Also known as "ORLANDO WEST," Lake County, Florida's 2020 population was estimated to be more than 400,142. Lake County has ranked among the top 6 fastest-growing counties in Florida. Lake County is expected to experience significant population growth over the coming decades as the Orlando urban core approaches build-out. Forecasts predict Lake County’s population to grow more than 431,500 by 2030 and more than 780,500 by 2050."

Tavares – from “Anytown USA” to “America’s Seaplane City”

By John Drury, Tavares City Administrator

I am frequently asked, “How did they do it?” How did Tavares transition from “Anytown USA” to “America’s Seaplane City”? The short answer is, that everyone started rowing in the same direction at the same time at the right time. The long answer follows below.

Approximately 19,500 cities in the United States, 400 in Florida, and 14 in Lake County. Most cities have no brand. They are perfectly content being who they are – Anytown USA. There is nothing wrong with that. They are proud and welcoming cities perfectly satisfied as is, with no distinctive brand. Some cities have a brand. Key West, for example, has a brand, as does Boulder, Colorado, and Daytona Beach, Florida. What is a brand? In short, a person’s brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room. Similarly, a City’s brand is what people say about the city when they have left it and reflect on it.

About 15 years ago, under the leadership and guidance of then-Mayor Nancy Clutts and East Central Florida Regional Planning Council’s Executive Director Phil Laurien, the citizens of Tavares assembled for about a year and ½ studying their current state of affairs (a struggling downtown) and developing a road map for the future. The result was the creation of a citizen-led, City Council-approved “Vision Statement” and supporting Downtown Redevelopment Plan. The leadership understood a vision without implementation is a hallucination, so the 169-page redevelopment plan included Chapter 11’s “Implementation Plan” describing what would be built, when, by whom, and how it would be funded.

The citizens, business community, faith community, City Council, and their city staff put their oars in the water simultaneously. They began rowing in the same direction in unison to get the job done and complete the “Implementation Plan” together. By 2010, America’s Seaplane City was formed, a seaplane base and marina constructed, a 3,000-foot FAA-approved virtual runway on Lake Dora was permitted, and three boutique hotel buildings were under construction, along with a wedding events pavilion. What followed was ten years of a renaissance period with both the business community and city government investing in itself. As the saying goes, “When you invest in yourself, others will invest in you,” which is exactly what happened here in Tavares.

First, a seaplane scenic tour operator, then a flight training center, followed by an FAA-approved passenger air charter operation, a seaplane manufacturing facility, many restaurants, and too many new businesses to list here. From practically a ghost town with very few businesses whose tax base was 90% funded by the residents and only 10% by the business community, to a tax base funded 35% by the business community and only 65% by the residential community. This shift in tax contribution for city services like police, fire, libraries, parks, and recreation is important because for every dollar a resident contributes on average in taxes to a city, they consume about $1.20 in services on average, and for every $1 a business contributes, they only consume about 80 cents, as they do not use parks, recreational services or libraries, nor call for police and fire services nearly as much as the residents do. So the business community ends up not only creating good jobs but also subsidizing city services for its residents.

Tavares continues to shift the tax burden from its residents to its productive business community, has lowered its tax rate three years in a row, and is growing its brand as “America’s Seaplane City”!

Tavares Seaplane Base (FA1) is a city-owned, public-use seaplane base on Lake Dora in Tavares. The base is popular and gives rise to the city's nickname, "America's Seaplane City."

History

The City of Tavares was founded in 1880 by Alexander St. Clair-Abrams, a newspaper and railroad man from a Creole family in New Orleans. He gave it the surname of a Portuguese ancestor. In 1883 a post office was established; by the next year, a hotel, three stores, a sawmill, and eight cottages were built. St. Clair-Abrams's dream of Tavares as the state capital was not realized, but in 1887 it was designated the county seat of Lake County. St. Clair-Abrams later chartered a railroad from Tavares to Orlando. In 1919, Tavares was incorporated.

The City of Tavares has served as the County's Seat for Lake County, Florida, since 1888. Downtown Tavares lies on the shores of Lake Dora. The picturesque Wooton Park sits only one block from Main Street and offers families everything from picnic pavilions to boat ramps. Tavares is also home to the Dora Canal, one of the most beautiful waterways in the world. Tavares is located in the center of the State of Florida, 45 minutes northwest of Orlando.

In the 19th century, Major St. Clair Abrams began implementing a vision for Tavares. He not only oversaw the development of the hub of rail lines converging in Tavares, but he also saw the state's future capital waiting to be realized. Had it not been for an inadvertent fire 125 years ago, the major’s vision of Tavares being the state capital may have become a reality. The spark from a train ignited the adjacent lumberyard downtown, destroying three dozen buildings in a matter of minutes. That same year, the Florida legislature removed Tavares from consideration as a potential new center of state government. Although times have changed, one factor remains a constant for Tavares. It is the center of government for Lake County, and it is, therefore, Lake County’s Capital City. A partnership has evolved through the years between Lake County’s Board of County Commissioners and the Tavares City Council. The two elected bodies work together to make downtown Tavares a supportive home for the civic activities of Lake County.

Modern Day Tavares

The Tavares Seaplane Base (FA1) is a public-use seaplane landing area owned by the City of Tavares, Florida. The State of Florida licensed the facility as a public airport in 2010. City officials launched the idea for a seaplane base as part of a plan to reinvigorate business and tourist activity in the downtown area. The Seaplane Base has been a major success, and the City of Tavares is now known as “America’s Seaplane City.”

Tavares, Florida, has experienced a renaissance. Inspired by the strategic approach of its citizens, elected officials, employees, and former City Attorney Robert Q. Williams (who served the city for 37 years, 1984-2021), Tavares has rebranded itself, appropriately, as America’s Seaplane City. It is an appropriate moniker for a city helping boost the downtown as a Central Florida entertainment spot and serving as the natural stopping point for seaplane pilots en route to the Bahamas and other island nations. However, the rebranding of Tavares to better align with its unique offerings is not the only revolution happening in City Hall. Tavares’ leaders are responding to citizens’ new expectations for personal digital experiences with their local government through their rapid and innovative adoption of smart technology.

Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:

www.tavares.org/1208/ABOUT-TAVARES

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tavares,_Florida

© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.

I've seen this particular 959 probably 5 times now, but I still was shocked when I saw it parked at Caffeine and Carburetors. The 959 is my favorite car, and it just looks so good in this super rare gray color.

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Gentoo penguin at Edinburgh Zoo. The world's fastest underwater bird

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The Soviet Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles (LSA ChADI, today the Chardiv National Automobile and Highway University) was founded in 1953. One of the laboratory’s founders was Vladimir Nikitin, a famous racer not only inside the Soviet Union but also around the world. The main purpose of Vladimir Nikitin’s of was to build the fastest car in the world. This idea of creating race cars became the purpose of the laboratory and has been continued by students of Nikitin throughout the years, with research and prototypes in various fields of car propulsion.

This time the goal was to push „скорость“ and the national land speed record in excess of 800 km/h (500 mph), and step by step the vehicle’s top speed was gradually increased. On August 15, an officially timed record attempt was made, again with Victor Barchenkov at the steering wheel. The first of the two obligatory runs within an hour was recorded at a very promising 846.961 km/h (526.277 mph), but, at the end of the second run, „скорость“ veered off and no time was measured. Even worse, the vehicle lost its parachute brakes and went out of control, skidding away from the dry race track into Lake Baskunchak’s wet salt sludge, where it hit a ground wave at around 200 mph (320 km/h) and was catapulted through the air into a brine pond where it landed on its right side and eventually sank. Again, pilot Victor Barchenkov remained mostly unharmed and was able to leave the car before it sank – but this fatal crash meant the end of the „скорость“ vehicle and the complete KhAGI 9-II project. Furthermore, the break-up of the Soviet Union at the same time prevented and further developments of high speed vehicles. The whereabouts of the „скорость“ wreck remain unclear, too, since no official attempt had been made to save the vehicle’s remains from Lake Baskunchak’s salt swamps.

The kit and its assembly:

This is another contribution to the late 2018 “Racing & Competition Group Build” at whatifmodelers.com. Since I primarily build aircraft in 1:72 scale, building a land speed record (LSR) vehicle from such a basis appeared like a natural choice. A slick streamliner? A rocket-powered prototype with Mach 1 potential? Hmmm… However, I wanted something else than the typical US or British Bonneville Salt Flats contender.

Inspiration struck when I remembered the real world high speed vehicle projects of LSA ChAGI in the former USSR, and especially the ill-fated, jet-powered ChADI 9, which looked a lot like Western, rocket-powered absolute LSR designs like The Blue Flame or Wingfoot Express 2. Another inspiration was a contemporary LSR vehicle called North American Eagle – basically a wingless F-104 Starfighter, put on wheels and sporting a garish, patriotic livery.

With this conceptual basis, the MiG-21 was quickly identified as the potential starting basis – but I wanted more than just a Fishbed sans wings and with some bigger wheels attached to it. I nevertheless wanted to retain the basic shape of the aircraft, but change the rest as good as possible with details that I have learned from reading about historic LSR vehicles (a very good source are the books by German author and LSR enthusiast Ferdinand C. W. Käsmann, which have, AFAIK, even been translated into English).

At the model’s core is a contemporary KP MiG-21MF, but it’s a hideous incarnation of the venerable Kovozávody Prostějov mold. While the wheels and the dashboard of this kit were surprisingly crisp, the fuselage halves did hardly match each other and some other parts like the landing gear covers could only be described as “blurred blobs”. Therefore it was no shame to slice the kit up, and the resulting kitbash with many donor parts and scratching almost became a necessity.

The MiG-21 fuselage and cockpit were more or less retained, the landing gear wells covered and PSR-ed. Fin, spine and the ventral stabilizer were cut away, and the attachment points for the wings and the horizontal stabilizers blended into the rest of the fuselage. Actually, only a few parts from the KP MiG-21 were eventually used.

The original shock cone in the air intake was used, but it was set further back into the nose opening – as an attachment point for a new, more organic shock cone which is actually the rear end of a drop tank from an Airfix 1:72 P-61 Black Widow. This detail was inspired by a real world benchmark: Art Arfons’ home-built “Green Monster” LSR car. This vehicle also inspired the highly modified air intake shape, which was scratched from the tail cone from a Matchbox 1:72 Blackburn Buccaneer – the diameter matched well with the MiG-21’s nose! With the new nose, I was able to retain the original MiG-21 layout, yet the shape and the extension forward changed the overall look enough to make it clear that this was not simply a MiG-21 on wheels.

With the spine gone, I also had to integrate a different, much smaller canopy, which came from an 1:144 Tornado. The cockpit opening had to be narrowed accordingly, and behind the canopy a new spine fairing was integrated – simply a piece from a streamlined 1:72 1.000 lb bomb plus lots of PSR.

Inside of the cockpit, a simpler seat was used, but the original cockpit tub and the dashboard were retained.

The large MiG-21 fin was replaced with a smaller piece, left over from an Amodel Kh-20 missile, with a scratched brake parachute fairing (cut from sprue material) placed under its rear. The exhaust nozzle was replaced, too, because the fit of the KP MiG-21’s rear end was abysmal. So I cut away a short piece and added an afterburner nozzle from a vintage 1:72 F-100, which fits well. Inside, the part’s rear wall was drilled open and extended inwards with a styrene tube.

The wheels of the vehicle come from an 1:72 Hasegawa “Panther with Schmalturm” tank kit – it comes not only with two turrets, but also with a second set of simplified track wheels. These had IMHO the perfect size and shape as massive aluminum wheels for the high speed vehicle.

For the front wheels, I used the thinner outer Panther wheels, and they were put, closely together, onto a central suspension pylon. This received a new “well” in the forward fuselage, with an internal attachment point. In order to streamline the front wheel installation (and also to change the overall look of the vehicle away from the MiG-21 basis), I added a scratched an aerodynamic fairing around it. This was made from tailored styrene strips, which were later filled and blended into the hull with putty.

The rear suspension was also fully scratched: the outriggers were made from styrene profiles while the wheel attachments were once part of an 1:35 tank kit suspension – I needed something to hold the three struts per side together. These parts look a bit large, but the vehicle is, after all, a Soviet design, so a little sturdiness may not be wrong, and I simply did not want to stick the wheels directly onto the outriggers. The rear wheels (in this case, the wider inner Panther track wheels with a central hub cover were used) also received a stabilizing notch around the contact surface, in an attempt to make them look slimmer than they actually are.

Final touches included the chines under the nose as well as spoilers on the rear suspension (both made from styrene profiles), and I added a pitot made from wire to the original MiG-21 angle of attack sensor fairing.

As an addition outside the model itself I also created a display base for the beauty pics, since I did not have anything at hand that would resemble the vastness of a flat and dry salt sea. The base is an 18x12” MDF board, on top of which I added a thin coat of white tile grout (which I normally use as a snow placebo, instead of plaster, which tends to absorb humidity over time and to become yellow). While the stuff was still wet I sprinkled some real salt onto the surface and wetted the whole affair with water sprays – hoping to create a flat yet structured surface with some glitter reflexes. And it actually worked!

Painting and markings:

I am not certain how ChADI 9 was painted (I assume overall silver), but I wanted for „скорость“ a little more color. Being a child of the Soviet era, red was a settled design element, but I thought that an all-red vehicle might have looked too cheesy. Other colors I considered were orange or white with blue trim, but did not find them to be appropriate for what I was looking. Eventually, I added some Russian Utilitarianism in the form of light grey for the upper hull (Humbrol 166, RAF Light Aircraft Grey), and the red (Humbrol 19) as a dark contrast around the complete air intake as well as the shock cone (somewhat inspired by the Green Monster #15 LSR vehicle), and then extended backwards into a narrowing cheatline along the flanks, which emphasizes the vehicle’s slender hull. For some more contrast between the two basic tones I later added thin white borders between them created with 2mm white decal stripes from TL Modellbau. Around the hull some bright red (Humbrol 238 Red Arrows Red) highlights as warning signs were added.

The vehicle’s afterburner section was painted with Modelmaster Steel Metallizer, the Panther wheels became Aluminum (Revell 99) with a black ink wash. Some black ink was also applied to the jet nozzle, so that the details became more pronounced, and some grinded graphite was used to enhance the burnt metal effect.

Since this would rather be an experimental car built and operated by a high school institute, and also operated in the Soviet Union, flashy sponsor markings would not be appropriate. Therefore I created some fictional marking at home with the help of PC software and printed them by myself. These designs included a fictional logo of the ChADI institute itself (created from a car silhouette drawing) and a logo for the vehicle’s title, “„скорость““. The latter was created from the cyrillic lettering, with some additions like the vehicle’s silhouette.

Unfortunately the production process for the home-made decals did not work properly – when coating the prints with gloss acrylic varnish the printer ink started to dissolve, bleeding magenta, so that the decals would look as if there was a red halo or glow around the otherwise black motifs. Thanks to the use of red in the vehicle’s overall design this flaw is not too apparent, so I stuck with the outcome and applied the decals to the car.

Beyond these basic markings, many stencils were added, including dull red inscriptions from an Italeri MiG-37 “Ferret” kit – finally, I found an expedient use for them! The Soviet flags on the fin came from an 1:144 Tu-144 airliner Braz Decal aftermarket sheet.

Finally, some panel lines were drawn onto the hull with a soft pencil and then the model was sealed with Italeri semi-gloss acrylic varnish. Just the black anti-glare panel in front of the windscreen became matt and the metallic rear section was left in “natural” finish.

I am very pleased with the outcome – the „скорость“ looks purposeful and does IMHO blend well into the line of spectacular USA and UK jet/rocket car designs that broke the 800 km/h barrier. I also find that, even though the MiG-21 ancestry is certainly there, the vehicle looks different enough so that the illusion that it was designed along the jet fighter’s lines (and not converted from one, like the real world “North American Eagle” which was built from an F-104 Starfighter) works well. I also think that the vehicle’s livery works well – it looks quite retro for a vehicle from the late Eighties, but that just adds to the “Soviet style”. An interesting project, outside of my normal comfort zone. :D

No reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated globally in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71, the world's fastest jet-propelled aircraft. The Blackbird's performance and operational achievements placed it at the pinnacle of aviation technology developments during the Cold War.

This Blackbird accrued about 2,800 hours of flight time during 24 years of active service with the U.S. Air Force. On its last flight, March 6, 1990, Lt. Col. Ed Yielding and Lt. Col. Joseph Vida set a speed record by flying from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging 3,418 kilometers (2,124 miles) per hour. At the flight's conclusion, they landed at Washington-Dulles International Airport and turned the airplane over to the Smithsonian.

Most of Calder's mobiles pivot slowly with the breezes. This one makes its own breeze.

Peregrine Falcon

Fastest ship in the 'verse.

The Pentax 50mm f/1.2 was the fastest normal manual focus lens Pentax ever produced.

Were you thinking Superman? Not even close! It's the fearless protector of Central City to the rescue!

MOCpages - www.mocpages.com/moc.php/393364

‧ Name: Gentoo penguin

‧ Scientific name: Pygoscelis papua

‧ Type: Bird

‧ Diet: Carnivore

‧ Group Name: Colony

‧ Location: Antarctica and nearby sub-Antarctic islands

‧ Habitat: Open ocean, rocky shorelines

‧ Average Life Span In The Wild: 15 to 20 years

‧ Size: 30 inches tall

‧ Weight: 12 pounds

‧ Conservation status: Near Threatened (likely to qualify for threatened category in the near future)

All penguins have torpedo-shaped bodies designed for moving efficiently through water. They use their wings to help them swim and their webbed feet to steer underwater. Their bones tend to be denser than those of flying birds, and the extra weight helps them dive to greater depths (over 350 feet deep). A special gland removes salt from their bodies after they swallow saltwater. Penguin eyes are sensitive to the colors of the sea: violets, blues, and greens. They have a second transparent eyelid, which serve as "goggles" that protect their eyes and allow them to see while submerged. Gentoo penguins have paddle-like feet that help them to reach amazing speeds in water – up to 22 miles an hour – making it the fastest diving bird in the world!

Technical Information (or Nerdy Stuff):

Camera - Nikon D7200 (handheld)

Lens – Nikkor 18-300mm Zoom

ISO – 2000

Aperture – f/5.6

Exposure – 1/40 second

Focal Length – 175mm

The original RAW file was processed with Adobe Camera Raw and final adjustments were made with Photoshop CS6.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~Jeremiah 29:11

The best way to view my photostream is through Flickriver with the following link: www.flickriver.com/photos/photojourney57/

The fastest operational steam loco. in the world, here as DR 02-01201, working a railtour in 1983.

Fastest car in three counties.

Free download under CC Attribution (CC BY 4.0). Please credit the artist and rawpixel.com.

Frederic Remington (1861–1909) was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer. He had a great interest in the American Old West, concentrating on the image of cowboys, Native Americans, horses, and the US cavalry. He rose to prominence with interpretations of frontier life, with many of his illustrations published in popular journals such as Harper’s Weekly and Pearson’s Magazine. His nocturnal paintings were filled with color and light, moonlight, firelight, and candlelight. We have digitally enhanced some of the paintings from this American artist, and they are free for you to enjoy under the Creative Commons 0 license.

Higher resolutions with no attribution required can be downloaded: https://www.rawpixel.com/board/1327199/frederic-remington-artworks-i-high-resolution-public-domain-paintings?sort=curated&mode=shop&page=1

I've been wanting to photograph this one for a long time. This is one of the few remnants of Mason's rural farming past that remains. Mason is one of the fastest-growing suburban sprawl areas in the entire United States. To the left of this picture is a Kroger's grocery store, and there are modern-day fast food places and stripmalls everywhere surrounding this house. How has this survived? This is located on Kings Mill Road (Route 741) in Mason.

Cowboy action shooting and Single Action Shooting on Horseback is one of the fastest growing sports in America...course ya gott'a dress right for the occasion and adopt an alias appropriate to the character of a person or profession of the 19th century...ie. KT Pearl (pictured above)

www.sassnet.com

www.rockmount.com

A bit better prepared this week for #mocaroundgang #mocaround57 for 80's touring cars.

This period covered my life ages 7 - 17, so a primetime interest in cars. It helps that I also live in Australia, home to the legendary Bathurst 1000 km Touring car race, held in October.

The 1984 HDT VKs were the simplest, lightest and fastest Group C Commodores produced by Holden’s factory team.

The VK’s aerodynamic fiberglass body kit comprising a front spoiler, rear spoiler and wheel flares was the most aggressive - yet smoothest - ever seen on a Commodore Group C racer, thanks largely to Holden’s switch from steel to polycarbonate front and rear bumpers on the VK road cars.

Beneath the bonnet of every Group C racing Commodore from the first VB to the last VK was Holden’s mighty home-grown 308cid (5044cc) cast iron, pushrod, carby-fed V8. Prior to that it had also powered the Torana L34 and A9X, so by 1984 this remarkable production-based engine had a decade of racing development behind it.

Simple by today’s standards but state-of-the-art for their time, the VK engines hand-built by HDT engine man Neil Burns produced just over 400bhp (300kW) at 6800rpm and 385 ft/lbs of torque at 4800rpm.

The two HDT VKs proved unbeatable in the three championship events they contested in 1984. Brock and Perkins won the Sandown 400 at a canter, finishing one lap ahead of the Moffat/Hansford Mazda RX-7 and two laps ahead of Harvey and Parsons in the second HDT car.

Three weeks later at Bathurst, Brock just got pipped for pole position by George Fury’s turbocharged Nissan Bluebird before he and Perkins raced away to another dominant victory two laps ahead of their team-mates. Brock slowed right down in the final stages to allow Parsons to catch up and stage the memorable 1-2 formation finish.

This mocaround challenge is hosted on instagram by @illuminated_mocs

THIS IS BY NO MEANS A GREAT SHOT BUT HE WAS VERY FAR AWAY AND GOING LIKE A BULLET... I KNEW THEY WERE FAST BUT WHEN YOU SEE IT FOR YOURSELF ITS MIND BLOWING... PEREGRINE FALCON DUBLIN

The four fastest on the Thursday practice at the Bathurst 1000. HOW GOOD to have it roll around.

(1/4) #230 Milwaukee Racing, W.Davison & A.Davison Ford Falcon FG/X

(2/4) # 55 Supercheap Auto Racing, C.Mostert & J.MoffatFord Falcon FG/X

(3/4) #7 Castrol/Plus Fitness Racing, A.Heimgartner & A.Russell Nissan Altima

(4/4) #23 Industrial Athlete Racing, M.Caruso & D.FioreNissan Altima

Mount Panorama, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia.

The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft with a two-man crew that served during and after the Second World War. It was one of few operational front-line aircraft of the era constructed almost entirely of wood and was nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder". The Mosquito was also known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews. Originally conceived as an unarmed fast bomber, the Mosquito was adapted to roles including low to medium-altitude daytime tactical bomber, high-altitude night bomber, pathfinder, day or night fighter, fighter-bomber, intruder, maritime strike aircraft, and fast photo-reconnaissance aircraft. It was also used by the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) as a fast transport to carry small high-value cargoes to, and from, neutral countries, through enemy-controlled airspace.

When the Mosquito began production in 1941, it was one of the fastest operational aircraft in the world. Entering widespread service in 1942, the Mosquito was a high-speed, high-altitude photo-reconnaissance aircraft, continuing in this role throughout the war. From mid-1942 to mid-1943 Mosquito bombers flew high-speed, medium or low-altitude missions against factories, railways and other pinpoint targets in Germany and German-occupied Europe. From late 1943, Mosquito bombers were formed into the Light Night Strike Force and used as pathfinders for RAF Bomber Command's heavy-bomber raids. They were also used as "nuisance" bombers, often dropping Blockbuster bombs - 4,000 lb (1,812 kg) "cookies" - in high-altitude, high-speed raids that German night fighters were almost powerless to intercept.

As a night fighter, from mid-1942, the Mosquito intercepted Luftwaffe raids on the United Kingdom, notably defeating Operation Steinbock in 1944. Starting in July 1942, Mosquito night-fighter units raided Luftwaffe airfields. As part of 100 Group, it was a night fighter and intruder supporting RAF Bomber Command's heavy bombers and reduced bomber losses during 1944 and 1945. As a fighter-bomber in the Second Tactical Air Force, the Mosquito took part in "special raids", such as the attack on Amiens Prison in early 1944, and in precision attacks against Gestapo or German intelligence and security forces. Second Tactical Air Force Mosquitos supported the British Army during the 1944 Normandy Campaign. From 1943 Mosquitos with RAF Coastal Command strike squadrons attacked Kriegsmarine U-boats (particularly in the 1943 Bay of Biscay, where significant numbers were sunk or damaged) and intercepting transport ship concentrations.

The Mosquito flew with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other air forces in the European theatre, and the Mediterranean and Italian theatres. The Mosquito was also used by the RAF in the South East Asian theatre, and by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) based in the Halmaheras and Borneo during the Pacific War.

By the early-mid-1930s, de Havilland had a reputation for innovative high-speed aircraft with the DH.88 Comet racer. The later DH.91 Albatross airliner pioneered the composite wood construction that the Mosquito used. The 22-passenger Albatross could cruise at 210 miles per hour (340 km/h) at 11,000 feet (3,400 m), better than the 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) Handley Page H.P.42 and other biplanes it was replacing. The wooden monocoque construction not only saved weight and compensated for the low power of the de Havilland Gipsy Twelve engines used by this aircraft, but simplified production and reduced construction time.

Air Ministry bomber requirements and concepts:

On 8 September 1936, the British Air Ministry issued Specification P.13/36 which called for a twin-engined medium bomber capable of carrying a bomb load of 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg) for 3,000 miles (4,800 km) with a maximum speed of 275 miles per hour (443 km/h) at 15,000 feet (4,600 m); a maximum bomb load of 8,000 pounds (3,600 kg) which could be carried over shorter ranges was also specified. Aviation firms entered heavy designs with new high-powered engines and multiple defensive turrets, leading to the production of the Avro Manchester and Handley Page Halifax.

In May 1937, as a comparison to P.13/36, George Volkert, the chief designer of Handley Page, put forward the concept of a fast unarmed bomber. In 20 pages, Volkert planned an aerodynamically clean medium bomber to carry 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg) of bombs at a cruising speed of 300 miles per hour (480 km/h). There was support in the RAF and Air Ministry; Captain R N Liptrot, Research Director Aircraft 3 (RDA3), appraised Volkert's design, calculating that its top speed would exceed the new Supermarine Spitfire. There were, however, counter-arguments that, although such a design had merit, it would not necessarily be faster than enemy fighters for long. The ministry was also considering using non-strategic materials for aircraft production, which, in 1938, had led to specification B.9/38 and the Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle medium bomber, largely constructed from spruce and plywood attached to a steel-tube frame. The idea of a small, fast bomber gained support at a much earlier stage than sometimes acknowledged though it was unlikely that the Air Ministry envisaged it not using light alloy components.

Project Mosquito:

Once design of the DH.98 had started, de Havilland built mock-ups, the most detailed at Salisbury Hall, in the hangar where E0234 was being built. Initially, this was designed with the crew enclosed in the fuselage behind a transparent nose (similar to the Bristol Blenheim or Heinkel He 111H), but this was quickly altered to a more solid nose with a more conventional canopy.

The construction of the prototype began in March 1940, but work was cancelled again after the Battle of Dunkirk, when Lord Beaverbrook, as Minister of Aircraft Production, decided there was no production capacity for aircraft like the DH.98, which was not expected to be in service until early 1941. Although Lord Beaverbrook told Air Vice-Marshal Freeman that work on the project had better stop, he did not issue a specific instruction, and Freeman ignored the request. In June 1940, however, Lord Beaverbrook and the Air Staff ordered that production was to focus on five existing types, namely the Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker Hurricane, Vickers Wellington, Armstrong-Whitworth Whitley and the Bristol Blenheim. Work on the DH.98 prototype stopped, and it seemed that the project would be shut down when the design team were denied the materials with which to build their prototype.

The Mosquito was only reinstated as a priority in July 1940, after de Havilland's General Manager L.C.L Murray, promised Lord Beaverbrook 50 Mosquitoes by December 1941, and this, only after Beaverbrook was satisfied that Mosquito production would not hinder de Havilland's primary work of producing Tiger Moth and Oxford trainers and repairing Hurricanes as well as the licence manufacture of Merlin engines. In promising Beaverbrook 50 Mosquitoes by the end of 1941, de Havilland was taking a gamble, because it was unlikely that 50 Mosquitos could be built in such a limited time; as it transpired only 20 Mosquitos were built in 1941, but the other 30 were delivered by mid-March 1942.

During the Battle of Britain, nearly a third of de Havilland's factory time was lost because the workers took cover in the factory's bomb shelters. Nevertheless, work on the prototype went quickly, such that E0234 was rolled out on 19 November 1940.

In the aftermath of the Battle of Britain, the original order was changed to 20 bomber variants and 30 fighters. It was still uncertain whether the fighter version should have dual or single controls, or should carry a turret, so three prototypes were eventually built: W4052, W4053 and W4073. The latter, both turret armed, were later disarmed, to become the prototypes for the T.III trainer. This caused some delays as half-built wing components had to be strengthened for the expected higher combat load requirements. The nose sections also had to be altered, omitting the clear perspex bomb-aimer's position, to solid noses designed to house four .303 machine guns and their ammunition.

Overview:

The Mosquito was a fast, twin-engined aircraft with shoulder-mounted wings. The most-produced variant, designated the FB Mk VI (Fighter-bomber Mark 6), was powered by two Merlin Mk 23 or Mk 25 engines driving three-bladed de Havilland hydromatic propellers. The typical fixed armament for an FB Mk VI was four Browning .303 machine guns and four 20 mm Hispano cannon while the offensive load consisted of up to 2,000 pounds (910 kg) of bombs, or eight RP-3 unguided rockets.

Construction:

The oval-section fuselage was a frameless monocoque shell built in two halves being formed to shape by band clamps over a mahogany or concrete mould, each holding one half of the fuselage, split vertically. The shell halves were made of sheets of Ecuadorean balsawood sandwiched between sheets of Canadian birch, but in areas needing extra strength— such as along cut-outs— stronger woods replaced the balsa filler; the overall thickness of the birch and balsa sandwich skin was only 7⁄16 inch (11 mm). This sandwich skin was so stiff that no internal reinforcement was necessary from the wing's rear spar to the tail bearing bulkhead. The join was along the vertical centre line. This split construction greatly aided the assembly of the internal equipment as it allowed the technicians easy access to the fuselage interior. While the glue in the plywood skin dried, carpenters cut a sawtooth joint into the edges of the fuselage shells, while other workers installed the controls and cabling on the inside wall. When the glue completely dried, the two halves were glued and screwed together. The fuselage was strengthened internally by seven bulkheads made up of two plywood skins parted by spruce blocks, which formed the basis on each half for the outer shell. Each bulkhead was a repeat of the spruce design for the fuselage halves; a balsa sheet sandwich between two plywood sheets/skins. Bulkhead number seven carried the fittings and loads for the tailplane and rudder, The type of glue originally used was Casein, which was later replaced by "Aerolite", a synthetic urea-formaldehyde, which was more durable. Many other types of screws and flanges (made of various woods) also held the structure together.

The fuselage construction joints were made from balsa wood and plywood strips with the spruce multi-ply being connected by a balsa V joint, along with the interior frame. The spruce would be reinforced by plywood strips at the point where the two halves joined to form the V-joint. Located on top of the joint the plywood formed the outer skin. During the joining of the two halves ("boxing up"), two laminated wooden clamps would be used in the after portion of the fuselage to act as support. A covering of doped Madapolam (a fine plain woven cotton) fabric was stretched tightly over the shell and a coat of silver dope was applied, after which the exterior camouflage was applied. The fuselage had a large ventral section cut-out, which was braced during construction, to allow it to be lowered onto the wing centre-section. Once the wing was secured the lower panels were replaced, and the bomb bay or armament doors fitted.

The all-wood wing was built as a one-piece structure and was not divided into separate construction sections. It was made up of two main spars, spruce and plywood compression ribs, stringers, and a plywood covering. The outer plywood skin was covered and doped like the fuselage. The wing was installed into the roots by means of four large attachment points. The engine radiators were fitted in the inner wing, just outboard of the fuselage on either side. These gave less drag. The radiators themselves were split into three sections: an oil cooler section outboard, the middle section forming the coolant radiator and the inboard section serving the cabin heater. The wing contained metal framed and skinned ailerons, but the flaps were made of wood and were hydraulically controlled. The nacelles were mostly wood, although, for strength, the engine mounts were all metal as were the undercarriage parts. Engine mounts of welded steel tube were added, along with simple landing gear oleos filled with rubber blocks. Wood was used to carry only in-plane loads, with metal fittings used for all triaxially loaded components such as landing gear, engine mounts, control surface mounting brackets, and the wing-to-fuselage junction. The outer leading wing edge had to be brought 22 inches (56 cm) further forward to accommodate this design. The main tail unit was all wood built. The control surfaces, the rudder and elevator, were aluminium framed and fabric covered. The total weight of metal castings and forgings used in the aircraft was only 280 lb (130 kg).

In November 1944, several crashes occurred in the Far East. At first, it was thought these were as a result of wing structure failures. The casein glue, it was said, cracked when exposed to extreme heat and/or monsoon conditions. This caused the upper surfaces to "lift" from the main spar. An investigating team led by Major Hereward de Havilland travelled to India and produced a report in early December 1944 stating that "the accidents were not caused by the deterioration of the glue but by shrinkage of the airframe during the wet monsoon season". However a later inquiry by Cabot & Myers definitely attributed the accidents to faulty manufacture and this was confirmed by a further investigation team by the Ministry of Aircraft Production at Defford which found faults in six different Marks of Mosquito (all built at de Havilland's Hatfield and Leavesden plants) which showed similar defects, and none of the aircraft had been exposed to monsoon conditions or termite attack; thus it was concluded that there were construction defects found at the two plants. It was found that the "Standard of glueing...left much to be desired”. Records at the time showed that accidents caused by "loss of control" were three times more frequent on Mosquitoes than on any other type of aircraft. The Air Ministry forestalled any loss of confidence in the Mosquito by holding to Major de Havilland's initial investigation in India that the accidents were caused "largely by climate" To solve the problem, a sheet of plywood was set along the span of the wing to seal the entire length of the skin joint along the main spar.

Information regarding the de Havilland DH98 Mosquito has been taken from excerpts contained on Wikipedia

Aston Martin Ulster Roadster (1936)

In 1927 Aston Martin was taken over by race driver A. C. Bertelli. He designed a 1.5-litre, SOHC engine which would eventually power the LeMans-racing Ulster. Thoughout the years the engine was devloped to include dry sump lubrication.

The Aston Martin Ulster stands as one of the most respected pre-war racecars. It was largely based on the Mark II which came before it.

The Ulster had a breif two year race program. During this time they dominated the British Tourist Trophy at Goodwood. In 1934, Ulsters took first, second and third place. The best LeMans result was achieved in 1935. Chassis LM20 raced to third overall which put it first in the 1101 to 1500cc class.

After the race efforts, Aston Martin readied a production version of the LeMans cars. Twenty-One of these cars were built of which all are accounted for today.

Aston Martin Ulster information used from:

www.supercars.net/cars/2084.html

In the 1980's a small number (7) replicas of the Aston Martin Ulster Roadster were manufactured as a kit car:

Fergus Mosquito (Aston Martin Ulster replica)

Kop Hill Climb - 25th September 2011

Fergus Mosquito - an Aston Martin Ulster replica.

Only seven were made in Kingsbridge, Devon, in the 1980s, using donor Morris Marina B-series engines and other parts.

UIJ233 is the best of the 7 replicas.

These two models, the de Havilland DH98 Mosquito aircraft and the Aston Martin Ulster Roadster of 1936 have been created in Lego miniland scale for Flickr LUGNuts' 79th Build Challenge, - 'LUGNuts goes Wingnuts" - featuring automotive vehicles named after, inspired by or related to aircraft.

For all that official crap:

Designed off of the M2 LAV, the M2A2 Light Armored APC is the all purpose backbone of NATO forces both in America and abroad. Its extremely versatile design allows this Armored Personnel Carrier to also take up the roll of an Infantry Fighting Vehicle or even an Anti-Tank unit. The M2A2 also comes stock with a ventilation system to help keep her crewmen temperate.

This particular design is made to help combat enemy armored units. The high torque tires allow for maximum control when going up against the fastest and most versatile of adversaries and the titanium cage around the chassis protects the tires from damage against the sides of enemy vehicles. To top this particular model off, the 48mm HE launcher packs a punch with the capabilities of accurately hitting targets well over 500 yards (about 457 meters) away.

DR 02-01201, working a railtour, 27th August 1983, at Uhlstädt.

Houdenny is a 6X world record holder for the following...The only man ever to actually escape from a high security straitjacket put on in its tightest most difficult way to escape. With using this same straitjacket, Houdenny also puts on a transport jacket overtop of the high security straitjacket in the same manner and still escapes. No-one still has been able to accomplish such a feat. Even Guinness Book of Records and Record Holder's Republic are outraged that Houdenny pulls this off with absolute ease. He get out of the two less than 45 seconds. He also holds the record for the fastest straitjacket escape, which is just shy of 7 seconds. Houdenny on May 26, 2007 performed an escape that experts throughout the world said was not only insane, but couldn't be done by any human being. Houdenny escaped less than 5 minutes. He had on him the high security posey straitjacket with 5 extra buckled straps, transport jacket overtop of that, a Humane Blanket Wrap overtop of that with galvanized steel chain innerweaving like a shoelace throughout the whole blanket wrap and had 9 unopened combination locks to attach the blanket wrap to Houdenny's neck and body. Houdenny also had a leather head harness, which had an un-gaffed Darby Neck Collar cuff. This cuff was padlocked in the front and also securely locked in the back. Get this! All combination locks were ducted taped throughout the wrap and neck areas. Then Houdenny had a black body bag surrounding his body and combination locked and secured to the end of the blanket wrap and also ducted taped. Oh yes! The high security straitjacket was attached with 4 buckles on the outside of a canvas trousers to complete a full one piece of apparatus. Houdenny was then hoisted up 45 feet from a crane and escaped with a dedication to all Veteran's who are risking their lives for their country. Houdenny didn't accept a dime from it.

Also, Houdenny holds the fastest handstand on a skateboard going 46 mph attached on the back of a motorcycle. In the near future in the latter part of the year, Houdenny will be doing the same escape described above, which is called by the way; "Houdenny's Insane Entrapment". He will be having an additional challenge to the escape by being shot from 3 different directions by paintball guns during the Worldwide Escape Artist Relay held in October 2007. Lastly; Houdenny has the fastest time getting out of a maximum security jail, which was less than 25 seconds.

Fastest man in the world

The fastest to chase and chased the most to be captured maybe! While these beautiful and fierce migratory birds use these areas as a passage for migration and call them temporary home, a lot of birding enthusiasts and photographers chase this bird to get a glimpse and capture good shots. In doing this, we need to keep in mind that they require their own space and just like us, they also do not like to be chased everywhere. With increase in eco-tourism and wildlife safaris, it is important to stick to the ethics and respect these amazing nature's creatures' privacy. Wishing everyone a happy and ethical birding!

The Fastest Shed is powered by this RS4 4.2 lump, quite a proper motor indeed. Stage 2 tuned and circa 450ps if I remember correctly.

Worlds Fastest Camaro: The 2500HP Kelly Bise / KP Racing Chevy Camaro getting ready to take off at the Texas Mile event back in October 2012. The Heavy Hitters issue featuring this story and set of images just hit stands, go pick it up and read about why Kelly decided to pump over $250,000 into a Camaro and what his future plans for it are!

This image was used as the opening spread of the article in the magazine, pretty excited about it!

More soon!

For prints or information please contact me: jeremy.cliff@yahoo.com

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Cutty Sark is a British clipper ship. Built on the River Leven, Dumbarton, Scotland in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line, she was one of the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest, at the end of a long period of design development for this type of vessel, which ended as steamships took over their routes. She was named after the short shirt of the fictional witch in Robert Burns' poem Tam o' Shanter, first published in 1791.

After the big improvement in the fuel efficiency of steamships in 1866, the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 gave them a shorter route to China, so Cutty Sark spent only a few years on the tea trade before turning to the trade in wool from Australia, where she held the record time to Britain for ten years. Continuing improvements in steam technology early in the 1880s meant that steamships also came to dominate the longer sailing route to Australia, and the ship was sold to the Portuguese company Ferreira and Co. in 1895 and renamed Ferreira. She continued as a cargo ship until purchased in 1922 by retired sea captain Wilfred Dowman, who used her as a training ship operating from Falmouth, Cornwall. After his death, Cutty Sark was transferred to the Thames Nautical Training College, Greenhithe, in 1938 where she became an auxiliary cadet training ship alongside HMS Worcester. By 1954, she had ceased to be useful as a cadet ship and was transferred to permanent dry dock at Greenwich, London, for public display.

Cutty Sark is listed by National Historic Ships as part of the National Historic Fleet (the nautical equivalent of a Grade 1 Listed Building). She is one of only three remaining intact composite construction (wooden hull on an iron frame) ships from the nineteenth century, the others being the clipper City of Adelaide, now in Port Adelaide, South Australia and the warship HMS Gannet in Chatham. The beached skeleton of Ambassador, of 1869 lying near Punta Arenas, Chile is the only other significant remnant of this construction method.

The ship has been damaged by fire twice in recent years, first on 21 May 2007 while undergoing conservation. She was restored and was reopened to the public on 25 April 2012. Funders for the Cutty Sark conservation project include: the Heritage Lottery Fund, the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Sammy Ofer Foundation, Greenwich Council, Greater London Authority, The Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Berry Brothers & Rudd, Michael Edwards and Alisher Usmanov.

On 19 October 2014 she was damaged in a smaller fire.

Cutty Sark whisky derives its name from the ship. An image of the clipper appears on the label, and the maker formerly sponsored the Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race. The ship also inspired the name of the Saunders Roe Cutty Sark flying boat.

Cutty Sark was ordered by ship-owner John Willis, who operated a shipping company founded by his father. The company had several ships in the tea trade from China to Britain. Speed was an advantage to vessels carrying a high-value, seasonal product, such as tea. Faster ships could obtain higher rates of freight (the price paid to transport the cargo), and tea merchants would use the names of fast-sailing ships that had carried their products in their advertising.  Cutty Sark was ordered during a boom in building tea clippers in the period 1865–1869—something that was attributed to a substantial reduction in the import duties for tea. introduction  In 1868 the brand-new Aberdeen-built clipper, Thermopylae, set a record time of 61 days port to port on her maiden voyage from London to Melbourne and it was this design that Willis set out to better.

It is uncertain how the hull shape for Cutty Sark was chosen. Willis chose Hercules Linton to design and build the ship but Willis already possessed another ship, The Tweed, which he considered to have exceptional performance. The Tweed (originally Punjaub) was a frigate designed by Oliver Lang based on the lines of an old French frigate, built in Bombay for the East India Company as a combination sail/paddle steamer. She and a sister ship were purchased by Willis, who promptly sold the second ship plus engines from The Tweed for more than he paid for both. The Tweed was then lengthened and operated as a fast sailing vessel, but was considered too big for the tea runs. Willis also commissioned two all-iron clippers with designs based upon The Tweed, Hallowe'en and Blackadder. Linton was taken to view The Tweed in dry dock.

Willis considered that The Tweed's bow shape was responsible for her notable performance, and this form seems to have been adopted for Cutty Sark. Linton, however, felt that the stern was too barrel shaped and so gave Cutty Sark a squarer stern with less tumblehome. The broader stern increased the buoyancy of the ship's stern, making it lift more in heavy seas so it was less likely that waves would break over the stern, and over the helmsman at the wheel. Cutty Sark was given masts that followed the design of The Tweed, with similar good rake and the foremast on both placed further aft than usual.

A contract for Cutty Sark's construction was signed on 1 February 1869 with the firm of Scott & Linton, which had only been formed in May 1868. Their shipyard was at Dumbarton on the River Leven on a site previously occupied by shipbuilders William Denny & Brothers. The contract required the ship to be completed within six months at a contracted price of £17 per ton and maximum size of 950 tons. This was a highly competitive price for an experimental, state-of-the-art vessel, and for a customer requiring the highest standards. Payment would be made in seven instalments as the ship progressed, but with a penalty of £5 for every day the ship was late. The ship was to be built to Lloyd's A1 standard and her construction was supervised on behalf of Willis by Captain George Moodie, who would command her when completed. Construction delays occurred when the Lloyd's inspectors required additional strengthening in the ship.

Work on the ship was suspended when Scott and Linton ran out of money to continue. Rather than simply liquidate the company, an arrangement was made for Denny's to take over the contract and complete the ship, which was finally launched on 22 November 1869 by Captain Moodie's wife. The ship was moved to Denny's yard to have her masts fitted, and then on 20 December towed downriver to Greenock to have her running rigging installed. In the event, completing the ship meant the company's creditors were owed even more money than when work had first been halted.

Cutty Sark has a registered length of 212.5 feet (64.77 m), with a depth of hold of 21 feet (6.40 m) and a net tonnage of 921. The hull is one of the sharpest of all the tea clippers: she has a coefficient of under deck tonnage of 0.55, compared to Thermopylae at 0.58.  Cutty Sark's prismatic coefficient, another measure of hull sharpness, is 0.628; this allows comparison with US-built clippers studied by Howard I. Chapelle. After water-line length, the prismatic coefficient is the next most important determinant of potential hull speed. Unladen, or with a cargo of low density, ballast was required for stability. For example, when she was loaded with wool, 200 tons of ballast was carried. The largest wool cargo she ever carried was 900 tons' weight (the total of ballast and cargo of 1,100 tons is consistent with the estimated deadweight cargo capacity of 1,135 tons at 20-foot draught). The largest tea cargo carried was 615 tons' weight. Conversely, a dense cargo allowed full use of the deadweight capacity: if loaded with coal, she would usually carry 1,100 tons.

Broadly, the parts of the ship visible above the waterline were constructed from East India teak, while American rock elm was used for the ship's bottom. The stem, 15 in × 15 in (38 cm × 38 cm), and sternpost, 16.5 in × 15 in (42 cm × 38 cm), were of teak while the rudder was of English oak. The keel was replaced in the 1920s with one constructed from 15-inch (38 cm) pitch pine. The deck was made of 3.5-inch (8.9 cm) thick teak while the 'tween deck was 3-inch (7.6 cm) yellow pine. The keel, 16.5 in × 15 in (42 cm × 38 cm), had on either side a garboard strake, 11 in × 12 in (28 cm × 30 cm), and then 6-inch (150 mm) planking decreasing to 4.75 in (12.1 cm) at one-fifth the depth of the hold. Teak planking began at approximately the level of the bilge stringer. The hull was covered by Muntz metal sheeting up to the 18-foot (5.5 m) depth mark, and all the external timbers were secured by Muntz metal bolts to the internal iron frame. The wrought-iron frame was an innovation first experimented with in shipbuilding in the 1840s, and was the standard building method for tea clippers by the middle of the 1860s.  It consisted of frames (vertical), beams (horizontal) and cross bracing (diagonal members).

The diagonally-braced iron frame made for a strong, rigid ship; diagonal members prevent racking (shearing, where frame rectangles become parallelograms). Less working and leaking of the hull meant less crew time spent pumping, allowing more time to be spent on changes of sail. The wrought-iron-framed hull also took up less cargo space than an all-wood hull would have done. The Muntz metal sheeting reduced fouling of Cutty Sark's hull; with a cleaner hull, she could sail faster.[

The animal kingdom's fastest living member almost escapes as I click my shutter! The peregrine falcon is the world's fastest animal. During a hunting stoop, in which a peregrine may dive from over a kilometer in height, the birds can reach a speed of over 200 miles per hour. Try getting away from that even in your fastest car. Peregrines are some of the largest falcons in the North American continent, and have a large worldwide distribution, but like the bald eagle they were virtually eradicated from the eastern United States by the use of the pesticide DDT. The use of DDT was banned in the early 1960's, and through extensive conservation and reintroduction efforts these, and other birds, have recovered in numbers. Peregrine falcons feed almost exclusively on medium sized birds. These include, pigeons, ducks, and several shorebirds. They will occasionally feed on small mammals. Don't worry, despite their speed, they haven't been documented to chase down and eat any human prey, yet. #ILoveNature #ILoveWildlife #ILoveBirds #WildlifePhotography #Wildlife #Nature #Birding #PeregrineFalcon #PeregrineinFlight #Canon #Bringit #DrDADBooks #Photography #Picoftheday #Photooftheday

I took this photo of Usain Bolt in manchester Bupa sport competition in manchester 2009

David Pinkerton Photography | Facebook

A little tongue-in-cheek shot of the Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G using the "flash and pan" techinque.

Strobist: SB-800 in 43" Westcott shoot-through umbrella front, SB-900 in Lumiquest Softbox LTp camera left, SB-800 in Lumiquest Softbox III camera right. All fired by pop-up flash through CLS.

This is the one. The one that you guys thought was an Enzo or MC12. This, however, is a lot rarer. And this exact one is also quite famous. Used to be on PistonHeads. But now, it is sat in the Carrs Ferrari+Maserati Exeter, awaiting its delivery. That is one lucky person that has brought this. Was once the fastest car in the world.

______________________________________________________________________________

More to come from my trip to the dealers, and at the end a complete run of the cars I saw.

Bird of prey - Golden eagle - Tonka

The Golden Eagle is one of the largest, fastest, nimblest raptors in North America. Lustrous gold feathers gleam on the back of its head and neck; a powerful beak and talons advertise its hunting prowess. The golden eagle is one of the best-known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle.

Sometimes seen attacking large mammals, or fighting off coyotes or bears in defense of its prey and young, the Golden Eagle has long inspired both reverence and fear.

The golden eagle is a very large, dark brown raptor with broad wings, ranging from 26 to 40 inches in length and from 6 to over 7ft wingspan!

The voice of the golden eagle is considered weak, high and shrill, even being emphatically described as “quite pathetic” and “puppy-like”, considering the formidable size and nature of the species, "Silent but deadly"

The golden eagle is not threatened at the species level but efforts need to be taken to prevent extinctions . Within the United States, the golden eagle is legally protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. (see below for additional info)*

Hope you enjoyed my pics!

All rights reserved ©Pix.by.PegiSue

www.flickr.com/photos/pix-by-pegisue/

~Protect animals and wild life habitat around the World‎! ~

Taken @ San Diego Zoo Safari Park, Escondido, CA

*The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act:

The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 668-668c), enacted in 1940, and amended several times since then, prohibits anyone, without a permit issued by the Secretary of the Interior, from "taking" bald eagles, including their parts, nests, or eggs. The Act provides criminal penalties for persons who "take, possess, sell, purchase, barter, offer to sell, purchase or barter, transport, export or import, at any time or any manner, any bald eagle ... [or any golden eagle], alive or dead, or any part, nest, or egg thereof." The Act defines "take" as "pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, molest or disturb."

-USFWS: Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act

A peregrine falcon whose name I've forgotten. She was a member of the lineup at Green Mountain Falconry School in Manchester , VT.

MotoSonora Grand Prix.

Musselman Honda Circuit road course.

Tucson, AZ.

12-6-24.

Photo by: Ned Harris.

Note: This was the fastest car on the track that day.

File name: 08_05_000207

Title: Cunard. Fastest ocean service in the world

Date issued: 1910-1959 (approximate)

Physical description: 1 print (poster) : color

Genre: Travel posters; Prints

Subjects: Ocean travel; Ocean liners; Harbors; Cunard Steamship Company, ltd.

Notes: Title from item.; Printed in England; Caption: Europe to all America; Caption on top image: R.M.S. Queen Mary arriving at New York; Caption on bottom image: R.M.S. Queen Elizabeth leaving the Ocean Terminal, Southampton

Location: Boston Public Library, Print Department

Rights: Rights status not evaluated

Pioche, Nevada USA

Zeiss Ikon ZM

Zeiss Planar 50mm F2 T* ZM

Ferrania P30

The cheetah is the fastest land animal in the world. Its body is primarily designed for speed, and unlike most cats, it doesn't have climbing skills. It gets its prey primarily by its speed. Though it is not known what was the fastest speed a cheetah has gone, it has been reported that it can go over 100 kilometers per hour, and can accelerate(defined as the change in speed divided by the elapsed time) from 0 kilometers per hour to more than 100 kilometers per hour in just three seconds.

Panning of an ambulance is something I've always wanted to do, and finally here it is!

救急車の流し撮りを前からずっとやってみたかったのですが、やっと成功しました。

[ Nikon D5200, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, 195mm, f/9.0, 1/4sec, ISO100 ]

Again fastest in class, the Cheetah seen through a freshly cleared patch of woods outside the Carousel

Road America Fall Vintage 2016

A remake of the original "Fastest Man Alive" MOC for Brickfair VA 2017. I made a few tweaks here and there, color changes, improved designs, a slightly bigger base and more Flashes! Original MOC - www.flickr.com/photos/50899563@N07/14810801523/in/datepos...

Brightline’s newest section of track between Orlando and Cocoa allows them to reach a top speed of 125 MPH, making them the fastest train in the state of Florida. The line parallels Route 528 for most of the way to Cocoa, so with a little luck and some very good timing, we were able to pull off a pace shot of Brightline’s Orlando-wrapped trainset as it accelerates up to 125 MPH. Brightline used a lot of foresight in planning this line, as is evident when looking at the bridges and signal installations on the line. At each ABS signal installation, there are 2 sets of signals, with the heads on one side turned 90 degrees. The bridges follow the same principle, with each being built to accommodate 2 tracks for a future expansion.

(thanks VR!)

Pega photography blog @ www.pegaphoto.com

Composite photo of 3 ferris wheel in Melbourne, sloping as had to climb up onto some monoliths to get the shot.

See more photos of this, and the Wikipedia article.

Details, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird:

No reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated globally in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71, the world's fastest jet-propelled aircraft. The Blackbird's performance and operational achievements placed it at the pinnacle of aviation technology developments during the Cold War.

This Blackbird accrued about 2,800 hours of flight time during 24 years of active service with the U.S. Air Force. On its last flight, March 6, 1990, Lt. Col. Ed Yielding and Lt. Col. Joseph Vida set a speed record by flying from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging 3,418 kilometers (2,124 miles) per hour. At the flight's conclusion, they landed at Washington-Dulles International Airport and turned the airplane over to the Smithsonian.

Transferred from the United States Air Force.

Manufacturer:

Lockheed Aircraft Corporation

Designer:

Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson

Date:

1964

Country of Origin:

United States of America

Dimensions:

Overall: 18ft 5 15/16in. x 55ft 7in. x 107ft 5in., 169998.5lb. (5.638m x 16.942m x 32.741m, 77110.8kg)

Other: 18ft 5 15/16in. x 107ft 5in. x 55ft 7in. (5.638m x 32.741m x 16.942m)

Materials:

Titanium

Physical Description:

Twin-engine, two-seat, supersonic strategic reconnaissance aircraft; airframe constructed largley of titanium and its alloys; vertical tail fins are constructed of a composite (laminated plastic-type material) to reduce radar cross-section; Pratt and Whitney J58 (JT11D-20B) turbojet engines feature large inlet shock cones.

Long Description:

No reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71 Blackbird. It is the fastest aircraft propelled by air-breathing engines. The Blackbird's performance and operational achievements placed it at the pinnacle of aviation technology developments during the Cold War. The airplane was conceived when tensions with communist Eastern Europe reached levels approaching a full-blown crisis in the mid-1950s. U.S. military commanders desperately needed accurate assessments of Soviet worldwide military deployments, particularly near the Iron Curtain. Lockheed Aircraft Corporation's subsonic U-2 (see NASM collection) reconnaissance aircraft was an able platform but the U. S. Air Force recognized that this relatively slow aircraft was already vulnerable to Soviet interceptors. They also understood that the rapid development of surface-to-air missile systems could put U-2 pilots at grave risk. The danger proved reality when a U-2 was shot down by a surface to air missile over the Soviet Union in 1960.

Lockheed's first proposal for a new high speed, high altitude, reconnaissance aircraft, to be capable of avoiding interceptors and missiles, centered on a design propelled by liquid hydrogen. This proved to be impracticable because of considerable fuel consumption. Lockheed then reconfigured the design for conventional fuels. This was feasible and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), already flying the Lockheed U-2, issued a production contract for an aircraft designated the A-12. Lockheed's clandestine 'Skunk Works' division (headed by the gifted design engineer Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson) designed the A-12 to cruise at Mach 3.2 and fly well above 18,288 m (60,000 feet). To meet these challenging requirements, Lockheed engineers overcame many daunting technical challenges. Flying more than three times the speed of sound generates 316° C (600° F) temperatures on external aircraft surfaces, which are enough to melt conventional aluminum airframes. The design team chose to make the jet's external skin of titanium alloy to which shielded the internal aluminum airframe. Two conventional, but very powerful, afterburning turbine engines propelled this remarkable aircraft. These power plants had to operate across a huge speed envelope in flight, from a takeoff speed of 334 kph (207 mph) to more than 3,540 kph (2,200 mph). To prevent supersonic shock waves from moving inside the engine intake causing flameouts, Johnson's team had to design a complex air intake and bypass system for the engines.

Skunk Works engineers also optimized the A-12 cross-section design to exhibit a low radar profile. Lockheed hoped to achieve this by carefully shaping the airframe to reflect as little transmitted radar energy (radio waves) as possible, and by application of special paint designed to absorb, rather than reflect, those waves. This treatment became one of the first applications of stealth technology, but it never completely met the design goals.

Test pilot Lou Schalk flew the single-seat A-12 on April 24, 1962, after he became airborne accidentally during high-speed taxi trials. The airplane showed great promise but it needed considerable technical refinement before the CIA could fly the first operational sortie on May 31, 1967 - a surveillance flight over North Vietnam. A-12s, flown by CIA pilots, operated as part of the Air Force's 1129th Special Activities Squadron under the "Oxcart" program. While Lockheed continued to refine the A-12, the U. S. Air Force ordered an interceptor version of the aircraft designated the YF-12A. The Skunk Works, however, proposed a "specific mission" version configured to conduct post-nuclear strike reconnaissance. This system evolved into the USAF's familiar SR-71.

Lockheed built fifteen A-12s, including a special two-seat trainer version. Two A-12s were modified to carry a special reconnaissance drone, designated D-21. The modified A-12s were redesignated M-21s. These were designed to take off with the D-21 drone, powered by a Marquart ramjet engine mounted on a pylon between the rudders. The M-21 then hauled the drone aloft and launched it at speeds high enough to ignite the drone's ramjet motor. Lockheed also built three YF-12As but this type never went into production. Two of the YF-12As crashed during testing. Only one survives and is on display at the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio. The aft section of one of the "written off" YF-12As which was later used along with an SR-71A static test airframe to manufacture the sole SR-71C trainer. One SR-71 was lent to NASA and designated YF-12C. Including the SR-71C and two SR-71B pilot trainers, Lockheed constructed thirty-two Blackbirds. The first SR-71 flew on December 22, 1964. Because of extreme operational costs, military strategists decided that the more capable USAF SR-71s should replace the CIA's A-12s. These were retired in 1968 after only one year of operational missions, mostly over southeast Asia. The Air Force's 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (part of the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing) took over the missions, flying the SR-71 beginning in the spring of 1968.

After the Air Force began to operate the SR-71, it acquired the official name Blackbird-- for the special black paint that covered the airplane. This paint was formulated to absorb radar signals, to radiate some of the tremendous airframe heat generated by air friction, and to camouflage the aircraft against the dark sky at high altitudes.

Experience gained from the A-12 program convinced the Air Force that flying the SR-71 safely required two crew members, a pilot and a Reconnaissance Systems Officer (RSO). The RSO operated with the wide array of monitoring and defensive systems installed on the airplane. This equipment included a sophisticated Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) system that could jam most acquisition and targeting radar. In addition to an array of advanced, high-resolution cameras, the aircraft could also carry equipment designed to record the strength, frequency, and wavelength of signals emitted by communications and sensor devices such as radar. The SR-71 was designed to fly deep into hostile territory, avoiding interception with its tremendous speed and high altitude. It could operate safely at a maximum speed of Mach 3.3 at an altitude more than sixteen miles, or 25,908 m (85,000 ft), above the earth. The crew had to wear pressure suits similar to those worn by astronauts. These suits were required to protect the crew in the event of sudden cabin pressure loss while at operating altitudes.

To climb and cruise at supersonic speeds, the Blackbird's Pratt & Whitney J-58 engines were designed to operate continuously in afterburner. While this would appear to dictate high fuel flows, the Blackbird actually achieved its best "gas mileage," in terms of air nautical miles per pound of fuel burned, during the Mach 3+ cruise. A typical Blackbird reconnaissance flight might require several aerial refueling operations from an airborne tanker. Each time the SR-71 refueled, the crew had to descend to the tanker's altitude, usually about 6,000 m to 9,000 m (20,000 to 30,000 ft), and slow the airplane to subsonic speeds. As velocity decreased, so did frictional heat. This cooling effect caused the aircraft's skin panels to shrink considerably, and those covering the fuel tanks contracted so much that fuel leaked, forming a distinctive vapor trail as the tanker topped off the Blackbird. As soon as the tanks were filled, the jet's crew disconnected from the tanker, relit the afterburners, and again climbed to high altitude.

Air Force pilots flew the SR-71 from Kadena AB, Japan, throughout its operational career but other bases hosted Blackbird operations, too. The 9th SRW occasionally deployed from Beale AFB, California, to other locations to carryout operational missions. Cuban missions were flown directly from Beale. The SR-71 did not begin to operate in Europe until 1974, and then only temporarily. In 1982, when the U.S. Air Force based two aircraft at Royal Air Force Base Mildenhall to fly monitoring mission in Eastern Europe.

When the SR-71 became operational, orbiting reconnaissance satellites had already replaced manned aircraft to gather intelligence from sites deep within Soviet territory. Satellites could not cover every geopolitical hotspot so the Blackbird remained a vital tool for global intelligence gathering. On many occasions, pilots and RSOs flying the SR-71 provided information that proved vital in formulating successful U. S. foreign policy. Blackbird crews provided important intelligence about the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and its aftermath, and pre- and post-strike imagery of the 1986 raid conducted by American air forces on Libya. In 1987, Kadena-based SR-71 crews flew a number of missions over the Persian Gulf, revealing Iranian Silkworm missile batteries that threatened commercial shipping and American escort vessels.

As the performance of space-based surveillance systems grew, along with the effectiveness of ground-based air defense networks, the Air Force started to lose enthusiasm for the expensive program and the 9th SRW ceased SR-71 operations in January 1990. Despite protests by military leaders, Congress revived the program in 1995. Continued wrangling over operating budgets, however, soon led to final termination. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration retained two SR-71As and the one SR-71B for high-speed research projects and flew these airplanes until 1999.

On March 6, 1990, the service career of one Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird ended with a record-setting flight. This special airplane bore Air Force serial number 64-17972. Lt. Col. Ed Yeilding and his RSO, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Vida, flew this aircraft from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging a speed of 3,418 kph (2,124 mph). At the conclusion of the flight, '972 landed at Dulles International Airport and taxied into the custody of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. At that time, Lt. Col. Vida had logged 1,392.7 hours of flight time in Blackbirds, more than that of any other crewman.

This particular SR-71 was also flown by Tom Alison, a former National Air and Space Museum's Chief of Collections Management. Flying with Detachment 1 at Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Alison logged more than a dozen '972 operational sorties. The aircraft spent twenty-four years in active Air Force service and accrued a total of 2,801.1 hours of flight time.

Wingspan: 55'7"

Length: 107'5"

Height: 18'6"

Weight: 170,000 Lbs

Reference and Further Reading:

Crickmore, Paul F. Lockheed SR-71: The Secret Missions Exposed. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 1996.

Francillon, Rene J. Lockheed Aircraft Since 1913. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1987.

Johnson, Clarence L. Kelly: More Than My Share of It All. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1985.

Miller, Jay. Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works. Leicester, U.K.: Midland Counties Publishing Ltd., 1995.

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird curatorial file, Aeronautics Division, National Air and Space Museum.

DAD, 11-11-01