Now That's a Nice Piece of Work

I've mentioned this guy before, but Mr. Bawidamann does some pretty awesome work.

That's Just Crazy Talk!

Those of a certain age will remember pawing through Boy's Life and other magazines in the school library and seeing ads similar to this one. Imagine the implosion that would occur if you attempted to place an ad like this in a mainstream publication like Time or Newsweek.


YOu can enjoy this and others advertisements from comics and other places HERE.

A Visit To The Skunk Works

This Steven Trible story reminds me of when I was in Air Force ROTC. I went on a trip to Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. As part of the visit we had a tour of the Foreign Technology Division (FTD). As we toured the facility at the height of the Cold War, a person preceded us through the halls ringing a bell, you could see people closing up work as we passed keeping the secrets safe...at least from our prying eyes. It was a fascinating peak into a world that I had no clue (at that time) about.

To aviation aficionados the Lockheed Skunk Works founded by the legendary Kelly Johnson has always held a certain fascination. I'm sure Mr. Tremble had the time of aviation loving life there.

PALMDALE, Calif. -- I suppose getting invited to enter Skunk Works shouldn't make much sense. The secret-squirrel types like it that way. You can ask the public relations office repeatedly for several years, as I did, for a site visit, and get nowhere. Then one day you ask for a phone interview about a semi-obscure project, and -- voila! -- they ask you to come to Palmdale to see it in the hangar. If the Skunk Works organization has a motto, it should be: "Don't call us, we'll call you. ... Really, don't call us."
Actually getting inside the Skunk Works site is fairly straightforward. There's a "visitor control" building, which also includes a bank and Palmdale's coolest gift shop. I gave the clerk my driver's license and she gave me a visitor badge. The PR representative met me outside the door, and we drove inside the sprawling complex. Lockheed used to build the L-1011 Tristar here. Skunk Works arrived only in 1994, relocated to the desert from Burbank.

I had come to see the Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft (ACCA), and interview the program manager. On paper, this is a project with enormous significance to the future of aerospace manufacturing, but I'll post more about that later. The aircraft I saw inside the hangar is a Fairchild Dornier 328Jet modified with a widened, mid- and aft-fuselage and all-new vertical tail. It is about to receive an X-plane designation from the Air Force Material Command as the next aircraft in the long-dormant XC-series for experimental cargo planes.

Walking around a Skunk Works hangar can be tricky. You never know what you might see. As we turned to leave, I looked up at a makeshift wall dividing the hangar. Just over the 30ft-tall barrier, I could clearly see the bulbous top of an enormous aircraft. It could only be one thing. "Hey, that's the P791!" I said. A worried look crossed the unfailingly polite program manager's face. "Is he supposed to see that?" he asked the PR rep. She assured him it was okay. He smirked at me and said, "We might not have let you leave." I decided to interpret this as a joke, and laughed...

Go read the rest HERE

Mustangs, Mustangs, Mustangs!

Check out the latest from the "Cat in the Hat". Jack Roush's gang has released pics of the 2010 Roush 427R Mustang. Looks pretty good...

Here are the specs from the Roush website:

The ROUSH 2010 427R™ Mustang will be the first in the lineup of new ROUSH® 2010 Mustangs to have a ROUSHcharger® installed which boosts the horsepower to 435 and offers 400 lb.-ft. of torque. This is the first time that ROUSH has been able to offer a supercharged vehicle at the launch of a new body style.

Under the hood customers will see many differences in the ROUSH 2010 427R Mustang compared to previous years. One of the biggest changes is that the long air induction tube that wrapped around the engine was eliminated making a much cleaner appearance under the hood. The intercooler reservoir has more than twice the volume of previous generations, and the intercooler itself is a single core cross-flow radiator which means more efficient cooling. It is substantially larger than on prior model years, and is now raised higher off the ground which should offer much less potential for road debris damage. Even the hoses on the ROUSH 2010 427R have seen an upgrade; they are all now 100 percent molded rubber with abrasion resistance and have imprinted markings for things like the clamp locations. This makes for even more of a true OEM appearance under the hood, and ROUSH has taken this factory appearance to the degree of matching the Ford grain on the OEM radiator reservoir and duplicated it on the one used by the intercooler. Although much of the 4.6L, 3V powertrain components are a carryover from that used on the 2005-2009 ROUSH Mustangs, customers will notice much more refinement and OEM-level quality materials and appearance on the new ROUSHcharged™ engines. This new 427R™ is be covered by a 3-year/36,000 mile warranty...

...This package also includes an all-new suspension package to greatly enhance the handling of the vehicle and turn that daily commute into a slalom course. The ROUSH chassis engineering team has driven tens of thousands of miles on the streets and tracks to create the best blend of comfort and handling, and claim that this is the best suspension package they have come up with yet for the Mustang. A ROUSH wheel hop reduction kit will be included with all vehicles that have the upgraded ROUSH suspension package installed at the factory

You can get all of that for around $43K.

To downside for me is that even though the car looks really good (better than mine, I think) and it produces more power, it still doesn't have IRS and it's heavier than my '03 SVT. If I didn't have a 'Stang already, I'd definately think about one of these. It's compairable to the Shelby ones and you aren't paying out the wazoo for the Shelby name. Pretty cool car.

I've Got Friends In Low Places

I'm sure the safety nazis just love this video.

NSFW...gratuitous swearing included in this at no extra charge. If you are around sensitive ears I would suggest muting the audio...but you'll miss out on the Ozzy soundtrack as well. Yeah, it's a trade-off.

All Hail Voodoo Warrior

If you are in the mood for some interesting commentary go see my good friend '67 Cougar at his new blog Voodoo Warrior.

Division Fly-By

This happened while I was in Colorado. What a cool picture.

As anyone who has participated in one of these type things can tell you, it's usually better to be in the crowd watching than participating. The ass-pain associated with rehearsals and the like usually sucks the FUN right out of it.

All of this was part of the Division Color Casing Ceremony as they (and we eventually) are headed back to Iraq.

#1 With A Bullet

First they copy Flying Subs, now they are copying a Tom Selleck movie that had Gene Simmons as the villian from the 80's called Runaway.

From The Danger Room

Pentagon Shoots $22 Million into Guided Bullet Tech
By Noah Shachtman November 26, 2008 1:27:27 PMCategories: Ammo and Munitions, DarpaWatch, Guns
What if a sniper could fire a bullet that changed course in mid-flight, to hit its target? The Pentagon is handing out nearly $22 million to try to find out.

Darpa, the Defense Department's far-out research arm, announced a pair of contracts yesterday, to start designing a super, .50-caliber sniper rifle that fires guided bullets. Lockheed Martin recieved $12.3 million for the "EXACTO" (EXtreme ACcuracy Tasked Ordnance) project, while Teledyne Scientific & Imaging, LLC got another $9.5 million.

If the system works, it'll "provide a dramatic new capability to the U.S. military," Darpa says. "The use of an actively controlled bullet will make it possible to counter environmental effects such as crosswinds and air density, and prosecute both stationary and moving targets while enhancing shooter covertness. This capability would have the further benefit of providing increased accuracy and range while reducing training requirements."

"In other words," Sharon wrote last year, "it would be the ultimate sniper round."

What I want to know is when are we getting the hot robot babes from the movie Westworld?

More Flying Subs...

...now with drawings and stuff!

From DEFENSE TECH

Flying Submarine or Submerging Seaplane?

The answer is simple: Submarines cannot fly, but seaplanes can submerge -- if you build them properly.

That's what the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is seeking to develop. A recent Request for Proposal (RFP) from DARPA calls for a submersible aircraft [that] would combine the key capabilities of three different platforms: (1) the speed and range of an aircraft; (2) the loiter capabilities of a boat; and (3) the stealth of a submarine. "By combining the beneficial characteristics the and operating modes of each platform, DARPA hopes to develop a craft that will significantly enhance the United States tactical advantage in coastal insertion missions," according to the RFP.
The irony of the RFP is that the U.S. Navy was developing such a craft some 45 years ago.

The objectives issued by DARPA are for a vehicle that would have an airborne tactical radius of 1,000 nautical miles, a low-level flight radius of 100 nautical miles (which may leverage surface effects), and a submerged tactical radius of 12 nautical miles. The sum of these must be achieved within eight hours. Endurance on the surface has to be 72 hours in sea states up to five between inserting and extracting personnel. The craft's payload objective is eight men and their equipment with a total cargo weight of 2,000 pounds.
DARPA has identified the major challenges to the project as (1) weight, (2) fluid flow regime, (3) structure, (4) lifting surface geometry, and (5) power and energy storage. These factors force the consideration of a seaplane that can submerge as opposed to a "submarine that can fly." The relatively light construction of an aircraft can be submerged to shallow depths, and to even great depths with internal pressurization. But submarine-like vehicles, built to withstand greater depths, are too heavy for consideration...

Read the rest here

Still no mention of the Seaview and her Flying Subs

The 2010 Mustang

If you like Mustangs it is pretty sweet...

Check the website HERE

Something Guns and Roses is Good For...

...besides providing music to play in the background of gun tape from Iraq.

H/T Ace of Spades

From the AP comes this nugget for all you Peppers out there.

Dr Pepper to deliver on its free-soda promise


LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dr Pepper is making good on its promise of free soda now that the release of Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" is a reality...

...Beginning Sunday at 12:01 a.m., coupons for a free 20-ounce soda will be available for 24 hours on Dr Pepper's Web site. They'll be honored until Feb. 28.

Dr Pepper is owned by Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc.

On the Net:
http://www.drpepper.com

Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too?

Return of the Flying Sub

I you'll recall about a month ago we discussed all things Flying Sub (see THIS POST )



Now our good friends at Aviation Week have decided to weigh in with their two pence about the prospects of an actual working Flying Submarine, or as DARPA refers to it, a "Submersible Airplane".

Still no mention from them of the "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" flying sub...perhaps the coolest thing ever to appear on TV besides a bra-less Jaclyn Smith.


Pearls before swine...I tell ya'.

American as Mustang

All Hail!

Threedonia

Anthing you need to know about what kind of people and things are posted at Threedonia should be answered by this paragraph from the post entitled, "Welcome to Threedonia."

If you need to reach us you’ll find our e-mail addresses on those name page headings discussed in #2. You’re probably wondering what kind of painty-waist sissy-men are we that we insist on using these goofy aliases? Well, first of all, you don’t really know for sure that these aren’t are real names, but let’s just assume you’re right. Well, then, why does Superman go by Clark Kent? Batman as Bruce Wayne? Spiderman as Peter Parker? Rey Misterio as Oscar Gutierrez Rubio? Sometimes, when you have extraordinary talent an alias is necessary as cover to blend with regular folks. Yes, we’re not like you. We have almost nothing in common with you, yet we’re fascinated by your mortal lives and get a small thrill from mingling with you and learning about your daily goings on. And if you think Clark Kent or Peter Parker are painty-waists, well you can take that up with them. O.K., that Toby McGuire guy seems a little light in the loafers and Brandon Routh isn’t very manly… Well maybe you’ve got a point…

Even if you didn't think that to be very funny I still say check them out you might find something worth your valuable time.

YMC-130H Credible Sport

H/T Bring the Heat, Bring the Stupid




Necessity being the mother of invention, or something like that, the US Military during the Iranian hostage crisis was searching for a way to get a lot of troops on the ground in a hurry. One of the ideas floated was to crash land a C-130 into a soccer stadium near the US embassy in Tehran. Obviously at least one of the landings didn't work out too well. The way I understand it the planners weighed the risks and possibilities for success and moved on to the helicopter option...and we all know how that worked out, unfortunately.



UPDATE:

Upon further review (thanks commenter Mike) this project was implemented after the failure of Eagle Pull, the first hostage rescue mission. This project along with the formation of what was to become the 160th SOAR were all a result of the tragedy at Desert One.

Additionally, Bronze pointed out the the wiki page for Credible Sport which has a lot of good info if you are interested.

Cinderella Story

He doesn't look too enthused about it, but Bill Murray (Caddyshack, Ghostbusters etc.) Recently made a jump with the Army Golden Knights...too cool.

From the Army Times comes this...

Bill Murray jumps with Golden Knights

The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Aug 19, 2008 10:46:31 EDT

CHICAGO — Bill Murray landed in Chicago on Friday like he never had before — by jumping from an airplane 13,500 feet up. The 57-year-old actor took several deep breaths before stepping out the open doors of a C-31 Fokker and dropping at about 120 mph to the city’s lakefront with members of the Army Golden Knights Parachute Team.

An exuberant Murray, whose jump kicked off the 50th Chicago Air and Water Show, landed safely on a beach. The actor pretended for a moment to stagger as if dizzy, then smiled broadly, waved to the crowd and shook hands with some of the Golden Knights.

Friends asked Murray to participate in the show, which features demonstrations and performances in the air and on Lake Michigan, to support the Illinois United Service Organizations.

But he wasn’t so certain of his reason to jump moments before he boarded the plane on a perfect 73 degree day at an Indiana airport 25 miles from Chicago. Members of the Navy Blue Angels also prepared nearby for the show, which runs through Sunday.

“It seemed like a good idea at a time,” Murray said. “I’ve had second thoughts, believe me. I’ve been really nervous. All the jokes (from friends) involve death.”

Read the rest HERE

While researching this I came across this photo...



That's Pilar Lastra, case holder #14 from Deal or No Deal and my "Girl Friday" from 26 APR 08 getting ready to jump with the Knights. I knew there was a reason I liked this woman.

Hark an Aardvark!

I have a good friend who flew the F-111 until the types' premature retirement. Considering what they were trying to accomplish in the '60s this jet was quite the feat of engineering. Unfortunately quite a few jets and people were lost trying to work the bugs out.

A Starfighter

Do youreself a favor and just mute the sound on this...good work on the video (if you can ignore the flipped image from time to time), but the music is, let's just say not my taste.

The F-104 was to me the coolest looking jet I could ever imagine. Unfortunately by most accounts it was fast as hell but not much else. But it LOOKED GOOD, and sometimes that's all that matters.

A Hustler

When I was but a wee lad, General Dynamics opened a plant in Waco, TX at the former James Connally AFB where they did modifications on the F-111 fighter bomber and they brought every B-58 through there enroute to the boneyard at Davis Monthan AFB, AZ. A while back going through all the junk my mom saved from my childhood, I found a clipping from the Waco paper that showed the last B-58 leaving for the boneyard. What an awesome looking jet.

This is Maverick Requesting a Fly-By

It's almost football season, and what's a National Anthem, without a fly-by?

See NFL Network's story about fly-bys HERE. Good stuff.