La Ceja, Antioquia, Colombia; Central Andes; 2.300 meters above sea level.

 

The Andean squirrel (Sciurus pucheranii) is a tree squirrel endemic to Colombia.

 

The Andean squirrel is a typical tree squirrel, in its general proportions resembling the Eastern grey squirrel of North America. However, it is much smaller, with a body length of only about 14 centimetres (5.5 in), and a 12 to 16 centimetres (4.7 to 6.3 in) tail. It has soft, silky, reddish-brown fur over most of the body, merging to greyish-yellow on the underparts. The tail fur is darker than that on the body,

 

It inhabits montane rain forest and cloud forests of the Cordillera Occidental and Cordillera Central of the Colombian Andes, at elevations between 2,000 and 3,300 metres (6,600 and 10,800 ft). As a tree squirrel, it lives among Cecropia trees, palms, and tree ferns. It is believed to be diurnal, but sufficiently little is known about its habits, population, and habitat requirements, that it is currently listed as data deficient by the IUCN.

 

Wikipedia

The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest species among the Felidae and classified in the genus Panthera. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orangish-brown fur with a lighter underside. It is an apex predator, primarily preying on ungulates such as deer and wild boar. It is territorial and generally a solitary but social predator, requiring large contiguous areas of habitat, which support its requirements for prey and rearing of its offspring. Tiger cubs stay with their mother for about two years, before they become independent and leave their mother's home range to establish their own. The tiger once ranged widely from the Eastern Anatolia Region in the west to the Amur River basin, and in the south from the foothills of the Himalayas to Bali in the Sunda islands. Since the early 20th century, tiger populations have lost at least 93% of their historic range and have been extirpated in Western and Central Asia, from the islands of Java and Bali, and in large areas of Southeast and South Asia and China. Today's tiger range is fragmented, stretching from Siberian temperate forests to subtropical and tropical forests on the Indian subcontinent and Sumatra. The tiger is listed as endangered. 26908

Just a Moc for in between.

i was trying to build furniture for a upcoming project, which is going to be shown later this year.

The room of requirement was always a thing i wanted to build, so i combined these two things.

I was totally inspired by the ongoing Harry Potter Series.

I hope you like it !

Realizado para el concurso para seleccionar el cartel del carnaval 2009. No quedé seleccionado. Por lo que he podido leer como que ha habido sospechas en la elección del ganador que parece no cumplía los requesitos. Ojala no sea cierto eso.

 

i made this poster for another contest for the Carnaval de Cadiz. I wasn´t selected. And the sad thing is that there arr people saying that the winner was selected long time ago and that the poster didnpt fullfilled all the requirements. I hope is not true...

well i promised to myself i'd enter, so here's my video!

i tried to make it short, sweet, and to the point. hopefully all the requirements are here and that her potential shows in this :)

 

i worked for hours on this video, this 30 second, excuse me, 34 second video haha xD i hope devin and i get in!

 

*the words go pretty quickly, sorry about that! im a quick reader lol xD

The RAI Amsterdam multifunctional parking building: a thirty-meter high building with eight parking levels that can accommodate around a thousand cars. It is located on the Amsterdam Zuidas and the A10 ring road and is an integrated part of RAI Amsterdam. A special feature of the building is that the first floor can also be used as a flexible conference room. At times when the RAI has no additional parking requirement, the garage will act as a public parking facility. Benthem Crouwel Architects has been the supervisor of the entire RAI since 1989. After the Amtrium and the Elicium, the parking building is the third building that they have designed at the RAI complex.

  

The building is characterised by a sleek, rectangular shape with two striking spirals on the south side, the so-called "wokkels". One spiral to enter the parking garage and another spiral to leave it. Because of this separate supply and removal of traffic, parking can be handled quickly and efficiently, an important wish of the RAI. The spirals are constructed from prefab concrete elements that, stacking together form the entrance and exit to the parking floors. They are iconic for the building, clearly visible from the A10 ring road, and in the evening blue LED lines emphasise their elegant shape.

  

The parking building is a "stand alone" parking garage, and a multifunctional building. Because the first floor is twice as high (7.2 meters) as the parking floors above, a spacious hall is created that can be used as an extension hall and conference room. The 2,800 m2 hall has as few columns as possible, so that the space can be arranged in all kinds of ways. The column structure is on a 7.5 meter grid. The building consists of three naves with a span of fifteen meters. The extension hall can be used independently for events, but can also be connected by sliding doors to the surrounding halls of the RAI complex. The top parking floor, the roof of the building, can also be used for various activities of the RAI.

 

1000 Parking lots | 8 Parking Levels | 30 Meters high | 2 Spirals

 

Client: RAI Amsterdam

Architect: Benthem Crouwel Architects

Design & build: Contractor Aan de Stegge Twello

Location: Zuidas Amsterdam, aan de ring A10

Start Design: 2014

Start Construction: 2015

Opening: Oktober 2016

 

..--- ----. ----. / --... ----. ..--- / ....- ..... ---..

Please visit my YouTube, 500px, Instagram & Facebook channels

www.youtube.com/channel/UCt5wf3DvvWAqgUd9NMUItVw

500px.com/p/svive1?view=photos

www.instagram.com/viv_vivekananda/

 

Rainbow lorikeets are true parrots, within the Psittacoidea superfamily in the order Psittaciformes. The rainbow lorikeet or lorikeet (common name) is a species of parrot found in Australia. It is common along the eastern seaboard, from northern Queensland to South Australia. Its habitat is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. They are true parrots of medium-size, with the length ranging from 25 to 30 cm, including the tail. The weight varies from 75 to 157 g. The plumage of the nominate race, as with all subspecies, is very bright. The head is deep blue with a greenish-yellow nuchal collar, and the rest of the upper parts (wings, back and tail) are green. The chest is orange/yellow. The belly is deep blue, and the thighs and rump are green. In flight a yellow wing-bar contrasts clearly with the red underwing coverts.

Gordonia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae, related to Franklinia, Camellia and Stewartia. Of the roughly 40 species, all but two are native to southeast Asia in southern China, Taiwan and Indochina. They are evergreen trees, growing to 10–20 m tall. The bark is thick and deeply fissured. The leaves are alternately arranged, simple, serrated, thick, leathery, glossy, and 6–18 cm long. The flowers are large and conspicuous, 4–15 cm diameter, with 5 (occasionally 6-8) white petals; flowering is in late winter or early spring. The species are adapted to acidic soils, and do not grow well on chalk or other calcium-rich soils. They also have a high rainfall requirement and will not tolerate drought. 35143

This photo satisfies Requirement 1: Shoot a Selfie. This image displays a mirror selfie taken from my apartment room. The interesting setting is that i really love taking mirror selfies from my phone thus this requirement was a really good and easy fit for me. The photo was a stay-at-home photo, captured on a sunny day indoors (around the golden hour time). I used a slow Shutter speed of 1/20 for excess lighting and to compensate the extra light, I used an ISO of 100. To capture a clear image, I used an aperture of f/4.5.The lens used is a macro lens so the focal length was 35 mm for a macro shot.

 

I also post edited this picture to balance the exposure and contrast, changed the shadow setting as well as the highlights of the picture, to make the portrait a bit more evident and sharp. I used the basic tools on my Macbook Pro to adjust, nothing major was done other than that. Increased the vibrance of the picture.

In Lalitpur, also known as Patan, the tradition of the Kumari is observed with its own revered Kumari known as the "Patan Kumari." During our visit, our guide arranged a brief meeting with the Patan Kumari, and I had the opportunity to quickly capture a portrait. Regrettably, given the sub-optimal lighting, the limited time frame of less than 2 minutes, and my inability to establish a connection with her, capturing a perfect portrait that showcases her friendly demeanor proved to be quite challenging. Now, let's delve into some background information. Similar to the Kumari in Kathmandu, the selection process for the Patan Kumari involves identifying a young girl from the Newar community who meets specific eligibility criteria. She must belong to the Shakya or Bajracharya caste and fulfill certain physical and mental requirements, as she is believed to possess the qualities necessary to embody the goddess. Once chosen, the Patan Kumari resides in the sacred Kumari Bahal or Kumari Ghar, a dedicated residence located near Patan Durbar Square. Like her Kathmandu counterpart, the Patan Kumari is highly revered as a symbol of purity and worshipped during religious festivals and ceremonies. Devotees visit the Kumari Bahal seeking blessings and an audience with her. Similar to the Kumari in Kathmandu, the Patan Kumari's tenure as a living goddess comes to an end with puberty or a significant loss of blood. At that point, a new Kumari is chosen through a strict process, and the outgoing Kumari resumes a regular life within the community – Kumari Bahal, Patan, Nepal

People you meet when out for a walk. The recycling guys.

(Its a pity he moved his arm at the critical moment, but that's the risk with candid shots).

 

The UK is currently required to meet an existing EU target of recycling a minimum of 50% (by weight) of its household waste by 2020. Recycling rates have increased markedly since 2000 but concerns have been raised in recent years that household recycling rates have started to plateau.

 

Wales is the only nation within the UK to have already met the 50% requirement, reporting a household recycling rate of 64% in 2016/17. England, Scotland and Northern Ireland all have household recycling rates between 44-46%. In 2016, the UK as a whole reported a household recycling rate of 44.6%.

 

Built for the Small Category of the Microscale Magic Harry Potter Contest being held by The Brothers Brick.

The Room of Requirement is one of the most memorable things for me from the HP books/movies. This was a fun build to do all in,all, though it was challenging getting the piles of junk to look okay. I am not sure how well the rug turned out, let me know your thoughts : / I feel it would look better if it were not parallel to the border.

Enjoy

The same plants as the last picture. I use the setting of f/5.0 1/640 and iso400 about the same as the last photo, but 38mm because I cant walk into the plant closer this time. In lightroom, I use a different temperature just to make a different feeling of the same plant and is seems work to make the plant more like a "healthy" feeling and more texture and natural.

Man made object

  

Snowy Weekend in England -

 

Much of England experienced a touch of snow this weekend. Starting from midnight, heavy snowfall caused airport runways to close and prompted several warnings. While many woke up to snow-covered landscapes, others reported heavy rain, and some even enjoyed clear skies. Despite the weather, it was confirmed that the Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester United would proceed, though many matches in other leagues were postponed.

 

In my local area of Leicestershire, the morning brought thick fog and around 7-8 cm of snow covering everything. Having packed my camera bag the night before, I quickly had breakfast, cleared the snow off my car, and headed to Bradgate Park! However, upon arrival, I was met with an unexpected light sleet, and the melting snow hinted at insufficient cold to keep it frozen.

 

Still, I managed to capture a few shots! Two wide-angle photos showcase Bradgate Park and the River Lin partially covered in snow. My favorite little bird, the robin (or redbreast), saved the day with its generous poses. I hope the close-up shots of this curious bird, gazing at me with its black, inquisitive eyes while perched on the snow, catch your interest.

 

Wishing you all a lovely Sunday evening!

 

Robins and Winter Conditions

Robins (Erithacus rubecula), commonly found across Europe, are resilient birds but face significant challenges during winter, especially in snowy conditions. Here are some key points:

 

Struggle to Find Food:

Robins primarily feed on insects, worms, and berries, often foraged from the ground. Snow-covered landscapes limit their access to these essential food sources, making survival more difficult.

 

Increased Energy Needs:

Cold temperatures demand more energy to maintain body heat. If robins cannot meet this energy requirement, their chances of survival drop significantly.

 

Human Support:

People can aid robins by placing seeds, oats, berries, and dried fruits in bird feeders during the winter months. Providing fresh water is equally vital, as natural water sources may freeze.

 

Connection to Snow:

Robins become more visible against snowy backdrops due to their vibrant red breast, making them a favorite subject for photographers.

 

These challenges highlight the delicate balance of winter ecosystems and the need to support wildlife during harsh conditions.

 

I've captured some unforgettable moments with my camera, and I hope you feel the same joy viewing these images as I did while shooting them.

 

Thank you so much for visiting my gallery, whether you leave a comment, add it to your favorites, or simply take a moment to look around. Your support means a lot to me, and I wish you good luck and beautiful light in all your endeavors.

 

© All rights belong to R.Ertuğ. Please refrain from using these images without my express written permission. If you are interested in purchasing or using them, feel free to contact me via Flickr mail.

 

Lens - hand held or Monopod and definitely SPORT VR on. Aperture is f5.6 and full length. All my images have been converted from RAW to JPEG.

 

I started using Nikon Cross-Body Strap or Monopod on long walks. Here is my Carbon Monopod details : Gitzo GM2542 Series 2 4S Carbon Monopod - Really Right Stuff MH-01 Monopod Head with Standard Lever - Really Right Stuff LCF-11 Replacement Foot for Nikon AF-S 500mm /5.6E PF Lense -

 

Your comments and criticism are very valuable.

 

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and explore :)

   

I photographed this plane two years ago with an iPhone 12 Pro Max.

__________________________________________

 

USAF C-130 Hercules Propeller Driven Cargo Plane Returns to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona.

The plane can fly home non-stop from anywhere in the world.

 

I did not have a camera with me, so I used my iPhone 12 Pro Max at its longest focal length.

Cropped and post-processed in Apple’s Photos app.

______________________________

C-130 Hercules military transport plane heading east over my house and turning south to approach the Davis-Monthan AFB runway from the southeast to the northwest.

______________________________

Lockheed C-130 Hercules

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]

 

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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

_________________________________

This is another photo that I took on the Steel Wool photography day. I tried a different setting, instead of using vertical view of the camera to capture the narrow space where I stood in the middle of 2 walls, I changed to use horizontal view to capture more sparks flying out. With this setting, I stood in this middle of hallway that has multiple columns and used the opposing columns as the objects from which the sparks could bounce off.

 

The setting was also similar to the other steel wool photo, which has aperture f/16.0 (Sunny 16 Rule), shutter speed set at 25s and the ISO set at 100.

 

I did some cropping to place the flaring circle in the middle and some increased "Blacks" to make myself more visible in the frame.

Connecting the historic centre of Amsterdam, a

replacement bridge was built for the Walter Süskindbrug drawbridge in Amsterdam, which had been there since 1972, as it was in need of replacement.

 

The bridge tells a special story; the Jewish businessman Walter Süskindbrug, after whom the bridge is named, destroyed the records of hundreds of Jewish children during the Second World War so that they would not be sent to the concentration camps. Therefore, preserving the history and the story behind the old bridge was a very important aspect to take into account, in addition to the fact that the bridge should last a lifetime.

 

In order for the bridge to meet these requirements, a wooden superstructure was chosen that was transported over water. This wooden superstructure consisted of Accoya wood, which was used partly for the façade and partly structurally, making the bridge appear to be made entirely of wood. Accoya wood was processed into large inner arches and sections of approximately 7 metres in length, after which the parts were prefabricated. The wooden parts were painted with a white epoxy coating.

 

The new double drawbridge makes it possible to reconnect pedestrians and other commuters to the historic centre of Amsterdam. (Wikipedia)

Hello models! Last weeks theme was "Underwater"

  

Placings -

 

1st - Bella

2nd - Carly Mae

3rd - Ora

4th - Rachel

5th - Kendra

 

Bottom two -

Spencer & Spencer

 

Eliminated -

Neither of you are eliminated! Congratulations!

 

Theme 5 -

 

Emberissing moments

 

Requirements -

Must be Emberissing!

Inclued a story, for example -

"Sapphire had just finished doing a photoshoot and decided to take a nice, hot bath. Nothing was on Sapphire's mind, so she had forgoten that her best friend and secret crush Ben was downstairs. Ben went to look for Sapphire in every room, when he reached the bath room he saw Sapphire in the bath and froze, Sapphire gasped in emberissment."

 

DEADLINE - 1st november!!

This was my first time trying to do Steel Wool Photography. On my first day trying it, I ran out of steel wool right after I got the hang of it; therefore, I decided to give it another try on the next day and successfully took some great photos in the end.

 

I chose to a narrow space in order for the sparks to bounce of the walls and created such effect. On the camera setting, after researching lots of sources online, I tried different settings and ended up setting the shutter speed to 25s in order to capture as much sparks as possible. The white balance was set to Daylight to keep the natural color of the fire, and the aperture was f/16.0 since we don't really want any depth of field for this photo, and interestingly, it matches with the "Sunny 16 Rule" that we discussed in class. For ISO, I set it to 100 as I don't want any part of the photo to get overexposed so that it would be a lot harder to fix the color later in Lightroom. The photo satisfies requirement as the main object I chose was the sparks, which are blurry due to the long shutter speed (that created "lines" of sparks instead of dots).

 

For image processing, I increased "Blacks" to the maximum to bring out details on my jacket, as well as to make the photos more lively. I also did some focus on myself as the part of me in the photo was totally dull before the post-processing phase.

New Holland Honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae longirostris), Victoria Dam, Western Australia

 

Ebird checklist:

ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S35188614

 

The New Holland honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae) is a honeyeater species found throughout southern Australia.

 

New Holland honeyeaters obtain most of their carbohydrate requirements from the nectar of flowers.

 

Source: Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Holland_honeyeater

This picture meets requirement 4. The real color of the scene should not be this reddish. I change the white balance to make it look warm(maybe too warm).

The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft with a two-man crew that served during and after the Second World War. It was one of few operational front-line aircraft of the era constructed almost entirely of wood and was nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder". The Mosquito was also known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews. Originally conceived as an unarmed fast bomber, the Mosquito was adapted to roles including low to medium-altitude daytime tactical bomber, high-altitude night bomber, pathfinder, day or night fighter, fighter-bomber, intruder, maritime strike aircraft, and fast photo-reconnaissance aircraft. It was also used by the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) as a fast transport to carry small high-value cargoes to, and from, neutral countries, through enemy-controlled airspace.

 

When the Mosquito began production in 1941, it was one of the fastest operational aircraft in the world. Entering widespread service in 1942, the Mosquito was a high-speed, high-altitude photo-reconnaissance aircraft, continuing in this role throughout the war. From mid-1942 to mid-1943 Mosquito bombers flew high-speed, medium or low-altitude missions against factories, railways and other pinpoint targets in Germany and German-occupied Europe. From late 1943, Mosquito bombers were formed into the Light Night Strike Force and used as pathfinders for RAF Bomber Command's heavy-bomber raids. They were also used as "nuisance" bombers, often dropping Blockbuster bombs - 4,000 lb (1,812 kg) "cookies" - in high-altitude, high-speed raids that German night fighters were almost powerless to intercept.

 

As a night fighter, from mid-1942, the Mosquito intercepted Luftwaffe raids on the United Kingdom, notably defeating Operation Steinbock in 1944. Starting in July 1942, Mosquito night-fighter units raided Luftwaffe airfields. As part of 100 Group, it was a night fighter and intruder supporting RAF Bomber Command's heavy bombers and reduced bomber losses during 1944 and 1945. As a fighter-bomber in the Second Tactical Air Force, the Mosquito took part in "special raids", such as the attack on Amiens Prison in early 1944, and in precision attacks against Gestapo or German intelligence and security forces. Second Tactical Air Force Mosquitos supported the British Army during the 1944 Normandy Campaign. From 1943 Mosquitos with RAF Coastal Command strike squadrons attacked Kriegsmarine U-boats (particularly in the 1943 Bay of Biscay, where significant numbers were sunk or damaged) and intercepting transport ship concentrations.

 

The Mosquito flew with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other air forces in the European theatre, and the Mediterranean and Italian theatres. The Mosquito was also used by the RAF in the South East Asian theatre, and by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) based in the Halmaheras and Borneo during the Pacific War.

 

By the early-mid-1930s, de Havilland had a reputation for innovative high-speed aircraft with the DH.88 Comet racer. The later DH.91 Albatross airliner pioneered the composite wood construction that the Mosquito used. The 22-passenger Albatross could cruise at 210 miles per hour (340 km/h) at 11,000 feet (3,400 m), better than the 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) Handley Page H.P.42 and other biplanes it was replacing. The wooden monocoque construction not only saved weight and compensated for the low power of the de Havilland Gipsy Twelve engines used by this aircraft, but simplified production and reduced construction time.

 

Air Ministry bomber requirements and concepts:

 

On 8 September 1936, the British Air Ministry issued Specification P.13/36 which called for a twin-engined medium bomber capable of carrying a bomb load of 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg) for 3,000 miles (4,800 km) with a maximum speed of 275 miles per hour (443 km/h) at 15,000 feet (4,600 m); a maximum bomb load of 8,000 pounds (3,600 kg) which could be carried over shorter ranges was also specified. Aviation firms entered heavy designs with new high-powered engines and multiple defensive turrets, leading to the production of the Avro Manchester and Handley Page Halifax.

 

In May 1937, as a comparison to P.13/36, George Volkert, the chief designer of Handley Page, put forward the concept of a fast unarmed bomber. In 20 pages, Volkert planned an aerodynamically clean medium bomber to carry 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg) of bombs at a cruising speed of 300 miles per hour (480 km/h). There was support in the RAF and Air Ministry; Captain R N Liptrot, Research Director Aircraft 3 (RDA3), appraised Volkert's design, calculating that its top speed would exceed the new Supermarine Spitfire. There were, however, counter-arguments that, although such a design had merit, it would not necessarily be faster than enemy fighters for long. The ministry was also considering using non-strategic materials for aircraft production, which, in 1938, had led to specification B.9/38 and the Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle medium bomber, largely constructed from spruce and plywood attached to a steel-tube frame. The idea of a small, fast bomber gained support at a much earlier stage than sometimes acknowledged though it was unlikely that the Air Ministry envisaged it not using light alloy components.

  

Project Mosquito:

 

Once design of the DH.98 had started, de Havilland built mock-ups, the most detailed at Salisbury Hall, in the hangar where E0234 was being built. Initially, this was designed with the crew enclosed in the fuselage behind a transparent nose (similar to the Bristol Blenheim or Heinkel He 111H), but this was quickly altered to a more solid nose with a more conventional canopy.

 

The construction of the prototype began in March 1940, but work was cancelled again after the Battle of Dunkirk, when Lord Beaverbrook, as Minister of Aircraft Production, decided there was no production capacity for aircraft like the DH.98, which was not expected to be in service until early 1941. Although Lord Beaverbrook told Air Vice-Marshal Freeman that work on the project had better stop, he did not issue a specific instruction, and Freeman ignored the request. In June 1940, however, Lord Beaverbrook and the Air Staff ordered that production was to focus on five existing types, namely the Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker Hurricane, Vickers Wellington, Armstrong-Whitworth Whitley and the Bristol Blenheim. Work on the DH.98 prototype stopped, and it seemed that the project would be shut down when the design team were denied the materials with which to build their prototype.

 

The Mosquito was only reinstated as a priority in July 1940, after de Havilland's General Manager L.C.L Murray, promised Lord Beaverbrook 50 Mosquitoes by December 1941, and this, only after Beaverbrook was satisfied that Mosquito production would not hinder de Havilland's primary work of producing Tiger Moth and Oxford trainers and repairing Hurricanes as well as the licence manufacture of Merlin engines. In promising Beaverbrook 50 Mosquitoes by the end of 1941, de Havilland was taking a gamble, because it was unlikely that 50 Mosquitos could be built in such a limited time; as it transpired only 20 Mosquitos were built in 1941, but the other 30 were delivered by mid-March 1942.

 

During the Battle of Britain, nearly a third of de Havilland's factory time was lost because the workers took cover in the factory's bomb shelters. Nevertheless, work on the prototype went quickly, such that E0234 was rolled out on 19 November 1940.

 

In the aftermath of the Battle of Britain, the original order was changed to 20 bomber variants and 30 fighters. It was still uncertain whether the fighter version should have dual or single controls, or should carry a turret, so three prototypes were eventually built: W4052, W4053 and W4073. The latter, both turret armed, were later disarmed, to become the prototypes for the T.III trainer. This caused some delays as half-built wing components had to be strengthened for the expected higher combat load requirements. The nose sections also had to be altered, omitting the clear perspex bomb-aimer's position, to solid noses designed to house four .303 machine guns and their ammunition.

 

Overview:

 

The Mosquito was a fast, twin-engined aircraft with shoulder-mounted wings. The most-produced variant, designated the FB Mk VI (Fighter-bomber Mark 6), was powered by two Merlin Mk 23 or Mk 25 engines driving three-bladed de Havilland hydromatic propellers. The typical fixed armament for an FB Mk VI was four Browning .303 machine guns and four 20 mm Hispano cannon while the offensive load consisted of up to 2,000 pounds (910 kg) of bombs, or eight RP-3 unguided rockets.

 

Construction:

 

The oval-section fuselage was a frameless monocoque shell built in two halves being formed to shape by band clamps over a mahogany or concrete mould, each holding one half of the fuselage, split vertically. The shell halves were made of sheets of Ecuadorean balsawood sandwiched between sheets of Canadian birch, but in areas needing extra strength— such as along cut-outs— stronger woods replaced the balsa filler; the overall thickness of the birch and balsa sandwich skin was only 7⁄16 inch (11 mm). This sandwich skin was so stiff that no internal reinforcement was necessary from the wing's rear spar to the tail bearing bulkhead. The join was along the vertical centre line. This split construction greatly aided the assembly of the internal equipment as it allowed the technicians easy access to the fuselage interior. While the glue in the plywood skin dried, carpenters cut a sawtooth joint into the edges of the fuselage shells, while other workers installed the controls and cabling on the inside wall. When the glue completely dried, the two halves were glued and screwed together. The fuselage was strengthened internally by seven bulkheads made up of two plywood skins parted by spruce blocks, which formed the basis on each half for the outer shell. Each bulkhead was a repeat of the spruce design for the fuselage halves; a balsa sheet sandwich between two plywood sheets/skins. Bulkhead number seven carried the fittings and loads for the tailplane and rudder, The type of glue originally used was Casein, which was later replaced by "Aerolite", a synthetic urea-formaldehyde, which was more durable. Many other types of screws and flanges (made of various woods) also held the structure together.

 

The fuselage construction joints were made from balsa wood and plywood strips with the spruce multi-ply being connected by a balsa V joint, along with the interior frame. The spruce would be reinforced by plywood strips at the point where the two halves joined to form the V-joint. Located on top of the joint the plywood formed the outer skin. During the joining of the two halves ("boxing up"), two laminated wooden clamps would be used in the after portion of the fuselage to act as support. A covering of doped Madapolam (a fine plain woven cotton) fabric was stretched tightly over the shell and a coat of silver dope was applied, after which the exterior camouflage was applied. The fuselage had a large ventral section cut-out, which was braced during construction, to allow it to be lowered onto the wing centre-section. Once the wing was secured the lower panels were replaced, and the bomb bay or armament doors fitted.

 

The all-wood wing was built as a one-piece structure and was not divided into separate construction sections. It was made up of two main spars, spruce and plywood compression ribs, stringers, and a plywood covering. The outer plywood skin was covered and doped like the fuselage. The wing was installed into the roots by means of four large attachment points. The engine radiators were fitted in the inner wing, just outboard of the fuselage on either side. These gave less drag. The radiators themselves were split into three sections: an oil cooler section outboard, the middle section forming the coolant radiator and the inboard section serving the cabin heater. The wing contained metal framed and skinned ailerons, but the flaps were made of wood and were hydraulically controlled. The nacelles were mostly wood, although, for strength, the engine mounts were all metal as were the undercarriage parts. Engine mounts of welded steel tube were added, along with simple landing gear oleos filled with rubber blocks. Wood was used to carry only in-plane loads, with metal fittings used for all triaxially loaded components such as landing gear, engine mounts, control surface mounting brackets, and the wing-to-fuselage junction. The outer leading wing edge had to be brought 22 inches (56 cm) further forward to accommodate this design. The main tail unit was all wood built. The control surfaces, the rudder and elevator, were aluminium framed and fabric covered. The total weight of metal castings and forgings used in the aircraft was only 280 lb (130 kg).

 

In November 1944, several crashes occurred in the Far East. At first, it was thought these were as a result of wing structure failures. The casein glue, it was said, cracked when exposed to extreme heat and/or monsoon conditions. This caused the upper surfaces to "lift" from the main spar. An investigating team led by Major Hereward de Havilland travelled to India and produced a report in early December 1944 stating that "the accidents were not caused by the deterioration of the glue but by shrinkage of the airframe during the wet monsoon season". However a later inquiry by Cabot & Myers definitely attributed the accidents to faulty manufacture and this was confirmed by a further investigation team by the Ministry of Aircraft Production at Defford which found faults in six different Marks of Mosquito (all built at de Havilland's Hatfield and Leavesden plants) which showed similar defects, and none of the aircraft had been exposed to monsoon conditions or termite attack; thus it was concluded that there were construction defects found at the two plants. It was found that the "Standard of glueing...left much to be desired”. Records at the time showed that accidents caused by "loss of control" were three times more frequent on Mosquitoes than on any other type of aircraft. The Air Ministry forestalled any loss of confidence in the Mosquito by holding to Major de Havilland's initial investigation in India that the accidents were caused "largely by climate" To solve the problem, a sheet of plywood was set along the span of the wing to seal the entire length of the skin joint along the main spar.

 

Information regarding the de Havilland DH98 Mosquito has been taken from excerpts contained on Wikipedia

 

Aston Martin Ulster Roadster (1936)

 

In 1927 Aston Martin was taken over by race driver A. C. Bertelli. He designed a 1.5-litre, SOHC engine which would eventually power the LeMans-racing Ulster. Thoughout the years the engine was devloped to include dry sump lubrication.

 

The Aston Martin Ulster stands as one of the most respected pre-war racecars. It was largely based on the Mark II which came before it.

 

The Ulster had a breif two year race program. During this time they dominated the British Tourist Trophy at Goodwood. In 1934, Ulsters took first, second and third place. The best LeMans result was achieved in 1935. Chassis LM20 raced to third overall which put it first in the 1101 to 1500cc class.

 

After the race efforts, Aston Martin readied a production version of the LeMans cars. Twenty-One of these cars were built of which all are accounted for today.

 

Aston Martin Ulster information used from:

 

www.supercars.net/cars/2084.html

 

In the 1980's a small number (7) replicas of the Aston Martin Ulster Roadster were manufactured as a kit car:

 

Fergus Mosquito (Aston Martin Ulster replica)

 

Kop Hill Climb - 25th September 2011

 

Fergus Mosquito - an Aston Martin Ulster replica.

 

Only seven were made in Kingsbridge, Devon, in the 1980s, using donor Morris Marina B-series engines and other parts.

 

UIJ233 is the best of the 7 replicas.

 

These two models, the de Havilland DH98 Mosquito aircraft and the Aston Martin Ulster Roadster of 1936 have been created in Lego miniland scale for Flickr LUGNuts' 79th Build Challenge, - 'LUGNuts goes Wingnuts" - featuring automotive vehicles named after, inspired by or related to aircraft.

Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat. Prince Albert designed the house himself in the style of an Italian Renaissance palazzo. The builder was Thomas Cubitt, the London architect and builder whose company built the main façade of Buckingham Palace for the royal couple in 1847. An earlier smaller house on the site was demolished to make way for a new and far larger house, though the original entrance portico survives as the main gateway to the walled garden.

 

Queen Victoria died at Osborne House in January 1901. Following her death, the house became surplus to royal requirements and was given to the state, with a few rooms being retained as a private museum to Queen Victoria. From 1903 until 1921 it was used as a junior officer training college for the Royal Navy, known as the Royal Naval College, Osborne. In 1998 training were consolidated at the Britannia Royal Naval College, now at Dartmouth. Osborne House is open to the public for tours.

The Tornado ADV had its origins in an RAF Air Staff Requirement 395 (or ASR.395), which called for a long-range interceptor to replace the Lightning F6 and Phantom FGR2. The requirement for a modern interceptor was driven by the threat posed by the large Soviet long-range bomber fleet, in particular the supersonic Tupolev Tu-22M. From the beginning of the Tornado IDS's development in 1968, the possibility of a variant dedicated to air defence had been quietly considered; several American aircraft had been evaluated, but found to be unsuitable. However, the concept proved unattractive to the other European partners on the Tornado project, thus the UK elected to proceed in its development alone. On 4 March 1976, the development of the Tornado ADV was formally approved; it was announced on this day that 165 of the 385 Tornados that were on order for the RAF would be of the Tornado ADV variant.

 

In 1976, British Aerospace was contracted to provide three prototype aircraft. The first prototype was rolled out at Warton on 9 August 1979, before making its maiden flight on 27 October 1979 with David Eagles. The second and third development aircraft made their first flights on 18 July and 18 November 1980, respectively. During the flight testing, the ADV demonstrated noticeably superior supersonic acceleration to the IDS, even while carrying a full weapons loadout. The testing of the prototypes was greatly aided by the use of real-time telemetry being broadcast back to ground technicians from aircraft in flight. The third prototype was primarily used in the testing of the new Marconi/Ferranti AI.24 Foxhunter airborne interception radar.

 

The Tornado ADV's differences compared to the IDS include a greater sweep angle on the wing gloves, and the deletion of their kruger flaps, deletion of the port cannon, a longer radome for the Foxhunter radar, slightly longer airbrakes and a fuselage stretch of 1.36 m to allow the carriage of four Skyflash semi-active radar homing missiles. The stretch was applied to the Tornado front fuselage being built by the UK, with a plug being added immediately behind the cockpit, which had the unexpected benefit of reducing drag and making space for an additional fuel tank (Tank '0') carrying 200 imperial gallons (909 L; 240 U.S. gal) of fuel. The artificial feel of the flight controls was lighter on the ADV than on the IDS. Various internal avionics, pilot displays, guidance systems and software also differed; including an automatic wing sweep selector not fitted to the strike aircraft.

 

The Tornado F2 was the initial version of the Tornado ADV in Royal Air Force service, with 18 being built. It first flew on 5 March 1984 and was powered by the same RB.199 Mk 103 engines used by the IDS Tornado, capable of four wing sweep settings, and fitted to carry only two underwing Sidewinder missiles. Serious problems were discovered with the Foxhunter radar, which meant that the aircraft were delivered with concrete and lead ballast installed in the nose as an interim measure until they could be fitted with the radar sets. The ballast was nicknamed Blue Circle, which was a play on the Rainbow Codes nomenclature, and a British brand of cement called Blue Circle.

 

Production of the Tornado ADV was performed between 1980 and 1993, the last such aircraft being delivered that same year. A total of 165 Tornado ADVs were ordered by Britain, the majority being the Tornado F3.

A U.S. Air Force Lockheed Martin F-22 "Raptor" flies above Royal Australian Air Force Base Tindal, Australia, March 2, 2017. Twelve Lockheed Martin F-22 "Raptors" and approximately 200 U.S. Air Force Airmen participated in the first Enhanced Air Cooperation, an initiative under the Force Posture Agreement between the U.S. and Australia.

  

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is a fifth-generation, single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). The result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, the aircraft was designed primarily as an air superiority fighter, but also has ground attack, electronic warfare, and signal intelligence capabilities. The prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, built most of the F-22's airframe and weapons systems and conducted final assembly, while Boeing provided the wings, aft fuselage, avionics integration, and training systems.

 

The aircraft was variously designated F-22 and F/A-22 before it formally entered service in December 2005 as the F-22A. Despite its protracted development and various operational issues, USAF officials consider the F-22 a critical component of the service's tactical air power. Its combination of stealth, aerodynamic performance, and situational awareness enable unprecedented air combat capabilities.

 

Service officials had originally planned to buy a total of 750 ATFs. In 2009, the program was cut to 187 operational production aircraft due to high costs, a lack of clear air-to-air missions due to delays in Russian and Chinese fighter programs, a ban on exports, and development of the more versatile F-35. The last F-22 was delivered in 2012.

  

Development

 

Origins

 

In 1981, the U.S. Air Force identified a requirement for an Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) to replace the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon. Code named "Senior Sky", this air-superiority fighter program was influenced by emerging worldwide threats, including new developments in Soviet air defense systems and the proliferation of the Su-27 Flanker- and MiG-29 Fulcrum-class of fighter aircraft. It would take advantage of the new technologies in fighter design on the horizon, including composite materials, lightweight alloys, advanced flight control systems, more powerful propulsion systems, and most importantly, stealth technology. In 1983, the ATF concept development team became the System Program Office (SPO) and managed the program at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The demonstration and validation (Dem/Val) request for proposals (RFP) was issued in September 1985, with requirements placing strong emphasis on stealth and supercruise. Of the seven bidding companies, Lockheed and Northrop were selected on 31 October 1986. Lockheed teamed with Boeing and General Dynamics while Northrop teamed with McDonnell Douglas, and the two contractor teams undertook a 50-month Dem/Val phase, culminating in the flight test of two technology demonstrator prototypes, the YF-22 and the YF-23, respectively.

 

Dem/Val was focused on risk reduction and technology development plans over specific aircraft designs. Contractors made extensive use of analytical and empirical methods, including computational fluid dynamics, wind-tunnel testing, and radar cross-section calculations and pole testing; the Lockheed team would conduct nearly 18,000 hours of wind-tunnel testing. Avionics development was marked by extensive testing and prototyping and supported by ground and flying laboratories. During Dem/Val, the SPO used the results of performance and cost trade studies conducted by contractor teams to adjust ATF requirements and delete ones that were significant weight and cost drivers while having marginal value. The short takeoff and landing (STOL) requirement was relaxed in order to delete thrust-reversers, saving substantial weight. As avionics was a major cost driver, side-looking radars were deleted, and the dedicated infra-red search and track (IRST) system was downgraded from multi-color to single color and then deleted as well. However, space and cooling provisions were retained to allow for future addition of these components. The ejection seat requirement was downgraded from a fresh design to the existing McDonnell Douglas ACES II. Despite efforts by the contractor teams to rein in weight, the takeoff gross weight estimate was increased from 50,000 lb (22,700 kg) to 60,000 lb (27,200 kg), resulting in engine thrust requirement increasing from 30,000 lbf (133 kN) to 35,000 lbf (156 kN) class.

 

Each team produced two prototype air vehicles for Dem/Val, one for each of the two engine options. The YF-22 had its maiden flight on 29 September 1990 and in flight tests achieved up to Mach 1.58 in supercruise. After the Dem/Val flight test of the prototypes, on 23 April 1991, Secretary of the USAF Donald Rice announced the Lockheed team as the winner of the ATF competition. The YF-23 design was considered stealthier and faster, while the YF-22, with its thrust vectoring nozzles, was more maneuverable as well as less expensive and risky. The aviation press speculated that the Lockheed team's design was also more adaptable to the U.S. Navy's Navalized Advanced Tactical Fighter (NATF), but by 1992, the Navy had abandoned NATF.

  

Production and procurement

 

As the program moved to full-scale development, or the Engineering & Manufacturing Development (EMD) stage, the production version had notable differences from the YF-22, despite having a broadly similar shape. The swept-back angle of the leading edge was decreased from 48° to 42°, while the vertical stabilizers were shifted rearward and decreased in area by 20%. To improve pilot visibility, the canopy was moved forward 7 inches (18 cm), and the engine intakes moved rearward 14 inches (36 cm). The shapes of the wing and stabilator trailing edges were refined to improve aerodynamics, strength, and stealth characteristics. Increasing weight during development caused slight reductions in range and maneuver performance.

 

Prime contractor Lockheed Martin Aeronautics manufactured the majority of the airframe and performed final assembly at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia; program partner Boeing Defense, Space & Security provided additional airframe components as well as avionics integration and training systems. The first F-22, an EMD aircraft with tail number 4001, was unveiled at Marietta, Georgia, on 9 April 1997, and first flew on 7 September 1997. Production, with the first lot awarded in September 2000, supported over 1,000 subcontractors and suppliers from 46 states and up to 95,000 jobs, and spanned 15 years at a peak rate of roughly two airplanes per month. In 2006, the F-22 development team won the Collier Trophy, American aviation's most prestigious award. Due to the aircraft's advanced nature, contractors have been targeted by cyberattacks and technology theft.

 

The USAF originally envisioned ordering 750 ATFs at a total program cost of $44.3 billion and procurement cost of $26.2 billion in fiscal year (FY) 1985 dollars, with production beginning in 1994. The 1990 Major Aircraft Review led by Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney reduced this to 648 aircraft beginning in 1996. By 1997, funding instability had further cut the total to 339, which was again reduced to 277 by 2003. In 2004, the Department of Defense (DoD) further reduced this to 183 operational aircraft, despite the USAF's preference for 381. A multi-year procurement plan was implemented in 2006 to save $15 billion, with total program cost projected to be $62 billion for 183 F-22s distributed to seven combat squadrons. In 2008, Congress passed a defense spending bill that raised the total orders for production aircraft to 187.

 

The first two F-22s built were EMD aircraft in the Block 1.0 configuration for initial flight testing, while the third was a Block 2.0 aircraft built to represent the internal structure of production airframes and enabled it to test full flight loads. Six more EMD aircraft were built in the Block 10 configuration for development and upgrade testing, with the last two considered essentially production quality jets. Production for operational squadrons consisted of 37 Block 20 training aircraft and 149 Block 30/35 combat aircraft; one of the Block 35 aircraft is dedicated to flight sciences at Edwards Air Force Base.

 

The numerous new technologies in the F-22 resulted in substantial cost overruns and delays. Many capabilities were deferred to post-service upgrades, reducing the initial cost but increasing total program cost. As production wound down in 2011, the total program cost is estimated to be about $67.3 billion, with $32.4 billion spent on Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) and $34.9 billion on procurement and military construction (MILCON) in then year dollars. The incremental cost for an additional F-22 was estimated at about $138 million in 2009.

 

Ban on exports

 

The F-22 cannot be exported under US federal law to protect its stealth technology and other high-tech features. Customers for U.S. fighters are acquiring earlier designs such as the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon or the newer F-35 Lightning II, which contains technology from the F-22 but was designed to be cheaper, more flexible, and available for export. In September 2006, Congress upheld the ban on foreign F-22 sales. Despite the ban, the 2010 defense authorization bill included provisions requiring the DoD to prepare a report on the costs and feasibility for an F-22 export variant, and another report on the effect of F-22 export sales on U.S. aerospace industry.

 

Some Australian politicians and defense commentators proposed that Australia should attempt to purchase F-22s instead of the planned F-35s, citing the F-22's known capabilities and F-35's delays and developmental uncertainties. However, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) determined that the F-22 was unable to perform the F-35's strike and close air support roles. The Japanese government also showed interest in the F-22 for its Replacement-Fighter program. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) would reportedly require fewer fighters for its mission if it obtained the F-22, thus reducing engineering and staffing costs. However, in 2009 it was reported that acquiring the F-22 would require increases to the Japanese government's defense budget beyond the historical 1 percent of its GDP. With the end of F-22 production, Japan chose the F-35 in December 2011. Israel also expressed interest, but eventually chose the F-35 because of the F-22's price and unavailability.

 

Production termination

 

Throughout the 2000s, the need for F-22s was debated, due to rising costs and the lack of relevant adversaries. In 2006, Comptroller General of the United States David Walker found that "the DoD has not demonstrated the need" for more investment in the F-22, and further opposition to the program was expressed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon R. England, Senator John McCain, and Chairman of U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services Senator John Warner. The F-22 program lost influential supporters in 2008 after the forced resignations of Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force General T. Michael Moseley.

 

In November 2008, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stated that the F-22 was not relevant in post-Cold War conflicts such as irregular warfare operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in April 2009, under the new Obama Administration, he called for ending production in FY2011, leaving the USAF with 187 production aircraft. In July, General James Cartwright, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated to the Senate Committee on Armed Services his reasons for supporting termination of F-22 production. They included shifting resources to the multirole F-35 to allow proliferation of fifth-generation fighters for three service branches and preserving the F/A-18 production line to maintain the military's electronic warfare (EW) capabilities in the Boeing EA-18G Growler. Issues with the F-22's reliability and availability also raised concerns. After President Obama threatened to veto further production, the Senate voted in July 2009 in favor of ending production and the House subsequently agreed to abide by the 187 production aircraft cap. Gates stated that the decision was taken in light of the F-35's capabilities, and in 2010, he set the F-22 requirement to 187 aircraft by lowering the number of major regional conflict preparations from two to one.

 

In 2010, USAF initiated a study to determine the costs of retaining F-22 tooling for a future Service Life Extension Program (SLEP). A RAND Corporation paper from this study estimated that restarting production and building an additional 75 F-22s would cost $17 billion, resulting in $227 million per aircraft, or $54 million higher than the flyaway cost. Lockheed Martin stated that restarting the production line itself would cost about $200 million. Production tooling and associated documentation were subsequently stored at the Sierra Army Depot, allowing the retained tooling to support the fleet life cycle. There were reports that attempts to retrieve this tooling found empty containers, but a subsequent audit found that the tooling was stored as expected.

 

Russian and Chinese fighter developments have fueled concern, and in 2009, General John Corley, head of Air Combat Command, stated that a fleet of 187 F-22s would be inadequate, but Secretary Gates dismissed General Corley's concern. In 2011, Gates explained that Chinese fifth-generation fighter developments had been accounted for when the number of F-22s was set, and that the U.S. would have a considerable advantage in stealth aircraft in 2025, even with F-35 delays. In December 2011, the 195th and final F-22 was completed out of 8 test EMD and 187 operational aircraft produced; the aircraft was delivered to the USAF on 2 May 2012.

 

In April 2016, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee proposed legislation that would direct the Air Force to conduct a cost study and assessment associated with resuming production of the F-22. Since the production halt directed in 2009 by then Defense Secretary Gates, lawmakers and the Pentagon noted that air warfare systems of Russia and China were catching up to those of the U.S. Lockheed Martin has proposed upgrading the Block 20 training aircraft into combat-coded Block 30/35 versions as a way to increase numbers available for deployment. On 9 June 2017, the Air Force submitted their report to Congress stating they had no plans to restart the F-22 production line due to economic and operational issues; it estimated it would cost approximately $50 billion to procure 194 additional F-22s at a cost of $206–$216 million per aircraft, including approximately $9.9 billion for non-recurring start-up costs and $40.4 billion for aircraft procurement costs.

 

Upgrades

 

The first aircraft with combat-capable Block 3.0 software flew in 2001. Increment 2, the first upgrade program, was implemented in 2005 for Block 20 aircraft onward and enabled the employment of Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM). Certification of the improved AN/APG-77(V)1 radar was completed in March 2007, and airframes from production Lot 5 onward are fitted with this radar, which incorporates air-to-ground modes. Increment 3.1 for Block 30 aircraft onward provided improved ground-attack capability through synthetic aperture radar mapping and radio emitter direction finding, electronic attack and Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) integration; testing began in 2009 and the first upgraded aircraft was delivered in 2011. To address oxygen deprivation issues, F-22s were fitted with an automatic backup oxygen system (ABOS) and modified life support system starting in 2012.

 

Increment 3.2 for Block 35 aircraft is a two-part upgrade process; 3.2A focuses on electronic warfare, communications and identification, while 3.2B includes geolocation improvements and a new stores management system to show the correct symbols for the AIM-9X and AIM-120D. To enable two-way communication with other platforms, the F-22 can use the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) as a gateway. The planned Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL) integration was cut due to development delays and lack of proliferation among USAF platforms. The F-22 fleet is planned to start receiving Increment 3.2B as well as a software upgrade for cryptography capabilities and avionics stability in May 2019. A Multifunctional Information Distribution System-Joint (MIDS-J) radio that replaces the current Link-16 receive-only box is expected to be operational by 2020. Subsequent upgrades are also focusing on having an open architecture to enable faster future enhancements.

 

In 2024, funding is projected to begin for the F-22 mid-life upgrade (MLU), which is expected to include new sensors and antennas, hardware refresh, cockpit improvements, and a helmet mounted display and cuing system. Other enhancements being developed include IRST functionality for the AN/AAR-56 Missile Launch Detector (MLD) and more durable stealth coating based on the F-35's.

 

The F-22 was designed for a service life of 8,000 flight hours, with a $350 million "structures retrofit program". Investigations are being made for upgrades to extend their useful lives further. In the long term, the F-22 is expected to be superseded by a sixth-generation jet fighter to be fielded in the 2030s.

  

Design

 

Overview

 

The F-22 Raptor is a fifth-generation fighter that is considered fourth generation in stealth aircraft technology by the USAF.[91] It is the first operational aircraft to combine supercruise, supermaneuverability, stealth, and sensor fusion in a single weapons platform. The F-22 has four empennage surfaces, retractable tricycle landing gear, and clipped delta wings with reverse trailing edge sweep and leading edge extensions running to the upper outboard corner of the inlets. Flight control surfaces include leading-edge flaps, flaperons, ailerons, rudders on the canted vertical stabilizers, and all-moving horizontal tails (stabilators); for speed brake function, the ailerons deflect up, flaperons down, and rudders outwards to increase drag.

 

The aircraft's dual Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 augmented turbofan engines are closely spaced and incorporate pitch-axis thrust vectoring nozzles with a range of ±20 degrees; each engine has maximum thrust in the 35,000 lbf (156 kN) class. The F-22's thrust-to-weight ratio at typical combat weight is nearly at unity in maximum military power and 1.25 in full afterburner. Maximum speed without external stores is approximately Mach 1.8 at military power and greater than Mach 2 with afterburners.

 

The F-22's high cruise speed and operating altitude over prior fighters improve the effectiveness of its sensors and weapon systems, and increase survivability against ground defenses such as surface-to-air missiles. The aircraft is among only a few that can supercruise, or sustain supersonic flight without using fuel-inefficient afterburners; it can intercept targets which subsonic aircraft would lack the speed to pursue and an afterburner-dependent aircraft would lack the fuel to reach. The F-22's thrust and aerodynamics enable regular combat speeds of Mach 1.5 at 50,000 feet (15,000 m). The use of internal weapons bays permits the aircraft to maintain comparatively higher performance over most other combat-configured fighters due to a lack of aerodynamic drag from external stores. The aircraft's structure contains a significant amount of high-strength materials to withstand stress and heat of sustained supersonic flight. Respectively, titanium alloys and composites comprise 39% and 24% of the structural weight.

 

The F-22's aerodynamics, relaxed stability, and powerful thrust-vectoring engines give it excellent maneuverability and energy potential across its flight envelope. The airplane has excellent high alpha (angle of attack) characteristics, capable of flying at trimmed alpha of over 60° while maintaining roll control and performing maneuvers such as the Herbst maneuver (J-turn) and Pugachev's Cobra. The flight control system and full-authority digital engine control (FADEC) make the aircraft highly departure resistant and controllable, thus giving the pilot carefree handling.

  

Stealth

 

The F-22 was designed to be highly difficult to detect and track by radar. Measures to reduce radar cross-section (RCS) include airframe shaping such as alignment of edges, fixed-geometry serpentine inlets and curved vanes that prevent line-of-sight of the engine faces and turbines from any exterior view, use of radar-absorbent material (RAM), and attention to detail such as hinges and pilot helmets that could provide a radar return. The F-22 was also designed to have decreased radio emissions, infrared signature and acoustic signature as well as reduced visibility to the naked eye. The aircraft's flat thrust-vectoring nozzles reduce infrared emissions of the exhaust plume to mitigate the threat of infrared homing ("heat seeking") surface-to-air or air-to-air missiles. Additional measures to reduce the infrared signature include special topcoat and active cooling of leading edges to manage the heat buildup from supersonic flight.

 

Compared to previous stealth designs like the F-117, the F-22 is less reliant on RAM, which are maintenance-intensive and susceptible to adverse weather conditions. Unlike the B-2, which requires climate-controlled hangars, the F-22 can undergo repairs on the flight line or in a normal hangar. The F-22 has a Signature Assessment System which delivers warnings when the radar signature is degraded and necessitates repair. While the F-22's exact RCS is classified, in 2009 Lockheed Martin released information indicating that from certain angles the aircraft has an RCS of 0.0001 m² or −40 dBsm – equivalent to the radar reflection of a "steel marble". Effectively maintaining the stealth features can decrease the F-22's mission capable rate to 62–70%.

 

The effectiveness of the stealth characteristics is difficult to gauge. The RCS value is a restrictive measurement of the aircraft's frontal or side area from the perspective of a static radar. When an aircraft maneuvers it exposes a completely different set of angles and surface area, potentially increasing radar observability. Furthermore, the F-22's stealth contouring and radar absorbent materials are chiefly effective against high-frequency radars, usually found on other aircraft. The effects of Rayleigh scattering and resonance mean that low-frequency radars such as weather radars and early-warning radars are more likely to detect the F-22 due to its physical size. However, such radars are also conspicuous, susceptible to clutter, and have low precision. Additionally, while faint or fleeting radar contacts make defenders aware that a stealth aircraft is present, reliably vectoring interception to attack the aircraft is much more challenging. According to the USAF an F-22 surprised an Iranian F-4 Phantom II that was attempting to intercept an American UAV, despite Iran's assertion of having military VHF radar coverage over the Persian Gulf.

A fragment of the original stone opus sectile floor. The 2 synagogues of Toledo, both of them gorgeous, are among the handful remaining in Spain and were a highlight of our trip. This one was built in 1357 by Samuel Ha-Levi Abulafia, treasurer to King Pedro I of Spain. This was while the Jews were rebuilding from the pograms of 1348 -- the Jews of Toledo were, as usual, blamed for the Black Death, and the attacks on them seem to have done double duty as a way for the king's bastard brother Enrique of Trastámara to whip up support and seize royal assets. Ha-Levi, having the ear of the king, was apparently exempted from the usual requirement that any synagogues be more modest than the city's churches; this may also have been a form of compensation from the king for the pograms. The result was a Mudejar gem, richly decorated with Moorish-style plasterwork and an artesonado wood ceiling.

This photo covers requirement 3, background blurred.

 

I shot this photo at the mirror with my hand in front of the camera. To get a background blur, I set the shutter speed to 1/6s. Then, I tried my best to freeze my hands and turn my body so that my left hand stays relatively still with the camera.

 

To prevent my hand from getting out of focus during the movement, I set the aperture to f14.

 

After around 100 attempts, I finally got an image with my hand sharp and the background blurred.

The National Cycle Route 647 on the disused Chesterfield and Lincoln Direct Railway, in between the former Clifton-on-Trent railway station and Doddington and Harby railway station, in Nottinghamshire.

 

Like most new railways of the time its purpose was the carriage of coal. The project's leading light was William Arkwright, a descendant of Richard Arkwright who had made the family's fortune by mechanising the spinning of cotton. William Arkwright had settled at Sutton Scarsdale Hall near Chesterfield and with the land came extensive deposits of coal.

 

The rail network in the vicinity provided by the Midland Railway and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway was still in its infancy and would not meet his requirements. In 1887 the Chesterfield and Lincoln Direct Railway was proposed independently to join with Midland lines at each end. It would cross his land but received insufficient support.

 

Arkwright decided to promote an independent line to provide through roads to opposite coasts of the country. In time it became known as "The East to West". It would be sufficiently large to maintain itself in the face of competition from other railways. There were a number of lines already approved but not carried forward which could be incorporated. With the Newark and Ollerton there was the Macclesfield and Warrington Railway and the Lincoln and East Coast Railway. A number of other lines had been considered but not formally proposed and these, together with plans for dock works at Sutton on Sea which had been approved in 1884, gave Arkwright his route and support from the various landowners involved. The Lancashire Derbyshire and East Coast Railway Company was formed at 27 George St in Westminster and published its plans in 1890.

 

There was initially a deal of opposition from landowners and other railway companies but, in the end, the main opponent was the MS&LR because the line would bypass its own line from Sheffield to Retford and thence to London. The Great Eastern Railway turned from opponent to supporteer, realising that the line could give it an entree to the Midlands coalfields. The Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway Act authorising building the line was given Royal Assent on 5 August 1891.

 

Due to lack of investment, only the portion from Chesterfield to Lincoln was built. To have continued west of Chesterfield would have required some extremely expensive and difficult engineering works. It was an ambitious undertaking, with some extremely expensive engineering works, crossing the Peak District which had always been a major headache for railway builders. Even to the east it crossed lines of hills running north and south. In addition it would conflict with the lines of a number of other railway companies.

 

From Lincoln the line would continue eastward over the Lincolnshire Wolds, with a junction near Stainfield as it crossed the GNR Louth to Bardney line. Proceeding well to the north of Horncastle it would cross the East Lincolnshire Railway to the southwest of Alford passing to the south. It would then join that line's loop (at that time known as the Willoughby Railway) near Thurlby turning north east to Sutton on Sea, where the North Sea port would be built.

 

Passenger services over the line to Lincoln finished in September 1955.

 

This photo satisfies requirement 2: Focus on the midground. The camera setting was in manual to allow me to focus on the face of the turtle. I used a large aperture of f/2.8 to give a shallow depth of field, which caused the foreground and background to be blurry. I used a shutter speed of 1/200 to help prevent any small motion blur from my shaky hands.

 

This photo satisfies requirement 3: Bugs. Although this is not a bug, this turtle is a very small animal. I took this photo at Petco.

The dozen 12m MCV eVoRa-bodied Volvo B8RLEs in the Stagecoach in South Wales fleet (21351-62) are now over five years old and are proving pretty reliable. Just as well given that they can be in use seven days a week on marathon TrawsCymru Services T4 (Cardiff-Pontypridd-Merthyr Tydhil-Brecon-Builth Wells-Llandrindod Wells-Newtown) and Weekday variant T14, which covers the Brecon to Hereford via Hay-on-Wye leg of what was formerly Service 39. The peak vehicle requirement is 11 and Alexander Dennis Enviro300-bodied Scania K230UBs form the back up. Both services are now operated entirely from Merthyr Tydfil depot since the forced closure of Brecon outstation a few years ago.

 

The Brecon Beacons remain very popular with walkers and visitors, even during the grim Winter months, and the Merthyr Tydfil to Brecon leg of the services is hourly seven days a week.

 

This late November 2024 shot in drizzly conditions shows 21352 on the A470 on her way to Hereford. She is passing the Storey Arms, which is an outdoor education centre at the foot of Pen-y-Fan, the highest mountain in the Beacons.

   

well this week are two outs and who gets it first ...

    

1-lily parabens

2-jessi

3-Arney

4-jamila

5-tsa-pisa

6-ashlee

7-sweettina

8-zoe

    

bottom three

    

jessica did not give you the photo

    

mina your photo is good but could have done better

    

regina you have potential but you did something different

    

who gets it ...

    

9-mina

    

jessica and regina has potential but you guys have to pay attention in time to take the picture good luck and goodbye

 

theme: sexy beach

 

examples

www.cliquemoda.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/moda-praia-...

 

requirements

-have to be bikini in neon color

-can put earrings, bags, bracelets and necklaces

-must be full length

-may be lying or standing

 

deadline: May 25

 

Arney- www.flickr.com/photos/93784698@N03/8755896486/

Ashlee- www.flickr.com/photos/ashlee_bitch_fashion4/8743711771/

Jamilla- www.flickr.com/photos/52629305@N07/8752513257/

Jessi- www.flickr.com/photos/67923637@N04/8734903999/

Lily- www.flickr.com/photos/64780545@N08/8743596277/in/photostream

Mina- www.flickr.com/photos/sailorcrystel/8738144356/

Sweettina- www.flickr.com/photos/diva3tina/8753678643/

Reginia- www.flickr.com/photos/reginia/8751002510/in/contacts/

Tsa-Pisa- www.flickr.com/photos/88102708@N07/8745070844/in/contacts/

Zoe- www.flickr.com/photos/87049656@N06/8743282321/

This 1957 Ford Thunderbird was a gem, a real eye catcher. I have never seen one in this color but this Bird wears it well. This iconic classic was displayed at the 2021 Basehor-Linwood High School Car Show held in Basehor Kansas.

 

Both the Ford Thunderbird and Chevrolet Corvette were built during the post-war economic boom of the 1950s, and initially, both had sporty-looking bodywork despite their lack of sports car-like characteristics. Both were initially built on passenger car underpinnings and were fairly expensive, but compared to the Corvette, the Thunderbird was endowed with luxury in sports car clothing.

 

The Ford Thunderbird was introduced in 1955, and during its first year, a total of 16,155 examples were sold against the Corvette's 700. The Thunderbird had V-8 performance, elegance, and class. For 1956, the Thunderbird received slight refinements and for 1957 it grew a fin. For 1958, the Thunderbird was completely redesigned and built as a four-seater personal luxury car. The 1957 Thunderbird was the final year for the original concept of Ford's Corvette competitor.

 

The 1955 Thunderbird was a two-seater based on production sedan components. It was built for cruising and personal transportation with no pretensions of being a sports car. The 1957 Ford Thunderbird was the most popular of all the Thunderbird two-seaters, with 21,350 examples built. Of those, 997 (some sources state 1,499 examples) were high-performance E-code cars. The E-Code had the 312 cubic-inch overhead valve V-8 engine with dual Holley four-barrel carburetors and delivered 275 horsepower. They had a unique dual air cleaner, aluminum intake manifold, modified heads and cam, and heavy-duty Ford-O-Matic transmission. Braking was provided by power-assisted hydraulic four-wheel drums. Cars with this option are often known as 'E-Birds' and 997 were built in 1957.

 

The 1957 Ford models were introduced on October 1st of 1956.

 

With the additional 6.1-inch length, the Ford designer's returned the spare tire to the trunk, and it rode on 14-inch wheels. This gave the 1957 Thunderbird a lower riding stance. The interior received a new engine-turned dash, a safety-oriented 'Lifeguard Design,' a padded dashboard, a dished steering wheel, and updated upholstery treatments. Six engine options were offered, an additional leaf was added to the rear springs, 14-inch wheels, and larger front brakes were among numerous engineering changes.

 

NASCAR relaxed its engine rules for 1957, allowing the use of enhanced induction systems including superchargers and fuel injection. In a letter dated November 26, 1965, to the Ford Executive Committee, Ford Division General Manager Robert S. McNamara championed an internal engine development program 'deemed essential to the maintenance of the Ford car and Thunderbird performance reputation.' As Chevrolet was developing its fuel injection system, McNamara recommended, on behalf of the Ford Engineering Office, 'the installation on the 312 cubic-inch 4-valve carburetor engine of a new design McColluch supercharger for use on the Ford car and Thunderbird....which would provide operational characteristics equal to or better than any fuel injection system at present-day development. The supercharger option would carry a rating of 300 horsepower.'

 

An initial production run of just one hundred vehicles was proposed by McNamara to satisfy NASCAR homologation requirements, and the Daytona Beach speed Trials of early February 1957 were selected for its competition debut. This was the birth of the Ford Motor Company Supercharger Program, which mandated the production of 65 Ford Custom Two-Door Sedans, 20 Ford Convertibles, and 15 Thunderbirds. All 15 Thunderbirds were hand-built at the Dearborn Assembly Plant on January 25th of 1957, fitted with the 312 cubic-inch single carburetor engine, McCulloch VR57 Phase 1 supercharger, a heavy-duty three-speed manual transmission, seat belts, and a fiberglass hardtop.

 

One of the Phase 1 Thunderbirds set a new record for American sports cars with a speed of 138.755 mph, a 6 mph improvement over the previous year's record set by Corvette.

 

Having proven the performance potential of the supercharger, Ford management approved a milder version for regular production and a total of 194 examples were built. These became known as 'F-Birds' for the letter in the serial number denoting a supercharged engine. Although identified within Ford as the 'Phase 1 Supercharger Thunderbirds,' the supercharged racing versions were equipped with a single-carburetor engine resulting in its popular identification as the 'D/F Bird.' Of the 15 original examples built, eight are known to exist.

 

Source: Conceptcarz

The Dixie Walesbilt Hotel, known as the Grand Hotel in later years, is one of a small number of skyscrapers built in the 1920s that still stand today and is a prime example of how optimistic people were during the Florida land boom. Built in 1926, it found financing through a stock-sale campaign in the local business community, costing $500,000 after it was completed(which equates to about $6 million today.)

 

The building architecture, masonry vernacular with hints of Mediterranean-Revival, is also a good example of the time is was built. It was designed by two well-known architects at the time, Fred Bishop who designed the Byrd Theatre in Virginia, and D.J. Phipps, whose designed both the Wyoming County Courthouse and Jail and the Colonial Hotel in Virginia.

 

The hotel was constructed using the “three-part vertical block” method, which became the dominant pattern in tall buildings during the 1920s. Three-part buildings are composed of a base, shaft and a cap, all noticeably visible.

The hotel opened as the “Walesbilt” in January 1927, shortly after the land boom had started to collapse and two years before the Great Depression began. It’s also best to note that the hotel opened around the same time the Floridan Hotel in Tampa opened, another hotel built during the Florida land boom.

 

In 1972, the hotel was purchased by Anderson Sun State and renamed the “Groveland Motor Inn”. The firm completely renovated the hotel and used it to host visitors to the area who were interested in Green Swamp, land sectioned off for land development. At the time there was heavy speculation in the land because of it’s close proximity to Walt Disney World and were selling for around $5,000 an acre at the time. That ended after a state cabinet designation of the swamp as an area of critical state concern, placing the land off-limits to any large land developments. The firm filed for foreclosure and the hotel was auctioned off in 1974. Despite RCI Electric purchasing the hotel, it remained empty for many years afterwards.

 

n 1978, the hotel was signed over to the Agape Players, a nationally known religious music and drama group, who would assume the mortgage and would pay the costs to make improvements to meet city fire and safety standards. The hotel was renamed the “Royal Walesbilt” and after extensive improvements were made, it became the headquarters for the Agape Players; using it as a teaching facility and the base from which the group launched their tours. In addition, they operated a restaurant, an ice cream parlor on the lobby floor and a “Christian hotel” on the upper floors, catering mostly to groups. The Agape Players disbanded in 1985 and put the property up for sale

 

Victor Khubani, a property investor from New York acquired the property and renamed the hotel “Grand”. The hotel closed briefly in December 1988, due to a variety of code violations and causing the owner to later pay $14,000 in fines. On August 31, 1990 it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, possibly for tax exemption reasons. In October 1991, The State Fire Marshall’s Office gave the owner one year to install a new sprinkler system and in May 1993, the code enforcement board gave Khubani until March to complete the work.

 

In March 1994, the hotel closed due to multiple code violations and was to remain closed until a new fire sprinkler system was installed. To reopen, the fire escapes and elevator, which did not function, would have to be repaired as well. In 1995, the hotel was auctioned off to a redevelopment firm, which dismantled part of the interior for reconstruction, which was never completed.

 

Since then, the hotel has deteriorated, becoming an eyesore to many of the residents of Lake Wales and nicknamed “The Green Monster” for the greenish color it has acquired from over the years. In 1995, it was even jokingly mentioned to become a sacrifice to “the bomb”, an economic boom that occurred in parts of Florida where movie production companies would pay cities to blow up buildings for their movies. In 2007, the city foreclosed on the structure for more than $700,000 in unpaid code fines, with hopes in finding someone to restore it.

 

Development firm, Dixie-Walesbilt LLC announced plans to restore the hotel, signing into an agreement with the city of Lake Wales in February 2010. By the agreement, the city would retain ownership of the building until a defined amount of work had been accomplished. The work must be completed within 16 months and the amount of money invested must succeed at least $1.5 million. The building would then be handed off the Dixie Walesbilt LLC, where they may continue with private funding or other methods to for debt funding.

 

Ray Brown, President of Dixie Walesbilt LLC, planned to invest $6 million into the renovation, with original plans to put retail stores on the ground floor and using the upper floors for as many as 40 condominiums.

 

On June 2, 2011, the city of Lake Wales agreed to deed the building off to Ray Brown in a 4-1 vote, after meeting the requirements of the redevelopment agreement. Though Brown submitted a list of costs to the city totaling $1.66 million, Mayor Mike Carter wasn’t satisfied with the results so far, pointing out that Brown failed to repair the windows and repaint the building. Previous owners had put tar on the building and then painted over it, so much of Brown’s investment went to stripping the tar off the exterior walls.

 

To repaint the building, Brown would also have to resurface the hotel with hydrated lime to replicate the original skin as well as the window frames would need to be constructed of Douglas fir, red cedar and gulf cypress. According to Brown, previous owners who renovated the building rarely removed the building original elements. They carpeted over intricate tile flooring, stuck tar paper above skylights and placed modern drinking fountains in front of the originals. He estimated about 98 percent of the building is still in it’s original form.

 

Restoration of the building’s exterior began in January 2015 and included surface repair, pressure washing, paint removal, chemical treatment, and a comprehensive resurfacing of the exterior.

 

While the original plans were for turning the building into condominiums, that has since changed and current plans call for operating the building as a boutique hotel. The hotel will feature geothermal cooling as opposed to traditional air conditioning, a permanent art gallery as well as theme gallery showings throughout the year, and the best WiFi/internet in the city. The project is expected to be completed in 18 to 24 months.

 

Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:

www.fox13news.com/news/lake-wales-city-officials-aim-to-r...

www.cityoflakewales.com/505/Dixie-Walesbilt-Hotel

www.abandonedfl.com/dixie-walesbilt-hotel/

 

© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.

  

This set of photos meets requirement 4. I took it at a small fountain at Uvillage beside the playground. I saw some kids playing at the fountain which is very interesting. They put leaf at the middle and it will move with the water flow. I use a high ISO since the light is somewhat dark. You can see the position of the leaf change in this set of photo.

Having failed to tick all the performance boxes on its load test in Dec 2018, Ex LNER B1 4-6-0: 61306 Mayflower returned to the Carnforth circuit today to demonstrate all the necessary performance requirements.

 

With much of the Carnforth to Settle Junc line blanketed in low lying cloud and freezing mist finding a view in excess of 50 metres was difficult- however close to Giggleswick summit on the eastbound accent, Armistead bridge affords a view of the loco working hard, with WCRC 37669 attached at the rear.

 

Two Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II fighter jets have successfully landed on board HMS Queen Elizabeth for the first time, laying the foundations for the next 50 years of fixed wing aviation in support of the UK’s Carrier Strike Capability.

 

Royal Navy Commander, Nathan Gray, 41, made history by being the first to land on board HMS Queen Elizabeth, carefully maneuvering his stealth jet onto the thermal coated deck. He was followed by Royal Navy Squadron Leader Andy Edgell, RAF, both of whom are test pilots, operating with the Integrated Test Force (ITF) based at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.

 

Shortly afterwards, once a deck inspection has been conducted and the all-clear given, Cmdr Gray became the first pilot to take off using the ship’s ski-ramp.

  

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather, stealth, fifth-generation, multirole combat aircraft, designed for ground-attack and air-superiority missions. It is built by Lockheed Martin and many subcontractors, including Northrop Grumman, Pratt & Whitney, and BAE Systems.

 

The F-35 has three main models: the conventional takeoff and landing F-35A (CTOL), the short take-off and vertical-landing F-35B (STOVL), and the catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery, carrier-based F-35C (CATOBAR). The F-35 descends from the Lockheed Martin X-35, the design that was awarded the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program over the competing Boeing X-32. The official Lightning II name has proven deeply unpopular and USAF pilots have nicknamed it Panther, instead.

 

The United States principally funds F-35 development, with additional funding from other NATO members and close U.S. allies, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Canada, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and formerly Turkey. These funders generally receive subcontracts to manufacture components for the aircraft; for example, Turkey was the sole supplier of several F-35 parts until its removal from the program in July 2019. Several other countries have ordered, or are considering ordering, the aircraft.

 

As the largest and most expensive military program ever, the F-35 became the subject of much scrutiny and criticism in the U.S. and in other countries. In 2013 and 2014, critics argued that the plane was "plagued with design flaws", with many blaming the procurement process in which Lockheed was allowed "to design, test, and produce the F-35 all at the same time," instead of identifying and fixing "defects before firing up its production line". By 2014, the program was "$163 billion over budget [and] seven years behind schedule". Critics also contend that the program's high sunk costs and political momentum make it "too big to kill".

 

The F-35 first flew on 15 December 2006. In July 2015, the United States Marines declared its first squadron of F-35B fighters ready for deployment. However, the DOD-based durability testing indicated the service life of early-production F-35B aircraft is well under the expected 8,000 flight hours, and may be as low as 2,100 flight hours. Lot 9 and later aircraft include design changes but service life testing has yet to occur. The U.S. Air Force declared its first squadron of F-35As ready for deployment in August 2016. The U.S. Navy declared its first F-35Cs ready in February 2019. In 2018, the F-35 made its combat debut with the Israeli Air Force.

 

The U.S. stated plan is to buy 2,663 F-35s, which will provide the bulk of the crewed tactical airpower of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps in coming decades. Deliveries of the F-35 for the U.S. military are scheduled until 2037 with a projected service life up to 2070.

 

Development

 

F-35 development started in 1992 with the origins of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program and was to culminate in full production by 2018. The X-35 first flew on 24 October 2000 and the F-35A on 15 December 2006.

 

The F-35 was developed to replace most US fighter jets with the variants of a single design that would be common to all branches of the military. It was developed in co-operation with a number of foreign partners, and, unlike the F-22 Raptor, intended to be available for export. Three variants were designed: the F-35A (CTOL), the F-35B (STOVL), and the F-35C (CATOBAR). Despite being intended to share most of their parts to reduce costs and improve maintenance logistics, by 2017, the effective commonality was only 20%. The program received considerable criticism for cost overruns during development and for the total projected cost of the program over the lifetime of the jets.

 

By 2017, the program was expected to cost $406.5 billion over its lifetime (i.e. until 2070) for acquisition of the jets, and an additional $1.1 trillion for operations and maintenance. A number of design deficiencies were alleged, such as: carrying a small internal payload; performance inferior to the aircraft being replaced, particularly the F-16; lack of safety in relying on a single engine; and flaws such as the vulnerability of the fuel tank to fire and the propensity for transonic roll-off (wing drop). The possible obsolescence of stealth technology was also criticized.

  

Design

 

Overview

 

Although several experimental designs have been developed since the 1960s, such as the unsuccessful Rockwell XFV-12, the F-35B is to be the first operational supersonic STOVL stealth fighter. The single-engine F-35 resembles the larger twin-engined Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, drawing design elements from it. The exhaust duct design was inspired by the General Dynamics Model 200, proposed for a 1972 supersonic VTOL fighter requirement for the Sea Control Ship.

 

Lockheed Martin has suggested that the F-35 could replace the USAF's F-15C/D fighters in the air-superiority role and the F-15E Strike Eagle in the ground-attack role. It has also stated the F-35 is intended to have close- and long-range air-to-air capability second only to that of the F-22 Raptor, and that the F-35 has an advantage over the F-22 in basing flexibility and possesses "advanced sensors and information fusion".

 

Testifying before the House Appropriations Committee on 25 March 2009, acquisition deputy to the assistant secretary of the Air Force, Lt. Gen. Mark D. "Shack" Shackelford, stated that the F-35 is designed to be America's "premier surface-to-air missile killer, and is uniquely equipped for this mission with cutting-edge processing power, synthetic aperture radar integration techniques, and advanced target recognition".

 

Improvements

Ostensible improvements over past-generation fighter aircraft include:

 

Durable, low-maintenance stealth technology, using structural fiber mat instead of the high-maintenance coatings of legacy stealth platforms

Integrated avionics and sensor fusion that combine information from off- and on-board sensors to increase the pilot's situational awareness and improve target identification and weapon delivery, and to relay information quickly to other command and control (C2) nodes

High-speed data networking including IEEE 1394b and Fibre Channel (Fibre Channel is also used on Boeing's Super Hornet.

The Autonomic Logistics Global Sustainment, Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS), and Computerized maintenance management system to help ensure the aircraft can remain operational with minimal maintenance manpower The Pentagon has moved to open up the competitive bidding by other companies. This was after Lockheed Martin stated that instead of costing 20% less than the F-16 per flight hour, the F-35 would actually cost 12% more. Though the ALGS is intended to reduce maintenance costs, the company disagrees with including the cost of this system in the aircraft ownership calculations. The USMC has implemented a workaround for a cyber vulnerability in the system. The ALIS system currently requires a shipping-container load of servers to run, but Lockheed is working on a more portable version to support the Marines' expeditionary operations.

Electro-hydrostatic actuators run by a power-by-wire flight-control system

A modern and updated flight simulator, which may be used for a greater fraction of pilot training to reduce the costly flight hours of the actual aircraft

Lightweight, powerful lithium-ion batteries to provide power to run the control surfaces in an emergency

Structural composites in the F-35 are 35% of the airframe weight (up from 25% in the F-22). The majority of these are bismaleimide and composite epoxy materials. The F-35 will be the first mass-produced aircraft to include structural nanocomposites, namely carbon nanotube-reinforced epoxy. Experience of the F-22's problems with corrosion led to the F-35 using a gap filler that causes less galvanic corrosion to the airframe's skin, designed with fewer gaps requiring filler and implementing better drainage. The relatively short 35-foot wingspan of the A and B variants is set by the F-35B's requirement to fit inside the Navy's current amphibious assault ship parking area and elevators; the F-35C's longer wing is considered to be more fuel efficient.

 

Costs

A U.S. Navy study found that the F-35 will cost 30 to 40% more to maintain than current jet fighters, not accounting for inflation over the F-35's operational lifetime. A Pentagon study concluded a $1 trillion maintenance cost for the entire fleet over its lifespan, not accounting for inflation. The F-35 program office found that as of January 2014, costs for the F-35 fleet over a 53-year lifecycle was $857 billion. Costs for the fighter have been dropping and accounted for the 22 percent life cycle drop since 2010. Lockheed stated that by 2019, pricing for the fifth-generation aircraft will be less than fourth-generation fighters. An F-35A in 2019 is expected to cost $85 million per unit complete with engines and full mission systems, inflation adjusted from $75 million in December 2013.

 

When I took this photo, the output was naturally magical. To enhance how I felt about this photo, I went to lightroom changing the green trees to a fairy purple. The colors added to this photo helped deliver a majestic, mysterious, fairy fountain. The purple gave a fairy, youthful mood while the crystal blue water enhanced the scenery. I purposefully set the shutter to 1/800 to grab clear crystals water pebbles from the water fountain. The shutter and aperture of f/4.6 helped grab the natural sunlight that is shining on the fountain.

Requirement 4: Wrong white balance

When I saw this blackbird in reeds, I thought that it’s a good opportunity to experiment with wrong white balance. I used aperture priority mode with using the lens maximum possible aperture of f/5.6 and ISO 360, to capture enough light and blur the background so it doesn’t distract from the bird. I wanted colors on the photo be warmer than in reality, so I set white balance to “Flash.” That day was a very cloudy one, and I didn’t used flash itself, so the wrong white balance allowed me to create warm-tinted photo.

  

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

  

Some background:

The Tornado ADV had its origins in an RAF Air Staff Requirement 395 (or ASR.395), which called for a long-range interceptor to replace the Lightning F6 and Phantom FGR2. The requirement for a modern interceptor was driven by the threat posed by the large Soviet long-range bomber fleet, in particular the supersonic Tupolev Tu-22M. From the beginning of the Tornado IDS's development in 1968, the possibility of a variant dedicated to air defence had been quietly considered; several American aircraft had been evaluated, but found to be unsuitable. However, the concept proved unattractive to the other European partners on the Tornado project, thus the UK elected to proceed in its development alone. On 4 March 1976, the development of the Tornado ADV was formally approved.

 

In 1976, British Aerospace was contracted to provide three prototype aircraft. The first prototype was rolled out at Warton on 9 August 1979, before making its maiden flight on 27 October 1979. During the flight testing, the ADV demonstrated noticeably superior supersonic acceleration to the IDS, even while carrying a full weapons loadout.

 

The Tornado ADV's differences compared to the IDS include a greater sweep angle on the wing gloves, and the deletion of their kruger flaps, deletion of the port cannon, a longer radome for the Foxhunter radar, slightly longer airbrakes and a fuselage stretch of 1.36 m to allow the carriage of four Skyflash semi-active radar homing missiles. The stretch was applied to the Tornado front fuselage being built by the UK, with a plug being added immediately behind the cockpit, which had the unexpected benefit of reducing drag and making space for an additional fuel tank (Tank '0') carrying 200 imperial gallons (909 l; 240 U.S. gal) of fuel. The artificial feel of the flight controls was lighter on the ADV than on the IDS. Various internal avionics, pilot displays, guidance systems and software also differed; including an automatic wing sweep selector not fitted to the strike aircraft.

 

Production of the Tornado ADV was performed between 1980 and 1993, the last such aircraft being delivered that same year. A total of 165 Tornado ADVs were ordered by Britain, the majority being the Tornado F3. However, the Tornado ADV’s replacement, the aircraft that is known today as the Eurofighter Typhoon, met several delays – primarily of political nature. Even though the first production contract was already signed on 30 January 1998 between Eurofighter GmbH, Eurojet and NETMA for the procurement of a total of 232 for the UK, the development and eventually the delivery of the new aircraft was a protracted affair. It actually took until 9 August 2007, when the UK's Ministry of Defence reported that No. 11 Squadron RAF, which stood up as a Typhoon squadron on 29 March 2007, had received its first two multi-role Typhoons. Until then, the Tornado F.3 had become more and more obsolete, since the type was only suited to a limited kind of missions, and it became obvious that the Tornado ADV would have to be kept in service for several years in order to keep Great Britain’s aerial defence up.

 

In order to bridge the Typhoon service gap, two update programs had already been launched by the MoD in 2004, which led to the Tornado F.5 and F.6 versions. These were both modified F.3 airframes, catering to different, more specialized roles. The F.5 had a further extended fuselage and modified wings, so that it could operate more effectively in the long range fighter patrol role over the North Sea and the Northern Atlantic. On the other side, the F.6 was tailored to the mainland interceptor role at low and medium altitudes and featured new engines for a better performance in QRA duties. Both fighter variants shared improved avionics and weapons that had already been developed for the Eurofighter Typhoon, or were still under development.

 

The Tornado F.6’s new engines were a pair of Eurojet EJ200 afterburning turbofans, which offered 30% more dry and 20% more afterburner thrust than the F.3’s original Turbo-Union RB199-34R turbofans. These more modern and fuel-efficient engines allowed prolonged supercruise, and range as well as top speed were improved, too. Furthermore, there was the (theoretical) option to combine the new engine with vectored thrust nozzles, even though this would most probably not take place since the Tornado ADV had never been designed as a true dogfighter, even though it was, for an aircraft of its size, quite an agile aircraft.

 

However, the integration of the EJ200 into the existing airframe called for major modifications that affected the aircraft’s structure. The tail section had to be modified in order to carry the EJ200’s different afterburner section. Its bigger diameter and longer nozzle precluded the use of the original thrust reverser. This unique feature was retained, though, so that the mechanism had to be modified: the standard deflectors, which used to extend backwards behind the nozzles, now opened inwards into the airflow before the exhaust.

Since the new engines had a considerably higher airflow rate, the air intakes with the respective ducts had to be enlarged and adapted, too. Several layouts were tested, including two dorsal auxiliary air intakes to the original, wedge-shaped orifices, but eventually the whole intake arrangement with horizontal ramps was changed into tall side intakes with vertical splitter plates, reminiscent of the F-4 Phantom. Even though this meant a thorough redesign of the fuselage section under the wing sweep mechanism and a reduction of tank “0”’s volume, the new arrangement improved the aircraft’s aerodynamics further and slightly enlarged the wing area, which resulted in a minor net increase of range.

 

The F.3’s GEC-Marconi/Ferranti AI.24 Foxhunter radar was retained, but an infrared search and track (IRST) sensor, the Passive Infra-Red Airborne Track Equipment (PIRATE), was mounted in a semispherical housing on the port side of the fuselage in front of the windscreen and linked to the pilot’s helmet-mounted display. By supercooling the sensor, the system was able to detect even small variations in temperature at a long range, and it allowed the detection of both hot exhaust plumes of jet engines and surface heating caused by friction.

PIRATE operated in two IR bands and could be used together with the radar in an air-to-air role, adding visual input to the radar’s readings. Beyond that, PIRATE could also function as an independent infrared search and track system, providing passive target detection and tracking, and the system was also able to provide navigation and landing aid.

In an optional air-to-surface role, PIRATE can also perform target identification and acquisition, up to 200 targets could be simultaneously tracked. Although no definitive ranges had been released, an upper limit of 80 nm has been hinted at; a more typical figure would be 30 to 50 nm.

 

The Tornado F.3’s Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon was retained and the F.6 was from the start outfitted with the AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile, with the outlook to switch as soon as possible to the new, ram jet-driven Meteor AAM with higher speed and range. Meteor had been under development since 1994 and was to be carried by the Eurofighter Typhoon as its primary mid-range weapon. With a range of 100+ km (63 mi, 60 km no-escape zone) and a top speed of more than Mach 4, Meteor, with its throttleable ducted rocket engine, offered a considerably improvement above AMRAAM. However, it took until 2016 that Meteor became fully operational and was rolled out to operational RAF fighter units.

 

A total of 36 Tornado F.3 airframes with relatively low flying hours were brought to F.6 standard in the course of 2006-8 and gradually replaced older F.3s in RAF fighter units until 2009. The Tornado F.3 itself was retired in March 2011 when No. 111 Squadron RAF, located at RAF Leuchars, was disbanded. Both the F.5 and F.6 will at least keep on serving until the Eurofighter Typhoon is in full service, probably until 2020.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 2

Length: 18.68 m (61 ft 3½ in)

Wingspan: 13.91 m (45 ft 7½ in) at 25° wing position

8.60 m (28 ft 2½ in) at 67° wing position

Height: 5.95 m (19 ft 6½ in)

Wing area: 27.55 m² (295.5 sq ft)

Empty weight: 14,750 kg (32,490 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 28,450 kg (62,655 lb)

 

Powerplant:

2× Eurojet EJ200 afterburning turbofans with 60 kN (13,500 lbf) dry thrust and

90 kN (20,230 lbf) thrust with afterburner each

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: Mach 2.3 (2,500 km/h, 1,550 mph) at 9,000 m (30,000 ft)

921 mph (800 knots, 1,482 km/h) indicated airspeed limit near sea level

Combat radius: more than 1,990 km (1.100 nmi, 1,236 mi) subsonic,

more than 556 km (300 nmi, 345 mi) supersonic

Ferry range: 4,265 km (2,300 nmi, 2,650 mi) with four external tanks

Endurance: 2 hr combat air patrol at 560-740 km (300-400 nmi, 345-460 mi) from base

Service ceiling: 15,240 m (50,000 ft)

 

Armament:

1× 27 mm (1.063 in) Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon with 180 RPG under starboard fuselage side

A total of 10 hardpoints (4× semi-recessed under-fuselage, 2× under-fuselage, 4× swivelling

under-wing) holding up to 9000 kg (19,800 lb) of payload; the two inner wing pylons have shoulder

launch rails for 2× Short-Range AAM (SRAAM) each (AIM-9 Sidewinder or AIM-132 ASRAAM)

4× MBDO Meteor or AIM-120 AMRAAM, mounted under the fuselage

  

The kit and its assembly:

The eight entry for the RAF Centenary Group Build at whatifmodelers.com, and after 100 years of RAF what-if models we have now arrived at the present. This modified Tornado ADV was spawned through the discussions surrounding another modeler’s build of a modified F.3 (and examples of other Tornado conversions, e. g. with fixed wings or twin fins), and I spontaneously wondered what a change of the air intakes would do to the aircraft’s overall impression? Most conversions I have seen so far retain this original detail. An idea was born, and a pair of leftover Academy MiG-23 air intakes, complete with splitter plates, were the suitable conversion basis.

 

The basic kit is the Italeri Tornado ADV, even though in a later Revell re-boxing. It’s IMHO the kit with the best price-performance ration, and it goes together well. The kit was mostly built OOB, with some cosmetic additions. The biggest changes came through the integration of the completely different air intakes. These were finished at first and, using them as templates, openings were cut into the lower fuselage flanks in front of the landing gear well. Since the MiG-23 intakes have a relatively short upper side, styrene sheet fillers had to be added and blended with the rest of the fuselage via PSR. The gap between the wing root gloves and the intakes had to be bridged, too, with 2C putty. Messier affair than it sounds, but it went well.

 

In order to make the engine change plausible I modified the Tornado exhaust and added a pair of orifices from an F-18 – they look very similar to those on the Eurofighter Typhoon, and their diameter is perfect for this change. This and the different air intakes stretch the Tonka visually, it looks IMHO even more slender than the F.3.

 

Another issue was the canopy: the 2nd hand kit came without clear parts, but I was lucky to still have a Tornado F.3 canopy in the spares box – but only the windscreen from a Tornado IDS, which does not fit well onto the ADV variant. A 2mm gap at the front end had to be bridged, and the angles on the side as well as the internal space to the HUD does not match too well. But, somehow, I got it into place, even though it looks a bit shaggy.

The IRST in front of the windscreen is a piece of clear styrene sprue (instead of an opaque piece, painted glossy black), placed on a black background. The depth effect is very good!

 

More changes pertained to the ordnance: the complete weaponry was exchanged. The OOB Sidewinders were replaced with specimen from a Hasegawa F-4 Phantom (these look just better than the AIM-9 that come with the kit), and I originally planned to mount four AIM-120 from the same source under the fuselage – until I found a Revell Eurofighter kit in my stash that came with four Meteor AAMs, a suitable and more modern as well as British alternative!

 

All in all, just subtle modifications.

  

Painting and markings:

Well, the RAF was the creative direction, so I stuck to a classic/conservative livery. However, I did not want a 100% copy of the typical “real world” RAF Tornado F.3, so I sought inspiration in earlier low-visibility schemes. Esp. the Phantom and the Lightning carried in their late days a wide variety of grey-in-grey schemes, and one of the most interesting of them (IMHO) was carried by XS 933: like some other Lightnings, the upper surfaces were painted in Dark Sea Grey (instead of the standard Medium Sea Grey), a considerably murkier tone, but XS933 had a mid-height waterline. I found that scheme to be quite plausible for an aircraft that would mostly operate above open water and in heavier weather, so I adapted it to the Tonka. The fact that XS 933 was operated by RAF 5 Squadron, the same unit as my build depicts with its markings, is just a weird coincidence!

An alternative would have been the same colors, but with a low waterline (e.g. like Lightning XR728) – but I rejected this, because the result would have looked IMHO much too similar to the late Tornado GR.4 fighter bombers, or like a Royal Navy aircraft.

 

Since the upper color would be wrapped around the wings’ leading edges, I used the lower wing leading edge level as reference for the high waterline on the forward fuselage, Behind the wings’ trailing edge I lowered the waterline down to the stabilizers’ level.

All upper surfaces, including the tall fin, were painted with Tamiya XF-54, a relatively light interpretation of RAF Dark Sea Grey (because I did not want a harsh contrast with the lower colors), while the fuselage undersides and flanks were painted in Medium Sea Grey (Humbrol 165). The same tone was also used for the underwing pylons and the “Hindenburger” drop tanks. The undersides of the wings and the stabilizers were painted in Camouflage Grey (formerly known as Barley Grey, Humbrol 167).

 

Disaster struck when I applied the Tamiya paint, though. I am not certain why (age of the paint, I guess), but the finish developed a kind of “pigment pelt” which turned out to be VERY sensitive to touch. Even the slightest handling would leave dark, shiny spots!

My initial attempt was to hide most of this problem under post-shading (with Humbrol 126, FS 36270), but that turned the Tonka visually into a Tiger Meet participant – the whole thing looked as if it wore low-viz stripes! Aaargh!

 

In a desperate move (since more and more paint piled up on the upper surfaces, and I did not want to strip the kit off of all paint right now) I applied another thin coat of highly diluted XF-54 on top of the tiger stripe mess, and that toned everything done enough to call it a day. While the finish is not perfect and still quite shaggy (even streaky here and there…), it looks O.K., just like a worn and bleached Dark Sea Grey.

 

A little more rescue came with the decals. The markings are naturally low-viz variants and the RAF 5 Sq. markings come from an Xtradecal BAC Lightning sheet (so they differ from the markings applied to the real world Tornado F.3s of this unit). The zillion of stencils come from the OOB sheet, but the walking area warnings came from a Model Decal Tornado F.3 sheet (OOB, Revell only provides you a bunch of generic, thin white lines, printed on a single carrier film, and tells you “Good luck”! WTF?). Took a whole afternoon to apply them, but I used as many of them as possible in order to hide the paint finish problems… Some things, like the tactical letter code or the red bar under the fuselage roundel, had to be improvised.

  

With many troubles involved (the paint job, but furthermore the wing pylons as well as one stabilizer broke off during the building and painting process…), I must say that the modified Tonka turned out better than expected while I was still working on it. In the end, I am happy with it – it’s very subtle, I wonder how many people actually notice the change of air intakes and jet exhausts, and the Meteor AAMs are, while not overtly visible, a nice update, too.

The paint scheme looks basically also good (if you overlook the not-so-good finish due to the problems with the Tamiya paint), and the darker tones suit the Tonka well, as well as the fake RAF 5 Squadron markings.

Requirement 1: Side Lighting. This photo was taken just as the sun touched the frosted tips of the bush. The camera was handheld and the picture was taken with the lens in manual focus. With the sun at my right I knelt down and focused on the middle of the shot. Some slight adjustments were made using Lightroom.

Well after about 8 years of operation having been started by York Pullman, the Unibus 44 service finally bows out thus closing the book on York's long-running 'bus war' along the university corridor. The service started off to meet the requirements from the University of York of having a regular bus service to serve the Heslington East campus which at the time was being built and only had one or possibly two completed buildings which were in use - the university had contacted First York at the time on several occasions but the company had been unwilling to extend route 4 beyond Heslington Hall as it would require an extra vehicle to run on the then-branded 'FTR' route which have have meant obtaining another Wright Streetcar (even though at the time one which had originally been trialled in York had been down at Luton and wasn't required so easily could have been brought back up north).

 

As First wouldn't entertain the idea of serving Heslington East, the university contacted York Pullman and a deal was struck for a new service every 20 minutes between Merchantgate and the new campus where a turning circle was provided outside what is now the Ron Cooke Hub - the route was numbered 44 as if to compliment the 4 running along the same route, but the 44 was operated under a subsidy from the University over a deal of several years whereby the subsidy would decrease as passenger numbers increased with the eventual hope of the service being commercially viable in its own right. As time went on the passenger loadings on the 44 grew and so did the route to reflect this, extending first to the rail station and Nunnery Lane with then some journeys running right through to Acomb... and whilst Pullman had run a variety of vehicles on the service (including both an ex-Weardale low floor Ikarus bodied Daf SB220 and a step entrance version, a Scania Wright Solar, a BMC Condor) the time came in 2010 to have a dedicated fleet of vehicles and so a number of Olympians received conservative branding and the route name 'Unibus' - a single Leyland Olympian from Preston joined the fleet along with a single ex-Dublin Volvo Olympian and two ex-Lothian volvo examples; BUT at the same time Pullman purchased two brand new ADL Enviro 200's built on MAN chassis to make up a full contingent of vehicles to operate the increased length and frequency of the 44, whilst a Plaxton primo was purchased for a new aspect of the contract which was a free campus-to-campus shuttle bus service called the Ub1.

 

Pullman had been operating the 44 for some time in addition to other subsidised bus services around York, but a decision was made that in early 2012 all stagecarriage operations would be sold along with a number of vehicles in order to focus on schools and private hire work - this saw all such operations sold to Transdev York along with the full Unibus fleet; the vehicles stayed in York Pullman livery but received a simple vinyl overlay to cover the York Pullman logo with the Transdev York white rose logo, but vehicles route and frequency remained the same - though there was a brief period whereby some 44 services were extended beyond the university to Stamford Bridge however this was short-lived.

 

To reflect the changing requirements of the students, the university made it clear they wanted to see an increasing amount of buses being used with step-free access for the 44 route, and so Transdev introduced two ex-London Plaxton Presidents to the service which were later joined by two ex-Lancashire examples - these replaced Olympians on the route and at the same time introduced everybody to a whole new look for the Unibus. The buses were presented in a smart cream and indigo livery with a fade-out graphic to seperate the two colours vertically whilst a "looney tunes" style skyline graphic of York was used along the skirts to seperate the colours horizontally, whilst the university mascot of a duck also appeared on the buses. Shortly after introducing the double deckers, the two Enviro's purchased from Pullman went to the paint shop and gained the new branding identity whilst the Plaxton Primo gained a controversial pink graffitti livery - though the Primo only lasted about a year with Transdev before being exported to New Zealand due to it being non-standard.

 

Popularity of the Unibus grew ever-further and so the university required route frequency to increase, and so three Volvo B10BLE Wright Renown single deckers joined the fleet - these had been new to Yorkshire Coastliner and so to see them back in York was somewhat pleasing. At the time though there were increasing occurances whereby maintenance schedules or breakdowns meant a non-branded vehicle or two were appearing on the 44 and the university weren't pleased... as a result, Transdev brought across another Renown (1051) from lancashire which was 'officially' referred to as being in a dual-purpose livery - even though everybody else could see it as just being a half-arsed paint job that wasn't finished, as it had the base colours of the Unibus livery minus the blue sweep under the windscreen nor any of the graphics (just a simple white sticker with the new-style Transdev logo and a corny corporate motto)... eventually this did receive the full livery minus the bluue sweep under the windscreen. In addition to the 44 and the Ub1, the contract with the university also saw Transdev run an early-morning service from the university to the hospital one-way only (Hb1) as well as overnight services during term time for students wishing to go clubbing (Cb2) or for access to the university library for pre-exam study (SS1).... the Cb2 had been operated by York Pullman previously on select weekdays, whilst a Cb1 route had also been registered and operated by them on other days of the week.

 

Everything changed in 2015 however, when the Unibus contract had come up for re-tender and the new contract was awarded to First York - which was in a strange way surprising and yet not surprising all at the same time, as everybody knew First York strongly despised having subsidised competition to and from the university, and so it was an easy guess that First would put in an incredibly strong bid for the uni contract. It had been considered that Transdev would be gracious in defeat and quietly withdraw the 44 service so that the route and number could pass over to the new incumbent; however that didn't happen and instead Transdev registered the 44 route commercially with a slight route alteration due to no longer being authorised to run buses along Lakeside Way and so would have to terminate at the Heslington East interchange near Badger Hill, the route which First's number 4 had been doing for some time prior to winning the uni contract. The other change for the 44 Unibus was the streamlining of the fleet: all four double deckers left York for pastures new (Keighley) whilst the Enviro's went to the paint shop again to receive the white rose livery applied to buses being used elsewhere in the York operation, and the 4 Renowns were then joined by Renowns 1054, 1059 and 1076 and all were given a mildly revised livery which had all aspects to denote a partnership with the university having been removed.... all 7 vehicles were then refurbished with new seating, new interior panelling, free wi-fi and USB chargers. Online, Transdev started a questionable social media campaign to try and assert that they were the better service provider and that even though others were 'copying' the Unibus there would only ever be... ahem... "only one unibus". The commercially-run 44 could not offer the same high frequency of every 7-8 minutes being offered by First, but that didn't stop Transdev from arranging their timetables to arrive at key stops about 3 minutes before the First service, and likewise the 44 would be timed to wait around at city centre stops such as the rail station and merchantgate so as to try and draw as many passengers as possible on board. Likewise the university required First York to run the 66 as a 24-hour operation during term time with services overnight for students having a night out in the city centre, with the overnight services running once an hour - Transdev got wind of this and registered the 44 to also run 24 hours a day, with the hourly overnight services just so happening to depart from the city centre on the opposite side of the hour to First's service. This 24-hour service didn't last long however, but when Transdev launched the York-Leeds Cityzap limited stop service the decision was made to extend friday/saturday late night services arriving into York at 3am and 4am to go beyond the city centre to the university - the service was timed as such with the one simple hope that the zap service would arrive at the rail station and more importantly into merchantgate before the overnight First service so as to abstract passengers away. This didn't really work either and so that ploy was eventually dropped and so for the last few months the Unibus 44 has simply been plodding along with a regular 15-minute service between the uni and the city with every other service extended under subsidy from the council to Acomb via Holly Bank to replace the 13A service which First York had withdrawn.

 

Just over 6 weeks ago the announcement was made that at the end of the winter university term the unibus 44 service would cease, though the 44 between the city centre and acomb would continue as a standalone operation - the company statement made was along the lines that "other operators copying our service" had caused the unibus to no longer be viable, though it is very much worth noting that the person who first devised the 44 route with York Pullman is the same person who arranged First York's 66 service which officially replaced the 44. The very last day of the Unibus was December 3rd 2016, and here at Morell Library on central campus is B10BLE Renown B10YKS... it is fitting for this to be one of the last two unibus vehicles I photograph on the route, as this was the first Unibus renown I got a photo of when it arrived in the city under its original registration of YD02 UMV having been new to Yorkshire Coastliner.

This is the photo of the Swiss knife in the normal room light. which is the first part of the requirement 4. In this photo, the knife is red and the knife made of polished steel is slightly yellow, which is the room light color. I use aperture of f/3.8 with the focal length of 20 mm to have a shallow depth of field and iso of 100 to reduce the noise since there is enough light.

44684072_1933932833576410_3599471082706305024_n

www.instagram.com/p/BpTTPXuAqXS/?taken-by=thezoekotnik

Stumbled upon this video (5 years old now) of my initial 9G centrifuge training at Brooks City Base, and thought it would be beneficial to share. For those unfamiliar, 9Gs of gravitational force multiplies the weight of your body 9 times, making it difficult to keep oxygen in your lungs and blood in your head. With the help of a G-suit, technical breathing, and proper muscle strain, you can train your body to sustain significant gravitational force; a requirement to be able to fly a high G-capable aircraft. Turn up the volume and listen as the instructor guides me through the 9.15G profile! *For the record... no one looks good under 9Gs, not even you @robholland5150....* #centrifuge #highgravity #gravity #fightertraining #pilottraining #fighterpilot #womeninaviation #fighterjet #usaf #avgeek #avnerd #aviation #brookscitybase

We can supply prints of any of our Flickr images. Multiple options available. Worldwide delivery. Contact us to discuss your requirements.

Requirements 1 & 2: underexposure & motion blur.

I wanted to create non-ordinary artistic photo of flowers, so I decided to experiment with flowers and motion. To achieve motion blur effect, I used manual mode and played with different settings to get desired effect. For this shot, I used shutter speed of 1/5 (0.2 sec), with ISO of 160 and f/14.0 aperture to create underexposed effect. I was also moving my camera from right to left when I was shooting to get motion.

In post production, I slightly reduced light to make background completely black. I also increased vibrance and contrast to make flowers more bright and distinguishable.

 

I take this photo at my home to satisfy the requirement 2. I arrange my roommate near the window, and I let very few light comes in to show the effect of key light and fill light. As you can see, the key light is the sun, and the fill light is the light reflected by his left neck and face. The reason why I choose the curtain as the background because its texture is good.

The camera setting is aperture f/11 to have a reasonable DoF, shutter speed 1/8 is to avoid hand shake, ISO 100 is to reduce the noise. Focal length 44.9 mm is to make my roommate takes a good proportion of this whole picture.

www.starnow.co.uk/christopherw33618

 

I work full time in the media as a Walk On / Body Double / Skill Double / Stand In or Supporting Artist. I have also worked behind the scenes on a number of Advertisements, Films and TV programs; Previously, I worked for over 17 years as a Professional Musician (Bass Guitar).

 

I have appeared in a substantial number of Major Films, Short Films, TV Productions, Sketch Shows, Music Videos, and TV Advertisements / Idents. I specialise in playing Authoritarian or Uniformed roles; however, I am very flexible and versatile. I have access to a considerable variety of Genuine and Expensive Uniforms. Please let me know of any Specific requirements, I promise I will do my utmost to help.

 

I have many excellent connections made over many years in the entertainment industry. I am London based, however, I also have accommodation in Brighton Sussex, Birmingham, Manchester, and Newcastle Upon Tyne. I am very happy to travel and always open to any offers of work. I am prepared to work at short notice; (if available) and can be contacted 24 hours a day, via e-mail.

 

A Partial CV is available on

www.imdb.com/name/nm2711324/

 

Body Double / Stand In CV

www.uk.filmcrewpro.com/view.php?uid=242553

 

Photo Selection

www.flickr.com/photos/chris-wilson/

 

Featured in Various You Tube Clips

www.youtube.com/user/CHRISWILSONXX1X?feature=mhum

 

Facebook Page

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This fulfills the requirement for rim lighting. These were my camera settings: 1/10 sec at f5.6 and my ISO was at 100.

 

For this photo, I placed a lamp at an angle from the flower and covered up half the lamp with my hand so that the light wasn't as bright.

 

In Photoshop, I adjusted the curve and contrast to darken the photo. I cropped it because there was a leaf on the left corner that got highlighted and was distracting. I also adjusted the saturation to give the petals a more vibrant look.

  

Painting with light - this picture was taken at Fort Churchill with the use of two different glow sticks.