Sunday, October 28, 2012
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Friday, October 19, 2012
US Air Force's was trying to build flying saucers
Declassified: US Air Force's Flying Saucer Schematics
Check out the schematics for "Project 1794," a could-have-been flying saucer from the '50s.
by Jon Fox
You read that right: sixty years ago, the US military was trying to build flying saucers. As in UFOs. A collection of recently declassified files discovered at the National Archives, including schematic diagrams and project development documents, show a disc-shaped aircraft remarkably similar in design to popular science fiction images from the same era.
Designated "Project 1794," the Air Force's flying saucer was supposed to be capable of vertical takeoff, reaching speeds between Mach 3 and Mach 4 and sustaining altitudes up to 100,000 feet. Sound dangerous? The authors of the Final Development Summary for the project disagreed:
"It is concluded that the stabilization and control of the aircraft in the manner proposed … is feasible, and the aircraft can be designed to have satisfactory handling through the whole flight range from ground cushion to supersonic flight at a very high altitude."
The 18- to 24-month cost estimate was just $3.2 million (about $26.6 million today); or, in US military terms, "chump change."
The documents offer no clear evidence that Project 1794 was carried to the prototype stage before the project lost funding in 1960. (We'll let the tin-foil hats and boring realists argue that one out in the comments). But if anyone wants to dig up the full schematics and 3D-print a scaled-down version of this thing, feel free to send a review unit to IGN.
IGN.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Classic Aircraft Photography
If you want an A1 size poster of this photo buy a copy of the November issue of Flypast.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Thursday, October 11, 2012
C-5 Galaxies in the Boneyard
Retired C-5 Galaxies and other out-of-service military aircraft sit in the Air Force's aircraft boneyard in the Arizona desert as the sun sets, Sept. 26, 2012. The boneyard, run by the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, is on the grounds of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson. (Air Force photo by Val Gempis) — with Rath R Robertson.
A journey like no other for the shuttle Endeavour
Spaceflight Now
A journey like no other for the shuttle Endeavour -- a two-day, round-the-clock trek through the city streets of Los Angeles -- begins late Thursday night and continues along 12 miles of urban jungle through Saturday evening to the retired spaceship's new home at the California Science Center.
FULL STORY: http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts134/121010preview/
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
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