This image is from the October 1934 issue of Modern Mechanics magazine. The accompanying article contained elaborately illustrated and annotated details about how the aerial airport dirigible could work:

Sun’s Rays to Drive
Aerial Landing Field

Recent experiments in the conversion of the sun’s rays into electric power have led to an unusual idea in aerial equipment. It is a dirigible that not only would get its power from the sun but also provide space for a landing field in the air.

The ordinary cigar-shaped dirigible would in effect have a slice taken from the upper half of the gas bag. This would provide a large deck on which could be mounted solar photo cells, an airplane runway, and a hangar. Planes could land on the dirigible, floating over the sea, to refuel for trans-ocean passenger service.

Another unusual feature of this design, in addition to the landing field, is the use of sun rays to power the motors of the dirigible. Scientists estimate that the sun can develop as much as 86,300 kilowatts or 115,000 horsepower per hour in an area of a square mile. Photo cells convert the sun’s energy into electricity. When this can be done on a practical basis, the roof of an ordinary house can be used to develop electricity for the home.

Fun to think about, but as we know almost eighty years later, it is impractical. This image reminds me of a similar platform in the Art Deco fantasy, “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.”

Click on the image above to view the original Modern Mechanix article.

Image: Model of a WWII F4U Corsair

Mr. Y Park, of New Zealand, makes some of the most amazing, meticulous models I have ever seen. Just look at these beauties - the controls work - you just need a pair of TWEEZERS and you’re in business.

Image: Model of a WWII P51 Mustang

I have personally worked on both of these aircraft, flown in one (the Corsair) and am absolutely dumbfounded by the precise replication I see in the pictures at the forum where this got posted.

Please, PLEASE go see the amazing details!

Out of the Black and into the Blue

On July 17, 1989 at Edwards Air Force Base, Northrop and the United States Air Force rolled out this magnificent aircraft. I watched the closed circuit TV coverage from the media center at Northrop Electro-Mechanical Division in Anaheim, California.

Damsel and I later had the privilege to visit the B2 production facility in Palmdale for a group tour and a fly-by. It was spectacular.

Photo taken by The Flying Kiwi at the 2005 Air Show at Edwards Air Force Base. Be sure and visit the link for more photos from the air show. Click image to enlarge.

Really - and for only 3½ million bucks.

But it’s got provenance. Flown in by Raul Castro, being one of it’s notable (?) historical claims.

I believe that I know the person selling this car on eBay. Years ago, I worked in the same laboratory with Carl, whose wife, Marilyn ran a car parts business out of their garage. In connection with the garage operation, they collected a few rare and interesting vehicles, such as the Italian Isetta, among others. I lost touch with them before they acquired the Aerocar in 1981.

I taught Carl to fly in the 1970’s and used to spend a lot of time with them at that time. Maybe I’ll register and bid on the car just to open that nostalgic door.

Check out this Aerocar video.

I found a pretty good article about this on wired.com. Here’s an excerpt from the December, 2008 article:

Just six Aerocars were ever built, and they did fly when they were built. Marilyn Felling bought Aerocar No. 2 more than 25 years ago, but never restored it. She insists it has been examined by a mechanic and could be made airworthy in a few hours. Of course, N103D hasn’t flown since the Ford Administration, so that may be optimistic.

Still — how cool would it be to own a flying car that’ll do 60 mph on the highway and 110 in the air? Just think of the joy you’d feel. And if you can’t think of enough good reasons to own it, the folks at aerocarforsale.com have spelled them out for you.

You can pick one up “for inclusion in your private collection.” Or if you’re feeling philanthropic, buy one “for a donation to your favorite museum.” Maybe your kids or grandkids would appreciate it “as a legacy for the heirs of your estate. “Our favorite is the promise of “a 1031 property exchange,” though we have no idea what that means.

Despite all those perfectly rational benefits, after two years the Aerocar still hasn’t attracted a buyer and Mrs. Felling turned to eBay. We know gas is getting cheaper, but we’re not so sure about her decision to keep the “Buy it now” option at her original price of $3.5 million. There’s a “Best offer” option, but as of Monday morning, no one had made one.

A colleague sent me this email today:

As you move your cursor you can see the whole cockpit from top to bottom. You can even zoom on the dash [sic - instrument panel is the term]. Most panoramas are of landscapes. This 360-degree panorama is unlike any other - It’s a picture of an Airbus A380’s cockpit. Be sure to go to full screen.

CLICK HERE >> INSIDE THE COCKPIT OF THE AIRBUS A380

Panorama photographs are becoming increasingly popular on the Net. That’s because software is making it easier than ever to create them. The Airbus A380 is the largest passenger airliner in the world. It can seat more than 850 people. Only a couple of the
planes are in service. So, you’ll probably have to wait for your first ride. Until then, check out its state-of-the-art controls, top, bottom and all around.

After a quick look, I had to force myself to go back to work and defer the frustrated ex-pilot geekery until this evening.

Click in the link or the screenshot above to go to the website.

Our friend GlennB has an eyewitness account.

As I made my rounds through reading the blogs today, I ran across a post that made a connection to the SR-71, which got me to look for this favorite picture of that magnificent aircraft.

As for the post (hat tip to The Liberty Sphere), it was not really about the SR-71, but about a speech made by a former pilot of one of these. These patriotic words of Brian Shul are partially listed at the Bloviating Zeppelin who has a very nice article and picture of Shul: Good Morning Monday: A Speech We NEED To Remember.

If you want to see this bird full-sized, click on the image above.

This year for our trip to Catalina Island, we took a flight to the island on Island Express Helicopters, just as we did last year. I took some video of the last trip that you can see at this link. Damsel took some stills this year which I stitched together in the composite below - the helicopter arrival at the helipad - the departure over Los Angeles Harbor - Passing Avalon Bay - on the pad at Pebbly Beach.

However, we did something this year that we have never done before - we took firearms. I made a couple of calls to Island Express and Catalina Express (the boat coming back) to inquire about the policies for bringing firearms for non-CCW private citizens. (We have the Utah CCW but the idiots in the California Legislature deem that to be worthless here).

The helicopter folks told us to declare the firearms to the attendant who would ensure that they were packed in the baggage compartment. We were instructed to pack the ammo in separate luggage.

The boat people said to present the weapons to the Captain of the vessel before boarding and the same admonition for packing ammo as before.

Since we didn’t want to take the guns with us during the day while we were touring and dining, we had the hotel clerk lock them in a safe compartment for which I was presented the only key.

We packed the guns (S&W 686 and 442) in their original cases with padlocks. To avoid blatantly carrying gun cases in the terminals and around the streets of Avalon, I packed both cases in a paper supermarket shopping bag which I kept with me at all times until surrendering to the transportation agents.

Lessons learned - we can get both revolvers into a single case since the 442 is very small and the 686 has a short barrel. The safe boxes do not have any padding, so there was metal-to-metal contact during storage and handling of the box. Next time we will put the guns in a pouch or padded gun case when we put them into the safe.