Hey Rob...it was about time you got your own thread. Here's a starter story for you.....up for auction, a fully restored Spitfire http://www.foxnews.com/science/2015/05/04/fully-restored-wwii-fighter-plane-up-for-auction/
I more than appreciate this Tom...... enjoyed the article very much. Amazing to put a shot down Aircraft into total salvage and refurbishment, to a point its like new. What's so Ironic, is about a month ago, I was comparing prices of the Spitfires to P51s. Always loved them both, like cars or planes, I've always preferred a vehicle that has the best of Luxury and Power, speed, performance, and costs too..... Rolls Engines were at the forefront of High Performance, and top notch quality, requiring little to no down time, RR engines, can't say enough about RR AC engines, the L-1011 was the last great AC to fly with RR Whisper Jets. Both AC Wings were a paradigm shift of wing designs, esp leading edges with razor sharp rear aft edges, as you of all know, both had the elliptical shape, enabling an end result of faster air speeds, (esp over wings), a true outside the box piece of Engineering back then ...... What has always boggled my mind is how many of both AC were built in a very very short time. Over 20,3XX Spitfires built, with less than 50 flying. Mustangs, 15, 875 total built up thru 1948, with over 10, 000 built in but 5 yrs, b/t 1940-45, a rate of 5.5 AC built and delivered per week. I cannot fathom that...... While looking at both on Auctions not long ago- I found quit a few of Mustangs, vs.- the less than 50 remaining Spitfires. The P51s have approx 175 flying in airworthy condition, 38 are in for Repairs and/or Refurbishments, with another 23 in Storage & flight worthy. Both AC changed the tide of WWII. The Hangar - Plant; where all those Mustangs were built is still standing, one of the Nations larger Wooden Structures, in El Segundo, where the F-18s were also built, then shipped to Long Beach.....fkrs ripped off Northrop on the F17-to 18, yet they were reimbursed in court as well, as producing 51% of the F-18 Hornet and Super Hornets, 51% of all $$$ made.
The GREAT P-51 Mustang long range fighter/escort. As soon as Goring knew about it and it's capabilities......he knew the war was "over" partly because he also knew the ME 262 program wasn't well enough under way.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...new-battery-doesn-t-work-that-well-with-solar Tesla Power wall.....grid less Solar?
I bet this Tesla battery is going to go over huge in Great(er) Britian, with its hazy overcasts. A bit pricy, but unlike here in the Mojave Desert, where the Sun shines 345 days of the year, I'd imagine, Europe will benefit from these..... Great read, I was unaware of Tesla's new bat pack.
http://www.trade-a-plane.com/search...P51 Mustang North American&s-criteria=keyword The fkrs are pricy $$$ approx 2.+ Mil........ (the URL website).......A nice place to hang out and slobber all over my keyboard, hope it doesn't short out....The top P51 shown , Is but an hour+ away in Bakersfield. To pricy for my blood, and 11 Time National air race speedster- multi-champion .... I'm traveling to Wichita at the end of the month for a week, and already have arraigned to see this: a helluva good price. Now if the owner will let me test fly it? (With no intention of buying it)......a 1952 North American Harvard IV......I'd much rather have the P51 , but then what aviation enthusiast/bush-pilot, wouldn't?
The Tesla power cells, bring to mind this: 1st - http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/technology/fuel_cells.html and the above, bring to mind, a just as if not more interesting study in research of: Antimatter; is such a Viable Star-ship Fuel? (the one area of pioneering space craft of the future, without Nuclear anything, I do hope***** http://news.discovery.com/space/revving-up-the-antimatter-engine-120927.htm ***** Hopefully, some there will be some findings worth using, so we don't have to rely on Nuclear anything, for any reason, aboard our Space Craft. The 1 constant nightmare of a thought, let alone the real deal, of seeing a Mushroom cloud rise up from the Cape.....
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2015...naut-escape-system-in-unmanned-dragon-launch/ Space X really starting to impress me. Did Musk hire a lot of NASA and Aerospace guys?
Yes, Musk in fact did, do just that, hire quit a few laid off Rockwell and NASA Engineer's. The Hangar where these are built was the Northrop 747 Program bldg. With Northrop's ADP Div. just across the street.....(home of the YF-23) The funny thing is: when I was at Rockwell in 87, we began to lay out the blueprints for a ISS; and/or: Deep Space Recovery Vehicle. (To be utilized the same way these Space X vehicles are). We had the entire package complete and presented it to NASA for these very same type of vehicles, yet our design looked more like a mini-shuttle. We put in a bid to NASA, they liked what they saw, BUT, the Fed Govt. was not buying then. Oh well, we could of and should of had these at the ISS, the day it opened for business.... Just to think, we could of had these in space for 25 yrs now, at a much lower and cheaper cost. Our Version would of also used a Titan to get them to the station, with UCAV abilities for guidance to the ISS......as they were just a smidge too wide for a Shuttle Payload Bay delivery.........
X-37B going back up.... http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...t-air-force-space-drone-heads-back-into-orbit
1- 2- 1- aye, the Black Widow/Grey Ghost indeed could be (with but a couple minor tweaks) easily step into the G6 Role. Like you once pointed out how uncanny the G6 drawings look like the YF-23. Have you seen ever held a pic of the Tacit Blue (1982 Prototype and Test Platform, for the B2) with its front view; alongside the Black Widow/Grey Ghost...? clipped from URL Article ye' posted: What fascinates me more than the others, is: What Test requirements/criteria will the X-37 utilize, undergo, and how, with: - Atomic Oxygen. The specific tests in mind? That I need look deeper into. What is black when you look deep into it, but blinding black? (where did I leave my damned flashlight)...... 2- NASA will use the flight to see how 100 or so “materials of interest” hold up in the murderous environment of space. Space stresses materials with temperature extremes, debris, micrometeoroids, direct sunlight, and atomic oxygen and can erode many of the paints, polymers, and composites that NASA and private space companies use as protective coatings on their craft. Some great pics and drawings here on the Widow and Ghost: https://www.google.com/search?q=Nor...kipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FNorthrop_M2-F3;3000;2440
In 82 I was driving to work on my Harley, at the break of dawn, when I saw a Flat Bed Semi-Truck pulling its trailer, with a big canvas blowing in the wind, exposing this, which was back on its way to EAFB, from where? I don't know, yet it was great to see, then latter touch, yes touch, ...... once it got to EAFB...... This was what was underneath, the "flying bathtub" one of a few protos: (without these "flying bathtubs" [Mfg. Northrop]; for Drop Glide Tests; and the X-15, for outlandish speed, for re-entry and handling; we'd never of had the Shuttles. Rather Orbiter Vehicles, (OV)
To this day one of my favorites: One thing cool about living in this hell hole by Muroc, is/was the History of EAFB and its Men, and Test Programs. NTM-the 1,000s of stories of Men like then Base Commander Neil Armstrong and Chuck Yeager, et al. All those greats lived in nearby communities, and never dissed a young kid, asking questions about their experiences......... "White Gate Farms" a rural area in the heart of Lancaster/Plmd., yet not so easy to find, was where 90% or more lived, if they were not in Base Housing.....! Back in the mid 70s, my Bro-In-Law sold one of those (Pete Knights) ranch style homes in WGF's, and left behind was a Pressurized X-15 Flight Suit, and even a flipping Helmet to boot......I still have those momentoes......
I think Hammer was 2 yrs old then.....my youngest son was born in 84, ......oldest 1980, tho' I was but 15 my self, .............................................(J/K).....
Weren't you 13 in 82 Tom???? born in 69, same year as my 1st purchased Car, the 69 Fastback, BTW, I dug your Post on Mustangs.............!!! Cobra, Selanne, Rausch(sp?), I'm still waiting for Penske to take on a Mustang, Or Kendrick.........(dream on).....
15 in 82. Great summer, went to the cape for the first time, sadly missed sts4 by a few weeks. But got to go in the vab and touch the crawler, etc. Wouldn't witness a launch in person until 89 and 90.
