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N966AM Aeroméxico Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. Landing in Mexico City International Airport (MEX/MMMX/AICM), after flight AM-91, from Seoul's Incheon International Airport (ICN/RKSI).
This really reminds me of the checkout counter at CVS or Duane Reade.
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Target keeps signing new leases for its flexible format stores in New York City. This 21,000 sq. ft Target in the Forest Hills neighborhood in Queens was the first Flex store to open in NYC last year. The store is split over 2 levels with a small escalator connecting both levels. It was previously a Barnes & Noble.
Most of the ground floor is taken by apparel and checkout with a CVS pharmacy, pantry, tech and toys on the second level. There is a Starbucks adjacent to the Target (also there when the store was Barnes & Noble) which has an internal entrance from Target.
Within the past year, three Target flex stores (as well as one full-line location) have opened within NYC, with 4 more planned over the next 12 months. With Walmart basically locked out by the city council from building any stores within the New York City borders, Kmart and Target have the city to themselves (along with the many smaller, local discounters). A massive 140,000 sq. ft. Kmart is about 2 miles away from this Target in Middle Village, Queens.
Just this month, it was announced that one of Kmart's 7 city stores is closing and Target probably wants to get as many Flex stores open before Walmart grabs one of Kmart's 6 remaining NYC leases when it finally goes down for good.
Location:
GSK World Headquarters
16th and Vine Streets, Philadelphia, PA
Zenos’ statement about his vision of the sculpture
I wanted to create a sculpture almost anyone, regardless of their background, could look at and instantly recognize that it is about the idea of struggling to break free. This sculpture is about the struggle for achievement of freedom through the creative process.
Although for me, this feeling sprang from a particular personal situation, I was conscious that it was a universal desire with almost everyone; that need to escape from some situation – be it an internal struggle or an adversarial circumstance, and to be free from it.
I began this work in a very traditional sculptural manner by creating a small model in clay called a macquette. The purpose of beginning in this manner is to capture the large action and major proportions of the figure within the overall design without any details to detract from the big idea. Another reason for not having details and for working on a small model only a few inches in height is that the small armature within it, holding the clay, is more easily manipulated, allowing for much greater flexibility in developing a concept. For example, an arm, a leg or a head can be pushed around without any concern for obliterating details, such as a nose or a finger.
The macquette is the original mass of clay where a concept is born and from which it grows and develops. This was important later when I enlarged the sculpture from several inches long to 20 feet long, and I retained in the larger work a sense that all the conceptual material, its forms, focus and development sprang from this rough idea. The work metamorphosized, in the way that we do.
Although there are four figures represented, the work is really one figure moving from left to right. The composition develops from left to right beginning with a kind of mummy/death like captive figure locked into its background. In the second frame, the figure, reminiscent of Michaelangelo’s Rebellious Slave, begins to stir and struggle to escape. The figure in the third frame has torn himself from the wall that held him captive and is stepping out, reaching for freedom. In the fourth frame, the figure is entirely free, victorious, arms outstretched, completely away from the wall and from the grave space he left behind. He evokes an escape from his own mortality.
In working on the large scale sculpture, I was satisfied that those who drove by getting a quick look at it would see the big picture: that it was about escape. I was also concerned that those who worked in the building and who passed the sculpture frequently would have something more to see. There was a lot of empty space between the figures on the wall, which I saw as an opportunity to develop further ideas.
It was important to me that the sculpture have more than one theme going on at once. One of the other major ideas incorporated in the work is that the very process of creating the sculpture is clearly revealed in the work itself. The maquette is cast into the sculpture in the lower left hand corner. In the lower right corner is the cast of the sculptor’s hand holding the sculpture tool with two rolls of clay also cast in bronze. Throughout the background of the Wall, I have rolled out the clay and pressed it with my fingers so that my fingerprints are all over the sculpture. I have not hidden how I have made the piece. In fact, the whole idea of the macquette is enlarged so that all the figures in the background look like a giant macquette. And at the same time, as the figures move from left to right, I have shown how figures are developed when you are sculpting from the rough to the more finished product.
Elements of the sculpture trade beside the tools that are cast into the sculpture are calipers both for their use in measuring and their reference to Protagoras’ words “Man is the measure of all things.”
Also cast into the sculpture is an anatomical man, traditionally used as a reference by sculptors. Many of the heads and figures on the wall, some in the round and some in relief, are shown partially sculpted, revealing the process of creation.
Something else I have done with the sculpture is that I have created a one man show of my work. I have always admired Rodin’s Gates of Hell. I similarly thought I would incorporate many sculptures into the wall where it was suitable.
Like T.S. Eliot and other artists, I have put many personal elements in my work. My friend Philip, a sculptor who died of AIDS, created a work that I included in Freedom because he often expressed his wish to have it in a public space. He did not live long enough to accomplish this himself. My cat, who lived with me for 20 years, my mother, father, and my self portrait are in the work. It is obvious which face is mine because there is a ballooned phrase coming from my mouth with the word “freedom”, written backwards, making it clear that the face was sculpted in a mirror. I see the whole Wall sculpture as a kind of illusion akin to Alice’s Through the Looking Glass.
The sculpture contains an original Duane Hanson -- a bronze cast of my own hands that Duane cast for me as a gift.
Much of what I did with this sculpture has to do with taking traditional forms and combining them in non-traditional ways, forming a postmodern sensibility. For example, I dropped a wax cast of my father’s bust from two or three feet in height so that it broke into large pieces. I cast those into the wall in a fractured manner over another face, an old work I found in a vat of clay purchased from a sculptor who had long ago died.
I have hidden many things in the background for people who see the sculpture more than once to discover, such as a cast of coins – a nickel and two pennies, another nickel and two pennies, and two quarters and a penny. These represent not only the relationship between money and art, but the numerals 7-7-51, my birth date.
It is important to me that the public interact with the sculpture, not just intellectually and emotionally but physically. I have created a space in which I have written “stand here” so that people can place themselves inside the sculpture and become part of the composition.
In the end, this sculpture is a statement about the artist’s attempt to free himself from the constraints of mortality through a long lasting creative form.
In this pose, the girl was combing her hair with her foot... Not something I would even think about trying.
Yoga Flow 1 hour creative yoga flow Vinyasa ~ 2014 youtu.be/YKVhB4TxuwU Yoga Flow 1 hour creative yoga flow Vinyasa is a fun and rigorous yoga flow practice and all over body workout that will leave you feeling energized, clear and refreshed. This one hour yoga practice practice promotes cardiovascular stamina, upper body, lower body and core strength, balance and flexibility by stretching and opening hips, hamstrings, quadriceps, shoulders and lower back. This yoga flow also includes breath work (pranayama) and integrates mindfulness practice and meditation. Veteran teacher Michelle Goldstein of Heart Alchemy Yoga in Venice, California brings a simple practicality to her instruction that provides a safe and easy to understand Yoga program. This yoga course is intended to help improve strength, flexibility, stamina, range of motion, breath capacity and relaxation. About Michelle Goldstein: Michelle has maintained a daily yoga practice for since 1998. A protégée of renowned Yoga teacher, Bryan Kest of Santa Monica Power Yoga, Michelle has been teaching yoga since 2004. A devoted student of Yoga, she has studied under a wide range of teachers including Max Strom, Bryan Kest, Guru Singh, Saul David Raye, Erich Schiffman and others. Check out all of our great Yoga flow videos below: Five Tibetan Rites with John Goltermanhttps://youtu.be/nnNJoRLJG9E Power Yoga for Weight Loss youtu.be/yUtK7v3dsr0 Strong Yoga For Beginners Workout youtu.be/xglmLhDppmo Meditative Bhakti Yoga Flow youtu.be/mQnAvEbDNPg Bhakti Yoga Workout youtu.be/AHMO0Ja0XC4 Cardio Yoga Workout youtu.be/hy-qss2Takg Yoga Workout 1 hour Yoga For Weight Loss youtu.be/yUtK7v3dsr0 Power Yoga Flow youtu.be/XpGnuK_u4gQ Bhakti Yoga Class youtu.be/K9scEzgir-8 Yoga for Beginners youtu.be/EaKZ3Xtxf5A Mindfulness Meditation youtu.be/2K-ZcAgka2g Gentle Yin Yoga Full Class youtu.be/Z3AlyD1CIJw Bhakti Yoga flow heart opening yoga workout with Kumi Yogini youtu.be/onS6uq94NHw Bhakti yoga class yoga flow with Kumi Yogini ॐ youtu.be/K9scEzgir-8 bhakti yoga class with Kumi Yogini youtu.be/ch4CEW-vEoc Advanced Yoga Workout - Inversions, Hand Stand, Core Work youtu.be/KbLVYpQ74Zo Bhakti Yoga Flow youtu.be/KvhIvZyemtI Inspired Yoga Workout with Breathwork youtu.be/_wG5hEBrMJQ Strong beginners Yoga Workout with JQ Williams youtu.be/vQdOhTKfEt8 Bhakti Yoga flow yoga workout youtu.be/VPmOF99bBHg Beginners Yoga Flow 2015 youtu.be/Dva-ThUN6Ww Bhakti Yoga Flow with Kumi Yogini 2015 youtu.be/onS6uq94NHw Yoga for Beginners Level 1 yoga workout youtu.be/f2sIjOHFZuU Yoga Flow youtu.be/YKVhB4TxuwU 40 Minute Yin Yoga Class youtu.be/O_Vg-j5lkuA Strong Power Yoga Flow youtu.be/UwJFpTRXI-g Yoga flow daily recharge total body workout youtu.be/LiTlpC0RU6Q Strong Power Yoga Flow youtu.be/Ua10v6kw27c 30 Minute Power Yoga Flow with Twists for detox youtu.be/Sy25cbDGqBM 30 Minute Daily Yoga Flow for weight loss youtu.be/Vc4u04a5A4o Yoga for Beginners youtu.be/3gWJBgAIXwg Sun Salutations (Surya A Surya B) youtu.be/GHGU18zg4rs Click below to subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/heartalchemyyoga Our Sites www.heartalchemyyoga.com plus.google.com/+HeartAlchemyYoga facebook.com/heartalchemyyoga instagram.com/travlinyogini twitter.com/travlinyogini www.pinterest.com/travlinyogini www.michellegoldsteinyoga.com
The Maersk Supply Service flexible Subsea Support Vessels (SSV) are designed for a wide variety of work roles
including subsea infrastructure deployment and recovery, inspection, maintenance and Repair (IMR) services and
well intervention work scopes.
Some vessels are also capable of mooring, anchor handling and/or general supply and cargo support for customers world-wide.
These specialized vessels have highly skilled crews, optimal
safety conditions and state-of-the-art equipment to help clients achieve their goals in a professional and cost effective
manner.
Key vessel features
■ Dynamic position class 2
■ 250 t full AHC crane
■ 625 t anchor handling winch
■ 271 t bollard pull
■ 86 person accommodation
■ Mezzanine
Classification
+100 A1 Offshore Tug/Supply Ship
Dynamic positioning DP2
Reference systems 2 x DGPS Kongsberg
1 x HiPAP Kongsberg
1 x Fanbeam MDL
Motion reference units 3 x Gyrometer Raytheon
2 x Motion sensor Kongsberg
2 x Wind sensor Kongsberg
Deck Equipment
Crane Full AHC
Capacity 250 t
236 t @1000 m
184 t @2000 m
158 t @2500 m
Anchor handling winch 1 x 625 t
Tow winches 2 x 400 t
Chain lockers 2 x 331 m3 + 2 x 230 m3
Shark jaws 2 x 700 t
Stern rollers 2 x 3.25 m x 4.00 m
Stern roller SWL 2 x 800 t
Towing pins 2 x S300 t Triplex
Capstans 2 x 15 t
Tugger winches 2 x 15 t
Moonpool 4.1 x 3.3 m
Dimensions
Length (LOA) 90.3 m
Beam 23.0 m
Depth 9.5 m
Draft scantling 7.8 m
Deadweight 3740 t
Gross tonnage 6690
Deck strength Aft 15 t/m2
Fwd 10 t/m2
Free deck area 770 m2
Length 42.1 m
Width 19.5 m
Propulsion / Bollard pull
Main engines 23480 BHP
4 x MAK 9M32C
Thrusters 2 x CP main propellers
1 x bow tunnel, 2040 BHP
1 x bow azimuth, 1770 BHP
2 x stern tunnel, 1200 BHP
Bollard pull 271,0 t
Accommodation
Person capacity 86
Tank capacities
Brine 259 m3
Drill/ballast water 2561 m3
Fresh water 760 m3
Fuel 2076 m3
Fuel consumption per 24hrs
Maximum speed 72 t @ 16 kn
Eco speed 28 t @ 10 kn
New pics from an old model! This PA-58N model had been an early attempt to modifiy an out-of-the box kit: after I got hold of a PA-58N "Halk Sovat" (ended up in its original livery, even though with different markings due to poor decals) and, much later, a blue/gray standard PA-58N from the TV series, I wanted to add some drama and a personal touch. Just having seen the movie "Predator" at that time (must have been in the Nineties, I guess :rolleyes:), I knew that a mini gatling gun HAD to be integrated. Et voilà, this became the fictional "MG" version! ;-)
The main modification was the scratch-built gatling gun, made from plastic bits and hollow needles as barrels, mounted onto the left arm and replacing the respective hand. Then came a flexible ammunition feeder belt that runs along the arm to the PA-58's back, made from rubber. Worked initially well, but the material became brittle over the years and needs a replacement now. Additionally, small rocket launchers were added on top of the shoulders, which are/were modified drop tanks from a Matchbox SB2C "Helldiver" kit in 1:72, holding spare rockets from the PAM-74 Tinkle SAM kit. Furthermore, for extra mobility and somewhat inspired by a modified PA-58N in one of the conversion booklets that came with the original Gunze Sangyo PA kits, I added some rocket thrusters on the back and on the legs, leftover from a 1:144 Revell Space Shuttle kit. Beyond these mods, some more minor details from the scratch box were added, for a grittier overall look.
The color scheme is also fictional/non-canonical. Today it would certainly look more color- and/or contrastful. However, the jungle theme from the "Predator" movie prevailed and it was turned into a disruptive 3 color overall scheme in a medium, yellowish earth tone (Tamiya XF-49 "Khaki"), a bluish dark green (Tamiya XF-11 "JN Green") and light grey as a stark contrast to break up egdes and outlines (Tamiya XF-12 "IJN Grey"). The only color contrast became the blue "breast box" with the emergency ejection system. The model was lightly weathered, even though I do not remember which methods I used back then (probably only some dry-brushing, skills and tools were then not as sophisticated as today). The decals/markings had to be fully replaced because they had turned blind and were not usable anymore.
Vintage stuff, but still "part of the family", so that the model deserved some more/better pics than before, which were IIRC still analogue photo film shots, with scanned pictures to be posted here. ;-)
Minolta Weathermatic 35DL - Minolta DL 35/50mm 1:3,5-5,6 - Ilford HP5+ @ ASA-400
Ilford Ilfotec LC29 (1+19) 6:30 @ 20C
Scanner: Nikon Coolscan V ED + Nikon Scan 4
Editor: Adobe Photoshop CC
This is the reflection of a part of the building of Sofia Central Hall on a parked car near it (variant 2).
“The framers did not write a fixed standard. Instead, they adopted from English history a standard sufficiently general and flexible to meet future circumstances and events, the nature and character of which they could not foresee.”
— Constitutional Grounds for Presidential Impeachment
▶ Report by the Staff of the Impeachment Inquiry
Committee on the Judiciary
House of Representatives
Nine-Third Congress
February 1974.
******************
▶ “A document Hillary Clinton helped write nearly a half-century ago has returned from the dead to threaten the man she couldn’t vanquish in 2016.
The bizarre, only-in-D.C. twist centers on a congressional report penned by a bipartisan team of young attorneys that included Hillary before she was a Clinton and written in the throes of Watergate. Then, unlike now, not a single lawmaker had been alive the last time Congress impeached a president. They had little understanding of how to try and remove Richard Nixon from the White House. So they tapped Clinton and a team of ambitious staffers to dive into the history of impeachment, stretching back to the 14th century in England: How has impeachment been used? What were the justifications? Can we apply it to Nixon?
The resulting document became a centerpiece of the congressional push to drive the Republican president from office. But then Nixon resigned. The memo was buried.
That was just the report’s first life.
In an ironic twist, the document was resurrected in the late 1990s. Republicans gleefully used it to bolster their unsuccessful bid to oust Clinton’s now-husband, President Bill Clinton. Then it faded from public conscience [sic] — again.
Until now, that is. The 45-year-old report has become a handbook House Democratic lawmakers and aides say they are using to help determine whether they have the goods to mount a full-scale impeachment effort against President Donald Trump, the same man who three years ago upended Hillary Clinton’s bid for a return trip to the White House. [...]
The resulting title of the report, 'Constitutional Grounds for Presidential Impeachment,' may elicit yawns. But what they produced became a seminal 64-page road map with appendices that looks into what counts as an impeachable offense.”
— Politico
16 September 2019.
***************
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Target keeps signing new leases for its flexible format stores in New York City. This 21,000 sq. ft Target in the Forest Hills neighborhood in Queens was the first Flex store to open in NYC last year. The store is split over 2 levels with a small escalator connecting both levels. It was previously a Barnes & Noble.
Most of the ground floor is taken by apparel and checkout with a CVS pharmacy, pantry, tech and toys on the second level. There is a Starbucks adjacent to the Target (also there when the store was Barnes & Noble) which has an internal entrance from Target.
Within the past year, three Target flex stores (as well as one full-line location) have opened within NYC, with 4 more planned over the next 12 months. With Walmart basically locked out by the city council from building any stores within the New York City borders, Kmart and Target have the city to themselves (along with the many smaller, local discounters). A massive 140,000 sq. ft. Kmart is about 2 miles away from this Target in Middle Village, Queens.
Just this month, it was announced that one of Kmart's 7 city stores is closing and Target probably wants to get as many Flex stores open before Walmart grabs one of Kmart's 6 remaining NYC leases when it finally goes down for good.
Attended the Digital Days workshop in Los Angeles this past weekend. Model shots and portraiture are not my forte, but it was a fun if not hasty shoot. Putting up a few of my favorite shots over the next few days.
Since this is certainly not my genre, I welcome your comments or critiques more than usual.
I never realized how flexible Mike was until he did this. Talk about drawn and quartered! He seemed to pull himself together rather quickly, and was walking around normally in no time.
Bright plastic drinking straws sorted in groups by their colors with quantities ranging from one to several dozens. While their length vary, all have a flexible head which allows them to be twisted.
The PlasticLogic screen, demonstrated by Chariman Hermann Hauser, visiting Google's "Solve for X" from the U.K. They have developed high mobility transistors on plastic, unlike prior attempts like FlexICs.
So far the buyers are the Russians for educational eBooks… after investing $700M for a minority stake.
Alfa Romeo’s revolutionary gamble in development
FIVE billion euro is a lot of money to develop a car.
Mercedes-Benz, for example, spent €2bn on the W212 E-Class launched in 2009, and a further ¤1bn on the new-generation E-Class arriving here later this year, a car it claims is the company’s most advanced production vehicle ever.
Five billion euro is a lot for just one car. But the Giulia is not just one car. It debuts a platform, a flexible architecture dubbed ‘Giorgio’ that will underpin a range of new-generation Alfa Romeo models, including two SUVs and possibly a rear-drive Giulietta replacement, within the next six years. A successor to the larger 166 sedan is also under consideration, but further out.
Five billion euro also paid for the development of three new engine families – a 2.0-litre petrol and 2.2-litre diesel, and a 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 – that will power Giulia and the SUVs.
Five billion euro, then, is not a lot to spend on five completely new cars and three completely new engines.
Alfa romeo giulia drivingBut five billion euro is a hell of a wager on one car. If the Giulia is a flop, then future models spun off this same architecture will be hamstrung. If Giulia fails, Alfa Romeo may too.
Wheels flew to Balocco in northern Italy to drive the Alfa Romeo Giulia. This is what we learned.
“April 29, 2013,” Krief says. “That’s when work started on the Giulia. I got a call just the week before from [Fiat-Chrysler Automotive CEO Sergio] Marchionne and was told we want to do a completely new thing… rear-wheel drive… new Alfa Romeo… so we start from scratch.”
Krief, formerly a Ferrari engineer, heads product development for Alfa Romeo. Since that day three years ago, the Giorgio platform, and the first two models it will deliver – the Giulia sedan and 2017 Stelvio SUV, a rival for the Jaguar F-Pace and BMW X3 – have been his life.
But life began much earlier for the project that was meant to succeed the 159 sedan way back in 2010.
Alfa platform designGiulia was designed for combustion engines, package-protected for an electrified future
Plans for a 159 successor were almost signed off by Marchionne in 2007 as one of many models to be co-developed in a joint-venture with BMW. Both sedan and wagon would share the 3 Series’ rear-drive platform. A replacement for the 166 would be built on 5 Series architecture.
In return, Alfa would develop a new rear-drive platform for B- and C-segment cars for both brands. This would, of course, throw up packaging compromises, especially in rear-seat legroom, but a Wheels source involved in the JV business case says that was of little concern, to Alfa at least.
“For sure we knew this… we didn’t worry,” our source revealed. “Driving dynamics came before comfort. We wanted rear-drive for all Alfa Romeo models. And we had a very good positioning plan, too: [Alfa Romeo models] would be lighter and more powerful than the BMW ones, and more affordable.”
Rear-drive, light weight, better power-to-weight, more affordable, and Italian. What’s not to like?
But instead of going into partnership with BMW, Fiat Group saw an opportunity in struggling Chrysler. Development plans were put on hold, and eventually cancelled when Fiat bought a controlling stake from investment firm Cerberus in early 2009.
Alfa Romeo badgeKrief says he’s aware that a 159 successor was under development much earlier than April 2013, but refuses to be drawn on specifics: “We were working on [a] new 159, sure, but based on another platform. We tore that up and started again … from scratch.”
Another Ferrari alumni, Roberto Fedeli, now chief technical officer for Alfa Romeo and Maserati, explains further.
“The plan three years ago was to relaunch completely the Alfa Romeo brand. Obviously Mr Marchionne had this thought before. But he decided to enact this kind of plan when the conditions of the company were much better … when the money was there in order to be spent doing this kind of model.
“It was a choice of FCA’s to concentrate during the last years in doing something that let the group grow up; to restart the program, to make the integration with Chrysler and so on.”
Fedeli’s nickname at Ferrari, where his credits include the F12 Berlinetta and La Ferrari hybrid supercar, is The Prince. While at Ferrari, Fedeli was instrumental in the Giulia program’s genesis before leaving FCA for a 16-month stint with BMW’s i Division. He was poached back by Marchionne in February this year.
Alfa concept interiorDriving position ergonomic goals were established early in the development cycle
“Three years ago I was in Ferrari. And I remember at the end of April, Mr Marchionne came to Maranello and spoke to Montezemolo, who asked me to give a couple of guys – one for chassis and one for engine – because he had in mind to relaunch Alfa and [he wanted] experience from Ferrari guys. I told him, ‘No, it’s not possible. I have a limited number of people and I have to develop Ferrari models’.
“You can imagine the discussion that ensued and what the final decision was…
I gave him two guys.
“The first one was Philippe Krief, and the other was head of gasoline engines Gianluca Pivetti, responsible for Ferrari engines. He became immediately the boss of Alfa Romeo engines… but without engines, without anything.”
Fedeli says Krief and Pivetti moved to Modena the very next day to start the Giorgio project.
“Then in a couple of days more, [they asked me for a] third guy from FCA human resources department. His job was to help these two guys build the team. In one year they hired 400 people, and in another six months another 200 people. The team eventually became 800 people. And they were working day and night.”
Alfa romeo giulia sideThirty months from clean sheet to production is impressive. Even more so when developing the building blocks for five new models and three engine families.
Two skunkworks were established, confirms chief exterior designer Alessandro Maccolini, the man who penned the Alfa Romeo 4C and current Giulietta. One in Modena for engineers, the other at FCA’s Centro Stile design home in Turin.
“Yes, really the team was divided,” says Maccolini. “In Modena there was this skunk team for all the technicians. For style it was a skunk team in Turin, in Centro Stile. This team was absolutely divided from the other brands in Centro Stile. This was absolutely a priority from the beginning of the project, to maintain a strong identity with no contamination.
“We stopped transfer within the brands, making sure the team was only Alfa Romeo because it was absolutely top secret. It was a closed shop. A special [security] badge [was required] even inside Centro Stile.”
Maccolini tells us the Giulia design challenge was twofold: firstly, to evolve Alfa’s design language for a new generation while respecting the brand’s 106-year heritage; secondly, to exude ‘Italian-ness’.
Alfa romeo giulia wheel“Alfa Romeo’s heritage is important; our history is incredible. Looking into the future it’s very important not to make a copy of the past or remake something, because it can be dangerous. We have to balance what we need from the past.
“Maybe looking at the car you don’t see an Alfa Romeo from the past, but you feel something… The front, the rear treatment, the [side] section of the car. I think it’s more important to have the feeling of an Alfa Romeo, not the copy of an Alfa Romeo from the past.”
And Italian-ness?
“I know it’s not [always] easy to understand the difference between an Alfa Romeo design and a competitor’s. In this segment, for example, take a competitor’s greenhouse and look at the transition from the side to the back. You will see differences. On the back we needed this round shape because we like to emphasise this treatment, the beauty and the elegance of the car.
“[At the same time] we have to strike a balance between what we need for style, what is required for aerodynamics and handling, etc. Without compromise for Philippe’s team, but again a good combination for the car, for the complete product… not only style. When you see the Giulia, you can see that it’s enabled the team to work with those in a way that still allows that sculpture to come through. That to me is the Alfa Italian-ness, that pure sculpture. Clean but expressive qualities, and it still maintains an amazing proportion.”
At alfa headquartersAlfa Romeo designer Alessandro Maccolini takes Wheels through the centro stile design studio
Both Maccolini and Krief cite the ‘creative tension’ that existed between Giulia designers and engineers.
“That creative tension… the best products come out of that,” explains Maccolini. “It’s a healthy tension. There are trade-offs that you have to deal with. We [designers] are not here to make our car, and engineering another car. Look at the Quadrifoglio’s diffuser, it’s 97 percent aerodynamic. The ‘style’ is only to understand where we need the separation between the bumper and the diffuser. The rest is designed in a windtunnel. And we accept this. Because if we overdesign this piece, it can be only wrong.”
Krief says the platform’s hard-points were laid down, and targets set, within
the first month.
“Just one month after we started, we set ambitious targets for everything. For Giulia we knew we needed to have the old 156 kerb weight of the diesel – 1350kg. We needed a car that is five-star [safety], and a car that is able to do less than 7min 47sec at the Nurburgring. We also wanted to be best in class for fuel consumption. We want an aerodynamic Cd of 0.25. We wanted certain downforce… We had many targets, all sorts of targets.”
Though they missed that weight target by 24kg – the Giulia turbo-diesel is still 130kg lighter than its BMW and Mercedes equivalents – in some cases they exceeded them. In September 2015 a production-spec Giulia Quadrifoglio lapped the Nurburgring in 7min 39sec.
Alfa romeo giulia driving fastHowever, these targets were more than just numbers, says Krief. They had the power to define Alfa Romeo.
“What is Alfa Romeo? What numbers define us as a brand? Usually you don’t do it like that. You find some trade-off. But not this time,” Krief says.
They refused to compromise their overarching goal “to achieve ultimate driving satisfaction”. And while all those numerical targets speak to that, they are outcomes, he says, of sound core principles.
“We wanted to stay true to Alfa Romeo DNA. To focus on principles that made Alfa the king for many years. Alfa has always had extremely light products with good power-to-weight. Good balance and 50/50 weight distribution is also important. This leads to spontaneous, natural, dynamic....”
Dimensions were established early on. The 2820mm wheelbase is 8mm longer than BMW’s M3, and carries a body 15mm longer but with a 3mm-lower roofline. Aluminium double-wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension follow the lead of the 159 and 156 before it, with an increased focus on controlling wheel travel to maximise each tyre’s contact patch.
Alfa giulia interior “And at the heart of it all,” says Krief, “we knew we must put the driver at the centre, make the driver the focal point. This last point sometimes is not given enough focus. For us, we defined it very early on because it is so important. The lower the better.”
Once the driving position was set – and I can report it is spot-on, but more on that later – tactile elements were next: “You cannot have quick steering and long pedal stroke. You cannot have quick steering, quick pedal and long throw of gearlever. You need to have every component respond harmoniously, and progressively.”
Meanwhile, Pivetti’s team was working on three new engine families, each with strict targets around outputs, real-world performance and fuel efficiency.
Krief says a V8 was never seriously considered for the Quadrifoglio performance model: “No. We didn’t think about it because we were looking for power-to-weight ratio. To have in this platform a V8 would need it to be bigger [and therefore] too heavy. We would need to make it wider to accommodate a V8.
A 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 was developed instead, and contrary to other reports it’s not the Ferrari 488’s 3.9-litre V8 with two fewer cylinders.
Alfa romeo 3.9 litre turbo v6 engineAlfa Romeo is adamant its new twin-turbo V6 is not based on Ferrari’s 3.9-litre TTV8, yet the familial clues are there if you look
“No, no, no, no,” says Krief. “The only thing this engine has to do with Ferrari is the guy coming from Ferrari, Gianluca Pivetti. He was responsible for the V8 Ferrari development. This engine has cylinder deactivation. I don’t know a Ferrari that has cylinder deactivation. It has the culture of Ferrari, but it is not a Ferrari engine.”
Krief says the Quadrifoglio’s 375kW twin-turbo V6 has more to give if needed: “Today this engine is about 170-180 horsepower per litre. We can achieve more if we need to.”
Mainstream Giulia models will be driven by either 2.0-litre turbo-petrol or 2.2-litre
turbo-diesel fours. Both engines are available in Europe in several tunes, and with an eight-speed auto or six-speed manual. The Australian range, due in February, will be auto-only, kicking off with the 147kW petrol at about $60K.
Two more-expensive but also better-equipped Giulia Super models come next, one with the 147kW petrol engine, the other with a 132kW diesel. Wheels understands a higher-output 205kW version of the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol will power a Veloce model priced around $85-90K.
The Quadrifoglio performance flagship, which Alfa Romeo claims is capable of 0-100km/h in 3.9sec and a top speed of 307km/h, will go head to head with the BMW M3 and Mercedes-AMG C63 S sedan – but not on price. We’re told it will undercut the M3’s $139,900 tag. “We’ll have a sharp price,” said our Alfa Romeo Australia source.
Fabrizio Curci, Alfa Romeo’s European boss, says the Giorgio platform and the Giulia lead “a technical and cultural revolution for Alfa Romeo”.
Alfa romeo giulia rear driving“This is something completely and entirely new [for us],” says Curci. “It is innovative. The first challenge in relaunching the brand is to launch products that are up to scratch with the brand’s history.
“This is a platform created with global appeal,” he adds. “It has potential everywhere in the world. The plan is to hit 400,000 units running.
“This is just the first part of a much wider project.”
And all models on this platform will set benchmarks for Alfa Romeo, and possibly their respective classes, says the platform’s creator, Krief.
“The SUV will be the sportiest in that class. [As will] every car. The Quadrifoglio [version] has to be the most sporty version in its segment.”
Based on our first drive of the Giulia Quadrifoglio at Balocco, which starts overleaf, Alfa Romeo’s five billion euro bet is looking like a sure thing.
A question of quality
Alfa romeo giulia rearTech boss Roberto Fedeli addresses the poorly built elephant in the room: “I’m not an expert in Alfa Romeo history, but I’m an Italian guy and I followed the story of the brand many years ago. They did some very good products but without very good tooling to produce the product.
“Now it is completely different. Now we are relaunching everything. Doing completely new investment, new culture in the cars.
“For a long time I told [Marchionne], ‘No, I don’t want to join’. Because I had some doubts, the same doubts a customer may have. I changed my mind completely when I visited Cassino [the factory where the new Giulia is being produced].
“The assembly line, the body shop, and so on… I can assure you that the kind of investment that Marchionne did in Cassino is something unique. It’s completely up to date, with the best technology you can find in automation, robots, and in quality.”
Sometimes when Bonkers leaves his chigura, we have to swap out the wee-wee mat (especially when he's not wearing his diaper). When that happens, we may forget to put his house back together, which annoys him a bit, but he makes the best of it by finding the roof and sleeping under it regardless. In this case, his wee-wee mat was dry - I probably removed his roof to let him get out easier than having him drag himself out by himself.
U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. David Moore, a Lockheed Martin F-35A "Lightning II" pilot from the 34th Fighter Squadron, climbs out of the cockpit after a flight from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Oct. 30, 2017. A dozen F-35As and approximately 300 Airmen are on their way to Kadena Air Base, Japan, deployed under U.S. Pacific Command's (PACOM) Theater Security Package program, which has been in operation since 2004. This marks PACOM’s first operational tasking for the F-35A and builds upon the successful debut of the fifth-generation stealth fighter in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region at the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition earlier this month.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Lockheed Martin F-35 "Lightning II" is a family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather, stealth, fifth-generation, multirole combat aircraft, designed for ground-attack and air-superiority missions. It is built by Lockheed Martin and many subcontractors, including Northrop Grumman, Pratt & Whitney, and BAE Systems.
The F-35 has three main models: the conventional takeoff and landing F-35A (CTOL), the short take-off and vertical-landing F-35B (STOVL), and the catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery, carrier-based F-35C (CATOBAR). The F-35 descends from the Lockheed Martin X-35, the design that was awarded the "Joint Strike Fighter" (JSF) program over the competing Boeing X-32. The official "Lightning II" name has proven deeply unpopular and USAF pilots have nicknamed it Panther, instead.
The United States principally funds F-35 development, with additional funding from other NATO members and close U.S. allies, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Canada, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and formerly Turkey. These funders generally receive subcontracts to manufacture components for the aircraft; for example, Turkey was the sole supplier of several F-35 parts until its removal from the program in July 2019. Several other countries have ordered, or are considering ordering, the aircraft.
As the largest and most expensive military program ever, the F-35 became the subject of much scrutiny and criticism in the U.S. and in other countries. In 2013 and 2014, critics argued that the plane was "plagued with design flaws", with many blaming the procurement process in which Lockheed was allowed "to design, test, and produce the F-35 all at the same time," instead of identifying and fixing "defects before firing up its production line". By 2014, the program was "$163 billion over budget [and] seven years behind schedule". Critics also contend that the program's high sunk costs and political momentum make it "too big to kill".
The F-35 first flew on 15 December 2006. In July 2015, the United States Marines declared its first squadron of F-35B fighters ready for deployment. However, the DOD-based durability testing indicated the service life of early-production F-35B aircraft is well under the expected 8,000 flight hours, and may be as low as 2,100 flight hours. Lot 9 and later aircraft include design changes but service life testing has yet to occur. The U.S. Air Force declared its first squadron of F-35As ready for deployment in August 2016. The U.S. Navy declared its first F-35Cs ready in February 2019. In 2018, the F-35 made its combat debut with the Israeli Air Force.
The U.S. stated plan is to buy 2,663 F-35s, which will provide the bulk of the crewed tactical airpower of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps in coming decades. Deliveries of the F-35 for the U.S. military are scheduled until 2037 with a projected service life up to 2070.
Development
F-35 development started in 1992 with the origins of the "Joint Strike Fighter" (JSF) program and was to culminate in full production by 2018. The X-35 first flew on 24 October 2000 and the F-35A on 15 December 2006.
The F-35 was developed to replace most US fighter jets with the variants of a single design that would be common to all branches of the military. It was developed in co-operation with a number of foreign partners, and, unlike the F-22 "Raptor", intended to be available for export. Three variants were designed: the F-35A (CTOL), the F-35B (STOVL), and the F-35C (CATOBAR). Despite being intended to share most of their parts to reduce costs and improve maintenance logistics, by 2017, the effective commonality was only 20%. The program received considerable criticism for cost overruns during development and for the total projected cost of the program over the lifetime of the jets.
By 2017, the program was expected to cost $406.5 billion over its lifetime (i.e. until 2070) for acquisition of the jets, and an additional $1.1 trillion for operations and maintenance. A number of design deficiencies were alleged, such as: carrying a small internal payload; performance inferior to the aircraft being replaced, particularly the F-16; lack of safety in relying on a single engine; and flaws such as the vulnerability of the fuel tank to fire and the propensity for transonic roll-off (wing drop). The possible obsolescence of stealth technology was also criticized.
Design
Overview
Although several experimental designs have been developed since the 1960s, such as the unsuccessful Rockwell XFV-12, the F-35B is to be the first operational supersonic STOVL stealth fighter. The single-engine F-35 resembles the larger twin-engined Lockheed Martin F-22 "Raptor", drawing design elements from it. The exhaust duct design was inspired by the General Dynamics Model 200, proposed for a 1972 supersonic VTOL fighter requirement for the Sea Control Ship.
Lockheed Martin has suggested that the F-35 could replace the USAF's F-15C/D fighters in the air-superiority role and the F-15E "Strike Eagle" in the ground-attack role. It has also stated the F-35 is intended to have close- and long-range air-to-air capability second only to that of the F-22 "Raptor", and that the F-35 has an advantage over the F-22 in basing flexibility and possesses "advanced sensors and information fusion".
Testifying before the House Appropriations Committee on 25 March 2009, acquisition deputy to the assistant secretary of the Air Force, Lt. Gen. Mark D. "Shack" Shackelford, stated that the F-35 is designed to be America's "premier surface-to-air missile killer, and is uniquely equipped for this mission with cutting-edge processing power, synthetic aperture radar integration techniques, and advanced target recognition".
Improvements
Ostensible improvements over past-generation fighter aircraft include:
Durable, low-maintenance stealth technology, using structural fiber mat instead of the high-maintenance coatings of legacy stealth platforms.
Integrated avionics and sensor fusion that combine information from off- and on-board sensors to increase the pilot's situational awareness and improve target identification and weapon delivery, and to relay information quickly to other command and control (C2) nodes.
High-speed data networking including IEEE 1394b and Fibre Channel (Fibre Channel is also used on Boeing's "Super Hornet".
The Autonomic Logistics Global Sustainment, Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS), and Computerized maintenance management system to help ensure the aircraft can remain operational with minimal maintenance manpower The Pentagon has moved to open up the competitive bidding by other companies. This was after Lockheed Martin stated that instead of costing 20% less than the F-16 per flight hour, the F-35 would actually cost 12% more. Though the ALGS is intended to reduce maintenance costs, the company disagrees with including the cost of this system in the aircraft ownership calculations. The USMC has implemented a workaround for a cyber vulnerability in the system. The ALIS system currently requires a shipping-container load of servers to run, but Lockheed is working on a more portable version to support the Marines' expeditionary operations.
Electro-hydrostatic actuators run by a power-by-wire flight-control system.
A modern and updated flight simulator, which may be used for a greater fraction of pilot training to reduce the costly flight hours of the actual aircraft.
Lightweight, powerful lithium-ion batteries to provide power to run the control surfaces in an emergency.
Structural composites in the F-35 are 35% of the airframe weight (up from 25% in the F-22). The majority of these are bismaleimide and composite epoxy materials. The F-35 will be the first mass-produced aircraft to include structural nanocomposites, namely carbon nanotube-reinforced epoxy. Experience of the F-22's problems with corrosion led to the F-35 using a gap filler that causes less galvanic corrosion to the airframe's skin, designed with fewer gaps requiring filler and implementing better drainage. The relatively short 35-foot wingspan of the A and B variants is set by the F-35B's requirement to fit inside the Navy's current amphibious assault ship parking area and elevators; the F-35C's longer wing is considered to be more fuel efficient.
Costs
A U.S. Navy study found that the F-35 will cost 30 to 40% more to maintain than current jet fighters, not accounting for inflation over the F-35's operational lifetime. A Pentagon study concluded a $1 trillion maintenance cost for the entire fleet over its lifespan, not accounting for inflation. The F-35 program office found that as of January 2014, costs for the F-35 fleet over a 53-year lifecycle was $857 billion. Costs for the fighter have been dropping and accounted for the 22 percent life cycle drop since 2010. Lockheed stated that by 2019, pricing for the fifth-generation aircraft will be less than fourth-generation fighters. An F-35A in 2019 is expected to cost $85 million per unit complete with engines and full mission systems, inflation adjusted from $75 million in December 2013.
FirstEnergy’s Springdale Generating Facility in Springdale Township, Pa., completed its first major maintenance outage in summer 2015. Reliability upgrades at the gas-fired power plant included new compressor casings to minimize out-of-service time, standard maintenance work on the combustion turbines to keep them running well, and a new control system to provide the units greater operating flexibility while achieving environmental requirements.