The Supermarine Spitfire is one of the most famous Aircraft of World War Two, and certainly the most famous Fighter Aircraft of the 20th century, originally developed in the mid-1930's, the Spitfire was designed by Supermarine Aviation Works to fill Air Ministry specification F7/30, calling for a 'Modern Fighter' capable of flying at 250 mph. Although this isn’t all that fast by modern standards, it was like a lightning bolt compared to the earlier Biplane Fighters that had been used in the preceding World War.

As a result of the sheer volume of engineering and production difficulties that had to be overcome, the Aircraft that would become the 'Spitfire' underwent a series of re-designs and name changes, before receiving approval to develop a flying prototype using the Type 300 design.

Over the course of its 10 year (1938 to 1948) production run, over 20,000 Spitfires were built in a wide variety of configurations. Most were powered by the iconic 'Rolls-Royce Merlin Engine' a 27 liter V12 Aero Engine that saw broad use in a multitude of Aircraft during and after World War Two, including a Packard-Built variant that powered the North American P-51 Mustang. During World War Two, the Supermarine Spitfire became famous among the people on both sides of the conflict, and the sight of an airborne Spitfire on an intercept course would make the blood of any Luftwaffe Pilot run cold ‼️

 

The most famous of all Supermarine Spitfire's still flying today, MH434 was built in 1943 at Vickers, Castle Bromwich. This Spitfire is completely original, and has never been fully rebuilt. At the beginning of August 1943, MH434 was air tested by Alex Henshaw (a record breaking pilot from pre-war days) Within the month MH434 was scoring with 222 Squadron, it was flown in Combat by South African pilot Flt Lt Henry Lardner-Burke, DFC (1916-1970) seven and a half kills, three damaged, retiring as a Wing Commander. On the 27th August in the St Omar area over France, Lardner-Burke shot down a Focke-Wulf FW-190 Fighter and damaged a second during a mission to escort USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress Bombers. On the 5th September 1943 Lardner-Burke and MH434 shot down another Focke-Wulf FW-190 Fighter in the Nieuport area, and on the 8th September 1943 claimed a half share in the downing of a Messerschmitt Bf-109G Fighter in Northern France.

 

In 1944 MH434 was transferred to 350 Squadro, RAF Hornchurch, before being returned to 222 Squadron, after 79 Operational Sorties, MH434 was retired in March 1945. Her Guns were loaded again when bought by the Royal Netherlands Air Force in 1947, the Spitfire served with 322 Squadron. As H-105, mainly Ground Strafing and Light Bombing Missions, before crash-landing in Semarang, Java. After spending some time in storage, MH434 was repaired and flew again in Holland on the 10th March 1953.

The Belgian Air Force became the next owner of this Spitfire, and as SM-41 she served at the Advanced Pilot School at Koksijde and with 13 Wing at Brustem. On the 26th March 1956 MH434 was put up for sale and bought and brought back to the United Kingdom by airline pilot Tim Davies. As G-ASJV the Spitfire was moved to Stansted then Elstree for a full overhaul. The Aircraft was flown purely for pleasure and took part in it’s first movie role, ''Operation Crossbow''. November 1967 saw MH434 join the motion picture Airforce of Spitfire Productions Ltd. Set up by Group Captain Hamish Mahaddie for the film ''Battle of Britain'' At the end of the movie in 1968 MH434 was sold again. The new owner, Sir Adrian Swire, Chairman of Cathay Pacific Airways, had the Spitfire painted in a 1944 camouflage colour scheme with his initials AC-S, as the Squadron Code. There were several film and television appearances during this period, including “A Bridge Too Far”.

Flown for the first time by Ray Hanna in February 1970, a famous partnership was quickly established. MH434 was sold to him at auction in 1983 and became one of the Old Flying Machine Company’s founding aircraft. The first major rebuild took place in the winter of 1994-95. MH434 has become a regular film and airshow performer and is flown in the authentic 222 Squadron, Codes ZD-B.

  

Specifications:-

 

▪︎Role: Fighter / Interceptor Aircraft

▪︎National Origin: United Kingdom

▪︎Manufacturer: Supermarine Aviation Works

▪︎Designer: R. J. Mitchell

▪︎First Flight: 23rd February 1940

▪︎Introduction: 4th August 1938

▪︎Retired: 1961 (Irish Air Corps)

▪︎Primary User: Royal Air Force / Royal Canadian Air Force / Free French Air Force / United States Army Air Forces

▪︎Produced: 1938 to 1948

▪︎Number Built: 20,351

▪︎Variants: Supermarine Seafire

▪︎Current Owner: Historic Aircraft Collection Ltd

▪︎Status: Airworthy

▪︎Length: 29ft 11in

▪︎Wingspan: 36ft 10in

▪︎Engine: Rolls-Royce Merlin III

▪︎Maximum Speed: 374mph

▪︎Range: 470 miles

▪︎Armament: 2x20mm Hispano Cannons and 4x .303 Vickers Machine Guns.

Built by the Schiffswerks Rieherst company in Hamburg, the Umbria was launched on December 30th 1911 with the name of Bahia Blanca. It was a large freighter by that time, 150 meters long, with a power capable of providing a speed of 14 knots that could carry 9,000 tons of cargo and up to 2,000 passengers. In 1912 it began operating the Hamburg-America line doing different jobs between Europe and Argentina until the outbreak of World War I, when it was based in Buenos Aires. In 1918 the ship was acquired by the Argentinian government and it was not until 1935 when the ship was taken over by the Italian government and renamed again: the Umbria. From that moment its trips were to transport troops and during the following two years carried several thousand soldiers to the Italian colonies in East Africa.

  

The loss of the Umbria

 

In May 1940, when Italy was still neutral in World War II, the Umbria was secretly loaded with 360,000 bombs between 15 kg and 100 kg, 60 boxes of detonators, building materials and three Fiat Lunga cars, carrying a total 8,600 tons of weapons towards the East Africa. The explosives had destination Massawa and Assab, Eritrea, that was Italian colony by then, and the rest of the cargo was heading different locations in Asia. Italy's entry into the war was imminent and this shipment was destined to the defense of the colonies against the Allies and to the possible expansion of its African territories.

   

On 3rd June 1940 the Umbria reached Port Said, northern Egypt, where loaded with 1,000 tons of coal and water in a movement to fool the Allies, trying to look like a harmless freighter. The port, controlled by the Royal Navy, and its authorities allowed the ship enter on the Red Sea three days after arrival. The British delayed the departure of the Umbria knowing that Italy's entry into the war was imminent and that the cargo of Umbria had devastating power that sooner or later would be used against the Allies and why not, to get a great load to fight fascism. But Italy, as a neutral country that it was, had every right to transport weapons much like any other cargo to its colonies.

   

Having met the deadline to be retained, the Umbria crossed the Suez Canal on June 6th but with the escort of the HMS Grimsby. The importance and destructive capacity of the cargo required it. Three days later the Umbria entered in Sudan waters and the HMS Grimsby ordered the Umbria captain to anchor on Wingate Reef under the pretext of searching for contraband. Moments later the British warship HMS Leander arrived with a group of 20 sailors who boarded the Umbria. After thoroughly searching the ship and finding nothing, the captain ordered the British troops to remain the night aboard the Umbria.

The next morning Lorenzo Muiesan, Umbria captain, was in his cabin listening to the radio when Mussolini announced the entry of Italy into the World War II. Hostilities would begin at midnight of that day. Muiesan, a very patriotic captain with long experience, was the only one in the area who had heard the news and knew immediately that both Umbria and the burden would be used by the Allies against their own country. He had no option to disable both. In a move of extraordinary intelligence, as the hours passed retained by the British who did not yet know that Italy was officially the enemy, the captain ordered his crew conducting a rescue simulation... that was more real than the British thought. This maneuver, which the English soldiers agreed as they believed it would serve to further delay the departure of the Umbria. While the Italians occupied the lifeboats, the chief engineers, following Muiesan´s orders, opened all the valves and drown the ship to the bottom of the reef. With the crew safe, the British only had time to get on their ship and watch the freighter slid slowly.

When the captain of HMS Grimsby asked why he had done that Muiesan confirmed the declaration of war from Italy to Britain. The next day Muiesan and the rest of Umbria crew departed detainees to India, where they spent four years in prison.

  

CARGO:

The Umbria was carrying 360,000 individual aircraft bombs ranging in size from 15, 50 and 100 kg. The vessel also carried a large quantity of fuses, ammunition and detonators as well as other traditional cargo. The captain knew these bombs would be confiscated and used by the enemy against his country should they ever discover them which was why he made the call to sink the ship.

The Umbria had sailed in June 1940 with 6,000 tons of bombs, 60 boxes detonators, explosives, weapons and three Fiat 1100 Lunga from Genoa via Livorno and Naples in the Suez Canal and on the way via Massaua and Assab to Calcutta.

At the beginning of the Vietnam War, there was little interest in a dedicated counterinsurgency (COIN) aircraft. The USAF was too committed to an all-jet, nuclear-capable force, while the US Army was satisfied with its helicopter fleet; the Navy concentrated on its carriers, and while the Marines were mildly interested, they lacked funding.

 

Vietnam was to change that. Horrendous losses among US Army UH-1s was to lead to a rethinking of helicopter doctrine, and pointed up the lack of a dedicated COIN aircraft. The USAF found itself depending on World War II-era A-26K Invaders, former US Navy A-1 Skyraiders, and converted trainers like the T-28 Trojan. The USAF also found itself in the market for a better forward air control (FAC) aircraft, due to the high loss rate of its O-1 Birddogs and O-2 Skymasters. Finally, the US Navy needed something to better cover its Mobile River Force units in the Mekong Delta, which could not always depend on USAF air support. In 1963, all three services issued a requirement for a new light design capable of performing as both a COIN and FAC aircraft. North American's NA-300 was selected in 1964 and designated OV-10A Bronco.

 

The OV-10 design drew heavily on independent research done at the China Lake research establishment, which in turn was inspired by the World War II P-38 Lightning fighter. The P-38 used a central "gondola" fuselage to concentrate all of its firepower along the centerline, which made for better accuracy; the OV-10 would do the same. As in the P-38, the engines were contained in twin booms that stretched back to the tail. The Bronco's four machine gun armament was placed in sponsons on either side of the fuselage, while ordnance was carried beneath the sponsons. To satisfy the USAF's requirements for a FAC aircraft, the two-man crew flew underneath a large, spacious canopy that gave them superb visibility. Because the Marines wanted an aircraft that could carry a Recon team, the fuselage was extended and, if the rear seat was removed, five paratroopers could be squeezed into the back, or two stretchers.

 

When the OV-10 arrived in Vietnam in 1968, there was a fear that the Bronco would be the jack of all trades and master of none. In fact, it proved to be excellent in all of its roles. As a FAC, it was a huge improvement over the slower O-1 and O-2; as a COIN aircraft, it was also a good aircraft, though it could not carry the same amount of ordnance as an A-1. The Navy equipped one squadron with OV-10As as VAL-4--nicknamed the "Black Ponies" for their dark green camouflage--and these were used extensively over the Mekong Delta. There were problems with the design: the airframe was actually too heavy for the engines, which left it underpowered, and ditching was invariably fatal for the pilot, as his seat tended to hurl forward into the instrument panel. Nonetheless, the Bronco turned in a sterling performance in Southeast Asia.

 

Though the Navy transferred its surviving Black Ponies to the Marines after the end of American involvement in Vietnam, the USAF and Marines would keep theirs for the next 20 years. For the 1970s and 1980s, the OV-10 replaced all other FAC designs in USAF service, aside from a handful of OA-37B Dragonfly squadrons. The Marines also kept their OV-10s and further refined the design by adding all-weather capability in the long-nosed OV-10D variant.

 

By the First Gulf War in 1991, the OV-10 was starting to show its age. The USAF began retiring its fleet even before Desert Storm; the Bronco was considered to be too slow to survive a modern air defense environment. Though the Marines used some of their OV-10Ds, the loss of two aircraft also led the USMC to retire their Broncos after war's end. Both services chose jets as replacements--the USAF with modified OA-10A Thunderbolt IIs, and the Marines with two-seat all-weather F/A-18Ds.

 

OV-10s were also a mild export success, going to seven other countries, mainly in the COIN role. Most have since been retired in favor of newer designs, though the Philippines still has a large and active OV-10 force. The type enjoyed a brief renaissance in 2015 when two former Marine OV-10Ds were taken up by the USAF for use against ISIS forces in Iraq, to see if the design was still viable. Though the OV-10s performed well, the USAF is not likely to put it back into production. 360 were built, and at least 25 are on display in museums aside from the aircraft that are still operational.

 

After the USAF retired its OV-10 fleet in 1991, the Bureau of Land Management obtained seven of them for use as fire scouts. The job of these OV-10s was to look for fires in areas under high fire danger, and to lead water-bombers in to the target area--essentially, the same job as World War II-era pathfinders and modern FAC aircraft, except that the bombers drop water instead of bombs. The BLM kept their OV-10s until 1999, when a lack of spare parts forced their retirement. The BLM also kept the 1970s-era light gray overall finish of their former USAF Broncos, with high-visibility orange panels on the tailplane and BLM colors on the wingtips.

 

This particular aircraft, N646, was formerly 68-3825, a USAF OV-10 that had flown in Vietnam. It was donated to the BLM in 1992 and nicknamed "City of Fairbanks"; after it was retired in 1999, CalFire used it as a spares source for its Bronco fleet. Luckily N646/68-3825 escaped the scrapper's torch: in 2006, it was donated to and restored by the Fort Worth Aviation Museum, where it remains today.

 

This model was originally built by my dad for the Poletto Collection, but in 2014, I donated it to the Great Falls Model Railroad Club so it could be displayed on their colossal model railway display at the Montana State Fairgrounds.

Aeroscopia est un musée aéronautique français implanté à Blagnac (Haute-Garonne), près du site AéroConstellation, et accueille notamment deux exemplaires du Concorde, dont l'ouverture a eu lieu le 14 janvier 2015

 

Le tarmac Sud du musée n'est capable d'accueillir que trois gros appareils. L'installation des appareils fut définitivement terminée après que le premier prototype de l'A400M-180 y fut arrivé le 16 juillet 2015, en dépit de la possibilité de 360 000 euros de TVA.

 

Concorde, F-BVFC, MSN209 aux couleurs d'Air France

Caravelle 12, F-BTOE, MSN280 aux couleurs d'Air Inter, dernier exemplaire construit

A400M-180, F-WWMT, MSN001 stationné depuis le 16 juillet 2015

 

La réalisation en 2019 du nouveau tarmac au Nord du musée permet l'accueil d'appareils supplémentaires issus des entreprises locales Airbus et ATR. Le transfert des avions entre le site Airbus "Lagardère" et le musée a lieu sur une semaine, à raison d'un appareil par jour :

 

ATR 72-600, F-WWEY, MSN098 aux couleurs d'ATR, transféré sur site le 26 août 2019, premier exemplaire du 72 dans sa version 600

Airbus A340-600, F-WWCA, MSN360 aux couleurs d'Airbus, transféré sur site le 27 août 2019, premier exemplaire de l'A340 dans sa version 600

Airbus A320-111, F-WWAI, MSN001 aux anciennes couleurs d'Airbus, transféré sur site le 28 août 2019, premier exemplaire de l'A320 : inauguration le 14 février 1987 en présence de Lady Diana et du Prince Charles, premier vol le 22 février 1987

Airbus A380-800, F-WXXL, MSN002 aux couleurs d'Airbus, transféré sur site le 29 août 2019, second exemplaire de l'A380. Les deux ponts de cet appareil sont visitables, ainsi que le cockpit.

ATR 42-300, F-WEGC, MSN003 aux anciennes couleurs d'ATR, transféré sur site le 30 août 2019, troisième exemplaire du 42. Cet exemplaire est décoré aux couleurs du MSN001 et porte l'immatriculation F-WEGA

 

Concorde, F-WTSB, MSN201 (ANAE), il s'agit d'un appareil de présérie qui a servi entre autres à transporter plusieurs présidents de la République française.

Airbus A300B4-203, F-WUAB, MSN238 (Airbus Heritage), décoré aux couleurs du prototype, au lieu de MSN001 démantelé. L'intérieur est visitable. Dans la première section des vitrages transparents permettent de voir la structure et les systèmes de l'avion, tandis que dans les sections suivantes sont représentés des aménagements de première classe et VIP.

Super Guppy de l'association Ailes Anciennes Toulouse, l'appareil qui servait au transport des tronçons d'Airbus est exposé porte ouverte, et une passerelle permet l'accès à la soute où un film est projeté. L'ouverture n'a pas été une mince affaire, l'appareil n'ayant pas été ouvert pendant 15 ans. L'aide des anciens mécaniciens de l'avion a été primordiale pour permettre une ouverture en toute sécurité.

 

Corvette (Airbus)

Falcon 10 no 02, prototype ayant servi aux essais du turboréacteur Larzac (Ailes Anciennes Toulouse)

Fouga Magister (AAT)

Gazelle prototype (AAT)

Mirage III C (AAT)

Nord 1100 (AAT)

Lockheed F-104G (AAT)

MiG-15 (AAT)

MS.760 Paris (AAT)

Vought F-8E(FN) Crusader et son réacteur (AAT)

Alouette II Marine (AAT)

Cessna Skymaster (AAT)

Fairchild Metro, ancien avion de Météo-France (AAT)

HM-293, de Rodolphe Grunberg

Chagnes MicroStar, avion de construction amateur, version biréacteur de Rutan VariViggen (AAT)

Saab J35OE Draken (AAT)

 

Aeroscopia is a French aeronautical museum located in Blagnac (Haute-Garonne), near the AéroConstellation site, and notably hosts two copies of the Concorde, which opened on January 14, 2015

 

The south tarmac of the museum can only accommodate three large aircraft. The installation of the devices was definitively finished after the first prototype of the A400M-180 arrived there on July 16, 2015, despite the possibility of 360,000 euros in VAT.

 

Concorde, F-BVFC, MSN209 in Air France colors

Caravelle 12, F-BTOE, MSN280 in Air Inter colors, last model built

A400M-180, F-WWMT, MSN001 parked since July 16, 2015

 

The construction in 2019 of the new tarmac north of the museum will accommodate additional aircraft from local Airbus and ATR companies. The transfer of planes between the Airbus "Lagardère" site and the museum takes place over a week, at the rate of one aircraft per day:

 

ATR 72-600, F-WWEY, MSN098 in ATR colors, transferred to site on August 26, 2019, first copy of the 72 in its 600 version

Airbus A340-600, F-WWCA, MSN360 in Airbus colors, transferred to site on August 27, 2019, first copy of the A340 in its 600 version

Airbus A320-111, F-WWAI, MSN001 in the old Airbus colors, transferred to site on August 28, 2019, first copy of the A320: inauguration on February 14, 1987 in the presence of Lady Diana and Prince Charles, first flight on February 22, 1987

Airbus A380-800, F-WXXL, MSN002 in Airbus colors, transferred to site on August 29, 2019, second copy of the A380. The two decks of this aircraft can be visited, as well as the cockpit.

ATR 42-300, F-WEGC, MSN003 in the old ATR colors, transferred to the site on August 30, 2019, third specimen of the 42. This specimen is decorated in the colors of the MSN001 and bears the registration F-WEGA

 

Concorde, F-WTSB, MSN201 (ANAE), this is a pre-production aircraft which was used, among other things, to transport several presidents of the French Republic.

Airbus A300B4-203, F-WUAB, MSN238 (Airbus Heritage), decorated in the colors of the prototype, instead of dismantled MSN001. The interior can be visited. In the first section transparent glazing allows to see the structure and systems of the aircraft, while in the following sections are shown first class and VIP fittings.

Super Guppy from the Ailes Anciennes Toulouse association, the aircraft which was used to transport the Airbus sections is on display with the door open, and a gangway allows access to the hold where a film is shown. Opening was no small feat, as the device has not been opened for 15 years. The help of the former mechanics of the aircraft was essential to allow a safe opening.

 

Corvette (Airbus)

Falcon 10 no 02, prototype used for testing the Larzac turbojet engine (Ailes Anciennes Toulouse)

Fouga Magister (AAT)

Prototype Gazelle (AAT)

Mirage III C (AAT)

North 1100 (AAT)

Lockheed F-104G (AAT)

MiG-15 (AAT)

MS.760 Paris (AAT)

Vought F-8E (FN) Crusader and its engine (AAT)

Alouette II Marine (AAT)

Cessna Skymaster (AAT)

Fairchild Metro, former Météo-France (AAT) aircraft

HM-293, by Rodolphe Grunberg

Chagnes MicroStar, amateur-built aircraft, twin-jet version of Rutan VariViggen (AAT)

Saab J35OE Draken (AAT)

The cat (Felis catus), commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae. Recent advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the domestication of the cat occurred in the Near East around 7500 BC. It is commonly kept as a house pet and farm cat, but also ranges freely as a feral cat avoiding human contact. It is valued by humans for companionship and its ability to kill vermin. Because of its retractable claws it is adapted to killing small prey like mice and rats. It has a strong flexible body, quick reflexes, sharp teeth, and its night vision and sense of smell are well developed. It is a social species, but a solitary hunter and a crepuscular predator. Cat communication includes vocalizations like meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, and grunting as well as cat body language. It can hear sounds too faint or too high in frequency for human ears, such as those made by small mammals. It also secretes and perceives pheromones.

 

Female domestic cats can have kittens from spring to late autumn in temperate zones and throughout the year in equatorial regions, with litter sizes often ranging from two to five kittens. Domestic cats are bred and shown at events as registered pedigreed cats, a hobby known as cat fancy. Animal population control of cats may be achieved by spaying and neutering, but their proliferation and the abandonment of pets has resulted in large numbers of feral cats worldwide, contributing to the extinction of bird, mammal and reptile species.

 

As of 2017, the domestic cat was the second most popular pet in the United States, with 95.6 million cats owned and around 42 million households owning at least one cat. In the United Kingdom, 26% of adults have a cat, with an estimated population of 10.9 million pet cats as of 2020. As of 2021, there were an estimated 220 million owned and 480 million stray cats in the world.

 

Etymology and naming

The origin of the English word cat, Old English catt, is thought to be the Late Latin word cattus, which was first used at the beginning of the 6th century. The Late Latin word may be derived from an unidentified African language. The Nubian word kaddîska 'wildcat' and Nobiin kadīs are possible sources or cognates. The Nubian word may be a loan from Arabic قَطّ‎ qaṭṭ ~ قِطّ qiṭṭ.

 

The forms might also have derived from an ancient Germanic word that was imported into Latin and then into Greek, Syriac, and Arabic. The word may be derived from Germanic and Northern European languages, and ultimately be borrowed from Uralic, cf. Northern Sámi gáđfi, 'female stoat', and Hungarian hölgy, 'lady, female stoat'; from Proto-Uralic *käďwä, 'female (of a furred animal)'.

 

The English puss, extended as pussy and pussycat, is attested from the 16th century and may have been introduced from Dutch poes or from Low German puuskatte, related to Swedish kattepus, or Norwegian pus, pusekatt. Similar forms exist in Lithuanian puižė and Irish puisín or puiscín. The etymology of this word is unknown, but it may have arisen from a sound used to attract a cat.

 

A male cat is called a tom or tomcat (or a gib, if neutered). A female is called a queen or a molly, if spayed, especially in a cat-breeding context. A juvenile cat is referred to as a kitten. In Early Modern English, the word kitten was interchangeable with the now-obsolete word catling.

 

A group of cats can be referred to as a clowder or a glaring.

 

Taxonomy

The scientific name Felis catus was proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 for a domestic cat. Felis catus domesticus was proposed by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777. Felis daemon proposed by Konstantin Satunin in 1904 was a black cat from the Transcaucasus, later identified as a domestic cat.

 

In 2003, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature ruled that the domestic cat is a distinct species, namely Felis catus. In 2007, it was considered a subspecies, F. silvestris catus, of the European wildcat (F. silvestris) following results of phylogenetic research. In 2017, the IUCN Cat Classification Taskforce followed the recommendation of the ICZN in regarding the domestic cat as a distinct species, Felis catus.

 

Evolution

Main article: Cat evolution

The domestic cat is a member of the Felidae, a family that had a common ancestor about 10 to 15 million years ago. The evolutionary radiation of the Felidae began in Asia during the Miocene around 8.38 to 14.45 million years ago. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA of all Felidae species indicates a radiation at 6.46 to 16.76 million years ago. The genus Felis genetically diverged from other Felidae around 6 to 7 million years ago. Results of phylogenetic research shows that the wild members of this genus evolved through sympatric or parapatric speciation, whereas the domestic cat evolved through artificial selection. The domestic cat and its closest wild ancestor are diploid and both possess 38 chromosomes and roughly 20,000 genes.

 

Domestication

See also: Domestication of the cat and Cats in ancient Egypt

It was long thought that the domestication of the cat began in ancient Egypt, where cats were venerated from around 3100 BC, However, the earliest known indication for the taming of an African wildcat was excavated close by a human Neolithic grave in Shillourokambos, southern Cyprus, dating to about 7500–7200 BC. Since there is no evidence of native mammalian fauna on Cyprus, the inhabitants of this Neolithic village most likely brought the cat and other wild mammals to the island from the Middle Eastern mainland. Scientists therefore assume that African wildcats were attracted to early human settlements in the Fertile Crescent by rodents, in particular the house mouse (Mus musculus), and were tamed by Neolithic farmers. This mutual relationship between early farmers and tamed cats lasted thousands of years. As agricultural practices spread, so did tame and domesticated cats. Wildcats of Egypt contributed to the maternal gene pool of the domestic cat at a later time.

The earliest known evidence for the occurrence of the domestic cat in Greece dates to around 1200 BC. Greek, Phoenician, Carthaginian and Etruscan traders introduced domestic cats to southern Europe. During the Roman Empire they were introduced to Corsica and Sardinia before the beginning of the 1st millennium. By the 5th century BC, they were familiar animals around settlements in Magna Graecia and Etruria. By the end of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, the Egyptian domestic cat lineage had arrived in a Baltic Sea port in northern Germany.

 

The leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) was tamed independently in China around 5500 BC. This line of partially domesticated cats leaves no trace in the domestic cat populations of today.

 

During domestication, cats have undergone only minor changes in anatomy and behavior, and they are still capable of surviving in the wild. Several natural behaviors and characteristics of wildcats may have pre-adapted them for domestication as pets. These traits include their small size, social nature, obvious body language, love of play, and high intelligence. Captive Leopardus cats may also display affectionate behavior toward humans but were not domesticated. House cats often mate with feral cats. Hybridisation between domestic and other Felinae species is also possible, producing hybrids such as the Kellas cat in Scotland.

 

Development of cat breeds started in the mid 19th century. An analysis of the domestic cat genome revealed that the ancestral wildcat genome was significantly altered in the process of domestication, as specific mutations were selected to develop cat breeds. Most breeds are founded on random-bred domestic cats. Genetic diversity of these breeds varies between regions, and is lowest in purebred populations, which show more than 20 deleterious genetic disorders.

 

Characteristics

Main article: Cat anatomy

Size

The domestic cat has a smaller skull and shorter bones than the European wildcat. It averages about 46 cm (18 in) in head-to-body length and 23–25 cm (9.1–9.8 in) in height, with about 30 cm (12 in) long tails. Males are larger than females. Adult domestic cats typically weigh 4–5 kg (8.8–11.0 lb).

 

Skeleton

Cats have seven cervical vertebrae (as do most mammals); 13 thoracic vertebrae (humans have 12); seven lumbar vertebrae (humans have five); three sacral vertebrae (as do most mammals, but humans have five); and a variable number of caudal vertebrae in the tail (humans have only three to five vestigial caudal vertebrae, fused into an internal coccyx).  The extra lumbar and thoracic vertebrae account for the cat's spinal mobility and flexibility. Attached to the spine are 13 ribs, the shoulder, and the pelvis.  Unlike human arms, cat forelimbs are attached to the shoulder by free-floating clavicle bones which allow them to pass their body through any space into which they can fit their head.

 

Skull

The cat skull is unusual among mammals in having very large eye sockets and a powerful specialized jaw.  Within the jaw, cats have teeth adapted for killing prey and tearing meat. When it overpowers its prey, a cat delivers a lethal neck bite with its two long canine teeth, inserting them between two of the prey's vertebrae and severing its spinal cord, causing irreversible paralysis and death. Compared to other felines, domestic cats have narrowly spaced canine teeth relative to the size of their jaw, which is an adaptation to their preferred prey of small rodents, which have small vertebrae.

 

The premolar and first molar together compose the carnassial pair on each side of the mouth, which efficiently shears meat into small pieces, like a pair of scissors. These are vital in feeding, since cats' small molars cannot chew food effectively, and cats are largely incapable of mastication.:  Cats tend to have better teeth than most humans, with decay generally less likely because of a thicker protective layer of enamel, a less damaging saliva, less retention of food particles between teeth, and a diet mostly devoid of sugar. Nonetheless, they are subject to occasional tooth loss and infection.

 

Claws

Cats have protractible and retractable claws. In their normal, relaxed position, the claws are sheathed with the skin and fur around the paw's toe pads. This keeps the claws sharp by preventing wear from contact with the ground and allows for the silent stalking of prey. The claws on the forefeet are typically sharper than those on the hindfeet. Cats can voluntarily extend their claws on one or more paws. They may extend their claws in hunting or self-defense, climbing, kneading, or for extra traction on soft surfaces. Cats shed the outside layer of their claw sheaths when scratching rough surfaces.

 

Most cats have five claws on their front paws and four on their rear paws. The dewclaw is proximal to the other claws. More proximally is a protrusion which appears to be a sixth "finger". This special feature of the front paws on the inside of the wrists has no function in normal walking but is thought to be an antiskidding device used while jumping. Some cat breeds are prone to having extra digits ("polydactyly"). Polydactylous cats occur along North America's northeast coast and in Great Britain.

 

Ambulation

The cat is digitigrade. It walks on the toes, with the bones of the feet making up the lower part of the visible leg. Unlike most mammals, it uses a "pacing" gait and moves both legs on one side of the body before the legs on the other side. It registers directly by placing each hind paw close to the track of the corresponding fore paw, minimizing noise and visible tracks. This also provides sure footing for hind paws when navigating rough terrain. As it speeds up from walking to trotting, its gait changes to a "diagonal" gait: The diagonally opposite hind and fore legs move simultaneously.

 

Balance

Cats are generally fond of sitting in high places or perching. A higher place may serve as a concealed site from which to hunt; domestic cats strike prey by pouncing from a perch such as a tree branch. Another possible explanation is that height gives the cat a better observation point, allowing it to survey its territory. A cat falling from heights of up to 3 m (9.8 ft) can right itself and land on its paws.

 

During a fall from a high place, a cat reflexively twists its body and rights itself to land on its feet using its acute sense of balance and flexibility. This reflex is known as the cat righting reflex. A cat always rights itself in the same way during a fall, if it has enough time to do so, which is the case in falls of 90 cm (3.0 ft) or more. How cats are able to right themselves when falling has been investigated as the "falling cat problem".

 

Coats

Main article: Cat coat genetics

The cat family (Felidae) can pass down many colors and patterns to their offspring. The domestic cat genes MC1R and ASIP allow for the variety of color in coats. The feline ASIP gene consists of three coding exons. Three novel microsatellite markers linked to ASIP were isolated from a domestic cat BAC clone containing this gene and were used to perform linkage analysis in a pedigree of 89 domestic cats that segregated for melanism.[citation needed]

 

Senses

Main article: Cat senses

Vision

A cat's nictitating membrane shown as it blinks

Cats have excellent night vision and can see at only one-sixth the light level required for human vision.  This is partly the result of cat eyes having a tapetum lucidum, which reflects any light that passes through the retina back into the eye, thereby increasing the eye's sensitivity to dim light. Large pupils are an adaptation to dim light. The domestic cat has slit pupils, which allow it to focus bright light without chromatic aberration. At low light, a cat's pupils expand to cover most of the exposed surface of its eyes. The domestic cat has rather poor color vision and only two types of cone cells, optimized for sensitivity to blue and yellowish green; its ability to distinguish between red and green is limited. A response to middle wavelengths from a system other than the rod cells might be due to a third type of cone. This appears to be an adaptation to low light levels rather than representing true trichromatic vision. Cats also have a nictitating membrane, allowing them to blink without hindering their vision.

 

Hearing

The domestic cat's hearing is most acute in the range of 500 Hz to 32 kHz. It can detect an extremely broad range of frequencies ranging from 55 Hz to 79 kHz, whereas humans can only detect frequencies between 20 Hz and 20 kHz. It can hear a range of 10.5 octaves, while humans and dogs can hear ranges of about 9 octaves. Its hearing sensitivity is enhanced by its large movable outer ears, the pinnae, which amplify sounds and help detect the location of a noise. It can detect ultrasound, which enables it to detect ultrasonic calls made by rodent prey. Recent research has shown that cats have socio-spatial cognitive abilities to create mental maps of owners' locations based on hearing owners' voices.

 

Smell

Cats have an acute sense of smell, due in part to their well-developed olfactory bulb and a large surface of olfactory mucosa, about 5.8 cm2 (0.90 in2) in area, which is about twice that of humans. Cats and many other animals have a Jacobson's organ in their mouths that is used in the behavioral process of flehmening. It allows them to sense certain aromas in a way that humans cannot. Cats are sensitive to pheromones such as 3-mercapto-3-methylbutan-1-ol, which they use to communicate through urine spraying and marking with scent glands. Many cats also respond strongly to plants that contain nepetalactone, especially catnip, as they can detect that substance at less than one part per billion. About 70–80% of cats are affected by nepetalactone. This response is also produced by other plants, such as silver vine (Actinidia polygama) and the herb valerian; it may be caused by the smell of these plants mimicking a pheromone and stimulating cats' social or sexual behaviors.

 

Taste

Cats have relatively few taste buds compared to humans (470 or so versus more than 9,000 on the human tongue). Domestic and wild cats share a taste receptor gene mutation that keeps their sweet taste buds from binding to sugary molecules, leaving them with no ability to taste sweetness. They, however, possess taste bud receptors specialized for acids, amino acids like protein, and bitter tastes. Their taste buds possess the receptors needed to detect umami. However, these receptors contain molecular changes that make the cat taste of umami different from that of humans. In humans, they detect the amino acids of glutamic acid and aspartic acid, but in cats they instead detect nucleotides, in this case inosine monophosphate and l-Histidine. These nucleotides are particularly enriched in tuna. This has been argued is why cats find tuna so palatable: as put by researchers into cat taste, "the specific combination of the high IMP and free l-Histidine contents of tuna" .. "produces a strong umami taste synergy that is highly preferred by cats". One of the researchers involved in this research has further claimed, "I think umami is as important for cats as sweet is for humans".[87]

 

Cats also have a distinct temperature preference for their food, preferring food with a temperature around 38 °C (100 °F) which is similar to that of a fresh kill; some cats reject cold food (which would signal to the cat that the "prey" item is long dead and therefore possibly toxic or decomposing).

 

Whiskers

To aid with navigation and sensation, cats have dozens of movable whiskers (vibrissae) over their body, especially their faces. These provide information on the width of gaps and on the location of objects in the dark, both by touching objects directly and by sensing air currents; they also trigger protective blink reflexes to protect the eyes from damage.: 47 

 

Behavior

See also: Cat behavior

Outdoor cats are active both day and night, although they tend to be slightly more active at night.[88] Domestic cats spend the majority of their time in the vicinity of their homes but can range many hundreds of meters from this central point. They establish territories that vary considerably in size, in one study ranging 7–28 ha (17–69 acres). The timing of cats' activity is quite flexible and varied but being low-light predators, they are generally crepuscular, which means they tend to be more active near dawn and dusk. However, house cats' behavior is also influenced by human activity and they may adapt to their owners' sleeping patterns to some extent.

 

Cats conserve energy by sleeping more than most animals, especially as they grow older. The daily duration of sleep varies, usually between 12 and 16 hours, with 13 and 14 being the average. Some cats can sleep as much as 20 hours. The term "cat nap" for a short rest refers to the cat's tendency to fall asleep (lightly) for a brief period. While asleep, cats experience short periods of rapid eye movement sleep often accompanied by muscle twitches, which suggests they are dreaming.

 

Sociability

The social behavior of the domestic cat ranges from widely dispersed individuals to feral cat colonies that gather around a food source, based on groups of co-operating females. Within such groups, one cat is usually dominant over the others. Each cat in a colony holds a distinct territory, with sexually active males having the largest territories, which are about 10 times larger than those of female cats and may overlap with several females' territories. These territories are marked by urine spraying, by rubbing objects at head height with secretions from facial glands, and by defecation. Between these territories are neutral areas where cats watch and greet one another without territorial conflicts. Outside these neutral areas, territory holders usually chase away stranger cats, at first by staring, hissing, and growling and, if that does not work, by short but noisy and violent attacks. Despite this colonial organization, cats do not have a social survival strategy or a herd behavior, and always hunt alone.

 

Life in proximity to humans and other domestic animals has led to a symbiotic social adaptation in cats, and cats may express great affection toward humans or other animals. Ethologically, a cat's human keeper functions as if a mother surrogate. Adult cats live their lives in a kind of extended kittenhood, a form of behavioral neoteny. Their high-pitched sounds may mimic the cries of a hungry human infant, making them particularly difficult for humans to ignore. Some pet cats are poorly socialized. In particular, older cats show aggressiveness toward newly arrived kittens, which include biting and scratching; this type of behavior is known as feline asocial aggression.

 

Redirected aggression is a common form of aggression which can occur in multiple cat households. In redirected aggression there is usually something that agitates the cat: this could be a sight, sound, or another source of stimuli which causes a heightened level of anxiety or arousal. If the cat cannot attack the stimuli, it may direct anger elsewhere by attacking or directing aggression to the nearest cat, dog, human or other being.

 

Domestic cats' scent rubbing behavior toward humans or other cats is thought to be a feline means for social bonding.

 

Communication

Main article: Cat communication

Domestic cats use many vocalizations for communication, including purring, trilling, hissing, growling/snarling, grunting, and several different forms of meowing. Their body language, including position of ears and tail, relaxation of the whole body, and kneading of the paws, are all indicators of mood. The tail and ears are particularly important social signal mechanisms in cats. A raised tail indicates a friendly greeting, and flattened ears indicate hostility. Tail-raising also indicates the cat's position in the group's social hierarchy, with dominant individuals raising their tails less often than subordinate ones. Feral cats are generally silent.: 208  Nose-to-nose touching is also a common greeting and may be followed by social grooming, which is solicited by one of the cats raising and tilting its head.

 

Purring may have developed as an evolutionary advantage as a signaling mechanism of reassurance between mother cats and nursing kittens, who are thought to use it as a care-soliciting signal. Post-nursing cats also often purr as a sign of contentment: when being petted, becoming relaxed, or eating. Even though purring is popularly interpreted as indicative of pleasure, it has been recorded in a wide variety of circumstances, most of which involve physical contact between the cat and another, presumably trusted individual. Some cats have been observed to purr continuously when chronically ill or in apparent pain.

 

The exact mechanism by which cats purr has long been elusive, but it has been proposed that purring is generated via a series of sudden build-ups and releases of pressure as the glottis is opened and closed, which causes the vocal folds to separate forcefully. The laryngeal muscles in control of the glottis are thought to be driven by a neural oscillator which generates a cycle of contraction and release every 30–40 milliseconds (giving a frequency of 33 to 25 Hz).

 

Domestic cats observed in a rescue facility have total of 276 distinct facial expressions based on 26 different facial movements; each facial expression corresponds to different social functions that are likely influenced by domestication.

 

Grooming

Cats are known for spending considerable amounts of time licking their coats to keep them clean. The cat's tongue has backward-facing spines about 500 μm long, which are called papillae. These contain keratin which makes them rigid so the papillae act like a hairbrush. Some cats, particularly longhaired cats, occasionally regurgitate hairballs of fur that have collected in their stomachs from grooming. These clumps of fur are usually sausage-shaped and about 2–3 cm (0.79–1.18 in) long. Hairballs can be prevented with remedies that ease elimination of the hair through the gut, as well as regular grooming of the coat with a comb or stiff brush.

 

Fighting

Among domestic cats, males are more likely to fight than females. Among feral cats, the most common reason for cat fighting is competition between two males to mate with a female. In such cases, most fights are won by the heavier male. Another common reason for fighting in domestic cats is the difficulty of establishing territories within a small home. Female cats also fight over territory or to defend their kittens. Neutering will decrease or eliminate this behavior in many cases, suggesting that the behavior is linked to sex hormones.

 

When cats become aggressive, they try to make themselves appear larger and more threatening by raising their fur, arching their backs, turning sideways and hissing or spitting. Often, the ears are pointed down and back to avoid damage to the inner ear and potentially listen for any changes behind them while focused forward. Cats may also vocalize loudly and bare their teeth in an effort to further intimidate their opponents. Fights usually consist of grappling and delivering powerful slaps to the face and body with the forepaws as well as bites. Cats also throw themselves to the ground in a defensive posture to rake their opponent's belly with their powerful hind legs.

 

Serious damage is rare, as the fights are usually short in duration, with the loser running away with little more than a few scratches to the face and ears. Fights for mating rights are typically more severe and injuries may include deep puncture wounds and lacerations. Normally, serious injuries from fighting are limited to infections of scratches and bites, though these can occasionally kill cats if untreated. In addition, bites are probably the main route of transmission of feline immunodeficiency virus. Sexually active males are usually involved in many fights during their lives, and often have decidedly battered faces with obvious scars and cuts to their ears and nose. Cats are willing to threaten animals larger than them to defend their territory, such as dogs and foxes.

 

Hunting and feeding

See also: Cat food

The shape and structure of cats' cheeks is insufficient to allow them to take in liquids using suction. Therefore, when drinking they lap with the tongue to draw liquid upward into their mouths. Lapping at a rate of four times a second, the cat touches the smooth tip of its tongue to the surface of the water, and quickly retracts it like a corkscrew, drawing water upward.

 

Feral cats and free-fed house cats consume several small meals in a day. The frequency and size of meals varies between individuals. They select food based on its temperature, smell and texture; they dislike chilled foods and respond most strongly to moist foods rich in amino acids, which are similar to meat. Cats reject novel flavors (a response termed neophobia) and learn quickly to avoid foods that have tasted unpleasant in the past. It is also a common misconception that cats like milk/cream, as they tend to avoid sweet food and milk. Most adult cats are lactose intolerant; the sugar in milk is not easily digested and may cause soft stools or diarrhea. Some also develop odd eating habits and like to eat or chew on things like wool, plastic, cables, paper, string, aluminum foil, or even coal. This condition, pica, can threaten their health, depending on the amount and toxicity of the items eaten.

 

Cats hunt small prey, primarily birds and rodents, and are often used as a form of pest control. Other common small creatures such as lizards and snakes may also become prey. Cats use two hunting strategies, either stalking prey actively, or waiting in ambush until an animal comes close enough to be captured. The strategy used depends on the prey species in the area, with cats waiting in ambush outside burrows, but tending to actively stalk birds.: 153  Domestic cats are a major predator of wildlife in the United States, killing an estimated 1.3 to 4.0 billion birds and 6.3 to 22.3 billion mammals annually.

 

Certain species appear more susceptible than others; in one English village, for example, 30% of house sparrow mortality was linked to the domestic cat. In the recovery of ringed robins (Erithacus rubecula) and dunnocks (Prunella modularis) in Britain, 31% of deaths were a result of cat predation. In parts of North America, the presence of larger carnivores such as coyotes which prey on cats and other small predators reduces the effect of predation by cats and other small predators such as opossums and raccoons on bird numbers and variety.

 

Perhaps the best-known element of cats' hunting behavior, which is commonly misunderstood and often appalls cat owners because it looks like torture, is that cats often appear to "play" with prey by releasing and recapturing it. This cat and mouse behavior is due to an instinctive imperative to ensure that the prey is weak enough to be killed without endangering the cat.

 

Another poorly understood element of cat hunting behavior is the presentation of prey to human guardians. One explanation is that cats adopt humans into their social group and share excess kill with others in the group according to the dominance hierarchy, in which humans are reacted to as if they are at or near the top. Another explanation is that they attempt to teach their guardians to hunt or to help their human as if feeding "an elderly cat, or an inept kitten". This hypothesis is inconsistent with the fact that male cats also bring home prey, despite males having negligible involvement in raising kittens.:

 

Play

Main article: Cat play and toys

Domestic cats, especially young kittens, are known for their love of play. This behavior mimics hunting and is important in helping kittens learn to stalk, capture, and kill prey. Cats also engage in play fighting, with each other and with humans. This behavior may be a way for cats to practice the skills needed for real combat, and might also reduce any fear they associate with launching attacks on other animals.

 

Cats also tend to play with toys more when they are hungry. Owing to the close similarity between play and hunting, cats prefer to play with objects that resemble prey, such as small furry toys that move rapidly, but rapidly lose interest. They become habituated to a toy they have played with before. String is often used as a toy, but if it is eaten, it can become caught at the base of the cat's tongue and then move into the intestines, a medical emergency which can cause serious illness, even death. Owing to the risks posed by cats eating string, it is sometimes replaced with a laser pointer's dot, which cats may chase.

 

Reproduction

See also: Kitten

The cat secretes and perceives pheromones. Female cats, called queens, are polyestrous with several estrus cycles during a year, lasting usually 21 days. They are usually ready to mate between early February and August in northern temperate zones and throughout the year in equatorial regions.

 

Several males, called tomcats, are attracted to a female in heat. They fight over her, and the victor wins the right to mate. At first, the female rejects the male, but eventually, the female allows the male to mate. The female utters a loud yowl as the male pulls out of her because a male cat's penis has a band of about 120–150 backward-pointing penile spines, which are about 1 mm (0.039 in) long; upon withdrawal of the penis, the spines may provide the female with increased sexual stimulation, which acts to induce ovulation.

 

After mating, the female cleans her vulva thoroughly. If a male attempts to mate with her at this point, the female attacks him. After about 20 to 30 minutes, once the female is finished grooming, the cycle will repeat. Because ovulation is not always triggered by a single mating, females may not be impregnated by the first male with which they mate. Furthermore, cats are superfecund; that is, a female may mate with more than one male when she is in heat, with the result that different kittens in a litter may have different fathers.

 

The morula forms 124 hours after conception. At 148 hours, early blastocysts form. At 10–12 days, implantation occurs. The gestation of queens lasts between 64 and 67 days, with an average of 65 days.

 

Data on the reproductive capacity of more than 2,300 free-ranging queens were collected during a study between May 1998 and October 2000. They had one to six kittens per litter, with an average of three kittens. They produced a mean of 1.4 litters per year, but a maximum of three litters in a year. Of 169 kittens, 127 died before they were six months old due to a trauma caused in most cases by dog attacks and road accidents. The first litter is usually smaller than subsequent litters. Kittens are weaned between six and seven weeks of age. Queens normally reach sexual maturity at 5–10 months, and males at 5–7 months. This varies depending on breed. Kittens reach puberty at the age of 9–10 months.

 

Cats are ready to go to new homes at about 12 weeks of age, when they are ready to leave their mother. They can be surgically sterilized (spayed or castrated) as early as seven weeks to limit unwanted reproduction. This surgery also prevents undesirable sex-related behavior, such as aggression, territory marking (spraying urine) in males and yowling (calling) in females. Traditionally, this surgery was performed at around six to nine months of age, but it is increasingly being performed before puberty, at about three to six months. In the United States, about 80% of household cats are neutered.

 

Lifespan and health

Main articles: Cat health and Aging in cats

The average lifespan of pet cats has risen in recent decades. In the early 1980s, it was about seven years,: 33  rising to 9.4 years in 1995: 33  and an average of about 13 years as of 2014 and 2023. Some cats have been reported as surviving into their 30s, with the oldest known cat dying at a verified age of 38.

 

Neutering increases life expectancy: one study found castrated male cats live twice as long as intact males, while spayed female cats live 62% longer than intact females.: 35  Having a cat neutered confers health benefits, because castrated males cannot develop testicular cancer, spayed females cannot develop uterine or ovarian cancer, and both have a reduced risk of mammary cancer.

 

Disease

Main article: List of feline diseases

About 250 heritable genetic disorders have been identified in cats, many similar to human inborn errors of metabolism. The high level of similarity among the metabolism of mammals allows many of these feline diseases to be diagnosed using genetic tests that were originally developed for use in humans, as well as the use of cats as animal models in the study of the human diseases. Diseases affecting domestic cats include acute infections, parasitic infestations, injuries, and chronic diseases such as kidney disease, thyroid disease, and arthritis. Vaccinations are available for many infectious diseases, as are treatments to eliminate parasites such as worms, ticks, and fleas.

 

Ecology

Habitats

The domestic cat is a cosmopolitan species and occurs across much of the world. It is adaptable and now present on all continents except Antarctica, and on 118 of the 131 main groups of islands, even on the isolated Kerguelen Islands. Due to its ability to thrive in almost any terrestrial habitat, it is among the world's most invasive species. It lives on small islands with no human inhabitants. Feral cats can live in forests, grasslands, tundra, coastal areas, agricultural land, scrublands, urban areas, and wetlands.

 

The unwantedness that leads to the domestic cat being treated as an invasive species is twofold. On one hand, as it is little altered from the wildcat, it can readily interbreed with the wildcat. This hybridization poses a danger to the genetic distinctiveness of some wildcat populations, particularly in Scotland and Hungary, possibly also the Iberian Peninsula, and where protected natural areas are close to human-dominated landscapes, such as Kruger National Park in South Africa. However, its introduction to places where no native felines are present also contributes to the decline of native species.

 

Ferality

Main article: Feral cat

Feral cats are domestic cats that were born in or have reverted to a wild state. They are unfamiliar with and wary of humans and roam freely in urban and rural areas. The numbers of feral cats is not known, but estimates of the United States feral population range from 25 to 60 million. Feral cats may live alone, but most are found in large colonies, which occupy a specific territory and are usually associated with a source of food. Famous feral cat colonies are found in Rome around the Colosseum and Forum Romanum, with cats at some of these sites being fed and given medical attention by volunteers.

 

Public attitudes toward feral cats vary widely, from seeing them as free-ranging pets to regarding them as vermin.

 

Some feral cats can be successfully socialized and 're-tamed' for adoption; young cats, especially kittens and cats that have had prior experience and contact with humans are the most receptive to these efforts.

 

Impact on wildlife

Main article: Cat predation on wildlife

On islands, birds can contribute as much as 60% of a cat's diet. In nearly all cases, the cat cannot be identified as the sole cause for reducing the numbers of island birds, and in some instances, eradication of cats has caused a "mesopredator release" effect; where the suppression of top carnivores creates an abundance of smaller predators that cause a severe decline in their shared prey. Domestic cats are a contributing factor to the decline of many species, a factor that has ultimately led, in some cases, to extinction. The South Island piopio, Chatham rail, and the New Zealand merganser are a few from a long list, with the most extreme case being the flightless Lyall's wren, which was driven to extinction only a few years after its discovery. One feral cat in New Zealand killed 102 New Zealand lesser short-tailed bats in seven days. In the US, feral and free-ranging domestic cats kill an estimated 6.3 – 22.3 billion mammals annually.

 

In Australia, the impact of cats on mammal populations is even greater than the impact of habitat loss. More than one million reptiles are killed by feral cats each day, representing 258 species. Cats have contributed to the extinction of the Navassa curly-tailed lizard and Chioninia coctei.

 

Interaction with humans

Main article: Human interaction with cats

Cats are common pets throughout the world, and their worldwide population as of 2007 exceeded 500 million. As of 2017, the domestic cat was the second most popular pet in the United States, with 95.6 million cats owned and around 42 million households owning at least one cat. In the United Kingdom, 26% of adults have a cat, with an estimated population of 10.9 million pet cats as of 2020. As of 2021, there were an estimated 220 million owned and 480 million stray cats in the world.

 

Cats have been used for millennia to control rodents, notably around grain stores and aboard ships, and both uses extend to the present day.

 

As well as being kept as pets, cats are also used in the international fur trade and leather industries for making coats, hats, blankets, stuffed toys, shoes, gloves, and musical instruments. About 24 cats are needed to make a cat-fur coat. This use has been outlawed in the United States since 2000 and in the European Union (as well as the United Kingdom) since 2007.

 

Cat pelts have been used for superstitious purposes as part of the practice of witchcraft, and are still made into blankets in Switzerland as traditional medicine thought to cure rheumatism.

 

A few attempts to build a cat census have been made over the years, both through associations or national and international organizations (such as that of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies) and over the Internet, but such a task does not seem simple to achieve. General estimates for the global population of domestic cats range widely from anywhere between 200 million to 600 million. Walter Chandoha made his career photographing cats after his 1949 images of Loco, an especially charming stray taken in, were published around the world. He is reported to have photographed 90,000 cats during his career and maintained an archive of 225,000 images that he drew from for publications during his lifetime.

 

Shows

Main article: Cat show

A cat show is a judged event in which the owners of cats compete to win titles in various cat-registering organizations by entering their cats to be judged after a breed standard. It is often required that a cat must be healthy and vaccinated in order to participate in a cat show. Both pedigreed and non-purebred companion ("moggy") cats are admissible, although the rules differ depending on the organization. Competing cats are compared to the applicable breed standard, and assessed for temperament.

 

Infection

Main article: Feline zoonosis

Cats can be infected or infested with viruses, bacteria, fungus, protozoans, arthropods or worms that can transmit diseases to humans. In some cases, the cat exhibits no symptoms of the disease. The same disease can then become evident in a human. The likelihood that a person will become diseased depends on the age and immune status of the person. Humans who have cats living in their home or in close association are more likely to become infected. Others might also acquire infections from cat feces and parasites exiting the cat's body. Some of the infections of most concern include salmonella, cat-scratch disease and toxoplasmosis.

 

History and mythology

Main articles: Cultural depictions of cats and Cats in ancient Egypt

In ancient Egypt, cats were worshipped, and the goddess Bastet often depicted in cat form, sometimes taking on the war-like aspect of a lioness. The Greek historian Herodotus reported that killing a cat was forbidden, and when a household cat died, the entire family mourned and shaved their eyebrows. Families took their dead cats to the sacred city of Bubastis, where they were embalmed and buried in sacred repositories. Herodotus expressed astonishment at the domestic cats in Egypt, because he had only ever seen wildcats.

 

Ancient Greeks and Romans kept weasels as pets, which were seen as the ideal rodent-killers. The earliest unmistakable evidence of the Greeks having domestic cats comes from two coins from Magna Graecia dating to the mid-fifth century BC showing Iokastos and Phalanthos, the legendary founders of Rhegion and Taras respectively, playing with their pet cats. The usual ancient Greek word for 'cat' was ailouros, meaning 'thing with the waving tail'. Cats are rarely mentioned in ancient Greek literature. Aristotle remarked in his History of Animals that "female cats are naturally lecherous." The Greeks later syncretized their own goddess Artemis with the Egyptian goddess Bastet, adopting Bastet's associations with cats and ascribing them to Artemis. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, when the deities flee to Egypt and take animal forms, the goddess Diana turns into a cat.

 

Cats eventually displaced weasels as the pest control of choice because they were more pleasant to have around the house and were more enthusiastic hunters of mice. During the Middle Ages, many of Artemis's associations with cats were grafted onto the Virgin Mary. Cats are often shown in icons of Annunciation and of the Holy Family and, according to Italian folklore, on the same night that Mary gave birth to Jesus, a cat in Bethlehem gave birth to a kitten. Domestic cats were spread throughout much of the rest of the world during the Age of Discovery, as ships' cats were carried on sailing ships to control shipboard rodents and as good-luck charms.

 

Several ancient religions believed cats are exalted souls, companions or guides for humans, that are all-knowing but mute so they cannot influence decisions made by humans. In Japan, the maneki neko cat is a symbol of good fortune. In Norse mythology, Freyja, the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, is depicted as riding a chariot drawn by cats. In Jewish legend, the first cat was living in the house of the first man Adam as a pet that got rid of mice. The cat was once partnering with the first dog before the latter broke an oath they had made which resulted in enmity between the descendants of these two animals. It is also written that neither cats nor foxes are represented in the water, while every other animal has an incarnation species in the water. Although no species are sacred in Islam, cats are revered by Muslims. Some Western writers have stated Muhammad had a favorite cat, Muezza. He is reported to have loved cats so much, "he would do without his cloak rather than disturb one that was sleeping on it". The story has no origin in early Muslim writers, and seems to confuse a story of a later Sufi saint, Ahmed ar-Rifa'i, centuries after Muhammad. One of the companions of Muhammad was known as Abu Hurayrah ("father of the kitten"), in reference to his documented affection to cats.

 

Superstitions and rituals

Many cultures have negative superstitions about cats. An example would be the belief that encountering a black cat ("crossing one's path") leads to bad luck, or that cats are witches' familiars used to augment a witch's powers and skills. The killing of cats in Medieval Ypres, Belgium, is commemorated in the innocuous present-day Kattenstoet (cat parade). In mid-16th century France, cats would be burnt alive as a form of entertainment, particularly during midsummer festivals. According to Norman Davies, the assembled people "shrieked with laughter as the animals, howling with pain, were singed, roasted, and finally carbonized". The remaining ashes were sometimes taken back home by the people for good luck.

 

According to a myth in many cultures, cats have multiple lives. In many countries, they are believed to have nine lives, but in Italy, Germany, Greece, Brazil and some Spanish-speaking regions, they are said to have seven lives, while in Arabic traditions, the number of lives is six. An early mention of the myth can be found in John Heywood's The Proverbs of John Heywood (1546)

 

Husband, (quoth she), ye studie, be merrie now,

And even as ye thinke now, so come to yow.

Nay not so, (quoth he), for my thought to tell right,

I thinke how you lay groning, wife, all last night.

Husband, a groning horse and a groning wife

Never faile their master, (quoth she), for my life.

No wife, a woman hath nine lives like a cat.

 

The myth is attributed to the natural suppleness and swiftness cats exhibit to escape life-threatening situations. Also lending credence to this myth is the fact that falling cats often land on their feet, using an instinctive righting reflex to twist their bodies around. Nonetheless, cats can still be injured or killed by a high fall.

During World War II, both Great Britain and Germany had experimented with very large glider designs (the Hamlicar and Gigant, respectively) capable of carrying tanks. Though glider assaults had varied results during the war, the US Air Force briefly considered resurrecting the idea in 1948, and commissioned Chase Aircraft to build a large glider, the XCG-20 Avitruc. The XCG-20 was of all-metal construction, with a fully-equipped flight deck and a rear-mounted loading ramp for vehicles to be driven directly into the fuselage. The USAF abandoned the idea of glider assaults soon after the first XCG-20 was completed, but Chase had anticipated this: through the simple installation of two propeller-driven engines, the XCG-20 became the XC-123. This itself was considered only an interim design, as the XC-123A had four turbojet engines, becoming the first all-jet transport aircraft.

 

The USAF rejected the XC-123A, as it was found to have poor performance and short range, owing to the thirsty jets of the early 1950s. However, the piston-engined XC-123 showed promise, and the USAF ordered it into production in 1953. Production was delayed due to Chase Aircraft being acquired by Kaiser, who in turn sold the design to Fairchild Aircraft, who would produce it as the C-123B Provider.

 

The C-123 was considered a supplemental aircraft to the C-119 Flying Boxcar already in service and the soon-to-be-deployed C-130 Hercules. It had better single-engine performance than the C-119, and acquired a reputation for reliability, rugged design, simple maintenance, and the ability to land almost anywhere. A small number were converted to C-123J standard, with ski landing gear for operations in Antarctica and Greenland, and experiments were even made to convert it to an amphibian. Nevertheless, the number of C-123s in service were small compared to other types, and the C-130 began replacing it beginning in 1958.

 

As the United States involved itself more in the Vietnam War, one major advantage of its Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army adversaries was the very jungle of Vietnam itself, which provided ready-made cover and camouflage from American air units. In an attempt to deprive the VC/NVA of jungle cover in known concentration areas, the USAF converted a number of C-123s to UC-123 standard, with spraying equipment for the pesticide Agent Orange. Under Operation Ranch Hand, UC-123s were among the first USAF aircraft deployed to Vietnam, and the first USAF aircraft lost in combat was a UC-123B. Spraying Agent Orange was very dangerous work, as it involved flying low and slow over hostile territory; it would not be until after the Vietnam War was over that it was learned that Agent Orange, used in the concentrated quantity employed in Vietnam, was also a deadly carcinogenic.

 

Besides their controversial employment as defoilant sprayers, standard C-123s were used as transports and Candlestick flareships, as the C-130 demand was exceeding supply, and the US Army’s CV-2 (later C-8) Caribous were proving the worth of a short-takeoff and landing transport. To improve the Provider’s performance in the “hot and high” conditions of Vietnam, two J85 turbojets were added beneath the wings of the C-123K variant, which became the final Provider variant and the main type used in Vietnam. CIA-flown Providers were used by Air America to clandestinely supply friendly Hmong tribes in Laos and in Cambodia. 54 C-123s were lost in Vietnam, second only to the C-130.

 

Following the end of American involvement in Vietnam, the C-123Ks were either handed over to South Vietnam or relegated to USAF Reserve and Air National Guard units, from which they were finally withdrawn around 1980. A few UC-123Ks were used to spray insecticides in Alaska and Guam as late as 1982. 11 other air forces used Providers, and the last C-123s were retired from the South Korean Air Force in 2001. 27 are preserved as museum pieces and a few remain in revenue service as “bush” aircraft in Alaska and elsewhere; remaining aircraft in storage were scrapped due to Agent Orange contamination.

 

Quite possibly the most famous C-123 left, "Patches" was delivered to the USAF as 56-4362 to the 60th Troop Carrier Wing based in Europe. In 1963, it became one of the first USAF aircraft sent to South Vietnam and was converted into a UC-123B defoliant aircraft with Operation Ranch Hand; when Ranch Hand operations were suspended in 1968, it switched to spraying insecticides under Operation Flyswatter. "Patches" did not leave Vietnam until 1972, having earned its name: it had been hit over 600 times by enemy small arms fire during Ranch Hand and Flyswatter operations, and seven of its various crewmembers had been wounded. Most of its time was spent with the 315th Air Commando Wing at Phan Rang.

 

Following its Vietnam service, "Patches" served with a few USAF Reserve units, finishing up with the 439th Tactical Airlift Wing at Westover AFB, Massachusetts. Because of its combat record, when the 439th began to deactivate in the early 1980s, "Patches" was saved and flown to the National Museum of the USAF. It was restored to the way it would have looked at the beginning of the Vietnam War, before the C-123 fleet was camouflaged and remained in bare metal.

 

Today, "Patches" sits in the Southeast Asia gallery at the NMUSAF, with its nose art and Purple Heart markings restored. There was some concern that it would have to be scrapped in the late 1990s, as the airframe was found to be heavily contaminated with Agent Orange, but a way was found to clean the aircraft. Having read about "Patches" in college, it was an interesting experience seeing it up close in May 2017.

Wildland Firefighters on Rappel capable crews, come from all over the nation each spring to train at the National Helicopter Rappel Program’s Rappel Academy at Salmon AirBase, in Salmon, Idaho.

Wildland fire aircraft play a critical role in supporting firefighters on wildland fires. Helicopters also deliver aerial crews called Heli-Rappellers to wildland fires. These are specially trained firefighters that rappel from helicopters in order to effectively and quickly respond to fires in remote terrain.

Heli-Rappellers may land near a wildfire but if there is no landing zone close by they can utilize their skills to rappel from the hovering helicopter. Once on the ground, crews build firelines using hand tools, chainsaws, and other firefighting tools. (Forest Service photo by Charity Parks)

Cyaxares or Hvakhshathra Uvaxštra, Greek: Κυαξάρης; r. 625–585 BC), the son of King Phraortes, was the third and most capable king of Media. According to Herodotus, Cyaxares, grandson of Deioces, had a far greater military reputation than his father or grandfather.

By uniting the Iranian tribes of Ancient Iran and conquering territory, Cyaxares allowed the Median Empire to become a regional power. During his rule, the Neo-Assyrian Empire fell and the Scythians were repelled from Median lands.

He was born in the Median capital of Ecbatana, his father Phraortes was killed in a battle against the Assyrians, led by Ashurbanipal, the king of Neo-Assyria. After his fall the Scythians took over. In his early age Cyaxares was seeking for revenge. He killed the Scythian leaders and proclaimed himself as King of Medes. After throwing off the Scythians, he prepared for war against Assyria. Cyaxares reorganized and modernized the Median Army, then joined with King Nabopolassar of Babylonia. This alliance was formalized through the marriage of Cyaxares daughter, Amytis with Nabopolassar’s son, Nebuchadnezzar II, the king who constructed the Hanging Gardens of Babylon as a present for his Median wife to help with her homesickness for the mountainous country of her birth. These allies overthrew the Assyrian Empire and destroyed Nineveh in 612 BC.

After the victory in Assyria, the Medes conquered Northern Mesopotamia, Armenia and the parts of Asia Minor east of the Halys River, which was the border established with Lydia after a decisive battle between Lydia and Media, the Battle of Halys ended with an eclipse on May 28, 585 BC.

The conflict between Lydia and the Medes was reported by Herodotus as follows:

“A horde of the nomad Scythians at feud with the rest withdrew and sought refuge in the land of the Medes: and at this time the ruler of the Medes was Cyaxares the son of Phraortes, the son of Deïokes, who at first dealt well with these Scythians, being suppliants for his protection; and esteeming them very highly he delivered boys to them to learn their speech and the art of shooting with the bow. Then time went by, and the Scythians used to go out continually to the chase and always brought back something; till once it happened that they took nothing, and when they returned with empty hands Cyaxares (being, as he showed on this occasion, not of an eminently good disposition) dealt with them very harshly and used insult towards them. And they, when they had received this treatment from Cyaxares, considering that they had suffered indignity, planned to kill and to cut up one of the boys who were being instructed among them, and having dressed his flesh as they had been wont to dress the wild animals, to bear it to Cyaxares and give it to him, pretending that it was game taken in hunting; and when they had given it, their design was to make their way as quickly as possible to Alyattes the son of Sadyattes at Sardis. This then was done; and Cyaxares with the guests who ate at his table tasted of that meat, and the Scythians having so done became suppliants for the protection of Alyattes.

After this, since Alyattes would not give up the Scythians when Cyaxares demanded them, there had arisen war between the Lydians and the Medes lasting five years; in which years the Medes often discomfited the Lydians and the Lydians often discomfited the Medes (and among others they fought also a battle by night): and as they still carried on the war with equally balanced fortune, in the sixth year a battle took

place in which it happened, when the fight had begun, that suddenly the day became night. And this change of the day Thales the Milesian had foretold to the Ionians laying down as a limit this very year in which the change took place. The Lydians however and the Medes, when they saw that it had become night instead of day, ceased from their fighting and were much more eager both of them that peace should be made between them. And they who brought about the peace between them were Syennesis the Kilikian and Labynetos the Babylonian: these were they who urged also the taking of the oath by them, and they brought about an interchange of marriages; for they decided that Alyattes should give his daughter Aryenis to Astyages the son of Cyaxares, since without the compulsion of a strong tie agreements are apt not to hold strongly together.” (Histories, 1.73-74, trans. Macaulay)

Cyaxares died shortly after the battle and was succeeded by his son, Astyages, who was the maternal grandfather of Cyrus the Great through his daughter Mandane of Media.

Aeroscopia est un musée aéronautique français implanté à Blagnac (Haute-Garonne), près du site AéroConstellation, et accueille notamment deux exemplaires du Concorde, dont l'ouverture a eu lieu le 14 janvier 2015

 

Le tarmac Sud du musée n'est capable d'accueillir que trois gros appareils. L'installation des appareils fut définitivement terminée après que le premier prototype de l'A400M-180 y fut arrivé le 16 juillet 2015, en dépit de la possibilité de 360 000 euros de TVA.

 

Concorde, F-BVFC, MSN209 aux couleurs d'Air France

Caravelle 12, F-BTOE, MSN280 aux couleurs d'Air Inter, dernier exemplaire construit

A400M-180, F-WWMT, MSN001 stationné depuis le 16 juillet 2015

 

La réalisation en 2019 du nouveau tarmac au Nord du musée permet l'accueil d'appareils supplémentaires issus des entreprises locales Airbus et ATR. Le transfert des avions entre le site Airbus "Lagardère" et le musée a lieu sur une semaine, à raison d'un appareil par jour :

 

ATR 72-600, F-WWEY, MSN098 aux couleurs d'ATR, transféré sur site le 26 août 2019, premier exemplaire du 72 dans sa version 600

Airbus A340-600, F-WWCA, MSN360 aux couleurs d'Airbus, transféré sur site le 27 août 2019, premier exemplaire de l'A340 dans sa version 600

Airbus A320-111, F-WWAI, MSN001 aux anciennes couleurs d'Airbus, transféré sur site le 28 août 2019, premier exemplaire de l'A320 : inauguration le 14 février 1987 en présence de Lady Diana et du Prince Charles, premier vol le 22 février 1987

Airbus A380-800, F-WXXL, MSN002 aux couleurs d'Airbus, transféré sur site le 29 août 2019, second exemplaire de l'A380. Les deux ponts de cet appareil sont visitables, ainsi que le cockpit.

ATR 42-300, F-WEGC, MSN003 aux anciennes couleurs d'ATR, transféré sur site le 30 août 2019, troisième exemplaire du 42. Cet exemplaire est décoré aux couleurs du MSN001 et porte l'immatriculation F-WEGA

 

Concorde, F-WTSB, MSN201 (ANAE), il s'agit d'un appareil de présérie qui a servi entre autres à transporter plusieurs présidents de la République française.

Airbus A300B4-203, F-WUAB, MSN238 (Airbus Heritage), décoré aux couleurs du prototype, au lieu de MSN001 démantelé. L'intérieur est visitable. Dans la première section des vitrages transparents permettent de voir la structure et les systèmes de l'avion, tandis que dans les sections suivantes sont représentés des aménagements de première classe et VIP.

Super Guppy de l'association Ailes Anciennes Toulouse, l'appareil qui servait au transport des tronçons d'Airbus est exposé porte ouverte, et une passerelle permet l'accès à la soute où un film est projeté. L'ouverture n'a pas été une mince affaire, l'appareil n'ayant pas été ouvert pendant 15 ans. L'aide des anciens mécaniciens de l'avion a été primordiale pour permettre une ouverture en toute sécurité.

 

Corvette (Airbus)

Falcon 10 no 02, prototype ayant servi aux essais du turboréacteur Larzac (Ailes Anciennes Toulouse)

Fouga Magister (AAT)

Gazelle prototype (AAT)

Mirage III C (AAT)

Nord 1100 (AAT)

Lockheed F-104G (AAT)

MiG-15 (AAT)

MS.760 Paris (AAT)

Vought F-8E(FN) Crusader et son réacteur (AAT)

Alouette II Marine (AAT)

Cessna Skymaster (AAT)

Fairchild Metro, ancien avion de Météo-France (AAT)

HM-293, de Rodolphe Grunberg

Chagnes MicroStar, avion de construction amateur, version biréacteur de Rutan VariViggen (AAT)

Saab J35OE Draken (AAT)

 

Aeroscopia is a French aeronautical museum located in Blagnac (Haute-Garonne), near the AéroConstellation site, and notably hosts two copies of the Concorde, which opened on January 14, 2015

 

The south tarmac of the museum can only accommodate three large aircraft. The installation of the devices was definitively finished after the first prototype of the A400M-180 arrived there on July 16, 2015, despite the possibility of 360,000 euros in VAT.

 

Concorde, F-BVFC, MSN209 in Air France colors

Caravelle 12, F-BTOE, MSN280 in Air Inter colors, last model built

A400M-180, F-WWMT, MSN001 parked since July 16, 2015

 

The construction in 2019 of the new tarmac north of the museum will accommodate additional aircraft from local Airbus and ATR companies. The transfer of planes between the Airbus "Lagardère" site and the museum takes place over a week, at the rate of one aircraft per day:

 

ATR 72-600, F-WWEY, MSN098 in ATR colors, transferred to site on August 26, 2019, first copy of the 72 in its 600 version

Airbus A340-600, F-WWCA, MSN360 in Airbus colors, transferred to site on August 27, 2019, first copy of the A340 in its 600 version

Airbus A320-111, F-WWAI, MSN001 in the old Airbus colors, transferred to site on August 28, 2019, first copy of the A320: inauguration on February 14, 1987 in the presence of Lady Diana and Prince Charles, first flight on February 22, 1987

Airbus A380-800, F-WXXL, MSN002 in Airbus colors, transferred to site on August 29, 2019, second copy of the A380. The two decks of this aircraft can be visited, as well as the cockpit.

ATR 42-300, F-WEGC, MSN003 in the old ATR colors, transferred to the site on August 30, 2019, third specimen of the 42. This specimen is decorated in the colors of the MSN001 and bears the registration F-WEGA

 

Concorde, F-WTSB, MSN201 (ANAE), this is a pre-production aircraft which was used, among other things, to transport several presidents of the French Republic.

Airbus A300B4-203, F-WUAB, MSN238 (Airbus Heritage), decorated in the colors of the prototype, instead of dismantled MSN001. The interior can be visited. In the first section transparent glazing allows to see the structure and systems of the aircraft, while in the following sections are shown first class and VIP fittings.

Super Guppy from the Ailes Anciennes Toulouse association, the aircraft which was used to transport the Airbus sections is on display with the door open, and a gangway allows access to the hold where a film is shown. Opening was no small feat, as the device has not been opened for 15 years. The help of the former mechanics of the aircraft was essential to allow a safe opening.

 

Corvette (Airbus)

Falcon 10 no 02, prototype used for testing the Larzac turbojet engine (Ailes Anciennes Toulouse)

Fouga Magister (AAT)

Prototype Gazelle (AAT)

Mirage III C (AAT)

North 1100 (AAT)

Lockheed F-104G (AAT)

MiG-15 (AAT)

MS.760 Paris (AAT)

Vought F-8E (FN) Crusader and its engine (AAT)

Alouette II Marine (AAT)

Cessna Skymaster (AAT)

Fairchild Metro, former Météo-France (AAT) aircraft

HM-293, by Rodolphe Grunberg

Chagnes MicroStar, amateur-built aircraft, twin-jet version of Rutan VariViggen (AAT)

Saab J35OE Draken (AAT)

illustration Happy Cats 1942

Contact me 24/7 via email. All day. Every single day. Kennyk@k2modern.com. Also, don't forget to follow my shenanigans on Instagram and Twitter.

You have to watch your step. The bodies that

so many had become are gummy bits

and pieces all across the stone. They splat-

tered easily as mucus forms. From its

formation in the north of England, our

wholehearted column – mostly volunteers

that swelled the ranks of regulars – by far

was capable of breaking down the gears

of tyranny's machine with one long march,

to strike the tool of misery where it

encamped in our Hibernia. The arch-

usurper could not stand against us. Shit.

 

It all was shit. Like Jacobites, we came

to love a cause to blindness. We're to blame.

  

I still recall the rhetoric. And if

I let my heart be so disposed, why sure –

I'd resurrect the way it felt – the cliff

we toppled off, unseen in such a pur-

ity of passion. Stupid pure, is what

I'd call it now. You know the way it works –

this universe. We started out in guts-

and-glory Eighteenth-Century: the dirks

and flintlocks; cockades on our bonnets; plaid

clan kilts; those mass attack formations in

a column, tight and disciplined to mad-

ly die for duty. Human bowling pins.

 

That's what we were, and glad of it. The long

trek north would change us... as it all went wrong...

  

What were we thinking? Going north? You know

how time and dream and space get fuddled up

the father north you go! The column's slow

progression left us open – like a cup

you drink from unaware of who had sipped

from it – and it was Typhoid Mary. We

would start to change – one here, one there. We slipped

so slowly from an army, by degree,

that – muddled up in dream – we failed to see

what we'd become. It all seemed natural...

the tentacles... the life forms made of brie

with eyes like caviar... We drank in-full...

 

I've wondered, since, what agent lured us in

to our own choice of ruin just to win...

  

At last we reached the stretch of coast, beyond

which were the enemy encampments. We

were just as passionate as when we'd donned

these uniforms and arms. Between the sea

and coastal crags, a narrow strip of stone

allows a man or two to step across

the scree and clinging life that's somehow grown

in salt-spray – stubborn, hardy, bits of moss

that even manages to cling to life

despite the scouring of storm-waves. Just

a few survive, wedged deep in cracks a knife-

blade hardly fits. A knife-blade, though, will rust.

 

This narrow strip of stone became, for those

of us who passed, the act come to its close.

  

Our train, by now, was straggling in groups

of twos and threes, around a core command

of fifty. What was once ten-thousand troops

now numbered in the hundreds – who could stand

on human legs, I mean. The column teemed

with things like jellyfish that rode on carts

and ponies – ectoplasma shapes undreamed

in Jacobean Scotland – trailing parts

that rose in greeting to a longtime friend,

perhaps, for those with any brain left, and

a memory of what they were. Append-

ages were plentiful, though none could stand.

 

To us this all seemed natural, the way

it always had been. Normal. Everyday...

  

It happened I was first to reach the ledge

of shelving on the cliff-face dropping to

the sea. It stretched a quarter-mile – the edge

precipitous. But still, we'd manage through

the tumbled rock, and moss that made it hard

to keep your footing. Others had arrived

as I had stopped to check my gear, and start-

ed easing out along the ledge. I tried

to hurry, but had been a soldier long

enough to know to be prepared for what

might just be waiting for us. Quite a throng,

by now, had formed, my window clearly shut.

 

And as I'd feared, the firing began –

our soldiers fed to it as though by plan.

  

As more recruits arrived, and tried to reach

the fighting, each would trail the one before

with hardly any shoving. Yet, as each

impelled the other forward – many more

than possibly could fit on one slim ledge –

of course men fell. The jellies made it worse.

Abandoned carts too wide for us to wedge

onto the narrow shelf were interspersed

with milling masses – not all men. The ec-

toplasma one-time soldiers -- those with some

mean structure to their flaccid jelly – trekked

their way to war, like those they were among.

 

The press of troops... combined with slimy goo

the jellies trailed... then add an ambush, too...

  

We never had a chance. But we were deep

in latitude conditioning, way down

among the trees. What’s more, we climbed to steep-

er latitudes. Who doesn’t run aground

on nightmare sometimes when in transit? We

sure did! Thank God the latitude set in

as quickly as it did. As clarity

began to reassert – the muddle, thin –

I stood in horror at the thought of all

we’d done. An attribute this latitude

has (once again, thank God) is prime recall

of universal law – and that there was no feud!

 

I had to stop the fighting. Only I

could see the forest. No one else need die!

  

As scientists, we thought our knowledge made

us different – exempting us from how

a change of latitude affects you. Trade

had lured us south. But nothing could endow

us with immunity to changing. Those

of us who tried forgot ourselves. And of

those, many lost their form as well. Who knows

what they’ve become! My mind now rose above

the dream-world chaos. Human still, my luck

had served me well. And I had further need

of it. In time, I got to where the duck

shoot was – or more like sickles do to weeds...

 

The “enemy” were men like me. They soon

could see I didn’t mean them harm. Yeah... soon...

  

It wasn’t soon enough. I’d shouted “Hold

your fire! Stop this now!” to no avail.

They didn’t aim at me, but still they bowled

our nine-pins down until, at last, the scale

of our attack became a trickle. Scat-

tered on the slaughterground were corpses cut

to bits by automatic weapons. That

was what our flintlocks faced. They listened but,

to all my anguished whys, explained that though

they understood – that these were men condemned

by latitude conditioning and showed

the signs of transit change, we chose our end...

 

They couldn’t take the risk we’d overrun

them. Yes, I saw the sense in what they’d done.

  

I understood the reasoning for all

the slaughter. What would be the use of minds

returned too late to clarity... and sprawl-

ing all around them, evidence reminds

those men of acts committed prior to

awakening? So men were killed the same

as jellies – those already lost. Would you

do any different? It’s luck their aim

was poor before they realized that I’d

regained my reasoning. I pick my way

among the corpses, do my best to guide

a lucky few to base who’d gone astray...

 

I wonder if the mucus forms, once men,

recalled their names before they died..? And when..?

   

© Keith Ward 2007

Hit Head On

 

Click here for more about this image and series, SF Sonnets.

 

"Jacobites" is a sequence of eleven verses, each in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet. Unlike other sonnets I've written, I allowed myself to break words into syllables between lines.

 

The story is based on a dream I had on Monday, January 1, 2007 - yesterday, in fact, although it seems so long ago, for some reason... The basic scene sequence, images and plotline are from the dream. The logical explanation for it all, and the single defined character who narrates the story, were added for the poem.

by heavydsparks ift.tt/1P9QFPm

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The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a twin-engine, variable sweep wings capable of supersonic flight. the aircraft is crewed by a Pilot and a Radar Intercept Officer who share the tasks of navigation, target acquisition, ECM and weapons usage. The Tomcat was operated by the United States Navy and the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force only. The name “Tomcat” is said to come from the call-sign used by Vice Admiral Thomas Connolly which also conformed to the USN tradition of giving Grumman aircraft feline names.

 

The McDonnel Doughlas Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet is a twin-engine multi-role carrier-based airctaft. The “E” variant is single-seater while the “F” variant is a tandem-seat configuration. The “E” is a much larger, more advanced and more capable variant of the F/A-18C. The Super variant can carry a larger array of weapons as well as more of them and is capable of returning to the carrier while still carrying unspent munitions, a big savings in dollars. The first F/A-18E flight was in 1995 and began delivery to the USN in 1999.

White Sands Missile Range Museum

 

Little John was the Army's smallest nuclear-capable rocket ever deployed. It was a free flight artillery rocket, capable of carrying either nuclear or conventional warheads.

 

Little John was an air-transportable, unguided rocket powered by a solid-fuel rocket motor. Designed to give airborne Army units a nuclear capability, the highly mobile Little John rocket system complemented the heavier self-propelled Honest John systems.

 

Developmental studies began in 1953. Little John went through two stages of development. The one shown here (XM47) with triangular fins was the earlier of the two, first launched in June 1956. This was essentially a rocket test vehicle, and was used for training and test purposes.

 

The final tactical Little John (XM51) had small square fins. Its development began in 1956, with test firings conducted between December 1958 and October 1959. Production began in late 1959 and the first rockets were deployed by airborne battalions in January 1961.

 

Production and deployment were limited by the fact that Little John was designed for airborne operations and there were only two airborne Army units at the time. In August 1969, it was declared obsolete and withdrawn from service.

 

At White Sands Missile Range, the first Little John was tested in 1956. Before it was declared obsolete, 636 rockets had been test-fired here. Between 1969 and 1977, 43 additional Little Johns were launched to test laser guidance, warheads and other components. It was a Range workhorse.

 

Length: 14.5 ft

Diameter: 12 in

Weight: 800 pounds

Propellant: Solid

Range: 11 miles

First Fired: 1956

Cowes RNLI ILB (inshore lifeboat)

Lifeboat

B-810 Tabby Cat

being launched down the slipway of the new lifeboat station in the river Medina at Cowes for the last time.

B-810 is a Atlantic 85 B class lifeboats, which are 8½ metres long, are capable of 35 knots and can carry up to four crew members.

 

The Atlantic 85 was designed by the RNLI and has been developed over the past 5 years to meet the ever-changing requirements of the lifesaving service. It can operate safely in daylight up to force 7 conditions and at night up to force 6.

Wildland Firefighters on Rappel capable crews, come from all over the nation each spring to train at the National Helicopter Rappel Program’s Rappel Academy at Salmon AirBase, in Salmon, Idaho.

Wildland fire aircraft play a critical role in supporting firefighters on wildland fires. Helicopters also deliver aerial crews called Heli-Rappellers to wildland fires. These are specially trained firefighters that rappel from helicopters in order to effectively and quickly respond to fires in remote terrain.

Heli-Rappellers may land near a wildfire but if there is no landing zone close by they can utilize their skills to rappel from the hovering helicopter. Once on the ground, crews build firelines using hand tools, chainsaws, and other firefighting tools. (Forest Service photo by Charity Parks)

"Since Auschwitz we know what man is capable of. And since Hiroshima we know what is at stake."

~ Viktor Frankl

 

Yesterday was the 65th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, which killed approximately 150,000 people.

 

90% of Hiroshima's buildings were flattened. The Industrial Promotion Hall, now known as the A-Bomb Dome, was the nearest building to the bomb's hypocentre to remain standing. Today it acts as a memorial to those who died.

 

Four years ago I went to Japan on my first trip abroad by myself. When I got to Hiroshima I attended a talk given by a hibakusha (survivor) in the museum in the peace park. When the bomb went off he was a schoolchild sitting in a classroom on the outskirts of the city, and although he survived, his best friend, sitting in the same room, did not.

 

The museum itself is harrowing. After a while all the statistics, all the rights and wrongs of the US's decision, and all the pro-Japanese propaganda up on the walls become meaningless, and you're left with details, individual exhibits and scraps that your brain can process. Every clock and watch that broke and stopped just after 8.15am. The slab of concrete showing the outline of a vapourised person. The melted tricycle of a three-year old who would have died instantly. I was holding it together, just about, until I got to the tricycle.

In 1937, the Imperial Japanese Navy issued a requirement for a replacement for the Mitsubishi A5M then entering service. The IJN wanted a carrier-capable fighter with a top speed of 300 mph, an endurance of eight hours, cannon armament, good maneuverability, with a wingspan less than 40 feet—the width of elevators on Japanese aircraft carriers. All of this had to be done with an existing powerplant.

 

Nakajima promptly declared that the IJN was asking the impossible and did not bother trying to submit a design. Mitsubishi’s chief designer, Jiro Horikoshi, felt differently and began working on a prototype. Using the Nakajima Sakae 12 as the powerplant, he lightened his design as much as physically possible, leaving off crew armor and self-sealing fuel tanks, and using a special kind of light but brittle duralumin in its construction. Though it delayed production, the wing and fuselage were constructed as a single piece for better durability. Using flush riveting also made for an aerodynamically clean design; it had a stall speed below that of any contemporary fighter at 70 mph. Its wide tracked landing gear also made it fairly simple to recover on both carriers and land on unimproved airstrips. Horikoshi had delivered, and the IJN accepted the new fighter into service in July 1940 as the A6M Rei-sen (Type 0), referring to the Imperial calendar date used by the Emperor of Japan; 1940 was Imperial year 2400. Both friend and foe would refer to the A6M simply as the Zero.

 

The Zero had its first combat encounter with Chinese Polikarpov I-16s in September 1940, a fighter that was the equal of the A5Ms and Ki-27s then in Japanese service, yet 13 Zeroes were easily able to handle 27 I-16s, shooting all of them down without loss in three minutes. Claire Chennault, the American advisor to the Chinese Nationalists, sent reports of this amazing new fighter to the United States, but he was ignored. The Allies would therefore learn of the Zero’s prowess first-hand on 7 December 1941 at Pearl Harbor. Making matters worse for the Allies was that the Zeroes they encountered were flown by IJN pilots, who were among the best in the world. Teaming elite pilots with a supremely maneuverable fighter was a deadly combination that seemed unstoppable in 1942, when Zeroes over New Guinea sustained a kill ratio of 12 to 1 over Allied opponents.

 

Even at this dark stage of the war for the Allies, however, their pilots were learning the Zero’s weaknesses. Hirokoshi’s sacrifices had given the Japanese an excellent and very long-ranged fighter (A6Ms regularly made the round trip between Rabaul and Guadalcanal in 1942), but it had come at a price. P-40 and F4F Wildcat pilots in China and the Pacific learned that the Zero, lacking any sort of armor or self-sealing fuel tanks, was very prone to catching fire and exploding with only a few hits. They also learned that the best defense against a Zero was to dive away from it, as Japanese pilots could not keep up with either the P-40 or the F4F in a dive, as it would tear their fragile fighter apart. While trying to dogfight a Zero was suicide, Allied pilots could use the vertical to their advantage. Japanese pilots also learned that the rifle-caliber 7.7mm machine guns in the Zero’s cowl were ineffective against armored Allied fighters, and the 20mm cannon often had poor fusing on the shells. The Allies gave the Zero the reporting name “Zeke,” while later models were codenamed “Hamp” and floatplane A6M2-Ns were codenamed “Rufe,” but most pilots continued to call it the Zero.

 

As World War II continued, the Allies began drawing on those lessons in fighter design, helped immensely when an intact A6M2 was captured in the Aleutians in summer 1942. First to arrive was the F4U Corsair, which still could not turn with the Zero but was faster and better in a climb; the second was the F6F Hellcat, which was also faster and better in the vertical, and could stay with the Zero in a sustained turn. The Allies also benefited from the Japanese losing so many experienced pilots in battles such as Midway and the Guadalcanal campaign: the IJN’s pilot replacement program was too selective, and could not replace the heavy losses of 1942 and 1943. Japanese industry was also slow to come up with a replacement for the A6M. As a result, by late 1943, the Zero menace had been reduced drastically. While the Zero was still deadly in the hands of a good pilot, these pilots were increasingly scarce by 1945.

 

Though Mitsubishi kept upgrading the Zero throughout World War II, the design simply was too specialized to do much with. By 1945, it was being used mainly as a kamikaze suicide aircraft, flown by half-trained former college students. While the kamikazes did a great deal of damage and killed thousands of Allied sailors, it was a desperation tactic that only lengthened a war that Japan had already lost. The Zero had exacted a price, however: it was responsible for the loss of 1550 Allied aircraft, a conservative estimate.

 

By war’s end, 10, 939 A6Ms had been built and Mitsubishi was working on a replacement, the similar A7M Reppu. Of these, the aircraft that survived the war were mostly scrapped and few preserved, and no flyable aircraft were left; directors attempting to make World War II movies were forced to convert a number of T-6 Texan trainers to look something like Zeroes. A few have since been restored to flying condition. Today, about 17 Zeroes remain, though some are being recovered from wartime wreck sites and restored to museum display.

 

This Zero is an earlier A6M2 Model 21 type, built under license by Nakajima, and as such would have been identical to the A6M2s used in the Pearl Harbor attack. The light gray finish and black cowling were typical Imperial Japanese Navy colors. AI-3-102, the Zero's tail number, and the single white stripe on the fuselage indicate an aircraft off the IJNS Zuiho (which did not participate in the Pearl Harbor operation), but this Zero was found as a wreck at Kavieng, New Guinea. It was recovered and restored for display at the National Museum of the USAF in 2004.

Aeroscopia est un musée aéronautique français implanté à Blagnac (Haute-Garonne), près du site AéroConstellation, et accueille notamment deux exemplaires du Concorde, dont l'ouverture a eu lieu le 14 janvier 2015

 

Le tarmac Sud du musée n'est capable d'accueillir que trois gros appareils. L'installation des appareils fut définitivement terminée après que le premier prototype de l'A400M-180 y fut arrivé le 16 juillet 2015, en dépit de la possibilité de 360 000 euros de TVA.

 

Concorde, F-BVFC, MSN209 aux couleurs d'Air France

Caravelle 12, F-BTOE, MSN280 aux couleurs d'Air Inter, dernier exemplaire construit

A400M-180, F-WWMT, MSN001 stationné depuis le 16 juillet 2015

 

La réalisation en 2019 du nouveau tarmac au Nord du musée permet l'accueil d'appareils supplémentaires issus des entreprises locales Airbus et ATR. Le transfert des avions entre le site Airbus "Lagardère" et le musée a lieu sur une semaine, à raison d'un appareil par jour :

 

ATR 72-600, F-WWEY, MSN098 aux couleurs d'ATR, transféré sur site le 26 août 2019, premier exemplaire du 72 dans sa version 600

Airbus A340-600, F-WWCA, MSN360 aux couleurs d'Airbus, transféré sur site le 27 août 2019, premier exemplaire de l'A340 dans sa version 600

Airbus A320-111, F-WWAI, MSN001 aux anciennes couleurs d'Airbus, transféré sur site le 28 août 2019, premier exemplaire de l'A320 : inauguration le 14 février 1987 en présence de Lady Diana et du Prince Charles, premier vol le 22 février 1987

Airbus A380-800, F-WXXL, MSN002 aux couleurs d'Airbus, transféré sur site le 29 août 2019, second exemplaire de l'A380. Les deux ponts de cet appareil sont visitables, ainsi que le cockpit.

ATR 42-300, F-WEGC, MSN003 aux anciennes couleurs d'ATR, transféré sur site le 30 août 2019, troisième exemplaire du 42. Cet exemplaire est décoré aux couleurs du MSN001 et porte l'immatriculation F-WEGA

 

Concorde, F-WTSB, MSN201 (ANAE), il s'agit d'un appareil de présérie qui a servi entre autres à transporter plusieurs présidents de la République française.

Airbus A300B4-203, F-WUAB, MSN238 (Airbus Heritage), décoré aux couleurs du prototype, au lieu de MSN001 démantelé. L'intérieur est visitable. Dans la première section des vitrages transparents permettent de voir la structure et les systèmes de l'avion, tandis que dans les sections suivantes sont représentés des aménagements de première classe et VIP.

Super Guppy de l'association Ailes Anciennes Toulouse, l'appareil qui servait au transport des tronçons d'Airbus est exposé porte ouverte, et une passerelle permet l'accès à la soute où un film est projeté. L'ouverture n'a pas été une mince affaire, l'appareil n'ayant pas été ouvert pendant 15 ans. L'aide des anciens mécaniciens de l'avion a été primordiale pour permettre une ouverture en toute sécurité.

 

Corvette (Airbus)

Falcon 10 no 02, prototype ayant servi aux essais du turboréacteur Larzac (Ailes Anciennes Toulouse)

Fouga Magister (AAT)

Gazelle prototype (AAT)

Mirage III C (AAT)

Nord 1100 (AAT)

Lockheed F-104G (AAT)

MiG-15 (AAT)

MS.760 Paris (AAT)

Vought F-8E(FN) Crusader et son réacteur (AAT)

Alouette II Marine (AAT)

Cessna Skymaster (AAT)

Fairchild Metro, ancien avion de Météo-France (AAT)

HM-293, de Rodolphe Grunberg

Chagnes MicroStar, avion de construction amateur, version biréacteur de Rutan VariViggen (AAT)

Saab J35OE Draken (AAT)

 

Aeroscopia is a French aeronautical museum located in Blagnac (Haute-Garonne), near the AéroConstellation site, and notably hosts two copies of the Concorde, which opened on January 14, 2015

 

The south tarmac of the museum can only accommodate three large aircraft. The installation of the devices was definitively finished after the first prototype of the A400M-180 arrived there on July 16, 2015, despite the possibility of 360,000 euros in VAT.

 

Concorde, F-BVFC, MSN209 in Air France colors

Caravelle 12, F-BTOE, MSN280 in Air Inter colors, last model built

A400M-180, F-WWMT, MSN001 parked since July 16, 2015

 

The construction in 2019 of the new tarmac north of the museum will accommodate additional aircraft from local Airbus and ATR companies. The transfer of planes between the Airbus "Lagardère" site and the museum takes place over a week, at the rate of one aircraft per day:

 

ATR 72-600, F-WWEY, MSN098 in ATR colors, transferred to site on August 26, 2019, first copy of the 72 in its 600 version

Airbus A340-600, F-WWCA, MSN360 in Airbus colors, transferred to site on August 27, 2019, first copy of the A340 in its 600 version

Airbus A320-111, F-WWAI, MSN001 in the old Airbus colors, transferred to site on August 28, 2019, first copy of the A320: inauguration on February 14, 1987 in the presence of Lady Diana and Prince Charles, first flight on February 22, 1987

Airbus A380-800, F-WXXL, MSN002 in Airbus colors, transferred to site on August 29, 2019, second copy of the A380. The two decks of this aircraft can be visited, as well as the cockpit.

ATR 42-300, F-WEGC, MSN003 in the old ATR colors, transferred to the site on August 30, 2019, third specimen of the 42. This specimen is decorated in the colors of the MSN001 and bears the registration F-WEGA

 

Concorde, F-WTSB, MSN201 (ANAE), this is a pre-production aircraft which was used, among other things, to transport several presidents of the French Republic.

Airbus A300B4-203, F-WUAB, MSN238 (Airbus Heritage), decorated in the colors of the prototype, instead of dismantled MSN001. The interior can be visited. In the first section transparent glazing allows to see the structure and systems of the aircraft, while in the following sections are shown first class and VIP fittings.

Super Guppy from the Ailes Anciennes Toulouse association, the aircraft which was used to transport the Airbus sections is on display with the door open, and a gangway allows access to the hold where a film is shown. Opening was no small feat, as the device has not been opened for 15 years. The help of the former mechanics of the aircraft was essential to allow a safe opening.

 

Corvette (Airbus)

Falcon 10 no 02, prototype used for testing the Larzac turbojet engine (Ailes Anciennes Toulouse)

Fouga Magister (AAT)

Prototype Gazelle (AAT)

Mirage III C (AAT)

North 1100 (AAT)

Lockheed F-104G (AAT)

MiG-15 (AAT)

MS.760 Paris (AAT)

Vought F-8E (FN) Crusader and its engine (AAT)

Alouette II Marine (AAT)

Cessna Skymaster (AAT)

Fairchild Metro, former Météo-France (AAT) aircraft

HM-293, by Rodolphe Grunberg

Chagnes MicroStar, amateur-built aircraft, twin-jet version of Rutan VariViggen (AAT)

Saab J35OE Draken (AAT)

NEOBALLS / ZEN MAGNETS - Neodymium Magnetic Balls (@4205) - Starcraft II's Massive Thor

 

This is my most complex and largest build to date.

 

It was designed in parts: Cockpit body, then legs, then arms, then rear guns. Then I had to redesign parts when it came time to assemble it together because of incorrect bonding assumptions and misalignment of magnet fields.

 

Experimented with x-beam coupled bonds to get the maximum lateral strength with reinforcements on the sides. This proved to be very string. Created a X-Beam using similar methods producing a very strong leg structure. It was capable of support the entire weight of the cockpit body w/o a problem. Had to redesign the leg to cockpit body mount point from the earlier concept because the bond was not completely coupled.

 

Next up were the arm/guns ... the weight was too much for the cockpit body to support so I fashioned a pair of lego-platforms for them to rest on and take the weight off of the central body.

 

Finally ... the rear guns ... these were a challenge in that their original mount point design had to be reworked also to make them fit correctly into the rear of the cockpit body. I changed the mount points on the guns to fit the space on both sides and added a few support balls to improve the mount point bonds. I was very surprised how they were balanced and supported only by two point sections to the body. The guns stayed in place for a small series of photos.

 

The design flaw was in the side bonds of the beam to the legs. The coupled field held nicely for a short amount of time and would have held if it didn't have the weight of the rear guns to support. When they were standing upright and straight, all was good. As soon as I attempted to move the platform forward (to take a video), the rear guns tilted slightly backwards and and that was the end of the leg to body support bonds ... and created the dreaded implosion.

 

The rear gun weight caused the entire central body section to rotate backwards and fall back on the rear guns ... taking the arms in the process. Perhaps I should have created a Lego-support structure for the rear guns to remove the pendulum force backwards ... but that would have created another view blocker like the side Lego-platforms obstructed the view of the legs and feet. Not sure if I can recreate it for a rotational video ... this took over a week (on/off to design and assemble).

 

Overall ... I was very happy with the result ... hope I captured enough detail to warrant some visual recognition as a Starcraft II Thor reproduction/interpretation.

 

This was design and built for the Zen Magnets Contest 26: The Massive Thor

www.zenmagnets.com/blog/26-the-massive-thor/

 

I tried to document the info for this super complex build (below) accompanied by associated pics in this set

www.flickr.com/photos/tend2it/sets/72157632920071597/

 

Starcraft II Thor Magnet Count and Detail Talley

======+================

Cockpit Body bottom section: (@0520)

(@0217) - Main shape middle core = (2x108) + 1

(@0095) - central bottom layer 1 = (47x2) + 1 w/black parameter

(@0078) - Sides Bottom layer 2 = (2x(22 parallel pair frnt2bck support + 3 red + 4 gold + 10 ring outside black))

(@0028) - Central bottom layer 3 = (2x14) rectangle

(@0032) - Sides bottom layer 3 = (2x((2x5 parallel bridge rectangle to ring) + (6 ring outside))

(@0010) - Central bottom layer 4 = (10 ring) leg waist w/gold

(@0020) - Sides bottom layer 4 = (2x10 ring) coupled over parallel bridge for perpendicular underside support

(@0040) - Central rear Barrel = (4x8 ring w2 red rings) + (2x4 sqr end)

------

Cockpit Body top section (from center out): (@0371)

(@0166) - top layer 1 = (2x83) w/black missle cover + middle sect separator

(@0105) - top layer 2 = ((2x52) + 1) w/black separator, red trim, gold cockpit

(@0083) - top layer 3 = ((2x41) + 1) w/black separator, red trim, gold cockpit

(@0037) - top layer 4 = ((2x18) + 1) w/black separator trim

(@0010) - top layer 5 = (2x5) w/red/black

------

(@0891)

 

Leg section x2 (@0640 - 12 removed from bottom of @ leg for foot contact pt)

leg internal structure:

(@0384) - columns = 2 x (4x((2x12) + ((2x11) + 2))) top/bottom coupled bonds w/parallel bonds stacked x 4))

(@0096) - side reinforcements = 2x((2x11) + 2) coupled pair along outside edge centers)

(@0032) - ball reinforcements = 2x(2x4 balls are two balls added to 4 ball in 2, 4, 6, 8th positions) - (12 @ bottom)

leg arch structure (connected to one flat leg top face:

(@0128) - (4x4 parallel sqr) + (2x(6 + 2)) pointy rings) + (4x4 parallel sqr) + (2x(6 + 2)) pointy rings)

Place the two leg arch structures together to form the leg arch

-------

(@1519) = 1531-12

 

Leg side panels (@0384)

(@0344) - (2 each leg x (2x(2x43 each side))) w/black outside trim

Knees + Leg detail

(@0040) - (2x(2x(6 + 2) knee w/red sqr) + 2x(4 red sqr top of leg))

-------

(@1903)

 

Feet x2 (@0242)

(@0184) - (2x((2x7 + 2 1st mid layer) + (2x(2x10 + 1) 2nd mid layer) + ((2x(2x8 + 1) outside layer))

(@0034) - (2x(2x(2x3 + 1 top of toe 2 leg)) + (1 center rear foot 2 leg conn) + (2 x 1 outer rear foot sides 2 leg

 

conn))

(@0024) - (2x(2x6 rings rear foot heel))

-------

(@2145)

 

X-Beam waist platform - (@0233 - 19) this part is placed across the center perpendicular to the x-beam leg arch

(@0214) - (2x(2x(18 + 17 + 6 + 3)) + (2x(7 + 2)) + ((8 + 1 front side) + (2x9 rear side)) + ((2 x 3 red front center) +

 

(2 x 2 red front sides) + (2 red rear)) - (19 removed under rear panel side to fold)

 

Arm Guns (2 pair per arm w/red + black accents)

(@0380) - (4x((4x9 center core) + (3x((2x7) + 1)) top/sides) + (2x7) middle join))

 

Shoulder to elbow core w/o reinforcements ((@0174)per arm)

(@0348) - (2 x (top((2x5)+2) + (4x8+2 parallel) + ((2x5)+2) + (2x5) + (2x(2x5)+1) + (2x(2x6)+1) + ((4x7)+2 parallel

 

mount2gun) + (1 ball center to bridge below 2 ball center to 1 ball) + ((2x6)+1) + ((2x4)+2)bottom)

 

Shoulder to elbow (per arm, per side)

(@0248) - (2 x (2 x (top 3 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 4 + 5 + 4 + 4 + 5 + (2x7arm2shoulder bridge) + (5 + 3 bottom))

 

Elbow to gun support (per arm, per side) (@0140 - 18 for outside facing side revamp)

(@0122) - (2 x (2 x (((2x9)+1) + (2x8)) -

Revamp outside facing sides for Z bracket (remove 2x(4 top/4 bottom/2 middle/move center ball down, add 1 ball)

Revamp 2 rear centerballs with red

(@028) - add red design outside facing shoulder 2 elbow

------

(@3485)

 

Rear Guns x2

Large cannon (@0112 each)

(@0224) - 2 x ((2x(2x15) + (4x(5+2)) + (4x(6 ring)))

Smaller cannon (@0092 each)

(@0184) - 2 x ((2x(2x13) + (4x(4+2)) + (4x(4 ring)))

Gun bridges (@0010 each)

(@0020) - (2 x (4 ring + 6 ring across two cannons)

 

Gun mounts x2

(@0104) - (2 x ((top (2x4+2) + (2x5+2) parallel to existing + (2x4+2) + (2x5 parallel) + (2x4+2) bottom)

 

Gun panel x 2 (@0102 each)

(@0204) - (2 x (2x(11 + 10 + 9 + 8 + 7 + 6))

-------

 

Revamp base

 

(@4221) subtotal b4 assembly

 

Assembly mods

-------------

Moved the (@0040) - Central rear Barrel = (4x8 ring w2 red rings) + (2x4 sqr end) below the rear of the body between

 

the leg mount and cockpit body. Actually used the barrel as a mount point for the rear guns.

 

Modded Cockpit Body bottom section (mount point):

(@0020) = (2 x (7 + 6 + 5)) = Changed = (@0028) - Central bottom layer 3 = (2x14) rectangle to covert parallel

 

rectangle to hex parallel center, coupled sides

-------

(@4213) = (@4221 - 8)

 

Moved central bottom layer x-beam

(@0018) = (2x09 ring) = Changed = (@0020) - Sides bottom layer 4 = shifted it down one row, removed 1 ball on end to form point and pinched outside end fit in center of 6 ball side.

(@4211) = (@4213 - 2)

 

Removed gold 10 ball ring mount

Changed = (@0010) = Central bottom layer 4 = (10 ring) leg waist w/gold

-------

(@4201) = (@4213 - 10)

 

Modded Rear Guns

(@0100) = Changed = Rear Gun mounts x2 - removed +2 from top/bottom mount point (2x4+2)=>(2x4)

(@4197) = (@4201-4)

Added extra mount point support bwtween rear gun mounts and rear cockpit body

(@4205) = (@4201+8)

 

Grand Total! = (@4205)

Grey Hawk - Mach 8-10 - 7th / 8th Gen Hypersonic Super Fighter Aircraft, IO Aircraft www.ioaircraft.com

 

New peek, very little is posted or public. Grey Hawk - Mach 8-10 Hypersonic 7th/8th Gen Super Fighter. This is not a graphics design, but ready to be built this moment. Heavy CFD, Design Work, Systems, etc.

 

All technologies developed and refined. Can out maneuver an F22 or SU-35 all day long subsonically, and no missile on earth could catch it. Lots of details omitted intentionally, but even internal payload capacity is double the F-22 Raptor. - www.ioaircraft.com/hypersonic.php

 

Length: 60'

Span: 30'

Engines: 2 U-TBCC (Unified Turbine Based Combined Cycle)

2 360° Thrust Vectoring Center Turbines

 

Fuel: Kero / Hydrogen

Payload: Up to 4 2,000 LBS JDAM's Internally

Up to 6 2,000 LBS JDAM's Externally

Range: 5,000nm + Aerial Refueling Capable

www.ioaircraft.com/hypersonic.php

 

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-----------------------------

 

Unified Turbine Based Combined Cycle. Current technologies and what Lockheed is trying to force on the Dept of Defense, for that low speed Mach 5 plane DOD gave them $1 billion to build and would disintegrate above Mach 5, is TBCC. 2 separate propulsion systems in the same airframe, which requires TWICE the airframe space to use.

 

Unified Turbine Based Combined Cycle is 1 propulsion system cutting that airframe deficit in half, and also able to operate above Mach 10 up to Mach 15 in atmosphere, and a simple nozzle modification allows for outside atmosphere rocket mode, ie orbital capable.

 

Additionally, Reaction Engines maximum air breather mode is Mach 4.5, above that it will explode in flight from internal pressures are too high to operate. Thus, must switch to non air breather rocket mode to operate in atmosphere in hypersonic velocities. Which as a result, makes it not feasible for anything practical. It also takes an immense amount of fuel to function.

 

-------------

 

Advanced Additive Manufacturing for Hypersonic Aircraft

 

Utilizing new methods of fabrication and construction, make it possible to use additive manufacturing, dramatically reducing the time and costs of producing hypersonic platforms from missiles, aircraft, and space capable craft. Instead of aircraft being produced in piece, then bolted together; small platforms can be produced as a single unit and large platforms can be produces in large section and mated without bolting. These techniques include using exotic materials and advanced assembly processes, with an end result of streamlining the production costs and time for hypersonic aircraft; reducing months of assembly to weeks. Overall, this process greatly reduced the cost for producing hypersonic platforms. Even to such an extent that a Hellfire missile costs apx $100,000 but by utilizing our technologies, replacing it with a Mach 8-10 hypersonic missile of our physics/engineering and that missile would cost roughly $75,000 each delivered.

 

Materials used for these manufacturing processes are not disclosed, but overall, provides a foundation for extremely high stresses and thermodynamics, ideal for hypersonic platforms. This specific methodology and materials applications is many decades ahead of all known programs. Even to the extend of normalized space flight and re-entry, without concern of thermodynamic failure.

 

*Note, most entities that are experimenting with additive manufacturing for hypersonic aircraft, this makes it mainstream and standardized processes, which also applies for mass production.

 

What would normally be measured in years and perhaps a decade to go from drawing board to test flights, is reduced to singular months and ready for production within a year maximum.

 

Unified Turbine Based Combined Cycle (U-TBCC)

 

To date, the closest that NASA and industry have achieved for turbine based aircraft to fly at hypersonic velocities is by mounting a turbine into an aircraft and sharing the inlet with a scramjet or rocket based motor. Reaction Engines Sabre is not able to achieve hypersonic velocities and can only transition into a non air breathing rocket for beyond Mach 4.5

 

However, utilizing Unified Turbine Based Combine Cycle also known as U-TBCC, the two separate platforms are able to share a common inlet and the dual mode ramjet/scramjet is contained within the engine itself, which allows for a much smaller airframe footprint, thus engingeers are able to then design much higher performance aerial platforms for hypersonic flight, including the ability for constructing true single stage to orbit aircraft by utilizing a modification/version that allows for transition to outside atmosphere propulsion without any other propulsion platforms within the aircraft. By transitioning and developing aircraft to use Unified Turbine Based Combined Cycle, this propulsion system opens up new options to replace that airframe deficit for increased fuel capacity and/or payload.

 

Enhanced Dynamic Cavitation

 

Dramatically Increasing the efficiency of fuel air mixture for combustion processes at hypersonic velocities within scramjet propulsion platforms. The aspects of these processes are non disclosable.

 

Dynamic Scramjet Ignition Processes

 

For optimal scramjet ignition, a process known as Self Start is sought after, but in many cases if the platform becomes out of attitude, the scramjet will ignite. We have already solved this problem which as a result, a scramjet propulsion system can ignite at lower velocities, high velocities, at optimal attitude or not optimal attitude. It doesn't matter, it will ignite anyways at the proper point for maximum thrust capabilities at hypersonic velocities.

 

Hydrogen vs Kerosene Fuel Sources

 

Kerosene is an easy fuel to work with, and most western nations developing scramjet platforms use Kerosene for that fact. However, while kerosene has better thermal properties then Hydrogen, Hydrogen is a far superior fuel source in scramjet propulsion flight, do it having a much higher efficiency capability. Because of this aspect, in conjunction with our developments, it allows for a MUCH increased fuel to air mixture, combustion, thrust; and ability for higher speeds; instead of very low hypersonic velocities in the Mach 5-6 range. Instead, Mach 8-10 range, while we have begun developing hypersonic capabilities to exceed 15 in atmosphere within less then 5 years.

 

Conforming High Pressure Tank Technology for CNG and H2.

 

As most know in hypersonics, Hydrogen is a superior fuel source, but due to the storage abilities, can only be stored in cylinders thus much less fuel supply. Not anymore, we developed conforming high pressure storage technology for use in aerospace, automotive sectors, maritime, etc; which means any overall shape required for 8,000+ PSI CNG or Hydrogen. For hypersonic platforms, this means the ability to store a much larger volume of hydrogen vs cylinders.

 

As an example, X-43 flown by Nasa which flew at Mach 9.97. The fuel source was Hydrogen, which is extremely more volatile and combustible then kerosene (JP-7), via a cylinder in the main body. If it had used our technology, that entire section of the airframe would had been an 8,000 PSI H2 tank, which would had yielded 5-6 times the capacity. While the X-43 flew 11 seconds under power at Mach 9.97, at 6 times the fuel capacity would had yielded apx 66 seconds of fuel under power at Mach 9.97. If it had flew slower, around Mach 6, same principles applied would had yielded apx 500 seconds of fuel supply under power (slower speeds required less energy to maintain).

 

Enhanced Fuel Mixture During Shock Train Interaction

 

Normally, fuel injection is conducted at the correct insertion point within the shock train for maximum burn/combustion. Our methodologies differ, since almost half the fuel injection is conducted PRE shock train within the isolator, so at the point of isolator injection the fuel enhances the combustion process, which then requires less fuel injection to reach the same level of thrust capabilities.

 

Improved Bow Shock Interaction

 

Smoother interaction at hypersonic velocities and mitigating heat/stresses for beyond Mach 6 thermodynamics, which extraordinarily improves Type 3, 4, and 5 shock interaction.

 

6,000+ Fahrenheit Thermal Resistance

 

To date, the maximum thermal resistance was tested at AFRL in the spring of 2018, which resulted in a 3,200F thermal resistance for a short duration. This technology, allows for normalized hypersonic thermal resistance of 3,000-3,500F sustained, and up to 6,500F resistance for short endurance, ie 90 seconds or less. 10-20 minute resistance estimate approximately 4,500F +/- 200F.

  

*** This technology advancement also applies to Aerospike rocket engines, in which it is common for Aerospike's to exceed 4,500-5,000F temperatures, which results in the melting of the reversed bell housing. That melting no longer ocurrs, providing for stable combustion to ocurr for the entire flight envelope

 

Scramjet Propulsion Side Wall Cooling

 

With old technologies, side wall cooling is required for hypersonic flight and scramjet propulsion systems, otherwise the isolator and combustion regions of a scramjet would melt, even using advanced ablatives and ceramics, due to their inability to cope with very high temperatures. Using technology we have developed for very high thermodynamics and high stresses, side wall cooling is no longer required, thus removing that variable from the design process and focusing on improved ignition processes and increasing net thrust values.

 

Lower Threshold for Hypersonic Ignition

 

Active and adaptive flight dynamics, resulting in the ability for scramjet ignition at a much lower velocity, ie within ramjet envelope, between Mach 2-4, and seamless transition from supersonic to hypersonic flight, ie supersonic ramjet (scramjet). This active and dynamic aspect, has a wide variety of parameters for many flight dynamics, velocities, and altitudes; which means platforms no longer need to be engineered for specific altitude ranges or preset velocities, but those parameters can then be selected during launch configuration and are able to adapt actively in flight.

 

Dramatically Improved Maneuvering Capabilities at Hypersonic Velocities

 

Hypersonic vehicles, like their less technologically advanced brethren, use large actuator and the developers hope those controls surfaces do not disintegrate in flight. In reality, it is like rolling the dice, they may or may not survive, hence another reason why the attempt to keep velocities to Mach 6 or below. We have shrunken down control actuators while almost doubling torque and response capabilities specifically for hypersonic dynamics and extreme stresses involved, which makes it possible for maximum input authority for Mach 10 and beyond.

 

Paradigm Shift in Control Surface Methodologies, Increasing Control Authority (Internal Mechanical Applications)

 

To date, most control surfaces for hypersonic missile platforms still use fins, similar to lower speed conventional missiles, and some using ducted fins. This is mostly due to lack of comprehension of hypersonic velocities in their own favor. Instead, the body itself incorporates those control surfaces, greatly enhancing the airframe strength, opening up more space for hardware and fuel capacity; while simultaneously enhancing the platforms maneuvering capabilities.

 

A scramjet missile can then fly like conventional missile platforms, and not straight and level at high altitudes, losing velocity on it's decent trajectory to target. Another added benefit to this aspect, is the ability to extend range greatly, so if anyone elses hypersonic missile platform were developed for 400 mile range, falling out of the sky due to lack of glide capabilities; our platforms can easily reach 600+ miles, with minimal glide deceleration.

 

The Convair B-58 Hustler was the first operational supersonic jet bomber, and the first capable of Mach 2 flight. The aircraft was developed for the United States Air Force for service in the Strategic Air Command (SAC) during the late 1950s. Originally intended to fly at high altitudes and speeds to avoid Soviet fighters, the introduction of highly accurate Soviet surface-to-air missiles forced the B-58 into a low-level penetration role that severely limited its range and strategic value. This led to a brief operational career between 1960 and 1969. Its specialized role was succeeded by other American supersonic bombers, such as the FB-111A and the later B-1B Lancer.

 

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-58_Hustler

The Chance Vought F4U Corsair was a carrier-capable fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War.

 

Demand for the aircraft soon overwhelmed Vought's manufacturing capability, resulting in production by Goodyear and Brewster: Goodyear-built Corsairs were designated FG and Brewster-built aircraft F3A. From the first prototype delivery to the U.S. Navy in 1940, to final delivery in 1953 to the French, 12,571 F4U Corsairs were manufactured by Vought, in 16 separate models, in the longest production run of any piston-engined fighter in U.S. history (1942–1953).

 

The Corsair served in the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marines, Fleet Air Arm and the Royal New Zealand Air Force, as well as the French Navy Aéronavale and other, smaller, air forces until the 1960s. It quickly became the most capable carrier-based fighter-bomber of World War II. Some Japanese pilots regarded it as the most formidable American fighter of World War II, and the U.S. Navy counted an 11:1 kill ratio with the F4U Corsair. As well as being an outstanding fighter, the Corsair proved to be an excellent fighter-bomber, serving almost exclusively in the latter role throughout the Korean War and during the French colonial wars in Indochina and Algeria.

SCAMP is an extremely capable small boat; at 11 feet 11 inches in length.

 

The Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding (www.nwboatschool.org) hosted the first SCAMP Camp (sm) August 6th - 17th, 2012 at the Northwest Maritime Center in Port Townsend WA. www.nwmaritime.org/

 

The next SCAMP Camps are scheduled in the same location March 4th - 15th, 2013 and again in August, 2013; check the School's website for details.

 

SCAMP Camp (sm) is taught by SCAMP's designer, New Zealander John Welsford, and well-known small boat adventurer Howard Rice. 10 SCAMPs were built from CAD kits cut by Turnpoint Design of Port Townsend during the August 2012 workshop, and a total of twelve students participated in the class. Students came from as far away as Germany and from all across the US to attend the class.

 

The Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding (www.nwboatschool.org) hosted the first SCAMP Camp (sm) August 6th - 17th, 2012 at the Northwest Maritime Center in Port Townsend WA. The next SCAMP Camps are scheduled in the same location March 4th - 15th, 2013 and again in August, 2013; check the School's website for details. www.nwboatschool.org

 

The March 2013 SCAMP Camp (sm) was taught by the well-known small boat adventurer Howard Rice, and three local Boat School alumni: Scott Jones, Jason Bledsoe and Fred Shwiller..

 

SCAMP's designer, New Zealander John Welsford, will help to teach the August 2013 SCAMP Camp (sm).

 

The Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding is located in Port Hadlock WA and is a private, accredited non-profit vocational school. You can find us on the web at www.nwboatschool.org .

 

Our mission is to teach and preserve the fine art of wooden boatbuilding and traditional maritime crafts. We build both commissioned and speculative boats for sale while teaching students boatbuilding the skills they need to work in the marine trades.

 

We also teach a variety of workshops throughout the year, of which SCAMP Camp (sm) is one.

 

You can reach us via e-mail at info@nwboatschool.org or by calling us at 360-385-4948.

 

This Panavia Tornado GR4 was seen at the RAF Benson Families Day 2011

 

The Tornado GR4 is a variable geometry, two-seat, day or night, all-weather attack aircraft, capable of delivering a wide variety of weapons. Powered by two Rolls-Royce RB 199 Mk 103 turbofan engines, the GR4 is capable of low-level supersonic flight and can sustain a high subsonic cruise speed. The aircraft can fly automatically at low level using terrain-following radar when poor weather prevents visual flight. The aircraft is also equipped with forward-looking infrared and is night-vision goggle compatible, making it a capable platform for passive night operations. For navigation purposes, the Tornado is equipped with an integrated global positioning inertial navigation system that can also be updated with visual or radar inputs. The GR4 is also equipped with a Laser Ranger and Marked Target Seeker system that can be used for ground designation or can provide accurate range information on ground targets.

 

The GR4 can carry up to three Paveway II, two Paveway III or Enhanced Paveway Laser and Global Positioning System Guided Bombs (LGBs), and by using a Thermal Imaging Airborne Laser Designation (TIALD) pod it is able to self-designate targets for LGB delivery. The GR4 also has a ground-mapping radar to identify targets for the delivery of conventional 1000lb bombs. All GR4 aircraft are capable of carrying the Air Launched Anti- Radiation Missile (ALARM), which homes on the emitted radiation of enemy radar systems and can be used for the suppression of enemy air defences. The GR4 is capable of carrying up to nine ALARM missiles or a mixed configuration of ALARM missiles and bombs. In the reconnaissance role the GR4 can carry the Digital Joint Reconnaissance Pod to provide detailed reconnaissance imagery; this is currently being replaced with the RAPTOR pod, which provides an even greater day-and night reconnaissance potential.

 

For self-protection, the GR4 is normally armed with two AIM-9L Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missiles, a BOZ-107 Pod on the right wing to dispense chaff and flares and a Sky Shadow-2 electronic countermeasures pod on the left wing. The aircraft can also carry an integral 27mm Mauser cannon capable of firing 1700 rounds per minute.

 

The Tornado GR4 is now equipped with the Storm Shadow missile and the new Brimstone missile. The Storm Shadow allows the Tornado to make precision strikes in poor weather with a greatly increased stand-off range from the target area. Brimstone provides the Tornado with an effective anti-armour weapon, also providing an enhanced stand-off range.

 

The Tornado GR4 is currently operated from two bases. Based at RAF Lossiemouth, in Scotland, are the Operational Conversion Unit, No. 15(R) Squadron, and Nos 12(B), 14 and 617 Squadrons. RAF Marham is the home of the GR4s of Nos II(AC), IX(B), 13 and 31 Squadrons.

 

In addition to its long-range, high-speed precision strike capability, including supersonic at low level with a low-level combat radius of 400nmls, the Tornado GR4 is a world leader in the specialised field of all-weather, day and night tactical reconnaissance. The new RAPTOR (Reconnaissance Airborne Pod TORnado) pod is one of the most advanced reconnaissance sensors in the world and greatly increased the effectiveness of the aircraft in the reconnaissance role. Its introduction into service gave the GR4 the ability to download real-time, long-range, oblique-photography data to ground stations or to the cockpit during a mission. The stand-off range of the sensors also allows the aircraft to remain outside heavily defended areas, thus minimising the aircraft’s exposure to enemy air-defence systems.

 

Some Tornado GR4s involved in Operation Telic were fitted with the RAPTOR pod and the aircraft is currently employed in the Gulf on both Close Support and Reconnaissance missions in support of Coalition Forces in Afghanistan.

 

In 1934, the US Army Air Corps issued a requirement for a four-engined bomber capable of bombing from altitudes of 10,000 feet, with a range of 2000 miles (capable of reaching bases in Alaska and Hawaii), and a top speed of 250 mph. Douglas, Martin and Boeing all submitted prototypes; Boeing’s Model 299 combined features of the failed XB-15 bomber with the successful Model 247 airliner. Because it carried five machine guns, including two in a nose turret, Boeing dubbed it the Flying Fortress. The prototype crashed during the competition and Douglas’s B-18 Bolo twin-engined bomber won, based on its cheaper price and operating costs.

 

However, as the Model 299 had outperformed the competition and the USAAC saw a need for heavy bombers, even if the US Congress did not, a loophole in procurement laws allowed the USAAC to order 13 Y1B-17s (later B-17A). The Y1B-17s range and bombload proved the heavy bomber concept, and as funding was loosened for the USAAC, more B-17s were to be procured, though not in significant numbers until the B-17D.

 

Even that was only seen as an interim type: after researching the experience of British and German bombers over Europe, the B-17E featured a near complete redesign of the aircraft, with a ten-foot extension of the fuselage, much larger tail, and a tail turret; defensive armament had risen from five .30 caliber machine guns to ten .50 caliber machine guns (sometimes more), and one nose turret was now replaced by tail, dorsal, and belly turrets. The B-17E was the first large-scale production type, and was already in service by the time the United States entered World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

 

While the B-17 would see notable service over the Pacific, it was over Europe that the “Fort” would achieve immortality. B-17Es and B-17Fs were deployed to North Africa and England and began striking targets in occupied Europe in August 1942, gradually working up to significant numbers with the 8th Air Force and attacking Germany itself by April 1943. As part of the Combined Bomber Offensive, RAF heavy bombers would strike Germany by night while US B-17s and B-24s would attack by day, though the RAF warned the 8th Air Force that daylight attacks were suicidal; the 8th’s commander, Ira Eaker, replied—correctly—that the RAF had misused their B-17s in small formations.

 

Losses were enough that Eaker had adopted the “combat box” formation to maximize the B-17’s firepower, and “maximum effort” strikes of over 300 B-17s began to penetrate deeper into Germany by October 1943. However, the RAF had been proven partially correct: the Allies lacked long-range fighters capable of escorting the bombers to their targets, with the result that the B-17s were on their own after they reached the German border. Raids on Schweinfurt and Regensburg resulted in the loss of 176 B-17s, a rate that was unsustainable. Losses might have been still higher had it not been for the B-17’s legendary toughness: aircraft came home on one engine, missing half the tail, and with wrecked noses; one B-17 even survived a midair collision with a German fighter and landed in North Africa with a gigantic rent through the entire fuselage. 17 Medals of Honor were awarded to B-17 crewmen, the most of any single type in World War II.

 

Luftwaffe fighter pilots had discovered that the best way to attack the B-17 was from the front, leading to the definitive B-17G variant, which added a chin turret, uprated engines, and staggered waist gun positions. Even with these improvements, it would not be until early 1944 that the B-17s returned to long-range bombing missions, and then with improved P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustang escorts. Loss rates continued to be high until summer 1944, when the Luftwaffe finally had taken too many casualties to adequately oppose the bombers, at which time loss rates declined. Despite its losses, the easy flying characteristics of the B-17, its resiliency, and its numbers made the B-17 the backbone of the USAAF’s bombers over Europe, with over half the bomber groups in theater using the Flying Fortress. Over 12,000 were produced before production ended in 1945.

 

After the end of World War II, the B-17 force was rapidly drawn down, with only relatively few remaining in the new USAF—mainly as SB-17G rescue aircraft and DB-17G drones. The latter flew the last B-17 mission in USAF service, in 1959. Other nations used them into the 1960s, mainly as patrol and rescue aircraft, and as those were retired, they were converted to transports or fire bombers. By the 1980s, even those had reached the end of their service lives. Luckily, about 50 B-17s have survived to the present, a dozen still in flying condition.

 

This B-17G was delivered to the USAAF in 1944, and was one of the last B-17s used operationally; seconded to the CIA, it was used to recover agents from Southeast Asia using the "Skyhook" technique until 1969. It appeared at the end of the James Bond movie "Thunderball" demonstrating this technique.

 

Sold off, it was then converted to a firefighting aircraft until 1985, when it was bought by Evergreen International. Completely restored to wartime configuration, it is displayed as 44-83785 "Shady Lady," a B-17G of the 447th Bomb Group based at RAF Rattlesden. The 447th had the dubious distinction of posting some of the highest loss rates of the war. The square K carried on the tail indicates a 447th aircraft, though the red bands on the tail and wings were used by a different group, the 96th Bomb Group. When I saw "Shady Lady" in 2014, it was on display at the Evergreen Aviation Museum, but it has since been sold to the Collings Foundation in Stowe, Connecticut.

 

'Lifesaver 36' use to be one of Life Saving Victoria's Westpac Rescue Helicopters. Lifesaver 36 is an AS350 Helicopter that was utilised as a surveillance aircraft to patrol the beaches of Victoria, while also capable to drop rescue crew into the water if required and lift them out using a sling attached to the underside of the helicopter.

Gompou

(Adreotis kori)

 

The kori bustard (Ardeotis kori) is the largest flying bird native to Africa. It is a member of the bustard family, which all belong to the order Otidiformes and are restricted in distribution to the Old World. It is one of the four species (ranging from Africa to India to Australia) in the large-bodied Ardeotis genus. In fact, the male kori bustard may be the heaviest living animal capable of flight.

 

This species, like most bustards, is a ground-dwelling bird and an opportunistic omnivore. Male kori bustards, which can be more than twice as heavy as the female, attempt to breed with as many females as possible and then take no part in the raising of the young. The nest is a shallow hollow in the earth, often disguised by nearby obstructive objects such as trees.

 

The kori bustard is cryptically coloured, being mostly grey and brown, finely patterned with black and white coloring. The upper parts and neck are a vermiculated black and greyish-buff colour. The ventral plumage is more boldly colored, with white, black and buff. The crest on its head is blackish in coloration, with less black on the female's crest. There is a white eye stripe above the eye. The chin, throat and neck are whitish with thin, fine black barring. A black collar at the base of the hind-neck extends onto the sides of the breast. The feathers around the neck are loose, giving the appearance of a thicker neck than they really have. The belly is white and the tail has broad bands of brownish-gray and white coloration. Their feathers contain light sensitive porphyrins, which gives their feathers a pinkish tinge at the base- especially noticeable when the feathers are shed suddenly. The head is large and the legs are relatively long. The eye is pale yellow, while the bill is light greenish horn coloured, relatively long, straight and rather flattened at the base. The legs are yellowish. The feet have three forward facing toes. Females are similar in plumage but are much smaller, measuring about 20-30% less in linear measurements and often weighing 2-3 times less than the male. The female is visibly thinner legged and slimmer necked. The juvenile is similar in appearance to the female, but is browner with more spotting on the mantle, with shorter crest and neck plumes.Male juveniles are larger than females and can be the same overall size as the adult male but tends to be less bulky with a thinner neck, shorter head crest, paler eyes and a darker mantle.

  

The male kori bustard is 120 to 150 cm (3 ft 11 in to 4 ft 11 in), stands 71–120 cm (2 ft 4 in–3 ft 11 in) tall and may have a wingspan about 230 to 275 cm (7 ft 7 in to 9 ft 0 in). Male birds may typically weigh between 7 and 18 kg (15 and 40 lb). The average weight of adult males of the nominate race in Namibia (20 specimens) was 11.3 kg (25 lb), while A. k. struthiunculus males were found to average 10.9 kg (24 lb). The larger excepted males can scale up to 16 to 19 kg (35 to 42 lb) and a few exceptional specimens may weigh up to at least 20 kg (44 lb). Reports of outsized specimens weighing 23 kg (51 lb), 34 kg (75 lb) and even "almost" 40 kg (88 lb) have been reported, but none of these giant sizes have been verified and some may be from unreliable sources. Among bustards, only male great bustards (Otis tarda) achieve similarly high weights, making the male kori and great not only the two largest bustards but also arguably the heaviest living flying animals. As a whole, other species, such as Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus), Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) and trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator), might weigh more on average between the sexes but are less sexually dimorphic in mass than the giant bustards. The female kori bustard weighs an average of 4.8 to 6.1 kg (11 to 13 lb), with a full range of 3 to 7 kg (6.6 to 15.4 lb). Females of the nominate race (35 specimens) in Namibia weighed a mean of 5.62 kg (12.4 lb), while females from A. k. struthiunculus weighed a mean of 5.9 kg (13 lb).[13] Female length is from 80 to 120 cm (2 ft 7 in to 3 ft 11 in) and they usually stand 60 cm (2 ft 0 in) tall and have a wingspan of 177 to 220 cm (5 ft 10 in to 7 ft 3 in). The standard measurements of the male include a wing chord of 69.5 to 83 cm (27.4 to 32.7 in), a tail measures from 35.8–44.7 cm (14.1–17.6 in), a culmen from 9.5 to 12.4 cm (3.7 to 4.9 in) and a tarsus from 20 to 24.7 cm (7.9 to 9.7 in). Meanwhile, the female's standard measurements are a wing chord of 58.5 to 66.5 cm (23.0 to 26.2 in), a tail of 30.7 to 39.5 cm (12.1 to 15.6 in), a culmen from 7 to 10.4 cm (2.8 to 4.1 in) and a tarsus from 16 to 19.5 cm (6.3 to 7.7 in). Body mass can vary considerably based upon rain conditions.

 

Wikipedia

Alternative to other CSC offerings, this capable camera made by the most evolving electronics company is a interesting offering now, when the NX300 is here. Large APS-C sensor with usable ISO 3200, easy handling, very solid build, many functions for both amateur and advanced photographers, full controls, WiFi connectivity, 8 fps, and very good lenses. The 18-55 is really nice, and firmware modifications made the auto focus faster and raw files smaller. Now when the production life of the NX210 comes to an end, some local resellers run crazy and the price is falling like a stone - I found this one for $250 with some benefits. For that money it´s a quite powerful and handy camera.

The all new Yuzu Emulator update is now capable of fulling running and playing Pokemon Sword game without any issue and problem. It is full playable with the new DLC, so try it out now.

 

Pokemon SWSH XCI/NSP ROM: bit.ly/pokeswshyuzupc

 

Official Yuzu Emulator: yuzu-emu.org/

 

System Requirements:

CPU: Atleast 4 cores (Higher Core count = better performance)

GPU: atleast GTX 1060 or amd equivalent

RAM: 8GB RAM (16GB is recommended)

Storage: atleast 1TB since Switch games are large in file size

 

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Dragons

 

Le dragon est une créature légendaire représentée comme une sorte de gigantesque reptile écailleux, généralement capable de cracher du feu et de voler grâce à des ailes de cuir semblables à celles des chauves-souris. Dans de nombreuses mythologies à travers le monde, on retrouve des créatures reptiliennes possédant des caractéristiques plus ou moins similaires, désignées comme dragons

 

De par son apparence reptilienne, le dragon est intimement lié à la terre. Cependant il se détache du monde terrestre par sa capacité à voler, ce qui le distingue des rampants, à l'image des serpents (le plus souvent malfaisants) que l'on retrouve de par le monde (nâga, aspic…). Ces derniers s'opposent, au contraire, aux créatures aériennes, physiquement ou symboliquement : en Égypte, Horus dieu faucon fils de Rê l'adversaire d'Apophis le serpent, en Asie, Garuda aigle géant combattant les serpents nâga…

 

Ses représentations varient cependant énormément en fonction des civilisations. Symbole de vie et de puissance en Chine, protecteur en Indonésie, protecteur de trésors en Grèce antique ou encore maléfique et ravisseur de princesses en Europe médiévale.

 

Une distinction principale est à faire entre les dragons occidentaux et les dragons orientaux, comme les ryuu (竜) japonais ou lóng (龍trad. 龙simpl.) chinois.

 

Il est difficile de déterminer une origine géographique ou historique aux dragons. Leur apparition semble dater des premières civilisations. Une filiation avec les grands reptiles disparus au Crétacé est cependant difficilement imaginable. Bien entendu il faut exclure le fait que les premiers hommes aient côtoyé les dinosaures (comme cela est parfois représenté dans les films), plusieurs dizaines de millions d'années les séparant. L'hypothèse selon laquelle les fondateurs des premières civilisations auraient trouvé des ossements de dinosaures semble tout aussi incertaine. Il est en effet assez rare de trouver ces fossiles à l'air libre, dégagés par l'érosion. Cela n'expliquerait donc pas l'universalité du mythe.

 

De manière plus probable, les dragons apparaissent, sous une forme ou une autre, en même temps que les autres monstres de l'imaginaire. Les plus anciennes traces connues remontent à 6000 ans environ, dans une tombe néolithique de Xishuipo, site archéologique de la province du Henan, en Chine : formée de coquillages, sa forme se détache nettement aux côtés du défunt. La découverte de cette tombe date des années 1980. Une autre représentation, vieille de 2500 ans, constituée de briques de couleur, fut découverte sur les murs de la porte d'Ishtar, une des monumentales portes de Babylone.

 

Cependant, il s'agit là d'une figure religieuse imaginaire, tout comme le sont le sphinx, les sirènes ou toute autre créature fabuleuse. Celles-ci s'appuient davantage sur des espèces animales existantes, que l'homme hybride à sa fantaisie, que sur la découverte d'un squelette gigantesque de dinosaure (il est d'ailleurs décrit comme « un animal fantastique […] avec des griffes de lions, des ailes et une queue de serpent ». On trouve ainsi des monstres aux formes semblables, mais néanmoins différents, dans presque toutes les cultures antiques, et ces mythes se sont par la suite "contaminés" les uns les autres, pour s'approcher de la figure actuelle, désormais universelle.

  

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During World War II, both Great Britain and Germany had experimented with very large glider designs (the Hamlicar and Gigant, respectively) capable of carrying tanks. Though glider assaults had varied results during the war, the US Air Force briefly considered resurrecting the idea in 1948, and commissioned Chase Aircraft to build a large glider, the XCG-20 Avitruc. The XCG-20 was of all-metal construction, with a fully-equipped flight deck and a rear-mounted loading ramp for vehicles to be driven directly into the fuselage. The USAF abandoned the idea of glider assaults soon after the first XCG-20 was completed, but Chase had anticipated this: through the simple installation of two propeller-driven engines, the XCG-20 became the XC-123. This itself was considered only an interim design, as the XC-123A had four turbojet engines, becoming the first all-jet transport aircraft.

 

The USAF rejected the XC-123A, as it was found to have poor performance and short range, owing to the thirsty jets of the early 1950s. However, the piston-engined XC-123 showed promise, and the USAF ordered it into production in 1953. Production was delayed due to Chase Aircraft being acquired by Kaiser, who in turn sold the design to Fairchild Aircraft, who would produce it as the C-123B Provider.

 

The C-123 was considered a supplemental aircraft to the C-119 Flying Boxcar already in service and the soon-to-be-deployed C-130 Hercules. It had better single-engine performance than the C-119, and acquired a reputation for reliability, rugged design, simple maintenance, and the ability to land almost anywhere. A small number were converted to C-123J standard, with ski landing gear for operations in Antarctica and Greenland, and experiments were even made to convert it to an amphibian. Nevertheless, the number of C-123s in service were small compared to other types, and the C-130 began replacing it beginning in 1958.

 

As the United States involved itself more in the Vietnam War, one major advantage of its Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army adversaries was the very jungle of Vietnam itself, which provided ready-made cover and camouflage from American air units. In an attempt to deprive the VC/NVA of jungle cover in known concentration areas, the USAF converted a number of C-123s to UC-123 standard, with spraying equipment for the pesticide Agent Orange. Under Operation Ranch Hand, UC-123s were among the first USAF aircraft deployed to Vietnam, and the first USAF aircraft lost in combat was a UC-123B. Spraying Agent Orange was very dangerous work, as it involved flying low and slow over hostile territory; it would not be until after the Vietnam War was over that it was learned that Agent Orange, used in the concentrated quantity employed in Vietnam, was also a deadly carcinogenic.

 

Besides their controversial employment as defoilant sprayers, standard C-123s were used as transports and Candlestick flareships, as the C-130 demand was exceeding supply, and the US Army’s CV-2 (later C-8) Caribous were proving the worth of a short-takeoff and landing transport. To improve the Provider’s performance in the “hot and high” conditions of Vietnam, two J85 turbojets were added beneath the wings of the C-123K variant, which became the final Provider variant and the main type used in Vietnam. CIA-flown Providers were used by Air America to clandestinely supply friendly Hmong tribes in Laos and in Cambodia. 54 C-123s were lost in Vietnam, second only to the C-130.

 

Following the end of American involvement in Vietnam, the C-123Ks were either handed over to South Vietnam or relegated to USAF Reserve and Air National Guard units, from which they were finally withdrawn around 1980. A few UC-123Ks were used to spray insecticides in Alaska and Guam as late as 1982. 11 other air forces used Providers, and the last C-123s were retired from the South Korean Air Force in 2001. 27 are preserved as museum pieces and a few remain in revenue service as “bush” aircraft in Alaska and elsewhere; remaining aircraft in storage were scrapped due to Agent Orange contamination.

 

This C-123K was originally built as a JC-123B testbed, 54-0580, in 1955. It was redesignated as a standard C-123B in 1960 and assigned to the 824th Combat Support Group at Carswell AFB, Texas, providing logistical support to the B-36 Peacemakers and B-52 Stratofortresses there. In 1967, it was converted to a C-123K and assigned to the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida, where it was used to train crews operating NC-123K Black Spot surveillance aircraft in Southeast Asia. As the C-123 force was wound down, 55-0580's last duty station was the 731st Tactical Airlift Squadron (Air Force Reserve) at Westover AFB, Massachusetts, and was retired in 1982.

 

54-0580's career was not quite over yet, however: it was bought by TBM of California and converted to a firefighting aircraft. It flew as Tanker 63 for a few years, but was retired for good in 1989. Its last flight was to Arizona for display at the Pima Air and Space Museum, where it has been ever since.

 

Pima's firefighting aircraft are displayed on the other side of their World War II hangars, and can be a little hard to get to...unless, of course, you use the handy map that the museum provides when you pay admission. I didn't check the map and originally was trying to shoot pictures through the fence, which meant getting entirely too close to a bush-filled ravine, that was probably the home of various rattlesnakes and Gila monsters. Luckily, I had an attack of common sense, checked the map, and went around to get a much better picture of Tanker 63. Though its markings are a little worn, Tanker 63's bare metal is holding up in the Arizona heat.

Aeroscopia est un musée aéronautique français implanté à Blagnac (Haute-Garonne), près du site AéroConstellation, et accueille notamment deux exemplaires du Concorde, dont l'ouverture a eu lieu le 14 janvier 2015

 

Le tarmac Sud du musée n'est capable d'accueillir que trois gros appareils. L'installation des appareils fut définitivement terminée après que le premier prototype de l'A400M-180 y fut arrivé le 16 juillet 2015, en dépit de la possibilité de 360 000 euros de TVA.

 

Concorde, F-BVFC, MSN209 aux couleurs d'Air France

Caravelle 12, F-BTOE, MSN280 aux couleurs d'Air Inter, dernier exemplaire construit

A400M-180, F-WWMT, MSN001 stationné depuis le 16 juillet 2015

 

La réalisation en 2019 du nouveau tarmac au Nord du musée permet l'accueil d'appareils supplémentaires issus des entreprises locales Airbus et ATR. Le transfert des avions entre le site Airbus "Lagardère" et le musée a lieu sur une semaine, à raison d'un appareil par jour :

 

ATR 72-600, F-WWEY, MSN098 aux couleurs d'ATR, transféré sur site le 26 août 2019, premier exemplaire du 72 dans sa version 600

Airbus A340-600, F-WWCA, MSN360 aux couleurs d'Airbus, transféré sur site le 27 août 2019, premier exemplaire de l'A340 dans sa version 600

Airbus A320-111, F-WWAI, MSN001 aux anciennes couleurs d'Airbus, transféré sur site le 28 août 2019, premier exemplaire de l'A320 : inauguration le 14 février 1987 en présence de Lady Diana et du Prince Charles, premier vol le 22 février 1987

Airbus A380-800, F-WXXL, MSN002 aux couleurs d'Airbus, transféré sur site le 29 août 2019, second exemplaire de l'A380. Les deux ponts de cet appareil sont visitables, ainsi que le cockpit.

ATR 42-300, F-WEGC, MSN003 aux anciennes couleurs d'ATR, transféré sur site le 30 août 2019, troisième exemplaire du 42. Cet exemplaire est décoré aux couleurs du MSN001 et porte l'immatriculation F-WEGA

 

Concorde, F-WTSB, MSN201 (ANAE), il s'agit d'un appareil de présérie qui a servi entre autres à transporter plusieurs présidents de la République française.

Airbus A300B4-203, F-WUAB, MSN238 (Airbus Heritage), décoré aux couleurs du prototype, au lieu de MSN001 démantelé. L'intérieur est visitable. Dans la première section des vitrages transparents permettent de voir la structure et les systèmes de l'avion, tandis que dans les sections suivantes sont représentés des aménagements de première classe et VIP.

Super Guppy de l'association Ailes Anciennes Toulouse, l'appareil qui servait au transport des tronçons d'Airbus est exposé porte ouverte, et une passerelle permet l'accès à la soute où un film est projeté. L'ouverture n'a pas été une mince affaire, l'appareil n'ayant pas été ouvert pendant 15 ans. L'aide des anciens mécaniciens de l'avion a été primordiale pour permettre une ouverture en toute sécurité.

 

Corvette (Airbus)

Falcon 10 no 02, prototype ayant servi aux essais du turboréacteur Larzac (Ailes Anciennes Toulouse)

Fouga Magister (AAT)

Gazelle prototype (AAT)

Mirage III C (AAT)

Nord 1100 (AAT)

Lockheed F-104G (AAT)

MiG-15 (AAT)

MS.760 Paris (AAT)

Vought F-8E(FN) Crusader et son réacteur (AAT)

Alouette II Marine (AAT)

Cessna Skymaster (AAT)

Fairchild Metro, ancien avion de Météo-France (AAT)

HM-293, de Rodolphe Grunberg

Chagnes MicroStar, avion de construction amateur, version biréacteur de Rutan VariViggen (AAT)

Saab J35OE Draken (AAT)

 

Aeroscopia is a French aeronautical museum located in Blagnac (Haute-Garonne), near the AéroConstellation site, and notably hosts two copies of the Concorde, which opened on January 14, 2015

 

The south tarmac of the museum can only accommodate three large aircraft. The installation of the devices was definitively finished after the first prototype of the A400M-180 arrived there on July 16, 2015, despite the possibility of 360,000 euros in VAT.

 

Concorde, F-BVFC, MSN209 in Air France colors

Caravelle 12, F-BTOE, MSN280 in Air Inter colors, last model built

A400M-180, F-WWMT, MSN001 parked since July 16, 2015

 

The construction in 2019 of the new tarmac north of the museum will accommodate additional aircraft from local Airbus and ATR companies. The transfer of planes between the Airbus "Lagardère" site and the museum takes place over a week, at the rate of one aircraft per day:

 

ATR 72-600, F-WWEY, MSN098 in ATR colors, transferred to site on August 26, 2019, first copy of the 72 in its 600 version

Airbus A340-600, F-WWCA, MSN360 in Airbus colors, transferred to site on August 27, 2019, first copy of the A340 in its 600 version

Airbus A320-111, F-WWAI, MSN001 in the old Airbus colors, transferred to site on August 28, 2019, first copy of the A320: inauguration on February 14, 1987 in the presence of Lady Diana and Prince Charles, first flight on February 22, 1987

Airbus A380-800, F-WXXL, MSN002 in Airbus colors, transferred to site on August 29, 2019, second copy of the A380. The two decks of this aircraft can be visited, as well as the cockpit.

ATR 42-300, F-WEGC, MSN003 in the old ATR colors, transferred to the site on August 30, 2019, third specimen of the 42. This specimen is decorated in the colors of the MSN001 and bears the registration F-WEGA

 

Concorde, F-WTSB, MSN201 (ANAE), this is a pre-production aircraft which was used, among other things, to transport several presidents of the French Republic.

Airbus A300B4-203, F-WUAB, MSN238 (Airbus Heritage), decorated in the colors of the prototype, instead of dismantled MSN001. The interior can be visited. In the first section transparent glazing allows to see the structure and systems of the aircraft, while in the following sections are shown first class and VIP fittings.

Super Guppy from the Ailes Anciennes Toulouse association, the aircraft which was used to transport the Airbus sections is on display with the door open, and a gangway allows access to the hold where a film is shown. Opening was no small feat, as the device has not been opened for 15 years. The help of the former mechanics of the aircraft was essential to allow a safe opening.

 

Corvette (Airbus)

Falcon 10 no 02, prototype used for testing the Larzac turbojet engine (Ailes Anciennes Toulouse)

Fouga Magister (AAT)

Prototype Gazelle (AAT)

Mirage III C (AAT)

North 1100 (AAT)

Lockheed F-104G (AAT)

MiG-15 (AAT)

MS.760 Paris (AAT)

Vought F-8E (FN) Crusader and its engine (AAT)

Alouette II Marine (AAT)

Cessna Skymaster (AAT)

Fairchild Metro, former Météo-France (AAT) aircraft

HM-293, by Rodolphe Grunberg

Chagnes MicroStar, amateur-built aircraft, twin-jet version of Rutan VariViggen (AAT)

Saab J35OE Draken (AAT)

Almost ALL the sample photos of this camera do not capture what it is capable of. I took these photos on program mode. Sharpness for the majority of the images is bumped up one notch, but with a sensor this size, it does a nice job of in camera sharpening. This was with the kit lens. Saturation and contrast were both left at default. There may be one or two where I bumped up contrast on the humming bird feeder, but the rest are regular photos strait from program mode. I am convinced that the majority of photos of this camera posted to flickr have HDR set to ON which is the camera default. So it is set to OFF on all the photos which may account for why there is more observed contrast.

 

This camera is fast. Ive owned the the Epm2, the canon t1i, the GF6 and this is by far my favorite camera. My camera search has after all these years officially ended. This is it.

 

I will say that when I first looked at the pictures, I looked at them on a dell laptop with a poor Intel graphics card. Even with a nice monitor viewed in windows viewer I was not all moved by the photos. Then I hooked that same external monitor (a dell s2340mc set on movie mode default) on a laptop with a good graphics card.... It looks fantastic. And Im positive its not just the monitor making the pictures look nice. Ive compared the pictures against other cameras. The sensor on this camera is outstanding. Ive compared the Nikon 3200, and several other DSLRs and still prefer this. it keeps good contrast and the black/contrast ratio in my opinion is one of the larger factors in bringing photos to life.

 

And THANK YOU Sony for NOT programming auto focus to fix on the nearest subject like canon does. I once used a Canon T1i, and that thing focused on everything CLOSE to the subject. It also overexposed everything. In fact that was one of the reasons I looked at this camera. The whole rebel series...even the upper rebels over all these years tend to overexpose everything on almost every mode with the ones Ive used. This one has a very very good metering system. Just overall very impressed. Fast speed. fast autofocus, good contrast ratio (OFF HDR MODE unlike the majority of uploads of this camera to flickr), defiantly a great camera. AND as an added bonus, there are hundreds of INEXPENSIVE lenses, including all the non-MD Minoltas

Type: Space heavy fighter-bomber

Crew: 1

Length/wingspan: 28 studs/22 studs

Engine(s): 1 Tiren Broad T-34 ion engine

Speed:

Service ceiling: Unlimited

Range:

Weaponry: 4x 0.7in laser cannons and 4 hard points capable of numerous weapons (though usually 4x 2.5 in laser cannons)

 

The T-57 Stalker is Ranter Tec’s winning entry in the HBC (Heavy Bomber Challenge) issued by the Trynin military as a direct response to the Boeing B-100 Boomerang. Technically the T-57 is fighter-bomber, not a heavy bomber. This break in the rules didn’t matter to the Trynin military who saw great potential in the versatile, heavily armored, single pilot, “heavy” fighter-bomber.

 

The T-57 was created immediately after the Trynin military issued the HBC and went from schematics to prototype in six month time. It was the first official entry in the HBC but was the last to go through military trials due to problems with the weight and engines. It took the T-57 almost two more years to go into mass production.

When the first T-57 squadrons were first flown in 2076 during the battle of [], they saw little success which was mainly due to their operators not correctly arming the T-57s. For the next year the T-57s would only claim two warships and only a hundred fighter-craft, with a loss of over seven-hundred T-57s. It wasn’t until [general] armed the T-57s with three inch beam cannons did they become success.

 

The T-57 is heavily armored with eight inch trendmite armor on the sides a two inch coating on the body. It does however lack a shield generator.

 

The Tiren Broad T-34 ion engines provide the T-57 with over [] pounds of thrust but its heavy armor plating reduce its top speed to [] mph. The broad emplacement (thus the name) of the engines across the whole rear end allows the T-57 to maneuver efficiently but again, its weight reduces its maneuverability. Although it does have two anti-gravity generators to allow atmospheric flight and increase its maneuverability. It also features an experimental magnetic thrust vectoring system to boost maneuverability and speed.

 

Most anti-aircraft T-57s are armed with the normal four .7 inch laser cannons in the nose and four 2.5 laser cannons in the roots. This gave the T-57 enough stopping power to down a small transport if necessary, and a light enough airframe to maneuver correctly and maintain high enough speeds.

 

Many of the bomber variants were armed with two .7 inch laser cannons in the upper nose, two 1 inch plasma cannons in the lower nose, and two 3 inch beam cannons in the roots. This arrangement of weapons gave the T-57 almost as much firepower as the Boeing B-100 Boomerang but greatly hinders the maneuverability and speed.

During the end of the Agronomic war the T-57 began to operate more and more as a fighter craft. This was due to the massive amounts of real fighters lost in battle and the arrival of the U-2 Bomber.

 

The T-57s destroyed twenty-seven warships and over twenty-thousand fighter-craft during the Agronomic War. Today T-57s are the hottest fighter-craft on the market and all but the U.E.C (United Earth Confederation) have at least one squad of T-57s.

 

The Rolls-Royce Griffon engine was designed in answer to Royal Naval specifications for an engine capable of generating good power at low altitudes. Concepts for adapting the Spitfire to take the new engine had begun as far back as October 1939; Joseph Smith felt that "The good big 'un will eventually beat the good little 'un." and Ernest Hives of Rolls-Royce thought that the Griffon would be "a second power string for the Spitfire". The first of the Griffon-engined Spitfires flew on 27 November 1941.

 

Although the Griffon-engined Spitfires were never produced in the large numbers of the Merlin-engined variants they were an important part of the Spitfire family, and in their later versions kept the Spitfire at the forefront of piston-engined fighter development. This article describes the Griffon-powered Spitfire variants.

 

The majority of Spitfires from the Mk VIII used C, D and E wing types. Unless otherwise noted, all Griffon-engined Spitfire variants used the strengthened Dunlop AH10019 "four spoke" pattern mainwheels. With the increasing use of hard-surfaced runways in the post-war years, many Spitfires were either manufactured or re-fitted with, larger mainwheels which were of a "three spoke" pattern. These were used on modified undercarriage legs which had reduced "toe-in" for the axles, which reduced tyre scrub.

 

Also known as the "Universal wing" the new design was standard on the majority of Spitfires built from mid-1942. This wing was structurally modified to reduce labour and manufacturing time plus it was designed to allow mixed armament options, A type, B type or four 20 mm Hispano cannon.

 

The undercarriage mountings were redesigned and the undercarriage doors were bowed in cross section allowing the legs to sit lower in the wells, eliminating the upper-wing blisters over the wheel wells and landing gear pivot points. Stronger undercarriage legs were raked 2 inches (5.08 cm) forward, making the Spitfire more stable on the ground and reducing the likelihood of the aircraft tipping onto its nose.[2] During production of the Mk VIII and Mk IX, a new undercarriage leg was introduced which had external v-shaped "scissor-links" fitted to the front of the leg; this also led to small changes in the shape of the undercarriage bay and leg fairings. Several versions of the Spitfire, including Mk XIV and Mk XVIII had extra 13 gallon integral fuel tanks in the wing leading edges, between the wing-root and the inboard cannon bay.

 

The Hispano Mk.II cannons were now belt fed from box magazines allowing for 120 rpg (the Chattelleraul system). The fairings over the Hispano barrels were shorter and there was usually a short rubber stub covering the outer cannon port. Redesigned upper wing gun bay doors incorporated "teardrop" shaped blisters to clear the cannon feed motors and the lower wings no longer had the gun bay heating vents outboard of the gunbays. To provide room for the belt feed system of the cannon, the inner machine gun bays were moved outboard between ribs 13 and 14. As the Spitfire was no longer to be used as a night fighter, the retractable landing lights were no longer fitted.

 

D Type

 

These were specifically made for the Photo-Reconnaissance Spitfires, including the PR XIX; no armament was fitted and the "D" shaped leading edges of the wings ahead of the main spar, were converted into integral fuel tanks, each carrying 66 gallons. To avoid the expansion of fuel in hot weather damaging the wing, pressure relief valves, incorporating small external vent pipes, were fitted near the wing tips.

Harrier GR9

 

The Harrier, informally referred to as the Jump Jet, is the famous family of British-designed military jet aircraft capable of vertical/short take-off and landing (V/STOL) operations. The Harrier family is the only truly successful design of this type from the many that arose in the 1960s.

 

There are four main versions of the Harrier family: Hawker Siddeley Harrier, British Aerospace Sea Harrier, Boeing/BAE Systems AV-8B Harrier II, and BAE Systems/Boeing Harrier II. The Hawker Siddeley Harrier is the first generation-version and is also known as the AV-8A Harrier. The Sea Harrier is a naval strike/air defence fighter. The AV-8B and BAE Harrier II are the US and British variants respectively of the second generation Harrier aircraft. Between 1969 and 2003, 824 Harrier variants were delivered, including remanufactured aircraft.

 

Historically the Harrier was developed to operate from ad-hoc facilities such as car parks or forest clearings, avoiding the need for large air bases vulnerable to tactical nuclear weapons. Later the design was adapted for use from aircraft carriers.

 

Following an approach by the Bristol Engine Company in 1957 that they were planning a directed thrust engine, Hawker Aircraft came up with a design for an aeroplane that could meet the NATO specification for a "Light Tactical Support Fighter". The resultant Hawker P.1127 was ordered as a prototype and flew in 1960.

Development continued with nine evaluation aircraft, the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel; These started flying in 1964 and were assessed by the "Tri-partite Evaluation Squadron" which consisted of British, US and German pilots, and several flew and are preserved in the United States. The RAF ordered a modified P.1127/Kestrel as the Harrier GR.1 in 1966, with most converted to GR.1A and ultimately GR.3 status in the 1970s with more powerful engines. These and new-build GR3s operated with the RAF until 1994, and a number survive in museums around the world as well as frequent use as 'gate guards' at MoD establishments.

 

The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval V/STOL jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft, a development of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier. The first version entered service with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm in April 1980 as the Sea Harrier FRS.1, and was informally known as the 'Shar'. The upgraded Sea Harrier FA2 entered service in 1993. It was withdrawn from Royal Navy service in March 2006. The Sea Harrier FRS Mk.51 remains in active service with the Indian Navy.

 

The Harrier was extensively redeveloped by McDonnell Douglas and British Aerospace (now parts of Boeing and BAE Systems respectively), leading to the Boeing/BAE Systems AV-8B Harrier II. This is a family of second-generation V/STOL jet multi-role aircraft, including the British Aerospace-built Harrier GR5/GR7/GR9, which entered service in the mid-1980s. The AV-8B is primarily used for light attack or multi-role tasks, typically operated from small aircraft carriers. Versions are used by several NATO countries, including the Spanish and Italian Navies, and the United States.

 

The BAE Systems/Boeing Harrier II is a modified version of the AV-8B Harrier II that was used by the RAF and the Royal Navy until December 2010, when they were all retired from operational service due to defence cuts in favour of maintaining the remaining Tornado fleet, and stored serviceable at RAF Cottesmore. At the end of November 2011, the UK Government announced the sale of 72 remaining Harrier Airframes to the US Marine Corps for spares to support their AV-8B fleet, with the remaining two others being allocated to museums.

 

www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/collections/bae-harrier-gr9a/

Baltimore the Tug Boat at the Baltimore Museum of Industry in Baltimore, MD on February-3rd-2022.

 

Baltimore is a preserved steam-powered tugboat, built in 1906 by the Skinner Shipbuilding Company of Baltimore, Maryland. She is formerly the oldest operating steam tugboat in the United States, but at present does not hold an operating license issued by the US Coast Guard, so is unable to leave her dock at the Baltimore Museum of Industry on Key Highway, Baltimore. Her hull is not capable of operating on open water. Baltimore was built and operated as a harbor inspection tug, capable of acting as a municipal tugboat for city barges, as well as an official welcoming vessel and VIP launch, an auxiliary fireboat, and as a light icebreaker.

 

She was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1993,and is part of the Baltimore Museum of Industry. The Baltimore and Chesapeake Steamboat Co., a nonprofit organization, was established to maintain the tugboat.

 

Baltimore is equipped with a compound reciprocating steam engine, fed by a Scotch marine boiler. Hull construction is rivetted iron, with a wooden deckhouse. The 84.5 feet (25.8 m) wrought iron hull has proven to be more durable than steel or wood. Displacement measures 81 gross tons and 55 net tons. The hull form is typical for its time, with an upright stem, moderate sheer and elliptical stern. Bulwarks are vertical about the stern rather than inwardly-sloped as in more modern designs.

 

Boiler

The boiler was a replacement for the original, fitted in 1922, but is similar to the original. The cylindrical boiler measures 9.5 feet (2.9 m) by 10.25 feet (3.12 m), with two Morrison furnaces connecting to a combustion chamber at the rear. The fire tubes pass from the back to the front of the boiler. Exhaust passes through an annular steam dryer/superheater on its way to the smokestack. Originally designed to burn coal, the boiler was converted to oil in 1957. The boiler has since been converted back to coal and the original coal bunkers restored by the Baltimore Museum of Industry as part of their conservation and restoration work. Steam pressure as designed was 150 psi (1,000 kPa), however it is limited to 115 psi (790 kPa) by the boiler rating.

 

Engine

The tug is powered by a compound double-acting, vertical-inverted steam reciprocating engine, a common type for tugboats. A 12 inches (30 cm) high-pressure cylinder operates at 150 psi (1,000 kPa) (now 115 psi (790 kPa)), while a 25 inches (64 cm) low-pressure cylinder takes the high-pressure cylinder's exhaust at 17psi. Both cylinders have a stroke of 22 inches (56 cm), offset by 90 degrees to keep the engine from being stuck on center. A manual jacking gear acts as a further measure to prevent sticking on center. Stephenson valve gear permits reversing, aided by a steam reversing engine or ram to adjust eccentric rods. The propeller has a diameter of 6.75 feet (2.06 m) with a pitch of 8.66 feet (2.64 m).

 

Auxiliaries and pumps

Baltimore has a rotative duplex donkey pump, duplex feed pump, duplex sanitary pump and a centrifugal circulating pump. The pump system provides a moderate fire fighting capability through two hose standpipes on top of the pilothouse. Piping runs to each compartment allow water to be forced out through air pressure in the event of flooding.

 

A 5.5 kW Westinghouse dynamo provides electrical power, driven by an American Blocwer steam engine at 500 RPM. A Pyle National 5 kW reserve generator was installed in 1957. The electrical system was unusual in 1906, and was fitted when the yard was able to build the tug for substantially less than the estimated cost.

 

Superstructure

The full-length deckhouse is built of Georgia pine, with a similarly constructed pilothouse on top, set slightly back from the front of the deckhouse. Both are sheathed with tongue-and-groove planking. Windows are sash units designed to drop into self-draining metal pockets in the bulkheads. A saloon fills the front of the deckhouse, finished with oak match board. Aft of a bulkhead a companionway ladder leads to the pilothouse. The middle of the deckhouse covers the boiler and engine room spaces. The rear of the deckhouse contains the galley, provided with a Shipmate coal-burning stove. The deckhouse ends at toilets, officers to port and crew to starboard.

 

The pilothouse has an elliptical forward face and a flat rear. A steam radiator provides heat, and a ladder provides access to the pilothouse roof. The large wheel dominates the house, its size dictated by the entirely manual steering gear, an anachronistic feature for the time. Voice pipes run to the engine room and saloon. Bells provide additional communication to the engine room. Whistles are fitted for signals to ships and shore.

 

A 20 feet (6.1 m) Kallenweller metal lifeboat for eleven people is carried on chocks above the engine room skylight on the deckhouse, lifted by pipe davits.

 

History

Baltimore acted as a general-purpose harbor vessel, taking on roles as needed in her capacity as a representative of the city. The tug took on school tours, carried VIPs and attended ceremonies. On one occasion in 1922, a newly launched ship capsized onto Baltimore, damaging her pilothouse. The city took advantage of the repair period to replace Baltimore's boiler.

 

In her capacity as an official welcoming vessel for the City of Baltimore, Baltimore met the German unarmed merchant submarine Deutschland on her first voyage to America, prior to the United States' entry into World War I. Baltimore and the city quarantine tug Thomas F. Timmins patrolled the vicinity of Deutschland's berth to ensure American neutrality.

 

In 1956 the Baltimore Harbor Board was dissolved and its assets, including Baltimore, transferred to the Maryland Port Authority. In 1963 the state sold Baltimore to Alexander Luckton, Jr., owner of Baltimore's Poe Bookstore. Luckton proposed to use Baltimore as a tow vessel for a barge carrying 100,000 books bound for Puerto Rico. With the failure of Luckton's health the project was called off and Baltimore was sold to the Harbor Towing Company of Baltimore, which in turn sold her the same year to Samuel F. and Joanna J. DuPont, who had her repaired and certified as a steam yacht. In 1979 Baltimore sank at her dock on the Sassafras River in fifteen feet of water.In 1981 DuPont offered the tug to the Baltimore Museum of Industry. After several tries the tug was raised, and has been undergoing repair and conservation ever since.In 2009 the project was awarded federal funding for further restoration work, and additional funding in 2011 through a Maryland Heritage Areas Authority grant.

  

Baltimore was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and Made a National Historic Landmark on November-4th-1993.

 

The rise of the Sforza Castle

Originally from Romagna, Francesco Sforza was an immensely capable military leader as well as an astute politician. Having previously been hired to defend the city by Filippo Maria Visconti, he successfully laid siege to Milan and was welcomed by the populace as a liberator. On the 25th March 1450, Sforza and his wife Bianca Maria Visconti were hailed as the rulers of Milan.

Once in power, Francesco Sforza immediately set to work building additions to the Visconti Castle. Knowing the hatred the Milanese had for the building, he justified its reconstruction on the basis of a desire to beautify the city while defending it from outside enemies.

Coherently with this line of reasoning, in 1452, he set a civil engineer, the Florentine Antonio Averulino, known as il Filarete, to work alongside the military engineers, Giovanni da Milano, Jacopo da Cortona and Marcoleone da Nogolarolo. Averulino was tasked with designing the façade on the side of the city and the high central tower that rose above the castle gate. The Tuscan architect, however, was soon dismissed and the project was headed by Bartolomeo Gadio, a military architect who had the trust of the Sforzas and who had taken up the post of fortress commissioner for the duchy in the same year. The original plans for the façade were modified by Gadio to include two massive round corner towers covered in diamond shaped Serizzo stone that was more resistant to the artillery of the time. On the other side of the castle he also fortified and extended the “Ghirlanda”, a pre-existing Visconti era wall, which together with its two corner towers and a covered road, constituted the northern defences.

The efforts to complete and embellish the castle were intensified under the rule of Francesco Sforza's successor. In 1468 Galeazzo Maria, the first in line to the title, moved into the castle together with his court and spouse, Bona di Savoia, the sister-in-law of King Louis XI of France. In a matter of just a few years the Rocchetta Keep and the Ducal Courtyard were completed, the castle rooms frescoed and the Ducal Chapel decorated.

At this time the Castle was composed of the buildings that surrounded the capacious Courtyard of Arms on the side of the city, and the Ducal Apartments and fortified Rocchetta Keep towards the park.

 

www.milanocastello.it/en/storia-voci/10/140

www.facebook.com/wholesaleinc

 

From Edmunds (http://www.edmunds.com/lexus/gx470/2007/review.html) -

 

Pros

 

Rugged and capable off-road, comprehensively equipped interior, luxurious cabin furnishings.

 

Cons

 

Very tight quarters in optional third-row seat, side-hinged cargo door impedes curbside loading.

 

What's New for 2007

 

A few detail changes to onboard entertainment systems mark this midsize luxury SUV's transition into the 2007 model year. The optional navigation system has been upgraded with "fifth-generation" technology that includes voice activation for many functions, an improved display and an input jack for plumbing in devices like an iPod. The Mark Levinson Premium Audio System that resides alongside the navigation system can now play DVDs while displaying video on the navigation screen when the vehicle is parked. Additionally, the optional rear-seat entertainment system's video screen has been expanded to 9 inches wide.

 

Introduction

 

Entering its fifth year of production, the 2007 Lexus GX 470 remains the brand's middle SUV offering, sandwiched between the car-based RX 350 crossover and full-size LX 470. While it's not much larger than the RX, it's built more like the LX with a full ladder frame, a stout suspension and an all-wheel-drive system that includes a dual-range transfer case. In fact, the GX shares its 263-horsepower, 4.7-liter, DOHC, 32-valve V8 and five-speed automatic transmission with the more expensive LX.

 

The GX 470 is based on Toyota's Land Cruiser Prado platform: the same structural and mechanical base upon which the 4Runner and FJ Cruiser are erected. It's an exceptionally capable and rugged platform that manages the neat trick of supplying excellent on-road comfort and solid off-road performance.

 

But just because the 2007 Lexus GX 470 shares much of its engineering with the 4Runner and FJ Cruiser doesn't mean it feels like either of them. This is a truly luxurious machine that packs all the creature comforts expected of a Lexus into its body and covers most anything any human might touch in supple, perfectly stitched leather. In fact, it's so overstuffed with luxury equipment that the dashboard can seem overrun with buttons and switches to those who encounter it for the first time. Fortunately that sense of being overwhelmed fades rapidly once the ignition key is turned, the "Optitron" electroluminescent instrument panel fires to life and the engine settles into a barely audible idle.

 

While the GX packs in all the gee-whiz overkill elements expected of a 21st-century luxury machine, its most impressive technology is really only apparent off-road. The dual-range all-wheel-drive system is among the very best available (the center differential is a Torsen limited-slip unit) and it's complemented by the shockingly effective Downhill Assist Control (DAC), Hill-start Assist Control (HAC) and Active-TRAC (A-TRAC) traction control systems. Throw in excellent four-wheel disc brakes with both ABS and brake assist systems and it takes real effort to get into trouble with a GX 470.

 

Like other Prado-based vehicles, the GX 470 is a little narrow compared to some of its competition, and the styling is disappointingly generic, but this is otherwise a solid choice for the buyer who wants (or better, needs) the ability of a traditional SUV.

The Theresian Military Academy was under Maria Theresa on 14 December 1751 with the mission "Make he me thereof capable officers and righteous men" to the first commander Field Marshal Leopold Joseph of Daun founded and is, thus, the oldest active uninterruptedly the officer training dedicated Military Academy of the World. Memorable is that the building since 1752 - except for the years of occupation, war and destruction due to the Third Reich - uninterruptedly hosted the Military Academy, while the Royal Military Academy Woolwich, founded in 1741, was closed in 1939. The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, founded in 1947, only from a sentimental point of view continues the tradition of its predecessor academy. In Wiener Neustadt, in contrast, were admitted since 1752 almost without interruption per year 100 nobles and 100 commoners. The officers of the Austria-Hungarian army as well were to 1918 formed here.

The term military academy it wears since the unification with the nursery of Cadets in 1769. Already in 1771 appeared a by local director lieutenant field marshal Johann Georg Carl Freiherr von Hannig elaborated regulated curriculum and 1775 the by Maria Theresa sanctioned Academy Regulations. The training period at that time was eleven years and was gradually reduced to three years.

The famous Styrian Archduke Johann of Austria was 44 years (1805-1849) Chief Executive Officer of Theresian Military Academy.

In the First Republic, the training was to 1934 performed in Enns (Upper Austria) and then again in Wiener Neustadt. A special feature in the time between the Austrofascism and the Annexation is the refusal of Major General Rudolf Towarek (1933-1938 Commander of the Military Academy), to hand over the castle to German Wehrmacht which had just invated Austria. He had the guard paraded with fixed bayonet and so refused the Wehrmacht several days admission to the castle. This act had until his retirement no negative impacts on Major General Towarek, he even obtained permission to continue to wear the Austrian uniform after his retirement.

By Colonel Erwin Rommel, later Field Marshal, immediately after the Annexation a training school for officer training was set up which he at the beginning also directed himself. To the school the Daun barracks was added.

Towards the end of World War II, the castle was almost completely destroyed by bombs, fires and looting. It burned in April and May 1945 within almost 14 days completely down. The remaining ruins were in the reconstruction in the years 1946 to 1959 restored to its historical form, the interior, however, adapted to current requirements. So the military academy was able to resume operations in the year 1958.

Main portal of the Theresian Military Academy

After the founding of the Armed Forces in 1955, the Military Academy was housed again until 1958 in Enns, from where it subsequently moved back to the castle of Wiener Neustadt, that after the damages caused by the Second World War had been repaired.

In Vienna Museum of Military History, the campaign streamer of the first flag of the military academy is set up. It was donated by Maria Theresia just before her death in 1780 for the first flag, supposedly she should have embroidered it personally. Under the banner ribbon there are two paintings (gouaches) of Bernhard Albrecht (1758-1822). Albrecht was an art teacher at the Military Academy and he also depicted the pupils in their military and athletic exercises. So show the images scenes as "target practice with mortars" and "balancing exercises of cadets at the high balance beam". The sheets have emerged 1785-1793.

The current commander is Brigadier Karl Pronhagl.

 

Die Theresianische Militärakademie wurde unter Maria Theresia am 14. Dezember 1751 mit dem Auftrag „Mach’ er mir tüchtige Offiziere und rechtschaffene Männer darauß“ an den ersten Kommandanten Feldmarschall Leopold Joseph von Daun gegründet und ist somit die älteste aktive, durchgängig der Offiziersausbildung gewidmete Militärakademie der Welt. Denkwürdig ist, dass das Gebäude seit 1752 – mit Ausnahme der Okkupations- Kriegs- und Zerstörungsjahre in Folge des Dritten Reiches durchgängig die Militärakademie beherbergte, wogegen die 1741 gegründete Royal Military Academy Woolwich 1939 geschlossen wurde. Die Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, gegründet 1947, setzt nur in ideeller Hinsicht die Tradition ihrer Vorgängerakademie fort. In Wiener Neustadt wurden dagegen seit 1752 fast durchgängig pro Jahr je 100 Adelige und 100 Bürgerliche aufgenommen. Auch die Offiziere der Österreich-Ungarischen Armee wurden bis 1918 hier ausgebildet.

Die Bezeichnung Militärakademie trägt sie seit der Vereinigung mit der Pflanzschule für Kadetten im Jahr 1769. Bereits 1771 erschien ein vom Lokaldirektor Feldmarschalleutnant Johann Georg Carl Freiherr von Hannig ausgearbeiteter geregelter Studienplan und 1775 das von Maria Theresia sanktionierte Akademie-Reglement. Die Ausbildungszeit betrug damals elf Jahre und wurde schrittweise auf drei Jahre verkürzt.

Der berühmte steirische Erzherzog Johann von Österreich war 44 Jahre (von 1805 bis 1849) Oberdirektor der Theresianischen Militär-Akademie.

In der ersten Republik wurde die Ausbildung bis 1934 in Enns durchgeführt und anschließend wieder in Wiener Neustadt. Eine Besonderheit in der Zeit zwischen dem Austrofaschismus und dem Anschluss ist die Weigerung des Generalmajors Rudolf Towarek (1933–1938 Kommandant der Militärakademie), die Burg der in Österreich einmarschierten deutschen Wehrmacht zu übergeben. Er ließ die Wache mit aufgepflanzten Bajonett aufmarschieren und verweigerte so der Wehrmacht mehrere Tage den Zutritt zur Burg. Diese Tat hatte bis auf seine Pensionierung keine negativen Auswirkungen auf Generalmajor Towarek, er erhielt sogar die Erlaubnis, nach seiner Pensionierung weiterhin die österreichische Uniform zu tragen.

Von Oberst Erwin Rommel, dem späteren Generalfeldmarschall, wurde unmittelbar nach dem Anschluss eine Kriegsschule für die Offiziersausbildung eingerichtet, die er anfangs auch selbst leitete. Zu der Schule kam auch die Daun-Kaserne dazu.

Gegen Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs wurde die Burg durch Fliegerbomben, Brände und Plünderungen fast vollkommen zerstört. Sie brannte im April und Mai 1945 innerhalb von fast 14 Tagen restlos aus. Die übrig gebliebene Ruine wurde beim Wiederaufbau in den Jahren 1946 bis 1959 in ihrer historischen Form wiederhergestellt, das Innere jedoch den zeitlichen Erfordernissen angepasst. So konnte die Militärakademie im Jahr 1958 ihren Betrieb wieder aufnehmen.

Hauptportal der Theresianischen Militärakademie

Nach der Gründung des Bundesheeres im Jahr 1955 war die Militärakademie nochmals bis 1958 in Enns untergebracht, von wo sie anschließend wieder in die Burg von Wiener Neustadt übersiedelte, nachdem die Beschädigungen durch den Zweiten Weltkrieg behoben worden waren.

Im Wiener Heeresgeschichtlichen Museum ist das Fahnenband der ersten Fahne der Militärakademie ausgestellt. Es wurde von Maria Theresia knapp vor ihrem Tod 1780 für die erste Fahne gestiftet, angeblich soll sie es persönlich bestickt haben. Unter dem Fahnenband befinden sich zwei Bilder (Gouachen) von Bernhard Albrecht (1758–1822). Albrecht war Zeichenlehrer der Militärakademie und schilderte auch die Zöglinge bei ihren militärischen und sportlichen Übungen. So zeigen die Bilder Szenen wie „Übungsschießen mit Mörsern“ und „Balancierübungen der Kadetten auf dem hohen Balkensteg“. Die Blätter sind zwischen 1785 und 1793 entstanden.

Der aktuelle Kommandant ist Brigadier Karl Pronhagl.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresianische_Milit%C3%A4rakademie

Built by the Schiffswerks Rieherst company in Hamburg, the Umbria was launched on December 30th 1911 with the name of Bahia Blanca. It was a large freighter by that time, 150 meters long, with a power capable of providing a speed of 14 knots that could carry 9,000 tons of cargo and up to 2,000 passengers. In 1912 it began operating the Hamburg-America line doing different jobs between Europe and Argentina until the outbreak of World War I, when it was based in Buenos Aires. In 1918 the ship was acquired by the Argentinian government and it was not until 1935 when the ship was taken over by the Italian government and renamed again: the Umbria. From that moment its trips were to transport troops and during the following two years carried several thousand soldiers to the Italian colonies in East Africa.

  

The loss of the Umbria

 

In May 1940, when Italy was still neutral in World War II, the Umbria was secretly loaded with 360,000 bombs between 15 kg and 100 kg, 60 boxes of detonators, building materials and three Fiat Lunga cars, carrying a total 8,600 tons of weapons towards the East Africa. The explosives had destination Massawa and Assab, Eritrea, that was Italian colony by then, and the rest of the cargo was heading different locations in Asia. Italy's entry into the war was imminent and this shipment was destined to the defense of the colonies against the Allies and to the possible expansion of its African territories.

   

On 3rd June 1940 the Umbria reached Port Said, northern Egypt, where loaded with 1,000 tons of coal and water in a movement to fool the Allies, trying to look like a harmless freighter. The port, controlled by the Royal Navy, and its authorities allowed the ship enter on the Red Sea three days after arrival. The British delayed the departure of the Umbria knowing that Italy's entry into the war was imminent and that the cargo of Umbria had devastating power that sooner or later would be used against the Allies and why not, to get a great load to fight fascism. But Italy, as a neutral country that it was, had every right to transport weapons much like any other cargo to its colonies.

   

Having met the deadline to be retained, the Umbria crossed the Suez Canal on June 6th but with the escort of the HMS Grimsby. The importance and destructive capacity of the cargo required it. Three days later the Umbria entered in Sudan waters and the HMS Grimsby ordered the Umbria captain to anchor on Wingate Reef under the pretext of searching for contraband. Moments later the British warship HMS Leander arrived with a group of 20 sailors who boarded the Umbria. After thoroughly searching the ship and finding nothing, the captain ordered the British troops to remain the night aboard the Umbria.

The next morning Lorenzo Muiesan, Umbria captain, was in his cabin listening to the radio when Mussolini announced the entry of Italy into the World War II. Hostilities would begin at midnight of that day. Muiesan, a very patriotic captain with long experience, was the only one in the area who had heard the news and knew immediately that both Umbria and the burden would be used by the Allies against their own country. He had no option to disable both. In a move of extraordinary intelligence, as the hours passed retained by the British who did not yet know that Italy was officially the enemy, the captain ordered his crew conducting a rescue simulation... that was more real than the British thought. This maneuver, which the English soldiers agreed as they believed it would serve to further delay the departure of the Umbria. While the Italians occupied the lifeboats, the chief engineers, following Muiesan´s orders, opened all the valves and drown the ship to the bottom of the reef. With the crew safe, the British only had time to get on their ship and watch the freighter slid slowly.

When the captain of HMS Grimsby asked why he had done that Muiesan confirmed the declaration of war from Italy to Britain. The next day Muiesan and the rest of Umbria crew departed detainees to India, where they spent four years in prison.

  

CARGO:

The Umbria was carrying 360,000 individual aircraft bombs ranging in size from 15, 50 and 100 kg. The vessel also carried a large quantity of fuses, ammunition and detonators as well as other traditional cargo. The captain knew these bombs would be confiscated and used by the enemy against his country should they ever discover them which was why he made the call to sink the ship.

The Umbria had sailed in June 1940 with 6,000 tons of bombs, 60 boxes detonators, explosives, weapons and three Fiat 1100 Lunga from Genoa via Livorno and Naples in the Suez Canal and on the way via Massaua and Assab to Calcutta.

Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye, an American all-weather, carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. This twin-turboprop aircraft was designed and developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s by the Grumman Aircraft Company for the United States Navy as a replacement for the earlier E-1 Tracer, which was rapidly becoming obsolete. The aircraft's performance has been upgraded with the E-2B, and E-2C versions, where most of the changes were made to the radar and radio communications due to advances in electronic integrated circuits and other electronics. The fourth version of the Hawkeye is the E-2D, which first flew in 2007. The E-2 was the first aircraft designed to be an AEW aircraft from the outset, as opposed to a modification of an existing airframe, such as the E-3. Variants of the Hawkeye have been in continuous production since 1960, giving it the longest production run of any carrier based aircraft. The E-2 also received the nickname Super Fudd because it replaced the E-1 Tracer Willy Fudd. In recent decades, the E-2 has been commonly referred to as the Hummer because of the distinctive sounds of its turboprop engines, quite unlike that of turbojet and turbofan jet engines. The E-2 and its sister, the C-2 Greyhound, are currently the only propeller airplanes that operate from aircraft carriers. In addition to U.S. Navy service, smaller numbers of E-2s have been sold to the armed forces of Egypt, France, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Singapore and Taiwan.

 

AMARG (or the Boneyard) is the world's largest aircraft and missile storage and maintenance facility in Tucson, Arizona. I took these pictures during a bus tour in June 2008.

 

A világ legnagyobb repülőgép és rakéta tároló és karbantartó létesítménye az Arizona állambeli Tucson-ban. A hely csak idegenvezetett autóbuszos túrán tekinthető meg, mi is így jártunk itt 2008. júniusban.

 

The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG), often called The Boneyard, is a United States Air Force aircraft and missile storage and maintenance facility in Tucson, Arizona, located on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. AMARG takes care of more than 4,400 aircraft on 11 km2, which makes it the largest aircraft storage and preservation facility in the world. AMARG holds aircarft for future use, sales to friendly governments, or parts reclamation. Stored aircraft go through the following treatments: removing guns, ejection seat charges, or classified hardware. Draining its fuel system. Sealing it from dust, sunlight, and high temperatures by using high tech vinyl plastic compounds, Spraying an opaque white color on it, or using simple garbage bags. AMARG is a controlled-access site, and is off-limits to anyone not employed there without the proper clearance. The only access to AMARG for non-cleared individuals is via a bus tour.

Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye, an American all-weather, carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. This twin-turboprop aircraft was designed and developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s by the Grumman Aircraft Company for the United States Navy as a replacement for the earlier E-1 Tracer, which was rapidly becoming obsolete. The aircraft's performance has been upgraded with the E-2B, and E-2C versions, where most of the changes were made to the radar and radio communications due to advances in electronic integrated circuits and other electronics. The fourth version of the Hawkeye is the E-2D, which first flew in 2007. The E-2 was the first aircraft designed to be an AEW aircraft from the outset, as opposed to a modification of an existing airframe, such as the E-3. Variants of the Hawkeye have been in continuous production since 1960, giving it the longest production run of any carrier based aircraft. The E-2 also received the nickname Super Fudd because it replaced the E-1 Tracer Willy Fudd. In recent decades, the E-2 has been commonly referred to as the Hummer because of the distinctive sounds of its turboprop engines, quite unlike that of turbojet and turbofan jet engines. The E-2 and its sister, the C-2 Greyhound, are currently the only propeller airplanes that operate from aircraft carriers. In addition to U.S. Navy service, smaller numbers of E-2s have been sold to the armed forces of Egypt, France, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Singapore and Taiwan.

 

AMARG (or the Boneyard) is the world's largest aircraft and missile storage and maintenance facility in Tucson, Arizona. I took these pictures during a bus tour in June 2008.

 

A világ legnagyobb repülőgép és rakéta tároló és karbantartó létesítménye az Arizona állambeli Tucson-ban. A hely csak idegenvezetett autóbuszos túrán tekinthető meg, mi is így jártunk itt 2008. júniusban.

 

The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG), often called The Boneyard, is a United States Air Force aircraft and missile storage and maintenance facility in Tucson, Arizona, located on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. AMARG takes care of more than 4,400 aircraft on 11 km2, which makes it the largest aircraft storage and preservation facility in the world. AMARG holds aircarft for future use, sales to friendly governments, or parts reclamation. Stored aircraft go through the following treatments: removing guns, ejection seat charges, or classified hardware. Draining its fuel system. Sealing it from dust, sunlight, and high temperatures by using high tech vinyl plastic compounds, Spraying an opaque white color on it, or using simple garbage bags. AMARG is a controlled-access site, and is off-limits to anyone not employed there without the proper clearance. The only access to AMARG for non-cleared individuals is via a bus tour.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackburn_Buccaneer

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkshire_Air_Museum#Collection

 

The Blackburn Buccaneer is a British carrier-capable attack aircraft designed in the 1950s for the Royal Navy (RN). Designed and initially produced by Blackburn Aircraft at Brough, it was later officially known as the Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer when Blackburn became a part of the Hawker Siddeley Group, but this name is rarely used.

 

The Buccaneer was originally designed in response to the Soviet Union introducing the Sverdlov class of light cruisers. Instead of building a new class of its own cruisers, the Royal Navy decided that it could address the threat posed via low-level attack runs performed by Buccaneers, so low as to exploit the ship's radar horizon to minimise the opportunity for being fired upon. The Buccaneer could attack using nuclear weapons or conventional munitions. During its service life, it would be modified to carry anti-ship missiles, allowing it to attack vessels from a stand-off distance and thus improve its survivability against modern ship-based anti-aircraft weapons. The Buccaneer performed its maiden flight in April 1958 and entered Royal Navy service during July 1962.

 

Initial production aircraft suffered a series of accidents, largely due to insufficient engine power; this shortfall would be quickly addressed via the introduction of the Buccaneer S.2, equipped with more powerful Rolls-Royce Spey jet engines, in 1965. The Buccaneer S.2 would be the first Fleet Air Arm (FAA) aircraft to make a non-stop, unrefuelled crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Royal Navy standardised the air wings operating from their carriers around the Buccaneer, Phantom, and the Fairey Gannet. The Buccaneer was also offered as a possible solution for the Royal Air Force (RAF) requirement for a supersonic interdictor carrying nuclear weapons. It was rejected as not meeting the specification in favour of the more advanced BAC TSR-2 bomber, but this aircraft would be cancelled largely due to its high cost, then its selected replacement, the General Dynamics F-111K, would also be cancelled. The Buccaneer was purchased as a TSR-2 substitute and entered RAF service during October 1969.

 

The Royal Navy retired the last of its large aircraft carriers in February 1979; as a result, the Buccaneer's strike role was transferred to the British Aerospace Sea Harrier and the Buccaneers were transferred to the RAF. After a crash in 1980 revealed metal fatigue problems, the RAF's fleet was reduced to 60 aircraft while the rest were withdrawn. The ending of the Cold War in the 1990s led to military cutbacks that accelerated the retirement of Britain's remaining Buccaneers; the last of the RAF's Buccaneers were retired in March 1994 in favour of the more modern Panavia Tornado. The South African Air Force (SAAF) was the only export customer for the type. Buccaneers saw combat action in the first Gulf War of 1991, and the lengthy South African Border War.

 

Following the end of the Second World War, the Royal Navy soon needed to respond to the threat posed by the rapid expansion of the Soviet Navy. Chief amongst Soviet naval developments in the early 1950s was the Sverdlov-class cruiser; these vessels were classifiable as light cruisers, being fast, effectively armed, and numerous. Like the German "pocket battleships" during the Second World War, these new Soviet cruisers presented a serious threat to the merchant fleets in the Atlantic. To counter this threat, the Royal Navy decided not to use a new ship class of its own, but instead introduce a specialised strike aircraft employing conventional or nuclear weapons. Operating from the Navy's fleet carriers, and attacking at high speed and low level, it would offer a solution to the Sverdlov problem.

 

A detailed specification was issued in June 1952 as Naval Staff Requirement NA.39, calling for a two-seat aircraft with folding wings, capable of flying at 550 knots (1,020 km/h; 630 mph) at sea level, with a combat radius of 400 nautical miles (740 km; 460 mi) at low altitude, and 800 nautical miles (1,500 km; 920 mi) at higher cruising altitudes. A weapons load of 8,000 pounds (3,600 kg) was required, including conventional bombs, the Red Beard free-fall nuclear bomb, or the Green Cheese anti-ship missile. Based on the requirement, the Ministry of Supply issued specification M.148T in August 1952, and the first responses were returned in February 1953. Blackburn's design by Barry P. Laight, Project B-103, won the tender in July 1955. For reasons of secrecy, the aircraft was called BNA (Blackburn Naval Aircraft) or BANA (Blackburn Advanced Naval Aircraft) in documents, leading to the nickname of "Banana Jet". The first prototype made its maiden flight from RAE Bedford on 30 April 1958.

 

The first production Buccaneer model, the Buccaneer S.1, entered squadron service with the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) in January 1963. It was powered by a pair of de Havilland Gyron Junior turbojets, producing 7,100 pounds-force (32,000 N) of thrust. This mark was somewhat underpowered, and as a consequence, could not achieve take off if fully laden with both fuel and armament. A temporary solution to this problem was the "buddy system": aircraft took off with a full load of weaponry and minimal fuel, and would subsequently rendezvous with a Supermarine Scimitar that would deliver the full load of fuel by aerial refuelling. The lack of power meant, however, that the loss of an engine during take-off, or landing at full load, when the aircraft was dependent on flap blowing, could be catastrophic.

 

The long-term solution to the underpowered S.1 was the development of the Buccaneer S.2, fitted with the Rolls-Royce Spey engine, which provided 40% more thrust. The turbofan Spey also had significantly lower fuel consumption than the pure-jet Gyron, which provided improved range. The engine nacelles had to be enlarged to accommodate the Spey, and the wing required minor aerodynamic modifications as a result. Hawker Siddeley announced the production order for the S.2 in January 1962. All Royal Navy squadrons had converted to the improved S.2 by the end of 1966. However, 736 Naval Air Squadron also used eight S.1 aircraft taken from storage to meet an extra training demand for RAF crews until December 1970.

 

Blackburn's first attempt to sell the Buccaneer to the Royal Air Force (RAF) occurred in 1957–1958, in response to the Air Ministry Operational Requirement OR.339, for a replacement for the RAF's English Electric Canberra light bombers, with supersonic speed, and a 1,000-nautical-mile (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) combat radius; asking for an all-weather aircraft that could deliver nuclear weapons over a long range, operate at high level at Mach 2+ or low level at Mach 1.2, with STOL performance. Blackburn proposed two designs, the B.103A, a simple modification of the Buccaneer S.1 with more fuel, and the B.108, a more extensively modified aircraft with more sophisticated avionics. Against a background of inter-service distrust, political issues, and the 1957 Defence White Paper, both types were rejected by the RAF; as being firmly subsonic, and incapable of meeting the RAF's range requirements; while the B.108, which retained Gyron Junior engines while being 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg) heavier than the S.1, would have been severely underpowered, giving poor short-take off performance. The BAC TSR-2 was eventually selected in 1959.

 

After the cancellation of the TSR-2, and then the substitute American General Dynamics F-111K, the Royal Air Force still required a replacement for its Canberras in the low-level strike role, while the planned retirement for the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers meant that the RAF would also need to add a maritime strike capability. It was therefore decided in 1968 that the RAF would adopt the Buccaneer, both by the purchase of new-build aircraft, and by taking over the Fleet Air Arm's Buccaneers as the carriers were retired. A total of 46 new-build aircraft for the RAF were built by Blackburn's successor, Hawker Siddeley, designated S.2B. These had RAF-type communications and avionics equipment, Martel air-to-surface missile capability, and could be equipped with a bulged bomb-bay door containing an extra fuel tank.

 

Some Fleet Air Arm Buccaneers were modified in-service to also carry the Martel anti-ship missile. Martel-capable FAA aircraft were later redesignated S.2D. The remaining aircraft became S.2C. RAF aircraft were given various upgrades. Self-defence was improved by the addition of the AN/ALQ-101 electronic countermeasures (ECM) pod (also found on RAF's SEPECAT Jaguar GR.3), chaff and flare dispensers, and AIM-9 Sidewinder capability. RAF low-level strike Buccaneers could carry out what was known as 'retard defence'; four 1,000-pound (450 kg) retarded bombs carried internally could be dropped to provide an effective deterrent against any following aircraft. In 1979, the RAF obtained the American AN/AVQ-23E Pave Spike laser designator pod for Paveway II laser-guided bombs; allowing the aircraft to act as target designators for further Buccaneers, Jaguars, and other strike aircraft. From 1986, No. 208 Squadron RAF, then No. 12 (B) Squadron, replaced the Martel ASM with the Sea Eagle missile.

 

The Yorkshire Air Museum & Allied Air Forces Memorial is an aviation museum in Elvington, York on the site of the former RAF Elvington airfield, a Second World War RAF Bomber Command station. The museum was founded, and first opened to the public, in the mid 1980s.

 

The museum is one of the largest independent air museums in Britain. It is also the only Allied Air Forces Memorial in Europe. The museum is an accredited museum under Arts Council accreditation scheme. It is a Member of Friends of the Few (Battle of Britain Memorial), the Royal Aeronautical Society, the Museums Association and the Association of Independent Museums.

 

The Museum is a registered charity (No. 516766) dedicated to the history of aviation and was also set up as a Memorial to all allied air forces personnel, particularly those who served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

 

Site

Further information: RAF Elvington

The 20-acre (81,000 m2) parkland site includes buildings and hangars, some of which are listed. It incorporates a 7-acre (28,000 m2) managed environment area and a DEFRA and Environment Agency supported self sustainability project called "Nature of Flight". The museum is situated next to a 10,000 ft runway, which is privately owned.

 

History

Whilst the Royal Air Force carried on using the runway for aircraft landing and take off training until 1992, the buildings and hangars had long been abandoned. In 1980 Rachel Semlyen approached the owners of "what was then an abandoned and derelict wartime site, with the idea of restoring the buildings and creating a museum". In 1983, a group started clearing the undergrowth and the site was ready to be unveiled as the Yorkshire Air Museum in 1986.

 

Events

The Museum undertakes several annual events each year within the general attraction / entertainment area as well as educational / academic events for specific audiences, plus several corporate events in association with companies such as Bentley, Porsche, banking, government agencies etc. The unique annual Allied Air Forces Memorial Day takes place in September.

 

Exhibits

The Museum has over 50 aircraft spanning the development of aviation from 1853 up to the latest GR4 Tornado. Several aircraft including Victor, Nimrod, Buccaneer, Sea Devon, SE5a, Eastchurch Kitten, DC3 Dakota are kept live and operated on special "Thunder Days" during the year. Over 20 historic vehicles and a Registered Archive containing over 500,000 historic artefacts and documents are also preserved at the Museum, which is also the Official Archive for the National Aircrew Association and National Air Gunners Association. It is nationally registered and accredited through DCMS/Arts Council England and is a registered charity.

 

A permanent exhibition on RAF Bomber Command was opened at the museum by life member, Sir David Jason. In 2010 a new exhibition called "Pioneers of Aviation", and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, was opened featuring the lives and achievements of Sir George Cayley, Sir Barnes Wallis, Robert Blackburn, Nevil Shute and Amy Johnson.

 

Principal on-site businesses include: Restaurant, Retail Shop, Events, Aircraft Operation Engineering Workshops, Archives and Corporate Business Suite. The museum is also a location for TV and film companies.

 

Building 1 – Airborne Forces Display & No. 609 Squadron RAF Room

Building 2 – Uniform Display

Building 3 – Air Gunners' Exhibition

Building 4 – Archives & Reference Library

Building 5 – Museum Shop

Building 7 – Memorial Garden

Building 8 – Museum HQ, Main Entrance

Building 9 – Against the Odds

Building 10 – Elvington Corporate Room

Building 11 – Museum NAAFI Restaurant

Building 12 – Control Tower

Building 13 – French Officers' Mess

Building 14 – Airmens Billet and Station MT Display

Building 15 – Royal Observer Corp

Building 16 – Signal Square

Building 17 – Hangar T2 Main Aircraft exhibition

Building 18 – Archive & Collections Building

Building 19 – Handley Page Aircraft Workshop

Building 20 – Pioneer of Aviation Exhibition

 

Collection

Aircraft on display

Pre-World War II

Avro 504K – Replica

Blackburn Mercury – Replica

Cayley Glider – Replica

Mignet HM.14 Pou-du-Ciel

Port Victoria P.V.8 Eastchurch Kitten Replica

Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2c – Replica

Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a – Replica

Wright Flyer – Replica

 

World War II

Avro Anson T.21 VV901

Douglas Dakota IV KN353

Fairchild Argus II FK338

Gloster Meteor F.8 WL168

Gloster Meteor NF.14 WS788

Handley Page Halifax III LV907

Hawker Hurricane I – Replica

Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 – Replica

Slingsby T.7 Kirby Cadet RA854

Supermarine Spitfire I – Replica

Waco Hadrian 237123

 

Post World War II

Air Command Commander Elite

Beagle Terrier 2 TJ704

Canadair CT-133 Silver Star 133417

de Havilland Devon C.2 VP967

de Havilland Vampire T.11 XH278

Europa Prototype 001

Mainair Demon

Saunders-Roe Skeeter AOP.12 XM553

Westland Dragonfly HR.5 WH991

 

Cold War

BAC Jet Provost T.4 XP640

Blackburn Buccaneer S.2 XN974

Blackburn Buccaneer S.2B XX901

British Aerospace Harrier GR.3 XV748

British Aerospace Nimrod MR.2 XV250

Dassault Mirage IIIE 538

Dassault Mirage IVA 45/BR

English Electric Canberra T.4 WH846

English Electric Lightning F.6 XS903 which arrived during June 1988.

Fairey Gannet AEW.3 XL502

Gloster Javelin FAW.9 XH767

Handley Page Victor K.2 XL231

Hawker Hunter FGA.78 QA10

Hawker Hunter T.7 XL572

Panavia Tornado GR.1 ZA354

Panavia Tornado GR.4 XZ631

 

Ground vehicles

Second World War

Thompson Brothers Aircraft Refueller

1938 Ford Model E

1940 "Tilly" Standard 12 hp Mkl RAF Utility Vehicle

1941 Chevrolet 4x4 CMP

1942 Austin K2 NAAFI Wagon

1942 Thornycroft ‘Amazon’ Coles Crane

 

Cold War

1947 Commer one and a half deck airport coach

1949 Citroen 11BL

1948 David Brown VIG.2 Aircraft Tractor

1949 David Brown VIG.3 Aircraft Tractor

1951 David Brown GP Airfield Tractor

1953 Alvis Saracen 12ton APC

1953 Austin Champ Cargo 4x4 General Purpose Vehicle

1956 Green Goddess Self Propelled Pump

1958 Commer Q4 Bikini Fire Pump Unit

1958 Lansing Aircraft Carrier Type Tug

1959 Daimler Ferret ASC MK.2/3/7

1966 Chieftain Main Battle Tank

1970 Douglas P3 nuclear aircraft 25 tonne tug

1971 Pathfinder Fire Engine 35ton (ex. Manchester Airport)

1972 TACR2 Range Rover - 6 wheeled fast response fire unit

1974 GMC 6 wheeled fast response airfield fire truck

1976 Dennis Mercury 17.5 tonne aircraft tug

Pathfinder Fire Engine