| X-23B Nasa Experimental Craft |
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A fleet of lifting bodies flown at the NASA
Flight Research Center, Edwards, California,
from 1963 to 1975 demonstrated the ability of
pilots to maneuver (in the atmosphere) and
safely land a wingless vehicle. These lifting
bodies were basically designed so they could
fly back to Earth from space and be landed
like an aircraft at a pre-determined site.
(In 1976 NASA renamed the FRC as the NASA
Dryden Flight Research Center in honor of
Hugh L. Dryden.)
In 1962, FRC Director Paul Bikle approved a
program to build a lightweight, unpowered
lifting body as a prototype to flight test
the wingless concept. It would look like a
"flying bathtub," and was designated the
M2-F1. It featured a plywood shell, built by
Gus Briegleb (a sailplane builder from El
Mirage, California) placed over a tubular
steel frame crafted at the FRC. Construction
was completed in 1963.
The success of the Flight Research Center
M2-F1 program led to NASA development and
construction of two heavyweight lifting
bodies based on studies at the NASA Ames and
Langley research centers--the M2-F2 and the
HL-10, both built by the Northrop
Corporation, Hawthorne, California. The Air
Force also became interested in lifting body
research and had a third design concept
built, the X-24A, built by the Martin
Company, Denver, Colorado. It was later
modified into the X-24B and both
configurations were flown in the joint
NASA-Air Force lifting body program located
at Dryden.
The X-24B design evolved from a family of
potential reentry shapes, each with higher
lift-to-drag ratios, proposed by the Air
Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory.
To reduce the costs of constructing a
research vehicle, the Air Force returned the
X-24A to Martin for modifications that
converted its bulbous shape into one
resembling a "flying flatiron" -- rounded
top, flat bottom, and a double-delta planform
that ended in a pointed nose.
First to fly the X-24B was John A. Manke, a
glide flight on August 1, 1973. He was also
the pilot on the first powered mission
November 15, 1973.
Among the final flights with the X-24B were
two precise landings on the main concrete
runway at Edwards, California, which showed
that accurate unpowered reentry vehicle
landings were operationally feasible. These
missions were flown by Manke and Air Force
Maj. Mike Love and represented the final
milestone in a program that helped write the
flight plan for the Space Shuttle program of
today.
After launch from the B-52 "mothership" at an
altitude of about 45,000 feet, the XLR-11
rocket engine was ignited and the vehicle
accelerated to speeds of more than 1,100
miles per hour and to altitudes of 60,000 to
70,000 feet. After the rocket engine was shut
down, the pilots began steep glides towards
the Edwards runway. As the pilots entered the
final leg of their approach, they increased
their rate of descent to build up speed and
used this energy to perform a "flare out"
maneuver, which slowed their landing speed to
about 200 miles per hour--the same basic
approach pattern and landing speed of the
Space Shuttles today.
The final powered flight with the X-24B
aircraft was on September 23, 1975. The pilot
was Bill Dana, and it was also the last
rocket-powered flight flown at Dryden. It was
also Dana who flew the last X-15 mission
about seven years earlier.
Top speed reached with the X-24B was 1,164
miles per hour (Mach 1.76) by Love on October
25, 1974. The highest altitude reached was
74,100 feet, by Manke on May 22, 1975. The
X-24B is on public display at the Air Force
Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
Tags : nasa aircraft Space |
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Affichage : 147459
Durée : 158 s |
| National Health : experimental prog fusion group |
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National Health was a progressive rock band
associated with the Canterbury Scene. Founded
in 1975 by keyboardists Dave Stewart (from
Hatfield and the North) and Alan Gowen (from
Gilgamesh), the band also included guitarists
Phil Miller and Phil Lee and bassist Mont
Campbell as original members.
Bill Bruford was the initial drummer but was
soon replaced by Pip Pyle. Campbell was
replaced by Neil Murray and then John
Greaves.
A frequently changing lineup toured
extensively and released two LPs of often
lengthy, mostly instrumental, complexly
scored compositions before splitting up in
1980. After the May 1981 death of Gowen,
remaining members reconvened to record the
album D.S. Al Coda, a set of compositions by
Gowen, most previously unrecorded. The
original albums and additional archival
material have subsequently been released on
CD.
Their 1978 record Of Queues and Cures, which
included Peter Blegvad (guitar, vocals) and
Georgie Born (cello), is currently held as
the third best record ever (of 53,000
candidate records) on the Gnosis web site.
wikipedia
weird shit, i like it.
Tags : National Health band music weird experimental jamrock prog progressive crimson beauford fusion art rock shit fuck ass |
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Affichage : 37905
Durée : 251 s |
| Avid Experimental Aircraft |
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Let's go for a ride in some Avid Flyers. I
shot and produced this for my client, Avid
Aircraft of Caldwell, Idaho. 100% of the
aerial video I shot from an Avid, all
handheld. The ground scenes were shot on my
tripod.
Tags : Avid Experimental Aircraft Flying Homebuilt |
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Affichage : 28713
Durée : 615 s |
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