Monthly Archives: June 2009
Cheaper Return Mission to Moon using Shuttle components?
It won’t be as powerful, and its design is a little dated. Think of it as a base-model Ford station wagon instead of a tricked-out Cadillac Escalade. Officially, the space agency is still on track with a 4-year-old plan to … Continue reading
Hitler’s Stealth Fighter
A team of aviation experts have re-created the Ho-229 to test its stealth characteristics for a show to be broadast on the National Geogrpahic Channel. Top stealth-plane experts have re-created a radical, nearly forgotten Nazi aircraft: the Horten 2-29, a … Continue reading
Boeing looking to replace osprey?
But the V-22 is not without its flaws. Besides killing 23 Marines in two crashes, a decade ago, the V-22 has proved to be something of a lightweight, in terms of lifting capability. “No tilt-rotor can carry what an equivalent … Continue reading
Kill the Osprey?
A powerful Congressman has called on the Marines to stop production on their controversial tiltrotor craft, the V-22 Osprey. The Marine Corps’ leadership say they’re thrilled with how the Osprey has performed in Iraq — the aircraft’s first deployment, after … Continue reading
NASA builds huge space parachute for Mars
When the NASA Mars Science Laboratory rover lands on Mars in 2012, it will face a unique obstacle: With an Earth weight of nearly a ton (compared to about 400 pounds for previous Mars rovers) and a Mars weight of … Continue reading
UAV operational costs
According to a recent article in the Economist: SPYING is a sophisticated and expensive business—and gathering military intelligence using unmanned aircraft can be prohibitively so. Predator and Global Hawk, two types of American drone frequently flown in Afghanistan and Iraq, … Continue reading
Computers Key To Air France Crash
Computers definitely have an advantage in responding to situations when given the proper inputs. But I’d be far more comfortable in an aircraft the allows the pilot to override the flight systems in an emergency. But while most reports are … Continue reading
USAF UAV pilots get their own Top Gun- when’s the movie?
The Pentagon is preparing to graduate its first unmanned- drone pilots from the elite U.S. Air Force Weapons School — a version of the Navy’s Top Gun program — in a bid to elevate the skills and status of the … Continue reading
Army operators have a better track record with drones than the USAF
A senior Pentagon official has delivered a stinging attack on the US Air Force, saying that its philosophy of using fully qualified human pilots to handle unmanned aircraft at all times has resulted in unnecessary, expensive crashes. By contrast, US … Continue reading
Is the V-22 all its cracked up to be?
Many have been criticle of the cost and safety record of the V-22. Definitely some food for thought as budgets are examined moving forward. The V-22 Osprey program is the largest scandal in the U.S. military. Some 40 years ago, … Continue reading