The Washington State Ferry System's M/V Quinault approaches the Keystone landing on Whidbey Island.

 

This ferry served the route between Port Townsend and Whidbey Island. M/V Quinault began her life as a ferry on San Francisco Bay in 1927. The ship has been extensively modified since then. However, according to information posted on the ferry, she is still running on her original 1927 electric motors.

 

Update: On November 20, 2007, Washington State Ferries took the 80-year-old M/V Quinault out of service for safety reasons. The vessel went into drydock at Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle on November 28, 2007. Inspection of the hull revealed extensive corrosion and pitting, especially along the keel. Preliminary estimates were that at least 45 percent of the hull would have to be replaced before the ferry could be returned to service.

 

With that, I'd venture to say this photo documents the end of an era in marine transportation on Puget Sound.

 

This image is excerpted from a U.S. GAO report:

www.gao.gov/products/GAO-16-127

 

AIR TRAVEL AND COMMUNICABLE DISEASES: Comprehensive Federal Plan Needed for U.S. Aviation System's Preparedness

 

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

  

Some background:

The Flakpanzer Coelian comprised a family of self-propelled anti-aircraft gun tanks, designed by Rheinmetall during World War II for the German armed forces. In the first years of the war, the Wehrmacht had only little interest in developing self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, but as the Allies developed air superiority, the need for more mobile and better-armed self-propelled anti-aircraft guns increased.

 

As a stopgap solution the Wehrmacht had adapted a variety of wheeled, half-track and tracked vehicles to serve as mobile forward air defense positions to protect armor and infantry units in the field as well as for temporary forward area positions such as mobile headquarters and logistic points. As Allied fighter bombers and other ground attack aircraft moved from machine gun armament and bombing to air-to-ground rockets, the air defense positions were even more vulnerable. The answer was to adapt a tank chassis with a specialized turret that would protect the gun crews while they fired upon approaching Allied aircraft.

 

Initial AA-tank designs were the ‘Möbelwagen’ and the ‘Wirbelwind’, effectively both conversions of refurbished Panzer IV combat tank chassis’ with open platforms or open turrets with four 20mm cannon. Alternatively, a single 37mm AA gun was mounted, too, resulting in the more effective ‘Ostwind’ tank – but all these vehicles were just compromises and suffered from light armor and lack of crew protection.

Further developments led to the ‘Kugelblitz’, another Panzer IV variant, but this time the ball-shaped turret was effectively integrated into the hull, resulting in a low silhouette and a fully protected crew. Another new feature was the use of the Mauser MK 103 machine cannon – a lightweight, belt-fed aircraft gun with a gas-powered action mechanism, first employed on board of the Hs 129 attack aircraft against ground targets, including tanks. The Mk 103 had a weight of only 141 kg (311 lb) and a length of 235 cm (93 in) (with muzzle brake). Barrel length was 134 cm (53 in), resulting in Kaliber L/44.7 (44.7 calibres).

Anyway, the Kugelblitz could only mount two of these guns in its very cramped and complicated tilting turret. Venting and ammunition feed problems could also not be solved, so that the innovative vehicle never made it beyond the prototype and evaluation stage, even though the integration of the Kugelblitz turret into the hull of the Jagdpanzer ‘Hetzer’ was considered for some time.

 

In parallel, the promising MK 103 was also tested in the four-gun carriage of the Wirlbelwind’s 20 mm Flakvierling 38 mount, resulting in the ‘3 cm Flakvierling 103/38’ and the respective ‘Zerstörer 45’ tank prototype. But this was, effectively, only a juiced up version of the obsolete ‘Wirbelwind’, again with only a roofless and vulnerable turret and the obsolete Panzer IV as base. The ‘Zerstörer 45’ was consequently rejected, but the firepower of the four guns was immense: Rate of fire of a single MK 103 was 400 - 450 RPM, and the rounds carried three times as much explosive charge as a Soviet 37 mm round. Both HE/M and APCR rounds were available for the MK 103. Muzzle velocity was 860-940 m/sec, paired with a high degree of accuracy. The armor penetration for APCR was 42–52 mm (1.7–2.0 in) / 60° / 300 m (980 ft) or 75–95 mm (3.0–3.7 in) / 90° / 300 m (980 ft) – more than enough for aircraft, and even dangerous for many combat tanks when hitting more lightly armored areas. Anyway, it was not possible to combine four of these 30mm guns with a favorably shaped, completely enclosed turret for an effective front line anti-aircraft tank that could stand its own among the armored combat units.

 

The solution to this problem eventually materialized in 1943 with the decision to completely abandon the limiting Panzer IV chassis and build a new generation of anti-aircraft tanks on the basis of the larger (and heavier) Panzer V medium battle tank, the ‘Panther’. Its chassis had in the meantime become available in considerably numbers from damaged and/or recovered combat tanks, and updated details like new turrets or different wheels were gradually introduced into production and during refurbishments.

 

The Panther could mount a considerably larger and heavier turret than the previous standard tank chassis like the Panzer III and IV, and this potential was full exploited – as well as the possibility to increase the weapon system’s weight, thanks to the sturdier chassis. Rheinmetall’s new, fully enclosed, 360° rotating turret could carry a wide array of weapons and ammunition (all were belt-fed), a crew of three and also offered a good protection through a sloped, frontal armor of 70mm thickness. Traverse and elevation of the turret was hydraulic, allowing a full elevation in just over four seconds, and a 360° traverse in 15.5 seconds. The initial version was armed with two 3.7 cm FlaK 43 guns, as a compromise between range, firepower and rate of fire. Beyond this initial variant, Rheinmetall developed the ‘Coelian’ turret in various versions, too, including fully enclosed turrets with a single 55 mm gun and with four 20mm MG 151/20 guns.

 

Eventually, in May 1944, a complete family of turrets with different armament options was cleared for production: the standard Coelian I, with a revised mount for the twin 3.7 cm FlaK 43 guns, a heavier variant with twin 55 mm guns against larger, high-flying targets (Coelian II; the guns were based on another aircraft weapon, the MK 214), and finally the Coelian III with four Mk 103 cannon against low-flying attack aircraft and soft/lightly armored ground targets. The variant with four 20 mm guns had been dropped, since it did not offer and added value compared to the Coelian III. All these vehicles ran under the SdKfz. 171/3 designation, with suffixes (A-C) to distinguish their armament in a more or less standardized turret.

 

Even though ground-based, mobile radar systems were under development at that time, all these turrets had to rely only on optical sensors, even though very effective optical rangefinders were introduced. All the turrets of the Coelian family were to be mounted on revamped Panzer V chassis, simply replacing the former combat tank turrets (either the original production turret from the A, D and G variant or the newly introduced Schmalturm from the F version). Theoretically, they could have also been mounted onto the Panzer VI ‘Tiger’ chassis, but due to this type’s weight and complexity, this was not carried out.

 

However, the SdKfz. 171/3 Panther/Coelian family designation had in the meantime also just become an interim solution: Plans had been made to start the production of a completely new, simplified tank vehicle family, the so-called ‘Einheitspanzer’. The resulting standard combat tanks (called E-50 and E-75, based on their weight class in tonnes) and their respective hulls would be based on the large Königstiger battle tank, and potentially accept even bigger turrets and weapons. Consequentially, while production of the Coelian turrets and the conversion of 2nd hand and by the time also new Panther hulls of all variants was just gaining momentum in late 1944, work for the new Einheitspanzer tanks and their weaponry had already started.

 

Roundabout 300 Coelian tanks reached frontline units, two third of them were factory-built, and in the course of early 1945 the Coelian family had gradually replaced most of the outdated Panzer IV AA variants and SPAAGs with open turrets. The Coelian tanks were soon joined by the newly produced, dedicated Flakpanzer variants of the Einheitspanzer family, including a twin 55 mm gun on the E-50 chassis and also a monstrous 140 ton anti-aircraft variant of the heavy E-100 chassis, equipped with an automatic twin 8.8cm Flak in a fully enclosed and heavily armored turret.

  

Specifications:

Crew: Five (commander, gunner, loader/2nd gunner, driver, radio-operator/hull machine gunner)

Weight: 44.8 tonnes (44.1 long tons; 49.4 short tons)

Length: 6.87 m (22 ft 6 in)

Width: 3.42 m (11 ft 3 in) with side skirts

Height: 3.13 m (10 ft 3 in)

Suspension: Double torsion bar, interleaved road wheels

Fuel capacity: 720 litres (160 imp gal; 190 US gal)

 

Armor:

15–80 mm (0.6 – 3.15 in)

Performance:

Maximum road speed: 46 km/h (29 mph)

Operational range: 250 km (160 mi)

Power/weight: 15.39 PS (11.5 kW)/tonne (13.77 hp/ton)

 

Engine:

Maybach HL230 P30 V-12 petrol engine with 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW)

ZF AK 7-200 gear; 7 forward 1 reverse

 

Armament:

4× 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 103 machine cannon with 3.600 rounds

1× 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun in the front glacis plate with 2.500 rounds

  

The kit and its assembly:

This was a spontaneous build, in the wake of other recent whif tanks and using some leftover parts from the kit pile(s). Things started with a KORA 1:72 resin conversion kit with a 2x 37mm FlaK Coelian turret for a Panther chassis – but with broken and bent gun barrels. I had actually stashed the parts away for a potential mecha build/conversion, long ago, but while doing legwork for late German WWII tanks I recently came again across the various anti-aircraft tank designs. And I wondered if mounting the Coelian turret on a Panzer IV chassis would be possible and lead to a compact (and whiffy) new vehicle?

Well, it would not work, because the Coelian turret needs a considerably bigger turret bearing diameter than anything the Panzer IV hull could realistically handle (even the Panther’s Schmalturm is actually a little too wide…), and so I folded the idea up again and put it onto the “vague ideas” pile.

 

…until I stumbled upon the leftover hull from a Hasegawa Panther Ausf. F in the donor kits pile, which had originally given both of its OOB turrets (a Schmalturm and a standard model) to other conversions. While mating the Coelian turret with its originally intended hull was not a sexy project, I eventually did so, because I could effectively use two leftovers for something sound and well-balanced.

 

Concerning the assembly phase, there’s not much to tell about the Hasegawa Panther Ausf. F. Fit is good, a simple kit, and it comes, as a benefit, with optional all-steel wheels which I used for my conversion, changing the overall look to a true late war model. Only the opening for the turret had to be widened in order to accept the new resin turret.

 

The latter only consists of two parts: the massive core section and a separate weapon mount. The latter was in so far modified that I added a simple metal peg which can be switched between two holes in the turret hull, for two gun positions.

Since the original gun barrels had to be replaced, anyway, I did a thorough (and fictional) modification: I used four 1:48 20 mm brass barrels for a Flak 38 Flakvierling (from RB Models) and mounted them in two staggered pairs onto the original cannon fairing. The resulting gun array looks impressive and even realistic, and, thanks to the scale-o-rama effect, the 1:48 parts have the perfect size for 30 mm cannon barrels in 1:72!

  

Painting and markings:

Something “German”, but nothing spectacular, so I ended up with another variant of the Hinterhalt scheme, found on a Jagdpanther from the Ardennenoffensive period. In this case, the prominent colors are Dunkelgelb and Olivgrün in broad stripes, separated by blurred, thin lines made of Rotbraun.

 

As a little twist I wanted to modify the scheme in so far that this vehicle was to show its conversion heritage in a workshop, so hull and turret received different basic tones as an initial step.

The hull and all wheels were painted with matt RAL 7028 (a modern equivalent to the WWII Dunkelgelb), while the turret received a red primer coat with Oxidrot (RAL 3009). On top of these, wide green bands (RAL 6003 from Modelmaster) and separating russet (Humbrol 113) stripes were painted with brushes. In order to brighten up the relatively dark turret, some yellow mottles were added on the Oxidrot areas (using Revell 16).

 

Once dry, the whole surface received a sand paper treatment, so that the RAL 7028 would shine through here and there, as if worn out. After a dark brown wash, details were emphasized with dry-brushing in light grey and beige. Decals were puzzled together from various German tank sheets, and the kit finally sealed with matt acrylic varnish.

The black vinyl tracks were also painted/weathered, with a wet-in-wet mix of black, iron and red brown (all acrylics). Once they were mounted into place, mud and dust around the running gear and the lower hull was simulated with a greyish-brown mix of artist mineral pigments.

  

A bit of recycling and less exotic than originally hoped for – but it’s still a whiffy tank model, and its proximity to the real but unrealized Coelian project makes this one even more subtle. Pile reduction, one by one…

 

Bobak Ferdowsi, a system's engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is seen speaking with students during the sixth White House Science Fair, Wednesday, April 13, 2016. The White House Science Fair showcased the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) achievements of over 100 students from across the country. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

With the deployment of Earth's Bifrost orbital ring, Mars' Beanstalk space elevator and the Moon's magnetic catapult, the System's logistics are vastly easier and cheaper than in the old days of the dawn of the true Space Age, when expensive and fuel-inefficient chemical rockets were needed to lift payloads into orbit. However, the far-flung nature of the System means that there are plenty of planetside or moonside colonies and outposts which lack such massive infrastructure investments but do have significant gravity wells to climb out of.

 

The LL-218 Patrick Moore-class of autonomous cargo lifter are one of the primary solutions in use in the System.

 

A simple reusable nuclear-thermal rocket able to take off and land vertically from a gravity well up to 2/3 Earth standard (or approximately twice Martian gravity), the Patrick Moore rockets are sufficiently efficient that quite a large payload can be lifted for a relatively small fuel mass, and sufficiently flexible in their basing requirements that even the smallest outposts can throw together landing and refueling stations.

 

~~~

 

A desperately simple model, but I'm quite pleased with the fact that I can now tile a whole 20x20 square and make a semi-decent small landing pad.

With the decline of the Greco-Roman Federation and the decreasing need for large quantities of VCS, the URE commissioned a new design, based around the Grouse II, that would be able to hold their own against multiple enemy VCS. Thus, the Grouse III (commonly known as the "Crusader") was born.

 

The Grouse III shares almost no physical elements with its predecessor, except for some parts of its inner structural design. It is a much heavier VCS, due mostly in part to its thicker armor and considerably more extensive array of equipment. In addition, the Grouse III has a much more comfortable and complex cockpit, alloying the pilot greater control over the system.

 

The Grouse III's primary weapon is a elite-issue 09R-Gunbow, a weapon that can convert between a machine gun (higher firing rate) and an energy crossbow (more accuracy). It also carries a hefty vibrotech sword, and a carbon-based shield. The shield can fire multiple small rockets. In addition, there are to small machine guns in the cranial unit, and a small semi-automated turret on the system's left shoulder. Two small rockets can be fired from each shoulder as well.

 

Here's the inevitable follow-up to the Grouse II. I started with the cockpit, since I wanted it to be as detailed a possible. The original design for it was even larger than the current one, which is already too bulky. Because of the bulk, I opted for a more medieval knight-inspired mech, an idea which suited it quite well.

It looks like even the craters on Mercury have heard of Bob Ross! The central peaks of this complex crater have formed in such a way that it resembles a smiling face. This image is oriented so north is toward the bottom.

 

This image was acquired as a high-resolution targeted observation. Targeted observations are images of a small area on Mercury's surface at resolutions much higher than the 200-meter/pixel morphology base map. It is not possible to cover all of Mercury's surface at this high resolution, but typically several areas of high scientific interest are imaged in this mode each week.

 

The MESSENGER spacecraft is the first ever to orbit the planet Mercury, and the spacecraft's seven scientific instruments and radio science investigation are unraveling the history and evolution of the Solar System's innermost planet. Visit the Why Mercury? section of this website to learn more about the key science questions that the MESSENGER mission is addressing. During the one-year primary mission, MESSENGER acquired 88,746 images and extensive other data sets. MESSENGER is now in a yearlong extended mission, during which plans call for the acquisition of more than 80,000 additional images to support MESSENGER's science goals.

 

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

 

NASA image use policy.

 

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

 

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Tummel Bridge is a double arched hump-backed former military bridge crossing the River Tummel at Tummel Bridge, Perth & Kinross, Scotland. A Category A listed structure dating to 1730, it is now pedestrian-only. It stands immediately to the southeast of a modern road bridge, which carries the vehicular traffic of today's B846 road. Two worn milestones are at the northern end of the bridge.

 

Erected for the Board of Ordnance, to the order of Lieutenant General George Wade, its original purpose was as a military road. The Irvine Robertson papers at the National Records of Scotland contain, at GD1/53/97, the construction contract with John Stewart of Canagan [=Kynachan], for building the bridge, and the receipt by John Stewart for £50, in respect of above contract, 27 July 1730, and the bond by him and David Stewart, his eldest son, to maintain the bridge, 20 October 1730:

 

... the said John Stewart shall Build a Stone Bridge Strengthen'd with a double Arch over the River of Tumble, within less than a mile west of the house of the said Canagan, which Bridge is to have an Arch of at least forty two feet between the landstools for more if the breadth of the River shall require an Arch of a larger dimension. It is likewise to be twelve foot in breadth including the Parapet walls, which Walls are to be three foot high above the pavement, and at least one foot broad, and to be Cap'd with good flag Stones. The whole to be of good materials and well wrought, And to have an access to the same extending so far on both Sides to the Land, as to render it easily passable for Wheel Carriage or Canon, AND LIKEWISE to make sufficient Buttments that shall Confine the Water to pass under the Arch, that in extraordinary Floods it may not damage or undermine the foundation. For which Bridge and all Materials, and Charges relating thereto, the said Lieut General George Wade is to Pay to the said John Stewart, the Sum of two hundred pounds Sterling Viz Fifty pounds on the signing this contact, and one hundred and fifty Pounds as soon as the work is Compleated, which he promises to finish before the last day of October next ensuing, and the said John Stewart does oblige himself to give sufficient Security before the last Payment is made to uphold the said Bridge at his own Expense for the space of twenty years from the date hereof...

 

The bridge was renovated in 1973, and underwent conservation work in 2011.

 

The River Tummel is a river in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Water from the Tummel is used in the Tummel hydro-electric power scheme, operated by SSE.

 

As a tributary of the River Tay, the Tummel is included as part of the River Tay Special Area of Conservation. The designation notes the river system's importance for salmon, otters, brook lampreys, river lampreys and sea lampreys.

 

Discharging from Loch Rannoch, it flows east to a point near the Falls of Tummel, where it bends to the southeast, a direction which it maintains until it falls into the River Tay, just below Logierait, after a course of 58 miles (93 km) from its source in Stob Ghabbar (3,565 ft (1,087 m)). Its only considerable affluent is the Garry, 24 miles (39 km) long, an impetuous river which issues from Loch Garry (2.5 mi (4.0 km) and 1,334 ft (407 m) above sea level). Some 2 miles from its outlet from Loch Rannoch the river expands into Dunalastair Water (or Dunalastair Reservoir), a man made loch formed by a weir, part of the Tummel Hydro Electric power scheme. About midway in its course the Tummel expands into Loch Tummel, between which and the confluence with the Garry occur the Pass and Falls of the Tummel, which are rather in the nature of rapids, the descent altogether amounting to 15 ft (4.6 m). Loch Tummel was previously 4.43 km (2.75 mi) long and 39 m (128 ft) deep, but with the construction of the Clunie Dam in 1950, the water level was raised by 4.5 metres, and Loch Tummel is now approximately 11 km (7 mi) long.

 

The scenery throughout this reach is most picturesque, culminating at the point above the eastern extremity of the loch, known as the "Queen's View" (Queen Victoria made the view famous in 1866, although it is said to have been named after Queen Isabel, wife of Robert the Bruce). The chief places of interest on the river are Kinloch Rannoch; Dunalastair, a rocky hill in well-wooded grounds, the embellishment of which was largely due to Alexander Robertson of Struan, the Jacobite and poet, from whom the spot takes its name (the stronghold of Alexander); Foss; Faskally House (beautifully situated on the left bank); Pitlochry; and Ballinluig.

 

The ancient name of the river, in its upper reaches at least, was the Dubhag

 

The Highlands is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands. The term is also used for the area north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east. The Great Glen divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands. The Scottish Gaelic name of A' Ghàidhealtachd literally means "the place of the Gaels" and traditionally, from a Gaelic-speaking point of view, includes both the Western Isles and the Highlands.

 

The area is very sparsely populated, with many mountain ranges dominating the region, and includes the highest mountain in the British Isles, Ben Nevis. During the 18th and early 19th centuries the population of the Highlands rose to around 300,000, but from c. 1841 and for the next 160 years, the natural increase in population was exceeded by emigration (mostly to Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and migration to the industrial cities of Scotland and England.) and passim  The area is now one of the most sparsely populated in Europe. At 9.1/km2 (24/sq mi) in 2012, the population density in the Highlands and Islands is less than one seventh of Scotland's as a whole.

 

The Highland Council is the administrative body for much of the Highlands, with its administrative centre at Inverness. However, the Highlands also includes parts of the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Moray, North Ayrshire, Perth and Kinross, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire.

 

The Scottish Highlands is the only area in the British Isles to have the taiga biome as it features concentrated populations of Scots pine forest: see Caledonian Forest. It is the most mountainous part of the United Kingdom.

 

Between the 15th century and the mid-20th century, the area differed from most of the Lowlands in terms of language. In Scottish Gaelic, the region is known as the Gàidhealtachd, because it was traditionally the Gaelic-speaking part of Scotland, although the language is now largely confined to The Hebrides. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably but have different meanings in their respective languages. Scottish English (in its Highland form) is the predominant language of the area today, though Highland English has been influenced by Gaelic speech to a significant extent. Historically, the "Highland line" distinguished the two Scottish cultures. While the Highland line broadly followed the geography of the Grampians in the south, it continued in the north, cutting off the north-eastern areas, that is Eastern Caithness, Orkney and Shetland, from the more Gaelic Highlands and Hebrides.

 

Historically, the major social unit of the Highlands was the clan. Scottish kings, particularly James VI, saw clans as a challenge to their authority; the Highlands was seen by many as a lawless region. The Scots of the Lowlands viewed the Highlanders as backward and more "Irish". The Highlands were seen as the overspill of Gaelic Ireland. They made this distinction by separating Germanic "Scots" English and the Gaelic by renaming it "Erse" a play on Eire. Following the Union of the Crowns, James VI had the military strength to back up any attempts to impose some control. The result was, in 1609, the Statutes of Iona which started the process of integrating clan leaders into Scottish society. The gradual changes continued into the 19th century, as clan chiefs thought of themselves less as patriarchal leaders of their people and more as commercial landlords. The first effect on the clansmen who were their tenants was the change to rents being payable in money rather than in kind. Later, rents were increased as Highland landowners sought to increase their income. This was followed, mostly in the period 1760–1850, by agricultural improvement that often (particularly in the Western Highlands) involved clearance of the population to make way for large scale sheep farms. Displaced tenants were set up in crofting communities in the process. The crofts were intended not to provide all the needs of their occupiers; they were expected to work in other industries such as kelping and fishing. Crofters came to rely substantially on seasonal migrant work, particularly in the Lowlands. This gave impetus to the learning of English, which was seen by many rural Gaelic speakers to be the essential "language of work".

 

Older historiography attributes the collapse of the clan system to the aftermath of the Jacobite risings. This is now thought less influential by historians. Following the Jacobite rising of 1745 the British government enacted a series of laws to try to suppress the clan system, including bans on the bearing of arms and the wearing of tartan, and limitations on the activities of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Most of this legislation was repealed by the end of the 18th century as the Jacobite threat subsided. There was soon a rehabilitation of Highland culture. Tartan was adopted for Highland regiments in the British Army, which poor Highlanders joined in large numbers in the era of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1790–1815). Tartan had largely been abandoned by the ordinary people of the region, but in the 1820s, tartan and the kilt were adopted by members of the social elite, not just in Scotland, but across Europe. The international craze for tartan, and for idealising a romanticised Highlands, was set off by the Ossian cycle, and further popularised by the works of Walter Scott. His "staging" of the visit of King George IV to Scotland in 1822 and the king's wearing of tartan resulted in a massive upsurge in demand for kilts and tartans that could not be met by the Scottish woollen industry. Individual clan tartans were largely designated in this period and they became a major symbol of Scottish identity. This "Highlandism", by which all of Scotland was identified with the culture of the Highlands, was cemented by Queen Victoria's interest in the country, her adoption of Balmoral as a major royal retreat, and her interest in "tartenry".

 

Recurrent famine affected the Highlands for much of its history, with significant instances as late as 1817 in the Eastern Highlands and the early 1850s in the West.  Over the 18th century, the region had developed a trade of black cattle into Lowland markets, and this was balanced by imports of meal into the area. There was a critical reliance on this trade to provide sufficient food, and it is seen as an essential prerequisite for the population growth that started in the 18th century. Most of the Highlands, particularly in the North and West was short of the arable land that was essential for the mixed, run rig based, communal farming that existed before agricultural improvement was introduced into the region.[a] Between the 1760s and the 1830s there was a substantial trade in unlicensed whisky that had been distilled in the Highlands. Lowland distillers (who were not able to avoid the heavy taxation of this product) complained that Highland whisky made up more than half the market. The development of the cattle trade is taken as evidence that the pre-improvement Highlands was not an immutable system, but did exploit the economic opportunities that came its way.  The illicit whisky trade demonstrates the entrepreneurial ability of the peasant classes. 

 

Agricultural improvement reached the Highlands mostly over the period 1760 to 1850. Agricultural advisors, factors, land surveyors and others educated in the thinking of Adam Smith were keen to put into practice the new ideas taught in Scottish universities.  Highland landowners, many of whom were burdened with chronic debts, were generally receptive to the advice they offered and keen to increase the income from their land.  In the East and South the resulting change was similar to that in the Lowlands, with the creation of larger farms with single tenants, enclosure of the old run rig fields, introduction of new crops (such as turnips), land drainage and, as a consequence of all this, eviction, as part of the Highland clearances, of many tenants and cottars. Some of those cleared found employment on the new, larger farms, others moved to the accessible towns of the Lowlands.

 

In the West and North, evicted tenants were usually given tenancies in newly created crofting communities, while their former holdings were converted into large sheep farms. Sheep farmers could pay substantially higher rents than the run rig farmers and were much less prone to falling into arrears. Each croft was limited in size so that the tenants would have to find work elsewhere. The major alternatives were fishing and the kelp industry. Landlords took control of the kelp shores, deducting the wages earned by their tenants from the rent due and retaining the large profits that could be earned at the high prices paid for the processed product during the Napoleonic wars.

 

When the Napoleonic wars finished in 1815, the Highland industries were affected by the return to a peacetime economy. The price of black cattle fell, nearly halving between 1810 and the 1830s. Kelp prices had peaked in 1810, but reduced from £9 a ton in 1823 to £3 13s 4d a ton in 1828. Wool prices were also badly affected.  This worsened the financial problems of debt-encumbered landlords. Then, in 1846, potato blight arrived in the Highlands, wiping out the essential subsistence crop for the overcrowded crofting communities. As the famine struck, the government made clear to landlords that it was their responsibility to provide famine relief for their tenants. The result of the economic downturn had been that a large proportion of Highland estates were sold in the first half of the 19th century. T M Devine points out that in the region most affected by the potato famine, by 1846, 70 per cent of the landowners were new purchasers who had not owned Highland property before 1800. More landlords were obliged to sell due to the cost of famine relief. Those who were protected from the worst of the crisis were those with extensive rental income from sheep farms.  Government loans were made available for drainage works, road building and other improvements and many crofters became temporary migrants – taking work in the Lowlands. When the potato famine ceased in 1856, this established a pattern of more extensive working away from the Highlands.

 

The unequal concentration of land ownership remained an emotional and controversial subject, of enormous importance to the Highland economy, and eventually became a cornerstone of liberal radicalism. The poor crofters were politically powerless, and many of them turned to religion. They embraced the popularly oriented, fervently evangelical Presbyterian revival after 1800. Most joined the breakaway "Free Church" after 1843. This evangelical movement was led by lay preachers who themselves came from the lower strata, and whose preaching was implicitly critical of the established order. The religious change energised the crofters and separated them from the landlords; it helped prepare them for their successful and violent challenge to the landlords in the 1880s through the Highland Land League. Violence erupted, starting on the Isle of Skye, when Highland landlords cleared their lands for sheep and deer parks. It was quietened when the government stepped in, passing the Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act, 1886 to reduce rents, guarantee fixity of tenure, and break up large estates to provide crofts for the homeless. This contrasted with the Irish Land War underway at the same time, where the Irish were intensely politicised through roots in Irish nationalism, while political dimensions were limited. In 1885 three Independent Crofter candidates were elected to Parliament, which listened to their pleas. The results included explicit security for the Scottish smallholders in the "crofting counties"; the legal right to bequeath tenancies to descendants; and the creation of a Crofting Commission. The Crofters as a political movement faded away by 1892, and the Liberal Party gained their votes.

 

Today, the Highlands are the largest of Scotland's whisky producing regions; the relevant area runs from Orkney to the Isle of Arran in the south and includes the northern isles and much of Inner and Outer Hebrides, Argyll, Stirlingshire, Arran, as well as sections of Perthshire and Aberdeenshire. (Other sources treat The Islands, except Islay, as a separate whisky producing region.) This massive area has over 30 distilleries, or 47 when the Islands sub-region is included in the count. According to one source, the top five are The Macallan, Glenfiddich, Aberlour, Glenfarclas and Balvenie. While Speyside is geographically within the Highlands, that region is specified as distinct in terms of whisky productions. Speyside single malt whiskies are produced by about 50 distilleries.

 

According to Visit Scotland, Highlands whisky is "fruity, sweet, spicy, malty". Another review states that Northern Highlands single malt is "sweet and full-bodied", the Eastern Highlands and Southern Highlands whiskies tend to be "lighter in texture" while the distilleries in the Western Highlands produce single malts with a "much peatier influence".

 

The Scottish Reformation achieved partial success in the Highlands. Roman Catholicism remained strong in some areas, owing to remote locations and the efforts of Franciscan missionaries from Ireland, who regularly came to celebrate Mass. There remain significant Catholic strongholds within the Highlands and Islands such as Moidart and Morar on the mainland and South Uist and Barra in the southern Outer Hebrides. The remoteness of the region and the lack of a Gaelic-speaking clergy undermined the missionary efforts of the established church. The later 18th century saw somewhat greater success, owing to the efforts of the SSPCK missionaries and to the disruption of traditional society after the Battle of Culloden in 1746. In the 19th century, the evangelical Free Churches, which were more accepting of Gaelic language and culture, grew rapidly, appealing much more strongly than did the established church.

 

For the most part, however, the Highlands are considered predominantly Protestant, belonging to the Church of Scotland. In contrast to the Catholic southern islands, the northern Outer Hebrides islands (Lewis, Harris and North Uist) have an exceptionally high proportion of their population belonging to the Protestant Free Church of Scotland or the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The Outer Hebrides have been described as the last bastion of Calvinism in Britain and the Sabbath remains widely observed. Inverness and the surrounding area has a majority Protestant population, with most locals belonging to either The Kirk or the Free Church of Scotland. The church maintains a noticeable presence within the area, with church attendance notably higher than in other parts of Scotland. Religion continues to play an important role in Highland culture, with Sabbath observance still widely practised, particularly in the Hebrides.

 

In traditional Scottish geography, the Highlands refers to that part of Scotland north-west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which crosses mainland Scotland in a near-straight line from Helensburgh to Stonehaven. However the flat coastal lands that occupy parts of the counties of Nairnshire, Morayshire, Banffshire and Aberdeenshire are often excluded as they do not share the distinctive geographical and cultural features of the rest of the Highlands. The north-east of Caithness, as well as Orkney and Shetland, are also often excluded from the Highlands, although the Hebrides are usually included. The Highland area, as so defined, differed from the Lowlands in language and tradition, having preserved Gaelic speech and customs centuries after the anglicisation of the latter; this led to a growing perception of a divide, with the cultural distinction between Highlander and Lowlander first noted towards the end of the 14th century. In Aberdeenshire, the boundary between the Highlands and the Lowlands is not well defined. There is a stone beside the A93 road near the village of Dinnet on Royal Deeside which states 'You are now in the Highlands', although there are areas of Highland character to the east of this point.

 

A much wider definition of the Highlands is that used by the Scotch whisky industry. Highland single malts are produced at distilleries north of an imaginary line between Dundee and Greenock, thus including all of Aberdeenshire and Angus.

 

Inverness is regarded as the Capital of the Highlands, although less so in the Highland parts of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Perthshire and Stirlingshire which look more to Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth, and Stirling as their commercial centres.

 

The Highland Council area, created as one of the local government regions of Scotland, has been a unitary council area since 1996. The council area excludes a large area of the southern and eastern Highlands, and the Western Isles, but includes Caithness. Highlands is sometimes used, however, as a name for the council area, as in the former Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service. Northern is also used to refer to the area, as in the former Northern Constabulary. These former bodies both covered the Highland council area and the island council areas of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles.

 

Much of the Highlands area overlaps the Highlands and Islands area. An electoral region called Highlands and Islands is used in elections to the Scottish Parliament: this area includes Orkney and Shetland, as well as the Highland Council local government area, the Western Isles and most of the Argyll and Bute and Moray local government areas. Highlands and Islands has, however, different meanings in different contexts. It means Highland (the local government area), Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles in Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service. Northern, as in Northern Constabulary, refers to the same area as that covered by the fire and rescue service.

 

There have been trackways from the Lowlands to the Highlands since prehistoric times. Many traverse the Mounth, a spur of mountainous land that extends from the higher inland range to the North Sea slightly north of Stonehaven. The most well-known and historically important trackways are the Causey Mounth, Elsick Mounth, Cryne Corse Mounth and Cairnamounth.

 

Although most of the Highlands is geographically on the British mainland, it is somewhat less accessible than the rest of Britain; thus most UK couriers categorise it separately, alongside Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and other offshore islands. They thus charge additional fees for delivery to the Highlands, or exclude the area entirely. While the physical remoteness from the largest population centres inevitably leads to higher transit cost, there is confusion and consternation over the scale of the fees charged and the effectiveness of their communication, and the use of the word Mainland in their justification. Since the charges are often based on postcode areas, many far less remote areas, including some which are traditionally considered part of the lowlands, are also subject to these charges. Royal Mail is the only delivery network bound by a Universal Service Obligation to charge a uniform tariff across the UK. This, however, applies only to mail items and not larger packages which are dealt with by its Parcelforce division.

 

The Highlands lie to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which runs from Arran to Stonehaven. This part of Scotland is largely composed of ancient rocks from the Cambrian and Precambrian periods which were uplifted during the later Caledonian Orogeny. Smaller formations of Lewisian gneiss in the northwest are up to 3 billion years old. The overlying rocks of the Torridon Sandstone form mountains in the Torridon Hills such as Liathach and Beinn Eighe in Wester Ross.

 

These foundations are interspersed with many igneous intrusions of a more recent age, the remnants of which have formed mountain massifs such as the Cairngorms and the Cuillin of Skye. A significant exception to the above are the fossil-bearing beds of Old Red Sandstone found principally along the Moray Firth coast and partially down the Highland Boundary Fault. The Jurassic beds found in isolated locations on Skye and Applecross reflect the complex underlying geology. They are the original source of much North Sea oil. The Great Glen is formed along a transform fault which divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands.

 

The entire region was covered by ice sheets during the Pleistocene ice ages, save perhaps for a few nunataks. The complex geomorphology includes incised valleys and lochs carved by the action of mountain streams and ice, and a topography of irregularly distributed mountains whose summits have similar heights above sea-level, but whose bases depend upon the amount of denudation to which the plateau has been subjected in various places.

Climate

 

The region is much warmer than other areas at similar latitudes (such as Kamchatka in Russia, or Labrador in Canada) because of the Gulf Stream making it cool, damp and temperate. The Köppen climate classification is "Cfb" at low altitudes, then becoming "Cfc", "Dfc" and "ET" at higher altitudes.

 

Places of interest

An Teallach

Aonach Mòr (Nevis Range ski centre)

Arrochar Alps

Balmoral Castle

Balquhidder

Battlefield of Culloden

Beinn Alligin

Beinn Eighe

Ben Cruachan hydro-electric power station

Ben Lomond

Ben Macdui (second highest mountain in Scotland and UK)

Ben Nevis (highest mountain in Scotland and UK)

Cairngorms National Park

Cairngorm Ski centre near Aviemore

Cairngorm Mountains

Caledonian Canal

Cape Wrath

Carrick Castle

Castle Stalker

Castle Tioram

Chanonry Point

Conic Hill

Culloden Moor

Dunadd

Duart Castle

Durness

Eilean Donan

Fingal's Cave (Staffa)

Fort George

Glen Coe

Glen Etive

Glen Kinglas

Glen Lyon

Glen Orchy

Glenshee Ski Centre

Glen Shiel

Glen Spean

Glenfinnan (and its railway station and viaduct)

Grampian Mountains

Hebrides

Highland Folk Museum – The first open-air museum in the UK.

Highland Wildlife Park

Inveraray Castle

Inveraray Jail

Inverness Castle

Inverewe Garden

Iona Abbey

Isle of Staffa

Kilchurn Castle

Kilmartin Glen

Liathach

Lecht Ski Centre

Loch Alsh

Loch Ard

Loch Awe

Loch Assynt

Loch Earn

Loch Etive

Loch Fyne

Loch Goil

Loch Katrine

Loch Leven

Loch Linnhe

Loch Lochy

Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park

Loch Lubnaig

Loch Maree

Loch Morar

Loch Morlich

Loch Ness

Loch Nevis

Loch Rannoch

Loch Tay

Lochranza

Luss

Meall a' Bhuiridh (Glencoe Ski Centre)

Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary at Loch Creran

Rannoch Moor

Red Cuillin

Rest and Be Thankful stretch of A83

River Carron, Wester Ross

River Spey

River Tay

Ross and Cromarty

Smoo Cave

Stob Coire a' Chàirn

Stac Polly

Strathspey Railway

Sutherland

Tor Castle

Torridon Hills

Urquhart Castle

West Highland Line (scenic railway)

West Highland Way (Long-distance footpath)

Wester Ross

Red-footed Booby on Tern Island in the French Frigate Shoals, Hawaii.

 

Camera: Olympus OM-1

Lens: Olympus OM-System S Zuiko MC Auto-Zoom f/4 35-70mm. Yellow filter.

Film: Adox HR-50

Developer: Beerenol (Rainier Beer)

At the Nova laser, located at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, four identical operator consoles interchanged information with the laser’s four subsystems – power conditioning, laser alignment, beam diagnostics and target diagnostics, to precisely control and monitor this complex, electro-optical system. What was at the time the world’s largest and most powerful laser, Nova consisted of hundreds of moveable mirrors, motors, cameras, and mechanical devices which had to be precisely controlled and monitored. Approximately 50 Digital Equipment Corporation LSI-11/23 microcomputers and five VAX 11/780 computers made up the control system. The 50 micros, called front-end processors (FEP), were the system’s chief building blocks. They were connected to nearly 5,000 control devices and sensors. Nova’s control system had four subsystems that corresponded to the four major areas of the laser and a central control system to tie it all together. 1) The power conditioning system regulated the hardware that fired 150 disk amplifiers, 22 rod amplifiers and 42 Faraday rotators in the 10-arm Nova laser. 2) The laser alignment system steered the 10 Nova laser beams along their 250-meter paths. 3) The beam diagnostics system characterized each of the 10 laser chains at key locations measuring beam energy, pulse shape and timing, and positioning of the KDP frequency conversion crystals. 4) The target diagnostics system recorded signals from a wide variety of instruments. This system was flexible enough to accommodate different target designs and changing diagnostic needs. The first Tron movie used the Nova laser for its location shots.

The Boeing Thin Disk Laser system, which integrates a series of high-power industrial lasers to generate one concentrated, high-energy beam, exceeded required thresholds for power and beam quality during a demonstration for the Department of Defense's Robust Electric Laser Initiative (RELI) effort. In this photo, Boeing Thin Disk Laser engineers work with the system's main optical bench.

 

Boeing provides this photo for the public to share. Media interested in high-resolution images for publication should email boeingmedia@boeing.com or visit boeing.mediaroom.com. Users may not manipulate or use this photo in commercial materials, advertisements, emails, products, or promotions without licensed permission from Boeing. If you are interested in using Boeing imagery for commercial purposes, email imagelicensing@boeing.com or visit www.boeingimages.com.

 

鯖ナッツ味噌煮込み。Mackerel simmered in a sauce made from miso and a mixture of various kinds of nut paste.

 

Photographed with OLYMPUS OM-SYSTEM S ZUIKO AUTO-ZOOM 35~70mm 1:3.5-4.5 143233

S135-E-007515 (12 July 2011) --- With his feet secured on a restraint on the space station remote manipulator system's robotic arm or Canadarm2, NASA astronaut Ron Garan, Expedition 28 flight engineer, carries the pump module, which was the focus of one of the primary chores accomplished on a six and a half hour spacewalk on July 12. NASA astronaut Mike Fossum, also a station flight engineer, who shared the spacewalk with Garan, is out of frame. Photo credit: NASA

The Eta Carinae star system does not lack for superlatives. Not only does it contain one of the biggest and brightest stars in our galaxy, weighing at least 90 times the mass of the sun, it is also extremely volatile and is expected to have at least one supernova explosion in the future.

 

As one of the first objects observed by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory after its launch some 15 years ago, this double star system continues to reveal new clues about its nature through the X-rays it generates.

 

Astronomers reported extremely volatile behavior from Eta Carinae in the 19th century, when it became very bright for two decades, outshining nearly every star in the entire sky. This event became known as the “Great Eruption.” Data from modern telescopes reveal that Eta Carinae threw off about ten times the sun’s mass during that time. Surprisingly, the star survived this tumultuous expulsion of material, adding “extremely hardy” to its list of attributes.

 

Today, astronomers are trying to learn more about the two stars in the Eta Carinae system and how they interact with each other. The heavier of the two stars is quickly losing mass through wind streaming away from its surface at over a million miles per hour. While not the giant purge of the Great Eruption, this star is still losing mass at a very high rate that will add up to the sun’s mass in about a millennium.

 

Though smaller than its partner, the companion star in Eta Carinae is also massive, weighing in at about 30 times the mass of the sun. It is losing matter at a rate that is about a hundred times lower than its partner, but still a prodigious weight loss compared to most other stars. The companion star beats the bigger star in wind speed, with its wind clocking in almost ten times faster.

 

When these two speedy and powerful winds collide, they form a bow shock – similar to the sonic boom from a supersonic airplane – that then heats the gas between the stars. The temperature of the gas reaches about ten million degrees, producing X-rays that Chandra detects.

 

The Chandra image of Eta Carinae shows low energy X-rays in red, medium energy X-rays in green, and high energy X-rays in blue. Most of the emission comes from low and high energy X-rays. The blue point source is generated by the colliding winds, and the diffuse blue emission is produced when the material that was purged during the Great Eruption reflects these X-rays. The low energy X-rays further out show where the winds from the two stars, or perhaps material from the Great Eruption, are striking surrounding material. This surrounding material might consist of gas that was ejected before the Great Eruption.

 

An interesting feature of the Eta Carinae system is that the two stars travel around each other along highly elliptical paths during their five-and-a-half-year long orbit. Depending on where each star is on its oval-shaped trajectory, the distance between the two stars changes by a factor of twenty. These oval-shaped trajectories give astronomers a chance to study what happens to the winds from these stars when they collide at different distances from one another.

 

Throughout most of the system's orbit, the X-rays are stronger at the apex, the region where the winds collide head-on. However, when the two stars are at their closest during their orbit (a point that astronomers call “periastron”), the X-ray emission dips unexpectedly.

 

To understand the cause of this dip, astronomers observed Eta Carinae with Chandra at periastron in early 2009. The results provided the first detailed picture of X-ray emission from the colliding winds in Eta Carinae. The study suggests that part of the reason for the dip at periastron is that X-rays from the apex are blocked by the dense wind from the more massive star in Eta Carinae, or perhaps by the surface of the star itself.

 

Another factor responsible for the X-ray dip is that the shock wave appears to be disrupted near periastron, possibly because of faster cooling of the gas due to increased density, and/or a decrease in the strength of the companion star’s wind because of extra ultraviolet radiation from the massive star reaching it. Researchers are hoping that Chandra observations of the latest periastron in August 2014 will help them determine the true explanation.

 

These results were published in the April 1, 2014 issue of The Astrophysical Journal and are available online. The first author of the paper is Kenji Hamaguchi of Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD, and his co-authors are Michael Corcoran of Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC); Christopher Russell of University of Delaware in Newark, DE; A. Pollock from the European Space Agency in Madrid, Spain; Theodore Gull, Mairan Teodoro, and Thomas I. Madura from GSFC; Augusto Damineli from Universidade de Sao Paulo in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Julian Pittard from the University of Leeds in the UK.

 

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, DC. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, controls Chandra's science and flight operations.

 

Image credit: NASA/CXC/GSFC/K.Hamaguchi, et al.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and former Chairman Alan Greenspan talk before the start of the Federal Reserve System's Centennial Commemoration in Washington, D.C., held on December 16, 2013.

The opposite end of TECO Line Streetcar System's celebration of 25 years of the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team on Car #436 features Victor Hedman, bearer of the No. 77 shirt.

The River Tummel (Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Theimheil) is a river in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Water from the Tummel is used in the Tummel hydro-electric power scheme, operated by SSE.

 

As a tributary of the River Tay, the Tummel is included as part of the River Tay Special Area of Conservation. The designation notes the river system's importance for salmon, otters, brook lampreys, river lampreys and sea lampreys.

 

Discharging from Loch Rannoch, it flows east to a point near the Falls of Tummel, where it bends to the southeast, a direction which it maintains until it falls into the River Tay, just below Logierait, after a course of 58 miles (93 km) from its source in Stob Ghabbar (3,565 ft (1,087 m)). Its only considerable affluent is the Garry, 24 miles (39 km) long, an impetuous river which issues from Loch Garry (2.5 mi (4.0 km) and 1,334 ft (407 m) above sea level). Some 2 miles from its outlet from Loch Rannoch the river expands into Dunalastair Water (or Dunalastair Reservoir), a man made loch formed by a weir, part of the Tummel Hydro Electric power scheme. About midway in its course the Tummel expands into Loch Tummel, between which and the confluence with the Garry occur the Pass and Falls of the Tummel, which are rather in the nature of rapids, the descent altogether amounting to 15 ft (4.6 m). Loch Tummel was previously 4.43 km (2.75 mi) long and 39 m (128 ft) deep, but with the construction of the Clunie Dam in 1950, the water level was raised by 4.5 metres, and Loch Tummel is now approximately 11 km (7 mi) long.

 

The scenery throughout this reach is most picturesque, culminating at the point above the eastern extremity of the loch, known as the "Queen's View" (Queen Victoria made the view famous in 1866, although it is said to have been named after Queen Isabel, wife of Robert the Bruce). The chief places of interest on the river are Kinloch Rannoch; Dunalastair, a rocky hill in well-wooded grounds, the embellishment of which was largely due to Alexander Robertson of Struan, the Jacobite and poet, from whom the spot takes its name (the stronghold of Alexander); Foss; Faskally House (beautifully situated on the left bank); Pitlochry; and Ballinluig.

 

The ancient name of the river, in its upper reaches at least, was the Dubhag.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

  

Some background:

The ZSU-37-6 (“ZSU” stands for Zenitnaya Samokhodnaya Ustanovka / Зенитная Самоходная Установка = "anti-aircraft self-propelled mount"), also known as Object 511 during its development phase and later also as “ZSU-37-6 / Лена”, was a prototype for a lightly armored Soviet self-propelled, radar guided anti-aircraft weapon system that was to replace the cannon-armed ZSU-23-4 “Shilka” SPAAG.

The development of the "Shilka" began in 1957 and the vehicle was brought into service in 1965. The ZSU-23-4 was intended for AA defense of military facilities, troops, and mechanized columns on the march. The ZSU-23-4 combined a proven radar system, the non-amphibious chassis based on the GM-575 tracked vehicle, and four 23 mm autocannons. This delivered a highly effective combination of mobility with heavy firepower and considerable accuracy, outclassing all NATO anti-aircraft guns at the time. The system was widely fielded throughout the Warsaw Pact and among other pro-Soviet states. Around 2,500 ZSU-23-4s, of the total 6,500 produced, were exported to 23 countries.

 

The development of a potential successor started in 1970. At the request of the Soviet Ministry of Defense, the KBP Instrument Design Bureau in Tula started work on a new mobile anti-aircraft system as a replacement for the 23mm ZSU-23-4. The project was undertaken to improve on the observed shortcomings of the ZSU-23-4 (short range and no early warning) and to counter new ground attack aircraft in development, such as the A-10 Thunderbolt II, which was designed to be highly resistant to 23 mm cannons.

 

KBP studies demonstrated that a cannon of at least 30 mm caliber was necessary to counter these threats, and that a bigger caliber weapon would offer some more benefits. Firstly, to destroy a given target, such a weapon would only require from a third to a half of the number of shells that the ZSU-23-4’s 23 mm cannon would need. Secondly, comparison tests revealed that firing with an identical mass of 30 mm projectiles instead of 23 mm ammunition at a MiG-17 (or similarly at NATO's Hawker Hunter or Fiat G.91…) flying at 300 m/s would result in a 1.5 times greater kill probability. An increase in the maximum engagement altitude from 2,000 to 4,000 m and higher effectiveness when engaging lightly armored ground targets were also cited as potential benefits.

 

The initial requirements set for the new mobile weapon system were to achieve twice the performance in terms of the ZSU-23-4’s range, altitude and combat effectiveness. Additionally, the system should have a reaction time, from target acquisition to firing, no greater than 10 seconds, so that enemy helicopters that “popped up” from behind covers and launched fire-and-forget weapons at tanks or similar targets could be engaged effectively.

From these specifications KBP developed two schools of thought that proposed different concepts and respective vehicle prototypes: One design team followed the idea of an anti-aircraft complex with mixed cannon and missile armament, which made it effective against both low and high-flying targets but sacrificed short-range firepower. The alternative proposed by another team was a weapon carrier armed only with a heavy gatling-type gun, tailored to counter targets flying at low altitudes, esp. helicopters, filling a similar niche as the ZSU-23-4 and leaving medium to high altitude targets to specialized anti-aircraft missiles. The latter became soon known as “Object 511”.

 

Object 511 was based on the tracked and only lightly armored GM-577 chassis, produced by Minsk Tractor Works (MTZ). It featured six road wheels on each side, a drive sprocket at the rear and three return rollers. The chassis was primarily chosen because it was already in use for other anti-aircraft systems like the 2K11 “Krug” complex and could be taken more or less “off the rack”. A new feature was a hydropneumatic suspension, which was chosen in order to stabilize the chassis as firing platform and also to cope with the considerably higher all-up weight of the vehicle (27 tons vs. the ZSU-23-4’s 19 tons). Other standard equipment of Object 511 included heating, ventilation, navigational equipment, night vision aids, a 1V116 intercom and an external communications system with an R-173 receiver.

 

The hull was - as the entire vehicle - protected from small arms fire (7,62mm) and shell splinters, but not heavily armored. An NBC protection system was integrated into the chassis, as well as an automatic fire suppression system and an automatic gear change. The main engine bay, initially with a 2V-06-2 water-cooled multi-fuel diesel engine with 450 hp (331 kW) was in the rear. It was later replaced by a more powerful variant of the same engine with 510 hp (380 kW).

The driver sat in the front on the left side, with a small gas turbine APU to his right to operate the radar and hydraulic systems independently from the main engine.

Between these hull segments, the chassis carried a horseshoe-shaped turret with full 360° rotation. It was relatively large and covered more than the half of the hull’s roof, because it held the SPAAGs main armament and ammunition supply, the search and tracking radar equipment as well as a crew of two: the commander with a cupola on the right side and the gunner/radar operator on the left side, with the cannon installation and its feeding system between them. In fact, it was so large that Object 511’s engine bay was only accessible when the turret was rotated 90° to the side – unacceptable for an in-service vehicle (which would probably have been based on a bigger chassis), but accepted for the prototype which was rather focused on the turret and its complex weapon and radar systems.

 

Object 511’s centerpiece was the newly-developed Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-37 cannon, a heavy and experimental six-barreled 37mm gatling gun. This air-cooled weapon with electrical ignition was an upscaled version of the naval AO-18 30mm gun, which was part of an automated air defense system for ships, the AK-630 CIWS complex. Unlike most modern American rotary cannons, the GSh-6-37 was gas-operated rather than hydraulically driven, allowing it to "spin up" to maximum rate of fire more quickly. This resulted in more rounds and therefore weight of fire to be placed on target in a short burst, reduced reaction time and allowed hits even in a very small enemy engagement window.

 

The GSh-6-37 itself weighed around 524 kg (1.154 lb), the whole system, including the feed system and a full magazine, weighed 7,493 pounds (3,401 kg). The weapon had a total length of 5.01 m (16’ 7“), its barrels were 2.81 m (9’ 2½”) long. In Object 511’s turret it had an elevation between +80° and -11°, moving at 60°/sec, and a full turret rotation only took 3 seconds. Rate of fire was 4,500 rounds per minute, even though up to 5.500 RPM were theoretically possible and could be cleared with an emergency setting. However, the weapon would typically only fire short bursts of roundabout 50 rounds each, or longer bursts of 1-2 (maximum) seconds to save ammunition and to avoid overheating and damage – initially only to the barrels, but later also to avoid collateral damage from weapon operation itself (see below). Against ground targets and for prolonged, safe fire, the rate of fire could alternatively be limited to 150 RPM.

The GSh-6-37 fired 1.09 kg shells (each 338mm long) at 1,070 m/s (3.500 ft/s), developing a muzzle energy of 624,000 joules. This resulted in an effective range of 6,000 m (19.650 ft) against aerial and 7,000 m (23.0000 ft) against ground targets. Maximum firing range was past 7,160 m (23,490 ft), with the projectiles self-destructing beyond that distance. In a 1 sec. burst, the weapon delivered an impressive weight of fire of almost 100 kg.

The GSh-6-37 was belt-fed, with a closed-circuit magazine to avoid spilling casings all around and hurting friendly troops in the SPAAG’s vicinity. Typical types of ammunition were OFZT (proximity-fused incendiary fragmentation) and BZT (armor-piercing tracer, able to penetrate more than 60 mm of 30° sloped steel armor at 1.000 m/3.275’ distance). Since there was only a single ammunition supply that could not be switched, these rounds were normally loaded in 3:1 ratio—three OFZT, then one BZT, every 10th BZT round marked with a tracer. Especially the fragmentation rounds dealt extensive collateral damage, as the sheer numbers of fragments from detonating shells was sufficient to damage aircraft flying within a 200-meter radius from the impact center. This, coupled with the high density of fire, created a very effective obstacle for aerial targets and ensured a high hit probability even upon a casual and hurried attack.

 

The gun was placed in the turret front’s center, held by a massive mount with hydraulic dampers. The internal ammunition supply in the back of the turret comprised a total of 1.600 rounds, but an additional 800 rounds could be added in an external reserve feed bin, attached to the back of the turret and connected to the internal belt magazine loop through a pair of ports in the turret’s rear, normally used to reload the GSh-6-37.

 

A rotating, electronically scanned E-band (10 kW power) target acquisition radar array was mounted on the rear top of the turret that, when combined with the turret front mounted J-band (150 kW power) mono-pulse tracking radar, its dish antenna hidden under a fiberglass fairing to the right of the main weapon, formed the 1RL144 (NATO: Hot Shot) pulse-Doppler 3D radar system. Alongside, the 1A26 digital computer, a laser rangefinder co-axial to the GSh-6-37, and the 1G30 angle measurement system formed the 1A27 targeting complex.

Object 511’s target acquisition offered a 360-degree field of view, a detection range of around 18 km and could detect targets flying as low as 15 m. The array could be folded down and stowed when in transit, lying flat on the turret’s roof. The tracking radar had a range of 16 km, and a C/D-band IFF system was also fitted. The radar system was highly protected against various types of interference and was able to work properly even if there were mountains on the horizon, regardless of the background. The system made it possible to fire the GSh-6-37 on the move, against targets with a maximum target speed of up to 500 m/s, and it had an impressive reaction time of only 6-8 seconds.

Thanks to its computerized fire control system, the 1A27 was highly automated and reduced the SPAAG’s crew to only three men, making a dedicated radar operator (as on the ZSU-23-4) superfluous and saving internal space in the large but still rather cramped turret.

 

Development of Object 511 and its systems were kicked-off in 1972 but immediately slowed down with the introduction of the 9K33 “Osa” missile system, which seemed to fill the same requirement but with greater missile performance. However, after some considerable debate it was felt that a purely missile-based system would not be as effective at dealing with very low flying attack helicopters attacking at short range with no warning, as had been proven so successful in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. Since the reaction time of a gun system was around 8–10 seconds, compared to approximately 30 seconds for a missile-based system, development of Object 511 was restarted in 1973.

 

A fully functional prototype, now officially dubbed “ZSU-37-6“ to reflect its role and armament and christened “Лена” (Lena, after the Russian river in Siberia), was completed in 1975 at the Ulyanovsk Mechanical Factory, but it took until 1976 that the capricious weapon and the 1A27 radar system had been successfully integrated and made work. System testing and trials were conducted between September 1977 and December 1978 on the Donguzskiy range, where the vehicle was detected by American spy satellites and erroneously identified as a self-propelled artillery system with a fully rotating turret (similar to the American M109), as a potential successor for the SAU-122/2S1 Gvozdika or SAU-152/2S3 Akatsiya SPGs that had been introduced ten years earlier, with a lighter weapon of 100-120mm caliber and an autoloader in the large turret.

 

The tests at Donguzskiy yielded mixed results. While the 1A27 surveillance and acquisition radar complex turned out to be quite effective, the GSh-6-37 remained a constant source of problems. The gun was highly unreliable and afforded a high level of maintenance. Furthermore, it had a massive recoil of 6.250 kp/61 kN when fired (the American 30 mm GAU-8 Avenger “only” had a recoil of 4.082 kp/40 kN). As a result, targets acquired by the 1A27 system were frequently lost after a single burst of fire, so that they had to be tracked anew before the next shot could be placed.

To make matters even words, the GSh-6-37 was noted for its high and often uncomfortable vibration and extreme noise, internally and externally. Pressure shock waves from the gun muzzles made the presence of unprotected personnel in the weapon’s proximity hazardous. The GSh-6-37’s massive vibrations shook the whole vehicle and led to numerous radio and radar system failures, tearing or jamming of maintenance doors and access hatches and the cracking of optical sensors. The effects were so severe that the gun’s impact led after six months to fatigue cracks in the gun mount, the welded turret hull, fuel tanks and other systems. One spectacular and fateful showcase of the gun’s detrimental powers was a transmission failure during a field test/maneuver in summer 1978 – which unfortunately included top military brass spectators and other VIPs, who were consequently not convinced of the ZSU-37-6 and its weapon.

 

The GSh-6-37’s persisting vibration and recoil problems, as well as its general unreliability if it was not immaculately serviced, could not be satisfactorily overcome during the 2 years of state acceptance trials. Furthermore, the large and heavy turret severely hampered Object 511’s off-road performance and handling, due to the high center of gravity and the relatively small chassis, so that the weapon system’s full field potential could not be explored. Had it found its way into a serial production vehicle, it would certainly have been based on a bigger and heavier chassis, e.g. from an MBT. Other novel features tested with Object 511, e.g. the hydropneumatic suspension and the automated 1A27 fire control system, proved to be more successful.

 

However, the troublesome GSh-6-37 temporarily attained new interest in 1979 through the Soviet Union’s engagement in Afghanistan, because it became quickly clear that conventional battle tanks, with long-barreled, large caliber guns and a very limited lift angle were not suited against small targets in mountainous regions and for combat in confined areas like narrow valleys or settlements. The GSh-6-37 appeared as a promising alternative weapon, and plans were made to mount it in a more strongly armored turret onto a T-72 chassis. A wooden mockup turret was built, but the project was not proceeded further with. Nevertheless, the concept of an armored support vehicle with high firepower and alternative armament would persist and lead, in the course of the following years, to a number of prototypes that eventually spawned the BMPT "Terminator" Tank Support Fighting Vehicle.

 

More tests and attempts to cope with the gun mount continued on a limited basis through 1979, but in late 1980 trials and development of Object 511 and the GSh-6-37 were stopped altogether: the 2K22 “Tunguska” SPAAG with mixed armament, developed in parallel, was preferred and officially accepted into service. In its original form, the 2K22 was armed with four 9M311 (NATO: SA-19 “Grison”) short-range missiles in the ready-to-fire position and two 2A38 30mm autocannons, using the same 1A27 radar system as Object 511. The Tunguska entered into limited service from 1984, when the first batteries, now armed with eight missiles, were delivered to the army, and gradually replaced the ZSU-23-4.

 

Having become obsolete, the sole Object 511 prototype was retired in 1981 and mothballed. It is today part of the Military Technical Museum collection at Ivanovskaya, near Moscow, even though not part of the public exhibition and in a rather derelict state, waiting for restoration and eventual display.

  

Specifications:

Crew: Three (commander, gunner, driver)

Weight: about 26,000 kg (57,300 lb)

Length: 7.78 m (25 ft 5 1/2 in) with gun facing forward

6.55 m (21 ft 5 1/2 in) hull only

Width: 3.25 m (10 ft 8 in)

Height: 3.88 m (12 ft 9 in) overall,

2.66 m (8 8 1/2 ft) with search radar stowed

Suspension: Hydropneumatic

Ground clearance: 17–57 cm

Fuel capacity: 760 l (200 US gal, 170 imp gal)

 

Armor:

Unknown, but probably not more than 15 mm (0.6”)

 

Performance:

Speed: 65 km/h (40 mph) maximum on the road

Climbing ability: 0.7 m (2.3')

Maximum climb gradient: 30°

Trench crossing ability: 2.5 m (8.2')

Fording depth: 1.0 m (3.3')

Operational range: 500 km (310 mi)

Power/weight: 24 hp/t

 

Engine:

1× 2V-06-2S water-cooled multi-fuel diesel engine with 510 hp (380 kW)

1× auxiliary DGChM-1 single-shaft gas turbine engine with 70 hp at 6,000 rpm,

connected with a direct-current generator

 

Transmission:

Hydromechanical

 

Armament:

1× GSh-6-37 six-barreled 37mm (1.5 in) Gatling gun with 1.600 rounds,

plus 800 more in an optional, external auxiliary magazine

  

The kit and its assembly:

This fictional SPAAG was intended as a submission to the “Prototypes” group build at whatifmodellers.com in August 2020. Inspiration came from a Trumpeter 1:72 2P25/SA-6 launch platform which I had recently acquired with a kit lot – primarily because of the chassis, which would lend itself for a conversion into “something else”.

 

The idea to build an anti-aircraft tank with a gatling gun came when I did research for my recent YA-14 build and its armament. When checking the American GAU-8 cannon from the A-10 I found that there had been plans to use this weapon for a short-range SPAAG (as a replacement for the US Army’s M163), and there had been plans for even heavier weapons in this role. For instance, there had been the T249 “Vigilante” prototype: This experimental system consisted of a 37 mm T250 six-barrel Gatling gun, mounted on a lengthened M113 armored personnel carrier platform, even though with a very limited ammunition supply, good only for 5 sec. of fire – it was just a conceptual test bed. But: why not create a Soviet counterpart? Even more so, since there is/was the real-world GSh-6-30 gatling gun as a potential weapon, which had, beyond use in the MiG-27, also been used in naval defense systems. Why not use/create an uprated/bigger version, too?

 

From this idea, things evolved in a straightforward fashion. The Trumpeter 2P25 chassis and hull were basically taken OOB, just the front was modified for a single driver position. However, the upper hull had to be changed in order to accept the new, large turret instead of the triple SA-6 launch array.

 

The new turret is a parts combination: The basis comes from a Revell 1:72 M109 howitzer kit, the 155 mm barrel was replaced with a QuickBoost 1:48 resin GSh-6-30 gun for a MiG-27, and a co-axial laser rangefinder (a piece of styrene) was added on a separate mount. Unfortunately, the Revell kit does not feature a movable gun barrel, so I decided to implant a functional joint, so that the model’s weapon could be displayed in raised and low position – primarily for the “action pictures”. The mechanism was scratched from styrene tubes and a piece of foamed plastic as a “brake” that holds the weapon in place and blocks the view into the turret from the front when the weapon is raised high up. The hinge was placed behind the OOB gun mantle, which was cut into two pieces and now works as in real life.

Further mods include the dish antenna for the tracking radar (a former tank wheel), placed on a disc-shaped pedestal onto the turret front’s right side, and the retractable rotating search radar antenna, scratched from various bits and pieces and mounted onto the rear of the turret – its roof had to be cleaned up to make suitable space next to the commander’s cupola.

 

Another challenge was the adaptation of the new turret to the hull, because the original SA-6 launch array has only a relatively small turret ring, and it is placed relatively far ahead on the hull. The new, massive turret had to be mounted further backwards, and the raised engine cowling on the back of the hull did not make things easier.

As a consequence, I had to move the SA-6 launcher ring bearing backwards, through a major surgical intervention in the hull roof (a square section was cut out, shortened, reversed and glued back again into the opening). In order to save the M109’s turret ring for later, I gave it a completely new turret floor and transplanted the small adapter ring from the SA-6 launch array to it. Another problem arose from the bulged engine cover: it had to be replaced with something flat, otherwise the turret would not have fitted. I was lucky to find a suitable donor in the spares box, from a Leopard 1 kit. More complex mods than expected, and thankfully most of the uglier changes are hidden under the huge turret. However, Object 511 looks pretty conclusive and menacing with everything in place, and the weapon is now movable in two axis’. The only flaw is a relatively wide gap between the turret and the hull, due to a step between the combat and engine section and the relatively narrow turret ring.

  

Painting and markings:

AFAIK, most Soviet tank prototypes in the Seventies/Eighties received a simple, uniform olive green livery, but ,while authentic, I found this to look rather boring. Since my “Object 511” would have taken part in military maneuvers, I decided to give it an Eighties Soviet Army three-tone camouflage, which was introduced during the late Eighties. It consisted of a relatively bright olive green, a light and cold bluish grey and black-grey, applied in large patches.

This scheme was also adapted by the late GDR’s Volksarmee (called “Verzerrungsanstrich” = “Distortion scheme”) and maybe – even though I am not certain – this special paint scheme might only have been used by Soviet troops based on GDR soil? However, it’s pretty unique and looks good, so I adapted it for the model.

 

Based upon visual guesstimates from real life pictures and some background info concerning NVA tank paint schemes, the basic colors became Humbrol 86 (Light Olive Green; RAL 6003), Revell 57 (Grey; RAL 7000) and Revell 06 (Tar Black; RAL 9021). Each vehicle had an individual paint scheme, in this case it was based on a real world NVA lorry.

 

On top of the basic colors, a washing with a mix of red brown and black acrylic paint was applied, and immediately dried with a soft cotton cloth so that it only remained in recesses and around edges, simulating dirt and dust. Some additional post-shading with lighter/brighter versions of the basic tones followed.

Decals came next – the Red Stars were a rather dramatic addition and came from the Trumpeter kit’s OOB sheet. The white “511” code on the flanks was created with white 3 mm letters from TL Modellbau.

 

The model received a light overall dry brushing treatment with light grey (Revell 75). As a finishing touch I added some branches as additional camouflage. These are bits of dried moss (collected on the local street), colorized with simple watercolors and attached with white glue. Finally, everything was sealed and stabilized with a coat of acrylic matt varnish and some pigments (a greyish-brown mix of various artist mineral pigments) were dusted into the running gear and onto the lower hull surfaces with a soft brush.

  

An effective kitbashing, and while mounting the different turret to the hull looks simple, the integration of unrelated hull and turret so that they actually fit and “work” was a rather fiddly task, and it’s effectively not obvious at all (which is good but “hides” the labour pains related to the mods). However, the result looks IMHO good, like a beefed-up ZSU-23-4 “Schilka”, just what this fictional tank model is supposed to depict.

At the corner of Hay and George a work team puts the finishing touches on laying the conduit which will carry the system's communications systems, power and utilities. (The purple pipe will carry water).

Warehouse and debris falling into the ocean as the shoreline erodes on Tern Island in the French Frigate Shoals, Hawaii.

 

Camera: Olympus OM-1

Lens: Olympus OM-System S Zuiko MC Auto-Zoom f/4 35-70mm. Yellow.

Film: Ferrania P30

Developer: Rodinal 1:50

Welcome to Wednesday, one and all. The Xmas week is disappearing rapidly in the rear view mirror of life and everyone's bracing a shoulder against the start of the new year and all the change it promises. If you're visiting the south coast of NSW this summer, I hope you manage to get down to the beach for a couple of sunrises while you're here - there's really nothing like them. Should you visit Seven Mile Beach before our planet's rotation orients this solar system's star above the horizon you can enjoy views like this. If you're lucky you'll also see dolphins, sea eagles and out-of-shape joggers trying to make good on a new years resolution. Hell, you might even see me! Imagine how amazing that would be!!!! Alright team, on with your day, and remember never, ever make eye contact while eating a banana :)

 

Like it? Put it on your wall - shop.andyhutchinson.com.au/p682521297

 

Find all previous Photos of the Day in the archive - shop.andyhutchinson.com.au/f892423141

 

Just want to buy me a coffee? ko-fi.com/A622C34

Potent storm system ushers in strong winds to San Jose, CA. High wind warnings were in effect for many Bay Area locations. This is one of the strongest southerly winds I've seen since at least 2010. Talk about so many storms this month! This was storm #3, the last storm of this 2nd storm series/'atmospheric river' event this month...

 

This stormy period was forecast to occur in a time period of January 18-23, 2017. An atmospheric river had already drenched the state earlier this month. A series of 3 strong storms were set to sweep across the state beginning Wednesday and continuing thru next Monday, dropping widespread heavy rainfall and bringing strong gusty southerly winds to nearly the entire state...

 

(Footage filmed early Sunday morning, January 22, 2017)

 

Weather scenario/forecast:

Bay Area residents were bracing for the worst and most powerful storm of this storm series... As the Bay Area endures its wettest January in 15 years, another potent winter storm with significant rainfall and high winds was expected to hit the region late Saturday night into early Sunday. The system's strong cold front was to push thru the area in the time period, resulting in strong to very strong southerly winds ahead of and along with the frontal passage. Wind speeds in excess of 40-50 mph were possible with gusts likely exceeding 60+ mph! The strongest winds were likely to be along the coast and in higher elevations. However, the strong winds were felt throughout the entire Bay Area. By Sunday, spotty showers were in the forecast across the region that can later develop into thunderstorms in the afternoon. The spotty showers and t-storms were to persist into Monday, eventually drying out by Tuesday or so.

The Times Square Tower (7 Times Square), by David David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, was the last of the four 42nd Street redevelopment towers to be completed in June 2004. At 47-stories (221.5m) it also ended up being the tallest. Arthur Andersen was originally supposed to be the anchor tenant, but backed out after the Enron Scandal.

 

Like the neighboring 5 Times Square, the all-plot building was a tight fit, surrounded on three sides by subway lines, inlcuding station platofmrs and an entrance for the system's busiest station further complicating excavation and construction. As a concession, the foundations were made with minicaissons into the bedroom, and larger ones underneath the corners. Century-old foundation footings underneath the subway station were incorporated where possible.

 

The Tower benefits from special zoning, resulting in uniform floor sizes and panoramic views from every floor. The diagonally braced perimeter frame supports lateral loads and allows wider spacing on the facade columns. Solid bands in the facade contain thin diagonal lines, and a series of slightly accentuated "zig zgs" from the base of the tower to its roof enhance the building's verticality. A four-story advertising sign is attached to its midsection.

 

Bobak Ferdowsi, a system's engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, speaks with a member of "invenTeam" at the White House Science Fair. Olivia Van Amsterdam, 16, Katelyn Sweeney, 17, and their team of student engineers from Natick, MA, invented a 120 lb remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that can help search-and-rescue dive teams search for bodies in dangerous, icy waters. The fourth White House Science Fair was held at the White House and included 100 students from more than 30 different states who competed in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) competitions. (Photo Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

On Saturday, October 7, more than 1,700 of Rochester Regional Health’s friends and employees gathered at the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center for the system’s signature celebration.

At the corner of Hay and George a work team puts the finishing touches on laying the conduit which will carry the system's communications systems, power and utilities. (The purple pipe will carry water).

BAe System's Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 (ZJ938) IPA6 (Lev_67) on finals at Warton Aerodrome,

The London underground system doesn't extend much into the suburbs south of the river. Forty years ago, before the construction of the Victoria and Jubilee lines, this was even truer than it is today. In South London the underground's niche in the transport eco-system is filled by the suburban services of the surface railways. While the railways were still a state-owned enterprise this meant the Southern Region of British Railways.

More wonderful to me than the better-known map (strictly speaking a topological diagram) of the underground system, was this representation of the South London suburban system which used to be given away with every copy of the Southern Region timetable. Such was the system's vastness in route miles and intensity of use, that the timetable appeared in three volumes, for the Southwestern, Central and Southeastern Divisions. When I was younger I must have spent hours at a stretch looking at this map. There was something peculiarly satisfying in its graceful angles, curves, confluences and bifurcations. It is dated ("correct at time of going to press") 20th January 1966.

Naturally I made pilgrimages to that tarnished jewel in the system's crown, Clapham Junction, where, in the toneless honks and incandescent electrical flashes of the ceaselessly passing trains, all the mysterious poetry of the metropolitan suburbs seemed distilled. I am out of touch these days and I'm not sure what changes have taken place. I know for a cert ...because I tried to travel on it a few years ago... that there is no longer a service from London Bridge to Victoria. Something tells me that the Wimbledon - Croydon service is now operated as a tramway. And isn't there something called Crosslink, or whatever it is, which somehow continues north beyond Holborn Viaduct and comes out in North London?

26/9/2015 Langford CrossingBritish Rail Class 365

British Rail Class 365 Networker Express

The standard class interior of a pre-refurbishment First Capital Connect Class 365

In service1995 - Current

ManufacturerABB York

Family nameNetworker

Constructed1994 - 1995[1]

Refurbishment2007 - ? (Hornsey Depot)

Whole fleet re-liveried from NSE to First Capital Connect in 2006 - 2007.

Second refurbishment: 2013-2016 (Ilford Depot)

Number built41 trainsets

Number in service40 trainsets

(one was written off in the Potters Bar rail crash in 2002)

Formation4 cars per trainset

Fleet numbers365501 - 365541

Operator(s)GTR (Great Northern)

Specifications

Car length20.89 m (68 ft 6 in) (DMCO)

20.06 m (65 ft 10 in) (Other vehicles)

Width2.81 m (9 ft 3 in)[1]

Height3.77 m (12 ft 4 in)

Maximum speed100 mph (161 km/h)[1]

Weight151.62 t (149.23 long tons; 167.13 short tons)

Power output1,256 kW (1,684 hp)

Electric system(s)25 kV AC Overhead

750 V DC Contact shoe (removed)

Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)

The British Rail Class 365 "Networker Express" are dual-voltage (25 kV AC and 750 V DC) electric multiple units built by ABB at York, from 1994 to 1995. These were the last units to be built at the York factory before its closure. All Class 365 units in service have received front-end cab modifications to equip them with cab air conditioning, installed by WAGN, the design of which has given them the nickname "Happy Train".

 

Class 365 with original front end

In the early 1990s, the Networker family was entering large-scale service in the Network SouthEast sector - both third-rail EMUs (Class 465/466) and DMUs (Class 165/166) were in service, with proposals for others, including a so-called "Universal Networker", intended as Class 371 and 381, that would have dual-voltage capability. However, by 1992, no work had been done in the development of these due to a lack of funding, so a replacement plan was required. For this, the Class 465 was modified for longer-distance services - a prototype was converted from an existing unit (designated as Class 465/3) to determine suitability, before funding was authorised for the purchase of 41 dual-voltage EMUs, each of four cars. These became the Class 365.[3][4][5]

 

Description[edit]

Although specified as a dual-voltage unit, Class 365s have never operated with this capability since they were built with only one system of traction current pickup. Units 365501 to 365516, which worked briefly for Network SouthEast before the franchise was given to Connex South Eastern, were originally supplied only with DC shoe gear for use on the 750 V third-rail system[6] (with the exception of unit 365502, which ran briefly on the AC network during testing and commissioning and was the main reason for this unit being chosen as the one subleased from Connex South Eastern to WAGN to bolster unit availability in the aftermath of the Potters Bar Crash in 2002). In this configuration the maximum speed was 90 mph (145 km/h).[7]

 

When they transferred to West Anglia Great Northern for use with 25 kV AC overhead line traction supply, the shoes and associated equipment were removed and a Brecknell Willis high speed pantograph was installed, along with other operator and voltage-specific modifications and testing by Bombardier Transportation at its Doncaster Works, shortly before the works were closed.

 

However, the 365s retain the original 750 V DC bus, meaning that when on 25 kV overhead lines the current is collected as AC, rectified to DC for the onboard systems, and then inverted back to AC for the 3-phase traction motors. For running on overhead lines the maximum speed was raised to 100 mph (161 km/h).

 

Basic equipment consists of;

 

DMOC A - 4x 3-phase AC traction motors, traction inverter, sander

TOSL - Compressor, auxiliary converter, disabled toilet

PTOSL - Pantograph, transformer, auxiliary converter, small toilet

DMOC B - 4x 3-phase AC traction motors, traction inverter, sander

Dynamic (rheostatic) braking on the two Driving Motor coaches is available in addition to disc brakes, via a system of brake blending.

 

In common with the whole Networker fleet, wheel slide protection (WSP) operates on every axle. Under braking conditions a blowdown valve releases air from the brake cylinder of any axle if the rotational speed varies significantly from the average axle speed on the train.

 

Internal LED Passenger Information Display Systems (PIDS) and Auto-Announcers are fitted across the entire fleet.

 

Current operations[edit]

GTR (Great Northern)[edit]

 

Class 365, No. 365530 arriving at Cambridge on 15 May 2004, with a service from King's Lynn. This unit is operated by Great Northern and has a modified front end with cab air conditioning. It is shown still painted in obsolete Network SouthEast livery.

Great Northern, which took over the service formerly operated by First Capital Connect until 14 September 2014, and previously WAGN until 1 April 2006, uses Class 365s on outer-suburban services from King's Cross. These services are shared with older Class 317 and Class 321 units, although 365s are seen more frequently. Services generally fall into two categories:

 

King's Cross to Peterborough

King's Cross to Cambridge and on to King's Lynn

These services usually stop more frequently than the East Coast expresses with which they share the southern section of the East Coast Main Line, although there are exceptions, notably the non-stop services to Cambridge (many of which go on to King's Lynn), operated almost solely by Class 365 units.

  

First Capital Connect 365538 rolls into Cambridge on a service from London Kings Cross.

All 40 units in service have received an interior refresh by FCC. This involved retrimming the carpet, dado panels and seat moquette, and the two toilets were repainted. Externally these units are all in FCC livery, with the exception of four units carrying WAGN's special advertising liveries.

 

Starting from January 2014, the first trains in the fleet will undergo a refurbishment by Bombardier Transportation at their Ilford site, some of which will be completed on a two-part basis with a second stage starting from the summer of 2014.[8] The first unit to be put back into service is 365 517, which began operations on 16 January 2014.[8] The initial refurbishment comprises new seat upholstery, new flooring, interior and exterior repaint and an engineering overhaul to maintain reliability.[8]

 

The second stage of upgrades will bring the units in line with the latest disability regulations by installing two wheelchair bays, new external door buttons and vestibule grab handles, a new wheelchair-accessible toilet, a new fully automated passenger information system with audio and visual announcements, and a call-for-aid in the wheelchair and toilet areas. This will be retrofitted to units that have already undergone refurbishment prior to the start of works.[8] Work is due to be completed in Autumn 2016.[9]

  

Minnehaha Falls

 

Minnehaha Falls is located near the confluence of Minnehaha Creek and the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The creek starts its journey to the Mississippi at Lake Minnetonka. Including Lake Minnetonka, the Minnehaha Creek watershed covers 181 square miles, winding its way through several west suburban communities for 22 miles before it falls over the 53 foot ledge at Minnehaha Falls and then enters the Mississippi. The falls are rich in geologic and human history.

 

Minnehaha Falls are only about 10,000 years old (very young in geological time). St. Anthony Falls on the Mississippi River, which have now eroded to a point about six miles upriver in downtown Minneapolis, used to be downstream of the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnehaha Creek.

 

The events that led up to the way the falls look today are complex, but a simple explanation is that when St. Anthony Falls reached and passed Minnehaha creek, a new waterfall formed on the creek, and the force of the water altered the route of the creek and the river. The part of Minnehaha Creek between the falls and the Mississippi began to flow through the old Mississippi river bed, and the Mississippi cut a new course.

 

Erosion within the last century has resulted in a waterfall that is fairly narrowly channeled and vigorous, especially after a heavy rain or during spring runoff. Photographs of the falls from the 1800's and early 1900's show a much wider, curtain-like character to the falls. When the falls are dry, the older, much-broader ledge can be seen.

 

The falls are ever-changing; sometimes just a trickle, sometimes a torrent. A plaque in the park explains that during a drought in 1964 when Lyndon Johnson and Hubert Humphrey paid a visit to the park, the city had to open up several fire hydrants upstream on Minnehaha Creek to increase water flow over the falls and ensure a good photo op.

 

The falls area has long been an important site to the native Dakota people. "Minnehaha" means "falling water" or "curling water" in Dakota, not "laughing water" as it is often translated. The "laughing water" translation erroneously came from Mary Eastman's book "Dacotah", published in 1849. The name comes from the Dakota language elements "mni", meaning water, and "ȟaȟa", meaning waterfall. The Dakota called Minnehaha Creek "wakpa cistinna", meaning "little river".

 

White settlers discovered the falls around 1820, not long after arriving in Minnesota. The site of Minnehaha Falls is only a couple of miles from Fort Snelling, one of the first places in the region inhabited by white Europeans. On the Fort map of 1823, the falls were named "Brown's Falls" in honor of United States Army commander Jacob Brown, who had been commander-in-chief of the army since 1814.

 

The American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow made the falls famous in "The Song of Hiawatha" (1855), a poem based on Indian legend. A Jakob Fjelde sculpture of the Indian leader Hiawatha and his wife stands on an island in the creek, a short way above the falls. The falls began to become a tourist destination after the publication of the poem. Though Longfellow never visited the falls himself, he was reportedly inspired by the stories of Mary Eastman and Henry Rowe Schoolcraft and images of the falls.

 

Minnehaha Park

 

Beginning in 1885, the Minnesota State Legislature began acquiring the land to become the first Minnesota State Park, but in 1889 it was turned over to the city of Minneapolis for a city park. Park visitors could fish, swim, picnic, and visit the Longfellow Zoological Gardens. The park also featured a carnival, horse-racing and a campground through the 1930s.

 

Today, the park is part of the National Park System's Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. It is basically divided into two main portions; an upper section above the falls which is kept trimmed and maintained like many other city parks, and the lower section which is largely left in a natural state, with trails following the creek down to the Mississippi.

 

There are WPA-built stairways and retaining walls along the edges of the glen and creek bed. The park has picnic areas for large or small gatherings, a playground, and an off-leash dog park. A bike rental company operates at the falls in the summer months.

 

The Pergola Garden overlooks the falls and is a popular wedding location. There is a seafood restaurant and a bandstand at the park at the old picnic pavilion, both open in the summer. The park also boasts several historic buildings including the Minnehaha Depot (AKA "the Princess Depot") built in 1875, and sculptures including the Hiawatha sculpture mentioned above and a mask of Chief Little Crow who was murdered after the 1862 Dakota conflict. The location of the statue is in an area sacred to Native Americans.

 

If you ever get to the Minneapolis area, Minnehaha Park is a "must see" destination!

 

The above information was obtained and paraphrased from several online sources including WIkipedia, Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis: The Complete Guide and the former AllExperts website.

  

From Wikipedia...

 

The MV Kalakala (pronounced kah-lah-kah-lah)[1] was a ferry that operated on Puget Sound from 1935 until her retirement in 1967.

 

Kalakala was notable for her unique streamlined superstructure, art deco styling, and luxurious amenities. The vessel was a popular attraction for locals and tourists, and was voted second only to the Space Needle in popularity among visitors to Seattle during the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. The ship is known as the world's first streamlined vessel for its unique art deco styling..

 

She was constructed in 1926 as Peralta for the Key System's ferry service on San Francisco Bay. On 6 May 1933 Peralta burned as a result of an arson fire at the terminal where she was moored, resulting in the complete destruction of her superstructure. The hull was still intact and on 12 October 1933 the vessel was sold to the Puget Sound Navigation Company (PSNC), also known by its marketing name, the "Black Ball Line". PSNC funded a refit to restore the vessel as a ferry.

 

In November 1934, William Thorniley, publicist for PSNC and president of the Olympic Peninsula Travel Association, named the new ferry Kalakala, which was said to mean "bird" in the Pacific Northwest Native American trade language Chinook Jargon.[3][4][5][6] Thorniley launched a national promotional campaign beginning with large billboard signs that simply said "KALAKALA!" Later, they said "KALAKALA, Seattle, WA" and featured a picture of the vessel as well.

 

The new bridge and wheelhouse were built entirely out of copper, from fear that the steel used in the rest of the vessel would interfere with the ship's compass.[7] Set back from her streamlined superstructure for aesthetics, it was impossible to see the bow of the vessel from the bridge. As visibility also depended on round portholes rather than a fully-glazed wheelhouse, she was known for being difficult to handle when docking.

 

Kalakala was well known for a heavy shaking vibration that ran throughout the vessel when in operation. This was probably due to poor alignment of the engines in the original construction of the vessel. When the propeller was replaced with a new 5-bladed version in 1956, the vibration was reduced by 40%.[8] Although the company wished the vessel to be known as the Silver Swan, the vessel soon attracted other, less complementary nicknames, including the Silver Slug, Silver Beetle, Galloping Ghost of the Pacific Coast, and, among Seattle's Scandinavian community, Kackerlacka, which means "cockroach"

 

In February 1946, Kalakala was issued Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license #001 for the first commercial radar syste

 

The Kalakala moored at Hylebos Waterway in Tacoma, Washington in November 2007.

 

After her retirement in 1967, the vessel was sold to a seafood processing company and towed to Alaska to work as a factory ship. After working as a crabbing ship for a couple of years, the Kalakala was beached in Kodiak, Alaska in 1970 and used to process shrimp.

 

Peter Bevis discovered the rusting hulk on a fishing trip in 1984. The Kalakala had been turned into a cannery and the internal structure had been reworked to create a building with cement floors, drywall, and ceiling tiles. After complicated financial negotiations and hard work, they managed to refloat her and tow her back to Seattle in 1998. The vessel has since been a source of controversy as her owners were unable to raise sufficient funds to refurbish the vessel or even to keep her moored in Seattle's Union Bay.

 

The vessel was sold in 2004 to a private investor, who moved her to an anchorage in Neah Bay provided by the Makah people. Soon after arriving at Neah Bay the Kalakala was evicted by the Makah, who also brought a lawsuit against the owners. The vessel has since been relocated to Tacoma, Washington.

 

In February 2008, Kalakala owner Steve Rodrigues announced his intention to acquire additional vintage ferry vessels and to restore them and the Kalakala as either ferries powered by wind and solar technologies or as museums. The Kalakala was scheduled for work on its hull and superstructure in dry dock in 2010,[11] but this never happened. After six years in Tacoma, the Kalakala began listing, and officials worried of environmental damage the ferry might pose.[12] The state had also passed a state law focusing on the removal of abandoned and/or neglected vessels in Washington state waterways so pressure is being applied to the owner to do something with the Kalakala.

 

Artistic projects

 

Several art projects arose from their fascination with the Kalakala, including a full-length album of solo cello compositions recorded onboard the vessel in November 2003, called "Songs From a Parallel Universe." There is also an as-yet unreleased film, also filmed on the Kalakala, about the "Ghost Dance."

 

There was also a live concert featuring the Icelandic band múm, Serena Tideman and Eyvind Kang, on board the Kalakala.

 

A temporary "pirate radio" station broadcasting from the Kalakala is featured in the 2005 documentary film "Pirate Radio."

 

Regionalbahn Kassel hybrid tram-train 753 is a RegioCitadis type and was built by Alstom in 2005. It can run on the tramway system's electric supply or its own diesel engine on RegioTram routes. It is seen at Rathaus on 17 September 2007.

GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT

PROGRAM GRANT AWARDS

  

CHARLESTON -- Governor Earl Ray Tomblin today, June 29, 2016, awarded $1,087,599.00 in STOP Violence Against Women Grant Program funds for twenty-eight (28) projects statewide. The purpose of these funds is to establish or enhance teams whose core members include victim service providers, law enforcement, and prosecution to improve the criminal justice system's response to violence against women. Grants provide personnel, equipment, training, technical assistance, and information systems for the establishment or enhancement of these teams. Additionally, statewide projects are funded to provide training and educational opportunities for all victim service providers, law enforcement, prosecution, and court personnel throughout the state.

STOP funds are awarded from the Office on Violence Against Women, Office of the U.S. Department of Justice. The funds are administered by the Division of Justice and Community Services.

Funds were awarded to the following:

CABELL

 

Branches Domestic Violence Shelter, Inc.$55,446.00

These funds provide for the enhancement and the continuation of the Cabell County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Cabell County Prosecutor's Office, Branches Domestic Violence Shelter, CONTACT of Huntington, and the Huntington Police Department.

 

Contact:Ms. Amanda McComas

Phone: (304) 529-2382

Email: mccomas@branchesdvs.org

 

CALHOUN

 

Family Crisis Intervention Center$19,799.00

These funds provide for the enhancement and the continuation of the Calhoun County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Calhoun County Prosecutor's Office, the Family Crisis Intervention Center, and the Calhoun County Sheriff's Department.

 

Contact:Ms Emly S. Larkins

Phone: (304) 428-2333

Email: eelarkins@suddenlink.net

 

FAYETTE

 

Comprehensive Women's Service Council$32,671.00

These funds provide for the enhancement and the continuation of the Fayette County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Fayette County Prosecutor's Office, the Comprehensive Women’s Service Council, and the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department.

 

Contact:Ms. Patricia M. Bailey

Phone: (304) 255-2559

Email: Pbailey@wrcwv.org

 

GRANT

 

Family Crisis Center, Inc.$17,683.00

These funds provide for the enhancement and the continuation of the Grant County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Grant County Prosecutor’s Office, the Family Crisis Center, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Department.

 

Contact:Ms. Sony Fazzalore

Phone: (304) 788-6061

Email: fcc911@frontier.com

 

GREENBRIER

 

Family Refuge Center$53,040.00

These funds provide for the enhancement and the continuation of the Greenbrier County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Greenbrier County Prosecutor's Office, the Family Refuge Center, the Lewisburg Police Department, and the Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Department.

  

Contact:Ms. Kenosha Davenport

Phone: (304) 645-6334

Email: kenoshad@familyrefugecenter.org

 

HARRISON

 

Task Force on Domestic Violence, "HOPE, Inc."$43,176.00

These funds provide for the enhancement and the continuation of the Harrison County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Harrison County Prosecutor's Office, the Task Force on Domestic Violence “HOPE, Inc.”, the Bridgeport Police Department and the Clarksburg Police Department.

 

Contact:Ms. Harriet Sutton

Phone: (304) 367-1100

Email: hmsutton@hopeincwv.org

 

KANAWHA

 

Kanawha County Commission$46,429.00

These funds provide for the enhancement and the continuation of the Kanawha County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Kanawha County Prosecutor's Office, the YWCA Resolve Family Abuse Program, the Family Counseling Connection – REACH Program, Beginning My Empowerment Thru Emmanuel's Kingdom (BEMEEK) Outreach Program, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department, and the Charleston Police Department.

 

Contact:Ms. Gale A. Teare

Phone: (304) 357-0499

Email: galeteare@kcso.us

 

MARION

 

Task Force on Domestic Violence, "HOPE, Inc."$51,078.00

These funds provide for the enhancement and the continuation of the Marion County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Marion County Prosecutor's Office, the Task Force on Domestic Violence, "HOPE, Inc.", the Marion County Sheriff's Department, and the Fairmont Police Department.

  

Contact:Ms. Harriet Sutton

Phone: (304) 367-1100

Email: hmsutton@hopeincwv.org

  

MARSHALL

 

Marshall County Commission$25,259.00

These funds provide for the enhancement and the continuation of the Marshall County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Marshall County Prosecutor's Office, the YWCA Family Violence Prevention Program, and the Marshall County Sheriff's Department.

 

Contact:Ms. Betsy Frohnapfel

Phone: (304) 845-0482

Email: bfrohnapfel@marshallcountywv.org

 

MINERAL

 

Family Crisis Center, Inc.$17,683.00

These funds provide for the enhancement and the continuation of the Mineral County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Mineral County Prosecutor's Office, the Family Crisis Center, and the Mineral County Sheriff’s Department.

 

Contact:Ms. Sonya Fazzalore

Phone: (304) 788-6061

Email: fcc911@frontier.com

 

MINGO

 

Tug Valley Recovery Shelter, Inc.$43,576.00

These funds provide for the enhancement and the continuation of the Mingo County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Mingo County Prosecutor's Office, the Tug Valley Recovery Shelter, and the Mingo County Sheriff's Department.

 

Contact:Ms. Kim Ryan

Phone: (304) 235-6121

Email: k.s.ryan@hotmail.com

 

MINGO, LOGAN

 

Tug Valley Recovery Shelter, Inc.$32,596.00

These funds provide for the enhancement and the continuation of the Logan County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Logan County Prosecutor's Office, the Tug Valley Recovery Shelter, and the Logan County Sheriff’s Department.

 

Contact:Ms. Kim Ryan

Phone: (304) 235-6121

Email: k.s.ryan@hotmail.com

MONONGALIA

 

The Rape & Domestic Violence Information Center, Inc.$54,599.00

These funds provide for the enhancement and the continuation of the Monongalia County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Monongalia County Prosecutor's Office, the Rape and Domestic Violence Information Center, the Morgantown Police Department, the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department, and the Star City Police Department.

 

Contact:Ms. Judy King

Phone: (304) 292-5100

Email: rdvic99@earthlink.net

 

Monroe

 

Family Refuge Center$23,825.00

These funds provide for the enhancement and the continuation of the Monroe County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Monroe County Prosecutor's Office, the Family Refuge Center, and the Monroe County Sheriff's Department.

 

Contact:Ms. Kenosha Davenport

Phone: (304) 645-6334

Email: kenoshad@familyresourcecenter.org

 

NICHOLAS

 

Comprehensive Women's Service Council$36,904.00

These funds provide for the enhancement and the continuation of the Nicholas County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Nicholas County Prosecutor's Office, the Comprehensive Women’s Service Council and the Nicholas County Sheriff's Department.

 

Contact:Ms. Patricia M. Bailey

Phone: (304) 255-2559

Email: pbailey@wrcwv.org

 

OHIO

 

Ohio County Commission$87,614.00

These funds provide for the enhancement and the continuation of the Ohio County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Ohio County Prosecutor's Office, the YWCA Family Violence Prevention Program, the YWCA Cultural Diversity and Community Outreach Program, and the Ohio County Sheriff’s Department.

 

Contact:Mr. Scott R. Smith

Phone: (304) 234-3631

Email: ssmith@wvocpa.org

 

POCAHONTAS

 

Family Refuge Center $6,000.00

These funds provide for the enhancement of the Pocahontas County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Pocahontas County Prosecutor’s Office, the Family Refuge Center and the Pocahontas County Sheriff’s Department.

 

Contact:Ms. Kenosha Davenport

Phone: (304) 645-6334

Email: kenoshad@familyrefugecenter.org

 

PRESTON

 

The Rape & Domestic Violence Information Center, Inc.$35,643.00

These funds provide for the enhancement and the continuation of the Preston County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Preston County Prosecutor's Office, the Rape and Domestic Violence Information Center, and the Preston County Sheriff's Department.

 

Contact:Ms. Judy King

Phone: (304) 292-5100

Email: rdvic99@earthlink.net

 

PUTNAM

 

Putnam County Commission$25,421.00

These funds provide for the enhancement and the continuation of the Putnam County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Putnam County Prosecutor's Office, Branches Domestic Violence Shelter, the Family Counseling Connection - REACH Program, and the Putnam County Sheriff's Department.

 

Contact:Sheriff Steve Deweese

Phone: (304) 586-0256

Email: tcraigo@putnamwv.org

 

RALEIGH

 

Comprehensive Women's Service Council$60,535.00

These funds provide for the enhancement and the continuation of the Raleigh County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Raleigh County Prosecutor's Office, the Comprehensive Women’s Service Council, and the Beckley Police Department.

 

Contact:Ms. Patricia M. Bailey

Phone: (304) 255-2559

Email: pbailey@wrcwv.org

 

RANDOLPH

 

Women's Aid in Crisis$16,767.00

These funds provide for the enhancement and the continuation of the Randolph County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Randolph County Prosecutor's Office, Women's Aid in Crisis, and the Randolph County Sheriff’s Department.

 

Contact:Ms. Marcia R. Drake

Phone: (304) 626-8433

Email: mdrake@waicwv.org

 

ROANE

 

Family Crisis Intervention Center$17,398.00

These funds provide for the enhancement and the continuation of the Roane County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Roane County Prosecutor's Office, the Family Crisis Intervention Center, the Spencer Police Department, and the Roane County Sheriff's Department.

 

Contact:Ms. Emily S. Larkins

Phone: (304) 428-2333

Email: eelarkins@suddenlink.net

 

UPSHUR

 

Upshur County Commission$26,496.00

These funds provide for the enhancement and the continuation of the Upshur County STOP Team to improve the criminal justice system's response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. The core Team includes the Upshur County Prosecutor's Office, Women's Aid in Crisis, and the Buckhannon Police Department.

  

Contact:Mr. David E. Godwin

Phone: (304) 472-9699

Email: degodwin@upshurcounty.org

  

STATEWIDE

 

West Virginia Prosecuting Attorneys Institute$39,284.00

These funds provide for the development and continuation of strengthening prosecution strategies and best practices as well as improve prosecution-based victim services in cases involving violence against women through training and the development of resources.

 

Contact:Ms. Sherry Eling

Phone: (304) 558-3348

Email: sherry.s.eling@wv.gov

 

West Virginia Foundation for Rape Information and Services$56,689.00

These funds provide for finalizing the development of an Advocate Guide and Protocol with participating correctional facilities in the state for service provision; convert training materials into e-learning resources; and work with Rape Crisis Centers on service implementation in order to work towards compliance with PREA requirements.

 

Contact:Ms. Nancy Hoffman

Phone: (304) 366-9500

Email: wvfris@frontier.com

 

West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals$54,104.00

These funds provide for updating and printing the Domestic Violence Benchbook; to provide the salary of a DV Case Coordinator for the pilot program of the Kanawha County Domestic Violence Court; to maintain the Domestic Violence Registry back-up internet site; and to provide continued training for court personnel in the area of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence.

 

Contact:Ms. Angela Saunders

Phone: (304) 558-0145

Email: Angela.saunders@courtswv.gov

 

West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence$43,763.00

These funds provide for the continued enhancement of the statewide domestic and sexual violence database; to provide training and technical assistance for STOP Teams and Domestic Violence Programs on cultural diversity and cultural competency; and to promote dating violence protocols.

 

Contact:Ms. Tonia Thomas

Phone: (304) 965-3552

Email: tthomas@wvcadv.org

  

West Virginia Foundation for Rape Information and Serivces$64,121.00

These funds provide for training activities, the on-going development and capacity building of service providers to victims of sexual assault, dating violence and stalking crimes, and to provide training and resources for these programs in order to provide services to sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking victims.

 

Contact:Ms. Nancy Hoffman

Phone: (304) 366-9500

Email: wvfris@frountier.com

  

Division of Justice & Community Services contact:

 

Sarah J. Brown

Senior Justice Programs Specialist

Division of Justice and Community Services

1204 Kanawha Boulevard, East

Charleston, West Virginia 25301

Phone: (304) 558-8814, Extension 53337

Email: Sarah.J.Brown@wv.gov

  

Photos available for media use. All photos should be attributed “Photo courtesy of Office of the Governor.”

After tasking their Evil Mechs with reloading highly unstable zorb projectiles from storage stasis to starship stasis, along with resupplying Punisher's needed array of plasma and nasty chemicals, the Blacktron team eagerly heads toward the safety of their bunker, where they hope to steal the Terran system's latest Westworld broadcast.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

  

Some background:

In the late 1970s the Mikoyan OKB began development of a hypersonic high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. Designated "Izdeliye 301" (also known as 3.01), the machine had an unusual design, combining a tailless layout with variable geometry wings. The two engines fueled by kerosene were located side by side above the rear fuselage, with the single vertical fin raising above them, not unlike the Tu-22 “Blinder” bomber of that time, but also reminiscent of the US-American SR-71 Mach 3 reconnaissance aircraft.

 

Only few and rather corny information leaked into the West, and the 301 was believed not only to act as a reconnaissance plane , it was also believed to have (nuclear) bombing capabilities. Despite wind tunnel testing with models, no hardware of the 301 was ever produced - aven though the aircraft could have become a basis for a long-range interceptor that would replace by time the PVO's Tupolew Tu-28P (ASCC code "Fiddler"), a large aircraft armed solely with missiles.

 

Despite limitations, the Tu-28P served well in its role, but the concept of a very fast interceptor aircraft, lingered on, since the Soviet Union had large areas to defend against aerial intruders, esp. from the North and the East. High speed, coupled with long range and the ability to intercept an incoming target at long distances independently from ground guidance had high priority for the Soviet Air Defence Forces. Even though no official requirement was issued, the concept of Izdeliye 301 from the Seventies was eventually developed further into the fixed-wing "Izdeliye 701" ultra-long-range high-altitude interceptor in the 1980ies.

 

The impulse for this new approach came when Oleg S. Samoylovich joined the Mikoyan OKB after having worked at Suchoi OKB on the T-60S missile carrier project. Similar in overall design to the former 301, the 701 was primarily intended as a kind of successor for the MiG-31 Foxhound for the 21st century, which just had completed flight tests and was about to enter PVO's front line units.

 

Being based on a long range cruise missile carrier, the 701 would have been a huge plane, featuring a length of 30-31m, a wing span of 19m (featuring a highly swept double delta wing) and having a maximum TOW of 70 tons! Target performance figures included a top speed of 2.500km/h, a cruising speed of 2.100km/h at 17.000m and an effective range of 7.000km in supersonic or 11.000km in subsonic mode. Eventually, the 701 program was mothballed, too, being too ambitious and expensive for a specialized development that could also have been a fighter version of the Tu-22 bomber!

 

Anyway, while the MiG-31 was successfully introduced in 1979 and had evolved in into a capable long-range interceptor with a top speed of more than Mach 3 (limited to Mach 2.8 in order to protect the aircraft's structural integrity), MiG OKB decided in 1984 to take further action and to develop a next-generation technology demonstrator, knowing that even the formidable "Foxhound" was only an interim solution on the way to a true "Four plus" of even a 6th generation fighter. Other new threats like low-flying cruise missiles, the USAF's "Project Pluto" or the assumed SR-71 Mach 5 successor “Aurora” kept Soviet military officials on the edge of their seats, too.

 

Main objective was to expand the Foxhound's state-of the-art performance, and coiple it with modern features like aerodynamic instability, supercruise, stealth features and further development potential.

 

The aircraft's core mission objectives comprised:

- Provide strategic air defense and surveillance in areas not covered by ground-based air defense systems (incl. guidance of other aircraft with less sophisticated avionics)

- Top speed of Mach 3.2 or more in a dash and cruise at Mach 3.0 for prolonged periods

- Long range/high speed interception of airspace intruders of any kind, including low flying cruise missiles, UAVs and helicopters

- Intercept cruise missiles and their launch aircraft from sea level up to 30.000m altitude by reaching missile launch range in the lowest possible time after departing the loiter area

 

Because funding was scarce and no official GOR had been issued, the project was taken on as a private venture. The new project was internally known as "Izdeliye 710" or "71.0". It was based on both 301 and 701 layout ideas and the wind tunnel experiences with their unusual layouts, as well as Oleg Samoylovich's experience with the Suchoi T-4 Mach 3 bomber project and the T-60S.

 

"Izdeliye 710" was from the start intended only as a proof-of-concept prototype, yet fully functional. It would also incorporate new technologies like heat-resistant ceramics against kinetic heating at prolonged high speeds (the airframe had to resist temperatures of 300°C/570°F and more for considerable periods), but with potential for future development into a full-fledged interceptor, penetrator and reconnaissance aircraft.

 

Overall, “Izdeliye 710" looked like a shrinked version of a mix of both former MiG OKB 301 and 701 designs, limited to the MiG-31's weight class of about 40 tons TOW. Compared with the former designs, the airframe received an aerodynamically more refined, partly blended, slender fuselage that also incorporated mild stealth features like a “clean” underside, softened contours and partly shielded air intakes. Structurally, the airframe's speed limit was set at Mach 3.8.

 

From the earlier 301 design,the plane retained the variable geometry wing. Despite the system's complexity and weight, this solution was deemed to be the best approach for a combination of a high continuous top speed, extended loiter time in the mission’s patrol areas and good performance on improvised airfields. Minimum sweep was a mere 10°, while, fully swept at 68°, the wings blended into the LERXes. Additional lift was created through the fuselage shape itself, so that aerodynamic surfaces and therefore drag could be reduced.

 

Pilot and radar operator sat in tandem under a common canopy with rather limited sight. The cockpit was equipped with a modern glass cockpit with LCD screens. The aircraft’s two engines were, again, placed in a large, mutual nacelle on the upper rear fuselage, fed by large air intakes with two-dimensional vertical ramps and a carefully modulated airflow over the aircraft’s dorsal area.

 

Initially, the 71.0 was to be powered by a pair of Soloviev D-30F6 afterburning turbofans with a dry thrust of 93 kN (20,900 lbf) each, and with 152 kN (34,172 lbf) with full afterburner. These were the same engines that powered the MiG-31, but there were high hopes for the Kolesov NK-101 engine: a variable bypass engine with a maximum thrust in the 200kN range, at the time of the 71.0's design undergoing bench tests and originally developed for the advanced Suchoj T-4MS strike aircraft.

With the D-30F6, the 71.0 was expected to reach Mach 3.2 (making the aircraft capable of effectively intercepting the SR-71), but the NK-101 would offer in pure jet mode a top speed in excess of Mach 3.5 and also improve range and especially loiter time when running as a subsonic turbofan engine.

 

A single fin with an all-moving top and an additional deep rudder at its base was placed on top of the engine nacelle. Additional maneuverability at lower speed was achieved by retractable, all-moving foreplanes, stowed in narrow slits under the cockpit. Longitudinal stability at high speed was improved through deflectable stabilizers: these were kept horizontal for take-off and added to the overall lift, but they could be folded down by up to 60° in flight, acting additionally as stabilizer strakes.

 

Due to the aircraft’s slender shape and unique proportions, the 71.0 quickly received the unofficial nickname "жура́вль" (‘Zhurávl' = Crane). The aircaft’s stalky impression was emphasized even more through its unusual landing gear arrangement: Due to the limited internal space for the main landing gear wells between the weapons bay, the wing folding mechanisms and the engine nacelle, MiG OKB decided to incorporate a bicycle landing gear, normally a trademark of Yakovlew OKB designs, but a conventional landing gear could simply not be mounted, or its construction would have become much too heavy and complex.

 

In order to facilitate operations from improvised airfields and on snow the landing gear featured twin front wheels on a conventional strut and a single four wheel bogie as main wheels. Smaller, single stabilizer wheels were mounted on outriggers that retracted into slender fairings at the wings’ fixed section trailing edge, reminiscent of early Tupolev designs.

 

All standard air-to-air weaponry, as well as fuel, was to be carried internally. Main armament would be the K-100 missile (in service eventually designated R-100), stored in a large weapons bay behind the cockpit on a rotary mount. The K-100 had been under development at that time at NPO Novator, internally coded ‘Izdeliye 172’. The K-100 missile was an impressive weapon, and specifically designed to attack vital and heavily defended aerial targets like NATO’s AWACS aircraft at BVR distance.

 

Being 15’ (4.57 m) long and weighing 1.370 lb (620 kg), this huge ultra-long-range weapon had a maximum range of 250 mi (400 km) in a cruise/glide profile and attained a speed of Mach 6 with its solid rocket engine. This range could be boosted even further with a pair of jettisonable ramjets in tubular pods on the missile’s flanks for another 60 mi (100 km). The missile could attack targets ranging in altitude between 15 – 25,000 meters.

 

The weapon would initially be allocated to a specified target through the launch aircraft’s on-board radar and sent via inertial guidance into the target’s direction. Closing in, the K-100’s Agat 9B-1388 active seeker would identify the target, lock on, and independently attack it, also in coordination with other K-100’s shot at the same target, so that the attack would be coordinated in time and approach directions in order to overload defense and ensure a hit.

 

The 71.0’s internal mount could hold four of these large missiles, or, alternatively, the same number of the MiG-31’s R-33 AAMs. The mount also had a slot for the storage of additional mid- and short-range missiles for self-defense, e .g. three R-60 or two R-73 AAMs. An internal gun was not considered to be necessary, since the 71.0 or potential derivatives would fight their targets at very long distances and rather rely on a "hit-and-run" tactic, sacrificing dogfight capabilities for long loitering time in stand-by mode, high approach speed and outstanding acceleration and altitude performance.

 

Anyway, provisions were made to carry a Gsh-301-250 gun pod on a retractable hardpoint in the weapons bay instead of a K-100. Alternatively, such pods could be carried externally on four optional wing root pylons, which were primarily intended for PTB-1500 or PTB-3000 drop tanks, or further missiles - theoretically, a maximum of ten K-100 missiles could be carried, plus a pair of short-range AAMs.

 

Additionally, a "buddy-to-buffy" IFR set with a retractable drogue (probably the same system as used on the Su-24) was tested (71.2 was outfitted with a retractable refuelling probe in front of the cockpit), as well as the carriage of simple iron bombs or nuclear stores, to be delivered from very high altitudes. Several pallets with cameras and sensors (e .g. a high resolution SLAR) were also envisioned, which could easily replace the missile mounts and the folding weapon bay covers for recce missions.

 

Since there had been little official support for the project, work on the 710 up to the hardware stage made only little progress, since the MiG-31 already filled the long-range interceptor role in a sufficient fashion and offered further development potential.

A wooden mockup of the cockpit section was presented to PVO and VVS officials in 1989, and airframe work (including tests with composite materials on structural parts, including ceramic tiles for leading edges) were undertaken throughout 1990 and 1991, including test rigs for the engine nacelle and the swing wing mechanism.

 

Eventually, the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 suddenly stopped most of the project work, after two prototype airframes had been completed. Their internal designations were Izdeliye 71.1 and 71.2, respectively. It took a while until the political situation as well as the ex-Soviet Air Force’s status were settled, and work on Izdeliye 710 resumed at a slow pace.

 

After taking two years to be completed, 71.1 eventually made its roll-out and maiden flight in summer 1994, just when MiG-31 production had ended. MiG OKB still had high hopes in this aircraft, since the MiG-31 would have to be replaced in the next couple of years and "Izdeliye 710" was just in time for the potential procurement process. The first prototype wore a striking all-white livery, with dark grey ceramic tiles on the wings’ leading edges standing out prominently – in this guise and with its futuristic lines the slender aircraft reminded a lot of the American Space Shuttle.

 

71.1 was primarily intended for engine and flight tests (esp. for the eagerly awaited NK-101 engines), as well as for the development of the envisioned ramjet propulsion system for full-scale production and further development of Izdeliye 710 into a Mach 3+ interceptor. No mission avionics were initially fitted to this plane, but it carried a comprehensive test equipment suite and ballast.

 

Its sister ship 71.2 flew for the first time in late 1994, wearing a more unpretentious grey/bare metal livery. This plane was earmarked for avionics development and weapons integration, especially as a test bed for the K-100 missile, which shared Izdeliye 710’s fate of being a leftover Soviet project with an uncertain future and an even more corny funding outlook.

 

Anyway, aircraft 71.2 was from the start equipped with a complete RP-31 ('Zaslon-M') weapon control system, which had been under development at that time as an upgrade for the Russian MiG-31 fleet being part of the radar’s development program secured financial support from the government and allowed the flight tests to continue. The RP-31 possessed a maximum detection range of 400 km (250 mi) against airliner-sized targets at high altitude or 200 km against fighter-sized targets; the typical width of detection along the front was given as 225 km. The system could track 24 airborne targets at one time at a range of 120 km, 6 of which could be simultaneously attacked with missiles.

 

With these capabilities the RP-31 suite could, coupled with an appropriate carrier airframe, fulfil the originally intended airspace control function and would render a dedicated and highly vulnerable airspace control aircraft (like the Beriev A-50 derivative of the Il-76 transport) more or less obsolete. A group of four aircraft equipped with the 'Zaslon-M' suite would be able to permanently control an area of airspace across a total length of 800–900 km, while having ultra-long range weapons at hand to counter any intrusion into airspace with a quicker reaction time than any ground-based fighter on QRA duty. The 71.0, outfitted with the RP-31/K-100 system, would have posed a serious threat to any aggressor.

 

In March 1995 both prototypes were eventually transferred to the Kerchenskaya Guards Air Base at Savasleyka in the Oblast Vladimir, 300 km east of Mocsow, where they received tactical codes of '11 Blue' and '12 Blue'. Besides the basic test program and the RP-31/K-100 system tests, both machines were directly evaluated against the MiG-31 and Su-27 fighters by the Air Force's 4th TsBPi PLS, based at the same site.

 

Both aircraft exceeded expectations, but also fell short in certain aspects. The 71.0’s calculated top speed of Mach 3.2 was achieved during the tests with a top speed of 3,394 km/h (2.108 mph) at 21,000 m (69.000 ft). Top speed at sea level was confirmed at 1.200 km/h (745 mph) indicated airspeed.

Combat radius with full weapon load and internal fuel only was limited to 1,450 km (900 mi) at Mach 0.8 and at an altitude of 10,000 m (33,000 ft), though, and it sank to a mere 720 km (450 mi) at Mach 2.35 and at an altitude of 18,000 m (59,000 ft). Combat range with 4x K-100 internally and 2 drop tanks was settled at 3,000 km (1,860 mi), rising to 5,400 km (3,360 mi) with one in-flight refueling, tested with the 71.2. Endurance at altitude was only slightly above 3 hours, though. Service ceiling was 22,800 m (74,680 ft), 2.000 m higher than the MiG-31.

 

While these figures were impressive, Soviet officials were not truly convinced: they did not show a significant improvement over the simpler MiG-31. MiG OKB tried to persuade the government into more flight tests and begged for access to the NK-101, but the Soviet Union's collapse halted this project, too, so that both Izdeliye 710 had to keep the Soloviev D-30F6.

 

Little is known about the Izdeliye 710 project’s progress or further developments. The initial tests lasted until at least 1997, and obviously the updated MiG-31M received official favor instead of a completely new aircraft. The K-100 was also dropped, since the R-33 missile and later its R-37 derivative sufficiently performed in the long-range aerial strike role.

 

Development on the aircraft as such seemed to have stopped with the advent of modernized Su-27 derivatives and the PAK FA project, resulting in the Suchoi T-50 prototype. Unconfirmed reports suggest that one of the prototypes (probably 71.1) was used in the development of the N014 Pulse-Doppler radar with a passive electronically scanned array antenna in the wake of the MFI program. The N014 was designed with a range of 420 km, detection target of 250km to 1m and able to track 40 targets while able to shoot against 20.

 

Most interestingly, Izdeliye 710 was never officially presented to the public, but NATO became aware of its development through satellite pictures in the early Nineties and the aircraft consequently received the ASCC reporting codename "Fastback".

 

Until today, only the two prototypes have been known to exist, and it is assumed – had the type entered service – that the long-range fighter had received the official designation "MiG-41".

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 2 (Pilot, weapon system officer)

Length (incl. pitot): 93 ft 10 in (28.66 m)

Wingspan:

- minimum 10° sweep: 69 ft 4 in (21.16 m)

- maximum 68° sweep: 48 ft 9 in (14,88 m)

Height: 23 ft 1 1/2 in (7,06 m )

Wing area: 1008.9 ft² (90.8 m²)

Weight: 88.151 lbs (39.986 kg)

 

Performance:

Maximum speed:

- Mach 3.2 (2.050 mph (3.300 km/h) at height

- 995 mph (1.600 km/h) supercruise speed at 36,000 ft (11,000 m)

- 915 mph (1.470 km/h) at sea level

Range: 3.705 miles (5.955 km) with internal fuel

Service ceiling: 75.000 ft (22.500 m)

Rate of climb: 31.000 ft/min (155 m/s)

 

Engine:

2x Soloviev D-30F6 afterburning turbofans with a dry thrust of 93 kN (20,900 lbf) each

and with 152 kN (34,172 lbf) with full afterburner.

 

Armament:

Internal weapons bay, main armament comprises a flexible missile load; basic ordnance of 4x K-100 ultra long range AAMs plus 2x R-73 short-range AAMs: other types like the R-27, R-33, R-60 and R-77 have been carried and tested, too, as well as podded guns on internal and external mounts. Alternatively, the weapon bay can hold various sensor pallets.

Four hardpoints under the wing roots, the outer pair “wet” for drop tanks of up to 3.000 l capacity, ECM pods or a buddy-buddy refueling drogue system. Maximum payload mass is 9000 kg.

  

The kit and its assembly

The second entry for the 2017 “Soviet” Group Build at whatifmodelers.com – a true Frankenstein creation, based on the scarce information about the real (but never realized) MiG 301 and 701 projects, the Suchoj T-60S, as well as some vague design sketches you can find online and in literature.

This one had been on my project list for years and I already had donor kits stashed away – but the sheer size (where will I leave it once done…?) and potential complexity kept me from tackling it.

 

The whole thing was an ambitious project and just the unique layout with a massive engine nacelle on top of the slender fuselage instead of an all-in-one design makes these aircraft an interesting topic to build. The GB was a good motivator.

 

“My” fictional interpretation of the MiG concepts is mainly based on a Dragon B-1B in 1:144 scale (fuselage, wings), a PM Model Su-15 two seater (donating the nose section and the cockpit, as well as wing parts for the fin) and a Kangnam MiG-31 (for the engine pod and some small parts). Another major ingredient is a pair of horizontal stabilizers from a 1:72 Hasegawa A-5 Vigilante.

 

Fitting the cockpit section took some major surgery and even more putty to blend the parts smoothly together. Another major surgical area was the tail; the "engine box" came to be rather straightforward, using the complete rear fuselage section from the MiG-31 and adding the intakes form the same kit, but mounted horizontally with a vertical splitter.

 

Blending the thing to the cut-away tail section of the B-1 was quite a task, though, since I not only wanted to add the element to the fuselage, but rather make it look a bit 'organic'. More than putty was necessary, I also had to made some cuts and transplantations. And after six PSR rounds I stopped counting…

 

The landing gear was built from scratch – the front wheel comes mostly from the MiG-31 kit. The central bogie and its massive leg come from a VEB Plasticart 1:100 Tu-20/95 bomber, plus some additional struts. The outriggers are leftover landing gear struts from a Hobby Boss Fw 190, mated with wheels which I believe come from a 1:200 VEB Plasticart kit, an An-24. Not certain, though. The fairings are slender MiG-21 drop tanks blended into the wing training edge. For the whole landing gear, the covers were improvised with styrene sheet, parts from a plastic straw(!) or leftover bits from the B-1B.

 

The main landing gear well was well as the weapons’ bay themselves were cut into the B-1B underside and an interior scratched from sheet and various leftover materials – I tried to maximize their space while still leaving enough room for the B-1B kit’s internal VG mechanism.

The large missiles (two were visible fitted and the rotary launcher just visibly hinted at) are, in fact, AGM-78 ‘Standard’ ARMs in a fantasy guise. They look pretty Soviet, though, like big brothers of the already not small R-33 missiles from the MiG-31.

 

While not in the focus of attention, the cockpit interior is completely new, too – OOB, the Su-15 cockpit only has a floor and rather stubby seats, under a massive single piece canopy. On top of the front wheel well (from a Hasegawa F-4) I added a new floor and added side consoles, scratched from styrene sheet. F-4 dashboards improve the decoration, and I added a pair of Soviet election seats from the scrap box – IIRC left over from two KP MiG-19 kits.

The canopy was taken OOB, I just cut it into five parts for open display. The material’s thickness does not look too bad on this aircraft – after all, it would need a rather sturdy construction when flying at Mach 3+ and withstanding the respective pressures and temperatures.

  

Painting

As a pure whif, I was free to use a weirdo design - but I rejected this idea quickly. I did not want a garish splinter scheme or a bright “Greenbottle Fly” Su-27 finish.

With the strange layout of the aircraft, the prototype idea was soon settled – and Soviet prototypes tend to look very utilitarian and lusterless, might even be left in grey. Consequently, I adapted a kind of bare look for this one, inspired by the rather shaggy Soviet Tu-22 “Blinder” bombers which carried a mix of bare metal and white and grey panels. With additional black leading edges on the aerodynamic surfaces, this would create a special/provisional but still purposeful look.

 

For the painting, I used a mix of several metallizer tones from ModelMaster and Humbrol (including Steel, Magnesium, Titanium, as well as matt and polished aluminum, and some Gun Metal and Exhaust around the engine nozzles, partly mixed with a bit of blue) and opaque tones (Humbrol 147 and 127). The “scheme” evolved panel-wise and step by step. The black leading edges were an interim addition, coming as things evolved, and they were painted first with black acrylic paint as a rough foundation and later trimmed with generic black decal stripes (from TL Modellbau). A very convenient and clean solution!

 

The radomes on nose and tail and other di-electric panels became dark grey (Humbrol 125). The cockpit tub was painted with Soviet Cockpit Teal (from ModelMaster), while the cockpit opening and canopy frames were kept in a more modest medium grey (Revell 57). On the outside of the cabin windows, a fat, deep yellow sealant frame (Humbrol 93, actually “Sand”) was added.

 

The weapon bay was painted in a yellow-ish primer tone (seen on pics of Tu-160 bombers) while the landing gear wells received a mix of gold and sand; the struts were painted in a mixed color, too, made of Humbrol 56 (Aluminum) and 34 (Flat White). The green wheel discs (Humbrol 131), a typical Soviet detail, stand out well from the rather subdued but not boring aircraft, and they make a nice contrast to the red Stars and the blue tactical code – the only major markings, besides a pair of MiG OKB logos under the cockpit.

 

Decals were puzzled together from various sheets, and I also added a lot of stencils for a more technical look. In order to enhance the prototype look further I added some photo calibration markings on the nose and the tail, made from scratch.

  

A massive kitbashing project that I had pushed away for years - but I am happy that I finally tackled it, and the result looks spectacular. The "Firefox" similarity was not intended, but this beast really looks like a movie prop - and who knwos if the Firefox was not inspired by the same projects (the MiG 301 and 701) as my kitbash model?

The background info is a bit lengthy, but there's some good background info concerning the aforementioned projects, and this aircraft - as a weapon system - would have played a very special and complex role, so a lot of explanations are worthwhile - also in order to emphasize that I di not simply try to glue some model parts together, but rather try to spin real world ideas further.

 

Mighty bird!

INTERIOR VIEW OF THE ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING INTEGRATED ENERGY (AMIE) 3D-PRINTED HOUSE.

 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory combines clean energy technologies into a 3D-printed building and vehicle to showcase a new approach to energy use, storage and consumption. It is a model for energy-efficient systems that link buildings, vehicles and the grid. ORNL team worked with industrial partners to manufacture and connect a natural-gas-powered hybrid electric vehicle with a solar-powered building to create an integrated energy system. The project's energy control center manages the system's electrical demand and load by balancing the intermittent power from the building's 3.2-kilowatt solar array with supplemental power from the vehicle.

 

For more information or additional images, please contact 202-586-5251.

 

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

  

Some background:

In the late 1970s the Mikoyan OKB began development of a hypersonic high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. Designated "Izdeliye 301" (also known as 3.01), the machine had an unusual design, combining a tailless layout with variable geometry wings. The two engines fueled by kerosene were located side by side above the rear fuselage, with the single vertical fin raising above them, not unlike the Tu-22 “Blinder” bomber of that time, but also reminiscent of the US-American SR-71 Mach 3 reconnaissance aircraft.

 

Only few and rather corny information leaked into the West, and the 301 was believed not only to act as a reconnaissance plane , it was also believed to have (nuclear) bombing capabilities. Despite wind tunnel testing with models, no hardware of the 301 was ever produced - aven though the aircraft could have become a basis for a long-range interceptor that would replace by time the PVO's Tupolew Tu-28P (ASCC code "Fiddler"), a large aircraft armed solely with missiles.

 

Despite limitations, the Tu-28P served well in its role, but the concept of a very fast interceptor aircraft, lingered on, since the Soviet Union had large areas to defend against aerial intruders, esp. from the North and the East. High speed, coupled with long range and the ability to intercept an incoming target at long distances independently from ground guidance had high priority for the Soviet Air Defence Forces. Even though no official requirement was issued, the concept of Izdeliye 301 from the Seventies was eventually developed further into the fixed-wing "Izdeliye 701" ultra-long-range high-altitude interceptor in the 1980ies.

 

The impulse for this new approach came when Oleg S. Samoylovich joined the Mikoyan OKB after having worked at Suchoi OKB on the T-60S missile carrier project. Similar in overall design to the former 301, the 701 was primarily intended as a kind of successor for the MiG-31 Foxhound for the 21st century, which just had completed flight tests and was about to enter PVO's front line units.

 

Being based on a long range cruise missile carrier, the 701 would have been a huge plane, featuring a length of 30-31m, a wing span of 19m (featuring a highly swept double delta wing) and having a maximum TOW of 70 tons! Target performance figures included a top speed of 2.500km/h, a cruising speed of 2.100km/h at 17.000m and an effective range of 7.000km in supersonic or 11.000km in subsonic mode. Eventually, the 701 program was mothballed, too, being too ambitious and expensive for a specialized development that could also have been a fighter version of the Tu-22 bomber!

 

Anyway, while the MiG-31 was successfully introduced in 1979 and had evolved in into a capable long-range interceptor with a top speed of more than Mach 3 (limited to Mach 2.8 in order to protect the aircraft's structural integrity), MiG OKB decided in 1984 to take further action and to develop a next-generation technology demonstrator, knowing that even the formidable "Foxhound" was only an interim solution on the way to a true "Four plus" of even a 6th generation fighter. Other new threats like low-flying cruise missiles, the USAF's "Project Pluto" or the assumed SR-71 Mach 5 successor “Aurora” kept Soviet military officials on the edge of their seats, too.

 

Main objective was to expand the Foxhound's state-of the-art performance, and coiple it with modern features like aerodynamic instability, supercruise, stealth features and further development potential.

 

The aircraft's core mission objectives comprised:

- Provide strategic air defense and surveillance in areas not covered by ground-based air defense systems (incl. guidance of other aircraft with less sophisticated avionics)

- Top speed of Mach 3.2 or more in a dash and cruise at Mach 3.0 for prolonged periods

- Long range/high speed interception of airspace intruders of any kind, including low flying cruise missiles, UAVs and helicopters

- Intercept cruise missiles and their launch aircraft from sea level up to 30.000m altitude by reaching missile launch range in the lowest possible time after departing the loiter area

 

Because funding was scarce and no official GOR had been issued, the project was taken on as a private venture. The new project was internally known as "Izdeliye 710" or "71.0". It was based on both 301 and 701 layout ideas and the wind tunnel experiences with their unusual layouts, as well as Oleg Samoylovich's experience with the Suchoi T-4 Mach 3 bomber project and the T-60S.

 

"Izdeliye 710" was from the start intended only as a proof-of-concept prototype, yet fully functional. It would also incorporate new technologies like heat-resistant ceramics against kinetic heating at prolonged high speeds (the airframe had to resist temperatures of 300°C/570°F and more for considerable periods), but with potential for future development into a full-fledged interceptor, penetrator and reconnaissance aircraft.

 

Overall, “Izdeliye 710" looked like a shrinked version of a mix of both former MiG OKB 301 and 701 designs, limited to the MiG-31's weight class of about 40 tons TOW. Compared with the former designs, the airframe received an aerodynamically more refined, partly blended, slender fuselage that also incorporated mild stealth features like a “clean” underside, softened contours and partly shielded air intakes. Structurally, the airframe's speed limit was set at Mach 3.8.

 

From the earlier 301 design,the plane retained the variable geometry wing. Despite the system's complexity and weight, this solution was deemed to be the best approach for a combination of a high continuous top speed, extended loiter time in the mission’s patrol areas and good performance on improvised airfields. Minimum sweep was a mere 10°, while, fully swept at 68°, the wings blended into the LERXes. Additional lift was created through the fuselage shape itself, so that aerodynamic surfaces and therefore drag could be reduced.

 

Pilot and radar operator sat in tandem under a common canopy with rather limited sight. The cockpit was equipped with a modern glass cockpit with LCD screens. The aircraft’s two engines were, again, placed in a large, mutual nacelle on the upper rear fuselage, fed by large air intakes with two-dimensional vertical ramps and a carefully modulated airflow over the aircraft’s dorsal area.

 

Initially, the 71.0 was to be powered by a pair of Soloviev D-30F6 afterburning turbofans with a dry thrust of 93 kN (20,900 lbf) each, and with 152 kN (34,172 lbf) with full afterburner. These were the same engines that powered the MiG-31, but there were high hopes for the Kolesov NK-101 engine: a variable bypass engine with a maximum thrust in the 200kN range, at the time of the 71.0's design undergoing bench tests and originally developed for the advanced Suchoj T-4MS strike aircraft.

With the D-30F6, the 71.0 was expected to reach Mach 3.2 (making the aircraft capable of effectively intercepting the SR-71), but the NK-101 would offer in pure jet mode a top speed in excess of Mach 3.5 and also improve range and especially loiter time when running as a subsonic turbofan engine.

 

A single fin with an all-moving top and an additional deep rudder at its base was placed on top of the engine nacelle. Additional maneuverability at lower speed was achieved by retractable, all-moving foreplanes, stowed in narrow slits under the cockpit. Longitudinal stability at high speed was improved through deflectable stabilizers: these were kept horizontal for take-off and added to the overall lift, but they could be folded down by up to 60° in flight, acting additionally as stabilizer strakes.

 

Due to the aircraft’s slender shape and unique proportions, the 71.0 quickly received the unofficial nickname "жура́вль" (‘Zhurávl' = Crane). The aircaft’s stalky impression was emphasized even more through its unusual landing gear arrangement: Due to the limited internal space for the main landing gear wells between the weapons bay, the wing folding mechanisms and the engine nacelle, MiG OKB decided to incorporate a bicycle landing gear, normally a trademark of Yakovlew OKB designs, but a conventional landing gear could simply not be mounted, or its construction would have become much too heavy and complex.

 

In order to facilitate operations from improvised airfields and on snow the landing gear featured twin front wheels on a conventional strut and a single four wheel bogie as main wheels. Smaller, single stabilizer wheels were mounted on outriggers that retracted into slender fairings at the wings’ fixed section trailing edge, reminiscent of early Tupolev designs.

 

All standard air-to-air weaponry, as well as fuel, was to be carried internally. Main armament would be the K-100 missile (in service eventually designated R-100), stored in a large weapons bay behind the cockpit on a rotary mount. The K-100 had been under development at that time at NPO Novator, internally coded ‘Izdeliye 172’. The K-100 missile was an impressive weapon, and specifically designed to attack vital and heavily defended aerial targets like NATO’s AWACS aircraft at BVR distance.

 

Being 15’ (4.57 m) long and weighing 1.370 lb (620 kg), this huge ultra-long-range weapon had a maximum range of 250 mi (400 km) in a cruise/glide profile and attained a speed of Mach 6 with its solid rocket engine. This range could be boosted even further with a pair of jettisonable ramjets in tubular pods on the missile’s flanks for another 60 mi (100 km). The missile could attack targets ranging in altitude between 15 – 25,000 meters.

 

The weapon would initially be allocated to a specified target through the launch aircraft’s on-board radar and sent via inertial guidance into the target’s direction. Closing in, the K-100’s Agat 9B-1388 active seeker would identify the target, lock on, and independently attack it, also in coordination with other K-100’s shot at the same target, so that the attack would be coordinated in time and approach directions in order to overload defense and ensure a hit.

 

The 71.0’s internal mount could hold four of these large missiles, or, alternatively, the same number of the MiG-31’s R-33 AAMs. The mount also had a slot for the storage of additional mid- and short-range missiles for self-defense, e .g. three R-60 or two R-73 AAMs. An internal gun was not considered to be necessary, since the 71.0 or potential derivatives would fight their targets at very long distances and rather rely on a "hit-and-run" tactic, sacrificing dogfight capabilities for long loitering time in stand-by mode, high approach speed and outstanding acceleration and altitude performance.

 

Anyway, provisions were made to carry a Gsh-301-250 gun pod on a retractable hardpoint in the weapons bay instead of a K-100. Alternatively, such pods could be carried externally on four optional wing root pylons, which were primarily intended for PTB-1500 or PTB-3000 drop tanks, or further missiles - theoretically, a maximum of ten K-100 missiles could be carried, plus a pair of short-range AAMs.

 

Additionally, a "buddy-to-buffy" IFR set with a retractable drogue (probably the same system as used on the Su-24) was tested (71.2 was outfitted with a retractable refuelling probe in front of the cockpit), as well as the carriage of simple iron bombs or nuclear stores, to be delivered from very high altitudes. Several pallets with cameras and sensors (e .g. a high resolution SLAR) were also envisioned, which could easily replace the missile mounts and the folding weapon bay covers for recce missions.

 

Since there had been little official support for the project, work on the 710 up to the hardware stage made only little progress, since the MiG-31 already filled the long-range interceptor role in a sufficient fashion and offered further development potential.

A wooden mockup of the cockpit section was presented to PVO and VVS officials in 1989, and airframe work (including tests with composite materials on structural parts, including ceramic tiles for leading edges) were undertaken throughout 1990 and 1991, including test rigs for the engine nacelle and the swing wing mechanism.

 

Eventually, the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 suddenly stopped most of the project work, after two prototype airframes had been completed. Their internal designations were Izdeliye 71.1 and 71.2, respectively. It took a while until the political situation as well as the ex-Soviet Air Force’s status were settled, and work on Izdeliye 710 resumed at a slow pace.

 

After taking two years to be completed, 71.1 eventually made its roll-out and maiden flight in summer 1994, just when MiG-31 production had ended. MiG OKB still had high hopes in this aircraft, since the MiG-31 would have to be replaced in the next couple of years and "Izdeliye 710" was just in time for the potential procurement process. The first prototype wore a striking all-white livery, with dark grey ceramic tiles on the wings’ leading edges standing out prominently – in this guise and with its futuristic lines the slender aircraft reminded a lot of the American Space Shuttle.

 

71.1 was primarily intended for engine and flight tests (esp. for the eagerly awaited NK-101 engines), as well as for the development of the envisioned ramjet propulsion system for full-scale production and further development of Izdeliye 710 into a Mach 3+ interceptor. No mission avionics were initially fitted to this plane, but it carried a comprehensive test equipment suite and ballast.

 

Its sister ship 71.2 flew for the first time in late 1994, wearing a more unpretentious grey/bare metal livery. This plane was earmarked for avionics development and weapons integration, especially as a test bed for the K-100 missile, which shared Izdeliye 710’s fate of being a leftover Soviet project with an uncertain future and an even more corny funding outlook.

 

Anyway, aircraft 71.2 was from the start equipped with a complete RP-31 ('Zaslon-M') weapon control system, which had been under development at that time as an upgrade for the Russian MiG-31 fleet being part of the radar’s development program secured financial support from the government and allowed the flight tests to continue. The RP-31 possessed a maximum detection range of 400 km (250 mi) against airliner-sized targets at high altitude or 200 km against fighter-sized targets; the typical width of detection along the front was given as 225 km. The system could track 24 airborne targets at one time at a range of 120 km, 6 of which could be simultaneously attacked with missiles.

 

With these capabilities the RP-31 suite could, coupled with an appropriate carrier airframe, fulfil the originally intended airspace control function and would render a dedicated and highly vulnerable airspace control aircraft (like the Beriev A-50 derivative of the Il-76 transport) more or less obsolete. A group of four aircraft equipped with the 'Zaslon-M' suite would be able to permanently control an area of airspace across a total length of 800–900 km, while having ultra-long range weapons at hand to counter any intrusion into airspace with a quicker reaction time than any ground-based fighter on QRA duty. The 71.0, outfitted with the RP-31/K-100 system, would have posed a serious threat to any aggressor.

 

In March 1995 both prototypes were eventually transferred to the Kerchenskaya Guards Air Base at Savasleyka in the Oblast Vladimir, 300 km east of Mocsow, where they received tactical codes of '11 Blue' and '12 Blue'. Besides the basic test program and the RP-31/K-100 system tests, both machines were directly evaluated against the MiG-31 and Su-27 fighters by the Air Force's 4th TsBPi PLS, based at the same site.

 

Both aircraft exceeded expectations, but also fell short in certain aspects. The 71.0’s calculated top speed of Mach 3.2 was achieved during the tests with a top speed of 3,394 km/h (2.108 mph) at 21,000 m (69.000 ft). Top speed at sea level was confirmed at 1.200 km/h (745 mph) indicated airspeed.

Combat radius with full weapon load and internal fuel only was limited to 1,450 km (900 mi) at Mach 0.8 and at an altitude of 10,000 m (33,000 ft), though, and it sank to a mere 720 km (450 mi) at Mach 2.35 and at an altitude of 18,000 m (59,000 ft). Combat range with 4x K-100 internally and 2 drop tanks was settled at 3,000 km (1,860 mi), rising to 5,400 km (3,360 mi) with one in-flight refueling, tested with the 71.2. Endurance at altitude was only slightly above 3 hours, though. Service ceiling was 22,800 m (74,680 ft), 2.000 m higher than the MiG-31.

 

While these figures were impressive, Soviet officials were not truly convinced: they did not show a significant improvement over the simpler MiG-31. MiG OKB tried to persuade the government into more flight tests and begged for access to the NK-101, but the Soviet Union's collapse halted this project, too, so that both Izdeliye 710 had to keep the Soloviev D-30F6.

 

Little is known about the Izdeliye 710 project’s progress or further developments. The initial tests lasted until at least 1997, and obviously the updated MiG-31M received official favor instead of a completely new aircraft. The K-100 was also dropped, since the R-33 missile and later its R-37 derivative sufficiently performed in the long-range aerial strike role.

 

Development on the aircraft as such seemed to have stopped with the advent of modernized Su-27 derivatives and the PAK FA project, resulting in the Suchoi T-50 prototype. Unconfirmed reports suggest that one of the prototypes (probably 71.1) was used in the development of the N014 Pulse-Doppler radar with a passive electronically scanned array antenna in the wake of the MFI program. The N014 was designed with a range of 420 km, detection target of 250km to 1m and able to track 40 targets while able to shoot against 20.

 

Most interestingly, Izdeliye 710 was never officially presented to the public, but NATO became aware of its development through satellite pictures in the early Nineties and the aircraft consequently received the ASCC reporting codename "Fastback".

 

Until today, only the two prototypes have been known to exist, and it is assumed – had the type entered service – that the long-range fighter had received the official designation "MiG-41".

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 2 (Pilot, weapon system officer)

Length (incl. pitot): 93 ft 10 in (28.66 m)

Wingspan:

- minimum 10° sweep: 69 ft 4 in (21.16 m)

- maximum 68° sweep: 48 ft 9 in (14,88 m)

Height: 23 ft 1 1/2 in (7,06 m )

Wing area: 1008.9 ft² (90.8 m²)

Weight: 88.151 lbs (39.986 kg)

 

Performance:

Maximum speed:

- Mach 3.2 (2.050 mph (3.300 km/h) at height

- 995 mph (1.600 km/h) supercruise speed at 36,000 ft (11,000 m)

- 915 mph (1.470 km/h) at sea level

Range: 3.705 miles (5.955 km) with internal fuel

Service ceiling: 75.000 ft (22.500 m)

Rate of climb: 31.000 ft/min (155 m/s)

 

Engine:

2x Soloviev D-30F6 afterburning turbofans with a dry thrust of 93 kN (20,900 lbf) each

and with 152 kN (34,172 lbf) with full afterburner.

 

Armament:

Internal weapons bay, main armament comprises a flexible missile load; basic ordnance of 4x K-100 ultra long range AAMs plus 2x R-73 short-range AAMs: other types like the R-27, R-33, R-60 and R-77 have been carried and tested, too, as well as podded guns on internal and external mounts. Alternatively, the weapon bay can hold various sensor pallets.

Four hardpoints under the wing roots, the outer pair “wet” for drop tanks of up to 3.000 l capacity, ECM pods or a buddy-buddy refueling drogue system. Maximum payload mass is 9000 kg.

  

The kit and its assembly

The second entry for the 2017 “Soviet” Group Build at whatifmodelers.com – a true Frankenstein creation, based on the scarce information about the real (but never realized) MiG 301 and 701 projects, the Suchoj T-60S, as well as some vague design sketches you can find online and in literature.

This one had been on my project list for years and I already had donor kits stashed away – but the sheer size (where will I leave it once done…?) and potential complexity kept me from tackling it.

 

The whole thing was an ambitious project and just the unique layout with a massive engine nacelle on top of the slender fuselage instead of an all-in-one design makes these aircraft an interesting topic to build. The GB was a good motivator.

 

“My” fictional interpretation of the MiG concepts is mainly based on a Dragon B-1B in 1:144 scale (fuselage, wings), a PM Model Su-15 two seater (donating the nose section and the cockpit, as well as wing parts for the fin) and a Kangnam MiG-31 (for the engine pod and some small parts). Another major ingredient is a pair of horizontal stabilizers from a 1:72 Hasegawa A-5 Vigilante.

 

Fitting the cockpit section took some major surgery and even more putty to blend the parts smoothly together. Another major surgical area was the tail; the "engine box" came to be rather straightforward, using the complete rear fuselage section from the MiG-31 and adding the intakes form the same kit, but mounted horizontally with a vertical splitter.

 

Blending the thing to the cut-away tail section of the B-1 was quite a task, though, since I not only wanted to add the element to the fuselage, but rather make it look a bit 'organic'. More than putty was necessary, I also had to made some cuts and transplantations. And after six PSR rounds I stopped counting…

 

The landing gear was built from scratch – the front wheel comes mostly from the MiG-31 kit. The central bogie and its massive leg come from a VEB Plasticart 1:100 Tu-20/95 bomber, plus some additional struts. The outriggers are leftover landing gear struts from a Hobby Boss Fw 190, mated with wheels which I believe come from a 1:200 VEB Plasticart kit, an An-24. Not certain, though. The fairings are slender MiG-21 drop tanks blended into the wing training edge. For the whole landing gear, the covers were improvised with styrene sheet, parts from a plastic straw(!) or leftover bits from the B-1B.

 

The main landing gear well was well as the weapons’ bay themselves were cut into the B-1B underside and an interior scratched from sheet and various leftover materials – I tried to maximize their space while still leaving enough room for the B-1B kit’s internal VG mechanism.

The large missiles (two were visible fitted and the rotary launcher just visibly hinted at) are, in fact, AGM-78 ‘Standard’ ARMs in a fantasy guise. They look pretty Soviet, though, like big brothers of the already not small R-33 missiles from the MiG-31.

 

While not in the focus of attention, the cockpit interior is completely new, too – OOB, the Su-15 cockpit only has a floor and rather stubby seats, under a massive single piece canopy. On top of the front wheel well (from a Hasegawa F-4) I added a new floor and added side consoles, scratched from styrene sheet. F-4 dashboards improve the decoration, and I added a pair of Soviet election seats from the scrap box – IIRC left over from two KP MiG-19 kits.

The canopy was taken OOB, I just cut it into five parts for open display. The material’s thickness does not look too bad on this aircraft – after all, it would need a rather sturdy construction when flying at Mach 3+ and withstanding the respective pressures and temperatures.

  

Painting

As a pure whif, I was free to use a weirdo design - but I rejected this idea quickly. I did not want a garish splinter scheme or a bright “Greenbottle Fly” Su-27 finish.

With the strange layout of the aircraft, the prototype idea was soon settled – and Soviet prototypes tend to look very utilitarian and lusterless, might even be left in grey. Consequently, I adapted a kind of bare look for this one, inspired by the rather shaggy Soviet Tu-22 “Blinder” bombers which carried a mix of bare metal and white and grey panels. With additional black leading edges on the aerodynamic surfaces, this would create a special/provisional but still purposeful look.

 

For the painting, I used a mix of several metallizer tones from ModelMaster and Humbrol (including Steel, Magnesium, Titanium, as well as matt and polished aluminum, and some Gun Metal and Exhaust around the engine nozzles, partly mixed with a bit of blue) and opaque tones (Humbrol 147 and 127). The “scheme” evolved panel-wise and step by step. The black leading edges were an interim addition, coming as things evolved, and they were painted first with black acrylic paint as a rough foundation and later trimmed with generic black decal stripes (from TL Modellbau). A very convenient and clean solution!

 

The radomes on nose and tail and other di-electric panels became dark grey (Humbrol 125). The cockpit tub was painted with Soviet Cockpit Teal (from ModelMaster), while the cockpit opening and canopy frames were kept in a more modest medium grey (Revell 57). On the outside of the cabin windows, a fat, deep yellow sealant frame (Humbrol 93, actually “Sand”) was added.

 

The weapon bay was painted in a yellow-ish primer tone (seen on pics of Tu-160 bombers) while the landing gear wells received a mix of gold and sand; the struts were painted in a mixed color, too, made of Humbrol 56 (Aluminum) and 34 (Flat White). The green wheel discs (Humbrol 131), a typical Soviet detail, stand out well from the rather subdued but not boring aircraft, and they make a nice contrast to the red Stars and the blue tactical code – the only major markings, besides a pair of MiG OKB logos under the cockpit.

 

Decals were puzzled together from various sheets, and I also added a lot of stencils for a more technical look. In order to enhance the prototype look further I added some photo calibration markings on the nose and the tail, made from scratch.

  

A massive kitbashing project that I had pushed away for years - but I am happy that I finally tackled it, and the result looks spectacular. The "Firefox" similarity was not intended, but this beast really looks like a movie prop - and who knwos if the Firefox was not inspired by the same projects (the MiG 301 and 701) as my kitbash model?

The background info is a bit lengthy, but there's some good background info concerning the aforementioned projects, and this aircraft - as a weapon system - would have played a very special and complex role, so a lot of explanations are worthwhile - also in order to emphasize that I di not simply try to glue some model parts together, but rather try to spin real world ideas further.

 

Mighty bird!

With the lightweight aluminium front and rear axles from the BMW M3/M4 models, forged 19-inch aluminium wheels with mixed-size tyres, M Servotronic steering with two settings and suitably effective M compound brakes, the new BMW M2 Coupe has raised the bar once again in the compact high-performance sports car segment when it comes to driving dynamics. The electronically controlled Active M Differential, which optimises traction and directional stability, also plays a significant role here. And even greater driving pleasure is on the cards when the Dynamic Stability Control system’s M Dynamic Mode (MDM) is activated. MDM allows wheel slip and therefore moderate, controlled drifts on the track.

  

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Looking towards the tramway generating station (with Renwicks Garage to the left) you'll notice that the comparison shot is slightly off kilter due to Bristols ever increasing new builds making the topography impossible to circumnavigate when trying to locate the original spot. Still a lot of original buildings though.

 

The first trams in Bristol (horse-drawn, with a maximum speed of 6 miles per hour) were introduced in 1875. Electric trams were introduced in 1895, the first city to do so in the United Kingdom. At the system's peak there were 17 routes and 237 tramcars in use.

 

In 1887 the Bristol Tramways Company merged with the Bristol Cab Company to form the Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company. The new company developed a fleet of omnibuses to serve the rest of the city and country areas. In 1912 it bought the Clifton Rocks Railway. In 1929 the White family sold its controlling interest in the company to the Great Western Railway, but by 1932 control had passed to the Thomas Tilling Group. William Verdon Smith (nephew of Sir George White) remained as chairman but was replaced in 1935 by J.F. Heaton of Thomas Tilling, so he could concentrate on the Bristol Aeroplane Company.

 

In 1937 control of Bristol's tramways passed to a joint committee of the Bristol Tramways company and Bristol Corporation.

 

Abandonment of the tramways began in 1938, but this was halted at the outbreak of World War II. Tram operations ceased in 1941 with the Luftwaffe's Good Friday raid, which set central Bristol on fire. A bomb hit Counterslip bridge, St Philips, next to the Tramways generating centre, and severed the tram power supply. The final tram from Old Market to Kingswood was given a push by passers-by and freewheeled its way into the depot.

 

Almost all Bristol's trams were scrapped; however, one is preserved at Filton by Aerospace Bristol, formerly the Bristol Aero Collection. Another memorial to the system is a length of tram track still embedded in St Mary Redcliffe churchyard, where it was blown by a bomb. Two lengths of intact track can be seen at the car park of the Gloucester Road Medical Centre, and a short section of track still exists on the approach to Bristol Temple Meads railway station. Another section of track used to be still in place near Castle Park, but this was lost when the area was redeveloped as part of the Cabot Circus development.

 

The Bristol Tramways company continued as a bus operator, but the name was not changed to Bristol Omnibus Company until 1957.

 

Many thanks to Richard Dixon for allowing me to use his excellent original photograph.

+++ 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 APS-4 was a light-weight, pod-mounted airborne search Radar which was suitable for either Airborne Interception (AI) or Air-to-Surface-Vessel (ASV) applications. It was a member of a series of early air-borne radar equipment and was initially designated as AS-H (“Air-to Surface, version H”). This very advanced equipment for its time was first used by the US Navy on board of carrier-borne night fighter aircraft like respective F6F Hellcat and F4U-2 Corsair variants. The Royal Air Force was impressed enough with the system's performance that it was adopted in 1943 for domestic airframes, too, as an alternative to the British AI radars used on board of early Mosquito, Beaufighter and Defiant night fighters.

 

One very successful carrier of the APS-4, in RAF service known as the AI Mk XV, was the De Havilland Mosquito in its NF Mk.XIX and NF Mk.30 night fighter incarnations. Aware of the performance and effectiveness of the American single engine aircraft, though, the RAF decided to test similar domestic airframes towards the end of WWII as well. The shorter range of a single engine night fighter would, compared with the bigger but also more sluggish two engine types, be compensated by higher speed, agility and rate of climb. These lighter aircraft were intended as a second defense for homeland defense, esp. around large cities or industrial sites.

 

One of these projects concerned the Supermarine Spitfire, more specifically the new types powered by a Rolly Royce Griffon engine. The Griffon provided a substantial performance increase over the Merlin-powered Spitfire Mk IX, but initially suffered from poor high altitude performance due to having only a single stage supercharged engine. By 1943, Rolls-Royce engineers had developed a new Griffon engine, the 61 series, with a two-stage supercharger, leading to a slightly modified engine, the 65 series, which was eventually mounted in the Spitfire Mk XIV.

With this performance surplus, a night fighter, despite carrying the AI Mk XV equipment plus a second crew member, was still expected to offer a superior performance over German two-engine bombers that intruded British airspace and the heavy night fighters that lurked over the Channel and attacked grouping RAF night bomber formations before they entered Continental airspace.

 

From this idea, the Spitfire NF.XX was born, as an alternative to a Hawker Typhoon night fighter with a British radar and only a single crew member. In summer 1944 an initial prototype was built, converted from an early series production Mk. XIV airframe. Since the AI Mk XV came with a rather complicated and voluminous display, a second crew member was deemed necessary for effective operations, esp. at night and under poor visibility conditions. The radio operator would check the radar readings and verbally guide the pilot towards the target, who could concentrate on the flying job and keep the eyes on the surroundings.

 

In order to fit the equipment and the second crew member into the tight Spitfire airframe, and a separate compartment behind the pilot's cockpit and the real bulkhead was added. This second seat received a separate sliding canopy, resulting in a distinctive camel hump silhouette, which earned the Spitfire NF.XX quickly the nickname 'Camelback'. Supermarine had proposed a new service name for this aircraft, 'Nightfire', but it was not officially accepted, since the machine did not differ enough from the basic Spitfire day fighter to justify a completely new designation.

 

The AI Mk XV equipment and its antenna were carried in a bullet-shaped pod under the port wing, similar to the US Navy night fighters’ arrangement. The radar dish was designed to scan from side to side for AI applications, but it could also be commanded to look up and down by a few degrees. This enabled the aircraft to attack targets from above, and it could also search for surface vessels below, so that the aircraft could also act in ASV or pathfinder duties in a secondary role (much like the Mosquito night fighters, which frequently guided bomber formations to their targets).

 

In order to mount the pod to the outer wing and compensate for the gain of weight, the standard 0.303" Browning machine guns normally located there were deleted. Instead, the NF.XX was initially armed with two 20 mm Hispano cannon plus a pair of 0.5" machine guns, mounted in a fashion similar to the Spitfire's standard E wing.

 

The NF.XX was powered, like the Spitfire Mk. XIV, by the two-stage supercharged Griffon 65, producing 2,050 hp (1,528 kW). A five bladed Rotol propeller of 10 ft 5 in (3.18 m) in diameter was used, and for the night fighter role the standard single exhaust stubs gave way to a collector fairing on each side, which dampened flames and improved the crew's view in the darkness.

 

To help balance the heavy Griffon engine, the radio equipment was moved further back in the rear fuselage. Improved VHF radio equipment allowed for the aerial mast to be removed and replaced by a "whip" aerial further aft on the fuselage spine. Because of the longer nose and the increased slipstream of the big five-bladed propeller, a new tail unit, with a taller, broader fin and a rudder of increased area was introduced.

 

One problem that hampered all early Griffon-powered Spitfire variants also plagued the NF.XX, though: short legs. The NF.XX carried a total of 109.5 gal of fuel, consisting of 84 gal in two main tanks and a 12.5 imp gal fuel tank in each leading edge wing tank. With this internal capacity, the fighter's maximum range was just a little over 460 miles (740 km) since the new Griffon engine consumed much more fuel per hour than the Merlin engine of earlier variants, and the extra drag and weight through the radar equipment did not make things better.

 

As a simple remedy, a conformal, fixed belly tank between the radiators was devised. This carried an extra 90 gal, of fuel, extending the fighter's range to about 850 miles (1,370 km) – still not much for aerial patrol and extended loiter time for interceptions, but enough for short-notice home defense duties. Alternatively, a more conventional but jettisonable 100 gal. drop tank could be carried, but it produced considerably more drag and affected overall performance so dramatically that it was never used in service.

 

The first tests of the new aircraft were conducted in January 1945 and three pre-production machines (all converted Mk. XIV airframes) were allocated to night fighter units for field trials and direct comparison with two engine types. Despite its innate aerodynamic and weight penalties the Spitfire NF.XX still attained an impressive top speed of 400 mph (350 kn; 640 km/h) at 29,500 ft (9.000 m), even though in clean condition only. But it was still more than enough to take on much heavier German bombers and night fighters. The second crewman was another winning factor, since the pilot alone would be overloaded in the face of heavily armed enemy aircraft in the European theatre of operations and the local weather conditions.

 

Further initial experience with the type resulted in several ad hoc modifications: the wing span was increased in order to improve handling and climb performance, using standard wing tip extensions from Spitfire high altitude variants. Furthermore, a deeper rudder was added to the fin because the second cockpit created significant directional instability.

 

Armament was changed, too - more firepower and a longer range was deemed necessary to attack the German heavy night fighters, which themselves frequently carried defensive armament in the form of heavy machine guns. Consequently, the initial pair of 0.5" machine guns was deleted and replaced by an additional pair of 20 mm Hispano cannon, and all four guns received extended barrels for a higher weapon range.

 

In this form, the Spitfire NF.XX quickly entered RAF service in March 1945, but, in the meantime, the German night fighter threat had declined, so that only 50 machines were completed and delivered to RAF units in the UK until the end of hostilities.

 

The operational use of the machines was hampered by localized skin wrinkling on the wings and fuselage at load attachment points, a problem the type shared with the Mk. XIV day fighter. Even though Supermarine advised that the machines had not been seriously weakened, nor were they on the point of failure, the RAF nevertheless issued instructions in early 1945 that all F and FR Mk XIVs were to be retrospectively fitted with clipped wings to counter the threat. The NF.XX kept their elongated wing tips, however, and were simply limited to a top speed of 370 mph (600 km/h) and not allowed to dive anymore.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 2 (pilot, radar operator)

Length: 32 ft 8 in (9.96 m)

Wingspan: 40 ft 2 in (12.2 m)

Height: 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m)

Wing area: 249.7 sq.ft (23.2 m²)

Airfoil: NACA 2213 (root), NACA 2209.4 (tip)

Empty weight: 8,680 lb (3,937 kg)

Gross weight: 10,700 lb (4,853 kg)

Max takeoff weight: 12,530 lb (5,683 kg)

 

Powerplant:

1× Rolls-Royce Griffon 65 supercharged V12, 2,050 hp (1,530 kW) at 8,000 ft (2,438 m),

driving a 5-bladed Jablo-Rotol propeller

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 400 mph (640 km/h; 353 kn) in FS supercharger gear at 29,500 ft.

Combat range: 460 mi (741 km/400 nmi) with internal fuel only

850 mi (1,370 km/757 nmi)

Ferry range: 1,093 mi (1,759 km/950 nmi)

Service ceiling: 43,500 ft (13,259 m)

Rate of climb: 4,300 ft/min (21.8 m/s) in MS supercharger gear at 2,100 ft.

3,100 ft/min (15.8 m/s) in FS supercharger gear at 22,100 ft.

Time to altitude: 8 mins to 22,000 ft (at max weight)

Wing loading: 32.72 lb/sq ft (159.8 kg/m²)

Power/mass: 0.24

 

Armament:

4× 20 mm (0.787-in) Hispano Mk II cannon with 120 RPG in the wings

Provision for an auxiliary underfuselage tank, either a fixed conformal 90 gal tank or a

100 gal drop tank.

  

The kit and its assembly:

Well, Spitfire fans might call it crude to create a whiffy variant that incorporates so many ugly details. But this fever creation came into being through the simple thought: "What would a dedicated Spitfire night fighter with a radar look like?" From this initial creative spark I tried to build this fictional NF.XX variant with available late WWII technology from a Griffon-powered Spitfire.

 

The basis is the Airfix Spitfire PR.XIX kit, a nice and clean offering, even though the use of this photo recce variant meant some additional work. The radar pod comes wholesale from an F4U night fighter (Fujimi), since the wing installation appeared to me to be the only plausible (and proven) option.

 

The second cockpit and the "double bubble" canopy come from an RS Models Spitfire Mk.IX UTI trainer, which is/was a domestic conversion made in the Soviet Union. The kit comes with an extra two seater fuselage, so that, despite body donors, almost a complete Spitfire remains (just the cockpit missing, but this can be taken from the Airfix kit).

I also considered the Spitfire TR.IX arrangement, with a stepped bubble canopy, but found that the risen rear cockpit for the instructor would not make sense in a night fighter, so the UTI arrangement with separate canopies on the same level appeared to me to be the most suitable solution for this aircraft and its task.

 

Surgery was not easy, though: The whole cockpit area was dissected from the RS Models trainer and – together with the internal parts like the bulkheads, dashboards and seats – transplanted into an appropriate gap, cut into the Airfix kit fuselage. The windscreen position on both airframes was used as orientation benchmark.

Basically a simple idea, but, even though you have two Spitfire kits at hand, both models differ slightly from each other in many ways. Material thickness is different, as well as panel lines, which are all there on both models but simply do not fall in line. Internal width and available space is also different, esp. the rear bulkhead was not easy to integrate into the Airfix fuselage. It worked, somehow, but it consequently took some PSR effort and rescribing (at least, both donor kits have engraved details) in order to create this Griffon-powered two-seater.

 

The extended wings were created through the simple implantation of high altitude wing tips from an AZ Model Spitfire I/II/V/VI kit. They match very well with the Airfix PR.XIX wings, which were simply clipped at the correct position outside of the ailerons. Since the recce Spitfire comes without any weapons I added four brass barrels (Pavla) to the wings, plus respective bulges for the magazines (scratched from sprue) and casing ejector fairings under the wings.

 

I also changed the vertical rudder. Instead of the separate OOB part from the Spitfire PR.XIX I used a deeper and higher rudder from a late Seafire mark (left over from a Special Hobby kit, IIRC). The part lost its hook and the notch for its deployment mechanism, replaced by a piece of styrene that was PSRed into the rest of the rudder. It’s not an obvious change, but the bigger fin area is a good counterpart to the enlarged wings and the bulkier rear fuselage.

 

The conformal belly tank was scratched from the upper half of a Matchbox A-10 inner wing. There are aftermarket solutions available, but I simply did not want to spend as much money on a single resin part that no one will clearly see and that’s just as expensive as the whole Airfix basis kit. Some things are just ridiculous.

  

Painting and markings:

Very simple: classic late war RAF night fighter colors, with Medium Sea Grey and Dark Green (Humbrol 165 and 163, respectively) on the uppers surfaces, plus Night (I used Revell Acrylics 06, Tar Black, which is actually a very dark grey tone) underneath, with a high waterline and a black fin. Looks weird on a Spitfire, but also somewhat cool!? The model received a light black ink wash and some panel post-shading, using a blue-ish hue for the Night undersurfaces.

 

The interior is classic RAF Cockpit Green (Humbrol 78), the only catchy marking is the red propeller spinner – originally I just wanted to keep the spinner black, too, but found that to be too dull overall.

 

The markings come from different sources; the codes were created with single Dull Red letters from Xtradecal, roundels and other markings come from various other sheets. The added “G” to the serial number is, BTW, an indication that the aircraft had to be guarded all the time. A nice and appropriate detail for this high tech aircraft of its time. The roundels/fin flashes were taken from another Xtradecal sheet, IIRC they belong to an FAA SB2C Helldiver.

 

Finally, some wear marks were added with dry-brushed light grey and silver. Exhaust stains were added with dry-brushed dark and light grey, as well as some grinded graphite. A coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) sealed the kit.

  

I feel a bit guilty of creating the probably ugliest Spitfire possible, with all the add-ons and the weird proportions through the second cockpit and the belly tank. Very massive, at least for this sleek aircraft. The night fighter paint scheme suits the Spitfire surprisingly well, though. Anyway, it’s whifworld, after all, and I tried to go through with the night fighter idea as good and consequential as possible – the fictional NF.XX is just my personal interpretation of the theme.

Two NASA teams want to deploy a highly compact, sensitive thermometer that could characterize comets and even assist in the redirection or possible destruction of an asteroid on a collision course with Earth.

 

In two technology-development efforts, researchers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, are baselining the use of a Goddard-designed infrared microbolometer camera — whose cross section is just slightly larger than a quarter — to study near primitive objects formed during the solar system’s origin 4.5 billion years ago.

 

Read more

 

NASA Media Usage Guidelines

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING INTEGRATED ENERGY (AMIE) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.

 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory combines clean energy technologies into a 3D-printed building and vehicle to showcase a new approach to energy use, storage and consumption. It is a model for energy-efficient systems that link buildings, vehicles and the grid. ORNL team worked with industrial partners to manufacture and connect a natural-gas-powered hybrid electric vehicle with a solar-powered building to create an integrated energy system. The project's energy control center manages the system's electrical demand and load by balancing the intermittent power from the building's 3.2-kilowatt solar array with supplemental power from the vehicle.

 

For more information or additional images, please contact 202-586-5251.

 

As you can tell, I won NaNoWrimo by meeting my word count goal of 5,000 words with a novel inspired by a LEGO minifig, believe it or not! Here's the novel that I wrote, if you're interested!

Space Police System Log (Sector Twelve)Stardate 10.29.2110 11:00 AM GMT

>System accessed from portable pad 100198

>Portable pad 100198 info: Pad no longer exists

>Query to portable pad 100198 pertaining to identity

>Portable pad 100198 reply: “I’ve got a new recruit, so I had to give the recruit Hime’s old pad”

>Portable pad 100198 authenticity: Security access level Green permitted

>Security system access by portable pad 100198: Security code “Admin” entered

>New security status of portable pad 100198: Security level Red all areas accessible

>Portable pad 100198 request access to level 9.

>Portable pad 100198 request granted

>Portable pad 100198 has went offline.

>Weapon discharge in Level 9.

>Establish lockdown.

>Lockdown established.

>Portable pad 100198 online.

>Portable pad 100198 requests removal of lockdown.

>Portable pad 100198 request granted.

>Portable pad 100198 requests shutdown of all security systems.

>Query portable pad 100198 authentication code.

>Portable pad 100198 authentication code Piccadilly.

>Portable pad 100198 request granted.

>All security systems disabled.

>Weapon discharge in Level 9

>Operator 195 vitals zero.

>Medical units dispatched.

>Portable pad 100198 request: Cancel medic dispatch and do not call medical again.

>Portable pad 100198 request granted.

>All medical response circuits disabled.

>Medical assistance call 009 canceled.

>Weapons discharge in Level 9.

>Operator 004 vitals zero.

>Weapon type established: Walther Silenced Disintegrator S/N 009.

>ERROR: Portable pad 100198’s owner has not been issued with such a weapon.

>Weapons discharge in Level 9.

>Operator 894 vitals zero.

>Weapon type established: Walther Silenced Disintegrator S/N 008.

>ERROR: Portable pad 100198’s owner has not been issued with such a weapon.

>ERROR: Discharge of two different weapons of the “Pistol” class, one in each hand, is a recognized violation of Marksmanship Statute 8976.

>GENERAL ERROR CONDITION

>Portable pad 100198 has been disabled.

>All changes revert to fifth-to-last save.

>Security teams dispatched to Level 9.

>Owner of portable pad 100198 has been disabled.

>Large explosion of the type “Fission Bomb” has been detected.

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 987) Stardate 10.31.2110

 

I couldn’t decipher much of the system log, as I am not that good with computer language. From what I can piece together, it happened like this:

 

It was a cold, dark, dry Martian night in the Sector 12 station. Sergeant-at-Arms Kelby had just begun checking his third-quarter timesheets, when an old, disused pad (100198) started to hack into the system form the disused back entrance. Eventually, it managed to hack the security codes so that it carried Captain Piccadilly’s code! The operator of the pad used this to get into Level 9, our chaotic call center. Then, he/she opened fire on the cavernous room, filled to the gills with vidphone operators. We lost three operators at that instant. They were Susan Adams, “Acid” Wund, and Jon Baker. They were all at the top of their game, and much too young to die. The security cameras caught a glimpse of a completely black-clad figure dual-wielding banned Walther Disentegrators. I ran a face-match on this picture, and had no luck. The perp suddenly teleported out of there. A small orange and red object dropped, and then KA-WHAM!, no more feed or system logging. I instantly recognized the explosion type. It was a 1-2 megaton fission bomb, with about the yield of the one that destroyed Hiroshima. Thankfully, the system’s last gasp included activating the rad shields and sealing off every section. The system and all the other electronic devices went kaput, because the Keptin designers forgot to add shielding to their design. We had no deaths from the blast, but about 50 got concussion wounds, and all of the evidence was destroyed. I might mention that the café’s food suddenly tasted like a mouthful of brick dust. I can only hope the radiation didn’t affect Sector Twelve’s food stores. The case is nowhere near closed, though.

                      

Chapter 2

 

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 988) Stardate 11.2.2110

Today started out well enough. I had just figured out a new lead on Case 987. By looking at what was visible of the perp’s face through the mask, I was able to figure out that the perp was the same species as the infamous mugger Slizer. It is definitely not Slizer, though, because he is safe and sound in Planet Lisa’s max-security prison. Then, the worst happened. Reports started filtering in that the Skaalgan, a warrior race, had rebelled against the good rule of the Galactic Republic. First, le me give you a bit of background on the Skaalgan.

 

The Skaalgan are categorized as a Type 12 species. Normal Earth composition air is quite toxic to them, so they have to wear chlorine-filled pressure suits off their home planet, Schvinge. They are also a traditionally violent race, so these methane suits, if punctured, also serve as a deadly gas bomb to Type 3 (oxy-breathing mammals like the Humans) species. At last count, they have orchestrated a baker’s dozen rebellions against the Republic. (source: Hyperwikipedia)

  

They appeared to have no reason other than “it was Bob’s birthday, and that means we go rebel against somebody”. Their main forces for the initial assault consisted of the Mustard Juggernauts, the deadliest combination of armor, gas suits, and weapons the galaxy has ever seen. The Mustard Juggernauts are armed with the deadly GE Minigun and the Heckler&Koch MP5. While outdated, the Minigun puts out an astonishing 3,000 rounds per minute, and the MP5 is astonishingly accurate. Our forces were only ray-shielded, so these “outdated” mass throwers came as quite a surprise. Their main spearheads were on three planets: Planet Lisa, a then-deserted asteroid, and Space Station EM-3. It was a complete massacre. The Space Police peacekeepers, using the completely wrong type of shielding, dropped like flies. We had to call in the Space Marines.

 

I didn’t hear much from HNN on the issue. It soon went deep black. I had to go through the official channels to get any information on the rebellion. From what I heard, it has already been resolved. It’s not my department, anyways…..

 

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 987) Stardate 11.5.2110

 

I think I have a lead! The only place where Walther Disentegrators can be found is Jack Jeebs Pawn in Queens, New York. I have a void in my schedule tomorrow, so I think I’ll go to Queens to check this out. There’s also a few friends of mine up there that may have some information pertaining to the case. By the way, Sally has been acting up lately. I think she somehow got a copy of Windows Vista to run as a background emulator to relieve boredom, and it is bugging up the system like heck.

    

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 987) Stardate 11.6.2110

I am on the evening rocket back to HQ as I write this. The visit to Jeebs’ place was quite eventful. It’s fresh in my mind, so I’ll give you a play-by-play.

 

I walked into the pawn shop at high noon, with a spring in my step thanks to some spring-augmented stilts from a street vendor. I soon accidentally bumped my head on the chandelier. I asked Jeebs about the Walther disintegrators nicely, and then he unexpectedly tells me about these kids walking in and stealing every single bit of high-tech weaponry he has, including the Walther Disentegrators! Luckily, those kids frequented the shop, so Jeebs new exactly who they were. They were Derek Rodriguez and Alfred Lord, both 17. They lived in the Jamaica Estates apartments, room 131 and 342 respectively. I will have to file for a warrant to both interview and interrogate these kids about the robbery and where the disintegrators went.

  

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 987) Stardate 11.7.2110

 

Paperwork sucks eggplants. I had to go through a Trip Value Assessment, an after-action report, an incident report, a polygraph test, an appeal for a warrant, an overhead expense justification sheet for the spring-augmented stilts, and a part replacement chitty for Sally’s graphics chip (it had become infested with gremlins) just for those past two days! Arrghh!

 

Anyway, I pulled up the files on those kids. Nothing came up except for this odd code fragment from Sally.

>fuzzy wuzzies

That’s all. I think I need to replace the monitor again.

                   

Chapter 3

 

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 987) Stardate 11.8.2110

 

I finally got the warrant for search of the Jamaica Estates apartments, rooms 131 and 342. I am right in front of the building right now, so I’ll go ahead and log it. The log may prove crucial.

 

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 987) Stardate 11.8.2110 Supplemental

 

2:00 I am at the lobby.

2:01 I ask the receptionist which way I should head to get to room 131.

2:02 Receptionist: “Here’s a map, you should know how to use it.”

2:03 Note to self: Do not ask directions from the receptionist. Ever.

2:04 I am knocking at the door of room 131.

2:09 Nobody has answered.

2:10 I am using the ancient elevator in lieu of a turbolift to get to room 342.

2:15 I am knocking at the door of room 342.

2:16 I apparently am knocking at the front door of the Odd Species Embassy in New York, New York.

2:17 Something has gone seriously wrong. I appear to have entered a spatial disturbance.

2:18 Starfleet Lieutenant Commander Data answers the door. I ask him about the disturbance.

Data: “I have no idea as to what just happened. However, I am on vacation and am able to assist.

2:19 Data pulls out his tricorder and scans me.

Data: “You appear to have come from the year 2110. Welcome to the twenty-fourth century.”

2:20 Make that temporal disturbance. I hate it when Carl Sagan forgets to carry a number.

 

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 987) Stardate 11.8.2410

 

I have entered a temporal disturbance while knocking at the door of room 342 at the Jamaica Estates apartments in Queens, New York. I have acquired a helper in the form of Starfleet Lieutenant Data. He is an android with a positronic brain. I have no leads on either Incident 987 or how I am supposed to get out of here. Yikes. Of course, the fuzzy wuzzies may have something to do with that.

          

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 987) Stardate 11.12.2410

 

I just searched “fuzzie wuzzies” about a minute ago and it came up with some interesting results. Fuzzie wuzzies appears to be an asteroid in the next sector over with an odd temporal anomaly on its surface. I’m in the middle of coordinating an attempt to figure out which time and system it goes to.

 

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 987) Stardate 11.16.2110

I am not allowed to divulge the methods by which I got back because of the Prime Directive, but here I am. Everything’s good now, but the Jamaica Estates apartments are going to have to have a thorough scientific scan for anomalies. I hope I can interrogate the two kids while they’re waiting for their rooms to finish the scan. Meanwhile, back to Sally’s defective monitor…

 

Transcript of interview of Derek Rodriguez and Alfred Lord by SPSI Saxon Fletcher

Stardate 11.16.2110 2:00 PM

Saxon Fletcher: Do you happen to know anything about the temporal anomaly in Alfred Lord’s room?

Alfred Lord: Woops, sorry about that. It’s a leftover from when my whole family lived in the apartment and I wanted to keep my little sister out of my room. I really must recalibrate that thing.

Saxon Fletcher: What do you know about the thief of Jack Jeebs’s whole weapons stock?

Derek Rodriguez: His weapons stock has never been stolen, ever. I should know. He lies to any overly curious people so they don’t go spreading rumors that Jeebs has some illegal weapons. He only sells those illegal weapons to people threatening him with a much bigger gun or a permit, though.

Alfred Lord: His whole stock is intact. I bought a target blaster off him just yesterday.

Saxon Fletcher: Do you happen to know anything about a pair of Walther Disentegrators that disappeared from Jeebs’s store about two weeks ago?

Derek Rodriguez: He sold them to a light-green colored alien that looked a lot like that Slizer dude you see on the “Most Wanted” posters.

Saxon Fletcher: That’s all. Good day.

 

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 987) Stardate 11.17.2110

I had to go through more paperwork than ever today! I think the paper I used was about the yield from an entire tree. I had to go to a debriefing run by the Physicists that Formerly said Theoretical, make an absence excuse sheet, negotiate with Sally’s defective gremlin-catching lawyer, file an After-Action Report from the interview of Rodriguez and Lord, explain the Prime Directive to about fifty of my coworkers, go through a full bio scan, and last but not least, a cost-risk assessment for some utterly unrelated thing that accidentally got wired to me. I plan to quantify Rodriguez’s statement about Jeebs’s sales with my old pals at MiB, test out those stilts, and try to catch up on my doctorate of investigation.

  

CHAPTER 3

 

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 987) Stardate 11.18.2110

I’m at the Queens MiB bureau as I write this. It appears that both the MiB have developed a lifespan-enhancing drug called “boosterspice” with no ill effects. This has Potential with a capital P. Sadly, I am not allowed to divulge any details about this breakthrough, or I would have to brain-wipe you. Anyways, I checked with K about Jeeb’s activities. Turns out the kids were right. Jeebs uses everything he can to keep the long arm of the law out of his shop. The MiB (or Mibbies as we call them in the amateur xenobiologist community) assigned me Agent J to help me out on the case, as they lost one of their own (“Acid” Wund, who was visiting). I’ve also been assigned an extremely potent version of the famed Noisy Cricket with a longer antenna to use if things get interesting. Here’s a play-by play log of our “visit” to Jeebs’s shop.

11:00 AM Agent J and I are exiting the Mibbie’s Queens Bureau through the west exit.

11:02 AM I see the street vendor that sold me those spring-loaded stilts. I thank him.

11:05 AM Agent J and I stop to talk to a pug. He quantifies the kid’s statement yet again.

11:15 AM J and I are waiting at the bus stop.

11:45 AM J and I are still waiting.

12:00 PM We get on the bus to MacDougal Street.

1:00 PM We get off the bus.

1:15 We are at the “Question of Time” jewelry shop, aka Jeebs’s shop.

1:16 Agent J: “Jeebs, let’s see the goods.”

1:17 Jeebs: “I don’t know nothing about any goods! I’m just a humble jewelry shop owner!”

1:18 Agent J: “Skip it. We know you have extraterrestrial weapons here.”

1:19 Jeebs pulls out a fearsome-looking shotgun and presses it to J’s head. It’s time for the Son of the Noisy Cricket.

1:20 I shoot the Noisy Cricket II at Jeeb’s head and simultaneously cause Jeeb’s head to disappear, the shotgun drops on the button that changes Jeebs’s shelves, and the recoil throws me back about 10 feet. “Noisy Cricket” my butt.

1:21 Jeebs: “You idiot! Do you know how much that stings?”

1:22 I ask Jeebs about the two Walther Disentegrators he sold a couple weeks ago.

1:23 Jeebs: “That guy said he was mafia. I can’t tell you anything”.

1:24 Agent J: “The mafia doesn’t have aliens.”

1:25 Jeebs: “Alright, fine. I don’t know his name, but I do know where he lives and what he is. He is a rouge Igor from Discworld, transported here by a temporal anomaly. He currently lives in the Jupiter sky colonies.

1:26 Me: “That pretty much seals it. All Igors call themselves Igor, so we know his name, location, and timeframe.”

1:27 Agent J and I are heading back to MiB HQ.

5:00 We are back at MiB HQ. I hate rush hour.

     

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 987) Stardate 11.19.2110

I am starting preparations for the trip to Jupiter to track down the Jovian Igor. I’ve collected a warrant, a small rocket-powered atmosphere skipper, and the pressure suits necessary so far. I’m in the process of figuring out a vehicle-mounted weapons system that won’t accidentally shoot through the gas envelopes of the colonies. My solution so far uses a combination of a railgun shooting small, thin-walled ampoules of hydrogen at an incredibly high speed. Theoretically, this design will have a darn-near unlimited ammo supply, given that the Jovian atmosphere is primarily made up of hydrogen. I just have to keep the whole atmosphere from going up in flames! Agent J has come through with some of the gadgets we are going to need, and my alma mater Clark County University has provided us with a prototype warp drive capable of going Warp 4. Now all we need is a vehicle to cram all this stuff in.

    

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 987) Stardate 11.20.2110

We’ve got a ship. It’s a robust cargo hauler called the Star Porter. I’ve got a configuration for everything. The railgun design has been fabbed and is in shipping, and I am trying to cram the CCU warp drive into Engineering. I’ve collected a crack crew. Now to get the muscle to operate the lifts right… Agent J is wrestling with installing the scanners and matter-energy reactor. I have also come up with another lead about the Jovian Igor. He lives in Sky Colony 4, near the equator.

 

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 987) Stardate 11.21.2110

Ha, all the keys I had to press were the two, the one, and the zero. Anyways, we’ve got everything ready and will be underway once the FAA gives us a clearance, which could be tomorrow or the next millennium, knowing how the FAA hates everyone. I’m trying to find more info on Sky Colony 4. Apparently, the fourth colony disappeared into the Big Red Spot about five years ago, yet its transponders are giving the “all clear” signal, and their locators are disabled. Rumors have been circulating that Four broke away from the Republic. This adds another SP team to my crew compliment, but they’re good people. Heading up SPSI Team TWO will be Special Operator Medvedev. He will have Agent K, Bob and a young upstart named Kirk under him.

 

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 987) Stardate 11.22.2110

We’ve got an FAA clearance at last. We launch tomorrow. All preparations are done.

 

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 987) Stardate 11.23.2110

We have launched. We are going to do a mid-trip refuel with a Ramses-class supertanker, net info dump near Asteroid AP Alpha, and finally detach the atmospheric hopper section, which contains the bridge, living quarters for the SP investigation units, and a gas envelope inflator. I also am riding the hopper down. When we hit the atmosphere, we will gather inflatable gasses for about a minute (sixty kilometers downwards), inflating the gas envelope as we go down. Once the gas envelope inflates, we will gain the designation Sky Rover One. We will make our way over to Five’s last known location, then deploy rocket hoppers in a spiral search pattern.

 

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 987) Stardate 11.24.2110

 

We have made it to the refuel point with the Ramses-class supertanker Star Provider.

No sight of her, yet, which is very weird. Meanwhile, the crew has been amusing themselves with the holodeck. They have been having as much fun with the constant power and picture tube repairs as with using it. Changing the picture tubes requires hooking into a safety line climbing rig and climbing a hundred-foot ladder of titanium-sheathed Net conduits to the projector. There, they have to input a thirty-two digit hexadecimal security code to gain access to the projector assembly. Once they replace it, they face a hundred-fifty foot rappel down to safety. It’s not for the queasy. The projector blows quite a lot, so they get a lot of chances. One of our engineers is testing a wing system to eliminate the rappel. He has went through five “Frequent Patient” cards at sickbay.

The power units are a whole different story. When they go down, all heck breaks lose. The subject has to suit up in full “battle rattle”, containing a deactivator pistol, a high-strength locator beacon, a holoresolver HUD, and a Scout power armor suit. Once down to the engineering levels, he has to literally do battle with the failing holoprojector computer. The computer generates random images, most used in battle training and therefore quite frightening. The subject uses his holoresolver HUD to check and see if the hologram can do any damage (the holodeck computer has been known to interface with the replicator at times) and takes the required action. If the hologram is innocuous, he adjusts his HUD to block it out and move on. If the hologram’s matter-energy settings are off and it looks to be malicious, the subject tries to access the shipwide network and shut that down. If not, he shoots it with the deactivator, which tells the computer to shut that image down. The computer has, on occasion, taken cues from early pre-warp two-dimensional “videogames” and have a life system, which causes the image to take multiple shots to shut down. To counter this, the arts department is working with the geeks to create higher-power weapons such as deactivator cannons. I think that, with the proper modifications, these weapons will be quite useful on Sky Colony Four. Once the subject has gotten to the central holodeck computer, he has to interface directly with it via his Net implant to reprogram it to accept the new power circuitry. This is incredibly tedious at the best of times, and utterly nauseating and terrifying when the computer is really on the fritz or in one of its moods. After he has reprogrammed it, he has to come back through the “stacks”, which contain, at total, fifteen thousand terabytes of data. He must not bump a single memory stack for fear of taking down life support or his locator beacon receiver software. The Adar designers, in their endless wisdom, made this a fun little labyrinth. Thankfully, we haven’t lost a man yet, but it took five hours until we heard from SP Investigation Team ONE Matrix Specialist Max “Job Title” Porkins.

     

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 987) Stardate 11.25.2110

We have finally sighted the Star Provider and refueled. The Bussard-Cherenkov balance refueling process is quite a spectacle, so I’ll relate the process to you.

First, the subject has to bleed off all its fuel. This is usually accomplished by having the refueling point when the subject is almost completely out of fuel, but the modified Star Porter is a bit different. Our modifications meant that the quad-blaster cannon gas reserves are in the previous main fuel tank, and the fuel is contained in MASSIVE external conformal fuel tanks (ECFTs). The ECFT designer forgot to add external dump valves. Additionally, our refuel point had to be when we were midway there, because that was the last refuel point until Jupiter. We could have lasted until we were three-quarters there, but then we would be dead in space with no refueling opportunity.

Our pilot accomplishes this by taking the Star Porter through VERY aggressive combat maneuvers. He first detaches the atmospheric hopper section so the crew doesn’t get nauseated, and then goes through about twenty barrel rolls. It worked, thankfully, and I didn’t have to ride shotgun on THAT stagecoach. Next, the atmospheric hopper pilot reattaches with the main section (taking up precious fuel, but the main section pilot made it within a kilometer). Next, the tanker takes down an umbilical and refuels each ECFT individually, a painstaking process. Finally, the tanker detaches. Anyways, we refueled well and are now going towards the Net dump.

 

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 987) Stardate 11.26.2110

We have made it to the Net dump but are having some problems. The conduits are overflowing and maxing out the processors. It’s definitely going to be interesting. The engineers have hacked up a solution, involving some duct tape and a welder. We’ll see how long that holds up. I’ve actually managed to dredge u some information regarding these rebel Igors. They actually have a secret society and are plotting to take over Jupiter. They have, so far, only been able to put one Igor in, our perp.

 

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 987) Stardate 11.27.2110

We are now separating the atmospheric section from the section with the warp drive.

T+1 The section has been successfully separated.

T+2 The section is in free fall.

T+3 The envelope has been inflated.

T+4 Redesignation: Sky Rover One.

T+5: Heading to the bearing of the last transmit from Five.

T+6: Preparing to offload rocket hoppers.

T+20: Last known position of Five reached. Initiating full sensor scan.

T+25: Faint signal heard spinwards. Deploying rocket hoppers one and two to investigate.

T+30: Rocket hoppers have reported that they have found Five. I’m heading in.

T+35: I have launched in Boarding One. I am really regretting not taking those drop sickness pills.

T+40: Boarding One has inflated its envelope and we are coming alongside Five.

T+41: Sending query.

T+42: Five has fired its railgun.

T+42: We are undertaking evasive maneuvers.

T+43: We are firing at Five’s weapons stations.

T+44: We have disabled Five’s weapons.

T+45: Coming alongside Five.

T+46: SPI teams ONE and TWO have boarded.

/end log

 

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 987) Stardate 11.28.2110

We have tracked down the Jovian Igor and he is in jail, but it’s no fun if you, dear reader, do not know how it happened, so here goes!

 

It was an all-too-stormy day on Jupiter. The time: high noon. We had boarded the rebel Sky Colony Five via the good ship Boarding One and swept the colony like the old Navy SEALs. Suddenly, our old friend the Jovian Igor fired at my first officer Sgt. Novak. Sadly, the perpetrator was a dead shot. I set my trusty Noisy Cricket to “stun” and went after the direction of the shot, with Men In Black Agent J trailing close behind. Little did we know, the Igor had professional training. Like any good blaster sniper, he never shot from the same spot twice. With holographic decoys that we had set out earlier dropping like flies, it looked like a miniature D-Day, except for two details: We were on a blimp and using blasters. Agent J suggested using jetpacks, which we did. Thankfully, they were the new repulsor units. Taking energy from the batteries of the dearly deceased hologram units, we took to the air like so many birds. Trouble is, our flight skills weren’t all that good (both of us having barely passed Basic Jetpack Skills in primary), so we barely made it over the courthouse roof . These comedic antics acted as excellent evasive maneuvers, so we were never hit once. I pulled out my binoculars and had a look around. Surprisingly enough, the Igor was smack-dab in my sights. I took my Noisy Cricket off safety and fired. The recoil knocked me back about 10 feet, thus throwing off my gyros. I barely had enough time to compensate before I hit the ground. My jetpack busted, I had to chase the perp on foot. He ran up a fire escape, firing wildly (and missing) all the time. When he got up, he had to change blaster gas cells. I took the opportunity and fired. The infamous Jovian Igor was down. I took out a Styrette from my supplies and injected the Igor with an anesthetic, which would keep him out for at least 5 hours. Then the worst happened. Blaster fire started pouring in from all directions. It turned out that our little friend was not alone. I left the perp to the paddy wagon and dove for cover. Fortunately, his henchmen were not as well trained, firing from the same spot all the time. Agent J was able to take most of them out, but had to leave the ones better fortified to the Noisy Cricket, which was in possession of me. I found the first one near the radio shack. He was pretty well dug in there, with Dura Crete walls and a heavy ML42. One shot with that weapon, and I would have been dead. I saw him before he saw me, though, and took him out. One shot, and KABOOM! No more bunker! I moved on to the next one, who was snug as a bug I the armory. “This is going to be hard,” I thought to myself. Completely the opposite, this guy was the dumbest of them all. He barely fired and stood way out in the open, where I shot him with the Noisy Cricket. He was, without a question, disintegrated. I took a weapon with less recoil from the armory, as well as a new repulsor pack. Again, I took to the air, but with a little more confidence this time. I spotted the third and plinked a grenade into his hideout near the commissary. It failed to go off. I plinked another, ditto. The grenades must have been affected by the harsh Jupiter atmosphere. I landed and fired my Noisy Cricket at him, and he then went down. That was the last of them. I then went back to our base and we packed up and headed for home with the Jovian Igor safe behind bars.

  

Investigator Saxon Fletcher’s Case Log (Incident 987) Stardate 11.29.2110

We are en route back home. We have successfully reconnected with our warp drive section, made our Net dump, refueled from the atmosphere, and solved the dual mysteries of the Jovian Igor and the missing Sky Colony Five. It turns out that the Igor society hopped onto Five disguised as normal passengers and then executed a military coup. The colony turned off its transponder and went completely self sufficient from the Republic. I can’t wait to be done with all this running around!

 

~~

Image credit goes to ywp.NaNoWriMo .org. Used with permission.

Laysan Albatross parents with their chick. Tern Island in the French Frigate Shoals, Hawaii.

 

Camera: Olympus OM-1

Lens: Olympus OM-System S Zuiko MC Auto-Zoom f/4 35-70mm. Yellow filter.

Film: Adox HR-50

Developer: Beerenol (Rainier Beer)

It’s 320 lbs of heavy metal from the Aletai meteorite found in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, first in 1898 and then this additional masses as recently as 2021. (I call it 2021 A Space Oddity)

 

It was the molten iron-nickel core of a shattered planet, presumably from the early epoch of our solar system’s formation. The long crystals you see throughout were formed in space, and requiring cooling rates of a couple degrees Celsius per million years!

 

The composition of Aletai is so unique that no other samples in the world’s meteorite collection are comparable. It is one of two meteorites classified as Iron IIIE-anomalous (with higher gold, cobalt and iridium than typical).

 

The composition of Aletai is so unique that no other samples in the world’s meteorite collection are comparable. It is one of two meteorites classified as Iron, IIIE-anomalous. Aletai irons are characterized by higher Au and Co contents and unexpected Ir contents that do not fall on extrapolation of the Au-Ir trend of the other IIIE irons.

 

In aggregate, the mass of Atelai found so far, 74,480kg, is the largest known on Earth. And it is by far and away the largest meteorite debris scattering field found on the planet, believed to be due to its unique stone-skipping-like trajectory off the atmosphere on entry (see diagram below).

 

It took months of work to cut and stabilize by the masterful Craig Zilmen (see below for action shots). Exposing the crystal patterns in the smooth metal takes an HF acid etch. Craig: “The weight is a major factor in everything from cutting to finishing and makes etching particularly challenging because there’s no way to access all sides simultaneously and etching requires an incredibly uniform application of acid or any runs/streaks will be obvious.”

 

Then, the monolith was stabilized using reverse electrolysis for over 6 months to make it highly resistant to rust. The base is the untreated rough exterior of Atelai as it has looked for ~ 2 million years.

Star Hawk Vx

 

Less than three lunar months after the mysterious disappearence of Unitron system's Star Hawk V test prototype, sightings were reported of a Galaxy Patrol that bore a striking resemblance to the missing craft.

 

Galaxy Patrol Engineering and Weapons Division added upgraded proton fusion gravity drive engines designed for a much larger craft, making the Vx capable of achieving incredible speeds and distances. Unitron surveillance gear was scrapped in favor of twin triple-barrel plasma cannons and photon missile batteries.

 

The Vx also displays the Galaxy Patrol’s dark blue and orange livery and characteristic bling.

 

Unitron system representatives deny any link to their missing craft.

The Hispasat AG1 communications satellite completes the integration phase of testing in OHB System's cleanroom in Bremen, Germany. Hispasat AG1 will provide Spain, Portugal, the Canary Islands and the Americas with faster multimedia services through its reconfigurable Redsat payload.

 

AG1 is now at the IABG (Industrieanlagen-Betriebsgesellschaft) in Ottobrunn, Germany, undergoing environmental impact testing. There it will be placed in the thermal-vacuum chamber and its systems tested under ultra-high and low temperatures to simulate the conditions in space.

 

AG1 is the first satellite to use Europe’s new SmallGEO platform, developed through a public–private partnership between ESA and OHB. SmallGEO will strengthen the position of European industry in the commercial telecommunications market, expanding the current range of available products.

 

Credit:OHB

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

  

Some background:

In the aftermath of the Second World War, Sweden required a strong air defense, utilizing the newly developed jet propulsion technology. This led to a pair of proposals being issued by the Saab design team, led by Lars Brising. The first of these, codenamed R101, was a cigar-shaped aircraft, which bore a resemblance to the American Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star. The second design, which would later be picked as the winner, was a barrel-shaped design, codenamed R 1001, which proved to be both faster and more agile upon closer study.

 

The original R 1001 concept had been designed around a mostly straight wing, but after Swedish engineers had obtained German research data on swept-wing designs, the prototype was altered to incorporate a 25° sweep. In order to make the wing as thin as possible, Saab elected to locate the retractable undercarriage in the aircraft's fuselage rather than into the wings.

 

Extensive wind tunnel testing performed at the Swedish Royal University of Technology and by the National Aeronautical Research Institute had also influenced aspects of the aircraft's aerodynamics, such as stability and trim across the aircraft's speed range. In order to test the design of the swept wing further and avoid any surprises, it was decided to modify a single Saab Safir. It received the designation Saab 201 and a full-scale R 1001 wing for a series of flight tests. The first 'final' sketches of the aircraft, incorporating the new information, was drawn in January 1946.

 

The originally envisioned powerplant for the new fighter type was the de Havilland Goblin turbojet engine. However, in December 1945, information on the newer and more powerful de Havilland Ghost engine became available. The new engine was deemed to be ideal for Saab's in-development aircraft, as not only did the Ghost engine had provisions for the use of a central circular air intake, the overall diameter of the engine was favorable for the planned fuselage dimensions, too. Thus, following negotiations between de Havilland and Saab, the Ghost engine was selected to power the type instead and built in license as the RM 2.

 

By February 1946 the main outline of the proposed aircraft had been clearly defined. In Autumn 1946, following the resolution of all major questions of principal and the completion of the project specification, the Swedish Air Force formally ordered the completion of the design and that three prototype aircraft be produced, giving the proposed type the designation J 29.

On 1 September 1948, the first of the Saab 29 prototypes conducted its maiden flight, which lasted for half an hour. Because of the shape of its fuselage, the Saab J 29 quickly received the nickname "Flygande Tunnan" ("The Flying Barrel"), or "Tunnan" ("The Barrel") for short. While the demeaning nickname was not appreciated by Saab, its short form was eventually officially adopted.

 

A total of four prototypes were built for the aircraft's test program. The first two lacked armament, carrying heavy test equipment instead, while the third prototype was armed with four 20mm automatic guns. Various different aerodynamic arrangements were tested, such as air brakes being installed either upon the fuselage or on the wings aft of the rear spar, along with both combined and conventional aileron/flap arrangements.

The flight test program revealed that the J 29 prototypes were capable of reaching and exceeding the maximum permissible Mach number for which they had been designed, and the flight performance figures gathered were found to be typically in excess of the predicted values.

 

In 1948 production of the type commenced and in May 1951 the first deliveries of operational production aircraft were received by F 13 Norrköping. The J 29 proved to be very successful and several variants and updates of the Tunnan were produced, including a dedicated reconnaissance variant and a dedicated all-weather fighter with an on-board radar, the J 29D.

 

The J 29D variant originally started its career as a single prototype to test the Ghost RM 2A afterburner turbojet with 27.5 kN (2,800 kgp/6,175 lbf). The new engine dramatically improved the Tunnan’s performance, esp. concerning the start phase, acceleration and climb, and was eventually adopted for the whole J 29 fighter fleet in an update program, leading to the J 29F variant.

 

However, at the time of the RM 2A trials, Sweden was more and more in need for a suitable all-weather aerial defense for its vast, neutral airspace in the vicinity of the Soviet Union. Only a single flight of the Swedish Air Force, F1 in Hässlö, operated roundabout thirty radar-equipped fighters, and these were outdated De Havilland Mosquito night fighters (locally designated J 30).

 

The highly successful J 29 was soon considered as a potential air-intercept radar carrier, offering a much more up-tp-date performance and deterrent potential against would-be intruders. Consequently, Saab started the development of an indigenous all-weather fighter on the basis of the Tunnan (originally coded “J 29R”). The work started with aerodynamic trials of different radome designs and placements on a Tunnan’s nose, e .g. inside of the circular air intake opening or above it. No major drawbacks were identified, and in 1955 the decision was made to convert thirty J 29B daylight fighters for the all weather/night fighter role. These machines officially inherited the designation J 29D.

The J 29D’s compact radar, called the PS-43/T, was designed by CSF (Compagnie Generale de Telegrahpi Sans Fil) in France after the Swedish specification. It had a wavelength of 3 cm with an effect of 100 kW, and it was to have a spiral scan pattern. Range was 15-20 km, only a slight improved against the Mosquitos’ bulky SCR-720B radar set, which only had a range of 12-16km. But the system’s compact size and the ability to be operated by the pilot alone meant a serious step forward. 34 sets were delivered together with blueprints in 1956, and the PS-43 radar system was later modified and adapted to the Saab 32 Lansen, too.

 

The structural modifications for the radar-equipped Tunnan were carried out in the course of the ensuing J 29F update program, which had started in 1954. Beyond the afterburner engine and dogtooth wing updates for the day fighters, the J 29D also received a re-designed nose section which now featured a thimble radome for the PS-43/T, integrated into the upper air intake lip, reminiscent of the F-86D’s arrangement. The air intake itself kept the original circular diameter, but the opening was slightly wider, raked forward and featured a sharper lip, for an improved airflow under the radome. Overall performance of the J 29 did not suffer, and the conversion took place swiftly thanks to a simple replacement of the nose section in front of the windscreen and the installation of a shielded tracking monitor in the cockpit.

 

Experiments with a heavier cannon armament (consisting of four, long-barreled 30mm guns in the lower fuselage) for the J 29 in general were conducted in parallel, too. But, despite showing no negative effect on the J 29’s handling or performance, this upgrade was not introduced to any of the J 29 variants in service and so the J 29D kept its original four 20mm cannon as main armament, too. Additional ordnance consisted of optional racks with 75 mm/3 in air-to-air rockets under the inner wings against large aerial targets like bombers. A pair of drop tanks could be carried on the outer pylons, too, and they were frequently carried in order to extend range and loiter time. Other loads, including bombs or unguided air-to-ground missiles, were possible, but never carried except for in practice.

 

The last converted J 29D was delivered back to the Swedish Air Force in late 1956, just in time to replace the last active J 30 Mosquitos in service, which had been gradually phased out since 1953. In parallel, the radar-equipped J 33 Venom was introduced into service, too, since the small number of J 29Ds had in the meantime turned out to be far from sufficient to effectively cover the Swedish air space against large numbers of ever faster jet bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. The J 29D fulfilled its role and duty well, though, and was just as popular as the daylight fighter versions.

 

Initially, all J 29D were delivered in bare metal finish, but they were soon adorned with additional markings on fin and wing tips for easier recognition and formation flights. A few all-weather fighters of F1 Flygflottil experimentally received the blue/green camouflage which had been adopted for the S 29C reconnaissance aircraft, but this was found to be ineffective at the typical altitudes the interceptors would operate. As a consequence, the scheme was quickly changed into the much lighter livery of the former J 30 and J 33 fighters, although the bare metal undersides and the formation markings under the wing tips were retained – even though this practice was confined to F 1 and not consequently carried out among all of the fighter squadron's J 29Ds. Some J 29D furthermore carried various forms of black ID bands for quick identification in war games, but unlike the day fighters, these markings were limited to the undersides only.

 

From 1963 onwards all frontline J 29Fs were equipped with AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared-seeking air-to-air missiles, designated Rb 24 in Swedish service. This update was also carried out among the J 29D fleet, and the new, guided missiles considerably improved the aircraft’s capabilities.

 

Anyway, the J 29D’s small number remained a fundamental problem that prevented bigger success or even export sales, and due to the quick technical advances, the J 29D remained only a stopgap solution. The much more capable Saab 32 Lansen had been under development and its dedicated all-weather fighter variant, the J 32B, had already entered service in 1958, replacing the mixed and outdated lot of radar-equipped fighters in Swedish service.

Nevertheless, the J 29D soldiered on, together with the rest of the J 29F and S 29C fleet, until 1970, even though not in front line duties anymore.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 10.80 m (35 ft 4 1/2 in)

Wingspan: 11.0 m (36 ft 1 in)

Height: 3.75 m (12 ft 4 in)

Wing area: 24.15 m² (260.0 ft²)

Empty weight: 4,845 kg (10,680 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 8,375 kg (18,465 lb)

 

Powerplant:

1× Svenska Flygmotor RM2B afterburner turbojet, rated at 6,070 lbf (27 kN)

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 1,060 km/h (660 mph)

Range: 1,100 km (685 mi)

Service ceiling: 15,500 m (50,850 ft)

Rate of climb: 32.1 m/s (6,320 ft/min)

 

Armament:

4x 20mm Hispano Mark V autocannon in the lower front fuselage

Typically, a pair of 400-liter (106 US gallon) or 500-liter (132 US gallon) drop tanks was carried on the outer “wet” pylons

Further air-to-air ordnance initially consisted of 75 mm (3 in) air-to-air rockets, from 1963 onwards the J 29D could also carry up to 4x Rb 24 (AIM-9B Sidewinder) IR-guided air-to-air missiles.

Optionally (but never carried in service), the J 29D could also deploy a wide range of bombs and unguided missiles, including 145 mm (5.8 in) anti-armor rockets, 150 mm (6 in) HE (high-explosive) rockets or 180 mm (7.2 in) HE anti-ship rockets

  

The kit and its assembly:

Sweden is a prolific whiffing territory, and the Saab 29 offers some interesting options. The all-weather Tunnan was a real Saab project, and things actually got as far as the aforementioned radome shape test stage. But eventually the project was fully dropped, since Saab had been busy with standard J 29 production and conversions, so that this aircraft never materialized, just as the projected side-by-side trainer Sk 29 of the same era.

 

However, I recently came across a nice Saab 29 book which also covers some projects – including drawings of the radar-equipped Tunnan that never was. My converted model with the thimble radome and the raked air intake is based on these drawings.

 

The basic kit is the Heller Saab 29, which I deem superior to the Matchbox Tunnan, with its mix of raised and engraved panel lines and overall rather soft detail (despite the surprisingly nice cockpit). Anyway,, the Heller kit has its flaws, too, e. g. a generally weak material thickness, lack of locator pins or other stabilizing aids and some sinkholes here and there.

 

The kit was built mostly OOB, with as much lead in the gun tray as possible - and it actually stands on its own three feet/wheels! The only major change is the modified nose section. It sounds simple to graft a radome onto the Tunnan's nose, but the rhinoplasty was challenging. The whole front end had to be renewed, based on the profile drawings and sketches at hand.

 

The thimble radome is actually a recycled drop tank front end from a Hasegawa F6F Hellcat. The raked, lower aitr intake lip comes from a Matchbox Mystère IVA - but it lost its splitter, was reshaped and had the OOB air intake duct glued into place from behind. Once the intake was glued into its place, a wedge opeing was cut into the area in front of the canopy and the drop tank radome adapted to the gap, a step-by-step approach, since I wanted to have the radome slightly protrude into the airtake, but also keep a staright line in front of the windscreen.

 

Additional details include new pitots on the wing tips and some additional antennae. The heat shield for the afterburner engine is OOB, as well as the streamlined drop tanks and their pylons. I just added an additional pair of pylons (from an Acedamy MiG-23) to the inner wing, holding a pair of AIM-9Bs.

  

Painting and markings:

Finding a suitable, yet “different” scheme for the J 29 night fighter was not easy; most J 29 were left in bare metal, some carried dark green upper surfaces and some S 29C wore a paint scheme in olive green and dark blue. I eventually settled for the RAF style paint scheme that had been adopted with the J 30 Mosquito and J 33 Venom night fighters – not spectacular, but different from the Swedish early Sixties norm, and it subtly underlines the J 29D’s role.

 

The scheme was lent from RAF Venom night fighters (which was used on the Swedish J 33, too), and of the upper surfaces I used RAF tones, too: Humbrol 163 (Dark Green) and 165 (Medium Sea Grey). However, I did not want to use the grey on the lower surfaces, since I found that scheme a bit too uniform and British, so I painted the lower surfaces in NMF, with a waterline at medium height - higher than the camouflaged S 29C’s and lower than the early, camouflaged J 29A fighters (with an experimental all-green upper surface).

 

The bare metal finish was created with acrylic Aluminum (Revell 99) and Polished and Matt Aluminum Metallizer (Humbrol) added on top, highlighting single panels. Around the engine bay and the exhaust, a base with Iron (Revell 91) was laid down, with Steel Metallizer (Modelmaster) on top.

Under the wing tips, green formation markings (again Humbrol 163) were added, as well as black ID stripes (cut from generic decal sheet material). Other, Swedish adornment, like the roundels, codes or squadron markings, was taken from the OOB sheet, a PrintScale sheet for the J 29 and leftover decals from a Heller J 21.

 

Interior details were painted according to Swedish standard, thankfully there are many good pictures available. The cockpit interior became grey-green (Revell 67 comes very close to the real thing) with light grey dashboard and side consoles. The landing gear wells medium (Revell 57) grey with some dry-brushed Aluminum, while the wheel discs became grey-green, too.

  

An interesting result, through relatively little effort: the dog nose changes the look of the tubby J 29 a lot, it looks much sleeker and somewhat German now – but somehow also more retro than the original aircraft? The different paint scheme looks unusual, too, despite being relatively down-to-earth. This will certainly not be my last modified J 29, a two-seat trainer would certainly be another cool and reality based Tunnan whif?

Elbit System's Hermes 450 "Zik" drone (UAV), Our IDF 70, Israel

 

כלי טיס בלתי מאויש "הרמס 450" / "זיק" של חיל האוויר הישראלי, תערוכת צה"ל שלנו 70, ישראל

The Space Shuttle orbiter is the spaceplane component of the Space Shuttle, a partially reusable orbital spacecraft system that was part of the discontinued Space Shuttle program. Operated from 1977 to 2011 by NASA, the U.S. space agency, this vehicle could carry astronauts and payloads into low Earth orbit, perform in-space operations, then re-enter the atmosphere and land as a glider, returning its crew and any on-board payload to the Earth.

Six orbiters were built for flight: Enterprise, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour. All were built in Palmdale, California, by the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Rockwell International company. The first orbiter, Enterprise, made its maiden flight in 1977. An unpowered glider, it was carried by a modified Boeing 747 airliner called the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and released for a series of atmospheric test flights and landings. Enterprise was partially disassembled and retired after completion of critical testing. The remaining orbiters were fully operational spacecraft, and were launched vertically as part of the Space Shuttle stack.

Columbia was the first space-worthy orbiter; it made its inaugural flight in 1981. Challenger, Discovery, and Atlantis followed in 1983, 1984, and 1985 respectively. In 1986, Challenger was destroyed in an accident shortly after its 10th launch. Endeavour was built as Challenger's successor, and was first launched in 1992. In 2003, Columbia was destroyed during re-entry, leaving just three remaining orbiters. Discovery completed its final flight on March 9, 2011, and Endeavour completed its final flight on June 1, 2011. Atlantis completed the final Shuttle flight, STS-135, on July 21, 2011.

In addition to their crews and payloads, the reusable orbiter carried most of the Space Shuttle System's liquid-propellant rocket system, but both the liquid hydrogen fuel and the liquid oxygen oxidizer for its three main rocket engines were fed from an external cryogenic propellant tank. Additionally, two reusable solid rocket boosters (SRBs) provided additional thrust for approximately the first two minutes of launch. The orbiters themselves did carry hypergolic propellants for their Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters and Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engines.

  

Wikipedia: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_orbiter" rel="noreferrer nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_orbiter</a>