S-97 Aurora by Sikorsky

Wow! Happened to come across this article and the picture with it! Looks like it should appear on that old tv show Airwolf!

A company by the name of Aurora FLight Sciences announched that it had been selected by old granddaddy helicopter giant Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation to design and build some prototype airframes for the S-97 Raider project.

The S-97 Raider program is based off of Sikorsky's next-generation X-2 Technology rotary wing demonstrator aircraft, which features twin coaxial counter-rotating main rotors and a pusher propeller.

NASA selected the X2 Demonstrator as the recipient of the 2010 Collier Trophy. The S-97 can fly nearly twice the speed as other conventional helicopters with greater maneuverability, greater endurance, reduced noise, and fly at higher altitudes.

Now Aurora Flight Sciences designs and builds robotic aircraft and other advance vehicles for scientific and military projects and they operate out of Manassas, VA.

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Ref.

1. Verticalmag.com "Sikorsky Selects Aurora for S-97 RAIDER" by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation. April 4, 2011. (http://www.verticalmag.com/control/news/templates/?z=0&a=16627).

2. (www.aurora.aero).

There was once a British Royal Navy

This blogger came across this bit of cheery news on the cdr salamander blog. He posted this picture of two of Great Britain's two S/VTOL aircraft carriers.

And its sad that the UK will not be preserving HMS Invincible as a mermorial ship. This warship took part in the Falklands War in 1982. In the background of the picture, was the HMS Ark Royal at her Portsmouth berth - waiting for a new owner or the scrapyard.

Twenty Sea Harriers of the Fleet Air Arm and backed up by some RAF Harriers was the only means for the Royal Navy to provide air cover against what the Argentian's Air Force and Navy Air Armanda could throw at the British.

It's sad to see the Invincible in the shape it was in -being towed by tugs, paint on the island flaking off. The bold black waterline marking all but gone. In the picture, one can see both ship's famous ski-jump ramp.

Its just a sad picture of a former Navy power going into the dustbill of history. Her citizens have decided that they need more government programs and give aways than actual national defense. And this blogger is waiting for the same thing to start happening here in the US of A..

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Ref.

1. cdr salamander. "Royal Navy's decline in a picture" March 28, 2011. (http://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/2011/03/royal-navys-decline-in-picture.html). Picture by Mike Walker.

2. Naval-History.net. "BATTLE ATLAS of the FALKLANDS WAR 1982 by Land, Sea and Air"by Gordon Smith (http://www.naval-history.net/NAVAL1982FALKLANDS.htm).

3. History of War Online.com. Falklands. (http://www.historyofwaronline.com/Falklands.html).

Devon England UFO Video

Discovered this bit of YouTube footage from a article on Coast to Coast AM with George Noory tonight.

Incident suppose to have taken place on March 5, 2011, and the video was hot by a 72-year old farmer who was out walking his dog in Devon, England. As one can see, the disc moves behind some trees and then disappears from view.

On YouTube, the video was posted by someone going by the handle "whatintheworld10", real name of Patricia. I quote what Patricia wrote with her video posting:

"Filmed in Devon England. 5th March 2011

Ok, there are already a lot of rumours floating around about this clip, and unfortunately most of you wouldnt know real if it hit u in the face.

1. filmed by a 72 year old farmer friend of mine (next time I will ask him to say a few words for u all so as to make it a little more realistic)

2. WIND. u all know what it sounds like when u get a light oncoming breeze into the mic on your phone. sorry if you believe that this is not right in any way. it only goes to show you are wrong.

People create their own stories according to how it should be to them. and if it doesnt fit in with your idea, You wont accept it either way. Some of you really are convinced that you think you KNOW. If you were in my shoes, you would see you didnt KNOW after all. The only people who know, are the ones involved.

Here's a very important point i feel i should make. the only way anyone will believe anything, is if they experience it themselves. until then, it will always be a no go."

end quote.

Now, real or fake; I think this is a good UFO video, period. Again, I do have problems with sizing the vids, so you can just click on the video above and watch it on YouTube directly.

Evidence of Alien Life on Meteorite Claim

That alien life form is/was very similar to a known giant bacterium known as Titanospirillum velox. An organism found here on planet Earth.

So claims Dr. Richard B. Hoover, an astrobiologist with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. He has traveled to very remote areas on Earth such as Antarctica, Siberia, and Alaska for ten years now collecting meteorites. His report, which was published in the March edition of The Journal of Cosmology.

Dr. Hoover been tracking down the very rare class of meteorites, called Cl1 carbonaceous chondrites. There are only nine such meteorites that have been recovered on Earth. Inside these meteorites are fossil evidence of bacterial life within such rocks. This, by extension his report suggests; that we are not alone in the universe.

quote: "I interpret it as indicating that life is more broadly distributed than restricted strictly to the planet earth. This field of study has just barely been touched -- because quite frankly, a great many scientist would say that this is impossible.” end quote.

For more details, please use the link below in the Ref section.

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Ref.

1. Foxnew.com. "Exclusive: NASA Scientist Claims Evidence of Alien Life on Meteorite" by Garrett Tenney. March 5, 2011. (http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/03/05/exclusive-nasa-scientists-claims-evidence-alien-life-meteorite/).

Boeing Tanker Won over EADS's Tanker

Well, I am surprise by this announcement. I thought for sure that enough lobbyists from both sides had enough congressmen and senators paid off that the final decision would be a split purchase between the two companies.

And going by what one article said, that may still be in the works for a future purchase after these first 176 KC-46As are purchased. Price tag is $30 billion plus. EADS version of its Airbus A330 plane to be converted over to a tanker would have been called the KC-45A.

Problems with the F-35 keep on taking place along with the price tag keeps on going up. The USAF is rapidly retiring many of its legacy fighter aircraft such as the F-15 and F-16. Just to try and keep the wonder plane (i.e F-35) on track.

As a smaller aircraft, the KC-46A is expected to burn less fuel in absolute terms than the KC-45 over a 30 year lifespan for the airframe.

Boeing has to deliver the first 18 KC-46As within six years of the contract award date. The production spans over 13 years for building all 179 aircraft. And Boeing has confirmed that first flight for the KC-46A is scheduled for 2015. So, we should see a KC-46A flying by February 2015. I won't hold my breath. Something ALWAYS happens to screw up the production schedule. Then Boeing has to go to Congress to get more funds, etc., etc.

Now its a race against time. The USAF has 400 really old KC-135 Stratotankers that have to be replaced. Many of them are 50+ years old.

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Ref.

1. ELP Defens(c)e Blog. "Boeing KC-46A air-refueling tanker for the USAF. Now what? #military" by Eric Palmer. February 24, 2011. (http://ericpalmer.wordpress.com/2011/02/25/boeing-kc-46a-air-refueling-tanker-for-the-usaf-now-what-military/).

2. Flight Global.com. "USAF selects Boeing for KC-X contract" by Stephen Trimble. (http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/02/24/353642/updated-usaf-selects-boeing-for-kc-x-contract.html).

Academy of Model Aeronautics Press Release-“Special Rule For Model Aircraft”

AMA has been working with the FAA on setting up certain guidelines that will still allow model aviation to take place in the United States of America. I could have posted this article over on my other blog (Flash 255 Bunker), but since this also involves real world politics and the FAA; I decided that it had to go on this blog.

For months, modellers have been worried that Homeland Security/Federal Aviation Administration will come up with some sort of rule set that in effect will force thousands of people out of the hobby. Thousands more to lose their jobs when their industry has(had) just be outlawed by the Feds.

So it was with some releif to read the press release by the AMA (dated February 18, 2011) entitled "AMA Works to Amend Reauthorization Bill Providing Relief for Model Aviation from sUAS Rules".

I will post the entire press release below -

M U N C I E, I N – Sen. James Inhofe, OK, successfully sponsored S.223 in the Senate yesterday with an amendment specifying a “Special Rule For Model Aircraft” that provides an exemption from regulation for model aircraft operating within the following parameters:

 Flown specifically for recreational, sport, competition, or academic purposes;

 Operated in accordance with a community-based set of safety guidelines within the programming of a nationwide community-based organization;

 Limited to 55 pounds or less unless certified through a design, construction, inspection, flight test, and operational safety program currently administered by a community-based organization.

“On behalf of our 140,000 members I want to thank Senator Inhofe, Chairman Jay Rockefeller and Ranking Republican Kay Bailey Hutchinson for their leadership in shepherding the FAA reauthorization bill through the U.S. Senate,” said Academy of Model Aeronautics President Dave Mathewson. “Aeromodeling is an exceptional family recreational and education activity that has traditionally been a stepping stone for our children to careers in aviation and aerospace. With the Senators’ help we hope model aviation will continue to help provide that impetus for future generations of engineers, pilots and astronauts.”

The bill now moves to the House of Representatives, which is expected to rule on the matter in the very near future.

AMA has contended that the purpose and operation of model aircraft flown for recreational purposes is uniquely different from the operation of the growing number of commercial small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) for which the FAA is drafting regulation. Aeromodelers operating under AMA’s guidelines have earned a reputation of being one of the safest, if not the safest users of the National Airspace System. This exemplary safety record spans more than 75 years.

The Academy of Aeronautics, founded in 1936, charters 2,400 clubs across the country, sanctioning more than 2,000 events and competitions as a member of the National Aeronautic Association. It is dedicated to promoting aeromodeling as a recreational, competitive and academic pursuit.

# # #

On a more mundane note, I flew my Seagull Models sport-scale PC-9 this morning for the first time. This now makes THREE of these models that I have owned. They are nice flying airplanes. The wing to this particular model I flew today actually came off my very first PC-9 which had a accident (i.e it crashed - busted out the landing gear). Totally rebuilt the wing and the fuselage came from someone in Greece. The landing was ok, but the model drifted off to the side of the runway, hit a clump of grass and ripped out the right landing gear. So more repairs are now needed. But - that just goes with part of this hobby.

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Ref.

1. AMA "AMA Works to Amend Reauthorization Bill Providing Relief for Model Aviation from sUAS Rules". February 18, 2011. (AMA Works to Amend Reauthorization Bill Providing Relief for Model Aviation from sUAS Rules).

FINALLY - Only ONE Engine for the F-35!

Pratt & Whitney has finally beaten out General Electric and Britain's Rolls-Royce to power the troubled F-35 fighter jet program.

And all it took was a coalition of Democrats and Tea Party Republicans to get it done. The U.S. House of Representatives finally voted down the mandate to have a backup engine design (which was a thinly disguise jobs aid program to GE for House Speaker John Boehner's southwestern Ohio and surrounding districts.

For years, going back to former President George W. Bush, and current President Barrack H. Obama; have tried to kill off the GE engine for the F-35. But the House kept on voting funds for that engine. And that added to the cost of the overall F-35 program.

For more information, check out the link below.

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Ref.

1. CT Now.com. "Pratt Wins F-35 Engine Battle" by Mara Lee. February 16, 2011. (http://www.ctnow.com/business/hc-pratt-engine-20110216,0,4274620.story).