skunk-works-digest Tuesday, January 27 1998 Volume 07 : Number 004 Index of this digest by subject: *************************************************** Tailless Aircraft/Habu High Altitude Effects RE: Tailless Aircraft/Habu New Book on "Smart Weapons" Re: Tailless Aircraft/Habu Re: High Altitude Effects Re: New Book on "Smart Weapons" Books about G-Forces? Re: Books about G-Forces? 1998 Lecture Series Re: Books about G-Forces? test (ignore me) [none] F-117 course tape *************************************************** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 23:15:39 +0900 From: "Darryl Matthews" Subject: Tailless Aircraft/Habu Before I start: Sorry, I don't have the server space required for the patents. :-) I'll see if I can find the links again, then I'll post those. Sorry! I was reading a article recently about tailless aircraft. What is the advantage apart from less drag and better stealth? There were some really interesting propositions...one had tails that folded into the body when necessary. There was even an unmanned tailless aircraft that could fly upside down when it got to the stealth-critical phase of the mission. Have they started the tail reduction for the X-31, or have the funds run out? Is Waverider a tailess demonstrator?? Excuse me if I'm playing '20 questions'...:-) Greg: Habu was the SR-71's nickname, right? If my Japanese is right, that means viper...doesn't it? ____________________ James Matthews. E-mail (family): matthews@tkb.att.ne.jp E-mail (private): james_matthews@hotmail.com Homepage: http://home.att.ne.jp/gold/tomcat21/index2.html ____________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 08:53:50 -0800 (PST) From: David Lednicer Subject: High Altitude Effects >Several years back a guy was attempting to set the world altitude record >for parachuting when his pressure suit sprang a leak. The gondola was >immediately cut away in an attempt to get him down to breathable air. > >He only lived a short time. News reports said that his blood had >started to boil inside his body. USAF Major Joesph Kittinger rode a ballon to ~102,000 feet and then free-fell from there sometime in the late 1950s/early 1960s. This set a world free-fall record that might still stand. On the ascent, one of his gloves sprang a leak, but he continued with the mission. Pictures taken after he landed show that this hand was swollen to twice the size of his other hand, but he suffered no lasting damage. Kittinger later flew F-4s in Vietnam, downing a MiG-21. He too was later shot down, causing him to spend about 10 months in a North Vietnamese PoW camp. - ------------------------------------------------------------------- David Lednicer | "Applied Computational Fluid Dynamics" Analytical Methods, Inc. | email: dave@amiwest.com 2133 152nd Ave NE | tel: (425) 643-9090 Redmond, WA 98052 USA | fax: (425) 746-1299 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 16:05:49 -0000 From: Gavin Payne Subject: RE: Tailless Aircraft/Habu When you say you need space for the patents are you referring to web space? Email if you <4Mb will solve your problem. Gavin Payne - -----Original Message----- From: Darryl Matthews [SMTP:matthews@tkb.att.ne.jp] Sent: 20 January 1998 14:16 To: Skunk Works Subject: Tailless Aircraft/Habu Before I start: Sorry, I don't have the server space required for the patents. :-) I'll see if I can find the links again, then I'll post those. Sorry! I was reading a article recently about tailless aircraft. What is the advantage apart from less drag and better stealth? There were some really interesting propositions...one had tails that folded into the body when necessary. There was even an unmanned tailless aircraft that could fly upside down when it got to the stealth-critical phase of the mission. Have they started the tail reduction for the X-31, or have the funds run out? Is Waverider a tailess demonstrator?? Excuse me if I'm playing '20 questions'...:-) Greg: Habu was the SR-71's nickname, right? If my Japanese is right, that means viper...doesn't it? ____________________ James Matthews. E-mail (family): matthews@tkb.att.ne.jp E-mail (private): james_matthews@hotmail.com Homepage: http://home.att.ne.jp/gold/tomcat21/index2.html ____________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:22:04 -0600 (CST) From: jetguy1@ix.netcom.com (BRENT CLARK ) Subject: New Book on "Smart Weapons" While browsing through the Barnes and Noble bookstore, I noticed a book titled "Smart Weapons Top Secret History of Remote Controlled Airborne Weapons". Looking through the book I thought it would be of interest to subscribers of this newsgroup. There are some interesting photos and articles of various projects including the D-21 Drone, X-36, the Predetor UAV, F-24, Darkstar ect. The development of various projects at Groom Lake are mentioned. The book is on sale for 50% of the list price of $17.95. Authors are Hugh McDaid and David Oliver. Published by Barnes and Noble Books 1997. ISBN 0-7607-0760-X What the heck for 8 bucks! Brent Clark jetguy1@ix.netcom.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 07:51:28 -0800 From: G&G Subject: Re: Tailless Aircraft/Habu Darryl Matthews wrote: > > Greg: Habu was the SR-71's nickname, right? > If my Japanese is right, that means viper...doesn't it? From my (temporarily homeless) home page: Okinawa is in the Ryuku Island chain in Japan. A small, dark, poisonous pit viper snake, indigenous to the Ryuku islands, is called the "habu" by the native islanders. Though non-aggressive, the Habu snake can inflict a painful and sometimes deadly bite. In 1968, four SR-71s began basing their operations out of Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan. There, the native Okinawans began calling the SR-71 "Habu" because it's shape and color reminded them of the dark pit viper snake. The name stuck, and operational SR-71 crew members began wearing "Habu" patches on their flight suits. Greg Fieser ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 08:06:08 -0800 From: G&G Subject: Re: High Altitude Effects David Lednicer wrote: > USAF Major Joesph Kittinger rode a ballon to ~102,000 feet and > then free-fell from there sometime in the late 1950s/early 1960s. > Kittinger later flew F-4s in Vietnam, ...where he was squadron commander to Richard Graham, who went on to fly SR-71s and later became the commander of the 1st SRS... Greg Fieser ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 08:53:39 -0500 From: "James P. Stevenson" Subject: Re: New Book on "Smart Weapons" >While browsing through the Barnes and Noble bookstore, I noticed a book >titled "Smart Weapons Top Secret History of Remote Controlled Airborne >Weapons". > Looking through the book I thought it would be of interest to >subscribers of this newsgroup. There are some interesting photos and >articles of various projects including the D-21 Drone, X-36, the >Predetor UAV, F-24, Darkstar ect. The development of various projects >at Groom Lake are mentioned. > The book is on sale for 50% of the list price of $17.95. >Authors are Hugh McDaid and David Oliver. >Published by Barnes and Noble Books 1997. >ISBN 0-7607-0760-X >What the heck for 8 bucks! Brent Clark jetguy1@ix.netcom.com O.K. Now you have my curiosity up. What is the F-24? Jim Stevenson ********************************************** James P. Stevenson E-mail Address: jamesstevenson@sprintmail.com Telephone: (301) 254-9000 ********************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 14:48:14 +0100 From: Samuel Sporrenstrand Subject: Books about G-Forces? Hi there!! Sorry if I'm off topic now, but I really need to know if there are any good books about G-Forces. Since you people know so much about aviation books, you might be able to help me out here;-)) Thanx! Best regards // Samuel Sporrenstrand ____________________________________________________________________________________ Contact: Samuel Sporrenstrand E-mail: alltech@swipnet.se Voice: +46 (0)125-10110 Fax: +46 (0)125-40290 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 08:53:40 -0800 From: G&G Subject: Re: Books about G-Forces? Samuel Sporrenstrand wrote: > Sorry if I'm off topic now, but I really need to know if there are > any good books about G-Forces. Since you people know so much about > aviation books, you might be able to help me out here;-)) "The Pre-Astronauts" by Craig Ryan (Naval Institute Press, ~1995) is a good reference for the work of Dr. John Paul Stapp, also known as "that crazy guy who rode the rocket sleds back in the '50s". :) The book also refers to a paper Stapp wrote that defines the effects to and limits of the human body with respect to massive acceleration and deceleration forces. Greg Fieser ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 09:24:10 -0800 From: G&G Subject: 1998 Lecture Series As some of you may know, aviation historian Jay Miller subscribes to this list (though he rarely posts). You may not know that Jay is also the curator for the (American Airlines) C.R. Smith Museum. Through the museum, Jay is putting together a series of speaking engagements this year and, since some (if not all) of the speakers would be of interest to our group, I've asked him if I could post some details to the list. The first speaker scheduled for this year is Chuck Yeager* (sorry, don't remember his rank) on Thursday, March 5th. He will speak for approx. 30-45 minutes, and has agreed to then answer questions, shake hands, sign autographs, pictures, etc. the rest of the evening. Future dates have not been set, but (I think) approximately every other month the following speakers have been 'booked': - Joe Kittinger, of Project Man High fame, - Mike Evans, historian for Rolls Royce engines, - Keith Ferris, noted aviation artist, - Jack Gordon, president of Lockheed's *Skunk Works* A sixth speaker has been scheduled but not confirmed at this time (let's just say he's a famous X-15 pilot). Tickets for the Yeager date are $20 and seating is limited to 500. I don't know the exact location, but it will probably be at or near C.R. Smith Museum (just south of DFW Int'l Airport). For more info on tickets, call the museum at (817)967-5995. Sorry if this sounds like spam (it's not). My only association with this series is that I've already bought my tickets :) Greg Fieser ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 14:36:17 -0800 From: patrick Subject: Re: Books about G-Forces? At 08:53 AM 1/25/98 -0800, you wrote: > is a good reference for the work of Dr. John Paul Stapp, also known > as "that crazy guy who rode the rocket sleds back in the '50s". :) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Dr, Stapp is currently the Director of the Space Museum in Alamogordo, NM where Holloman AeroMedical was located. Stapp did his research there and chose to subject his own body for testing at the nearby rocket sled track. At the end of each run they would literally have to pop several bones back into place in his body while unstrapping him from his rocket sled. patrick cullumber patrick@e-z.net ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 02:39:27 -0500 (EST) From: Wei-Jen Su Subject: test (ignore me) test May the Force be with you Su Wei-Jen E-mails: wsu02@utopia.poly.edu wjs@webspan.net "What's the difference between God and pilots? God doesn't think he's a pilot." ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 02:45:31 -0500 (EST) From: Wei-Jen Su Subject: [none] who skunk-works-digest ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 13:42:51 -0800 (PST) From: Allen Thomson Subject: F-117 course tape John Stone wondered: >But I do have a question, in the section on the F-117, all the pilots were >carrying a small aluminum Haliburton case with them to and from the >aircraft....So what is in the case? > And Patrick Cullumber replied: >Not much more than what looks like a VCR tape. It is carried to the >plane and plugged into a flight computer. With the recent upgrades to >the system, each pilot programs his entire flight on to the tape. It >includes all waypoints, changes in altitudes and now does it in per time >increments of 1 second. He can literally activate it on takeoff and it >will bring the aircraft diving over the target. Tactics might require >several aircraft to bomb the same target. And the planes are programmed >to approach the target individually from different directions and at >different altitudes but all within several seconds of each other. This >ballet over the target can take place without any visual contact >required by the pilots if programmed in advance. Actually 4 different >missions can be loaded on to one tape. But it is a very time consuming >task. I don't know nuthin' 'bout this, but it could be that the course tapes are actually an important part of the stealthiness of the F-117. Remember that the principal, er, principle in stealth as we know it is to direct energy away from the threat radar or other sensor; absorptive materials play a secondary role. Another way to say this is that the bistatic radar cross-section diagram of the stealthy airplane has deep nulls which are intended to be oriented toward the (mostly monostatic) threat radar receivers -- but it also has peaks where the energy from the radar is sent. For the redirection trick to work, the locations of the threat radars must be known (a job for pre-mission ELINT and real-time ESM) and the flight path crafted so that, at a given point, the rcs nulls are pointed at the radars and the peaks go off in some hopefully harmless direction. So I suspect that the course tapes, in addition to getting everyone on target at the right time, contain a lot of ELINT-derived twists and turns designed to keep the defender's radars in the dark. ------------------------------ End of skunk-works-digest V7 #4 ******************************* To subscribe to skunk-works-digest, send the command: subscribe in the body of a message to "skunk-works-digest-request@netwrx1.com". 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