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Dogfighting

The father and son are one example; the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law being another. It may be due to my never-ending fascination for planes and fighter jets that I feel that the struggle between these two resemble dogfights.


Yes, a dogfight is close air-to-air combat. One aircraft is already airborne and thinks it is the master of the skies. In comes, the friendly, but the already airborne one's radar detects it as an enemy. Alas! Dogfight ensues until one has to fall.


The Mig 29 father has been the breadwinner of the family all the while. His Sukhoi son grows up, marries, gives two grandchildren for the family to cradle and play. Both have their roles to play in defending the family. But in the mental combat for mastery of the family skies, both their radars get locked as enemies. The same is for the C 130 J Super Hercules (mother-in-law). She has been master of the kitchen skies and can't even think of an Apache Helicopter coming into her space to test its airworthiness (read as culinary skills). The C 130 J has always been the tactical air-lifter but fails to realize the skills of the Apache due to radar malfunction.


However, perfect an aircraft is made at that time, it wears out its wings and becomes obsolete in avionics. There is no doubt it has done its fair share of winning wars for the family. But when newer birds get added into the family fleet, the transition to hand over the responsibilities to the next pilot should be done gracefully as friendly combat patterns and not as dogfights with enemies.


Wheelies, last-minute aborts, or ejections may happen in many decisions they take in the family. The transition of power should strike a perfect blend of symbiotic trust and mutual respect with no space for oil leaks or nut squeaks. And if the veteran, hawk-eyed Marshall details instead of dogfight the squadron leader as to how to conquer the skies, they will never make a mistake and will always be bound to make their flight a perfect one. 


 

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  1. UnknownDecember 12, 2020 at 10:50 PM

    Perfect thought...Really it's an unwanted fight or rather the dogfight ....but it never ends,..Transmitted through generations 👌👌👌

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