Splitting my time this morning between watcing the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the landing of the Space Shuttle on NASA TV. Interesting to note that their interface for tracking the overall status of the shuttle runs on Windows. Sure, some naysayers will say it's only Windows XP, but fact is that it's Windows not some variant of ye olde UNIX. Seems that NASA understands the value statement of Windows. No point in wasting money on proprietary software for zero return.
Now I'd like to see NASA provide the video feed in HD... this is fascinating stuff and I want to see more!
This is a very interesting video of a Fredericksburg, TX high school teacher and his annual rocketry project for his students. This yeary the goal is 100,000 feet of altitude. Over the yearys they've worked their way upwards, past 10,000 feet, past the sound barrier, and more. The students are enthused, encouraged to learn science topics that they wouldn't of otherwise, and build a sense of accomplishment and confidence.
But more importantly, this and the other schools doing this have found a way to foster interest in science, math, and physics. All tough topics that have been in decline for years. Could science programs like this lead to a resurgence of interest in these topics, as similar programs in the 50s and 60s did?
Here's a side of Mitsubishi you may not be aware of!
Watching Boeing's 787 Dreamliner premier webcast from Seattle today, I found that both Subaru and Mitsubishi are building components for the new 787. Mitsubishi press release below.
Congrats to the Boeing team and it's worldwide partners for launching an incredible jetliner. I can't wait to fly on one... and I'm sure I will be within a few years.
MHI Ships First Composite-Material Wing Box for the Boeing 787
Tokyo, May 14, 2007 - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has shipped the first composite-material wing box for the next-generation super-efficient Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The shipment, completed on May 14 from the Oye Plant of MHI's Nagoya Aerospace Systems Works in Nagoya Prefecture, marks the first time composite material is being used in 30-meter- long wing boxes for jetliners. The first wing box was transported by ship from the pier adjoining the plant to Central Japan International Airport (Centrair) to fly to the Boeing Everett Plant in Washington by Dreamlifter, a special cargo airplane dedicated to transporting 787 components. At the Oye Plant, a ceremony was held on May 13 to commemorate the initial shipment.
The ceremony to commemorate the shipment of the first composite-material wing box for the Boeing 787.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a mid-size airplane approximately 57 meters long, 17 meters high and with a wingspan of 60 meters, will carry 210-250 passengers (standard specifications). In developing the 787, Boeing is setting new standards in the history of commercial aviation with the introduction of revolutionary design and manufacturing methods, the adoption of advanced materials, and the establishment of new collaborative relationships with partner companies. Japanese companies' share in airframe production under the program has now reached 35%, the highest ratio ever in commercial airplane production programs between Boeing and Japanese firms. MHI is responsible for manufacture of the composite-material wing boxes. This is the first time a major aircraft manufacturer has selected a partner to produce its wing boxes.
To produce the wing boxes for Boeing, MHI constructed two new factories at its Nagoya Aerospace Systems Works: a composite-material fabrication factory to undertake forming of composite-material parts for the wing boxes, and an assembly factory to build the wing boxes. The new facilities were launched in June and September 2006, respectively. The fabrication factory features one of the world's largest autoclaves. MHI has also completed construction, in April 2006, of a factory to manufacture composite-material skin stringers, one of the reinforcement components for the 787 wing boxes, at its Shimonoseki Shipyard and Machinery Works in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
The composite material used for the wing boxes is carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). CFRP is superior in strength, rigidity and corrosive resistance compared with conventional aluminum or titanium alloys. According to Boeing, lighter airframes enabled by the adoption of composite material, in combination with newly developing engines and an airplane design achieving minimal drag based on today's most advanced aerodynamics, will provide 20% improvement in fuel efficiency and 30% reduction in maintenance costs compared with conventional aircraft.
The 787 program is making steady progress toward its targets of a first flight in 2007 and entry into service in 2008. Buoyed by the successful shipment of the first wing box, MHI will now proceed forward with its work on the wing boxes of the 787, an aircraft that is expected to attract numerous orders over a lengthy period of time. In the process, MHI will achieve unequalled technological expertise in the design and manufacture of large-scale composite-material wings, thereby consolidating its position as a global center of aircraft wing production.
I've been reading Air & Space Smithsonian magazine for about 15 years. It's my favorite magazine of them all (yes, even over every single car magazine I subscribe to or otherwise receive). My interest in aerospace topics, particularly with a military aspect, is my top interest and the focus of most of my leasure reading.
Nearly every car enthusiast I talk to wants to move up to planes "someday" (and sadly, very few do). If I let myself go fully into airplanes, I'd be spending 20 times there compared what I spend on cars. The airplane hobby would start with getting a private pilots license. Extensive flying lessons are required, and they are expensive (about the same as a pair of professional driving schools) - but that's only where it starts. Have you looked at the price of a plane recently? Hundreds of thousands of dollars for a decent plane (we're enthusiasts, so a moderate plane won't do and even those are very very expensive), and the maintainance and insurance is literally sky-high (no pun intended). Anything smacking of performance is is orbit.
Enthusiasts want to do it right, and go all the way. After enthusiasm, the bottom line to get started is time. And I just don't have the time it would take to do it right. In fact I don't have the time to do it even half-right. So while I lust after planes, my "domestic" life will have to be reading and visits as time allows to museums.
As it is, there isn't enough time to satisfy my interest in airplane museums, and my personal goal of flying in every single remaining flying B-17 in the world isn't going to be met anytime soon (and time is running out - they can't keep flying forever). So I'll have to stick to cars for day-to-day fun for a little while longer...
Where do cars and planes converge? Not many places. There was an interesting article in the April/May 2007 issue of Air & Space covering how sports car racing events in the very early days of the 50s were often held on active-duty Air Force Strategic Air Command runways. Given the mission of the SAC, the constant vigilance, you know the base commander would have to be a car enthusiast himself to let anybody out on "his" runways for a car race. And yet, that is exactly what happened.
