Comments on: Nix F-35, Boise Should Try To Land F-16

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 21:17:02 +0000

Rick. So let’s see. The Boise airport had 1,487,764 passengers in 2015. Let’s trade that for 800 Guard members. You’re a genius! No problem!

EDITOR NOTE–Gonna shut you down. The topic was F-16s coming here rather than F-15 or F-35.

By: Rick

Rick — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 20:36:44 +0000

Yossarian22 not sure what the comparison with the 111 was for… hell the SR was initially designed to be a fighter…the 130 was designed to be a trash hauler…(cargo plane) its been used as a bomber and is being used as a version of the A10… only much more capable. Since everyone is worried about noise why don’t you all just petition to move the entire airport to Mt Home. There is plenty of open space there where 737’s, A320’s, F16’s A10’s ect wont disturb anyone. It’s only 50 miles to drive to catch your flight… no problem.

By: Troll Patrol

Troll Patrol — Mon, 29 Aug 2016 16:45:49 +0000

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Electric_F110

By: Rick

Rick — Mon, 29 Aug 2016 14:06:45 +0000

No, that is not correct… a GE F110-100/129 is not a huge engine. They are tinker toys with only 20 to 23k of thrust.

By: JJ

JJ — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 00:51:38 +0000

The reality is air wars will be fought by more advanced drones, piloted by our kids who are currently playing simulated battle games in our basements on their computer or for giggles their IBM 386

Any war aircraft relying upon a pilot in the plane is just a brief stop along the ever advancing automation of warfare.

We should scrap the F-35 and jump right to fighter drones.

By: Andrew F

Andrew F — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 20:10:35 +0000

I sold my house a mile to the South of the Boise airport a few months ago and moved out of Idaho to a place where noisy jets go by at 30,000 feet. The threat of living under intrusive and unwelcome military occupation was a big reason. I’ll spend my retirement money in a place that is infinitely more livable than Boise. Dave Bieter, Emporer for Life and media darling, needs to find a shred of courage and stand against this atrocity with the good folks of Boise.

By: Yossarian_22

Yossarian_22 — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 14:49:44 +0000

The F-16 is still pretty loud. I’ve heard them when they fly around here and they produce plenty of decibels of sound to annoy residents. On the argument about the F-16 vs F-35 as a successful aircraft, the F-16 is a big winner. It’s one of the short list of planes that actually meet a REAL fighter plane’s character. It plain works correctly. The F-35 is gonna be a loser. The F-111 was supposed to be a fighter, and never was. It’s been re-purposed, twice.

I just wish we could keep the A-10s, if we HAVE to have a ANG mission at Gowen. A MAC airlift mission would be nice too. With all the fires we get in the region, it would be smart to base the ANG C-130 firebomber wings here.

By: No, That is not correct

No, That is not correct — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 20:30:36 +0000

F-35 is a technology demonstrator that got rammed into production by politics. They will eventually make it a useful aircraft, but the cost is going to be insane. And it’s the wrong tool for the job most of the time.

By: No, That is not correct

No, That is not correct — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 20:24:49 +0000

F-16 started life as the little plane that could fly rings around anything else in the sky.

After many years of suffering loses to Mig-17s with unmaneuverable heavy complicated ‘fighters’ (abused as bombtrucks) over Vietnam, a vocal faction of the air force pilots made demands and were granted their wide eyed wish.

F-16 could, and still can, do the Tasmanian Devil act on anything in the sky when in close and clean. However, over the years the Air Force has chosen to do stand-off fighting as it is safer and lots more expensive (thus hugely bigger budgets for Lockheed and Boeing). Therefore, they’ve turned this crisp little sports car into something of a U-haul-like jack of all trades. Think Ferrari with several luggage pods and four extra gas cans on the roof. It got heavy, so they’ve also installed a HUGE engine to get all that extra external freight up in the air. There is so much crap stuck on the outside of a new F-16, it’s like meeting your prom date at the 30 year and not recognizing her. The F-16 is the most abused and misused airframe in the air force today.

So, anyone who thinks a loaded F-16 is quiet or quieter than an F-15 doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

As far as Idaho getting some, that’s probably likely, we tend to get hand-me-down stuff. However, the Mayor should be pushing for a C-130 or C-17 or Drone base if he cares about his city at all.

By: Christiane Rudd

Christiane Rudd — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 20:00:03 +0000

The “relatively quiet” F16? Are you joking? Ask Burlington Vermont residents who have been dealing with the F16s for years now, and all the lawsuits that are involved with noise, plummeting real estate values, schools having to close, etc. This would still be a huge increase in noise from the A10s that we have now, and making the F16 seem like a good bargain compared to the F35 is a false narrative. The reality is that Gowen Field has allowed an entire residential city to grow up around it, and major military operations do not belong there. We actually have a real Air Force base 50 minutes away, in Mountain Home. All the years I lived and worked in Washington DC, I could only dream of having a 50 minute commute. Face it. Boise can continue to be advertised as a great family place to live, clean, quiet, and with good schools. Or we can let Gowen Field decimate south central Boise, and turn it into just another noisy polluted city.

EDITOR NOTE–We were only trying to compare the relative noise levels. FYI, Burlington will be losing the F-16 in favor of…would you believe…F-35s! We agree that Mt. Home is the proper place for fighters.