US Air Force

Geregistreerd op: 09 Nov 2007 Berichten: 971 Woonplaats: Leuven

Some cool pictures!

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 still Top 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! Isn't she cute?

For the first time in over 20 years, three carrier strike groups got together in formation for a great photo operation.
From top to bottom are the aircraft carriers, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, KITTY HAWK, and RONALD REAGAN.
The only warships not seen in the photos are the 4 nuclear powered submarines st anding guard.

Now THIS is an airplane!

Look ?at this new aircraft.... ?

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 ?new 797 is in direct ?response to the Airbus A380 which has racked up 159 ?orders, but has ?not yet flown any passengers. Boeing decide to kill its 747X ?stretched ?super jumbo in 2003 after little interest was shown by airline ? companies, but has continued to develop the ultimate Airbus crusher 797 ?for ?years at its Phantom Works research facility in Long Beach, & nbsp;Calif.

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, 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.

The human flying jet machine! :D