TALESPINNERS - April, 2002

Hangar Flying
with Stu Faber

CRASH PROTECTION ?  Stabilized aluminum foam is a strong material that will improve the impact absorbing ability of auto parts by as much as 600 percent. Might make a good belly and front section of a plane.  It is made by a company called Cymat in Toronto by mixing ceramic particles into melted aluminum and blowing a gas into the mix for a foam like material.  Popular Science, April, 02. 

GOOD READING.  Been re-reading EARNEST K. GANN'S FLYING CIRCUS.  It is not only some very interesting aviation history highlights but it is very well written.  One chapter describes his experience landing a DC-2 (that is right 2) at Newark airport at night using A/N beam and marker beacon with a 200 ft ceiling, blowing snow, and a runway of black cinders with no edge lights.  All in the day's work for a former air mail pilot.  It is not so much about his personal experiences but covers the development of pre WW II aviation from a  number of angles with anecdotes about incidents, individuals, and how the various airlines developed.   A lot of comments about good and bad points and handling of many of the period's planes. A DC-3 with 10 berths for an over night flight coast to coast?

SOME SYSTEM.  From a random note on a piece of scratch paper.   Second ever aircraft carrier landing was on the fore deck of a cruiser which had had the forward turrets removed.  The plane came in from one side and edged sideways until over the deck at same speed as the ship.  As it hovered the deck hands grabbed hold and pulled it to the deck.  Ship speed probably less than 30 MPH.  Too much turbulence aft of the superstructure to control plane on rear deck.

OPTIMIST ?  Stewart Alsop, venture capitalist and infotech writer  for Fortune Magazine, in the April first issue writes about the proposed ECLIPSE plane. It is a 4 passenger jet which is being advertised for $835,000, which is way below other small jets.  The people behind it are Vern Raburn and Dottie Hall who have been deeply and successfully involved in some of the electronics businesses.   Vern is an aviation hobbyist.  They say they have orders for some 35 planes with down payments.  Most orders are for air taxi type operations.  Much new technology is to be used to reduce costs. One of which is "stir welding" which joins metal parts by using high friction from a spinning rod to melt the parts together.  First flight summer 2002.  Over the years how many breakthroughs have you heard about?  How many succeeded?  www.eclipseaviation.com  Interesting !

INFO AGE  MAPPING.  Using GPS the US has developed topo maps of the world with points every 30 meters apart  from 56^o North to 56^o South.  Using this data base a possible advanced landing field for transports such as C-130s can picked out, or a more permanent base can be planned well in advance.  Much used in Afghanistan.

BIG WIND. According to Engineering News Record  magazine Boeing is replacing their 1942 concrete wind tunnel in order to test their next generation supersonic transport.  The word is that the new one may be one that flys just under the speed of sound.  In order to shorten down time, while the old tunnel is removed the new one is being built off site.   The 100 ton sections, delivered by barge, are made of 3/8" steel plates and are some 60 ft long and 40 ft in diameter and fabricated to not more than .001 in. tolerance to reduce turbulence in the air stream.  The loop tunnel can generate wind speeds up to 830 MPH with a 24 ft diameter fan powered by a 55,000 HP electric motor. The pressures created raise the air temperature by about 160 degrees.

Another large wind tunnel could be run only in the dead of night as the power drain nearly shut down the community in daytime. 

PIETENPOL. The newsletter has been revived by the Brodhead Pietenpol Assn. PO box 255.  Brodhead  WI.  53520-0255

AIRCRAFT ENGINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY  www.enginehistory.org

 Copyright © 2002 by Stu Faber.  All rights reserved.