Most people would be shocked at how reliable the C5 is. Mine is a better car than the 2008 Civic Si that it replaced. Better fuel economy and cheaper insurance, too.

Turns out the XJ is a monster in the sand, as well as the trails and mud. Notice there’s no KL in the pic. It’s back in the parking lot with an overheated diff.

Sadness washes over me. lol

Vortex ring state (VRS) is less of a problem with helicopters than with tiltrotors for 2 reasons: Disk loading and pilot training. Choppers have lower disk loading, so they’re less likely to fly into their own down-wash. Tiltrotors have very high disk loading, so their down wash is very strong. Helicopter pilots are…

Boomer! You know exactly how hard it is to find one of those damn boats with a whole fleet of specialized aircraft, let alone this monstrosity!

The Orlyonok was a military transport, used for moving military “stuff” around the Caspian. They built 5 or 6, as I recall. I know they could fit at least 2 BTRs inside them. Think C-130 that can’t get more than 10 feet off the ground! The Lun Class machines were bigger and faster and used for cruise missile patrols.…

The Lun was used for over a decade, not a terribly short service life. The previous Orlyonok ekranoplan was in service for over 20 years before being left to rot in typical 90s Russian fashion.

I used to do rotorcraft research work with a bunch of former -60 and -47 guys and they all used to joke that engineers wanted to add the fairings just to piss off the crews!

I watched it on TV. I was 5 and it bothered the hell out of me. That singular event is why I am an aeronautical engineer today. I wanted to be a part of the team that prevents spaceships from breaking.

Right, but there’s a big push in the rotorcraft psychoacoustics world right now to reduce tail rotor noise because that’s what “alerts” people to the presence of a helicopter. The low frequency noise from the main rotor BVI is certainly detected, but generally dismissed by the human brain until the noise of the tail…

The fastest car ever to roll down the Mulsanne Straight was powered by a PRV. I say keep it!

When I left NASA Ames a couple years ago we were still using an old Deuce-and-a-Half for D.A.R.T. (Disaster Assistance Response Team). I never took a pic of it, but it was old and loud and awesome in that way that only a Deuce can be.

When I left NASA two years ago, the agency was lousy with GEM cars and Daihatsu Hijet trucks. Damn things were everywhere. The Hijets were gas powered and kinda interesting, if a little tip-overish. The GEM cars were kinda quick and handled my antics reasonably well.

You should be proud! It’s a uniquely South American machine that seems to do exactly what it was designed to do. It’s an example of great engineering exercise.

Yes! My C5 is pretty consistently over 30 mpg on the highway (albeit down a couple hundred horses from the pictured C7). I get about 24 mpg in mixed conditions. Track day (bro) mileage is about 7 mpg!

How about Jack Roush cheating death in TWO plane crashes? The guy’s straight out of a friggin’ M. Night Shayamalan movie!

Lol, Mars! Close, it lived in Northern California until last year (in Michigan now). It leaks every fluid other than brake juice, so the underside has a pretty good coating of oil goo that keeps the salt and water out and the goodness locked in! Sounds like you’re using a similar method of preservation!

Agreed. It looks like an MKC/Mecan/LexusWhatever with a Jag-ish grill. I mean, it’s not offensive to behold (looking at you, Infiniti), but definitely generic.