CoolPix - Racers: Jimmy Doolittle And The Perfect Curtiss R3C-2 Seaplane

(click pic for hi-res)

 If I understand the documentation correctly, the year for this picture of Jimmy Doolittle standing on the Curtiss R3C-2 racer is 1928. Hello? Can you really believe that it was just 25 years earlier that the Wright Brothers first flew their kind-of-awkward Wright Flyer? It was even a few years earlier than this picture was taken that this same Jimmy Doolittle won the 1925 Schneider Trophy race with this little piece of aviation perfection, being pulled thru the air by that cool prop at a speed of 232.57 mph. This stellar Curtiss airplane was actually the fastest airplane in the world in 1925, tho it was the R3C-1 version, the same airplane but with wheels installed, that set that record of 249.342 mph with Lt. Cyrus Bettis sitting in the cockpit. 

 Due to the shocking awesomeness of the aircraft that raced in the Schneider thru the 20's (and in the last year of 1931), I'll be doing a lot more coverage of the details relating to these airplanes over time. I've got a book from about 20 years ago that has loads of terrific info in it, and there's no shortage of amazing things to share about these stunning aircraft.

 But for right now, I suggest you click this picture so it's nice and big, and then slowly run your eyes all over this thing... just like you were right there, gently laying your fingers on it and carefully tracing its perfect curves. Imagine the smell of a 650+ hp liquid-cooled V-12 engine with still-warm oil leaking out of the joints. Breathe in the burned and unburned fuel smells that create a cloud of aromic perfection. Imagine for a moment what it would be like to sit in that cockpit and push the throttle forward... you are a race pilot!

 Please, don't miss the opportunity to experience this amazing airplane in your mind!

 And lastly, did you know that this was actually an Army airplane? Both the airplane AND the engine were built by the same people; the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, and this was all done with the support of the military in the effort to promote better, faster airplanes. What an amazing time in the history of aviation. 

Solar Impulse Overnight Flight: Electriflying Success!

All photos from the Solar Impulse Facebook page

Perfect older test flight pic of the Solar Impulse and it's power supply: the sun

 A huge congratulations goes out to Solar Impulse pilot André Borscherg and a very tired team of people that made the 26 hour overnight solar powered flight a success! It was a very exciting and impressive accomplishment, and puts this project well on its way to eventually flying around the world on nothing more than sun juice. More flight details will soon be posted at SolarImpulse.com.

 Here's an interesting look at the fuselage and main spar structure during the build process. The massive box spar gives a good view of why that extremely long 208 foot wing is able to resist twist. Of course the structures are built primarily out of carbon fiber for both high strength and light weight. This huge airplane, with a wingspan essentially the same as a 747-400, has a max take off weight of just 4,400 pounds.

This view of the wing spar helps to give an idea of just how big it is. This also looks like my kind of place to work... a design studio, engineering department and testing and manufacturing facility all rolled into one!

 A close up view of one of the four 10hp motor assemblies.  I'm not certain, but it appears that the motor is the ribbed silver component that has the black duct (cooling?) coming out of it. The large black and silver rotating hub assembly at the front has a ring gear inside the aft silver part. That would put the motor shaft in the right place then to drive the hub that rides on a bearing at the end of the smaller silver cylinder mounted on the centerline.

 It's really amazing that just four of these small motors are able to put the Solar Impulse into the sky. This is one of the reasons that when battery technology advances another several generations, I think we'll definitely see some form of practical electric flight for everyday use.

 Congratulations again to the entire team of people that have made the Solar Impulse such a great success thus far!

Check out more interesting photos at the Solar Impulse Facebook page

CoolPix - Electric: EADS 4 Motor Electron Burning Cri Cri

(click pic for hi-res)

 Holy electron Batman, electric airplanes are popping up all over the place these days!  I'm posting this CooPix, in the new 'Electric' category, as the fabulous Solar Impulse is well into its 24 hour solar powered electric flight... and working extremely well it seems. And this here pic is of a project revealed a few weeks back from EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company) of an updated Cri Cri homebuilt that's powered by 4 small electric motors with counter rotating props.

 It's part of an effort to continue to push 'electric propulsion system' technologies forward opening the door to more potential aviation applications. This is actually a pretty exciting time as we're beginning to see a lot of progress being made in this area. The practical application of stored electric power for everyday aviation use is probably still a long a way off, but it wasn't very long ago when it really didn't seem like it could ever be practical. Barriers are being knocked down on a regular basis these days.

 This particular airplane, based on the rather amazing all metal Cri Cri homebuilt that was made somewhat popular in the 70's and 80's, is actually made with composites to further lighten the structure. They claim it will be able to fly for 30 minutes at about 70 mph. It may have made its first flight already, but I was unable to confirm that at the moment. It is however extremely cool to look at.. and to image what fun it might be running bugs thru those 4 cute little props : )

UPDATE: FlightGlobal.com story on the first flight of the EADS electric Cri Cri 

Video: The 'Solar Impulse' 24 Hour Electric Flight Is Under Way!

Follow along with the Solar Impulse with their real-time flight tracking

 Simple video of the historic take off early this morning of the Solar Impulse (HB-SIA) from Payerne airfield in Switzerland shortly before 7 am (0500 GMT or 1 a.m. EDT) as the rather amazing Solar Impulse sets out to fly 24 hours on solar powered electric propulsion only. You can learn loads more and even follow the flight in real-time at SolarImpulse.com.

 This video highlights test pilot Markus Scherdel but also gives some insight into how the airplane is operated and includes a lot of views of the aircraft in flight.

 This video shows the Solar Impulse making its first flight straight down the runway on December 3, 2009. It's pretty amazing to see such a large aircraft (208 foot wingspan and around 3,000 to 4,000 pounds) take off at just over 20 mph! The view taken from a helicopter flying ahead of the aircraft really gives you the opportunity to see how stable and controlled the Solar Impulse is. An aircraft this large, with such a light structure, and so underpowered could easily wind up in a bad situation. The team really seems to know what they are doing.

 The airplane is designated HB-SIA and has 4 small electric motors that produce just 10hp each with a cruising speed of around 43 mph. It's designed to operate at high altitudes up an absolute maximum of 39,000 feet, and be able to fly for 36 hours at a time.

 The follow on aircraft, HB-SIB, yet to be built, will be somewhat larger with a pressurized cockpit and has the goal of flying around the world in 20 to 25 days of duration on solar electric power sometime in 2012. Godspeed Solar Impulse!

Oshkosh 1982 Memories, And OSH10 Butterflies

The homebuilt Breezy I flew to Oshkosh in 1982... that's some great camping!

 I found this picture a couple days ago and just had to share it. It shows the Breezy I flew to Oshkosh in 1982 when I was 21. That's the trip that covered a whopping 300 miles in 2 days and 13 airports! My podcast #4 covers the details of that wild adventure, which included that orange 10 speed bike leaning against the tree that I had tied to the airplane : )

 As I mention in the podcast, back this far in Oshkosh history, you could actually park your 'showplane' (antique, classic, warbird or homebuilt) right in around these beautiful trees. They're located a bit south of the Theater in the Woods. It's really just a handful of trees, and they're over by the fence, actually just across the road from Camp Scholler. The trees are still there today, and people are always camping there, but they don't let you park an airplane under them anymore. I gotta say that it made for the best Oshkosh camping ever. I put the clip-wing Cub there once and the Breezy twice.

 Finding this picture really stirred up the butterflies in my belly. Maybe you're not like me, but when I start thinking about Oshkosh coming up, I get butterflies in my belly from the excitement. It's been like that since I was a kid. There's nothing on earth that compares to being at Oshkosh. The butterflies usually arrive about 2 months out, and then a couple times a week they remind of their presence. I've got 'em right now!

 If you've been paying attention over the last year and a half, you might notice that I never ever mention AxxVxxxxxx. I've probably only said it out loud 10 times, and I never write it out. The Oshkosh web links above, where that word is used for the url, I cut and paste... I don't write and I don't type it. (I get to the site via the link at EAA.org)

 You might think this all makes me weird. You'd be wrong. There's lots of other things that make me weird, but not acknowledging the existence of that word isn't one of them. It just makes me hardcore, old-school EAA, the same way that throwing away the 'modern' logo stickers does when they arrive with my membership. There's only one logo the EAA ever needed, and I'm hoping it'll make a comeback!

 So, you may be going to AxxVxxxxxx, but I'll be going to Oshkosh... and I can hardly wait!

Video: AVweb Supercool Supersonic Tutorial - Awesome Stuff!

From AVweb.com 

Video: Getting To Know The Rutan Model 151 'ARES' Circa 1990

 I remember seeing pix and info on the Burt Rutan designed and Scaled Composites built Model 151 ARES way back in the day in Sport Aviation magazine, but I never really got a good feel for the operational details of the aircraft til I saw this vintage video. Not only do you get some great in flight views, but Burt himself explains lots of the design in the unusual looking 'Low Cost Battlefield Attack Aircraft'.

 The airplane was designed in the late 80's and then had its first flight in 1990. It was put into storage in 2000, but actually went back into research and test service in 2008. Cool.

Boeing 'Speed Agile' Concept Reminds Me Of The 60's

Boeing 'Speed Agile' concept     image: USPTO

 Looking a bit B-2ish, with an added whale tail, this Boeing 'Speed Agile' concept was unearthed over at AviationWeek.com. The 'Speed Agile' term is a way of describing what the U.S. Military is looking for in a future replacement for the C-130. The idea is to have a very STOL aircraft capable of really slow flight, but also have cruise speeds above .8 Mach (possibly transonic), with take off and landing distances of 2,000 feet or less, all while being able to tote around 65,000 pounds of battle hardware. Looks like they pretty much want it all.

More views of the Boeing concept    image: USPTO (altered to show correct scale)

 I think it looks pretty cool overall, and could image that there might be some significant advantages to the design. It fits with my basic view that many, if not all of the breakthroughs yet to come in aerodynamics will be found by looking at more organic shapes from creatures that God invented quite a while back. I believe that studying these shapes will help us see new and creative ways to manage air flow in and around our flying machines.

Seaview Submarine from the 1960's TV show 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'

 There's always the possibility tho that the guys at Boeing are just tapping into some of the shapes they remember from the 1960's TV show 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea' where they had this really cool, organicky looking submarine called the Seaview. I watched a lot of that show as a kid, but the only thing I remember, other than this basic shape of the sub, was that it seemed about every minute there was this really cool 'PING' sound. Well, it did get kinda old after a while...

 PING

 PING

: )

Video: Serene, Surreal, & Spectacular - Skydiver Meets Sailplane

 The guy you probably consider crazy in this video really isn't, but he is an out-of-the-box aviation thinker! His name is Loic Jean Albert... he's one of the world's best at wingsuit flying. You've probably seen him in one of those wild 'flying your body down the side of a mountain' videos on youtube. He's been at it quite a while and has some amazing accomplishments to his credit. This means he's either extremely skilled, with a good eye toward considering all the risks, or he's part flying squirrel. I'll leave that up to you to decide : )

 This video, from back in 2007, has a very special quality to it. Even if you still consider it a crazy act, I think you'll be able to feel the peace and tranquility of it all. And, this is one of the few aviation videos that actually benefits from having some music tracked in. Otherwise, my avgeek video-making friends should remember to let the airplanes make the music!

 Please. Enjoy.

CoolPix - Modern Military: V-22 Osprey Will Stir Air At Oshkosh 2010!

(click pic for hi-res)

 Yep, here's another CoolPix with the Bell-Boeing V-22 already... but technically it's actually the Air Force version known as the CV-22. Oh, wait, the other one is the CV-22 version too. Oh well, the bottom line: both this and the previous Osprey CoolPix are off-the-scale fantastic! (If you don't say 'wow' when you click the above pic, there may be something wrong with you!)

 I'm really happy to have just found out that this amazing tiltrotor flying machine will be at Oshkosh 2010. Looks like it'll be on display, and perform a flight demonstration as well. I'm really excited about that since I haven't seen one fly yet. You can get more detailed info at this EAA link with the Osprey schedule for Oshkosh.

 Oshkosh (the greatest aviation event on planet Earth) runs July 26 thru August 1, 2010. It's kind of a big deal : )