After a week of rest it's time to get back to avgeek captioneering! This pic should make it easy for y'all too... so follow the rules below and see if you can come out on top to fetch up a bacon sandwich at OSH11 for all your hard work.
As usual, you've got til Wednesday evening at 9pm EDT to submit your clever/funny/cool captions. Then, I’ll pick the best 5 and put ’em in a poll for everyone to vote on for all day Thursday and Friday so we can find the winner.
The Rules:
1) Max of 3 submissions per person
2) Submissions go in the 'comments' area
3) Game ends Wednesday at 9pm EDT
4) Keep it clean!
Then, anyone can cast their vote starting Thursday morning and running thru til 9pm EDT Friday. The winner will be posted Saturday morning 3-26-11. Spread your wings and have some fun : )
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., March 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For the first time, NASA has released high-definition video taken during the retrieval of solid rocket booster segments from the Atlantic Ocean. The solid rocket boosters provided 144 million horsepower for the final launch of space shuttle Discovery on its STS-133 mission.
After each shuttle launch, crew members of the Liberty Star and Freedom Star retrieval ships pull the spent boosters out of the ocean and return them to Hangar AF at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. After they are processed, the boosters are transported to Utah, where they are refurbished and stored, if necessary.
The video includes high-definition video footage from the recovery ships and time-lapse footage of recovery efforts on Freedom Star.
The footage was captured with a Panasonic HPX 3700 high-definition, cinema-style camera with 1080 progressive scanning at 24 frames per second.
While the video above is very cool for showing the process by which the SRB's are recovered, it doesn't show them with their parachutes deployed for the soft landing in the ocean. This 2009 photo from the flickr page of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center gives a good view of what an SRB under parachutes looks like. The main body of the SRB has the three massive, 136 foot diameter parachutes, but the tapered section at the nose (not shown) descends under the smaller drogue chute that is used to initially stabilize the SRB, and then, when it separates from the SRB, it is the action by which the main parachutes are deployed.
The weight of the empty SRB is about 200,000 pounds! Learn more at the Shuttle SRB wiki.
You had me at Dyke Delta... seriously, that's all it took to get my mouth watering. This recent video is from the Texas Indoor New Year (TINY) event that featured all kinds of cool and unusual indoor electric aircraft. The video is from youtuber sr71afan who might know is the guy with the too-cool-for-words 10 foot span (5.4 pound) C-47. And the Dark Delta VTOL video too! These guys do really cool stuff : )
The awesome model flying in this video is patterned after John Dyke's very unusual delta shaped homebuilt aircraft from the mid 1960's. The real Dyke Delta could never dream of doing those wildly tight inside and outside loops like this model, but it still was a truly fantastic achievement from about every angle. Even tho only about 50 have been built over all those years, it's regarded as a great airplane with a realistic ability to carry 4 people and cruise at about 180 mph on 180 hp. Those numbers are great even by today's standards which tells you how far ahead of its time this little flying machine was. Plus, the pilot in front and three seats behind him cabin arrangement meant that most of the pax were very close to the CG. This also means that the two outside pax have amazing leg room! One other unique feature is that the wings were designed to easily fold flat over the fuselage allowing the airplane to be towed down the road.
The forward-thinking and overall versatility of the Dyke delta is just awesome... I think this little gem of an airplane needs to gain some modern-day popularity. Maybe this little video can get a few more mouths watering!
This video gives a great overview of the Northrop Grumman X-47B project and the quest to design and build an autonomous unmanned aircraft that can operate off of Navy aircraft carriers. Regardless of how you feel about the move to take the pilot out of the airplane, the accomplishments thus far are pretty stunning. You get a good feel for that in the video. Keep in mind that any of the sequences with the airplane operating on or near a carrier are simulated at this point, but most of what you see here is the real deal.
Check out a couple more X-47B posts, and then expect a lot more to come in the future as this daring team takes some giant leaps as they attempt to do some incredibly challenging work.
The X-47B unmanned (autonomous) aircraft landing on its first flight in February 2011
Click this Piper Cub screenshot to see an awesome video of aviation perfection
I got an email today from a friend with a link to this Piper Cub video from Sleeping Dog Productions... wow, these guys have done a really great job capturing the essence of the Cub. So it was an easy decision to let y'all know about their work. Click either of these two screenshots to go directly to the video on their website. (lots of other great vids there too)
This video does a lot to help explain the kinds of things I've shared over the last two years about what makes the Cub so special. All of my Cub time is actually in a 90hp Clip Wing version, but everything that makes a full span Cub so fabulous is still there in the short wing conversion... and then some in my estimation.
Seeing the joy that people experience in the Cub is exactly why I think we need a real Cub revolution in America. We need lots of flight schools all over the country teaching people to fly in simple, cheap-to-operate original J-3 Cubs that cost $50,000 or less, and that's in good enough shape to work their tail off. With super-low operating costs and more smiles-to-the-hour than any Cessna 150 could ever deliver, a Cub revolution could inject the big missing element in modern General Aviation... pure passion for the simple beauty of flight.
Maybe it's just me, but modern LSA's just can't inspire the same love for flying that a 1940's yellow Cub can. So I'm still hoping someone will spark a nostalgic revolution of authentic Cubs that are affordable, beautiful, and most of all - a perfect joy to fly.
Click this Piper Cub screenshot to see an awesome video of aviation perfection
I first brought up the idea of a Grand Slam homebuilt airplane in the middle of last year. It's the idea of a homebuilt that could very effectively capture four important elements: Affordable - Great Performance (but not too hard to fly) - Easy To Build - Electrifying Looks. The good ole BD-5 was supposed to be that airplane 40 years ago, but a variety of obstacles got in the way. And in my mind, the definitive Grand Slam homebuilt has still never materialized. But now, the Onex from Sonex is beginning to show signs that it's aiming for the fence with the bases loaded!
A few important points here first. There are some really good 2-place homebuilt airplanes that offer great value, performance and looks. You can go way back to the days of the Long-EZ or early Glasair or Lancair designs, or maybe the RV-4 or 6... but bigger airplanes with bigger engines, or maybe relatively high kit cost make all those airplanes either pretty expensive to complete or complicated to build, or maybe both. In my mind, the real Grand Slam is almost surely a single seat airplane cuz that's how you're really gonna keep the costs down. And while there have been many great airplanes that are affordable and maybe easy to build, the ones that combine all four of the elements above are either hard to find or simply don't exist. Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so you may not agree with my opinion on the looks side of things, but I honestly believe that the Onex from Sonex comes closer than any homebuilt to being that special combination that can be considered a Grand Slam.
The Onex on its first flight on January 27, 2011
And even tho the Onex is still just a prototype, the more I'm seeing about the details of this little 'sport fighter', the more I'm impressed. The video below from a few weeks back (shot from the cockpit) really helps to point to the Onex's game winning plans.
With extremely simple structural design that borrows from the very successful Sonex line, and the overall small size of the airplane, you get affordable knocked out pretty quickly. It's looking like a completed airplane should be possible at about 20K without any hardcore scrounging. The AeroVee (VW derived engine) making 80hp for just under $7,000 goes a long way toward making the airplane both affordable and a great performer. Even tho straight and level cruise is around 135 mph, the Vne on the Onex is 216 mph! And when you take those pleasing lines and great proportions and add some flashy paint like my drawing above, and you've got one hot looking little flying machine.
So watch the video from inside the cockpit and imagine yourself out having some cheap fun on a sweet sunny day. And keep watch for info from Sonex on exact kit pricing and availability... cuz when this Grand Slam clears the fence, avgeeks all over the world will be the winners!
Amazing detail on a T-33 RC jet model currently under construction by Graeme Mears
(5 pix)
The name Graeme Mears might not ring a bell with you, unless you're really into stunningly awesome scale RC models... tho if you saw my post on the Privately owned F-16 a while back you might remember the name from there. Graeme is a master at building freakishly accurate and detailed RC models that tend to win big awards. And he's got one in the works right now that's just beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel - a fabulous Lockheed T-33 model in fictitious Thunderbirds paint. Tho the Air Force aerobatic team never flew T-33's there are several real live examples with private owners that have adopted the scheme on the airplane. It's one of those real aircraft that this model will represent.
Graeme is working toward competing at the Jet World Masters event coming up later this year from July 24th thru August 6th at the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton Ohio. The pictures here are just a few of the ones he has posted on his facebook page. I highly recommend you check out the page to see the other pictures of the build. Keep in mind if you don't have a FB account, you won't be able to get to the pix.
This T-33 is a 1:4.5 scale, so pretty much 1/4 scale, which works out to a 110" wingspan and 101" long. One of Graeme's biggest challenges with the model is keeping it under the 20kg (44 pound) weight limit imposed by the Jet World Masters competition. Adding so much detail, especially in moving parts, really starts to build up the weight. A recent update from him indicated that he's stripped some excess weight out and thinks he's gonna be ok.
You may already know that Kyle and Amanda Franklin sustained substantial injuries yesterday (Saturday March 12, 2011) in a forced landing due to engine failure during their season opening airshow in Brownsville, Texas. I hope you'll join me in praying for a healthy recovery as they face many challenges in the coming weeks and months.
I've had the opportunity to spend some time with Kyle and Amanda and I can easily say they're two of the nicest people you'll ever meet. The airshow community is very fortunate to have them as part of the family.
Here are some links to posts I've put up in the last year that will help show some of the amazing airshow work that Kyle and Amanda have brought to the world of aviation.
So if you didn't know, this odd looking, kinda Guppy, sorta 747, almost a DC-6 machine is for real... it's called a Carvair. Congrats go out to 'TenDegreesFlap' for submitting the most popular caption as seen above. This winning effort will be rewarded with a bacon sandwhich at Oshkosh 2011 - mmm!
The Carvair was originally conceived in the 1950's by the late Freddie Laker as a way to haul more automobiles (along with some pax) on short hauls around the UK. The Bristol 170 Freighter had been the mainstay of this work, but its ability to haul only 3 cars greatly limited profitability. The Carvair (Car-via-air) was based on the Douglas DC-4 and created the ability to carry up to 5 cars, which were loaded thru the small swing-open nose. With the cockpit relocated above the loading area, a fairly simple overall arrangement was achieved. Just 21 of these unpressurized freighters were built, but several operated for many, many years, some until relatively recently.
The Carvair was a really unique adaptation of an existing aircraft that preceded the 'Guppy' concept to first flight by over a year. It also might have been just a touch of inspiration for the designers at Boeing when the 747 'hump' was conceived. The Carvair is certainly an interesting footnote in the history of aviation. The video below shows the same aircraft as in the caption (with the lips painted on) apparently performing at an airshow at some point in the recent past. This aircraft may still be airworthy today in South Africa, tho I can't confirm that. If it is still flying, it would be the only Carvair still airworthy.
The Carvair isn't very pretty in the air, but the sound from four Pratt & Whitney R-2000's is sure awesome!
It's true some airshows have already taken place in the warmer regions of the country, but for much of the USA, we're still waiting for the weather to break. The good news is that it won't be long!
This excellent video of the impressive AeroShell Aerobatic Team is a great primer for getting you in the mood for some fab airshow action. It includes some amazing views from their night show as well... I love the way their landing lights shine thru the smoke trails - it's a stunning sight to see. I highly recommend you get to an airshow on the Aeroshell Team schedule this year and take it all in. Til then, take 2 minutes and 15 seconds and enjoy this terrific video.
Monday, March 21, 2011 at 08:33AM 
