SPONSORED:

 

---Face Mask: NEO KITSCH – Triad Foo Dog Mask – Find it @ Neo Japan Event

 

---Top & Pants: OVER – Kay Outfit – Find it @ Neo Japan Event

 

---Arm Tattoos: NEFEKALUM – Sakura – Find it @ Neo Japan Event

 

OTHER CREDITS:

---Hair: MONSO

---Sword: YKZ4

---Cyborg Midsection: VILE

 

Hummingbirds appear to have favorite meal prepping areas. While I was distracted taking this picture, the bird was repeatedly wiping his bill, which I assumed was a cleaning habit. While looking at the picture on a screen, I could see a tiny insect adhered to the midsection of the bill, and only then noticed the extreme wear pattern of the plant stem. It appears that the epidermis, phloem, and cambium were worn down to the xylem. I was amazed. Gilbert Riparian is a great learning center.

I couldn't resist a return trip to Splinter Hill to check on the little Imperial cat the other day...and thank goodness I did...he had somehow gotten bound up with some type of very thin, but tightly wound vine with thorns around his midsection! It was keeping him tied to the tree trunk and he couldn't wiggle free! Thankfully, I was able to carefully break away the vine that had him trapped without injuring him...and in these two shots, he's enjoying freedom again...boy, the messes youngsters get themselves into!

If anyone is interested this is the same sunset that was in my original post to Sliders Sunday, Slide, and so I thought it would be interesting to show what can be done with a little sliding. (who am I kidding "a little sliding", I slid the hell out of this, and the other one as well!!)

 

One of the more difficult things about processing this photo was that there was a light on the dock which was back-lighting the subjects, the woman closest in foreground was actually really well exposed and I had a really tough time attempting to obliterate the light so she could also appear in total silhouette, it became a mission. I am afraid I did not quite accomplish it, as you can still see a bit of light bouncing off her midsection and her right shoulder. Oh well, it is what is.

 

Last thought, perhaps the water is a little blown out...hehehe....:-))))

 

HSS!!!!!!!!!!!! :-))))))

 

This American dagger moth caterpillar (Acronicta americana) really stood out against the tree trunk. There seems to be a discussion about if the long black 'hairs' are poisonous or merely irritating. I did not do any experimenting.

 

InsectIdentification.org says this: "Four long bunches of black bristles, like long eyelashes, extend from the body near the head and midsection. A fifth bunch of these extra-long, black bristles comes out near the rear of the caterpillar. The bristles break off and embed themselves into skin. Toxins stored inside the hairs have a stinging sensation if touched. Many curious children have unwittingly picked up these big, fuzzy, bright creatures and consequently experienced a burning, itching sensation on their skin which can develop into a rash."

Another ship that I'm finally getting edited up and posted after the finished product has been sitting on my computer for nearly a year. And I have others, so I'll hopefully get with it and start posting them all.

 

The Durendal-class Destroyer, constructed by New Carradock's provincial military shipyards, is a true destroyer to the core. Tasked with assaulting cruisers and frigates head-on rather than engaging in the typical broadside tactics that other ships use, the Durendal has heavy frontal armor and its weaponry can all target forward. Even cruisers larger than the Durendal and with more overall firepower and armor will frequently be outmatched when trying to fight the destroyer.

 

Anyway, I've always been super happy with the nose construction of this model. Unfortunately it's a bit different from my intended design style, which consists of giant cylinders with armor plating bolted on the sides, and I'm also not completely happy with how the midsection turned out.

 

...Yes, this model is digital. Probably will be a disappointment to some people here. I build almost exclusively in LDD nowadays, since I don't have the munnehz to build enormous SHIPs like I want to. And unfortunately that does have the side effect of not always being very sturdy or using pieces in real colors.

But hey, here's an LDD file! github.com/Arikelliott/LDD-Models/raw/master/Durendal-cla...

For Our Daily Challenge: Seasonal Weather

 

I’m not sure if rain is especially seasonal for an Appalachian Mountain autumn, but we surely saw plenty of it during a recent road trip to North Carolina and Tennessee.

 

The Roaring Fork River, in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, was living up to its name when I took this shot. In the aftermath of major storms that swept across the U.S. midsection last week, the riverbed was filled bank-to-bank, and the rushing water was loud and looked extremely dangerous. The structure in the foreground is a flume designed to divert water from the river to power a 19th century tub mill that is just downstream.

 

Though you can’t see it here, it was pouring rain when I took this shot. I had a rain sleeve on my camera, which kept it dry, but I got soaked. I’ll be posting a few more rainy and foggy shots from the trip over the coming days. And now that I’m back, I I’ll be catching up soon with the latest postings of all of my Flickr friends.

 

Sometimes the Belted Kingfisher looks slate gray. Whether it's blue or gray depends on how the light hits it. This male--if it were female, it would have a rust-colored belt just above its midsection--happily did its fishing near some turtles trying to sunbathe on a log and several Mallards swimming in the cold lake. I watched from a path overlooking the lake .

Click on photo for more detail. Some very unusual tree bark. I found two of these trees, likely cultivated, growing in the Florida Keys. The bark varies in color from brown near the base to a grey midsection and greener near the top with each section displaying its own unique patterns.

The Giza Necropolis stands on the Giza Plateau, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. This complex of ancient monuments, including the Great Pyramids, is located some 8 km (5 mi) inland into the desert from the old town of Giza on the Nile, some 25 km (15 mi) southwest of Cairo city centre. One of the monuments, the Great Pyramid of Giza, is the only remaining monument of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The Pyramid of Khafre is the second largest of the Ancient Egyptian Pyramids of Giza and the tomb of the fourth-dynasty pharaoh Khafre (Chephren).

 

The pyramid has a base length of 215.25 m (706 ft) and originally rises to a height of 143.5 m (471 ft). The Pyramid is made of Limestone blocks (weighing more than 2 tons each). The slope of the pyramid rises at an 53° 10' angle, steeper than its neighbor Khufu’s pyramid which has an angle of 51°50'40". The pyramid sits on bedrock 10 m (33 ft) higher than Khufu’s pyramid which makes it appear to be taller.

Construction

Like the Great Pyramid built by Khafre’s father Khufu, a rock outcropping was used in the core. Due to the slope of the plateau, the northwest corner was cut 10 m (33 ft) out of the rock subsoil and the southeast corner is built up.

 

The pyramid is built of horizontal courses. The stones used at the bottom are very large, but as the pyramid rises, the stones become smaller, becoming only 50 cm (20 in) thick at the apex. The courses are rough and irregular for the first half of its height but a narrow band of regular masonry is clear in the midsection of the pyramid. Casing stones cover the top third of the pyramid, but the pyramidion and part of the apex are missing.

 

The bottom course of casing stones was made out of pink granite but the remainder of the pyramid was cased in Torah Limestone. Close examination reveals that the corner edges of remaining casing stones are not completely straight, but are staggered by a few millimeters. One theory is that this is due to settling from seismic activity. An alternative theory postulates that the slope on the blocks cut to shape before being placed due to the limited working space towards the top of the pyramid

   

Someone asked if I'd lost weight. I think I have. Although I wish I'd lost more on my torso (midsection area) and not so much on my thighs. In retrospect, they're looking a little thin. My legs still look great thought, don't they?

Last teaser before the F2K, Vol. 7 premiere

 

I shot some more scenes earlier today including the finale. I shoot stuff out of order. I still have a chunk of the midsection to hopefully finish this weekend.

 

Speaking of the finale. I had one originally planned, which I did shoot and will still use but the wheels in my mind randomly started turning and I came up with a little something new. I'm really really loving Vol. 7 and I wish I could just show you the finale right now but it's the finale and I can't. I will say this... it's simple but effective.

 

This shot of Melrose is not from the finale but those who follow the F2K Volumes might recognize her look from way back in Vol. 4 ;-p

 

_____

 

once again... F2K, Vol. (frickin') 7 starts TOMORROW! (March 8th)

Mark has been cross dressing off and on for many many years. Up until now it has always been in the privacy of his house or hidden under men’s clothing. Mark had a fairly passable figure with a slim build but had never tried wigs and makeup. He just liked the clothes, mostly the lingerie but he had tried some denim skirts and finally got enough nerve to buy a kind of dusty rose dress. It was fitted pretty nicely in his midsection and flared a little at the bottom. With a bra and a little padding from a couple of socks he looked pretty shapely.

 

After seeing himself he decided to try out a wig and some makeup to see what he could do. He found a kind of shaggy brunette wig online that he thought would fit his vision of himself as a woman. Then he watched a bunch of YouTube videos on how to apply makeup. He wanted to use as little makeup as possible because he didn’t like women who wore too much makeup himself. By the time the wig got there he was getting the hang of the makeup and was amazed how much he looked like a real woman.

 

He took some pictures and posted them on his Flickr account, the first pictures that showed his face. He got some real nice compliments and some suggestions from his followers.

 

This gave Mark the confidence to think about going out in public dressed and made up like a woman. He started planning for a Friday night at a nearby bar he thought might not be too crowded.

 

Steve was kind of an average guy. He had just gone through a divorce. He had enough of looking at all kinds of porn and masturbating alone in his apartment.

 

He was finally getting up enough nerve to go out to a bar and try to talk to women with an eye toward meeting someone he could date and have a little fun with, maybe even have it turn into a relationship if he was lucky

 

It just so happened that both Steve and Mark were planning to go to the same bar on the same night.

 

Steve got to the bar first and found a seat toward the end of the bar that gave him a view of the whole bar and most of the tables. He ordered a glass of wine and sat just taking in the place. He was thinking to himself, this is really uncomfortable. I haven’t done this in more than 20 years. I don’t remember being this nervous. There were a few women at the bar. Most with other men and 2 women toward the other end of the bar by themselves. They seemed to be about his age and fairly cute. All the tables had couples and one group of 5 women. Steve just sat nursing his wine trying to see if he could get up enough nerve to go down and introduce himself to the 2 women down at the other end of the bar.

 

Mark had spent some time showering, shaving and finally making himself up to go out. He was excited thinking about actually going out but his stomach was feeling really nervous. With his nervousness he persisted and got his makeup on and the wig. He noticed that the pink bikini panties that he had on were very wet from his precum. He wasn’t hard but his precum was flowing a bit with his excitement. Mark thought, I better change these panties before I go so he went and changed his panties and put on his slightly padded bra and added the socks that would give him some shape in his chest. He slipped into some dark thigh-highs and then into the dress. Last but not least he slipped on some shoes with about an inch or so heel. He had already decided it would be to hard to walk into a public place with confidence in really high heels even though he thought they would have looked good with this dress.

 

Mark stood in front of the full length mirror and said to himself, wow, not half bad. I think I would want to talk to me. That was when it dawned on him that he had not practiced talking like a woman. He thought OMG I can’t go out without talking. Hmmm 🤔 and he tried talking in a feminine voice. Then he said to himself, what the hell. I’ll give it a shot. It is likely to be pretty loud in the bar.

 

Mark said to himself, Let’s go before I chicken out. Mark headed out the door and down to the street and started walking the few blocks to the bar. Fortunately he didn’t see anyone on the way down in his apartment building, passed only a couple of people on the way to the bar and was at the bar pretty quickly. It was very dimly lit outside the bar so the couple leaving probably didn’t even think twice as they walked by him within about 10 feet.

 

Mark walked in and the bar was also dimly lit. He saw a couple of open seats at the bar by Steve and Mark sat down. He ordered a glass of wine in his best female voice and glanced around the bar. He thought, good not to many guys just in case they would be drunk enough to try and pick me up. Mark really only wanted to be out and see what it was like as a female.

 

Steve on the other hand watched Mark sit down with only one empty seat between them and thought, great, what an opportunity, she looks kind of cute and she is right next to me already.

 

After Mark’s wine got there. Steve had finally gotten up enough nerve to say hi to Mark. Steve said, “Hi I’m Steve, you live around here?”

 

Mark said, “Yes, a couple of blocks south of here.” Mark thought, crap, no woman would saw they lived “south” of something.

 

Steve said, “Really, seems like we would have seen each other in the grocery store or somewhere on the street at some point because I live about a block from here and its a fairly small neighborhood.”

 

Mark quickly changed the subject and ask what Steve did for a living. That got Steve talking which made it much easier for Mark since he didn’t need to say much. And after a few minutes he did think that Steve looked familiar, like he might have seen him in the coffee shop before.

 

After a few minutes more Steve asked Mark, “What do you do for a living and by the way what is your name?”

 

Mark thought, oh crap I can’t be Mark so he quickly said, “I work for a PR firm and my name is Mary.”

 

We talked back and forth and the both of them were getting really comfortable with each other especially after a couple of more glasses of wine. Then Steve said, “Mary, how about we go to my apartment so we can talk more? It’s getting to loud in here. I’m no used to this bar scene and I’d like to continue our conversation. I’m really enjoying your company.”

 

Mark said to himself oh crap, what do I do? I’m also really enjoying this conversation but Steve doesn’t know I’m a guy. What happens if he starts to come on to me, he really thinks I'm a woman? This could end badly, but I am enjoying the attention, being out dressed like this and the conversation has been REALLY enjoyable. Oh what the hell.

 

Mark said to Steve, “I’m a bit nervous about going to your apartment by myself. I don’t really know you and just so you know I have no intention of anything sexual happening between us.” There Mark thought, that should set the expectation at least. Now I can see if all Steve really wants is a piece of ass and if so then we can break this off right here so it doesn’t get awkward because I’m a guy and not the woman he would expect.

 

Steve responded with, “Mary, I am really just enjoying the conversation right now. I’m not a player. I haven’t been dating for a very long time and when I used to date I really liked to get to know someone before we fooled around sexually. I assure you, I will remain a perfect gentleman.”

 

Mark said, “Well ok then let’s pay our tabs and head out.”

 

Steve said, “Cool, let me get both tabs.”

 

Mary let him pay his tab and thought, this is kind of nice being on this side of being treated like a lady.

 

Steve paid and Mary walked out with Steve just behind her. Steve put his hand on Mary’s lower back, sort of guiding her out. Mary thought again, this is nice being treated like a lady.

 

Outside, Steve walked beside Mary and held out his arm for Mary to hold as they walked. Mary held his arm as they walked. It was a short walk and Steve held the door and rushed a little ahead to call the elevator down.

 

Once inside Steve’s apartment Steve apologized for the mess but Mary said, “This is not messy for a bachelor.”

 

Mary sat on the couch and tried to cross her legs like a lady. It was a bit awkward for her but she kind of managed. Steve asked, “Mary, would you like something to drink, more wine, sparkling water or just some ice water.”

 

Mark said she would appreciate a small glass of wine. Mark knew he really needed it to keep himself calm.

 

Mark asked Steve if he could use his bathroom, Steve said sure and Mark headed for the bathroom. He consciously thought that he should sit down to pee so Steve would hear what would sound like a man peeing while standing. Mary had suspected that her panties were wet from his precum but hadn’t realized just how wet until she pulled them down to pee. He had been enjoying his own precum for some time now so he squeezed out what was in his dick's shaft and sucked it from his finger, yum.

 

Steve was already sitting on the couch when Mary returned. He was watching Mary walk towards him and motioned for her to sit next to him. Mary sat and left about 2 feet between them.

 

After they had been talking for a few minutes Mary shifted to look at Steve more directly by moving her right leg that was closest to Steve up on the couch a bit. What Mary didn’t realize was that now Steve could see a little bit of Mary’s pink panties under the dress.

 

Steve noticed his view of Mary’s panties after a minute and couldn’t stop glancing every minute or 2. He didn’t want to embarrass Mary by pointing it out but it was also a bit distracting. He thought they looked a little bit wet and now he really wanted to know if Mary was feeling horny for him. Mary shifted a bit once and Steve got a glimpse of some clearly wet pink panties.

 

Steve got up to refill his glass and asked if Mary wanted a refill. Mary said sure and when Steve left Mary sat back straight on the couch and tried to cross her legs again.

 

When Steve came back he sat right next to Mary and asked if she liked to watch the late show and that Steve really like, at least, the opening monologue. Mary said she didn’t watch but put it on. Steve leaned forward to get the remote and when he sat back he put his left arm around behind Mary and his hand was now on her left shoulder and upper arm.

 

Mark at first thought, oh no this could be a problem but then thought, this feels nice, safe and warm so she just leaned slightly into Steve.

 

Steve was thinking to himself, I am developing such a crush on Mary. I know what I said but I really want to kiss her right now. If I did how would she react? I don’t want to mess things up because I move to fast but I really like her.

 

Meanwhile, Mark is thinking, this feels really good. I really like Steve but we are both guys and he doesn’t even know I’m a guy. Geez what a predicament. Damn, there is even a part of me that wishes he would just lean in and kiss me.

 

That is when Mary turned to Steve and looked deep into his eyes while Steve looked deep into Mary’s eyes. They were just being drawn in by each other, not as a man and a woman or a man and a man, just as 2 people. There was just what seemed like a deep connection between them. As they got close, each of them opened their mouths slightly and pressed their lips together in a passionate kiss. Both of them closed their eyes and just connected as one. Then Mary felt Steve’s tongue exploring her lips and then the inside of her mouth as their tongues did a delicate dance between them. They were both just lost in that passionate kiss and nothing else in the world mattered at that point. After a few minutes of the most passionate kiss either of them had ever experienced they sat back and relaxed for a second.

 

Mark spoke first and said, “I really need to tell you something about myself that might shock you and maybe end what we have going here.”

 

Steve said, “I can't imagine what would shock or make me not want to get to know you better. Why don't you hold that thought and let things unfold in a natural way.”

 

Mary says, “Ok, I don't want this to end either, it feels so nice but...” Steve leans towards Mary and kisses her passionately again.

 

After a bit Mark says that he needs to go home, because he needs to be able to work tomorrow.

 

Steve asks, “Mary, can I walk you home?”

 

They set out the few blocks to her apartment. At the door Steve again kisses her passionately and asks her, “Mary, can I call you tomorrow and try to get together again in the next day or two?”

 

Mary says, “Yes” and gives Steve her number. Then Mark realizes that he needs to know when it is Steve so he can try to sound female. “Steve, call me now so I can put you in my contacts list.”

 

Mark enters his apartment and says to himself, what have I done? What have I gotten myself into? Is this what I want? Am I gay or at least bisexual? So many questions.

 

Then Mary remembers the passion and says to herself, the passion was real between us. It felt so wonderful.

 

What will Steve do or say when he finds out I’m more than just a woman. Will he be instantly turned off, disgusted even?

 

Omg what would I wear it we go out again?

 

Meanwhile, Steve is walking home with a definite spring in his step, thinking, Mary is such a wonderful person and she is obviously hot for me since her panties were so wet. I didn't think tonight would be this nice but what the hell. Now he thinks, I wonder what Mary wanted to tell me? Oh well, how shocking could anything be that I would end things. Then a thought comes to him and Steve thinks, there is something familiar about Mary, I wonder if we have run into each other before.

 

Both of them got ready for bed and once there couldn't help but masturbate to the memories of the passionate kissing from the evening. Mary filling her panties with her cum and Steve filling his briefs with his.

 

60mm, Snoot, Blue Paper

The G'taari Hover Scorpion is a bit of a misnomer. Although the scorpion's lightweight body contains many hydrogen-filled cavities, it cannot actually hover. Extremely fine, hairlike tentacles extend from the underside of the cephalothorax, propping the featherweight arthropod up and allowing it to grasp and pull itself at an astonishing rate to silently ambush prey. The Hover Scorpion also has an excellent defense from higher predators: when threatened, the microtentacles will bunch up and launch it in an astonishingly high jump; up to a dozen meters. Due to its minimal weight, the scorpion can stay airborne for several minutes if it stretches out its feathery microtentacles to increase air resistance. While an effective tactic against ground predators, it leaves the Hover Scorpion helplessly floating in plain sight for quite a while, a perfect target...

 

Hello all.

Seem familiar?

Prompted by Mike Doyle's Beautiful Lego 3, I've redone my mantoid wyvern with new pieces and over a year's worth of reflection. It is mostly unedited per contest rules, but I couldn't help removing the support. (I can certainly provide a completely unedited version if you wish, Mike.)

 

The changes aren't massive, but I do feel it's been improved, mostly structurally. The old one was much flimsier. I'll list the modifications for anyone who cares:

 

1.) A new base, obviously. The old one was effective enough, I think, but not really a base. Anyway, I tried out the newfangled rockwork that everyone seems to be raving about these days.

2.) The tail has been redesigned with purple SNOT bricks from the Cinderella carriage set. A bit chubbier than the old tail, but far less inconsistent colorwise.

3.) I implemented purple tooth pieces from the Jaw beast set where I saw fit.

4.) Four prongs per wing, and a restructuring of the connections in the wings to the body using mixel joints to strengthen it. Way, way stronger connection.

5.) 1x2 purple slopes for the wings and crest, 1x2 purple plates for the face and other areas, and 1x2 purple jumpers for the midsection.

6.) Trans-neon-green eyes. I didn't really want to change them, but when they're trans-green they show up very, very dark and desaturated in photos, which requires extensive editing to fix. However, I'm actually liking it better now. The 1x2 plates give the illusion of an iris, which I think gives old mandible mouth a bit more character. :D

 

I'd also like to take this opportunity to apologize for being such a n00bish, self-promotional idiot on the old photo. I haven't changed the description because if I was stupid enough to post that when I had all the time in the world to think about whether it was professional or not, I deserve to reap eternal embarrassment.

Keith Goldman of The Brothers Brick bestowed a fittingly ironic punishment by referencing my n00bishness when he blogged it. I'm very grateful to him for helping pound a bit of narcissism out of me.

Finally, you may notice that Brick Productions has recently commented on the old photo, calling me a "w00b". He's right, and I've called him that enough times to deserve it. XD

Norfolk Southern's Calumet Yard, originally a Nickel Plate facility, sprawls on the far south side of Chicago near Lake Calumet, on which the elevator in the distance is situated. Seen from the 103rd Street bridge over roughly the midsection of the yard, SD40-2 6169 switches doublestacks. In the distance, most of the passenger consist for the Nickel Plate 765 excursions of the coming weekend are parked on a yard track.

I couldn't resist a return trip to Splinter Hill to check on the little Imperial cat the other day...and thank goodness I did...he had somehow gotten bound up with some type of very thin, but tightly wound vine with thorns around his midsection! It was keeping him tied to the tree trunk and he couldn't wiggle free! Thankfully, I was able to carefully break away the vine that had him trapped without injuring him...and in these two shots, he's enjoying freedom again...boy, the messes youngsters get themselves into!

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Kronprinzessin Cecilie

History

German Empire

NameKronprinzessin Cecilie

NamesakeCrown Princess Cecilie

OwnerNorth German Lloyd

Port of registryBremen

RouteTransatlantic

BuilderAG Vulcan, Stettin, Germany

Launched1 December 1906

Maiden voyage6 August 1907

FateInterned, 1914; Seized by US, 1917

United States

NameMount Vernon

NamesakeMount Vernon

Acquired

 

by Navy: 3 February 1917

by Army: 17 October 1919

 

Commissioned28 July 1917

Decommissioned29 September 1919

FateReturned to Shipping Board by Army August 1920; scrapped 13 September 1940

General characteristics

Class & typeKaiser-class ocean liner

Tonnage

 

19,400 GRT

18,372 GRT[1]

 

Length

 

215.29 m (706 ft 4 in) LOA[2][3]

208.89 m (685 ft 4 in) LBP

 

Beam22.00 m (72 ft 2 in)

Draft31 ft 1 in (9.47 m)

PropulsionFour quadruple-expansion steam engines, two screw propellers

Speed23–24 knots (43–44 km/h; 26–28 mph)

Capacity1,741

Complement1,030 (as USS Mount Vernon)

Armament

 

4 × 5 in (130 mm) guns

2 × 1-pounder guns

2 × machine guns

 

Notesfour funnels, three masts

 

SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie was an ocean liner built in Stettin, Germany in 1906 for Hapag-Lloyd that had the largest steam reciprocating machinery ever fitted in a ship at the time of construction.[2][4] The last of four ships of the Kaiser class, she was also the last German ship to have been built with four funnels. She was engaged in transatlantic service between her home port of Bremen and New York until the outbreak of World War I.

 

On 4 August 1914, at sea after leaving New York, she turned around and put into Bar Harbor, Maine, where she later was interned by the neutral United States. After that country entered the war in April 1917, the ship was seized and turned over to the United States Navy, and renamed USS Mount Vernon (ID-4508). While serving as a troop transport, Mount Vernon was torpedoed in September 1918. Though damaged, she was able to make port for repairs and returned to service. In October 1919 Mount Vernon was turned over for operation by the Army Transport Service in its Pacific fleet based at Fort Mason in San Francisco. USAT Mount Vernon was sent to Vladivostok, Russia to transport elements of the Czechoslovak Legion to Trieste, Italy and German prisoners of war to Hamburg, Germany. On return from that voyage, lasting from March through July 1920, the ship was transferred to the United States Shipping Board and laid up at Solomons Island, Maryland until September 1940 when she was scrapped at Boston, Massachusetts.

History

Concept

 

Kronprinzessin Cecilie, built at Stettin, Germany, in 1906 by AG Vulcan Stettin, was the last of a set of four liners built for North German Lloyd, and the last German liner to carry four smokestacks. She was the product of ensuing competition between Germany and the United Kingdom for supremacy in the North Atlantic. Her older sister, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse had been introduced in 1897 and was a great success.[5] Her popularity prompted North German Lloyd to build three more superliners, namely Kronprinz Wilhelm (1901), Kaiser Wilhelm II (1903) and, finally, Kronprinzessin Cecilie.[5]

 

As designed the ship had 287 first-class, 109 second-class cabins and 7 compartments for steerage passengers.[3] Passenger capacity was 775 first-class, 343 second-class and 770 steerage passengers for a total of 1,888 supported by a crew of 679 that included 229 stewards and stewardesses and 42 cooks, pantrymen, barbers, hairdressers and other passenger service people.[3][note 1] Two "Imperial suites" had a parlor, private dining room, bedroom and bath room with toilet while eight other suites had all but the dining room.[3] Twelve deluxe rooms had a large bedroom with bathroom and toilet.[3]

 

The liner was 19,400 GRT and was 215.29 metres (706 ft 4 in) length overall,[2][3] 208.89 metres (685 ft 4 in) length between perpendiculars, by 22.00 metres (72 ft 2 in) abeam. She had four reciprocating, quadruple-expansion steam engines, two per shaft. There were two screw propellers. Kronprinzessin Cecilie sailed at a comfortable 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph).

Eduard Scotland and Alfred Runge's design for the Bremen ship

 

In 1907 Wiegard trusted Eduard Scotland and Alfred Runge with the interior design of the ship. They designed luxury cabins where the beds would convert to sofas and the washstands would convert into tables. All of the metalwork was gilded; the surfaces were generally white while the wooden surfaces of violet amaranth were inlaid with agate, ivory and citron wood.[6]

 

First-Class passengers had access to a smoking room, music room, reading, library and writing room, bookshop, and two "Vienna Cafés" decorated in the Louis XVI style. One café was for smokers and the other ladies-only.[7] The smokers' café had an open-air section which could be enclosed in bad weather by bronze and glass doors. The ladies' café was modeled after the boudoir of Marie Antoinette at the Palace of Fontainebleau. The First-class smoking room was decorated in the "modern Roman style", according to The Marine Review, with painted scenes of Mecklenburg, the home of the ships' namesake Crown Princess Cecilie, decorating the walls. The dining saloon was illuminated from a skylight four decks above and its walls were upholstered in blue silk tapestry. The saloon's seating was innovative in that it dispensed with the long tables typical of other liners, instead featuring 76 round tables seating two, five or seven people. There was also a separate children's dining room aboard.[7]

German career

 

Named after Crown Princess Cecilie of Prussia, she was launched by her father in law Wilhelm II, German Emperor. In July 1907, the new Kronprinzessin Cecilie was planned to leave Bremerhaven on her maiden voyage. However, before the voyage could take place, the ship sank in Bremerhaven harbour. It was not until the next month on 6 August, had the ship been pumped out and repaired, before finally setting out.[5]

The so-called "Vienna Café" on Kronprinzessin Cecilie

 

In comparison with a $2,500 first-class-suite ticket, the immigrant could sail on Kronprinzessin Cecilie for a mere $25—one hundred times cheaper.[5]

 

The interiors of the "four flyers",[5] as they were called, were special. The entire ship was fitted with the best of craftsmanship Germany could offer; the salons were full of ornamented wood and gilded mirrors. While her sister, Kaiser Wilhelm II was thought by some to be too extravagant, Kronprinzessin Cecilie was a popular ship.[5] Some of her first-class suites were fitted with dining rooms so the passengers who booked the suite could dine in private if they did not wish to take their meals in the main restaurant. Also, a fish tank was placed in the kitchen, providing first-class passengers with the freshest of fish.[5] In what was a novelty at the time, first-class passengers in the dining saloon could choose à la carte dishes for no extra charge instead of being limited to a fixed menu.[7]

 

The liner operated on North German Lloyd's transatlantic route travelling from Bremen, with occasional calls at other ports, including Boston and New Orleans. The ship was steaming toward Germany from America with Captain Charles Polack,[8] who had succeeded Dietrich Hogemann in 1913,[9] when she received word of the outbreak of war. In addition to 1,216 passengers, including some British reservist, she was carrying US$10,679,000 in gold and US$3 million in silver.[10] The ship, bound for Bremen, was nearing Liverpool when directed to head back to the closest port in the neutral United States to avoid capture by the British Navy and French cruisers.[10][11] Captain Polack had her normally all-buff funnels painted with black tops so as to resemble the liner Olympic or another ship of the British White Star Line as a form of disguise.[4][12]

 

Due to the liner's dwindling fuel, Bar Harbor, Maine, though not a large port, was selected with the ship being brought on 4 August 1914 piloted by a local banker and yachtsman as none of the ship's officers were familiar with the port.[10] North German Lloyd representatives met in Washington with officials of the departments of State, Treasury, Commerce and the United States Revenue Cutter Service (USRCS) with the result USRC Androscoggin was ordered to Bar Harbor to prevent unauthorized departure of foreign vessels but primarily to protect the transfer of gold and silver, as well as all mail and passengers, from Kronprinzessin Cecilie to shore to be transported by train to New York.[10] Androscoggin, joined by the destroyer USS Warrington, arrived at Bar Harbor on 6 August with wild speculation in the press.[10] On 7 November the ship moved to Boston where she was to remain while civil suits against the ship were resolved in federal court.[13]

American career: Mount Vernon

Navy

 

Kronprinzessin Cecilie was commandeered by the United States on 3 February 1917 and transferred from the United States Shipping Board (USSB) to the U.S. Navy when America entered the war that April. She was commissioned 28 July 1917 and renamed USS Mount Vernon after George Washington's Virginia home. She was fitted out at Boston to carry troops and materiel to Europe.[2]

 

Mount Vernon left New York for Brest on 31 October 1917 for her first U.S. Navy crossing, and during the war made nine successful voyages carrying American troops to fight in Europe. However, early on the morning of 5 September 1918, as the transport steamed homeward in convoy some 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the French coast, her No. 1 gun crew spotted a periscope some 500 yards (460 m) off her starboard bow. Mount Vernon immediately fired one round at German U-boat U-82. The U‑boat simultaneously submerged, but managed to launch a torpedo at the transport. Mount Vernon's officer of the deck promptly ordered right full rudder, but the ship could not turn in time to avoid the missile, which struck her amidships, knocking out half of her boilers, flooding the midsection, and killing 36 sailors and injuring 13. Mount Vernon's guns kept firing ahead of the U‑boat's wake and her crew launched a pattern of depth charges. Damage-control teams worked to save the ship, and their efforts paid off when the transport was able to return to Brest under her own power. Repaired temporarily at Brest, she proceeded to Boston for complete repairs.[2]

 

Mount Vernon rejoined the Cruiser and Transport Service in February 1919 and sailed on Washington's Birthday for France to begin returning veterans to the United States. Mount Vernon pulled out of port on 3 March 1919 at 11 PM to return to the United States. Some of her notable passengers during her naval service were: Admiral William S. Benson, Chief of Naval Operations; General Tasker H. Bliss, Chief of Staff of the United States Army; Col. Edward M. House, Special Adviser to President Wilson; and Newton D. Baker, Secretary of War.[2]

Army

 

On 17 October 1919 Mount Vernon was transferred to the War Department for operation by the Army Transport Service where the ship was assigned to the Army's Pacific fleet based at Fort Mason in San Francisco.[14] USAT Mount Vernon made one trip between March and July 1920 to Vladivostok, Russia embarking elements of the Czechoslovak Legion to be disembarked at Trieste, Italy and 300 German prisoners of war for Hamburg, Germany.[14] On return the ship was turned over to the United States Shipping Board and laid up at Solomons Island, Maryland.[14]

Scrapping

 

At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the Americans offered the former Kronprinzessin Cecilie to the British as a troop transport, who declined as they considered her too old.[5] The ship was scrapped in Boston, Massachusetts, the demolition began on 13 September 1940.[2][14]

"West to Williamson!": Norfolk Southern #8044, after a brief crew change, charges west into the Pocahontas Division and the coal fields of West Virginia with its manifest train on January 28, 2021. Notice the midsection of the train in the distant background snaking its way around the mountainside.

On November 1, 1943, U-Boat 405 was engaged by the destroyer USS Borie (DD-215). The destroyer initially fired depth charges, after which U-405 came to the surface. USS Desroyer Borie then rammed U-405. No German survivors were ever recovered by either side; all 49 crewmen of the U-Boat 405 were lost. USS Destroyer Borie lost three officers and 27 crew members, and was too badly damaged by the collision to be towed to port. The next day, her crew was ordered to abandon ship and she was sunk

 

Prompt: Use Image 1 as the single base reference. Create a historically grounded WWII naval combat scene depicting the German U-Boat 405 at the exact moment it is rammed broadside by the U.S. Navy destroyer "DD-215", in the Pacific Ocean on November 1, 1943. Preserve the submarine’s identity, proportions, hull details, conning tower, deck fittings, and overall likeness from Image 1. Introduce the destroyer entering from the side at close range, its bow colliding into the U-boat’s midsection with correct scale and perspective. Show a vivid, colorful explosion at the impact point with fire, sparks, smoke, twisted metal, highly-dramatic, and massive seawater spray, all physically plausible for WWII-era steel ships. Set the environment in rough seas with large rolling waves, whitecaps, and turbulent water interaction around both vessels. Lighting should be natural daylight with cinematic contrast, matching reflections and shadows across metal and water. Style the image as ultra-realistic digital fine art, extremely high detail, sharp focus, clean textures, no noise, no grain. Use an ultra-wide camera view with a horizontal aspect ratio, dramatic composition, and 4K-level clarity, ensuring realism holds at 200% zoom.

 

This digital fine art was created using OpenAI Sora AI and Photoshop

About to cross the former Grand Trunk Western at Hayford Junction, NS SD70M-2 1048 brings a manifest into the Belt Railway of Chicago's Clearing Yard on a very warm early-June day. The midsection of the train is wrapping around the north side of the BRC's Rockwell Yard. Now lightly-used, it was once the C&O / Pere Marquette's Chicago terminal.

Lockheed C-130 Hercules

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_C-130_Hercules

 

C-130 Hercules

Straight-wing, four-engine turboprop-driven aircraft overflying water

USAF C-130E

Role: Military transport aircraft

National origin: United States

ManufacturerLockheed

Lockheed Martin

First flight23 August 1954

Status: In service

Primary users:

United States Air Force

United States Marine Corps

Royal Air Force

Royal Canadian Air Force

Produced: 1954–present

Number built: Over 2,500 as of 2015[1]

Unit cost

C-130E $11.9 million[2]

C-130H $30.1 million[3]

Variants:

AC-130 Spectre/Spooky

Lockheed DC-130

Lockheed EC-130

Lockheed HC-130

Lockheed Martin KC-130

Lockheed LC-130

Lockheed MC-130

Lockheed WC-130

Lockheed L-100 Hercules

Developed into: Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules

 

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin.

 

Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medivac, and cargo transport aircraft. The versatile airframe has found uses in a variety of other roles, including as a gunship (AC-130),for

airborne assault,

search and rescue,

scientific research support,

weather reconnaissance,

aerial refueling,

maritime patrol, and

aerial firefighting.

 

It is now the main tactical airlifter for many military forces worldwide. Over forty models and variants of the Hercules, including a civilian one marketed as Lockheed L-100, operate in more than sixty nations.

 

The C-130 entered service with the U.S. in the 1950s, followed by Australia and others. During its years of service, the Hercules family has participated in numerous military, civilian and humanitarian aid operations. In 2007, the C-130 became the fifth aircraft—after the English Electric Canberra, B-52 Stratofortress, Tu-95, and KC-135 Stratotanker—to mark 50 years of continuous service with its original primary customer, in this case, the United States Air Force. The C-130 Hercules is the longest continuously produced military aircraft at over 60 years, with the updated C-130J Super Hercules being produced today.[4]

 

Contents [hide]

1Design and development

1.1Background and requirements

1.2Design phase

1.3Improved versions

1.4More improvements

1.5Later models

1.6Next generation

1.7Upgrades and changes

1.8Replacement

2Operational history

2.1Military

2.2Civilian

3Variants

4Operators

5Accidents

6Aircraft on display

6.1Australia

6.2Canada

6.3Colombia

6.4Indonesia

6.5Norway

6.6Saudi Arabia

6.7United Kingdom

6.8United States

7Specifications (C-130H)

8See also

9References

10External links

Design and development[edit]

 

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2014)

Background and requirements[edit]

 

The Korean War, which began in June 1950, showed that World War II-era piston-engine transports—Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars, Douglas C-47 Skytrains and Curtiss C-46 Commandos—were inadequate for modern warfare. Thus, on 2 February 1951, the United States Air Force issued a General Operating Requirement (GOR) for a new transport to Boeing, Douglas, Fairchild, Lockheed, Martin, Chase Aircraft, North American, Northrop, and Airlifts Inc. The new transport would have a capacity of 92 passengers, 72 combat troops or 64 paratroopers in a cargo compartment that was approximately 41 feet (12 m) long, 9 feet (2.7 m) high, and 10 feet (3.0 m) wide. Unlike transports derived from passenger airliners, it was to be designed from the ground-up as a combat transport with loading from a hinged loading ramp at the rear of the fuselage.

 

A key feature was the introduction of the Allison T56 turboprop powerplant, first developed specifically for the C-130. At the time, the turboprop was a new application of turbine engines that used exhaust gases to turn a propeller, which offered greater range at propeller-driven speeds compared to pure turbojets, which were faster but consumed more fuel. As was the case on helicopters of that era, such as the UH-1 Huey, turboshafts produced much more power for their weight than piston engines. Lockheed would subsequently use the same engines and technology in the Lockheed L-188 Electra. That aircraft failed financially in its civilian configuration but was successfully adapted into the Lockheed P-3 Orion maritime patrol and submarine attack aircraft where the efficiency and endurance of turboprops excelled.

 

Design phase[edit]

The Hercules resembled a larger four-engine brother to the C-123 Provider with a similar wing and cargo ramp layout that evolved from the Chase XCG-20 Avitruc, which in turn, was first designed and flown as a cargo glider in 1947.[5] The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter also had a rear ramp, which made it possible to drive vehicles onto the plane (also possible with forward ramp on a C-124). The ramp on the Hercules was also used to airdrop cargo, which included low-altitude extraction for Sheridan tanks and even dropping large improvised "daisy cutter" bombs.

 

The new Lockheed cargo plane design possessed a range of 1,100 nmi (1,270 mi; 2,040 km), takeoff capability from short and unprepared strips, and the ability to fly with one engine shut down. Fairchild, North American, Martin, and Northrop declined to participate. The remaining five companies tendered a total of ten designs: Lockheed two, Boeing one, Chase three, Douglas three, and Airlifts Inc. one. The contest was a close affair between the lighter of the two Lockheed (preliminary project designation L-206) proposals and a four-turboprop Douglas design.

 

The Lockheed design team was led by Willis Hawkins, starting with a 130-page proposal for the Lockheed L-206.[6] Hall Hibbard, Lockheed vice president and chief engineer, saw the proposal and directed it to Kelly Johnson, who did not care for the low-speed, unarmed aircraft, and remarked, "If you sign that letter, you will destroy the Lockheed Company."[6] Both Hibbard and Johnson signed the proposal and the company won the contract for the now-designated Model 82 on 2 July 1951.[7]

 

The first flight of the YC-130 prototype was made on 23 August 1954 from the Lockheed plant in Burbank, California. The aircraft, serial number 53-3397, was the second prototype, but the first of the two to fly. The YC-130 was piloted by Stanley Beltz and Roy Wimmer on its 61-minute flight to Edwards Air Force Base; Jack Real and Dick Stanton served as flight engineers. Kelly Johnson flew chase in a Lockheed P2V Neptune.[8]

 

After the two prototypes were completed, production began in Marietta, Georgia, where over 2,300 C-130s have been built through 2009.[9]

 

The initial production model, the C-130A, was powered by Allison T56-A-9 turboprops with three-blade propellers and originally equipped with the blunt nose of the prototypes. Deliveries began in December 1956, continuing until the introduction of the C-130B model in 1959. Some A-models were equipped with skis and re-designated C-130D.

 

As the C-130A became operational with Tactical Air Command (TAC), the C-130's lack of range became apparent and additional fuel capacity was added in the form of external pylon-mounted tanks at the end of the wings.

 

Improved versions[edit]

 

A Michigan Air National Guard C-130E dispatches its flares during a low-level training mission

The C-130B model was developed to complement the A-models that had previously been delivered, and incorporated new features, particularly increased fuel capacity in the form of auxiliary tanks built into the center wing section and an AC electrical system. Four-bladed Hamilton Standard propellers replaced the Aeroproducts three-blade propellers that distinguished the earlier A-models. The C-130B had ailerons with increased boost—3,000 psi (21 MPa) versus 2,050 psi (14 MPa)—as well as uprated engines and four-blade propellers that were standard until the J-model's introduction.

 

An electronic reconnaissance variant of the C-130B was designated C-130B-II. A total of 13 aircraft were converted. The C-130B-II was distinguished by its false external wing fuel tanks, which were disguised signals intelligence (SIGINT) receiver antennas. These pods were slightly larger than the standard wing tanks found on other C-130Bs. Most aircraft featured a swept blade antenna on the upper fuselage, as well as extra wire antennas between the vertical fin and upper fuselage not found on other C-130s. Radio call numbers on the tail of these aircraft were regularly changed so as to confuse observers and disguise their true mission.

 

The extended-range C-130E model entered service in 1962 after it was developed as an interim long-range transport for the Military Air Transport Service. Essentially a B-model, the new designation was the result of the installation of 1,360 US gal (5,150 L) Sargent Fletcher external fuel tanks under each wing's midsection and more powerful Allison T56-A-7A turboprops. The hydraulic boost pressure to the ailerons was reduced back to 2050 psi as a consequence of the external tanks' weight in the middle of the wingspan. The E model also featured structural improvements, avionics upgrades and a higher gross weight. Australia took delivery of 12 C130E Hercules during 1966–67 to supplement the 12 C-130A models already in service with the RAAF. Sweden and Spain fly the TP-84T version of the C-130E fitted for aerial refueling capability.

 

The KC-130 tankers, originally C-130F procured for the US Marine Corps (USMC) in 1958 (under the designation GV-1) are equipped with a removable 3,600 US gal (13,626 L) stainless steel fuel tank carried inside the cargo compartment. The two wing-mounted hose and drogue aerial refueling pods each transfer up to 300 US gal per minute (19 L per second) to two aircraft simultaneously, allowing for rapid cycle times of multiple-receiver aircraft formations, (a typical tanker formation of four aircraft in less than 30 minutes). The US Navy's C-130G has increased structural strength allowing higher gross weight operation.

 

More improvements[edit]

 

Royal Australian Air Force C-130H, 2007

The C-130H model has updated Allison T56-A-15 turboprops, a redesigned outer wing, updated avionics and other minor improvements. Later H models had a new, fatigue-life-improved, center wing that was retrofitted to many earlier H-models. For structural reasons, some models are required to land with certain amounts of fuel when carrying heavy cargo, reducing usable range.[10] The H model remains in widespread use with the United States Air Force (USAF) and many foreign air forces. Initial deliveries began in 1964 (to the RNZAF), remaining in production until 1996. An improved C-130H was introduced in 1974, with Australia purchasing 12 of type in 1978 to replace the original 12 C-130A models, which had first entered RAAF Service in 1958.

 

The United States Coast Guard employs the HC-130H for long-range search and rescue, drug interdiction, illegal migrant patrols, homeland security, and logistics.

 

C-130H models produced from 1992 to 1996 were designated as C-130H3 by the USAF. The "3" denoting the third variation in design for the H series. Improvements included ring laser gyros for the INUs, GPS receivers, a partial glass cockpit (ADI and HSI instruments), a more capable APN-241 color radar, night vision device compatible instrument lighting, and an integrated radar and missile warning system. The electrical system upgrade included Generator Control Units (GCU) and Bus Switching units (BSU)to provide stable power to the more sensitive upgraded components.[citation needed]

  

Royal Air Force C-130K (C.3)

The equivalent model for export to the UK is the C-130K, known by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as the Hercules C.1. The C-130H-30 (Hercules C.3 in RAF service) is a stretched version of the original Hercules, achieved by inserting a 100 in (2.54 m) plug aft of the cockpit and an 80 in (2.03 m) plug at the rear of the fuselage. A single C-130K was purchased by the Met Office for use by its Meteorological Research Flight, where it was classified as the Hercules W.2. This aircraft was heavily modified (with its most prominent feature being the long red and white striped atmospheric probe on the nose and the move of the weather radar into a pod above the forward fuselage). This aircraft, named Snoopy, was withdrawn in 2001 and was then modified by Marshall of Cambridge Aerospace as flight-testbed for the A400M turbine engine, the TP400. The C-130K is used by the RAF Falcons for parachute drops. Three C-130K (Hercules C Mk.1P) were upgraded and sold to the Austrian Air Force in 2002.[11]

 

Later models[edit]

The MC-130E Combat Talon was developed for the USAF during the Vietnam War to support special operations missions in Southeast Asia, and led to both the MC-130H Combat Talon II as well as a family of other special missions aircraft. 37 of the earliest models currently operating with the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) are scheduled to be replaced by new-production MC-130J versions. The EC-130 Commando Solo is another special missions variant within AFSOC, albeit operated solely by an AFSOC-gained wing in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, and is a psychological operations/information operations (PSYOP/IO) platform equipped as an aerial radio station and television stations able to transmit messaging over commercial frequencies. Other versions of the EC-130, most notably the EC-130H Compass Call, are also special variants, but are assigned to the Air Combat Command (ACC). The AC-130 gunship was first developed during the Vietnam War to provide close air support and other ground-attack duties.

  

USAF HC-130P refuels a HH-60G Pavehawk helicopter

The HC-130 is a family of long-range search and rescue variants used by the USAF and the U.S. Coast Guard. Equipped for deep deployment of Pararescuemen (PJs), survival equipment, and (in the case of USAF versions) aerial refueling of combat rescue helicopters, HC-130s are usually the on-scene command aircraft for combat SAR missions (USAF only) and non-combat SAR (USAF and USCG). Early USAF versions were also equipped with the Fulton surface-to-air recovery system, designed to pull a person off the ground using a wire strung from a helium balloon. The John Wayne movie The Green Berets features its use. The Fulton system was later removed when aerial refueling of helicopters proved safer and more versatile. The movie The Perfect Storm depicts a real life SAR mission involving aerial refueling of a New York Air National Guard HH-60G by a New York Air National Guard HC-130P.

 

The C-130R and C-130T are U.S. Navy and USMC models, both equipped with underwing external fuel tanks. The USN C-130T is similar, but has additional avionics improvements. In both models, aircraft are equipped with Allison T56-A-16 engines. The USMC versions are designated KC-130R or KC-130T when equipped with underwing refueling pods and pylons and are fully night vision system compatible.

 

The RC-130 is a reconnaissance version. A single example is used by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force, the aircraft having originally been sold to the former Imperial Iranian Air Force.

 

The Lockheed L-100 (L-382) is a civilian variant, equivalent to a C-130E model without military equipment. The L-100 also has two stretched versions.

 

Next generation[edit]

Main article: Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules

In the 1970s, Lockheed proposed a C-130 variant with turbofan engines rather than turboprops, but the U.S. Air Force preferred the takeoff performance of the existing aircraft. In the 1980s, the C-130 was intended to be replaced by the Advanced Medium STOL Transport project. The project was canceled and the C-130 has remained in production.

 

Building on lessons learned, Lockheed Martin modified a commercial variant of the C-130 into a High Technology Test Bed (HTTB). This test aircraft set numerous short takeoff and landing performance records and significantly expanded the database for future derivatives of the C-130.[12] Modifications made to the HTTB included extended chord ailerons, a long chord rudder, fast-acting double-slotted trailing edge flaps, a high-camber wing leading edge extension, a larger dorsal fin and dorsal fins, the addition of three spoiler panels to each wing upper surface, a long-stroke main and nose landing gear system, and changes to the flight controls and a change from direct mechanical linkages assisted by hydraulic boost, to fully powered controls, in which the mechanical linkages from the flight station controls operated only the hydraulic control valves of the appropriate boost unit.[13] The HTTB first flew on 19 June 1984, with civil registration of N130X. After demonstrating many new technologies, some of which were applied to the C-130J, the HTTB was lost in a fatal accident on 3 February 1993, at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, in Marietta, Georgia.[14] The crash was attributed to disengagement of the rudder fly-by-wire flight control system, resulting in a total loss of rudder control capability while conducting ground minimum control speed tests (Vmcg). The disengagement was a result of the inadequate design of the rudder's integrated actuator package by its manufacturer; the operator's insufficient system safety review failed to consider the consequences of the inadequate design to all operating regimes. A factor which contributed to the accident was the flight crew's lack of engineering flight test training.[15]

 

In the 1990s, the improved C-130J Super Hercules was developed by Lockheed (later Lockheed Martin). This model is the newest version and the only model in production. Externally similar to the classic Hercules in general appearance, the J model has new turboprop engines, six-bladed propellers, digital avionics, and other new systems.[16]

 

Upgrades and changes[edit]

In 2000, Boeing was awarded a US$1.4 billion contract to develop an Avionics Modernization Program kit for the C-130. The program was beset with delays and cost overruns until project restructuring in 2007.[17] On 2 September 2009, Bloomberg news reported that the planned Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) upgrade to the older C-130s would be dropped to provide more funds for the F-35, CV-22 and airborne tanker replacement programs.[18] However, in June 2010, Department of Defense approved funding for the initial production of the AMP upgrade kits.[19][20] Under the terms of this agreement, the USAF has cleared Boeing to begin low-rate initial production (LRIP) for the C-130 AMP. A total of 198 aircraft are expected to feature the AMP upgrade. The current cost per aircraft is US$14 million although Boeing expects that this price will drop to US$7 million for the 69th aircraft.[17]

 

An engine enhancement program saving fuel and providing lower temperatures in the T56 engine has been approved, and the US Air Force expects to save $2 billion and extend the fleet life.[21]

 

Replacement[edit]

In October 2010, the Air Force released a capabilities request for information (CRFI) for the development of a new airlifter to replace the C-130. The new aircraft is to carry a 190 percent greater payload and assume the mission of mounted vertical maneuver (MVM). The greater payload and mission would enable it to carry medium-weight armored vehicles and drop them off at locations without long runways. Various options are being considered, including new or upgraded fixed-wing designs, rotorcraft, tiltrotors, or even an airship. Development could start in 2014, and become operational by 2024. The C-130 fleet of around 450 planes would be replaced by only 250 aircraft.[22] The Air Force had attempted to replace the C-130 in the 1970s through the Advanced Medium STOL Transport project, which resulted in the C-17 Globemaster III that instead replaced the C-141 Starlifter.[23] The Air Force Research Laboratory funded Lockheed and Boeing demonstrators for the Speed Agile concept, which had the goal of making a STOL aircraft that can take off and land at speeds as low as 70 kn (130 km/h; 81 mph) on airfields less than 2,000 ft (610 m) long and cruise at Mach 0.8-plus. Boeing's design used upper-surface blowing from embedded engines on the inboard wing and blown flaps for circulation control on the outboard wing. Lockheed's design also used blown flaps outboard, but inboard used patented reversing ejector nozzles. Boeing's design completed over 2,000 hours of windtunnel tests in late 2009. It was a 5 percent-scale model of a narrowbody design with a 55,000 lb (25,000 kg) payload. When the AFRL increased the payload requirement to 65,000 lb (29,000 kg), they tested a 5% scale model of a widebody design with a 303,000 lb (137,000 kg) take-off gross weight and an "A400M-size" 158 in (4.0 m) wide cargo box. It would be powered by four IAE V2533 turbofans.[24] In August 2011, the AFRL released pictures of the Lockheed Speed Agile concept demonstrator. A 23% scale model went through wind tunnel tests to demonstrate its hybrid powered lift, which combines a low drag airframe with simple mechanical assembly to reduce weight and better aerodynamics. The model had four engines, including two Williams FJ44 turbofans.[23][25] On 26 March 2013, Boeing was granted a patent for its swept-wing powered lift aircraft.[26]

 

As of January 2014, Air Mobility Command, Air Force Materiel Command and the Air Force Research Lab are in the early stages of defining requirements for the C-X next generation airlifter program to replace both the C-130 and C-17. An aircraft would be produced from the early 2030s to the 2040s. If requirements are decided for operating in contested airspace, Air Force procurement of C-130s would end by the end of the decade to not have them serviceable by the 2030s and operated when they can't perform in that environment. Development of the airlifter depends heavily on the Army's "tactical and operational maneuver" plans. Two different cargo planes could still be created to separately perform tactical and strategic missions, but which course to pursue is to be decided before C-17s need to be retired.[27]

 

Operational history[edit]

 

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2014)

Military[edit]

 

USMC KC-130F Hercules performing takeoffs and landings aboard the aircraft carrier Forrestal in 1963. The aircraft is now displayed at the National Museum of Naval Aviation.

The first production aircraft, C-130As were first delivered beginning in 1956 to the 463d Troop Carrier Wing at Ardmore AFB, Oklahoma and the 314th Troop Carrier Wing at Sewart AFB, Tennessee. Six additional squadrons were assigned to the 322d Air Division in Europe and the 315th Air Division in the Far East. Additional aircraft were modified for electronics intelligence work and assigned to Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany while modified RC-130As were assigned to the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) photo-mapping division.

 

In 1958, a U.S. reconnaissance C-130A-II of the 7406th Support Squadron was shot down over Armenia by MiG-17s.[28]

 

Australia became the first non-American force to operate the C-130A Hercules with 12 examples being delivered from late 1958. These aircraft were fitted with AeroProducts three-blade, 15-foot diameter propellers. The Royal Canadian Air Force became another early user with the delivery of four B-models (Canadian designation C-130 Mk I) in October / November 1960.[29]

 

In 1963, a Hercules achieved and still holds the record for the largest and heaviest aircraft to land on an aircraft carrier.[30] During October and November that year, a USMC KC-130F (BuNo 149798), loaned to the U.S. Naval Air Test Center, made 29 touch-and-go landings, 21 unarrested full-stop landings and 21 unassisted take-offs on Forrestal at a number of different weights.[31] The pilot, LT (later RADM) James H. Flatley III, USN, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his role in this test series. The tests were highly successful, but the idea was considered too risky for routine "Carrier Onboard Delivery" (COD) operations. Instead, the Grumman C-2 Greyhound was developed as a dedicated COD aircraft. The Hercules used in the test, most recently in service with Marine Aerial Refueler Squadron 352 (VMGR-352) until 2005, is now part of the collection of the National Museum of Naval Aviation at NAS Pensacola, Florida.

 

In 1964, C-130 crews from the 6315th Operations Group at Naha Air Base, Okinawa commenced forward air control (FAC; "Flare") missions over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos supporting USAF strike aircraft. In April 1965 the mission was expanded to North Vietnam where C-130 crews led formations of B-57 bombers on night reconnaissance/strike missions against communist supply routes leading to South Vietnam. In early 1966 Project Blind Bat/Lamplighter was established at Ubon RTAFB, Thailand. After the move to Ubon the mission became a four-engine FAC mission with the C-130 crew searching for targets then calling in strike aircraft. Another little-known C-130 mission flown by Naha-based crews was Operation Commando Scarf, which involved the delivery of chemicals onto sections of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos that were designed to produce mud and landslides in hopes of making the truck routes impassable.[citation needed]

 

In November 1964, on the other side of the globe, C-130Es from the 464th Troop Carrier Wing but loaned to 322d Air Division in France, flew one of the most dramatic missions in history in the former Belgian Congo. After communist Simba rebels took white residents of the city of Stanleyville hostage, the U.S. and Belgium developed a joint rescue mission that used the C-130s to airlift and then drop and air-land a force of Belgian paratroopers to rescue the hostages. Two missions were flown, one over Stanleyville and another over Paulis during Thanksgiving weeks.[32] The headline-making mission resulted in the first award of the prestigious MacKay Trophy to C-130 crews.

 

In the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, as a desperate measure the transport No. 6 Squadron of the Pakistan Air Force modified its entire small fleet of C-130Bs for use as heavy bombers, capable of carrying up to 20,000 lb (9,072 kg) of bombs on pallets. These improvised bombers were used to hit Indian targets such as bridges, heavy artillery positions, tank formations and troop concentrations.[33][34] Some C-130s even flew with anti-aircraft guns fitted on their ramp, apparently shooting down some 17 aircraft and damaging 16 others.[35]

  

The C-130 Hercules were used in the Battle of Kham Duc in 1968, when the North Vietnamese Army forced U.S.-led forces to abandon the Kham Duc Special Forces Camp.

In October 1968, a C-130Bs from the 463rd Tactical Airlift Wing dropped a pair of M-121 10,000 pound bombs that had been developed for the massive B-36 bomber but had never been used. The U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force resurrected the huge weapons as a means of clearing landing zones for helicopters and in early 1969 the 463rd commenced Commando Vault missions. Although the stated purpose of COMMANDO VAULT was to clear LZs, they were also used on enemy base camps and other targets.[citation needed]

 

During the late 1960s, the U.S. was eager to get information on Chinese nuclear capabilities. After the failure of the Black Cat Squadron to plant operating sensor pods near the Lop Nur Nuclear Weapons Test Base using a Lockheed U-2, the CIA developed a plan, named Heavy Tea, to deploy two battery-powered sensor pallets near the base. To deploy the pallets, a Black Bat Squadron crew was trained in the U.S. to fly the C-130 Hercules. The crew of 12, led by Col Sun Pei Zhen, took off from Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base in an unmarked U.S. Air Force C-130E on 17 May 1969. Flying for six and a half hours at low altitude in the dark, they arrived over the target and the sensor pallets were dropped by parachute near Anxi in Gansu province. After another six and a half hours of low altitude flight, they arrived back at Takhli. The sensors worked and uploaded data to a U.S. intelligence satellite for six months, before their batteries wore out. The Chinese conducted two nuclear tests, on 22 September 1969 and 29 September 1969, during the operating life of the sensor pallets. Another mission to the area was planned as Operation Golden Whip, but was called off in 1970.[36] It is most likely that the aircraft used on this mission was either C-130E serial number 64-0506 or 64-0507 (cn 382-3990 and 382-3991). These two aircraft were delivered to Air America in 1964.[37] After being returned to the U.S. Air Force sometime between 1966 and 1970, they were assigned the serial numbers of C-130s that had been destroyed in accidents. 64-0506 is now flying as 62-1843, a C-130E that crashed in Vietnam on 20 December 1965 and 64-0507 is now flying as 63-7785, a C-130E that had crashed in Vietnam on 17 June 1966.[38]

 

The A-model continued in service through the Vietnam War, where the aircraft assigned to the four squadrons at Naha AB, Okinawa and one at Tachikawa Air Base, Japan performed yeoman's service, including operating highly classified special operations missions such as the BLIND BAT FAC/Flare mission and FACT SHEET leaflet mission over Laos and North Vietnam. The A-model was also provided to the South Vietnamese Air Force as part of the Vietnamization program at the end of the war, and equipped three squadrons based at Tan Son Nhut AFB. The last operator in the world is the Honduran Air Force, which is still flying one of five A model Hercules (FAH 558, c/n 3042) as of October 2009.[39] As the Vietnam War wound down, the 463rd Troop Carrier/Tactical Airlift Wing B-models and A-models of the 374th Tactical Airlift Wing were transferred back to the United States where most were assigned to Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard units.

  

U.S. Marines disembark from C-130 transports at the Da Nang Airbase on 8 March 1965

Another prominent role for the B model was with the United States Marine Corps, where Hercules initially designated as GV-1s replaced C-119s. After Air Force C-130Ds proved the type's usefulness in Antarctica, the U.S. Navy purchased a number of B-models equipped with skis that were designated as LC-130s. C-130B-II electronic reconnaissance aircraft were operated under the SUN VALLEY program name primarily from Yokota Air Base, Japan. All reverted to standard C-130B cargo aircraft after their replacement in the reconnaissance role by other aircraft.

 

The C-130 was also used in the 1976 Entebbe raid in which Israeli commando forces carried a surprise assault to rescue 103 passengers of an airliner hijacked by Palestinian and German terrorists at Entebbe Airport, Uganda. The rescue force — 200 soldiers, jeeps, and a black Mercedes-Benz (intended to resemble Ugandan Dictator Idi Amin's vehicle of state) — was flown over 2,200 nmi (4,074 km; 2,532 mi) almost entirely at an altitude of less than 100 ft (30 m) from Israel to Entebbe by four Israeli Air Force (IAF) Hercules aircraft without mid-air refueling (on the way back, the planes refueled in Nairobi, Kenya).

 

During the Falklands War (Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas) of 1982, Argentine Air Force C-130s undertook highly dangerous, daily re-supply night flights as blockade runners to the Argentine garrison on the Falkland Islands. They also performed daylight maritime survey flights. One was lost during the war. Argentina also operated two KC-130 tankers during the war, and these refueled both the Douglas A-4 Skyhawks and Navy Dassault-Breguet Super Étendards; some C-130s were modified to operate as bombers with bomb-racks under their wings. The British also used RAF C-130s to support their logistical operations.

  

USMC C-130T Fat Albert performing a rocket-assisted takeoff (RATO)

During the Gulf War of 1991 (Operation Desert Storm), the C-130 Hercules was used operationally by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, along with the air forces of Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and the UK. The MC-130 Combat Talon variant also made the first attacks using the largest conventional bombs in the world, the BLU-82 "Daisy Cutter" and GBU-43/B "Massive Ordnance Air Blast" bomb, (MOAB). Daisy Cutters were used to clear landing zones and to eliminate mine fields. The weight and size of the weapons make it impossible or impractical to load them on conventional bombers. The GBU-43/B MOAB is a successor to the BLU-82 and can perform the same function, as well as perform strike functions against hardened targets in a low air threat environment.

 

Since 1992, two successive C-130 aircraft named Fat Albert have served as the support aircraft for the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration team. Fat Albert I was a TC-130G (151891),[40] while Fat Albert II is a C-130T (164763).[41] Although Fat Albert supports a Navy squadron, it is operated by the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) and its crew consists solely of USMC personnel. At some air shows featuring the team, Fat Albert takes part, performing flyovers. Until 2009, it also demonstrated its rocket-assisted takeoff (RATO) capabilities; these ended due to dwindling supplies of rockets.[42]

 

The AC-130 also holds the record for the longest sustained flight by a C-130. From 22 to 24 October 1997, two AC-130U gunships flew 36 hours nonstop from Hurlburt Field Florida to Taegu (Daegu), South Korea while being refueled seven times by KC-135 tanker aircraft. This record flight shattered the previous record longest flight by over 10 hours while the two gunships took on 410,000 lb (190,000 kg) of fuel. The gunship has been used in every major U.S. combat operation since Vietnam, except for Operation El Dorado Canyon, the 1986 attack on Libya.[43]

  

C-130 Hercules performs a tactical landing on a dirt strip

During the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and the ongoing support of the International Security Assistance Force (Operation Enduring Freedom), the C-130 Hercules has been used operationally by Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, the UK and the United States.

 

During the 2003 invasion of Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom), the C-130 Hercules was used operationally by Australia, the UK and the United States. After the initial invasion, C-130 operators as part of the Multinational force in Iraq used their C-130s to support their forces in Iraq.

 

Since 2004, the Pakistan Air Force has employed C-130s in the War in North-West Pakistan. Some variants had forward looking infrared (FLIR Systems Star Safire III EO/IR) sensor balls, to enable close tracking of Islamist militants.[44]

 

Civilian[edit]

 

A C-130E fitted with a MAFFS-1 dropping fire retardant

The U.S. Forest Service developed the Modular Airborne FireFighting System for the C-130 in the 1970s, which allows regular aircraft to be temporarily converted to an airtanker for fighting wildfires.[45] In the late 1980s, 22 retired USAF C-130As were removed from storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and transferred to the U.S. Forest Service who then sold them to six private companies to be converted into air tankers (see U.S. Forest Service airtanker scandal). After one of these aircraft crashed due to wing separation in flight as a result of fatigue stress cracking, the entire fleet of C-130A air tankers was permanently grounded in 2004 (see 2002 airtanker crashes). C-130s have been used to spread chemical dispersants onto the massive oil slick in the Gulf Coast in 2010.[46]

 

A recent development of a C-130–based airtanker is the Retardant Aerial Delivery System developed by Coulson Aviation USA . The system consists of a C-130H/Q retrofitted with an in-floor discharge system, combined with a removable 3,500- or 4,000-gallon water tank. The combined system is FAA certified.[47]

 

Variants[edit]

 

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2014)

 

C-130H Hercules flight deck

 

A U.S. JC-130 aircraft retrieving a reconnaissance satellite film capsule under parachute.

 

C-130s from the: U.S., Canada, Australia and Israel (foreground to background)

 

RAAF C-130J-30 at Point Cook, 2006

 

Brazilian Air Force C-130 (L-382)

For civilian versions, see Lockheed L-100 Hercules.

Significant military variants of the C-130 include:

 

C-130A/B/E/F/G/H/K/T

Tactical airlifter basic models

C-130A-II Dreamboat

Early version Electronic Intelligence/Signals Intelligence (ELINT/SIGINT) aircraft[48]

C-130J Super Hercules

Tactical airlifter, with new engines, avionics, and updated systems

C-130K

Designation for RAF Hercules C1/W2/C3 aircraft (C-130Js in RAF service are the Hercules C.4 and Hercules C.5)

AC-130A/E/H/J/U/W

Gunship variants

C-130D/D-6

Ski-equipped version for snow and ice operations United States Air Force / Air National Guard

CC-130E/H/J Hercules

Designation for Canadian Armed Forces / Royal Canadian Air Force Hercules aircraft. U.S. Air Force used the CC-130J designation to differentiate standard C-130Js from "stretched" C-130Js (Company designation C-130J-30s).

DC-130A/E/H

USAF and USN Drone control

EC-130

EC-130E/J Commando Solo – USAF / Air National Guard psychological operations version

EC-130E – Airborne Battlefield Command and Control Center (ABCCC)

EC-130E Rivet Rider – Airborne psychological warfare aircraft

EC-130H Compass Call – Electronic warfare and electronic attack.[49]

EC-130V – Airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) variant used by USCG for counter-narcotics missions[50]

GC-130

Permanently Grounded "Static Display"

HC-130

HC-130B/E/H – Early model combat search and rescue

HC-130P/N Combat King – USAF aerial refueling tanker and combat search and rescue

HC-130J Combat King II – Next generation combat search and rescue tanker

HC-130H/J – USCG long-range surveillance and search and rescue

JC-130

Temporary conversion for flight test operations

KC-130F/R/T/J

United States Marine Corps aerial refueling tanker and tactical airlifter

LC-130F/H/R

USAF / Air National Guard – Ski-equipped version for Arctic and Antarctic support operations; LC-130F previously operated by USN

MC-130

MC-130E/H Combat Talon I/II – Special operations infiltration/extraction variant

MC-130W Combat Spear/Dragon Spear – Special operations tanker/gunship[51]

MC-130P Combat Shadow – Special operations tanker

MC-130J Commando II (formerly Combat Shadow II) – Special operations tanker Air Force Special Operations Command[52]

YMC-130H – Modified aircraft under Operation Credible Sport for second Iran hostage crisis rescue attempt

NC-130

Permanent conversion for flight test operations

PC-130/C-130-MP

Maritime patrol

RC-130A/S

Surveillance aircraft for reconnaissance

SC-130J Sea Herc

Proposed maritime patrol version of the C-130J, designed for coastal surveillance and anti-submarine warfare.[53][54]

TC-130

Aircrew training

VC-130H

VIP transport

WC-130A/B/E/H/J

Weather reconnaissance ("Hurricane Hunter") version for USAF / Air Force Reserve Command's 53d Weather Reconnaissance Squadron in support of the National Weather Service's National Hurricane Center

 

This is the result when you drive in a tunnel at 80km/h(50mph) while taking a picture with your camera you had set on the dashboard.

 

I drove through Göta tunnel in Gothenburg(Sweden), which has these cool blue lights in the midsection, 4 times to get this shot. Each run with different aperture. This one was at f8 and 6 secs exposure and captured during the 3rd run.

Manufacturer: Peugeot SA, Sochaux - France

Type: 304 M11 Cabriolet S

Engine: 1288cc straight-4

Power: 80 bhp / 6.100 rpm

Speed: 152 km/h

Production time: 1970 - 1975

Production outlet: 18,647

Curb weight: 900 kg

 

Special:

- The 304 exterior is styled by Carrozzeria Pininfarina S.p.A., Cambiano (Italy), based on the smaller 204's midsection and the front/grille of the 504, to reduce costs.

- This Convertible has only two front seats and no back seats, unlike the coupe version.

- The SOHC XL3S engine is fed by a twin choke/twin barrel Solex carburettor, has a four-speed manual gearbox (located directly below the engine, sharing the same oil as the engine), a floor-mounted gear change and front wheel drive.

- The Saloon cars initially had only 45 bhp/5.750rpm (1969), but very soon the became the XL3 engine (1969-1972) with 65bhp/6.000rpm, while the Convertible started with 70bhp/6.100rpm.

- The 304 Series was available as 4-door saloon (1969-1979), 3-door hatch coupé (1970-1975), 2-door cabriolet (1970-1975), 5-door estate (1970-1980) and 3-door fourgonette (van, 1976-1980).

- It had fully independent suspension all around (type pseudo- MacPherson at the front), disc brakes at the front, drum brakes at the back and a 43 liter fuel tank.

- A novelty at that time was that the headlights could adjusted for left or right hand drive.

Wanting to give prefabs another shot, I obviously had to decide on a technique and a ship for the design. I've decided to give the Shtandart a go - round gunports are something that I have not see on a lego ship this far.

Shtandart: forum.game-labs.net/uploads/monthly_04_2016/post-22490-0-...

Single-slab broadside technique by Sebeus I:

www.flickr.com/photos/sebeus/

Anyone wondering about the masts - those are just temporary, don't worry, I won't use prefab mast parts for it. The headrails are also very much WIP - the lower one needs to be pulled closer and many more things. I am considering adding the second, thinner yellow stripe below this one, but that would very likely be quite difficult to get done without issues around the bow, but I'll see about trying it anyways.

Anyone who is wondering why I'm only going with 10 gunports per broadside - a compromise. This technique is best on 4 midsections according to Sebeus, and 5 midsections wouldn't make this easier - with 5 I would probably end up with 12 gunports per broadside, not any better. I could try rebuilding the entire broadside and squeezing another one in the bow, but I think that would likely look very odd, so I think I'm gonna stay at this.

Edit: As usual, WIP pics land on explore, lol

Although there are 20 species of armadillo, the nine banded one (named for its nine movable armored rings around its midsection), is the only one found in North America. Like most of its family members, the nine-banded armadillo cannot roll into a ball. That distinction goes to the Three-banded armadillo (Tolypeutes tricinctus), from South America. Armadillos are covered on all dorsal areas with bony armor. The dermal bones consist of immovable scutes(such as the ones on the head, shoulders and hindquarters), and movable scutes such as the nine rings around the middle, which allow a good deal of flexibility. The belly is hairy, but devoid of dermal scutes. There are a surprising number to hairs protruding between and perhaps through the scutes. Upon close inspection, the scutes have little holes in them, through which hairs can grow.

Armadillos usually have litters of four identical babies, quadruplets, that are always the same gender(either male or female). The babies look like miniatures of their parents, rather than having the cute baby features of most baby animals. When startled they often jump straight up and if close to their burrow, make a b-line for it. With their strong claws they are able to hold fast in their burrows and cannot be pulled out. Dogs, attacking a dug-in armadillo can only chew on the protruding tail a bit before they give up the game.

Armadillos were found to be excellent test subjects for leprosy, so they can be carriers and transmit this disease to humans. It is best to leave them alone.

Melbourne Central Railway Station | Melbourne | Victoria | Australia

..never tried a macro before...bought some really cheap $8.00 extension tubes just for this shot...learned a lot (the shallow depth of field meant that I couldn't get the full field in focus...so took four shots at different focuses and tried to stack them...missed out a vital part of the image though - midsection is out of focus, numpty!!! - also had to set exposure and shutter speed manually too - trial and error, error mostly - then stuck a couple of swirvy cool group logos in as jewels)...all advice more than welcome...then hopefully the next one will be better...

WiP - Man, I hate making midsection and lower torso

Many years ago, I built a couple of spaceships that were White, with Red Stripes. This is a continuation, of sorts, but much smaller.

 

Inspired, amongst other things, by Homeworld concept art, The Expanse, UNSC ships from Halo, and many and varied artworks from across the internet.

 

In terms of the build, I'm very pleased with the engines in particular. They came together in a single build session, along with the angled panels behind the red stripe made with those spiky angle plates. It was just one of those moments where everything came together just so, which was nice.

 

Also pleased with the missile pods, which is the gimmick that this built started with. I found two coffins in my Box of Bits That Don't Fit Anywhere Else in My Sorting System, so I resolved to make use of them. They were initially larger, using 1x1 barrels, but they proved to be overpoweringly large, so I shrunk them down just to 1x1 round plates, offset with a second every other slot. If I had 26 1x1 round tiles in the same (non-transparent) colour I'd have used them, but I don't. Oh well.

 

There's quite a lot of angular nonsense going on to line the panels on either side of the missile pods, and it's not quite to the same angle as the 3x6 wedge, but it's close enough.

 

The nose is the simplest part of the ship, but I've tried to balance the length against the rather hefty engine and midsection.

 

I'm planning on assembling a small fleet for STEAM, so we'll see what more variations on the White/Red/DkRed (with DkGrey engines, TrBlue windows) theme I can come up with. I have ideas aplenty, the challenge now is making something from the ideas.

 

(I may or may not have a similarly sized WIP, but hollow and aircraft-carrier-y on my desk already. I also also may have ideas for a certain September theme month... we shall see...)

The midsection of this bridge can be raised to allow taller vessels to pass through to the other side of the river.

A day at the Toronto Zoo - Picture 5

see other snaps in this set - www.flickr.com/photos/12466980@N05/sets/72157603208024598/

  

"Spider Monkey with Baby"

 

From WIki..

A mother spider will carry a new born infant monkey around her belly for no more than the first month. After this the young monkey travels on the lower back of the mother. The young monkey wraps its tail around its mother’s and grabs on tightly to its mother's midsection.

 

Mother spider monkeys are very protective of their young and are generally good mothers. They have been seen grabbing their young and putting them on their backs for protection as well as to help them navigate from tree to tree. They also aid in the crossing from tree to tree by pulling branches closer together to allow easier crossing of their more independent young. Mothers will also groom their young on occasion. For the first six to ten months of a young spider monkey’s life it relies completely on its mother

 

© Nikolina Petolas - All rights reserved!

  

Follow me on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/NikolinaPetolas/

This is at the time of "full darkness" in Tucson AZ on May 10th. Note the purple band to the north, over my home, then red band across the midsection of the sky with magnetic lines visible. To see these lines in Tucson, that far south is amazing. The waxing Moon to to the left still moderately high in the sky. Only to the south where Tucson is located below from my perspective is the sky its more normal color. The storm's aurora covered more than half the sky in Tucson !

Nikon Df / Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 58mm F1.4G

Explored!

 

Week 45/52

 

So she opens the closet. Slowly, as if any interference from the light outside might shed her secrets, let the thing she hold inside spill back into the real world. It’s amazing, how much of herself she is able to keep behind these small wooden doors, how something so unlike herself is stashed away. Remnants of the life she’s lived before, of the times she’s spent in California. Mementos, souvenirs from a life she doesn’t think she’ll ever go back to.

 

The black, wide section of lace falls into her hand, the texture grainy, harsh against the tips of her fingers. By feeling it against her skin again she can remember that night, so many lives ago, when she wrapped it around her face, around her hands and her midsection and her breasts and her legs — and allowed Penny to photograph her. She’d never had any issue with the fact that the other woman could use her photographs for an exhibit of some kind — she didn’t care. All she cared about was the way Penelope looked at her, her eyes lost between the viewfinder of the Hasselblad she carried around, and the vision of Betty, lying on the bed wearing nothing but the long piece of black lace.

 

She brings it up to her face, ihnaling the soft scent of her hands, of Penelope’s neck. She’s never washed it, afraid of losing that touch of realness, that physical proof that the love she’s felt has, in fact, been real.

 

-----

 

This is a tiny bit taken out of my NaNo novel. I am so behind, it’s not even funny; as soon as I post this, I’m going back to writing like a maniac to reach AT LEAST 15k today. Seriously. I’m so behind.

 

I hope you guys have a fabulous weekend!

The Tsar-class, the most powerful ship sailing the Northern sea. With her 9x 15 inch guns she can devastate any ship from afar but she can take a beating too with her all or nothing armor scheme.

 

Armament:

3x3 15 inch main guns

20x 150mm guns

16x 120mm guns

8x 84mm high elevation guns

5x2 25mm AA guns.

1x quad 21inch torpedo launcher located aft

2x dual 21 inch torpedo léauncher midsection

 

1 scoutplane

 

Maximum speed: 27 knots

 

The Tsar will cost 370pp in this configuration.

More Purge EU drones! Yay

 

Legs/ midsection made with Chris' Hammerhead legs.

Built for SHIPtember 2023

 

Retrofitted from a commandeered fuel-guild supertanker for commission into the Alliance Fleet, the Edict was stripped down nearly to its core and fitted with an immense antimatter cannon along its central spine. This massive weapon is capable of single-handedly decimating entire enemy capital fleets in moments. The addition of the cannon required extreme modification to the ship's midsection, as evidenced by the myriad mechanical components still visible beneath the bridge superstructure. Additional armor may become necessary to protect this section during continued service, but in order to make her mission-capable as soon as possible, it was omitted temporarily. The massive fuel tanks located behind the ship's plating were left in place and are now used to fulfill the intensive power requirements of the superweapon and to contain its antimatter payload in magnetic suspension.

 

Other additions included upgraded armor plating and a heavy armament package bolted directly the external hull wherever possible.

This retrofit created a supremely intimidating dreadnought-class offensive platform. However, even in the vastness of space this presents a large and opportune target. Because of this, it typically operates with the support of a battle group composed of fighter carriers, battleships, destroyers and various support ships.

 

~I wanted to go big to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the building challenge that firmly cemented the end of my dark ages, so this is the largest, most intensive ship I have built. I also spent most of August completing the fleet described above, with the intention of uploading a ship every few days, culminating with this one at the end of September. However this SHIP alone took nearly every bit of free time I had in September and this quickly became impossible. I also ended up changing the color scheme slightly and now the rest of the fleet doesn't match. My new plan is to update the color blocking on the rest of the fleet and upload them individually throughout October and try to do a composite with the entire fleet as soon as possible. Here's to hoping...

This picture was a purchase from a nautical shop in a bunch of old nautical pictures for sale. Nothing on the back, but the date, 9-17-1937.

 

She is the second newbuild for the Virginia Ferry Corp (VFC) for the crossing of the lower Chesapeake Bay between Cape Charles and Little Creek. Built in 1936 at Sun Shipbuiding & Drydock Co. Chester, PA. Designed by Naval Architect George Sharp and well known Designer Raymond Loewy who gave her the modernistic look on the superstructure and upper hull. Her dimensions were the same as VFC's first newbuild the SS DEL-MAR-VA, LOA 260'X59'. Powered by two Skinner Uniflow quadrupole expansion steam engines, 1400 HP each. In 1946 the VFC removed most of Raymond Loewy's design. On the boat deck, the entire superstructure was removed and a new one built with crew spaces and a raised wheelhouse with bridge wings. In 1954, at Baltimore Shipbuilding, she was cut in two and a 90' midsection added bringing her LOA to 350'. She was the first of three VFC vessels to be lengthened. All three gained a knot in top speed. With the opening of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, ferry operations stopped. Five of the seven vessels were sold to the Delaware River & Bay Authority (DRBA) for a new crossing between Lewes, DE and N. Cape May, NJ. Renamed the SS NEW JERSEY she sailed with them until 1973 when she was sold to a failed ferry venture between Greenport, NY and New London, CT. Renamed the SS GREENPORT, she made some excursion voyages from Providence, RI. Tied up in governmental red tape, the new ferry venture was not approved. Later the GREENPORT was drydocked in Middleton, RI for possible dieselizing where she was dropped during the drydocking process. Damage sustained to her bottom was her final blow, now becoming shipyard property, she was allowed to sink partially and was used for a warehouse by the shipyard. Palm Beach County , FL was looking for a ship of her dimension for an artificial reef off shore. In May 1993 she was sunk as the MV PRINCESS ANNE, this is in error as she was still a steam powered vessel and not a motor vessel.

 

In this picture she existing Little Creek and entering the Chesapeake Bay. Origin of picture and Photographer unknown.

Lockheed C-130 Hercules

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_C-130_Hercules

 

C-130 Hercules

Straight-wing, four-engine turboprop-driven aircraft overflying water

USAF C-130E

RoleMilitary transport aircraft

National originUnited States

ManufacturerLockheed

Lockheed Martin

First flight23 August 1954

StatusIn service

Primary usersUnited States Air Force

United States Marine Corps

Royal Air Force

Royal Canadian Air Force

Produced1954–present

Number builtOver 2,500 as of 2015[1]

Unit cost

C-130E $11.9 million[2]

C-130H $30.1 million[3]

VariantsAC-130 Spectre/Spooky

Lockheed DC-130

Lockheed EC-130

Lockheed HC-130

Lockheed Martin KC-130

Lockheed LC-130

Lockheed MC-130

Lockheed WC-130

Lockheed L-100 Hercules

Developed intoLockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medivac, and cargo transport aircraft. The versatile airframe has found uses in a variety of other roles, including as a gunship (AC-130), for airborne assault, search and rescue, scientific research support, weather reconnaissance, aerial refueling, maritime patrol, and aerial firefighting. It is now the main tactical airlifter for many military forces worldwide. Over forty models and variants of the Hercules, including a civilian one marketed as Lockheed L-100, operate in more than sixty nations.

 

The C-130 entered service with the U.S. in the 1950s, followed by Australia and others. During its years of service, the Hercules family has participated in numerous military, civilian and humanitarian aid operations. In 2007, the C-130 became the fifth aircraft—after the English Electric Canberra, B-52 Stratofortress, Tu-95, and KC-135 Stratotanker—to mark 50 years of continuous service with its original primary customer, in this case, the United States Air Force. The C-130 Hercules is the longest continuously produced military aircraft at over 60 years, with the updated C-130J Super Hercules being produced today.[4]

 

Contents [hide]

1Design and development

1.1Background and requirements

1.2Design phase

1.3Improved versions

1.4More improvements

1.5Later models

1.6Next generation

1.7Upgrades and changes

1.8Replacement

2Operational history

2.1Military

2.2Civilian

3Variants

4Operators

5Accidents

6Aircraft on display

6.1Australia

6.2Canada

6.3Colombia

6.4Indonesia

6.5Norway

6.6Saudi Arabia

6.7United Kingdom

6.8United States

7Specifications (C-130H)

8See also

9References

10External links

Design and development[edit]

 

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Background and requirements[edit]

The Korean War, which began in June 1950, showed that World War II-era piston-engine transports—Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars, Douglas C-47 Skytrains and Curtiss C-46 Commandos—were inadequate for modern warfare. Thus, on 2 February 1951, the United States Air Force issued a General Operating Requirement (GOR) for a new transport to Boeing, Douglas, Fairchild, Lockheed, Martin, Chase Aircraft, North American, Northrop, and Airlifts Inc. The new transport would have a capacity of 92 passengers, 72 combat troops or 64 paratroopers in a cargo compartment that was approximately 41 feet (12 m) long, 9 feet (2.7 m) high, and 10 feet (3.0 m) wide. Unlike transports derived from passenger airliners, it was to be designed from the ground-up as a combat transport with loading from a hinged loading ramp at the rear of the fuselage.

 

A key feature was the introduction of the Allison T56 turboprop powerplant, first developed specifically for the C-130. At the time, the turboprop was a new application of turbine engines that used exhaust gases to turn a propeller, which offered greater range at propeller-driven speeds compared to pure turbojets, which were faster but consumed more fuel. As was the case on helicopters of that era, such as the UH-1 Huey, turboshafts produced much more power for their weight than piston engines. Lockheed would subsequently use the same engines and technology in the Lockheed L-188 Electra. That aircraft failed financially in its civilian configuration but was successfully adapted into the Lockheed P-3 Orion maritime patrol and submarine attack aircraft where the efficiency and endurance of turboprops excelled.

 

Design phase[edit]

The Hercules resembled a larger four-engine brother to the C-123 Provider with a similar wing and cargo ramp layout that evolved from the Chase XCG-20 Avitruc, which in turn, was first designed and flown as a cargo glider in 1947.[5] The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter also had a rear ramp, which made it possible to drive vehicles onto the plane (also possible with forward ramp on a C-124). The ramp on the Hercules was also used to airdrop cargo, which included low-altitude extraction for Sheridan tanks and even dropping large improvised "daisy cutter" bombs.

 

The new Lockheed cargo plane design possessed a range of 1,100 nmi (1,270 mi; 2,040 km), takeoff capability from short and unprepared strips, and the ability to fly with one engine shut down. Fairchild, North American, Martin, and Northrop declined to participate. The remaining five companies tendered a total of ten designs: Lockheed two, Boeing one, Chase three, Douglas three, and Airlifts Inc. one. The contest was a close affair between the lighter of the two Lockheed (preliminary project designation L-206) proposals and a four-turboprop Douglas design.

 

The Lockheed design team was led by Willis Hawkins, starting with a 130-page proposal for the Lockheed L-206.[6] Hall Hibbard, Lockheed vice president and chief engineer, saw the proposal and directed it to Kelly Johnson, who did not care for the low-speed, unarmed aircraft, and remarked, "If you sign that letter, you will destroy the Lockheed Company."[6] Both Hibbard and Johnson signed the proposal and the company won the contract for the now-designated Model 82 on 2 July 1951.[7]

 

The first flight of the YC-130 prototype was made on 23 August 1954 from the Lockheed plant in Burbank, California. The aircraft, serial number 53-3397, was the second prototype, but the first of the two to fly. The YC-130 was piloted by Stanley Beltz and Roy Wimmer on its 61-minute flight to Edwards Air Force Base; Jack Real and Dick Stanton served as flight engineers. Kelly Johnson flew chase in a Lockheed P2V Neptune.[8]

 

After the two prototypes were completed, production began in Marietta, Georgia, where over 2,300 C-130s have been built through 2009.[9]

 

The initial production model, the C-130A, was powered by Allison T56-A-9 turboprops with three-blade propellers and originally equipped with the blunt nose of the prototypes. Deliveries began in December 1956, continuing until the introduction of the C-130B model in 1959. Some A-models were equipped with skis and re-designated C-130D. As the C-130A became operational with Tactical Air Command (TAC), the C-130's lack of range became apparent and additional fuel capacity was added in the form of external pylon-mounted tanks at the end of the wings.

 

Improved versions[edit]

 

A Michigan Air National Guard C-130E dispatches its flares during a low-level training mission

The C-130B model was developed to complement the A-models that had previously been delivered, and incorporated new features, particularly increased fuel capacity in the form of auxiliary tanks built into the center wing section and an AC electrical system. Four-bladed Hamilton Standard propellers replaced the Aeroproducts three-blade propellers that distinguished the earlier A-models. The C-130B had ailerons with increased boost—3,000 psi (21 MPa) versus 2,050 psi (14 MPa)—as well as uprated engines and four-blade propellers that were standard until the J-model's introduction.

 

An electronic reconnaissance variant of the C-130B was designated C-130B-II. A total of 13 aircraft were converted. The C-130B-II was distinguished by its false external wing fuel tanks, which were disguised signals intelligence (SIGINT) receiver antennas. These pods were slightly larger than the standard wing tanks found on other C-130Bs. Most aircraft featured a swept blade antenna on the upper fuselage, as well as extra wire antennas between the vertical fin and upper fuselage not found on other C-130s. Radio call numbers on the tail of these aircraft were regularly changed so as to confuse observers and disguise their true mission.

 

The extended-range C-130E model entered service in 1962 after it was developed as an interim long-range transport for the Military Air Transport Service. Essentially a B-model, the new designation was the result of the installation of 1,360 US gal (5,150 L) Sargent Fletcher external fuel tanks under each wing's midsection and more powerful Allison T56-A-7A turboprops. The hydraulic boost pressure to the ailerons was reduced back to 2050 psi as a consequence of the external tanks' weight in the middle of the wingspan. The E model also featured structural improvements, avionics upgrades and a higher gross weight. Australia took delivery of 12 C130E Hercules during 1966–67 to supplement the 12 C-130A models already in service with the RAAF. Sweden and Spain fly the TP-84T version of the C-130E fitted for aerial refueling capability.

 

The KC-130 tankers, originally C-130F procured for the US Marine Corps (USMC) in 1958 (under the designation GV-1) are equipped with a removable 3,600 US gal (13,626 L) stainless steel fuel tank carried inside the cargo compartment. The two wing-mounted hose and drogue aerial refueling pods each transfer up to 300 US gal per minute (19 L per second) to two aircraft simultaneously, allowing for rapid cycle times of multiple-receiver aircraft formations, (a typical tanker formation of four aircraft in less than 30 minutes). The US Navy's C-130G has increased structural strength allowing higher gross weight operation.

 

More improvements[edit]

 

Royal Australian Air Force C-130H, 2007

The C-130H model has updated Allison T56-A-15 turboprops, a redesigned outer wing, updated avionics and other minor improvements. Later H models had a new, fatigue-life-improved, center wing that was retrofitted to many earlier H-models. For structural reasons, some models are required to land with certain amounts of fuel when carrying heavy cargo, reducing usable range.[10] The H model remains in widespread use with the United States Air Force (USAF) and many foreign air forces. Initial deliveries began in 1964 (to the RNZAF), remaining in production until 1996. An improved C-130H was introduced in 1974, with Australia purchasing 12 of type in 1978 to replace the original 12 C-130A models, which had first entered RAAF Service in 1958.

 

The United States Coast Guard employs the HC-130H for long-range search and rescue, drug interdiction, illegal migrant patrols, homeland security, and logistics.

 

C-130H models produced from 1992 to 1996 were designated as C-130H3 by the USAF. The "3" denoting the third variation in design for the H series. Improvements included ring laser gyros for the INUs, GPS receivers, a partial glass cockpit (ADI and HSI instruments), a more capable APN-241 color radar, night vision device compatible instrument lighting, and an integrated radar and missile warning system. The electrical system upgrade included Generator Control Units (GCU) and Bus Switching units (BSU)to provide stable power to the more sensitive upgraded components.[citation needed]

  

Royal Air Force C-130K (C.3)

The equivalent model for export to the UK is the C-130K, known by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as the Hercules C.1. The C-130H-30 (Hercules C.3 in RAF service) is a stretched version of the original Hercules, achieved by inserting a 100 in (2.54 m) plug aft of the cockpit and an 80 in (2.03 m) plug at the rear of the fuselage. A single C-130K was purchased by the Met Office for use by its Meteorological Research Flight, where it was classified as the Hercules W.2. This aircraft was heavily modified (with its most prominent feature being the long red and white striped atmospheric probe on the nose and the move of the weather radar into a pod above the forward fuselage). This aircraft, named Snoopy, was withdrawn in 2001 and was then modified by Marshall of Cambridge Aerospace as flight-testbed for the A400M turbine engine, the TP400. The C-130K is used by the RAF Falcons for parachute drops. Three C-130K (Hercules C Mk.1P) were upgraded and sold to the Austrian Air Force in 2002.[11]

 

Later models[edit]

The MC-130E Combat Talon was developed for the USAF during the Vietnam War to support special operations missions in Southeast Asia, and led to both the MC-130H Combat Talon II as well as a family of other special missions aircraft. 37 of the earliest models currently operating with the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) are scheduled to be replaced by new-production MC-130J versions. The EC-130 Commando Solo is another special missions variant within AFSOC, albeit operated solely by an AFSOC-gained wing in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, and is a psychological operations/information operations (PSYOP/IO) platform equipped as an aerial radio station and television stations able to transmit messaging over commercial frequencies. Other versions of the EC-130, most notably the EC-130H Compass Call, are also special variants, but are assigned to the Air Combat Command (ACC). The AC-130 gunship was first developed during the Vietnam War to provide close air support and other ground-attack duties.

  

USAF HC-130P refuels a HH-60G Pavehawk helicopter

The HC-130 is a family of long-range search and rescue variants used by the USAF and the U.S. Coast Guard. Equipped for deep deployment of Pararescuemen (PJs), survival equipment, and (in the case of USAF versions) aerial refueling of combat rescue helicopters, HC-130s are usually the on-scene command aircraft for combat SAR missions (USAF only) and non-combat SAR (USAF and USCG). Early USAF versions were also equipped with the Fulton surface-to-air recovery system, designed to pull a person off the ground using a wire strung from a helium balloon. The John Wayne movie The Green Berets features its use. The Fulton system was later removed when aerial refueling of helicopters proved safer and more versatile. The movie The Perfect Storm depicts a real life SAR mission involving aerial refueling of a New York Air National Guard HH-60G by a New York Air National Guard HC-130P.

 

The C-130R and C-130T are U.S. Navy and USMC models, both equipped with underwing external fuel tanks. The USN C-130T is similar, but has additional avionics improvements. In both models, aircraft are equipped with Allison T56-A-16 engines. The USMC versions are designated KC-130R or KC-130T when equipped with underwing refueling pods and pylons and are fully night vision system compatible.

 

The RC-130 is a reconnaissance version. A single example is used by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force, the aircraft having originally been sold to the former Imperial Iranian Air Force.

 

The Lockheed L-100 (L-382) is a civilian variant, equivalent to a C-130E model without military equipment. The L-100 also has two stretched versions.

 

Next generation[edit]

Main article: Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules

In the 1970s, Lockheed proposed a C-130 variant with turbofan engines rather than turboprops, but the U.S. Air Force preferred the takeoff performance of the existing aircraft. In the 1980s, the C-130 was intended to be replaced by the Advanced Medium STOL Transport project. The project was canceled and the C-130 has remained in production.

 

Building on lessons learned, Lockheed Martin modified a commercial variant of the C-130 into a High Technology Test Bed (HTTB). This test aircraft set numerous short takeoff and landing performance records and significantly expanded the database for future derivatives of the C-130.[12] Modifications made to the HTTB included extended chord ailerons, a long chord rudder, fast-acting double-slotted trailing edge flaps, a high-camber wing leading edge extension, a larger dorsal fin and dorsal fins, the addition of three spoiler panels to each wing upper surface, a long-stroke main and nose landing gear system, and changes to the flight controls and a change from direct mechanical linkages assisted by hydraulic boost, to fully powered controls, in which the mechanical linkages from the flight station controls operated only the hydraulic control valves of the appropriate boost unit.[13] The HTTB first flew on 19 June 1984, with civil registration of N130X. After demonstrating many new technologies, some of which were applied to the C-130J, the HTTB was lost in a fatal accident on 3 February 1993, at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, in Marietta, Georgia.[14] The crash was attributed to disengagement of the rudder fly-by-wire flight control system, resulting in a total loss of rudder control capability while conducting ground minimum control speed tests (Vmcg). The disengagement was a result of the inadequate design of the rudder's integrated actuator package by its manufacturer; the operator's insufficient system safety review failed to consider the consequences of the inadequate design to all operating regimes. A factor which contributed to the accident was the flight crew's lack of engineering flight test training.[15]

 

In the 1990s, the improved C-130J Super Hercules was developed by Lockheed (later Lockheed Martin). This model is the newest version and the only model in production. Externally similar to the classic Hercules in general appearance, the J model has new turboprop engines, six-bladed propellers, digital avionics, and other new systems.[16]

 

Upgrades and changes[edit]

In 2000, Boeing was awarded a US$1.4 billion contract to develop an Avionics Modernization Program kit for the C-130. The program was beset with delays and cost overruns until project restructuring in 2007.[17] On 2 September 2009, Bloomberg news reported that the planned Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) upgrade to the older C-130s would be dropped to provide more funds for the F-35, CV-22 and airborne tanker replacement programs.[18] However, in June 2010, Department of Defense approved funding for the initial production of the AMP upgrade kits.[19][20] Under the terms of this agreement, the USAF has cleared Boeing to begin low-rate initial production (LRIP) for the C-130 AMP. A total of 198 aircraft are expected to feature the AMP upgrade. The current cost per aircraft is US$14 million although Boeing expects that this price will drop to US$7 million for the 69th aircraft.[17]

 

An engine enhancement program saving fuel and providing lower temperatures in the T56 engine has been approved, and the US Air Force expects to save $2 billion and extend the fleet life.[21]

 

Replacement[edit]

In October 2010, the Air Force released a capabilities request for information (CRFI) for the development of a new airlifter to replace the C-130. The new aircraft is to carry a 190 percent greater payload and assume the mission of mounted vertical maneuver (MVM). The greater payload and mission would enable it to carry medium-weight armored vehicles and drop them off at locations without long runways. Various options are being considered, including new or upgraded fixed-wing designs, rotorcraft, tiltrotors, or even an airship. Development could start in 2014, and become operational by 2024. The C-130 fleet of around 450 planes would be replaced by only 250 aircraft.[22] The Air Force had attempted to replace the C-130 in the 1970s through the Advanced Medium STOL Transport project, which resulted in the C-17 Globemaster III that instead replaced the C-141 Starlifter.[23] The Air Force Research Laboratory funded Lockheed and Boeing demonstrators for the Speed Agile concept, which had the goal of making a STOL aircraft that can take off and land at speeds as low as 70 kn (130 km/h; 81 mph) on airfields less than 2,000 ft (610 m) long and cruise at Mach 0.8-plus. Boeing's design used upper-surface blowing from embedded engines on the inboard wing and blown flaps for circulation control on the outboard wing. Lockheed's design also used blown flaps outboard, but inboard used patented reversing ejector nozzles. Boeing's design completed over 2,000 hours of windtunnel tests in late 2009. It was a 5 percent-scale model of a narrowbody design with a 55,000 lb (25,000 kg) payload. When the AFRL increased the payload requirement to 65,000 lb (29,000 kg), they tested a 5% scale model of a widebody design with a 303,000 lb (137,000 kg) take-off gross weight and an "A400M-size" 158 in (4.0 m) wide cargo box. It would be powered by four IAE V2533 turbofans.[24] In August 2011, the AFRL released pictures of the Lockheed Speed Agile concept demonstrator. A 23% scale model went through wind tunnel tests to demonstrate its hybrid powered lift, which combines a low drag airframe with simple mechanical assembly to reduce weight and better aerodynamics. The model had four engines, including two Williams FJ44 turbofans.[23][25] On 26 March 2013, Boeing was granted a patent for its swept-wing powered lift aircraft.[26]

 

As of January 2014, Air Mobility Command, Air Force Materiel Command and the Air Force Research Lab are in the early stages of defining requirements for the C-X next generation airlifter program to replace both the C-130 and C-17. An aircraft would be produced from the early 2030s to the 2040s. If requirements are decided for operating in contested airspace, Air Force procurement of C-130s would end by the end of the decade to not have them serviceable by the 2030s and operated when they can't perform in that environment. Development of the airlifter depends heavily on the Army's "tactical and operational maneuver" plans. Two different cargo planes could still be created to separately perform tactical and strategic missions, but which course to pursue is to be decided before C-17s need to be retired.[27]

 

Operational history[edit]

 

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Military[edit]

 

USMC KC-130F Hercules performing takeoffs and landings aboard the aircraft carrier Forrestal in 1963. The aircraft is now displayed at the National Museum of Naval Aviation.

The first production aircraft, C-130As were first delivered beginning in 1956 to the 463d Troop Carrier Wing at Ardmore AFB, Oklahoma and the 314th Troop Carrier Wing at Sewart AFB, Tennessee. Six additional squadrons were assigned to the 322d Air Division in Europe and the 315th Air Division in the Far East. Additional aircraft were modified for electronics intelligence work and assigned to Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany while modified RC-130As were assigned to the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) photo-mapping division.

 

In 1958, a U.S. reconnaissance C-130A-II of the 7406th Support Squadron was shot down over Armenia by MiG-17s.[28]

 

Australia became the first non-American force to operate the C-130A Hercules with 12 examples being delivered from late 1958. These aircraft were fitted with AeroProducts three-blade, 15-foot diameter propellers. The Royal Canadian Air Force became another early user with the delivery of four B-models (Canadian designation C-130 Mk I) in October / November 1960.[29]

 

In 1963, a Hercules achieved and still holds the record for the largest and heaviest aircraft to land on an aircraft carrier.[30] During October and November that year, a USMC KC-130F (BuNo 149798), loaned to the U.S. Naval Air Test Center, made 29 touch-and-go landings, 21 unarrested full-stop landings and 21 unassisted take-offs on Forrestal at a number of different weights.[31] The pilot, LT (later RADM) James H. Flatley III, USN, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his role in this test series. The tests were highly successful, but the idea was considered too risky for routine "Carrier Onboard Delivery" (COD) operations. Instead, the Grumman C-2 Greyhound was developed as a dedicated COD aircraft. The Hercules used in the test, most recently in service with Marine Aerial Refueler Squadron 352 (VMGR-352) until 2005, is now part of the collection of the National Museum of Naval Aviation at NAS Pensacola, Florida.

 

In 1964, C-130 crews from the 6315th Operations Group at Naha Air Base, Okinawa commenced forward air control (FAC; "Flare") missions over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos supporting USAF strike aircraft. In April 1965 the mission was expanded to North Vietnam where C-130 crews led formations of B-57 bombers on night reconnaissance/strike missions against communist supply routes leading to South Vietnam. In early 1966 Project Blind Bat/Lamplighter was established at Ubon RTAFB, Thailand. After the move to Ubon the mission became a four-engine FAC mission with the C-130 crew searching for targets then calling in strike aircraft. Another little-known C-130 mission flown by Naha-based crews was Operation Commando Scarf, which involved the delivery of chemicals onto sections of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos that were designed to produce mud and landslides in hopes of making the truck routes impassable.[citation needed]

 

In November 1964, on the other side of the globe, C-130Es from the 464th Troop Carrier Wing but loaned to 322d Air Division in France, flew one of the most dramatic missions in history in the former Belgian Congo. After communist Simba rebels took white residents of the city of Stanleyville hostage, the U.S. and Belgium developed a joint rescue mission that used the C-130s to airlift and then drop and air-land a force of Belgian paratroopers to rescue the hostages. Two missions were flown, one over Stanleyville and another over Paulis during Thanksgiving weeks.[32] The headline-making mission resulted in the first award of the prestigious MacKay Trophy to C-130 crews.

 

In the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, as a desperate measure the transport No. 6 Squadron of the Pakistan Air Force modified its entire small fleet of C-130Bs for use as heavy bombers, capable of carrying up to 20,000 lb (9,072 kg) of bombs on pallets. These improvised bombers were used to hit Indian targets such as bridges, heavy artillery positions, tank formations and troop concentrations.[33][34] Some C-130s even flew with anti-aircraft guns fitted on their ramp, apparently shooting down some 17 aircraft and damaging 16 others.[35]

  

The C-130 Hercules were used in the Battle of Kham Duc in 1968, when the North Vietnamese Army forced U.S.-led forces to abandon the Kham Duc Special Forces Camp.

In October 1968, a C-130Bs from the 463rd Tactical Airlift Wing dropped a pair of M-121 10,000 pound bombs that had been developed for the massive B-36 bomber but had never been used. The U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force resurrected the huge weapons as a means of clearing landing zones for helicopters and in early 1969 the 463rd commenced Commando Vault missions. Although the stated purpose of COMMANDO VAULT was to clear LZs, they were also used on enemy base camps and other targets.[citation needed]

 

During the late 1960s, the U.S. was eager to get information on Chinese nuclear capabilities. After the failure of the Black Cat Squadron to plant operating sensor pods near the Lop Nur Nuclear Weapons Test Base using a Lockheed U-2, the CIA developed a plan, named Heavy Tea, to deploy two battery-powered sensor pallets near the base. To deploy the pallets, a Black Bat Squadron crew was trained in the U.S. to fly the C-130 Hercules. The crew of 12, led by Col Sun Pei Zhen, took off from Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base in an unmarked U.S. Air Force C-130E on 17 May 1969. Flying for six and a half hours at low altitude in the dark, they arrived over the target and the sensor pallets were dropped by parachute near Anxi in Gansu province. After another six and a half hours of low altitude flight, they arrived back at Takhli. The sensors worked and uploaded data to a U.S. intelligence satellite for six months, before their batteries wore out. The Chinese conducted two nuclear tests, on 22 September 1969 and 29 September 1969, during the operating life of the sensor pallets. Another mission to the area was planned as Operation Golden Whip, but was called off in 1970.[36] It is most likely that the aircraft used on this mission was either C-130E serial number 64-0506 or 64-0507 (cn 382-3990 and 382-3991). These two aircraft were delivered to Air America in 1964.[37] After being returned to the U.S. Air Force sometime between 1966 and 1970, they were assigned the serial numbers of C-130s that had been destroyed in accidents. 64-0506 is now flying as 62-1843, a C-130E that crashed in Vietnam on 20 December 1965 and 64-0507 is now flying as 63-7785, a C-130E that had crashed in Vietnam on 17 June 1966.[38]

 

The A-model continued in service through the Vietnam War, where the aircraft assigned to the four squadrons at Naha AB, Okinawa and one at Tachikawa Air Base, Japan performed yeoman's service, including operating highly classified special operations missions such as the BLIND BAT FAC/Flare mission and FACT SHEET leaflet mission over Laos and North Vietnam. The A-model was also provided to the South Vietnamese Air Force as part of the Vietnamization program at the end of the war, and equipped three squadrons based at Tan Son Nhut AFB. The last operator in the world is the Honduran Air Force, which is still flying one of five A model Hercules (FAH 558, c/n 3042) as of October 2009.[39] As the Vietnam War wound down, the 463rd Troop Carrier/Tactical Airlift Wing B-models and A-models of the 374th Tactical Airlift Wing were transferred back to the United States where most were assigned to Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard units.

  

U.S. Marines disembark from C-130 transports at the Da Nang Airbase on 8 March 1965

Another prominent role for the B model was with the United States Marine Corps, where Hercules initially designated as GV-1s replaced C-119s. After Air Force C-130Ds proved the type's usefulness in Antarctica, the U.S. Navy purchased a number of B-models equipped with skis that were designated as LC-130s. C-130B-II electronic reconnaissance aircraft were operated under the SUN VALLEY program name primarily from Yokota Air Base, Japan. All reverted to standard C-130B cargo aircraft after their replacement in the reconnaissance role by other aircraft.

 

The C-130 was also used in the 1976 Entebbe raid in which Israeli commando forces carried a surprise assault to rescue 103 passengers of an airliner hijacked by Palestinian and German terrorists at Entebbe Airport, Uganda. The rescue force — 200 soldiers, jeeps, and a black Mercedes-Benz (intended to resemble Ugandan Dictator Idi Amin's vehicle of state) — was flown over 2,200 nmi (4,074 km; 2,532 mi) almost entirely at an altitude of less than 100 ft (30 m) from Israel to Entebbe by four Israeli Air Force (IAF) Hercules aircraft without mid-air refueling (on the way back, the planes refueled in Nairobi, Kenya).

 

During the Falklands War (Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas) of 1982, Argentine Air Force C-130s undertook highly dangerous, daily re-supply night flights as blockade runners to the Argentine garrison on the Falkland Islands. They also performed daylight maritime survey flights. One was lost during the war. Argentina also operated two KC-130 tankers during the war, and these refueled both the Douglas A-4 Skyhawks and Navy Dassault-Breguet Super Étendards; some C-130s were modified to operate as bombers with bomb-racks under their wings. The British also used RAF C-130s to support their logistical operations.

  

USMC C-130T Fat Albert performing a rocket-assisted takeoff (RATO)

During the Gulf War of 1991 (Operation Desert Storm), the C-130 Hercules was used operationally by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, along with the air forces of Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and the UK. The MC-130 Combat Talon variant also made the first attacks using the largest conventional bombs in the world, the BLU-82 "Daisy Cutter" and GBU-43/B "Massive Ordnance Air Blast" bomb, (MOAB). Daisy Cutters were used to clear landing zones and to eliminate mine fields. The weight and size of the weapons make it impossible or impractical to load them on conventional bombers. The GBU-43/B MOAB is a successor to the BLU-82 and can perform the same function, as well as perform strike functions against hardened targets in a low air threat environment.

 

Since 1992, two successive C-130 aircraft named Fat Albert have served as the support aircraft for the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration team. Fat Albert I was a TC-130G (151891),[40] while Fat Albert II is a C-130T (164763).[41] Although Fat Albert supports a Navy squadron, it is operated by the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) and its crew consists solely of USMC personnel. At some air shows featuring the team, Fat Albert takes part, performing flyovers. Until 2009, it also demonstrated its rocket-assisted takeoff (RATO) capabilities; these ended due to dwindling supplies of rockets.[42]

 

The AC-130 also holds the record for the longest sustained flight by a C-130. From 22 to 24 October 1997, two AC-130U gunships flew 36 hours nonstop from Hurlburt Field Florida to Taegu (Daegu), South Korea while being refueled seven times by KC-135 tanker aircraft. This record flight shattered the previous record longest flight by over 10 hours while the two gunships took on 410,000 lb (190,000 kg) of fuel. The gunship has been used in every major U.S. combat operation since Vietnam, except for Operation El Dorado Canyon, the 1986 attack on Libya.[43]

  

C-130 Hercules performs a tactical landing on a dirt strip

During the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and the ongoing support of the International Security Assistance Force (Operation Enduring Freedom), the C-130 Hercules has been used operationally by Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, the UK and the United States.

 

During the 2003 invasion of Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom), the C-130 Hercules was used operationally by Australia, the UK and the United States. After the initial invasion, C-130 operators as part of the Multinational force in Iraq used their C-130s to support their forces in Iraq.

 

Since 2004, the Pakistan Air Force has employed C-130s in the War in North-West Pakistan. Some variants had forward looking infrared (FLIR Systems Star Safire III EO/IR) sensor balls, to enable close tracking of Islamist militants.[44]

 

Civilian[edit]

 

A C-130E fitted with a MAFFS-1 dropping fire retardant

The U.S. Forest Service developed the Modular Airborne FireFighting System for the C-130 in the 1970s, which allows regular aircraft to be temporarily converted to an airtanker for fighting wildfires.[45] In the late 1980s, 22 retired USAF C-130As were removed from storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and transferred to the U.S. Forest Service who then sold them to six private companies to be converted into air tankers (see U.S. Forest Service airtanker scandal). After one of these aircraft crashed due to wing separation in flight as a result of fatigue stress cracking, the entire fleet of C-130A air tankers was permanently grounded in 2004 (see 2002 airtanker crashes). C-130s have been used to spread chemical dispersants onto the massive oil slick in the Gulf Coast in 2010.[46]

 

A recent development of a C-130–based airtanker is the Retardant Aerial Delivery System developed by Coulson Aviation USA . The system consists of a C-130H/Q retrofitted with an in-floor discharge system, combined with a removable 3,500- or 4,000-gallon water tank. The combined system is FAA certified.[47]

 

Variants[edit]

 

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2014)

 

C-130H Hercules flight deck

 

A U.S. JC-130 aircraft retrieving a reconnaissance satellite film capsule under parachute.

 

C-130s from the: U.S., Canada, Australia and Israel (foreground to background)

 

RAAF C-130J-30 at Point Cook, 2006

 

Brazilian Air Force C-130 (L-382)

For civilian versions, see Lockheed L-100 Hercules.

Significant military variants of the C-130 include:

 

C-130A/B/E/F/G/H/K/T

Tactical airlifter basic models

C-130A-II Dreamboat

Early version Electronic Intelligence/Signals Intelligence (ELINT/SIGINT) aircraft[48]

C-130J Super Hercules

Tactical airlifter, with new engines, avionics, and updated systems

C-130K

Designation for RAF Hercules C1/W2/C3 aircraft (C-130Js in RAF service are the Hercules C.4 and Hercules C.5)

AC-130A/E/H/J/U/W

Gunship variants

C-130D/D-6

Ski-equipped version for snow and ice operations United States Air Force / Air National Guard

CC-130E/H/J Hercules

Designation for Canadian Armed Forces / Royal Canadian Air Force Hercules aircraft. U.S. Air Force used the CC-130J designation to differentiate standard C-130Js from "stretched" C-130Js (Company designation C-130J-30s).

DC-130A/E/H

USAF and USN Drone control

EC-130

EC-130E/J Commando Solo – USAF / Air National Guard psychological operations version

EC-130E – Airborne Battlefield Command and Control Center (ABCCC)

EC-130E Rivet Rider – Airborne psychological warfare aircraft

EC-130H Compass Call – Electronic warfare and electronic attack.[49]

EC-130V – Airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) variant used by USCG for counter-narcotics missions[50]

GC-130

Permanently Grounded "Static Display"

HC-130

HC-130B/E/H – Early model combat search and rescue

HC-130P/N Combat King – USAF aerial refueling tanker and combat search and rescue

HC-130J Combat King II – Next generation combat search and rescue tanker

HC-130H/J – USCG long-range surveillance and search and rescue

JC-130

Temporary conversion for flight test operations

KC-130F/R/T/J

United States Marine Corps aerial refueling tanker and tactical airlifter

LC-130F/H/R

USAF / Air National Guard – Ski-equipped version for Arctic and Antarctic support operations; LC-130F previously operated by USN

MC-130

MC-130E/H Combat Talon I/II – Special operations infiltration/extraction variant

MC-130W Combat Spear/Dragon Spear – Special operations tanker/gunship[51]

MC-130P Combat Shadow – Special operations tanker

MC-130J Commando II (formerly Combat Shadow II) – Special operations tanker Air Force Special Operations Command[52]

YMC-130H – Modified aircraft under Operation Credible Sport for second Iran hostage crisis rescue attempt

NC-130

Permanent conversion for flight test operations

PC-130/C-130-MP

Maritime patrol

RC-130A/S

Surveillance aircraft for reconnaissance

SC-130J Sea Herc

Proposed maritime patrol version of the C-130J, designed for coastal surveillance and anti-submarine warfare.[53][54]

TC-130

Aircrew training

VC-130H

VIP transport

WC-130A/B/E/H/J

Weather reconnaissance ("Hurricane Hunter") version for USAF / Air Force Reserve Command's 53d Weather Reconnaissance Squadron in support of the National Weather Service's National Hurricane Center

 

Maschinen Krieger Series - LUM-168 Camel

 

Wacom tablet - intuos pro

Corel Painter

Composite - Ps

 

The machine swooped down to a halt, right in front of me, it's voice spoke inside my mind, saying;

 

"The power that governs the destiny of all living beings is called the Eagle, not because it is an eagle or has anything to do with an eagle, but because it appears to the seer as an immeasurable jet-black eagle, standing erect as an eagle stands, its height reaching to infinity.

 

As the seer gazes on the blackness that the Eagle is, four blazes of light reveal what the Eagle is like. The first blaze, which is like a bolt of lightning, helps the seer make out the contours of the Eagle's body. There are patches of whiteness that look like an eagle's feathers and talons.

 

A second blaze of lightning reveals the flapping, wind-creating blackness that looks like an eagle's wings. With the third blaze of lightning the seer beholds a piercing, inhuman eye. And the fourth and last blaze discloses what the Eagle is doing.

 

The Eagle is devouring the awareness of all the creatures that, alive on earth a moment before and now dead, have floated to the Eagle's beak, like a ceaseless swarm of fireflies, to meet their owner, their reason for having had life. The Eagle disentangles these tiny flames, lays them flat, as a tanner stretches out a hide, and then consumes them; for awareness is the Eagle's food.

 

The Eagle, that power that governs the destinies of all living things, reflects equally and at once all those living things. There is no way, therefore, for man to pray to the Eagle, to ask favors, to hope for grace, The human part of the Eagle is too insignificant to move the whole.

 

It is only from the Eagle's actions that a seer can tell what it wants. The Eagle, although it is not moved by the circumstances of any living thing, has granted a gift to each of those beings. In its own way and right, any one of them, if it so desires, has the power to keep the flame of awareness, the power to disobey the summons to die and be consumed.

 

Every living thing has been granted the power, if it so desires, to seek an opening to freedom and to go through it. It is evident to the seer who sees the opening, and to the creatures that go through it, that the Eagle has granted that gift in order to perpetuate awareness.

 

For the purpose of guiding living things to that opening, the Eagle created the Nagual. The Nagual is a double being to whom the rule has been revealed. Whether it be in the form of a human being, an animal, a plant, or anything else that lives, the Nagual by virtue of its doubleness is drawn to seek that hidden passageway.

 

The Nagual comes in pairs, male and female. A double man and a double woman become the Nagual only after the rule has been told to each of them, and each of them has understood it and accepted it in full.

 

To the eye of the seer, a Nagual man or Nagual woman appears as a luminous egg with four compartments. Unlike the average human being, who has two sides only, a left and a right, the Nagual has a left side divided into two long sections, and a right side equally divided in two.

 

The Eagle created the first Nagual man and Nagual woman as seers and immediately put them in the world to see. It provided them with four female warriors who were stalkers, three male warriors, and one male courier, whom they were to nourish, enhance, and lead to freedom.

 

The female warriors are called the four directions, the four corners of a square, the four moods, the four winds, the four different female personalities that exist in the human race.

The first is the east. She is called order. She is optimistic, light- hearted, smooth, persistent like a steady breeze.

 

The second is the north. She is called strength. She is resourceful, blunt, direct, tenacious like a hard wind.

The third is the west. She is called feeling. She is introspective, remorseful, cunning, sly, like a cold gust of wind.

 

The fourth is the south. She is called growth, She is nurturing, loud, shy, warm, like a hot wind.

 

The three male warriors and the courier are representative of the four types of male activity and temperament.

 

The first type is the knowledgeable man, the scholar; a noble, dependable, serene man, fully dedicated to accomplishing his task, whatever it may be.

 

The second type is the man of action, highly volatile, a great humorous fickle companion.

 

The third type is the organizer behind the scenes, the mysterious, unknowable man. Nothing can be said about him because he allows nothing about himself to slip out.

The courier is the fourth type, He is the assistant, a taciturn, somber man who does very well if properly directed but who cannot stand on his own.

 

In order to make things easier, the Eagle showed the Nagual man and Nagual woman that each of these types among men and women of the earth has specific features in its luminous body.

 

The scholar has a sort of shallow dent, a bright depression at his solar plexus. In some men it appears as a pool of intense luminosity, sometimes smooth and shiny like a mirror without a reflection.

 

The man of action has some fibers emanating from the area of the will. The number of fibers varies from one to five, their size ranging from a mere string to a thick, whiplike tentacle up to eight feet long. Some have as many as three of these fibers developed into tentacles.

 

The man behind the scenes is recognized not by a feature but by his ability to create, quite involuntarily, a burst of power that effectively blocks the attention of seers. When in the presence of this type of man, seers find themselves immersed in extraneous detail rather than seeing.

 

The assistant has no obvious configuration. To seers he appears as a clear glow in a flawless shell of luminosity.

In the female realm, the east is recognized by the almost imperceptible blotches in her luminosity, something like small areas of discoloration.

 

The north has an overall radiation; she exudes a reddish glow, almost like heat.

 

The west has a tenuous film enveloping her, a film which makes her appear darker than the others.

 

The south has an intermittent glow; she shines for a moment and then gets dull, only to shine again.

 

The Nagual man and the Nagual woman have two different movements in their luminous bodies. Their right sides wave, while their left sides whirl.

 

In terms of personality, the Nagual man is supportive, steady, unchangeable. The Nagual woman is a being at war and yet relaxed, ever aware but without strain. Both of them reflect the four types of their sex, as four ways of behaving.

 

The first command that the Eagle gave the Nagual man and Nagual woman was to find, on their own, another set of four female warriors, four directions, who were the exact replicas of the stalkers but who were dreamers.

 

Dreamers appear to a seer as having an apron of hairlike fibers at their midsections. Stalkers have a similar apronlike feature, but instead of fibers the apron consists of countless small, round protuberances.

 

The eight female warriors are divided into two bands, which are called the right and left planets. The right planet is made up of four stalkers, the left of four dreamers. The warriors of each planet were taught by the Eagle the rule of their specific task: stalkers were taught stalking; dreamers were taught dreaming.

 

The two female warriors of each direction live together. They are so alike that they mirror each other, and only through impeccability can they find solace and challenge in each other's reflection.

 

The only time when the four dreamers or four stalkers get together is when they have to accomplish a strenuous task; but only under special circumstances should the four of them join hands, for their touch fuses them into one being and should be used only in cases of dire need, or at the moment of leaving this world.

 

The two female warriors of each direction are attached to one of the males, in any combination that is necessary. Thus they make a set of four households, which are capable of incorporating as many warriors as needed.

 

The male warriors and the courier can also form an independent unit of four men, or each can function as a solitary being, as dictated by necessity.

 

Next the Nagual and his party were commanded to find three more couriers. These could be all males or all females or a mixed set, but the male couriers had to be of the fourth type of man, the assistant, and the females had to be from the south.

 

In order to make sure that the first Nagual man would lead his party to freedom and not deviate from that path or become corrupted, the Eagle took the Nagual woman to the other world to serve as a beacon, guiding the party to the opening.

 

The Nagual and his warriors were then commanded to forget.

They were plunged into darkness and were given new tasks: the task of remembering themselves, and the task of remembering the Eagle.

 

The command to forget was so great that everyone was separated. They did not remember who they were. The Eagle intended that if they were capable of remembering themselves again, they would find the totality of themselves. Only then would they have the strength and forebearance necessary to seek and face their definitive journey.

 

Their last task, after they had regained the totality of themselves, was to get a new pair of double beings and transform them into a new Nagual man and a new Nagual woman by virtue of revealing the rule to them. And just as the first Nagual man and Nagual woman had been provided with a minimal party, they had to supply the new pair of Naguals with four female warriors who were stalkers, three male warriors, and one male courier.

 

When the first Nagual and his party were ready to go through the passageway, the first Nagual woman was waiting to guide them. They were ordered then to take the new Nagual woman with them to the other world to serve as a beacon for her people, leaving the new Nagual man in the world to repeat the cycle.

 

While in the world, the minimal number under a Nagual's leadership is sixteen: eight female warriors, four male warriors, counting the Nagual, and four couriers. At the moment of leaving the world, when the new Nagual woman is with them, the Nagual's number is seventeen. If his personal power permits him to have more warriors, then more must be added in multiples of four."

 

Dark Souls (2011)

 

Parasitic Headgear. An egg implanted on the head by a type of parasite bearing eggs on its back. The nightmare begins with a slight itch on the head, and soon the parasite will be siphoning the souls of slain enemies.

 

Black Knight Halberd

 

DSfix

HD Textures

 

Hit L then F11 to view

  

Don Juan was about to start his explanation of the mastery of awareness, but he changed his mind and stood up. We had been sitting in the big room, observing a moment of quiet.

 

“I want you to try seeing the Eagle’s emanations,” he said. “For that you must first move your assemblage point until you see the cocoon of man.”

 

We walked from the house to the center of town. We sat down on an empty, worn park bench in front of the church, it was early afternoon; a sunny, windy day with lots of people milling around.

 

He repeated, as if he were trying to drill it into me, that alignment is a unique force because it either helps the assemblage point shift, or it keeps it glued to its customary position. The aspect of alignment that keeps the point stationary, he said, is will; and the aspect that makes it shift is intent. He remarked that one of the most haunting mysteries is how will, the impersonal force of alignment, changes into intent, the personalized force, which is at the service of each individual.

 

“The strangest part of this mystery is that the change is so easy to accomplish,” he went on. “But what is not so easy is to convince ourselves that it is possible. There, right there, is our safety catch. We have to be convinced. And none of us wants to be.”

 

He told me then that I was in my keenest state of awareness, and that it was possible for me to intend my assemblage point to shift deeper into my left side, to a dreaming position. He said that warriors should never attempt seeing unless they are aided by dreaming. I argued that to fall asleep in public was not one of my fortés. He clarified his statement, saying that to move the assemblage point away from its natural setting and to keep it fixed at a new location is to be asleep; with practice, seers learn to be asleep and yet behave as if nothing is happening to them.

 

After a moment’s pause he added that for purposes of seeing the cocoon of man, one has to gaze at people from behind, as they walk away. It is useless to gaze at people face to face, because the front of the egglike cocoon of man has a protective shield, which seers call the front plate, it is an almost impregnable, unyielding shield that protects us throughout our lives against the onslaught of a peculiar force that stems from the emanations themselves.

 

He also told me not to be surprised if my body was stiff, as though it were frozen; he said that I was going to feel very much like someone standing in the middle of a room looking at the street through a window, and that speed was of the essence, as people were going to move extremely fast by my seeing window. He told me then to relax my muscles, shut off my internal dialogue, and let my assemblage point drift away under the spell of inner silence. He urged me to smack myself gently but firmly on my right side, between my hipbone and my ribcage.

 

I did that three times and I was sound asleep. It was a most peculiar state of sleep. My body was dormant, but I was perfectly aware of everything that was taking place. I could hear don Juan talking to me and I could follow every one of his statements as if I were awake, yet I could not move my body at all.

 

Don Juan said that a man was going to walk by my seeing window and that I should try to see him. I unsuccessfully attempted to move my head and then a shiny egglike shape appeared, it was resplendent. I was awed by the sight and before I could recover from my surprise, it was gone. It floated away, bobbing up and down.

 

Everything had been so sudden and fast that it made me feel frustrated and impatient. I felt that I was beginning to wake up. Don Juan talked to me again and urged me to relax. He said that I had no right and no time to be impatient. Suddenly, another luminous being appeared and moved away. It seemed to be made of a white fluorescent shag.

 

Don Juan whispered in my ear that if I wanted to, my eyes were capable of slowing down everything they focused on. Then he warned me that another man was coming. I realized at that instant that there were two voices. The one I had just heard was the same one that had admonished me to be patient. That was don Juan’s. The other, the one that told me to use my eyes to slow down movement, was the voice of seeing.

 

That afternoon, I saw ten luminous beings in slow motion. The voice of seeing guided me to witness in them everything don Juan had told me about the glow of awareness. There was a vertical band with a stronger amber glow on the right side of those egglike luminous creatures, perhaps one-tenth of the total volume of the cocoon. The voice said that that was man’s band of awareness. The voice pointed out a dot on man’s band, a dot with an intense shine; it was high on the oblong shapes, almost on the crest of them, on the surface of the cocoon; the voice said that it was the assemblage point.

 

When I saw each luminous creature in profile, from the point of view of its body, its egglike shape was like a gigantic asymmetrical yoyo that was standing edgewise, or like an almost round pot that was resting on its side with its lid on. The part that looked like a lid was the front plate; it was perhaps one-fifth the thickness of the total cocoon.

 

I would have gone on seeing those creatures, but don Juan said that I should now gaze at people face to face and sustain my gaze until I had broken the barrier and I was seeing the emanations.

 

I followed his command. Almost instantaneously, I saw a most brilliant array of live, compelling fibers of light. It was a dazzling sight that immediately shattered my balance. I fell down on the cement walk on my side. From there, I saw the compelling fibers of light multiply themselves. They burst open and myriads of other fibers came out of them. But the fibers, compelling as they were, somehow did not interfere with my ordinary view. There were scores of people going into church. I was no longer seeing them. There were quite a few women and men just around the bench. I wanted to focus my eyes on them, but instead I noticed how one of those fibers of light bulged suddenly. It became like a ball of fire that was perhaps seven feet in diameter, it rolled on me. My first impulse was to roll out of its way. Before I could even move a muscle the ball had hit me. I felt it as clearly as if someone had punched me gently in the stomach. An instant later another ball of fire hit me, this time with considerably more strength, and then don Juan whacked me really hard on the cheek with his open hand. I jumped up involuntarily and lost sight of the fibers of light and the balloons that were hitting me.

 

Don Juan said that I had successfully endured my first brief encounter with the Eagle’s emanations, but that a couple of shoves from the tumbler had dangerously opened up my gap. He added that the balls that had hit me were called the rolling force, or the tumbler.

 

We had returned to his house, although I did not remember how or when. I had spent hours in a sort of semi-sleeping state. Don Juan and the other seers of his group had given me large amounts of water to drink. They had also submerged me in an ice-cold tub of water for short periods of time.

 

“Were those fibers I saw the Eagle’s emanations?” I asked don Juan.

 

“Yes. But you didn’t really see them,” he replied. “No sooner had you begun to see than the tumbler stopped you. If you had remained a moment longer it would have blasted you.”

 

“What exactly is the tumbler?” I asked.

 

“It is a force from the Eagle’s emanations,” he said. “A ceaseless force that strikes us every instant of our lives, it is lethal when seen, but otherwise we are oblivious to it, in our ordinary lives, because we have protective shields. We have consuming interests that engage all our awareness. We are permanently worried about our station, our possessions. These shields, however, do not keep the tumbler away, they simply keep us from seeing it directly, protecting us in this way from getting hurt by the fright of seeing the balls of fire hitting us. Shields are a great help and a great hindrance to us. They pacify us and at the same time fool us. They give us a false sense of security.”

 

He warned me that a moment would come in my life when I would be without any shields, uninterruptedly at the mercy of the tumbler. He said that it is an obligatory stage in the life of a warrior, known as losing the human form.

 

I asked him to explain to me once and for all what the human form is and what it means to lose it.

 

He replied that seers describe the human form as the compelling force of alignment of the emanations lit by the glow of awareness on the precise spot on which normally man’s assemblage point is fixated. It is the force that makes us into persons. Thus, to be a person is to be compelled to affiliate with that force of alignment and consequently to be affiliated with the precise spot where it originates.

 

By reason of their activities, at a given moment the assemblage points of warriors drift toward the left. It is a permanent move, which results in an uncommon sense of aloofness, or control, or even abandon. That drift of the assemblage point entails a new alignment of emanations. It is the beginning of a series of greater shifts. Seers very aptly called this initial shift losing the human form, because it marks an inexorable movement of the assemblage point away from its original setting, resulting in the irreversible loss of our affiliation to the force that makes us persons.

 

He asked me then to describe all the details I could remember about the balls of fire. I told him that I had seen them so briefly I was not sure I could describe them in detail.

 

He pointed out that seeing is an euphemism for moving the assemblage point, and that if I moved mine a fraction more to the left I would have a clear picture of the balls of fire, a picture which I could interpret then as having remembered them.

 

I tried to have a clear picture, but I couldn’t, so I described what I remembered.

 

He listened attentively and then urged me to recall if they were balls or circles of fire. I told him I didn’t remember.

 

He explained that those balls of fire are of crucial importance to human beings because they are the expression of a force that pertains to all details of life and death, something that the new seers call the rolling force.

 

I asked him to clarify what he meant by all the details of life and death.

 

“The rolling force is the means through which the Eagle distributes life and awareness for safekeeping,” he said. “But it also is the force that, let’s say, collects the rent. It makes all living beings die. What you saw today was called by the ancient seers the tumbler.”

 

He said that seers describe it as an eternal line of iridescent rings, or balls of fire, that roll onto living beings ceaselessly. Luminous organic beings meet the rolling force head on, until the day when the force proves to be too much for them and the creatures finally collapse. The old seers were mesmerized by seeing how the tumbler then tumbles them into the beak of the Eagle to be devoured. That was the reason they called it the tumbler.

 

“You said that it is a mesmerizing sight. Have you yourself seen it rolling human beings?” I asked.

 

“Certainly I’ve seen it,” he replied, and after a pause he added, “You and I saw it only a short while ago in Mexico City.”

 

His assertion was so farfetched that I felt obliged to tell him that this time he was wrong. He laughed and reminded me that on that occasion, while both of us were sitting on a bench in the Alameda Park in Mexico City, we had witnessed the death of a man. He said that I had recorded the event in my everyday-life memory as well as in my left-side emanations.

 

As don Juan spoke to me I had the sensation of something inside me becoming lucid by degrees, and I could visualize with uncanny clarity the whole scene in the park. The man was lying on the grass with three policemen standing by him to keep onlookers away. I distinctly remembered don Juan hitting me on my back to make me change levels of awareness. And then I saw. My seeing was imperfect. I was unable to shake off the sight of the world of everyday life.

 

What I ended up with was a composite of filaments of the most gorgeous colors superimposed on the buildings and the traffic. The filaments were actually lines of colored light that came from above. They had inner life; they were bright and bursting with energy.

 

When I looked at the dying man, I saw what don Juan was talking about; something that was at once like circles of fire, or iridescent tumbleweeds, was rolling everywhere I focused my eyes. The circles were rolling on people, on don Juan, on me. I felt them in my stomach and became ill.

 

Don Juan told me to focus my eyes on the dying man. I saw him at one moment curling up, just as a sowbug curls itself up upon being touched. The incandescent circles pushed him away, as if they were casting him aside, out of their majestic, inalterable path.

 

I had not liked the feeling. The circles of fire had not scared me; they were not awesome, or sinister. I did not feel morbid or somber. The circles rather had nauseated me. I’d felt them in the pit of my stomach. It was a revulsion that I’d felt that day.

 

Remembering them conjured up again the total feeling of discomfort I had experienced on that occasion. As I got ill, don Juan laughed until he was out of breath.

 

“You’re such an exaggerated fellow.” he said. “The rolling force is not that bad. It’s lovely, in fact. The new seers recommend that we open ourselves to it. The old seers also opened themselves to it, but for reasons and purposes guided mostly by self-importance and obsession.”

 

“The new seers, on the other hand, make friends with it. They become familiar with that force by handling it without any self-importance. The result is staggering in its consequences.”

 

He said that a shift of the assemblage point is all that is needed to open oneself to the rolling force. He added that if the force is seen in a deliberate manner, there is minimal danger. A situation that is extremely dangerous, however, is an involuntary shift of the assemblage point owing, perhaps, to physical fatigue, emotional exhaustion, disease, or simply a minor emotional or physical crisis, such as being frightened or being drunk.

 

“When the assemblage point shifts involuntarily, the rolling force cracks the cocoon,” he went on. “I’ve talked many times about a gap that man has below his navel. It’s not really below the navel itself, but in the cocoon, at the height of the navel. The gap is more like a dent, a natural flaw in the otherwise smooth cocoon. It is there where the tumbler hits us ceaselessly and where the cocoon cracks.”

 

He went on to explain that if it is a minor shift of the assemblage point, the crack is very small, the cocoon quickly repairs itself, and people experience what everybody has at one time or another: blotches of color and contorted shapes, which remain even if the eyes are closed.

 

If the shift is considerable, the crack also is extensive and it takes time for the cocoon to repair itself, as in the case of warriors who purposely use power plants to elicit that shift or people who take drugs and unwittingly do the same. In these cases men feel numb and cold; they have difficulty talking or even thinking; it is as if they have been frozen from inside.

 

Don Juan said that in cases in which the assemblage point shifts drastically because of the effects of trauma or of a mortal disease, the rolling force produces a crack the length of the cocoon; the cocoon collapses and curls in on itself, and the individual dies.

 

“Can a voluntary shift also produce a gap of that nature?” I asked.

 

“Sometimes,” he replied. “We’re really frail. As the tumbler hits us over and over, death comes to us through the gap. Death is the rolling force. When it finds weakness in the gap of a luminous being it automatically cracks it open and makes it collapse.”

 

“Does every living being have a gap?” I asked.

 

“Of course,” he replied. “If it didn’t have one it wouldn’t die. The gaps are different, however, in size and configuration. Man’s gap is a bowl-like depression the size of a fist, a very frail vulnerable configuration. The gaps of other organic creatures are very much like man’s; some are stronger than ours and others are weaker. But the gap of inorganic beings is really different. It’s more like a long thread, a hair of luminosity; consequently, inorganic beings are infinitely more durable than we are.”

 

“There is something hauntingly appealing about the long life of those creatures, and the old seers could not resist being carried away by that appeal.”

 

He said that the same force can produce two effects that are diametrically opposed. The old seers were imprisoned by the rolling force, and the new seers are rewarded for their toils with the gift of freedom. By becoming familiar with the rolling force through the mastery of intent, the new seers, at a given moment, open their own cocoons and the force floods them rather than rolling them up like a curled-up sowbug. The final result is their total and instantaneous disintegration.

 

I asked him a lot of questions about the survival of awareness after the luminous being is consumed by the fire from within. He did not answer. He simply chuckled, shrugged his shoulders, and went on to say that the old seers’ obsession with the tumbler blinded them to the other side of that force. The new seers, with their usual thoroughness in refusing tradition, went to the other extreme. They were at first totally averse to focusing their seeing on the tumbler; they argued that they needed to understand the force of the emanations at large in its aspect of lifegiver and enhancer of awareness.

 

“They realized that it is infinitely easier to destroy something,” don Juan went on, “than it is to build it and maintain it. To roll life away is nothing compared to giving it and nourishing it. Of course, the new seers were wrong on this count, but in due course they corrected their mistake.”

 

“How were they wrong, don Juan?”

 

“It’s an error to isolate anything for seeing. At the beginning, the new seers did exactly the opposite from what their predecessors did. They focused with equal attention on the other side of the tumbler. What happened to them was as terrible as, if not worse than, what happened to the old seers. They died stupid deaths, just as the average man does. They didn’t have the mystery or the malignancy of the ancient seers, nor had they the quest for freedom of the seers of today.”

 

“Those first new seers served everybody. Because they were focusing their seeing on the lifegiving side of the emanations, they were filled with love and kindness. But that didn’t keep them from being tumbled. They were vulnerable, just as were the old seers who were filled with morbidity.”

 

He said that for the modern-day new seers, to be left stranded after a life of discipline and toil, just like men who have never had a purposeful moment in their lives, was intolerable. Don Juan said that these new seers realized, after they had readopted their tradition, that the old seers’ knowledge of the rolling force had been complete; at one point the old seers had concluded that there were, in effect, two different aspects of the same force. The tumbling aspect relates exclusively to destruction and death. The circular aspect, on the other hand, is what maintains life and awareness, fulfillment and purpose. They had chosen, however, to deal exclusively with the tumbling aspect.

 

“Gazing in teams, the new seers were able to see the separation between the tumbling and the circular aspects,” he explained. “They saw that both forces are fused, but are not the same. The circular force comes to us just before the tumbling force; they are so close to each other that they seem the same.”

 

“The reason it’s called the circular force is that it comes in rings, threadlike hoops of iridescence – a very delicate affair indeed. And just like the tumbling force, it strikes all living beings ceaselessly, but for a different purpose. It strikes them to give them strength, direction, awareness; to give them life.”

 

“What the new seers discovered is that the balance of the two forces in every living being is a very delicate one,” he continued, “if at any given time an individual feels that the tumbling force strikes harder than the circular one, that means the balance is upset; the tumbling force strikes harder and harder from then on, until it cracks the living being’s gap and makes it die.”

 

He added that out of what I had called balls of fire comes an iridescent hoop exactly the size of living beings, whether men, trees, microbes, or allies.

 

“Are there different-size circles?” I asked.

 

“Don’t take me so literally,” he protested. “There are no circles to speak of, just a circular force that gives seers, who are dreaming it, the feeling of rings. And there are no different sizes either. It’s one indivisible force that fits all living beings, organic and inorganic.”

 

“Why did the old seers focus on the tumbling aspect?” I asked.

 

“Because they believed that their lives depended on seeing it,” he replied. “They were sure that their seeing was going to give them answers to age-old questions. You see, they figured that if they unraveled the secrets of the rolling force they would be invulnerable and immortal. The sad part is that in one way or another, they did unravel the secrets and yet they were neither invulnerable nor immortal.”

 

“The new seers changed it all by realizing that there is no way to aspire to immortality as long as man has a cocoon.”

 

Don Juan explained that the old seers apparently never realized that the human cocoon is a receptacle and cannot sustain the onslaught of the rolling force forever. In spite of all the knowledge that they had accumulated, they were in the end certainly no better, and perhaps much worse, off than the average man.

 

“In what way were they left worse off than the average man?” I asked.

 

“Their tremendous knowledge forced them to take it for granted that their choices were infallible,” he said. “So they chose to live at any cost.”

 

Don Juan looked at me and smiled. With his theatrical pause he was telling me something I could not fathom.

 

“They chose to live,” he repeated. “Just as they chose to become trees in order to assemble worlds with those nearly unreachable great bands.”

 

“What do you mean by that, don Juan?”

 

“I mean that they used the rolling force to shift their assemblage points to unimaginable dreaming positions, instead of letting it roll them to the beak of the Eagle to be devoured.”

 

The Death Defiers

 

I arrived at Genaro’s house around 2:00 p. m. Don Juan and I became involved in conversation, and then don Juan made me shift into heightened awareness.

 

“Here we are again, the three of us, just as we were the day we went to that flat rock,” don Juan said. “And tonight we’re going to make another trip to that area.”

 

“You have enough knowledge now to draw very serious conclusions about that place and its effects on awareness.”

 

“What is it with that place, don Juan?”

 

“Tonight you’re going to find out some gruesome facts that the old seers collected about the rolling force; and you’re going to see what I meant when I told you that the old seers chose to live at any cost.”

 

Don Juan turned to Genaro, who was about to fall asleep. He nudged him.

 

“Wouldn’t you say, Genaro, that the old seers-were dreadful men?” don Juan asked.

 

“Absolutely,” Genaro said in a crisp tone and then seemed to succumb to fatigue.

 

He began to nod noticeably. In an instant he was sound asleep, his head resting on his chest with his chin tucked in. He snored.

 

I wanted to laugh out loud. But then I noticed that Genaro was staring at me, as if he were sleeping with his eyes open.

 

“They were such dreadful men that they even defied death,” Genaro added between snores.

 

“Aren’t you curious to know how those gruesome men defied death?” don Juan asked me.

 

He seemed to be urging me to ask for an example of their gruesomeness. He paused and looked at me with what I thought was a glint of expectation in his eyes.

 

“You’re waiting for me to ask for an example, aren’t you?” I said.

 

“This is a great moment,” he said, patting me on the back and laughing. “My benefactor had me on the edge of my seat at this point. I asked him to give me an example, and he did; now I’m going to give you one whether you ask for it or not.”

 

“What are you going to do?” I asked, so frightened that my stomach was tied in knots and my voice cracked.

 

It took quite a while for don Juan to stop laughing. Every time he started to speak, he’d get an attack of coughing laughter.

 

“As Genaro told you, the old seers were dreadful men,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “There was something they tried to avoid at all costs: they didn’t want to die. You may say that the average man doesn’t want to die either, but the advantage that the old seers had over the average man was that they had the concentration and the discipline to intend things away; and they actually intended death away.”

 

He paused and looked at me with raised eyebrows. He said that I was falling behind, that I was not asking my usual questions. I remarked that it was plain to me that he was leading me to ask if the old seers had succeeded in intending death away, but he himself had already told me that their knowledge about the tumbler had not saved them from dying.

 

“They succeeded in intending death away,” he said, pronouncing his words with extra care. “But they still had to die.”

 

“How did they intend death away?” I asked.

 

“They observed their allies,” he said, “and seeing that they were living beings with a much greater resilience to the rolling force, the seers patterned themselves on their allies.”

 

“The old seers realized,” don Juan explained, “that only organic beings have a gap that resembles a bowl. Its size and shape and its brittleness make it the ideal configuration to hasten the cracking and collapsing of the luminous shell under the onslaughts of the tumbling force. The allies, on the other hand, who have only a line for a gap, present such a small surface to the rolling force as to be practically immortal. Their cocoons can sustain the onslaughts of the tumbler indefinitely, because hairline gaps offer no ideal configuration to it.”

 

“The old seers developed the most bizarre techniques for closing their gaps,” don Juan continued. “They were essentially correct in assuming that a hairline gap is more durable than a bowl-like one.”

 

“Are those techniques still in existence?” I asked.

 

“No, they are not,” he said. “But some of the seers who practiced them are.”

 

For reasons unknown to me, his statement caused a reaction of sheer terror in me. My breathing was altered instantly, and I couldn’t control its rapid pace.

 

“They’re still alive to this day, isn’t that so, Genaro?” don Juan asked.

 

“Absolutely,” Genaro muttered from an apparent state of deep sleep.

 

I asked don Juan if he knew the reason for my being so frightened. He reminded me about a previous occasion in that very room when they had asked me if I had noticed the weird creatures that had come in the moment Genaro opened the door.

 

“That day your assemblage point went very deep into the left side and assembled a frightening world,” he went on. “But I have already said that to you; what you don’t remember is that you went directly to a very remote world and scared yourself pissless there.”

 

Don Juan turned to Genaro, who was snoring peacefully with his legs stretched out in front of him.

 

“Wasn’t he scared pissless, Genaro?” he asked.

 

“Absolutely pissless,” Genaro muttered, and don Juan laughed.

 

“I want you to know that we don’t blame you for being scared,” don Juan continued. “We, ourselves, are revolted by some of the actions of the old seers. I’m sure that you have realized by now that what you can’t remember about that night is that you saw the old seers who are still alive.”

 

I wanted to protest that I had realized nothing, but I could not voice my words. I had to clear my throat over and over before I could articulate a word. Genaro had stood up and was gently patting my upper back, by my neck, as if I were choking.

 

“You have a frog in your throat,” he said.

 

I thanked him in a high squeaky voice.

 

“No, I think you have a chicken there,” he added and sat down to sleep.

 

Don Juan said that the new seers had rebelled against all the bizarre practices of the old seers and declared them not only useless but injurious to our total being. They even went so far as to ban those techniques from whatever was taught to new warriors; and for generations there was no mention of those practices at all.

 

It was in the early part of the eighteenth century that the nagual Sebastian, a member of don Juan’s direct line of naguals, rediscovered the existence of those techniques.

 

“How did he rediscover them?” I asked.

 

“He was a superb stalker, and because of his impeccability he got a chance to learn marvels,” don Juan replied.

 

He said that one day as the nagual Sebastian was about to start his daily routines – he was the sexton at the cathedral in the city where he lived – he found a middle-aged Indian man who seemed to be in a quandary at the door of the church.

 

The nagual Sebastian went to the man’s side and asked him if he needed help.

 

“I need a bit of energy to close my gap,” the man said to him in a loud clear voice. “Would you give me some of your energy?”

 

Don Juan said that according to the story, the nagual Sebastian was dumbfounded. He did not know what the man was talking about. He offered to take the Indian to see the parish priest. The man lost his patience and angrily accused the nagual Sebastian of stalling.

 

“I need your energy because you’re a nagual,” he said. “Let’s go quietly.”

 

The nagual Sebastian succumbed to the magnetic power of the stranger and meekly went with him into the mountains. He was gone for many days. When he came back he not only had a new outlook about the ancient seers, but detailed knowledge of their techniques. The stranger was an ancient Toltec. One of the last survivors.

 

“The nagual Sebastian found out marvels about the old seers,” don Juan went on. “He was the one who first knew how grotesque and aberrant they really were. Before him, that knowledge was only hearsay.”

 

“One night my benefactor and the nagual Elias gave me a sample of those aberrations. They really showed it to Genaro and me together, so it’s only proper that we both show you the same sample.”

 

I wanted to talk in order to stall; I needed time to calm down, to think things out. But before I could say anything, don Juan and Genaro were practically dragging me out of the house. They headed for the same eroded hills we had visited before.

 

We stopped at the bottom of a large barren hill. Don Juan pointed toward some distant mountains to the south, and said that between the place where we stood and a natural cut in one of those mountains, a cut that looked like an open mouth, there were at least seven sites where the ancient seers had focused all the power of their awareness.

 

Don Juan said that those seers had not only been knowledgeable and daring but downright successful. He added that his benefactor had showed him and Genaro a site where the old seers, driven by their love for life, had buried themselves alive and actually intended the rolling force away.

 

“There is nothing that would catch the eye in those places,” he went on. “The old seers were careful not to leave marks. It is just a landscape. One has to see to know where those places are.”

 

He said that he did not want to walk to the faraway sites, but would take me to the one that was nearest. I insisted on knowing what we were after. He said that we were going to see the buried seers, and that for that we had to stay until it got dark under the cover of some green bushes. He pointed them out; they were perhaps half a mile away, up a steep slope.

 

We reached the patch of bushes and sat down as comfortably as we could. He began then to explain in a very low voice that in order to get energy from the earth, ancient seers used to bury themselves for periods of time, depending on what they wanted to accomplish. The more difficult their task, the longer their burial period.

 

Don Juan stood up and in a melodramatic way showed me a spot a few yards from where we were.

 

“Two old seers are buried there,” he said. “They buried themselves about two thousand years ago to escape death, not in the spirit of running away from it but in the spirit of defying it.”

 

Don Juan asked Genaro to show me the exact spot where the old seers were buried. I turned to look at Genaro and realized that he was sitting by my side sound asleep again. But to my utter amazement, he jumped up and barked like a dog and ran on all fours to the spot don Juan was pointing out. There he ran around the place in a perfect mime of a small dog.

 

I found his performance hilarious. Don Juan was nearly on the ground laughing.

 

“Genaro has shown you something extraordinary,” don Juan said, after Genaro had returned to where we were and had gone back to sleep. “He has shown you something about the assemblage point and dreaming. He’s dreaming now, but he can act as if he were fully awake and he can hear everything you say. From that position he can do more than if he were awake.”

 

He was silent for a moment as if assessing what to say next. Genaro snored rhythmically. Don Juan remarked how easy it was for him to find flaws with what the old seers had done, yet, in all fairness, he never tired of repeating how wonderful their accomplishments were. He said that they understood the earth to perfection. Not only did they discover and use the boost from the earth, but they also discovered that if they remained buried, their assemblage points aligned emanations that were ordinarily inaccessible, and that such an alignment engaged the earth’s strange, inexplicable capacity to deflect the ceaseless strikes of the rolling force.

 

Consequently, they developed the most astounding and complex techniques for burying themselves for extremely long periods of time without any detriment to themselves. In their fight against death, they learned how to elongate those periods to cover millennia.

 

It was a cloudy day, and night fell quickly. In no time at all, everything was in darkness. Don Juan stood up and guided me and the sleepwalker Genaro to an enormous flat oval rock that had caught my eye the moment we got to that place. It was similar to the flat rock we had visited before, but bigger. It occurred to me that the rock, enormous as it was, had deliberately been placed there.

 

“This is another site,” don Juan said. “This huge rock was placed here as a trap, to attract people. Soon you’ll know why.”

 

I felt a shiver run through my body. I thought I was going to faint. I knew that I was definitely overreacting and wanted to say something about it, but don Juan kept on talking in a hoarse whisper. He said that Genaro, since he was dreaming, had enough control over his assemblage point to move it until he could reach the specific emanations that would wake up whatever was around that rock. He recommended that I try to move my assemblage point, and follow Genaro’s.

 

He said that I could do it, first by setting up my unbending intent to move it, and second by letting the context of the situation dictate where it should move.

 

After a moment’s thought he whispered in my ear not to worry about procedures, because most of the really unusual things that happen to seers, or to the average man for that matter, happen by themselves, with only the intervention of intent.

 

He was silent for a moment and then added that the danger for me was going to be the buried seers’ inevitable attempt to scare me to death. He exhorted me to keep myself calm and not to succumb to fear, but follow Genaro’s movements.

 

I fought desperately not to be sick. Don Juan patted me on the back and said that I was an old pro at playing an innocent bystander. He assured me that I was not consciously refusing to let my assemblage point move, but that every human being does it automatically.

 

“Something is going to scare the living daylights out of you,” he whispered. “Don’t give up, because if you do, you’ll die and the old vultures around here are going to feast on your energy.”

 

“Let’s get out of here,” I pleaded. “I really don’t give a damn about getting an example of the old seers’ grotesqueness.”

 

“It’s too late,” Genaro said, fully awake now, standing by my side. “Even if we try to get away, the two seers and their allies on the other spot will cut you down. They have already made a circle around us. There are as many as sixteen awarenesses focused on you right now.”

 

“Who are they?” I whispered in Genaro’s ear.

 

“The four seers and their court,” he replied. “They’ve been aware of us since we got here.”

 

I wanted to turn tail and run for dear life, but don Juan held my arm and pointed to the sky. I noticed that a remarkable change in visibility had taken place. Instead of the pitch-black darkness that had prevailed, there was a pleasant dawn twilight. I made a quick assessment of the cardinal points. The sky was definitely lighter toward the east.

 

I felt a strange pressure around my head. My ears were buzzing. I felt cold and feverish at the same time. I was scared as I had never been before, but what bothered me was a nagging sensation of defeat, of being a coward. I felt nauseated and miserable.

 

Don Juan whispered in my ear. He said that I had to be on the alert, that the onslaught of the old seers would be felt by all three of us at any moment.

 

“You can grab on to me if you want to,” Genaro said in a fast whisper as if something were prodding him.

 

I hesitated for an instant. I did not want don Juan to believe that I was so scared I needed to hold on to Genaro.

 

“Here they come!” Genaro said in a loud whisper.

 

The world turned upside down instantaneously for me when something gripped me by my left ankle. I felt the coldness of death on my entire body. I knew I had stepped on an iron clamp, maybe a bear trap. That all flashed through my mind before I let out a piercing scream, as intense as my fright.

 

Don Juan and Genaro laughed out loud. They were flanking me no more than three feet away, but I was so terrified I did not even notice them.

 

“Sing! Sing for dear life!” I heard don Juan ordering me under his breath.

 

I tried to pull my foot loose. I felt then a sting, as if needles were piercing my skin. Don Juan insisted over and over that I sing. He and Genaro started to sing a popular song. Genaro spoke the lyrics as he looked at me from hardly two inches away. They sang off-key in raspy voices, getting so completely out of breath and so high out of the range of their voices that I ended up laughing.

 

“Sing, or you’re going to perish,” don Juan said to me.

 

“Let’s make a trio,” Genaro said, “We’ll sing a bolero.”

 

I joined them in an off-key trio. We sang for quite a while at the top of our voices, like drunkards. I felt that the iron grip on my leg was gradually letting go of me. I had not dared to look down at my ankle. At one moment I did and I realized then that there was no trap clutching me. A dark, headlike shape was biting me!

 

Only a supreme effort kept me from fainting. I felt I was getting sick and automatically tried to bend over, but somebody with superhuman strength grabbed me painlessly by the elbows and the nape of my neck and did not let me move. I got sick all over my clothes.

 

My revulsion was so complete that I began to fall in a faint. Don Juan sprinkled my face with some water from the small gourd he always carried when we went into the mountains. The water slid under my collar. The coldness restored my physical balance, but it did not affect the force that was holding me by my elbows and neck.

 

“I think you are going too far with your fright,” don Juan said loudly and in such a matter-of fact tone that he created an immediate feeling of order.

 

“Let’s sing again,” he added. “Let’s sing a song with substance – I don’t want any more boleros.”

 

I silently thanked him for his sobriety and for his grand style. I was so moved as I heard them singing “La Valentina” that I began to weep.

 

Because of my passion, they say

 

that ill fortune is on my way.

 

It doesn’t matter

 

that it might be the devil himself.

 

I do know how to die

 

Valentina, Valentina.

 

I throw myself in your way.

 

If I am going to die tomorrow,

 

why not, once and for all, today?

 

All of my being staggered under the impact of that inconceivable juxtaposition of values. Never had a song meant so much to me. As I heard them sing those lyrics, which I ordinarily considered reeking with cheap sentimentalism, I thought I understood the ethos of the warrior.

 

Don Juan had drilled into me that warriors live with death at their side, and from the knowledge that death is with them they draw the courage to face anything. Don Juan had said that the worst that could happen to us is that we have to die, and since that is already our unalterable fate, we are free; those who have lost everything no longer have anything to fear.

 

I walked to don Juan and Genaro and embraced them to express my boundless gratitude and admiration for them.

 

Then I realized that nothing was holding me any longer. Without a word don Juan took my arm and guided me to sit on the flat rock.

 

“The show is just about to begin now,” Genaro said in a jovial tone as he tried to find a comfortable position to sit. “You’ve just paid your admission ticket. It’s all over your chest.”

 

He looked at me, and both of them began to laugh.

 

“Don’t sit too close to me,” Genaro said. “I don’t appreciate pukers. But don’t go too far, either. The old seers are not yet through with their tricks.”

 

I moved as close to them as politeness permitted. I was concerned about my fate for an instant, and then all my qualms became nonsense, for I noticed that some people were coming toward us. I could not make out their shapes clearly but I distinguished a mass of human figures moving in the semidarkness. They did not carry lanterns or flashlights with them, which at that hour they would still have needed. Somehow that detail worried me. I did not want to focus on it and I deliberately began to think rationally. I figured that we must have attracted attention with our loud singing and they were coming to investigate. Don Juan tapped me on the shoulder. He pointed with a movement of his chin to the men in front of the group of others.

 

“Those four are the old seers,” he said. “The rest are their allies.”

 

Before I could remark that they were just local peasants, I heard a swishing sound right behind me. I quickly turned around in a state of total alarm. My movement was so sudden that don Juan’s warning came too late.

 

“Don’t turn around!” I heard him yell.

 

His words were only background; they did not mean anything to me. On turning around, I saw that three grotesquely deformed men had climbed up on the rock right behind me; they were crawling toward me, with their mouths open in a nightmarish grimace and their arms outstretched to grab me.

 

I intended to scream at the top of my lungs, but what came out was an agonizing croak, as if something were obstructing my windpipe. I automatically rolled out of their reach and onto the ground.

 

As I stood up, don Juan jumped to my side, at the very same moment that a horde of men, led by those don Juan had pointed out, descended on me like vultures. They were actually squeaking like bats or rats. I yelled in terror. This time I was able to let out a piercing cry.

 

Don Juan, as nimbly as an athlete in top form, pulled me out of their clutches onto the rock. He told me in a stern voice not to turn around to look, no matter how scared I was. He said that the allies cannot push at all, but that they certainly could scare me and make me fall to the ground. On the ground, however, the allies could hold anybody down. If I were to fall on the ground by the place where the seers were buried, I would be at their mercy. They would rip me apart while their allies held me. He added that he had not told me all that before because he had hoped I would be forced to see and understand it by myself. His decision had nearly cost me my life. The sensation that the grotesque men were just behind me was nearly unbearable. Don Juan forcefully ordered me to keep calm and focus my attention on four men at the head of a crowd of perhaps ten or twelve. The instant I focused my eyes on them, as if on cue, they all advanced to the edge of the flat rock. They stopped there and began hissing like serpents. They walked back and forth. Their movement seemed to be synchronized. It was so consistent and orderly that it seemed to be mechanical. It was as if they were following a repetitive pattern, aimed at mesmerizing me.

 

“Don’t gaze at them, dear,” Genaro said to me as if he were talking to a child.

 

The laughter that followed was as hysterical as my fear. I laughed so hard that the sound reverberated on the surrounding hills.

 

The men stopped at once and seemed to be perplexed. I could distinguish the shapes of their heads bobbing up and down as if they were talking, deliberating among themselves. Then one of them jumped onto the rock.

 

“Watch out! That one is a seer!” Genaro exclaimed.

 

“What are we going to do?” I shouted.

 

“We could start singing again,” don Juan replied matter-of-factly.

 

My fear reached its apex then. I began to jump up and down and to roar like an animal. The man jumped down to the ground.

 

“Don’t pay any more attention to those clowns,” don Juan said. “Let’s talk as usual.”

 

He said that we had gone there for my enlightenment, and that I was failing miserably. I had to reorganize myself. The first thing to do was to realize that my assemblage point had moved and was now making obscure emanations glow. To carry the feelings from my usual state of awareness into the world I had assembled was indeed a travesty, for fear is only prevalent among the emanations of daily life.

 

I told him that if my assemblage point had shifted as he was saying it had, I had news for him. My fear was infinitely greater and more devastating than anything I had ever experienced in my daily life.

 

“You’re wrong,” he said. “Your first attention is confused and doesn’t want to give up control, that’s all. I have the feeling that you could walk right up to those creatures and face them and they wouldn’t do a thing to you.”

 

I insisted that I was definitely in no condition to test such a preposterous thing as that.

 

He laughed at me. He said that sooner or later I had to cure myself of my madness, and that to take the initiative and face up to those four seers was infinitely less preposterous than the idea that I was seeing them at all. He said that to him madness was to be confronted by men who had been buried for two thousand years and were still alive, and not to think that that was the epitome of preposterousness.

 

I heard everything he said with clarity, but I was not really paying attention to him. I was terrified of the men around the rock. They seemed to be preparing to jump us, to jump me really. They were fixed on me. My right arm began to shake as if I were stricken by some muscular disorder. Then I became aware that the light in the sky had changed. I had not noticed before that it was already dawn. The strange thing was that an uncontrollable urge made me stand up and run to the group of men.

 

I had at that moment two completely different feelings about the same event. The minor one was of sheer terror. The other, the major one, was of total indifference. I could not have cared less. When I reached the group I realized that don Juan was right; they were not really men. Only four of them had any resemblance to men, but they were not men either; they were strange creatures with huge yellow eyes. The others were just shapes that were propelled by the four that resembled men.

 

I felt extraordinarily sad for those creatures with yellow eyes. I tried to touch them, but I could not find them. Some sort of wind scooped them away.

 

I looked for don Juan and Genaro. They were not there. It was pitch-black again. I called out their names over and over again. I thrashed around in darkness for a few minutes. Don Juan came to my side and startled me. I did not see Genaro.

 

“Let’s go home,” he said. “We have a long walk.”

 

Don Juan commented on how well I had performed at the site of the buried seers, especially during the last part of our encounter with them. He said that a shift of the assemblage point is marked by a change in light. In the daytime, light becomes very dark; at night, darkness becomes twilight. He added that I had performed two shifts by myself, aided only by animal fright. The only thing he found objectionable was my indulging in fear, especially after I had realized that warriors have nothing to fear.

 

“How do you know I had realized that?” I asked.

 

“Because you were free. When fear disappears all the ties that bind us dissolve,” he said. “An ally was gripping your foot because it was attracted by your animal terror.”

 

I told him how sorry I was for not being able to uphold my realizations.

 

“Don’t concern yourself with that.” He laughed. “You know that such realizations are a dime a dozen; they don’t amount to anything in the life of warriors, because they are canceled out as the assemblage point shifts.”

 

“What Genaro and I wanted to do was to make you shift very deeply. This time Genaro was there simply to entice the old seers. He did it once already, and you went so far into the left side that it will take quite a while for you to remember it. Your fright tonight was just as intense as it was that first time when the seers and their allies followed you to this very room, but your sturdy first attention wouldn’t let you be aware of them.”

 

“Explain to me what happened at the site of the seers,” I asked.

 

“The allies came out to see you,” he replied. “Since they have very low energy, they always need the help of men. The four seers have collected twelve allies.

 

“The countryside in Mexico and also certain cities are dangerous. What happened to you can happen to any man or woman. If they bump into that tomb, they may even see the seers and their allies, if they are pliable enough to let their fear make their assemblage points shift; but one thing is for sure: they can die of fright.”

 

“But do you honestly believe that those Toltec seers are still alive?” I asked.

 

He laughed and shook his head in disbelief.

 

“It’s time for you to shift that assemblage point of yours just a bit,” he said. “I can’t talk to you when you are in your idiot’s stage.”

 

He smacked me with the palm of his hand on three spots: right on the crest of my right hipbone, on the center of my back below my shoulder blades, and on the upper part of my right pectoral muscle.

 

My ears immediately began to buzz. A trickle of blood ran out of my right nostril, and something inside me became unplugged. It was as if some flow of energy had been blocked and suddenly began to move again.

 

“What were those seers and their allies after?” I asked.

 

“Nothing,” he replied. “We were the ones who were after them. The seers, of course, had already noticed your field of energy the first time you saw them; when you came back, they were set to feast on you.”

 

“You claim that they are alive, don Juan,” I said. “You must mean that they are alive as allies are alive, is that so?”

 

“That’s exactly right,” he said. “They cannot possibly be alive as you and I are. That would be preposterous.”

 

He went on to explain that the ancient seers’ concern with death made them look into the most bizarre possibilities. The ones who opted for the allies’ pattern had in mind, doubtless, a desire for a haven. And they found it, at a fixed position in one of the seven bands of inorganic awareness.

 

The seers felt that they were relatively safe there. After all, they were separated from the daily world by a nearly insurmountable barrier, the barrier of perception set by the assemblage point.

 

“When the four seers saw that you could shift your assemblage point they took off like bats out of hell,” he said and laughed.

 

“Do you mean that I assembled one of the seven worlds?” I asked.

 

“No, you didn’t,” he replied. “But you have done it before, when the seers and their allies chased you. That day you went all the way to their world. The problem is that you love to act stupid, so you can’t remember it at all.

 

“I’m sure that it is the nagual’s presence,” he continued, “that sometimes makes people act dumb. When the nagual Julian was still around, I was dumber than I am now. I am convinced that when I’m no longer here, you’ll be capable of remembering everything.”

 

Don Juan explained that since he needed to show me the death defiers, he and Genaro had lured them to the outskirts of our world. What I had done at first was a deep lateral shift, which allowed me to see them as people, but at the end I had correctly made the shift that allowed me to see the death defiers and their allies as they are.

 

Very early the next morning, at Silvio Manuel’s house, don Juan called me to the big room to discuss the events of the previous night. I felt exhausted and wanted to rest, to sleep, but don Juan was pressed for time. He immediately started his explanation. He said that the old seers had found out a way to utilize the rolling force and be propelled by it. Instead of succumbing to the onslaughts of the tumbler they rode with it and let it move their assemblage points to the confines of human possibilities.

 

Don Juan expressed unbiased admiration for such an accomplishment. He admitted that nothing else could give the assemblage point the boost that the tumbler gives.

 

I asked him about the difference between the earth’s boost and the tumbler’s boost. He explained that the earth’s boost is the force of alignment of only the amber emanations, it is a boost that heightens awareness to unthinkable degrees. To the new seers it is a blast of unlimited consciousness, which they call total freedom.

 

He said that the tumbler’s boost, on the other hand, is the force of death. Under the impact of the tumbler, the assemblage point moves to new, unpredictable positions. Thus, the old seers were always alone in their journeys, although the enterprise they were involved in was always communal. The company of other seers on their journeys was fortuitous and usually meant struggle for supremacy.

 

I confessed to don Juan that the concerns of the old seers, whatever they may have been, were worse than morbid horror tales to me. He laughed uproariously. He seemed to be enjoying himself.

 

“You have to admit, no matter how disgusted you feel, that those devils were very daring,” he went on. “I never liked them myself, as you know, but I can’t help admiring them. Their love for life is truly beyond me.”

 

“How can that be love for life, don Juan? It’s something nauseating,” I said.

 

“What else could push a man to those extremes if it is not love for life?” he asked. “They loved life so intensely that they were not willing to give it up. That’s the way I have seen it. My benefactor saw something else. He believed that they were afraid to die, which is not the same as loving life. I say that they were afraid to die because they loved life and because they had seen marvels, and not because they were greedy little monsters. No. They were aberrant because nobody ever challenged them and they were spoiled like rotten children, but their daring was impeccable and so was their courage.”

 

“Would you venture into the unknown out of greed? No way. Greed works only in the world of ordinary affairs. To venture into that terrifying loneliness one must have something greater than greed. Love, one needs love for life, for intrigue, for mystery. One needs unquenching curiosity and guts galore. So don’t give me this nonsense about your being revolted. It’s embarrassing!”

 

Don Juan’s eyes were shining with contained laughter. He was putting me in my place, but he was laughing at it.

 

Don Juan left me alone in the room for perhaps an hour. I wanted to organize my thoughts and feelings. I had no way to do that. I knew without any doubt that my assemblage point was at a position where reasoning does not prevail, yet I was moved by reasonable concerns. Don Juan had said that technically, as soon as the assemblage point shifts, we are asleep. I wondered, for instance, if I was sound asleep from the stand of an onlooker, just as Genaro had been asleep to me.

 

I asked don Juan about it as soon as he returned.

 

“You are absolutely asleep without having to be stretched out,” he replied. “If people in a normal state of awareness saw you now, you would appear to them to be a bit dizzy, even drunk.”

 

He explained that during normal sleep, the shift of the assemblage point runs along either edge of man’s band. Such shifts are always coupled with slumber. Shifts that are induced by practice occur along the midsection of man’s band and are not coupled with slumber, yet a dreamer is asleep.

 

“Right at this juncture is where the new and the old seers made their separate bids for power,” he went on. “The old seers wanted a replica of the body, but with more physical strength, so they made their assemblage points slide along the right edge of man’s band. The deeper they moved along the right edge the more bizarre their dreaming body became. You, yourself, witnessed last night the monstrous result of a deep shift along the right edge.”

 

He said that the new seers were completely different, that they maintain their assemblage points along the midsection of man’s band. If the shift is a shallow one, like the shift into heightened awareness, the dreamer is almost like anyone else in the street, except for a slight vulnerability to emotions, such as fear and doubt. But at a certain degree of depth, the dreamer who is shifting along the midsection becomes a blob of light. A blob of light is the dreaming body of the new seers.

 

He also said that such an impersonal dreaming body is more conducive to understanding and examination, which are the basis of all the new seers do. The intensely humanized dreaming body of the old seers drove them to look for answers that were equally personal, humanized.

 

Don Juan suddenly seemed to be groping for words.

 

“There is another death defier,” he said curtly, “so unlike the four you’ve seen that he’s indistinguishable from the average man in the street. He’s accomplished this unique feat by being able to open and close his gap whenever he wants.”

 

He played with his fingers almost nervously.

 

“The ancient seer that the nagual Sebastian found in 1723 is that death defier,” he went on. “We count that day as the beginning of our line, the second beginning. That death defier, who’s been on the earth for hundreds of years, has changed the lives of every nagual he met, some more profoundly than others. And he has met every single nagual of our line since that day in 1723.”

 

Don Juan looked fixedly at me. I got strangely embarrassed. I thought my embarrassment was the result of a dilemma. I had very serious doubts about the content of the story, and at the same time I had the most disconcerting trust that everything he had said was true. I expressed my quandary to him.

 

“The problem of rational disbelief is not yours alone,” don Juan said. “My benefactor was at first plagued by the same question. Of course, later on he remembered everything. But it took him a long time to do so. When I met him he had already recollected everything, so I never witnessed his doubts. I only heard about them.”

 

“The weird part is that people who have never set eyes on the man have less difficulty accepting that he’s one of the original seers. My benefactor said that his quandaries stemmed from the fact that the shock of meeting such a creature had lumped together a number of emanations. It takes time for those emanations to separate themselves.”

 

Don Juan went on to explain that as my assemblage point kept on shifting, a moment would come when it would hit the proper combination of emanations; at that moment the proof of the existence of that man would become overwhelmingly evident to me.

 

I felt compelled to talk again about my ambivalence.

 

“We’re deviating from our subject,” he said. “It may seem that I’m trying to convince you of the existence of that man; and what I meant to talk about is the fact that the old seer knows how to handle the rolling force. Whether or not you believe that he exists is not important. Someday you’ll know for a fact that he certainly succeeded in closing his gap. The energy that he borrows from the nagual every generation he uses exclusively to close his gap.”

 

“How did he succeed in closing it?” I asked.

 

“There is no way of knowing that,” he replied. “I’ve talked to two other naguals who saw that man face to face, the nagual Julian and the nagual Elias. Neither of them knew how. The man never revealed how he closes that opening, which I suppose begins to expand after a time. The nagual Sebastian said that when he first saw the old seer, the man was very weak, actually dying. But my benefactor found him prancing vigorously, like a young man.”

 

Don Juan said that the nagual Sebastian nicknamed that nameless man “the tenant,” for they struck an arrangement by which the man was given energy, lodging so to speak, and he paid rent in the form of favors and knowledge.

 

“Did anybody ever get hurt in the exchange?” I asked.

 

“None of the naguals who exchanged energy with him was injured,” he replied. “The man’s commitment was that he’d only take a bit of superfluous energy from the nagual in exchange for gifts, for extraordinary abilities. For instance, the nagual Julian got the gait of power. With it, he could activate or make dormant the emanations inside his cocoon in order to look young or old at will.”

 

Don Juan explained that the death defiers in general went as far as rendering dormant all the emanations inside their cocoons, except those that matched the emanations of the allies. In this fashion they were able to imitate the allies in some form.

 

Each of the death defiers we had encountered at the rock, don Juan said, had been able to move his assemblage point to a precise spot on his cocoon in order to emphasize the emanations shared with the allies and to interact with them. But they were all unable to move it back to its usual position and interact with people. The tenant, on the other hand, is capable of shifting his assemblage point to assemble the everyday world as if nothing had ever happened.

 

Don Juan also said that his benefactor was convinced – and he fully agreed with him – that what takes place during the borrowing of energy is that the old sorcerer moves the nagual’s assemblage point to emphasize the ally’s emanations inside the nagual’s cocoon. He then uses the great jolt of energy produced by those emanations that suddenly become aligned after being so deeply dormant.

 

He said that the energy locked within us, in the dormant emanations, has a tremendous force and an incalculable scope. We can only vaguely assess the scope of that tremendous force, if we consider that the energy involved in perceiving and acting in the world of everyday life is a product of the alignment of hardly one-tenth of the emanations encased in man’s cocoon.

 

“What happens at the moment of death is that all that energy is released at once,” he continued. “Living beings at that moment become flooded by the most inconceivable force. It is not the rolling force that has cracked their gaps, because that force never enters inside the cocoon; it only makes it collapse. What floods them is the force of all the emanations that are suddenly aligned after being dormant for a lifetime. There is no outlet for such a giant force except to escape through the gap.”

 

He added that the old sorcerer

After about a week on display in Chicago, the LNER 4472 visitor from Great Britain headed north toward Milwaukee. It headed up the left-hand running C&NW (appropriate, isn't it?), and although I could have chosen a much closer location just east of where I lived, I guess I wanted to try something "completely different" (borrowed that from Monty Python, also appropriate) and explore the upper reaches of C&NW's Old Line Subdivision. I think I'm near Zion State Park. If I wanted to complete the Monty Python theme, I could maybe photoshop an image of John Cleese, laying naked on the hood ("bonnet") of an English sports car, with his hand demurely draped over his midsection to cover his "naughty bits" and saying "and now for something completely different." Fortunately for everyone including me, I suck at Photoshop.

A crucial component of a 35mm motion picture projector, an intermittent movement performs the task of shuttling the film one frame at at time, then holding the frame absolutely still while the projector shutter allows light to be sent through the film and on the way to the screen, all in the span of 1/24th of a second.

 

Housed in this device's midsection is a Geneva cross (or Maltese Cross) mechanism which runs in an oil bath. This intermittent relies on an oil feed from the projector's recirculating lubrication system; others usually hold a supply of oil which must be maintained at a safe level and changed occasionally.

   

The M-94 Serdar is both a fire support vehicle meant to augment motor rifle brigades and a monstrous amalgamation of several Yugoslavian designs. For starters, the fangs of the Serdar are implanted technologies first explored in the M-91 Podaga, albeit with some modifications. Although the general turret assembly and reloading mechanism are direct ports from the Podaga, the coaxial 7.62mm MG, enhanced optics, improved fire-control system, and stand-off ATGM are all recent additions. Paired with the baseline 120mm main gun, these additions have generously improved the accuracy and general lethality of the Podaga system. On the other side of the coin--that is to say defensive capabilities--the Serdar features an active protection system (APS) first designed by Zastava Arms for the M-81B Ipabog. This hardkill APS allows the Serdar to defeat incoming rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles commonly employed by post-Soviet states in Eastern and Southern Europe. It is worth noting that discussions of mounting explosive reactive applique to the hull a la the Ipabog came to naught in fear of hindering mobility via increased weight and restricting the ability for the wheels to turn. The compromise was to simply weld additional armor to the crewed midsection of the chassis. Although not enough to deter premier anti-tank penetrators, it gives allied combatants a certain degree of peace of mind. Though, the downside is that the Serdar's amphibious capabilities have been neutered. Despite still retaining the aquatic propulsion system, the trim vane has been removed on most vehicles to make room for additional softkill electronic counter measures.

 

Nevertheless, as previously alluded to, the Serdar's shared heritage with the M-82 Hajduk makes it perfectly capable of keeping pace with Yugoslavia's potent motor rifle brigades. Indeed, despite the Hajduk's 100mm gun already being enough to neutralize most moderately-armored foes, the Serdar's high velocity 120mm cannon is enough to keep enemy MBTs at bay. This has caused some consternation amongst NATO planners who presently sponsor security missions in the region. As Ukraine and Bulgaria--two states dependent on partnership with NATO--fail to catch up with the modernization curve, much of the heavy lifting has been shunted unto Britain, the United States, and ZEUS. This means that in the event of a Third Eastern European War, NATO tankers will be the first ones exposed to Yugoslavia's anti-armor investments. Although NATO remains confident that their defensive technologies and tier-one training regimens will win them the day, the threat of embarrassing casualty reports haunt the organization. More or less, if the Serdar manages to perform as advertised, it could help rattle NATO soothsayers even further, thereby increasing the clout of Belgrade and its allies near and abroad.

 

As always, big thanks to Evan for doing the decal work. I should gift him something valuable like KodakCoin someday.