The true art . . .
. . . is in making it appear artless.
- anonymous writer of military biographies and thriller novels
Speaking of drones . . .
The Chinese are making a real splash lately with their own, though at least some of those images appear to be mockups.
Item:
While that looks more than a bit like the X-47B, the UAV the Chinese supposedly are ready to field looks a lot like a Predator B:
The Chinese are making a real splash lately with their own, though at least some of those images appear to be mockups.
Item:
Extremely blurry photos posted on Internet forums over the past few months may show a Chinese stealth UAV, supposedly called the Lijan or Sharp Sword, along the lines of the U.S. Navy’s X-47B.Story, more photos.
While that looks more than a bit like the X-47B, the UAV the Chinese supposedly are ready to field looks a lot like a Predator B:
What was the sincerest form of flattery again?
The future is here . . .
. . . and it may not need us. Much, anyway.
Item:
Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/U-S-launches-drone-from-aircraft-carrier-4515717.php#ixzz2TItjGSPi
And if some of that reminds you a little of the plot in this book:
. . . I owe you many thanks for reading my work.
. . . and it may not need us. Much, anyway.
Item:
"This is the way of the future," Winter said. "I like to say, it's one small step for man and one significant technical leap for unmanned kind."
The X-47B is far bigger than the Predator, has three times the range and can be programmed to carry out missions with no human intervention, the Navy said.
Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/U-S-launches-drone-from-aircraft-carrier-4515717.php#ixzz2TItjGSPi
And if some of that reminds you a little of the plot in this book:
. . . I owe you many thanks for reading my work.
Of Pipers, generals & readers
Speaking of World War II planes (see this post), Gus has an Aeronca Champion, a slightly later competitor of the Piper Cub around the same size. Both planes served with the military as observation aircraft and battlefield transports.
The amazing thing is how tiny these planes were; a lot of today's UAVs are larger. tiny, light and fragile - not the greatest combination if you're in a war zone. Especially if you're a general in charge of an Army corps or an entire Army group. But Omar Bradley regularly flew in them to survey the front.
And they're still flying.
Here's Gus's plane:
And Gus:
My wee Aeronca Champion is essentially the same as the Piper L-4, same engine and general design except the Champ has a normal door instead of a split door. Most laymen don't notice the difference. The only really obvious thing is that the Piper engine protrudes and the Champ's is covered. My Champ has a wood prop, no electrical system and is hand propped to start. Just about as much fun as anything I've ever flown and gently sips fuel.
And here's a Piper:
Speaking of World War II planes (see this post), Gus has an Aeronca Champion, a slightly later competitor of the Piper Cub around the same size. Both planes served with the military as observation aircraft and battlefield transports.
The amazing thing is how tiny these planes were; a lot of today's UAVs are larger. tiny, light and fragile - not the greatest combination if you're in a war zone. Especially if you're a general in charge of an Army corps or an entire Army group. But Omar Bradley regularly flew in them to survey the front.
And they're still flying.
Here's Gus's plane:
And Gus:
My wee Aeronca Champion is essentially the same as the Piper L-4, same engine and general design except the Champ has a normal door instead of a split door. Most laymen don't notice the difference. The only really obvious thing is that the Piper engine protrudes and the Champ's is covered. My Champ has a wood prop, no electrical system and is hand propped to start. Just about as much fun as anything I've ever flown and gently sips fuel.
And here's a Piper:
Omar
Since we're on the topic, the trade paperback of Omar Bradley, General at War, is now available. You can get it at your favorite bookstore, or online at Amazon here, or Barnes & Noble here. The ebook edition, which includes some small corrections to the text (thanks readers!!!), is also available on-line, both from those sites and places like Google Play.
Since we're on the topic, the trade paperback of Omar Bradley, General at War, is now available. You can get it at your favorite bookstore, or online at Amazon here, or Barnes & Noble here. The ebook edition, which includes some small corrections to the text (thanks readers!!!), is also available on-line, both from those sites and places like Google Play.
Bradley & balsa wood
I got an email a while back from a reader named Gus who'd just finished Omar Bradley: General at War. We got to talking a bit about aircraft that the general had flown in; Gus is a buff and a pilot from way back, and we've had quite a bit of fun talking about the old planes.
Most readers will probably shoot right by the section on the C-78, a plane Bradley took to cross the Channel during one of the (many) crises after D-Day. I'd noted in the book that it was a small and slow plane. Gus seconded that, and also noted that the type was re-designated as the UC-78, though as far as I can tell the two planes were essentially the same. Here's a photo; it's a later version than anything Bradley would have used or probably even seen during the war, but it'll give an idea of the aircraft's size:
What you can't get from the photo is the fact that it was made out of wood.
So to put the aircraft in perspective: The fate of the Normandy invasion and the entire European campaign rested on the pluck of spruce, a pair of Jacobs radials, and the skill of a pilot who, no matter how ballsy he was, would have been a fat target for a passing Messerschmidt.
Not that Bradley's trans-Atlantic transport would have fared much better against a flight of Me-109s or Focke-Wulfs, but at least there would have been room to grab a parachute:
I got an email a while back from a reader named Gus who'd just finished Omar Bradley: General at War. We got to talking a bit about aircraft that the general had flown in; Gus is a buff and a pilot from way back, and we've had quite a bit of fun talking about the old planes.
Most readers will probably shoot right by the section on the C-78, a plane Bradley took to cross the Channel during one of the (many) crises after D-Day. I'd noted in the book that it was a small and slow plane. Gus seconded that, and also noted that the type was re-designated as the UC-78, though as far as I can tell the two planes were essentially the same. Here's a photo; it's a later version than anything Bradley would have used or probably even seen during the war, but it'll give an idea of the aircraft's size:
What you can't get from the photo is the fact that it was made out of wood.
So to put the aircraft in perspective: The fate of the Normandy invasion and the entire European campaign rested on the pluck of spruce, a pair of Jacobs radials, and the skill of a pilot who, no matter how ballsy he was, would have been a fat target for a passing Messerschmidt.
Not that Bradley's trans-Atlantic transport would have fared much better against a flight of Me-109s or Focke-Wulfs, but at least there would have been room to grab a parachute:
The general did get balled out for flying in the slow and unescorted C-78, but as usual he shrugged it off.
Coming to an aircraft carrier near you
First "arrested" landing for the Navy's new stealth UAV. Story.
First "arrested" landing for the Navy's new stealth UAV. Story.
Yes, to the rumors - Spielberg will direct . . .
. . . American Sniper.
Item:
Story.
. . . American Sniper.
Item:
Steven Spielberg is returning to the charged terrain of real-life American events, with the “Lincoln” director announcing Thursday he'll tackle the story of U.S. sniper Chris Kyle as his next directorial project. Bradley Cooper will star as the late Navy SEAL.
Story.
Sobriety & creativity . . .
. . .not over-rated?
Item:
Story.
The unanswered question: which works DON'T you have to be sober to create?
. . .not over-rated?
Item:
I found that while many artists did drink a great deal, very few mixed alcohol with their working hours. Even the alcoholics recognized that drinking made their creative output a little too effortless and their appraisal of the results a little too charitable. Sobriety is a requirement of most artistic work.
Story.
The unanswered question: which works DON'T you have to be sober to create?
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