Bell two-stage hypersonic transport

aircraft, drawings, models, projects, spacecraft 6 Responses »

Oct 062008

A year ago I visited the Bell archives in Niagara, NY. Sadly, my scanner crapped out, so all I had available to me was my camera… better than nothing, but not optimal. Anyway, I found some PR art – paintings and a display model – of a two-stage passenger transport… a turboramjet powered first stage with a rocket powered second stage. Dating from 1960, this concept clearly had some relationship to the earlier BoMi studies (especially Dornbergers passenger transport version), while the second stage was presciently similar to the Dyna Soar and Space Shuttle.

And a few weeks ago I came across a Bell press release describing the concept:

And from Jay Miller’s archives comes a photo of the display model from a different angle.

A beautiful day in the air

aircraft, photography No Responses »

Oct 062008

This last weekend I flew home to Utah to check on the homestead, the farmcats and take care of a few things. I flew out of Baltimore through Chicago and then to Salt Lake. Got lucky and a good window seat on the north side of the plane. These pics are 25% of the full-rez versions. I think a few of them might actually be worth having prints made, when I’m back to being able to deal with such things.

I have several hundred photos to go through, will probably post more. If any of these look particularly good, feel free to let me know.

The Second Coming

politics 2 Responses »

Oct 062008

By Yeats

The Second Coming

Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction,

while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;

Surely the Second Coming is at hand.

The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out

When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi

Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert

A shape with lion body and the head of a man,

A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,

Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it

Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.

The darkness drops again; but now I know

That twenty centuries of stony sleep

Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,

Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

The best piece of aerospace art EVAR!

drawings, humor, projects, spacecraft 7 Responses »

Oct 022008

In the early 1960’s, everybody in the aerospace community knew that the skies would soon be filled with space vehicles, civilian and military. And where there are lots of people, eventually something will screw up. Consequently, corporations such as Martin studied escape capsule concepts. In the case of Martin, what they came up with was “EGRESS” (EMERGENCY GLOBAL RESCUE, ESCAPE, AND SURVIVAL SYSTEM). It was a modification of the B-58 Hustler escape capsule; beefed up, provided with a re-entry heat shield and a basic attitude control system, and in some versions, stretched sideways to fit two.

As was normal for such efforts, Martin’s artists whipped up promotional artwork. In one case, the artist managed to slip through one rare bit of reality. In this two-seat EGRESS, the left-hand occupant – basically the pilot – is a square-jawed stoic test pilot straight out of central casting. In the right-hand seat – a passenger – is a man who clearly has a better grasp of the dire situation than his oblivious buddy.

Diagrams of EGRESS:

The line between satire and insanity friggen’ vanishes

politics, religion No Responses »

Oct 022008

There must be a political equivalent of Poe’s Law. This piece is so frighteningly insane that it could easily be satire… but there’s no evidence that it actually is satire. I think the author is actually serious.

“I Will Follow Him”: Obama As My Personal Jesus

Obama is my homeboy. And I’m not saying that because he’s black – I’m saying that in reference to those Urban Outfitters t-shirts from a couple years ago that said, “Jesus is my homeboy.” Yes, I just said it. Obama is my Jesus.

While you may be overtly religious and find this to be idol-worshipping, or may be overtly politically correct and just know that everything in that sentence could be found offensive, I’m afraid it’s true anyway.

…

I’ve officially been saved, and soon, whether they like it or not, the rest of the country will be too. I will follow him, all the way to the White House, and I’ll be standing there in our nation’s capital in January 2009, when Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States of America. In the name of Obama, Amen.

The real shit is going to hit the fan if, as seems increasingly unlikely, Obama loses the election. But even if Obama wins, the utter failure he promises to be will cause some heads to explode. There’s no rage quite like disillusioned fanatic rage… and the Obama cult is generating fanatics faster than anything since Hitlerism.

Bell WS-118P recon plane

aircraft, APR, models, projects 1 Response »

Oct 012008

A pre-SR-71 study for a high speed recon plane.

See issue V1N4 of Aerospace Projects Review for more on the WS-118P program.

Keepin’ the dignity

cats, humor, photography 2 Responses »

Oct 012008

What can I say? Raedthinn… well, sometimes he sits funny.

Even Tak doesn’t know what to make of him sometimes…

Songs of praise for our Dear Leader

politics, religion 1 Response »

Oct 012008

Comrades!

Behold the power of children!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW9b0xr06qA

Learn these lyrics! Be prepared to sing them at an instants notice, when one of Dear Leader’s Commissars orders you to!

We’re gonna spread happiness
We’re gonna spread freedom
Obama‘s gonna change it
Obama‘s gonna lead ’em

We’re gonna change it
And rearrange it
We’re gonna change the world.

Now’s the moment, lift each voice to sing
Sing with all your heart!
For our children, for our families,
Nations all joined as one.
Sing for joy and sing abundant peace,
Courage, justice, hope!
Sing together, hold each precious hand,
Lifting each other up;
Sing for vision, sing for unity,
Lifting our hearts to Sing!

Yes we can
Lift each other up
In peace, in love, in hope
Change! Change!

————

Now, honestly. Who in their right minds *doesn’t* see extraordinarily creepifyin’ similarities between this particular instance of child brainwashing and other examples of it from, say, the Commie and Nazi world??? There’s a good reason why we don’t let six-year-olds vote: because they are ignorant little morons, generally capable of little thought beyond what they’ve been told to think. So whenever I see children being used to push some ideology that they are simply incapable of understanding – be it politics, religion, science, whatever – I immediately get a bit paranoid about the situation. Now, if these children were singing about what their favorite toys or cartoons were…. hey, great, that’s right about their pay grade. But singing cultish nonsense about a political empty suit… that’s just weirdifying.

Please enjoy these earlier practice sessions…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stMcuBXyPKo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5P_TFqUegU

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