I was watching a documentary on the Space Shuttle and how those Edwards Lifting Bodies contributed a lot to the ultimate aerodynamics of the Shuttle. Think of it, going from 17,500 MPH to 180 knots on flare with only 1 wing and no lift devices like flaps

Helicopters don't have "negative pitch". What you're seeing is "coning angle" while the blades carry a load (the tips generate the most lift). When the rotor disc unloads, the cone disappears. Most the blade rigging I've seen has a small (1 - 2 degrees positive pitch) when the collective is full down.

Nothing too cutting edge about the Avanti. All aluminum verses all-composite. Starship came with a variable sweep canard versus the Avanti's fixed, non-trimmable foreplane (the rear horizontal surface still trims and holds the elevator). Starship was also the first all-glass cockpit with an integrated Collins…

Actually, the Avanti is pretty blasé. Still has the rear horizontal stabilizer. Aluminum construction and a fixed foreplane whereas the single largest piece of metal in the Starship was the landing gear. The forward wing had variable sweep coordinated with the flap deployment to maintain stall characteristics. …

Hell, writing a BASIC interpreter is nothing. Toughest part is the mathematic expression parse and analysis (think normal to reverse Polish order for stack operations). I did it back in the 70s for the Motorola 6800 in assembler. Interpreters are essentially a big jump table indexed by a parsed opcode offset to…

That's more a function of the detonation altitude. High = clean, low = dirty. Most of the long-lived fallout is actually material from the ground swept up and irradiated by the blast.

"Clean", meaning lesser amounts of prompt, lethal radiation, is predicated on the design of the secondary. As I understand it a uranium-clad secondary will generate significantly more radiation (and yield) than a non-fissile container due to the enormous amount of fusion-generated neutrons bombarding this ordinarily…

It's probably just the new controller software not programmed to accommodate a 60K+ enroute. Betcha this particular U2 was either under positive control, or NOT under it since class E airspace ends at FL 600. I doubt lots of aircraft transit ARTCC ZLA at 60K+ and ERAM is fairly new to this center.

Early on bomb researchers figured out the inside of the fission device, or the "primary" was a perfect environment in which to start a fusion reaction. Thus, they inject a small amount of tritium gas into the hollow plutonium pit just prior to detonation to "boost" the reaction. After primary detonation, the fusion…

The SPS-48 radar is specifically designed to detect sea-skimmers coming over the horizon. My now-departed dad helped develop it and he described it's ability to discriminate missiles from sea clutter as they hugged the water as ridiculously good. Came online in the early 70s and it'll be in use until 2040. Must…

As a SoCal native, it apparent was just a matter of time. Northrup bailed a few years ago to Virginia. My hometown company Tenet bailed to Dallas years ago and are doing just swell.

Ballast tamper. Compacts the loose gravel.

The parking brake handle is cool too, just like in your car. IIRC, Dassault did this first.

What's mind-blowing is the X47B carrier launched drone was supposedly going to refuel and be refueled without human intervention. A high-speed data link between the two drones allow precision refueling. Alas, funding ran out in 2014. I would loved to see that.

Gorgeous form follows Mach 3+ function.

Still the most powerful internal combustion locomotive ever built, right? 8500 horsepower on the builder's plate, but rumored to run up to 10,000. Plus, I love the look of that carbody.

Meh. It's a lightly disguised BMW V-12. Big deal. You want a unique engine? Bentley's L410 6.75 liter V-8. Now *that's* unique.

Look, Burt Rutan is a genius, no argument. But all this was done in the 60s and early 70s with the X-15, DynaSoar and the Lifting Body programs. Hell, trying going to 90K feet at Mach 1.6 with no wings: