The Cold War resulted in a rather large number of interesting military research programs. One of these with which I'm familiar is the
Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion program, which ran from 1946 to 1961. The basic idea? Modify a bomber (such as a
B-36 bomber), creating an aircraft that could theoretically remain aloft for weeks at a time without refueling, much like ballistic submarines? The challenge? Shielding. Shielding the reactor alone would make the aircraft prohibitively heavy, so the idea was to primarily shield the crew compartment instead of the reactor. However, to study the concept, and evaluate various lightweight shielding concepts, two very novel and unique nuclear reactors were built at
Oak Ridge National Laboratory: the
Bulk Shielding Reactor, a novel "swimming pool reactor", and the
Tower Shielding Reactor, an unshielded reactor that was hung 200' in the air dangling between 310' steel towers. While the program successfully demonstrated several of the concepts (including a
nuclear-powered gas turbine engine running in Idaho, and a modified B-36 that carried a nuclear reactor but wasn't propelled by it (mentioned above), the program was canceled in 1961 due to feasibility and budget concerns.
posted by kaszeta
on Aug 21, 2011 -
26 comments
Austrian research company IAT21 has presented a new type of aircraft at the Paris Air Show which has the potential to become aviation's first disruptive technology since the jet engine. ... The key to the D-Dalus' extreme maneuverability is the facility to alter the angle of the blades (using servos) to vector the forces, meaning that the thrust can be delivered in your choice of 360 degrees around any of the three axes. Hence D-Dalus can launch vertically, hover perfectly still and move in any direction, and that's just the start of the story.
posted by Trurl
on Jun 23, 2011 -
38 comments
The largest model railway layout in the world, Hamburg's
Miniatur Wunderland has been featured here
before. Featuring areas modelled on real life attractions, it also is home to the fictional town of
Knuffingen where the 200,000 mini-inhabitants are very much looking forward to the opening of their new
airport.
[more inside]
posted by jontyjago
on Feb 12, 2011 -
15 comments
21st Century Jet: The Building of the 777 (part 1 of 5) In the early 90's, Boeing decided to build a new airplane, the 777. They also decided to allow KCTS Television and Channel Four London to film the design, construction, and testing of the new airliner. This 5-hour documentary, first aired in 1996, is no longer shown on TV, and out of print on VHS, but you can now watch it on Google Videos.
[more inside]
posted by FishBike
on Dec 18, 2009 -
20 comments
A Zimbabwean cargo aircraft
crashed earlier today at Shanghai-Pudong airport, killing three and seriously injuring four. It is not yet known why the aircraft, an ex Varig MD-11F (
pic) operated by an airline called Avient, failed to become airborne, but the airline itself has received quite some attention recently. Headquartered in Salisbury, Wiltshire, United Kingdom, they almost went bankrupt, leaving behind massive debts in France, only to almost out of nowhere get this MD-11F, which
crashed within a week of being acquired. (
pprune, reg req) But that's not the only shady thing about this airline...
[more inside]
posted by krautland
on Nov 28, 2009 -
32 comments
Building and flying free flight model airplanes is a pastime so obscure it doesn't even register on the geek heirarchy. But in the period between Lindberg's flight across the Atlantic until the start of the Second World War,
thousands of boys (and some girls)
around the
world succumbed to the allure of rubber,
lube, and
dope.
[more inside]
posted by gamera
on Aug 6, 2009 -
13 comments
Flawless Aircraft Emergency Landings (QLYTP). Breatheless reporting aside, it looks like when a pilot can control the landing, these aircraft are tough enough that no one need be hurt. Many more excellent videos in the post-video links, too.
posted by five fresh fish
on Oct 21, 2008 -
40 comments
I love nicely done home-built aircraft. I discovered
Mark Langford's website over a year ago but forgot to bookmark it. Thankfully, I recently found it again.
His dedication (obsession?) is obvious. I can't get over how many parts he custom built for his plane. He suffered an engine failure in his Corvair engine at one point, and I loved how he took the engine apart afterward and gave a full rundown about what happened.
posted by eratus
on Jun 19, 2008 -
8 comments
The
Zephyr, a solar powered plane, has smashed the record for the
longest duration un-manned flight, staying aloft with engines running for 54 hours. This was just a test run at the US military White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, according to the UK developers, "You ain't seen nothing yet". Meanwhile in Switzerland, development continues on the
Solar Impulse, which has a goal of flying around the world, manned(!), by 2010.
posted by stbalbach
on Sep 11, 2007 -
11 comments
Eject! Eject! Eject! Whether used in the
air, on
land, at
sea (and
under it), or
on the way to the Moon,
ejection seats and
capsules have saved
thousands of aviators
worldwide. The
basic concept was first tested in
1912, developed by the
Germans in WWII, and became standard safety equipment in
high-speed,
high-altitude jet and rocket aircraft. (Although
ejection seats were in
Gemini spacecraft, they were only in early
Space Shuttle flights.) Much happens very quickly
during ejection, and harrowing
accidents and pilot
deaths still occur. The decision not to eject right away may be heroic, but even pilots who wait may live while
innocent bystanders^ die. However, the efforts of
dedicated researchers and
rocket sled testing by seat
manufacturers keep adding
new members to the unique
club of men and women who survive to fly again.
posted by cenoxo
on Aug 28, 2006 -
21 comments
[Newsfilter] Terror plot
disrupted. Scotland Yard has arrested about 18 potential terrorists who were planning to blow up UK to USA flights mid-air. The
UK threat level is now
critical - "an attack is expected imminently". And there's
chaos at the airports where hand luggage has been banned from all flights.
posted by featherboa
on Aug 10, 2006 -
506 comments
Legend has it that
Charles Dellschau (1830-1923) was the
draftsman for the secret
Sonora Aero Club, a collective of 60 or so mostly German immigrants who reportedly constructed
dirigible like aircraft in California in the 1850's. One club member was said to have discovered
suppe -- the magic antigravity fuel alleged to have lifted the craft.
There were sightings of these 'airships', tenuously linked back to the club, up to
the end of the 20th century.
Dellschau, described variously as butcher, inventor, civil war spy, scientist and
America's first visionary artist, retired at age 70 in Texas and
spent the last 2 decades of his life as a recluse,
producing mixed media art works that
record the craft and workings of the fabled Sonora Aero Club.
They are accompanied by cryptic symbols, newsprint about aircraft and detailed notebooks and were salvaged from the garbage in 1967.
His artworks were selling for $15,000 each 5 years ago. A would-be author and long-time sleuth believes he has unlocked the mysteries of
Dellschau's cryptic accoutrements and may be
publishing a book on the legends this year.
via
posted by peacay
on Jun 15, 2005 -
11 comments
