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Porterbrook-owned Class 769 'Flex Train' No. 769434, previously Class 319 EMU No. 319434, stands in the Great Central Railway's Leicester North station on 5th November 2018. This is a standard Class 319, but now with underfloor engines beneath both driving trailers so that the train can operate on both electric and diesel power, hence then 'Flex' name. Testing is being conducted on the GCR prior to the unit being formally handed over to Northern in the near future. A total of 8 units are heading for service with Northern, a further five, again in bi-mode, for Transport for Wales and a further nineteen tri-mode units (overhead, diesel & third rail) for Great Western Railway. Copyright Photograph John Whitehouse - all rights reserved
Livestock mobility, flexible use of rangelands, and diverse herds were key elements of traditional nomadic pastoral practices throughout the world and contributed to the high ecological stability of pastoral systems.
Nomads are still found today on the Tibetan Plateau and Himalaya. Known in the Tibetan language as drokpa, translating as “high-pasture people,” there are an estimated two million Tibetan-speaking nomads spread over a vast area. Throughout the Tibetan areas of what is now the People’s Republic of China and in the northern parts of Bhutan, India and Nepal, nomads are an important element in the economy and society wherever they are found, but their way of life is disappearing.
Read more: maptia.com/danielmiller/stories/nomads-of-the-tibetan-pla...
Something I saw somewhere and decided to see if I could get her to do. Turned out pretty good I think.
An international touring exhibition curated by Materfad, Barcelona and presented as part of the Design for Impact festival organised by RMIT's Design Research Institute. 23 July - 9 August 2015.
Photography: Tobias Titz
Super quick MOC whipped up in a couple of hours to play around with some poseability concepts. Also probably my last MOC for a long while - sorry!
We were here when the shop wasn't open but had to admire the carefree spirit of the store hours posting. Must be nice!!!
(The sea otter shows their overall attitude; I tried to adopt it.)
More with the incomparable Kate. Makeup by Lollycat, hair by Djin, Inc. Big thanks to John @ Ess Lounge!
Strobist: One SB-600 shooting through translucent umbrella at camera left. One SB-600 in each of the light boxes under model. Ambient light through curtain.
Website - ModelMayhem - Facebook - Twitter
Alias: Flexible Kid
Real name: Milan
Gender: Male
Age: 14
Status: Antihero, alive
Origin: Milan didn't have an easy live. His father was killed by a criminal gang when he was a kid. His mother left him behind, alone on the streets. When Milan was looking for shelter, he found a little group that called themselves the Leftovers. They were all abandoned by their family or their parents died. They took Milan under their win. When they were looking for a place to stay at night, they went to a factory. The other Leftovers told Milan to not leave the. They went to sleep, but Milan couldn't sleep and decided to look around the factory. He noticed a big chemical barrel standing in the middle of the factory. Above it was a place where you could walk. Milan decided to take a better look and walked above the chemical barrel until someone suddenly grabbed him, it was one of the Leftovers. He said: 'you shouldn't have gone to look around.' He pushed Milan and Milan fell into the chemicals. His skin was burning and he felt strange. He climbed out of it, his skin half burned and he saw that his arm was longer than it was before. Suddenly a man walked up to him who said: 'we can help you, follow me.' So Milan followed the man and he arrived at a base. The man's helpers put metal on the burned places and give him new clothes or as Milan called it 'a new suit'. After this he wasn't known anymore as Milan, but as Flexible Kid. He had new stretch powers which he learned to control with the help of the man's friends, but only if he did the jobs he got from them. He also started his journey to find the murderers of his father and the Leftovers. Eventually he got in a conflict with the Flickr Fighters and he considered about joining them.
Personality: He is pretty smart and he uses his smartness when he has to. He is also really serious on a mission and he doesn't joke much.
Powers and abilities: He can stretch his body and he has fast regeneration.
Weaknesses: Fire, ice and electricity.
So, this is my second entry for Flex's contest and I hope you like it. (:
Leica M2
Leica Summilux 35mm f/1.4 II
Fuji Neopan Acros II
Zero Imaging 510-Pyro (1+100)
7 min 45 sec 20°C
Scan from negative film
Explore - thank you!
#28 (best position)
It's monday...weekend flexibility is completly over....
HMB & Happy MondYay!
Discovered this connection, which locks tight and would make a great flexible joint.
Come join me on
Keep Dreaming in Bricks!
Myosource Cheer Combo that includes Kinetic Bands plus a free stunt strap to help Cheerleaders improve jumps and stunts. Visit www.myosource.com/cheer-gymnastics-dance/ for more information
Roughly 100 km north of the polar circle in southwest Greenland lies the Arctic Circle Trail. This long distance trail stretches for 170 km from the international airport of Greenland in Kangerlussuaq to Greenland’s second largest city Sisimiut. During the summer months from June to September, the trail is free of snow and offers a spectacular hike from the inland to Greenland’s coast. Except for a few cabins and one bridge over the biggest river the trail offers no luxuries, not even cell phone reception. The landscape along the path is very diverse, changing with each kilometre one comes closer to the coast.
The international airport at Kangerlussuaq enjoys around 300 clear-sky days per year, so the weather should be good, and the trail starts by following an easy tarmac and dirt road. Beyond the research station at Kellyville, the trail is simply a narrow path across empty tundra dotted with lakes. If you plan to walk from hut to hut, then the route will take maybe nine days, unless stages are doubled-up. Using a tent offers greater flexibility, and some trekkers complete the route in as little as a week. Huts are located at Hundesø, Katiffik, The Canoe Centre, Ikkattook, Eqalugaarniarfik, Innajuattok, Nerumaq and Kangerluarsuk Tulleq. Youth hostels and hotels are located at the terminal points of Kangerlussuaq and Sisimiut.
There is the option to use a free kayak to paddle all day along the large lake of Amitsorsuaq, rather than walk along its shore. There are only a handful of kayaks, and if they are all moored at the ‘wrong’ end of the lake, then walking is the only option.
The trail is often low-lying, below 500ft (150m), but climbs on occasions over 1300ft (400m), notably around Ikkattook, Iluliumanersuup Portornga and Qerrortusuk Majoriaa. There are a handful of river crossings whose difficulty depends on melt-water and rainfall. These are difficult early in the season, but much easier to ford later. The largest river, in Ole’s Lakseelv valley, has a footbridge if required.
The end of the trail is the colourful coastal town of Sisimiut, the second largest town in Greenland, with a population of only 5500. Weather at this end of the trail is basically a 50/50 lottery between wet and dry days. There are flights back to Kangerlussuaq, though very rarely, trekkers have been known to walk back.
(Martin Krämer & Paddy Dillon)
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I returned to the deep north once more in August, this time to hike and enjoy the Arctic Circle Trail, most likely the most well-known long-distance path in Greenland.
We started in Kangerlussuaq and found ourselves in Sisimiut after nine days, having hiked 180km in total. The weather was perfect except a rainy second day, which we luckily solved by staying in a caravan-like hut at the Hundesø lake.
Although the trail itself may not be as scenic as Icelandic Laugavegurinn or Hornstrandir area, or mountainous areas in northern Sweden, the isolation, freedom and sense of free space are incomparable - one meets fellow trekkers only occasionally, and some of those encounters may be surprising meetings with local hunters.
It was indeed a special and rewarding time – so much to see!
This is a shot taken during our 7th day on the trail - we started to hike from the Innajuattoq lake and camped in a beautiful valley close to the Nerumaq hill and hut.
A formation of Lockheed Martin F-35A "Lightning IIs", from the 388th Fighter Wing and 419th FW, refuel over the Utah Test and Training Range, Utah, as part of a combat power exercise Nov. 19, 2018. The exercise aims to confirm their ability to quickly employ a large force of jets against air and ground targets, and demonstrate the readiness and lethality of the F-35. As the first combat-ready F-35 units in the Air Force, the 388th and 419th FWs at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, are ready to deploy anywhere in the world at a moment's notice.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is a fifth-generation, single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). The result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, the aircraft was designed primarily as an air superiority fighter, but also has ground attack, electronic warfare, and signal intelligence capabilities. The prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, built most of the F-22's airframe and weapons systems and conducted final assembly, while Boeing provided the wings, aft fuselage, avionics integration, and training systems.
The aircraft was variously designated F-22 and F/A-22 before it formally entered service in December 2005 as the F-22A. Despite its protracted development and various operational issues, USAF officials consider the F-22 a critical component of the service's tactical air power. Its combination of stealth, aerodynamic performance, and situational awareness enable unprecedented air combat capabilities.
Service officials had originally planned to buy a total of 750 ATFs. In 2009, the program was cut to 187 operational production aircraft due to high costs, a lack of clear air-to-air missions due to delays in Russian and Chinese fighter programs, a ban on exports, and development of the more versatile F-35. The last F-22 was delivered in 2012.
Development
Origins
In 1981, the U.S. Air Force identified a requirement for an Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) to replace the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon. Code named "Senior Sky", this air-superiority fighter program was influenced by emerging worldwide threats, including new developments in Soviet air defense systems and the proliferation of the Su-27 "Flanker"- and MiG-29 "Fulcrum"-class of fighter aircraft. It would take advantage of the new technologies in fighter design on the horizon, including composite materials, lightweight alloys, advanced flight control systems, more powerful propulsion systems, and most importantly, stealth technology. In 1983, the ATF concept development team became the System Program Office (SPO) and managed the program at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The demonstration and validation (Dem/Val) request for proposals (RFP) was issued in September 1985, with requirements placing strong emphasis on stealth and supercruise. Of the seven bidding companies, Lockheed and Northrop were selected on 31 October 1986. Lockheed teamed with Boeing and General Dynamics while Northrop teamed with McDonnell Douglas, and the two contractor teams undertook a 50-month Dem/Val phase, culminating in the flight test of two technology demonstrator prototypes, the YF-22 and the YF-23, respectively.
Dem/Val was focused on risk reduction and technology development plans over specific aircraft designs. Contractors made extensive use of analytical and empirical methods, including computational fluid dynamics, wind-tunnel testing, and radar cross-section calculations and pole testing; the Lockheed team would conduct nearly 18,000 hours of wind-tunnel testing. Avionics development was marked by extensive testing and prototyping and supported by ground and flying laboratories. During Dem/Val, the SPO used the results of performance and cost trade studies conducted by contractor teams to adjust ATF requirements and delete ones that were significant weight and cost drivers while having marginal value. The short takeoff and landing (STOL) requirement was relaxed in order to delete thrust-reversers, saving substantial weight. As avionics was a major cost driver, side-looking radars were deleted, and the dedicated infra-red search and track (IRST) system was downgraded from multi-color to single color and then deleted as well. However, space and cooling provisions were retained to allow for future addition of these components. The ejection seat requirement was downgraded from a fresh design to the existing McDonnell Douglas ACES II. Despite efforts by the contractor teams to rein in weight, the takeoff gross weight estimate was increased from 50,000 lb (22,700 kg) to 60,000 lb (27,200 kg), resulting in engine thrust requirement increasing from 30,000 lbf (133 kN) to 35,000 lbf (156 kN) class.
Each team produced two prototype air vehicles for Dem/Val, one for each of the two engine options. The YF-22 had its maiden flight on 29 September 1990 and in flight tests achieved up to Mach 1.58 in supercruise. After the Dem/Val flight test of the prototypes, on 23 April 1991, Secretary of the USAF Donald Rice announced the Lockheed team as the winner of the ATF competition. The YF-23 design was considered stealthier and faster, while the YF-22, with its thrust vectoring nozzles, was more maneuverable as well as less expensive and risky. The aviation press speculated that the Lockheed team's design was also more adaptable to the U.S. Navy's Navalized Advanced Tactical Fighter (NATF), but by 1992, the Navy had abandoned NATF.
Production and procurement
As the program moved to full-scale development, or the Engineering & Manufacturing Development (EMD) stage, the production version had notable differences from the YF-22, despite having a broadly similar shape. The swept-back angle of the leading edge was decreased from 48° to 42°, while the vertical stabilizers were shifted rearward and decreased in area by 20%. To improve pilot visibility, the canopy was moved forward 7 inches (18 cm), and the engine intakes moved rearward 14 inches (36 cm). The shapes of the wing and stabilator trailing edges were refined to improve aerodynamics, strength, and stealth characteristics. Increasing weight during development caused slight reductions in range and maneuver performance.
Prime contractor Lockheed Martin Aeronautics manufactured the majority of the airframe and performed final assembly at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia; program partner Boeing Defense, Space & Security provided additional airframe components as well as avionics integration and training systems. The first F-22, an EMD aircraft with tail number 4001, was unveiled at Marietta, Georgia, on 9 April 1997, and first flew on 7 September 1997. Production, with the first lot awarded in September 2000, supported over 1,000 subcontractors and suppliers from 46 states and up to 95,000 jobs, and spanned 15 years at a peak rate of roughly two airplanes per month. In 2006, the F-22 development team won the Collier Trophy, American aviation's most prestigious award. Due to the aircraft's advanced nature, contractors have been targeted by cyberattacks and technology theft.
The USAF originally envisioned ordering 750 ATFs at a total program cost of $44.3 billion and procurement cost of $26.2 billion in fiscal year (FY) 1985 dollars, with production beginning in 1994. The 1990 Major Aircraft Review led by Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney reduced this to 648 aircraft beginning in 1996. By 1997, funding instability had further cut the total to 339, which was again reduced to 277 by 2003. In 2004, the Department of Defense (DoD) further reduced this to 183 operational aircraft, despite the USAF's preference for 381. A multi-year procurement plan was implemented in 2006 to save $15 billion, with total program cost projected to be $62 billion for 183 F-22s distributed to seven combat squadrons. In 2008, Congress passed a defense spending bill that raised the total orders for production aircraft to 187.
The first two F-22s built were EMD aircraft in the Block 1.0 configuration for initial flight testing, while the third was a Block 2.0 aircraft built to represent the internal structure of production airframes and enabled it to test full flight loads. Six more EMD aircraft were built in the Block 10 configuration for development and upgrade testing, with the last two considered essentially production quality jets. Production for operational squadrons consisted of 37 Block 20 training aircraft and 149 Block 30/35 combat aircraft; one of the Block 35 aircraft is dedicated to flight sciences at Edwards Air Force Base.
The numerous new technologies in the F-22 resulted in substantial cost overruns and delays. Many capabilities were deferred to post-service upgrades, reducing the initial cost but increasing total program cost. As production wound down in 2011, the total program cost is estimated to be about $67.3 billion, with $32.4 billion spent on Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) and $34.9 billion on procurement and military construction (MILCON) in then year dollars. The incremental cost for an additional F-22 was estimated at about $138 million in 2009.
Ban on exports
The F-22 cannot be exported under US federal law to protect its stealth technology and other high-tech features. Customers for U.S. fighters are acquiring earlier designs such as the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon or the newer F-35 Lightning II, which contains technology from the F-22 but was designed to be cheaper, more flexible, and available for export. In September 2006, Congress upheld the ban on foreign F-22 sales. Despite the ban, the 2010 defense authorization bill included provisions requiring the DoD to prepare a report on the costs and feasibility for an F-22 export variant, and another report on the effect of F-22 export sales on U.S. aerospace industry.
Some Australian politicians and defense commentators proposed that Australia should attempt to purchase F-22s instead of the planned F-35s, citing the F-22's known capabilities and F-35's delays and developmental uncertainties. However, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) determined that the F-22 was unable to perform the F-35's strike and close air support roles. The Japanese government also showed interest in the F-22 for its Replacement-Fighter program. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) would reportedly require fewer fighters for its mission if it obtained the F-22, thus reducing engineering and staffing costs. However, in 2009 it was reported that acquiring the F-22 would require increases to the Japanese government's defense budget beyond the historical 1 percent of its GDP. With the end of F-22 production, Japan chose the F-35 in December 2011. Israel also expressed interest, but eventually chose the F-35 because of the F-22's price and unavailability.
Production termination
Throughout the 2000s, the need for F-22s was debated, due to rising costs and the lack of relevant adversaries. In 2006, Comptroller General of the United States David Walker found that "the DoD has not demonstrated the need" for more investment in the F-22, and further opposition to the program was expressed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon R. England, Senator John McCain, and Chairman of U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services Senator John Warner. The F-22 program lost influential supporters in 2008 after the forced resignations of Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force General T. Michael Moseley.
In November 2008, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stated that the F-22 was not relevant in post-Cold War conflicts such as irregular warfare operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in April 2009, under the new Obama Administration, he called for ending production in FY2011, leaving the USAF with 187 production aircraft. In July, General James Cartwright, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated to the Senate Committee on Armed Services his reasons for supporting termination of F-22 production. They included shifting resources to the multirole F-35 to allow proliferation of fifth-generation fighters for three service branches and preserving the F/A-18 production line to maintain the military's electronic warfare (EW) capabilities in the Boeing EA-18G Growler.[60] Issues with the F-22's reliability and availability also raised concerns. After President Obama threatened to veto further production, the Senate voted in July 2009 in favor of ending production and the House subsequently agreed to abide by the 187 production aircraft cap. Gates stated that the decision was taken in light of the F-35's capabilities, and in 2010, he set the F-22 requirement to 187 aircraft by lowering the number of major regional conflict preparations from two to one.
In 2010, USAF initiated a study to determine the costs of retaining F-22 tooling for a future Service Life Extension Program (SLEP).[66] A RAND Corporation paper from this study estimated that restarting production and building an additional 75 F-22s would cost $17 billion, resulting in $227 million per aircraft, or $54 million higher than the flyaway cost. Lockheed Martin stated that restarting the production line itself would cost about $200 million. Production tooling and associated documentation were subsequently stored at the Sierra Army Depot, allowing the retained tooling to support the fleet life cycle. There were reports that attempts to retrieve this tooling found empty containers, but a subsequent audit found that the tooling was stored as expected.
Russian and Chinese fighter developments have fueled concern, and in 2009, General John Corley, head of Air Combat Command, stated that a fleet of 187 F-22s would be inadequate, but Secretary Gates dismissed General Corley's concern. In 2011, Gates explained that Chinese fifth-generation fighter developments had been accounted for when the number of F-22s was set, and that the U.S. would have a considerable advantage in stealth aircraft in 2025, even with F-35 delays. In December 2011, the 195th and final F-22 was completed out of 8 test EMD and 187 operational aircraft produced; the aircraft was delivered to the USAF on 2 May 2012.
In April 2016, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee proposed legislation that would direct the Air Force to conduct a cost study and assessment associated with resuming production of the F-22. Since the production halt directed in 2009 by then Defense Secretary Gates, lawmakers and the Pentagon noted that air warfare systems of Russia and China were catching up to those of the U.S. Lockheed Martin has proposed upgrading the Block 20 training aircraft into combat-coded Block 30/35 versions as a way to increase numbers available for deployment. On 9 June 2017, the Air Force submitted their report to Congress stating they had no plans to restart the F-22 production line due to economic and operational issues; it estimated it would cost approximately $50 billion to procure 194 additional F-22s at a cost of $206–$216 million per aircraft, including approximately $9.9 billion for non-recurring start-up costs and $40.4 billion for aircraft procurement costs.
Upgrades
The first aircraft with combat-capable Block 3.0 software flew in 2001. Increment 2, the first upgrade program, was implemented in 2005 for Block 20 aircraft onward and enabled the employment of Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM). Certification of the improved AN/APG-77(V)1 radar was completed in March 2007, and airframes from production Lot 5 onward are fitted with this radar, which incorporates air-to-ground modes. Increment 3.1 for Block 30 aircraft onward provided improved ground-attack capability through synthetic aperture radar mapping and radio emitter direction finding, electronic attack and Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) integration; testing began in 2009 and the first upgraded aircraft was delivered in 2011. To address oxygen deprivation issues, F-22s were fitted with an automatic backup oxygen system (ABOS) and modified life support system starting in 2012.
Increment 3.2 for Block 35 aircraft is a two-part upgrade process; 3.2A focuses on electronic warfare, communications and identification, while 3.2B includes geolocation improvements and a new stores management system to show the correct symbols for the AIM-9X and AIM-120D.[83][84] To enable two-way communication with other platforms, the F-22 can use the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) as a gateway. The planned Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL) integration was cut due to development delays and lack of proliferation among USAF platforms. The F-22 fleet is planned to start receiving Increment 3.2B as well as a software upgrade for cryptography capabilities and avionics stability in May 2019. A Multifunctional Information Distribution System-Joint (MIDS-J) radio that replaces the current Link-16 receive-only box is expected to be operational by 2020. Subsequent upgrades are also focusing on having an open architecture to enable faster future enhancements.
In 2024, funding is projected to begin for the F-22 mid-life upgrade (MLU), which is expected to include new sensors and antennas, hardware refresh, cockpit improvements, and a helmet mounted display and cuing system. Other enhancements being developed include IRST functionality for the AN/AAR-56 Missile Launch Detector (MLD) and more durable stealth coating based on the F-35's.
The F-22 was designed for a service life of 8,000 flight hours, with a $350 million "structures retrofit program". Investigations are being made for upgrades to extend their useful lives further. In the long term, the F-22 is expected to be superseded by a sixth-generation jet fighter to be fielded in the 2030s.
Design
Overview
The F-22 Raptor is a fifth-generation fighter that is considered fourth generation in stealth aircraft technology by the USAF.[91] It is the first operational aircraft to combine supercruise, supermaneuverability, stealth, and sensor fusion in a single weapons platform. The F-22 has four empennage surfaces, retractable tricycle landing gear, and clipped delta wings with reverse trailing edge sweep and leading edge extensions running to the upper outboard corner of the inlets. Flight control surfaces include leading-edge flaps, flaperons, ailerons, rudders on the canted vertical stabilizers, and all-moving horizontal tails (stabilators); for speed brake function, the ailerons deflect up, flaperons down, and rudders outwards to increase drag.
The aircraft's dual Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 augmented turbofan engines are closely spaced and incorporate pitch-axis thrust vectoring nozzles with a range of ±20 degrees; each engine has maximum thrust in the 35,000 lbf (156 kN) class. The F-22's thrust-to-weight ratio at typical combat weight is nearly at unity in maximum military power and 1.25 in full afterburner. Maximum speed without external stores is approximately Mach 1.8 at military power and greater than Mach 2 with afterburners.
The F-22's high cruise speed and operating altitude over prior fighters improve the effectiveness of its sensors and weapon systems, and increase survivability against ground defenses such as surface-to-air missiles. The aircraft is among only a few that can supercruise, or sustain supersonic flight without using fuel-inefficient afterburners; it can intercept targets which subsonic aircraft would lack the speed to pursue and an afterburner-dependent aircraft would lack the fuel to reach. The F-22's thrust and aerodynamics enable regular combat speeds of Mach 1.5 at 50,000 feet (15,000 m). The use of internal weapons bays permits the aircraft to maintain comparatively higher performance over most other combat-configured fighters due to a lack of aerodynamic drag from external stores. The aircraft's structure contains a significant amount of high-strength materials to withstand stress and heat of sustained supersonic flight. Respectively, titanium alloys and composites comprise 39% and 24% of the structural weight.
The F-22's aerodynamics, relaxed stability, and powerful thrust-vectoring engines give it excellent maneuverability and energy potential across its flight envelope. The airplane has excellent high alpha (angle of attack) characteristics, capable of flying at trimmed alpha of over 60° while maintaining roll control and performing maneuvers such as the Herbst maneuver (J-turn) and Pugachev's Cobra. The flight control system and full-authority digital engine control (FADEC) make the aircraft highly departure resistant and controllable, thus giving the pilot carefree handling.
Stealth
The F-22 was designed to be highly difficult to detect and track by radar. Measures to reduce radar cross-section (RCS) include airframe shaping such as alignment of edges, fixed-geometry serpentine inlets and curved vanes that prevent line-of-sight of the engine faces and turbines from any exterior view, use of radar-absorbent material (RAM), and attention to detail such as hinges and pilot helmets that could provide a radar return. The F-22 was also designed to have decreased radio emissions, infrared signature and acoustic signature as well as reduced visibility to the naked eye. The aircraft's flat thrust-vectoring nozzles reduce infrared emissions of the exhaust plume to mitigate the threat of infrared homing ("heat seeking") surface-to-air or air-to-air missiles. Additional measures to reduce the infrared signature include special topcoat and active cooling of leading edges to manage the heat buildup from supersonic flight.
Compared to previous stealth designs like the F-117, the F-22 is less reliant on RAM, which are maintenance-intensive and susceptible to adverse weather conditions. Unlike the B-2, which requires climate-controlled hangars, the F-22 can undergo repairs on the flight line or in a normal hangar. The F-22 has a Signature Assessment System which delivers warnings when the radar signature is degraded and necessitates repair. While the F-22's exact RCS is classified, in 2009 Lockheed Martin released information indicating that from certain angles the aircraft has an RCS of 0.0001 m² or −40 dBsm – equivalent to the radar reflection of a "steel marble". Effectively maintaining the stealth features can decrease the F-22's mission capable rate to 62–70%.
The effectiveness of the stealth characteristics is difficult to gauge. The RCS value is a restrictive measurement of the aircraft's frontal or side area from the perspective of a static radar. When an aircraft maneuvers it exposes a completely different set of angles and surface area, potentially increasing radar observability. Furthermore, the F-22's stealth contouring and radar absorbent materials are chiefly effective against high-frequency radars, usually found on other aircraft. The effects of Rayleigh scattering and resonance mean that low-frequency radars such as weather radars and early-warning radars are more likely to detect the F-22 due to its physical size. However, such radars are also conspicuous, susceptible to clutter, and have low precision. Additionally, while faint or fleeting radar contacts make defenders aware that a stealth aircraft is present, reliably vectoring interception to attack the aircraft is much more challenging. According to the USAF an F-22 surprised an Iranian F-4 Phantom II that was attempting to intercept an American UAV, despite Iran's assertion of having military VHF radar coverage over the Persian Gulf.
A quick MOC I made back in October, forgot to bring with me when I moved to Oregon in January, again when I visited Oklahoma in April, and had shipped to me this past week. It is of Duncan Bulk from the Hero Factory Savage Planet arc. He is in Hero Recon duds because why not.
For this image I created an impression. Before looking at its illustration, it is perhaps worth pointing out several weaknesses to the image. There are issues of scale, with the verraco being clearly too big, and the tree-pole too small. There are also issues of artistic licence, where the wolfpack is also an inanimate mineral outcrop as occasional howls in the landscape blur with the pack's howling identity. Also, the image seems to inhabit both day and night, with the bird-of-prey more eagle or vulture than grand-duc owl, and the distant flock of goats still out on their hill, yet the silence of night is apparent. There are both the dark vistas and the howling wolves of night, and the active fires of day. There are also issues of authenticity - some castros present tight arrays of round houses, lets say the Castro de Baroña, whereas others offer a grid of square houses - for example La Hoya. Sites with a flexibility of space and function, such as Ullaca, also exist. In my image, the 'castro' seems almost to be a hybrid of castro and shepherd's chozos with corral (see past posts).
Everything in the image is intentional. It shows both night and day, both a castro and a croft and a chozos. It depicts a wolf-like element from a landscape that can also howl and birds of prey in both day and night. It is an image that has a flexibility and a need to be finished by the viewer's minds eye.
Pastoral man, with his herds and flocks leaves traces on the land, traces that do not clean, rather they fade into composts. The smell of wool combed by blackberry bramble, the dot-to-dot of pat and dropping clearly marking path, entrance and crossroad. And then the noise: chants of baaaa, moo and neigh: oink, grunt and bleet. Castros, villages, chozos and crofts served individuals and communities, and communities had animals for functions that spread from centralised trade down to individual winter heat. Settlements, inside and outside, towards and away, will have smelt, sound and looked interesting to the instinct and inquisitive assessments of birds-of-prey, foxes, marten and wolves.
Flocks and new-borns will have thus stimulated interest among predators, who are constantly tuning into signals of potential food: eyes in the day, over the wan and even through the night. An otherwise light sleeping and attentive shepherd may slip off his normal guard whilst trading through his local castro, and he might regret his jovial conversation, evening song-and-dance; and above all, his reliance on the attentiveness of others.
The geography of the verraco zone is crossed by deep gorges fed from the waters of regular high sierras, and for all of the long hot 'hells' of summers, central and north western Spain and Portugal do have water. Grasslands are warmed into two real growing seasons of spring and autumn, and local and migrating birds and local mammals enjoy the rich and constantly renewing stocks of dry seed. Many varieties of birds-of-prey look to exploit situations. Vultures scavenge, but can also organise between themselves to make animals run over cliffs and other shock mischiefs. Gosshawks and kites dive, eagles chance firm grips, grand-ducs eat anything from large insects up to the size of a hare, and wolves watch, learn and cooperate. Some scavengers look for the old, the ill or the young or isolated and peck to a point when the lifestyles of scavenger and predator seem to merge.
The Neolithic revolution was a mindset that looked at the living world and tried to observe, select and effect change. Docile, fat and milky offspring over the aggressive and lean. Big roots, sweet fruit and independent grains over the bitter and tight. By the Iron age, it is credible to expect that flacons, hawks, eagles and buzzards joined dogs in being trained to collect small animals for man, and in that then very modern world, it is very possible that people didn't register a great distinction between domestication and training.
Some villages and areas may have sat-back content to work with the 'Neolithic package' of ready to work domesticated animals and plants, but the system itself of "observation, selection and managed action with a target in mind" will have been a mindset and meme that inspired many into a sense of place and epoch. Here, shepherds and pastoralists were the 'computer scientists' of the late ages of prehistory, and its following protohistory.
Finding a way to dissuade birds-of-prey, wolves and foxes from becoming locked by their instincts and inquisitive learning into the growing nodes of society may have been an issue for this Iberian geography. The biomass of Iberian scrub and meadow-grain surely supported more predators than from further to the north, and the many steep deep valleys of the Iberian north, centre and west provided safe zones for packs of wolves away from the most organised hunting party. Getting into the mind of a predator required observation, strategy and a will to change in the wild.
Creating an artifice - a false animal - that could trick troublesome examples of predators, so that they could be either killed, captured or even trained to re-think the new conglomerated and urban demographys of Castro, hamlet, chozos and village, here being the push to form and create verracos.
Knowing that predators do not like to have been seen by the alert and watchful eyes of their potential prey, so favouring fake animals with eyes that are slight and passive.
Knowing that both predators and scavengers are looking out for animals that are alone.
Knowing that the predator's instinct and mind is excited by the rounded shape of a carcase filled with blood, flesh and bone.
Knowing that the predator investigates a potential prey; calculating and placing strategies in line. Knowing that doubts can be appeased by making the details of life clear, with the satiating stimuli of life's animal 'keys' visible for viscerally compulsive predatorial conceptions (eyes, nostril, sexual organs, anus, tail...).
Knowing that predators open carcasses by the anus, the sexual organs and the throat, and making all of these indubitable clear lines, and in so doing, adding to the attraction of the granite artifice.
Showing the horns and tusk as proof-of-concept without weaponizing their image with point and exaggeration, resulting in verraco horns are visible but never threatening and often atrophied.
A static animal with straight legs is either half-asleep, old or ill - all states that regularly occur in nature - and all at the centre of many a predators dream. Ruminating outlines rather than alert beasts about to spring to run or fight.
Verracos seem designed to charm and enthral the instinct of the very predators that could undermine the serenity of man's increasingly expanding and negotiating sedentary.
From high in the sky, the bird of prey that has over several months locked onto the landscape of the castro (and in so doing, taken several young animals), dives. The bird picks up speed with the sun behind its wings. To draw extra confidence around the proposed situation, a pile of manure has been positioned behind the back legs. From behind a temporary screen, the keepers of this verraco make the noises of the manufactured motionless animal, and pull strings to make bunches of grass first obscure and then reveal the stone form in much the same way that a fowler has always learned bird calls and employed decoys from far into hominid pasts. The verraco's team may grunt, or they moo with uncanny realism - calm, serious and unabashed. And as a fishing-rod may come-and-go to tease attention, so it might be the case that a verraco is covered from view until the desaturated landscape of dawn and dusk. Hiding and revealing the verraco would certainly be an art, and contemporary experimental archaeologists that simply place and watch a verraco from afar without a sense of timing and 'theatre', would only be akin to persons watching a magician's dummy hoping to see magic. The diving bird now includes its shadow and swoops to kill. The keepers of the verraco either witness the bird as it is instantly killed by hitting the hard stone, or, they add spear or knife to the dazed and confused. The problem predator has been neutralised and prized feathers, bones and claws are traded to the additional profit of the veracco's guardians.
We may suggest that the large Yaca de Yeltes castro asked that the 'best' team come once a year, and the well 'paid' verraco team have gone as far as installing a field of raised stones to, amongst other advantage, stop inquisitive landed vultures from running a gawk take-off.
On other occasions, the bird-of-prey swoops to catch an offering of meat, and here, with the help that the focus of a verraco provided, this bird is locked into a repeatable narrative, taking the cuts from indents made in the verraco's back. The action of feeding the bird-of-prey will ultimately lead to falconry or hawking - man and animal trained to work and hunt together. Trained birds-of-prey another source of income for the keepers of the verraco. On other occasions, clay is moulded flat into the pits, and a strip of matching back-hide is pinned into the clay so that from above, the verraco matches reality, and from the oblique shaded sides it silhouettes with close proximity. Both utilities from one addition.
Pits in clapper-bridge stones and on carved steps (4:8) had been used aside rivers to focus and attract birds and animals to key spots for generations in the local area, and finding elegant new applications involved simple steps and bridges of creativity in the mind's eye.
Even if they could never attack a large animal, foxes would simply be too inquisitive to the hyper-reality of sound, shape and smell, and in-turn fall prey to the managed situation.
Some localities arranged for a permanent verraco to guard their dynamic community, and this sense of guarding became part of their symbolic importance, with some veraccos just guarding as emblems of mind over wild. Some of these would be smaller and less refined, but still visibly verracos (6:8).
Verracos of bears could be made to attracted naturally short sighted real bears, and the smell of acorns coupled with the sight and sound of an apparent hog could be made to attracted wild boars - unconstrained creative applications, and all for watching local eyes and their vivid stories, as many verracos would move from place to place.
We might imagine that the Yacca de Yeltes verraco stayed on
with the aim of teaching a returning pack of wolves a lesson (wolves can have vast territories and wander the crests and vales as winter pinched the Sierras, Picos and Pyrenees). The associated field of 'standing stones' here stopping the wolves from collecting a definitive line of sight.
Over the period, the specific verraco team had been fed by the population of the castro. They have been offered shelter, and have collected fur and other items for trade. They also handed over a trained eagle in exchange for metal goods and assured contacts. They had been merry, helping with odd jobs of heavy lifting, as these keepers of the verraco are people who have phase-changed from a megalithic heritage and they are strong and liked to be known as strong. During their stay, conversations led to a demand from a new village 5 kilometres away. The village had been having a problem with vultures and a fox. The villagers also believe that a veracco brought luck to their settlement, symbolic security and even social status and credibility. Verracos were seen as more 'intelligent' than the foils of nature.
The village was accessed by a cart track and the verraco team strapped timbers to its side, and with a heave, they lift and sing off to their next 'job'. The verracos pedestal kept the centre of gravity low, and made it easier to transport the weight on and off the cart, and then into the rocky terrain aside the gully behind the village that was funnelling problems. The sedentary life is good, but it is not for everyone. And every time the team puff the verraco back onto the ground, some of its granites crumbles away. On more occasions than they would like to mention, as they walk it towards its new scene of theatre, someone stumbles, and the animal falls onto its face. And as they try to position the verraco between stone outcrops to create natural nuance to its outlines, they trip again, stumble, bash, and jam the forward facing verraco ... and onto pedestal ... then onto legs: again and again. Chips and 'crumbs' falling as granite-sand to never be recognised or counted.
The team had seen time worn and travelled verracos covered with pelts of stitched realism to the detriment of clean lines and silhouettes and apparent details, and on the day they finally stopped to either make or trade for a brand new example, they exchanged their now battered companion to a 'lesser' team, or for use in a competition of strength during a summer festival.
Predators were suspicious of lone sheep and goats, and local people liked to see powerful and vivid animals.
Verracos offered leverage over issues related to the living landscape. Maybe they were paraded once a year and once again fell from the shoulders of young teams with minds stronger than muscles. Maybe some eventually guarded over graves, here still thought to be capable of attracting and dominating the surprise elements of the wild world in controlled and intelligent ways. Confronting powerful 'elements' is seen elsewhere in Iberian culture. Drawing-in spirits of mischief and ill fortune being one of the elements principle of the 'akelarre'. Drawing in the danger of the most powerful bull, being one of the principles of 'La tauromachie'.
And if the main function of the verraco can be summarised as to attract unreasonable wild agitators into situations of weakness, then when the Romans landed on the eastern side of the Iberian peninsula, and when topics of conversation changed and adjusted for this new breed of predator, it is very possible, and indeed perhaps typically human and wry, that a verraco was made of a Roman soldier on all-fours with his detailed behind in the air. In this scenario, the verraco of 'San Felices de Los Galegos' (pictured below) may just have carried Roman costume plundered from battle to the south or east. And as the verracos were positioned aside new urban plots, by natural crags, small creeks and slight gullies, Romans didn't see them as examples of power and social hierarchy, and left them untouched as pastoral inconsequence, to their minds, naturally belittled aside the new Roman columns.
I shall call this hypothesis the 'managing the wild' theory of verracos. Readers should contrast this hypothesis with others.
My last post in this series (8:8) will look at a potential deep root to the principle of drawing-in troublesome elements rather than running after.
AJM 18.11.21