This article was published in What's Up Muskoka in November, 2008.

 

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

 

Olsson speaks out about hate

 

By Andrew Hoshkiw

 

In a speech at the 4th Annual National

Character Education Conference,

holocaust survivor Eva Olsson shared

what hate is capable of doing.

 

"I never use the word hate, because

hate murdered my family," she said.

 

"Hate murdered millions of people, children,

one and a half million children

were murdered by those that hated."

 

While the hate that was responsible

for the murder of millions of Jews during

the Holocaust might seem quite different

than the hate young bullies in

school harbour, the two are really not

that far apart, Olsson told the audience

"My question to you is, where do children

learn the word and the feeling of

hate?" she asked. "Because you can see in

their faces when they use the word hate.

"I hate you.' "I hate my teacher because

she isn't very nice to me.' Children are

the product of their environment.

Although we don't like to admit it."

 

Attended by educational professionals

from across Canada, the conference was

held at the Deerhurst Resort in

Huntsville from Nov. 3-4. The goal of

the conference was to advance the educational

principle of character development

for students, teachers, support staff

and community members who support

student learning. Other high profile

speakers at the conference included Barbara

Coloroso, Terry Scott, Hall Urban,

Michael "Pinball' Clemons and Stephen

Lewis.

 

"We are calling out to educators to

grab hold of the flag and the responsibility

we have as educators to work with

children and move them forward in

terms of tolerance and kindness," said

Jan Olsson, who is Eva Olsson's son. He

is principal of Huntsville High School

and the co-chair of the conference

organizing committee.

 

In 2001, Eva Olsson, with biographer

Ron Jacques, published her autobiography,

Unlocking the Doors: A Woman's

Struggle Against Intolerance, telling the

tale of her history and experiences. At

this conference, she released her second

book, Remembering Forever: A Journey of

Darkness and Light, which documented

a journey she undertook last year to

retrace her steps from the Second World

War.

 

"Today's a very special day for an 84-

year-old," she said, to an audience several

hundred strong. "I was just saying this

morning, "On the cover of my new book

is a picture of me walking on the tracks

at Auschwitz-Birkenau and it was raining,'

and I said, "I welcomed the rain.

 

They were the tears I couldn't cry anymore,'

and how ironic this morning it

was raining."

 

Accompanying this second book was a

documentary film by the same name,

which was also shown at the conference.

 

"Over the past eight years Eva's spoken

to over a million people," said Ron

Jacques, who introduced Olsson to the

audience. "She's spoken to audiences of

soldiers, elementary school students,

native groups, abused women. They sit

enthralled, and then they come up and

hug her and cry. Her message is powerful."

 

Now a Bracebridge resident, Olsson

was forced from her home in Hungary

in 1944 at the age of 19 by German soldiers.

 

She was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau

in Nazi-occupied Poland, the largest

of the concentration camps established

by Hitler. While she was spared for slave

labour, 87 members of Olsson's family

were murdered by the Nazis.

 

"One Grade 7 student asked me,

"Why did they do this to you?' and I told

him, without going into 2000 years of

history, let's talk about what's happening

today," she said. "Hate."

 

Eradicating hate starts within the family,

Olsson said.

 

"Forty per cent of your children come

from dysfunctional families," she said.

 

"They don't need your discipline; they

need your love. Discipline with anger

does not work. I'm a proud example of

that. I got spanked more times than

China has chopsticks. It never worked

because I had a mind of my own.

"Children need constructive discipline,

they need you to help them to be

able to play with other children, to function

in the society, and you have the

power to do it. One child at a time."

 

Jacques echoed these sentiments.

"Eva's an embodiment of two of the

maxims I really treasure: "You must be

the change you want to see in the world'

and "Whatever you do will be insignificant

but it's very important that you do

it,'" he said. "The message is, "If she can

do it, so can I' and that's Eva's strength."

DSV-3 Turtle / DSV-4 Sea Cliff

The other two 6-foot diameter HY-100 steel spheres originally fabricated for the Alvin were later used for the Navy's Turtle (DSV-3) and her sister ship Sea Cliff (DSV-4), built to a design similar to the Alvin. Turtle had video and still cameras, two six-function hydraulic manipulators, and four large view ports. Sea Cliff had two 7-function hydraulically operated manipulator arms, three 11-cm view ports, and video and still camera systems.

 

The US Navy’s Deep Submergence Vehicle Turtle (DSV-3) and and its sister submersible Sea Cliff (DSV-4) participated in deep-sea search and recovery, oceanographic research, and underwater archaeology. Turtle and Sea Cliff were classified as manned, non-combatant, untethered submersibles. Each vehicle consists of a 6-foot diameter spherical pressure hull mounted on a metal frame. Inside the hull are the control electronics for navigation, lighting and video, and a life support system capable of supporting a crew of three for 72 hours. Located externally on the frame are the battery and hydraulic, ballast, trim, and propulsion systems. There are also two manipulators that allow the vehicles’ crews to handle and retrieve items on the seafloor.

 

The vehicles were launched on 11 December 1968 and accepted by the Navy in 1970. In keeping with the Navy’s submersible tradition, they are named for towns in the United States whose names are reminiscent of the ocean or sea life. Turtle was named after Turtletown, Tennessee, while Sea Cliff’s namesake is Sea Cliff, New York.

 

These DSVs are constructed of a fiberglass hull over the metal crew sphere, batteries and electric motors. The craft have television and still cameras, external lights, short-range sonars, and hydraulic remote-control manipulators. Turtle weighs 21 tons, Sea Cliff weighs 29 tons. These DSVs have an endurance of 8 hours at 1 knot, or 1 hour at 2.5 knots. Due to their limited range and endurance, their mother ship should be certain to remain in the vicinity.

 

Many submersibles control in-water trim by shifting mercury between chambers at either end of the vehicle. Mercury is also corrosive to aluminum, extremely toxic, requires extraordinary measures to prevent spills, and is difficult to clean up when a spill occurs. The Battelle "tungsten ball trim system" is the replacement trim system for Sea Cliff and Turtle. In this system sintered tungsten balls are the weight medium, stored in two stainless steel tubing coils at either end of the vehicle which are connected by a transfer line. Hydraulic fluid moves the balls through the tubing by means of slip flow past each ball, and plastic balls on either end of the daisy chain of tungsten balls provide a filler in the transfer tube when all the weight is shifted one way or the other.

 

Both submersibles were initially rated for a depth of 6,500 feet but received upgrades in the early 1980s. While the Turtle was rated at 10,000 foot operating depth, Sea Cliff had her original HY-100 steel crew sphere replaced in 1983 with a titanium sphere capable of 20,000 foot operations. Sea Cliff reached this depth for the first time in March 1985, during a dive in the Middle America Trench off the Pacific coast of Central America. This increase of 1500 meters over Alvin's limits provided access to 37% more of the sea floor. Turtle reached a depth of 10,000 feet on 3 October 1980, and Sea Cliff made it to 20,000 feet on 10 March 1985. At that depth, Sea Cliff was capable of reaching 98 percent of the world’s ocean floor, an area roughly six times that of the surface of the moon. As a result, Sea Cliff enjoyed the distinction of being named flagship for the “Year of the Ocean” in 1985.

 

Sea Cliff and Turtle were often called upon to locate and recover Navy equipment that was lost at sea. During its 20,000 foot sea trials, Sea Cliff was ordered to the site of a downed Marine Corps Sea Stallion helicopter. Operating at 1,500 feet, Sea Cliff used its manipulators both to retrieve pieces of the aircraft directly and to attach lift lines to other parts. Sections as heavy as 10,000 pounds were recovered. Overall, 61 dives were made, and 80 percent of the aircraft was retrieved. Most importantly, Sea Cliff found and recovered the remains of the aircraft’s four crew members for family burial. Similarly, in 1995, when a Navy swimmer delivery vehicle (SDV) was lost in 814 feet of water off Hawaii, Turtle found and retrieved it in an operation many thought was impossible.

 

Turtle and Sea Cliff had been based from Navy Landing Ship Dock (LSD), or, more commonly, from Navy oceanographic vessels. Any of them could be transported by C-5 aircraft, although such deployments were uncommon.

 

Since the end of the Cold War the submersibles Sea Cliff and Turtle were available for limited academic research through a cooperative arrangement between NOAA and the US Navy's Submarine Development Squadron Five in San Diego CA. These vehicles have expanded opportunities for peer-reviewed deep submergence research off the US west coast. Sea Cliff provided the science community with some additional access to the deep sea and permitted observations to depths approaching 6000 meters, a depth range otherwise only available by using ROV Jason or the other tethered vehicles of the National Deep Submergence Facility. This increase of 1500 meters over Alvin's limits provides access to 37% more of the sea floor, which represents an area that is greater than 90% of the surface area presently exposed on the continents.

 

Following the Navy's decision to decommission Sea Cliff, NAVSEA requested Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) to provide a technical assessment and costing of how to best integrate Sea Cliff into the National Deep Submergence Facility. Perhaps the most serious and biggest impediment to integrating Sea Cliff into the US deep submergence program was the lack of an adequate and stable funding base.

 

Turtle was retired and loaned to the Mystic Aquarium, Institute for Exploration, where it was placed on permanent display. Sea Cliff was turned over to the Office of Naval Research and as of 1999 was being stored at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute while its future was debated

 

Mystic Aquarium Mystic Ct.

Fugro Synergy represents a new generation high technology drillship built in response to an increasing demand for cost effective drilling solutions.

 

The Fugro Synergy is a new build vessel

that has been specifically designed to

deliver Drilling and Sub Sea well services to

the Global Oil and Gas industry. With an

impressive technical specification, the

Synergy is capable of removing many

MODU based activities off the critical path.

Fugro is focused on developing niche

subsurface markets in the shallow section

from mudline down to approximately

3,000m, dependent on water depth.

 

CAPABILITIES

Utilizing our core drilling knowledge and

experience, we can install and construct the

shallow section of subsea wells and

seafloor infrastructure. The main

development areas that will add maximum

value to a Client project include:

■ Subsea and Well Activity

■ Conductor / Casing Installation

■ Well De-risking

■ Pre-Drill Activities

■ Well Abandonment

 

General

Vessel Name Fugro Synergy

Builder / Year Bergen Group Halsnoy AS / 2009

Owner / Operator Fugro Synergy, Inc. / Fugro Drilling & Well Services

Flag Bahamian

Speed Transit 12 knots (Economic Cruise)

Call Sign C6XR3 (Charlie Six X-ray Romeo Three)

 

Classification

+1A1 R ICE-C Ship-shaped Drilling Unit SF,

COMF-V(3) HELDK-SH E0 DYNPOS-AUTR CLEAN,

DRILL DK (+)

Port of registry Nassau

Endurance 45 days cruising

Operational water depth 25 m to 3000 m

  

Dimensions

Length over all (L.O.A.) 103.7 m

Beam (mid) 19.7 m

Free board 8.7 m

Draft 6.3 m (6.5 m Summer)

Displacement 9287 tons (deadweight 3775 tons)

NRT 1963 tons

GRT 6543 tons

Helideck D= 21 m; suitable for Sikorsky S92 helicopter

Moonpool 7.2 m x 7.2 m

 

Accommodations / Rooms

Cabins 24 x single, 28 x double, 1 x 4 man cabins

Day room 1 Non-Smoking – 1 Smoking

Fitness room Yes

Conference room Yes

Client office 1

Hospital 1 x 1 bed

 

Machinery

Main engine (5) Caterpillar type 3516C - 2,188 kW @1,800 rpm

Main engine generators (5) Siemens - 2,188 kW @1,800 rpm

Electrical system 690/450/230V-60 Hz

Propulsion (2) Ulstein-Aquamaster Azimuth Thruster type

AZP100/M-280 - 2,200 kW @1,200 rm

Side thruster (2) Kamewa Ulstein TT2200 SS DPN CP Tunnel

Thruster - 1,050 kW @1,190 rpm

Azimuth thruster (1) Ulstein-Aquamaster Azimuth Thruster type UL 1201 - 883 kW @1,800 rpm

Emergency generator (1) 219 kVA 690 V 60 Hz @ 1,800 rpm

Emergency generator engine (1) Volvo Penta 339 kW @ 1,800 rpm

 

Capacity

Fuel capacity 1,357 m3

Fuel consumption DP 12 m3

/day; Transit 28 m3 /day

 

Water capacity Potable 805 m3

; Ballast 2,873 m3

; Drill 1737 m3

Water making 1 x 40 m3 /day

 

Communications

V-sat Voice + Data access (multiple bands)

 

Safety

Lifeboats (TEMPSC) 2 x Schat-Harding KISS 1000 - 90 person

Fast rescue boat 1 x Mare Safety GRP700 230 hp

Liferafts 2 x Viking & 4 x DSB (35 men each)

Survival Suits 113

Life jackets 114 + 8 Children Sized

 

Deck Machinery

Deck Cranes 5–ton Knuckle-boom Provisions crane

Aft Deck Crane 25–ton AHC Knuckle-boom Offshore Crane

 

Positioning / Navigation

Echosounder 1 x Furuno FE-700

S-band radar (ARPA) 1 x Furuno FAR-2837-S

X-band radar 1 x Furuno FAR-2827, 1 x Furuno FAR-2117

Gyro compass (3) Simrad GC-80

Automatic pilot Simrad AP 50

Doppler log Furuno DS-80

Anemometer Gill OMC-139

GPS (2) DGPS Furuno GP-150

ECDIS 2 x TRANSAS 4000 (Main & Backup)

Transporter (SART) 2 x Tron SART-20 plus 2 in lifeboats

 

Drilling System / Seabed Frame System

Drilling Derrick Fugro SeaCore R-190

Drilling Rig SeaCore R-190

Max Load 150 tonnes, SWL Below Top Drive

Heave Compensation BoschRexroth stroke 7m, Passive

Top Drive National Oilwell Varco TDS 250

Drill Pipe Length Drill Pipe API Range 2 (trips Doubles)

Pipe Handling Aker PDPH Pipe Handler

Rotary Slips Hydraulic Power Slips

Mud Pumps (3) Wirth TPK800; each 949 l/min @340 bar to

2,762 l/min @ 115 bar

Mud Mixing Pumps (2) Baker SPF MUD HOG 2.5,

each 227 m3/h @ 4 bar

Mud Tanks (2) 85.9 m3

+ (1) 65.9 m3

+ (1) 44.9 m3

+ (1) 23.8m3

 

Bulk Cement Tanks 2 x 75 m3

Barite/Gel Dry 4 x 75 m3

Heavy Load Winch 2 x 32 tonne, 60 m/min (3,000 m WD)

Seabed Frame 15 tonnes Air weight, 4.5 m wire separation

Geotechnical Systems / Laboratory

Downhole WISON®

Seabed SEADEVIL, SEACALF®

Onboard Laboratory Permanent, 259 m2

Sample Storage 2.4 m x 3 m refrigerated container

Control and Navigation

DP System DP2 - Kongsberg K-POS

Reference systems 2 x DGPS, 2 x Starpack, 1 x Taut Wire, 2 x HPR

Wind indicators 3 Indicator (OMC-139D)

Vertical reference system 2 x Seatex MRU

Kelletia kelletii feeds with an extensible muscular proboscis which can be extended from the head region during feeding. Food is ingested by a muscular sucking action of the proboscis and a rasping of the radula. The proboscis is capable of extending approximately twice the length of the whelk's shell; it is this extension which allows Kelletia kelletii to reach food items in depressions or within the substratum. Most of the scavenger feedings by Kelletia kelletii attract more than one individual. In one instance, 85 were clustered around and feeding on a dead sea bass, Paralabrax sp., off Point Loma.

 

Interaction with sea star

 

Kellet's whelk has been observed feeding together at the same time with the Giant sea star Pisaster giganteus on common food items and thus these two species are trophically interrelated. Pisaster giganteus also preys on Kelletia kelletii more often than any other motile gastropod, and yet the whelks do not appear to be eaten in proportion to their abundance or accessibility in studied localitions. The sea star appears to be a major predator of the whelk, even though Kelletia kelletii makes up less than 10% of the diet of the sea star] The whelk does not display an avoidance response in the presence of Pisaster giganteus. Coexistence between the two species is believed possible as long as Kelletia kelletii does not become a preferred prey of the asteroid. Usually these feeding convergences involved only a single sea star and two or three whelks.

 

These convergent feeding groups were not limited to Kelletia kelletii and Pisaster giganteus. Kelletia kelletii has also been observed feeding interspecifically with two other sea stars, Dermasterias imbricata and Pisaster brevispinus.

 

Life cycle.

Females and males aggregate seasonally for mating. Fertilization is internal. Kellet's whelks reproduce annually, with egg-laying restricted to late spring and summer (in March, April and May).] The snails form aggregations, with the average spawning cluster being about 15 to 20 snails. However, a few spawning aggregations contain between 200 and 300 individuals.

 

Kelletia kelletii is slow-growing, and slow to mature. Studies have suggested a growth rate of 0.3 to 0.4 inches (7 to 10 millimeters) per year until sexual maturity. Rosenthal (1970)[ reported onset of sexual maturity at c. 60 mm in shell length (defined as maximum shell length from the tip of the spire to the tip of the siphonal canal).[4] having reached sexual maturity, growth slows considerably and it has been suggested that it takes at least 20 years to reach 3.5 inches (9.0 centimeters).[5] In a year-long tagging study in southern California the majority of the 188 animals recaptured showed no growth at the end of the year.

 

Kellet's whelk commercial landings

Year

 

Weight

 

1979 1,958 pounds (0.888 t)

1980 645 pounds (0.293 t)

1981 860 pounds (0.39 t)

1982 550 pounds (0.25 t)

1983 1,265 pounds (0.574 t)

1984 8,032 pounds (3.643 t)

1985 7,098 pounds (3.220 t)

1986 1,680 pounds (0.76 t)

1987 1,216 pounds (0.552 t)

1988 142 pounds (0.064 t)

1989 1,033 pounds (0.469 t)

1990 1,621 pounds (0.735 t)

1991 1,983 pounds (0.899 t)

1992 1,584 pounds (0.718 t)

1993 4,590 pounds (2.08 t)

1994 39,513 pounds (17.923 t)

1995 29,959 pounds (13.589 t)

1996 20,391 pounds (9.249 t)

1997 18,453 pounds (8.370 t)

1998 29,698 pounds (13.471 t)

1999 43,779 pounds (19.858 t)

2000 42,716 pounds (19.376 t)

2001 41,039 pounds (18.615 t)

2002 53,563 pounds (24.296 t)

2003 79,248 pounds (35.946 t)

2004 71,304 pounds (32.343 t)

2005 105,764 pounds (47.974 t)

2006 191,177 pounds (86.716 t)

2007 172,201 pounds (78.109 t)

2008 160,696 pounds (72.890 t)[5]

2009 ?

2010 67.5 t[10]

2011 ?

2012 ?

 

Shells of Kellet's whelks have been found in archeological and paleontological sites in southern California.[5] The earliest recorded commercial landing data specific to Kellet's whelk dates back to 1979, but prior to this it may have been recorded as "miscellaneous mollusks" or "sea snails".[5] Landings data indicate an increased intake starting in 1993 at 4590 pounds (2 metric tons), with the highest landings in 2006 being 191,177 pounds (87 metric tons). This represents an over forty-fold increase in thirteen years.[5] Kellet's whelk landings have been reported at 24 ports from 1979 to 2008, with 80 percent of landings occurring at four ports.[5] The majority of landings (439,828 pounds, 200 metric tons in 2008) occurred at Santa Barbara, with approximately 40 percent of the total landings reported.[5] The other three top ports were Terminal Island, San Diego, and San Pedro.[5] Dana Point is also an important port.[10] Ex-vessel value from the 2008 commercial harvest of Kellet's whelks was approximately $132,700, with price per pound averaging $0.82 ($1.81 per kilogram).[5] Since 1979, the fishery's ex-vessel value has ranged from $94 (1988) to approximately $136,000 (2007) and the ex-vessel price has ranged from $0.24 per pound ($0.53 per kilogram) in 1981 to $0.88 per pound ($1.94 per kilogram) in 1992.[5] The average weight of a Kellet's whelk in a fishery is 150 g.[10]

 

The food-finding ability of Kelletia kelletii by distance chemoreception has, on more than one occasion, been a nuisance to spiny lobster fishermen in some areas off southern California.[3] These fishermen usually bait traps with dead fish in order to attract the spiny lobster Panulirus interruptus.[3] Many times, however, a single lobster trap is found to contain dozens of Kelletia kelletii which were attracted to the trap by the "scent" of the bait.[3] Since 1979, 89 percent of all harvested Kellet's whelks have been taken incidentally in lobster and crab traps when they enter to prey on bait or on injured crustaceans.[5] The other method of take is diving.[5] Commercial divers are required to have a commercial fishing license, and may only take whelks that are further than 1000 feet (305 meters) beyond the low tide mark, as the take of any snails is prohibited in the tidal invertebrate zone (Title 14, CCR, §123).[5] Recreational take of Kellet's whelk by hand is allowed (Title 14, CCR, §29.05) outside of the 1000 foot (305 meter) tidal invertebrate zone.[5] Except where prohibited in state marine reserves, state marine parks and state marine conservation areas the bag limit is 35 animals, with no closed season.[5] Ninety-nine percent of Kellet's whelks are used for human consumption., and are mainly sold in live fish markets.[5]

 

The fact that this species is slow-growing, slow to mature, and makes seasonal aggregations for mating, all mean that this recently targeted fishery species is vulnerable to overexploitation.[4] The Kelletia kelletii fishery has experienced a rapid increase in landings since 1995, prompting the California Department of Fish and Game to designate the species as an "emerging fishery" (California Regulatory Notice Register 2011 43-Z).[4] New commercial and recreational fishing regulations for Kellet's whelk were established in 2012.[11]

 

Was monkey capable of keeping up with the roos once they started the next leg of their journey?

 

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 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.

via Instagram ift.tt/2qVHca6

LARC-V (Lighter, Amphibious Resupply, Cargo, 5 ton), is an aluminium-hulled Amphibious Cargo Vehicle capable of transporting 5 tons. It was developed in the United States during the 1950's, and is used in a variety of auxiliary roles to this day. In addition to the United States, LARC-V's have been used by Military Forces in Australia, Argentina, Portugal, Philippines, Singapore and Iceland. Approximately 968 were made, and around 500 were destroyed, most by scuttling during the American withdrawal from South Vietnam. About 200 have been retained in U.S. Military Service, roughly 100 are privately owned and mostly used for tourism.

The LARC-V was fielded in 1963 and were used extensively by the U.S. Army for over the beach supply during the Vietnam War, they supported the logistical and manpower build up at the start of and during the Vietnam war. Two Units arrived from Ft. Story, VA. in June 1965. The 344th Transportation Company (Light Amphibious) setup harbor operations in Qui Nhon and the 347th Transportation Company in Camh Ranh Bay. The companies had two Platoons of 17 LARCV's each and a separate 3rd Echelon Maintenance Detachment. About December 1965, one of the 344th's Platoons moved to Da Nang and was attached to the Air Force wing. There it ran 24-hour/day Operations hauling Bombs from Ships in the harbor to the Flight Line. Their operation was so crucial to the USAF that if at least 15 LARC's were not operational, any needed parts were flown in by Nonoperational Ready Supply Grounded (NORSG) Aircraft from St Louis 458th Transportation, LARC-V Company, arrived in Cam Ranh Bay Oct 1967, 101st Airborne Division in 1967 and later the 1st Cavalry Division in 1968.

LARC-V's were used by the Argentine Marines during the 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands. In January 2011, during the 2010 to 2011 Queensland floods in Australia, it was reported that C-17 Aircraft of the Royal Australian Air Force were to carry two LARC-V Vehicles for use in Operation Flood Assist, the vehicles were deployed from Townsville to RAAF Base Amberley. The United States Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) has directed the Sealift Support Program Office (SSPO) to supervise a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) on the LARC-V's used by the Navy. This SLEP involved changing from a mechanical to a hydraulic transmission, updating the electrical system, and improving other on-board systems. These reworked LARC's began delivery in June 2006 for use by U.S. Navy Beach Master Units, Underwater Construction Teams and the Maritime Prepositioned Force ships. A total of 42 LARC-V's are currently funded to transition through the SLEP process.

Towing capacity on land was improved to approximately 29,000lbs and bollard pull in water was doubled to 7,600lbs. The LARC-V operates in All-Wheel Drive while in land or tow modes. The craft is powered by a 375hp John Deere turbo-charged Diesel engine that is Tier 2 certified. Engine speed is constant, with a hydraulic transmission modifying speed. Design and manufacture of the SLEP LARC-V's was carried out by Power Dynamics, LLC of Stennis Space Center, Mississippi.

  

Specifications :-

 

> Type :- Amphibious Cargo Vehicle

> Place of origin :- United States

> Manufacturer :- Condec, LeTourneau-Westinghouse

> Capacity :- 3 Crew + 20 Passengers (up to 10,000lbs)

> Engine :- Cummins V8-300785cu in (12.9L) Diesel V8300 hp (220 kW)

> Land Speed :- 30mph

> Water Speed :- 9.5mph / 7.5knots

> Fuel Capacity:- 144 Gallons Diesel Total (2 Tanks)

> Unloaded Land Range :-250 to 335 miles

> Unloaded Sea Range :- 110 miles

> Mass :- 19,000lbs

> Length :- 420in

> Width :- 120in

> Height :- 122in

> Drive :- 4x4

> Maximum Gradient :- 60%

> Unloaded Land Range :- 280 to 335 miles

> Unloaded Sea Range :- 110 miles

 

BlueEdge - Mach 8-10 Hypersonic Commercial Aircraft, 220 Passenger Hypersonic Commercial Plane - Iteration 3

 

Seating: 220 | Crew 2+4

Length: 195ft | Span: 93ft

Engines: 4 U-TBCC (Unified Turbine Based Combined Cycle) +1 Aerospike for sustained 2G acceleration to Mach 10.

 

Fuel: H2 (Compressed Hydrogen)

Cruising Altitude: 100,000-125,000ft

Airframe: 75% Proprietary Composites

Operating Costs, Similar to a 737. $7,000-$15,000hr, including averaged maintenence costs

 

Iteration 3 (Full release of IT3, Monday January 14, 2019)

IO Aircraft www.ioaircraft.com

Drew Blair www.linkedin.com/in/drew-b-25485312/

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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Advanced Additive Manufacturing for Hypersonic Aircraft

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Unified Turbine Based Combined Cycle (U-TBCC)

 

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

 

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

 

Enhanced Dynamic Cavitation

 

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

 

Dynamic Scramjet Ignition Processes

 

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

 

Hydrogen vs Kerosene Fuel Sources

 

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

 

Conforming High Pressure Tank Technology for CNG and H2.

 

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

 

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

 

Enhanced Fuel Mixture During Shock Train Interaction

 

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

 

Improved Bow Shock Interaction

 

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

 

6,000+ Fahrenheit Thermal Resistance

 

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

  

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

 

Scramjet Propulsion Side Wall Cooling

 

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

 

Lower Threshold for Hypersonic Ignition

 

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

 

Dramatically Improved Maneuvering Capabilities at Hypersonic Velocities

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

  

Some background:

The VF-1 was developed by Stonewell/Bellcom/Shinnakasu for the U.N. Spacy by using alien Overtechnology obtained from the SDF-1 Macross alien spaceship. Its production was preceded by an aerodynamic proving version of its airframe, the VF-X. Unlike all later VF vehicles, the VF-X was strictly a jet aircraft, built to demonstrate that a jet fighter with the features necessary to convert to Battroid mode was aerodynamically feasible. After the VF-X's testing was finished, an advanced concept atmospheric-only prototype, the VF-0 Phoenix, was flight-tested from 2005 to 2007 and briefly served as an active-duty fighter from 2007 to the VF-1's rollout in late 2008, while the bugs were being worked out of the full-up VF-1 prototype (VF-X-1).

 

The space-capable VF-1's combat debut was on February 7, 2009, during the Battle of South Ataria Island - the first battle of Space War I - and remained the mainstay fighter of the U.N. Spacy for the entire conflict. Introduced in 2008, the VF-1 would be out of frontline service just five years later, though.

 

The VF-1 proved to be an extremely capable craft, successfully combating a variety of Zentraedi mecha even in most sorties which saw UN Spacy forces significantly outnumbered. The versatility of the Valkyrie design enabled the variable fighter to act as both large-scale infantry and as air/space superiority fighter. The signature skills of U.N. Spacy ace pilot Maximilian Jenius exemplified the effectiveness of the variable systems as he near-constantly transformed the Valkyrie in battle to seize advantages of each mode as combat conditions changed from moment to moment.

 

The basic VF-1 was deployed in four minor variants (designated A, D, J, and S) and its success was increased by continued development of various enhancements including the GBP-1S "Armored" Valkyrie, FAST Pack "Super" Valkyrie and the additional RÖ-X2 heavy cannon pack weapon system for the VF-1S for additional firepower.

The FAST Pack system was designed to enhance the VF-1 Valkyrie variable fighter, and the initial V1.0 came in the form of conformal pallets that could be attached to the fighter’s leg flanks for additional fuel – primarily for Long Range Interdiction tasks in atmospheric environment. Later FAST Packs were designed for space operations.

 

The following FAST Pack 2.0 system featured two 120.000 kg class P&W+EF-2001 booster thrusters (mounted on the dorsal section of the VF-1) and two CTB-04 conformal propellant/coolant tanks (mounted on the leg/engines), since the VF-1's internal tanks could not carry enough propellant to achieve a stable orbit from Earth bases and needed the help of a booster pack to reach Low Earth Orbit. Anyway, the FAST Pack 2.0 wasn't adapted for atmospheric use, due to its impact on a Valkyrie's aerodynamics and its weight; as such, it needed to be discarded before atmospheric entry.

Included in the FAST Pack boosters and conformal tanks were six high-maneuverability vernier thrusters and two low-thrust vernier thrusters beneath multipurpose hook/handles in two dorsal-mounted NP-BP-01, as well as ten more high-maneuverability vernier thrusters and two low-thrust vernier thrusters beneath multipurpose hook/handles in the two leg/engine-mounted NP-FB-01 systems.

Granting the VF-1 a significantly increased weapons payload as well as greater fuel and thrust, Shinnakasu Heavy Industry's FAST Pack system 2.0 was in every way a major success in space combat. The first VF-1 equipped with FAST Packs was deployed in January 2010 for an interception mission.

Following first operational deployment and its effectiveness, the FAST Pack system was embraced enthusiastically by the U.N. Spacy and found wide use. By February 2010, there were already over 300+ so-called "Super Valkyries" stationed onboard the SDF-1 Macross alone.

 

The FAST Pack went through constant further development, including upgraded versions for late production and updated VF-1s (V3.0 and V4.0). Another addition to the early V2.0 variant of 2010 was the so-called “S-FAST Pack”. The S-FAST pack was originally developed at the Apollo lunar base, for the locally based VF-1 interceptor squadrons that were tasked with the defense of this important production and habitat site on the Moon, but it also found its way to other orbital stations and carriers.

 

Officially designated FAST Pack V2.1, the S-FAST Pack consisted of the standard pair of dorsal rocket boosters plus the pallets with additional maneuvering jets, sensors and weapons. The S-FAST pack added another pair of P&W+EF-2001 boosters under the inner wings, having the duty to give to fighter the power necessary to exit easily from the gravity of moons or little planets without atmosphere, and improve acceleration during combat situations. Range was also further extended, together with additional life support systems for prolonged deep space operations, or the case of emergency.

 

In order to accept the S-FAST pack and exploit its potential, the VF-1’s wings and inner wing attachment points had to be strengthened due to the additional load and propulsion. The use of the S-FAST pack also precluded the fighter from transforming into Battroid or Gerwalk mode – the underwing packs had to be jettisoned beforehand. The other standard FAST Pack 2.0 elements could still be carried, though.

 

The modfied Valkyries capable of accepting the S-FAST Pack received an additional “S” to their type designation – more than 100 VF-1s were converted or built in this deep space configuration until late 2011. Initial deployment of the S-FAST Pack was conducted through SVF-24 “Moon Shadows” in early 2010, a unit that was quickly disbanded, though, but re-formed as SVF-124 “Moon Shooters”, tasked with the defense of the lunar Apollo Base and several special missions.

 

After the end of Space War I, the VF-1 continued to be manufactured both in the Sol system and throughout the UNG space colonies. Although the VF-1 would eventually be replaced as the primary Variable Fighter of the U.N. Spacy by the more capable, but also much bigger, VF-4 Lightning III in 2020, a long service record and continued production after the war proved the lasting worth of the design.

 

The VF-1 was without doubt the most recognizable variable fighter of Space War I and was seen as a vibrant symbol of the U.N. Spacy even into the first year of the New Era 0001 in 2013. At the end of 2015 the final rollout of the VF-1 was celebrated at a special ceremony, commemorating this most famous of variable fighters. The VF-1 Valkryie was built from 2006 to 2013 with a total production of 5,459 VF-1 variable fighters with several variants (VF-1A = 5,093, VF-1D = 85, VF-1J = 49, VF-1S = 30, VF-1G = 12, VE-1 = 122, VT-1 = 68)

 

However, the fighter remained active in many second line units and continued to show its worthiness years later, e. g. through Milia Jenius who would use her old VF-1 fighter in defense of the colonization fleet - 35 years after the type's service introduction!

 

General characteristics:

All-environment variable fighter and tactical combat Battroid,

used by U.N. Spacy, U.N. Navy, U.N. Space Air Force

 

Accommodation:

Pilot only in Marty & Beck Mk-7 zero/zero ejection seat

Dimensions:

Fighter Mode:

Length 14.23 meters

Wingspan 14.78 meters (at 20° minimum sweep)

Height 3.84 meters

 

Battroid Mode:

Height 12.68 meters

Width 7.3 meters

Length 4.0 meters

Empty weight: 13.25 metric tons;

Standard T-O mass: 18.5 metric tons;

MTOW: 37.0 metric tons

 

Power Plant:

2x Shinnakasu Heavy Industry/P&W/Roice FF-2001 thermonuclear reaction turbine engines, output 650 MW each, rated at 11,500 kg in standard or in overboost (225.63 kN x 2)

4 x Shinnakasu Heavy Industry NBS-1 high-thrust vernier thrusters (1 x counter reverse vernier thruster nozzle mounted on the side of each leg nacelle/air intake, 1 x wing thruster roll control system on each wingtip);

18 x P&W LHP04 low-thrust vernier thrusters beneath multipurpose hook/handles

 

The S-FAST Pack added 4x P&W+EF-2001 booster thrusters with 120.000 kg each, plus a total of 28x P&W LHP04 low-thrust vernier thrusters

 

Performance:

Battroid Mode: maximum walking speed 160 km/h

Fighter Mode: at 10,000 m Mach 2.71; at 30,000+ m Mach 3.87

g limit: in space +7

Thrust-to-weight ratio: empty 3.47; standard T-O 2.49; maximum T-O 1.24

 

Design Features:

3-mode variable transformation; variable geometry wing; vertical take-off and landing; control-configurable vehicle; single-axis thrust vectoring; three "magic hand" manipulators for maintenance use; retractable canopy shield for Battroid mode and atmospheric reentry; option of GBP-1S system, atmospheric-escape booster, or FAST Pack system

 

Transformation:

Standard time from Fighter to Battroid (automated): under 5 sec.

Min. time from Fighter to Battroid (manual): 0.9 sec.

 

Armament:

2x internal Mauler RÖV-20 anti-aircraft laser cannon, firing 6,000 pulses per minute

1x Howard GU-11 55 mm three-barrel Gatling gun pod with 200 RPG, fired at 1,200 rds/min

 

4x underwing hard points for a wide variety of ordnance, including

12x AMM-1 hybrid guided multipurpose missiles (3/point), or

12x MK-82 LDGB conventional bombs (3/point), or

6x RMS-1 large anti-ship reaction missiles (2/outboard point, 1/inboard point), or

4x UUM-7 micro-missile pods (1/point) each carrying 15 x Bifors HMM-01 micro-missiles,

or a combination of above load-outs

 

The optional Shinnakasu Heavy Industry S-FAST Pack 2.1 augmentative space weapon system added:

6x micro-missiles in two NP-AR-01 micro-missile launcher pods (mounted rear-ward under center ventral section in Fighter mode or on lower arm sections in GERWALK/Battroid mode)

4x12 micro missiles in four HMMP-02 micro-missile launchers, one inside each booster pod

 

The kit and its assembly:

This VF-1 is another contribution to the “Old Kit” Group Build at whatifmodelers.com, running in late 2016. I am not certain about the moulds’ inception date, but since it is an ARII incarnation of this type of kit and even moulded in the early pastel green styrene, I’d think that it was produced in 1982 or 83.

 

Anyway, I love the Macross VF-1, IMHO a design masterpiece created by Shoji Kawamori and one of my favorite mecha designs ever, because it was created as a late 70ies style jet fighter that could transform into a robot in a secondary role. As a simple, purposeful military vehicle. And not like a flashy robot toy.

 

Effectively, this Super Valkyrie is a highly modified OOB kit with many donation parts, and this kit is a bit special, for several reasons. There are several 1:100 OOB kits with FAST Packs from ARII/Bandai available (and still around today), but these are normally only Battroids or Gerwalks with additional parts for the FAST kit conversion. The kit I used here is different: it is, after maybe 25 years of searching and building these kits, the #70 from the original production run. It is (so far!) the only Fighter mode kit with the additional FAST Pack parts! Must be rare, and I have never seen it in catalogues?

 

Until today, I converted my Super or Strike Valkyries from Gerwalk kits, a task that needs some improvisation esp. around the folded arms between the legs, and there’s no OOB option for an extended landing gear. The latter made this Fighter mode kit very attractive, even though the actual kit is pretty disappointing, and AFAIK this kit variant is only available as a VF-1S.

 

With the Super Valkyrie fighter kit you receive basically a Gerwalk with a standard fighter cockpit (which includes a front wheel well and an extended front wheel leg), plus extra parts. The leg/engine-mounted NP-FB-01 systems are less bulbous than the parts on the Gerwalk or Battroid kit, and the OOB dorsally mounted NP-BP-01 boosters are TINY, maybe 1:120 or even 1:144! WTF?

 

Further confusion: the kit includes a set of lower arm parts with integrated rocket launchers, but these are not necessary at all for the Fighter build?! As a kind of compensation there’s a new and exclusive element that simulates the folded arms under the ‘fuselage’ and which, as an added value, properly holds the hand gun under the fuselage. As a quirky flaw, though, the hand gun itself comes in the extended form for the Battroid/Gerwalk mode. For the fighter in flight mode, it has to be modified, but that’s easily done.

 

Anyway, with the potential option to build a Super Valkyrie with an extended landing gear, this was my route to go with this vintage kit. The Super Valkyrie already looks bulky with the FAST Pack added, but then I recently found the S-FAST Pack option with two more boosters under the wings – total overkill, but unique. And I had a spare pair of booster bulks in the stash (w/o their nozzles, though), as well as a complete pair of additional bigger standard FAST boosters that could replace the ridiculous OOB parts…

 

Building such a Super/Strike Valkyrie means building separate components, with a marriage of parts as one of the final steps. Consequently, cockpit, central fuselage with the wings and the air intakes, the folded stabilizer pack, the folded arms element with the handgun, the two legs and the four boosters plus other ordnance had to be built and painted separately.

 

Here and there, details were changed or added, e. g. a different head (a ‘J’ head for the flight leader’s aircraft with two instead of the rare, OOB ‘S’ variant with four laser cannon), covers for the main landing gear (the latter does not come with wells at all, but I did not scratch them since they are hardly recognizable when the kit is sitting on the ground), the typical blade aerials under the cockpit and the feet had to be modified internally to become truly ‘open’ jet exhausts.

 

The wing-mounted boosters received new nozzles and their front end was re-sculpted with 2C putty into a square shape, according to reference sketches. Not 100% exact, but the rest of the VF-1 isn’t either.

 

This VF-1 was also supposed to carry external ordnance and my first choice were four wing-mounted RMS-1 Anti-Ship Reaction Warheads, scratched from four 1.000 lb NATO bombs. But, once finished, I was not happy with them. So I looked for another option, and in a source book I found several laser-guided bombs and missiles, also for orbital use, and from this inspiration comes the final ordnance: four rocket-propelled kinetic impact projectiles. These are actually 1:72 JASDF LGB’s from a Hasegawa weapon set, sans aerodynamic steering surfaces and with rocket boosters added to the tail. Also not perfect, but their white color and sleek shape is a good counterpart to the FAST elements.

 

Experience from many former builds of this mecha kit family helped a lot, since the #70 kit is very basic and nothing really fits well. Even though there are not many major seams or large elements, PSR work was considerable. This is not a pleasant build, rather a fight with a lot of compromises and semi-accuracies.

Seriously, if you want a decent 1:100 VF-1, I’d rather recommend the much more modern WAVE kits (including more realistic proportions).

  

Painting and markings:

The paint scheme for this Super Valkyrie was settled upon before I considered the S-FAST Pack addition: U.N. Spacy’s SVF-124 is authentic, as well as its unique camouflage paint scheme.

The latter is a special scheme for the lunar environment where the unit was originally formed and based, with all-black undersides, a high, wavy waterline and a light grey upper surface, plus some medium grey trim and a few colorful US Navy style markings and codes.

 

My core reference is a ‘naked’ bread-and-butter VF-1A of SVF-124 in Fighter mode, depicted as a profile in a VF-1 source book from SoftBank Publishing. The colors for the FAST Pack elements are guesstimates and personal interpretations, though, since I could not find any reference for their look in this unit.

As a side note, another, later SVF-124 aircraft in a similar design is included as an option in a limited edition 1:72 VF-22S kit from Hasegawa, which is backed by CG pics in a VF-22 source book from Softbank, too.

Furthermore, SVF-124 finds mention in a Japanese modeler magazine, where the aforementioned VF-22S kit was presented in 2008. So there must be something behind the ‘Moon Shooters’ squadron.

 

According to the Hasegawa VF-22S’s painting instructions, the underside becomes black and the upper surfaces are to be painted with FS36270 (with some darker fields on the VF-22, though, similar to the USAF F-15 counter-shaded air superiority scheme, just a tad darker).

Due to the 1:100 scale tininess of my VF-1, I alternatively went for Revell 75 (RAL 7039), which is lighter and also has a brownish hue, so that the resulting aircraft would not look too cold and murky, and not resemble an USAF aircraft.

 

All FAST Pack elements were painted in a uniform dark grey (Humbrol 32), while some subtle decorative trim on the upper surfaces, e.g. the canopy frame, an anti-glare panel and a stripe behind the cockpit and decoration trim on the wings’ upper surfaces, was added with Revell 77 (RAL 7012). Overall, colors are rather dull, but IMHO very effective in the “landscape” this machine is supposed to operate, and the few colorful markings stand out even more!

 

The cockpit interior was painted in a bluish grey, with reddish brown seat cushions (late 70ies style!), and the landing gear became all white. For some added detail I painted the wings’ leading edges in a mustard tone (Humbrol 225, Mid Stone).

 

The kit received some weathering (black ink wash, drybrushing on panels) and extra treatment of the panel lines – even though the FAST Pack elements hide a lot of surface or obscure view.

 

More color and individuality came with the markings. The standard decals like stencils or the U.N. Spacy insignia come from the kit’s and some other VF-1s’ OOB sheets.

Based on the SVF-124 VF-1 profile and taking the basic design a bit further, I used dull red USAF 45° digits for the 2nd flight leader’s “200” modex and the Apollo Base’s code “MA” on the dorsal boosters. Some discreet red trim was also applied to the FAST Packs – but only a little.

 

Since all of SVF-124’s aircraft are rumored to carry personal markings, including nose art and similar decorations, I tried to give this VF-1JS a personal note: the pin-up badges on the dorsal boosters come from a Peddinghouse decal sheet for Allied WWII tanks, placed on a silver roundel base. Unfortunately (and not visible before I applied them) the pin-up decal was not printed on a white basis, so that the contrast on the silver is not very strong, but I left it that way. Additionally, the tagline “You’re a$$ next, Jerry” (which IS printed in opaque white…?) was added next to the artwork – but it’s so tiny that you have to get really close to decipher it at all…

 

Finally, after some soot stains around the exhausts and some vernier nozzels with graphite, the kit received a coat of matt acrylic varnish.

 

Building this vintage VF-1 kit took a while and a lot of effort, but I like the result: with the S-FAST Pack, the elegant VF-1 turned into a massive space fighter hulk! The normal Super Valkyries already look very compact and purposeful, but this here is truly menacing. Especially when standing on its own feet/landing gear, with its nose-down stance and the small, original wheels, this thing reminds of a Space Shuttle that had just landed.

 

Good that I recently built a simple VF-1 fighter as a warm-up session. ARII’s kit #70 is not a pleasant build, rather a fight with the elements and coupled with a lot of compromises – if you want a Super Valkyrie Fighter in 1:100, the much more modern WAVE kit is IMHO the better option (and actually not much more pricey than this vintage collector’s item). But for the vintage feeling, this exotic model kit was just the right ticket, and it turned, despite many weaknesses and rather corny details, into an impressive fighter. Esp. the lunar camouflage scheme looks odd, but very unique and purposeful.

 

Anyway, with so many inherent flaws of the ARII kit, my former method of converting a pure (and much more common) Gerwalk kit into a space-capable VF-1 fighter is not less challenging and complicated than trying to fix this OOB option into a decent model. :-/

Boeing YC-14 was a twin-engine short take-off and landing (STOL) tactical transport. It was Boeing's entrant into the United States Air Force's Advanced Medium STOL Transport (AMST) competition, which aimed to replace the Lockheed C-130 Hercules as the USAF's standard STOL tactical transport. Although both the YC-14 and the competing McDonnell Douglas YC-15 were successful, neither aircraft entered production. The AMST project was ended in 1979 and replaced by the C-X program.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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 hoovering helicopter. Once on the ground, crews build firelines using hand tools, chainsaws, and other firefighting tools. Forest Service photo by Charity Parks.

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)

Lawrence Chung in Taipei

Mar 18, 2010

 

From www.scmp.com

 

The mainland has completed deployment of a new type of surface-to-air missile capable of covering the entire airspace of northern Taiwan, despite warming cross-strait ties.

 

Tsai Teh-sheng, director of Taiwan's National Security Bureau, confirmed yesterday that the mainland had deployed Russian-made S300PMU2 long-range surface-to-air missiles in Fujian.

 

Intelligence obtained by us and military authorities has shown the mainland has recently deployed such missiles in Fujian," Tsai said, responding to questions from Democratic Progressive Party legislators on the mainland missile threat.

 

Citing a report by Toronto-based Kanwa Asian Defence Monthly that the People's Liberation Army had recently deployed eight missile batteries at Longtian military airport in Fujian, DPP legislator Chen Ying said the belief of the island's government, headed by the mainland-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou, that the PLA would not attack Taiwan was merely wishful thinking.

 

"The latest deployment has already posed a serious threat to Taiwan," she said.

 

Tsai said the missiles were chiefly defensive and that if Beijing really wanted to attack, there were many other options available. "Actually, the number of missiles deployed by the Chinese Communists has grown each year, and there is nothing different this year," he said. The PLA routinely replaced its missiles each year.

 

"After all, the military deployments by the Chinese Communists are not just targeting Taiwan, as they have their own regional and global strategic considerations," Tsai said, without elaborating.

 

The Kanwa report said the missiles had a range of 200 kilometres, far enough to bring down any aircraft entering the island's northern airspace, and sophisticated radar functions. Taiwanese media said this would mean that fighter jet squadrons based in Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu could be at risk.

 

Taiwanese Defence Ministry spokesman Yu Sy-tue appealed for calm, saying the military had closely monitored the PLA's latest move and the situation was "fully under control."

 

Ruling Kuomintang legislator Lin Yu-fang, who is on the legislature's defence committee, said there was no need to be too nervous because Taiwan's anti-missile Patriot systems could cover mainland fighters manoeuvring in the Taiwan Strait.

 

Lin said the military had also deployed Hsiung Feng missiles on the outlying island of Matsu, placing mainland warships within range.

 

The latest threat was used by pro-independence DPP legislators to question the Ma government's push for cross-strait military confidence building measures. "The so-called policy to engage China and the call for the establishment of military confidence building measures by the Ma government are just a fiasco," DPP legislator Tsai Huang-liang said.

 

In a legislature session on Tuesday, Taiwanese Premier Wu Den-yih set two preconditions for such talks, saying they could only take place when Taiwan had a firm military force capable of defending itself and that they must be conducted on a step-by-step basis.

 

He also stressed that the mainland must refrain from provocative military moves, including sending submarines on surveillance missions around the island, to avoid creating panic in Taiwan.

 

In response, Yang Yi, a spokesman for the mainland State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, said in Beijing yesterday that military confidence building measures would be discussed at an appropriate time.

 

"We maintain that both sides can make contact and exchanges on military issues and discuss the establishment of a military security and mutual trust mechanism at a proper time," Yang said. He admitted that "related work should be done step by step".

 

Wang Kung-yi, professor of international relations and strategic studies at Tamkang University in Taiwan, said it was unlikely the Ma government would hold such talks with Beijing before the Taiwanese people reached a consensus on the issue. Ma admits that such talks would be impossible during his current term, which ends in 2012.

 

Meanwhile, Tsai Teh-sheng called for joint talks on the release of spies held by each side, saying the issue could be raised in routine discussions between Taiwan's semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation and its mainland counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait.

  

Electronics hobby

  

Designing and building a high power amplifier capable of driving low impedance (as low as 2 Ohm’s @ 50 Vpp) loads.

  

www.diyaudio.com/ see alias FdW

  

History of DIY audio

 

Audio DIY came to prominence in the 50s to 60s, as audio reproduction was relatively new and the technology "complex," audio reproduction equipment, and in particular high performance equipment, was not offered at the retail level. Kits and designs were available for consumers to build their own equipment. Famous vacuum tube kits from Dynaco, Heathkit, and McIntosh, as well as solid state (transistor) kits from Hafler allowed for consumers to build their own hi fidelity systems. Books and magazines were published which explained new concepts regarding the design and operation of vacuum tube and (later) transistor circuits.

 

While audio equipment has become easily accessible in the current day and age, there still exists an interest in building one's own equipment, including amplifiers, speakers, preamplifiers, and even CD players and turntables. Today, a network of companies, parts vendors, and on-line communities exist to foster this interest. DIY is especially active in loudspeaker and in tube amplification. Both are relatively simple to design and fabricate without access to sophisticated industrial equipment. Both enable the builder to pick and choose between various available parts, on matters of price as well as quality, allow for extensive experimentation, and offer the chance to use exotic or highly labor-intensive solutions, which would be expensive for a manufacturer to implement, but only require personal labor by the DIYer, which is a source of satisfaction to them.

  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIY_audio

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)

(le français suit l'anglais)

 

Underwater Laser Scanner

Model: ULS-200

Manufacturer: 2G Robotics Inc.

Waterloo, Ontario

2012

Accession no. AZ0089

 

The ULS-200 is an underwater laser scanner capable of taking highly accurate measurements of subsea environments and structures, such as shipwrecks, dams, or inside pipelines and tunnels.

 

The data obtained from scans is processed through graphics software to then generate high-resolution 3D images and models with unparalleled detail and accuracy.

 

This scanner was used during Operation Nunalivut 2015 by Parks Canada archaeologists and the Royal Canadian Navy’s Fleet Diving Unit to scan and image the wreck of Sir John Franklin’s lost ship, the HMS Erebus. Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site of Canada, Queen Maud Gulf, Nunavut.

 

Operation Nunalivut 2015

www.forces.gc.ca/en/operations-canada-north-america-recur...

 

Parks Canada: The Franklin Expedition

www.pc.gc.ca/eng/culture/franklin/index.aspx

 

Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation

www.technomuses.ca/our_corporation/index_e.asp

 

________________________________________________

 

Scanneur laser sous-marin

Modèle : ULS-200

Manufacturier : 2G Robotics Inc.

Waterloo (Ontario)

2012

No. d'accession AZ0089

 

L’ULS-200 est un scanner laser sous-marin capable de prendre des mesures très précises de structures et d’environnements sous-marins, tel les épaves et barrages, ou l’intérieur de pipelines et de tunnels, etc.

 

Les données obtenues à partir de scans sont traitées par un logiciel graphique pour générer des images et des modèles 3D en haute résolution avec des détails et une précision inégalé.

 

Ce scanner fut utilisé lors de l'Opération Nunalivut en avril 2015 par des archéologues de Parcs Canada et l'Unité de plongée de la Flotte Atlantique de la Marine royale canadienne en afin de scanner l'épave du navire perdu de Sir John Franklin, le HMS Erebus. Lieu historique national du Canada des Épaves HMS Erebus et HMS Terror, golfe Reine-Maud, Nunavut.

 

Opération Nunalivut 2015

www.forces.gc.ca/fr/operations-canada-amerique-du-nord-re...

 

Parcs Canada : L’Expédition de Franklin

www.pc.gc.ca/fra/culture/franklin/index.aspx

 

Société des musées de sciences et technologies du Canada

www.technomuses.ca/our_corporation/index_f.asp</a.

Photo: SMSTC

The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to attack both ground and aerial targets. Designed in the 1970s for service with the United States Navy and Marine Corps, the Hornet is also used by the air forces of several other nations. It has been the aerial demonstration aircraft for the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels since 1986. Its primary missions are fighter escort, fleet air defense, suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD), interdiction, close air support and reconnaissance. Its versatility and reliability have proven it to be a valuable carrier asset, though it has been criticized for its lack of range and payload compared to its contemporaries.

 

The F/A-18C is a single-seat variant. The F/A-18C models are the result of a block upgrade in 1987 incorporating upgraded radar, avionics, and the capacity to carry new missiles such as the AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile and AGM-65 Maverick and AGM-84 Harpoon air-to-surface missiles. Other upgrades include the Martin-Baker NACES (Navy Aircrew Common Ejection Seat), and a self-protection jammer. A synthetic aperture ground mapping radar enables the pilot to locate targets in poor visibility conditions. C models delivered since 1989 also include an improved night attack capability, consisting of the Hughes AN/AAR-50 thermal navigation pod, the Loral AN/AAS-38 NITE Hawk FLIR (forward looking infrared array) targeting pod, night vision goggles, and two full-color (previously monochrome) MFDs and a color moving map.

 

Beginning in 1992, the F404-GE-402 enhanced performance engine, providing approximately 10% more maximum static thrust became the standard Hornet engine. Since 1993, the AAS-38A NITE Hawk added a designator/ranger laser, allowing it to self-mark targets. The later AAS-38B added the ability to strike targets designated by lasers from other aircraft.

 

Production of the F/A-18C ended in 1999.

 

Strike Fighter Squadron 34 (VFA-34), also known as the "Blue Blasters", are a United States Navy F/A-18C Hornet strike fighter squadron stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana. They are a part of Carrier Air Wing 2 and are attached to the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). Their tail code is NE and their radio call sign is "Joker".

A heavy lever-action rifle capable of tearing through practically anything on the other end of the barrel.

 

Weapon type: Lever-Action Rifle

Manufactured: 2091-2320

Origin: Switzerland, Betelgeuse Armaments Headquarters

Ammunition: Focused Energy, 16GW Praxium Battery

Muzzle Velocity: >lightspeed

Magazine Capacity: ~200

The F-102 Delta Dagger was the first operational Mach 1 capable supersonic, all-weather interceptor in the United States Air Force. Manufactured by the Convair division of General Dynamics in San Diego, California its signature wasp-waisted delta-wing design found its inspiration in technology developed by German scientists during the Second World War. Entering duty in April 1956, during the height of the Cold War, the F-102's high-altitude and high-speed capabilities provided an effective solution to the threat poised by the massive Soviet bomber force.

 

The F-102 used an internal weapons bay to carry up to six AIM-4 infa-red or radar guided missiles and rockets. Delta Daggers, more commonly known as "Deuces", saw limited operational use in Southeast Asia from March 1962 to December 1969 in its primary role as an air defense interceptor and in an additional mission as an escort fighter for B-52 Stratofortress bombers. A single F-102 was lost to a North Vietnamese MiG-21 in air-to-air combat; fourteen others were lost to a combination of ground fire and accidents.

 

Over 1,000 F-102s were accepted into the U.S. inventory, flying for two decades until their gradual replacement by the Mach 2 capable F-106 Delta Dart. Over 200 F-102s were subsequently converted for use as target drones (QF-102A or PQM-102A).

 

The museum's F-102A, serial number 56-1114, entered the active service in May 1957. It was stationed with the 52nd Fighter Group at Suffolk County AFB, NY, the 79th Fighter Group, Youngstow, OH and the 1st Fighter Group, Selfridge AFB, MI. In December 1960, the aircraft was transferred to the114th Fighter Group (ANG), Sioux Fall, SD and finally to the 114th Fighter Group (ANG), Fresno, CA. where it was retired in 1970 and moved into storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ.

 

In 1988, aircraft 56-1114 was mounted on a pedestal and placed on static display in front of the South West Air Division Operations Center at March AFB. In 1996, the aircraft was removed from the pedestal; by October 2000, the aircraft was restored for display at the MFAM. This aircraft is on loan from the USAF.

 

Former President, George W. Bush, was an F-102 pilot when he was in the Air National Guard. To recognize his service, the museum has placed the name "Lt George W. Bush" on the canopy frame of aircraft 56-1114.

 

-March Field Air Museum website (www.marchfield.org/)

The USAF had deployed its first nuclear-capable cruise missile in the form of the Martim TM-61 Matador, but the Matador was something of a disappointment. It was reliable enough, but its radio guidance system left much to be desired, and could be jammed; it was also not very accurate, with a circular error probable (CEP) of one mile. Though this was less of an issue with the Matador's 25 kiloton nuclear warhead, it meant the Matador could only be used against area targets.

 

In 1951, Goodyear developed a guidance system that linked a radar altimeter to a series of 35mm film strips. The altimeter would match readings to the film, which would guide a missile very accurately across terrain. This also meant that new targets could be programmed into the system as long as the film was available, and since it was entirely internal, the system could not be jammed. Though Martin was not interested at first, the USAF was, and named the Goodyear system ATRAN (Automatic Terrain Recognition and Navigation). An ATRAN was tested with a Matador, and the results were impressive. The USAF had planned to upgrade the Matadors in any case, and this was combined with ATRAN to produce the TM-76 Mace in 1956.

 

Besides its new guidance system, the Mace incorporated a number of other improvements, including folding wings for quicker transportation by air, and a newer engine. The first TM-76As were launched from mobile transporters, but the TM-76B was given a rocket booster and launched from permanent shelters called "coffins." The Mace was still a subsonic missile, and huge by modern standards--something necessary given the technology of the 1950s. It could be armed with the same nuclear warhead of the Matador, or a conventional warhead.

 

The first Maces were deployed to West Germany in 1959, where it replaced the Matador, with deployments to follow in South Korea and Okinawa. The type was redesignated in 1962 as MGM-13A (for vehicle transported) and CGM-13B (for shelter launched) missiles. Most of the original MGM-13As were retired and the force standardized on the CGM-13B.

 

By 1969, technology's acceleration was such that the Mace was obsolete. Though at the time the USAF had nothing really to replace it, the CGM-13Bs were retired, with the tactical battlefield missile role going to the US Army and its Pershing theater ballistic missile force. Most of the missiles were dismantled and the shelters left to the elements, but a few Maces were converted to target drones. About 300 were built, and nine remain today.

 

This Mace represents a MGM-13 variant that could be launched from a mobile platform--namely the specially designed Terracruiser (sometimes Terracruzer). The Terracruiser was designed to go over comparatively high obstacles and was virtually all-terrain. This gave the Mace system the ability to operate from nearly anywhere, making it very difficult, if not impossible, to destroy before it was launched.

 

Because the Maces were not given any sort of unit markings, this could be from any one of the three Mace wings: the 38th Tactical Missile Wing in West Germany, the 58th TMW in South Korea, or the 498th TMW on Okinawa.

 

Bary Poletto built this for the Malmstrom AFB Museum, one of only two times Bary ever built a ground vehicle. Because of its size--put together, the Mace and the Terracruiser are larger than every other model in the collection, except the B-36 Peacemaker--it cannot currently be displayed.

With the beginning of the atomic age and the Cold War, the United Kingdom needed a bomber force capable of both carrying the enormous nuclear weapons of the age, and the ability to penetrate the air defenses of the Soviet Union. The Royal Air Force’s then primary bomber, the Avro Lincoln, could barely do the former and would never survive the latter, so the RAF issued a specification for a jet bomber. Avro, Handley-Page, and Vickers all responded with designs, all of which were good enough that the RAF accepted all three. This would become the famous “V-Force,” with the Handley-Page Victor, the Vickers Valiant, and the Avro Vulcan.

 

Initially designed by Roy Chadwick, who designed all of Avro’s wartime bombers, the Vulcan was to be the most radical, using delta wing technology. The delta wing offered the most lift and least drag, extending range and fuel efficiency, while also providing the most volume for nuclear weapons and for future developments. So radical was the Vulcan design that Avro built fighter-size test aircraft, the Avro 707, to prove that the delta wing was feasible.

 

The first Vulcan took to the air in 1952, and exceeded the RAF’s requirements—it was a “pilot’s airplane”: reliable, fast, and responsive enough to be capable of aerobatics. An unplanned benefit, one not realized until later, was that the Vulcan’s design was actually quite stealthy, with a radar cross-section much lower than its contemporaries. Combined with an advanced and robust ECM system, the Vulcan was to prove itself quite capable of penetrating air defenses, despite its lack of defensive armament. Buffeting caused the wing to be redesigned from the prototype Vulcan B.1 to the definitive Vulcan B.2, with a “kinked” delta. This delayed entry of the Vulcan into RAF Bomber Command until 1956, making it the last of the V-bombers to enter service.

 

As it had aerial refueling capability, the Vulcan had global reach, and RAF bomber units were regularly deployed outside of England, to bases in Cyprus and Singapore. If the Vulcan had a weakness, it was not in the design itself: the intention was to equip the Vulcan with the American Skybolt air-launched ballistic missile, but Skybolt was cancelled in 1962, leaving the Vulcan to be equipped with Yellow Sun freefall nuclear bombs, and later the Blue Steel standoff weapon—both would have still required a lengthy penetration of the Soviet Union. To train crews in doing so, Vulcans regularly participated in exercises with the USAF’s Strategic Air Command in Big Voice bombing competitions (and later Red Flag), and Operation Skyshield, simulated attacks on American cities from bases in England.

 

As the UK switched its nuclear deterrent force to Polaris submarine-launched ballistic missiles, the Vulcans were also switched to the tactical nuclear role in 1970, and became the sole aerial portion of Britain’s nuclear force as the Valiant was retired and the Victor converted to role of tanker. Since tactical nuclear bombs could also be carried by much smaller aircraft such as the Buccaneer and Jaguar, the Vulcan was somewhat overqualified for this role. With the RAF adapting the Panavia Tornado GR.1 in 1979, the Vulcan force began to be retired—and ironically, would see its only combat action in the twilight of its career, in the 1982 Falklands War.

 

As the Argentinian-occupied Falkland Islands lay 4000 miles from the nearest British base at Ascension Island, only the Vulcan possessed the range to reach Port Stanley’s airport, which posed a threat to the Royal Navy task force bearing down on the island. Compounding the problems facing the British was that the RAF and the Fleet Air Arm lacked a “Wild Weasel” suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD) aircraft. Five Vulcans were deployed to Ascension, hastily modified with American AGM-45 Shrikes mounted on the old Skybolt pylons. Supported by Victor tankers, which were required to refuel the Vulcans five times, and codenamed Black Buck, these Vulcans were able to do significant damage to the Port Stanley airfield, as well as degrade the Argentinian surface-to-air missile sites; no Vulcans were lost in the raids, though one aircraft was forced to land in Brazil and was interned for the remainder of the war.

 

Black Buck was the Vulcan’s swan song, and the type was completely replaced by the Tornado by 1984; it was the last strategic bomber operated by the RAF. Of 136 aircraft produced, about 18 survive in museums, with one aircraft preserved in flyable condition.

 

Dad used to get Mom and I up at 4 AM to go to the annual Ramstein airshow--he wanted to get there before the crowds and get some good pictures. In 1979, he got us up a little early. There weren't any crowds, but it was also at the crack of dawn! As a result, the pictures he took early on were too dark to be really usable. However, this shot of a Vulcan in the dawn was too good not to share. It gives an idea of the immense size of this bomber.

 

When we saw the tail of the Vulcan sticking up over the perimeter wall at Ramstein, Dad remarked "Wouldn't it be great if that was a Dambuster?" As it turned out, this Vulcan indeed belonged to 617 Squadron, the legendary Dambusters, then based at RAF Scampton.

 

The one advantage of getting up that early was that the crew was lounging around and easy to talk to, with no crowds around. Dad got to spend the better part of an hour with this Vulcan's crew, and ended up making some great contacts with them. Because Dad was a combat controller with USAFE, they sent him a print of a Vulcan, a 617 patch, and a 617 crest plaque! Sadly, the Vulcan print is long gone, but I still have the patch and the crest is on my wall.

After Adolf Hitler took power in Germany in 1933, the nation’s secret rearmament after World War I could come out into the open. The Luftwaffe quickly announced a competition for a single-seat point defense interceptor, able to reach 250 mph at 20,000 feet, be capable of reaching 15,000 feet in 17 minutes or less, and have heavy cannon armament. Production aircraft would need to use either the Junkers Jumo 210 or Daimler-Benz 600 series inline piston engines. Arado, Heinkel, and the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke, headed by its chief designer Willy Messerschmitt, all submitted entries. The Ar 80 was rejected, but both Heinkel’s He 112 and BFW’s Bf 109 were highly competitive.

 

To ensure he had enough aircraft for the competition, Messerschmitt’s first Bf 109V1s were equipped with borrowed Rolls-Royce Kestrel engines. During the competition, it looked as if the He 112 would win it: the Bf 109 was disliked by test pilots because of poor visibility forward on the ground, unreliable narrow-track landing gear, sideways-closing canopy, and heaviness on the controls. However, the Bf 109 was lighter and cheaper than the He 112, and it had better manueverability, thanks to the then novel inclusion of leading-edge slats; it was also faster. The Reich Air Ministry chose the Bf 109, noting that Messerschmitt needed to put it in full production as soon as possible: the British were testing a similar high-performance fighter, the Supermarine Spitfire.

 

Initially, production Bf 109s (from the A through D variants) used the less powerful Jumo engine. These aircraft provided valuable experience in the type, however: several Bf 109Ds were deployed with the German “volunteer” Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War, where it proved to be superior to anything in either the Spanish Republican or Nationalist air forces. By the beginning of World War II in September 1939, however, the majority of German fighter units had been equipped with the Daimler-Benz DB 601 powered Bf 109E, which was an even better aircraft with plenty of power. “Emils” obliterated the obsolescent air forces of Poland, Norway, and the Low Countries, and did well against more contemporary aircraft such as the Hawker Hurricane and Dewoltine D.520 over France. Only against the Spitfire, which the Bf 109 met for the first time during the Dunkirk evacuation, did it meet its match.

 

This was to continue during the Battle of Britain. German pilots such as Werner Molders and Adolf Galland learned that the Spitfire could turn inside the Bf 109, but that their fighter was better in the vertical; the only limit to the Bf 109’s performance was its lack of range, which limited it to 15 minutes combat time over England—the 109 had simply never been designed as an escort fighter. Pilots liked the stable gun platform of the Bf 109, which concentrated its main armament in the nose, consisting of two machine guns in the cowl and a single cannon firing through the propeller hub.

 

Messerschmitt listened to Battle of Britain veterans and produced the Bf 109F, which was more aerodynamically clean, as it eliminated tailplane bracing and the wing cannon, which had been added before the Battle of France but impacted the 109’s manueverability. The “Fritz” was the equal of the Spitfire and superior to the P-40 Warhawk, which it began to fight in North Africa in early 1941, and far and away better than anything the Soviet Air Force could field when Hitler invaded Russia in June 1941. German veteran pilots began to rack up incredible kill ratios, with Molders and Galland topping the 100 mark in early 1941; Hans-Joachim Marseille would clear the 150 kill mark by 1942.

 

Yet the situation in Europe changed, and changed too rapidly for Messerschmitt to react. By 1943, when the Bf 109G was introduced, the tide was beginning to turn; by 1944, when 109 production hit its peak, the fighter was clearly outclassed by newer Allied fighters. The Bf 109 was not as manueverable as the P-51 Mustang and was outlcassed above 15,000 feet by the P-47 Thunderbolt; on the Eastern Front, the Russians began fielding the powerful Lavochkin La-5 and the nimble Yakovlev Yak-3. German pilot quality kept the Bf 109 very competitive in the East, where several Luftwaffe pilots now surpassed the 200 victory mark, but in the West, where Allied pilots were every bit as good as their German counterparts, attrition began to set in. German pilot training could not keep up with losses, and German pilot quality began to degrade.

 

By 1944, the 109 was obsolete and hunted down by American fighters ranging all over the shrinking Reich: even the best pilot could do little when he was attacked the moment he took off by P-51s superior to his aircraft and in far greater numbers. The “Gustav” had introduced the more powerful DB 605 engine, which had needed so many adaptations and cooling vents that the Bf 109G was referred to by pilots as the “pickle”: the Bf 109K returned to a more aerodynamic finish, but the “Kara” was nearly obsolete before it entered service. Luftwaffe pilots and RLM officials had wanted Messerschmitt to end Bf 109 production in favor of the jet-powered Me 262, but this was not practical due to the lack of jet engines; Willy Messerschmitt himself also distrusted the new technology and kept the 109 in production far longer than it should have been. Whatever the case, the Bf 109 was still in production when its factories were destroyed or overrun in 1945.

 

Despite its shortcomings—more 109s were destroyed in landing accidents on the Eastern Front than by Russian fighters—it had proven a deadly opponent. Over a hundred Luftwaffe pilots scored more than a hundred kills in the aircraft; a few, such as Molders, Galland, and Marseille had done so against Allied pilots their equal in skill and training. Kill ratios against the Soviets were as high as 25 to 1. Bf 109s were also flown by the top ace of Finland, Ilmari Juutilainen, and Romania, Alexandru Serbanescu; it was also briefly flown by Italy’s top ace, Adriano Visconti.

 

After the end of World War II, most surviving Bf 109s were scrapped by the victorious Allies, but it remained in limited production in Czechslovakia, as the Avia S.199, and in Spain, as the Hispano HA-1112 Buchon. Due to a lack of Daimler-Benz engines, the S.199 was equipped with later model Jumo engines, which impacted their performance, leading Czech pilots to call them “Mules.” Ironically, they would be supplied to the nascent Israeli Air Force as the Sherut Avir’s first operational fighter, where they were used effectively. Buchons, refitted with Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, those used by the Bf 109’s principal foes, would stay in Spanish service until 1967. 33,984 Bf 109s were produced during World War II, making it the most widely produced fighter in history. Today, only 70 remain, with a mere seven original or restored examples airworthy.

 

Dad built these two Bf 109s for a friend of his in the USAF. The aircraft on the left is the Bf 109G-10 flown by top ace of World War II (and history) Erich Hartmann, while the second is a Bf 109F-2 flown by another German ace, Hans "Assi" Hahn. Hartmann is well known to any aviation historian--with 352 aerial victories, his record is unlikely to be equaled. Hahn "only" scored 108 victories before he was shot down and captured over Russia in 1943, but most of his kills were scored over the Western Front against the British, which the Germans regarded as a much more difficult opponent than the Russians: the British were better equipped and much better trained.

 

Hahn's Bf 109F-2 is a mid-war "Fritz" model, which was more aerodynamically clean than the Bf 109E "Emil" used during the Battle of Britain. It carries a somewhat inaccurate variation on early war Luftwaffe gray splinter camouflage, with JG 2's stylized "R" crest beneath the cockpit; the wing was named for Manfred von Richthoften, the legendary Red Baron of World War I. Hahn's personal emblem of a gamecock is carried on the nose, as Hahn can be translated as "hen" in German. (His nickname "Assi" was a contraction of his childhood nickname "Hansi"; as there were about 20 Hans Hahns in the Luftwaffe, this was also a way to figure out which Hahn was which.) His Bf 109 also is shown with early war full color insignia.

 

Hartmann's Bf 109G-10 is the aircraft Hartmann is associated with the most, though he flew other types of the 109. The Bf 109G "Gustav" model used an uprated Daimler-Benz engine, which led to more bumps on the nose; Luftwaffe pilots nicknamed it the "Pickle." Hartmann belonged to JG 52, the highest scoring fighter wing in history, and its shield is carried on the nose. The black tulip petals on the nose and the bleeding heart emblem below the cockpit were Hartmann's personal emblems. This 109 carries late war Luftwaffe markings and camouflage; the yellow wingtips and fuselage stripe indicated an aircraft assigned to the Eastern Front, though the yellow wingtips are inaccurate.

 

Both Hartmann and Hahn survived the war and Russian captivity; Hahn was released in 1950 and Hartmann in 1953. Hartmann joined the reformed West German Luftwaffe and retired from that service in the mid-1970s, but Hahn never returned to flying. He instead became a successful businessman. Both men would die of cancer: Hahn in 1982, Hartmann in 1993.

 

What was impressive about these models was that Dad didn't learn that his friend was being reassigned to another base until 24 hours before he was supposed to leave, so Dad built both these models in a single day, from buying the kit to the finished product.

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

 

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

 

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

 

Length: 60'

Span: 30'

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

2 360° Thrust Vectoring Center Turbines

 

Fuel: Kero / Hydrogen

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

Up to 6 2,000 LBS JDAM's Externally

Range: 5,000nm + Aerial Refueling Capable

www.ioaircraft.com/hypersonic.php

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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Advanced Additive Manufacturing for Hypersonic Aircraft

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Unified Turbine Based Combined Cycle (U-TBCC)

 

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

 

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

 

Enhanced Dynamic Cavitation

 

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

 

Dynamic Scramjet Ignition Processes

 

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

 

Hydrogen vs Kerosene Fuel Sources

 

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

 

Conforming High Pressure Tank Technology for CNG and H2.

 

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

 

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

 

Enhanced Fuel Mixture During Shock Train Interaction

 

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

 

Improved Bow Shock Interaction

 

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

 

6,000+ Fahrenheit Thermal Resistance

 

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

  

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

 

Scramjet Propulsion Side Wall Cooling

 

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

 

Lower Threshold for Hypersonic Ignition

 

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

 

Dramatically Improved Maneuvering Capabilities at Hypersonic Velocities

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Panono Panoramic Ball camera, a green colored ball capable of clicking stunning 360 degree pictures whose arrival was most awaited is finally here. This camera carries a lot of expectations on its shoulders, and we must say that it did not fail to impress us.

The Panono Panoramic Ball camera...

 

blog.visualpathy.com/panono-panoramic-ball-camera-review/

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

In the late 1940s, the newly independent US Air Force faced a number of challenges, two of which were paramount: developing a reliable strategic nuclear bomber, and developing interceptors capable of defending the United States from the Soviet Union’s strategic nuclear bombers. The USAF had a plan in mind—the so-called “1954 Interceptor” that would evolve into the F-102 Delta Dagger and F-106 Delta Dart—but these were still some years away. To bridge the gap, Northrop was developing the F-89 Scorpion, but delays to the Scorpion project meant that the United States was theoretically defenseless until it entered service. The USAF then called for interceptors that could be converted quickly from existing aircraft. This would evolve into two aircraft: the F-94 Starfire and F-86D Sabre Dog.

 

The F-86D started life as the F-95A. Unlike the F-94, which was a fairly straightforward conversion of the T-33A Shooting Star trainer into an interceptor, the F-95 was designed to be flown by one man. In previous dedicated interceptors, a two-man crew was deemed optimum, as the second man would operate the complicated radars of the day. A single-seat interceptor was unheard of, but as the 1954 Interceptor was also going to be a single-seat aircraft, the F-95 would provide valuable research into the concept. To achieve this, however, the fire control system would have to have advanced computers assisting the pilot.

 

Though it was based on the F-86 Sabre day fighter, the F-95 had less than 30 percent commonality with its parent design: the fuselage was deeper, wider, and longer; the intake had to be redesigned to accommodate the nose radar; the tail was larger; the engine was upgraded with an afterburner for quick takeoffs and climbs; and the canopy was changed to a hinged type rather than the sliding model on the F-86. The latter’s machine gun armament was deleted in favor of an underfuselage tray of 24 Mighty Mouse folding-fin aerial rockets (FFARs).

 

As the F-95 prototype neared completion, there was some thought that Congress might cancel the aircraft: it was redundant with the F-89 and F-94 also entering service. The F-95 did have the Sabre’s remarkable combat record behind it, and in a funding dodge, North American changed the designation from F-95 to F-86D, making it seem like just another Sabre variant, rather than the nearly entirely new aircraft that it was. This also earned the aircraft its informal nickname: Sabre Dog, based on the old phonetic alphabet for D.

 

Some pilots, however, claimed the Dog stood for the way the F-86D flew. While it did not have the same propensity to go into uncontrollable pitchups like the F-86 (which was known as the “Sabre Dance”), it could easily be overcorrected, with much the same fatal results. It was not as easy to fly as the “standard” F-86, and the fire control computer, as could be expected for an early 1950s aircraft, was not very reliable. An optical sight was provided for the pilot if the computer went down, which was frequently. Moreover, North American, operating in “emergency” mode, could turn out F-86Ds before Hughes could complete the fire control system. At one point, over 300 F-86Ds sat idle at the North American plant, waiting for computers. Because of the balky computer and the flying characteristics of the Sabre Dog, it was considered the most complicated aircraft to fly in the USAF, requiring a training syllabus matched only by the B-47 Stratojet.

 

The United States was not the only nation that needed interceptors, and several NATO nations requested F-86Ds of their own. The fire control system was considered too advanced for export, however, and instead it was downgraded to a simper version, the rocket tray was removed and replaced with four 20mm cannon, and it was supplied to friendly nations as the F-86K. While still not the easiest aircraft to fly, the pilot had a better chance of scoring a kill with the more accurate cannon, and the F-86K was successful in NATO service. Subsequently, a number of F-86Ds were returned to North American, undergoing an avionics upgrade, a simpler cockpit layout, and extended wingtips. This resulted in the F-86L, which was used by several Air National Guard interceptor units into the mid-1960s. While American Sabre Dogs only carried rockets, foreign aircraft were modified to carry AIM-9 Sidewinders later. 16 foreign air forces flew Sabre Dogs.

 

2847 F-86D and associated variants were built, and were the most prolific interceptor in the West during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Most were replaced by more advanced aircraft beginning in the mid-1960s, but a few Yugoslavian F-86Ks soldiered on into the early 1980s. None were ever involved in combat. Today, a handful remain in museums.

 

Not much is known about this F-86L, 53-0806, other than it was originally built as a F-86D before being converted to an L model. It may have served with the 153rd Fighter-Interceptor Group (Wyoming ANG) at Cheyenne between 1957 and 1961. It was retired soon thereafter, and was placed on display at either Montgomery Regional Airport or Maxwell AFB, or both. By the 1980s (or earlier), it was returned to Cheyenne and placed on a plinth in front of the Wyoming ANG's part of the Cheyenne Regional Airport. In 2014, it was removed from the plinth and moved to the Wyoming National Guard headquarters, about two miles west of the airport, and now rests on its wheels.

 

This movement may be due to a possible restoration effort. 53-0806 only carries partial markings: the "WYO AIR GUARD" titles on the nose were carried on some operational 153rd F-86Ls (others carried WYO ANG on either side of the roundel, which was more common), but the unit patch was usually carried on the tail along with the red stripe. In comparison to some other ANG Sabre Dog units, the 153rd's markings were very understated. Nonetheless, the airframe looks to be in decent shape.

The Boris Dangleway

 

Opened to the public at midday on 27th June 2012, the London Emirates Air Line Cable Car now runs between two newly constructed terminals (Emirates Greenwich Peninsula by the O2 and Emirates Royal Docks beside the ExCeL conference centre) and will be capable of transporting up to 2,500 people in each direction per hour, in one of 34 cabins.

With the bulk of the construction work completed within a year, the new structure has a cable span of 1.1km (0.7ml) and is supported by three helix towers. At its highest point, passengers will be 90 metres (275ft) above the Thames.

Journeys take approximately five minutes during peak times, and approximately 10 minutes at other times, when transit will be purposefully slowed to accommodate tourists and leisure users experiencing the service.

Speaking at the launch, Mayor of London Boris Johnson lauded the service as: “A stunning addition to London’s transport network, providing a much-needed new connection across the Thames… [which supports] my ambitious plans to revive the neighbouring areas, which have been neglected for decades, creating jobs for Londoners and stimulating growth.”

Asked whether the route would fall out of favour once Olympics visitors had left the capital, the mayor responded that the cable car is vital in ensuring the long-term development and prosperity of the locality: “This area will undergo a tremendous transformation in the next 10-15 years; great economic growth has always been preceded by infrastructural development… [The journey] provides a panorama of some of the most opportunity-rich areas in the capital.”

Passengers wishing to try the service will be charged a cash fare of £4.30 one-way, or £3.20 if paying with an Oyster card. Children being charged £2.20 or £1.60 respectively and it will also be possible to buy a ‘frequent flyer’ boarding pass enabling regular commuters to make 10 single journeys for £16.

The Texas rat snake is a fairly large snake, capable of attaining lengths past six feet.They vary greatly in color and patterning throughout their range, but they are typically yellow or tan in color, with brown to olive-green, irregular blotching from head to tail. Specimens from the southern area of their range tend to have more yellow, while those from the northern range tend to be darker. One way to distinguish them from other rat snakes is they are the only ones with a solid grey head. Some specimens have red or orange speckling. The belly is typically a solid gray or white in color. The several naturally occurring color variations include albinos, high orange or hypomelanistic, and a few specimens which display leucism which have become regularly captive-bred and are popular in the pet trade. The Texas rat snake has a voracious appetite, consuming large numbers of rodents and birds, and sometimes lizards and frogs which they subdue with constriction. They are generalists, found in a wide range of habitats from swamps, to forests to grasslands, even in urban areas. They are agile climbers, able to reach bird nests with relative ease.They are often found around farmland, and will sometimes consume fledgeling chickens and eggs, which leads them to be erroneously called the chicken snake. They are known for their attitude, and will typically bite if handled, though their bite is harmless...

Please, do not use any of my images on websites,

blogs or other media without my explicit written permission.

All rights reserved:

© 2013 Dave Bush

® Gravel Ridge Photography 2013

 

My images are copyrighted. ©

Be nice and ask to use an image for a non commercial application

Thanks, Dave

No images are to be used w/out permission!!!

PLEASE NO INVITES TO GROUPS….

Tag: R.I.P.S (Reworked In Paint Shop)-Pro Photo X5

Coral After Shot Pro

Topaz Adjust v.5

Go to my profile to learn more about me:

www.flickr.com/people/texas_goldpanner/

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

The F-102 Delta Dagger was the first operational Mach 1 capable supersonic, all-weather interceptor in the United States Air Force. Manufactured by the Convair division of General Dynamics in San Diego, California its signature wasp-waisted delta-wing design found its inspiration in technology developed by German scientists during the Second World War. Entering duty in April 1956, during the height of the Cold War, the F-102's high-altitude and high-speed capabilities provided an effective solution to the threat poised by the massive Soviet bomber force.

 

The F-102 used an internal weapons bay to carry up to six AIM-4 infa-red or radar guided missiles and rockets. Delta Daggers, more commonly known as "Deuces", saw limited operational use in Southeast Asia from March 1962 to December 1969 in its primary role as an air defense interceptor and in an additional mission as an escort fighter for B-52 Stratofortress bombers. A single F-102 was lost to a North Vietnamese MiG-21 in air-to-air combat; fourteen others were lost to a combination of ground fire and accidents.

 

Over 1,000 F-102s were accepted into the U.S. inventory, flying for two decades until their gradual replacement by the Mach 2 capable F-106 Delta Dart. Over 200 F-102s were subsequently converted for use as target drones (QF-102A or PQM-102A).

 

The museum's F-102A, serial number 56-1114, entered the active service in May 1957. It was stationed with the 52nd Fighter Group at Suffolk County AFB, NY, the 79th Fighter Group, Youngstow, OH and the 1st Fighter Group, Selfridge AFB, MI. In December 1960, the aircraft was transferred to the114th Fighter Group (ANG), Sioux Fall, SD and finally to the 114th Fighter Group (ANG), Fresno, CA. where it was retired in 1970 and moved into storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ.

 

In 1988, aircraft 56-1114 was mounted on a pedestal and placed on static display in front of the South West Air Division Operations Center at March AFB. In 1996, the aircraft was removed from the pedestal; by October 2000, the aircraft was restored for display at the MFAM. This aircraft is on loan from the USAF.

 

Former President, George W. Bush, was an F-102 pilot when he was in the Air National Guard. To recognize his service, the museum has placed the name "Lt George W. Bush" on the canopy frame of aircraft 56-1114.

 

-March Field Air Museum website (www.marchfield.org/)

30777 'Sir Lamiel' rushes by Quorn on an up mail working.

 

To quote the Great Central Railway:

 

"No.30777 belongs to the “King Arthur” class of express passenger locomotives introduced by the Southern Railway in 1918, the large driving wheels making it capable of high speed running at up to 90 mph. The locomotives were associated with the express services to the West Country running from Waterloo station to, for example, Salisbury and Exeter. Hence the locomotives of the class were to have names associated with the West Country and the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Sir Lamiel of Cardiff was such a knight and a “great lover”! The locomotive names were introduced as a marketing tool by the Southern Railway and went down well with the public.

 

The design of the locomotives originated in 1918 at the end of the First World War when Robert Urie, then Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Southern Railway, introduced the N15 class - the official classification of the locomotives. Whilst first looked upon as a success the class suffered from poor steaming capabilities and in 1925, to cope with an acceleration of services required by the Operating Department, the new CME Richard Maunsell, introduced modifications to the class. These changes included a revised design for the cylinders increasing the area of the steam and exhaust ports, fitting a modified chimney and changes to the blast pipe. These changes significantly improved the performance of the class and the steaming raising rate of the boiler was very much improved.

 

The water and coal carrying capacity in the tender of the locomotive follows standard Southern Railway practice. As the Southern had shorter main lines than other railways in Britain, and also had no water troughs, the tender carries a relatively small amount of coal but a large amount of water.

 

In 1925, an order for 20 of the engines to Maunsell’s design was placed with the North British Locomotive Company of Glasgow. This was later increased to 30 engines. The locomotive crews often referred to them as “Scotchmen” or “Scotch Arthurs”. At the same time a batch of 10 engines were built at Eastleigh, the locomotive works of the Southern Railway. Building continued until January, 1927 when, along with the Urie engines, the class totalled 81 locomotives.

 

“Sir Lamiel”, numbered E777, was built in June 1925 at the North British Locomotive Works in Glasgow as one of the batch of 30 engines built there. These engines had a narrower cab to suit them for use on the Eastern section of the Southern Railway and had 5000 gallon bogie tenders. Smoke deflectors were fitted in December, 1927. The E prefix was abandoned in 1932.

 

E777 was first allocated to Nine Elms shed in London for work on the expresses from Waterloo station to the West Country and Bournemouth. Later allocations were Battersea, Bournemouth, Dover, Feltham and Basingstoke. After the Nationalisation of the Railways in 1948, “Sir Lamiel” was re-numbered 30777 by adding 30,000 to its original number. This was done to all the former Southern Railway locomotives. During its working life it carried a number of liveries in addition to its original olive green. During the war it was painted black but donned malachite green in January, 1947 and British Railway’s version of that colour in October, 1948. BR’s Brunswick Green was applied in December, 1951.

 

“Sir Lamiel” was withdrawn from service in October, 1961 after a relatively short working life of some 36 years. Normally a steam locomotive would have been expected to work for 50 years but the British Railways Modernisation Plan of 1955 led to the rapid introduction of diesel locomotives and the consequent early withdrawal of the steam engines.

 

After withdrawal “Sir Lamiel” was first stored at Fratton and then Stratford and Ashford. In June, 1978 it was adopted by the Humberside Locomotive Preservation Group and taken to their base at Diarycoates shed in Hull. Restoration to main line standards took place there and the first steaming in preservation took place on 21st February, 1982. On 27th March, 1982 she took her first main line trip over the famous Settle and Carlisle Railway. Following a first overhaul in preservation in 1989, there then followed a successful and varied main line career which included a trip to Birmingham in 1994 for an appearance in the film “The Cruel Train”.

 

“Sir Lamiel” is part of the National Collection of the National Railway Museum at York. It is in the custody of the 5305 Locomotive Association at Loughborough, the successor to the Humberside Locomotive Preservation Group. She arrived at the Great Central Railway on 5th October, 1995 and after some limited running was withdrawn for overhaul in 1996."

****G-G-G-Game Over. Game over*****

330-PS-3012 (USN 708721): New Navy Jeep Fire Engine. Featuring a self-contained fire-extinguishing system capable of delivering 1,300 gallons of fire-killing foam per minute for more than two minutes without refilling, the new jeep fire engine was demonstrated at the Naval Research Laboratory. Designed and built by the Laboratory primarily for use in fighting aircraft fires aboard large aircraft carriers, the new equipment required no other power supply than the 60H.P. jeep engine. Capable of spreading a protective cone of foam 30 feet in diameter, it can reach a crashed plane up to 90 feet away. The raw materials for making the foam are carried in small tanks on the jeep. The system can be put in operation simply by opening two valves and speeding up the jeep engine. Requiring only a two-man team, anyone who can drive a jeep and pull a knob can operate it. Designed to supplement the larger-capacity piped foam system aboard aircraft carriers, the jeep fire engine in simulated crash-fire tests, covering 600 square feet and using 150 gallons of gasoline, “rescues” have been made within 24 seconds after it went into action. Photograph released October 7, 1952. (5/12/2015).

The Typhoon FGR4 provides the RAF with a highly capable and extremely agile multi-role combat aircraft, capable of being deployed in the full spectrum of air operations, including air policing, peace support and 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: Paveway IV, AMRAAM, ASRAAM, Mauser 27mm Cannon, Enhanced Paveway II

  

Initially deployed in the air-to- air role as the Typhoon F2, the aircraft now has a potent and precise multirole capability.

 

The pilot can carry out many functions by voice command or through a handson stick and throttle system. Combined with an advanced cockpit and the HEA (Helmet equipment assembly) the pilot is superbly equipped for all aspects of air operations.

 

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.

 

All F2/T1 aircraft have been upgraded to FGR4/T3.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules was designed as a troop and freight carrying aircraft capable of operating from unprepared surfaces. Because it was designed from the outset as a military cargo aircraft, the C-130 featured a rear ramp for ease of loading. At the time this was an innovation. The rear ramp also allows air-dropping of supplies.

 

The first prototype flew in 1954 and deliveries of the aircraft to the United States Air Force began in 1956.

 

The RAF ordered sixty-six Hercules, and the first of these was delivered in 1966.

 

This example is one of thirty of the original order that were lengthened, because some regular loads were filling the cargo bay while weighing much less than the aircraft could lift ("bulking out"). Extra length was achieved by inserting additional fuselage sections fore and aft of the wings.

 

More than 2300 Hercules have been built and there are more than forty variants of the type. The Hercules is used by more than 60 countries and has been in service with its original operator the United States Air Force for more than 50 years.

 

Type : Medium range tactical transport.

In Service : 1967 - 2011 (new C130Js introduced 1999)

 

Engines : Four 4,900hp Allison T-56 Turboprops.

Maximum Speed : 600kph (375mph)

Max. Altitude : 10,000m (33,000ft)

 

Airframe : All metal stressed-skin.

Wingspan : 40.5m (133ft)

Length : 34.6m (113ft 6ins)

 

Max Loaded Weight : 45,000kg (99,000Ib)

Empty Weight : 34,300kg (75,600Ib)

Capacity : 128 passengers /96 stretchers

64 paratroops

8 pallets

3 Land Rovers or an armoured personnel carrier.

 

Hercules C.3 XV202 history.

 

Manufacturers number 382-4226.

 

Built at Lockheed Marietta, Georgia as a C-130H-130-LM Hercules.

Given USAF serial number 66-8552 this aircraft was one of 66 C-130K Hercules aquired for the RAF between December 1966 and May 1968.

 

August 1967 : Delivered to the RAF as Hercules C.Mk.1 following painting and fitting out by Marshalls of Cambridge.

 

1981 : Converted to C.Mk.3, with fuselage lengthened by 15ft/4.57m by Marshalls as one of 30 conversions carried out between 1980 and 1985 using additional Lockheed-supplied fuselage sections fore and aft of the wing.

Used mainly on longer routes and for paratrooping.

 

To RAF Lyneham Transport Wing, Wiltshire (comprising Nos. 24, 30, 47 and 70 Squadrons and 242 O.C.U, all part of No. 38 Group.

 

1986 : Retrofitted with in-flight refuelling probe above cockpit, designated C.3P.

 

1994 : Displayed at international Air Tattoo, RAF Fairford, Gloustershire, as part of the Hercules' 40th anniversary and was serving as part of the Lyneham Transport wing.

 

1st January 2009 : To Marshalls, Cambridge for storage.

 

March 2011 : Took part in Operation ELLAMY from Malta in support of the Libyan conflict. Subsequently with No.47 Squadron, RAF Brize Norton (the last four Hercules left Lyneham on 1st July 2011, prior to that station's planned closure in late 2012).

 

12th August 2011 : Flown from RAF Brize Norton to RAFM Cosford. This is thought to be the final landing of the last RAF C.3.

 

Image Copyright D.J.Ralley 2016.

Not to be used without prior permission.

 

Be ready to assemble at the first call and be capable of fighting and winning

1969, December

Designer: Shanghai No. Three Printing and Dyeing Factory. Political Propaganda Section of the Revolutionary Committee

Call nr.: PC-1969-l-001 (Private collection)

 

More? See: chineseposters.net

 

DSC00186

 

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Although in existence during earlier centuries, the "Marteau d'arme" was officially introduced as an offensive weapon by the mid 13th century. It was adopted by the infantry capable to inflict heavy damage to the armoured knights..

 

By the 15th century the marteau d'arme evolved in a weapon with a longer wooden handle whose metal end had a hatchet combined with a hook - "falcon's beak". These weapons were soon used by the cavalrymen, but with a shorter handle entirely made of metal until they were abandoned in the 16th centurywhen they were replaced by pistols.

 

In Eastern Europe the marteau d'arme was used for much longer, then in Central and Western Europe, as pistols were more expensive and rarer to come by.

This explains why the marteau remained popular for much longer in Ukraine, Poland, Moldavia, Hungary and preserved an undomitable "white arm" for highwaymen.

 

By the end of the 18th century, beginning of the 19th century, the marteau d''arme remained a symbol of power and social rank among aristocracy.

There are some beautiful examples of period engravings, soon after the Napoleonic wars, when Hungarian noblemen were displaying marteau d'armes as fashionable acoutrements, in the manner in which their English counterparts would use walking sticks.. During uncertain times such 'elegant" objects would always come in useful as defence weapons in case one was aggressed. the look of it was enough to inhibit any potential attacker who might be hammered and hacked to pieces.

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

 

Arme de guerre dérivée de l'outil du même nom. Le marteau de guerre se composait d'un manche de bois terminé par une tête en plomb ou en fer et souvent munie d'une pointe dans le prolongement du manche. Bien que de telles armes furent certainement utilisées bien avant, le marteau d'arme semble avoir été admis dans les armées vers le milieu du XIIIe siècle. C'était une arme très lourdes, utilisée par les fantassins, capables de provoquer de gros dégâts et qui accélérât sans doute l'usage des armures de plates complètes. Au XVe siècle, le manche devient plus allonge et la partie métallique s'enrichit souvent d'une hache ou d'une pointe latérale(bec de faucon). A la même époque, apparaît un marteau plus court porté par les cavaliers et parfois entièrement fait de fer (cf. image). Ces marteaux furent en usage jusqu'au XVIe siècle dans la cavalerie avant d'être abandonnés au profit du pistolet.

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

NOTE on the ORIGIN of the HUTZUL People:

The Hutsul (Romanian - Huţul) are mountain peoples with occupations in cattle breeding, and shepherding, forestry, and timber, who live in the upper reaches of the river Prut, in Pokutia (Romanian - Pocuţia). The origin of the Hutsul has been suggested to be one of the migrating peoples - Cuman, Scythian, Celtic, Gothic, Dacian, Romanian etc. However, they speak a dialect of Ukrainian and are generally thought to be Slavic, but have many Romanian influences in their language, costume and customs,

 

In the 9th century the political unity of the Ukraine was formed around the Poianian tribe of the Kiev region. Most of the original tribal names are only left as geographical and territorial names but in the mountainous Carpathians some diversity and traces of the old tribal characteristics have been preserved in the Slavic peoples of the Hutsul, Lemko and Boiko peoples.

 

The first references to the Hutsul are in the 14th century in current southern Ukraine. During the 15th century they colonised along the Prut river, over the mountains and along the Tisa river into Maramureş, and along the Ceremuş river towards northern Moldavia. In the 17th century they migrated across the mountains to the upper Suceava valley. By the late 17th century there were around 40 villages and further migration continued into the upper valleys of the Moldova and Bistriţa rivers.

 

This boat is capable of riding through 3 inches of water.

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

 

Corvette (Airbus)

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

Fouga Magister (AAT)

Gazelle prototype (AAT)

Mirage III C (AAT)

Nord 1100 (AAT)

Lockheed F-104G (AAT)

MiG-15 (AAT)

MS.760 Paris (AAT)

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

Alouette II Marine (AAT)

Cessna Skymaster (AAT)

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

HM-293, de Rodolphe Grunberg

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

Saab J35OE Draken (AAT)

 

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

 

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

 

Concorde, F-BVFC, MSN209 in Air France colors

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

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

 

Corvette (Airbus)

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

Fouga Magister (AAT)

Prototype Gazelle (AAT)

Mirage III C (AAT)

North 1100 (AAT)

Lockheed F-104G (AAT)

MiG-15 (AAT)

MS.760 Paris (AAT)

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

Alouette II Marine (AAT)

Cessna Skymaster (AAT)

Fairchild Metro, former Météo-France (AAT) aircraft

HM-293, by Rodolphe Grunberg

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

Saab J35OE Draken (AAT)

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

 

This is my most complex and largest build to date.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

 

Starcraft II Thor Magnet Count and Detail Talley

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

Cockpit Body bottom section: (@0520)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

------

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

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

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

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

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

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

------

(@0891)

 

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

leg internal structure:

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

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

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

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

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

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

-------

(@1519) = 1531-12

 

Leg side panels (@0384)

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

Knees + Leg detail

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

-------

(@1903)

 

Feet x2 (@0242)

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

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

 

conn))

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

-------

(@2145)

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

Shoulder to elbow (per arm, per side)

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

 

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

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

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

Revamp 2 rear centerballs with red

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

------

(@3485)

 

Rear Guns x2

Large cannon (@0112 each)

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

Smaller cannon (@0092 each)

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

Gun bridges (@0010 each)

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

 

Gun mounts x2

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

 

Gun panel x 2 (@0102 each)

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

-------

 

Revamp base

 

(@4221) subtotal b4 assembly

 

Assembly mods

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

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

 

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

 

Modded Cockpit Body bottom section (mount point):

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

 

rectangle to hex parallel center, coupled sides

-------

(@4213) = (@4221 - 8)

 

Moved central bottom layer x-beam

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

(@4211) = (@4213 - 2)

 

Removed gold 10 ball ring mount

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

-------

(@4201) = (@4213 - 10)

 

Modded Rear Guns

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

(@4197) = (@4201-4)

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

(@4205) = (@4201+8)

 

Grand Total! = (@4205)

n800 comes with a flash version capable of playing youtube and google videos. It's pretty choppy, however better than nothing ;)

actually here is a very poorly recorded video of this youtube clip:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vTuvHn5y40

done on my w810i (as was this image) so please forgive the poor resolution and focus, but you can hear and see the choppiness to get a feel for it. I haven't got everything figgured out yet, the quality of the flash player is set to low, there may be something i have yet to discover that would improve the playback.

 

edit: After playing around a bit more i have found some videos to play quite a bit smoother and without the audio cutouts

Electronics hobby

  

Designing and building a high power amplifier capable of driving low impedance (as low as 2 Ohm’s @ 50 Vpp) loads.

  

www.diyaudio.com/ see alias FdW

  

History of DIY audio

 

Audio DIY came to prominence in the 50s to 60s, as audio reproduction was relatively new and the technology "complex," audio reproduction equipment, and in particular high performance equipment, was not offered at the retail level. Kits and designs were available for consumers to build their own equipment. Famous vacuum tube kits from Dynaco, Heathkit, and McIntosh, as well as solid state (transistor) kits from Hafler allowed for consumers to build their own hi fidelity systems. Books and magazines were published which explained new concepts regarding the design and operation of vacuum tube and (later) transistor circuits.

 

While audio equipment has become easily accessible in the current day and age, there still exists an interest in building one's own equipment, including amplifiers, speakers, preamplifiers, and even CD players and turntables. Today, a network of companies, parts vendors, and on-line communities exist to foster this interest. DIY is especially active in loudspeaker and in tube amplification. Both are relatively simple to design and fabricate without access to sophisticated industrial equipment. Both enable the builder to pick and choose between various available parts, on matters of price as well as quality, allow for extensive experimentation, and offer the chance to use exotic or highly labor-intensive solutions, which would be expensive for a manufacturer to implement, but only require personal labor by the DIYer, which is a source of satisfaction to them.

  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIY_audio

The F-102 Delta Dagger was the first operational Mach 1 capable supersonic, all-weather interceptor in the United States Air Force. Manufactured by the Convair division of General Dynamics in San Diego, California its signature wasp-waisted delta-wing design found its inspiration in technology developed by German scientists during the Second World War. Entering duty in April 1956, during the height of the Cold War, the F-102's high-altitude and high-speed capabilities provided an effective solution to the threat poised by the massive Soviet bomber force.

 

The F-102 used an internal weapons bay to carry up to six AIM-4 infa-red or radar guided missiles and rockets. Delta Daggers, more commonly known as "Deuces", saw limited operational use in Southeast Asia from March 1962 to December 1969 in its primary role as an air defense interceptor and in an additional mission as an escort fighter for B-52 Stratofortress bombers. A single F-102 was lost to a North Vietnamese MiG-21 in air-to-air combat; fourteen others were lost to a combination of ground fire and accidents.

 

Over 1,000 F-102s were accepted into the U.S. inventory, flying for two decades until their gradual replacement by the Mach 2 capable F-106 Delta Dart. Over 200 F-102s were subsequently converted for use as target drones (QF-102A or PQM-102A).

 

The museum's F-102A, serial number 56-1114, entered the active service in May 1957. It was stationed with the 52nd Fighter Group at Suffolk County AFB, NY, the 79th Fighter Group, Youngstow, OH and the 1st Fighter Group, Selfridge AFB, MI. In December 1960, the aircraft was transferred to the114th Fighter Group (ANG), Sioux Fall, SD and finally to the 114th Fighter Group (ANG), Fresno, CA. where it was retired in 1970 and moved into storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ.

 

In 1988, aircraft 56-1114 was mounted on a pedestal and placed on static display in front of the South West Air Division Operations Center at March AFB. In 1996, the aircraft was removed from the pedestal; by October 2000, the aircraft was restored for display at the MFAM. This aircraft is on loan from the USAF.

 

Former President, George W. Bush, was an F-102 pilot when he was in the Air National Guard. To recognize his service, the museum has placed the name "Lt George W. Bush" on the canopy frame of aircraft 56-1114.

 

-March Field Air Museum website (www.marchfield.org/)

www.facebook.com/wholesaleinc

 

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

 

Pros

 

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

 

Cons

 

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

 

What's New for 2007

 

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

 

Introduction

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

Measurements 104 inches long fully loaded. Drop down center leg provides extra support when necessary. 104 long x 45 wide x 29 inches tall. Three 19.5 inches leafs.

The Morris County is a buffet lounge car capable of seating 28 passengers in comfortable captain's chairs. The spacious windows allow for a picturesque view of the passing scenery. With a full kitchen to treat your guests for a full meal, it is the perfect standalone car for a business meeting, social gathering, or family event. The car features two restrooms, a generator for power, and heat & air conditioning throughout. The Morris County is fully certified by Amtrak, the FRA, and NJ Transit to operate anywhere the rails lead it.

 

The Morris County was built as a 56-seat coach by Budd in December 1946 for the New York Central. Numbered #2936, the car served on the Empire State Limited through its transfer to Penn Central on February 1, 1968. In 1971, the car was sold to Ross Rowland's High Iron Company, which ran steam-powered excursion trains in the northeast. It was rebuilt into a 28-seat parlor car in 1977 and then leased to the Chessie System for its steam specials from 1977 to 1979. Painted Chessie yellow and numbered Chessie #17, the car was eventually donated to the United Railway Historical Society and stored on the M&E. The Morristown & Erie acquired the car from the URHS in the mid-1980s. The car was renamed the Morris County and repainted into Erie Lackawanna colors. It was upgraded to full Amtrak and FRA standards in the early 2000s and repainted again into colors once worn by the New York Central’s famous 20th Century Limited train. The car underwent a full overhaul in the summer of 2013, which saw the three layers of paint removed to restore the original stainless steel exterior. The interior was completely repainted and refurbished, and many of the car's mechanical features were upgraded to meet modern standards of comfort and operational ease. The Morris County is now owned & operated by the Morristown & Erie Railway and based in Whippany, NJ.

The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets (F/A for Fighter/Attack). Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, the F/A-18 was derived from the latter's YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The Hornet is also used by the air forces of several other nations. It has been the aerial demonstration aircraft for the U.S. Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, since 1986

.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FA-18_Hornet

 

The U.S. Navy acquired 22 modified Block 30 F-16Cs for use as adversary assets for dissimilar air combat training (DACT); four of these were TF-16N two-seaters. These aircraft were delivered in 1987-1988. Fighter Squadron 126 (VF-126) and the Navy Fighter Weapons School (NFWS) (or TOPGUN) operated them at NAS Miramar, California on the West Coast; East Coast adversary training squadrons were Fighter Squadron 43 (VF-43) at NAS Oceana, Virginia and Fighter Squadron 45 (VF-45) at NAS Key West, Florida. Each squadron had five F-16N and one TF-16N, with the exception of TOPGUN which had six and one, respectively. Due to the high stress of constant combat training, the wings of these aircraft began to crack and the Navy announced their retirement in 1994. By 1995, all but one of these aircraft had been sent to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) for preservation and storage; one F-16N was sent to the National Museum of Naval Aviation at NAS Pensacola, Florida as a museum article. As adversary aircraft, the Navy’s F-16Ns were notable for their colorful appearance. Most Navy F-16N aircraft were painted in a three-tone blue and gray "ghost" scheme. TOPGUN had some of the more colorful ones: a three-color desert scheme, a light blue one and a green splinter camouflage version with Marine Corps markings. VF-126 also had a unique blue example.

In 2002, the Navy began to receive 14 F-16A and B models from the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARC) that were originally intended for Pakistan before being embargoed. These aircraft (which are not designated F-16N/TF-16N) are operated by the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center (NSAWC) / (TOPGUN) for adversary training and like their F-16N predecessors are painted in exotic schemes.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-16_Fighting_Falcon_variants