From: owner-skunk-works-digest@netwrx1.com (skunk-works-digest) To: skunk-works-digest@netwrx1.com Subject: skunk-works-digest V7 #96 Reply-To: skunk-works@netwrx1.com Sender: owner-skunk-works-digest@netwrx1.com Errors-To: owner-skunk-works-digest@netwrx1.com Precedence: bulk skunk-works-digest Thursday, December 31 1998 Volume 07 : Number 096 Index of this digest by subject: *************************************************** Metrics Re: Real cars (was: AFNEWS flash) Beyond The Horizons The Lockheed Story Re: AFNEWS flash Re: Metric F-22 costs (correction, engines) F-22 costs; yet more Happy New Year to all *************************************************** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1998 08:40:52 +1100 From: "Andrew See" Subject: Metrics >1) It is international, used about everywhere on Earth (with the exception > of the USA and some Papua New Guinean tribes, of course). The strangest thing about the US clinging to the Imperial measurement system is that the US uses Metric for some things and Imperial for others. EG: Police use Grams when referring to drug seizures. Army uses meters for ranging (I believe). Navy uses yards. I assume car engines are now quoted in Liters. Athletes run 100meters, footballers run 100 yards. Skis are measured in Centimeters, surfboards are measured in Feet/Inches. Some LA gangsters carry 9mm's, whilst others carry .45's. The thing I find weird is the way that stock prices are quoted in the US. They will say IBM is up 3 and 17/32nds. In Oz, they would say IBM is up $3.53. Which seems easier? >3) (and maybe foremost), all SI units are based on the decimal system, > which makes it way easier to not only calculate, but also to convert > between units. One Kilogram (kg) is 1000 Gram (g), One ton (t) is 1000 > kg, etc. > > Many units in the American system are based on the duodecimal (base 12) > or hexadecimal (base 16) systems, which makes it not only confusing, but > also very annoying, especially when you have to deal with 5/8 of an inch > or 2 pounds and 7 ounces. A ton is 2000 pounds and a (statute) mile is > 1760 yards, while a yard is 3 feet. This is the most appealing attribute of the metric system, everything works in powers of 10. The Imperial system was designed way back when some people had 16 fingers, whilst others had 12... :) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1998 14:57:16 -0800 From: patrick Subject: Re: Real cars (was: AFNEWS flash) At 12:37 PM 12/30/98 -0800, you wrote: >Where is List Commissar Dean Adams when he is REALLY needed to question the >cult status of posters? > >Tony Craddock > >********* Oh c'mon Tony. At least our "craft" are born of this earth. Are you telling us that aliens have no sense of humor? If so, then I for one will have nothing to do with them. patrick cullumber ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1998 17:45:36 +0000 From: Brent Clark Subject: Beyond The Horizons The Lockheed Story Just picked up a new book which I thought might be of some interest to the Group. The book is Titled "BEYOND The HORIZONS The LOCKHEED STORY" by Walter J. Boyne. I haven't had a chance to read the book ( just picked it up ) but it looks like an excellent work with many photos. The author is the former director of the National Airspace Museum. The cover says that he was given " full cooperation by the Lockheed Corporation, including access to all unclassified documentation". Should be a good read. BEYOND The HORIZONS The LOCKHEED STORY Walter J. Boyne ISBN 0-312-19237-1 Thomas Duane Books Around $26.00 at Barnes and Noble ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1998 20:27:07 -0600 From: Dave Bethke Subject: Re: AFNEWS flash Kathryn & Andreas Gehrs-Pahl wrote: > And if a pound is a force, why do they sell cheese by the pound? :) To some, especially Green Bay Packer fans, cheese IS a force! "Behold the power of cheese." :-) - -- Dave ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1998 09:14:54 -0500 From: Dean Osgood Subject: Re: Metric Andreas wrote >3) (and maybe foremost), all SI units are based on the decimal system, > which makes it way easier to not only calculate, but also to convert > Many units in the American system are based on the duodecimal (base 12) > or hexadecimal (base 16) systems, which makes it not only confusing, but > also very annoying, especially when you have to deal with 5/8 of an inch > or 2 pounds and 7 ounces. A ton is 2000 pounds and a (statute) mile is > 1760 yards, while a yard is 3 feet. In the aerospace world most measurements are done in decimal inches, IE instead of measureing a length at say 10 feet 2 and 1/2 inches it is expressed as 122.500 inches. Makes for simple calculations. Conversion is slowly happening to metric, however as a lot of "legacy hardware" (older equipment) works only in the "english" system, dual measurement systems predominate and will for the foreseeable future, unless someone is willing to spend mega$$$ to replace equipment. Conversion is occuring as equipment reaches the end of its useable life. Try measuring in Angstroms and converting ;-) > of water, 100 C is the boiling temperature, and 1 degree Celsius is as > much as 1 Kelvin. The Kelvin scale starts at absolute zero, 1 Kelvin is considerably less than 1 Celsius >> And if a pound is a force, why do they sell cheese by the pound? :) If you ever "cut the cheese" in a sealed cleanroom suit you would understand the force. Dean L. Osgood Spacecraft metrology, optics, alignment, R & D geodetic and topographic surveying computer data acquisition and control systems dosgood@proxima.gsfc.nasa.gov No, I am not a rocket scientist, thats the guys down the hall. I build spaceships, and there is a slight difference." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1998 16:57:03 -0700 From: "Allen Thomson" Subject: F-22 costs (correction, engines) CORRECTION: Contract F33657-98-C-2004-P00002 announced Dec. 28, 1998, incorrectly listed the face value increase. The contract announcement should have read as follows: United Technologies Corp., West Palm Beach, Fla., is being awarded a $93,930,505 face value increase to a firm-fixed-price contract which definitizes production of six F119 engines (four install, two spare), and associated data, engineering support, and preliminary field support applicable to the F-22 Production Representative Test Vehicle aircraft. Expected contract completion date is May 24, 2001. Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-98-C-2004-P00002). ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1998 17:06:01 -0700 From: "Allen Thomson" Subject: F-22 costs; yet more Lockheed Martin Corp., Marietta, Ga., is being awarded a $188,957,000 face value increase to a firm-fixed-price contract to provide for advanced procurement of components, parts, and material, and associated effort in support of six F-22 aircraft. Lockheed Martin, Marietta, Ga., will perform 26 percent, The Boeing Co., Seattle, Wash., will perform 25 percent, and Lockheed Martin Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, will perform 49 percent. Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-97-C-0030-P00004). ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 Jan 1999 03:01:52 GMT From: georgek@netwrx1.com (George R. Kasica) Subject: Happy New Year to all Just a quick note to wish everyone on-list a very Happy and Safe New Year!! I'm here at work as usual doing the night shift until about 4am or so...Rachel is also working at the hospital as well...so we'll have new years a bit later than the rest of the world. Just want to say how much I appreciate all of you on this list, its been around for quite a while now...anyone of the old timers can tell me about when it started? And hopefully will continue on for the long term here as well. Just a quick note that the Digests will start out next year as Volume 8 #1 once there is enough material to create one since I'll force the last one of 98 to get generated closer to midnight. Thanks again, and Happy New Year To All!! ===[George R. Kasica]=== +1 414 541 8579 Skunk-Works ListOwner +1 800 520 4873 FAX http://www.netwrx1.com West Allis, WI USA ICQ #12862186 Digest Issues at: http://www.netwrx1.com/skunk-works ------------------------------ End of skunk-works-digest V7 #96 ******************************** To subscribe to skunk-works-digest, send the command: subscribe in the body of a message to "majordomo@netwrx1.com". 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 local-skunk-works@your.domain.net To unsubscribe, send mail to the same address, with the command: unsubscribe in the body. Administrative requests, problems, and other non-list mail can be sent to georgek@netwrx1.com. 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 viewing by a www interface located at: http://www.netwrx1.com/skunk-works If you have any questions or problems please contact me at: georgek@netwrx1.com Thanks, George R. Kasica Listowner