile requires heat signature (not sure if this explanation is possible since the mirage 2000 is in fact still emitting heat signature...or could it be because the short range AAM is fragmentational?)
maybe it's possible the gun takes longer time to destroy the aicraft or potentially wash shrapnel into the his aircraft?
3. is it possible that since both are travelling near the same speed, the impact is less? although u provided a much stronger point
reply
share
PoppyTransfusion
12 years ago
Interesting details from ghoghnous. Goes to show it pays to be ignorant of details and reality when watching this kind of flick.
An hour isn't an hour but a little bit of eternity in our hands
reply
share