Configuration 2 for keeping the arms at a certain place, using two 1x2 thin liftarms as stoppers. I went with this version here because the buzz saws were way too close together with the first configuration.

Worklog (French) : www.overclocking-pc.fr/forums/showthread.php?58465-Waterc...

 

______________________

Configuration :

 

OS: Windows 10 Pro x64

 

PSU: Corsair AX1200i

MB: ASUS Rampage IV Black Edition

CPU: Hexacore Intel Core i7 4930K

RAM: 4x4 Go de Ram Corsair Dominator Platinum 2666 CAS 10

GPU: 3way-SLI GeForce GTX TITAN

Sound Card : Asus Essence STX II with 7.1 daugther card

 

SSD : Crucial MX 100 (512 Go)

HDD:

- WD Vélociraptor (1To)

- WD Green (2To)

- WD (1To)

 

Case : Phanteks Enthoo Primo

 

______________________

Watercooling Material :

 

Waterblock :

-CPU / Motherboard - EK Water Blocks - Kit for Southbridge, Mosfets/VRM & CPU - EK-FB KIT ASUS R5E Monoblock - Nickel / Acetal

 

-GPU-

- XSPC - WaterBlock VGA Razor TITAN / 780 / 780 Ti

- XSPC Backplate.

 

Thermal Compound :

- Gelid GC Extreme Thermal Compound

- Phobya thermal Pad XT 7W/mk 1mm

- Phobya thermal Pad XT 7W/mk 0.5mm

 

Pump :

- 2x Laing DDC 3.25 TP 12 Volts

- XSPC - Top Plexi DOUBLE for 2 Pumps Laing DDC V2

- 2x EK Water Blocks - EK-DDC Heatsink Housing - black

 

Fitting :

- Nanoxia Coolforce Acrylic Fittings 10/12

- Nanoxia Coolforce flex Fittings 10/13

- Some Barrow Fittings

- Koolance QD3 Quick Disconnect No-Spill Coupling 10/13

 

Tubing :

- Acrylic Tubing 10/12 [OK]

- Transparent Masterkleer flex Tubing 10/13

 

Reservoir :

- Alphacool - Reservoir HF 38 Cape Cyclone 250 V.2

 

Liquide :

- KooLance -High Performances 700mL - LIQ-702CL-B

 

Radiator :

- Alphacool - Radiateur NexXxoS Monsta 360 [Push/Pull]

- Alphacool - Radiateur NexXxoS UT60 Full Cuivre 360 [Push/Pull]

- Watercool MO-RA3 360 PRO black (3x360mm Rad) [Push]

 

Rhéobus :

- Lamptron CW611

- Hub Phanteks 11 Fan

- 2x PCB Y Phobya 8 Fan

 

Fan :

- Aerocool Dead Silence black (120mm & 140mm)

- Aerocool Dead Silence white (120mm)

- Phanteks PH-F140SP white LEDs (140mm)

 

Controleur :

- AquaComputer - temperature sensor 1/4"

- Barrow flowmeter 1/4"

The Sick Bay is Planetary Outpost’s fourth possible internal configuration, and is filled with the latest technological innovations, including the Computerised Health Examination Curative Kiosk [C.H.E.C.K.], whose purpose is to scan a patient to determine what could be wrong with them, and the Hightech Enhanced Anatomical Life Support [H.E.A.L.S.], a medical bed which can also assist a doctor during surgery.

 

If you like what you see, do add your support to my LEGO Ideas project: ideas.lego.com/projects/b0827dea-3bd0-46b2-a733-e2e380fa1794

This picture is taken with stacked extenders.

 

The configuration of the camera and lens is as follows:

EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 200mm

Canon Extender EF 2x III

Kenko Teleplus HD 2x DGX

Kenko 20mm extension tube

Canon Extender EF 1.4x III

60D

 

The 20mm extension tube is added so that I can mount the Canon 1.4x extender. Although adding extension tubes should lose the ability to focus at infinity, it would seem that I am still able to focus on the moon.

 

What is the focal length for this photo?

It would seem that the focal length recorded by the EXIF accounts for the two 2x extenders (200mm x2 x2), but not the 1.4x extender. Similar case for the aperture. I also do not know what is the effect of extension tube on focal length.

Given that this photo is uncropped, is it possible to determine the focal length of the setup based on this photo?

 

Focusing difficulties

Viewfinder AF does not work. Live View AF sometimes work. Manual focus is difficult because a slight touch on the camera or lens will cause a lot of shake, especially with 10x magnification Live View, making it difficult to judge focus.

Not to mention that the moon will move across the frame in around 30s, so that I have to re-frame again.

Also, Live View will auto switch off, if I don't keep my finger on the shutter button, half pressed.

 

Processed in Canon Digital Photo Professional 4

An expanded view of an artist rendering of the 70 metric ton configuration of NASA's Space Launch System, managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. A version of the integration adapter rings, highlighted above, will be used on Exploration Flight Test-1 in 2014 and the first long-duration test flight of the Space Launch System in 2017.

 

Credit: NASA/MSFC

 

Original image:

www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/e...

 

More about SLS development:

www.nasa.gov/sls

 

There's a Flickr photoset about NASA's Space Launch System, if you'd like to know more:

 

www.flickr.com/photos/nasamarshall/sets/72157627559536895/

  

_____________________________________________

These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use

 

printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or

 

promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage

 

rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...

© picture by Klaas Vermaas

 

See more photos of this, and the Wikipedia article.

 

Details, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Space Shuttle Enterprise:

 

Manufacturer:

Rockwell International Corporation

 

Country of Origin:

United States of America

 

Dimensions:

Overall: 57 ft. tall x 122 ft. long x 78 ft. wing span, 150,000 lb.

(1737.36 x 3718.57 x 2377.44cm, 68039.6kg)

 

Materials:

Aluminum airframe and body with some fiberglass features; payload bay doors are graphite epoxy composite; thermal tiles are simulated (polyurethane foam) except for test samples of actual tiles and thermal blankets.

 

The first Space Shuttle orbiter, "Enterprise," is a full-scale test vehicle used for flights in the atmosphere and tests on the ground; it is not equipped for spaceflight. Although the airframe and flight control elements are like those of the Shuttles flown in space, this vehicle has no propulsion system and only simulated thermal tiles because these features were not needed for atmospheric and ground tests. "Enterprise" was rolled out at Rockwell International's assembly facility in Palmdale, California, in 1976. In 1977, it entered service for a nine-month-long approach-and-landing test flight program. Thereafter it was used for vibration tests and fit checks at NASA centers, and it also appeared in the 1983 Paris Air Show and the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans. In 1985, NASA transferred "Enterprise" to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.

 

Transferred from National Aeronautics and Space Administration

 

• • •

 

Quoting from Wikipedia | Space Shuttle Enterprise:

 

The Space Shuttle Enterprise (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-101) was the first Space Shuttle orbiter. It was built for NASA as part of the Space Shuttle program to perform test flights in the atmosphere. It was constructed without engines or a functional heat shield, and was therefore not capable of spaceflight.

 

Originally, Enterprise had been intended to be refitted for orbital flight, which would have made it the second space shuttle to fly after Columbia. However, during the construction of Columbia, details of the final design changed, particularly with regard to the weight of the fuselage and wings. Refitting Enterprise for spaceflight would have involved dismantling the orbiter and returning the sections to subcontractors across the country. As this was an expensive proposition, it was determined to be less costly to build Challenger around a body frame (STA-099) that had been created as a test article. Similarly, Enterprise was considered for refit to replace Challenger after the latter was destroyed, but Endeavour was built from structural spares instead.

  

Service

 

Construction began on the first orbiter on June 4, 1974. Designated OV-101, it was originally planned to be named Constitution and unveiled on Constitution Day, September 17, 1976. A write-in campaign by Trekkies to President Gerald Ford asked that the orbiter be named after the Starship Enterprise, featured on the television show Star Trek. Although Ford did not mention the campaign, the president—who during World War II had served on the aircraft carrier USS Monterey (CVL-26) that served with USS Enterprise (CV-6)—said that he was "partial to the name" and overrode NASA officials.

 

The design of OV-101 was not the same as that planned for OV-102, the first flight model; the tail was constructed differently, and it did not have the interfaces to mount OMS pods. A large number of subsystems—ranging from main engines to radar equipment—were not installed on this vehicle, but the capacity to add them in the future was retained. Instead of a thermal protection system, its surface was primarily fiberglass.

 

In mid-1976, the orbiter was used for ground vibration tests, allowing engineers to compare data from an actual flight vehicle with theoretical models.

 

On September 17, 1976, Enterprise was rolled out of Rockwell's plant at Palmdale, California. In recognition of its fictional namesake, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and most of the principal cast of the original series of Star Trek were on hand at the dedication ceremony.

 

Approach and landing tests (ALT)

 

Main article: Approach and Landing Tests

 

On January 31, 1977, it was taken by road to Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, to begin operational testing.

 

While at NASA Dryden, Enterprise was used by NASA for a variety of ground and flight tests intended to validate aspects of the shuttle program. The initial nine-month testing period was referred to by the acronym ALT, for "Approach and Landing Test". These tests included a maiden "flight" on February 18, 1977 atop a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) to measure structural loads and ground handling and braking characteristics of the mated system. Ground tests of all orbiter subsystems were carried out to verify functionality prior to atmospheric flight.

 

The mated Enterprise/SCA combination was then subjected to five test flights with Enterprise unmanned and unactivated. The purpose of these test flights was to measure the flight characteristics of the mated combination. These tests were followed with three test flights with Enterprise manned to test the shuttle flight control systems.

 

Enterprise underwent five free flights where the craft separated from the SCA and was landed under astronaut control. These tests verified the flight characteristics of the orbiter design and were carried out under several aerodynamic and weight configurations. On the fifth and final glider flight, pilot-induced oscillation problems were revealed, which had to be addressed before the first orbital launch occurred.

 

On August 12, 1977, the space shuttle Enterprise flew on its own for the first time.

 

Preparation for STS-1

 

Following the ALT program, Enterprise was ferried among several NASA facilities to configure the craft for vibration testing. In June 1979, it was mated with an external tank and solid rocket boosters (known as a boilerplate configuration) and tested in a launch configuration at Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A.

 

Retirement

 

With the completion of critical testing, Enterprise was partially disassembled to allow certain components to be reused in other shuttles, then underwent an international tour visiting France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the U.S. states of California, Alabama, and Louisiana (during the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition). It was also used to fit-check the never-used shuttle launch pad at Vandenberg AFB, California. Finally, on November 18, 1985, Enterprise was ferried to Washington, D.C., where it became property of the Smithsonian Institution.

 

Post-Challenger

 

After the Challenger disaster, NASA considered using Enterprise as a replacement. However refitting the shuttle with all of the necessary equipment needed for it to be used in space was considered, but instead it was decided to use spares constructed at the same time as Discovery and Atlantis to build Endeavour.

 

Post-Columbia

 

In 2003, after the breakup of Columbia during re-entry, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board conducted tests at Southwest Research Institute, which used an air gun to shoot foam blocks of similar size, mass and speed to that which struck Columbia at a test structure which mechanically replicated the orbiter wing leading edge. They removed a fiberglass panel from Enterprise's wing to perform analysis of the material and attached it to the test structure, then shot a foam block at it. While the panel was not broken as a result of the test, the impact was enough to permanently deform a seal. As the reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) panel on Columbia was 2.5 times weaker, this suggested that the RCC leading edge would have been shattered. Additional tests on the fiberglass were canceled in order not to risk damaging the test apparatus, and a panel from Discovery was tested to determine the effects of the foam on a similarly-aged RCC leading edge. On July 7, 2003, a foam impact test created a hole 41 cm by 42.5 cm (16.1 inches by 16.7 inches) in the protective RCC panel. The tests clearly demonstrated that a foam impact of the type Columbia sustained could seriously breach the protective RCC panels on the wing leading edge.

 

The board determined that the probable cause of the accident was that the foam impact caused a breach of a reinforced carbon-carbon panel along the leading edge of Columbia's left wing, allowing hot gases generated during re-entry to enter the wing and cause structural collapse. This caused Columbia to spin out of control, breaking up with the loss of the entire crew.

 

Museum exhibit

 

Enterprise was stored at the Smithsonian's hangar at Washington Dulles International Airport before it was restored and moved to the newly built Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport, where it has been the centerpiece of the space collection. On April 12, 2011, NASA announced that Space Shuttle Discovery, the most traveled orbiter in the fleet, will be added to the collection once the Shuttle fleet is retired. When that happens, Enterprise will be moved to the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City, to a newly constructed hangar adjacent to the museum. In preparation for the anticipated relocation, engineers evaluated the vehicle in early 2010 and determined that it was safe to fly on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft once again.

A bullpup configuration of the AK74 rifle, chambered in 5.45x39mm like the original counterpart. The only noticeable differences between the original AK74 and the Tactician mod is that the modification features a heat shield, a different fire selector, and a RIS, along with a different configuration.

 

The Tactician features a fire selector, which can be angled 45 degrees upward and downward - the available modes include full-auto, semi-auto, and safety modes.

BASIC DETAILS

Bus Company/Operator: SUGBO TRANSIT EXPRESS, INC.

Bus Name: SUGBO TRANSIT

Fleet Number: 8629

Classification: Air-Conditioned Inter Provincial Operation Bus

Franchise Route: Cebu City-Daan Bantayan

Route: Cebu City-Maya New Airport-Maya via Bagay-Bogo

Seating Configuration: 3x2 seater

Seating Capacity: 46+1 passengers

BUS BODY

Bus Manufacturer: Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd.

Bus Model: Yutong ZK8658H9

CHASSIS

Chassis Manufacturer: Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd.

Chassis Model: Yutong ZK6810CRA LZYTDTD

(LZYTDTD67G1049593)

Suspension: Air Suspension

ENGINE

Engine Manufacturer: China Yuchai International, Ltd./Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Group, Ltd.

Engine Model: Yuchai YC6J210-20 J42YD

(YC6J21020J42YDG30029)

TRANSMISSION

Type: Manual Transmission

Gear: 6 speed fonward and 1 speed reverse

 

Location: U.N. Avenue, Umapad, Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines

 

Date Taken: August 22, 2018

 

* Some parts of the specifications may be subjected for verification and may be changed without prior notice.

The Volkswagen Type 2, known officially (depending on body type) as the Transporter, Kombi or Microbus, or, informally, as the Bus (US) or Camper (UK), is a forward control panel van introduced in 1950 by the German automaker Volkswagen as its second car model. Following – and initially deriving from Volkswagen's first model, the Type 1 (Beetle) – it was given the factory designation Type 2.

 

As one of the forerunners of the modern cargo and passenger vans, the Type 2 gave rise to forward control competitors in the United States in the 1960s, including the Ford Econoline, the Dodge A100, and the Chevrolet Corvair 95 Corvan, the latter adopting the Type 2's rear-engine configuration.

 

European competition included the 1947-1981 Citroën H Van, the 1959-1980 Renault Estafette (both FF layout), and the 1953-1965 FR layout Ford Transit.

 

Japanese manufacturers also introduced the platform in different configurations, such as the Nissan Caravan, Toyota LiteAce and the Subaru Sambar.

 

Like the Beetle, the van has received numerous nicknames worldwide, including the "microbus", "minibus", and, because of its popularity during the counterculture movement of the 1960s, Hippie van/wagon, and still remains iconic for many hippies today.

 

Brazil contained the last factory in the world that produced the T2. Production in Brazil ceased on December 31, 2013, due to the introduction of more stringent safety regulations in the country. This marks the end of an era with the rear-engine Volkswagens manufactured (after the 2002 termination of its T3 successor in South Africa), which originated in 1935 with their Type 1 prototypes.

 

HISTORY

The concept for the Type 2 is credited to Dutch Volkswagen importer Ben Pon. (It has similarities in concept to the 1920s Rumpler Tropfenwagen and 1930s Dymaxion car by Buckminster Fuller, neither of which reached production.) Pon visited Wolfsburg in 1946, intending to purchase Type 1s for import to the Netherlands, where he saw an improvised parts-mover and realized something better was possible using the stock Type 1 pan. He first sketched the van in a doodle dated April 23, 1947, proposing a payload of 690 kg and placing the driver at the very front. Production would have to wait, however, as the factory was at capacity producing the Type 1.

 

When capacity freed up, a prototype known internally as the Type 29 was produced in a short three months. The stock Type 1 pan proved to be too weak so the prototype used a ladder chassis with unit body construction. Coincidentally the wheelbase was the same as the Type 1's. Engineers reused the reduction gear from the Type 81, enabling the 1.5 ton van to use a 25 hp (19 kW) flat four engine.

 

Although the aerodynamics of the first prototypes were poor (with an initial drag coefficient of Cd=0.75), engineers used the wind tunnel at the Technical University of Braunschweig to optimize the design. Simple changes such as splitting the windshield and roofline into a "vee" helped the production Type 2 achieve Cd=0.44, exceeding the Type 1's Cd=0.48. Volkswagen's new chief executive officer Heinz Nordhoff (appointed 1 January 1948) approved the van for production on 19 May 1949 and the first production model, now designated Type 2, rolled off the assembly line to debut 12 November. Only two models were offered: the Kombi (with two side windows and middle and rear seats that were easily removable by one person), and the Commercial. The Microbus was added in May 1950, joined by the Deluxe Microbus in June 1951. In all 9,541 Type 2s were produced in their first year of production.

 

An ambulance model was added in December 1951 which repositioned the fuel tank in front of the transaxle, put the spare tire behind the front seat, and added a "tailgate"-style rear door. These features became standard on the Type 2 from 1955 to 1967. 11,805 Type 2s were built in the 1951 model year. These were joined by a single-cab pickup in August 1952, and it changed the least of the Type 2s until all were heavily modified in 1968.

 

Unlike other rear engine Volkswagens, which evolved constantly over time but never saw the introduction of all-new models, the Transporter not only evolved, but was completely revised periodically with variations retrospectively referred to as versions "T1" to "T5" (a nomenclature only invented after the introduction of the front-drive T4 which replaced the T25). However, only generations T1 to T3 (or T25 as it is still called in Ireland and Great Britain) can be seen as directly related to the Beetle (see below for details).

 

The Type 2, along with the 1947 Citroën H Van, are among the first 'forward control' vans in which the driver was placed above the front roadwheels. They started a trend in Europe, where the 1952 GM Bedford CA, 1958 RAF-977, 1959 Renault Estafette, 1960 BMC Morris J4, and 1960 Commer FC also used the concept. In the United States, the Corvair-based Chevrolet Corvan cargo van and Greenbrier passenger van went so far as to copy the Type 2's rear-engine layout, using the Corvair's horizontally opposed, air-cooled engine for power. Except for the Greenbrier and various 1950s–70s Fiat minivans, the Type 2 remained unique in being rear-engined. This was a disadvantage for the early "barndoor" Panel Vans, which could not easily be loaded from the rear because the engine cover intruded on interior space, but generally advantageous in traction and interior noise.

 

VARIANTS

The Type 2 was available as a:

 

Panel van, a delivery van without side windows or rear seats.

Double-door Panel Van, a delivery van without side windows or rear seats and cargo doors on both sides.

High Roof Panel Van (German: Hochdach), a delivery van with raised roof.

Kombi, from German: Kombinationskraftwagen (combination motor vehicle), with side windows and removable rear seats, both a passenger and a cargo vehicle combined.

Bus, also called a Volkswagen Caravelle, a van with more comfortable interior reminiscent of passenger cars since the third generation.

Lotação (share-taxi), a version exclusive to Brazil, with 6 front-hinged doors for the passenger area and 4 bench-seats, catering to the supplemental public transport segment.[citation needed] Available from 1960 to 1989, in both the split-window and "clipper" (fitted with the bay-window front panel) bodystyles.

Samba-Bus, a van with skylight windows and cloth sunroof, first generation only, also known as a Deluxe Microbus. They were marketed for touring the Alps.

Flatbed pickup truck, or Single Cab, also available with wider load bed.

Crew cab pick-up, a flatbed truck with extended cab and two rows of seats, also called a Doka, from German: Doppelkabine.

Westfalia camping van, "Westy", with Westfalia roof and interior. Included optional "pop up" top.

Adventurewagen camping van, with high roof and camping units from Adventurewagen.

Semi-camping van that can also still be used as a passenger car and transporter, sacrificing some camping comforts. "Multivan" or "Weekender", available from the third generation on.

 

Apart from these factory variants, there were a multitude of third-party conversions available, some of which were offered through Volkswagen dealers. They included, but were not limited to, refrigerated vans, hearses, ambulances, police vans, fire engines and ladder trucks, and camping van conversions by companies other than Westfalia. There were even 30 Klv 20 rail-going draisines built for Deutsche Bundesbahn in 1955.

 

In South Africa, it is known as a well-loved variation of the ice cream van (first, second and third generations). The mere sight of one (in South Africa) sparks the familiar rhyme: I scream, We scream, We all scream for Ice-Cream!

 

FIRST GENERATION (T1; 1950–1967)

The first generation of the Volkswagen Type 2 with the split windshield, informally called the Microbus, Splitscreen, or Splittie among modern fans, was produced from 8 March 1950 through the end of the 1967 model year. From 1950 to 1956, the T1 (not called that at the time) was built in Wolfsburg; from 1956, it was built at the completely new Transporter factory in Hanover. Like the Beetle, the first Transporters used the 1100 Volkswagen air-cooled engine, an 1,131 cc, DIN-rated 18 kW (24 PS; 24 bhp), air-cooled flat-four-cylinder 'boxer' engine mounted in the rear. This was upgraded to the 1200 – an 1,192 cc 22 kW (30 PS; 30 bhp) in 1953. A higher compression ratio became standard in 1955; while an unusual early version of the 30 kW (41 PS; 40 bhp) engine debuted exclusively on the Type 2 in 1959. This engine proved to be so uncharacteristically troublesome that Volkswagen recalled all 1959 Transporters and replaced the engines with an updated version of the 30 kW engine. Any 1959 models that retain that early engine today are true survivors. Since the engine was totally discontinued at the outset, no parts were ever made available.

 

The early versions of the T1 until 1955 were often called the "Barndoor" (retrospectively called T1a since the 1990s), owing to the enormous rear engine cover, while the later versions with a slightly modified body (the roofline above the windshield is extended), smaller engine bay, and 15" roadwheels instead of the original 16" ones are nowadays called the T1b (again, only called this since the 1990s, based on VW's retrospective T1,2,3,4 etc. naming system.). From the 1964 model year, when the rear door was made wider (same as on the bay-window or T2), the vehicle could be referred to as the T1c. 1964 also saw the introduction of an optional sliding door for the passenger/cargo area instead of the outwardly hinged doors typical of cargo vans.

 

In 1962, a heavy-duty Transporter was introduced as a factory option. It featured a cargo capacity of 1,000 kg instead of the previous 750 kg, smaller but wider 14" roadwheels, and a 1.5 Le, 31 kW (42 PS; 42 bhp) DIN engine. This was so successful that only a year later, the 750 kg, 1.2 L Transporter was discontinued. The 1963 model year introduced the 1500 engine – 1,493 cc as standard equipment to the US market at 38 kW (52 PS; 51 bhp) DIN with an 83 mm bore, 69 mm (2.72 in) stroke, and 7.8:1 compression ratio. When the Beetle received the 1.5 L engine for the 1967 model year, its power was increased to 40 kW (54 PS; 54 bhp) DIN.

 

German production stopped after the 1967 model year; however, the T1 still was made in Brazil until 1975, when it was modified with a 1968–79 T2-style front end, and big 1972-vintage taillights into the so-called "T1.5" and produced until 1996. The Brazilian T1s were not identical to the last German models (the T1.5 was locally produced in Brazil using the 1950s and 1960s-era stamping dies to cut down on retooling, alongside the Beetle/Fusca, where the pre-1965 body style was retained), though they sported some characteristic features of the T1a, such as the cargo doors and five-stud 205 mm Pitch Circle Diameter rims. Wheel tracks varied between German and Brazilian production and with 14-inch, 15-inch and 16-inch wheel variants but commonly front track varied from 1290 mm to 1310 mm and rear track from 1370 mm to 1390 mm.

 

Among American enthusiasts, it is common to refer to the different models by the number of their windows. The basic Kombi or Bus is the 11-window (a.k.a. three-window bus because of three side windows) with a split windshield, two front cabin door windows, six rear side windows, and one rear window. The DeLuxe model featured eight rear side windows and two rear corner windows, making it the 15-window (not available in Europe). Meanwhile, the sunroof DeLuxe with its additional eight small skylight windows is, accordingly, the 23-window. From the 1964 model year, with its wider rear door, the rear corner windows were discontinued, making the latter two the 13-window and 21-window respectively. The 23- and later 21-window variants each carry the nickname 'Samba', or in Australia, officially 'Alpine'.

 

SAMBA

The Volkswagen Samba, in the United States also known as Sunroof Deluxe, was the most luxurious version of the T1. Volkswagen started producing Sambas in 1951.

 

Originally Volkswagen Vans were classified according to the number of windows they had. This particular model had 23 and later 21 windows including eight panoramic windows in the roof. To distinguish it from the normal 23 or 21-window Volkswagen van the name Samba was coined.

 

Instead of a sliding door at the side the Samba had two pivot doors. In addition the Samba had a fabric sunroof. At that time Volkswagen advertised with the idea of using the Samba to make tourist trips through the Alps.

 

Sambas were painted standard in two colors. Usually, the upper part was colored white. The two colored sections were separated by a decorative strip. Further the bus had a so-called "hat": at the front of the van the roof was just a little longer than the car itself to block the sun for the driver. The windows had chrome tables and the van had a more comprehensive dashboard than the normal T1.

 

When Volkswagen started producing the successor of the T1 (the T2) the company also stopped producing the Samba so there are no Sambas in later versions of the Transporter.

 

US CHICKEN TAX

Certain models of the Volkswagen Type 2 played a role in a historic episode during the early 1960s, known as the Chicken War. France and West Germany had placed tariffs on imports of U.S. chicken. Diplomacy failed, and in January 1964, two months after taking office, President Johnson imposed a 25% tax (almost ten times the average U.S. tariff) on potato starch, dextrin, brandy, and light trucks. Officially, the tax targeted items imported from Europe as approximating the value of lost American chicken sales to Europe.

 

In retrospect, audio tapes from the Johnson White House, revealed a quid pro quo unrelated to chicken. In January 1964, President Johnson attempted to convince United Auto Workers' president Walter Reuther not to initiate a strike just before the 1964 election, and to support the president's civil rights platform. Reuther, in turn, wanted Johnson to respond to Volkswagen's increased shipments to the United States.

 

The Chicken Tax directly curtailed importation of German-built Type 2s in configurations that qualified them as light trucks – that is, commercial vans (panel vans) and pickups. In 1964, U.S. imports of automobile trucks from West Germany declined to a value of $5.7 million – about one-third the value imported in the previous year. After 1971, Volkswagen cargo vans and pickup trucks, the intended targets, "practically disappeared from the U.S. market". While post-1971 Type 2 commercial vans and single-cab and double-cab pickups can be found in the United States today, they are exceedingly rare. Any post-1971 specimen found ostensibly has had its import tariff paid. As of 2013, the "chicken tax" remains in effect.

 

SECOND GENERATION (T2; 1967–1979)

In late 1967, the second generation of the Volkswagen Type 2 (T2) was introduced. It was built in Germany until 1979. In Mexico, the Volkswagen Kombi and Panel were produced from 1970 to 1994. Models before 1971 are often called the T2a (or "Early Bay"), while models after 1972 are called the T2b (or "Late Bay").

 

This second-generation Type 2 lost its distinctive split front windshield, and was slightly larger and considerably heavier than its predecessor. Its common nicknames are Breadloaf and Bay-window, or Loaf and Bay for short. At 1.6 L and 35 kW (48 PS; 47 bhp) DIN, the engine was also slightly larger. The battery and electrical system was upgraded to 12 volts, making it incompatible with electric accessories from the previous generation. The new model also did away with the swing axle rear suspension and transfer boxes previously used to raise ride height. Instead, half-shaft axles fitted with constant velocity joints raised ride height without the wild changes in camber of the Beetle-based swing axle suspension. The updated Bus transaxle is usually sought after by off-road racers using air-cooled Volkswagen components.

 

The T2b was introduced by way of gradual change over three years. The first models featured rounded bumpers incorporating a step for use when the door was open (replaced by indented bumpers without steps on later models), front doors that opened to 90° from the body, no lip on the front guards, unique engine hatches, and crescent air intakes in the D-pillars (later models after the Type 4 engine option was offered, have squared off intakes). The 1971 Type 2 featured a new, 1.6 L engine with dual intake ports on each cylinder head and was DIN-rated at 37 kW (50 PS; 50 bhp). An important change came with the introduction of front disc brakes and new roadwheels with brake ventilation holes and flatter hubcaps. Up until 1972, front indicators are set low on the nose rather than high on either side of the fresh air grille – giving rise to their being nicknamed "Low Lights". 1972's most prominent change was a bigger engine compartment to fit the larger 1.7- to 2.0-litre engines from the Volkswagen Type 4, and a redesigned rear end which eliminated the removable rear apron and introduced the larger late tail lights. The air inlets were also enlarged to accommodate the increased cooling air needs of the larger engines.

In 1971 the 1600cc Type 1 engine as used in the Beetle, was supplemented with the 1700cc Type 4 engine – as it was originally designed for the Type 4 (411 and 412) models. European vans kept the option of upright fan Type 1 1600 engine but the 1700 Type 4 became standard for US spec models.

 

In the Type 2, the Type 4 engine was an option for the 1972 model year onward. This engine was standard in models destined for the US and Canada. Only with the Type 4 engine did an automatic transmission become available for the first time in the 1973 model year. Both engines displaced 1.7 L, DIN-rated at 49 kW (67 PS; 66 bhp) with the manual transmission and 46 kW (63 PS; 62 bhp) with the automatic. The Type 4 engine was enlarged to 1.8 L and 50 kW (68 PS; 67 bhp) DIN for the 1974 model year and again to 2.0 L and 52 kW (71 PS; 70 bhp) DIN for the 1976 model year. The two-litre option appeared in South African manufactured models during 1976, originally only in a comparably well-equipped "Executive" model. The 1978 2.0 L now featured hydraulic valve lifters, eliminating the need to periodically adjust the valve clearances as on earlier models. The 1975 and later U.S. model years received Bosch L-Jetronic electronic fuel injection as standard equipment; 1978 was the first year for electronic ignition, utilizing a hall effect sensor and digital controller, eliminating maintenance-requiring contact-breaker points. As with all Transporter engines, the focus in development was not on power, but on low-end torque. The Type 4 engines were considerably more robust and durable than the Type 1 engines, particularly in Transporter service.

 

In 1972, for the 1973 model year, exterior revisions included relocated front turn indicators, squared off and set higher in the valance, above the headlights. Also, square-profiled bumpers, which became standard until the end of the T2 in 1979, were introduced in 1973. Crash safety improved with this change because of a compressible structure behind the front bumper. This meant that the T2b was capable of meeting US safety standards for passenger cars of the time, though not required of vans. The "VW" emblem on the front valance became slightly smaller.

 

Later model changes were primarily mechanical. By 1974, the T2 had gained its final shape. Very late in the T2's design life, during the late 1970s, the first prototypes of Type 2 vans with four-wheel drive (4WD) were built and tested.

 

T2c

The T2c, with a roof raised by about 10 cm was built starting in the early 1990s for the South American and Central American markets. Since 1991, the T2c has been built in México with the water-cooled 1.8 L inline four-cylinder 53 kW (72 PS; 71 bhp) carbureted engine - easily identified by the large, black front-mounted radiator - and since 1995 with the 1.6 L air-cooled engines for the Brazilian market.

 

Once production of the original Beetle was halted in late 2003, the T2 was the only Volkswagen model with an air-cooled, rear-mounted boxer engine, but then the Brazilian model shifted to a water-cooled engine on 23 December 2005. There was a 1.6 L 50 hp (37 kW; 51 PS) water-cooled diesel engine available from 1981 to 1985, which gave fuel economy of 15 km/l to 18 km/l - but gave slow performance and its insufficient cooling system led to short engine life.

 

The end of the Volkswagen air-cooled engine on a worldwide basis was marked by a Special Edition Kombi. An exclusive Silver paint job, and limited edition emblems were applied to only 200 units in late 2005, and were sold as 2006 models.

 

Stricter emissions regulations introduced by the Brazilian government for 2006 forced a shift to a flexible-fuel water-cooled engine[citation needed] able to run on petrol or alcohol. Borrowed from the Volkswagen Fox, the engine is a rear-mounted EA-111 1.4 L 8v Total Flex 1,390 cc, 58 kW (79 PS; 78 bhp) on petrol, and 60 kW (82 PS; 80 bhp) when run on ethanol, and 124 N·m (91 lbf·ft) torque. This version was very successful, despite the minor changes made to the overall T2-bodied vehicle. It still included the four-speed transmission, but a new final-drive ratio enabled cruising at 120 km/h (75 mph) at 4,100 rpm. Top speed was 130 km/h (81 mph). 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) acceleration took 22.7 seconds (vs. 29.5 seconds for the last air-cooled version). Other improvements included 6.6% better fuel economy, and nearly 2 dB less engine noise.

 

The Volkswagen Type 2 is by far the longest model run in Brazil, having been introduced in September 1950 as the Volkswagen "Kombi", a name it has kept throughout production.[citation needed] Only produced in two versions, bus (nine-seater or 12-seater – a fourth row is added for metro transportation or school bus market) or panel van, it offers only one factory option, a rear window defogger.[citation needed] As of June 2009, the T2 was being built at the Volkswagen Group's São Bernardo do Campo plant at a rate of 97 per day.

 

The production of the Brazilian Volkswagen Kombi ended in 2013 with a production run of 600 Last Edition vehicles.[28] A short movie called "Kombi's last wishes" was made by VW Brazil.

 

POST_TYPE 2 GENERATIONS

THIRD GENERATION (T3; 1979–1992)

The Volkswagen Type 2 (T3) also known as the T25, (or Vanagon in the United States), the T3 platform was introduced in 1980, and was one of the last new Volkswagen platforms to use an air-cooled engine. The Volkswagen air-cooled engine was phased out for a water-cooled boxer engine (still rear-mounted) in 1984. Compared to its predecessor the T2, the T3 was larger and heavier, with square corners replacing the rounded edges of the older models. The T3 is sometimes called "the wedge" by enthusiasts to differentiate it from earlier Kombis.

 

FOURTH GENERATION (T4; 1990–2003)

Since 1990, the Transporter in most world markets has been front-engined and water-cooled, similar to other contemporary Volkswagens, almost two decades later than it did for the passenger cars. T4s are marketed as Transporter in Europe. In the United States, Volkswagen Eurovan is the brand name.

 

FITH GENERATION (T5; 2003–2015)

The Volkswagen Transporter T5 range is the fifth generation of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles medium-sized light commercial vehicle and people movers. Launched 6 January 2003, the T5 went into full production in April 2003, replacing the fourth generation range.

 

Key markets for the T5 are Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, France and Turkey. It is not sold in the US market because it is classed as a light truck, accruing the 25% chicken tax on importation. The T5 has a more aerodynamic design. The angle of the windshield and A-pillar is less; this makes for a large dashboard and small bonnet.

 

In June 2009, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles announced the one-millionth T5 rolled off the production line in Hanover.

 

T5 GP introduced in 2010. Heavily face-lifted with some new power plants including the 180 bi-turbo range topper. These new engines saw the demise of the now "dirty" 5 cylinder units.

 

Late 2015 will see the arrival of the "Neu Sechs", the New 6. The T6 will offer further engine changes in early 2016, but will launch with the previous generation engines. The new engines will see the introduction of Ad-Blu to meet with euro 6 emission compliance. The new 6 was expected by many to be more than just a face lift.

 

With the T6 now hitting the roads it is very clear it would appear to be just a face lift. New front, new tailgate and a new dash. There are quality improvements, sound deadening, new colours and improved consumption, but many believe VW have missed an opportunity to go back to the top.

Sixth generation (T6; 2015–)

 

The new T6 will launch with the old Euro 5 non AdBlue power-plants, but will be offered with a Euro 6 diesel engine with 204bhp and AdBlue. Three further Euro 6 Adblue diesel power-plants with 84ps, 102ps and 150ps will also be offered.

 

There is some debate in the community over whether the T6 is a new model, or simply a face-lift. There are obvious external changes to the nose and tailgate, while internally there is a new dash in 2 versions. Volkswagen are claiming refinement to ride, handling and noise levels.

 

ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENTS

In 2001, a Volkswagen Microbus Concept was created, with design cues from the T1 generation in a spirit similar to the New Beetle nostalgia movement. Volkswagen planned to start selling it in the United States market in 2007, but it was scrapped in May 2004 and replaced with a more cost-effective design to be sold worldwide.

 

NAMES AND NICKNAMES

Like the Beetle, from the beginning, the Type 2 earned many nicknames from its fans. Among the most popular,[citation needed] at least in Germany, are VW-Bus and Bulli (or Bully) or Hippie-van or the bus. The Type 2 was meant to be officially named the Bully, but Heinrich Lanz, producer of the Lanz Bulldog farm tractor, intervened. The model was then presented as the Volkswagen Transporter and Volkswagen Kleinbus, but the Bully nickname still caught on.

 

The official German-language model names Transporter and Kombi (Kombinationskraftwagen, combined-use vehicle) have also caught on as nicknames. Kombi is not only the name of the passenger variant, but is also the Australasian and Brazilian term for the whole Type 2 family; in much the same way that they are all called VW-Bus in Germany, even the pickup truck variations. In Mexico, the German Kombi was translated as Combi, and became a household word thanks to the vehicle's popularity in Mexico City's public transportation system. In Peru, where the term Combi was similarly adopted, the term Combi Asesina (Murdering Combi) is often used for buses of similar size, because of the notorious recklessness and competition of bus drivers in Lima to get passengers. In Portugal it is known as Pão-de-Forma (Breadloaf) because its design resembles a bread baked in a mold. Similarly, in Denmark, the Type 2 is referred to as Rugbrød (Rye bread). Finns dubbed it Kleinbus (mini-bus), as many taxicab companies adopted it for group transportation; the name Kleinbus has become an appellative for all passenger vans. The vehicle is also known as Kleinbus in Chile.

 

In the US, however, it is a VW bus, a "vee-dub", a minibus, a hippie-mobile, hippie bus, or hippie van, "combie", Microbus or a Transporter to aficionados. The early versions produced before 1967 used a split front windshield (giving rise to the nickname "Splitty"), and their comparative rarity has led to their becoming sought after by collectors and enthusiasts. The next version, sold in the US market from 1968 to 1979, is characterised by a large, curved windshield and is commonly called a "bay-window". It was replaced by the Vanagon, of which only the Westfalia camper version has a common nickname, "Westy".

 

It was called Volksie Bus in South Africa, notable in a series of that country's TV commercials. Kombi is also a generic nickname for vans and minibuses in South Africa and Swaziland, often used as a means of public transportation. In Nigeria it was called Danfo.

 

In the UK, it is known as a "Campervan". In France, it was called a "camping-car" (usually hyphenated) though this has been expanded to include other, often more specialized vehicles in more recent times.

 

MEXICAN PRODUCTION

T2 production began in 1970 at the Puebla assembly factory.

 

Offered initially only as a nine-passenger version called the Volkswagen Kombi, and from 1973 also its cargo van version called the Volkswagen Panel, both variants were fitted with the 1.5 L air-cooled boxer engine and four-speed manual gearbox. In 1974, the 1.6 L 44 bhp (33 kW; 45 PS) boxer engine replaced the 1.5 previous one, and production continued this way up to 1987. In 1987, the water-cooled 1.8 L 85 bhp (63 kW; 86 PS) inline four-cylinder engine replaced the air-cooled 1.6 L. This new model is recognisable by its black grille (for its engine coolant radiator), bumpers and moldings.

 

In 1975, Volkswagen de Mexico ordered two specially made pickups from Germany, one single cab and one double cab, for the Puebla plant. These were evaluated for the possibility of building pickups in Mexico, and were outfitted with every option except the Arctic package, including front and rear fog lights, intermittent wipers, trip odometer, clock, bumper rubber, PVC tilt, and dual doors on the single cab storage compartment. VW de Mexico was interested in having the lights, wiring, brake systems and other parts manufactured in Mexico. Ultimately, VW de Mexico declined to produce pickups, and the pickups were sold to an Autohaus, a Volkswagen dealer in San Antonio, Texas, since they could not be sold in Mexico. By law, no German-made Volkswagens were to be sold in Mexico. These are probably the only pickups that were produced in Germany for Mexican import, and have the "ME" export code on the M-code plate. The green double cab was sold to a new owner in New York, and has been lost track of. The light gray (L345, licht grau) single cab still exists. Pickups were not manufactured in Mexico, nor were they imported into Mexico from Germany, save for these two examples.

 

In 1988, a luxury variant – the Volkswagen Caravelle – made its debut in the Mexican market to compete with the Nissan Ichi Van, which was available in cargo, passenger and luxury versions.

 

The main differences between the two are that the Caravelle was sold as an eight-passenger version, while the Combi was available as a nine-passenger version, the Caravelle was only painted in metallic colors, while the Combi was only available in non-metallic colors, and the Caravelle was fitted with an AM/FM stereo cassette sound system, tinted windows, velour upholstery, reading lights, mid and rear headrests, and wheel covers from the European T25 model.

 

In 1991, the 10 cm higher roof made its debut in all variants, and the Combi began to be offered in eight- or nine-passenger variants. In 1991, since Mexican anti-pollution regulations required a three-way catalytic converter, a Digifant fuel injection system replaced the previous carburetor. The three variants continued without change until 1994.

 

In 1994, production ended in Mexico, with models being imported from Brazil. The Caravelle was discontinued, and both the Combi and the Panel were only offered in white color and finally in 2002, replaced by the T4 EuroVan Pasajeros and EuroVan Carga, passenger and cargo van in long wheelbase version, inline five-cylinder 2.5 L 115 bhp and five-speed manual gearbox imported from Germany.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Configuration of the Mir space station in 1990, without the Spektr and Priroda modules.

A light and fast ion frigate.Two different flight configuration, one for cruise and one for combat...

I have received quite a few e-mails asking for info on my Digiscoping set-up.

So here we are.

The GI comes with a Kit lens as standard and can be used with Kowas 25x eyepiece(No vignetting) and also with the 30x eyepiece(some vignetting).NOTE :Using this method you can Digiscope in auto-focus with the G1.

However the image you see here shows the G1 kit lens removed and a 4/3 t-adapter inserted into the GI.

Kowas Photo-Adapter ref:TSN-PZ 680mm-1000mm(Expensive,around 650 euros) is attached to the t-adapter and the TSN screws directly into the scope.

Now,with this configuration you can only shoot in manual focus,using the scopes focusing.

This mehod has advantages and disadvantages.

1.Manual focus method.Greater focal length is achieved but !!! IF YOUR FOCUS ON THE SUBJECT IS NOT PERFECT,YOU MAY AS WELL BIN THE IMAGE.NO PRISONERS TAKEN.NOT FOR EVERYBODY THIS METHOD.

2.Kit Lens configuration.Great for fast moving subjects such as waders but !!!!,if you move around a lot searching for your subjects (I do) the Kit-lens can move away from the eyepiece a fraction and you have to start fiddling around to set everything up again.NOT IDEAL.Yet if you are static,no problems.

I have tried both methods and i now shoot 100% in Manual.But again,a question of choice.

One more thing to say re: above image:BE AWARE?THIS SYSTEM IS VERY HEAVY !!!!.SO TAKE PLENTY OF VITAMIN PILLS BEFORE STARTING OUT FOR A DAY !!!!!! lol.No,to be serious for a moment.It is heavy for a reason :Strength and Stability.Essential for Digiscoping success.

The Kowa Scope and GI are attached to Kowa's DA10 universal Mounting System(Around 350 euros) and then to a Top-Range Manfrotto Tripod (Again around 350 euros).Get the best tripod you can afford.YOU MUST HAVE COMPLETE STABILITY AND STRENGTH IN THE TRIPOD.

THE DA10 IS ESSENTIAL FOR DIGISCOPING SUCCESS WHY ?

Stability(I keep using this word,in other words NO MOVEMENT WHEN TAKING THE IMAGE) is so important in digiscoping and i have found that even in very high wind conditions using the DA10 gives me incredible stability and everything is locked down "Tight".No movement at all.It must be said that using the kit lens configuration there is not the same degree of stabiliy,because there are 2 elements (Lens and Eyepiece) that can move slightly.I just sling the gear over my shoulder and move on,spot a subject AND BE READY TO SHOOT INTANTLY.

I have so much confidence in the stability that i shoot all the time using my finger and NOT a cable release.Just one final point as to why i use the G1.I started digiscoping using the Nikon coolpix P6000 a wonderful camera for Digiscoping BUT it had to be used with a Hoodman Loupe so that in bright sunlight you could see what you were trying to shoot !!!!.I found the system cumbersome with elastic bands wound around the scope A real messy operation and there is no possibility of "Rapid Fire" shooting as you have with the G1. With the P6000 only one shot could be taken at one time.

Finally.

This system works for me but as i said earlier it's not for everyone.Unfortunately,to digiscope successfully is not cheap.DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES BUY A CHEAP SCOPE OR CAMERA.YOU WILL BE DISSAPPOINTED IN THE RESULTS.This set-Up will cost you around 4200 euros.God !!!!! i've just had a heart attack !!!! lol.

If you would like to see images from "Master" Digiscopers using Kowa Scopes check out my flickr friends photostreams.They are all using different cameras and different methods but their images are amazing.

1.Kevin Bolton.

2.Paul Hackett.(Thanks Paul for all your invaluable help when i began,you started me off "On the Right Track".

3.h2otara(Tara Tanaka) Kowa/GI.(Tara helped me enormously when i began 2 years ago)

4.Roy Halpin.

I hope this post will help people who are interested in Digiscoping.For me it is form of bird photography with tremendous challenges and is immensely rewarding.

Best wishes from North West France.

BASIC DETAILS

Bus Company/Operator: VALLACAR TRANSIT, INC.

Bus Name: CERES TOURS

Fleet Number: 829

Classification: Air Conditioned Inter Provincial Operation Bus

Franchise Route:

Route:

Seating Configuration: 2x2 seater

Seating Capacity: 45 passengers

BUS BODY

Bus Manufacturer: VTI-TEBBAP (Vallacar Transit, Inc. - Transport Engineering Bus Body Assembly Plant)

Bus Model: VTI-TEBBAP Yanson ViKing 10th Generation "Iron Bird" 2.0v

CHASSIS

Chassis Manufacturer: Hino Motors, Ltd.

Chassis Model: Hino RK1JMT

(RK1JST12704)

Suspension: Leaf Spring Suspension

ENGINE

Engine Manufacturer: Hino Motors, Ltd.

Engine Model: Hino J08C-TK

(J08CTK16263)

TRANSMISSION

Type: Manual Transmission

Gear: 6 speed forward and 1 speed reverse

 

BASIC DETAILS

Bus Company/Operator: JT HAWKINS TRAVELLERS INC

Bus Name: WHITE STALLION EXPRESS

Fleet Number: 999

Classification: Non-air Conditioned Inter Provincial Operation Bus

Franchise Route: Cebu City-Daan Bantayan via Hagnaya

Route: Maya-Bagay via Bogo-Daan Bantayan

Seating Configuration: 3x3 seater

Seating Capacity: 69 passengers

BUS BODY

Bus Manufacturer: Santarosa Motor Works, Inc./Columbian Manufacturing Corporation

Bus Model: Santarosa Cityliner

CHASSIS

Chassis Manufacturer: Zyle Daewoo Bus Corporation

Chassis Model: Daewoo BS106 PL5UM52HDGK

(PL5UM52HDGK030263)

Suspension: Leaf Spring Suspension

ENGINE

Engine Manufacturer: Doosan Infracore Corporation

Engine Model: Doosan DE08TIS

(DE08TIS549103B02)

TRANSMISSION

Type: Manual Transmission

Gear: 6 speed forward and 1 speed reverse

 

Location: Mandaue Causeway, Ouano Avenue, Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines

 

Date Taken: September 12, 2018

 

* Some parts of the specifications may be subjected for verification and may be changed without prior notice.

www.ravishlondon.com/londonstreetart

   

Together Shoreditch and Spitalfields in the East of London constitute the most exciting place to be in London. The population is young, dynamic and imaginative; Friday and Saturday nights are a riot with a plethora of bars and clubs many with their own unique flavour. But what makes this area really special is that Shoreditch and Spitalfields comprise what one might call, ‘the square mile of art’; a de factor open air art gallery; with graffiti, posters and paste-ups being displayed on the main streets, down the side roads and in all the nooks and crannies of this post-industrial environ.

   

From Eine’s huge single letters being painted on shop shutters, to the haunting propaganda posters of Obey, to Cartrain’s political black and white pop-art; and to the one very small bronze coloured plastic circle, with the imprint of a dog shit and a man's foot about to step into it, which I once saw pasted to a wall, there is an incredible diversity.

 

Being on the streets, the work can be destroyed, taken or painted over at any minute. It is fragile and transient. Furthermore the juxtaposition of different pieces of art is random and unpredictable both in content and its location, which means that each day throws up a new and unique configuration of work within the streets, which you can only experience by travelling through the city.

 

Street Art Beginnings

 

The reasons for why East London has seen the flowering of street art are manifold. The post-industrial legacy of Shoreditch’s crumbling low-rise warehouses, not only provides an environment in which the artists and designers can do their work, but East London’s proximity to the City of London provides an economic source of support for the artists and designers; and finally Shoreditch with its building sites, old dilapidated warehouses provides a canvas upon which those artists can display their work and increase their commercial value.

 

Set against the characterless nature of the steely post-modernity of the city, the autumnal colours of the terraced warehouses in Shoreditch, no bigger than four to five stories high; offer a reminder of the legacy of a thriving fabrics and furniture industry which blossomed in the seventeenth Century. Both Shoreditch and Spitalfields have industrial pasts linked to the textiles industry, which fell into terminal decline by the twentieth century and was almost non-existent by the end of Wolrd War II. The decline was mirrored in the many three to four storey warehouses that were left to decay.

 

The general decline was arrested in the 1980s with the emergence of Shoreditch and Hoxton (Hoxton and Shoreditch are used interchandeably to refer to the same area) as a centre for new artists. It is difficult to say what attracted the artists to this area. But it was likely to be a combination of the spaces offered by the old warehouses, the cheap rents, and the location of Shoreditch and Spitalfields close to the City of London; where the money was to buy and fund artistic endeavour.

 

Not just that but post-war Shoreditch dominated by tens of post-war tower blocks, built amidst the ruins of the terraced housing that lay there before, which was bombed during World War II; had the rough edge which might inspire an artist. Shoreditch hums with the industry of newly arrived immigrants but also of the dangers of the poorer communities which inhabit these areas. Homeless people can be found sat underneath bridges on the main thoroughfares on Friday and Saturday nights; and Shoreditch is apparently home to one of the largest concentrations of striptease joints and a number of prostitutes. So, Shoreditch is a crumbling dirty, dodgy, polluted mess but it also has money; and these two factors provide an intoxicating mix for artists, who can take inspiration from their environment, but also rub shoulders with people who have the kind of money to buy their work.

 

By the early nineties Hoxton’s reputation as a centre for artists had become well established. As Jess Cartner-Morley puts it ‘Hoxton was invented in 1993. Before that, there was only 'Oxton, a scruffy no man's land of pie and mash and cheap market-stall clothing…’ At that time artists like Damien Hirst and Tracy Emin were taking part in ‘A Fete Worth than Death’ an arts based event in Hoxton. Gradually these artists began to create their own gravity, attracting more and more of their own like. Clubs and bars began to emerge, as did a Hoxton style, ‘the Hoxton fin’ being a trademark haircut. Many designers and artists located around Shoreditch and Spitalfields. Shoreditch has also become a hive of studios for artists, vintage fashion shops, art students and musicians.

 

At the same time as an artistic community was forming fuelled by money from the City, London was subject to a revolution in street art. According to Ward, writing for Time Out, the street art scene began in the mid-1980s as part of London’s hip-hop scene. Graffiti artists, emulating what was going on Stateside, began to tag their names all over London. According to Ward many of those pioneers ‘went on to paint legal commissions and are at the heart of today’s scene’. That is to say, from the community of artists congregating in East London, a number were inspired by graffiti, and because the East London, with its countless dilapidated warehouses, and building sites, offered such a good canvas; they went on to use the East London as a canvas for their work.

 

Little seems to have been written about the individual journey’s particular street artists have taken to get to where they are, which help illuminate some of the issues talked about in this section. Cartrain said that Banksy was a huge influence for him commenting that, "I've sent him a few emails showing him my work and he sent me a signed piece of his work in the post."

 

What created the East London street art scene may also kill it

 

The East London urban art scene is unlikely to last forever, being the symptom of a delicate juxtaposition of industrial decline and economic forces.

 

The irony is that the same factors which are responsible for the creation of the East London art scene are likely to destroy it.

 

Politicians from all parties, spiritual leaders for global capital, tell us of the unstoppable forces of globalisation. They say if Britain is to continue to dip its paw into the cream of the world’s wealth it needs to become a post-industrial service economy; suggesting a rosy future of millions of Asians slaving away co-ordinated by keyboard tapping British suits, feet on desk, leant back on high backed leather chairs, secretary blowing them off.

 

Art, which is feeble and dependent upon the financial growth of an economy for its survival, will have to shape itself around the needs and demands of capital.

 

The financial district of the City of London, lying to the south of Shoreditch, has been successfully promoted as a global financial centre, and its mighty power is slowly expanding its way northwards. Plans are afoot for the glass foot soldiers of mammon, fuelled by speculative property investment, to gradually advance northwards, replacing old warehouses with a caravan of Starbucks and Japanese sushi places and a concomitant reduction in dead spaces to portray the art, increased security to capture and ward off street artists, increased property prices and the eventual eviction of the artistic community. Spitalfields has already had big corporate sized chunks taken out of it, with one half of the old Spitalfields Market being sacrificed for corporate interests in the last five years.

 

So then the very same financial forces, and post-industrial legacy, which have worked to create this micro-environment for street art to thrive, are the same forces which will in time eventually destroy it. Maybe the community will move northwards, maybe it will dissipate, but until that moment lets just enjoy what the community puts out there, for its own financial interests, for their own ego and also, just maybe, for the benefit of the people.

 

Banksy

 

Banksy is the street artist par excellence. London’s street art scene is vibrant and diverse. There is some good, cure, kitschy stuff out there, but in terms of creativity and imagination Banksy leads by a city mile. His stuff is invariably shocking, funny, thought provoking and challenging.

 

Banksy considers himself to be a graffiti artist, which is what he grew up doing in the Bristol area in the late eighties. According to Hattenstone (2003) Banksy, who was expelled from his school, and who spent some time in prison for petty crimes, started graffiti at the age of 14, quickly switching over to stencils, which he uses today, because he didn’t find he had a particular talent for the former. His work today involves a mixture of graffiti and stencils although he has shown a capacity for using a multitude of materials.

 

Key works in London have included:

 

•In London Zoo he climbed into the penguin enclosure and painted "We're bored of fish" in six-foot-high letters.

•

•In 2004 he placed a dead rat in a glass-fronted box, and stuck the box on a wall of the Natural History Museum.

•

•‘A designated riot area’ at the bottom of Nelson’s Column.

•

•He placed a painting called Early Man Goes to Market, with a human figure hunting wildlife while pushing a shopping trolley, in the British Museum.

•

His work seems to be driven by an insatiable desire to go on producing. In an interview with Shepherd Fairey he said, ‘Anything that stands in the way of achieving that piece is the enemy, whether it’s your mum, the cops, someone telling you that you sold out, or someone saying, "Let’s just stay in tonight and get pizza." Banksy gives the impression of being a person in the mould of Tiger Woods, Michael Schumacher or Lance Armstrong. Someone with undoubted talent and yet a true workaholic dedicated to his chosen profession.

 

Its also driven by the buzz of ‘getting away with it’. He said to Hattenstone, ‘The art to it is not getting picked up for it, and that's the biggest buzz at the end of the day because you could stick all my shit in Tate Modern and have an opening with Tony Blair and Kate Moss on roller blades handing out vol-au-vents and it wouldn't be as exciting as it is when you go out and you paint something big where you shouldn't do. The feeling you get when you sit home on the sofa at the end of that, having a fag and thinking there's no way they're going to rumble me, it's amazing... better than sex, better than drugs, the buzz.’

 

Whilst Banksy has preferred to remain anonymous he does provide a website and does the occasional interview putting his work in context (see the Fairey interview).

 

Banksy’s anonymity is very important to him. Simon Hattenstone, who interviewed Banksy in 2003, said it was because graffiti was illegal, which makes Banksy a criminal. Banksy has not spoken directly on why he wishes to maintain his anonymity. It is clear that Banksy despises the notion of fame. The irony of course is that ‘Banksy’ the brand is far from being anonymous, given that the artist uses it on most if not all of his work. In using this brand name Banksy helps fulfil the need, which fuels a lot of graffiti artists, of wanting to be recognised, the need of ego.

 

Banksy is not against using his work to ‘pay the bills’ as he puts it. He has for example designed the cover of a Blur album, although he has pledged never to do a commercial job again, as a means of protecting his anonymity. Nevertheless he continues to produce limited edition pieces, which sell in galleries usually for prices, which give him a bit of spending money after he has paid the bills. Banksy has said, ‘If it’s something you actually believe in, doing something commercial doesn’t turn it to shit just because it’s commercial’ (Fairey, 2008). Banksy has over time passed from urban street artist into international artistic superstar, albeit an anonymous one.

 

Banksy has a definite concern for the oppressed in society. He often does small stencils of despised rats and ridiculous monkeys with signs saying things to the effect of ‘laugh now but one day we’ll be in charge’. Whilst some seem to read into this that Banksy is trying to ferment a revolutionary zeal in the dispossessed, such that one day they will rise up and slit the throats of the powers that be, so far his concern seems no more and no less than just a genuine human concern for the oppressed. Some of what seems to fuel his work is not so much his hatred of the system but at being at the bottom of it. He said to Hattenstone (2003) ‘Yeah, it's all about retribution really… Just doing a tag is about retribution. If you don't own a train company then you go and paint on one instead. It all comes from that thing at school when you had to have name tags in the back of something - that makes it belong to you. You can own half the city by scribbling your name over it’

 

Charlie Brooker of the Guardian has criticised Banksy for his depictions of a monkey wearing a sandwich board with 'lying to the police is never wrong' written on it. Certainly such a black and white statement seems out of kilter with more balanced assessments that Banksy has made. Brooker challenges Banksy asking whether Ian Huntley would have been right to have lied to the police?

 

Brooker has also criticized Banksy for the seemingly meaninglessness of some of this images. Brooker says, ‘Take his political stuff. One featured that Vietnamese girl who had her clothes napalmed off. Ho-hum, a familiar image, you think. I'll just be on my way to my 9 to 5 desk job, mindless drone that I am. Then, with an astonished lurch, you notice sly, subversive genius Banksy has stencilled Mickey Mouse and Ronald McDonald either side of her. Wham! The message hits you like a lead bus: America ... um ... war ... er ... Disney ... and stuff.’ Brooker has seemingly oversimplified Banksy’s message, if indeed Banksy has one, to fuel his own criticisms. It is easy to see that for many the Vietnam painting tells us that the United States likes to represent itself with happy smiling characters, that hide the effects of its nefarious activities responsible for the real life faces of distress seen on the young girl. Something that we should be constantly reminded of. But then that’s a matter of politics not of meaninglessness.

 

Banksy’s ingenuity comes through in his philosophy on progression, ‘I’m always trying to move on’ he says. In the interview he gave with Shepherd Fairey he explained that he has started reinvesting his money in to new more ambitious projects which have involved putting scaffolding put up against buildings, covering the scaffolding with plastic sheeting and then using the cover of the sheets to do his paintings unnoticed.

 

Banksy has balls. Outside of London he has painted images in Disney Land; and on the Israeli wall surrounding Palestine. How far is he willing to push it? What about trying something at the headquarters of the BNP, or on army barracks, or at a brothel or strip club employing sex slaves, or playing around with corporate advertising a la Adbusters?

 

www.ravishlondon.com/londonstreetart

     

Artist's view of the two configurations of Ariane 6 using two boosters (A62) or four boosters (A64).

 

ESA and European industry are currently developing a new-generation launcher: Ariane 6. This follows the decision taken at the ESA Council meeting at Ministerial level in December 2014, to maintain Europe’s leadership in the fast-changing commercial launch service market while responding to the needs of European institutional missions.

 

This move is associated with a change in the governance of the European launcher sector, based on a sharing of responsibility, cost and risk by ESA and industry.

 

The participating states are: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

 

Credit: ESA–David Ducros, 2016

The Volkswagen Type 2, officially known as the Transporter or informally as Bus (US) or Camper (UK), was a panel van introduced in 1950 by German automaker Volkswagen as its second car model – following and initially deriving from Volkswagen's first model, the Type 1 (Beetle), it was given the factory designation Type 2.

As one of the forerunners of the modern cargo and passenger vans, the Type 2 gave rise to competitors in the United States and Europe, including the Ford Econoline, the Dodge A100, and the Corvair 95 Corvan, the latter adopting the Type 2's rear-engine configuration. European competition included the Renault Estafette and the Ford Transit. As of January 2010, updated versions of the Type 2 remain in production in international markets— as a passenger van, as a cargo van, and as a pickup truck.

Like the Beetle, the van has received numerous nicknames worldwide, including the "microbus", "minibus", "kombi" and, due to its popularity during the counterculture movement of the 1960s, "hippie van".

 

The concept for the Type 2 is credited to Dutch Volkswagen importer Ben Pon. (It has similarities in concept to the 1920s Rumpler Tropfenwagen and 1930s Dymaxion car by Buckminster Fuller, neither of which reached production.) Pon visited Wolfsburg in 1946, intending to purchase Type 1s for import to Holland, where he saw an improvised parts-mover and realized something better was possible using the stock Type 1 pan. He first sketched the van in a doodle dated April 23, 1947, proposing a payload of 690 kg (1,500 lb) and placing the driver at the very front. Production would have to wait, however, as the factory was at capacity producing the Type 1.

When capacity freed up a prototype known internally as the Type 29 was produced in a short three months. The stock Type 1 pan proved to be too weak so the prototype used a ladder chassis with unit body construction. Coincidentally the wheelbase was the same as the Type 1's. Engineers reused the reduction gear from the Type 81, enabling the 1.5 ton van to use a 25 hp (19 kW) flat four engine.

Although the aerodynamics of the first prototypes were poor (with an initial drag coefficient of 0.75), engineers used the wind tunnel at the Technical University of Braunschweig to optimize the design. Simple changes such as splitting the windshield and roofline into a "vee" helped the production Type 2 achieve a drag coefficient of 0.44, exceeding the Type 1's 0.48. Volkswagen's new chief executive officer Heinz Nordhoff (appointed 1 January 1948) approved the van for production on 19 May 1949 and the first production model, now designated Type 2, rolled off the assembly line to debut 12 November. Only two models were offered: the Kombi (with two side windows and middle and rear seats that were easily removable by one person), and the Commercial. The Microbus was added in May 1950, joined by the Deluxe Microbus in June 1951. In all 9,541 Type 2s were produced in their first year of production.

An ambulance model was added in December 1951 which repositioned the fuel tank in front of the transaxle, put the spare tire behind the front seat, and added a "tailgate"-style rear door. These features became standard on the Type 2 from 1955 to 1967. 11,805 Type 2s were built in the 1951 model year. These were joined by a single-cab pickup in August 1952, and it changed the least of the Type 2s until all were heavily modified in 1968.

Unlike other rear engine Volkswagens, which evolved constantly over time but never saw the introduction of all-new models, the Transporter not only evolved, but was completely revised periodically with variations retrospectively referred to as versions "T1" to "T5" (a nomenclature only invented after the introduction of the front-drive T4 which repaced the T25) However only generations T1 to T3 (or T25 as it is still called in Ireland and Great Britain) can be seen as directly related to the Beetle (see below for details).

The Type 2, along with the 1947 Citroën H Van, are among the first 'forward control' vans in which the driver was placed above the front roadwheels. They started a trend in Europe, where the 1952 GM Bedford CA, 1959 Renault Estafette, 1960 BMC Morris J4, and 1960 Commer FC also used the concept. In the United States, the Corvair-based Chevrolet Corvan cargo van and Greenbrier passenger van went so far as to copy the Type 2's rear-engine layout, using the Corvair's horizontally-opposed, air-cooled engine for power. Except for the Greenbrier and various 1950s–70s Fiat minivans, the Type 2 remained unique in being rear-engined. This was a disadvantage for the early "barndoor" Panel Vans, which couldn't easily be loaded from the rear due to the engine cover intruding on interior space, but generally advantageous in traction and interior noise.

 

The Type 2 was available as a:

Panel van, a delivery van without side windows or rear seats.

Nippen Tucket, available in six colours, with or without doors.

Walk-Through Panel Van, a delivery van without side windows or rear seats and cargo doors on both sides.

High Roof Panel Van (German: Hochdach), a delivery van with raised roof.

Kombi, from German: Kombinationskraftwagen (combination motor vehicle), with side windows and removable rear seats, both a passenger and a cargo vehicle combined.

Bus, also called a Volkswagen Caravelle, a van with more comfortable interior reminiscent of passenger cars since the third generation.

Samba-Bus, a van with skylight windows and cloth sunroof, first generation only, also known as a Deluxe Microbus. They were marketed for touring the Alps,

Flatbed pickup truck, or Single Cab, also available with wider load bed.

Crew cab pick-up, a flatbed truck with extended cab and two rows of seats, also called a Doka, from German: Doppelkabine.

Westfalia camping van, "Westy", with Westfalia roof and interior.

Adventurewagen camping van, with high roof and camping units from Adventurewagen.

Semi-camping van that can also still be used as a passenger car and transporter, sacrificing some camping comforts. "Multivan" or "Weekender", available from the third generation on.

Apart from these factory variants, there were a multitude of third-party conversions available, some of which were offered through Volkswagen dealers. They included, but were not limited to, refrigerated vans, hearses, ambulances, police vans, fire engines and ladder trucks, and camping van conversions by companies other than Westfalia. There were even 30 Klv 20 rail-going draisines built for Deutsche Bundesbahn in 1955.

 

The first generation of the Volkswagen Type 2 with the split windshield, informally called the Microbus, Splitscreen, or Splittie among modern fans, was produced from 8 March 1950 through the end of the 1967 model year. From 1950–1956, the T1 was built in Wolfsburg; from 1956, it was built at the completely new Transporter factory in Hanover. Like the Beetle, the first Transporters used the 1100 Volkswagen air cooled engine, an 1,131 cc (69.0 cu in), DIN-rated 18 kW (24 PS; 24 bhp), air-cooled flat-four cylinder 'boxer' engine mounted in the rear. This was upgraded to the 1200 – an 1,192 cc (72.7 cu in) 22 kW (30 PS; 30 bhp) in 1953. A higher compression ratio became standard in 1955; while an unusual early version of the 30 kW (41 PS; 40 bhp) engine debuted exclusively on the Type 2 in 1959. This engine proved to be so uncharacteristically troublesome that Volkswagen recalled all 1959 Transporters and replaced the engines with an updated version of the 30 kW engine. Any 1959 models that retain that early engine today are true survivors. Since the engine was totally discontinued at the outset, no parts were ever made available.

The early versions of the T1 until 1955 were often called the "Barndoor" (retrospectively called T1a since the 1990s), owing to the enormous rear engine cover, while the later versions with a slightly modified body (the roofline above the windshield is extended), smaller engine bay, and 15" roadwheels instead of the original 16" ones are nowadays called the T1b (again, only called this since the 1990s, based on VW's restrospective T1,2,3,4 etc. naming system.). From the 1964 model year, when the rear door was made wider (same as on the bay-window or T2), the vehicle could be referred to as the T1c. 1964 also saw the introduction of an optional sliding door for the passenger/cargo area instead of the outwardly hinged doors typical of cargo vans. This change arguably makes the 1964 Volkswagen the first true minivan, although the term wouldn't be coined for another two decades.

In 1962, a heavy-duty Transporter was introduced as a factory option. It featured a cargo capacity of 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) instead of the previous 750 kg (1,653 lb), smaller but wider 14" roadwheels, and a 1.5 Le, 31 kW (42 PS; 42 bhp) DIN engine. This was so successful that only a year later, the 750 kg, 1.2 L Transporter was discontinued. The 1963 model year introduced the 1500 engine – 1,493 cc (91.1 cu in) as standard equipment to the US market at 38 kW (52 PS; 51 bhp) DIN with an 83 mm (3.27 in) bore, 69 mm (2.72 in) stroke, and 7.8:1 compression ratio. When the Beetle received the 1.5 L engine for the 1967 model year, its power was increased to 40 kW (54 PS; 54 bhp) DIN.

  

1966 Volkswagen Kombi (North America)

German production stopped after the 1967 model year; however, the T1 still was made in Brazil until 1975, when it was modified with a 1968–79 T2-style front end, and big 1972-vintage taillights into the so-called "T1.5" and produced until 1996. The Brazilian T1s were not identical to the last German models (the T1.5 was locally produced in Brazil using the 1950s and 1960s-era stamping dies to cut down on retooling, alongside the Beetle/Fusca, where the pre-1965 body style was retained), though they sported some characteristic features of the T1a, such as the cargo doors and five-stud 205 mm (8.1 in) PCD) rims.

  

VW Bus Type 2 (T1), hippie colors

Among American enthusiasts, it is common to refer to the different models by the number of their windows. The basic Kombi or Bus is the 11-window (a.k.a. three-window bus because of three side windows) with a split windshield, two front cabin door windows, six rear side windows, and one rear window. The DeLuxe model featured eight rear side windows and two rear corner windows, making it the 15-window (not available in Europe). Meanwhile, the sunroof DeLuxe with its additional eight small skylight windows is, accordingly, the 23-window. From the 1964 model year, with its wider rear door, the rear corner windows were discontinued, making the latter two the 13-window and 21-window respectively. The 23- and later 21-window variants each carry the nickname 'Samba', or in Australia, officially 'Alpine'.

 

Certain models of the Volkswagen Type 2 played a role in an historic episode during the early 1960s, known as the Chicken War. France and West Germany had placed tariffs on imports of U.S. chicken. Diplomacy failed, and in January 1964, two months after taking office, President Johnson imposed a 25% tax (almost 10 times the average U.S. tariff) on potato starch, dextrin, brandy, and light trucks. Officially, the tax targeted items imported from Europe as approximating the value of lost American chicken sales to Europe.

In retrospect, audio tapes from the Johnson White House, revealed a quid pro quo unrelated to chicken. In January 1964, President Johnson attempted to convince United Auto Workers' president Walter Reuther not to initiate a strike just prior to the 1964 election, and to support the president's civil rights platform. Reuther, in turn, wanted Johnson to respond to Volkswagen's increased shipments to the United States.

The Chicken Tax directly curtailed importation of German-built Type 2s in configurations that qualified them as light trucks – that is, commercial vans (panel vans) and pickups. In 1964, U.S. imports of automobile trucks from West Germany declined to a value of $5.7 million – about one-third the value imported in the previous year. After 1971, Volkswagen cargo vans and pickup trucks, the intended targets, "practically disappeared from the U.S. market". While post-1971 Type 2 commercial vans and single-cab and double-cab pickups can be found in the United States today, they are exceedingly rare. As of 2009, the Chicken tax remains in effect.

(Source Wikipedia)

The Citroën DS (French pronunciation: ​[si.tʁɔ.ˈɛn de ɛs]) is a front-engine, front-wheel-drive executive car manufactured and marketed by the French company Citroën from 1955 to 1975 in sedan, wagon/estate and convertible body configurations. Italian sculptor and industrial designer Flaminio Bertoni and the French aeronautical engineer André Lefèbvre styled and engineered the car. Paul Magès developed the hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension.

 

Noted for its aerodynamic, futuristic body design and innovative technology, the DS set new standards in ride quality, handling, and braking—and was the first production car equipped with disc brakes.

 

Citroën sold 1,455,746 examples, including 1,330,755 built at the manufacturer's Paris Quai André-Citroën production plant.

 

The DS came third in the 1999 Car of the Century poll recognizing the world's most influential auto designs and was named the most beautiful car of all time by Classic & Sports Car magazine

 

MODEL HISTORY

After 18 years of secret development as the successor to the Traction Avant, the DS 19 was introduced on 5 October 1955 at the Paris Motor Show. In the first 15 minutes of the show, 743 orders were taken, and orders for the first day totalled 12,000. During the 10 days of the show, the DS took in 80,000 deposits; a record that has stood for over 60 years.

 

Contemporary journalists said the DS pushed the envelope in the ride vs. handling compromise possible in a motor vehicle.

 

To a France still deep in reconstruction after the devastation of World War II, and also building its identity in the post-colonial world, the DS was a symbol of French ingenuity. The DS was distributed to many territories throughout the world.

 

It also posited the nation's relevance in the Space Age, during the global race for technology of the Cold War. Structuralist philosopher Roland Barthes, in an essay about the car, said that it looked as if it had "fallen from the sky". An American advertisement summarised this selling point: "It takes a special person to drive a special car".

 

Because they were owned by the technologically aggressive tire manufacturer Michelin, Citroën had designed their cars around the technically superior radial tire since 1948, and the DS was no exception.

 

The car featured a novel hydropneumatic suspension including an automatic leveling system and variable ground clearance, developed in-house by Paul Magès. This suspension allowed the DS to travel quickly on the poor road surfaces common in France.

 

In addition, the vehicle had power steering and a semi-automatic transmission (the transmission required no clutch pedal, but gears still had to be shifted by hand), though the shift lever controlled a powered hydraulic shift mechanism in place of a mechanical linkage, and a fibreglass roof which lowered the centre of gravity and so reduced weight transfer. Inboard front brakes (as well as independent suspension) reduced unsprung weight. Different front and rear track widths and tyre sizes reduced the unequal tyre loading, which is well known to promote understeer, typical of front-engined and front-wheel drive cars.

 

As with all French cars, the DS design was affected by the tax horsepower system, which effectively mandated very small engines. Unlike the Traction Avant predecessor, there was no top-of-range model with a powerful six-cylinder engine. Citroën had planned an air-cooled flat-6 engine for the car, but did not have the funds to put the prototype engine into production.

 

The DS placed third in the 1999 Car of the Century competition, and fifth on Automobile Magazine's "100 Coolest Cars" listing in 2005. It was also named the most beautiful car of all time by Classic & Sports Car magazine after a poll of 20 world-renowned car designers, including Giorgetto Giugiaro, Ian Callum, Roy Axe, Paul Bracq, and Leonardo Fioravanti.

 

NAME

Both the DS and its simpler sibling, the ID, used a punning name. "DS" is pronounced in French as "Déesse" (goddess); "ID" is pronounced as "Idée" (idea). An intermediate model was called the DW.

 

MOTORSPORT

The DS was successful in motorsports like rallying, where sustained speeds on poor surfaces are paramount, and won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1959. In the 1000 Lakes Rally, Pauli Toivonen drove a DS19 to victory in 1962.

 

In 1966, the DS won the Monte Carlo Rally again, with some controversy as the competitive BMC Mini-Cooper team was disqualified due to rule infractions. Ironically, Mini was involved with DS competition again two years later, when a drunk driver in a Mini in Sydney Australia crashed into the DS that was leading the 1968 London–Sydney Marathon, 98 miles from the finish line. The DS was still competitive in the grueling 1974 London-Sahara-Munich World Cup Rally, where it won over 70 other cars, only 5 of which even completed the entire event.

 

TECHNICAL INNOVATION - HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS

In conventional cars, hydraulics are only used in brakes and power steering. In the DS they were also used for the suspension, clutch and transmission. The cheaper 1957 ID19 did have manual steering and a simplified power-braking system. An engine driven pump pressurizes the closed system to 2,400 pounds per square inch.

 

At a time when few passenger vehicles had independent suspension on all wheels, the application of the hydraulic system to the car's suspension system to provide a self-levelling system was an innovative move. This suspension allowed the car to achieve sharp handling combined with very high ride quality, frequently compared to a "magic carpet".

 

The hydropneumatic suspension used was pioneered the year before, on the rear of another car from Citroën, the top of range Traction Avant 15CV-H.

 

IMPACT ON CITROEN BRAND DEVELOPMENT

The 1955 DS cemented the Citroën brand name as an automotive innovator, building on the success of the Traction Avant, which had been the world's first mass-produced unitary body front-wheel-drive car in 1934. In fact, the DS caused such a huge sensation that Citroën was apprehensive that future models would not be of the same bold standard. No clean sheet new models were introduced from 1955 to 1970.

 

The DS was a large, expensive executive car and a downward brand extension was attempted, but without result. Throughout the late 1950s and 1960s Citroën developed many new vehicles for the very large, profitable market segments between the 2CV and the DS, occupied by vehicles like the Peugeot 403, Renault 16 and Ford Cortina, but none made it into production. Either they had uneconomic build costs, or were ordinary "me too" cars, not up to the company's high standard of innovation. As Citroën was owned by Michelin from 1934 to 1974 as a sort of research laboratory, such broad experimentation was possible. Michelin after all was getting a powerful advertisement for the capabilities of the radial tire Michelin had invented, when such experimentation was successful.

 

New models based on the small, utilitarian 2CV economy car were introduced, notably the 1961 Ami. It was also designed by Flaminio Bertoni and aimed to combine Three-box styling with the chassis of the 2CV. The Ami was very successful in France, but less so on export markets. Many found the styling controversial, and the car noisy and underpowered. The Dyane, was a modernised 2CV with a hatchback, competed with the 2CV inspired Renault 4 Hatchback. All these 2 cylinder models were very small, so there remained a wide market gap to the DS range all through the 1960s.

 

In 1970, Citroën finally introduced a car to target the mid-range - the Citroën GS, which won the "European car of the Year" for 1971 and sold 2.5 million units. It combined a small 55 horsepower flat-4 air-cooled engine with Hydropneumatic suspension. The intended 106 horsepower Wankel rotary-engined version with more power did not reach full production.

 

REPLACING THE DS

The DS remained popular and competitive throughout its production run. Its peak production year was 1970. Certain design elements like the somewhat narrow cabin, column-mounted gearstick, and separate fenders began to seem a little old-fashioned in the 1970s.

 

Citroën invested enormous resources to design and launch an entirely new vehicle in 1970, the SM, which was in effect a thoroughly modernized DS, with similar length, but greater width. The manual gearbox was a modified DS unit. The front disc brakes were the same design. Axles, wheel bearings, steering knuckles, and hydraulic components were either DS parts or modified DS parts.

 

The SM had a different purpose than replacing the 15-year-old DS design however - it was meant to launch Citroën into a completely new luxury grand touring market segment. Only fitted with a costly, exotic Maserati engine, the SM was faster and much more expensive than the DS. The SM was not designed to be a practical 4-door saloon suitable as a large family car, the key market for vehicles of this type in Europe. Typically, manufacturers would introduce low-volume coupés based on parts shared with an existing saloon, not as unique models, a contemporary example being the Mercedes-Benz SLC-Class.

 

The SM's high price and limited utility of the 2+2 seating configuration, meant the SM as actually produced could not seize the mantle from the DS.

 

So, while the design funds invested would allow the DS to be replaced by two cars - a 'modern DS' and the smaller CX, it was left to the CX alone to provide Citroën's large family or executive car in the model range.

 

The last DS came off the production line on 24 April 1975 - the manufacturer had taken the elementary precaution of building up approximately eight-month's of inventory of the "break" (estate/station wagon) version of the DS, to cover the period till Autumn 1975 when the estate/station wagon version of the CX would be introduced.

 

DEVELOPMENT

The DS always maintained its size and shape, with easily removable, unstressed body panels, but certain design changes did occur. During the 20-year production life improvements were made on an ongoing basis.

ID 19 submodel to extend brand downwards (1957–69)

 

The 1955 DS19 was 65% more expensive than the car it replaced, the Citroën Traction Avant. This affected potential sales in a country still recovering economically from World War II, so a cheaper submodel, the Citroën ID, was introduced in 1957.

 

The ID shared the DS's body but was less powerful and luxurious. Although it shared the engine capacity of the DS engine (at this stage 1,911 cc), the ID provided a maximum power output of only 69 hp compared to the 75 hp claimed for the DS19. Power outputs were further differentiated in 1961 when the DS19 acquired a Weber-32 twin bodied carburettor, and the increasing availability of higher octane fuel enabled the manufacturer to increase the compression ratio from 7.5:1 to 8.5:1. A new DS19 now came with a promised 83 hp of power. The ID19 was also more traditional mechanically: it had no power steering and had conventional transmission and clutch instead of the DS's hydraulically controlled set-up. Initially the basic ID19 was sold on the French market with a price saving of more than 25% against the DS, although the differential was reduced at the end of 1961 when the manufacturer quietly withdrew the entry level ID19 "Normale" from sale. A station wagon variant, the ID Break, was introduced in 1958.

 

D SPECIAL AND D SUPER (1970–75)

The ID was replaced by the D Spécial and D Super in 1970, but these retained the lower specification position in the range. The D Super was available with the DS21 2175ccm engine and a 5 speed gearbox, and named the D Super 5.

 

SERIE 2 - NOSE REDESIGN IN 1962

In September 1962, the DS was restyled with a more aerodynamically efficient nose, better ventilation and other improvements. It retained the open two headlamp appearance, but was available with an optional set of driving lights mounted on the front fenders. All models in the range changed nose design at the same time, including the ID and station wagon models.

Series 3 - Nose redesign in 1967 with Directional headlights

 

In late 1967, for the 1968 model year, the DS and ID was again restyled, by Robert Opron, who also styled the 1970 SM and 1974 CX. This version had a more streamlined headlamp design, giving the car a notably shark-like appearance. This design had four headlights under a smooth glass canopy, and the inner set swivelled with the steering wheel. This allowed the driver to see "around" turns, especially valuable on twisting roads driven at high speed at night.

 

Behind each glass cover lens, the inboard high-beam headlamp swivels by up to 80° as the driver steers, throwing the beam along the driver's intended path rather than uselessly across the curved road. The outboard low-beam headlamps are self-leveling in response to pitching caused by acceleration and braking.

 

However, this feature was not allowed in the US at the time (see World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations), so a version with four exposed headlights that did not swivel was made for the US market.

 

This 'turning headlight' feature was new to the market - it had only been seen before on the very rare three headlight 1935 Tatra 77A. The Tucker, which never was mass-produced, had a central headlight that turned with the steering. 45 years later, it is now a commonly available feature, even in the United States.

 

NEW GREEN HYDRAULIC FLUID

The original hydropneumatic system used a vegetable oil liquide hydraulique végétal (LHV), similar to that used in other cars at the time, but later switched to a synthetic fluid liquide hydraulique synthétique (LHS). Both of these had the disadvantage that they are hygroscopic, as is the case with most brake fluids. Disuse allows water to enter the hydraulic components causing deterioration and expensive maintenance work. The difficulty with hygroscopic hydraulic fluid was exacerbated in the DS/ID due to the extreme rise and fall in the fluid level in the reservoir, which went from nearly full to nearly empty when the suspension extended to maximum height and the six accumulators in the system filled with fluid. With every "inhalation" of fresh moisture- (and dust-) laden air, the fluid absorbed more water.

 

For the 1967 model year, Citroën introduced a new mineral oil-based fluid LHM (Liquide Hydraulique Minéral). This fluid was much less harsh on the system. LHM remained in use within Citroën until the Xantia was discontinued in 2001.

 

LHM required completely different materials for the seals. Using either fluid in the incorrect system would completely destroy the hydraulic seals very quickly. To help avoid this problem, Citroën added a bright green dye to the LHM fluid and also painted all hydraulic elements bright green. The former LHS parts were painted black.

 

All models, including the station wagon and ID, were upgraded at the same time. The hydraulic fluid changed to the technically superior LHM in all markets except the US and Canada, where the change did not take place until January 1969, due to local regulations.

 

INTERNATIONAL SALES AND PRODUCTION

The DS was primarily manufactured at the Quai André-Citroën in the Javel neighborhood of Paris, with other manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom, South Africa, the former Yugoslavia (mostly Break Ambulances), and Australia.

 

Australia constructed their own D variant in the 1960s at Heidelberg, Victoria, identified as the ID 19 "Parisienne." Australian market cars were fitted with options as standard equipment such as the "DSpecial DeLuxe" that were not available on domestic European models.

 

Until 1965, cars were assembled at the manufacturer's Slough premises, to the west of London, using a combination of French made knock down kits and locally sourced components, some of them machined on site. A French electrical system superseded the British one on the Slough cars in 1962, giving rise to a switch to "continental style" negative earthing. After 1965 cars for the British market were imported fully assembled from the company's French plant. The British-built cars are distinguished by their leather seats, wooden (early ID19 models) one piece plastic (early DS19 models) dashboards, chromed number plate mount let into the front bumper, and (on pre-1962 cars) Lucas-made electrics. These were all right hand drive cars.

 

The DS was built and sold in South Africa from 1959 to 1975.

 

The DS was sold in Japan, but the models were built in France and left hand drive.

 

DS IN NORTH AMERICA

The DS was sold in North America from 1956 to 1972. Despite its popularity in Europe, it didn't sell well in the United States, and little better in Canada. While promoted as a luxury car, it did not have the basic features that American buyers expected to find on such a vehicle, such as an automatic transmission, air conditioning, power windows, or a powerful engine. The DS was designed specifically to address the French market, with punitive tax horsepower taxation of large engines, as well as very poor roads – it's no great mystery that it was a fish out of water when those constraints were removed.

 

Jay Leno described the sporadic supply of spare parts as a problem for 1970s era customers, based on his early experiences working at a Citroën dealer in Boston.

 

The DS was expensive, with a 115 hp (86 kW) vehicle costing $4,170 in 1969, when the price was $4,500 for a 360 hp (268 kW) Buick Electra 225 4 door sedan. For all years, 38,000 units were sold.

 

US regulations at the time also banned one of the car's more advanced features: its composite headlamps with aerodynamic covered lenses. Based on legislation that dated from 1940, all automobiles sold in the U.S. were required to have round, sealed beam headlamps that produced a meager 75,000 candlepower. The powerful quartz iodine swiveling headlamps designed for the 1968 model DS represented so many performance improvements at once that they were far beyond what the regulations could allow.[50] Even the aerodynamic headlight covers were illegal – as seen on the 1968 Jaguar E-Type. It took the lobbying muscle of Ford to point out that the government was requiring two contradictory things – safety, by ensuring that all headlights were best-of-breed circa 1940, and fuel economy through the CAFE standard – by definition, cars with poor aerodynamics are sacrificing fuel economy. Composite bulb lamps and aerodynamic covered headlights were not permitted until 1983.

 

The European lamps were legal in Canada, including the directional headlamps.

 

The hydraulic fluid change in 1967 was another brain teaser for U.S. automotive regulators at the Department of Transportation. NHTSA follows the precautionary principle, also used by the Food and Drug Administration, where new innovations are prohibited until their developers can prove them to the regulators; this stifles the experimentation that automakers need to advance their products. NHTSA had already approved a brake fluid they considered safe – DOT 3 brake fluid, which is red and hygroscopic to promote internal rust. This completely different fluid, used in aircraft applications – the technically superior green LHM (Liquide Hydraulique Mineral) – took NHTSA two years to analyze for automotive use. Approval finally came in January 1969, so half the U.S. cars of the 1969 model year use red fluid and half use green fluid.

 

DESIGN VARIATIONS

PALLAS

In 1965 a luxury upgrade, the DS Pallas (after Greek goddess Pallas), was introduced. This included comfort features such as better noise insulation, a more luxurious (and optional leather) upholstery and external trim embellishments. From 1966 the Pallas model received a driver's seat with height adjustment.

 

STATION WAGON, FAMILIALE AND AMBULANCE

A station wagon version was introduced in 1958. It was known by various names in different markets (Break in France, Safari and Estate in the UK, Wagon in the US, and Citroën Australia used the terms Safari and Station-Wagon). It had a steel roof to support the standard roof rack. 'Familiales' had a rear seat mounted further back in the cabin, with three folding seats between the front and rear squabs. The standard Break had two side-facing seats in the main load area at the back.

 

The Ambulance configuration was similar to that of the Break, but with a 60/30 split in the rear folding seat to accommodate a stretcher. A 'Commerciale' version was also available for a time.

 

The Safari saw use as a camera car, notably by the BBC. The hydropneumatic suspension produces an unusually steady platform for filming while driving.

 

CONVERTIBLE

Rarest and most collectable of all DS variants, a convertible was offered from 1958 until 1973. The Cabriolet d'Usine (factory convertible) were built by French carrossier Henri Chapron, for the Citroën dealer network. It was an expensive car, so only 1,365 were sold. These DS convertibles used a special frame which was reinforced on the sidemembers and rear suspension swingarm bearing box, similar to, but not identical to the Break (Station Wagon) frame.

 

CHAPRON VARIATIONS

In addition, Chapron also produced a few coupés, non-works convertibles and special sedans (including the "Prestige", same wheelbase but with a central divider, and the "Lorraine" notchback).

 

BOSSAERT COUPE

Between 1959 and 1964, Hector Bossaert produced a coupé on a DS chassis shortened by 470 mm. While the front end remained unchanged, the rear end featured notchback styling.

 

THE REACTOR

In 1965, noted American auto customizer Gene Winfield created The Reactor, a Citroën DS chassis, with a turbocharged 180 hp (130 kW) flat-six engine from the Corvair driving the front wheels. Since the DS already had the engine behind the front wheels, the longer engine meant only one row of seats. This was draped in a streamlined, low slung, aluminum body.

 

The Reactor was seen in American Television programs of the era, such as Star Trek: The Original Series episode 2.25 ("Bread and Circuses)," Batman episodes 110 ("Funny Feline Felonies") and 111 (driven by Catwoman Eartha Kitt), and Bewitched, which devoted its episode 3.19 ("Super Car") to The Reactor.

 

MICHELIN PLR

The Michelin PLR is a mobile tire evaluation machine, based on the DS Break, built in 1972, later used for promotion.

Technical details

 

SUSPENSION

In a hydropneumatic suspension system, each wheel is connected, not to a spring, but to a hydraulic suspension unit consisting of a hydraulic accumulator sphere of about 12 cm in diameter containing pressurised nitrogen, a cylinder containing hydraulic fluid screwed to the suspension sphere, a piston inside the cylinder connected by levers to the suspension itself, and a damper valve between the piston and the sphere. A membrane in the sphere prevented the nitrogen from escaping. The motion of the wheels translated to a motion of the piston, which acted on the oil in the nitrogen cushion and provided the spring effect. The damper valve took place of the shock absorber in conventional suspensions. The hydraulic cylinder was fed with hydraulic fluid from the main pressure reservoir via a height corrector, a valve controlled by the mid-position of the anti-roll bar connected to the axle. If the suspension was too low, the height corrector introduced high-pressure fluid; if it was too high, it released fluid back to the fluid reservoir. In this manner, a constant ride height was maintained. A control in the cabin allowed the driver to select one of five heights: normal riding height, two slightly higher riding heights for poor terrain, and two extreme positions for changing wheels. (The correct term, oleopneumatic (oil-air), has never gained widespread use. Hydropneumatic (water-air) continues to be preferred overwhelmingly.)

 

The DS did not have a jack for lifting the car off the ground. Instead, the hydraulic system enabled wheel changes with the aid of a simple adjustable stand. To change a flat tyre, one would adjust the suspension to its topmost setting, insert the stand into a special peg near the flat tyre, then readjust the suspension to its lowermost setting. The flat tyre would then retract upwards and hover above ground, ready to be changed. This system, used on the SM also, was superseded on the CX by a screw jack that, after the suspension was raised to the high position, lifted the tire clear of the ground. The DS system, while impressive to use, sometimes dropped the car quite suddenly, especially if the stand was not placed precisely or the ground was soft or unlevel.

 

SOURCE AND RESERVE OF PRESSURE

The central part of the hydraulic system was the high pressure pump, which maintained a pressure of between 130 and 150 bar in two accumulators. These accumulators were very similar in construction to the suspension spheres. One was dedicated to the front brakes, and the other ran the other hydraulic systems. (On the simpler ID models, the front brakes operated from the main accumulator.) Thus in case of a hydraulic failure, the first indication would be that the steering became heavy, followed by the gearbox not working; only later would the brakes fail.

 

Two different hydraulic pumps were used. The DS used a seven-cylinder axial piston pump driven off two belts and delivering 175 bar (2,540 psi) of pressure. The ID19, with its simpler hydraulic system, had a single-cylinder pump driven by an eccentric on the camshaft.

 

GEARBOX AND CLUTCH

HYDRAULIQUE OR CITROMATIC

The DS was initially offered only with the "hydraulique" four-speed semi-automatic (bvh—"boîte de vitesses hydraulique") gearbox.

 

This was a four-speed gearbox and clutch, operated by a hydraulic controller. To change gears, the driver flicked a lever behind the steering wheel to the next position and eased-up on the accelerator pedal. The hydraulic controller disengaged the clutch, engaged the nominated gear, and re-engaged the clutch. The speed of engagement of the clutch was controlled by a centrifugal regulator sensing engine rpm and driven off the camshaft by a belt, the position of the butterfly valve in the carburettor (i.e., the position of the accelerator), and the brake circuit. When the brake was pressed, the engine idle speed dropped to an rpm below the clutch engagement speed, thus preventing friction while stopped in gear at traffic lights. When the brake was released, the idle speed increased to the clutch dragging speed. The car would then creep forward much like automatic transmission cars. This drop in idle throttle position also caused the car to have more engine drag when the brakes were applied even before the car slowed to the idle speed in gear, preventing the engine from pulling against the brakes. In the event of loss of hydraulic pressure (following loss of system fluid), the clutch would disengage, to prevent driving, while brake pressure reserves would allow safe braking to standstill.

 

MANUAL - FOUR SPEED AND FIVE-SPEED

The later and simpler ID19 had the same gearbox and clutch, manually operated. This configuration was offered as a cheaper option for the DS in 1963. The mechanical aspects of the gearbox and clutch were completely conventional and the same elements were used in the ID 19. In September 1970, Citroën introduced a five-speed manual gearbox, in addition to the original four-speed unit.

 

FULLY AUTOMATIC

In September 1971 Citroën introduced a 3-speed fully automatic Borg-Warner 35 transmission gearbox, on the DS 21 and later DS 23 models. It is ironic that the fully automatic transmission DS was never sold in the US market, where this type of transmission had gained market share so quickly that it became the majority of the market by this time. Many automatic DSs, fuel-injected DS 23 sedans with air conditioning, were sold in Australia.

 

ENGINES

The DS was originally designed around an air-cooled flat-six based on the design of the 2-cylinder engine of the 2CV, similar to the motor in the Porsche 911. Technical and monetary problems forced this idea to be scrapped.

 

Thus, for such a modern car, the engine of the original DS 19 was also old-fashioned. It was derived from the engine of the 11CV Traction Avant (models 11B and 11C). It was an OHV four-cylinder engine with three main bearings and wet liners, and a bore of 78 mm and a stroke of 100 mm, giving a volumetric displacement of 1911 cc. The cylinder head had been reworked; the 11C had a reverse-flow cast iron cylinder head and generated 60 hp (45 kW) at 3800 rpm; by contrast, the DS 19 had an aluminium cross-flow head with hemispherical combustion chambers and generated 75 hp (56 kW) at 4500 rpm.

 

Like the Traction Avant, the DS had the gearbox mounted in front of the engine, with the differential in between. Thus some consider the DS to be a mid engine front-wheel drive car.

 

The DS and ID powerplants evolved throughout its 20-year production life. The car was underpowered and faced constant mechanical changes to boost the performance of the four-cylinder engine. The initial 1911 cc three main bearing engine (carried forward from the Traction Avant) of the DS 19 was replaced in 1965 with the 1985 cc five-bearing wet-cylinder motor, becoming the DS 19a (called DS 20 from September 1969).

 

The DS 21 was also introduced for model year 1965. This was a 2175 cc, five main bearing engine; power was 109 hp This engine received a substantial increase in power with the introduction of Bosch electronic fuel injection for 1970, making the DS one of the first mass-market cars to use electronic fuel injection. Power of the carbureted version also increased slightly at the same time, owing to the employment of larger inlet valves.

 

Lastly, 1973 saw the introduction of the 2347 cc engine of the DS 23 in both carbureted and fuel-injected forms. The DS 23 with electronic fuel injection was the most powerful production model, producing 141 hp (105 kW).

 

IDs and their variants went through a similar evolution, generally lagging the DS by about one year. ID saloon models never received the DS 23 engine or fuel injection, although the Break/Familiale versions received the carburetted version of the DS 23 engine when it was introduced, supplemented the DS20 Break/Familiale.

 

The top of the range ID model, The DSuper5 (DP) gained the DS21 engine (the only model that this engine was retained in) for the 1973 model year and it was mated to a five-speed gearbox. This should not be confused with the 1985 cc DSuper fitted with an optional "low ratio" five-speed gearbox, or with the previous DS21M (DJ) five-speed.

 

IN POPULAR CULTURE

President Charles de Gaulle survived an assassination attempt at Le Petit-Clamart near Paris on August 22, 1962, planned by Algerian War veteran Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry. The plan was to ambush the motorcade with machine guns, disable the vehicles, and then close in for the kill. De Gaulle praised the unusual abilities of his unarmoured DS with saving his life – the car was peppered with bullets, and the shots had punctured the tyres, but the car could still escape at full speed. This event was accurately recreated in the 1973 film The Day of the Jackal.

 

Beyond de Gaulle and the French aristocracy, the roomy DS also appealed to French taxi drivers.

 

Outside France, the car drew an eclectic customer mix, such as Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, Pope John XXIII, painter Marc Chagall, and actors Ken Berry, Jeff Bridges, and Rosamund Pike.

 

The DS appeared in several episodes of contemporary television series Mission: Impossible, including substantial appearances in 'The Slave' (ep. 2.06) and 'Robot' (ep. 4.09).

 

An ode to Jane Child's DS21 appears on her 1989 self-titled album.

 

In 1989, the film Back to the Future Part II featured a modified Citroen DS as a flying taxicab, when the main characters travel 30 years into the future (2015). Scarface (1983 film) with Al Pacino and the 2009 television series The Mentalist both feature the DS in key roles. According to Internet Movie Cars Database, the DS/ID has made over 2,000 film and television appearances so far.

 

Two films focus on the DS, including The Goddess of 1967 about a Japanese man purchasing a DS (goddess or déesse in French) in Australia, and 1995's Icelandic-Japanese road movie Cold Fever.

 

LEGACY

Citroën DS values have been rising – a 1973 DS 23 Injection Electronique "Decapotable" (Chapron Convertible) sold for EUR €176,250 (USD $209,738) at Christie's Rétromobile in February 2006. and a similar car sold by Bonhams in February 2009 brought EUR €343,497 (USD $440,436). On 18 September 2009 a 1966 DS21 Decapotable Usine was sold by Bonhams for a hammer price of UK£131,300. Bonhams sold another DS21 Decapotable (1973) on 23 January 2010 for EUR €189,000.

 

The DS's beloved place in French society was demonstrated in Paris on 9 October 2005 with a celebration of the 50th anniversary of its launch. 1,600 DS cars drove in procession past the Arc de Triomphe.

 

From 2005 to 2008, a young Frenchman named Manuel Boileau travelled around the world in a 1971 DS ambulance. It was an 80,000 kilometer journey across 38 countries called Lunaya World Tour. While traveling through Laos, he located the forlorn 1974 DS Prestige belonging to Sisavang Vatthana, the last King of the Kingdom of Laos, which is now preserved and restored by specialists in Bangkok.

 

In 2009, Groupe PSA created a new brand - DS Automobiles, intended as high quality, high specification variations on existing models, with differing mechanics and bodywork. This brand ranges across four models, the DS3, DS4, DS5, and the China-only SUV DS 6. The DS3, launched in March 2010, is based on Citroen's new C3, but is more customisable and unique, bearing some resemblance to the original DS, with its "Shark Fin" side pillar. These have created their own niches, with the DS4 being a mix of a crossover and a coupe and the DS5 mixing a coupe and an estate. Many feature hybrid-diesel engines to maximise efficiency.

 

WIKIPEDIA

A recent collage from 'A vagary of impediments & a sneak of weasels'.

 

Additional collective noun collage peeks,

Delicate.

Animalised.

A spring of seals and other details.

The Queen's Birthday weekend passes like any other.

Thankful.

Simultaneously , a past Utopian dream of Main Street America with a church and bank , stores and a family pushing a stroller with two children; replaced now with a toylike , flat architectural configuration with a currently empty, vacant Beauty Supply Store located midway between the church and bank, Main Street , Lock Haven , Pennsylvania, June 27, 2025, Small Town America series.

Model of a mining excavator in front shovel configuration in scale 1:28.5. This 300 tonne machine is a representative of Liebherr's most popular size class and is ideally suited to load a fleet of 100 tonne payload mining trucks.

 

When LEGO introduced its 42100 Liebherr R 9800, I knew I had to get that set immediately after release. But I also knew from the beginning, that I would not like the official model's Technic design and that I had to build my own version.

 

Here it is, scaled larger than 42100, but on the other hand representing a much smaller machine than the 9800. About 300 vs. 800 tonnes in real life. This allowed me to use the main components of the official LEGO model to build my R 994 B. I used the clamshell bucket, the Power Functions XL actuators and the tracks and sprockets.

 

The main difference from 42100 lies in the electric components of my model. The following functions are all powered by two Power Functions rechargeable battery boxes and controlled by three SBricks via bluetooth connection and Brick Controller 2 app:

 

- Left and right crawler treads each using a Power Functions L motor

- Slewing of the upper structure using two Power Functions M motors

- Boom cylinders: one Power Functions XL motor

- Stick cylinders: one Power Functions L motor

- Bucket cylinders: one Power Functions M motor

- Clamshell bucket: one Brick Engine V1 motor (compatible to Power Functions)

- Access ladder: one Power Functions M motor

- Service flap: one Power Functions M motor

- Lighting: three pairs of Power Functions LEDs

 

Besides the main drive and digging functions, the model features a retractable access ladder and a lowerable service flap on the underside of the upper structure frame. The service flap is used to refuel and grease the excavator.

 

While building the Liebherr R 994 B Litronic in 1:28.5 scale, I could refer to a highly detailed diecast model of the very same machine in 1:50 scale.

Configuration Setting

- Program Auto

- spot metering

- AFS

　by handheld

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

  

The Fiat Macchi C.170 Brezza ("Gust of wind") was a single-seat biplane fighter which served primarily in Italy's Regia Aeronautica before and in the early stages of World War II. The aircraft was produced by the Varese firm, and entered service, in smaller numbers, with the air forces of Italy, Austria and Hungary.

 

In spite of the biplane configuration, the C.170 was a modern, 'sleek-looking' design based around a strong steel and alloy frame incorporating a NACA cowling housing the radial engine, with fairings for the fixed main landing gear. The C.170's upper wing was slightly larger than its lower wing, carried only by six struts and a few bracing wires. Only the upper wing featured ailerons while the lower wing carried large flaps. Although it looked slightly outdated, the aircraft proved exceptionally agile thanks to its very low wing loading and a powerful, responsive engine.

 

Power was provided by a 650 kW (870 hp) Fiat A.74 14 cylinder radial engine, which also drove the contemporary Fiat CR.32 fighter. With the "direttiva" (Air Ministry Specific) of 1932, Italian industrial leaders had been instructed to concentrate solely on radial engines for fighters, due to their better reliability. The A.74 was actually a re-design of the American Pratt & Whitney R-1830 SC-4 Twin Wasp made by engineers Tranquillo Zerbi and Antonio Fessia, and in the C.170 it was geared to drive a metal three-blade Fiat-Hamilton Standard 3D.41-1 propeller of 2.9 m (9.5 ft) diameter. This allowed an impressive top speed of 441 km/h (272 mph) at 6.500 m (20.000 ft), and 342 km/h (213 mph) at ground level.

 

The first C.170 prototype flew on 24 December 1934 in Lonate Pozzolo, Varese, with Macchi Chief Test Pilot Giuseppe Burei at the controls. It was followed by the second prototype early the next year, which flew with an armored headrest and fairing in place (the C.170 lacked any further armor!) and other minor changes that were incorporated for serial production.

Despite Macchi’s proposal for a closed cockpit canopy the cockpit remained open – Italian pilots were rather conservative. Additional protection was introduced through armored side panels, though, which would protect the pilot’s shoulders. Radio equipment was also not included, as in many other Italian fighter aircraft.

 

During evaluation in early 1935 the C.170 was tested against the Fiat CR.42 and the Caproni Ca.165 biplane fighters, and was judged to be on par with the CR.42, although the Ca.165 was a more modern design which boasted a higher speed at the cost of maneuverability. An initial order of 99 C.170 for Italy's Regia Aeronautica was placed to Macchi factory in summer 1935, followed by foreign interest and order options from Austria, Belgium and Spain.

 

Anyway, what looked like a prosperous design was soon rendered obsolete: Following the end of Italy's campaigns in East Africa, a program was started to completely re-equip the Regia Aeronautica with a new interceptor aircraft of modern design. The 10 February 1936 specifications called for an aircraft powered by a single radial engine, with a top speed of 500 km/h, climb rate at 6,000 meters of 5 minutes, with a flight endurance of two hours, and armed with a single (later increased to two) 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine gun. That was more or less the premature end for the C.170, as Macchi and other manufacturers quickly turned to more modern monoplane designs.

 

Therefore, orders and production of the Macchi Brezza remained limited. Beyond the original 99 aircraft for the Regia Aeronautica only 24 further C.170s were delivered. These aircraft went in spring 1936 to Austria to equip Jagdgeschwader II at Wiener Neustadt. Immediately after their delivery the Brezza fighters were retro-fitted with radio equipment, recognizable through the antenna installation on the headrest fairing. The potential orders from Belgium and Spain were soon cancelled, due to political tensions.

 

As a side note, the Austrian C.170s fighters were the first aircraft to sport the new national emblem, which had been the result of a competition and won by flight engineer Rosner from the Graz-Thalerhof base. The white, equilateral triangle with the point facing downwards in a red disc was a completely new design and had (other than the flag or coats of arms) no prior basis.

 

The C.170s' career in Austrian service was short, though: in March 1938 the Austrian units were absorbed into the Luftwaffe, and after a brief period the aircraft were handed over to Hungary where they were used for training purposes.

 

Although an obsolete design, it proved to be robust, durable and effective especially in severe conditions. In spring 1943, surviving C.170s were rounded up from training schools and delivered to night ground attack units operating on the Eastern Front. The C.170 was used to conduct night harassment sorties on the Eastern Front until September 1944, when the units were disbanded, due to a lack of serviceable airframes and spare parts.

  

General characteristics

Crew: 1

Length: 8.25 m (27 ft 1 in)

Wingspan: 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m)

Height: 11 ft 9 in (3.58 m)

Wing area: 323 ft² (30.0 m²)

Empty weight: 3,217 lb (1,462 kg)

Loaded weight: 4,594 lb (2,088 kg)

 

Powerplant

1× Fiat A.74 R.C.38 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, 650 kW (870 hp) at 2,520 rpm for take-off

 

Performance

Maximum speed: 441 km/h (238 kn, 274 mph) at 20,000 ft

Cruise speed: 338 km/h (187 kn, 210 mph)

Range: 780 km (420 nmi, 485 mi)

Service ceiling: 10,210 m (33,500 ft)

Rate of climb: 11.8 m/s (2,340 ft/min)

Climb to 10,000 ft (3,050 m): 4.75 min

Wing loading: 69,6 kg/m² (15,3 lb/ft²)

Power/mass: 311 W/kg (0.19 hp/lb)

 

Armament

2× 12.7 mm (0.5 in) Breda-SAFAT synchronized machine guns above the engine, 370 rpg

Some aircraft were field-modified to carry up to 8× 15 kg (33 lb) or 2× 50 or 100 kg (110/220 lb) bombs under the wings

  

The kit and its assembly

Inspiration for this little, whiffy biplane came when I posted a pic of an Austrian Ju 86 bomber as a reply/ suggestion to a fellow modeler's (NARSES2) search at whatifmodelers.com for “something” to make from a Gloster Gladiator.

When I looked at the paint scheme a second time I remembered that I still had some Austrian roundels in stock, as well some very old biplane spare parts... hmmm.

 

Biplanes are tricky to build, even OOB, and kitbashing this kind of whif would not make things easier. Anyway, I love such challenges, and the potential outcome would surely look nice, if not exotic, so I decided to tackle the project.

 

Basically, the following donation ingredients went into it:

● Fuselage, engine, cockpit/pilot and tail from a Revell Macchi C.200 "Saetta"

● Upper wing from a Matchbox Gloster "Gladiator"

● Lower wings from a Matchbox SBC "Helldiver"

● Wheels from a Matchbox Hs 126 (shortened)

 

Pretty straightforward, but even though it would be a small aircraft model, it would come with two big challenges: mounting the lower wings and shaping the resulting, gaping belly, and the custom-made struts and wirings for the upper wing.

 

Work started with the Macchi C.200’s fuselage, which was built OOB - just without the wing, which is a single part, different pilot (the included one is a pygmy!) and with a free spinning metal axis for the propeller.

 

The wing installation started with the lower wings. I glued the Helldiver wings onto the C.200 fuselage, so that the wings' trailing edge would match the C.200's wing root ends. From that, a floor plate was fitted under the fuselage and any excessive material removed, the gaps filled with lumps of 2C putty. That moved the lower wing's roots backwards, creating space at the lower forward fuselage for the new landing gear.

 

The latter was taken from a vintage Matchbox Hs 126 reconnaissance aircraft - probably 25, if 30 years old... Size was O.K., but the struts had to shortened by about 5mm, as thge HS 126 is a much bigger/longer aircraft than the C.200. A cut was made just above the wheel spats, material taken out, and the separate parts were glued back together again.

 

With the lower wings in place I started building strut supports for the upper wing from styrene strips - tricky and needs patience, but effective. I started with the outer supports, carving something SBC-style from styrene. These were glued into place, slightly canted outwards, and their length/height adapted to the upper wing’s position.

When this was settled, the upper Gladiator wing was glued into place. After a thorough drying period the short fuselage supports in front of the cockpit – again, styrene strips – were inserted into the gap. This allowed an individual lengthening, and was easier than expected, with a stable result.

After having the upper wing glued in place I added some wiring, made from heated and pulled-out styrene sprues. This not only enhances the kit's look, it also (just like in real life) improves rigidity of the model. Also a tedious task, but IMHO worth the effort. I tried thin wire, nylon strings and sewing yarn for this job, but finally the styrene solution is what worked best for me.

The exhaust installation had also to be modified: the new Hs 126 struts with spats would have been where the original C.200’s hot exhaust gases would have gone, so I added new exhaust pipes that would go between the new legs.

Other small added details included, among others, a pitot on a wing strut, a visor in front of the cockpit, a radio antenna, a ladder made from wire.

  

Painting and markings:

I would not call the Austrian 3+1-tone pre-WWII-scheme spectacular, but the colors are unique. My scheme is based on an Austrian Ju 86 bomber from 1938, so it fits into the intended time frame.

 

The colors were puzzled together from various sources and are subjective guesstimates:

● A pale, yellow-ish beige (Humbrol 74, ‘Linen’, out of production)

● A rather brownish green (Testors 1711, ‘Olive Drab’, FS 34087)

● A dark green with a yellow-ish hue (Humbrol 116, ‘US Dark Green’ FS 34079)

● Light blue for the undersides (Humbrol 65, ‘Aircraft Blue’, RLM 65)

 

In order to add some details I painted the area behind the engine cowling in aluminum. The respective part under the fuselage, where the exhaust gases would pass, was painted in Steel – both Testors Metallizers.

The interior surfaces were painted in a neutral Grey – but with the engine and the pilot in place you cannot see anything of that at all.

Markings are minimal: the Austrian roundels come from a TL Decals aftermarket sheet, the flag on the rudder was laid out with red paint (a mix of Humbrol 19 and 60), the white bar is a decal. The tactical code is fictional, puzzled together from single digits in various sizes (also from TL Modellbau sheets). The original documents how purely black fuselage codes, but I found these hard to read. So I chose digits with a white rim (actually, these belong to modern German Luftwaffe tactical codes in 1:32), which improve contrast a little.

The kit received a thin black ink wash and some shading/dry-painting with lighter basic tones (Humbrol 103, 155, Model Master 2138,‘Israeli Armor Sand Grey’, and Humbrol 122). After decal application, another turn with overall Hemp and Light Grey was done in order to fade contrast and to emphasize the surface structure. The wires were also painted, but only with thinned black ink and a VERY soft brush.

 

Finally, everything was sealed under a spray coat of matt acrylic varnish.

Voilà, and done in just about a week!

A pair of VF-1SPs in clean configuration, soaring among the clouds like albatross seabirds.

 

History:

The VF-1SP was a series of early VF-1A Block 2 Valkyries, modified for long range naval patrol, reconnaissance and manned guidance platform for land-started cruise missiles against large sea, ground and aerial targets during mid and final flight stage.

Taking the basic single seater hull, the VF-1SP received a much larger wingspan with extra weapon hardpoints (the inner pair most often dedicated to a pair of 500 gal. drop tanks) and additional internal fuel capacity. While agility and top speed was reduced, the new glide wing allowed a much longer loiter time on duty.

For the intended patrol and reconnaissance role, the sensor equipment was enhanced, too. This included an IR tracking system, a laser painter for guided precision weapons and a comlink for long range missile guidance.

The first SP ("Special Performance") Valkyrie prototype was built and flown in 2011, and after trails and approval a total of 50 serial machines followed in 2012 and 2013. The whole series was based on the Japanese homeland with SVF-52 and SVF-53, on Hokkaido and Okinawa, respectively.

 

The idea:

Inspired by my recent "Viggen"-Valkyrie in "Fields & Meadows" camouflage I found enough drive to work on another lookalike-Valykrie: emulating the not-so-well-known Mitsubishi F-2. The Japanese F-2 fighter is, more or less, a converted General Dynamics F-16 with larger wings, optimized for defense of the Japanese coast against sea attacks, and for close air support. The F-2 is also used for interception tasks as secondary role, and it is primarily replacing the F-1 and F-4EJ. Beyond looking quite elegant and being Japanese, the typical camouflage pattern of these machines (also found on late F-4EJ Phantom II's) is very appealing, too: medium blue overall with dark blue contrast fields from above, a light grey radome and bright red Hinomaru markings. These machines are VERY attractive - reason enough to dedicate a Valkyrie to these beauties ;)

 

Assembly:

The kit is, as usual, a vintage 1:100 scale VF-1 Valkyrie Fighter kit from ARII, in this case even a bash of two kits due to various modifications. Usual added details include a HUD, a pilot figure, seat belts and an ejection seat trigger in the cockpit. Externally, some typical Valkyrie antennae on the outside were added.

 

But this time, things went further: The whole airframe was enlarged, much like the F-2 compared to the original F-16! Each wing was elongated by ~1/2", with parts from another Valkyrie's wings, holding a third, outer weapon hardpoint now, too. In the intersection area between cockpit and main body, the fuselage was elongated by about 4mm in order to compensate for the considerably larger wing span, balancing proportions.

Another trick to stretch the Valkyrie was a thorough modification of its vertical fins: These parts received a leading edge extension at the root, additional 3mm in height and a rear extension which mimics the F-2's fin shape with its bulbous parachute container. Furthermore, the fins were placed about 4mm further back, shifting the visual "center of gravity" backwards. Additional F-2 features are several typical radar sensor bulbs all over the fuselage, and the small antennae (or spoilers?) in front of the cockpit.

With so many changes (and a VF-1D head under the hull), I deemed a new designation to be appropriate: the VF-1SP, reminiscent of the Boeing 747 SP ("Special Performance"), a heavily modified, long range version of the Jumbo Jet ;)

 

The underwing weapons are a mix from various sources. The two pairs of slender laser-guided bombs under the innermost pylons come from a Hasegawa weapon set (actually, these are Japanese weapons with an IR head and even authentic for an F-2!), the racks are scratch-built. The grey missiles are 1:72 AIM-4F Falcon, but at 1:100 scale they look like neat air-to-ground missiles like AGM-65 Mavericks. The outermost hardpoints finally hold standard AMM-1 missiles for self-defence - I just added two on each side, to create an asymmetrical look and to avoid a cramped impression.

 

Paint & decals:

The paint scheme is rather simple, and you find lots of very good reference pictures of the F-2. But finding a good match for the blue tones is another thing! I found some color reference in painting instructions (e .g. from Hasegawa), but I am not sold on the recommended tones at all. According to these sources, the "real" colors are FS35164 (Intermediate Blue) and FS15042 (Sea Blue) - actually two tones which were used on US Navy planes in WWII? Depending on light, film material and processing, F-2 pics offer no hard evidence, though: the tones appear in a very wide range from bright sky blue to a murky and dull blue-gray for the lighter blue, and the dark blue cannot be defined at all, it is just "very dark blue".

 

Since impression counts, I went for something brighter and settled on Humbrol 109 (WWI Blue, a very deep tone) for the lighter blue and Humbrol 104 (Oxford Blue, very dark and with a violet hue) for the dark tone. The radome was finished in Humbrol 28 (Camouflage Grey, FS36622, probably the authentic color), and the wings'/fins' leading edges were painted in grey (Humbrol 140) for some extra contrast. This color can also be found at some other details

 

Concerning markings, I tried to stick to the F-2 paradigm but could not resist to add some squadron markings on the fins: what looks like abstract kanji on the fins' outer sides are highly stylized "53"s - symbols of Japanese WWII 53rd Sentai. They come from an AeroMaster aftermarket decal sheet for Ki-45 Toryu fighters - and in red, they fit perfectly, and we have a plausible SVF-53 squadron ;)

 

After basic painting, the kit received a light wash with black ink and some fine liner treatment. Then, decals and finally a coat of matte varnish was appllied.

 

In the end I think the decision for the brighter colors paid out - we are doing anime here, after all, so something bright is IMHO not wrong at all! Looks pretty, methinks?

Jean Arp. 1886-1966. Bouteille ou oiseau. ou Configuration ailée. Bottle or bird. or winged configuration. 1925. Strasbourg. Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain.

 

1815-1940 UNE PERIODE PLURIELLE DE LA PEINTURE EUROPENNE

 

De 1792 à 1815 l'Europe n'a pas le temps d'être artistique : Elle est totalement occupée par les grandes ambitions françaises de la Révolution et du Premier Empire. Une fois liquidées les aventures révolutionnaires et impériales, l'Europe entre dans une période d'expansion économique et politique qui se traduit dans la peinture par une des phases les plus créatives, les plus inventives et les plus diversement inspirées de l'histoire de la peinture européenne.

L'Europe continentale a pu enfin connaitre, après l'Angleterre, sa seconde renaissance, technique, scientifique et économique. La seconde naissance de l'Europe, après celle des 11è-12è siècles. Les révolutions industrielles peuvent se succéder.

Dans l'Europe en expansion économique du 19è siècle et du début du 20è siècle, l'art de la peinture voit apparaitre une explosion d'écoles et de mouvements totalement différents, qui coexistent sans problèmes majeurs, pendant plus d'un siècle. La peinture européenne n'est pas plus belle que celle antérieure, ou que la peinture d'autres civilisations, mais elle est certainement plus diverse. Plus diverse par ses techniques et par ses thèmes.

Comment expliquer cette diversité de l'art et cette liberté d'expression des artistes européens à cette époque ?

La diversité et la créativité des écoles de la peinture européenne est la conséquence d'une situation de pluralité culturelle et idéologique.

Dans la période qui va de 1815 à 1914, puis encore jusqu'en 1940, l'Europe n'est pas soumise à une idéologie, profane ou sacrée, unique et exclusive.

Dans cette Europe du 19è et du début du 20è coexistent, malgré de très graves tensions, plusieurs représentations du monde différentes, et même opposées, conflictuelles :

Catholicisme, orthodoxie, protestantismes, judaïsme, "Lumières" de toutes tendances, jacobines ou pragmatiques, socialismes modérés ou extrémistes, nationalismes raisonnables ou ultra, aucune de ces idéologies, sacrées ou profanes, ne domine absolument la pensée et la politique européenne, et ne monopolise son territoire de l'Atlantique à l'Oural.

Certes, cette Europe est loin d'être idéale. L'Europe connait des affrontements très graves, des guerres absurdes. Précisément parce qu'aucune idéologie, sacrée ou profane, n'est absolument dominante. Parce que aucune idéologie ne peut régenter totalement les sociétés européennes. La diversité idéologique, source de tensions et même de guerres, est aussi source de liberté, de diversité.

On n'en finirait pas de citer les écoles de peintures, du romantisme à l'art abstrait. Cette multiplication d'écoles à la recherche de nouveaux moyens d'expression est éminemment créatrice. Juste pour mémoire, sans aucune exhaustivité et même dans le désordre:

Romantisme, néo-classicisme, préraphaélites, académisme, réalisme, idéalisme, symbolisme, préimpressionnisme, impressionnisme, nabis, fauvisme, cubisme, orientalisme, expressionnisme, sécessionnisme, surréalisme, art abstrait, dada, néo-plasticisme......

Ce n'est pas seulement une floraison de noms nouveaux, des appellations inventés pour cacher le vide de l'art. C'est une explosion de formes, réellement nouvelles, de thèmes nouveaux, de sensibilités et de significations nouvelles, de beautés neuves.

L'Art Abstrait est une de ces recherches très positives qui renouvellent le paysage de la peinture européenne.

Pas de monolithisme de la pensée européenne, à cette époque qui va de 1815 à 1940 en dates grosses.

Conséquence : Pas de monolithisme de l'Art européen pendant la même période, et notamment de la peinture.

A l'exception de la Russie, qui rentre dès 1917 dans le monde de la pensée unique et du Non Art.

A l'exception aussi de l'Allemagne hitlérienne où l'art meurt à partir des années 1930 et suivantes.

Avant et ailleurs en Europe, toutes les écoles coexistent, depuis le figuratif académique jusqu'à l'art l'abstrait.

L'Art de la peinture de cette époque, appelé "Art Moderne", est ainsi un témoin du dynamisme européen. Sa diversité de styles et de sujets, sa créativité, son esprit de recherche, sans reniement du passé, sont comme un splendide chant du cygne de la diversité. Et effectivement cela ne durera pas.

C'est ainsi que s'est imposé dans nos musées d'Occident, à partir des années 1950, sans que personne dans le peuple ait donné son avis, l'Art Contemporain : un nouvel Académisme, un Art Officiel, qui cumule le Laid et le Non-Sens, et qui fait se ressembler presque toutes les oeuvres d'art, de tous les musées d'Art Contemporain, du nord au sud, et de l'est à l'ouest de l'Europe et de l'Occident. L'Art de la pensée unique.

  

1815 - 1940 A PLURAL PERIOD OF THE EUROPEAN PAINTING

 

From 1792 to 1815 Europe has no time to be artistic: It is fully occupied by the great French ambitions of the Revolution and the First Empire. Upon completion of the revolutionary and imperial adventures, Europe enters a period of economic and political expansion, which reflected in the painting by one of the most creative, the most inventive and the most diversely inspired phases, from the history of European painting.

Continental Europe could finally know, after England, his second renaissance, technical, scientific and economic. The second birth of Europe, after that of the 11th-12th centuries. The industrial revolutions can succeed.

In Europe in economic expansion of the 19th century and early 20th century, the art of painting sees appear an explosion of schools, and totally different movements that coexist without major problems, during more than a century. European painting is not more beautiful than the previous one, or the painting of other civilizations, but it is certainly more diverse. More diverse in its technical and its themes.

How to explain this diversity of art and this freedom of expression of European artists at that time?

The diversity and creativity of the schools of European painting is the result of a situation of cultural and ideological plurality. In the period from 1815 to 1914 and then again until 1940, Europe is not subject to an ideology, secular or sacred, unique and exclusive.

In this Europe of the 19th and early 20th, coexist, despite very severe tensions, several different representations of the world, and even contrary, conflictual:

Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Protestantism, Judaism, "Enlightenment" of all tendencies, Jacobinical or pragmatic, moderate socialism or extremist, reasonable or ultra nationalism, none of these ideologies, sacred or profane, absolutely dominates the thinking and the European policy, and monopolizes its territory, from the Atlantic to the Urals.

Certainly, this Europe is far from ideal. Europe knows very serious confrontations, absurd wars. Precisely because none ideology, sacred or profane, is absolutely dominant. Because none ideology can completely govern European societies. Ideological diversity, a source of tension and even from wars, is also a source of freedom, of diversity.

There is no end to mention the schools of paintings, from romanticism to abstract art. This multiplication of schools looking for new means of expression is eminently creative. Just for memory, without completeness, and even in the disorder: Romanticism, neoclassicism, Pre-Raphaelites, academicism, realism, idealism, symbolism, pre impressionism, impressionism, Nabis, fauvism, cubism, orientalism, expressionism, secessionism, surrealism, abstract art, dada, neo-Plasticism ......

This is not only a flowering of new names, names invented to hide the emptiness of art. It is an explosion of formes, really news, new themes, sensitivities and new meanings, of new beauties.

Abstract Art is one of those very positive research which renew the landscape of European painting.

No monolithic quality of European thinking at that time that goes from 1815 to 1940 in large dates.

Consequence: No monolithic quality European Art, particularly in painting.

With the exception of Russia, which arrived in 1917 in the world of the unique thought and of Non Art.

With the exception also of Hitler's Germany, where art dies, from the 1930s and followings years.

Before and elsewhere in Europe, all schools coexist, from the academic figurative art to abstract art.

The art of painting of that time, called "Modern Art", is thus a witness of European dynamism. Its diversity of styles and subjects, his creativity, his spirit of research, without denial of the past, are like a beautiful swan song of diversity. And indeed it will not last.

It thus has established itself in our museums of the West, from the 1950s, without that person in the people has given his opinion, the Contemporary Art: a new Academism, an Officila Art, which combines the Ugly and the Non-Sense, and that make be similar almost all the works of art, of all museums of Contemporary Art, from North to South and East to Western Europe and the West. The Art of the single thought.

   

Manufacturer: Boeing

Operator: Qatar Emiri AIr Force/ Boeing

Type: F-15QA Ababil (QA536) multirole fighter aircraft

Evnet/ Location: 2024 RIAT/ RAF Fairford

Comment: The demonstration of the Qatari Boeing two F-15QA consisted of two different configurations: one with a 'clean' fit, the second with a simulated full weapons load to demonstrate how little the aircraft's aerodynamic performance is affected by the additional weight/drag. The aircraft themselves were en route to Qatar on their delivery flights from the US, with the demos at RIAT provided by Boeing test-pilots.

Company/Owner: Luzon Cisco Transport, Inc.

Fleet/Bus Number: 306

Classification: Air-conditioned Provincial Bus

Coachbuilder: (Suzhou) Higer Bus Company, Ltd.

Body Model: Higer V91 KLQ6119QE3

Engine Model: Yuchai YC6G270-30 (G65QA/G5ASA)

Chassis Model: Higer KLQ6112 (LKLR1HSF3CB)

Transmission: Manual (6-speed forward, 1-speed reverse)

Suspension: Air Suspension

Seating Configuration: 2×2

Seating Capacity: 49

Route: Cubao, Quezon City–Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija via N1 (Maharlika Highway)

Municipalities/Cities passing: Santa Rita (Guiguinto)/Plaridel/Pulilan/Baliuag/San Rafael/San Ildefonso/San Miguel/Gapan City/San Leonardo/Santa Rosa

Type of Operation: Provincial Operation Public Utility Bus (Regular Class)

Area of Operation: Central Luzon (Region III)

 

Shot Location: Doña Remedios Trinidad Highway (Maharlika Highway), Barangay Cut-cot, Pulilan, Bulacan

Date Taken: July 20, 2015

 

Notices:

* Please DON'T GRAB A PHOTO WITHOUT A PERMISSION. If you're going to GRAB IT, please give A CREDIT TO THE OWNER. Also, don't PRINT SCREEN my photos.

** If I have mistakes on the specifications, please comment in a good manner so that I can edit it immediately.

*** The specifications and routes (for provincial, inter-provincial, and city operation) mentioned above are subjected for verification and may be changed without prior notice.

**** The vehicle's registration plate(s), conduction sticker(s), and/or persons (if applicable) were pixelated/blurred to prevent any conflict with the photographer, the bus company and/or to the car owner for their security and/or privacy purposes. So, don't use their plate number, conduction sticker, and vehicle tag as an evidence for any incident. And, I have taken this photo for bus fanatics, bus enthusiasts, and bus lovers purposes.

When i was a kid I made a cardboard model similar to this, and it also sported the folding vertical wing. I supposed that the wing tips housed targeting sensors, and that they were placed in that geometric configuration for triangulation calculations.

 

The folding wing allows the ground crew to access all the sensors and adjust or replace them more easily.

A quick snap for some discussions on my '2nd backup' kit and configs. The main setup is the top left of EOSM, 11-22mm ultra wide, E2 GPS unit and Finder/Scope attached to the back. The other shots are using the EF adapter with some of my Canon 5D3 lenses on. The Rokinon 8mm is interesting as it gives a very useful full frame 12mm lens with moderate distortion

While the landing struts fold up into the body or wings, the wheels, unfortunately, have to be attached and detached. I'll have to come up with something cleaner someday.

The Citroën DS (French pronunciation: ​[si.tʁɔ.ˈɛn de ɛs]) is a front-engine, front-wheel-drive executive car manufactured and marketed by the French company Citroën from 1955 to 1975 in sedan, wagon/estate and convertible body configurations. Italian sculptor and industrial designer Flaminio Bertoni and the French aeronautical engineer André Lefèbvre styled and engineered the car. Paul Magès developed the hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension.

 

Noted for its aerodynamic, futuristic body design and innovative technology, the DS set new standards in ride quality, handling, and braking—and was the first production car equipped with disc brakes.

 

Citroën sold 1,455,746 examples, including 1,330,755 built at the manufacturer's Paris Quai André-Citroën production plant.

 

The DS came third in the 1999 Car of the Century poll recognizing the world's most influential auto designs and was named the most beautiful car of all time by Classic & Sports Car magazine

 

MODEL HISTORY

After 18 years of secret development as the successor to the Traction Avant, the DS 19 was introduced on 5 October 1955 at the Paris Motor Show. In the first 15 minutes of the show, 743 orders were taken, and orders for the first day totalled 12,000. During the 10 days of the show, the DS took in 80,000 deposits; a record that has stood for over 60 years.

 

Contemporary journalists said the DS pushed the envelope in the ride vs. handling compromise possible in a motor vehicle.

 

To a France still deep in reconstruction after the devastation of World War II, and also building its identity in the post-colonial world, the DS was a symbol of French ingenuity. The DS was distributed to many territories throughout the world.

 

It also posited the nation's relevance in the Space Age, during the global race for technology of the Cold War. Structuralist philosopher Roland Barthes, in an essay about the car, said that it looked as if it had "fallen from the sky". An American advertisement summarised this selling point: "It takes a special person to drive a special car".

 

Because they were owned by the technologically aggressive tire manufacturer Michelin, Citroën had designed their cars around the technically superior radial tire since 1948, and the DS was no exception.

 

The car featured a novel hydropneumatic suspension including an automatic leveling system and variable ground clearance, developed in-house by Paul Magès. This suspension allowed the DS to travel quickly on the poor road surfaces common in France.

 

In addition, the vehicle had power steering and a semi-automatic transmission (the transmission required no clutch pedal, but gears still had to be shifted by hand), though the shift lever controlled a powered hydraulic shift mechanism in place of a mechanical linkage, and a fibreglass roof which lowered the centre of gravity and so reduced weight transfer. Inboard front brakes (as well as independent suspension) reduced unsprung weight. Different front and rear track widths and tyre sizes reduced the unequal tyre loading, which is well known to promote understeer, typical of front-engined and front-wheel drive cars.

 

As with all French cars, the DS design was affected by the tax horsepower system, which effectively mandated very small engines. Unlike the Traction Avant predecessor, there was no top-of-range model with a powerful six-cylinder engine. Citroën had planned an air-cooled flat-6 engine for the car, but did not have the funds to put the prototype engine into production.

 

The DS placed third in the 1999 Car of the Century competition, and fifth on Automobile Magazine's "100 Coolest Cars" listing in 2005. It was also named the most beautiful car of all time by Classic & Sports Car magazine after a poll of 20 world-renowned car designers, including Giorgetto Giugiaro, Ian Callum, Roy Axe, Paul Bracq, and Leonardo Fioravanti.

 

NAME

Both the DS and its simpler sibling, the ID, used a punning name. "DS" is pronounced in French as "Déesse" (goddess); "ID" is pronounced as "Idée" (idea). An intermediate model was called the DW.

 

MOTORSPORT

The DS was successful in motorsports like rallying, where sustained speeds on poor surfaces are paramount, and won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1959. In the 1000 Lakes Rally, Pauli Toivonen drove a DS19 to victory in 1962.

 

In 1966, the DS won the Monte Carlo Rally again, with some controversy as the competitive BMC Mini-Cooper team was disqualified due to rule infractions. Ironically, Mini was involved with DS competition again two years later, when a drunk driver in a Mini in Sydney Australia crashed into the DS that was leading the 1968 London–Sydney Marathon, 98 miles from the finish line. The DS was still competitive in the grueling 1974 London-Sahara-Munich World Cup Rally, where it won over 70 other cars, only 5 of which even completed the entire event.

 

TECHNICAL INNOVATION - HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS

In conventional cars, hydraulics are only used in brakes and power steering. In the DS they were also used for the suspension, clutch and transmission. The cheaper 1957 ID19 did have manual steering and a simplified power-braking system. An engine driven pump pressurizes the closed system to 2,400 pounds per square inch.

 

At a time when few passenger vehicles had independent suspension on all wheels, the application of the hydraulic system to the car's suspension system to provide a self-levelling system was an innovative move. This suspension allowed the car to achieve sharp handling combined with very high ride quality, frequently compared to a "magic carpet".

 

The hydropneumatic suspension used was pioneered the year before, on the rear of another car from Citroën, the top of range Traction Avant 15CV-H.

 

IMPACT ON CITROEN BRAND DEVELOPMENT

The 1955 DS cemented the Citroën brand name as an automotive innovator, building on the success of the Traction Avant, which had been the world's first mass-produced unitary body front-wheel-drive car in 1934. In fact, the DS caused such a huge sensation that Citroën was apprehensive that future models would not be of the same bold standard. No clean sheet new models were introduced from 1955 to 1970.

 

The DS was a large, expensive executive car and a downward brand extension was attempted, but without result. Throughout the late 1950s and 1960s Citroën developed many new vehicles for the very large, profitable market segments between the 2CV and the DS, occupied by vehicles like the Peugeot 403, Renault 16 and Ford Cortina, but none made it into production. Either they had uneconomic build costs, or were ordinary "me too" cars, not up to the company's high standard of innovation. As Citroën was owned by Michelin from 1934 to 1974 as a sort of research laboratory, such broad experimentation was possible. Michelin after all was getting a powerful advertisement for the capabilities of the radial tire Michelin had invented, when such experimentation was successful.

 

New models based on the small, utilitarian 2CV economy car were introduced, notably the 1961 Ami. It was also designed by Flaminio Bertoni and aimed to combine Three-box styling with the chassis of the 2CV. The Ami was very successful in France, but less so on export markets. Many found the styling controversial, and the car noisy and underpowered. The Dyane, was a modernised 2CV with a hatchback, competed with the 2CV inspired Renault 4 Hatchback. All these 2 cylinder models were very small, so there remained a wide market gap to the DS range all through the 1960s.

 

In 1970, Citroën finally introduced a car to target the mid-range - the Citroën GS, which won the "European car of the Year" for 1971 and sold 2.5 million units. It combined a small 55 horsepower flat-4 air-cooled engine with Hydropneumatic suspension. The intended 106 horsepower Wankel rotary-engined version with more power did not reach full production.

 

REPLACING THE DS

The DS remained popular and competitive throughout its production run. Its peak production year was 1970. Certain design elements like the somewhat narrow cabin, column-mounted gearstick, and separate fenders began to seem a little old-fashioned in the 1970s.

 

Citroën invested enormous resources to design and launch an entirely new vehicle in 1970, the SM, which was in effect a thoroughly modernized DS, with similar length, but greater width. The manual gearbox was a modified DS unit. The front disc brakes were the same design. Axles, wheel bearings, steering knuckles, and hydraulic components were either DS parts or modified DS parts.

 

The SM had a different purpose than replacing the 15-year-old DS design however - it was meant to launch Citroën into a completely new luxury grand touring market segment. Only fitted with a costly, exotic Maserati engine, the SM was faster and much more expensive than the DS. The SM was not designed to be a practical 4-door saloon suitable as a large family car, the key market for vehicles of this type in Europe. Typically, manufacturers would introduce low-volume coupés based on parts shared with an existing saloon, not as unique models, a contemporary example being the Mercedes-Benz SLC-Class.

 

The SM's high price and limited utility of the 2+2 seating configuration, meant the SM as actually produced could not seize the mantle from the DS.

 

So, while the design funds invested would allow the DS to be replaced by two cars - a 'modern DS' and the smaller CX, it was left to the CX alone to provide Citroën's large family or executive car in the model range.

 

The last DS came off the production line on 24 April 1975 - the manufacturer had taken the elementary precaution of building up approximately eight-month's of inventory of the "break" (estate/station wagon) version of the DS, to cover the period till Autumn 1975 when the estate/station wagon version of the CX would be introduced.

 

DEVELOPMENT

The DS always maintained its size and shape, with easily removable, unstressed body panels, but certain design changes did occur. During the 20-year production life improvements were made on an ongoing basis.

ID 19 submodel to extend brand downwards (1957–69)

 

The 1955 DS19 was 65% more expensive than the car it replaced, the Citroën Traction Avant. This affected potential sales in a country still recovering economically from World War II, so a cheaper submodel, the Citroën ID, was introduced in 1957.

 

The ID shared the DS's body but was less powerful and luxurious. Although it shared the engine capacity of the DS engine (at this stage 1,911 cc), the ID provided a maximum power output of only 69 hp compared to the 75 hp claimed for the DS19. Power outputs were further differentiated in 1961 when the DS19 acquired a Weber-32 twin bodied carburettor, and the increasing availability of higher octane fuel enabled the manufacturer to increase the compression ratio from 7.5:1 to 8.5:1. A new DS19 now came with a promised 83 hp of power. The ID19 was also more traditional mechanically: it had no power steering and had conventional transmission and clutch instead of the DS's hydraulically controlled set-up. Initially the basic ID19 was sold on the French market with a price saving of more than 25% against the DS, although the differential was reduced at the end of 1961 when the manufacturer quietly withdrew the entry level ID19 "Normale" from sale. A station wagon variant, the ID Break, was introduced in 1958.

 

D SPECIAL AND D SUPER (1970–75)

The ID was replaced by the D Spécial and D Super in 1970, but these retained the lower specification position in the range. The D Super was available with the DS21 2175ccm engine and a 5 speed gearbox, and named the D Super 5.

 

SERIE 2 - NOSE REDESIGN IN 1962

In September 1962, the DS was restyled with a more aerodynamically efficient nose, better ventilation and other improvements. It retained the open two headlamp appearance, but was available with an optional set of driving lights mounted on the front fenders. All models in the range changed nose design at the same time, including the ID and station wagon models.

Series 3 - Nose redesign in 1967 with Directional headlights

 

In late 1967, for the 1968 model year, the DS and ID was again restyled, by Robert Opron, who also styled the 1970 SM and 1974 CX. This version had a more streamlined headlamp design, giving the car a notably shark-like appearance. This design had four headlights under a smooth glass canopy, and the inner set swivelled with the steering wheel. This allowed the driver to see "around" turns, especially valuable on twisting roads driven at high speed at night.

 

Behind each glass cover lens, the inboard high-beam headlamp swivels by up to 80° as the driver steers, throwing the beam along the driver's intended path rather than uselessly across the curved road. The outboard low-beam headlamps are self-leveling in response to pitching caused by acceleration and braking.

 

However, this feature was not allowed in the US at the time (see World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations), so a version with four exposed headlights that did not swivel was made for the US market.

 

This 'turning headlight' feature was new to the market - it had only been seen before on the very rare three headlight 1935 Tatra 77A. The Tucker, which never was mass-produced, had a central headlight that turned with the steering. 45 years later, it is now a commonly available feature, even in the United States.

 

NEW GREEN HYDRAULIC FLUID

The original hydropneumatic system used a vegetable oil liquide hydraulique végétal (LHV), similar to that used in other cars at the time, but later switched to a synthetic fluid liquide hydraulique synthétique (LHS). Both of these had the disadvantage that they are hygroscopic, as is the case with most brake fluids. Disuse allows water to enter the hydraulic components causing deterioration and expensive maintenance work. The difficulty with hygroscopic hydraulic fluid was exacerbated in the DS/ID due to the extreme rise and fall in the fluid level in the reservoir, which went from nearly full to nearly empty when the suspension extended to maximum height and the six accumulators in the system filled with fluid. With every "inhalation" of fresh moisture- (and dust-) laden air, the fluid absorbed more water.

 

For the 1967 model year, Citroën introduced a new mineral oil-based fluid LHM (Liquide Hydraulique Minéral). This fluid was much less harsh on the system. LHM remained in use within Citroën until the Xantia was discontinued in 2001.

 

LHM required completely different materials for the seals. Using either fluid in the incorrect system would completely destroy the hydraulic seals very quickly. To help avoid this problem, Citroën added a bright green dye to the LHM fluid and also painted all hydraulic elements bright green. The former LHS parts were painted black.

 

All models, including the station wagon and ID, were upgraded at the same time. The hydraulic fluid changed to the technically superior LHM in all markets except the US and Canada, where the change did not take place until January 1969, due to local regulations.

 

INTERNATIONAL SALES AND PRODUCTION

The DS was primarily manufactured at the Quai André-Citroën in the Javel neighborhood of Paris, with other manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom, South Africa, the former Yugoslavia (mostly Break Ambulances), and Australia.

 

Australia constructed their own D variant in the 1960s at Heidelberg, Victoria, identified as the ID 19 "Parisienne." Australian market cars were fitted with options as standard equipment such as the "DSpecial DeLuxe" that were not available on domestic European models.

 

Until 1965, cars were assembled at the manufacturer's Slough premises, to the west of London, using a combination of French made knock down kits and locally sourced components, some of them machined on site. A French electrical system superseded the British one on the Slough cars in 1962, giving rise to a switch to "continental style" negative earthing. After 1965 cars for the British market were imported fully assembled from the company's French plant. The British-built cars are distinguished by their leather seats, wooden (early ID19 models) one piece plastic (early DS19 models) dashboards, chromed number plate mount let into the front bumper, and (on pre-1962 cars) Lucas-made electrics. These were all right hand drive cars.

 

The DS was built and sold in South Africa from 1959 to 1975.

 

The DS was sold in Japan, but the models were built in France and left hand drive.

 

DS IN NORTH AMERICA

The DS was sold in North America from 1956 to 1972. Despite its popularity in Europe, it didn't sell well in the United States, and little better in Canada. While promoted as a luxury car, it did not have the basic features that American buyers expected to find on such a vehicle, such as an automatic transmission, air conditioning, power windows, or a powerful engine. The DS was designed specifically to address the French market, with punitive tax horsepower taxation of large engines, as well as very poor roads – it's no great mystery that it was a fish out of water when those constraints were removed.

 

Jay Leno described the sporadic supply of spare parts as a problem for 1970s era customers, based on his early experiences working at a Citroën dealer in Boston.

 

The DS was expensive, with a 115 hp (86 kW) vehicle costing $4,170 in 1969, when the price was $4,500 for a 360 hp (268 kW) Buick Electra 225 4 door sedan. For all years, 38,000 units were sold.

 

US regulations at the time also banned one of the car's more advanced features: its composite headlamps with aerodynamic covered lenses. Based on legislation that dated from 1940, all automobiles sold in the U.S. were required to have round, sealed beam headlamps that produced a meager 75,000 candlepower. The powerful quartz iodine swiveling headlamps designed for the 1968 model DS represented so many performance improvements at once that they were far beyond what the regulations could allow.[50] Even the aerodynamic headlight covers were illegal – as seen on the 1968 Jaguar E-Type. It took the lobbying muscle of Ford to point out that the government was requiring two contradictory things – safety, by ensuring that all headlights were best-of-breed circa 1940, and fuel economy through the CAFE standard – by definition, cars with poor aerodynamics are sacrificing fuel economy. Composite bulb lamps and aerodynamic covered headlights were not permitted until 1983.

 

The European lamps were legal in Canada, including the directional headlamps.

 

The hydraulic fluid change in 1967 was another brain teaser for U.S. automotive regulators at the Department of Transportation. NHTSA follows the precautionary principle, also used by the Food and Drug Administration, where new innovations are prohibited until their developers can prove them to the regulators; this stifles the experimentation that automakers need to advance their products. NHTSA had already approved a brake fluid they considered safe – DOT 3 brake fluid, which is red and hygroscopic to promote internal rust. This completely different fluid, used in aircraft applications – the technically superior green LHM (Liquide Hydraulique Mineral) – took NHTSA two years to analyze for automotive use. Approval finally came in January 1969, so half the U.S. cars of the 1969 model year use red fluid and half use green fluid.

 

DESIGN VARIATIONS

PALLAS

In 1965 a luxury upgrade, the DS Pallas (after Greek goddess Pallas), was introduced. This included comfort features such as better noise insulation, a more luxurious (and optional leather) upholstery and external trim embellishments. From 1966 the Pallas model received a driver's seat with height adjustment.

 

STATION WAGON, FAMILIALE AND AMBULANCE

A station wagon version was introduced in 1958. It was known by various names in different markets (Break in France, Safari and Estate in the UK, Wagon in the US, and Citroën Australia used the terms Safari and Station-Wagon). It had a steel roof to support the standard roof rack. 'Familiales' had a rear seat mounted further back in the cabin, with three folding seats between the front and rear squabs. The standard Break had two side-facing seats in the main load area at the back.

 

The Ambulance configuration was similar to that of the Break, but with a 60/30 split in the rear folding seat to accommodate a stretcher. A 'Commerciale' version was also available for a time.

 

The Safari saw use as a camera car, notably by the BBC. The hydropneumatic suspension produces an unusually steady platform for filming while driving.

 

CONVERTIBLE

Rarest and most collectable of all DS variants, a convertible was offered from 1958 until 1973. The Cabriolet d'Usine (factory convertible) were built by French carrossier Henri Chapron, for the Citroën dealer network. It was an expensive car, so only 1,365 were sold. These DS convertibles used a special frame which was reinforced on the sidemembers and rear suspension swingarm bearing box, similar to, but not identical to the Break (Station Wagon) frame.

 

CHAPRON VARIATIONS

In addition, Chapron also produced a few coupés, non-works convertibles and special sedans (including the "Prestige", same wheelbase but with a central divider, and the "Lorraine" notchback).

 

BOSSAERT COUPE

Between 1959 and 1964, Hector Bossaert produced a coupé on a DS chassis shortened by 470 mm. While the front end remained unchanged, the rear end featured notchback styling.

 

THE REACTOR

In 1965, noted American auto customizer Gene Winfield created The Reactor, a Citroën DS chassis, with a turbocharged 180 hp (130 kW) flat-six engine from the Corvair driving the front wheels. Since the DS already had the engine behind the front wheels, the longer engine meant only one row of seats. This was draped in a streamlined, low slung, aluminum body.

 

The Reactor was seen in American Television programs of the era, such as Star Trek: The Original Series episode 2.25 ("Bread and Circuses)," Batman episodes 110 ("Funny Feline Felonies") and 111 (driven by Catwoman Eartha Kitt), and Bewitched, which devoted its episode 3.19 ("Super Car") to The Reactor.

 

MICHELIN PLR

The Michelin PLR is a mobile tire evaluation machine, based on the DS Break, built in 1972, later used for promotion.

Technical details

 

SUSPENSION

In a hydropneumatic suspension system, each wheel is connected, not to a spring, but to a hydraulic suspension unit consisting of a hydraulic accumulator sphere of about 12 cm in diameter containing pressurised nitrogen, a cylinder containing hydraulic fluid screwed to the suspension sphere, a piston inside the cylinder connected by levers to the suspension itself, and a damper valve between the piston and the sphere. A membrane in the sphere prevented the nitrogen from escaping. The motion of the wheels translated to a motion of the piston, which acted on the oil in the nitrogen cushion and provided the spring effect. The damper valve took place of the shock absorber in conventional suspensions. The hydraulic cylinder was fed with hydraulic fluid from the main pressure reservoir via a height corrector, a valve controlled by the mid-position of the anti-roll bar connected to the axle. If the suspension was too low, the height corrector introduced high-pressure fluid; if it was too high, it released fluid back to the fluid reservoir. In this manner, a constant ride height was maintained. A control in the cabin allowed the driver to select one of five heights: normal riding height, two slightly higher riding heights for poor terrain, and two extreme positions for changing wheels. (The correct term, oleopneumatic (oil-air), has never gained widespread use. Hydropneumatic (water-air) continues to be preferred overwhelmingly.)

 

The DS did not have a jack for lifting the car off the ground. Instead, the hydraulic system enabled wheel changes with the aid of a simple adjustable stand. To change a flat tyre, one would adjust the suspension to its topmost setting, insert the stand into a special peg near the flat tyre, then readjust the suspension to its lowermost setting. The flat tyre would then retract upwards and hover above ground, ready to be changed. This system, used on the SM also, was superseded on the CX by a screw jack that, after the suspension was raised to the high position, lifted the tire clear of the ground. The DS system, while impressive to use, sometimes dropped the car quite suddenly, especially if the stand was not placed precisely or the ground was soft or unlevel.

 

SOURCE AND RESERVE OF PRESSURE

The central part of the hydraulic system was the high pressure pump, which maintained a pressure of between 130 and 150 bar in two accumulators. These accumulators were very similar in construction to the suspension spheres. One was dedicated to the front brakes, and the other ran the other hydraulic systems. (On the simpler ID models, the front brakes operated from the main accumulator.) Thus in case of a hydraulic failure, the first indication would be that the steering became heavy, followed by the gearbox not working; only later would the brakes fail.

 

Two different hydraulic pumps were used. The DS used a seven-cylinder axial piston pump driven off two belts and delivering 175 bar (2,540 psi) of pressure. The ID19, with its simpler hydraulic system, had a single-cylinder pump driven by an eccentric on the camshaft.

 

GEARBOX AND CLUTCH

HYDRAULIQUE OR CITROMATIC

The DS was initially offered only with the "hydraulique" four-speed semi-automatic (bvh—"boîte de vitesses hydraulique") gearbox.

 

This was a four-speed gearbox and clutch, operated by a hydraulic controller. To change gears, the driver flicked a lever behind the steering wheel to the next position and eased-up on the accelerator pedal. The hydraulic controller disengaged the clutch, engaged the nominated gear, and re-engaged the clutch. The speed of engagement of the clutch was controlled by a centrifugal regulator sensing engine rpm and driven off the camshaft by a belt, the position of the butterfly valve in the carburettor (i.e., the position of the accelerator), and the brake circuit. When the brake was pressed, the engine idle speed dropped to an rpm below the clutch engagement speed, thus preventing friction while stopped in gear at traffic lights. When the brake was released, the idle speed increased to the clutch dragging speed. The car would then creep forward much like automatic transmission cars. This drop in idle throttle position also caused the car to have more engine drag when the brakes were applied even before the car slowed to the idle speed in gear, preventing the engine from pulling against the brakes. In the event of loss of hydraulic pressure (following loss of system fluid), the clutch would disengage, to prevent driving, while brake pressure reserves would allow safe braking to standstill.

 

MANUAL - FOUR SPEED AND FIVE-SPEED

The later and simpler ID19 had the same gearbox and clutch, manually operated. This configuration was offered as a cheaper option for the DS in 1963. The mechanical aspects of the gearbox and clutch were completely conventional and the same elements were used in the ID 19. In September 1970, Citroën introduced a five-speed manual gearbox, in addition to the original four-speed unit.

 

FULLY AUTOMATIC

In September 1971 Citroën introduced a 3-speed fully automatic Borg-Warner 35 transmission gearbox, on the DS 21 and later DS 23 models. It is ironic that the fully automatic transmission DS was never sold in the US market, where this type of transmission had gained market share so quickly that it became the majority of the market by this time. Many automatic DSs, fuel-injected DS 23 sedans with air conditioning, were sold in Australia.

 

ENGINES

The DS was originally designed around an air-cooled flat-six based on the design of the 2-cylinder engine of the 2CV, similar to the motor in the Porsche 911. Technical and monetary problems forced this idea to be scrapped.

 

Thus, for such a modern car, the engine of the original DS 19 was also old-fashioned. It was derived from the engine of the 11CV Traction Avant (models 11B and 11C). It was an OHV four-cylinder engine with three main bearings and wet liners, and a bore of 78 mm and a stroke of 100 mm, giving a volumetric displacement of 1911 cc. The cylinder head had been reworked; the 11C had a reverse-flow cast iron cylinder head and generated 60 hp (45 kW) at 3800 rpm; by contrast, the DS 19 had an aluminium cross-flow head with hemispherical combustion chambers and generated 75 hp (56 kW) at 4500 rpm.

 

Like the Traction Avant, the DS had the gearbox mounted in front of the engine, with the differential in between. Thus some consider the DS to be a mid engine front-wheel drive car.

 

The DS and ID powerplants evolved throughout its 20-year production life. The car was underpowered and faced constant mechanical changes to boost the performance of the four-cylinder engine. The initial 1911 cc three main bearing engine (carried forward from the Traction Avant) of the DS 19 was replaced in 1965 with the 1985 cc five-bearing wet-cylinder motor, becoming the DS 19a (called DS 20 from September 1969).

 

The DS 21 was also introduced for model year 1965. This was a 2175 cc, five main bearing engine; power was 109 hp This engine received a substantial increase in power with the introduction of Bosch electronic fuel injection for 1970, making the DS one of the first mass-market cars to use electronic fuel injection. Power of the carbureted version also increased slightly at the same time, owing to the employment of larger inlet valves.

 

Lastly, 1973 saw the introduction of the 2347 cc engine of the DS 23 in both carbureted and fuel-injected forms. The DS 23 with electronic fuel injection was the most powerful production model, producing 141 hp (105 kW).

 

IDs and their variants went through a similar evolution, generally lagging the DS by about one year. ID saloon models never received the DS 23 engine or fuel injection, although the Break/Familiale versions received the carburetted version of the DS 23 engine when it was introduced, supplemented the DS20 Break/Familiale.

 

The top of the range ID model, The DSuper5 (DP) gained the DS21 engine (the only model that this engine was retained in) for the 1973 model year and it was mated to a five-speed gearbox. This should not be confused with the 1985 cc DSuper fitted with an optional "low ratio" five-speed gearbox, or with the previous DS21M (DJ) five-speed.

 

IN POPULAR CULTURE

President Charles de Gaulle survived an assassination attempt at Le Petit-Clamart near Paris on August 22, 1962, planned by Algerian War veteran Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry. The plan was to ambush the motorcade with machine guns, disable the vehicles, and then close in for the kill. De Gaulle praised the unusual abilities of his unarmoured DS with saving his life – the car was peppered with bullets, and the shots had punctured the tyres, but the car could still escape at full speed. This event was accurately recreated in the 1973 film The Day of the Jackal.

 

Beyond de Gaulle and the French aristocracy, the roomy DS also appealed to French taxi drivers.

 

Outside France, the car drew an eclectic customer mix, such as Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, Pope John XXIII, painter Marc Chagall, and actors Ken Berry, Jeff Bridges, and Rosamund Pike.

 

The DS appeared in several episodes of contemporary television series Mission: Impossible, including substantial appearances in 'The Slave' (ep. 2.06) and 'Robot' (ep. 4.09).

 

An ode to Jane Child's DS21 appears on her 1989 self-titled album.

 

In 1989, the film Back to the Future Part II featured a modified Citroen DS as a flying taxicab, when the main characters travel 30 years into the future (2015). Scarface (1983 film) with Al Pacino and the 2009 television series The Mentalist both feature the DS in key roles. According to Internet Movie Cars Database, the DS/ID has made over 2,000 film and television appearances so far.

 

Two films focus on the DS, including The Goddess of 1967 about a Japanese man purchasing a DS (goddess or déesse in French) in Australia, and 1995's Icelandic-Japanese road movie Cold Fever.

 

LEGACY

Citroën DS values have been rising – a 1973 DS 23 Injection Electronique "Decapotable" (Chapron Convertible) sold for EUR €176,250 (USD $209,738) at Christie's Rétromobile in February 2006. and a similar car sold by Bonhams in February 2009 brought EUR €343,497 (USD $440,436). On 18 September 2009 a 1966 DS21 Decapotable Usine was sold by Bonhams for a hammer price of UK£131,300. Bonhams sold another DS21 Decapotable (1973) on 23 January 2010 for EUR €189,000.

 

The DS's beloved place in French society was demonstrated in Paris on 9 October 2005 with a celebration of the 50th anniversary of its launch. 1,600 DS cars drove in procession past the Arc de Triomphe.

 

From 2005 to 2008, a young Frenchman named Manuel Boileau travelled around the world in a 1971 DS ambulance. It was an 80,000 kilometer journey across 38 countries called Lunaya World Tour. While traveling through Laos, he located the forlorn 1974 DS Prestige belonging to Sisavang Vatthana, the last King of the Kingdom of Laos, which is now preserved and restored by specialists in Bangkok.

 

In 2009, Groupe PSA created a new brand - DS Automobiles, intended as high quality, high specification variations on existing models, with differing mechanics and bodywork. This brand ranges across four models, the DS3, DS4, DS5, and the China-only SUV DS 6. The DS3, launched in March 2010, is based on Citroen's new C3, but is more customisable and unique, bearing some resemblance to the original DS, with its "Shark Fin" side pillar. These have created their own niches, with the DS4 being a mix of a crossover and a coupe and the DS5 mixing a coupe and an estate. Many feature hybrid-diesel engines to maximise efficiency.

 

WIKIPEDIA

INSTRUCTIONS AVAILABLE FOR P558 SUPERDUTY - MULTIPLE CONFIGURATIONS

 

On September 24, 2015, Ford unveiled the 2017 Ford Super Duty line at the 2015 State Fair of Texas. he frame is made from 95% high strength steel and the body (like the contemporary F-150) is made from 6000 series aluminum alloy. For the first time since 1999, both the Super Duty and F-150 lines are constructed using the same cab.

 

For 2017 production, the Super Duty line shares its powertrain lineup with its 2016 predecessor: a 6.2L gasoline V8, 6.8L V10 (F-450 and above), with a 6.7L diesel V8 available in all versions. The 6.2L gasoline V8 engine remains at 385 hp but torque rises from 405 lb-ft to 430 lb-ft. Additionally, the gasoline V8 produces its max torque at over 700 rpm less than the previous 405 lb-ft engine. The 6.7L diesel engine also remains at the same 440 hp (323 kW) but torque increases from 860 lb-ft upwards to 925 lb-ft.

 

The 2020 Super Duty debuted at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show. It features a revised grille and tailgate design, new wheel options, and higher-quality interior materials for the Limited trim. A new 7.3-liter gasoline engine is available. Nicknamed "Godzilla", it makes 430 horsepower and 475 lb-ft of torque.

 

Cab configurations continue to be 2-Door Regular Cab, 4-Door Super Cab, and 4-Door Super Crew Cab, with Short Box (6' 9") and Long Box (8') bed lengths. The truck will be available in F-250, F-350, and F-450 pickup truck models, and F-350, F-450, and F-550 chassis cab models. All will be available in both 4X2 and 4X4 configurations. The F-350 will be the only model available in either Single Rear Wheel (SRW) or Dual Rear Wheel (DRW) configurations, the F-450 and F-550 will only be available in a Dual Rear Wheel (DRW) configuration, and the F-250 will only be available in a Single Rear Wheel configuration.

 

The iPhone 7 Plus is the first iPhone to have a dual camera imaging configuration. The use of lenses with different focal lengths has greatly expanded the options for different composition without having to fall back on software zooming or cropping in tighter on the subject.

 

Ztylus and Kamerar have joined forces to produce a lens systems to utilize the dual configuration of the iPhone 7 Plus. Their "Zoom" system (see links below) consists of 2 pairs of lenses that slide over the native lenses. One of these pairs brings a fisheye lens (160 degree field of view, x 0.35 magnification) and a telephoto lens (x 1.5 magnification) to the x1 and x2 native lenses respectively. The other provides a pair of x10 macro lenses for the the x1 and x2 native lenses.

 

The photograph here was taken using one of the x10 Kamerar/Ztylus macro lenses and the x2 native lense. Although I have only been able to carry out a fairly limited set of trials so far with the macro lenses, I have been quite impressed with the sharpness of the results, as well as the low levels of geometric distortion and vignetting around the edges.

 

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Links for background information ...

 

kamerar.com/products/kamerar-zoom-lens-kit-for-iphone-7-plus

ztylus.com/products/kamerar-zoom-lens-kit-for-iphone-7-plus

 

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[ Location - Barton, Australian Capital Territory, Australia ]

 

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Photography notes ...

The photograph was taken using the following hardware ...

- iPhone 7 Plus.

- 56mm* (x2) lens [* 35mm equivalent value of the focal length].

- Gizmon TLR Bluetooth Remote Shutter.

- Gray Card made by ProCamera.

 

I acquired the photograph (4032 x 3024 pixels) with an ISO of 20, exposure time of 1/450 seconds, and an aperture of f/1.8. The iPhone flash was used. A x10 Kamerar/Ztylus macro lens was used in combination with the x2 native lens.

 

Post-processing ...

- I downloaded the photographs from my iPhone 7 Plus to the MacBook Air 11" using a lightning/USB cable and the iExplorer app (Macroplant).

- Sometimes I do this over WiFi using PhotoSync (touchbyte GmbH). Notably, I have found that iExplorer does not handle properly the images that have been edited using the native Apple iPhone "Photos" app (i.e., it will only transfer the original image, not the edited image).

- I viewed and sorted the photographs that were taken using XnViewMP (Pierre-e-Gougelet) and Lightroom (Adobe Systems Incorporated). Saved the images that had some chance of being posted online.

 

Lightroom - Applied basic lighting and color adjustments.

PhotoSync - Copied the JPEG file to my iPad Mini for final processing, review, enjoyment, and posting to social media.

 

@MomentsForZen #MomentsForZen #MFZ #iPhone7Plus #iPhone #iExplorer #Lightroom #XnViewMP #PhotoSync #Kamerar #Ztylus #Macro #Closeup #Moth #Antennae

Published November 26th 2011.

 

Two 550Ex speedlites controlled simultaneously by one Phottix Odin radio receiver. Dual control. Thats TTL or M (remotely adjusted) and either with HSS or SCS!

 

Warning: This is a non-standard configuration. I am not recommending this use of Odin receivers. If you try this, it is entirely at your own risk. This configuration does not seem to work with 580ExIIs!

  

I'm still in early testing (as at 26-11-2011), but so far I have got perfect remote Manual flash power fraction control from the Odin TCU in the cam's hot-shoe. The 2 Ex units respond in parallel. The two speedlites - both 550Exs - are initially setup idendentically. The flash-heads are both up in a bounce orientation - wide panels both retracted. This may only apply to 550Exs. This configuration does not seem to work with 580ExIIs - possibly, it only works with pre-'II' series Ex speedlites. I have not tested all Ex speedlites - my guess would be that the pair must be identical twins for this to work. Remember that the 550Exs pre-date all the 'II' series Ex speedlites, so there are potentially a lot of variables to check.

 

The TTL cord is specifically 'ishoot' brand, their dual cord - and a recent batch (Nov '11). I tried this originally with a Yn dual cord & it seemed not to work. It may turn out that the 'ishoot' version is the only one of the 'dual' cords to work for this configuration. Note that there are several different versions of these 'dual' style TTL cords, which already differ from OC-E3 clones. The 'ishoot', the Yn, the Pixel and the Nissin version all differ externally and probably internally too.

Link: Feb '15:

 

www.ebay.com/itm/iShoot-2-5m-Flash-SYNC-E-TTL-Off-Camera-...

 

My logic for using 550Exs was first that they are less than half the price of a new 580ExII, in fact £90 to £130, they are pretty powerfull and they accept external power packs. So this configuration potentially offers the maximum gain for the minimum cost/risk.

 

Always turn on both speedlites before turning on the Rx unit. I only reconfigure the speedlites (deploy wide panel etc) with both the speedlites and the Rx temporarily switched off. Switch off the Speedlites before switching off the Rx.

 

This configuration is also good for TTL too - that's with FEC by group & globally - all with the option of HSS! The camera's flashmetering is best set to 'Average' for flash rather than 'Evaluative' (done in cam's Cfns or in the cam's flash menus - not from the camera's top-plate!). Tx to 'stripealipe' for this info - applies at least to the original release firmware (Edit: This restriction only applies to the on-release - later versions remove it). This is running very well indeed from both a 20D & a 7D. The modeling light function, controlled from the Odin TCU, also serves as focus assist. Easy with a little practice!

 

So, with Phottix Odins, either very nearly twice the power* or half the recycle time - all with a considerable cost saving - preserving remote power adjustment - Manual &/or TTL (& HSS for both) - from the TCU/camera unit. With Odins, M power fractions or FEC under ETTL, are adjusted by Group, directly from the TCU's screen - much quicker than having to delve into the camera's flash menu screens!

 

*: Not quite twice the power because I tend to splay the flash-heads slightly, giving very much better spread within most modifiers. So it's very much prettier light with smooth shadow transitions with quicker recylcing and/or nearly an extra stop of light.

 

Edit at 10-12-2011: Leaving TTL to one side, for metered manual flash, albeit (in-cam) metered flash, so far I've got two options. One is to use a variation of Chuck Gardner's white terry towelling reflected flash technique. I think you would need to use the 'only-just-clipping-white' end-point on a dummy shot taken with the white towelling in the subject position. With a bit of thought this can be used for ratios too.

The second option is based on an Expodisc or close clone - the uniform white type. This turns your cam's chip into an incident 'capture-flash' flash-meter and works well maybe sorting WB along the way. You would need to determine your own 'zero point' on your histogram specific to the transmissibility of your Expodisc or clone. Yep, they can be made to work. Likewise Olivier's idea of combining SCS with a long shutter speed, allowing time to reprime the meter before the capture-flash, works too. It assumes rather dim ambient levels and that you revert to a more typical SS for the actual capture - but it works too.

 

Edit: There are two extra options for using an external flashmeter in an Odin network operating in M flash. See this later post: www.flickr.com/photos/layeroption/11755249874/in/photostream

 

Edit at 18-12-2011: Being a certifiable, card-carrying strobist uber-nerd, I checked out a second 'ishoot' brand 'dual' ETTL cord with two other 550Exs - and - it worked in this configuration too! So, the warning still applies but it wasn't a fluke. Did I then interpose my Flashzebra 20ft OC-E3 clone on the distal speedlite end? Yep, that worked too - v rarely useful, but it would keep the camera/TCU un-tethered even if you were one Odin Rx short of a full load.

In fact I then daisy-chained 2 'ishoot' dual cords together (symetrically) & yes, 3 550Exs work as one together & respond in both M & TTL as they should. Sweet!

 

Edit at 04-01-2012: From my padded cell - 3 'ishoot' thingeys - X4 550Exs: Yes!

 

(My Yn 'dual' ETTL cord definitely does not work like this. And Elv says that Phottix's own 'dual' cord does not work for this configuration either.)

 

N.B. All of this applies using 550Exs with the original release Phottix Odin firmware. Update 24-08-12: This works with 550Exs and Firmware version 1.2 - Oh yes! - I like these triggers.

 

Edit at 30-01-2012: Many many hundred pops, scores of reconfigurations; zero issues! That goes for my other Odin Radio Rxs in use controlling either 580ExIIs or 550Exs. That's usually just one Ex to one Rx!

 

Edit: These Dual TTL cords from 'Ishoot' are becoming harder to find. Try Ebay searches under 'dual ttl cord'. Good luck.

 

Edit: 2-8-13: This post refers to the original hardware version 'Odin for Canon'. I updated to firmware v1.2 c August 2012. It seems that Phottix migrated to hardware type 'Odin 1.5 for Canon' some time ago.

 

Edit: 20-09-13: With the Mitros+ (Mitros Plus) just announced, I guess a pair of those could be used without the Dual cords & external Odin Rx. Similar functionality and beans at about X3 the cost - but tempting!

Once you understand how this system works, you can play around with it and make this other configuration of stars.

 

Folded from a square of 20 cm on the side of "Casa de Papel" paper.

 

Using Ale Beber's technique for the KNB Star, similar to some of the works of O'Sorigami.

This Eurobricks review can be found in www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/188518-r...

A VIP-configuration Boeing 727, seen parked at Stansted Airport.

 

Built in 1968, this is one of the shorter-length 727s, now designated as a -100, and has been 'quiet wing' modifications to help with engine noise regulations.

 

From what I can ascertain, its former owner was a Donald Trump of the USA! It was formerly registered as VP-BDJ; the N800AK registration appears to be reused from another B727.

Different configurations of the M4 LARGE system rifle.

The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries during and after the Second World War. The Spitfire was built in many variants, using several wing configurations, and was produced in greater numbers than any other British aircraft. It was also the only British fighter to be in continuous production throughout the war. The Spitfire continues to be a popular aircraft, with approximately 55 Spitfires being airworthy, while many more are static exhibits in aviation museums all over the world.

 

The Spitfire was designed as a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft by R. J. Mitchell, chief designer at Supermarine Aviation Works (which operated as a subsidiary of Vickers-Armstrong from 1928). In accordance with its role as an interceptor, Mitchell designed the Spitfire's distinctive elliptical wing to have the thinnest possible cross-section; this thin wing enabled the Spitfire to have a higher top speed than several contemporary fighters, including the Hawker Hurricane. Mitchell continued to refine the design until his death from cancer in 1937, whereupon his colleague Joseph Smith took over as chief designer, overseeing the development of the Spitfire through its multitude of variants.

 

During the Battle of Britain (July–October 1940), the Spitfire was perceived by the public to be the RAF fighter, though the more numerous Hawker Hurricane shouldered a greater proportion of the burden against the Luftwaffe. However, because of its higher performance, Spitfire units had a lower attrition rate and a higher victory-to-loss ratio than those flying Hurricanes.

 

After the Battle of Britain, the Spitfire superseded the Hurricane to become the backbone of RAF Fighter Command, and saw action in the European, Mediterranean, Pacific and the South-East Asian theatres. Much loved by its pilots, the Spitfire served in several roles, including interceptor, photo-reconnaissance, fighter-bomber and trainer, and it continued to serve in these roles until the 1950s. The Seafire was a carrier-based adaptation of the Spitfire which served in the Fleet Air Arm from 1942 through to the mid-1950s. Although the original airframe was designed to be powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine producing 1,030 hp (768 kW), it was strong enough and adaptable enough to use increasingly powerful Merlin and, in later marks, Rolls-Royce Griffon engines producing up to 2,340 hp (1,745 kW); as a consequence of this the Spitfire's performance and capabilities improved, sometimes dramatically, over the course of its life.

 

Mk V (Types 331, 349 & 352)

 

Spitfire LF.Mk VB, BL479, flown by Group Captain M.W.S Robinson, station commander of RAF Northolt, August 1943. This Spitfire has the wide bladed Rotol propeller, the internal armoured windscreen and "clipped" wings.

Late in 1940, the RAF predicted that the advent of the pressurised Junkers Ju 86P bomber series over Britain would be the start of a new sustained high altitude bombing offensive by the Luftwaffe, in which case development was put in hand for a pressurised version of the Spitfire, with a new version of the Merlin (the Mk VI). It would take some time to develop the new fighter and an emergency stop-gap measure was needed as soon as possible: this was the Mk V.

 

The basic Mk V was a Mk I with the Merlin 45 series engine. This engine delivered 1,440 hp (1,074 kW) at take-off, and incorporated a new single-speed single-stage supercharger design. Improvements to the carburettor also allowed the Spitfire to use zero gravity manoeuvres without any problems with fuel flow. Several Mk I and Mk II airframes were converted to Mk V standard by Supermarine and started equipping fighter units from early 1941. The majority of the Mk Vs were built at Castle Bromwich.

 

The VB became the main production version of the Mark Vs. Along with the new Merlin 45 series the B wing was fitted as standard. As production progressed changes were incorporated, some of which became standard on all later Spitfires. Production started with several Mk IBs which were converted to Mk VBs by Supermarine. Starting in early 1941 the round section exhaust stacks were changed to a "fishtail" type, marginally increasing exhaust thrust. Some late production VBs and VCs were fitted with six shorter exhaust stacks per side, similar to those of Spitfire IXs and Seafire IIIs; this was originally stipulated as applying specifically to VB(trop)s. After some initial problems with the original Mk I size oil coolers, a bigger oil cooler was fitted under the port wing; this could be recognised by a deeper housing with a circular entry. From mid-1941 alloy covered ailerons became a universal fitting.

 

Spitfire VC(trop), fitted with Vokes filters and "disc" wheels, of 417 Squadron RCAF in Tunisia in 1943.

A constant flow of modifications were made as production progressed. A "blown" cockpit hood, manufactured by Malcolm, was introduced in an effort to further increase the pilot's head-room and visibility. Many mid to late production VBs - and all VCs - used the modified, improved windscreen assembly with the integral bullet resistant centre panel and flat side screens introduced with the Mk III. Because the rear frame of this windscreen was taller than that of the earlier model the cockpit hoods were not interchangeable and could be distinguished by the wider rear framing on the hood used with the late-style windscreen.

 

Different propeller types were fitted, according to where the Spitfire V was built: Supermarine and Westland manufactured VBs and VCs used 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) diameter, 3 bladed de Havilland constant speed units, with narrow metal blades, while Castle Bromwich manufactured VBs and VCs were fitted with a wide bladed Rotol constant speed propeller of either 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) diameter, with metal blades, or (on late production Spitfires) 10 ft 3 in (3.12 m) diameter, with broader, "Jablo" (compressed wood) blades. The Rotol spinners were longer and more pointed than the de Havilland leading to a 3.5 in (8.9 cm) increase in overall length. The Rotol propellers allowed a modest speed increase over 20,000 ft (6,100 m) and an increase in the service ceiling. A large number of Spitfire VBs were fitted with "gun heater intensifier" systems on the exhaust stacks. These piped additional heated air into the gun bays. There was a short tubular intake on the front of the first stack and a narrow pipe led into the engine cowling from the rear exhaust.

 

The VB series were the first Spitfires able to carry a range of specially designed "slipper" drop tanks which were fitted underneath the wing centre-section. Small hooks were fitted, just forward of the inboard flaps: when the tank was released these hooks caught the trailing edge of the tank, swinging it clear of the fuselage.

 

With the advent of the superb Focke Wulf Fw 190 in August 1941 the Spitfire was for the first time truly outclassed, hastening the development of the "interim" Mk IX. In an effort to counter this threat, especially at lower altitudes, the VB was the first production version of the Spitfire to use "clipped" wingtips as an option, reducing the wingspan to 32 ft 2 in (9.8 m).The clipped wings increased the roll rate and airspeed at lower altitudes. Several different versions of the Merlin 45/50 family were used, including the Merlin 45M which had a smaller "cropped" supercharger impeller and boost increased to +18 lb. This engine produced 1,585 hp (1,182 kW) at 2,750 ft (838 m), increasing the L.F VB's maximum rate of climb to 4720 ft/min (21.6 m/s) at 2,000 ft (610 m).

 

VB Trop of 40 Squadron SAAF fitted with the "streamlined" version of the Aboukir filter, a broad-bladed, 10 ft 3 in (3.12 m) diameter Rotol propeller, and clipped wings.

The Mk VB(trop) (or type 352) could be identified by the large Vokes air filter fitted under the nose; the reduced speed of the air to the supercharger had a detrimental effect on the performance of the aircraft, reducing the top speed by 8 mph (13 km/h) and the climb rate by 600 ft/min (3.04 m/s), but the decreased performance was considered acceptable. This variant was also fitted with a larger oil tank and desert survival gear behind the pilot's seat. A new "desert" camouflage scheme was applied. Many VB(trop)s were modified by 103 MU (Maintenance Unit-RAF depots in which factory fresh aircraft were brought up to service standards before being delivered to squadrons) at Aboukir, Egypt by replacing the Vokes filter with locally manufactured "Aboukir" filters, which were lighter and more streamlined. Two designs of these filters can be identified in photos: one had a bulky, squared off filter housing while the other was more streamlined. These aircraft were usually fitted with the wide blade Rotol propeller and clipped wings.

 

Triumph Spitfire Mk I Roadster

 

The Triumph Spitfire is a small English two-seat sports car, introduced at the London Motor Show in 1962.[3] The vehicle was based on a design produced for Standard-Triumph in 1957 by Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti. The platform for the car was largely based upon the chassis, engine, and running gear of the Triumph Herald saloon, and was manufactured at the Standard-Triumph works at Canley, in Coventry. As was typical for cars of this era, the bodywork was fitted onto a separate structural chassis, but for the Spitfire, which was designed as an open top or convertible sports car from the outset, the ladder chassis was reinforced for additional rigidity by the use of structural components within the bodywork. The Spitfire was provided with a manual hood for weather protection, the design improving to a folding hood for later models. Factory-manufactured hard-tops were also available.

 

The Triumph Spitfire was originally devised by Standard-Triumph to compete in the small sports car market that had opened up with the introduction of the Austin-Healey Sprite. The Sprite had used the basic drive train of the Austin A30/35 in a light body to make up a budget sports car; Triumph's idea was to use the mechanicals from their small saloon, the Herald, to underpin the new project. Triumph had one advantage, however; where the Austin A30 range was of unitary construction, the Herald featured a separate chassis. It was Triumph's intention to cut that chassis down and clothe it in a sports body, saving the costs of developing a completely new chassis / body unit.

 

Italian designer Michelotti—who had already penned the Herald—was commissioned for the new project, and came up with a traditional, swooping body. Wind-up windows were provided (in contrast to the Sprite/Midget, which still featured sidescreens, also called curtains, at that time), as well as a single-piece front end which tilted forwards to offer unrivaled access to the engine. At the dawn of the 1960s, however, Standard-Triumph was in deep financial trouble, and unable to put the new car into production; it was not until the company was taken over by the Leyland organization funds became available and the car was launched. Leyland officials, taking stock of their new acquisition, found Michelotti's prototype hiding under a dust sheet in a corner of the factory and rapidly approved it for production.

 

Spitfire 4 or Mark I (1962-1964)

 

Overview:

Production1962–1964

45,753 made

Powertrain:

Engine1,147 cc (1.1 l) I4

Transmission4-speed manual with optional overdrive on top and third from 1963 onwards

Dimensions:

Curb weight1,568 lb (711 kg) (unladen U.K.-spec)

 

The production car changed little from the prototype, although the full-width rear bumper was dropped in favour of two part-bumpers curving round each corner, with overriders. Mechanicals were basically stock Herald. The engine was an 1,147 cc (1.1 l) 4-cylinder with a pushrod OHV cylinder head and 2 valves per cylinder, mildly tuned for the Spitfire, fed by twin SU carburettors. Also from the Herald came the rack and pinion steering and coil-and-wishbone front suspension up front, and at the rear a single transverse-leaf swing axle arrangement. This ended up being the most controversial part of the car: it was known to "tuck in" and cause violent over steer if pushed too hard, even in the staid Herald. In the sportier Spitfire (and later the 6-cylinder Triumph GT6 and Triumph Vitesse) it led to severe criticism. The body was bolted to a much-modified Herald chassis, the outer rails and the rear outriggers having been removed; little of the original Herald chassis design was left, and the Spitfire used structural outer sills to stiffen its body tub.

 

The Spitfire was an inexpensive small sports car and as such had very basic trim, including rubber mats and a large plastic steering wheel. These early cars were referred to both as "Triumph Spitfire Mark I" and "Spitfire 4", not to be confused with the later Spitfire Mark IV.

 

In UK specification the in-line four produced 63 bhp (47 kW) at 5750 rpm, and 67 lb·ft (91 N·m)of torque at 3500 rpm. This gave a top speed of 92 mph (148 km/h), and would achieve 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 17.3 seconds. Average fuel consumption was 31mpg.

 

For 1964 an overdrive option was added to the 4-speed manual gearbox to give more relaxed cruising. Wire wheels and a hard top were also available.

 

Text regarding the Supermarine Spitfire aeroplane and Triumph Spitfire Roadster has been taken from excerpts of Wikipedia articles on each model.

 

The Supermarine Spitfire Mk VB aircraft and 1962 Triumph Spitfire Mk I road car have been modelled in Lego miniland-scale for Flickr LUGNuts' 79th Build Challenge, - 'LUGNuts goes Wingnuts, ' - featuring automotive vehicles named after, inspired by, or with some relationship to aircraft.

The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries during and after the Second World War. The Spitfire was built in many variants, using several wing configurations, and was produced in greater numbers than any other British aircraft. It was also the only British fighter to be in continuous production throughout the war. The Spitfire continues to be a popular aircraft, with approximately 55 Spitfires being airworthy, while many more are static exhibits in aviation museums all over the world.

 

The Spitfire was designed as a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft by R. J. Mitchell, chief designer at Supermarine Aviation Works (which operated as a subsidiary of Vickers-Armstrong from 1928). In accordance with its role as an interceptor, Mitchell designed the Spitfire's distinctive elliptical wing to have the thinnest possible cross-section; this thin wing enabled the Spitfire to have a higher top speed than several contemporary fighters, including the Hawker Hurricane. Mitchell continued to refine the design until his death from cancer in 1937, whereupon his colleague Joseph Smith took over as chief designer, overseeing the development of the Spitfire through its multitude of variants.

 

During the Battle of Britain (July–October 1940), the Spitfire was perceived by the public to be the RAF fighter, though the more numerous Hawker Hurricane shouldered a greater proportion of the burden against the Luftwaffe. However, because of its higher performance, Spitfire units had a lower attrition rate and a higher victory-to-loss ratio than those flying Hurricanes.

 

After the Battle of Britain, the Spitfire superseded the Hurricane to become the backbone of RAF Fighter Command, and saw action in the European, Mediterranean, Pacific and the South-East Asian theatres. Much loved by its pilots, the Spitfire served in several roles, including interceptor, photo-reconnaissance, fighter-bomber and trainer, and it continued to serve in these roles until the 1950s. The Seafire was a carrier-based adaptation of the Spitfire which served in the Fleet Air Arm from 1942 through to the mid-1950s. Although the original airframe was designed to be powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine producing 1,030 hp (768 kW), it was strong enough and adaptable enough to use increasingly powerful Merlin and, in later marks, Rolls-Royce Griffon engines producing up to 2,340 hp (1,745 kW); as a consequence of this the Spitfire's performance and capabilities improved, sometimes dramatically, over the course of its life.

 

Mk V (Types 331, 349 & 352)

 

Spitfire LF.Mk VB, BL479, flown by Group Captain M.W.S Robinson, station commander of RAF Northolt, August 1943. This Spitfire has the wide bladed Rotol propeller, the internal armoured windscreen and "clipped" wings.

Late in 1940, the RAF predicted that the advent of the pressurised Junkers Ju 86P bomber series over Britain would be the start of a new sustained high altitude bombing offensive by the Luftwaffe, in which case development was put in hand for a pressurised version of the Spitfire, with a new version of the Merlin (the Mk VI). It would take some time to develop the new fighter and an emergency stop-gap measure was needed as soon as possible: this was the Mk V.

 

The basic Mk V was a Mk I with the Merlin 45 series engine. This engine delivered 1,440 hp (1,074 kW) at take-off, and incorporated a new single-speed single-stage supercharger design. Improvements to the carburettor also allowed the Spitfire to use zero gravity manoeuvres without any problems with fuel flow. Several Mk I and Mk II airframes were converted to Mk V standard by Supermarine and started equipping fighter units from early 1941. The majority of the Mk Vs were built at Castle Bromwich.

 

The VB became the main production version of the Mark Vs. Along with the new Merlin 45 series the B wing was fitted as standard. As production progressed changes were incorporated, some of which became standard on all later Spitfires. Production started with several Mk IBs which were converted to Mk VBs by Supermarine. Starting in early 1941 the round section exhaust stacks were changed to a "fishtail" type, marginally increasing exhaust thrust. Some late production VBs and VCs were fitted with six shorter exhaust stacks per side, similar to those of Spitfire IXs and Seafire IIIs; this was originally stipulated as applying specifically to VB(trop)s. After some initial problems with the original Mk I size oil coolers, a bigger oil cooler was fitted under the port wing; this could be recognised by a deeper housing with a circular entry. From mid-1941 alloy covered ailerons became a universal fitting.

 

Spitfire VC(trop), fitted with Vokes filters and "disc" wheels, of 417 Squadron RCAF in Tunisia in 1943.

A constant flow of modifications were made as production progressed. A "blown" cockpit hood, manufactured by Malcolm, was introduced in an effort to further increase the pilot's head-room and visibility. Many mid to late production VBs - and all VCs - used the modified, improved windscreen assembly with the integral bullet resistant centre panel and flat side screens introduced with the Mk III. Because the rear frame of this windscreen was taller than that of the earlier model the cockpit hoods were not interchangeable and could be distinguished by the wider rear framing on the hood used with the late-style windscreen.

 

Different propeller types were fitted, according to where the Spitfire V was built: Supermarine and Westland manufactured VBs and VCs used 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) diameter, 3 bladed de Havilland constant speed units, with narrow metal blades, while Castle Bromwich manufactured VBs and VCs were fitted with a wide bladed Rotol constant speed propeller of either 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) diameter, with metal blades, or (on late production Spitfires) 10 ft 3 in (3.12 m) diameter, with broader, "Jablo" (compressed wood) blades. The Rotol spinners were longer and more pointed than the de Havilland leading to a 3.5 in (8.9 cm) increase in overall length. The Rotol propellers allowed a modest speed increase over 20,000 ft (6,100 m) and an increase in the service ceiling. A large number of Spitfire VBs were fitted with "gun heater intensifier" systems on the exhaust stacks. These piped additional heated air into the gun bays. There was a short tubular intake on the front of the first stack and a narrow pipe led into the engine cowling from the rear exhaust.

 

The VB series were the first Spitfires able to carry a range of specially designed "slipper" drop tanks which were fitted underneath the wing centre-section. Small hooks were fitted, just forward of the inboard flaps: when the tank was released these hooks caught the trailing edge of the tank, swinging it clear of the fuselage.

 

With the advent of the superb Focke Wulf Fw 190 in August 1941 the Spitfire was for the first time truly outclassed, hastening the development of the "interim" Mk IX. In an effort to counter this threat, especially at lower altitudes, the VB was the first production version of the Spitfire to use "clipped" wingtips as an option, reducing the wingspan to 32 ft 2 in (9.8 m).The clipped wings increased the roll rate and airspeed at lower altitudes. Several different versions of the Merlin 45/50 family were used, including the Merlin 45M which had a smaller "cropped" supercharger impeller and boost increased to +18 lb. This engine produced 1,585 hp (1,182 kW) at 2,750 ft (838 m), increasing the L.F VB's maximum rate of climb to 4720 ft/min (21.6 m/s) at 2,000 ft (610 m).

 

VB Trop of 40 Squadron SAAF fitted with the "streamlined" version of the Aboukir filter, a broad-bladed, 10 ft 3 in (3.12 m) diameter Rotol propeller, and clipped wings.

The Mk VB(trop) (or type 352) could be identified by the large Vokes air filter fitted under the nose; the reduced speed of the air to the supercharger had a detrimental effect on the performance of the aircraft, reducing the top speed by 8 mph (13 km/h) and the climb rate by 600 ft/min (3.04 m/s), but the decreased performance was considered acceptable. This variant was also fitted with a larger oil tank and desert survival gear behind the pilot's seat. A new "desert" camouflage scheme was applied. Many VB(trop)s were modified by 103 MU (Maintenance Unit-RAF depots in which factory fresh aircraft were brought up to service standards before being delivered to squadrons) at Aboukir, Egypt by replacing the Vokes filter with locally manufactured "Aboukir" filters, which were lighter and more streamlined. Two designs of these filters can be identified in photos: one had a bulky, squared off filter housing while the other was more streamlined. These aircraft were usually fitted with the wide blade Rotol propeller and clipped wings.

 

Triumph Spitfire Mk I Roadster

 

The Triumph Spitfire is a small English two-seat sports car, introduced at the London Motor Show in 1962.[3] The vehicle was based on a design produced for Standard-Triumph in 1957 by Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti. The platform for the car was largely based upon the chassis, engine, and running gear of the Triumph Herald saloon, and was manufactured at the Standard-Triumph works at Canley, in Coventry. As was typical for cars of this era, the bodywork was fitted onto a separate structural chassis, but for the Spitfire, which was designed as an open top or convertible sports car from the outset, the ladder chassis was reinforced for additional rigidity by the use of structural components within the bodywork. The Spitfire was provided with a manual hood for weather protection, the design improving to a folding hood for later models. Factory-manufactured hard-tops were also available.

 

The Triumph Spitfire was originally devised by Standard-Triumph to compete in the small sports car market that had opened up with the introduction of the Austin-Healey Sprite. The Sprite had used the basic drive train of the Austin A30/35 in a light body to make up a budget sports car; Triumph's idea was to use the mechanicals from their small saloon, the Herald, to underpin the new project. Triumph had one advantage, however; where the Austin A30 range was of unitary construction, the Herald featured a separate chassis. It was Triumph's intention to cut that chassis down and clothe it in a sports body, saving the costs of developing a completely new chassis / body unit.

 

Italian designer Michelotti—who had already penned the Herald—was commissioned for the new project, and came up with a traditional, swooping body. Wind-up windows were provided (in contrast to the Sprite/Midget, which still featured sidescreens, also called curtains, at that time), as well as a single-piece front end which tilted forwards to offer unrivaled access to the engine. At the dawn of the 1960s, however, Standard-Triumph was in deep financial trouble, and unable to put the new car into production; it was not until the company was taken over by the Leyland organization funds became available and the car was launched. Leyland officials, taking stock of their new acquisition, found Michelotti's prototype hiding under a dust sheet in a corner of the factory and rapidly approved it for production.

 

Spitfire 4 or Mark I (1962-1964)

 

Overview:

Production1962–1964

45,753 made

Powertrain:

Engine1,147 cc (1.1 l) I4

Transmission4-speed manual with optional overdrive on top and third from 1963 onwards

Dimensions:

Curb weight1,568 lb (711 kg) (unladen U.K.-spec)

 

The production car changed little from the prototype, although the full-width rear bumper was dropped in favour of two part-bumpers curving round each corner, with overriders. Mechanicals were basically stock Herald. The engine was an 1,147 cc (1.1 l) 4-cylinder with a pushrod OHV cylinder head and 2 valves per cylinder, mildly tuned for the Spitfire, fed by twin SU carburettors. Also from the Herald came the rack and pinion steering and coil-and-wishbone front suspension up front, and at the rear a single transverse-leaf swing axle arrangement. This ended up being the most controversial part of the car: it was known to "tuck in" and cause violent over steer if pushed too hard, even in the staid Herald. In the sportier Spitfire (and later the 6-cylinder Triumph GT6 and Triumph Vitesse) it led to severe criticism. The body was bolted to a much-modified Herald chassis, the outer rails and the rear outriggers having been removed; little of the original Herald chassis design was left, and the Spitfire used structural outer sills to stiffen its body tub.

 

The Spitfire was an inexpensive small sports car and as such had very basic trim, including rubber mats and a large plastic steering wheel. These early cars were referred to both as "Triumph Spitfire Mark I" and "Spitfire 4", not to be confused with the later Spitfire Mark IV.

 

In UK specification the in-line four produced 63 bhp (47 kW) at 5750 rpm, and 67 lb·ft (91 N·m)of torque at 3500 rpm. This gave a top speed of 92 mph (148 km/h), and would achieve 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 17.3 seconds. Average fuel consumption was 31mpg.

 

For 1964 an overdrive option was added to the 4-speed manual gearbox to give more relaxed cruising. Wire wheels and a hard top were also available.

 

Text regarding the Supermarine Spitfire aeroplane and Triumph Spitfire Roadster has been taken from excerpts of Wikipedia articles on each model.

 

The Supermarine Spitfire Mk VB aircraft and 1962 Triumph Spitfire Mk I road car have been modelled in Lego miniland-scale for Flickr LUGNuts' 79th Build Challenge, - 'LUGNuts goes Wingnuts, ' - featuring automotive vehicles named after, inspired by, or with some relationship to aircraft.

The church dedicated to the Saviour's Configuration ("Metamorfosi tou Sotira") is built in the middle of "Palio Chorio" ("Old Village"). It was constructed in the 16th century (1520) and it has the same architectural style as the other two small churches of the village, that of "Panagia Theotokos" and that of Saint George "Perachoritis". Up until 1994, liturgies were conducted daily since it was considered as the village's main church.

It is a rectangular church of the Basilica style and with elements of the Byzantine style. It can accommodate up to 100-150 faithful. Externally it is made of stone and whitewashed.

The inhabitants built extensions to the church in 1880 and 1960 because the village was continuously growing. When they dug the floor they discovered many pieces of frescoes, which surely came from this church. Indeed, they were able to read the name of the hagiographer who was named Symeon Afxentis. He is known for his frescoes of the "Panagia Theotokos" and "Archangel" churches in the village of Galata.

The icon screen is woodcut, as also are the two Psalters that can be found in the church.

There are various remarkable representations dating back to the 16th and 17th century. The icon screen is of various different chronologies.

www.kakopetriavillage.com/churches.html

 

The settlement of Kakopetria, although mentioned by the mediaeval annalists, existed -at least- since the Frank domination era. The village's region was inhabited around the 6th - 7th century and the various excavations that have been conducted in 1938 around the old village of Kakopetria (in the Ailades venue) prove this. During the excavations a dispenser of an ancient shrine -most probably belonging to the goddess Athena- came to light. A large number of movable findings were found, mainly terra-cotta, many of which depict the goddess Athena, as well as small, limestone, statues and parts of statues and bronze and iron shafts from spearheads and arrows. The findings most probably date back to the Archaic and Classic eras of Cyprus. Other statuettes represent Hercules and are an indication that he was also worshiped in the area along with the goddess Athena. These findings are found in the Archaeological Museum of Nicosia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakopetria

 

NASA INFO: Separation of the never-flown-before Command Module / Lunar Module configuration from the crippled Service Module. Approaching Earth, they fired the Aquarius engine again to thread themselves through the slender gateway out of space, shifted to the damaged Service Module and their lifeboat, the Aquarius. Carrier Iwo Jima, steaming on station in the Pacific Ocean, picked them up 45 minutes after splashdown, the fastest recovery ever.

Apollo 13 "Splashdown" LIVE on TV (ABC) www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWd_mmYsEQk

SCAN AND REMASTERED by Dan Beaumont.

In January 2022 I visited a special exhibition of Barbara Hepworth's work at the Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield.

 

This brought together the Gallery's own Hepworth works and others loaned from elsewhere.

 

This 1955 piece in Guarea wood and was inspired by a visit to Greece following the death of Hepworth's eldest son Paul Skeaping. She noted "Timeless and in space, pure in conception and like a rock to hold on to, these forms in Greece have been a constant source or inspiration". Phira is the capital of Santorini.

shadow box from Tim Holtz 'Configurations' decorated with individually hand cut paper from various suppliers, notably K&Co, 7 Gypsies, & Basic Grey. interior boxes have five separate pieces cut to fit box dimensions. Exterior has about six to eight pieces attached. exterior edges coverd with Tim Holtz tissue tape. interior edges hand sanded and retouched with Ranger 'rusty hinge' distress ink. charms and embellishment various sources; Tim Holtz, Industrial Chic, Blue Moon etc including personal stash. Legs from Tim Holtz. natural pieces: sticks, twigs, moss, lichen from my back yard. birds, nests and eggs from Michaels Crafts.

irrestible to nature & bird lovers! my first attempt at such a project; it took over a year to complete.