Mechanical Craziness!! Cold war preferred, anything nuts also gratefully accepted!
- Thread starter johnny
- Start date
|Matt|
Banned
Imagine being on the wing of that badboy when it was about to take off. You are stuck with a conundrum. Do you jump off and leave yourself stranded in the ocean, or do you hold on for dear life and hope that you will still be able to breathe the air at whatever altitude the pilot thinks it would be fun to fly at.
Cool find, what exactly does it do other than looking really cool and expensive.
Cool find, what exactly does it do other than looking really cool and expensive.
NCR600
Likes Dirt
http://www.myspace.com/theoriginalekranoplan
Melbourne electronic outfit.
Suits the Russian wing in ground effect aircraft quite nicely.
Melbourne electronic outfit.
Suits the Russian wing in ground effect aircraft quite nicely.
NCR600
Likes Dirt
It floats over the sea or flat ground on a cushion of air provided by the stubby but broad wings. A kind of high speed hovercraft if you will, without the practicality.
It was a bit of a dead end, apart from looking cool and being expensive.
NCR600
Likes Dirt
Oh man, can you post pics please? Youtube is blocked here.
Also, what do they mean by wing-in-ground aircraft?
Soviet ostentatiousness is one of the coolest things out of the 20th century.
'Ross, thinking of Howard Hughes is exactly what led me to the Caspian Sea Monster!
Also, what do they mean by wing-in-ground aircraft?
Soviet ostentatiousness is one of the coolest things out of the 20th century.
'Ross, thinking of Howard Hughes is exactly what led me to the Caspian Sea Monster!
NCR600
Likes Dirt
There ya go.
Wing in ground effect basically means that the wing provides enough lift when combined with a newtonian equal but opposite reaction when close to a hard surface like water or other smooth plane, but not enough lift to get more than 10 feet above the deck. If you chucked the Ekranoplan out of a really. really big aircraft, it would plummet, but it's quite capable of flight as long as the high pressure under the wings has something to push against.
It's like a hovercraft with the laws of physics instead of a rubber skirt.
Christo
Likes Bikes and Dirt
It means aircraft that harness 'Ground effect', essentially very low altitude aircraft, that float like a hovercraft without a bag on top of the high pressure region under the wing.
Cool stuff..
PINT of Stella. mate!
Many, many Scotches
This sucks because I was supposed to be on the damn thing right now 'cept the job just got canned (in consolation I get a little jolly down to Angola next week though...)
but anyway, here's the world's largest crane barge The Thialf:
It's capable of lifting up to 14,200 tonnes! Which is almost twice the weight of Scott's wallet!
Next up I've got a double header of sweet cold war nuclear bombers, in this season's colour: White.
The Avro Vulcan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXFEDIpJOKc
It was a serious contender for one of the most beautiful aircraft of all time. Absolutely massive with one hell of a freaky gothic bat-like airframe. Originally designed to drop nukes on those pesky bolsheviks, it didn't actually see combat until it was on the verge of retirement when it was used on low-level bombing runs on Stanley Airport during the Falklands War.
The XB-70 Valkyrie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vPvr29wJ80&feature=related
Sadly there were only two of these ever built, and they managed to prang one during a test flight, but it was designed to fly at 70,000ft in excess of Mach 3! Sadly, improved surface to air missile technology and one careless F104 starfighter pilot meant that the project was cancelled.
Meanwhile, back on all things offshore oil industry related: I'll also throw in pics of The Troll A, which is an absolutely massive rig in the Norwegian sector (it's being towed out in the pic. there's still shitloads of it below the surface). and the BBLT which is one of the new compliant towers off of Angola. The BBLT is 568m high which shits all over the likes of the Sears tower and Taipei 101. Incidentally the footage of the construction of the BBLT also contains footage of the Thialf in action...
Troll Alpha
BBLT (artists impression)
BBLT installation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o79gbZt9Xc8
but anyway, here's the world's largest crane barge The Thialf:
It's capable of lifting up to 14,200 tonnes! Which is almost twice the weight of Scott's wallet!
Next up I've got a double header of sweet cold war nuclear bombers, in this season's colour: White.
The Avro Vulcan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXFEDIpJOKc
It was a serious contender for one of the most beautiful aircraft of all time. Absolutely massive with one hell of a freaky gothic bat-like airframe. Originally designed to drop nukes on those pesky bolsheviks, it didn't actually see combat until it was on the verge of retirement when it was used on low-level bombing runs on Stanley Airport during the Falklands War.
The XB-70 Valkyrie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vPvr29wJ80&feature=related
Sadly there were only two of these ever built, and they managed to prang one during a test flight, but it was designed to fly at 70,000ft in excess of Mach 3! Sadly, improved surface to air missile technology and one careless F104 starfighter pilot meant that the project was cancelled.
Meanwhile, back on all things offshore oil industry related: I'll also throw in pics of The Troll A, which is an absolutely massive rig in the Norwegian sector (it's being towed out in the pic. there's still shitloads of it below the surface). and the BBLT which is one of the new compliant towers off of Angola. The BBLT is 568m high which shits all over the likes of the Sears tower and Taipei 101. Incidentally the footage of the construction of the BBLT also contains footage of the Thialf in action...
Troll Alpha
BBLT (artists impression)
BBLT installation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o79gbZt9Xc8
Who says its only the Russians??
More Cold War innovation....
Martin P6M Seamaster
Dimensions:
Wing span: 100 ft 0 in (30.48 m)
Length: 134 ft 0 in (40.84 m)
Height: 31 ft 0 in (9.45 m)
Weights:
Payload: 30,000 lb (13,608 kg)
Max T/O: 160,000 lb (72,575 kg)
Performance:
Maximum Speed: 600 mph (965 km/h)
Service Ceiling: 40,000 ft (12,200 m)
Range: 3,000 miles (4,830 km)
Powerplant:
Four Pratt & Whitney J75-P-2 turbojets providing 17,500 lb (7,938 kg) st.
Armament:
Six or eight .050 machine guns in the nose and amidships turrets plus,
up to 4,000 lbs (1,814 kg) of bombs or depth charges.
More Cold War innovation....
Martin P6M Seamaster
Dimensions:
Wing span: 100 ft 0 in (30.48 m)
Length: 134 ft 0 in (40.84 m)
Height: 31 ft 0 in (9.45 m)
Weights:
Payload: 30,000 lb (13,608 kg)
Max T/O: 160,000 lb (72,575 kg)
Performance:
Maximum Speed: 600 mph (965 km/h)
Service Ceiling: 40,000 ft (12,200 m)
Range: 3,000 miles (4,830 km)
Powerplant:
Four Pratt & Whitney J75-P-2 turbojets providing 17,500 lb (7,938 kg) st.
Armament:
Six or eight .050 machine guns in the nose and amidships turrets plus,
up to 4,000 lbs (1,814 kg) of bombs or depth charges.
Attachments
floody
Wheel size expert
Cold war thread can't be complete without the comparatively conventional, but pretty exceptional English Electric Lightning; Seriously, a plane from 1959 which is/was capable of the same rate of climb as the current RAAF F/A-18s at 50,000ft/minute is pretty awesome.
For comparison:
English Electric Lightning F6 -
Maximum speed: Mach 2.27 (1,500 mph, 2,415 km/h) at altitude
Range: 800 mi (1,300 km) combat 560 km
Ferry range: 1,560 mi (1,360 NM, 2,500 km)
Service ceiling: >60,000 ft (18,000 m) officially (87,300 ft/26,600 m recorded)
Rate of climb: 50,000 ft/min (260 m/s)
Wing loading: 87.9 lb/ft² (429 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.63-1.2
McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 -
Maximum speed: Mach 1.8 (1,190 mph, 1,915 km/h) at 40,000 ft (12,190 m)
Combat radius: 330 mi (290 NM, 537 km) on hi-lo-lo-hi mission
Ferry range: 2,070 mi (1,800 NM, 3,330 km)
Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,000 m)
Rate of climb: 50,000 ft/min (254 m/s)
Wing loading: 93 lb/ft² (450 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: >0.95
Impressive piece of gear, the lightning.
For comparison:
English Electric Lightning F6 -
Maximum speed: Mach 2.27 (1,500 mph, 2,415 km/h) at altitude
Range: 800 mi (1,300 km) combat 560 km
Ferry range: 1,560 mi (1,360 NM, 2,500 km)
Service ceiling: >60,000 ft (18,000 m) officially (87,300 ft/26,600 m recorded)
Rate of climb: 50,000 ft/min (260 m/s)
Wing loading: 87.9 lb/ft² (429 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.63-1.2
McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 -
Maximum speed: Mach 1.8 (1,190 mph, 1,915 km/h) at 40,000 ft (12,190 m)
Combat radius: 330 mi (290 NM, 537 km) on hi-lo-lo-hi mission
Ferry range: 2,070 mi (1,800 NM, 3,330 km)
Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,000 m)
Rate of climb: 50,000 ft/min (254 m/s)
Wing loading: 93 lb/ft² (450 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: >0.95
Impressive piece of gear, the lightning.
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PINT of Stella. mate!
Many, many Scotches
Ugly bastard though!
I suppose a nod should be given to the big bugger in the background of that shot too, the Tu-95 Bear.
Apparently the Tornado pilots who'd fly intercept flights on them during the 80's could hear the noise of it's props over the noise of their own jet engines!
Nerf Herder
Wheel size expert
couldn't turn though
Ground effects is what helicopters use when flying flow level as well.
General flying low stuff by the South Africans ... kinda off topic but cool none-the-less (sorry no pics)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9T5...7/temporary_duty.html&feature=player_embedded
The music (“Era” from The Mass)
Nerf Herder
Wheel size expert
Mil V-12
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=kKsWTdjnXiw
The hotelicopter is a hoax, but hell it looks cool
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/03/the-hotelicopte/
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=kKsWTdjnXiw
The hotelicopter is a hoax, but hell it looks cool
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/03/the-hotelicopte/
