From: skunk-works-digest-owner@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu To: skunk-works-digest@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu Subject: Skunk Works Digest V4 #91 Reply-To: skunk-works-digest@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu Errors-To: skunk-works-digest-owner@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu Precedence: bulk Skunk Works Digest Wednesday, 15 December 1993 Volume 04 : Number 091 In this issue: Re: Aurora Book U2 Crash at Beale, 12/13/93 B-2 News U-2 Crash See the end of the digest for information on subscribing to the skunk-works or skunk-works-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Charles Date: Tue, 14 Dec 93 14:23:15 EST Subject: Re: Aurora Book Hi, EMORANELLI@delphi.com writes: My only disappointment was the lack of a concept sketch of what Aurora might be like. ... try page 76. There is one there based on "the North Sea eyewitness report and on open-source studies of hypersonic designs." There are a number of interesting drawings/pictures in the book. I liked: - the drawing of Boeing's proposed Air-launched Sortie Vehicle, complete with the 747 launcher with the rocket engine in the tail to allow the 747 to launch in a 60-degree climb. - photo of an A-12 with a D-21 drone perched on its back. - drawing of a proposed delta-wing version of the X-15 - drawing of a proposed air-launched version of an X-15, off the back of an XB-70. - drawing of a supposed B-1-sized reconaissance aircraft (it just looks neat.) - picture of a model of the proposed Sanger mach-6 aircraft (likewise.) ... I guess it'll do to keep me occupied until the Skunk-works book arrives, presuming it ever does... Charles ------------------------------ From: Rick Pavek Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1993 15:00:50 -0800 Subject: U2 Crash at Beale, 12/13/93 Another U2 went in killing the pilot... Spoke to Goddall who was under the impression it was due to a fuel leak in the aft section that blew the tail off... Let's all share a moment of silence... Rick SR-75/XR-7 _|_*O*_|_ | Rick Pavek \ __|__ / | HA!! kuryakin@halcyon.com \_______/_(O)_\_______/ | Ruby - \___/---\___/ | Galactic Gumshoe ------------------------------ From: dadams@netcom.com (Dean Adams) Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1993 19:55:39 -0800 Subject: B-2 News B-2 PROGRAM SUCCESSES by TSgt. David P. Masko Air Force News Service WASHINGTON -- The Air Force's B-2 program passes another milestone Dec. 17 when the first of 20 stealth bombers is delivered to its home base at Whiteman AFB, Mo. Although the B-2 has been in production and flying development aircraft for many years, this formal arrival at Whiteman culminates more than a decade of research, design and planning. The event also comes just three weeks after Congress voted to stablize annual B-2 funding. In passing the fiscal 1994 defense authorization bill, lawmakers said they support the Air Force's goal to keep the B-2 as the "cutting edge" of the United States bomber force. Congress voted to maintain the B-2 program at 20 aircraft and established a cost cap of $44.4 billion for completion of the total program. Lawmakers said the defense bill will permit the completion of the aircraft remaining in production, and will allow for the orderly termination of the B-2 program. Although 20 bombers is a far cry from the original plan of fielding 132 B-2s, Air Force and Pentagon leaders say they are satisfied with the limited buy given its "extraordinary promise" for meeting the demands of an uncertain world environment. Still, after all its successes, the B-2 program continues to be scrutinized by congressional and media critics, many of whom have criticized its all-wing configuration. Critics pointed to the loss of the Northrop YB-49A flying wing in 1948 as a potential reason for delaying or even cancelling a program undertaken 40 years later. They feared the B-2 might lack the stability inherent in "tailed" airplanes. But Air Force and the B-2's primary contractor, Northrop Corp., proved that computer-operated flight controls have long since eliminated such problems. In addition, flying wings like the B-2 are typically and inherently stable aircraft, said an Air Force report titled "Why the B-2." In the future, no U.S. military or civilian aircraft will be designed without reference to the technologies, manufacturing processes, design capabilities and other advancements that were pioneered in the B-2, stated the report. The report also explained that the Air Force's commitment to the B-2 is rooted in the historical experience of long-range bomber development and operations. It stressed that the future U.S. future bomber force must be capable of operating in the face of highly sophisticated air defense systems in both nuclear and conventional operations. "The B-52 is already so constrained by advances in air defense technology that it is losing its viability as a penetrating bomber against sophisticated defenses," the report stated. "The B-1, whose design dates to the mid-1960s, will continue as a useful system for years to come. However, it too will be increasingly constrained by the evolving air defense threat environment, particularly in the post-2000 time period." Any potential target is at risk within hours, not days, with the B-2, according to an Air Force chief of staff statement delivered to the Senate in April. It will be able to penetrate the most dense enemy air defense and deliver tremendous payloads against high value targets. In addition, Air Force leaders say the B-2 aircraft can help recapture the element of surprise. Stealth technology allows the aircraft to penetrate defenses without the range of support assets required by non-stealth airframes. Also, stealth provides more combat capability from a smaller number of assets with less risk to personnel and aids in accurate munitions delivery in combat since the aircraft's accuracy is not degraded by survivability tactics. ------------------------------ From: dadams@netcom.com (Dean Adams) Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1993 19:58:51 -0800 Subject: U-2 Crash Rick says... >Another U2 went in killing the pilot... >Spoke to Goddall who was under the impression it was due >to a fuel leak in the aft section that blew the tail off... >Let's all share a moment of silence... Yep... I saw some CBS footage of this. They had a copter up which got views of the crash site, plus a few U-2s on the ramp at Beale. The aircraft looked to have been completely burned, with little recognizable. The pilot got out, but died later in the hospital. Here are some article exerpts: U-2 CRASHES BEALE AFB, Calif. (AFNS) -- An Air Force U-2 pilot was killed when his aircraft crashed while taking off on a training mission here Dec. 13 about 1:40 p.m. Capt. Richard Schneider, 32, 1st Reconnaissance Squadron flight commander, was pronounced dead at the Rideout Hospital in Marysville, Calif. He was from South Weymouth, Mass., and is survived by his wife and five children. He had been on active duty since June 2, 1982. The accident is being investigated. --- U-2 SPYPLANE CRASHES Marysville, CA -- An Air Force U-2 spy plane crashed Monday afternoon at Beale Air Force Base in north-central California as it was taking off on a routine training mission. A base spokesman said the plane was taking off at 1:40 p.m. when it crashed. The U-2, with its 80-foot (24 meter) wingspan and single jet engine, is capable of cruising at 80,000 feet (24,380 m) at speeds of 430 mph (690 kph) for more than eight hours. The plane that crashed Monday was attached to the Ninth Reconnaisance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, about 100 miles (160 km) northeast of San Francisco. - -dean ------------------------------ End of Skunk Works Digest V4 #91 ******************************** To subscribe to skunk-works-digest, send the command: subscribe skunk-works-digest in the body of a message to "listserv@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu". If you want to subscribe something other than the account the mail is coming from, such as a local redistribution list, then append that address to the "subscribe" command; for example, to subscribe "local-skunk-works": subscribe skunk-works-digest local-skunk-works@your.domain.net To unsubscribe, send mail to the same address, with the command: unsubscribe skunk-works-digest in the body. Administrative requests, problems, and other non-list mail can be sent to either "skunk-works-digest-owner@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu" or, if you don't like to type a lot, "prm@ecn.purdue.edu". 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