I’m never quick to call someone an idiot...there’s plenty of things out there I don’t know and i’m open for continuing education. There’s several fields in aviation I would consider myself to be a current expert in, and its obvious and nearly infuriating to me how many people get on a blog and have precisely 0% of…

The Global Hawks problem has been, and continues to be, that its not versatile, reliable or cost effective compared to other UAV options. If you are considering getting into the defense contractor business, I advice those three words be the definition of how you do business. Its easy to see which programs have targets…

Sorry, I worked on and deployed with the aircraft for 4 years...evidently knowone told the maintainers. Hmmm...interesting.

Unfortunately, at the time the U2’s / TR-1’s where being built (current version was late 80’s) Lockheed still believed that the only way to achieve a 12 hour endurance/loiter time was to build a powered glider, so they did. Now, UAV companies have figured out that you can build an aircraft with a 12-40hr…

“What they are calling the RQ-X/UQ-2 will be optionally manned...” as long as you have pilots in all the power positions at these traditional slow-to-embrace progress aerospace institutions, you will still have planes designed around the man and not vice versa. The only advantage I can see to having a new…

Actually the only design feature shared is the canopy...

Yes, more Reapers are being ordered. Why would the AF be involved in re purposing aircraft that the Customs and Boarder Patrol already own themselves? If the Coast Guard wanted a sea variant, its been available for years. The Army already has the Gray Eagle which is a cousin to the MQ-1 so they can already do whatever…

Sounds like your classifying anything that’s remotely piloted as a “drone”? which is like calling anything with wheels a car. As far as I know Amazon and UPS(?) are only talking about using small quadcopters to deliver packages. Personally, I feel safer with an quadcopter flying overhead than a low hour pilot flying a…

There are many, many reasons why MQ-1s cannot be “re-fit” for the Grey Eagle package. The Gray Eagle is already 10 pounds of stuff in a 5 pound bag, refitting it into a MQ-1 air frame would be the equivalent of 50 lbs into a 5 lb bag. Secondly, the Army insisted on the Grey Eagle having a diesel powerplant in order to…

The Customs and Boarder Patrol already has a fleet MQ-9s, adding MQ-1’s would be a step backwards in many respects. The Coast Guard would need the capability already found on Guardian/Mariner version of the MQ-9, and that can’t be carried on the MQ-1.

...about as much as it would cost to convert a Prius into a top fuel dragster.

Good story, very interesting, informative and well written. I’m not a military “Brat,” since my father didn’t retire from Active duty (rather an Air Force reserve component) but I am AF Active duty retired, so I can relate to many of the places you lived, and your story. I think it would be easy, and i’ve found it to…

Uhhhh...hasn’t Ducati been doing that trick for years? I don’t see the mystery.

It doesn’t surprise me that anyone with grease under their fingernails doesn’t get all giddy when you bring them yet again something that is broken (even if its a vintage GT-R). I’ve been involved in aviation for 25 years, and have been around aircraft that are truly mind boggling (SR-71s, U2’s, Air Force One, UAVs…

No, I don’t think the PT Cruiser deserves a second look. I have driven one on multiple occasions and its everything that I hate about GM cars all wrapped into one vehicle. Its got a loud poorly made engine, a truck like seating position and poor viability out the front window. The only car that is worse than a PT…

Why a person would walk into a dealership and hand over $40K+ on a vehicle built to the standards of a Jeep Wrangler is beyond my comprehension. I understand people who like to go off road...I get it, I do too. However, I just don’t understand someone who cares so little about build quality, technology, engine…

In a word...Suburban. Although, to keep it under 40G you might have to buy a two - threee year old version if you want all the options. This is still the only vehicle I recommend for those situations when 6 full sized humans and all their stuff need to get somewhere while towing something without being in a van. Now,…

“The movie’s heart is always in the right place, a fractured fable about how our attempts to manufacture the Perfect Family Dynamic tend to disguise what’s truly great about our stupid, dysfunctional families in the first place.” -well written. I always find it unfortunate when a sequel or spin-off film forgets to…

I feel sorry for a company that once was a player, and didn’t continue to innovate so they got behind a little every year, to the point of not even being on the board anymore. I remember the early 90’s when seeing a $33G Diamante going down the road was something special, and was priced in line with the newest Lexus…

I enjoy “Jay Leno’s Garage” for exactly the reasons you described. He’s not condescending or haughty, but sometimes he’s struggling hard to say something positive when you know if the Vice President of GM’s Corvette division wasn’t sitting next to him, he would tell you the truth about how he feels about certain…