May
12
    
Posted (Jules) in News on May-12-2008 | 9 Views

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A paint developed by a German inventor could make a vehicle invisible from radar and significantly hides it from all military relevant frequencies.  The paint is called the AR 1.  How it actually works is still unclear but a test researcher proposes it’s either by reflecting radar waves in a pattern so they cancel one another out or by utilizing microscopic magnets to absorb radar radiation.

The inventor of the paint, Werner Nickel has a fascinating story.  He said it involved thousands of hours of lab trial and error, as well as international military interest in his product.  Apparently, the most promising use for the camouflage paint could be civilian, since airport towers and buildings interfere with flight control radars.  Hence, eliminating the interference would be quite useful.  


 
May
11
    
Posted (Marianne) in Flight Stories on May-11-2008 | 69 Views

In defense to the increasing price of fuel, some American airlines are flying slowly to save on fuel.

Southwest Airlines started flying slower two months ago and prediction shows its will save $42 million in fuel this year by extending the flights to one to three minutes only. A slow flight of Northwest Airlines from Paris to Minneapolis already saved 162 gallons of fuel and saving the airline $535 which only added eight minutes to the flight making the whole flight to eight hours and 58 minutes.

And the savings add up, JetBlue adds on average of two minutes to each flight and saves about $13.6 million a year on jet fuel. Adding four minutes to its flights to and from Hawaii saves Northwest Airlines $600,000 a year on those flights alone.

Also free kyocera ringtones | free real music ringtones sprint | polyphonic ringtones for sony ericsson | sprint download ringtones | real tone ringtones | cingular wireless ringtones | c139 free motorola ringtones | cingular free real ringtones | verizon lg ringtones | listen mosquito ringtones | free ringtones maker download | cellular download free phone ringtones | 24 ringtones | get free ringtones for my cell phone | info phone remember ringtones | c139 free motorola ringtones | free jamster ringtones | 100 free ringtones | download free ringtones cell phone | cingular free go phone ringtones | United Airlines has invested in flight planning software that helps pilots choose the best routes and speeds which leads to lower speed. United estimates the software will save it $20 million a year.

The slower flights are not necessarily inconvenient to passengers, especially to the airlines, though there are still some who opposes and demands to ticket price decrease. Since they are already saving a lot on fuel, it wouldn’t hurt to cut-off few dollars to not-so fast flights.


 
May
07
    
Posted (Nina) in News on May-7-2008 | 92 Views

1 - nEUROn

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Operator: European Union
Developer: Dassault (lead), EADS, Saab
Armament: Laser-guided air-to-ground munitions
Performance: The 5.5 to 7-ton nEUROn will have a 12.5-meter wingspan, and fly at up to 0.8 Mach. Potentially, an individual operator will be able to control an entire squad of networked UCAVs at once.
Progress: Dassault plans to fly the initial tech demonstrator by 2011.

2- SGR-A1

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Operator: South Korea
Developer: Samsung Techwin
Armament: Variety of small arms, including light machine gun or launcher to dispense tear gas canisters or rubber rounds
Performance: A trio of cameras can detect targets at up to 4 km, and a laser rangefinder helps track them at up to 2 km (distances are halved at night). Its pattern recognition algorithms theoretically allow it to pick out humans, and presumably prevent it from opening fire on animals.
Progress: The developer did not respond to calls and e-mails, but the system has missed its announced deadline — it was originally slated for deployment by the end of last year.

3 - Heron TP (”Eitan”)

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Operator: Israel
Developer: Malat
Armament: None specified
Performance: With more sophisticated avionics than Israel’s previous UAVs, more endurance (up to 36 hours), and a higher altitude ceiling (at least 45,000 feet), this 1200-hp aircraft will not only fly above civilian air traffic, but it should require less operator intervention. It can also take off and land autonomously, although that has become a standard feature for many current UAV models. The real question is payload - the TP can carry at least one ton, fueling suspicions that some sort of weapon system could be installed. Israel, however, is famously tight-lipped about its UAVs, refusing to confirm that it has ever engaged targets with its existing fleet. In other words, we may never know for certain whether the Heron TP can, or will, be used offensively.
Progress: This UAV was unveiled last June; production is expected to begin early next year.

4 - Protector

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Operator: Singapore
Developer: BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, RAFAEL
Armament: 7.62mm machine gun
Performance: Capable of speeds of up to 30 knots, this 30-ft-long robot has a 10-mile range, and is equipped with microphones and speakers, for remote communication between operators and potential hostiles. Its stabilized weapon mount hasn’t been tested in combat, but since the vessel itself consists of a rigid-hulled inflatable boat, the Protector isn’t necessarily designed to survive a firefight. Once the guns or bombs go off, its job is essentially done.
Progress: Although the United States Navy and Coast Guard continue to investigate the Protector, this USV has been an active part of Singapore’s Navy since 2005.

5- BLADE (Battlefield Loitering Artillery Direct Effect)

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Operator: United Kingdom
Developer: Ultra Electronics (lead), BAE Systems, EMIT, Qinetiq, RAFAEL, Raytheon
Armament: Onboard munitions
Performance: Like the Sparrow-N it’s based on, each BLADE UAV has a maximum endurance of 6 hours. It also has the ability to navigate to a destination autonomously, and guide its own final descent toward a target. In theory, drones could perform a range of supportive roles, some searching for targets, others ramming into them, and still others assessing battle damage (to determine whether more kamikaze runs are necessary).
Progress: The BLADE team is scheduled to produce a demonstration by the end of this year.

***Reference: military.com


 
May
07
    
Posted (admin) in Promos, Historical on May-7-2008 | 29 Views

Gunther Rall, known as the third most successful fighter ace in history. His first combat was during the Battle of France and scored his first victory on May 18, 1940 with a Curtiss Hawk Fighter. From then on, numerous victories were won by this Lieutenant-General, amounting to 272 on the Eastern Front (241 of which were against Soviet Fighters)

Despite this numerous winnings, very little is known about Gunther Rall. My Log Book is his narration of the life he lived from his youth in Nazi Germany to the gory battles of air combat over France and England.

Discover the hardships and priceless experiences he had in this tale of his legendary life. The wonderful autobiography of Gunther Rall, My Log Book will not just show the reality of combats but will also bring back the memory of the history that will inspire you to the very core meaning of fighting, surviving, and dying for a cause.