Charlie Stross5d ago

#WritersCoffeeClub 3/13: Talk about an experience when you consulted an expert for a piece of writing.

Happens regularly!

Back in 2014 I was writing "The Nightmare Stacks" and wanted a Eurofighter Typhoon v. Dragon Rider dogfight over the Yorkshire dales (NB: not-exactly dragons ridden by elven sorcerers with basilisk weapons for visual-range engagement). Consulted a friend who had just retired from the RAF as a squadron leader. The dynamics of fast jet vs. helicopter gunship combat fit well …

Jonathan Beverley5d ago
Show threadCharlie Stross
#WritersCoffeeClub Footnote: fighter v. helicopter duels aren't as clear-cut as an outsider might expect. At altitude and speed, the fighter has the upper hand: but down in the ground clutter, the helicopter gunship can be approximated to an angry flak battery than can suddenly fly sideways at 200mph and duck under bridges: fighter pilots treat them with extreme caution because it's like poking a rattlesnake—you want to use the longest stick you can find.
Mar 13 at 11:12amWeb
Show threadMichael W Lucas 5d ago

@cstross one of my very favorite things about this silly gig is being able to learn from experts and present that knowledge sensibly to the world.

Even if it's kind of silly, like a meticulously thought-out dragon vs fighter battle or a fifty-year-old text editor.

Show threadTall Simon5d ago
@mwl @cstross Getting an expert geeking out is heaps of fun. Memory management in old nuclear reactor computers, geology of Yellowstone rock layers, hunting for lost history in 17th century Jesuit letters, how you build a birch bark canoe, fine details of restoring WW 1 uniforms, the pitfalls of switching city gas pipes to natural gas... all made for an entertaining and unexpectedly enlightening couple of hours.
Show threadAaron Sawdey, Ph.D.5d ago
@cstross helicopters can also be armed with sidewinders. Also for similar reasons to what you state, the Harrier has some unique advantages air-to-air against a conventional fighter.
Show threadAlan Bellingham5d ago
@cstross Ground attack aircraft like the A10, though, I'm guessing would have more of a chance, but it's still going to be which one sees the other first
Show threadRichard Hendricks5d ago
@bellinghman @cstross A-10 pilots would line up to earn that coveted "Dragonslayer" paint on the side of their nose.
Show threadCharlie Stross5d ago
@hendric @bellinghman The RAF doesn't fly A-10s. (Also, per "The Nightmare Stacks", the A-10 pilots would die like flies: basilisk weapons don't play well with human faces!)
Show threadAlan Bellingham4d ago
@cstross @hendric Yeah. I was considering the 'what works against helicopters' facet
Show threadPete / Syllopsium5d ago
@cstross For a moment I read that in an RPG style and wondered why a human was at altitude and speed..
Show threadHelge Wilker5d ago
@cstross „Angry flak battery“ is an excellent expression! Thanks for that.
Show threadJdeBP4d ago

@cstross

Yes. There is no single superior weapon in warfare. We need only ask a nuclear power that has faced a guerrilla insurgency/resistance.

Or indeed any nuclear power that (off the top of my head) just happens to be trying to destroy an enemy country the same as the combined sizes of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Texas, with building/campus-levelling air strikes.

#IranWar #VietnamWar #AfghanistanWar