From: skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu To: skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Subject: Skunk Works Digest V5 #557 Reply-To: skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Errors-To: skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu Precedence: bulk Skunk Works Digest Wednesday, 6 December 1995 Volume 05 : Number 557 In this issue: Bear Engines On the power of coincidence... Wibble on the list (re: bananas etc.). Re: Skunk Works Digest V5 #556 Re: Titanium, reprise didn't mean to alarm ya! RR: Re: Titanium Re: MODERATION PLEASE Re: U2 on a Carrier Re: U2 on a Carrier 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: celestine@cix.compulink.co.uk (Michael Stockton) Date: Tue, 5 Dec 95 15:51 GMT Subject: Bear Engines "Art Hanley" says The largest turbo props ever made...to this date I believe (?)....well that was in active service and regular use. I currently have a picture on my sons bedroom wall of one being ~escorted away~ from UK territorial waters by a couple of RAF Phantoms...circa 1976 perhaps. They got to be real regular visitors I believe...always probing. I believe the reason the Bear got to 525 mph which is really high for a t/prop aircraft was the sheeeeeer power of these big motors. Mind you the range of these aircraft was fantastic. Two part feathered..two chugging gently! Those big turboprops would not be much good for a new Stealth aircraft I'm afraid ;-) Have to use water power in a sort of pulse jet instead! Come back Thunderbirds all is forgiven. Grahame celestine@cix.compulink.co.uk ------------------------------ From: "I am the NRA." Date: Tue, 5 Dec 95 11:11:48 PST Subject: On the power of coincidence... >Subj: Re: Mac(h)rihanish An illustrative example: I send this note from Ayr, Scotland. As the driver of the 757 was announcing our routing from Laguardia, he finished with: "...cross the Scottish coast over Machrihanish, and turn for Glasgow." I ASSume i was the only one on the plane to giggle, quietly... No visibility down... regards dwp ------------------------------ From: mrousell@cix.compulink.co.uk (Mark Rousell) Date: Tue, 5 Dec 95 19:29 GMT Subject: Wibble on the list (re: bananas etc.). In-Reply-To: <199512050806.AAA21819@gaia.ucs.orst.edu> I value this list tremendously for its extremely high signal to noise ratio. Indeed the signal itself has excellent content with informed input! Let's not drown it all with irrelevant wibble. :-) ________ » Mark « ------------------------------ From: Michael Scott Date: Tue, 5 Dec 1995 16:03:41 -0800 (PST) Subject: Re: Skunk Works Digest V5 #556 Get my name off this mailing list for the last time please!!! ------------------------------ From: Mary Shafer Date: Tue, 5 Dec 1995 21:18:21 -0500 (EST) Subject: Re: Titanium, reprise I've got three pairs of titanium earrings--bought two of them at the National Air Space Museum _years_ ago and the third in San Francisco this spring. Titanium makes great earrings--light, colorful, robutst. Regards, mary Mary Shafer DoD #0362 KotFR shafer@ursa-major.spdcc.com URL http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/People/Shafer/mary.html Some days it don't come easy/And some days it don't come hard Some days it don't come at all/And these are the days that never end.... On 3 Dec 1995, Ralph S. Hoefelmeyer wrote: > Hi, > This Titanium thread has been up before. To show how ubiquitous Titanium is > becoming, look at the Jan 96 issue of Guns magazine, page 2. There's a full > page ad for a limited edition of Colt Anaconda .44 magnum pistols, completely > plated with Titanium. Also, Ruger is supposed to be investigating the use of > Titanium in semi-automatic pistol frames. > > With the increasing civilian use of Titanium, and the techniques to manufacture > with it, does anyone think it may see more use in main-stream fighter aircraft, > as well as high-speed skunk-works type vehicles? I've always been under the > impression that the difficulty of machining it precluded more widespread use. > Though, there are laser cintering techniques under study for Titanium, as well > as other refractory materials. > > Any thoughts or comments? (besides saving up for a totally Titanium pistol!) > > Ralph > > "Tis better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav'n." > Milton, Paradise Lost > > "Colorado Springs is the Holy City of the West" > AP News > > "Does anyone have directions to Hell?" > Ralph, living in Colorado Springs > > ------------------------------ From: albert.dobyns@mwbbs.com (ALBERT DOBYNS) Date: Tue, 05 Dec 95 21:08:00 -0500 Subject: didn't mean to alarm ya! Sometime in the 1970s I think, I was returning from San Francisco to Baltimore. I worked as a contractor employee at NASA/GSFC and my NASA manager's two kids were beer can collectors. They had a large collection of different brands and sizes. On the day before the flight, I went to a store and bought 6 or 7 different brands and then had to figure out how to pack them. I got a cardboard box and some tape and went to work on making the box the right size/shape to hold the cans without them rattling around. Taped it all up and carried it to the airport security check counter. The lady looked at me with a very worried look. She asked what was in the box. I told her what it was and why I was carrying on board. She didn't seem convinced and asked me if it's safe to x-ray it. I said it's fine with me. I didn't expect x-rayed beer to be altered. It went through the machine without blowing up so I guess they decided it was ok for me to carry it on the plane. If it had been a real bomb, why would I carry it with me and put it in a reshaped cardboard box?? Maybe someone would think I'd have the trigger mechanism in my pocket and then "plug" it into the box after takeoff. The plane wasn't fully loaded so my box got to sit in the seat next to me. The manager's kids were happy to get a few more new brands to add to their collection. It's a good thing I didn't collect alarm clocks to put in the box with the beer cans! That might have been too much for the security people! They would probably have taken me to a secure room and done a very thorough search of me and all my luggage...maybe even a fingerprint check with the FBI? Oh well, at least I didn't have to visit the lavatory...which would be worse: leave the box sitting on my seat or carrying it down the aisle all the way to the back of the plane? - --- þ SLMR 2.1a þ I call things as I see them and make up what I don't see! ------------------------------ From: hoyt@isus.stat.com Date: Tue, 5 Dec 95 18:40:00 GMT Subject: RR: Re: Titanium I'm surprised that there was ever a shortage of titanium. Titanium dioxide is used in an astounding variety of products, e.g. toothpaste, paint, cake mix, ; almost anything that needs a white powder. TiO2 is about as white as a powder gets. It's also relatively abundant, more so than zinc or tin, and significant sources can be found in several states. Maybe the technology to separate it from its oxide wasn't developed here. Hoyt A. Stearns jr.|hoyt@isus.stat.| International Society of Unified Science| 4131 E. Cannon Dr. | .com OR | Advancing Dewey B. Larson's Reciprocal | Phoenix, AZ. 85028 |fax 996 9088 | System- a unified physical theory. | voice *82 602 996-1717 http://infox.eunet.cz/interpres/sr/isus/index.html | - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. --Arthur C. Clarke - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A slipping sear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what's left of your unit. -- In the August 1993 issue, page 9, of PS magazine, the Army's magazine of preventive maintenance - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sacred cows make the best hamburger. -- Mark Twain - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people." --Adm. Hyman G. Rickover - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ...it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. (The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - by Douglas Adams) ------------------------------ From: Wei-Jen Su Date: Wed, 6 Dec 1995 01:13:24 -0500 (EST) Subject: Re: MODERATION PLEASE On Tue, 5 Dec 1995 Charles_E._Smith.wbst200@xerox.com wrote: > I propose we either ask people to stay on topic or moderate the discussions. > The signal to noise ratio here is way off. 31 messages this morning and > nothing the least bit skunky. > Chuck > I think the problem is that almost all the recent Skunk Works projects are secret. Therefore, there is nothing to post in this mailing list except de-classified stuff from old projects, and rumores. I think it is OK to talk about aviation stuff in this mailing list. When I subscribe to this mailing list, I was expected to have some Skunk Works engineers... i don't know if in this mailing list has it or not. If so, they may be very busy or forbidden to post something in this mailing list. It is just my opinion... May the Force be with you Su Wei-Jen E-mail: wsu02@barney.poly.edu ------------------------------ From: Wei-Jen Su Date: Wed, 6 Dec 1995 01:17:20 -0500 (EST) Subject: Re: U2 on a Carrier On Tue, 5 Dec 1995, John Burtenshaw wrote: > At 07:50 05/12/95 EST, you wrote: > > > >several times and I could not see any catapult action or steam or > >backplate. They also showed one take off from a short runway with > >a very high rate of climb....more what I would have expected from > >an F-16. > > > >Paul > >mangan@kodak.com > > Don't forget that the "Ground Effect" help the U2 have a high climb rate at the beginning of her fly. The "Ground Effect" occur at altitud between the 1/2 to 1/3 of her wing span. And the U2 has a very large wing span. May the Force be with you Su Wei-Jen E-mail: wsu02@barney.poly.edu ------------------------------ From: jonhp@ix.netcom.com (Jon Price (PJ)) Date: Wed, 06 Dec 1995 06:19:30 GMT Subject: Re: U2 on a Carrier On Tue, 5 Dec 1995 09:39:46 -0600, you wrote: - ------------------good and accurate post cut-------------------- >>> >>(I believe) for his efforts. I don't, however, believe this explains the >>static display of an A-12 (60-6925) on a carrier deck (Intrepid) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Gives my long time sig a tiny bit 'o credibility!! ;-} >> >> Greg Fieser >> >>(since I am self-employed, the above views DO represent those of my employer!) >> PJ **Proud member of the Tailhook Assn.** **If only Naval Aviators flew SR-71's** **I'd be happy. OK 3 wire Blackbird!** *************************************** I'm not known to be Politically Correct. ------------------------------ End of Skunk Works Digest V5 #557 ********************************* To subscribe to skunk-works-digest, send the command: subscribe skunk-works-digest in the body of a message to "majordomo@mail.orst.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. 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