It was somewhere outside Barstow when Unisaw A100
wrote:

Didn't we (Muricans) name a tank after Norm?

Why do you think the turret armour is all so big and boxy ?
- Plywood

Mind you, polyurethane turned out to be pretty impermeable, if you put
it on thick enough.

In article ,
Andy Dingley wrote:

It was somewhere outside Barstow when Unisaw A100
wrote:

Didn't we (Muricans) name a tank after Norm?

Why do you think the turret armour is all so big and boxy ?
- Plywood

Mind you, polyurethane turned out to be pretty impermeable, if you put
it on thick enough.


and providing you sand between coats in a TIMESAVER(R).

In article ,
charlie b wrote:

Ba r r y wrote:

On Sun, 06 Mar 2005 15:42:59 -0500, Robatoy
wrote:


I think the A-10 is one impressive bird. A frickin' tank with wings.
One of my favourite all-time aircraft.

We have a squadron of them based here in CT. An acquaintance of mine
flys them on weekends, a former employee maintains electronics on
them.

Luckily, he's never been subjected to a bird strike from the rear that
the fighter pilots keep advising him to watch out for.

Is that the plane that flys at or slightly above the speed of smell
(plagarized /stolen from Ron White, humorist Texan and part
time alcoholic?)

charlie b

You mean Tater Salad?

On Sun, 06 Mar 2005 21:39:46 -0800, the inscrutable charlie b
spake:

Ba r r y wrote:

On Sun, 06 Mar 2005 15:42:59 -0500, Robatoy
wrote:


I think the A-10 is one impressive bird. A frickin' tank with wings.
One of my favourite all-time aircraft.

We have a squadron of them based here in CT. An acquaintance of mine
flys them on weekends, a former employee maintains electronics on
them.

Luckily, he's never been subjected to a bird strike from the rear that
the fighter pilots keep advising him to watch out for.

Is that the plane that flys at or slightly above the speed of smell
(plagarized /stolen from Ron White, humorist Texan and part
time alcoholic?)

g It's a jet which can fly low and slow, then spit fire like a
dragon. I saw one on the ground first (vs. in the air) and it looked
elegant in a funky sort of way. A couple minutes later, I saw a nice
littel package called the Vulcan mini-gun on a steel cart. (I secretly
wanted to see that little thing in the back of my pickup but knew I'd
never get if off the Miramar Naval Air Station alive.

Anyway, I've been hooked on the A-10 ever since, warts and all. The
History Channel did an hour show on them and they're impressive. My
dad came home from VietNam with a bullet hole in the aircraft and a
dent in the bottom the seat of his C-123 where small-arms (AK?) fire
almost denutted him. (He was over there flying at 1000 feet to drop
crates of chickens, pigs, and cows to the South Vietnamese for food.
Ever heard the moo of a cow on a parachute?) Anyway, the armored
bottom of the A-10 gives the pilot a lot more peace of mind, I'm sure.


================================================== ========
I drank WHAT? + http://www.diversify.com
--Socrates + Web Application Programming

Can you guys change the subject line to airplanes so I don't keep clicking
on these posts.
Thanks
max

George wrote:
Wallpaper an XB-70, probably the sexiest plane ever.

If you ever go to Wright-Patterson, it really stands out. It's just an
incredible piece of work. Compared to other knockoffs, like the Tu-144,
I've seen, it's just gorgeous.


I've seen that plane at Wright -Patterson and you are right... it makes a P-51
look like a Jenny. Scared the hell out of the Russkies too...

On Mon, 07 Mar 2005 11:58:30 GMT, the inscrutable "Mortimer Schnerd,
RN" spake:

George wrote:
Wallpaper an XB-70, probably the sexiest plane ever.

If you ever go to Wright-Patterson, it really stands out. It's just an
incredible piece of work. Compared to other knockoffs, like the Tu-144,
I've seen, it's just gorgeous.

I've seen that plane at Wright -Patterson and you are right... it makes a P-51
look like a Jenny. Scared the hell out of the Russkies too...

I still prefer the Supermarine Spitfire Mk. 1A to the P-51 or XB-70.
http://www.rdrop.com/users/hoofj/
http://www.fighter-planes.com/big/spitfire.jpg


================================================== ========
I drank WHAT? + http://www.diversify.com
--Socrates + Web Application Programming

It was somewhere outside Barstow when "George" george@least wrote:

Drop nose, forward canard, low delta wing - yeah, right.

The XB70 didn't have a "delta wing" (beyond the level of something
vaguely triangular) - that was the whole point of it. The XB70's lift
came from a shock wave trapped under the lifting surface and retained
there by those huge downward-folding wingtips. This isn't the way that
any other aircraft (except a couple beginning with X) have flown and
certainly not the Tu144.

When the XB70 flew at low speed, with the wing working as a more
traditional wing, it was (to be honest) something of a dog. This was
one of the reasons the project was cancelled - it made a great
aircraft for an attacking dash at high speed, but loiter performance
was poor. And if you're going to build your deterrence around that
strategy, use missiles.

As to the canards, then canards have been a popular bodge since the
days of Santos Dumont. The Soviets used them because they didn't have
Aerospatiale's understanding of the aerodynamics of really high
performance deltas. It didn't need them at cruise - that's easy for a
delta, but retaining adequate control for a safe all-weather low-speed
landing envelope with a heavy delta aircraft is quite another matter.

George wrote:
"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
...

It was somewhere outside Barstow when "George" george@least wrote:


Wallpaper an XB-70, probably the sexiest plane ever.

Compared to other knockoffs, like the Tu-144,
I've seen, it's just gorgeous.

But the Tu144 bore no relation to the XB70. If anything it was a
knock-off of Concorde.




Drop nose, forward canard, low delta wing - yeah, right. They don't look
anything like each other.


Not that much. And the closer you look the less they look alike. For
that matter the Tu 144 was a whole lot more of an original design than
it was a knock-off of the Concord. (Although the Soviets did have a very
active espionage effort to learn as much as they could from the Concorde.)

--RC

Andy Dingley wrote:
It was somewhere outside Barstow when Unisaw A100
wrote:


Didn't we (Muricans) name a tank after Norm?


Why do you think the turret armour is all so big and boxy ?
- Plywood

Mind you, polyurethane turned out to be pretty impermeable, if you put
it on thick enough.

And you just needed a few brads to hold it in place while the glue dried.

--RC

Rick Cook wrote:


Not that much. And the closer you look the less they look alike. For
that matter the Tu 144 was a whole lot more of an original design than
it was a knock-off of the Concord. (Although the Soviets did have a very
active espionage effort to learn as much as they could from the Concorde.)

When the Concorde design team started feeding them clearly dodgy info
they had no choice but to go their own way (Tupolev later said this)

The aerodynamics are seriously compromised on the 144 compared to
Concorde - that the Yanks would consider using one for supersonic
research 25 tears after the Brits and Frogs had perfected it and
placed it into commercial service makes me chuckle.


--

George wrote:
"Robatoy" wrote in message
...

That brings us to the A-10 ...Warthog....aptly named... in a Julia
Roberst sort of way.

I think the A-10 is one impressive bird. A frickin' tank with wings.
One of my favourite all-time aircraft.

SR-71....another great one.

But the A-10 is on my desktop.


An airplane which proved unsuited to the task for which it was intended -
hosing Soviet armor as it tried to force the Fulda gap.

Planned to be a two-seater, made a single, where the load on the pilot was
so large in the weather that prevails so often in Germany, it went into the
guard in record time. It's done great work in clear air and with upgrade
avionics.

The blackbird is one of the finest machines out there. When dad first came
to Beale, he described an SR with a T38 chase as "the shark and a
pilotfish." Of course, the Okinawans called her Habu, which also seemed
suitable. A night takeoff was almost a religious experience for onlookers.


Never saw a night takeoff, but being on perimeter road at the landing
lights when one goes overhead is rather impressive. We could hear each
other talk by the time we left the perimeter road and hit the base area.
Joe

Sat, Mar 5, 2005, 2:52pm (EST+5) (LRod)
says:
snip amazingly, the DoD selected the uglier of the two.

I think it would be more accurate to say the selection was done by
politicians, not military, and looks had nothing to do with it. Altho
to claim a politician actually has "taste" would be stretching it.

But, with politicians involved, their first consideration probably
was what possible benefit they'd get out of selecting it, rather than
function, effectiveness, etc., or even cost. You just cannot trust
politicians to put any priority first, over themselves.



JOAT
Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong.
- David Fasold

Hey Rob! Was doing a search on "Texaco Brave" and I found you. I also sailed on the Texaco Brave, the very one you mention here. I worked in the engine room, first as a fireman then as an oiler, keeping that reciprocating triple expansion engine well lubed.

Take care!
Duncan