Wednesday, September 7, 2011

F/A-37 Prototype One


The plane in these pictures is still officially the 'Air
Vehicle Number 1', a prototype, on board the USS George
Washington CVN-73 for catapult fit checks. Not exactly stillTop Secret but certainly not yet made public.

It will be known as the F/A-37. Although specs are
classified, it is believed to be Mach 3.5 (top speed in the
Mach 4 range), super-cruise stealth
fighter/ bomber/interceptor with approximately a
4,000nm range. Awesome!

Check out the Navy test pilot in the cockpit of the
F/A-37...LT Kara Wade




For the first time in over 20 some odd years, three carrier strike groups 

got together in formation for a great photo op.
 From top to bottom are the aircraft carriers, 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN, KITTY HAWK,  and RONALD REAGAN.





We  even had Air Force planes fly-over, see the B-2 Stealth Bomber in the  

fifth & seventh picture down. The only warships not seen in the  photos are 
the 4 nuclear powered submarines standing guard. WOW!!

PACIFIC OCEAN, (June 18, 2006) - USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) (foreground), 

USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) (middle), USS Abraham Lincoln &n bsp;(CVN 72) and their associated carrier strike Groups steam in formation while 17 aircraft from the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps fly over them During a joint photo exercise (PHOTOEX) while preparing for  exercise Valiant Shield 2006.  The Kitty Hawk Carrier Strike Group  is currently participating in Valiant Shield 2006, the largest joint  Exercise in recent history. Held in the Guam operating area June  19-23, the exercise includes 28 Naval vessels including three carrier strike groups.  Nearly 300 aircraft and approximately 22,000 service members from the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard are also participating in the exercise. 
OfficialU.S. Navy photo by Chief  Photographer Mate Todd P.




Boeing is preparing a 1000  passenger jet that 
could reshape the Air travel industry for the next   
100 years. The radical Blended Wing design has
been developed by Boeing in cooperation with the  
NASA Langley Research Center . The mammoth 
plane will have a wing span of 265 feet compared 
to the 747's 211 feet, and is designed to fit within
the newly created terminals used for the 555 seat  
Airbus A380, which is 262 feet wide.  



The Airbus A380 has been in the works since 1999
and has accumulated $13 billion in development costs, 
which gives Boeing a huge advantage now that Airbus 
has committed to the older style tubular aircraft for 
decades to come.  

There  are several big advantages to the blended 

wing design (Burnelli influence?), the most important being the lift to drag ratio which is expected to increase by an amazing 50%, with overall weight reduced by 25%, making it an estimated 33% more efficient than the A380, and making Airbus's $13 billion dollar investment look pretty shaky.

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