Comments by "Big Blue" (@bigblue6917) on "Curious Droid" channel.

  1. The dad joke has hit the big time. Actually I did read a couple of weeks ago that, though the dad joke has a certain groan factor to it, it has been shown that it helps children understand how words work
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  2. Imagine having that job. Chasing a U-2 in a muscle car. Talk about bragging rights.
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  3. I knew about the idea to use a nuclear weapon on the moon for seismic research. Apparently some piece of a rocket, or something, crashed into the moon and it was suggested that the moon may be hollow. Personally I think that person and been smoking something exotic while watching the film First Men on the Moon, based on the story by HG Wells
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  4.  @SaintCergue  You only do that once.
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  5. Back in the 80s there were senior generals in the US who thought nuclear war with the Soviet Union was winnable. This despite one third of the US population would die. They thought it was a sacrifice worth making. And yes some senior Soviets had people with the same thoughts.
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  6. And we all know what happens when you get hit by a brick
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  7. Probably.
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  8. I have a feeling rocket science is a lot easier.
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  9.  @Kabup2  So true. But that can help because no ones expecting to much from you. And it can make the big reveal more spectacular.
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  10. Some years ago a British Royal Navy ship was shadowing a fleet of Soviet ships when a Yak-38 came up behind getting read to land on its carrier. Suddenly a problem developed and the Soviet pilot ejected. But his problems were not over as after he hit the water he became tangled in the cords of his parachute and looked like he would drown. With the Soviet fleet to far away to respond quickly enough the Royal Navy ship sent out a boat and saved the pilot before he drowned and then handed him over back to his own shipmates. Got to be one of the few times the Soviets did not mind being shadowed.
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  11. Have you taken a look at the circular runway concept. The idea is that you have a banked circular runway which means that it does not have problems with the likes of cross winds. There does seem to be quite a debate about it and it would be interesting to get your take.
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  12. Curious Droid. Reaction Engines Limited are, as you know, looking to use the SABRE engine for space launches and hypersonic commercial air travel. The big advantages for space use, especially initially, is that it will be so much cheaper then conventional rockets so getting payloads will prove it is commercially viable. It will also be able to use them much more often, possibly on a daily basis, as with a conventional aircraft. I think the other thing to remember is that it will probably be better in the early stages to let the technology prove itself before taking on air travel. One thing I do wonder is whether they will have aircrew when it take on air travel as I understand the space flights will be unmanned. REL is more interested in building the engines while others, Boeing possibly, build Skylon. Rolls Royce will be looking to build the engine commercially. Is the airospike engine going to be one of those what ifs. Will someone, in say twenty or thirty years time, be producing a video about how they could have built the aerospike but the built the Skylon instead. You will, of course, get someone saying that aerospike was great granddads favourite band, only for someone pointing out they probably mean Aerosmith. :)
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  13. That would definatelly be worth a look. After all it went through to then have the plug pulled on it. Interestingly I have seen some video footage of a new reconnaissance helicopter and it does have definite overtones of the Comanche.
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  14. Only the best pilots flew the Mosquito which meant that every squadron was an elite squadron.
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  15. It will be interesting to see what happens with the aerospike. If ARCA Space Corporation can start using it commercially then as a proven concept others could possibly look to adding it to the SABRE engine. Alternatively one or more of the rocket manufacturers may get involved with aerospike engines, so as not to be left behind.
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  16. The US Army ordered uniforms which were designed to reduce the heat signature of the soldier wearing it. The one problem was that the US Army had ordered the wrong sizes and they would not fit.
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  17. To be fair the previous government had overcooked the economy in a desperate attempt to win the election. The railways were run into the ground is WW2 and in dire need for money which was not there. The government used Dr Robert Beeching's report as the excuse they needed to make close many lines in a desperate attempt to sort out the mess the economy was in.
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  18. I always felt sorry for the astronaut who was left in the command module in space. All that way and did not get to the moon. And worst still if anything had happened and the other two astronauts had died on the moon he would have had to make the return journey alone.
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  19. I had come across bits and piece with regards to the AH-56 so it is good to get a fuller picture. I got the feeling that no matter what the AH-56 was not going into production. Too many vested interests to overcome.
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  20. Testing so much in one project was dooming it to failure. Testing one new concept at a time gives you a chance to concentrate on that problem and make sure it works properly. Then you move on to the next one. Interesting that Dick Chaney would not let the project move over to the air force because it was Al Gores. in the UK they would they would take credit for what the other person had started.
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  21. Interesting that it was planned that the US Space Shuttle would have had 60 flights a year. I seem to remember that it was later revelled that the odds of a Shuttle failure would have meant one of those would have been a disaster. It is a pity we did not see more of the Buran. It would have made a big impact on space flight, as would the Energia rocket. In many was the old Soviet Union was behind the West. But in others they could do some quite brilliant things. I write this and just to my right is a video of the Ekranoplan aircraft. An aircraft designed to take advantage of ground-effect. Makes you wonder what we could have achieved as partners rather then rivals if the same effort had been applied.
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  22.  @PHeMoX  Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I had forgotten that the seismic equipment did not turn up until later. Makes me think that the idea had reemerged after Apollo 12. I seem to remember it was someone, or some group, in the USAF who wanted to do it. Which makes me think it was someone who was from the 1969 project, or possibly from the earlier one. Remembering the precautions taken for the Apollo 11 on their return you can imagine what would happen if they had used a nuclear weapon on the moon. I feel that no astronaut would want to go up there knowing that all that nuclear contamination was there.
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  23. calvingreens I did think the same but I got the impression from the video that shortening the spike had resolved that issue. But having said that who knows, it could still be used for that. Having seen the linear version I do think that would be a better way to go, especially as it is just a case of adding combustion chambers to increase the power. It can also be used to vector the thrust.
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  24. Okay, thanks calvingreene90 This may be why I never got that job as a rocket scientist. :)
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  25. Hi bob dash. The aerospike engine is a rocket engine whereas the SABRE engine works as a hybrid jet/rocket engine. SABRE burns its fuel inside the engine, whereas the aerospike burns its fuel externally. So as far as I can see they are not compatible. As for the cooling system used by REL the question here is is it a system that can be used with the aerospike or is there better options. It would also depend on any patents held by REL and whether they were interested in a licence agreement with whoever is working on the aerospike. If you were running a company wanting to build the aerospike I think you would think long and hard about wanting to pay for a licence to use the cooling system, especially as it could be years before you got any return on your investment but you would still be paying for the licence. And there is no incentive for REL to help a rival engine. It would be like Google agreeing to help Apple with its iOS which would then allow Apple to get a bigger share of the market. Unless there was something in it for Google what is their incentive.
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  26. Hi bob dash. Yep, your right. I should have checked first. I think the big thing is not to over complicate things. They are trying to prove the technology of the SABRE engine without then trying to add on other, as yet, partially unproven technology. Not to mention the added expense. Looking at the Wikipedia page it does mention about the bell nozzles and how inefficient they are but I feel I have missed something here, and there is a method of using the air coming into the engine to regulate the air pressure outside the nozzles, thus improving there efficiency. From what is said in this video and from what I have read about Skylon, Skylon would already be more cost effective. The narrator mentions getting the cost of launching a satellite at $1000 per pound. REL has stated in 2011 that Skylon would cost £650 per Kg. If we say $900 per Kg then aerospike would be $2200 per Kg. I think if aerospike becomes viable then who knows. But as things stand who is going to pay for it.
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  27. calvingreene90 In my position as a none rocket scientist I assume from what you wrote that already having SABRE engine on the Skylon then having the aerospike as well would be pointless.
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  28. Sorry, so you did. Been a long day.
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  29. I have been looking at Flight of the Aerospike by ARCA Space Corporation and wondered about your thought on what they are doing.
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  30. bob dash I think the Skylon defeats the need for VTOL as it flies like a conventional aircraft. One of the problems with rockets is that it needs to lift its entire weight off the ground from a standing start, which amongst other things, means you need extra fuel. This is why the VTOL version of the F35 has a much shorter range then the none VTOL version. Looking at the animation of the NASA spacecraft with the aerospike engines on this video my first thought was if you are building a flying wing why not just fly it like an aircraft. It would be a lot more efficient as the wing would give it lift and therefore use less fuel.
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  31. I seem to remember that the biggest problem with Scramjets is the very poor thrust to weight ratio, which would suggest that the so called SR 72 will not be using it. If it actually ever existed. And this may explain DARPA's interest int the SABRE engine.
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  32. I must admit I have wondered why there are not more flying wing types out there. There has been talk for some time about flying wing passenger planes which would mean they could carry many more passengers then conventional aircraft. This would mean either more people could fly or the number of aircraft could be reduced. But as yet we seem nowhere near getting them.
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  33. If we are talking about dogfighting then it leaves much to be desired. Up against the Typhoon in close combat it lost.
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  34. I remember that at the time there was a lot in the news about why the Lockheed aircraft was chosen rather then the Boeing aircraft. Especially when the costs skyrocketed. There was also a lot of talk about problems with the aircraft, something which was not helped when, during it being shown the the press, part of its main undercarriage fell off. And there was talk back then about the wings. Further speculation about its choice was fueled when the airforce general in charge of the project retired to a job with Lockheed.
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  35. I like the story about the British test pilot Eric Brown. One day, I forget where he was, but this American started talking to him about test flying aircraft. Brown was somewhat irritated by this but as the American seemed quite knowledgeable he carried on the conversation. Brown had not recognised the American but they became very good friends. Yes it was Neil Armstrong. As for ancestors. The ancestors of Neil Armstrong, Billy Graham, Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson would have all known each other.
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  36. I was just thinking about the poor old B-2 crew sat it their aircraft all that time. You would have to get your legs into gear before you could walk anywhere.
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  37. Including trains. Now that would have been fun. Imagine one of them having an accident in the middle of a city.
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  38. So they planned to have these things flying around in the event of a crisis. So what happens if the crisis is everted? Are they left flying around or is there someway to bring them back? Or are they just going to crash somewhere. And what happened if one of these things went rogue and headed towards the USA? Why do I get the feeling that the people in charge should have had adult supervision.
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  39.  @laa0fa502  So that's why my application was turned down
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  40. I remember seeing the British Royal Air Force Phantoms and thinking I would not want to be on the business end of that.
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  41. The Falcon proves you should always remember Sod Law. If it can go wrong it will go wrong. Especially if there is more that can go wrong.
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  42. I have heard people say that the only aircraft to replace an existing one is the same one. Well this is one of those occasions where it's true. The only thing to replace a U-2 is another U-2.
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  43.  @tz8785  great to know there are some still flying
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