Opssys
28th Aug 2009, 19:22
I was following the Flying Wing Thread with interest and then decided I better catch up on News that affects me professionally (well that was the idea), and what should appears two News Items on Aerostats:
The first being on the latest idea in AEW using a Blimp. Err. Didn't the last of those get retired in the late 1950's (Key West NAS being the last home of the breed?). Maybe so but some think they an idea whose time has come (again):
Blimp radar makes first flight (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/26/jlens_first_flight/)
Meanwhile in Germany Unmanned German sperm dirigible 'to fly within days' (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/19/sanswire_sts_111_announcement/)
This trumpets the unique features for buoyancy control and gas conservation, which were routinely used on the rigid Zeppelins in the ‘Golden Age’ of Airships.
With Waveriders and Blended Wings back in the news. I am once again coming to the view, that conceptually, at least in Aerospace there is nothing really new and providing I live long enough I will find that Wing Warping is the way forward in Aircraft Control , Undercarriages are totally passé as the Runway will provide cushioned surface, not that they will be needed as Inflatable Rotorcraft will be the new commuting vehicle.
Now where are the dried Frog Pills..
The first being on the latest idea in AEW using a Blimp. Err. Didn't the last of those get retired in the late 1950's (Key West NAS being the last home of the breed?). Maybe so but some think they an idea whose time has come (again):
Blimp radar makes first flight (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/26/jlens_first_flight/)
Meanwhile in Germany Unmanned German sperm dirigible 'to fly within days' (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/19/sanswire_sts_111_announcement/)
This trumpets the unique features for buoyancy control and gas conservation, which were routinely used on the rigid Zeppelins in the ‘Golden Age’ of Airships.
With Waveriders and Blended Wings back in the news. I am once again coming to the view, that conceptually, at least in Aerospace there is nothing really new and providing I live long enough I will find that Wing Warping is the way forward in Aircraft Control , Undercarriages are totally passé as the Runway will provide cushioned surface, not that they will be needed as Inflatable Rotorcraft will be the new commuting vehicle.
Now where are the dried Frog Pills..