posted
I did this a while ago, but I figured today would be the best time to show this. Back in July, Boeing presented the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio with the Bird of Prey. Everyone at the ceremony was presented with a coin to commemorate the event. Here's a scan of one side of the coin: Coin Scan
I liked the design, so later I did my own recreation of it in color: Color Logo - 100 Years
posted
That would interest me as well. Looks a little like the plane in the old movie "Firefox" with Clint Eastwood.
-------------------- Lister: Don't give me the "Star Trek" crap! It's too early in the morning. - Red Dwarf "The Last Day"
Registered: Nov 1999
| IP: Logged
posted
So those are the Wright's first and second designs, right?
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
| IP: Logged
Cartman
just made by the Presbyterian Church
Member # 256
posted
I don't know if it looks quite that far ahead, but that's roughly the theme of the issue of New Scientist that's on newsstands right now (at least here). For instance: The DARPA "morphing aircraft structures" program.
Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged
posted
Well, the January 2004 edition of the Smithsonian's Air & Space Magazine *does* look that far ahead, at least for civilian aircraft. See http://www.AirAndSpaceMagazine.com/ASM/Mag/Index/2004/DJ/100Y.html for the article and pick up the magazine itself for pictures. The cover shown on the web page is not the cover of the full magazine, but a fake cover at the beginning of the article. It basically mentions hypersonic transports, "older" span loaders (blended wing-body), and personal flyers.
posted
I just gotta ask, about the X-36, why do they still have that ugly lance sticking out of the nose? I thought with all this cellphone development, they'd be able to put the radio receiver internally? Or is it for air penetration, like the bulbuous bow on a ship?
Registered: Aug 1999
| IP: Logged
posted
That "lance" on the nose of the X-36 is a pitot probe, which collects air data. Pretty much every test aircraft will have one of these so that you can get good air data without having to worry about the aircraft itself affecting the readings. Here's a picture of the F-22 with one: http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/military/f22/images/c12-27413-19.htm The full production version will have an integrated air data system, now that they have figured out how to compensate for the aircraft's effects. The X-36 never needed to develop an integrated system since they were only testing the tailless aspect of the aircraft. Most current aircraft, like the F/A-18 or a 777, have L-shaped pitot probes sticking out near the nose.
posted
What I think is funny is the Boeing entry in the JSF competition,"The Whale". It was a total step down in design aesthetics.
What worries me about the current design climate is that the U.S. is starting down a bad path in design philosophy. We are trying to make a single design capable of doing everything. The British have used this approach for some time and it has proven to be ineffective. They make aircraft that can do many mission types. But, they don't do any of them extremely well. The Harrier is a case in point. It is a FANTASTIC design. However, it is best suited for close in ground support from the front lines. It has neither the range nor CAP abilities needed for a fighter. Just look at the Falklands war. The inability of the British jumpjet carriers to keep a sufficient number of fighters aloft led to the loss of, I believe, five ships.
I simply have misgivings about any "all-in-one" product.
-------------------- I am the Anti-Abaddon. I build models at a scale of 2500/1
Registered: Aug 2003
| IP: Logged
posted
Although I have heard Boeing's JSF called everything from "Monica" to just plain ugly, I think only Northrop's Tacit Blue has been nicknamed "The Whale". (BTW, the Bird of Prey is hanging above Tacit Blue in the Air Force Museum.)
And since you reminded me, on December 5th, I attended a ceremony to deliver the last Harrier to the Spanish Navy. No more will be built. Of course, my reaction when I started working 6 years ago was "We still make these things?"
posted
Tacit Blue is possibly a project to make any who see the plane wince in disgust. Not stealthy per se' but by causing an unavoidable aversion to direct eye contact, it's nigh invisible.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
| IP: Logged
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic
