August 1, 200917 yr German Stealth Plane Yes, fact is they were planning some nasty s---t! Far ahead of their time in many respects, yet the flow of ideas kept many valuable developers at home and away from the Eastern Front! Took real computers to make things like a flying wing really work. Unmanned aireal vehicles are quickly becoming a reality in this time, why waste a pilot. And even in the most modern jetliners, the pilot can pretty much just sit back and monitor things as even autolanding systems are becoming preferred by the "Company". And with very precise GPS and ground referance equipment at hand, along with automated systems, one can land in some really bad conditions , add very safely, and all automatic! 3D computer enhanced vision is the latest thing on the pilots screens. Seems most if not all of this technology was resisted for years by the certifying agencys like the FAA and others. Yet the dam has broken! And the good stuff is getting out there. Bottom line, I can navigate an aircraft anywhere, and very accurately, with a full color moving map GPS unit that will fit in my hand, fit on the column or panel, has all the info, including weather maps and radar if you want it! Not bad thing to have if you are on top of the clouds wondering where the ground is! Now if we only had that back when?
August 1, 200917 yr Yes, fact is they were planning some nasty s---t! Far ahead of their time in many respects, yet the flow of ideas kept many valuable developers at home and away from the Eastern Front!Took real computers to make things like a flying wing really work. Unmanned aireal vehicles are quickly becoming a reality in this time, why waste a pilot. And even in the most modern jetliners, the pilot can pretty much just sit back and monitor things as even autolanding systems are becoming preferred by the "Company". And with very precise GPS and ground referance equipment at hand, along with automated systems, one can land in some really bad conditions , add very safely, and all automatic! 3D computer enhanced vision is the latest thing on the pilots screens. Seems most if not all of this technology was resisted for years by the certifying agencys like the FAA and others. Yet the dam has broken! And the good stuff is getting out there. Bottom line, I can navigate an aircraft anywhere, and very accurately, with a full color moving map GPS unit that will fit in my hand, fit on the column or panel, has all the info, including weather maps and radar if you want it! Not bad thing to have if you are on top of the clouds wondering where the ground is! Now if we only had that back when? Yup,Copey,those Flying Wings were very unstable (dangerous even) and I doubt it could even be flown consistently in those days. The Americans canned their FW projects in the 1960's after 20 odd years of testing and development . It was only the vast improvements in computers in the late 1970's ( to aid as flight controls)that resurrected the Fw aircraft. I think National Geographic and Grumman have re-built this Gotha/Horten for a new documentary so we might get to see if it can fly (don't hold your breath though). I seem to recall there is a ruling in the U.S. that if you built it yourself then you can fly it yourself and this applies to anything from microlights.... upwards???
August 3, 200917 yr Yup,Copey,those Flying Wings were very unstable (dangerous even) and I doubt it could even be flown consistently in those days. The Americans canned their FW projects in the 1960's after 20 odd years of testing and development . It was only the vast improvements in computers in the late 1970's ( to aid as flight controls)that resurrected the Fw aircraft. I think National Geographic and Grumman have re-built this Gotha/Horten for a new documentary so we might get to see if it can fly (don't hold your breath though). I seem to recall there is a ruling in the U.S. that if you built it yourself then you can fly it yourself and this applies to anything from microlights.... upwards??? Well, there was a bit on the MSN today, stating that Northrop-Gumman(Skunkwerkz) is planning upon building a full scale replica of the(last remaining in US hands) Horten 229 to test its effectiveness against radar of the day. (add today!) Seems the thing was mostly composite structure of plywood skins, tubes, and some carbon bits! Awesome, just could not fly wot a crap! They can fix that, today! Hummmmmm? Wooden Wonders! Worth a current day buildup?
August 3, 200917 yr Hmmm,wood and canvas wings with jet engines(those early Nazi turbines detonated by themselves) built into the fuselage, sounds like an accident waiting to happen.
August 4, 200917 yr Hmmm,wood and canvas wings with jet engines(those early Nazi turbines detonated by themselves) built into the fuselage, sounds like an accident waiting to happen. Not sure if any canvas was on it, seemed mainly plywood skins from the shots taken. Really thick leading edges and such, all well formed. Supposidly much better radar absorption along with the low profile and heat signature, yielding less reflection than a metal surface. May tend to hide or disburse the underlying structure!
August 4, 200917 yr As if by magic: National Geographic channel tonight at 9 pm, Hitlers stealth bomber ...pity I don't have Sky or Cable telly
August 4, 200917 yr Yes, fact is they were planning some nasty s---t! Far ahead of their time in many respects, yet the flow of ideas kept many valuable developers at home and away from the Eastern Front!Took real computers to make things like a flying wing really work. Unmanned aireal vehicles are quickly becoming a reality in this time, why waste a pilot. And even in the most modern jetliners, the pilot can pretty much just sit back and monitor things as even autolanding systems are becoming preferred by the "Company". And with very precise GPS and ground referance equipment at hand, along with automated systems, one can land in some really bad conditions , add very safely, and all automatic! 3D computer enhanced vision is the latest thing on the pilots screens. Seems most if not all of this technology was resisted for years by the certifying agencys like the FAA and others. Yet the dam has broken! And the good stuff is getting out there. Bottom line, I can navigate an aircraft anywhere, and very accurately, with a full color moving map GPS unit that will fit in my hand, fit on the column or panel, has all the info, including weather maps and radar if you want it! Not bad thing to have if you are on top of the clouds wondering where the ground is! Now if we only had that back when? Isn't this technology why the Air france plane crashed?
August 4, 200917 yr Isn't this technology why the Air france plane crashed? Pitot (sp?) should have been changed as the one fitted was prone to icing up (known fault) This may well have contributed/caused the crash.
August 4, 200917 yr Pitot (sp?) should have been changed as the one fitted was prone to icing up (known fault)This may well have contributed/caused the crash. So the tech said go too fast or too slow with no pilot imput is that right?
August 5, 200917 yr Suffice it to say that an incorrect input(due to icing, in the clouds) to the flight control computer can put the autopilot off to an extent and the aircraft in an attitude thay may be unrecoverable. Airliners are not designed to be aerobatic, and will not withstand excesses of speed or stress. Not to mention the simple extreme stress that may be encountered in ANY thunderstorm! It is dangerous stuff! Add, limits can be risked just to stay on the company schedule!
August 5, 200917 yr So the tech said go too fast or too slow with no pilot imput is that right? I believe that is a possibility.
August 6, 200917 yr As if by magic: National Geographic channel tonight at 9 pm, Hitlers stealth bomber ...pity I don't have Sky or Cable telly I watched it. Fascinating stuff. Northrop Grumman who specialise in Stealth Aircraft Technology took the original and built a replica then stuck it 15m up a pole and blasted it from all sides with radar. The documentary was mostly about them building the replica, but the final result was 20% less radar return. That, combined with the speed it could achieve and radar technology in the 1940's put it years ahead of it's time and it would have been pretty invincible. Even the iconic Spitfire wouldn't have had a chance against something moving at 600mph+ The brothers who designed it were (fortunately) sidetracked by Hitler's determination to hit back at the US by building a long-range "stealth bomber" that could hit New York, Washington and other major US East Coast targets on the promise Nazi Germany would have an atomic bomb by 1946. Their designs for this bomber were very similar to the B2 and whilst it wasn't mentioned in the documentary, I'm not convinced they weren't whisked back to the US after WWII as part of Operation Paperclip. Fortunately the Allies finished the job before they had the chance to complete that development, but had they been faster in their development then the world today could be a very different place... It will, no doubt be repeated and it's well worth watching.
August 6, 200917 yr Cheers Andy , I'll look out for that on Youtube or the channel 5 circuit in about 2 years time !
August 8, 200917 yr Getting back to the original topic, and we all know these threads wander about, I'm trying to find a few shots of our flight on the last Lanc PA474 when we flew over the reservoirs around the back of Sheffield to honor the last few survivors of the Dams Raid by 617Squadron. I need to look back in my log book to see the exact date but in all my years on BBMF it was a truly fantastic experience to come over all 3 Dam walls at height you would not believe, and then fly on to RAF Marham where 617 was based and meet up with those heros whose exploits remain forever as part of Britain's heritage. Sqn Ldr Tony Down BBMF
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