Yeah, right. To get a decent thermonuke you need to have perfected the nuclear “primary” first. I doubt they’ve even got an implosion fission device working right yet. Probably a U-238 gun-type device. Anybody else have information?

Yeah, that’s why this looks like a Night Rod.

Thank God the aviation community doesn't subscribe to that credo.

Here in the U.S. we’re capable of building infrastructure quickly. Proof - 1994 Santa Monica Freeway collapse after the Northridge earthquake. Pete Wilson, our governor, suspended the government contracting requirements and implemented a bonus/penalty payment. Result - fixed in less than 3 months. It was an insane…

Actually, Aristotle Onassis beat everyone to the punch with these bar stools aboard the first superyacht, the “Christina O”. The finest whale penis leather.

1979 Ford Fiesta

If you read the link, the USAF was preparing for just this scenario *last week*. There’s no way Putin’s going up against two squadrons of F-15s an he knows it. He got caught out running his war cheap and sloppy (ground crews wearing sneakers?). At best he can retailate against the rebels shooting his pilots and SAR…

Latest Incirlik News

Yup. Takes a bit more effort. I do it that way on an ILS approach since I don’t have a glass cockpit telling me my crosswind component. I just fly the needles and bank into it all the way down.

Yeah, and full flaps and speed brake out? What’s with that?

I wouldn’t call it “good”. Kicked out the crab but was late (hell, absent) on the roll into the upwind. I’m sure the pilot himself would probably admit “I blew that one.”

Okay, now double that turbulence, add IMC, and then do it at *night* mid-Atlantic. Just goes to show you the level of professionalism we have in the USAF.

Rotary cruise missile launcher.

Oh, look, an Italian Night Rod. ;^)

There’s a lot of equipment removed after the Mach 3.0 attempts, and after the crash of AV/2 I know they kept the speeds down to Mach 2.0. I’ll look around in the NASA pictures archives since I remember seeing it there. There’s also a description of it here:

Because anything above 100% means a shop visit for a post-flight inspection and potential overhaul. Older military aircraft had safety-wired blocks or detents at 100%, which you could break through to gain additional power during an emergency. However, your plane was grounded afterward.

That intermediate compartment housed tanks containing water and ammonia for the cooling system. They both boiled off during flight and carried away heat. Couldn’t rely on an air-cooled radiator hanging out in the slipstream since the ambient air temp at those speeds was anywhere between 300 and 600 degrees F. Fuel was…

Another tidbit. The entire center console was hinged at the front and swung upwards to ease entry into the escape modules.

Here’s an interesting tidbit. Tucked under the glareshield is a helicopter vertical speed indicator (VSI). Apparently, during cruise the air data computer-driven IVSI in the panel wasn’t sufficiently responsive and thus led to trouble keeping straight and level. NAA added a more sensitive VSI for the pilots, thus…

Thank you. I’m a tiny bit smarter today.