91–100 of 156 posts
"As reported in PM, NASA is currently the revisiting the supersonic spy plane concept. It recently awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin Skunk to test the feasibility of the SR-2, a supersonic drone that would fly almost twice the speed of the Blackbird. The idea is that speed would play the role that stealth once did in beating enemy air defense network. "
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Wow. $1000!! I own two copies because I thought I had lost mine and so bought a second for $10 or so. Then I found the first one.
Would you be willing to lend one out to be scanned for the Internet Archive? I have no relation other than finding books to be digitized and paying for/coordinating the scanning. I’m willing to provide insurance and proof of my identity to ensure your property is respected.
It only came out in 1991 though — does Internet Archive host books that aren't public domain?
I met a gentleman around 20-25 years ago that told me the story of the "$500 hammer". Years ago the press went crazy that the government was overpaying for tools for military projects. This guy gave me "the rest of the story". The cost for tooling is what it should be for a limited run of "special metal" tools. I'm guessing the tool manufacturer had to shutdown their normal operations to supply Skunkworks with all ne…
[1] Ben Rich and Leo Janos. Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed. Boston: Back Bay Books, 1996. ISBN 0-316-74300-3.
A: it would simply fly faster than them.
What ana amazing piece of engineering.
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How does a middle finger get transmitted? Had ascii art handy?
That story is from Ben Rich's book "Skunk Works". https://hipandthigh.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/blackbird/ describes it as "Lt. Colonel William Burk Jr., who shares about a particular mission he flew over Lebanon back in 82." That link also has the full account, ending "What he had given him was “the bird” with his middle finger" - that is, it was not sent by radio signals but by visual light to the Mark I eyeball of…
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A good one (although some may dislike it): On the way back from a mission to the middle east, they ended up flying over France, even though France had refused them clearance. They were flying low and slow (relative terms obviously), and the pilot looked to his left and saw a French Mirage just off his left wing. The Mirage pilot called over and requested their diplomatic clearance code. The SR-71 pilot told the Mirag…
America, f\ \ k yeah! ... Sarcasm aside, wouldn't this be a severe case of violation of sovereignity? I find it hard to believe such a stupid act could have been performed without making news or retaliations. (By stupid act I mean entering unpermitted airspace, the pilot's actions are irrelevant)
On the other hand, if neither country wants there to be incidents, than any potential incidents will be ignored and hushed up. Nobody will make any noise or volunteer any information about it. If a reporter happens to get information about it independently, it will be minimized and dismissed. Maybe the American pilot gets a slap on the wrist, the French pilot curses Americans a few times in his local bar, and everyone forgets about it soon after.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wow. $1000!! I own two copies because I thought I had lost mine and so bought a second for $10 or so. Then I found the first one.
Would you be willing to lend one out to be scanned for the Internet Archive? I have no relation other than finding books to be digitized and paying for/coordinating the scanning. I’m willing to provide insurance and proof of my identity to ensure your property is respected.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you are interested in how the Pentagon, Air Force and Navy decides to fund and build aircraft, I highly recommend reading this book [1]. It's about the father of the A-10, F15 (sort of), F-16 and FA-18. Fascinating read about how the armed forces will completely ignore data on flight characteristics due to politics. (it's about the life of John Boyd, not just how aircraft a chosen but its covered quite a bit in th…
Also, note the Vanguard rocket. We lost the space race due to politics. We had the people who knew how to build it--who later built the Saturn V--and after they did, were promptly kicked out. The Soviets had childish, despicable politics of their own going on, with important rocket engineers like Korolev being accused by his colleague Glushko of treason, sending Korolev to the gulag for Glushko's professional advanta…
" The U-2 can still fly higher than the Global Hawk, carry a greater payload, and its sensors have more of a slant range. The Global Hawk also lacks de-icing equipment and countermeasures against Russian SAMs. We may be entering the age of drones, but old-fashioned piloted planes can still do a thing or two." Why not just copy the U2 and make an improved, unmanned version?
If you are interested in how the Pentagon, Air Force and Navy decides to fund and build aircraft, I highly recommend reading this book [1]. It's about the father of the A-10, F15 (sort of), F-16 and FA-18. Fascinating read about how the armed forces will completely ignore data on flight characteristics due to politics. (it's about the life of John Boyd, not just how aircraft a chosen but its covered quite a bit in th…