From: skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu To: skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Subject: Skunk Works Digest V5 #604 Reply-To: skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Errors-To: skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu Precedence: Skunk Works Digest Wednesday, 24 January 1996 Volume 05 : Number 604 In this issue: Mail failure Re: Skunk Works Digest V5 #602 Mail failure 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: POSTMASTER@RPSPO2.AtlantaGA.ATTGIS.COM Date: Tue, 23 Jan 96 07:30:00 PST Subject: Mail failure [002] Mail was received that was addressed to unknown addresses. Mail item was not delivered to: ATTATLMFG/RPSPO2/cfoster - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return-Path: <@attatl.AtlantaGA.NCR.COM:skunk-works@mail.orst.edu> Received: from attatl.AtlantaGA.NCR.COM by attatl.AtlantaGA.ATTGIS.COM id <3104FEC1@attatl.AtlantaGA.ATTGIS.COM>; Tue, 23 Jan 96 07:29:05 PST From mail.orst.edu!skunk-works Mon Jan 22 18:26 EST 1996 remote from attatl Received: by attatl.AtlantaGA.NCR.COM; 22 Jan 96 18:26:37 EST Received: from ncrgw1.UUCP (ncrgw1@localhost) by ncrhub4.attgis.com (8.7.3/8.7.3) with UUCP id SAA19003 for rpspo2.atlantaga.attgis.com!cfoster; Mon, 22 Jan 1996 18:26:50 -0500 (EST) Received: by ncrgw1.ATTGIS.COM; 22 Jan 96 18:24:43 EST Received: (from daemon@localhost) by mail.orst.edu (8.7.3/8.7.3) id JAA28637 for skunk-works-digest-outgoing; Mon, 22 Jan 1996 09:16:43 -0800 (PST) Received: (from daemon@localhost) by mail.orst.edu (8.7.3/8.7.3) id JAA28631 for skunk-works-digest-send@mail.orst.edu; Mon, 22 Jan 1996 09:16:40 -0800 (PST) Date: Mon, 22 Jan 1996 09:16:40 -0800 (PST) Message-Id: <199601221716.JAA28631@mail.orst.edu> From: skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu To: skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Subject: Skunk Works Digest V5 #602 Sender: owner-skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Precedence: bulk Reply-To: skunk-works@mail.orst.edu Skunk Works Digest Monday, 22 January 1996 Volume 05 : Number 602 In this issue: "Rolls-Royce Craft" Dec. issue of Lockheed Martin Skunk Works Star Mig pics Mig pics NASA SR's fly with ANS's? Re: The Hist. Chan Re- Hovering things-re- Hov Re: NASA SR's fly with ANS's? Saturday WINGS Position Opening Re: Spy Satellites F-117 crashes Re: Spy Satellites Fun HABU stuff! WeekDay WINGS - Monday... Jay Miller book Re: F-117 crashes Re: Spy Satellites Mail failure Air Canada 767 out of fuel 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: BROWN A <92913938@mmu.ac.uk> Date: Fri, 19 Jan 1996 11:38:30 GMT Subject: "Rolls-Royce Craft" The "Rolls-Royce Craft" mentioned by J. Pharabod in the VTOL list was the "Flying Bedstead", used to develop the gas-jet stabilisation system finally used on the P1127/Kestral/Harrier series. Most of the test flights took place at R-Rs private airfield at Hucknall in Nottinghamshire, about 20 miles from where I live. I'm not sure, but I think they might have built two of them, But I do know that the programme was marred by a fatal "roll-over" accident at some point. Another British programme which contributed to the P1127 was the Shorts SC-1, which again suffered at least one fatal accident. BTW, many people often make the common mistake of calling the P1127 the Kestral, but they were in fact two slightly different designs. The P1127 was the original prototype, while the Kestral was the pre- production version evaluated by a multi-national squadron in the mid- 60s. One that I think also got missed was the "German Harrier" the VFW 191 (I think thats its designation) which combined vectored thrust and lift engines, as did the Dornier Do-31 transport. Also don't forget the Yak "Freehand", which was an overgrown X-14 with teeth! It's a real shame they cancelled the P1154, just think, supersonic V/STOL (and it looked GREAT!) Adrian Brown (92913938@mmu.ac.uk) - ------------------------------ From: jstone@iglou.com (John Stone) Date: Fri, 19 Jan 96 07:31 EST Subject: Dec. issue of Lockheed Martin Skunk Works Star Hi Skunkers, Andreas does his synopsis of the Av Week and since I have a subscription to the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works Star, and because Andreas thought that I should post synopsis of tech issue. Well also thought that alot of you might be interested. So here goes: Photo of Tier III Minus which has a crewmember standing in front of it, as the Darkstar undergoes preliminary tests at NASA's Edwards AFB facility, with preliminary taxi tests to start in late December. OAKS LEADS U-2 ASTOR PROPOSAL Mike Oaks, has been named program manager for the British U-2 Airborne Standoff Radar (ASTOR) modification proposal. "The proposal, involving new U-2s for a British reconnaissance mission, is a major Skunk Works activity. Delivery of the proposal is expected in March 1996." ODC ELIMINATION EARNS EPA KUDOS The Skunk Works received recognition from the EPA for the company wide elimination of ozone depleting chemicals (ODC). The Ozone Elimination Process Action Team, led by Gary Wendt, for successfully eliminating all 266 ODC-containing products used in 662 locations in the Skunk Works. BONG HERITAGE CENTER There is also a rather large article about the Richard Bong Museum in Poplar, Wisc.. It talks about The MINN. Air Guard restoring the P-38 standing out in front of the museum, which will be housed inside the new histoical center. The mesuem has been around for 40 years, and is trying to build a new Histoical Center which will honor Bong and all those that served in WWII. If you'd like to make a donation (tax deductible), send it to: Joyce Bong Erickson, Chair, Bong P-38 Fund, Inc., Box 326, Poplar, Wisc. 54864 Best, John | / ^ \ ___|___ -(.)==<.>==(.)- --------o---((.))---o-------- SR-71 Blackbird U-2 Dragon Lady John Stone jstone@iglou.com U-2 and SR-71 Web Page http://wl.iglou.com/blackbird/ - ------------------------------ From: Charles_E._Smith.wbst200@xerox.com Date: Fri, 19 Jan 1996 07:10:53 PST Subject: Mig pics Did everyone get their pictures? I sent them last night. Chuck - ------------------------------ From: Charles_E._Smith.wbst200@xerox.com Date: Fri, 19 Jan 1996 07:08:34 PST Subject: Mig pics Did everyone get their pictures? I sent them last night. Chuck - ------------------------------ From: Brian R Hutchison Date: Fri, 19 Jan 1996 08:51:27 -0800 (PST) Subject: NASA SR's fly with ANS's? While reading the _Untouchables_, I started wondering if the ANS's are installed in the NASA SR-71's. Would they need the navigational accuracy of these systems to carry out their missions? Are the reactivated USAF SR-71's still using the same system? I was wondering about the accuracy of this book since it starts out with the old cover story that the Blackbird was developed for the USAF as an interceptor. Also is the new edition of Jay's book out yet? I've seen it in Zenith's catalog which doesn't mean much but it doesn't show up on Barnes & Noble Books in Print computer yet. I'm anxiously awaiting it. Hopefully someone on the list is familiar with the NASA SR-71 program 8^) Thanks, ooOOOO (SKUNK TRAIN?) ___ Brian Hutchison oo _____ ______|O|_____ _I__n_n__||_|| ________ | O O O | Microwave Technology Division >(_________|_7_|-|______|-_|__________|_- Hewlett Packard Company /o ()() ()() o oo oo oo oo INTERNET : brianrh@sr.hp.COM - ------------------------------ From: mangan@Kodak.COM (Paul Mangan) Date: Fri, 19 Jan 96 13:16:18 EST Subject: Re: The Hist. Chan I'll look through my Dad's negatives and see if there is any. A date would help. I have a lot of his negs from 1952 to 1961. Does this fall into the time frame? Paul mangan@kodak.com > > I`m going to see if Bell will give me some pics and data on the > Schweizer 1-26 based VTOL jet they built. Now THATS what I call > a modification! > > Chuck > - ------------------------------ From: "Alun Whittaker" Date: 19 Jan 1996 09:40:05 -0800 Subject: Re- Hovering things-re- Hov Subject: Time:09:33 OFFICE MEMO Re: Hovering things... Date:1/19/96 "J. Pharabod" wrote: > I found back a few hovering and/or VTOL crafts in the French review > "Science et Vie Junior", January 1993 (with a photograph of each): > (rest of list deleted) > Rolls Royce craft, name unspecified (1954) UK jet mode I don't know the official designation but in the popular press of the time it was universally titled ``the flying bedstead'' since it greatly resembled an old-fashioned brass bedstead (although, of course much larger). Despite fanciful ``artist's impressions'' of horizontal flight modes, I only ever saw the real thing use its non-vectored vertical engine to lift it a few feet off the ground while tethered at all four corners. - ------------------------------ From: Wei-Jen Su Date: Fri, 19 Jan 1996 18:10:23 -0500 (EST) Subject: Re: NASA SR's fly with ANS's? On Fri, 19 Jan 1996, Brian R Hutchison wrote: > Also is the new edition of Jay's book out yet? I've seen it in Zenith's > catalog which doesn't mean much but it doesn't show up on Barnes & Noble > Books in Print computer yet. I'm anxiously awaiting it. > I have the new edition of Jay Miller book. I bought in Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio when I was up there during the F-117 lecture. I couldn't find it in Barnes & Noble either. May the Force be with you Su Wei-Jen E-mail: wsu02@barney.poly.edu - ------------------------------ From: BaDge Date: Fri, 19 Jan 1996 20:12:21 -0500 (EST) Subject: Saturday WINGS Here's the Saturday WINGS listing. All 'copter issue... ============ Wings [DISC 9-10pm EST ] "Night Stalker". The Desert Storm missions of the Apache AH-64 and the UH-60 Blackhawk are examined. ============ [...also, I believe they have an early play time of around Noon EST during Weekday Wings, just discovered on my day off.] regards, ________ BaDge - ------------------------------ From: Michael Karpuk Date: Fri, 19 Jan 1996 18:24:16 -0700 (MST) Subject: Position Opening TDA Research has an opening for an aero engineer to work on fuel technology for hypersonic aircraft. The position requires knowledge of fluids, heat transfer, chemical kinetics and materials and will work to develop catalytic and non-catalytic techniques to absorb heat from ramjet and scramjet combustors. Send resume to: Michael Karpuk TDA Research 12345 W. 52nd Ave. Wheat Ridge CO 80033 - ------------------------------ From: Wei-Jen Su Date: Sat, 20 Jan 1996 20:59:26 -0500 (EST) Subject: Re: Spy Satellites On Thu, 18 Jan 1996 Charles_E._Smith.wbst200@xerox.com wrote: > One of my pet techno peaves. > You can always determine the resolution of a > camera (or any optical device) by size of diameter of the objective and the > wavelength observed. To "read lisence plates" you need about a 300 ft diameter > objective even for a low orbit! > > When you go IR you loose reso. > Been there, done that. The formula is from the resolution of the Fraunhofer diffraction pattern of a circular aperture: (1.21 * lambda) / (Diameter of lens) <= (resolution distance) / (distance from the lens to the target) Where: lambda = wavelenght of the light Therefore, a bigger lens diameter we can have greater resolution (they are inversely proportional, so a bigger lens the resolution distance can be smaller then better resolution). Or, a larger light wavelenght, the resolution will be better. A example of this is if we have a compact disk that use a blue laser light (about 750 nm) rather than a red laser light (about 400 nm), therefore, we can make a smaller compact disk with the same information. Because the resolution will be better in the blue laser. The problem is that we still looking for the technology for a blue laser. This is only to proof that I got something from a $16,000 per year of tutuition... :) May the Force be with you Su Wei-Jen E-mail: wsu02@barney.poly.edu - ------------------------------ From: Wei-Jen Su Date: Sun, 21 Jan 1996 03:09:18 -0500 (EST) Subject: F-117 crashes I was in the lecture from Mr. D. M. Giangreco, author of "Stealth Fighter Pilot" in the Air Force Museum (Wright-Patterson AFB). He conclude that the crashes from the F-117 are due to fatigue of pilots because of their schedules during the "dark times". It come in my mind that the accident came be due to stress in the airplane. If you see the corner of the windows of the F-117 you will know that is a sharpe corner (designer choose this for stealth characteristics), rather than round corner for any pressurase cabin (like in the commercial aircraft). Therefore, the pressure will concentrate in the sharp corner, therefore, the window will blow away in time...like it happened with the British aircraft Comet. Maybe my conclusion is wrong, maybe the F-117 pressurase cabin is not that strong, or the area inside doen't affect it, or the window is very strong... May the Force be with you Su Wei-Jen E-mail: wsu02@barney.poly.edu - ------------------------------ From: Wei-Jen Su Date: Sun, 21 Jan 1996 02:54:51 -0500 (EST) Subject: Re: Spy Satellites On Sat, 20 Jan 1996, Wei-Jen Su wrote: > > > On Thu, 18 Jan 1996 Charles_E._Smith.wbst200@xerox.com wrote: > > > One of my pet techno peaves. > > You can always determine the resolution of a > > camera (or any optical device) by size of diameter of the objective and the > > wavelength observed. To "read lisence plates" you need about a 300 ft diameter > > objective even for a low orbit! > > > > When you go IR you loose reso. > > Been there, done that. > > The formula is from the resolution of the Fraunhofer diffraction > pattern of a circular aperture: > > (1.21 * lambda) / (Diameter of lens) <= (resolution distance) / (distance > from the lens to the target) > > Where: > lambda = wavelenght of the light > > Therefore, a bigger lens diameter we can have greater resolution > (they are inversely proportional, so a bigger lens the resolution > distance can be smaller then better resolution). Or, a larger light > wavelenght, the resolution will be better. A example of this is if we > have a compact disk that use a blue laser light (about 750 nm) rather > than a red laser light (about 400 nm), therefore, we can make a smaller > compact disk with the same information. Because the resolution will be > better in the blue laser. The problem is that we still looking for the > technology for a blue laser. > This is only to proof that I got something from a $16,000 per > year of tutuition... :) > > May the Force be with you > > Su Wei-Jen > E-mail: wsu02@barney.poly.edu > > Sorry guys (and girls), I made a mistake. A blue light is 400 nm and a red light is about 750 nm. Therefore, a shorter wavelenght can be used for a higher resolution. I was half sleeping doing this stuff. May the Force be with you Su Wei-Jen E-mail: wsu02@barney.poly.edu - ------------------------------ From: jstone@iglou.com (John Stone) Date: Sun, 21 Jan 96 15:22 EST Subject: Fun HABU stuff! Hi All, Just sent out checks to two guys with some (at least I think) kinda neat products. First from Jack Madison at: 76140.3502@compuserve.com a Mach 3+ patch mouse pad. The pad (10.75" by 8.5") has a blue background with a 5" tall Mach 3+ patch (just like all the SR pilots wear). It's $13.00 and E.D. McKim at 73477.1654@compuserve.com has come up with a screensaver with (30) SR and U-2 and F-117 pics. You do have to have at least Windows 3.1, but (like me) if you don't you can get the photos and use them as wallpaper or just gaze at them lustfully. The screensaver is $35.00 or the pictures are $25.00. Like I said hopefully mine are on the way.. Best, John | / ^ \ ___|___ -(.)==<.>==(.)- --------o---((.))---o-------- SR-71 Blackbird U-2 Dragon Lady John Stone jstone@iglou.com U-2 and SR-71 Web Page http://wl.iglou.com/blackbird/ - ------------------------------ From: BaDge Date: Sun, 21 Jan 1996 20:46:50 -0500 (EST) Subject: WeekDay WINGS - Monday... Mon Jan-22 EST Wings [DISC 6-7pm ] [Document] "Strange Shapes". Aerodynamics enables huge planes to fly. -also- 21st Century Jet: The Building of the 777 [PBS 8-9pm ] [Documentary] Manufacturing company race to meet deadlines. CC, Stereo, Rerun. regards, ________ BaDge - ------------------------------ From: Wei-Jen Su Date: Mon, 22 Jan 1996 01:38:00 -0500 (EST) Subject: Jay Miller book For peoples interesting in the Lockheed's Skunk Works - The Official History... by Jay Miller (Updated Edition), here is the information that showed in my book: "This revised edition published 1995 by: Midland Publishing Ltd. 24 The Hollow, Earl Shilton Leicester, LE9 7NA, England ph: (01455) 847815 fax:(01455) 841805 First published in 1993 by: Aerofax, Inc. 708 Viewside Circle Arlington, TX 76011 United State trade distribution by: Specialty Press Publishers & Wholesalers Inc. 11481 Kost Dam Road North Branch, MN 55056 USA ph: (612) 583-3239; toll free ph: (800) 895-4585 fax: (612) 583-2023 ISBN: 1-85780-037-0 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 93-90693" - ------------------------------ From: Charles_E._Smith.wbst200@xerox.com Date: Mon, 22 Jan 1996 03:38:42 PST Subject: Re: F-117 crashes Nope, pressure doesn`t concentrate. Thats why its called "pressure" (Force/Area) instead of an "applied force", ie. pressure is a loading. Usually, the rounded corners on a window are to avoid "stress concentrators" in the skin around the window. Since the 117 windows appear to be surrounded by structural members, this would not be a problem, Also, the dynamic pressure at this area of the aircraft is probably MUCH higher than the statc pressure in the cabin/cockpit, so the windows would tend to get pushed against the frames. - - -or not. Chuck - ------------------------------ From: Charles_E._Smith.wbst200@xerox.com Date: Mon, 22 Jan 1996 03:43:06 PST Subject: Re: Spy Satellites PS, Blue LASERs are all the rage for LVDP and other flow visualization techniques. I have a picture of a test rig. We had the lights on so the blue laser is barely vivsible. I`ll see if it will scan and send you a copy if it does. Chuck - ------------------------------ From: POSTMASTER@RPSPO2.AtlantaGA.ATTGIS.COM Date: Mon, 22 Jan 96 06:20:00 PST Subject: Mail failure [002] Mail was received that was addressed to unknown addresses. Mail item was not delivered to: ATTATLMFG/RPSPO2/cfoster - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return-Path: <@attatl.AtlantaGA.NCR.COM:skunk-works@mail.orst.edu> Received: from attatl.AtlantaGA.NCR.COM by attatl.AtlantaGA.ATTGIS.COM id <31039E20@attatl.AtlantaGA.ATTGIS.COM>; Mon, 22 Jan 96 06:24:32 PST From mail.orst.edu!skunk-works Mon Jan 22 04:59 EST 1996 remote from attatl Received: by attatl.AtlantaGA.NCR.COM; 22 Jan 96 04:59:54 EST Received: from ncrgw1.UUCP (ncrgw1@localhost) by ncrhub5.attgis.com (8.7.3/8.7.3) with UUCP id FAA14997 for rpspo2.atlantaga.attgis.com!cfoster; Mon, 22 Jan 1996 05:00:15 -0500 (EST) Received: by ncrgw1.ATTGIS.COM; 22 Jan 96 04:58:41 EST Received: (from daemon@localhost) by mail.orst.edu (8.7.3/8.7.3) id AAA24901 for skunk-works-digest-outgoing; Mon, 22 Jan 1996 00:07:14 -0800 (PST) Received: from gaia.ucs.orst.edu (majordom@gaia.UCS.ORST.EDU [128.193.4.2]) by mail.orst.edu (8.7.3/8.7.3) with ESMTP id AAA24896 for ; Mon, 22 Jan 1996 00:07:11 -0800 (PST) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by gaia.ucs.orst.edu (8.7.3/8.7.3) id AAA03472 for skunk-works-digest-send@mail.orst.edu; Mon, 22 Jan 1996 00:06:01 -0800 (PST) Date: Mon, 22 Jan 1996 00:06:01 -0800 (PST) Message-Id: <199601220806.AAA03472@gaia.ucs.orst.edu> From: skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu To: skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Subject: Skunk Works Digest V5 #600 Sender: owner-skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Precedence: bulk Reply-To: skunk-works@mail.orst.edu Skunk Works Digest Monday, 22 January 1996 Volume 05 : Number 600 In this issue: Area 51 revisited -- in firmware 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: russellk@BIX.com Date: Sun, 21 Jan 1996 14:49:03 -0500 (EST) Subject: Area 51 revisited -- in firmware I came across this on our company's discussion forum. I don't know whether it's true or not (though I'd bet it is), but if it isn't it certainly ought to be. This is just barely on-topic, but I couldn't resist posting it here. ____________________________________________________________ There's an easter egg in the 2.0 Newton (MessagePad 120) which was "censored" by, yes, the CIA. Back in '94, one of the Newton software types make a trek to the (very) small town of Rachel, Nevada, which is located at the edge of a secret government airbase. The base, called "Area 51," is thought by UFO-enthusiasts to be filled with alien technology which the government is in the process of reverse engineering. Meanwhile, the government denies the very existence of the base, in spite of widespread media coverage ("Larry King Live from Area 51", etc.). We figured it'd be funny to put a reference to Area 51 in the Newton -- especially given the substantial overlap between conspiracy buffs and computer nerds. So, in the "Time Zones" application, contains a world map, we put an entry for Area 51 in its correct location. Later, we added a twist -- if the user picks Area 51 from the map, the icons in the datebook application take on an alien theme. Normally, meetings are represented by an icon of two people face-to-face, events are represented by a flag, etc., etc. But when Area 51 has been chosen, the icon for a meeting is a person facing an alien, the icon for an event is a flying saucer, a to-do task is represented by a robot, an so on. Okay, cute enough. Now cut to August 1995, when the 2.0 ROM has been declared final, seed units have been in customers' hands for a little while, and the release is just about ready to go. One of the seed units, it turns out, was sent to a cryptographer working for the CIA. When he found that Area 51 was listed at the correct latitude/longitude, he complained to Apple, demanding the removal of the easter egg and threatening to have his superiors take the issue to Spindler if necessary. In the end, Newton management caved in to the demand, and decided to pull the joke out of the system. But the ROM was already done -- so the feature was hidden by a software patch ("System Update") -- but this part of the patch can itself be removed, and "Area 51" returned to its rightful glory. Here's how to get the easter egg back: 1) Open the Extras drawer. 2) Switch the folder of the Extras drawer to "Storage". 3) Tap on the icon "Time Zones" and press the "Delete" button. Warning - - - -- any cities you've added to your Newton will be lost. 4) Switch the folder of the extras drawer back to "Unfiled icons." 5) Tap on "Time Zones." You'll find that Area 51 is on the map -- just tap near Las Vegas and choose Area 51 from the popup. Now look at the icons in Dates. (To purge the aliens from your PDA, open the back and press reset). ============================================ Russell Kay, Technical Editor, BYTE Magazine 1 Phoenix Mill Lane, Peterborough, NH 03458 603-924-2591; fax 603-924-2550 russellk@bix.com ============================================ - - ------------------------------ End of Skunk Works Digest V5 #600 ********************************* 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. Administrative requests, problems, and other non-list mail can be sent to either "skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu" or, if you don't like to type a lot, "prm@mail.orst.edu A non-digest (direct mail) version of this list is also available; to subscribe to that instead, replace all instances of "skunk-works-digest" in the commands above with "skunk-works". Back issues are available for anonymous FTP from mail.orst.edu, in /pub/skunk-works/digest/vNN.nMMM (where "NN" is the volume number, and "MMM" is the issue number). - ------------------------------ From: "Stefan 'Stetson' Skoglund" Date: Mon, 22 Jan 1996 15:23:56 +0100 Subject: Air Canada 767 out of fuel In 1983 an Air Canada Boeing 767 encountered an loss of both engines due to fuel-shortage. The reason for the mishap was a number of unfortunate cirscumstances and some not that unfortunate. An investigation report (not the early official one) faulted the crash on : 1 The governement imposed decision to specify the a/c in SI units (grams, meter , Newton and watt). 2 Two man crew where nobody didn't relly understood how to calculate the onboard a/c fuel reserves (flight engineers was previously expected to do this.) 3 Due to this problem the company told the maintenance personnel to do the field engineers job but nobody never spelled out clearly that the field personnel was responsible. 4 Everyone was unable to do an accurate estimate because they didn't really understand the difference between one pound and one kilogram for example. All this was ok because normally when the fuel-reserves computer onboard was fully functional the a/c was self-refueling ie you told the a/c how much fuel in kilograms you needed and the computer would shut the pumps down when the tanks were filled. 5 The fuel-reserve computer was faulty and unable to do its job. The company got criticism because they didn't have enough reserve parts. The crash happened because the crew and the field personnel wasn't proficient in calculating the weight of the fuel from it volume in litres. The truth is that the real reserves were about an half the calculated ones. For me as an swede it is pretty easy to know if an calculation such as this one is ok. Why ?? Because jet fuel has an density less than one (about 0.8 kg/litre) ie jet fuel has an lower density than pure water. In this case they had about 14000 litres of jp or 11 metric tonnes this was clearly insufficient for a flight between montreal and edmonton with short stop att Ottawa airport. They calculated that they had 22 tonnes !!! Now I wonder : what happened with standardization in Air Canada and the North-American air industry after this ?? - ------------------------------ End of Skunk Works Digest V5 #602 ********************************* 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. Administrative requests, problems, and other non-list mail can be sent to either "skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu" or, if you don't like to type a lot, "prm@mail.orst.edu A non-digest (direct mail) version of this list is also available; to subscribe to that instead, replace all instances of "skunk-works-digest" in the commands above with "skunk-works". Back issues are available for anonymous FTP from mail.orst.edu, in /pub/skunk-works/digest/vNN.nMMM (where "NN" is the volume number, and "MMM" is the issue number). ------------------------------ From: Wei-Jen Su Date: Wed, 24 Jan 1996 01:04:51 -0500 (EST) Subject: Re: Skunk Works Digest V5 #602 On Tue, 23 Jan 1996, Ralph the Wonder Llama wrote: > > Out in Utah, a FOAF works in a machine shop/manufacturing firm. One of > their pieces of equipment is cutter which uses an electrically charged > wire to cut through metal in various shapes (it's sort of like passing a > high current through a bandsaw blade with no teeth, to 'zap' away metal as > the wire cuts through... Horrid explanation, sorry). > > One day a few men from the government show up (I think he said they were > Secret Service) with a job that needed to be done immediately - they > offered to pay twice the normal charge. Along with them they had a > briefcase which contained a small block of metal that needed to be cut with > the 'electrical cutter' that they had - the metal was much too hard to be > machined in any other way. > I don't know why they didn't tried water pressure cutter... This type can even cut Titanium. Maybe there is not enough water pressure for this type of job... May the Force be with you Su Wei-Jen E-mail: wsu02@barney.poly.edu ------------------------------ From: POSTMASTER@RPSPO2.AtlantaGA.ATTGIS.COM Date: Wed, 24 Jan 96 03:56:00 PST Subject: Mail failure [002] Mail was received that was addressed to unknown addresses. Mail item was not delivered to: ATTATLMFG/RPSPO2/cfoster - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return-Path: <@attatl.AtlantaGA.NCR.COM:skunk-works@mail.orst.edu> Received: from attatl.AtlantaGA.NCR.COM by attatl.AtlantaGA.ATTGIS.COM id <31061F63@attatl.AtlantaGA.ATTGIS.COM>; Wed, 24 Jan 96 04:00:35 PST From mail.orst.edu!skunk-works Wed Jan 24 03:41 EST 1996 remote from attatl Received: by attatl.AtlantaGA.NCR.COM; 24 Jan 96 03:41:44 EST Received: from ncrgw1.UUCP (ncrgw1@localhost) by ncrhub4.attgis.com (8.7.3/8.7.3) with UUCP id DAA25035 for rpspo2.atlantaga.attgis.com!cfoster; Wed, 24 Jan 1996 03:41:58 -0500 (EST) Received: by ncrgw1.ATTGIS.COM; 24 Jan 96 03:41:23 EST Received: (from daemon@localhost) by mail.orst.edu (8.7.3/8.7.3) id VAA02989 for skunk-works-digest-outgoing; Tue, 23 Jan 1996 21:40:35 -0800 (PST) Received: (from daemon@localhost) by mail.orst.edu (8.7.3/8.7.3) id VAA02983 for skunk-works-digest-send@mail.orst.edu; Tue, 23 Jan 1996 21:40:32 -0800 (PST) Date: Tue, 23 Jan 1996 21:40:32 -0800 (PST) Message-Id: <199601240540.VAA02983@mail.orst.edu> From: skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu To: skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Subject: Skunk Works Digest V5 #603 Sender: owner-skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Precedence: bulk Reply-To: skunk-works@mail.orst.edu MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=unknown-8bit Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Skunk Works Digest Tuesday, 23 January 1996 Volume 05 : Numbe= r 603 In this issue: Re: NASA SR's fly with ANS's? Correction on Neat "HABU" goodies.... Flight Test Engineer opening Re: Air Canada 767 out of fuel Flight Test Engineer opening 767 out of fuel 767 out of fuel Re: 767 out of fuel Re: Skunk Works Digest V5 #602 Re: 767 out of fuel Re: Skunk Works Digest V5 #602 Re: Skunk Works Digest V5 #602 Wire EDM Re: Skunk Works Digest V5 #602 Re: Skunk Works Digest V5 #602 Code One Magazine KH-11 resolution Re: KH-11 resolution=20 See the end of the digest for information on subscribing to the skunk-wor= ks or skunk-works-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Mary Shafer Date: Mon, 22 Jan 1996 11:26:13 -0500 (EST) Subject: Re: NASA SR's fly with ANS's? We do use the ANS's but we've also put a very high-precision GPS in the A. However, I might mention that we were using outdated star maps until the USAF got back in the business and bought a new one. Yes, we do need the accuracy--examples include our playing low-earth-orbi= t satellite for Motorola. 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 Fri, 19 Jan 1996, Brian R Hutchison wrote: > While reading the _Untouchables_, I started wondering if the ANS's are > installed in the NASA SR-71's. Would they need the navigational accurac= y > of these systems to carry out their missions? Are the reactivated USAF = SR-71's > still using the same system? I was wondering about the accuracy of this= book > since it starts out with the old cover story that the Blackbird was dev= eloped > for the USAF as an interceptor. >=20 > Also is the new edition of Jay's book out yet? I've seen it in Zenith's > catalog which doesn't mean much but it doesn't show up on Barnes & Nobl= e > Books in Print computer yet. I'm anxiously awaiting it. >=20 > Hopefully someone on the list is familiar with the NASA SR-71 program 8= ^) >=20 > Thanks, ooOOOO (SKUNK TRAIN?) ___ > Brian Hutchison oo _____ ______|O|= _____ > _I__n_n__||_|| ________ | O O = O | > Microwave Technology Division >(_________|_7_|-|______|-_|_______= ___|_- > Hewlett Packard Company /o ()() ()() o oo oo oo = oo >=20 > INTERNET : brianrh@sr.hp.COM - ------------------------------ From: jstone@iglou.com (John Stone) Date: Mon, 22 Jan 96 11:22 EST Subject: Correction on Neat "HABU" goodies.... Hi All, Sorry I got the wrong address on the E.D. McKim for the SR and U-2 and F-117, screen saver, his correct address is: emckim@ix.netcom.com Sorry for the inconvenience.... John | / ^ \ ___|___ -(.)=3D=3D<.>=3D=3D(.)- --------o---((.))---o------= - -- SR-71 Blackbird U-2 Dragon Lady John Stone jstone@iglou.com U-2 and SR-71 Web Page http://wl.iglou.com/blackbird/ =20 - ------------------------------ From: Charles_E._Smith.wbst200@xerox.com Date: Mon, 22 Jan 1996 10:05:09 PST Subject: Flight Test Engineer opening Anybody want a new challenge? Raytheon Aircraft is looking for a flight-= test engineer. They want someone with a BSAE and SEL and MEL, about 2K+ hours. Will manage a program. Seems interesting. The job is in Wichita, KS. Anybody intersted drop a note.=20 Chuck - ------------------------------ From: "Stefan 'Stetson' Skoglund" Date: Mon, 22 Jan 1996 19:00:48 +0100 Subject: Re: Air Canada 767 out of fuel >>>>> "Chris" =3D=3D "Christopher A Poterala" writes: Chris> Stefan, This plane DID NOT CRASH! The pilot was able to Chris> land it on an old military field. Chris> Chris Yes, I know. I didn't simply know what to call it. They did crash in one way. They tried to land without the nose-wheel in locked position. The pilot didn't have much of an choice of course... - ------------------------------ From: Charles_E._Smith.wbst200@xerox.com Date: Mon, 22 Jan 1996 09:03:26 PST Subject: Flight Test Engineer opening Anybody want a new challenge? Raytheon Aircraft is looking for a flight-= test engineer. They want someone with a BSAE and SEL and MEL, about 2K+ hours. Will manage a program. Seems interesting. The job is in Wichita, KS. Anybody intersted drop a note.=20 Chuck - ------------------------------ From: Robert.Herndon@Central.Sun.COM (Robert Herndon) Date: Mon, 22 Jan 1996 11:33:04 -0700 Subject: 767 out of fuel Although this was an unfortunate incident, I don't believe a crash resulted. (Unless this is an incident other than the one I'm familiar with.) What I remember reading is that the crew converted "backwards" and took off with ~1/4 as much fuel as they thought. Not too long after, they ran out of fuel. =20 Fortunately, airliners have good glide ratios, and the crew still had auxiliary power to control the flight surfaces. Re glide ratios, a 747 has a glide ratio of 19/1 (19 units forward per unit of descent). Traini= ng gliders are often 20/1 or so. I.e., from 35,000', an engine-out airliner can travel 100 miles or more. (Not that landing one is as easy as flying a glider; airliner's best glide speed is very fast and the vertical descent rate is also high. Then again, the space shuttle is only about 3/1; i.e., it drops like a rock.) =20 Nonetheless, one of the pilots was a glider pilot, and set the 767 down on an unused airstrip without injuring anyone. I believe the nose gear may have collapsed during the stop. Nonetheless, the airline took all the passengers and stripped out the internal fittings (seats, etc.) and flew it off the strip. (The airstrip was apparently being used for drag races only very shortly (15 minutes??) before the 767 landed there, so it is fortunate that the airstrip wasn't in use.) =20 This incident is widely known among the soaring community as the "Gimli Glider" incident. Rumor has it that there was a T-shirt issued by the Gimli Glider Club (?) that shows a picture of a super-cub aero-towing a 767. (I'd love to have one!) =20 Robert Herndon PP-ASEL, IA, G - ------------------------------ From: "Stefan 'Stetson' Skoglund" Date: Mon, 22 Jan 1996 20:49:49 +0100 Subject: 767 out of fuel Regarding the accident with Air Canada 767. Nobody was hurt in the landing but because the nose-wheel wasn't looked in the down position it collapsed and the nose got a beating. The damages to some passengers were inflicted by evacuation. The a/c's nose was on the deck so the after exit door was 4 or 5 metres up in the air. From the front door leaving the a/c was like jumping from a chair unfortunately almost every passenger exited over the wing or through the after evacuation slips. Theese slips ended 1 meter about the ground with the result that some of the evacuees got pretty beat up. The only one who did really got away unhurt was some males. Almost every woman and all elderlies got hurt. One landed face down and damaged her teeth. =C1n elderlie woman hit the tarmac with the first. I think all theese damages would have been prevented if the steward and stewardess would have calmed down and look over the situation : 1. The tanks is pretty empty so the risk for and devastating fuel fire is nil. 2. The a/c nose is on the ground -> the a/c end is a long way up in the air -> much better to exit over the wing or out the front door. They had a fire in the insulation materials up front in the nose area but I do think the smoke inside the cabin wasn't really bad enough to warrant an maximum speed evacuation without regards to the fact that the after evacuation slip was clearly out of design parameters. - ------------------------------ From: neil@bedford.progress.COM (Neil Galarneau) Date: Mon, 22 Jan 96 15:54:28 EST Subject: Re: 767 out of fuel > Although this was an unfortunate incident, I don't believe a crash > resulted. (Unless this is an incident other than the one I'm familiar > with.) What I remember reading is that the crew converted "backwards" > and took off with ~1/4 as much fuel as they thought. Not too long > after, they ran out of fuel. > =20 > Fortunately, airliners have good glide ratios, and the crew still had > auxiliary power to control the flight surfaces. But almost no instruments. The magnetic compass was unusable and they ha= d no vertical speed indicator. The pilot later said "That cockpit became the darkest place in the world". > Re glide ratios, a 747 > has a glide ratio of 19/1 (19 units forward per unit of descent). Trai= ning > gliders are often 20/1 or so. I.e., from 35,000', an engine-out airlin= er > can travel 100 miles or more. (Not that landing one is as easy as flyi= ng > a glider; airliner's best glide speed is very fast and the vertical > descent rate is also high. Then again, the space shuttle is only about > 3/1; i.e., it drops like a rock.) The pilot selected 220 knots as his glide speed (he guessed) which gave t= hem a 10:1 glide ratio. They became a glider at 26,000 feet. > Nonetheless, one of the pilots was a glider pilot, and set the 767 > down on an unused airstrip without injuring anyone. I believe the > nose gear may have collapsed during the stop.=20 [snip] This info is from a Wall Street Journal article. > Robert Herndon > PP-ASEL, IA, G Neil - ------------------------------ From: dosgood@proxima.gsfc.nasa.gov (Dean Osgood) Date: Tue, 23 Jan 1996 09:38:25 +0027 Subject: Re: Skunk Works Digest V5 #602 >On Thu, 18 Jan 1996 Charles_E._Smith.wbst200@xerox.com wrote: >> One of my pet techno peaves. >> You can always determine the resolution of a >> camera (or any optical device) by size of diameter of the objective an= d the >> wavelength observed. To "read lisence plates" you need about a 300 ft >>diameter >> objective even for a low orbit! >> When you go IR you loose reso. >> Been there, done that. > The formula is from the resolution of the Fraunhofer diffraction >pattern of a circular aperture: >(1.21 * lambda) / (Diameter of lens) <=3D (resolution distance) / (dista= nce >from the lens to the target) > Where: > lambda =3D wavelenght of the light > Therefore, a bigger lens diameter we can have greater resolution >(they are inversely proportional, so a bigger lens the resolution >distance can be smaller then better resolution). Or, a larger light > Su Wei-Jen > E-mail: wsu02@barney.poly.edu A lot depends on the imager (camera/film) you are useing. Some rough calculations here in the office for a 350 mile orbit figure around 3+ meters. given available pixles of 15 microns.but thats for daylight, etc.But its all theoretical . Given orbital speed, etc, who knows? But the resolution of the older de-classified Lacrosse, etc. photo images are very good (6'?), and look at the limitations on shroud size imposed by the launchers of the day (2 meters???). Size Up to current available shroud (6-8? meters) and add in a "technology improvement" fact= or of say 10??. True, film still supposedly has a hgher resolution than available solid state imagers...... dean Dean Osgood e-mail:0800-1600 est M-F =3D dosgood@proxima.gsfc.nasa.gov voice: 0800-1600 est M-F =3D (301) 286-2782 - ------------------------------ From: Greg Fieser Date: Tue, 23 Jan 1996 09:35:22 -0600 Subject: Re: 767 out of fuel > (seats, etc.) and flew it off the strip. (The airstrip was apparently > being used for drag races only very shortly (15 minutes??) before the > 767 landed there, so it is fortunate that the airstrip wasn't in use.) > =20 > Robert Herndon > PP-ASEL, IA, G >=20 Before my interest in aviation, I spent a lot of time racing around old a= irstrips with the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America). These are popular locations = for club racers, due to the concrete surfaces, wide runoff areas and no other traf= fic to worry about. I heard about this incident through the racing community, n= ot aviation. One of the details I remember was that the airline pilot was a= (former?) glider pilot himself, and remembered the abandoned strip from his gliding= days... BTW, the SCCA-sanctioned racing event was a Formula V 'road race', not 1/= 4 mile=20 drag racing, and I don't think the race had actually ended at the time. = I believe the course workers picked up information on their radios and red-flagged = the cars on the course, stopping the race to clear the strip. I still have a= photo (somewhere) of the drivers standing around their cars with the nose-down = airliner in the background... Greg Fieser - ------------------------------ From: Charles_E._Smith.wbst200@xerox.com Date: Tue, 23 Jan 1996 08:00:30 PST Subject: Re: Skunk Works Digest V5 #602 Well, This is the crux of the biscuit. What I said and others elaborated on is that no matter how you capture the image-silver halide, selenium, CCD`s, it doesn`t matter. The quantum nature of light (EM radiation) decides the maximum resolution.=20 All the technology in the world can`t change the basic nature of the=20 universe. (Don`t you love the term "empty space"? Space is anything but empty. Its a seething cauldron of quantum fluxuations!) Chuck - ------------------------------ From: dadams@netcom.com (Dean Adams) Date: Tue, 23 Jan 1996 08:38:56 -0800 (PST) Subject: Re: Skunk Works Digest V5 #602 > A lot depends on the imager (camera/film) you are useing. > Some rough calculations here in the office for a 350 mile orbit figure > around 3+ meters. given available pixles of 15 microns.but thats for > daylight, etc.But its all theoretical . Given orbital speed, etc, who > knows? But the resolution of the older de-classified Lacrosse, etc. pho= to > images are very good (6'?), and look at the limitations on shroud size As far as I know there have never been any Lacrosse (radar) images released or leaked. You are probably talking about the KH-11 photos of the Russian shipyard. That was about 1 ft. resolution. > imposed by the launchers of the day (2 meters???). Size Up to current > available shroud (6-8? meters) and add in a "technology improvement" fa= ctor > of say 10??. True, film still supposedly has a hgher resolution than > available solid state imagers...... The Titan IV has a 5m wide payload fairing. This subject has been debated a lot, and generally the best theoretical resolution attributed to the Advanced KH-11 series optics is in the 6cm range. - ------------------------------ From: JOHN SZALAY Date: Tue, 23 Jan 96 15:13:59 EST Subject: Wire EDM > From: THOMAS::"michaelg@csd.uwm.edu"=20 =20 > Out in Utah, a FOAF works in a machine shop/manufacturing firm. One of > their pieces of equipment is cutter which uses an electrically charged > wire to cut through metal in various shapes (it's sort of like passing = a > high current through a bandsaw blade with no teeth, to 'zap' away metal= as > the wire cuts through... Horrid explanation, sorry). =20 FWIW: machine is known as Wire EDM or Wire Electro-Discharge Machine, =20 We have several on-site, (among other things) :) Very handy machines. =20 John Szalay jpszalay@tacl.dnet.ge.com - ------------------------------ From: Ralph the Wonder Llama Date: Tue, 23 Jan 1996 13:05:34 -0600 (CST) Subject: Re: Skunk Works Digest V5 #602 Dean Adams (I think) wrote: >As far as I know there have never been any Lacrosse (radar) images >released or leaked. You are probably talking about the KH-11 photos >of the Russian shipyard. That was about 1 ft. resolution. Have there been any other released or leaked KH-XX photos? The Russina shipyard picture is one of the few which I'm familiar with... (I also recall seeing a picture of a Soviet launch facility - Tyuratam? (horribl= y incorrect spelling, I know...)) **Only vaguely skunky friend-of-a-friend story:** Out in Utah, a FOAF works in a machine shop/manufacturing firm. One of their pieces of equipment is cutter which uses an electrically charged wire to cut through metal in various shapes (it's sort of like passing a high current through a bandsaw blade with no teeth, to 'zap' away metal a= s the wire cuts through... Horrid explanation, sorry). One day a few men from the government show up (I think he said they were Secret Service) with a job that needed to be done immediately - they offered to pay twice the normal charge. Along with them they had a briefcase which contained a small block of metal that needed to be cut wi= th the 'electrical cutter' that they had - the metal was much too hard to be machined in any other way. Well, they took the job, and started it going on the cutter. A few days later, the govt. men came back to check on the progress - about an inch. The men were impressed and said "Keep going." Several days later, the pa= rt was finally done, and the boys in the shop started playing with some of t= he cutoff metal - incredible stuff. They beat on it with sledge hammers, tried burning it with lighters and torches, but the metal was unscathed..= .. The govt. men returned to pick up the part, and all the cutoff 'scrap', weighing every part to make sure that they were getting everything back. Satisfied, they put the pieces in the briefcase, wrote ot a check for several thousand dollars, and left. Several days later, the shop manager received a call from the govt. men, who wnated to know why they found 'traces of butane on the scrap pieces'? :) Kinda makes me want to go into metallurgy... :) - - - Michael - ------------------------------ From: Wei-Jen Su Date: Tue, 23 Jan 1996 15:06:41 -0500 (EST) Subject: Re: Skunk Works Digest V5 #602 On Tue, 23 Jan 1996, Dean Adams wrote: > > A lot depends on the imager (camera/film) you are useing. > > Some rough calculations here in the office for a 350 mile orbit figur= e > > around 3+ meters. given available pixles of 15 microns.but thats for > > daylight, etc.But its all theoretical . Given orbital speed, etc, who > > knows? But the resolution of the older de-classified Lacrosse, etc. p= hoto > > images are very good (6'?), and look at the limitations on shroud siz= e >=20 > As far as I know there have never been any Lacrosse (radar) images > released or leaked. You are probably talking about the KH-11 photos > of the Russian shipyard. That was about 1 ft. resolution. >=20 > > imposed by the launchers of the day (2 meters???). Size Up to current > > available shroud (6-8? meters) and add in a "technology improvement" = factor > > of say 10??. True, film still supposedly has a hgher resolution than > > available solid state imagers...... >=20 > The Titan IV has a 5m wide payload fairing. This subject has > been debated a lot, and generally the best theoretical resolution > attributed to the Advanced KH-11 series optics is in the 6cm range. >=20 >=20 The last Soviet Union president (Mijael Gorvachov) said in front=20 of western press: "We both know (USA and URSS) that both of our satellites can see=20 the number of plates of the cars..." May the Force be with you Su Wei-Jen E-mail: wsu02@barney.poly.edu - ------------------------------ From: Greg Fieser Date: Tue, 23 Jan 1996 13:48:17 -0600 Subject: Code One Magazine The latest issue of Lockheed-Martin's Code One magazine has some interest= ing=20 articles. I thought I might provide a summary much like some of you have= done=20 for other publications. I would appreciate feedback as to whether anyone= feels reviewing this publication is too far "off topic"... :) Composite Force (Bill Sweetman) - discusses the events that brought about= USAF's (partial) realignment from TAC/SAC to ACC with composite wings. Lots of g= ood color photography by Randy Jolly. Recover or Eject at Low Altitude (Skip Hopler) - simulator tests to deter= mine minimum recovery altitudes for F-16s in different configurations/situatio= ns=20 (i.e. deep stalls, inverted stalls, dive pullouts, etc.). Fighting Falcons Face Hungarian Fulcrums (Jaapjan Rijlaarsdam) - RNLAF's = 313th Squadron (flying F-16s, of course) deploys to Kecskemet, Hungary, home of= the=20 59th Tactical Fighter Regiment, currently flying MiG-29s. Interesting per= spectives=20 on flying conditions in former Warsaw Pact contries - for example, the av= erage=20 Hungarian fighter pilot flies about 60 hours per *year*.... Also interes= ting=20 were the Dutch F-16 pilot's opinions of flying in and against MiG-29s. F-16 Precision Strikers (Tim Ripley) - how 31st FW in Aviano, Italy is us= ing LANTIRN AN/AAQ-13 nav pods and AN/AAQ-14 targeting pods to deliver GBU-10= s and - - -12s, and ASQ-213 HARM Targeting Systems with AGM-88 HARMs in Bosnia-He= rzegovina. Also some info on the "coalition" forces operating in the theater. Again= , *lots*=20 of good color photos... Events - Lots of color photos accompanied by short captions, for example: * Japan's first flight of the new FS-X (F-16 derivative), * Indonesian F-16s in refueling ops with USAF KC-135Rs, * Modified F-16s performing at Dubai, UAE (Saudi Arabia) air show, * F-22 wind tunnel tests (appear to be testing different intake configura= tions), * JAST hover tests (shows doors deployed to control exhaust gas recircula= tion), * VISTA F-16 with Pratt & Whitney vectored thrust nozzle on an F100-PW-22= 9 engine core (360 deg vectoring w/20 deg deflection) (first flight early '97), * NASA's wing glove tests on F-16XL#2 (can't remember if this is 848 or 8= 50...) (beautiful full-page color shot of new wing planform), * NASA's F-16XL#1 (849) in formation with SR-71A (844) for sonic boom tes= ts, * NASA's CV-990 (810) shredding space shuttle tires at Dryden. =20 The F-16XL wing glove photos were especially interesting, as the resultin= g wing=20 planform is quite asymmetrical - the left glove extends forward almost to= the=20 radome, and a vertical plate is shown extending from the bottom surface o= f the left wing. Can Mary Shafer add anything about this configuration? =20 Another interesting (short) article about an F-16 from Eglin - during BFM= =20 exercises, specifically a gun jink, the side mounted control stick "broke= ",=20 leaving the pilot with no pitch or roll control of the aircraft. (the art= icle=20 doesn't say if the stick just stopped "working" (FBW, remember) or if it=20 literally came off in his hand...) The good news: this particular F-16 w= as a=20 two-seat "B" model. The bad news: this was the first time in an F-16 for= the=20 GIB (guy in back). After a few impromptu flight lessons, the front-seate= r talks=20 the back-seater down to a safe landing back at Eglin... =20 Greg Fieser - ------------------------------ From: thad@hammerhead.com (Thaddeus J. Beier) Date: Tue, 23 Jan 1996 13:58:23 -0800 Subject: KH-11 resolution I was given a tour of the Lockheed facility when the Hubble telescope was still in drydock, it was an impressive sight. I've often speculated, and followed other people speculation, that the KH-11 and Hubble telescopes were more or less the same design. One of the many pointers to this is the design of the crate (ok, this is not the correct technical term, I know) that the Hubble was inserted into to be put in a C5 to go to Kennedy is classified, as it is the same as the one that the KH11s go into. Things like that. So here's the question. Is it in any way possible that the problems with the shape of the mirror of the Hubble is due to the fact that the optics were set up to focus on something only 150 miles away, instead of at infinity? I have never accepted the reasoning that has always been proposed, that "Oh, we just used the wrong test equipment". I speculate, without any substantiation, it's true; that the mirror was ground exactly the same way the rest of Iteks 2.3 meter (or whatever) mirrors were ground. thad - - -- Thaddeus Beier thad@hammerhead.com Technology Development 408) 286-3376 Hammerhead Productions http://www.got.net/~thad=20 - ------------------------------ From: "R. Lee Hawkins" Date: Tue, 23 Jan 1996 22:13:20 -0500 Subject: Re: KH-11 resolution=20 In your message dated: Tue, 23 Jan 1996 13:58:23 PST you write: > >So here's the question. Is it in any way possible that the >problems with the shape of the mirror of the Hubble is due to >the fact that the optics were set up to focus on something >only 150 miles away, instead of at infinity? I have never First of all, the problem wasn't one of focus (Hubble has quite a range of focus), but spherical aberation. Look it up in any optics book, but the point is the mirror couldn't get *all* the rays in focus at a given focus position. This has nothing to do with how far away the target is. My favorite quote on this is from Roger Angel of the Stewart Mirror Lab at U of A, when he saw some of the first images. The gist of it was: "Boy, that looks like pretty bad spherical aberation, hope they can fix it". Of course it was fixed, but it took CoSTAR. The problem was a technician (who has probably long since committed ceremonial hari-kari) lining up a metering rod on the null tester with the wrong point. The top of the metering rod is rounded, and he was supposed to set it up at the apex of the dome on the metering rod, but instead set it up on a bright spot lower than the apex. The metering rod still exists, and if you look at how far off he aligned it, you get the exact spherical aberation that was seen on-orbit. >accepted the reasoning that has always been proposed, that "Oh, we >just used the wrong test equipment". I speculate, without any >substantiation, it's true; that the mirror was ground exactly >the same way the rest of Iteks 2.3 meter (or whatever) mirrors >were ground. Nope, no way. You wouldn't want a mirror with that much spherical aberation for *any* reason. And grinding "the same way the rest of Iteks mirrors were ground" wouldn't do it either. In fact, ITEK didn't even grind the Hubble mirror. Perkin-Elmer (now Hughes-Danbury) did it. And it was worse than most amateur mirrors that are tested with a Foucault tester. In fact, they used a Foucault test on the Hubble mirror (along with a third test that I forget) and both of those showed the spherical aberation, but were ignored, since it was felt that the reflective null test was much more accurate. I'm not sure what data you used to come to your conclusions, but they weren't very scientific and most of them seem to be wrong. :) Cheers, - - --Lee _________________________________________________________________________= ___ R. Lee Hawkins lhawkins@annie.wellesley.edu Department of Astronomy lhawkins@wellesley.edu Whitin Observatory http://annie.wellesley.edu/lhawkins/lee.html Wellesley College Ph. 617-283-2708 Wellesley, MA 02181 FAX 617-283-3667 _________________________________________________________________________= ___ - ------------------------------ End of Skunk Works Digest V5 #603 ********************************* 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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