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The Belfast was developed to meet a Royal Air Force operational requirement (ASR.371) for a freighter capable of carrying a wide range of military loads over long ranges. The military loads envisaged included artillery, more than 200 troops, helicopters, and guided missiles. Shorts' design was based on studies they had worked on in the late 1950s and the project started as the SC.5/10 in February 1959. From that design, the prototype Belfast first flew on 5 January 1964.
The Belfast was notable for being only the second aircraft type to be built equipped with autoland blind landing equipment.
To meet the demands of the specification the Belfast used a high wing carrying four Rolls-Royce Tyne turboprops. The cargo deck, 64 ft long (20 m) in a fuselage over 18 ft in diameter (5.5 m) (roomy enough for two single-deck buses), was reached through a "beaver tail" with rear loading doors and integral ramp. The main undercarriage was two 8-wheel bogies and a 2-wheel nose. The Belfast was capable of a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of over 220,500 lb (100 tonnes) - less than the contemporaneous 250-tonne Antonov An-22 and the 128-tonne Douglas C-133 Cargomaster, but more than the C-130 Hercules. It could carry 150 troops with full equipment, or a Chieftain tank or two Westland Wessex helicopters or six Westland Scout helicopters.
The original RAF requirement had foreseen a fleet of 30 aircraft, but this number was to be significantly curtailed as a result of the Sterling Crisis of 1965. The United Kingdom government needed to gain support for its loan application to the International Monetary Fund, which the United States provided. However, one of the alleged clauses for this support was that the RAF purchase Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft. With a surplus of airlifting capacity the original order was reduced to 10. The Belfast entered service with No. 53 Squadron RAF in January 1966 based at RAF Fairford. By May the following year they had been moved to RAF Brize Norton.
Following entry to RAF service it became apparent that a major drag problem was preventing the initial five aircraft attaining Short’s desired performance. Suction drag on the tail and rear fuselage was so severe that the RAF personnel gave the aircraft the nicknames "The Dragmaster", "Slug" and "Belslow". Modifications and testing were carried out, particularly on aircraft SH1818 (which was at the time perfecting the RAF’s requirement for CAT 3 automated landings at RAE Bedford) and a new rear fairing was built improving the fleet’s cruising speed by 40 mph.
The reorganisation of the new RAF Strike Command was to have repercussions on the RAF’s Belfast fleet and ushered in the retirement of a number of aircraft types, including the Bristol Britannia and De Havilland Comet in 1975. By the end of 1976 the Belfast fleet had been retired and flown to RAF Kemble for storage.
TAC HeavyLift then purchased five of them for commercial use in 1977 and operated three of them from 1980 after they had received work so they could be certificated to civil standards. Ironically, some of them were later chartered during the Falklands war, with some sources suggesting that this cost more than keeping all the aircraft in RAF service until the 1990s. HeavyLift's Belfasts were again contracted to support the RAF during the first Gulf War, transporting vehicles and helicopters too large to be carried by the Hercules fleet.
In 1937, the Imperial Japanese Navy issued a requirement for a replacement for the Mitsubishi A5M then entering service. The IJN wanted a carrier-capable fighter with a top speed of 300 mph, an endurance of eight hours, cannon armament, good maneuverability, with a wingspan less than 40 feet—the width of elevators on Japanese aircraft carriers. All of this had to be done with an existing powerplant.
Nakajima promptly declared that the IJN was asking the impossible and did not bother trying to submit a design. Mitsubishi’s chief designer, Jiro Horikoshi, felt differently and began working on a prototype. Using the Nakajima Sakae 12 as the powerplant, he lightened his design as much as physically possible, leaving off all crew armor and self-sealing fuel tanks, and using a special kind of light but brittle duralumin in its construction. Though it delayed production, the wing and fuselage were constructed as a single piece for better durability. Using flush riveting also made for an aerodynamically clean design; it had a stall speed below that of any contemporary fighter at 70 mph. Its wide tracked landing gear also made it fairly simple to recover on both carriers and land on unimproved airstrips. Horikoshi had delivered, and the IJN accepted the new fighter into service in July 1940 as the A6M Rei-sen (Type 0), referring to the Imperial calendar date used by the Emperor of Japan; 1940 was Imperial year 2400. Both friend and foe would refer to the A6M simply as the Zero.
The Zero had its first combat encounter with Chinese Polikarpov I-16s in September 1940, a fighter that was the equal of the A5Ms and Ki-27s then in Japanese service, yet 13 Zeroes were easily able to handle 27 I-16s, shooting all of them down without loss in three minutes. Claire Chennault, the American advisor to the Chinese Nationalists, sent reports of this amazing new fighter to the United States, but he was ignored. The Allies would therefore learn of the Zero’s prowess first-hand on 7 December 1941 at Pearl Harbor. Making matters worse for the Allies was that the Zeroes they encountered were flown by IJN pilots, who were among the best in the world. Teaming elite pilots with a supremely maneuverable fighter was a deadly combination that seemed unstoppable in 1942, when Zeroes over New Guinea sustained a kill ratio of 12 to 1 over Allied opponents.
Even at this dark stage of the war for the Allies, however, their pilots were learning the Zero’s weaknesses. Hirokoshi’s sacrifices had given the Japanese a fast, maneuverable, and very long-ranged fighter, but it had come at a price. P-40 and F4F Wildcat pilots in China and the Pacific learned that the Zero, lacking any sort of armor or self-sealing fuel tanks, was very prone to catching fire and exploding with only a few hits. They also learned that the best defense against a Zero was to dive away from it, as Japanese pilots could not keep up with either the P-40 or the F4F in a dive, as it would tear their fragile fighter apart. These sort of tactics allowed Allied pilots to survive and learn how to deal with the Japanese fighter. Japanese pilots also learned that the rifle-caliber 7.7mm machine guns in the Zero’s cowl were ineffective aganst armored Allied fighters, and the 20mm cannon often had poor fusing on the shells. The Allies gave the Zero the reporting name “Zeke,” while later models were codenamed “Hamp” and floatplane A6M2-Ns were codenamed “Rufe,” but most pilots continued to call it the Zero.
As World War II continued, the Allies began drawing on those lessons in fighter design, helped immensely when an intact A6M2 was captured in the Aleutians in summer 1942. First to arrive was the F4U Corsair, which still could not turn with the Zero but was faster and better in a climb; the second was the F6F Hellcat, which was also faster and better in the vertical, but could stay with the Zero in a sustained turn. The Allies also benefited from the Japanese losing so many experienced pilots in battles such as Midway and the Guadalcanal campaign: the IJN’s pilot replacement program was too selective, and could not replace the heavy losses of 1942 and 1943. Japanese industry was also slow to come up with a replacement for the A6M.
As a result, by late 1943, the Zero menace had been reduced drastically; the Battle of the Philippine Sea—which US Navy pilots named the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot”—brought this out dramatically, when nearly 700 Japanese aircraft, a significant number of which were A6Ms, were shot down with less than 40 losses among the Americans. While the Zero was still deadly in the hands of a good pilot, these pilots were increasingly scarce by 1945. Though Mitsubishi kept upgrading the Zero throughout World War II, the design simply was too specialized to do much with. By 1945, it was being used mainly as a kamikaze suicide aircraft, flown by half-trained former college students. While the kamikazes did a great deal of damage and killed thousands of Allied sailors, it was a desperation tactic that only lengthened a war that Japan had already lost. The Zero had exacted a price, however: it was responsible for the loss of 1550 Allied aircraft, a conservative estimate.
By war’s end, 10, 939 A6Ms had been built and Mitsubishi was working on a replacement, the similar A7M Reppu. Of these, the aircraft that survived the war were mostly scrapped and few preserved, and no flyable aircraft were left; directors attempting to make World War II movies were forced to convert a number of T-6 Texan trainers to look something like Zeroes. A few have since been restored to flying condition. Today, about 17 Zeroes remain, though some are being recovered from wartime wreck sites and restored to museum display.
This A6M3 belongs to the Flying Heritage Collection of Everett, Washington, and is one of the few flyable Zeroes left today. It was originally assigned to the 251st Kokutai at Babo, New Guinea, but was destroyed in an Allied bombing raid in 1943. In the early 1990s, the Zero was recovered by the Santa Monica Museum of Flying, and in 1994 sent to Russia to be restored. Many of the parts needed to be machined from scratch, and it uses a modified Pratt and Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engine (ironically, the same engine used by the F4F Wildcat). Following restoration, it was bought by the FHC and is now part of their collection. It is painted overall light olive drab, with dark green stripes for camouflage; the silver spinner and propeller blades indicate a Mitsubishi-built aircraft.
Medium-sized screw in the tread. Not quite flat, but certainly not capable of making even a brief trip to the tire shop for a repair. Which is more inconvenient, waiting for AAA to come by, or sweating my butt off in this heat and humidity to take the wheel off and drive it in my other vehicle down to the tire shop? I chose the "sweating" option.
While jacking up the Jeep to remove the flat tire, "perspective" crept into my mind: many people WISH for something like a flat tire to take up a small part of their day. These are the people who's partner has left them, they've been in an auto accident, or they got some bad news from the doctor.
Inconvenience is something to be thankful for in a world full of people dealing with much bigger problems than I have today.
The Merlin is a large, three-engined helicopter capable of long-range autonomous operations. There are three main versions for naval, military and civilian use. The only version currently in Royal Navy use is the Merlin HM MK1 (formerly Merlin EH101), this is an Anti-Submarine (ASW) variant of the EH101 helicopter. The first aircraft was delivered in December 1998, to begin the replacement of the ageing ASW Sea King (Mk6), and the last of the 44 on order was somewhat belatedly delivered in late 2003.
Merlin is designed to operate in all weathers from the flight decks of both large and small ships (Invincible class aircraft carriers and Type 23 frigates). It is powered by three Rolls Royce RTM 322 engines, is capable of speeds of up to 150 knots and has a range of 200 nautical miles. It can carry up to four homing torpedoes or depth charges, for use against threat submarines and can provide targeting information via datalink for the prosecution of surface threats. The Merlin retains all the secondary role capability of its predecessor, the Sea King, including loadlifting (vertrep), casualty evacuation, troop carrying and Search and Rescue (SAR).
Mission
The C-17 Globemaster III is the newest, most flexible cargo aircraft to enter the airlift force. The C-17 is capable of rapid strategic delivery of troops and all types of cargo to main operating bases or directly to forward bases in the deployment area. The aircraft can perform tactical airlift and airdrop missions and can also transport litters and ambulatory patients during aeromedical evacuations when required. The inherent flexibility and performance of the C-17 force improve the ability of the total airlift system to fulfill the worldwide air mobility requirements of the United States.
The ultimate measure of airlift effectiveness is the ability to rapidly project and sustain an effective combat force close to a potential battle area. Threats to U.S. interests have changed in recent years, and the size and weight of U.S.-mechanized firepower and equipment have grown in response to improved capabilities of potential adversaries. This trend has significantly increased air mobility requirements, particularly in the area of large or heavy outsize cargo. As a result, newer and more flexible airlift aircraft are needed to meet potential armed contingencies, peacekeeping or humanitarian missions worldwide. The C-17 is capable of meeting today's demanding airlift missions.
Features
Reliability and maintainability are two outstanding benefits of the C-17 system. Current operational requirements impose demanding reliability and maintainability. These requirements include an aircraft mission completion success probability rate of 92 percent, only 20 aircraft maintenance man-hours per flying hour, and full and partial mission availability rates of 74.7 and 82.5 percent, respectively. The Boeing warranty assures these figures will be met.
The C-17 measures 174 feet long (53 meters) with a wingspan of 169 feet, 10 inches (51.75 meters). The aircraft is powered by four, fully reversible, Federal Aviation Administration-certified F117-PW-100 engines (the military designation for the commercial Pratt & Whitney PW2040), currently used on the Boeing 757. Each engine is rated at 40,440 pounds of thrust. The thrust reversers direct the flow of air upward and forward to avoid ingestion of dust and debris. Maximum use has been made of off-the-shelf and commercial equipment, including Air Force-standardized avionics.
The aircraft is operated by a crew of three (pilot, copilot and loadmaster), reducing manpower requirements, risk exposure and long-term operating costs. Cargo is loaded onto the C-17 through a large aft door that accommodates military vehicles and palletized cargo. The C-17 can carry virtually all of the Army's air-transportable equipment.
Maximum payload capacity of the C-17 is 170,900 pounds (77,519 kilograms), and its maximum gross takeoff weight is 585,000 pounds (265,352 kilograms). With a payload of 169,000 pounds (76,657 kilograms) and an initial cruise altitude of 28,000 feet (8,534 meters), the C-17 has an unrefueled range of approximately 2,400 nautical miles. Its cruise speed is approximately 450 knots (.76 Mach). The C-17 is designed to airdrop 102 paratroopers and equipment.
The design of the aircraft allows it to operate through small, austere airfields. The C-17 can take off and land on runways as short as 3,500 feet (1,064 meters) and only 90 feet wide (27.4 meters). Even on such narrow runways, the C-17 can turn around using a three-point star turn and its backing capability.
Background
The C-17 made its maiden flight on Sept. 15, 1991, and the first production model was delivered to Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., June 14, 1993. The first squadron of C-17s, the 17th Airlift Squadron, was declared operationally ready Jan. 17, 1995. The Air Force originally programmed to buy a total of 120 C-17s, with the last one being delivered in November 2004. Current budget plans involve purchasing 190 aircraft.
The original 120 C-17s were based at Charleston AFB; McChord AFB, Wash., (first aircraft arrived in July 1999); Altus AFB, Okla.; and at an Air National Guard unit in Jackson, Miss. In August 2005, March Air Reserve Base, Calif., began basing the first of eight aircraft. In February 2006, Hickam AFB, Hawaii, received its first C-17.
The C-17 is operated by the Air Mobility Command at the 60th Airlift Wing and the 349th Air Mobility Wing (Associate Reserve) at Travis AFB, Calif.; 62nd Airlift Wing and 446th Airlift Wing (Associate Reserve) at McChord AFB, Wash.; 437th Airlift Wing and 315th Airlift Wing (Associate Reserve) at Charleston AFB, S.C.; the 305th Air Mobility Wing, McGuire AFB, N.J.; and the 172nd Airlift Wing, Mississippi ANG. Additionally, Air Force Materiel Command operates two C-17s at Edwards AFB, Calif., and Pacific Air Forces operates eight aircraft each at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska and Hickam AFB, Hawaii (Associate Guard). The Air Force Reserve Command operates eight aircraft at March Air Reserve Base, Calif; and Air Education and Training Command has 12 aircraft at Altus AFB, Okla.
The FH-5 series are capable of measuring Micro/Macro Vickers, Knoop and Brinell scales of hardness, from HV 0.02 to HV 50, up to a maximum of 62.5kg load. The FH5 is a digital tester with a fine loadcell based force feedback control loop for fast, reliable and repeatable measurements and also allows a huge selection of test loads and test rates for almost any test condition. In addition, the tester has a four position turret that can be customised by using different indentors, objectives, stages or vision systems, making the FH5 extremely flexible.
Website: Tiniusolsen.com
Aeroscopia est un musée aéronautique français implanté à Blagnac (Haute-Garonne), près du site AéroConstellation, et accueille notamment deux exemplaires du Concorde, dont l'ouverture a eu lieu le 14 janvier 2015
Le tarmac Sud du musée n'est capable d'accueillir que trois gros appareils. L'installation des appareils fut définitivement terminée après que le premier prototype de l'A400M-180 y fut arrivé le 16 juillet 2015, en dépit de la possibilité de 360 000 euros de TVA.
Concorde, F-BVFC, MSN209 aux couleurs d'Air France
Caravelle 12, F-BTOE, MSN280 aux couleurs d'Air Inter, dernier exemplaire construit
A400M-180, F-WWMT, MSN001 stationné depuis le 16 juillet 2015
La réalisation en 2019 du nouveau tarmac au Nord du musée permet l'accueil d'appareils supplémentaires issus des entreprises locales Airbus et ATR. Le transfert des avions entre le site Airbus "Lagardère" et le musée a lieu sur une semaine, à raison d'un appareil par jour :
ATR 72-600, F-WWEY, MSN098 aux couleurs d'ATR, transféré sur site le 26 août 2019, premier exemplaire du 72 dans sa version 600
Airbus A340-600, F-WWCA, MSN360 aux couleurs d'Airbus, transféré sur site le 27 août 2019, premier exemplaire de l'A340 dans sa version 600
Airbus A320-111, F-WWAI, MSN001 aux anciennes couleurs d'Airbus, transféré sur site le 28 août 2019, premier exemplaire de l'A320 : inauguration le 14 février 1987 en présence de Lady Diana et du Prince Charles, premier vol le 22 février 1987
Airbus A380-800, F-WXXL, MSN002 aux couleurs d'Airbus, transféré sur site le 29 août 2019, second exemplaire de l'A380. Les deux ponts de cet appareil sont visitables, ainsi que le cockpit.
ATR 42-300, F-WEGC, MSN003 aux anciennes couleurs d'ATR, transféré sur site le 30 août 2019, troisième exemplaire du 42. Cet exemplaire est décoré aux couleurs du MSN001 et porte l'immatriculation F-WEGA
Concorde, F-WTSB, MSN201 (ANAE), il s'agit d'un appareil de présérie qui a servi entre autres à transporter plusieurs présidents de la République française.
Airbus A300B4-203, F-WUAB, MSN238 (Airbus Heritage), décoré aux couleurs du prototype, au lieu de MSN001 démantelé. L'intérieur est visitable. Dans la première section des vitrages transparents permettent de voir la structure et les systèmes de l'avion, tandis que dans les sections suivantes sont représentés des aménagements de première classe et VIP.
Super Guppy de l'association Ailes Anciennes Toulouse, l'appareil qui servait au transport des tronçons d'Airbus est exposé porte ouverte, et une passerelle permet l'accès à la soute où un film est projeté. L'ouverture n'a pas été une mince affaire, l'appareil n'ayant pas été ouvert pendant 15 ans. L'aide des anciens mécaniciens de l'avion a été primordiale pour permettre une ouverture en toute sécurité.
Corvette (Airbus)
Falcon 10 no 02, prototype ayant servi aux essais du turboréacteur Larzac (Ailes Anciennes Toulouse)
Fouga Magister (AAT)
Gazelle prototype (AAT)
Mirage III C (AAT)
Nord 1100 (AAT)
Lockheed F-104G (AAT)
MiG-15 (AAT)
MS.760 Paris (AAT)
Vought F-8E(FN) Crusader et son réacteur (AAT)
Alouette II Marine (AAT)
Cessna Skymaster (AAT)
Fairchild Metro, ancien avion de Météo-France (AAT)
HM-293, de Rodolphe Grunberg
Chagnes MicroStar, avion de construction amateur, version biréacteur de Rutan VariViggen (AAT)
Saab J35OE Draken (AAT)
Aeroscopia is a French aeronautical museum located in Blagnac (Haute-Garonne), near the AéroConstellation site, and notably hosts two copies of the Concorde, which opened on January 14, 2015
The south tarmac of the museum can only accommodate three large aircraft. The installation of the devices was definitively finished after the first prototype of the A400M-180 arrived there on July 16, 2015, despite the possibility of 360,000 euros in VAT.
Concorde, F-BVFC, MSN209 in Air France colors
Caravelle 12, F-BTOE, MSN280 in Air Inter colors, last model built
A400M-180, F-WWMT, MSN001 parked since July 16, 2015
The construction in 2019 of the new tarmac north of the museum will accommodate additional aircraft from local Airbus and ATR companies. The transfer of planes between the Airbus "Lagardère" site and the museum takes place over a week, at the rate of one aircraft per day:
ATR 72-600, F-WWEY, MSN098 in ATR colors, transferred to site on August 26, 2019, first copy of the 72 in its 600 version
Airbus A340-600, F-WWCA, MSN360 in Airbus colors, transferred to site on August 27, 2019, first copy of the A340 in its 600 version
Airbus A320-111, F-WWAI, MSN001 in the old Airbus colors, transferred to site on August 28, 2019, first copy of the A320: inauguration on February 14, 1987 in the presence of Lady Diana and Prince Charles, first flight on February 22, 1987
Airbus A380-800, F-WXXL, MSN002 in Airbus colors, transferred to site on August 29, 2019, second copy of the A380. The two decks of this aircraft can be visited, as well as the cockpit.
ATR 42-300, F-WEGC, MSN003 in the old ATR colors, transferred to the site on August 30, 2019, third specimen of the 42. This specimen is decorated in the colors of the MSN001 and bears the registration F-WEGA
Concorde, F-WTSB, MSN201 (ANAE), this is a pre-production aircraft which was used, among other things, to transport several presidents of the French Republic.
Airbus A300B4-203, F-WUAB, MSN238 (Airbus Heritage), decorated in the colors of the prototype, instead of dismantled MSN001. The interior can be visited. In the first section transparent glazing allows to see the structure and systems of the aircraft, while in the following sections are shown first class and VIP fittings.
Super Guppy from the Ailes Anciennes Toulouse association, the aircraft which was used to transport the Airbus sections is on display with the door open, and a gangway allows access to the hold where a film is shown. Opening was no small feat, as the device has not been opened for 15 years. The help of the former mechanics of the aircraft was essential to allow a safe opening.
Corvette (Airbus)
Falcon 10 no 02, prototype used for testing the Larzac turbojet engine (Ailes Anciennes Toulouse)
Fouga Magister (AAT)
Prototype Gazelle (AAT)
Mirage III C (AAT)
North 1100 (AAT)
Lockheed F-104G (AAT)
MiG-15 (AAT)
MS.760 Paris (AAT)
Vought F-8E (FN) Crusader and its engine (AAT)
Alouette II Marine (AAT)
Cessna Skymaster (AAT)
Fairchild Metro, former Météo-France (AAT) aircraft
HM-293, by Rodolphe Grunberg
Chagnes MicroStar, amateur-built aircraft, twin-jet version of Rutan VariViggen (AAT)
Saab J35OE Draken (AAT)
In 1937, the Imperial Japanese Navy issued a requirement for a replacement for the Mitsubishi A5M then entering service. The IJN wanted a carrier-capable fighter with a top speed of 300 mph, an endurance of eight hours, cannon armament, good maneuverability, with a wingspan less than 40 feet—the width of elevators on Japanese aircraft carriers. All of this had to be done with an existing powerplant.
Nakajima promptly declared that the IJN was asking the impossible and did not bother trying to submit a design. Mitsubishi’s chief designer, Jiro Horikoshi, felt differently and began working on a prototype. Using the Nakajima Sakae 12 as the powerplant, he lightened his design as much as physically possible, leaving off all crew armor and self-sealing fuel tanks, and using a special kind of light but brittle duralumin in its construction. Though it delayed production, the wing and fuselage were constructed as a single piece for better durability. Using flush riveting also made for an aerodynamically clean design; it had a stall speed below that of any contemporary fighter at 70 mph. Its wide tracked landing gear also made it fairly simple to recover on both carriers and land on unimproved airstrips. Horikoshi had delivered, and the IJN accepted the new fighter into service in July 1940 as the A6M Rei-sen (Type 0), referring to the Imperial calendar date used by the Emperor of Japan; 1940 was Imperial year 2400. Both friend and foe would refer to the A6M simply as the Zero.
The Zero had its first combat encounter with Chinese Polikarpov I-16s in September 1940, a fighter that was the equal of the A5Ms and Ki-27s then in Japanese service, yet 13 Zeroes were easily able to handle 27 I-16s, shooting all of them down without loss in three minutes. Claire Chennault, the American advisor to the Chinese Nationalists, sent reports of this amazing new fighter to the United States, but he was ignored. The Allies would therefore learn of the Zero’s prowess first-hand on 7 December 1941 at Pearl Harbor. Making matters worse for the Allies was that the Zeroes they encountered were flown by IJN pilots, who were among the best in the world. Teaming elite pilots with a supremely maneuverable fighter was a deadly combination that seemed unstoppable in 1942, when Zeroes over New Guinea sustained a kill ratio of 12 to 1 over Allied opponents.
Even at this dark stage of the war for the Allies, however, their pilots were learning the Zero’s weaknesses. Hirokoshi’s sacrifices had given the Japanese an excellent and very long-ranged fighter (A6Ms regularly made the round trip between Rabaul and Guadalcanal in 1942), but it had come at a price. P-40 and F4F Wildcat pilots in China and the Pacific learned that the Zero, lacking any sort of armor or self-sealing fuel tanks, was very prone to catching fire and exploding with only a few hits. They also learned that the best defense against a Zero was to dive away from it, as Japanese pilots could not keep up with either the P-40 or the F4F in a dive, as it would tear their fragile fighter apart. While trying to dogfight a Zero was suicide, Allied pilots could use the vertical to their advantage. Japanese pilots also learned that the rifle-caliber 7.7mm machine guns in the Zero’s cowl were ineffective against armored Allied fighters, and the 20mm cannon often had poor fusing on the shells. The Allies gave the Zero the reporting name “Zeke,” while later models were codenamed “Hamp” and floatplane A6M2-Ns were codenamed “Rufe,” but most pilots continued to call it the Zero.
As World War II continued, the Allies began drawing on those lessons in fighter design, helped immensely when an intact A6M2 was captured in the Aleutians in summer 1942. First to arrive was the F4U Corsair, which still could not turn with the Zero but was faster and better in a climb; the second was the F6F Hellcat, which was also faster and better in the vertical, but could stay with the Zero in a sustained turn. The Allies also benefited from the Japanese losing so many experienced pilots in battles such as Midway and the Guadalcanal campaign: the IJN’s pilot replacement program was too selective, and could not replace the heavy losses of 1942 and 1943. Japanese industry was also slow to come up with a replacement for the A6M. As a result, by late 1943, the Zero menace had been reduced drastically; the Battle of the Philippine Sea—which US Navy pilots named the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot”—brought this out dramatically, when nearly 700 Japanese aircraft, a significant number of which were A6Ms, were shot down with less than 40 losses among the Americans. While the Zero was still deadly in the hands of a good pilot, these pilots were increasingly scarce by 1945.
Though Mitsubishi kept upgrading the Zero throughout World War II, the design simply was too specialized to do much with. By 1945, it was being used mainly as a kamikaze suicide aircraft, flown by half-trained former college students. While the kamikazes did a great deal of damage and killed thousands of Allied sailors, it was a desperation tactic that only lengthened a war that Japan had already lost. The Zero had exacted a price, however: it was responsible for the loss of 1550 Allied aircraft, a conservative estimate.
By war’s end, 10, 939 A6Ms had been built and Mitsubishi was working on a replacement, the similar A7M Reppu. Of these, the aircraft that survived the war were mostly scrapped and few preserved, and no flyable aircraft were left; directors attempting to make World War II movies were forced to convert a number of T-6 Texan trainers to look something like Zeroes. A few have since been restored to flying condition. Today, about 17 Zeroes remain, though some are being recovered from wartime wreck sites and restored to museum display.
The Zero seen here is a late war A6M5, painted as an Imperial Japanese Army Air Force aircraft with dark green over light gray; as indicated by the brown propeller blades, this aircraft is one of many manufactured by Nakajima under license during the war. HK-102 was captured intact at Truk, tested in the US, and went through various collectors until acquired by the Planes of Fame museum in California. It is not currently flyable, though it could be quickly restored to flying condition; as of this writing, it is only a display aircraft at the Flying Heritage Collection in Everett, WA. The FHC acquired HK-102 in 2001.
NEOBALLS / ZEN MAGNETS - Neodymium Magnetic Balls (@4205) - Starcraft II's Massive Thor
This is my most complex and largest build to date.
It was designed in parts: Cockpit body, then legs, then arms, then rear guns. Then I had to redesign parts when it came time to assemble it together because of incorrect bonding assumptions and misalignment of magnet fields.
Experimented with x-beam coupled bonds to get the maximum lateral strength with reinforcements on the sides. This proved to be very string. Created a X-Beam using similar methods producing a very strong leg structure. It was capable of support the entire weight of the cockpit body w/o a problem. Had to redesign the leg to cockpit body mount point from the earlier concept because the bond was not completely coupled.
Next up were the arm/guns ... the weight was too much for the cockpit body to support so I fashioned a pair of lego-platforms for them to rest on and take the weight off of the central body.
Finally ... the rear guns ... these were a challenge in that their original mount point design had to be reworked also to make them fit correctly into the rear of the cockpit body. I changed the mount points on the guns to fit the space on both sides and added a few support balls to improve the mount point bonds. I was very surprised how they were balanced and supported only by two point sections to the body. The guns stayed in place for a small series of photos.
The design flaw was in the side bonds of the beam to the legs. The coupled field held nicely for a short amount of time and would have held if it didn't have the weight of the rear guns to support. When they were standing upright and straight, all was good. As soon as I attempted to move the platform forward (to take a video), the rear guns tilted slightly backwards and and that was the end of the leg to body support bonds ... and created the dreaded implosion.
The rear gun weight caused the entire central body section to rotate backwards and fall back on the rear guns ... taking the arms in the process. Perhaps I should have created a Lego-support structure for the rear guns to remove the pendulum force backwards ... but that would have created another view blocker like the side Lego-platforms obstructed the view of the legs and feet. Not sure if I can recreate it for a rotational video ... this took over a week (on/off to design and assemble).
Overall ... I was very happy with the result ... hope I captured enough detail to warrant some visual recognition as a Starcraft II Thor reproduction/interpretation.
This was design and built for the Zen Magnets Contest 26: The Massive Thor
www.zenmagnets.com/blog/26-the-massive-thor/
I tried to document the info for this super complex build (below) accompanied by associated pics in this set
www.flickr.com/photos/tend2it/sets/72157632920071597/
Starcraft II Thor Magnet Count and Detail Talley
======+================
Cockpit Body bottom section: (@0520)
(@0217) - Main shape middle core = (2x108) + 1
(@0095) - central bottom layer 1 = (47x2) + 1 w/black parameter
(@0078) - Sides Bottom layer 2 = (2x(22 parallel pair frnt2bck support + 3 red + 4 gold + 10 ring outside black))
(@0028) - Central bottom layer 3 = (2x14) rectangle
(@0032) - Sides bottom layer 3 = (2x((2x5 parallel bridge rectangle to ring) + (6 ring outside))
(@0010) - Central bottom layer 4 = (10 ring) leg waist w/gold
(@0020) - Sides bottom layer 4 = (2x10 ring) coupled over parallel bridge for perpendicular underside support
(@0040) - Central rear Barrel = (4x8 ring w2 red rings) + (2x4 sqr end)
------
Cockpit Body top section (from center out): (@0371)
(@0166) - top layer 1 = (2x83) w/black missle cover + middle sect separator
(@0105) - top layer 2 = ((2x52) + 1) w/black separator, red trim, gold cockpit
(@0083) - top layer 3 = ((2x41) + 1) w/black separator, red trim, gold cockpit
(@0037) - top layer 4 = ((2x18) + 1) w/black separator trim
(@0010) - top layer 5 = (2x5) w/red/black
------
(@0891)
Leg section x2 (@0640 - 12 removed from bottom of @ leg for foot contact pt)
leg internal structure:
(@0384) - columns = 2 x (4x((2x12) + ((2x11) + 2))) top/bottom coupled bonds w/parallel bonds stacked x 4))
(@0096) - side reinforcements = 2x((2x11) + 2) coupled pair along outside edge centers)
(@0032) - ball reinforcements = 2x(2x4 balls are two balls added to 4 ball in 2, 4, 6, 8th positions) - (12 @ bottom)
leg arch structure (connected to one flat leg top face:
(@0128) - (4x4 parallel sqr) + (2x(6 + 2)) pointy rings) + (4x4 parallel sqr) + (2x(6 + 2)) pointy rings)
Place the two leg arch structures together to form the leg arch
-------
(@1519) = 1531-12
Leg side panels (@0384)
(@0344) - (2 each leg x (2x(2x43 each side))) w/black outside trim
Knees + Leg detail
(@0040) - (2x(2x(6 + 2) knee w/red sqr) + 2x(4 red sqr top of leg))
-------
(@1903)
Feet x2 (@0242)
(@0184) - (2x((2x7 + 2 1st mid layer) + (2x(2x10 + 1) 2nd mid layer) + ((2x(2x8 + 1) outside layer))
(@0034) - (2x(2x(2x3 + 1 top of toe 2 leg)) + (1 center rear foot 2 leg conn) + (2 x 1 outer rear foot sides 2 leg
conn))
(@0024) - (2x(2x6 rings rear foot heel))
-------
(@2145)
X-Beam waist platform - (@0233 - 19) this part is placed across the center perpendicular to the x-beam leg arch
(@0214) - (2x(2x(18 + 17 + 6 + 3)) + (2x(7 + 2)) + ((8 + 1 front side) + (2x9 rear side)) + ((2 x 3 red front center) +
(2 x 2 red front sides) + (2 red rear)) - (19 removed under rear panel side to fold)
Arm Guns (2 pair per arm w/red + black accents)
(@0380) - (4x((4x9 center core) + (3x((2x7) + 1)) top/sides) + (2x7) middle join))
Shoulder to elbow core w/o reinforcements ((@0174)per arm)
(@0348) - (2 x (top((2x5)+2) + (4x8+2 parallel) + ((2x5)+2) + (2x5) + (2x(2x5)+1) + (2x(2x6)+1) + ((4x7)+2 parallel
mount2gun) + (1 ball center to bridge below 2 ball center to 1 ball) + ((2x6)+1) + ((2x4)+2)bottom)
Shoulder to elbow (per arm, per side)
(@0248) - (2 x (2 x (top 3 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 4 + 5 + 4 + 4 + 5 + (2x7arm2shoulder bridge) + (5 + 3 bottom))
Elbow to gun support (per arm, per side) (@0140 - 18 for outside facing side revamp)
(@0122) - (2 x (2 x (((2x9)+1) + (2x8)) -
Revamp outside facing sides for Z bracket (remove 2x(4 top/4 bottom/2 middle/move center ball down, add 1 ball)
Revamp 2 rear centerballs with red
(@028) - add red design outside facing shoulder 2 elbow
------
(@3485)
Rear Guns x2
Large cannon (@0112 each)
(@0224) - 2 x ((2x(2x15) + (4x(5+2)) + (4x(6 ring)))
Smaller cannon (@0092 each)
(@0184) - 2 x ((2x(2x13) + (4x(4+2)) + (4x(4 ring)))
Gun bridges (@0010 each)
(@0020) - (2 x (4 ring + 6 ring across two cannons)
Gun mounts x2
(@0104) - (2 x ((top (2x4+2) + (2x5+2) parallel to existing + (2x4+2) + (2x5 parallel) + (2x4+2) bottom)
Gun panel x 2 (@0102 each)
(@0204) - (2 x (2x(11 + 10 + 9 + 8 + 7 + 6))
-------
Revamp base
(@4221) subtotal b4 assembly
Assembly mods
-------------
Moved the (@0040) - Central rear Barrel = (4x8 ring w2 red rings) + (2x4 sqr end) below the rear of the body between
the leg mount and cockpit body. Actually used the barrel as a mount point for the rear guns.
Modded Cockpit Body bottom section (mount point):
(@0020) = (2 x (7 + 6 + 5)) = Changed = (@0028) - Central bottom layer 3 = (2x14) rectangle to covert parallel
rectangle to hex parallel center, coupled sides
-------
(@4213) = (@4221 - 8)
Moved central bottom layer x-beam
(@0018) = (2x09 ring) = Changed = (@0020) - Sides bottom layer 4 = shifted it down one row, removed 1 ball on end to form point and pinched outside end fit in center of 6 ball side.
(@4211) = (@4213 - 2)
Removed gold 10 ball ring mount
Changed = (@0010) = Central bottom layer 4 = (10 ring) leg waist w/gold
-------
(@4201) = (@4213 - 10)
Modded Rear Guns
(@0100) = Changed = Rear Gun mounts x2 - removed +2 from top/bottom mount point (2x4+2)=>(2x4)
(@4197) = (@4201-4)
Added extra mount point support bwtween rear gun mounts and rear cockpit body
(@4205) = (@4201+8)
Grand Total! = (@4205)
Wildland Firefighters on Rappel capable crews, come from all over the nation each spring to train at the National Helicopter Rappel Program’s Rappel Academy at Salmon AirBase, in Salmon, Idaho.
Wildland fire aircraft play a critical role in supporting firefighters on wildland fires. Helicopters also deliver aerial crews called Heli-Rappellers to wildland fires. These are specially trained firefighters that rappel from helicopters in order to effectively and quickly respond to fires in remote terrain.
Heli-Rappellers may land near a wildfire but if there is no landing zone close by they can utilize their skills to rappel from the hovering helicopter. Once on the ground, crews build firelines using hand tools, chainsaws, and other firefighting tools. (Forest Service photo by Charity Parks)
The Corsair is widely considered the most capable of all carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War Two. Designed and originally built by Chance Vought, it was also manufactured under license by Goodyear at the height of production during the Second World War. Its distinctive "bent" wings were designed to keep the landing gear short and robust for carrier landings and give clearance for the enormous 13' 4" diameter propeller required to pull her to over 400 MPH - the first American fighter to do so. It was considered the performance equal to many other fighters like the Mustang but its short range kept it either carrier-based or land-based in the South Pacific war close to the action. The Corsair continued to be operated by the USN and the Marines after the war and saw considerable action during the Korean War.
Corsairs were first operated from carriers by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. Trained in the US, RNFAA pilots including Canadian Lt. Robert Hampton Gray were deployed on carriers such as HMS Formidable and Victorious and carried out daring fighter escort and attack operations in the North Atlantic. This included the famous raids against the holed-up German battleship Tirpitz. HMS Formidable also fought in the Pacific theatre later in the war where Lt. Gray won the Victoria Cross. The Vintage Wings of Canada Corsair, presently in standard U.S. “shipyard blue” markings, will be painted in markings to honour Hampton Gray.
Kurtis 500S , Dijon July 2011: On its way to a class win in the Stirling Moss Trophy .
Kurtis 500S
“0 to 100 in 11.1 seconds!
Few cars are capable of that acceleration. The big Ferrari isn't, nor the XK-120C”
This was the December 1953 headline in Hop Up magazine, marvelling at this 'all American' sports car that could get to 60mph in 4.7 seconds, match the handling of Euro exotica on the twisty circuits of California, and dominate early 50s West Coast racing.
Frank Kurtis was born in Colorado in 1908, the son of a Croatian blacksmith, and became the pre-eminent American builder of racing cars following World War ll. He built over 550 midget race cars that were described by The National Midget Auto Racing hall of fame as "virtually unbeatable”; and 120 Indianapolis 500 cars, including five winners, making Frank Kurtis, the most successful post war builder of Indy cars.
Frank's Los Angeles based business, was an early adopter of aircraft construction techniques. Like Colin Chapman he was a chassis man, and Frank was of one the first to use aircraft tubing to make stiff frames, enabling softer torsion bar suspension, with better traction and handling than could be delivered by leaf springs.
The storey goes that in May 1952 Frank Kurtis test drove an Allard J2 at Griffith Park. Frank was a skilled driver and was shocked when he almost lost the J2 in a corner, and put this down to the Allard's split beam front suspension. Frank believed he could a build a better car, thus the 500S was born.
The 500S was essentially a two seater Indy car, powered by any engine to hand, Oldsmobile, Mercury, and later on Chevy or Chrysler Hemi, but like the Allards, they mostly used Caddy 331s.
On demanding West Coast circuits 500Ss regularly won, ahead of Ferraris, C type Jags, and Allards. 500Ss also ran in the Carrera Panamericana, and there were plans that sadly never cam to fruition to take one to Le Mans.
This car was originally built in 1954, its number 23 of the 25 built at the Kurtis factory. It has a 331 Cadillac engine, with Stromberg carbs. The transmission was often a 3 speed LaSalle or as here an XK120 box. Stopping is attempted by drums, the chrome teeth are structural not decorative; and the car is pretty much as it would have raced back in the 50s, on a Saturday afternoon in sunny California.
The opening of the Connaught Bridge Generating Station, on the Klang River in Selangor, in March 1953 was a real milestone int he history of what was then Malaya - now Malaysia. The power station, capable of being either coal or oil fired, was at 80,000kw by far the largest generating station at the time in the country and, as importantly, the project included elements of a new proposed Malayan 'National Grid' that linked existing stations such as the hydro-electric plant at Chenderoh with stations and locations along the East Coast centred on the Bungsar station in Kuala Lumpur that hitherto had supplied the bulk of the capital's power requirements. As the booklet notes it meant an end to the long post-war years of restriction of supply to both industrial and domestic consumers.
The station was originally planned in 1944 by the Malayan Planning Unit in London in anticipation of the return to Malaya after the end of the Japanses occupation. A provisional order for the equipment was placed in 1945, with additional equipment following in 1947. Meanwhile the site at Connaught Bridge alongside the Klang River was selected in 1946 with the contract to start construction given by the Federation's Government in 1949. The first phase of the station, plant and the double circuit 66kv interconnecting lines running the 23 miles to Kuala Lumpur, was ready for opening in March 1953. Full commissioning came in 1955. Initailly the output was linked to the Bangsar (KL) station and that of Ulu Langat hydro-electric station. Construction of the former had started in 1926 and was opened in 1927 by the Government electricity department and in 1933 they purchased the Ulu Langat station from the Sungei Besi Mines Ltd. KL's earlier supplies, from 1905, had been provided from a small hydro-electric plant on the Gombak River, 12 miles from the town, what had two 400kw Pelton wheel-alternators. This had been augmented in 1919 by a mixed steam and diesel engine plant at Gombak Lane in the centre of KL.
Elsewhere, Penang's Municipal Department was the first to supply electriicty within Malaya when it started in 1904 - the station on the mainland at Prai came into use in 1926. By this date electricity was available in Ipoh, Johore Bahru (and Singapore), Seremban and Malacca/Melaka. That at Johore Bahru under the Johore adminsitraion grew to include Muar, Batu Pahat, Kluang, Kota Tinggi and Segamat. In Perak supplies were largely in the hands of the Perak River Hydro-Electric Power Company who operated stations at Malim Nawar (1928) and Chenderoh (1929). In North Perak the Government supplied Taiping and in Province Wellesley Messrs. Huttenbach's bought bulk supply from Penang and supplied power to various towns, supplemented by diesel generating stations in Kedah, Perak and Negri Sembilan. Power came to Kota Bharu (Kelantan), Ruab, Bentong, Kuala Lipis and Kuantan between 1928 and 1931, and in 1938 and 1939 to Mentakab, Fraser's Hill and Kuala Kubu.
In 1946 the Malayan Union Government acquired most electriicty undertakings except those of private companies and Penang Corporation whilst it also fully acquired the undertkaing operated by the Malacca Electric Light Company in 1948 that it has previously run on a rental basis. On the 1 September 1949 the new Central Electricity Board of the Federation fo Malaya came into existance and took over all functions of the old Electricity Department.
The booklet is marvellously detailed and illustrated describing the site, the power station, ancilliary equipment and other works, such as staff accomodaton and housing, with photographs and plans. The latter include a map of the proposed Malayan Grid and the plans show the works designed by both the staff of the Central Electricity Board and the consulting engineers, Preece, Cardew and Rider, and civil engineers Coode and Partners. The station took cooling water from the Klang River and could be powered by either fuel oil (via a pipeline from Port Swettenham) and coal via connections with the Malayan Railways and the colliery at Batu Arang.
Needless to say much of the equipment was supplied from the UK - Parsons generators and transformers and switchgear from various manufacturers including British Thomson Houston.
The photos are great as they show named members of the operating staff at work which is unusual but that now provided a real social history to the economic history of electricity supply in Malaysia.
In 1937, the Imperial Japanese Navy issued a requirement for a replacement for the Mitsubishi A5M then entering service. The IJN wanted a carrier-capable fighter with a top speed of 300 mph, an endurance of eight hours, cannon armament, good maneuverability, with a wingspan less than 40 feet—the width of elevators on Japanese aircraft carriers. All of this had to be done with an existing powerplant.
Nakajima promptly declared that the IJN was asking the impossible and did not bother trying to submit a design. Mitsubishi’s chief designer, Jiro Horikoshi, felt differently and began working on a prototype. Using the Nakajima Sakae 12 as the powerplant, he lightened his design as much as physically possible, leaving off all crew armor and self-sealing fuel tanks, and using a special kind of light but brittle duralumin in its construction. Though it delayed production, the wing and fuselage were constructed as a single piece for better durability. Using flush riveting also made for an aerodynamically clean design; it had a stall speed below that of any contemporary fighter at 70 mph. Its wide tracked landing gear also made it fairly simple to recover on both carriers and land on unimproved airstrips. Horikoshi had delivered, and the IJN accepted the new fighter into service in July 1940 as the A6M Rei-sen (Type 0), referring to the Imperial calendar date used by the Emperor of Japan; 1940 was Imperial year 2400. Both friend and foe would refer to the A6M simply as the Zero.
The Zero had its first combat encounter with Chinese Polikarpov I-16s in September 1940, a fighter that was the equal of the A5Ms and Ki-27s then in Japanese service, yet 13 Zeroes were easily able to handle 27 I-16s, shooting all of them down without loss in three minutes. Claire Chennault, the American advisor to the Chinese Nationalists, sent reports of this amazing new fighter to the United States, but he was ignored. The Allies would therefore learn of the Zero’s prowess first-hand on 7 December 1941 at Pearl Harbor. Making matters worse for the Allies was that the Zeroes they encountered were flown by IJN pilots, who were among the best in the world. Teaming elite pilots with a supremely maneuverable fighter was a deadly combination that seemed unstoppable in 1942, when Zeroes over New Guinea sustained a kill ratio of 12 to 1 over Allied opponents.
Even at this dark stage of the war for the Allies, however, their pilots were learning the Zero’s weaknesses. Hirokoshi’s sacrifices had given the Japanese an excellent and very long-ranged fighter (A6Ms regularly made the round trip between Rabaul and Guadalcanal in 1942), but it had come at a price. P-40 and F4F Wildcat pilots in China and the Pacific learned that the Zero, lacking any sort of armor or self-sealing fuel tanks, was very prone to catching fire and exploding with only a few hits. They also learned that the best defense against a Zero was to dive away from it, as Japanese pilots could not keep up with either the P-40 or the F4F in a dive, as it would tear their fragile fighter apart. While trying to dogfight a Zero was suicide, Allied pilots could use the vertical to their advantage. Japanese pilots also learned that the rifle-caliber 7.7mm machine guns in the Zero’s cowl were ineffective against armored Allied fighters, and the 20mm cannon often had poor fusing on the shells. The Allies gave the Zero the reporting name “Zeke,” while later models were codenamed “Hamp” and floatplane A6M2-Ns were codenamed “Rufe,” but most pilots continued to call it the Zero.
As World War II continued, the Allies began drawing on those lessons in fighter design, helped immensely when an intact A6M2 was captured in the Aleutians in summer 1942. First to arrive was the F4U Corsair, which still could not turn with the Zero but was faster and better in a climb; the second was the F6F Hellcat, which was also faster and better in the vertical, but could stay with the Zero in a sustained turn. The Allies also benefited from the Japanese losing so many experienced pilots in battles such as Midway and the Guadalcanal campaign: the IJN’s pilot replacement program was too selective, and could not replace the heavy losses of 1942 and 1943. Japanese industry was also slow to come up with a replacement for the A6M. As a result, by late 1943, the Zero menace had been reduced drastically; the Battle of the Philippine Sea—which US Navy pilots named the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot”—brought this out dramatically, when nearly 700 Japanese aircraft, a significant number of which were A6Ms, were shot down with less than 40 losses among the Americans. While the Zero was still deadly in the hands of a good pilot, these pilots were increasingly scarce by 1945.
Though Mitsubishi kept upgrading the Zero throughout World War II, the design simply was too specialized to do much with. By 1945, it was being used mainly as a kamikaze suicide aircraft, flown by half-trained former college students. While the kamikazes did a great deal of damage and killed thousands of Allied sailors, it was a desperation tactic that only lengthened a war that Japan had already lost. The Zero had exacted a price, however: it was responsible for the loss of 1550 Allied aircraft, a conservative estimate.
By war’s end, 10, 939 A6Ms had been built and Mitsubishi was working on a replacement, the similar A7M Reppu. Of these, the aircraft that survived the war were mostly scrapped and few preserved, and no flyable aircraft were left; directors attempting to make World War II movies were forced to convert a number of T-6 Texan trainers to look something like Zeroes. A few have since been restored to flying condition. Today, about 17 Zeroes remain, though some are being recovered from wartime wreck sites and restored to museum display.
This is the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum's A6M5, originally assigned to the 261st Kokutai on Saipan. Captured in flyable condition in 1944, the Zero was brought back to the United States and tested until 1946. It was then donated to the Smithsonian, which at the time lacked the space to display it. It was restored in 1975 and finally went on display that year. The green over gray camouflage was typical for Imperial Japanese Army Air Force; the black cowling was typical for a Zero, and the yellow leading edges were for recognition purposes. The brown hub and propeller blades indicated a Nakajima-built Zero; Nakajima built several hundred under license.
the perfect addition to any fleet- cross capable, dirt road eating, rack accepting, get in the drops and attack awesome bike. arctic night shots by eric baumann.
Njord Viking
High Ice-classed AHTS vessel capable of operations in harsh environment offshore regions, as well as Arctic/Sub-Arctic operations.
General Information.
Length o.a.: 85,20 metres
Length b.p.: 76,20 metres
Beam, moulded: 22,00 metres
Depth to main deck: 9,00 metres
Draft, design: 6,00 metres
Deadweight at 7,60 m: 4.500 tons
Accommodation: 45 persons
Speed: 17 knots
Bollard pull: 210 tons
Endurance: 9.000 miles
Propulsion
Main engines: MAK 2x6M32 + 2x8M32
Output: 14.000 kW at 600 rpm
Main Propellers: 2 x CPP
Forward retractile thruster: 1 x 830 kW
Forward tunnel thruster: 2 x 830 kW
Aft tunnel thrusters: 2 x 830 kW
TANK CAPACITIES
Fuel oil: 1.000 m3
Fresh water: 1.247 m3
Ballast: 2.013 m3
Oil Recovery: 1.989 m3
Rig chain locker: 665 m3
Liquid mud: 965 m3
Brine: 628 m3
Special products: 187 m3
Dry bulk: 220 m3
Main Anchor/Towing winch: 400 Tons at 18,7 m/min
Brake holding: 525 Tons 1st layer
Secondary Winch: 138 Tons at 28 m/min
Brake holding: 62 Tons 1st layer
2 Deck Cranes (sliding): 6/12 Tons at 20/10 mts
2 Tugger winch: 24 Tons at 22 m/min
2 Towing pins: 300 Tons
2 Karm Forks: 600 Tons
2 Capstans: 14 Tons at 24 m/min
AUXILIARY GENERATING SETS
Diesel generating sets: 2 x 720 ekW. 440 V. 60 Hz
Shaft generators: 2 x 2.700 ekW. 440 V. 60 Hz
Emergency generator set: 1 x 400 ekW. 440 V. 60 Hzp
NEOBALLS / ZEN MAGNETS - Neodymium Magnetic Balls (@4205) - Starcraft II's Massive Thor
This is my most complex and largest build to date.
It was designed in parts: Cockpit body, then legs, then arms, then rear guns. Then I had to redesign parts when it came time to assemble it together because of incorrect bonding assumptions and misalignment of magnet fields.
Experimented with x-beam coupled bonds to get the maximum lateral strength with reinforcements on the sides. This proved to be very string. Created a X-Beam using similar methods producing a very strong leg structure. It was capable of support the entire weight of the cockpit body w/o a problem. Had to redesign the leg to cockpit body mount point from the earlier concept because the bond was not completely coupled.
Next up were the arm/guns ... the weight was too much for the cockpit body to support so I fashioned a pair of lego-platforms for them to rest on and take the weight off of the central body.
Finally ... the rear guns ... these were a challenge in that their original mount point design had to be reworked also to make them fit correctly into the rear of the cockpit body. I changed the mount points on the guns to fit the space on both sides and added a few support balls to improve the mount point bonds. I was very surprised how they were balanced and supported only by two point sections to the body. The guns stayed in place for a small series of photos.
The design flaw was in the side bonds of the beam to the legs. The coupled field held nicely for a short amount of time and would have held if it didn't have the weight of the rear guns to support. When they were standing upright and straight, all was good. As soon as I attempted to move the platform forward (to take a video), the rear guns tilted slightly backwards and and that was the end of the leg to body support bonds ... and created the dreaded implosion.
The rear gun weight caused the entire central body section to rotate backwards and fall back on the rear guns ... taking the arms in the process. Perhaps I should have created a Lego-support structure for the rear guns to remove the pendulum force backwards ... but that would have created another view blocker like the side Lego-platforms obstructed the view of the legs and feet. Not sure if I can recreate it for a rotational video ... this took over a week (on/off to design and assemble).
Overall ... I was very happy with the result ... hope I captured enough detail to warrant some visual recognition as a Starcraft II Thor reproduction/interpretation.
This was design and built for the Zen Magnets Contest 26: The Massive Thor
www.zenmagnets.com/blog/26-the-massive-thor/
I tried to document the info for this super complex build (below) accompanied by associated pics in this set
www.flickr.com/photos/tend2it/sets/72157632920071597/
Starcraft II Thor Magnet Count and Detail Talley
======+================
Cockpit Body bottom section: (@0520)
(@0217) - Main shape middle core = (2x108) + 1
(@0095) - central bottom layer 1 = (47x2) + 1 w/black parameter
(@0078) - Sides Bottom layer 2 = (2x(22 parallel pair frnt2bck support + 3 red + 4 gold + 10 ring outside black))
(@0028) - Central bottom layer 3 = (2x14) rectangle
(@0032) - Sides bottom layer 3 = (2x((2x5 parallel bridge rectangle to ring) + (6 ring outside))
(@0010) - Central bottom layer 4 = (10 ring) leg waist w/gold
(@0020) - Sides bottom layer 4 = (2x10 ring) coupled over parallel bridge for perpendicular underside support
(@0040) - Central rear Barrel = (4x8 ring w2 red rings) + (2x4 sqr end)
------
Cockpit Body top section (from center out): (@0371)
(@0166) - top layer 1 = (2x83) w/black missle cover + middle sect separator
(@0105) - top layer 2 = ((2x52) + 1) w/black separator, red trim, gold cockpit
(@0083) - top layer 3 = ((2x41) + 1) w/black separator, red trim, gold cockpit
(@0037) - top layer 4 = ((2x18) + 1) w/black separator trim
(@0010) - top layer 5 = (2x5) w/red/black
------
(@0891)
Leg section x2 (@0640 - 12 removed from bottom of @ leg for foot contact pt)
leg internal structure:
(@0384) - columns = 2 x (4x((2x12) + ((2x11) + 2))) top/bottom coupled bonds w/parallel bonds stacked x 4))
(@0096) - side reinforcements = 2x((2x11) + 2) coupled pair along outside edge centers)
(@0032) - ball reinforcements = 2x(2x4 balls are two balls added to 4 ball in 2, 4, 6, 8th positions) - (12 @ bottom)
leg arch structure (connected to one flat leg top face:
(@0128) - (4x4 parallel sqr) + (2x(6 + 2)) pointy rings) + (4x4 parallel sqr) + (2x(6 + 2)) pointy rings)
Place the two leg arch structures together to form the leg arch
-------
(@1519) = 1531-12
Leg side panels (@0384)
(@0344) - (2 each leg x (2x(2x43 each side))) w/black outside trim
Knees + Leg detail
(@0040) - (2x(2x(6 + 2) knee w/red sqr) + 2x(4 red sqr top of leg))
-------
(@1903)
Feet x2 (@0242)
(@0184) - (2x((2x7 + 2 1st mid layer) + (2x(2x10 + 1) 2nd mid layer) + ((2x(2x8 + 1) outside layer))
(@0034) - (2x(2x(2x3 + 1 top of toe 2 leg)) + (1 center rear foot 2 leg conn) + (2 x 1 outer rear foot sides 2 leg
conn))
(@0024) - (2x(2x6 rings rear foot heel))
-------
(@2145)
X-Beam waist platform - (@0233 - 19) this part is placed across the center perpendicular to the x-beam leg arch
(@0214) - (2x(2x(18 + 17 + 6 + 3)) + (2x(7 + 2)) + ((8 + 1 front side) + (2x9 rear side)) + ((2 x 3 red front center) +
(2 x 2 red front sides) + (2 red rear)) - (19 removed under rear panel side to fold)
Arm Guns (2 pair per arm w/red + black accents)
(@0380) - (4x((4x9 center core) + (3x((2x7) + 1)) top/sides) + (2x7) middle join))
Shoulder to elbow core w/o reinforcements ((@0174)per arm)
(@0348) - (2 x (top((2x5)+2) + (4x8+2 parallel) + ((2x5)+2) + (2x5) + (2x(2x5)+1) + (2x(2x6)+1) + ((4x7)+2 parallel
mount2gun) + (1 ball center to bridge below 2 ball center to 1 ball) + ((2x6)+1) + ((2x4)+2)bottom)
Shoulder to elbow (per arm, per side)
(@0248) - (2 x (2 x (top 3 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 4 + 5 + 4 + 4 + 5 + (2x7arm2shoulder bridge) + (5 + 3 bottom))
Elbow to gun support (per arm, per side) (@0140 - 18 for outside facing side revamp)
(@0122) - (2 x (2 x (((2x9)+1) + (2x8)) -
Revamp outside facing sides for Z bracket (remove 2x(4 top/4 bottom/2 middle/move center ball down, add 1 ball)
Revamp 2 rear centerballs with red
(@028) - add red design outside facing shoulder 2 elbow
------
(@3485)
Rear Guns x2
Large cannon (@0112 each)
(@0224) - 2 x ((2x(2x15) + (4x(5+2)) + (4x(6 ring)))
Smaller cannon (@0092 each)
(@0184) - 2 x ((2x(2x13) + (4x(4+2)) + (4x(4 ring)))
Gun bridges (@0010 each)
(@0020) - (2 x (4 ring + 6 ring across two cannons)
Gun mounts x2
(@0104) - (2 x ((top (2x4+2) + (2x5+2) parallel to existing + (2x4+2) + (2x5 parallel) + (2x4+2) bottom)
Gun panel x 2 (@0102 each)
(@0204) - (2 x (2x(11 + 10 + 9 + 8 + 7 + 6))
-------
Revamp base
(@4221) subtotal b4 assembly
Assembly mods
-------------
Moved the (@0040) - Central rear Barrel = (4x8 ring w2 red rings) + (2x4 sqr end) below the rear of the body between
the leg mount and cockpit body. Actually used the barrel as a mount point for the rear guns.
Modded Cockpit Body bottom section (mount point):
(@0020) = (2 x (7 + 6 + 5)) = Changed = (@0028) - Central bottom layer 3 = (2x14) rectangle to covert parallel
rectangle to hex parallel center, coupled sides
-------
(@4213) = (@4221 - 8)
Moved central bottom layer x-beam
(@0018) = (2x09 ring) = Changed = (@0020) - Sides bottom layer 4 = shifted it down one row, removed 1 ball on end to form point and pinched outside end fit in center of 6 ball side.
(@4211) = (@4213 - 2)
Removed gold 10 ball ring mount
Changed = (@0010) = Central bottom layer 4 = (10 ring) leg waist w/gold
-------
(@4201) = (@4213 - 10)
Modded Rear Guns
(@0100) = Changed = Rear Gun mounts x2 - removed +2 from top/bottom mount point (2x4+2)=>(2x4)
(@4197) = (@4201-4)
Added extra mount point support bwtween rear gun mounts and rear cockpit body
(@4205) = (@4201+8)
Grand Total! = (@4205)
The Shipley Art Gallery is an art gallery in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, located at the south end of Prince Consort Road. It has a Designated Collection of national importance.
Origins
The Shipley Art Gallery opened to the public in 1917. This was made possible by a bequest from wealthy local solicitor and art collector, Joseph Ainsley Davidson Shipley (1822–1909).
Shipley was a rather enigmatic person about whom little is known. He was born in Gateshead, near High Street. He was a solicitor in the Newcastle firm of Hoyle, Shipley and Hoyle. From 1884 until his death, he leased Saltwell Park House, now known as Saltwell Towers. Shipley's main passion was art and collecting paintings. He bought his first painting when he was sixteen and by the time he died he had amassed a collection of some 2,500 paintings.
On his death, Shipley left £30,000 and all his pictures to the City of Newcastle, which was to build a new gallery to house the collection. This was to be known as "The Shipley Bequest". Current belief within local history circles is that Shipley’s will expressly banned Newcastle’s art gallery as a recipient of the bequest, but this assertion must be dismissed: since the foundation stone of the Laing Art Gallery was laid only in August 1901 and the gallery opened in October 1904, the institution did not yet exist in 1900, when Shipley’s will was compiled. Shipley’s will did, in fact, declare that ‘the Art Gallery to be erected in Higham Place will not be and shall not be regarded as an Art Gallery within this trust’, owing to its being ‘too small’, but he conceded that if it ‘shall be capable of being enlarged so as to render it capable of holding all, then I direct my Trustees to raise the sum of £30,000 out of my residuary estate and pay the same to the treasurer of the gallery to be applied in or toward such enlargement as aforesaid’. It was only following a lengthy process that Gateshead Municipal Council was offered the collection. As it was impossible to house all of the paintings, 359 of the pictures recommended by the executors of Shipley's will were selected. A further group was then added by the Gateshead Committee, bringing the total to 504.
In 1914, after the sale of the remaining paintings, work began on the new art gallery. The building, which was designed by Arthur Stockwell, M.S.A. of Newcastle, opened on 29 November 1917. The stone entrance portico is distyle in antis – four Corinthian-style stone columns flanked by solid pilasters. These are surmounted by two sculptured figures, one representing the Arts and the other Industry and Learning, by W. Birnie Rhind, RSA. of Edinburgh.
Pevsner described the art gallery as a "bold arrangement of a brick central block and lower wings containing galleries". The building was designated as Grade II listed in 1982.
Present gallery
The original 504 paintings represented all the main European schools from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. Since 1917, the collection has been added to, and now comprises some 10,000 items.
The gallery holds a strong collection of 16th and 17th century Dutch and Flemish paintings, as well as 19th century British works, watercolours, prints, drawings and sculpture. Also featured are items of local interest, which include the popular painting by William C. Irving ((1866–1943) of "Blaydon Races" (1903) and a 1970 street scene of Redheugh Crossroads by Gateshead-born Charlie Rogers.
Since 1977 the gallery has become established as a national centre for contemporary craftwork. It has built up one of the best collections outside London, which includes ceramics, wood, metal, glass, textiles and furniture. The Shipley is home to the Henry Rothschild collection of studio ceramics. In 2008, the Shipley opened its Designs for Life gallery which showcases the gallery's collections of contemporary craft and design. The Gallery also hosts a varied programme of temporary exhibitions and has a strong partnership with the V&A Museum in London.
The Shipley Art Gallery is managed by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums on behalf of Gateshead Council.
Gateshead is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. The town shares the Millennium Bridge, Tyne Bridge and multiple other bridges with Newcastle upon Tyne.
Historically part of County Durham, under the Local Government Act 1888 the town was made a county borough, meaning it was administered independently of the county council.
In the 2011 Census, the town had a population of 120,046 while the wider borough had 200,214.
History
Gateshead is first mentioned in Latin translation in Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People as ad caput caprae ("at the goat's head"). This interpretation is consistent with the later English attestations of the name, among them Gatesheued (c. 1190), literally "goat's head" but in the context of a place-name meaning 'headland or hill frequented by (wild) goats'. Although other derivations have been mooted, it is this that is given by the standard authorities.
A Brittonic predecessor, named with the element *gabro-, 'goat' (c.f. Welsh gafr), may underlie the name. Gateshead might have been the Roman-British fort of Gabrosentum.
Early
There has been a settlement on the Gateshead side of the River Tyne, around the old river crossing where the Swing Bridge now stands, since Roman times.
The first recorded mention of Gateshead is in the writings of the Venerable Bede who referred to an Abbot of Gateshead called Utta in 623. In 1068 William the Conqueror defeated the forces of Edgar the Ætheling and Malcolm king of Scotland (Shakespeare's Malcolm) on Gateshead Fell (now Low Fell and Sheriff Hill).
During medieval times Gateshead was under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Durham. At this time the area was largely forest with some agricultural land. The forest was the subject of Gateshead's first charter, granted in the 12th century by Hugh du Puiset, Bishop of Durham. An alternative spelling may be "Gatishevede", as seen in a legal record, dated 1430.
Industrial revolution
Throughout the Industrial Revolution the population of Gateshead expanded rapidly; between 1801 and 1901 the increase was over 100,000. This expansion resulted in the spread southwards of the town.
In 1854, a catastrophic explosion on the quayside destroyed most of Gateshead's medieval heritage, and caused widespread damage on the Newcastle side of the river.
Sir Joseph Swan lived at Underhill, Low Fell, Gateshead from 1869 to 1883, where his experiments led to the invention of the electric light bulb. The house was the first in the world to be wired for domestic electric light.
In the 1889 one of the largest employers (Hawks, Crawshay and Company) closed down and unemployment has since been a burden. Up to the Second World War there were repeated newspaper reports of the unemployed sending deputations to the council to provide work. The depression years of the 1920s and 1930s created even more joblessness and the Team Valley Trading Estate was built in the mid-1930s to alleviate the situation.
Regeneration
In the late noughties, Gateshead Council started to regenerate the town, with the long-term aim of making Gateshead a city. The most extensive transformation occurred in the Quayside, with almost all the structures there being constructed or refurbished in this time.
In the early 2010s, regeneration refocused on the town centre. The £150 million Trinity Square development opened in May 2013, it incorporates student accommodation, a cinema, health centre and shops. It was nominated for the Carbuncle Cup in September 2014. The cup was however awarded to another development which involved Tesco, Woolwich Central.
Governance
In 1835, Gateshead was established as a municipal borough and in 1889 it was made a county borough, independent from Durham County Council.
In 1870, the Old Town Hall was built, designed by John Johnstone who also designed the previously built Newcastle Town Hall. The ornamental clock in front of the old town hall was presented to Gateshead in 1892 by the mayor, Walter de Lancey Willson, on the occasion of him being elected for a third time. He was also one of the founders of Walter Willson's, a chain of grocers in the North East and Cumbria. The old town hall also served as a magistrate's court and one of Gateshead's police stations.
Current
In 1974, following the Local Government Act 1972, the County Borough of Gateshead was merged with the urban districts of Felling, Whickham, Blaydon and Ryton and part of the rural district of Chester-le-Street to create the much larger Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead.
Geography
The town of Gateshead is in the North East of England in the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear, and within the historic boundaries of County Durham. It is located on the southern bank of the River Tyne at a latitude of 54.57° N and a longitude of 1.35° W. Gateshead experiences a temperate climate which is considerably warmer than some other locations at similar latitudes as a result of the warming influence of the Gulf Stream (via the North Atlantic drift). It is located in the rain shadow of the North Pennines and is therefore in one of the driest regions of the United Kingdom.
One of the most distinguishing features of Gateshead is its topography. The land rises 230 feet from Gateshead Quays to the town centre and continues rising to a height of 525 feet at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Sheriff Hill. This is in contrast to the flat and low lying Team Valley located on the western edges of town. The high elevations allow for impressive views over the Tyne valley into Newcastle and across Tyneside to Sunderland and the North Sea from lookouts in Windmill Hills and Windy Nook respectively.
The Office for National Statistics defines the town as an urban sub-division. The latest (2011) ONS urban sub-division of Gateshead contains the historical County Borough together with areas that the town has absorbed, including Dunston, Felling, Heworth, Pelaw and Bill Quay.
Given the proximity of Gateshead to Newcastle, just south of the River Tyne from the city centre, it is sometimes incorrectly referred to as being a part of Newcastle. Gateshead Council and Newcastle City Council teamed up in 2000 to create a unified marketing brand name, NewcastleGateshead, to better promote the whole of the Tyneside conurbation.
Economy
Gateshead is home to the MetroCentre, the largest shopping mall in the UK until 2008; and the Team Valley Trading Estate, once the largest and still one of the larger purpose-built commercial estates in the UK.
Arts
The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art has been established in a converted flour mill. The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, previously The Sage, a Norman Foster-designed venue for music and the performing arts opened on 17 December 2004. Gateshead also hosted the Gateshead Garden Festival in 1990, rejuvenating 200 acres (0.81 km2) of derelict land (now mostly replaced with housing). The Angel of the North, a famous sculpture in nearby Lamesley, is visible from the A1 to the south of Gateshead, as well as from the East Coast Main Line. Other public art include works by Richard Deacon, Colin Rose, Sally Matthews, Andy Goldsworthy, Gordon Young and Michael Winstone.
Traditional and former
The earliest recorded coal mining in the Gateshead area is dated to 1344. As trade on the Tyne prospered there were several attempts by the burghers of Newcastle to annex Gateshead. In 1576 a small group of Newcastle merchants acquired the 'Grand Lease' of the manors of Gateshead and Whickham. In the hundred years from 1574 coal shipments from Newcastle increased elevenfold while the population of Gateshead doubled to approximately 5,500. However, the lease and the abundant coal supplies ended in 1680. The pits were shallow as problems of ventilation and flooding defeated attempts to mine coal from the deeper seams.
'William Cotesworth (1668-1726) was a prominent merchant based in Gateshead, where he was a leader in coal and international trade. Cotesworth began as the son of a yeoman and apprentice to a tallow - candler. He ended as an esquire, having been mayor, Justice of the Peace and sheriff of Northumberland. He collected tallow from all over England and sold it across the globe. He imported dyes from the Indies, as well as flax, wine, and grain. He sold tea, sugar, chocolate, and tobacco. He operated the largest coal mines in the area, and was a leading salt producer. As the government's principal agent in the North country, he was in contact with leading ministers.
William Hawks originally a blacksmith, started business in Gateshead in 1747, working with the iron brought to the Tyne as ballast by the Tyne colliers. Hawks and Co. eventually became one of the biggest iron businesses in the North, producing anchors, chains and so on to meet a growing demand. There was keen contemporary rivalry between 'Hawks' Blacks' and 'Crowley's Crew'. The famous 'Hawks' men' including Ned White, went on to be celebrated in Geordie song and story.
In 1831 a locomotive works was established by the Newcastle and Darlington Railway, later part of the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway. In 1854 the works moved to the Greenesfield site and became the manufacturing headquarters of North Eastern Railway. In 1909, locomotive construction was moved to Darlington and the rest of the works were closed in 1932.
Robert Stirling Newall took out a patent on the manufacture of wire ropes in 1840 and in partnership with Messrs. Liddell and Gordon, set up his headquarters at Gateshead. A worldwide industry of wire-drawing resulted. The submarine telegraph cable received its definitive form through Newall's initiative, involving the use of gutta-percha surrounded by strong wires. The first successful Dover–Calais cable on 25 September 1851, was made in Newall's works. In 1853, he invented the brake-drum and cone for laying cable in deep seas. Half of the first Atlantic cable was manufactured in Gateshead. Newall was interested in astronomy, and his giant 25-inch (640 mm) telescope was set up in the garden at Ferndene, his Gateshead residence, in 1871.
Architecture
JB Priestley, writing of Gateshead in his 1934 travelogue English Journey, said that "no true civilisation could have produced such a town", adding that it appeared to have been designed "by an enemy of the human race".
Victorian
William Wailes the celebrated stained-glass maker, lived at South Dene from 1853 to 1860. In 1860, he designed Saltwell Towers as a fairy-tale palace for himself. It is an imposing Victorian mansion in its own park with a romantic skyline of turrets and battlements. It was originally furnished sumptuously by Gerrard Robinson. Some of the panelling installed by Robinson was later moved to the Shipley Art gallery. Wailes sold Saltwell Towers to the corporation in 1876 for use as a public park, provided he could use the house for the rest of his life. For many years the structure was essentially an empty shell but following a restoration programme it was reopened to the public in 2004.
Post millennium
The council sponsored the development of a Gateshead Quays cultural quarter. The development includes the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, erected in 2001, which won the prestigious Stirling Prize for Architecture in 2002.
Former brutalism
The brutalist Trinity Centre Car Park, which was designed by Owen Luder, dominated the town centre for many years until its demolition in 2010. A product of attempts to regenerate the area in the 1960s, the car park gained an iconic status due to its appearance in the 1971 film Get Carter, starring Michael Caine. An unsuccessful campaign to have the structure listed was backed by Sylvester Stallone, who played the main role in the 2000 remake of the film. The car park was scheduled for demolition in 2009, but this was delayed as a result of a disagreement between Tesco, who re-developed the site, and Gateshead Council. The council had not been given firm assurances that Tesco would build the previously envisioned town centre development which was to include a Tesco mega-store as well as shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, offices and student accommodation. The council effectively used the car park as a bargaining tool to ensure that the company adhered to the original proposals and blocked its demolition until they submitted a suitable planning application. Demolition finally took place in July–August 2010.
The Derwent Tower, another well known example of brutalist architecture, was also designed by Owen Luder and stood in the neighbourhood of Dunston. Like the Trinity Car Park it also failed in its bid to become a listed building and was demolished in 2012. Also located in this area are the Grade II listed Dunston Staithes which were built in 1890. Following the award of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of almost £420,000 restoration of the structure is expected to begin in April 2014.
Sport
Gateshead International Stadium regularly holds international athletics meetings over the summer months, and is home of the Gateshead Harriers athletics club. It is also host to rugby league fixtures, and the home ground of Gateshead Football Club. Gateshead Thunder Rugby League Football Club played at Gateshead International Stadium until its purchase by Newcastle Rugby Limited and the subsequent rebranding as Newcastle Thunder. Both clubs have had their problems: Gateshead A.F.C. were controversially voted out of the Football League in 1960 in favour of Peterborough United, whilst Gateshead Thunder lost their place in Super League as a result of a takeover (officially termed a merger) by Hull F.C. Both Gateshead clubs continue to ply their trade at lower levels in their respective sports, thanks mainly to the efforts of their supporters. The Gateshead Senators American Football team also use the International Stadium, as well as this it was used in the 2006 Northern Conference champions in the British American Football League.
Gateshead Leisure Centre is home to the Gateshead Phoenix Basketball Team. The team currently plays in EBL League Division 4. Home games are usually on a Sunday afternoon during the season, which runs from September to March. The team was formed in 2013 and ended their initial season well placed to progress after defeating local rivals Newcastle Eagles II and promotion chasing Kingston Panthers.
In Low Fell there is a cricket club and a rugby club adjacent to each other on Eastwood Gardens. These are Gateshead Fell Cricket Club and Gateshead Rugby Club. Gateshead Rugby Club was formed in 1998 following the merger of Gateshead Fell Rugby Club and North Durham Rugby Club.
Transport
Gateshead is served by the following rail transport stations with some being operated by National Rail and some being Tyne & Wear Metro stations: Dunston, Felling, Gateshead Interchange, Gateshead Stadium, Heworth Interchange, MetroCentre and Pelaw.
Tyne & Wear Metro stations at Gateshead Interchange and Gateshead Stadium provide direct light-rail access to Newcastle Central, Newcastle Airport , Sunderland, Tynemouth and South Shields Interchange.
National Rail services are provided by Northern at Dunston and MetroCentre stations. The East Coast Main Line, which runs from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh Waverley, cuts directly through the town on its way between Newcastle Central and Chester-le-Street stations. There are presently no stations on this line within Gateshead, as Low Fell, Bensham and Gateshead West stations were closed in 1952, 1954 and 1965 respectively.
Road
Several major road links pass through Gateshead, including the A1 which links London to Edinburgh and the A184 which connects the town to Sunderland.
Gateshead Interchange is the busiest bus station in Tyne & Wear and was used by 3.9 million bus passengers in 2008.
Cycle routes
Various bicycle trails traverse the town; most notably is the recreational Keelmans Way (National Cycle Route 14), which is located on the south bank of the Tyne and takes riders along the entire Gateshead foreshore. Other prominent routes include the East Gateshead Cycleway, which connects to Felling, the West Gateshead Cycleway, which links the town centre to Dunston and the MetroCentre, and routes along both the old and new Durham roads, which take cyclists to Birtley, Wrekenton and the Angel of the North.
Religion
Christianity has been present in the town since at least the 7th century, when Bede mentioned a monastery in Gateshead. A church in the town was burned down in 1080 with the Bishop of Durham inside.[citation needed] St Mary's Church was built near to the site of that building, and was the only church in the town until the 1820s. Undoubtedly the oldest building on the Quayside, St Mary's has now re-opened to the public as the town's first heritage centre.
Many of the Anglican churches in the town date from the 19th century, when the population of the town grew dramatically and expanded into new areas. The town presently has a number of notable and large churches of many denominations.
Judaism
The Bensham district is home to a community of hundreds of Jewish families and used to be known as "Little Jerusalem". Within the community is the Gateshead Yeshiva, founded in 1929, and other Jewish educational institutions with international enrolments. These include two seminaries: Beis Medrash L'Morot and Beis Chaya Rochel seminary, colloquially known together as Gateshead "old" and "new" seminaries.
Many yeshivot and kollels also are active. Yeshivat Beer Hatorah, Sunderland Yeshiva, Nesivos Hatorah, Nezer Hatorah and Yeshiva Ketana make up some of the list.
Islam
Islam is practised by a large community of people in Gateshead and there are 2 mosques located in the Bensham area (in Ely Street and Villa Place).
Twinning
Gateshead is twinned with the town of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray near Rouen in France, and the city of Komatsu in Japan.
Notable people
Eliezer Adler – founder of Jewish Community
Marcus Bentley – narrator of Big Brother
Catherine Booth – wife of William Booth, known as the Mother of The Salvation Army
William Booth – founder of the Salvation Army
Mary Bowes – the Unhappy Countess, author and celebrity
Ian Branfoot – footballer and manager (Sheffield Wednesday and Southampton)
Andy Carroll – footballer (Newcastle United, Liverpool and West Ham United)
Frank Clark – footballer and manager (Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest)
David Clelland – Labour politician and MP
Derek Conway – former Conservative politician and MP
Joseph Cowen – Radical politician
Steve Cram – athlete (middle-distance runner)
Emily Davies – educational reformer and feminist, founder of Girton College, Cambridge
Daniel Defoe – writer and government agent
Ruth Dodds – politician, writer and co-founder of the Little Theatre
Jonathan Edwards – athlete (triple jumper) and television presenter
Sammy Johnson – actor (Spender)
George Elliot – industrialist and MP
Paul Gascoigne – footballer (Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio, Rangers and Middlesbrough)
Alex Glasgow – singer/songwriter
Avrohom Gurwicz – rabbi, Dean of Gateshead Yeshiva
Leib Gurwicz – rabbi, Dean of Gateshead Yeshiva
Jill Halfpenny – actress (Coronation Street and EastEnders)
Chelsea Halfpenny – actress (Emmerdale)
David Hodgson – footballer and manager (Middlesbrough, Liverpool and Sunderland)
Sharon Hodgson – Labour politician and MP
Norman Hunter – footballer (Leeds United and member of 1966 World Cup-winning England squad)
Don Hutchison – footballer (Liverpool, West Ham United, Everton and Sunderland)
Brian Johnson – AC/DC frontman
Tommy Johnson – footballer (Aston Villa and Celtic)
Riley Jones - actor
Howard Kendall – footballer and manager (Preston North End and Everton)
J. Thomas Looney – Shakespeare scholar
Gary Madine – footballer (Sheffield Wednesday)
Justin McDonald – actor (Distant Shores)
Lawrie McMenemy – football manager (Southampton and Northern Ireland) and pundit
Thomas Mein – professional cyclist (Canyon DHB p/b Soreen)
Robert Stirling Newall – industrialist
Bezalel Rakow – communal rabbi
John William Rayner – flying ace and war hero
James Renforth – oarsman
Mariam Rezaei – musician and artist
Sir Tom Shakespeare - baronet, sociologist and disability rights campaigner
William Shield – Master of the King's Musick
Christina Stead – Australian novelist
John Steel – drummer (The Animals)
Henry Spencer Stephenson – chaplain to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II
Steve Stone – footballer (Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Portsmouth)
Chris Swailes – footballer (Ipswich Town)
Sir Joseph Swan – inventor of the incandescent light bulb
Nicholas Trainor – cricketer (Gloucestershire)
Chris Waddle – footballer (Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield Wednesday)
William Wailes – stained glass maker
Taylor Wane – adult entertainer
Robert Spence Watson – public benefactor
Sylvia Waugh – author of The Mennyms series for children
Chris Wilkie – guitarist (Dubstar)
John Wilson - orchestral conductor
Peter Wilson – footballer (Gateshead, captain of Australia)
Thomas Wilson – poet/school founder
Robert Wood – Australian politician
A capable lens with very simple optical design, 6 elements in 6 groups similar to conventional 50mm lens, not that capable as newer Zeiss or Sigma counterparts but for a portrait lens it is certainly more than enough.
I consider the newer Nikon 85mm F1.8g a downgrade for the 7 aperture blades,
NEOBALLS / ZEN MAGNETS - Neodymium Magnetic Balls (@4205) - Starcraft II's Massive Thor
This is my most complex and largest build to date.
It was designed in parts: Cockpit body, then legs, then arms, then rear guns. Then I had to redesign parts when it came time to assemble it together because of incorrect bonding assumptions and misalignment of magnet fields.
Experimented with x-beam coupled bonds to get the maximum lateral strength with reinforcements on the sides. This proved to be very string. Created a X-Beam using similar methods producing a very strong leg structure. It was capable of support the entire weight of the cockpit body w/o a problem. Had to redesign the leg to cockpit body mount point from the earlier concept because the bond was not completely coupled.
Next up were the arm/guns ... the weight was too much for the cockpit body to support so I fashioned a pair of lego-platforms for them to rest on and take the weight off of the central body.
Finally ... the rear guns ... these were a challenge in that their original mount point design had to be reworked also to make them fit correctly into the rear of the cockpit body. I changed the mount points on the guns to fit the space on both sides and added a few support balls to improve the mount point bonds. I was very surprised how they were balanced and supported only by two point sections to the body. The guns stayed in place for a small series of photos.
The design flaw was in the side bonds of the beam to the legs. The coupled field held nicely for a short amount of time and would have held if it didn't have the weight of the rear guns to support. When they were standing upright and straight, all was good. As soon as I attempted to move the platform forward (to take a video), the rear guns tilted slightly backwards and and that was the end of the leg to body support bonds ... and created the dreaded implosion.
The rear gun weight caused the entire central body section to rotate backwards and fall back on the rear guns ... taking the arms in the process. Perhaps I should have created a Lego-support structure for the rear guns to remove the pendulum force backwards ... but that would have created another view blocker like the side Lego-platforms obstructed the view of the legs and feet. Not sure if I can recreate it for a rotational video ... this took over a week (on/off to design and assemble).
Overall ... I was very happy with the result ... hope I captured enough detail to warrant some visual recognition as a Starcraft II Thor reproduction/interpretation.
This was design and built for the Zen Magnets Contest 26: The Massive Thor
www.zenmagnets.com/blog/26-the-massive-thor/
I tried to document the info for this super complex build (below) accompanied by associated pics in this set
www.flickr.com/photos/tend2it/sets/72157632920071597/
Starcraft II Thor Magnet Count and Detail Talley
======+================
Cockpit Body bottom section: (@0520)
(@0217) - Main shape middle core = (2x108) + 1
(@0095) - central bottom layer 1 = (47x2) + 1 w/black parameter
(@0078) - Sides Bottom layer 2 = (2x(22 parallel pair frnt2bck support + 3 red + 4 gold + 10 ring outside black))
(@0028) - Central bottom layer 3 = (2x14) rectangle
(@0032) - Sides bottom layer 3 = (2x((2x5 parallel bridge rectangle to ring) + (6 ring outside))
(@0010) - Central bottom layer 4 = (10 ring) leg waist w/gold
(@0020) - Sides bottom layer 4 = (2x10 ring) coupled over parallel bridge for perpendicular underside support
(@0040) - Central rear Barrel = (4x8 ring w2 red rings) + (2x4 sqr end)
------
Cockpit Body top section (from center out): (@0371)
(@0166) - top layer 1 = (2x83) w/black missle cover + middle sect separator
(@0105) - top layer 2 = ((2x52) + 1) w/black separator, red trim, gold cockpit
(@0083) - top layer 3 = ((2x41) + 1) w/black separator, red trim, gold cockpit
(@0037) - top layer 4 = ((2x18) + 1) w/black separator trim
(@0010) - top layer 5 = (2x5) w/red/black
------
(@0891)
Leg section x2 (@0640 - 12 removed from bottom of @ leg for foot contact pt)
leg internal structure:
(@0384) - columns = 2 x (4x((2x12) + ((2x11) + 2))) top/bottom coupled bonds w/parallel bonds stacked x 4))
(@0096) - side reinforcements = 2x((2x11) + 2) coupled pair along outside edge centers)
(@0032) - ball reinforcements = 2x(2x4 balls are two balls added to 4 ball in 2, 4, 6, 8th positions) - (12 @ bottom)
leg arch structure (connected to one flat leg top face:
(@0128) - (4x4 parallel sqr) + (2x(6 + 2)) pointy rings) + (4x4 parallel sqr) + (2x(6 + 2)) pointy rings)
Place the two leg arch structures together to form the leg arch
-------
(@1519) = 1531-12
Leg side panels (@0384)
(@0344) - (2 each leg x (2x(2x43 each side))) w/black outside trim
Knees + Leg detail
(@0040) - (2x(2x(6 + 2) knee w/red sqr) + 2x(4 red sqr top of leg))
-------
(@1903)
Feet x2 (@0242)
(@0184) - (2x((2x7 + 2 1st mid layer) + (2x(2x10 + 1) 2nd mid layer) + ((2x(2x8 + 1) outside layer))
(@0034) - (2x(2x(2x3 + 1 top of toe 2 leg)) + (1 center rear foot 2 leg conn) + (2 x 1 outer rear foot sides 2 leg
conn))
(@0024) - (2x(2x6 rings rear foot heel))
-------
(@2145)
X-Beam waist platform - (@0233 - 19) this part is placed across the center perpendicular to the x-beam leg arch
(@0214) - (2x(2x(18 + 17 + 6 + 3)) + (2x(7 + 2)) + ((8 + 1 front side) + (2x9 rear side)) + ((2 x 3 red front center) +
(2 x 2 red front sides) + (2 red rear)) - (19 removed under rear panel side to fold)
Arm Guns (2 pair per arm w/red + black accents)
(@0380) - (4x((4x9 center core) + (3x((2x7) + 1)) top/sides) + (2x7) middle join))
Shoulder to elbow core w/o reinforcements ((@0174)per arm)
(@0348) - (2 x (top((2x5)+2) + (4x8+2 parallel) + ((2x5)+2) + (2x5) + (2x(2x5)+1) + (2x(2x6)+1) + ((4x7)+2 parallel
mount2gun) + (1 ball center to bridge below 2 ball center to 1 ball) + ((2x6)+1) + ((2x4)+2)bottom)
Shoulder to elbow (per arm, per side)
(@0248) - (2 x (2 x (top 3 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 4 + 5 + 4 + 4 + 5 + (2x7arm2shoulder bridge) + (5 + 3 bottom))
Elbow to gun support (per arm, per side) (@0140 - 18 for outside facing side revamp)
(@0122) - (2 x (2 x (((2x9)+1) + (2x8)) -
Revamp outside facing sides for Z bracket (remove 2x(4 top/4 bottom/2 middle/move center ball down, add 1 ball)
Revamp 2 rear centerballs with red
(@028) - add red design outside facing shoulder 2 elbow
------
(@3485)
Rear Guns x2
Large cannon (@0112 each)
(@0224) - 2 x ((2x(2x15) + (4x(5+2)) + (4x(6 ring)))
Smaller cannon (@0092 each)
(@0184) - 2 x ((2x(2x13) + (4x(4+2)) + (4x(4 ring)))
Gun bridges (@0010 each)
(@0020) - (2 x (4 ring + 6 ring across two cannons)
Gun mounts x2
(@0104) - (2 x ((top (2x4+2) + (2x5+2) parallel to existing + (2x4+2) + (2x5 parallel) + (2x4+2) bottom)
Gun panel x 2 (@0102 each)
(@0204) - (2 x (2x(11 + 10 + 9 + 8 + 7 + 6))
-------
Revamp base
(@4221) subtotal b4 assembly
Assembly mods
-------------
Moved the (@0040) - Central rear Barrel = (4x8 ring w2 red rings) + (2x4 sqr end) below the rear of the body between
the leg mount and cockpit body. Actually used the barrel as a mount point for the rear guns.
Modded Cockpit Body bottom section (mount point):
(@0020) = (2 x (7 + 6 + 5)) = Changed = (@0028) - Central bottom layer 3 = (2x14) rectangle to covert parallel
rectangle to hex parallel center, coupled sides
-------
(@4213) = (@4221 - 8)
Moved central bottom layer x-beam
(@0018) = (2x09 ring) = Changed = (@0020) - Sides bottom layer 4 = shifted it down one row, removed 1 ball on end to form point and pinched outside end fit in center of 6 ball side.
(@4211) = (@4213 - 2)
Removed gold 10 ball ring mount
Changed = (@0010) = Central bottom layer 4 = (10 ring) leg waist w/gold
-------
(@4201) = (@4213 - 10)
Modded Rear Guns
(@0100) = Changed = Rear Gun mounts x2 - removed +2 from top/bottom mount point (2x4+2)=>(2x4)
(@4197) = (@4201-4)
Added extra mount point support bwtween rear gun mounts and rear cockpit body
(@4205) = (@4201+8)
Grand Total! = (@4205)
I was going to give this a creative title, then I remembered that dogs are only capable of a certain amount of creativity and typing skill.
© Agent Kay 2013
Built by the Schiffswerks Rieherst company in Hamburg, the Umbria was launched on December 30th 1911 with the name of Bahia Blanca. It was a large freighter by that time, 150 meters long, with a power capable of providing a speed of 14 knots that could carry 9,000 tons of cargo and up to 2,000 passengers. In 1912 it began operating the Hamburg-America line doing different jobs between Europe and Argentina until the outbreak of World War I, when it was based in Buenos Aires. In 1918 the ship was acquired by the Argentinian government and it was not until 1935 when the ship was taken over by the Italian government and renamed again: the Umbria. From that moment its trips were to transport troops and during the following two years carried several thousand soldiers to the Italian colonies in East Africa.
The loss of the Umbria
In May 1940, when Italy was still neutral in World War II, the Umbria was secretly loaded with 360,000 bombs between 15 kg and 100 kg, 60 boxes of detonators, building materials and three Fiat Lunga cars, carrying a total 8,600 tons of weapons towards the East Africa. The explosives had destination Massawa and Assab, Eritrea, that was Italian colony by then, and the rest of the cargo was heading different locations in Asia. Italy's entry into the war was imminent and this shipment was destined to the defense of the colonies against the Allies and to the possible expansion of its African territories.
On 3rd June 1940 the Umbria reached Port Said, northern Egypt, where loaded with 1,000 tons of coal and water in a movement to fool the Allies, trying to look like a harmless freighter. The port, controlled by the Royal Navy, and its authorities allowed the ship enter on the Red Sea three days after arrival. The British delayed the departure of the Umbria knowing that Italy's entry into the war was imminent and that the cargo of Umbria had devastating power that sooner or later would be used against the Allies and why not, to get a great load to fight fascism. But Italy, as a neutral country that it was, had every right to transport weapons much like any other cargo to its colonies.
Having met the deadline to be retained, the Umbria crossed the Suez Canal on June 6th but with the escort of the HMS Grimsby. The importance and destructive capacity of the cargo required it. Three days later the Umbria entered in Sudan waters and the HMS Grimsby ordered the Umbria captain to anchor on Wingate Reef under the pretext of searching for contraband. Moments later the British warship HMS Leander arrived with a group of 20 sailors who boarded the Umbria. After thoroughly searching the ship and finding nothing, the captain ordered the British troops to remain the night aboard the Umbria.
The next morning Lorenzo Muiesan, Umbria captain, was in his cabin listening to the radio when Mussolini announced the entry of Italy into the World War II. Hostilities would begin at midnight of that day. Muiesan, a very patriotic captain with long experience, was the only one in the area who had heard the news and knew immediately that both Umbria and the burden would be used by the Allies against their own country. He had no option to disable both. In a move of extraordinary intelligence, as the hours passed retained by the British who did not yet know that Italy was officially the enemy, the captain ordered his crew conducting a rescue simulation... that was more real than the British thought. This maneuver, which the English soldiers agreed as they believed it would serve to further delay the departure of the Umbria. While the Italians occupied the lifeboats, the chief engineers, following Muiesan´s orders, opened all the valves and drown the ship to the bottom of the reef. With the crew safe, the British only had time to get on their ship and watch the freighter slid slowly.
When the captain of HMS Grimsby asked why he had done that Muiesan confirmed the declaration of war from Italy to Britain. The next day Muiesan and the rest of Umbria crew departed detainees to India, where they spent four years in prison.
CARGO:
The Umbria was carrying 360,000 individual aircraft bombs ranging in size from 15, 50 and 100 kg. The vessel also carried a large quantity of fuses, ammunition and detonators as well as other traditional cargo. The captain knew these bombs would be confiscated and used by the enemy against his country should they ever discover them which was why he made the call to sink the ship.
The Umbria had sailed in June 1940 with 6,000 tons of bombs, 60 boxes detonators, explosives, weapons and three Fiat 1100 Lunga from Genoa via Livorno and Naples in the Suez Canal and on the way via Massaua and Assab to Calcutta.
Fonte Official Skindred web page :
The music world may be in a permanent state of panic and flux, but one basic principle of rock’n’roll remains true: the key to longevity is to always deliver the goods. No band has better encapsulated this ethos of integrity and determination over the last decade than Skindred.
Widely acknowledged as one of the most devastating and enthralling live bands on the planet, the Newport destroyers have been a perennial force for musical invention and remorseless positivity since emerging from the ashes of frontman Benji Webbe’s former band Dub War back in 1998. Over the course of four universally praised studio albums – Babylon (2002), Roots Rock Riot (2007), Shark Bites And Dog Fights (2009) and Union Black (2011) – Skindred’s reputation for producing the ultimate spark-spraying state-of-the-art soundclash, combining all manner of seemingly disparate musical elements into an irresistibly exhilarating explosion of energy and cross-pollinated cultural fervour has rightly earned them a reputation as a band capable of uniting people from all corners of the globe and making every last one of them tear up the dancefloor with a giant shit-eating grin plastered across their faces.
With the toughest and most infectious metal riffs colliding with the biggest, phattest hip hop and reggae grooves, cutting edge electronics and a razor-sharp pop sensibility guaranteed to encourage even the most curmudgeonly music fans bellow along with rabid enthusiasm, Skindred are both the ultimate thinking man’s party band. And now, with the release of their fifth studio album Kill The Power, Benji Webbe and his loyal henchmen – bassist Dan Pugsley, guitarist Mikey Demus and drummer Arya Goggins – are poised to spread their gospel of good times and badass tunes to an even bigger global audience.
“We know that everyone recognises us as one of the best live bands around,” says Arya. “We’re really proud of all of the albums we’ve made, but we all felt that we needed to make an album that would be as powerful and effective as the live show. That’s what Kill The Power is all about. This time, we want everyone to sit up and listen and join in the party.”
“I started DJ-ing a little while ago and it’s taught me a lot,” adds Benji. “Now I feel like I wanted to make an album where every intro to every song makes kids think ‘Fucking hell, they’re playing that song!’ Every middle eight on this album is a banger. Every chorus is massive. On this album, the lyrics are deep and the songs are just bigger than ever.”
In keeping with their tradition of making people move while singing about universal issues and spreading a message of positive action and social unity, Kill The Power is an album bulging with fury at the state of the modern world. Never afraid to tackle important topics head on, while never forgetting his band’s mission to entertain and leave the world in a sweaty, sated heap, Benji’s notoriously insane energy levels seem to be creeping up with every album and Kill The Power showcases his most furious and impactful performances to date.
“The world’s getting worse so how can I get more mellow?” he laughs. “Of course I’m getting angrier! People normally stay in a bag when it comes to lyrics. Stephen King stays with horror and he’s brilliant at it, you know? With Skindred, it’s always about encouraging an uplift. It’s about a sense of unity. Lyrics can change people’s lives, you know? You can be going down one road and hear a song and have a Road To Damascus experience and become someone else.”
On an album that has no shortage of invigorating highlights, Kill The Power takes Skindred to new extremes at both ends of the lyrical spectrum, reaching a new level of fiery intensity on the lethal cautionary tale of “Playin’ With The Devil” and the euphoric end-of-the-working-week celebration of “Saturday”: both songs proving that this band’s ability to touch the heart and fire the blood remains as incisive and potent as ever. As if to enhance their songwriting chops more than ever, Kill The Power also features several songs written in collaboration with legendary songwriting guru Russ Ballard, the man behind such immortal rock staples as Since You’ve Been Gone and God Gave Rock & Roll To You, and this seemingly perverse team-up has led to Skindred’s finest set of lyrics and melodies to date.
“Basically, I try to write songs that people can interpret however they like,” says Benji. “When I wrote ‘Playin’ With The Devil’, I originally wrote some words down on a piece of paper thinking about friends I’ve had who smoke crack and live on the pipe, you know? I wrote the song about that kind of thing, but then a couple of days later the riots happened in London and so it became about that as well. When you shit on your own doorstep, your house is going to smell of shit. You’ve got to clean that up! With ‘Saturday’, it’s not a typical Skindred song; it’s a big celebration. We got Russ Ballard involved on that one and he helped me structure the lyrics in the right way so when the chorus hits, it hits like a hammer. It’s an upbeat song but when you listen to the lyrics it goes on about how people all have different reasons to be out and partying. Some people are celebrating, some people are drowning their sorrows, and we all come together on a Saturday. When this record comes out and people go to a club on a Saturday, that’s when it’s gonna go off! The chorus is huge!”
While Skindred’s previous album Union Black was dominated by the bleeps, booms and squelches of British electronic dance music, albeit balanced out by Mikey Demus’ trademark riffs, the new album sees the band return to a more organic sound that amounts to the most accurate representation of the Skindred live experience yet committed to tape. From the huge beats and stuttering samples of the opening title track and the laudably demented Ninja through to the insistent melodies and rampaging choruses of “The Kids Are Right Now” and “Saturday” and on to the thunderous, metallic throwdowns of “Proceed With Caution” and “Ruling Force” and the cool acoustic breeze of the closing More Fire, Kill The Power is Skindred cranked up to full throttle and revelling in their own febrile creativity like never before.
“It’s all about making an album that moves people in the same way that our live shows do,” says Arya. “We love what we achieved on Union Black and we still used a lot of those basic ideas on Kill The Power, but this time it’s a more organic sound. All the drum loops you hear were originally played by me before we started chopping them up, and there are a lot more guitars on this record too. We love combining all the music that we love in Skindred but we all love heavy music and we’re a rock band at heart and that really comes across this time.”
“We’ve delivered an album that’s gonna make people rock for the next few years,” states Benji. “You know what? I can’t do anything about record sales, but if people come to a Skindred show they’re gonna know they’ve been there, you know? Ha ha! The music we make is not about Christians or Muslims, straight people or gay people, black or white or any of that shit. When people are in that room together it’s just Skindred, one unity and one strength!”
Having conquered numerous countries around the world, Skindred could easily be taking a breather and resting on their laurels at this point. Instead, this most dedicated and hard-working of modern bands are preparing to launch their most exuberant assault on the world ever when Kill The Power hits the streets. Anyone that has ever seen the band live before will confirm that it is impossible not to get fired up and drawn into the joyous abandon of a Skindred show and with their greatest album to date primed and ready to explode, the best live band on the planet simply cannot fail to conquer the entire world this time round. Wherever and whoever you are, Skindred are coming. Open your ears and get your dancing feet ready…
“There’s nothing better than being on stage with these guys,” says Arya. “Skindred is my favourite band and I’m so lucky to be part of this thing we’ve created. We’ve been all over the world but there are always new places to visit and new crowds to play for. We just want to keep getting bigger and better.”
“We’re a global band. We’ve played in Colombia and India and everywhere and it’s the same energy,” Benji concludes. “I get letters from people in Hawaii and people in Turkey. It’s all the same. We resonate globally and it’s the greatest thing ever. It seems funny to us sometimes because we’re always kicking each other’s heads in and saying ‘You’re a wanker!’ to each other before we go on stage, but as soon as it’s time to play the show the oneness this band creates together and the unity we bring is unique. I’ve never experienced anything like it and we can’t wait to get back on the road and do it all again.”
Capable of producing 8,850 kilowatts, the Consumers Energy Croton hydroelectric plant, on the Muskegon River, began operating in 1907. With two units, Croton became the first facility in the world to transmit electricity at more than 110,000 volts. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on Aug. 16, 1979. Visit Croton Hydroelectric Plant.
Kellet K-2 test bed, Army Air Corps, Wright Field, 1931
Before World War II, aeronautical engineers sought to build an aircraft capable of making short takeoffs and landings. Eventually, their efforts produced the helicopter, but they also pursued a less common design -- the autogiro. Like helicopters, autogiros used a rotary wing to produce lift. However, unlike helicopters, the engine did not power the autogiro's rotor. Instead, aerodynamic forces made the autogiro rotor spin, while the engine propelled the aircraft.
In 1931 the Kellett brothers, Wallace and Rod, manufactured 12 K-2 autogiros. Based on existing Cierva and Pitcairn autogiro designs, the K-2 incorporated a much larger blade area, a simplified landing gear and a wider fuselage to accommodate side-by-side seating. Equipped with a 165-hp Continental A-70 engine, the K-2 could carry a useful load of 609 pounds at a top speed of 100 mph, a cruise speed of 80 mph and a stall speed of 24 mph.
In 1932 Kellett produced an improved model, the K-3. Powered by a 210-hp Kinner C-5 engine, it had a top speed of 110 mph, a cruise speed of 90 mph and a stall speed of only 15 mph. Kellett produced six of these aircraft, with two of them being modified K-2s.
To observe enemy forces and to control artillery fire, the U.S. Army needed an aircraft capable of flying very slowly, and the autogiro seemed to be a perfect solution. Therefore, the U.S. Army Air Corps tested both versions of the Kellett at Wright Field, but these aircraft lacked the performance necessary for military applications.
Later versions of the Kellett autogiro proved more successful, and the Army Air Corps purchased a small number of Kellett YG-1s, the first practical rotorcraft procured by the Army Air Corps, at the end of the 1930s. The Kelletts sold two K-3s to the Japanese War Office in 1932, but the most famous Kellett was the K-3 that Admiral Richard E. Byrd used on his Antarctic Expedition of 1933-1934.
The aircraft on display, a modified K-2, was the first autogiro tested by the Army Air Corps at Wright Field in 1931.
TECHNICAL NOTES:
Crew: Two
Armament: None
Load: 753 lbs.
Weight: 1,647 lbs. empty
The Convair B-58 Hustler was the first operational supersonic jet bomber, and the first capable of Mach 2 flight. The aircraft was developed for the United States Air Force for service in the Strategic Air Command (SAC) during the 1960s. Originally intended to fly at high altitudes and speeds to avoid Soviet fighters, the introduction of highly accurate Soviet surface-to-air missiles forced the B-58 into a low-level penetration role that severely limited its range and strategic value. This led to a brief operational career between 1960 and 1969. Its specialized role was succeeded by other American supersonic bombers, such as the FB-111A and the later B-1B Lancer.
The B-58 received a great deal of notoriety due to its sonic boom, which was often heard by the public as it passed overhead in supersonic flight.
This aircraft flew from Los Angeles to New York and back on 5 March 1962, setting three separate speed records, and earning the crew the Bendix Trophy and the Mackay Trophy for 1962. The aircraft was flown to the Museum on 1 March 1969.
General characteristics
* Crew: 3: pilot; observer (navigator, radar operator, bombardier); defense system operator (DSO; electronic countermeasures operator and pilot assistant).
* Length: 96 ft 10 in (29.5 m)
* Wingspan: 56 ft 9 in (17.3 m)
* Height: 29 ft 11 in (8.9 m)
* Wing area: 1,542 ft² (143.3 m²)
* Airfoil: NACA 0003.46-64.069 root, NACA 0004.08-63 tip
* Empty weight: 55,560 lb (25,200 kg)
* Loaded weight: 67,871 lb (30,786 kg)
* Max takeoff weight: 176,890 lb (80,240 kg)
* Powerplant: 4× General Electric J79-GE-5A turbojet
* *Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0068
* Drag area: 10.49 ft² (0.97 m²)
* Aspect ratio: 2.09
Performance
* Maximum speed: Mach 2.0 (1,319mph) at 40,000 ft (12,000 m)
* Cruise speed: 610 mph (530 kn, 985 km/h)
* Combat radius: 1,740 mi (1,510 nmi, 3,220 km)
* Ferry range: 4,100 mi (4,700 nmi, 7,600 km)
* Service ceiling: 63,400 ft (19,300 m)
* Rate of climb: 17,400 ft/min (88 m/s) at gross weight[30]
* Wing loading: 44.0 lb/ft² (215 kg/m²)
* Thrust/weight: 0.919 lbf/lb
* Lift-to-drag ratio: 11.3 (without weapons/fuel pod)
Armament
* Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.79 in) T171 cannon[29]
* Bombs: 4× B-43 or B61 nuclear bombs; maximum weapons load was 19,450 lb (8,820 kg)
By the late 1950s, the US Navy had successfully made operational a carrier-based nuclear bomber, the North American AJ Savage, and were fielding supercarriers capable of carrying large numbers of nuclear-capable aircraft. The slow speed of the Savage meant that it was obsolete, however, while nuclear weapons had grown smaller. As a result, North American privately suggested to the Navy a supersonic jet nuclear bomber that could be operated from Forrestal-class carriers as a Savage replacement and as a supplement to the subsonic A3D Skywarrior. The Navy liked the idea and ordered a prototype, the XA3J-1 Vigilante, in 1956, with the first aircraft flying two years later.
The Vigilante was far ahead of its time. It was the first operational aircraft to use a primitive fly-by-wire microprocessor system, an all-moving tail that replaced the ailerons of more conventional aircraft, a heads-up display, inertial navigation, an undernose television camera system (TCS), bombing computer, and extensive use of titanium to lighten weight. The bomb delivery system was also unique: a nuclear weapon would be carried in a mid-fuselage tunnel, and ejected out the back of the aircraft over the target along with used fuel cells. The first A3J-1s entered service in 1961
Because of this new technology, the Vigilante’s early years were fraught with maintenance problems, posting the worst operational capability in the Navy for its first few years in service. The nuclear delivery system never worked correctly, and operational use of spare fuel cells in the tunnel led to the loss of one aircraft and several deck fires: the shock of a catapult launch would send the cells flying out the rear of the aircraft. In any case, the Navy was moving away from dedicated nuclear bombers: nuclear weapons had gotten small enough that even diminutive aircraft like the A-4 Skyhawk could carry them, and the development of the Polaris submarine-launched ballistic missile made something like the Vigilante largely unnecessary.
Pilots reported the aircraft—redesignated A-5A in 1962—was difficult to bring back aboard a carrier due to its high landing speed, but that its handling was excellent, and manueverability was also very good: Vigilantes had proven capable of manuevering with F-8 Crusaders. As a result, the Navy decided to convert its A-5s to RA-5C fast reconnaissance aircraft. The RA-5C kept most of the advances of the A-5A (including using fuel cells in the tunnel bay, despite the possibility of fire) along with that of the prototype-stage A-5B, which added a dorsal “hump” with additional fuel. The RA-5C would have a larger wing and a slew of new electronics, including cameras, side-looking radar and infrared sensors. The first RA-5Cs entered service in 1963 with former nuclear-attack “heavy” squadrons.
The RA-5C soon found itself in action over North Vietnam, beginning in 1964. These aircraft proved invaluable: their speed made them virtually immune to MiG interceptors, and even surface-to-air missile batteries found it a tough target to bring down. Because of its speed, the normal F-4 Phantom II fighter escort left the RA-5C at the shoreline and waited for its return. However, since it operated at low level, the Vigilante was vulnerable to ground fire, and the North Vietnamese were well aware that Vigilantes would soon arrive over a target recently struck by Navy aircraft, and would set up ambushes. 18 RA-5Cs were lost in combat over North Vietnam, all but four to antiaircraft guns, and another nine in accidents; because there had not been that many Vigilantes built, North American reopened the production line to replace these losses. This was still a better loss ratio than the RF-8s that supplemented the RA-5Cs. “Vigis” would be one of the few aircraft to serve from the first day of the Vietnam War until the very end.
Following the end of the Vietnam War, the RA-5C’s sheer size and continued maintenance headaches led to it leaving carrier air groups by 1975. The development of the TARPS reconnaissance pod for the F-14 Tomcat spelled the end of the Vigilante, which was deemed no longer necessary. The last RA-5C flight took place in November 1969. Of 156 built, 13 survive today as gate guards and museum pieces.
Bureau Number 149289 was built as an A-5A and joined the Navy in late 1962, serving with VAH-1 ("Smokin' Tigers") aboard the USS Independence (CV-62). It was converted to a RA-5C in 1964 and returned to the fleet with RVAH-6 ("Fleurs") aboard USS America (CV-66) in 1966. After that, it was transferred to RVAH-3 ("Sea Dragons") at NAS Albany, Florida--aside from a brief stint with RVAH-7 ("Go Devils") aboard the USS Constellation (CV-64) in 1969--and finished its career there. It was placed into storage, but saved from scrapping in 1980, when it was donated to the Pima Air and Space Museum.
Today, 149289 is displayed in RVAH-3's colors, with the squadron patch on the intakes. (Supposedly, displaying the Vigilante in RVAH-3 is to avoid making any former aircrew angry--all RA-5C crews passed through RVAH-3 at least once, as it was the Replacement Air Group for Vigilante units.) This was the first time I'd ever seen a Vigilante, and its size is deceptive--it's a big airplane. Though there is a picture of me elsewhere on my Flickr page with a RA-5C, my mother is pregnant with me at the time, so I don't think that really counts.
This superbly crafted crossbow is capable of producing arrow speeds in excess of 305 feet per second and like all Excalibur crossbows, its
emergencysurvival.supply/?product=excalibur-axiom-smf-cro...
Copyright: © 2009 Melissa Goodman. All Rights Reserved.
(Please, while I appreciate the idea of sharing, no multiple invitations .. thanks!)
The red wasp is a social insect, with each nest occupied by a single queen that lays eggs and similar looking female workers who are her daughters. Males, born only later in the season, perform the sole duty of mating with future queens.
Red wasps are considered beneficial because they consume caterpillars. The adults actually eat nectar from flowers, but they spend much of their time hunting in order to feed the grubs developing in their nest. If a wasp finds a caterpillar that is too large to carry away, it will cut it up on the spot and sometimes eat some and carry back just a portion to the nest. The bits of flesh are chewed up before being fed to the developing grubs. It is surprising how quickly the wasps are capable of disposing of a caterpillar after they locate it.
The females are capable of giving a painful sting but males cannot, as the stinger is actually a modified ovipositor. While red wasps are not particularly aggressive, they tend to build their nests in hidden locations and will sting when these are disturbed.
The Belfast was developed to meet a Royal Air Force operational requirement (ASR.371) for a freighter capable of carrying a wide range of military loads over long ranges. The military loads envisaged included artillery, more than 200 troops, helicopters, and guided missiles. Shorts' design was based on studies they had worked on in the late 1950s and the project started as the SC.5/10 in February 1959. From that design, the prototype Belfast first flew on 5 January 1964.
The Belfast was notable for being only the second aircraft type to be built equipped with autoland blind landing equipment.
To meet the demands of the specification the Belfast used a high wing carrying four Rolls-Royce Tyne turboprops. The cargo deck, 64 ft long (20 m) in a fuselage over 18 ft in diameter (5.5 m) (roomy enough for two single-deck buses), was reached through a "beaver tail" with rear loading doors and integral ramp. The main undercarriage was two 8-wheel bogies and a 2-wheel nose. The Belfast was capable of a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of over 220,500 lb (100 tonnes) - less than the contemporaneous 250-tonne Antonov An-22 and the 128-tonne Douglas C-133 Cargomaster, but more than the C-130 Hercules. It could carry 150 troops with full equipment, or a Chieftain tank or two Westland Wessex helicopters or six Westland Scout helicopters.
The original RAF requirement had foreseen a fleet of 30 aircraft, but this number was to be significantly curtailed as a result of the Sterling Crisis of 1965. The United Kingdom government needed to gain support for its loan application to the International Monetary Fund, which the United States provided. However, one of the alleged clauses for this support was that the RAF purchase Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft. With a surplus of airlifting capacity the original order was reduced to 10. The Belfast entered service with No. 53 Squadron RAF in January 1966 based at RAF Fairford. By May the following year they had been moved to RAF Brize Norton.
Following entry to RAF service it became apparent that a major drag problem was preventing the initial five aircraft attaining Short’s desired performance. Suction drag on the tail and rear fuselage was so severe that the RAF personnel gave the aircraft the nicknames "The Dragmaster", "Slug" and "Belslow". Modifications and testing were carried out, particularly on aircraft SH1818 (which was at the time perfecting the RAF’s requirement for CAT 3 automated landings at RAE Bedford) and a new rear fairing was built improving the fleet’s cruising speed by 40 mph.
The reorganisation of the new RAF Strike Command was to have repercussions on the RAF’s Belfast fleet and ushered in the retirement of a number of aircraft types, including the Bristol Britannia and De Havilland Comet in 1975. By the end of 1976 the Belfast fleet had been retired and flown to RAF Kemble for storage.
TAC HeavyLift then purchased five of them for commercial use in 1977 and operated three of them from 1980 after they had received work so they could be certificated to civil standards. Ironically, some of them were later chartered during the Falklands war, with some sources suggesting that this cost more than keeping all the aircraft in RAF service until the 1990s. HeavyLift's Belfasts were again contracted to support the RAF during the first Gulf War, transporting vehicles and helicopters too large to be carried by the Hercules fleet.
History Of The Gatlin Guns
In 1861, Doctor Richard Gatling patented the Gatling Gun, a six-barreled weapon capable of firing a (then) phenomenal 200 rounds per minute. The Gatling gun was a hand-driven, crank-operated, multi-barrel, machine gun. The first machine gun with reliable loading, the Gatling gun had the ability to fire sustained multiple bursts.
Richard Gatling created his gun during the American Civil War, he sincerely believed that his invention would end war by making it unthinkable to use due to the horrific carnage possible by his weapons.
At the least, the Gatling Gun's power would reduce the number of soldiers required to remain on the battlefield.
The 1862 version of the gatling gun had reloadable steel chambers and used percussion caps. It was prone to occasional jamming. In 1867, Gatling redesigned the Gatling gun again to use metallic cartridges - this version was bought and used by the United States Army.
Born September 12, 1818 in Hertford Count, North Carolina, Richard Gatling was the son of planter and inventor, Jordan Gatling, who held two patents of his own. Besides the Gatling gun, Richard Gatling also patented a seed-sowing rice planter in 1839 that was later adapted into a successful wheat drill.
In 1870, Richard Gatling and his family moved to Hartford, Connecticut, home of the Colt Armory where the Gatling gun was being manufactured.
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GATLIN 4x20 kilowatt laser cannon
The ultimate laser cannon:
'Gatling gun' can focus multiple beams to create super powerful weapons
Demonstration showed four 20 kilowatt lasers fire simultaneously.German firm behind it says an 'unlimited' number can be combined.Expected to initially be used to shoot drones out of the sky
A German firm has revealed a powerful new laser 'gatling gun'.At the controversial defense and security expo in London German defense contractor Rheinmetall Defense Electronics unveiled the new sea based system.It says it can be mounted on ships as part of a new sea-based anti-drone laser system.
The four 20 kilowatt lasers fire simultaneously as a single powerful 80 kilowatt beam. The firm boasts units can even be combined for 'unlimited' power.
The four 20 kilowatt lasers fire simultaneously as a single powerful 80 kilowatt beam. The firm boasts units can even be combined for 'unlimited' power.
HOW IT WORKS
The four 20 kilowatt lasers fire simultaneously, in a technique known as superimposition which combines them into a single powerful 80 kilowatt beam.
The firm boasts units can even be combined to give 'unlimited' power.
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The four 20 kilowatt lasers fire simultaneously, in a technique known as superimposition which combines them into a single powerful 80 kilowatt beam.
The Gatling laser can reportedly shoot down a drone at 500 meters.
Lasers can also detonate ammunition, explode artillery shells, blind the sensors of another ship, and even burn holes in smaller ships.
The firm boasts units can even be combined to give 'unlimited' power.
'The beam-forming unit provides diffraction-limited beam focusing, target imaging and fine tracking of the target,' it said.
'By using beam-superimposing technology, Rheinmetall has concentrated the power of single laser beams into one tiny spot.
This technology not only allows superimposition of multiple laser beams on a single gun platform, but also superimposition of multiple gun platforms.
'This enables an almost unlimited (e.g. 100kW and more) power output in line with the evolving air defence requirement.
At the London show, the firm demonstrated an Oerlikon Skyshield turret with integrated HELeffector as well as a newly developed powerful HEL effector for naval applications.
'Highly precise, scalable in effect, versatile in tactical situations, ready for deployment on land and at sea - high energy laser effectors will play a major role in future armament concepts,' the firm says
German company launches anti-drone laser defense system
'With its unique concept of multiple high-energy laser beams superimposed and focused on one spot on the target, Rheinmetall leads the way among European defence contractors in this new field,' the firm said.
'After six years of continuously demonstrating a growing capability, a new Rheinmetall air defence application has emerged that is attracting interest worldwide - shooting drones.'
Dubbed the low, slow and small (LSS) threat, it has huge potential to create a highly unbalanced situation between conventional defenders and mainly asymmetrically operating attackers.
New missions, such as the defence of high visibility events, pose unsolved challenges for contemporary air defence systems that will only be manageable with high energy lasers serving as effectors.
The Gatling laser can reportedly shoot down a drone at 500 meters.
It uses an Oerlikon Skyshield or Skyguard fire control unit for target acquisition and weapon control, coupled with an Oerlikon highenergy laser gun using a revolver gun turret equipped with HEL effectors.Each HEL effector consists of one 10 kW fibre laser and a beam-forming unit.Commercial off the-shelf fibre lasers were modified for an air defence role. Variants of the same technology are also available for ground and naval operations.
The Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus), also known as the common peafowl, and blue peafowl, is a peafowl species native to the Indian subcontinent. It has been introduced to many other countries. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are referred to as peahens, although both sexes are often referred to colloquially as a "peacock".
Indian peafowl display a marked form of sexual dimorphism. The peacock is brightly coloured, with a predominantly blue fan-like crest of spatula-tipped wire-like feathers and is best known for the long train made up of elongated upper-tail covert feathers which bear colourful eyespots. These stiff feathers are raised into a fan and quivered in a display during courtship. Despite the length and size of these covert feathers, peacocks are still capable of flight. Peahens lack the train, have a white face and iridescent green lower neck, and dull brown plumage. The Indian peafowl lives mainly on the ground in open forest or on land under cultivation where they forage for berries, grains but also prey on snakes, lizards, and small rodents. Their loud calls make them easy to detect, and in forest areas often indicate the presence of a predator such as a tiger. They forage on the ground in small groups and usually try to escape on foot through undergrowth and avoid flying, though they fly into tall trees to roost.
The function of the peacock's elaborate train has been debated for over a century. In the 19th century, Charles Darwin found it a puzzle, hard to explain through ordinary natural selection. His later explanation, sexual selection, is widely but not universally accepted. In the 20th century, Amotz Zahavi argued that the train was a handicap, and that males were honestly signalling their fitness in proportion to the splendour of their trains. Despite extensive study, opinions remain divided on the mechanisms involved.
The bird is celebrated in Hindu and Greek mythology, and is the national bird of India. The Indian peafowl is listed as of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Taxonomy and naming
Carl Linnaeus in his work Systema Naturae in 1758 assigned to the Indian peafowl the technical name of Pavo cristatus (means "crested peafowl" in classical Latin).
The earliest usage of the word in written English is from around 1300 and spelling variants include pecok, pekok, pecokk, peacocke, peacock, pyckock, poucock, pocok, pokok, pokokke, and poocok among others. The current spelling was established in the late 17th century. Chaucer (1343–1400) used the word to refer to a proud and ostentatious person in his simile "proud a pekok" in Troilus and Criseyde (Book I, line 210).
The Sanskrit, later Pali, and modern Hindi term for the animal is maur. It is debated that the nomenclature of the Maurya Empire, whose first emperor Chandragupta Maurya was raised and influenced by peacock farmers was named after the terminology.
The Greek word for peacock was taos and was related to the Persian "tavus" (as in Takht-i-Tâvus for the famed Peacock Throne). The Ancient Hebrew word tuki (plural tukkiyim) has been said to have been derived from the Tamil tokei but sometimes traced to the Egyptian tekh. In modern Hebrew the word for peacock is "tavas". In Sanskrit, the peacock is known as Mayura and is associated with the killing of snakes.
Description
Male neck detail
Peacocks are a larger sized bird with a length from bill to tail of 100 to 115 cm (39 to 45 in) and to the end of a fully grown train as much as 195 to 225 cm (77 to 89 in) and weigh 4–6 kg (8.8–13.2 lb). The females, or peahens, are smaller at around 95 cm (37 in) in length and weigh 2.75–4 kg (6.1–8.8 lb). Indian peafowl are among the largest and heaviest representatives of the Phasianidae. So far as is known, only the wild turkey grows notably heavier. The green peafowl is slightly lighter in body mass despite the male having a longer train on average than the male of the Indian species. Their size, colour and shape of crest make them unmistakable within their native distribution range. The male is metallic blue on the crown, the feathers of the head being short and curled. The fan-shaped crest on the head is made of feathers with bare black shafts and tipped with bluish-green webbing. A white stripe above the eye and a crescent shaped white patch below the eye are formed by bare white skin. The sides of the head have iridescent greenish blue feathers. The back has scaly bronze-green feathers with black and copper markings. The scapular and the wings are buff and barred in black, the primaries are chestnut and the secondaries are black. The tail is dark brown and the "train" is made up of elongated upper tail coverts (more than 200 feathers, the actual tail has only 20 feathers) and nearly all of these feathers end with an elaborate eye-spot. A few of the outer feathers lack the spot and end in a crescent shaped black tip. The underside is dark glossy green shading into blackish under the tail. The thighs are buff coloured. The male has a spur on the leg above the hind toe.
The adult peahen has a rufous-brown head with a crest as in the male but the tips are chestnut edged with green. The upper body is brownish with pale mottling. The primaries, secondaries and tail are dark brown. The lower neck is metallic green and the breast feathers are dark brown glossed with green. The remaining underparts are whitish. Downy young are pale buff with a dark brown mark on the nape that connects with the eyes. Young males look like the females but the wings are chestnut coloured.
The most common calls are a loud pia-ow or may-awe. The frequency of calling increases before the Monsoon season and may be delivered in alarm or when disturbed by loud noises. In forests, their calls often indicate the presence of a predators such as the tiger. They also make many other calls such as a rapid series of ka-aan..ka-aan or a rapid kok-kok. They often emit an explosive low-pitched honk! when agitated.
Mutations and hybrids
This leucistic mutation is commonly mistaken for an albino.
There are several colour mutations of Indian peafowl. These very rarely occur in the wild, but selective breeding has made them common in captivity. The black-shouldered or Japanned mutation was initially considered as a subspecies of the Indian peafowl (P. c. nigripennis) (or even a separate species (P. nigripennis)) and was a topic of some interest during Darwin's time. Others had doubts about its taxonomic status, but the English naturalist and biologist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) presented firm evidence for it being a variety under domestication, which treatment is now well established and accepted. It being a colour variation rather than a wild species was important for Darwin to prove, as otherwise it could undermine his theory of slow modification by natural selection in the wild. It is, however, only a case of genetic variation within the population. In this mutation, the adult male is melanistic with black wings. Young birds with the nigripennis mutation are creamy white with fulvous-tipped wings. The gene produces melanism in the male and in the peahen it produces a dilution of colour with creamy white and brown markings. Other forms include the pied and white mutations, all of which are the result of allelic variation at specific loci.
Crosses between a male green peafowl (Pavo muticus) and a female Indian peafowl (P. cristatus) produce a stable hybrid called a "Spalding", named after Mrs. Keith Spalding, a bird fancier in California. There can be problems if birds of unknown pedigree are released into the wild, as the viability of such hybrids and their offspring is often reduced (see Haldane's rule and outbreeding depression).
Distribution and habitat
The Indian peafowl is a resident breeder across the Indian subcontinent and inhabits the drier lowland areas of Sri Lanka. In the Indian subcontinent, it is found mainly below an elevation of 1,800 m (5,900 ft) and in rare cases seen at about 2,000 m (6,600 ft). It is found in moist and dry-deciduous forests, but can adapt to live in cultivated regions and around human habitations and is usually found where water is available. In many parts of northern India, they are protected by religious practices and will forage around villages and towns for scraps. Some have suggested that the peacock was introduced into Europe by Alexander the Great, while others say the bird had reached Athens by 450 BCE and may have been introduced even earlier. It has since been introduced in many other parts of the world and has become feral in some areas.
The Indian peafowl has been introduced to the United States, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, France, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, South Africa, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, Croatia and the island of Lokrum.
Genome sequencing
The first whole-genome sequencing of Indian peafowl identified a total of 15,970 protein-coding sequences, along with 213 tRNAs, 236 snoRNAs, and 540 miRNAs. The peacock genome was found to have less repetitive DNA (8.62%) than that of the chicken genome (9.45%). PSMC analysis suggested that the peacock suffered at least two bottlenecks (around four million years ago and again 450,000 years ago), which resulted in a severe reduction in its effective population size.
Behaviour and ecology
Peafowl are best known for the male's extravagant display feathers which, despite actually growing from their back, are thought of as a tail. The "train" is in reality made up of the enormously elongated upper tail coverts. The tail itself is brown and short as in the peahen. The colours result not from any green or blue pigments but from the micro-structure of the feathers and the resulting optical phenomena. The long train feathers (and tarsal spurs) of the male develop only after the second year of life. Fully developed trains are found in birds older than four years. In northern India, these begin to develop each February and are moulted at the end of August. The moult of the flight feathers may be spread out across the year.
Peafowl forage on the ground in small groups, known as musters, that usually have a cock and 3 to 5 hens. After the breeding season, the flocks tend to be made up only of females and young. They are found in the open early in the mornings and tend to stay in cover during the heat of the day. They are fond of dust-bathing and at dusk, groups walk in single file to a favourite waterhole to drink. When disturbed, they usually escape by running and rarely take to flight.
Peafowl produce loud calls especially in the breeding season. They may call at night when alarmed and neighbouring birds may call in a relay like series. Nearly seven different call variants have been identified in the peacocks apart from six alarm calls that are commonly produced by both sexes.
Peafowl roost in groups during the night on tall trees but may sometimes make use of rocks, buildings or pylons. In the Gir forest, they chose tall trees in steep river banks. Birds arrive at dusk and call frequently before taking their position on the roost trees. Due to this habit of congregating at the roost, many population studies are made at these sites. The population structure is not well understood. In a study in northern India (Jodhpur), the number of males was 170–210 for 100 females but a study involving evening counts at the roost site in southern India (Injar) suggested a ratio of 47 males for 100 females.
Sexual selection
The colours of the peacock and the contrast with the much duller peahen were a puzzle to early thinkers. Charles Darwin wrote to Asa Gray that the "sight of a feather in a peacock's tail, whenever I gaze at it, makes me sick!" as he failed to see an adaptive advantage for the extravagant tail which seemed only to be an encumbrance. Darwin developed a second principle of sexual selection to resolve the problem, though in the prevailing intellectual trends of Victorian Britain, the theory failed to gain widespread attention.
The American artist Abbott Handerson Thayer tried to show, from his own imagination, the value of the eyespots as disruptive camouflage in a 1907 painting. He used the painting in his 1909 book Concealing-Coloration in the Animal Kingdom, denying the possibility of sexual selection and arguing that essentially all forms of animal colouration had evolved as camouflage. He was roundly criticised in a lengthy paper by Theodore Roosevelt, who wrote that Thayer had only managed to paint the peacock's plumage as camouflage by sleight of hand, "with the blue sky showing through the leaves in just sufficient quantity here and there to warrant the author-artists explaining that the wonderful blue hues of the peacock's neck are obliterative because they make it fade into the sky."
In the 1970s a possible resolution to the apparent contradiction between natural selection and sexual selection was proposed. Amotz Zahavi argued that peacocks honestly signalled the handicap of having a large and costly train. However, the mechanism may be less straightforward than it seems – the cost could arise from depression of the immune system by the hormones that enhance feather development.
Male courting female
The ornate train is believed to be the result of sexual selection by the females. Males use their ornate trains in a courtship display: they raise the feathers into a fan and quiver them. However, recent studies have failed to find a relation between the number of displayed eyespots and mating success. Marion Petrie tested whether or not these displays signaled a male's genetic quality by studying a feral population of peafowl in Whipsnade Wildlife Park in southern England. She showed that the number of eyespots in the train predicted a male's mating success, and this success could be manipulated by cutting the eyespots off some of the male's ornate feathers.
Although the removal of eyespots makes males less successful in mating, eyespot removal substantially changes the appearance of male peafowls. It is likely that females mistake these males for sub-adults, or perceive that the males are physically damaged. Moreover, in a feral peafowl population, there is little variation in the number of eyespots in adult males. It is rare for adult males to lose a significant number of eyespots. Therefore, females' selection might depend on other sexual traits of males' trains. The quality of train is an honest signal of the condition of males; peahens do select males on the basis of their plumage. A recent study on a natural population of Indian peafowls in the Shivalik area of India has proposed a "high maintenance handicap" theory. It states that only the fittest males can afford the time and energy to maintain a long tail. Therefore, the long train is an indicator of good body condition, which results in greater mating success. While train length seems to correlate positively with MHC diversity in males, females do not appear to use train length to choose males. A study in Japan also suggests that peahens do not choose peacocks based on their ornamental plumage, including train length, number of eyespots and train symmetry. Another study in France brings up two possible explanations for the conflicting results that exist. The first explanation is that there might be a genetic variation of the trait of interest under different geographical areas due to a founder effect and/or a genetic drift. The second explanation suggests that "the cost of trait expression may vary with environmental conditions," so that a trait that is indicative of a particular quality may not work in another environment.
Fisher's runaway model proposes positive feedback between female preference for elaborate trains and the elaborate train itself. This model assumes that the male train is a relatively recent evolutionary adaptation. However, a molecular phylogeny study on peacock-pheasants shows the opposite; the most recently evolved species is actually the least ornamented one. This finding suggests a chase-away sexual selection, in which "females evolve resistance to male ploys". A study in Japan goes on to conclude that the "peacocks' train is an obsolete signal for which female preference has already been lost or weakened".
However, some disagreement has arisen in recent years concerning whether or not female peafowl do indeed select males with more ornamented trains. In contrast to Petrie's findings, a seven-year Japanese study of free-ranging peafowl came to the conclusion that female peafowl do not select mates solely on the basis of their trains. Mariko Takahashi found no evidence that peahens expressed any preference for peacocks with more elaborate trains (such as trains having more ocelli), a more symmetrical arrangement, or a greater length. Takahashi determined that the peacock's train was not the universal target of female mate choice, showed little variance across male populations, and, based on physiological data collected from this group of peafowl, do not correlate to male physical conditions. Adeline Loyau and her colleagues responded to Takahashi's study by voicing concern that alternative explanations for these results had been overlooked, and that these might be essential for the understanding of the complexity of mate choice. They concluded that female choice might indeed vary in different ecological conditions.
A 2013 study that tracked the eye movements of peahens responding to male displays found that they looked in the direction of the upper train of feathers only when at long distances and that they looked only at the lower feathers when males displayed close to them. The rattling of the tail and the shaking of the wings helped in keeping the attention of females.
Breeding
Peacocks are polygamous, and the breeding season is spread out but appears to be dependent on the rains. Peafowls usually reach sexual maturity at the age of 2 to 3 years old. Several males may congregate at a lek site and these males are often closely related. Males at leks appear to maintain small territories next to each other and they allow females to visit them and make no attempt to guard harems. Females do not appear to favour specific males. The males display in courtship by raising the upper-tail coverts into an arched fan. The wings are held half open and drooped and it periodically vibrates the long feathers, producing a ruffling sound. The cock faces the hen initially and struts and prances around and sometimes turns around to display the tail. Males may also freeze over food to invite a female in a form of courtship feeding. Males may display even in the absence of females. When a male is displaying, females do not appear to show any interest and usually continue their foraging.
The peak season in southern India is April to May, January to March in Sri Lanka and June in northern India. The nest is a shallow scrape in the ground lined with leaves, sticks and other debris. Nests are sometimes placed on buildings and, in earlier times, have been recorded using the disused nest platforms of the white-rumped vultures. The clutch consists of 4–8 fawn to buff white eggs which are incubated only by the female. The eggs take about 28 days to hatch. The chicks are nidifugous and follow the mother around after hatching. Downy young may sometimes climb on their mothers' back and the female may carry them in flight to a safe tree branch. An unusual instance of a male incubating a clutch of eggs has been reported.
Feeding
Peafowl are omnivorous and eat seeds, insects (including termites), worms, fruits, small mammals, frogs, and reptiles (such as lizards). They feed on small snakes but keep their distance from larger ones. In the Gir forest of Gujarat, a large percentage of their food is made up of the fallen berries of Zizyphus. They also feed on tree and flower buds, petals, grain, and grass and bamboo shoots. Around cultivated areas, peafowl feed on a wide range of crops such as groundnut, tomato, paddy, chili and even bananas. Around human habitations, they feed on a variety of food scraps and even human excreta. In the countryside, it is particularly partial to crops and garden plants.
Mortality factors
Large animals such as leopards, dholes, golden jackals, and tigers can ambush adult peafowls. However, only leopards regularly prey upon peafowls as adult peafowls are difficult to catch since they can usually escape ground predators by flying into trees. They are also sometimes hunted by large birds of prey such as the changeable hawk-eagle and rock eagle-owl. Chicks are somewhat more prone to predation than adult birds. Adults living near human habitations are sometimes hunted by domestic dogs or by humans in some areas (southern Tamil Nadu) for folk remedies involving the use of "peacock oil".
Foraging in groups provides some safety as there are more eyes to look out for predators. They also roost on high tree tops to avoid terrestrial predators, especially leopards.
In captivity, birds have been known to live for 23 years but it is estimated that they live for only about 15 years in the wild.
Conservation and status
Indian peafowl are widely distributed in the wild across South Asia and protected both culturally in many areas and by law in India. Conservative estimates of the population put them at more than 100,000. Illegal poaching for meat, however, continues and declines have been noted in parts of India. Peafowl breed readily in captivity and as free-ranging ornamental fowl. Zoos, parks, bird-fanciers and dealers across the world maintain breeding populations that do not need to be augmented by the capture of wild birds.
Poaching of peacocks for their meat and feathers and accidental poisoning by feeding on pesticide treated seeds are known threats to wild birds. Methods to identify if feathers have been plucked or have been shed naturally have been developed, as Indian law allows only the collection of feathers that have been shed.
In parts of India, the birds can be a nuisance to agriculture as they damage crops. Its adverse effects on crops, however, seem to be offset by the beneficial role it plays by consuming prodigious quantities of pests such as grasshoppers. They can also be a problem in gardens and homes where they damage plants, attack their reflections (thereby breaking glass and mirrors), perch and scratch cars or leave their droppings. Many cities where they have been introduced and gone feral have peafowl management programmes. These include educating citizens on how to prevent the birds from causing damage while treating the birds humanely.
In culture
Prominent in many cultures, the peacock has been used in numerous iconic representations, including being designated the national bird of India in 1963. The peacock, known as mayura in Sanskrit, has enjoyed a fabled place in India since and is frequently depicted in temple art, mythology, poetry, folk music and traditions. A Sanskrit derivation of mayura is from the root mi for kill and said to mean "killer of snakes". It is also likely that the Sanskrit term is a borrowing from Proto-Dravidian *mayVr (whence the Tamil word for peacock மயில் (mayil)) or a regional Wanderwort. Many Hindu deities are associated with the bird, Krishna is often depicted with a feather in his headband, while worshippers of Shiva associate the bird as the steed of the God of war, Kartikeya (also known as Skanda or Murugan). A story in the Uttara Ramayana describes the head of the Devas, Indra, who unable to defeat Ravana, sheltered under the wing of peacock and later blessed it with a "thousand eyes" and fearlessness from serpents. Another story has Indra who after being cursed with a thousand ulcers was transformed into a peacock with a thousand eyes and this curse was removed by Vishnu.
In Buddhist philosophy, the peacock represents wisdom. Peacock feathers are used in many rituals and ornamentation. Peacock motifs are widespread in Indian temple architecture, old coinage, textiles and continue to be used in many modern items of art and utility. A folk belief found in many parts of India is that the peacock does not copulate with the peahen but that she is impregnated by other means. The stories vary and include the idea that the peacock looks at its ugly feet and cries whereupon the tears are fed on by the peahen causing it to be orally impregnated while other variants incorporate sperm transfer from beak to beak. Similar ideas have also been ascribed to Indian crow species. In Greek mythology the origin of the peacock's plumage is explained in the tale of Hera and Argus. The main figure of the Yazidi religion Yezidism, Melek Taus, is most commonly depicted as a peacock. Peacock motifs are widely used even today such as in the logos of the US NBC and the PTV television networks and the Sri Lankan Airlines.
These birds were often kept in menageries and as ornaments in large gardens and estates. In medieval times, knights in Europe took a "Vow of the Peacock" and decorated their helmets with its plumes. In several Robin Hood stories, the titular archer uses arrows fletched with peacock feathers. Feathers were buried with Viking warriors and the flesh of the bird was said to cure snake venom and many other maladies. Numerous uses in Ayurveda have been documented. Peafowl were said to keep an area free of snakes. In 1526, the legal issue as to whether peacocks were wild or domestic fowl was thought sufficiently important for Cardinal Wolsey to summon all the English judges to give their opinion, which was that they are domestic fowl.
In Anglo-Indian usage of the 1850s, to peacock meant making visits to ladies and gentlemen in the morning. In the 1890s, the term "peacocking" in Australia referred to the practice of buying up the best pieces of land ("picking the eyes") so as to render the surrounding lands valueless. The English word "peacock" has come to be used to describe a man who is very proud or gives a lot of attention to his clothing.
Main article: Di Goldene Pave
A golden peacock (in Yiddish, Di Goldene Pave) is considered by some as a symbol of Ashkenazi Jewish culture, and is the subject of several folktales and songs in Yiddish. Peacocks are frequently used in European heraldry. Heraldic peacocks are most often depicted as facing the viewer and with their tails displayed. In this pose, the peacock is referred to as being "in his pride". Peacock tails, in isolation from the rest of the bird, are rare in British heraldry, but see frequent use in German systems.
The American television network NBC uses a stylized peacock as a legacy of its early introduction of color television, alluding to the brilliant color of a peacock, and continues to promote the bird as a trademark of its broadcasting and streaming services.
June 11, 2013: Deepsea Challenger, the world’s only human piloted submersible capable of diving to full-ocean depth. On March 26, 2012, Canadian film director James Cameron piloted the submersible to the bottom of Challenger Deep, the deepest known point on Earth at 35,756 Feet (10,898.4 Meters). Deepsea Challenger is on a cross-country tour, that started at the California Science Center, bound for it's new home at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. [IMG_1512/1594-S95]
For more information about Deepsea Challenger please vist: Deepsea Challenge
by
Mike Fitzpatrick
Photos for the following article are all posted here: www.flickr.com/photos/piedmont_fossil/albums/721576796154...
In spite of recent technological advances in machinery, ground forces in the Great War still relied heavily on horses to transport men and material one horsepower at a time. (Figure 1.) By contrast, the gasoline engines used to power the various planes of the air war were each capable of generating hundreds of horsepower.
Aircraft design came a long way in the ten years between the Wright brothers' first flight in 1903 and the outbreak of World War One in 1914. And as a result of the increased competitive atmosphere brought on by war, even more radical changes continued to be made over the course of the next few years as well. This was especially true in the development of aircraft engines. As a consequence, horsepower to weight ratios increased dramatically. Yet engine design and performance was far from uniform. Three basic engine designs were adapted for aviation use. These were inline, radial and rotary. Each had its unique advantages and disadvantages.
By the time the United States entered the war in 1917 (Figure 2.), the European Allies had been at war for three years and had vastly surpassed the Americans in aircraft design and production. Brigadier General George O. Squires, the U.S. Army’s chief Signal Service officer, predicted, “Airplanes will put the Yankee punch in the war. The way to beat Germany is to flood the air with airplanes. Take the war out of the trenches and put it into the air.” (Figure 3.) Yet initial threats to "darken the skies over Europe" with American-designed and built aircraft were groundless boasts considering that in 1916 there was a grand total of only two outdated aircraft in United States military service. Yet by 1917 the United States was rapidly expanding its aircraft industry.
The American-made two-seat Curtis-JN biplane, which was powered by a 90-hp Curtiss OX-5 V-8 engine, was used primarily for training purposes. Known as the Jenny, it became the most famous American airplane of World War I. (Figure 4.) As it turns out, however, the only American-made planes ever to see combat over the Western Front were exact copies the British two-seat Airco DH-4, known as the DH-4A “Liberty” model (Figure 5.), and a handful of Curtiss flying boats that saw service with the Royal Navy. (Figure 6.) All other combat aircraft flown by American pilots during the Great War were of foreign manufacture, predominantly of French or British origin. Perhaps America's greatest contribution to aircraft design and production was the Liberty 12-A, a twelve-cylinder water-cooled V style inline engine installed in the American-made Airco DH-4A and the Curtiss “Large America” flying boats. With over 400 horsepower, the Liberty surpassed similar European engines at the time. (Figure 7.)
Most inline engines, with the cylinders lined up one behind the other, had to be water cooled, thus increasing their weight and reducing their power to weight ratios. In addition to the Liberty 12-A, other inline engines used by the Allies included those built by Hispano-Suiza and Rolls Royce. Inline engines could have any number of cylinders aligned along the length of the crankshaft in either a single or double row. Double rows could be aligned in either a V configuration or flat with the rows opposing each other. Each cylinder or cylinder pair was connected to a different point along the crankshaft. Air had to flow through the radiator to cool the water which circulated through the engine block, however the radiator created wind resistance, or drag. This could be compensated for somewhat by building a larger engine capable of producing more horsepower, but at the expense of adding yet more weight. Water-cooled engines, nonetheless, had one big disadvantage. They were very vulnerable to combat damage. One small leak caused by a single bullet could cause complete engine failure. Still, the engines were widely used because of their ability to produce high horsepower and fast aircraft. Captaine Georges Guynemer, one of the leading Allied fighter aces and a French national hero with 53 confirmed victories over German aircraft, accumulated most of his kills while flying a SPAD S.VII. (Figure 8.) Eddie Rickenbacker, America's top ace of WWI with 26 confirmed kills, flew most of his missions (and got 20 of his aerial victories) in a SPAD S.XIII equipped with an inline 235-hp Hispano-Suiza engine. (Figure 9.)
Radial and rotary engines had cylinders radiating out from the engine axis like spokes. With all the cylinders exposed equally to the airflow, they were efficiently air-cooled. All the cylinders were connected to a single point on the crankshaft. This meant that there had to be an odd number of cylinders in these engines. As the crank shaft made one rotation, the pistons in the even numbered cylinders would each in turn go through the power and exhaust strokes while the odd numbered cylinders would go through the intake and compression strokes. By the time the crank shaft had made one complete revolution, the even numbered cylinders would be ready for intake and compression while the odd numbered ones would be firing and expelling the exhaust. The primary difference between radial and rotary engines was that the radial engine was fixed to the airframe and the crankshaft turned the propeller, whereas the entire cylinder block of a rotary engine spun with the propeller while the crankshaft was fixed to the airframe.
Few radial engines were used during WWI. The Anzani, ABC WASP and the Salmson Z-9 (the latter unusual because it was water-cooled) were probably the three most common. (Figure 10.)
Of all the engine types, rotary engines produced the highest power to weight ratios and were widely relied upon in the race to give lightweight WWI fighter planes an advantage over their opponents. But rotary engines also had significant operational drawbacks that limited their use and their size (dictating their maximum horsepower), and eventually led to their eclipse – primarily by their cousin, the radial engine. The principal Allied rotary engines were the 130-hp Clerget (Figure 11.), several types of Gnome including the 160-hp Gnome Monosoupape (Figure 12.), and those made by Le Rhone. (Figure 13.) The German-built 110-hp Oberursel (Figure 14.) was almost an exact copy of the 110-hp Le Rhone, but frequent engine failures may have been the result of German substitution of mineral oil for the harder to obtain castor oil necessary for proper lubrication of rotary engines. (Figure 15.) As a consequence most German aircraft utilized water-cooled in-line engines. (Figure 16.)
The mass of the spinning engine was one of the factors that helped give rotary engines such a high power to weight ratio, however, because the entire engine rotated, it had to be precisely balanced. Mechanically, this also meant that rotary engines, with the cylinders spinning around the engine axis, had to feed the fuel through a port in the central crank shaft where it would get mixed with the castor oil used to lubricate the moving parts. In addition, with the engine spinning there could be no fixed exhaust manifold on a rotary engine. As a result, exhaust was discharged directly from the cylinder heads as they rotated.
Castor oil, chosen because of its specific lubricating qualities, was less ignitable than the gasoline used for fuel. As a result, unburned and partially burned castor oil spewed out of the rapidly spinning rotary engine along with the engine exhaust and was carried back over the rest of the plane in a fine mist. The need for a good pair of goggles for the pilot was not entirely due to the force of the wind coming across the cockpit. Castor oil is probably best known for its foul tasting medicinal use and the fact that it is a strong purgative. Too much exposure to it by a pilot during a long flight could have uncomfortable, if not dire, side effects. In an effort to help control the spray of exhaust, engine cowlings were installed on aircraft equipped with rotary engines. (Figure 17.) Cowling flaps were kept closed except for those on the bottom of the fuselage. This reduced the cooling effect of air flowing over the engine but it helped somewhat in deflecting the spray of castor oil away from the pilot.
In addition to the difficulty of cooling and the embarrassing laxative effect of the exhaust, rotary engines had even bigger and deadlier drawbacks to their use. The Sopwith Camel, equipped with a powerful 160 hp Gnome Monosoupape 9 Type N rotary engine and perhaps the most famous Allied fighter of WWI, needed to take off with full left rudder to counter the engine torque or else the plane would ground loop, crashing on its starboard wingtip. And once in the air, a sudden loss of power in the engine could result in subjecting the airframe and engine mounts to a sharp reverse torque. But by far the biggest problem was the gyroscopic force generated by the spinning mass of the engine. This created hellish aircraft handling characteristics that could give a pilot fits until he learned to cope with them, or cause a fatal accident if he did not. In fact the Camel, credited with shooting down 1,294 enemy aircraft (more than any other Allied fighter), killed 385 of its own pilots in non-combat accidents. (Figure 18.) This figure closely approaches the 413 Camel pilots who were killed in combat.
But if a skilled pilot learned to anticipate and work with the gyroscopic force created by the engine, he could get his flying machine to do amazing things. With the propeller spinning clock-wise when viewed from the cockpit, a plane equipped with a rotary engine could make extremely tight evasive maneuvers by turning to the right. A Camel could make a ¾ turn to the right in the same amount of time it would take to make a ¼ turn to the left. Captain Ray Collishaw said, "we all knew the importance of doing our utmost to engage German pilots in right-hand waltzing matches. On the other hand, the German...pilots...liked turning to the left because of their stationary engines. In combat I had often seen the expression of despair on the face of an adversary, as he perceived that my rotary engined aircraft was gradually drawing on to his tail!"
To some extent, the firepower of a fighter could be improved by adding a swivel mounted machine gun that could be aimed separately from the direction of flight. (Figure 19.) But the added complication of operating the gun while maneuvering the aircraft probably negated much of its effectiveness. Thus, a fixed mounted gun on a highly maneuverable airplane remained preferable.
The Sopwith Camel was probably the most maneuverable fighter of WWI. The gyroscopic effect of the rotary engine is something not normally experienced by modern pilots. After test-flying a Camel, Richard E. "Dick" Day, a latter-day test pilot, declared "Why, it puts both eyes on the same side of your nose!" Of course attempting a maneuver counter to the gyroscopic force of the engine could lead to disaster. According to veteran WWI fighter pilot Norman Macmillan of the RFC, "The Camel was a buzzing hornet, a wild thing....This fierce little beast answered readily to intelligent handling, but was utterly remorseless against brutal or ignorant treatment." Macmillan went on to say, "let the ham-fisted or inexperienced pilot pull the stick just a little too far back while turning all out, and the Camel would flick quickly into a spin, which was the pitfall of many a novice and, could be a death-trap at low heights."
The gyroscopic force generated by rotary engines was the ultimate cause of their demise. Larger and more powerful engines could not be built without either increasing the size or number of cylinders. Both approaches drastically increased engine mass and caused a corresponding increase in gyroscopic force to unacceptable levels. Thus the maximum useful size of rotary engines was self-limiting. Following the war, inline and radial engines, with their fixed engine mass, completely replaced rotaries as larger and more powerful designs were needed for larger and heavier aircraft. Converting from rotary to fixed cylinders reduced the oil and fuel consumption, allowed the engine to run faster and directed more of the horsepower to the propeller. It also allowed more precise carburetion of the fuel-air mixture delivered to the cylinders.
The unusual rotary engines of the Great War are gone now from the skies (Figure 20.), replaced by larger and more powerful and more conventional engines. Even many reproduction or restored WWI fighters being flown today use fixed radial engines in place of the original rotaries. But looking back, one can't help but wonder, what would it have been like to fly in combat sitting in a fragile fabric and wood kite fastened behind the madly whirling mass of a rotary engine?
REFERENCES CITED:
Aviation History Online Museum: “Rotary Engine Theory”, www.aviation-history.com/engines/rotary-theory.htm
Franks, Norman: “Dog Fight: Aerial Tactics of the Aces of World War I”, Greenhill Books, 2003.
Keveney, Matt: “Animated Engines”, www.animatedengines.com/index.html
Keystone View Company, Stereo Card No. 19049 (and back text), “Lieut. LeMaitre of French Aviation Forces in America, Explaining Mechanism of ‘Nieuport’ Airplane, Fortress Monroe, Va.”, [undated].
Keystone View Company, Stereo Card No. 19191 (and back text), “U.S. Observation Airplane on West Front – France”, [undated].
Munson, Kenneth: “The Pocket Encyclopedia of World Aircraft in Color: Bombers, Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft 1914 – 1919”, Macmillan Company, 1968.
Munson, Kenneth: “The Pocket Encyclopedia of World Aircraft in Color: Fighters, Attack and Training Aircraft 1914 – 1919”, Macmillan Company, 1968.
Wikipedia entries for:
Gnome et Rhône
Radial engine
Rotary engine
Mining, metallurgy, food processing, textiles, lumber, and cement were among the leading industries in Albania under the communist regime, when heavy industry was a priority and some factories were capable of exporting. Until 1961, most equipment was supplied by the Soviet Union and then by China until 1978. After 1989, the sector declined due to the lack of new technology and financing and the dilapidated condition of the factories. In the 1990s, plants and equipment were destroyed and sold for scrap, or fell into disuse, unable to compete with cheaper imports that came with trade liberalization.
The orthodox Stalinists of the ruling Albanian Party of Labor (APL) worshiped heavy industry and for decades offered it investment monies, which usually flowed from foreign coffers. That investment brought expansion and diversification to the country's entire industrial sector, but production was constrained by the mismanagement and inefficiency that characterize communist systems. Before the communist economy imploded in 1990, industry accounted for over 40 percent of Albania's net material product and employed about 25 percent of the nation's work force. The industrial sector's most important branches were petroleum production, electric-power generation, mining, engineering, and light industry. The transportation and trade sectors had registered improvements in absolute terms over prewar levels of development, but both lagged behind European standards.
The Samsung Omnia HD i8910 is mobile phones that have a razor sharp amoled display (16M color) with a set of multimedia features. This device is capable of capturing 720p HD-like video and 8 megapixel quality pictures plus with 8 /16GB built-in memory and it is also comes with a smart phone abilities.
Physically, Samsung Omnia HD i8910 is narrower than the iPhone but definitely it is better than over most mobile phone. Surprisingly, the thickness of Samsung Omnia HD i8910 is only 12.9mm and its weight is 149 gram but I still found it was comfortable to hold and operate it with one hand.
Omnia HD i8910 screen size is 3.7 inches diagonally with a 360 x 640 pixel (Touchscreen) and it comes with amoled displays. Amoled displays are the future of video displays where the colours jump off the screen so what you see is intensified, ultra wide viewing and superior brightness means you can read it in sunlight. Its screen dominates the entire front panel and its have only 3 self explanatory keys.
Omnia HD i8910 is the world’s first mobile phone with a real HD video camera built-in and if you shooting a video using Omnia HD i8910 you can realize that it can beat over any possible competition, even Nikon D1 recording video doesn’t come close to it. Comparatively, Omnia HD i8910 has three times more resolution than Nikon D1.
Omnia HD i8910 also comes with an 8-megapixel auto focus camera with LED flash, geo-tagging, face detection, Smile Shot, Blink Shot and panorama mode. The image output was awesome compared to other camera phone but the image looked well on the phone compared to when viewed on computer.
For more detail about Samsung Omnia HD i8910 features and specifications you can refer the list below:
General :
GSM&EDGE Band : Quad Band (850 / 900 / 1,800 / 1,900)
3G Band : 900 / 1,900 / 2,100
Size :
Dimensions : 123 x 58 x 12.9 mm
Weight : 149 g
Display :
Type : AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size : 360 x 640 pixels, 3.7 inches
Sound :
Music Player : MP3 / AMR / AAC / AAC+ / e-AAC+ / WMA / RA
Poly Ringtones : 40 Polyphonic Ringtones, MP3 Ringtones
3D Sound Technology : Yes
- DNSe 2.0 (Digital Natural Sound Engine)
- Virtual 5.1 channel Dolby surround
Memory :
User Memory: 8GB / 16GB User Memory
Phone Book Entries : Depend On Available Phone Memory
External Memory: Micro SD (Up To 32GB)
Data :
GPRS : Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 – 48 kbps
HSCSD : Yes
EDGE : Class 12
3G : HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
WLAN : Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, DLNA
Bluetooth : Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
Infrared port : No
USB : Yes, v2.0, microUSB
Camera :
Primary : 8 MP, 3264×2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Features : Geo-tagging, face, smile and blink detection, image stabilization, wide dynamic range, ISO 1600
Video : Yes, HD 720p@24fps, D1 (720×480 pixels)@30fps, QVGA time-lapse and slow-mo video recording
Secondary : CIF videocall camera
Features :
OS : Symbian OS v9.4 Series 60 rel. 5
CPU : ARM Cortex A8 600 MHz, PowerVR SGX graphics
Messaging : SMS, MMS, Email, IM
Browser : WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, Opera 9.5, RSS reader
Radio : Stereo FM radio with RDS
Games : Asphalt 4 HD, incl. motion-based + downloadable
Colors : Black
GPS : Yes, with A-GPS support
Java : Yes, MIDP 2.0
- Digital compass
- AVI(DiVX/XviD)/WMV/RV/MP4/3GP video player
- MP3/WMA/WAV/RA/AAC/M4A music player
- Organizer
- TV-out (for SD content only)
- Turn-to-mute
- Document viewer (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF)
- Voice memo
Battery : Standard battery, Li-Ion 1500 mAh
Stand-by : Up to 600 h (2G) / Up to 450 h (3G)
Talk time : Up to13 h 30 min (2G) / Up to 6 h 30 min (3G)
Cyaxares or Hvakhshathra Uvaxštra, Greek: Κυαξάρης; r. 625–585 BC), the son of King Phraortes, was the third and most capable king of Media. According to Herodotus, Cyaxares, grandson of Deioces, had a far greater military reputation than his father or grandfather.
By uniting the Iranian tribes of Ancient Iran and conquering territory, Cyaxares allowed the Median Empire to become a regional power. During his rule, the Neo-Assyrian Empire fell and the Scythians were repelled from Median lands.
He was born in the Median capital of Ecbatana, his father Phraortes was killed in a battle against the Assyrians, led by Ashurbanipal, the king of Neo-Assyria. After his fall the Scythians took over. In his early age Cyaxares was seeking for revenge. He killed the Scythian leaders and proclaimed himself as King of Medes. After throwing off the Scythians, he prepared for war against Assyria. Cyaxares reorganized and modernized the Median Army, then joined with King Nabopolassar of Babylonia. This alliance was formalized through the marriage of Cyaxares daughter, Amytis with Nabopolassar’s son, Nebuchadnezzar II, the king who constructed the Hanging Gardens of Babylon as a present for his Median wife to help with her homesickness for the mountainous country of her birth. These allies overthrew the Assyrian Empire and destroyed Nineveh in 612 BC.
After the victory in Assyria, the Medes conquered Northern Mesopotamia, Armenia and the parts of Asia Minor east of the Halys River, which was the border established with Lydia after a decisive battle between Lydia and Media, the Battle of Halys ended with an eclipse on May 28, 585 BC.
The conflict between Lydia and the Medes was reported by Herodotus as follows:
“A horde of the nomad Scythians at feud with the rest withdrew and sought refuge in the land of the Medes: and at this time the ruler of the Medes was Cyaxares the son of Phraortes, the son of Deïokes, who at first dealt well with these Scythians, being suppliants for his protection; and esteeming them very highly he delivered boys to them to learn their speech and the art of shooting with the bow. Then time went by, and the Scythians used to go out continually to the chase and always brought back something; till once it happened that they took nothing, and when they returned with empty hands Cyaxares (being, as he showed on this occasion, not of an eminently good disposition) dealt with them very harshly and used insult towards them. And they, when they had received this treatment from Cyaxares, considering that they had suffered indignity, planned to kill and to cut up one of the boys who were being instructed among them, and having dressed his flesh as they had been wont to dress the wild animals, to bear it to Cyaxares and give it to him, pretending that it was game taken in hunting; and when they had given it, their design was to make their way as quickly as possible to Alyattes the son of Sadyattes at Sardis. This then was done; and Cyaxares with the guests who ate at his table tasted of that meat, and the Scythians having so done became suppliants for the protection of Alyattes.
After this, since Alyattes would not give up the Scythians when Cyaxares demanded them, there had arisen war between the Lydians and the Medes lasting five years; in which years the Medes often discomfited the Lydians and the Lydians often discomfited the Medes (and among others they fought also a battle by night): and as they still carried on the war with equally balanced fortune, in the sixth year a battle took
place in which it happened, when the fight had begun, that suddenly the day became night. And this change of the day Thales the Milesian had foretold to the Ionians laying down as a limit this very year in which the change took place. The Lydians however and the Medes, when they saw that it had become night instead of day, ceased from their fighting and were much more eager both of them that peace should be made between them. And they who brought about the peace between them were Syennesis the Kilikian and Labynetos the Babylonian: these were they who urged also the taking of the oath by them, and they brought about an interchange of marriages; for they decided that Alyattes should give his daughter Aryenis to Astyages the son of Cyaxares, since without the compulsion of a strong tie agreements are apt not to hold strongly together.” (Histories, 1.73-74, trans. Macaulay)
Cyaxares died shortly after the battle and was succeeded by his son, Astyages, who was the maternal grandfather of Cyrus the Great through his daughter Mandane of Media.
“Good morning, city!”
Wild West Wyldstyle: “You are the most talented, most interesting, most extraordinary person in the universe... and you are capable of amazing things, because you are The Special.”
In The Lego Movie: “EVERYTHING IS AWESOME.”
A multi-role combat aircraft, capable of being deployed in the full spectrum of air operations, from air policing, to peace support, through to high intensity conflict.
Specifications
Engines: 2 Eurojet EJ200 turbojets
Thrust: 20,000lbs each
Max speed: 1.8Mach
Length: 15.96m
Max altitude: 55,000ft
Span: 11.09m
Aircrew: 1
Armament: AMRAAM, ASRAAM, Mauser 27mm Cannon, Enhanced Paveway II, 1000 lb Freefall bomb
Save to 'Compare aircraft'
Who uses the Typhoon FGR4
6 SquadronRAF Leuchars1 SquadronRAF Leuchars3 SquadronRAF Coningsby17 SquadronRAF Coningsby29 SquadronRAF Coningsby11 SquadronRAF Coningsby
Details
Typhoon provides the RAF with a multi-role combat aircraft, capable of being deployed in the full spectrum of air operations, from air policing, to peace support, through to high intensity conflict. It is currently employed on permanent ops in the Falkland Islands, UK QRA North and UK QRA South.
Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain formally agreed to start development of the aircraft in 1988 with contracts for a first batch of 148 aircraft – of which 53 were for the RAF – signed ten years later. Deliveries to the RAF started in 2003 to 17(R) Sqn who were based at BAE Systems Warton Aerodrome in Lancashire (alongside the factory where the aircraft were assembled) while detailed development and testing of the aircraft was carried out. Formal activation of the first Typhoon Squadron at RAF Coningsby occurred on the 1st Jul 2005. The aircraft took over responsibility for UK QRA on 29 Jun 2007 and was formally declared as an advanced Air Defence platform on 1 Jan 2008.
Initial production aircraft of the F2 Tranche 1 standard were capable of air-to-air roles only and were the first Typhoons to hold UK QRA duties. In order to fulfill a potential requirement for Typhoon to deploy to Op HERRICK, urgent single-nation work was conducted on Tranche 1 to develop an air-to-ground capability in 2008. Tranche 1 aircraft were declared as multi-role in Jul 2008, gaining the designation FGR4 (T3 2-seat variant), fielding the Litening Laser Designator Pod and Paveway 2, Enhanced Paveway 2 and 1000lb freefall class of weapons. Only a handful of F2/T1 aircraft remain, these will be upgraded to FGR4/T3 by the end of 2012. Tranche 2 aircraft deliveries commenced under the 4-nation contract in 2008, in the air-to-air role only. These aircraft were deployed to the Falkland Islands to take-over duties from the Tornado F3 in Sep 09. Currently, upgrades to Tranche 2 continue as part of the main contract, with air-to-ground capability expected in 2012.
A total of 53 Tranche 1 aircraft were delivered, with Tranche 2 contract provisioning for 91 aircraft. 24 of these were diverted to fulfill the RSAF export campaign, leaving 67 Tranche 2 aircraft due for delivery to the RAF. The Tranche 3 contract has been signed and will deliver 40 aircraft. With the Tranche 1 aircraft fleet due to retire over the period 2015-18, this will leave 107 Typhoon aircraft in RAF service until 2030.
Future weapons integration will include Meteor air-to-air missile, Paveway IV, Storm Shadow, Brimstone and Small Diameter Bomb. Additionally, it is intended to upgrade the radar to an Active Electronically Scanned Array.
Technical Data
General Information
Brakes off to 35,000ft / M1.5
< 2.5 minutes
Brakes off to lift off
Supersonic
Design
Maximum Speed
Max 2.0
Operational Runway Lengh
of 90kn (20,000 lbs)
Dimensions
Wing Span
10.95m (35ft 11in)
Wing Aspect Ratio
2:205
Length (Overall)
15.96m (52ft 4in)
Wings (Gross)
50.0m2 (538ft2)
Masses
Basic Mass (Empty)
11,000kg (24,250lb)
Maximum
(Take-off) 23,500kg (51,809lb)
The carrier capable E-2 Hawkeye, built by Grumman, was designed to patrol the approaches to a carrier battle group to detect impending attack by hostile aircraft, missiles or sea forces. In addition to the early warning function, the E-2 provided strike and traffic control, area surveillance, search and rescue guidance, navigational assistance and communications relay services. The E-2C model was built from 1971 to 2009.
The aircraft in the photograph has the unit identification marking of VAW-124--Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 124, "The Bear Aces."
The RF-86F filled an important gap until more capable reconnaissance aircraft became available. The Sabre, originally built as a day fighter, was first modified for reconnaissance during the Korean War. USAF personnel custom-fitted cameras to about a dozen F-86 fighters (known as "Honeybuckets" or "Ashtrays") to replace the slower RF-80 for missions in northwestern North Korea -- "MiG Alley" -- and into Manchuria.
After the Korean War, a handful of F-86Fs received more capable cameras under Project Haymaker. In order to fit the film magazines for the vertically mounted cameras, the aircraft acquired a distinctive bulge on both sides of the forward fuselage. The armament was removed to allow for the cameras, and the RF-86F "Haymakers" had painted-on gun ports to appear as if they were armed.
In March 1954 the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron deployed to Komaki Air Base, Japan, receiving eight newly-modified "Haymakers." With these aircraft, they secretly overflew Soviet, North Korean and communist Chinese territory in the mid-1950s.
The RF-86F "Haymaker" on display (S/N 52-4492) participated in these critical overflight missions. It was transferred to the South Korean air force (ROKAF) in 1958, which flew it into the 1980s. Arriving at the museum in 1998 for restoration, it was placed on display in 2005. It is marked as it appeared while assigned to the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron.
TECHNICAL NOTES:
Engine: 5,910-lbs. thrust J47-GE-27 jet engine
Maximum speed: Approx. 650 mph
Range: Approx. 1,900 miles
Ceiling: 54,000 ft.
Serial number: 52-4492
www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet_print.asp?...
The MiG-21 was the first Soviet fighter capable of flying faster than twice the speed of sound and is an iconic aircraft of the Cold War years. MiG-21s saw extensive combat action in such diverse conflicts as Vietnam, the Arab-Israeli Wars, the Iran-Iraq War, Afghanistan and Desert Storm.
This aircraft is typical of the early 'First Generation' variants of the MiG-21 'Fishbed' which was first designed as a simple, lightweight jet fighter, first flown as a pre-production prototype in 1957.
Following on from the initial MiG-21F 'Fishbed-C' production variant, in 1960 the new MiG-21P variant (NATO reporting name 'Fishbed-D') dispensed with the original internal cannon armament completely in favour of air-air missiles or rocket pods and introduced a modified fuselage with a longer nose, and modified canopy and spine with a distinctive bulge immediately aft of the cockpit. This was followed in production from 1962 to 1964 by the MiG-21PF, as seen here, with uprated afterburning engine and the pitot probe relocated to the top of the nose. This variant also introduced a new system for controlling the variable intake centrebody at the nose, whose larger intake accommodated new RP-21 search/track radar, giving all-weather capability. The MiG-21 PFM for the Soviet Air Force was produced between 1964 and 1965, and the Mig-21 PFS version was produced for export from 1966-68.
A multi-role combat aircraft, capable of being deployed in the full spectrum of air operations, from air policing, to peace support, through to high intensity conflict.
Specifications
Engines: 2 Eurojet EJ200 turbojets
Thrust: 20,000lbs each
Max speed: 1.8Mach
Length: 15.96m
Max altitude: 55,000ft
Span: 11.09m
Aircrew: 1
Armament: AMRAAM, ASRAAM, Mauser 27mm Cannon, Enhanced Paveway II, 1000 lb Freefall bomb
Save to 'Compare aircraft'
Who uses the Typhoon FGR4
6 SquadronRAF Leuchars1 SquadronRAF Leuchars3 SquadronRAF Coningsby17 SquadronRAF Coningsby29 SquadronRAF Coningsby11 SquadronRAF Coningsby
Details
Typhoon provides the RAF with a multi-role combat aircraft, capable of being deployed in the full spectrum of air operations, from air policing, to peace support, through to high intensity conflict. It is currently employed on permanent ops in the Falkland Islands, UK QRA North and UK QRA South.
Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain formally agreed to start development of the aircraft in 1988 with contracts for a first batch of 148 aircraft – of which 53 were for the RAF – signed ten years later. Deliveries to the RAF started in 2003 to 17(R) Sqn who were based at BAE Systems Warton Aerodrome in Lancashire (alongside the factory where the aircraft were assembled) while detailed development and testing of the aircraft was carried out. Formal activation of the first Typhoon Squadron at RAF Coningsby occurred on the 1st Jul 2005. The aircraft took over responsibility for UK QRA on 29 Jun 2007 and was formally declared as an advanced Air Defence platform on 1 Jan 2008.
Initial production aircraft of the F2 Tranche 1 standard were capable of air-to-air roles only and were the first Typhoons to hold UK QRA duties. In order to fulfill a potential requirement for Typhoon to deploy to Op HERRICK, urgent single-nation work was conducted on Tranche 1 to develop an air-to-ground capability in 2008. Tranche 1 aircraft were declared as multi-role in Jul 2008, gaining the designation FGR4 (T3 2-seat variant), fielding the Litening Laser Designator Pod and Paveway 2, Enhanced Paveway 2 and 1000lb freefall class of weapons. Only a handful of F2/T1 aircraft remain, these will be upgraded to FGR4/T3 by the end of 2012. Tranche 2 aircraft deliveries commenced under the 4-nation contract in 2008, in the air-to-air role only. These aircraft were deployed to the Falkland Islands to take-over duties from the Tornado F3 in Sep 09. Currently, upgrades to Tranche 2 continue as part of the main contract, with air-to-ground capability expected in 2012.
A total of 53 Tranche 1 aircraft were delivered, with Tranche 2 contract provisioning for 91 aircraft. 24 of these were diverted to fulfill the RSAF export campaign, leaving 67 Tranche 2 aircraft due for delivery to the RAF. The Tranche 3 contract has been signed and will deliver 40 aircraft. With the Tranche 1 aircraft fleet due to retire over the period 2015-18, this will leave 107 Typhoon aircraft in RAF service until 2030.
Future weapons integration will include Meteor air-to-air missile, Paveway IV, Storm Shadow, Brimstone and Small Diameter Bomb. Additionally, it is intended to upgrade the radar to an Active Electronically Scanned Array.
Technical Data
General Information
Brakes off to 35,000ft / M1.5
< 2.5 minutes
Brakes off to lift off
Supersonic
Design
Maximum Speed
Max 2.0
Operational Runway Lengh
of 90kn (20,000 lbs)
Dimensions
Wing Span
10.95m (35ft 11in)
Wing Aspect Ratio
2:205
Length (Overall)
15.96m (52ft 4in)
Wings (Gross)
50.0m2 (538ft2)
Masses
Basic Mass (Empty)
11,000kg (24,250lb)
Maximum
(Take-off) 23,500kg (51,809lb)
Disability is indicated as differently able in the modern time because most of them are capable of
doing certain things through their own way. The term disability is a condition or consequences
that may be derived from any kind of impairment to the individual. Most common forms of
impairment are physical, mental, sensory, cognitive, developmental, emotional, behavioral and
cognitive. United Nation reported that the total number of disabled persons is 650 million
through out the globe in 2011 and two-third of them are living in Asia-Pacific region. The world
has become a global community these days because of the advantages of IT sector and the
community may feel little bit worried for the increasing number of disabled people. But the harsh
Truth is only faced by the people who are disabled and not many people in the community
Attempt to understand their struggling lifecycle. Impaired persons are not actually burden to the
Society but a part of human capital to enhance the pace of national and global economy. visual
impairment is the major category that will be discussed in the following study to elaborate their skills
and capabilities in order to lead their life. The purpose of the study is to explain the courageous efforts
of impaired persons for leading their life and to show their courage that never let them stop to go ahead with their impairments.