Malaysia and Indonesia.

Three Airliner Losses.

Is there something going on here that we do not fully know about yet? Three commercial aircraft from two countries in  the region have lost their aircraft, one disappeared from radar on a flight to China, a second was shot down in the Ukraine by unknown hostiles while on a flight from the Netherlands to Australia. Now we have a possible thunder and lightening strike on this Indonesian aircraft flying to Singapore.

The first loss is an enigma? Australian security specialist suggested it was Cyber Hijacked and this type of crime has recently been seen emanating from North-Korea in relation to a Sony film. 

Second we have the conflicting reports of who and how the aircraft over the Ukraine was destroyed, was it shot down by a Russian missile or by a Ukrainian fighter jet mistaking it for a Russian commercial overflight?

This last one would seem it was struck by lightening, while trying to divert from developing storms. But as yet these are all ideas. The one thing which does not seem to be urgently addressed, is the essential need to secure the transponder and black boxes, so that they continue to ping long after an aicraft disappears or crashes?

It's Christmas. Part-Two.

Ice Vehicles.

There is a whole plethora of tracked, sled and four plus wheeled drive vehicles across snowy world to come with both permanent snow and winter conditions. But it amazes me that still the U.K. is not able or wants to be able to operate normally in snow.

Back in the 1970's British Rail always excused its stock problem delays with its the leaves on the line or I once hear on a train 'its the BR pork pies.'

It is claimed by many experts that snow varies from country to country and that is why it's not worth investing here in the complex machinery needed. Airlines and rail enjoy making money out of the traveller and it would seem sensible to not cause them delays.

Anyway Happy Christmas to you all.

It's Christmas. Part-One.

Sleds.

Father Christmas is on his way to bring good kids their presents this season. There are many countries still using animal powered sleds for the Christmas novelty. 

But it is he motorised sled business, which is continuing to boom in Alaska, Canada, Finland, Greenland and Russia. This is were they are really the only viable way to get from A-Z.

The sled is one of the most interesting means of movement, apart from the wheel and track. Many machines, including aircraft and helicopters are fitted with sleds to cope with icy conditions.

Model World.

Modelling.

The hobby of modelling those machines that we like to look at, film and photograph can be some times the closest we will ever get to seeing how they are designed and made. From Space to trains and automobiles to ships, there is nearly a model for every machine that has ever been created.

Owning a model layout or a racing track to a model diorama is knowing that you have put it together and can adapt and change it at any time.

Wither these models are glued or remote control, racing cars, boats or a model railway they will bring us hours of pleasure.

The model world is not for everyone, but for many it is a great joy and past time. I wonder what Father Christmas will be bringing us this year in our over sized stocking?

Clutha.

One Year On.

After the sad crash of a Eurocopter, now Aerospastial EC-135 in Glasgow last year, there is still no report published on what was the cause of this crash. Eurocopter has meanwhile changed hands, is this a clue to an ongoing problem with the type or just business.

The EC-135 was the development of the Kawasaki-117, which was a great step foward in helicopter design. 

Meanwhile the helicopter is and will remain an essential kit for the emergency service, search and rescue and the military until the Boeing V-22 Osprey and its succesive types become more popular.

Space Tourism.

With the recent Crash.

Money making ventures are never held up by set backs as we have recently seen in the United States. Millionaires will some times finance dead ducks, like Howard Hughes and His ill fated Spruce Goose.

But as we have seen many new nations around the world are joining in to capitalise on space. In fifty years from now, perhaps the theme parks will be for the few who fear to leave the ground and many more inter-Earth ships will be about all competing as the airlines do today for cheaper fares?

Invisible Bombers. Part-Two.

Unseen flying Technologies.

With the advent now of micro computers and new material developed in the vacum of space these combined have lead to the design and development of invisible objects to be deployed on the modern battlefield.

Co-alition forces are now employed in fighting the first mass mobile army in modern history, they may have 14th Century beliefs but they certainly know how to use 21st Century technology.

Many new types of drones and UAV, UCAV are being deployed and the air war at one level will be a success, but alas America has had to return to boots on the ground. Perhaps this is the death knell of the Democrats politically in the United States.

Battling with Tecnology.

New things to Learn.

They say that it is 'hard to teach an old dog new tricks? I would have to agree with that claim. Tecnology will always move on, but people will always be slow to catch up with it. In the United Kingdom the governemt wants people to be digitaly minded and yet many regions have declined to teach children basic computer programming. Old folk remain very limited to understanding anyway.

These past weeks the tourist space plane crashed in the States, but no one is giving up. NASA lost their rocket and we are promised that within the next five to ten years most cars in Europe will be electric.

Politics has forced changes in space and in relation to fuel at the moment, but I expect that in ten years we will see many changes while the machines of today will remain. The esential systems in place to supply ISS (International Space Station) will continue, the Electric car may not be a success as hoped for since power cuts could be a serious disadvantage. Sir Richard Branson will be nearer to his vision of space tourism.

China, India, Iran and Nigeria will be the new kids on the block in relation to space exploration, bases on the Moon and stations in space!

Rail Engineering Trains. Part-One.

Railways and Metros.

Railways world-wide need to be maintained, because of weather and vandelism but also daily wear and tear. To do this type of work some very high tech machines have been developed over the years to make life more easier for the railway engineers and work men to get on with the job.

Railway engineering has made leaps and bounds since the days of wagons full of gravel and navies doing all the hard labour.Navies were once the but of humour. The Irish and Scots in Britain, have now been replaced by the host of Eastern-Europeans. 

Take some consideration when you see those familiar yellow machines trying their best to get off the system in the early mornings and wonder how many men over the years were killed trying to get your train journey safe, fast for you to work and school.

Vehicles and Bodies.

Using variety.

It never fails to amaze me how many different types of bodies can be fitted to certain vans such as the Ford Transit and to various, if not all truck models. The plethora and ideas of the human mind to conceive almost every practical use of a vehicle has now been achieved.

When the mass production of the Thorny Croft truck for World-War I (1914-18) was demanded, it only came to fruition in the surplus of the after war years. 

The 1920's saw these trucks appearing as buses, charrabangs, coaches, recovery vehicles and many other weird and wonderful concepts.

Today the pick-up has deliberately been designed to be adapted and is another platform added to what is already established.

 I hope to get up a few more little films of various types of vehicles and their uses of the next few months.

Many Thanks  for watching.

New Nations in Space.

China, India and Japan.

Japan landed a probe on a meteor, China has sent a man into space and a rover to the Moon, while on a first attempt India has reached Mars. These are some of the achievements of the new space ager's, there are many other nations such as Brazil, Iran, Israel, North-Korea and Pakistan who have regular military satellite launches and test their inter-continental ballistic missile programmes.

America, Russia and Europe are now being side-lined in space exploration, but there will always be a demand for many nations to visit the International space station. As technology progresses and the possibility of commercial flights come nearer, there will be more people wanting to achieve firsts.

Nigeria wants to be the first African country to joint the space race this century and by the end of it many more achievements such as bases on the Moon and Mars, if not further afield will have been made.

Design that changed Aviation. Part-Two.

DH.91 Albatross.

This greatly designed aircraft only saw a short time of service with British Imperial Airways from 1937  to 1943 and no body shells survived. The aircraft helped the British wartime leader PM Winston Churchill to get about the world trying to find allies, supplies and reports to Generals in North-Africa.

On the other hand aircraft design proceeded in the United States with the DC-3/47 and onwards and the Albatross eighteen years later was the blueprint for the Comet Jet airliner. Even Nazi-Germany was influenced by seeing this aircraft and their Condor followed suit to the sleek lines.

Electric Trains. Part-One.

Europe First.

With the advent of electricity it was Europe that first cottoned on to developing electric trains. Many experiments were carried out from Trams to Monorails and then both France and Germany pioneered the field. 

The Paris Metro railway was well ahead of the London Underground by 1900, but England was to commit with Southern third rail and London-Eastern with the Electrical Multiple overhead units

Basically the U.K. was the first to develop overground electric suburban rail networks, Europe advanced with the electric locomotives and have maintained that lead ever since. TVG, Ice and many other high-speed trains are the fruits of electrification.

Pleasure Boats.

From the Sea to Rivers.

No matter where you go around the world, you will see pleasure craft they are usually small and can navigate between rivers and the sea, lakes and some large canals.

People like to be their own Captains of the water world, but they are a relaxing form of transport. The pleasure boat industry is big business, after Yachting and Speed boats. 

These boats still can be turned into profitable money making ventures, such as line fishing at sea.

Invisible Bombers. Part-One.

From the B1 to the F35.

Being invisible is a fantastic advantage over enemy radar and it would seem that the U.S has lead the way in the development of black ops and ghost radar or dark aircraft. Despite having sinister names for the types and the projects, many by know may be out of date.

The B1 strategic long-range supersonic bomber is the first line defence for the U.S, backed up by the B2. The F117 was a state of the art fighter up to the Yugoslavian war of collapse, but this has now been replaced by advanced fighters such as the F35.

Perhaps in the forthcoming war with Russia we will see how these types really operate against the TU-160 Blackjack and Sukhoi Su-50, Mikoyan-Gurevich Mig-35.

The Motorbike. Part-One.

The engined Bicycle.

With the advent of the petrol engine, some bright spark was able to combine the two. It is kind of ironic when you think it was two bicycle makers, the Wright brothers who flew the first aeroplane in 1908.

Gottlieb Daimler was the first to try in 1880 and by 1895 he was in production with the Einspur 265cc. Prior to the petrol engine were steam powered bikes by a Frenchman Michaux-Perreaux Velocipede from 1869, but by now this concept was abandoned.

The powered cycle format that we toady know for both the bicycle and motorbike was adopted in 1869, but the bicycle funny enough continues to change shapes, until the 20th century.

Design that changed Aviation. Part-One.

The forerunner to the De'Havilland Comet.

The design of anything is very important, that is how a classic is created. Aviation has made bounds and leaps in the last one-hundred and six years, from a bicycle powered glider to the Space Shuttle, from the World War-one bi- and tri-planes to the Lockheed SR-71 and the MIG-25.

Most early aircraft relied on two wings, one located above the other and they all nearly appeared box or cylinder shaped. But in 1934-36 big changes were to occur in the design of civil aviation with the MacRobertson trophy. it asked for a compatible aircraft to the DC-2, which could carry 1000ib of mail,  2500 miles  at high speed. A.E Hagg and Major Frank Halford rose to the occasion and developed the De'Havilland DH 91 Albatross.

This designed body was a pre-World War-II body shell that would be used on the first commercial jet liner some eighteen years later.

Tractors. Part-One.

From farm work to mowing the grass.

The Tractor has made great strides and progress over the lat 120 years, from a farming machine to replace the horse to moving your garden lawn. The first machines were heavy and clumsy, but they were able to draw ploughs and were easier to be put to work than animals.

The tractor came into its fore in the great plains of North-America and the Soviet Russia in the production of cereal crops such as wheat, barley and maize. Later around the 1920's they were reduced in size for general farming duties and as engine technology improved became more versatile and easier to drive.

We associate Massey-Ferguson and Henry Ford with machines in the British isles, while Case, Caterpillar and John Deere with Europe and North-America.

British Diesel Class 08.

'A Survivor.'

No matter where you travel across the United Kingdom mainland, Scotland, England, Wales and Kernow/Cornwall you will find this little locomotive in some corner of a yard on the mainline or in industrial use.

The BR/English Electric 0-6-0/Class 08 was built between 1955-62 by BR at Crewe, Darlington, Derby locomotive, Doncaster and Horwich works. 

She was fitted with an English Electric 6KT of 289 KW giving 400hp at 680 rpm. Continues traction was at 8.8 mph, weight between 49.6 to 50.4 tonnes. Her design speed was 20 mph, but she was restricted to 15 mph. Originally numbered D3000 to D 4192, now 080___

Initially three engines were given a reduced cab height at their conversion in Landore 1985-87, 08993, 08994, 08995.

Later on we will look at the Class 09 which was an off shoot version.

Construction Vehicles. Part-Two.

Specialised Machinery.

Millions is spent daily in the construction industry to improve the types of machines needed to do various jobs. Cranes and heavy earth movers are essential to get a building or bridge underway and up, but there are also underground drilling machines with equal power and inventiveness.

In between work people will a selection of conventional and fairly trusted machines from diggers to dump trucks. Germany and Japan along with the U.S and U.K are some of the leading producers of these machines, while Australia, Russo, Brazil and China have their own home grown equivalents.

The export of construction machinery is big business, because no matter where you are in the world you will need them at some point in the mining industry, recovery after natural disasters, wars and conflicts.

The RNLI. Part-Two.

'Always on Call.'

We have seen one of the worst winters across the British isles in this past year, with storms, high winds and severe flooding. Through it all and every day the men and woman of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution carry on with their daily call outs to save lives.

The R.N.L.I. founded in 1824 is unique in that it is funded by public contributions from the public and most, if not all staff are trained volunteers, The service operate a number of different type of boats from inshore to deep water. Types such as the Oakley and Waveney, various inflatables and now hovercraft to cross vast areas of sand.

There has been various improvements in relation to boat design leading to the new nearly unsinkable version, but the main stay remains the Arun, Clyde, Tyne and Mersey classes. All Life boats are fitted with powerful engines to operate at sea in severe weather and wave conditions.

Buses and Coaches. Part-Two.

100th Anniversary.

For many towns and cities across Britain and Ireland this year marks the 100th Anniversary of the introduction of the firsts bus services. One-hundred years ago they were limited to their range of operation and were in competition with the trams.

Buses had the advantage of going were the tram could not and also the ability to change routes. Today buses are designed for short stop and start between stops, where as the coach is for longer travel and less stopping and starting.

Both means of transport are used world wide today and are the back bone of many underdeveloped countries around the world. We in the western nations tend to get the latest models and various variations, but across the globe our older models soldier on doing the same job they once did on our streets and motorways.

Space..

The Final Frontier.

These are the famous words of a popular Science-Fiction series 'Star Trek. But from 1957 an onwards this is a ever expanding truth for humanity. We spend more money going up into space, than we do on feeding the millions of starving people on our planet.

All modern communications from the Internet to GPS, TV to the weather is part of gathered and transmitted information hubs located in near Earth-Space. Robotic probes have now been sent to nearly every part of our solar system, both near and far.

With these ships we have discovered our near by planets and their moons are just as active, with volcano's and other seismic activity as here on Earth. Our own Moon is made predominately of Ice, rather than cheese. Meanwhile we are learning more about Mars daily, than we have tried to map our own Oceans.

Trawlers. Part-Three.

Varied Kinds.

Every part of the globe has different types of fishing boats both new and old. It would seem that everyone has adapted their boats to deal with their local sea conditions. My book may be a bit out of date now, but it records that there are of twenty-eight different types of Trawlers, Seiner and Stern trawlers.

From inshore boats to deep water and various types of Lobster and speciality fishing.boats, these vessels use a variety of mechanics to lift a choice of five types of nets Trawling, Seining, Purse Seining, Long lining and Drifting.

Most deep water boats are designed to roll with the waves and this may help them not to capsize?

Bigger fishing vessels are known as Factory ships and Whalers, there is a huge demand in the worlds supermarkets and wholesalers for processed fish and tined varieties to.

Light Rail.

Metro to Docklands.

If you ever pop up or are on a visit to London, please make to effort to ride the DLR from Bank to Greenwich. It will be worth your while and an interesting experience.

Light rail is that sort of in between railway, it is neither a tram or a train, but it fills a needed gap in urban transportation requirements. The movement of people, especially in rush hours is a vital aset to ones transport system and is a alternative. 

The Dublin DART, Liverpool and Newcastle METRO perhaps are the best examples of this system along with the east-London DLR.

I hope to cover this subject in closer detail in the next few months.

Microlights. Part-Two.

From the Wright Brothers.

With the invention of the first air plane, which was a glider with an engine, there has since been an explosion of design and invention. But in all human achievements to fly, people have always wanted their own basic simple machine to be as near as possible to being a real bird.

So the Microlight gives the pilot this experience to be in control of their machine and to enjoy slower manoeuvrable flight. The commercial market is dominated by dozens of kit build aircraft from the simple and basic to a small single engined plane.

Meanwhile there are also various hand gliders, and other none powered machines. You will find a selection of them on my You Tube 121jaykay, which fly locally.

Buses and Coaches. Part-One.

From the Charrabang.

It all started from some rich and well too do people wanting to go out for the day. With the introduction of the Charrabang a open coach based on a lorry, so began modern coaching and that is how it stayed up to at least the 1960's.

The Bus has a different history in that it developed from the horse drawn tram and was more of a Metropolitan mass mover of people, light goods and animals. With the advent of the 1920's and a surplus fleet of vehicles, after World War-I (1914-18) the motor engine bus came to the fore. Early vehicles like their cousins the Electric trams started with open roofs on the top deck.

Trawlers. Part-Two.

Issues.

When we talk about the fishing industry today many people get upset about the lack of stocks and the problems of overfishing. Yet every nation that has a coast or large lakes will have fishing families that rely on the industry in one form or another.

People need to sit back and do some research into the history of the industry, one hundred years ago the traditional fish supper fed the masses of the working classes in Britain and Ireland and perhaps in a few other countries too.

The word sustainable is big amongst those who know very little about livelihoods and the dangers of working the seas and lakes with any kind of boats. Many fisher  people have been drowned on a lake with a line and hook, apart from severe weather at sea.

Trawlers. Part-One.

Reapers of the Seas.

Many people today are against the idea of mass fishing and the work of the Trawler men, they have accused them of 'Raping the Oceans of fish and destroying natural habitat and fish stocks. In this three part series we will look at the machine that was created to use trawler netting, the international laws being implemented on net sizes and fish quotas and then move on to look at the counter debate and their ideas.

The Trawler began life in the Bristol Channel, off the North-Coast of Devon, U.K. These wooden boats used larger nets and weights to keep them being dragged along the sea bottom. Prior to this it was a process of hit and miss. There reason for being created, was the demand in fresh fish.

Today with the invention of the engine and many new designs of hulls, these boats are able to handle most difficult conditions at sea.

Fishermen or Fisherfolk have gone to sea for generations and this applies across the globe. The knowledge of knowing where the shoals of fish are, at certain times of the year has been traditionally handed down from Father to son. Whole communities have suffered severe tragedy over the centuries with losses to the cruel sea's.

Microlights. Part-One.

From Kite to Plane.

It was the ancient Chinese who first developed flight, as far as we know? They invented Kite flying and were able to use some larger kites in battles to scare their primitive enemies. Kites in the shapes of Dragons and giant birds were used, but moving on to the south-American civilizations there is some belife that a simple microlight glider was employed to fly over giant drawings in their desert regions again its all guess work.

The ancient Greeks had legends based on a contraption of a man flying into the sun and loosing his wings, many 19th century copies of these drawings lead to fatal crashes. In the 15th century Leonardo Di-Vinci had several flying concepts and his helicopter would have worked if he had been let build it.

ARV's.

Does the ARV still have a value?

Ever army needs reconnaissance, you need to know where the other side is, how many of them and what equipment is being deployed. In the second world war (1939-45), various types from motorbike and side car to armoured cars were deployed.

But in desert conditions small light tanks, such as the Crusader, German and American half-tracks were deployed. Special forces used there own adaptions based on the Rolls-Royce car chassis and later the American Willy's Jeep.

Today some wheeled and tracked vehicle's have been designed such as the Scorpion tank and variants from it. These vehicles are limited in armour, so if they get hit they are a small price to pay for in the reality of war and conflict.

HST. 125.

Class 43 British Locomotives.

Please do not get upset, when I refer to these engines by that class. Because with the reclassification we tend to associate 43 as the old Warship engines.

The HST (High speed train) came out of the experimental class of advanced tilt technology and the 125 intercity was Britain's first high speed diesel a successful leap into the future.These were the first steps into the concept of the Channel tunnel trains or Eurostar.

These HST were built by BREL/PAXMAN at Crew works between 1975 to 1982, they are powered by MTU engine of 1565kW, 2250hp at 1500 rpm. Weight was 70.25 ton, with a top speed of 125mph. Continuous traction speed is just over 64 mph.

Since then they have been rebuilt to give them at least another forty years running life and in that process were re-numbered. Officially they are now Class 43/2.

They are much liked and remain a quality high speed train. They also carry many famous name plates and several have been fitted with cameras for work as departmental measuring train.

Embraer.

A success Story. 

Today we associate Embraer with their quality ERJ family of commercial aircraft, which are employed across the globe and many airlines. There are also various private versions of these jets, which have become a stop gap in larger fleets.

This is all down to good Brazillian business marketing sense, allowing Embraer to take away business from the big boys Airbus, Boeing and the Russians. this was first achieved with the introduction of a small business jet. Now the Brazillians could show off at Internatioal airshows in Europe.

On the other hand Embraer started with propeller driven aircraft and made a major breakthrough with its EMB series, the EBM-111 Survielance/Maritime Reconnassaince and the EMB-312 Tucano counter-insurgency/Trainer.

Israel and Britain being respective buyers of the types, probably boosted ideas, design and so it goes on. Brazil has had an aviation industry since the 1920's and was enabled to maintain various types that were purchased since, so they had gained much experience.

Telescopic Cranes.

Construction to Recovery.

The building industry and the recovery business needs these monster cranes to fit into awkward places to work. In all the big cities around the world you will find these telescopic cranes at work, from loading or unloading construction materials to lifting segments of other cranes, wall section, glass and so it goes on.

Meanwhile in recovery they can deal with de-railed trains, tankers and other stock and there are various other uses for them too. The crane is one thing and it is quite simple in its development and use, but it has to be the trucks used to carry the equipment that are an awesome sight.

It was the design of military heavy transporters that has lead to the 8X8 and even bigger vehicles being used. For now we will just touch upon an few models, but in the future i hope to have a more lengthy or detailed look.

The Czech Tatra T816-6, American HEMTT, German Faun Fs 42.75/42, Mercedes-Benz 4850A, Russian MAZ-537.

Hovercraft. Part-One.

A British Invention.

Sadly the 'Hoverspeed hovercraft Saunders-Roe SR.N4 Mk3 Mountbatten Class came to a demise with the completion of the Channel Tunnel. This vessel weighed 200 tons, travelled at 70 knots and carried 20,450 litres of fuel. She was powered by four Rolls-Royce Marine Proteus gas turbines and carried 282 passengers and 37 cars.

As a child it was always my ambition to travel on that particular craft to Calais and back, just for the experience. 

The Hovercraft began with Sir. Christopher Cockerill in the 1950's and by 1956 aircushon sea vehicles were in commercial service.  

Twenty five years ago I got the opportunity to travel to the isle of Wight and then enjoyed travelling on a much smaller  craft. It was a bumpy ride across the Solent, but nice to be flying so low to the sea.

That is what the hovercraft does and they are still popular today around the world as they ever were. The RNLI have a few employed in large sandy areas of Britain to rescue those who get stuck in quicksand.

Time Machines.

Travelling into the Future.

The Science-fiction writer H.G. Wells was the first to propose the idea of 'a time machine' and since then the idea has spread into many other sci-fi books and films. Wells machine went forward to see a bleak future for humanity, with machines taking over from man. 

Meanwhile in the Star Trek series time is played with to a point where it becomes ridiculous. Back to the Future, is more of a comedy and several other film concepts have off-shot from this one.

 In the Stargate SG-1 world we are dealing with dimensional universes and ancient technologies and again there has been various off-shoots, such as the short lived Atlantis. These are then part of the perhaps best known.

But is it possible in reality, the answer in current science is No. Time is continuous and we only can see the past events in our universe, because of the time it has taken light to travel to us.

Perhaps one day in say' 500 years from now, if we are still here and can go faster than light we might find a planet, where we could observe light coming from our own sun???

Multiple Units.

Diesel and Electric.

The multiple unit in the railway world is described as a people mover, it has been designed for that sole purpose. Initially the idea was for a clean and smooth operation into and out of suburban areas, work on rural lines with a rail/auto coach, railcar.

Some auto coaches had the facility to carry light loads, mail, small boxes, milk churns and they appeared in the steam era. But it was the electrification of east/north-east and southern lines to overhead and third rail that introduced the first trains.

Today we have a plethora of types operating in the U.K and Ireland, from single railcars to two, three and four units trains, some are made up of two four unit trains that can split up to form two trains.

The introduction of the diesel powered units allow extensive operation across any part of the country. I hope to cover individual types and their operational working in the months to follow.

The night Sky.

The Moon and the Stars.

Humanity has always been fascinated with looking up at the night sky, that is because we have had to live with seeing it. We have the Moon that dominates our sky and then it is followed by various stars, which today we know as planets in our Solar system.

The Moon is the nearest object to photograph or film with any modern digital camera. The detail obtained can be very good. But you can also do much astronomy too, filming Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and Venus.

I have made a couple of films of the Moon and plan to make a few more, when the clouds depart.

Construction Vehicles. Part-One.

Roads, Rails and Homes.

Where ever you live in the world today, you will come across some form of vehicle or machine being employed to help, support and construct. The construction machine has existed since the days of moving large stone blocks to developing cranes, these machines where not motorised as today. 

But then we had to start some were to progress forward to today. Mechanical diggers, JCB types, Tractors in all sizes, cement mixers, Tarmac rollers, Bulldozers. Before you start to lay a railway line, the area has to be cleared by these conventional machines. Track laying is now done as a one piece pre-assembled unit, but it still needs to be joined.

The good old engineering vehicles, which are bi-passed by many railway film makers are perhaps more interesting than the locomotives and worth further study.

Chemical Tankers.

Farming and Industry.

Chemicals are big business and what one nation cannot make, another can provide via tanker shipping or railroad tankers. We need chemicals for fertilisers in farming and also in industry for various processes from plastic polymas to nylon.

Many of these chemical formula's are top secret and can be used for both commercial and military use. The Tanker ships are roughly the same sizes as bulk ore/coal carriers and cruel oil super tankers.

In the United Kingdom many travel to Milford Haven and other terminal ports, such as Runcorn near to Liverpool. Unfortunately a recent visit to Tata steel in Port Talbot I missed filming a Norwegian tanker, who did not spend very long there.

Jet Trainers.

From Training to Counter-Insurgency.

We will always need aircraft of differing types to train our pilots, from simple basics to advanced flight. One of the most versatile aircraft that is available to a host of nations for both training and light attack is the Jet trainer.

The British Royal Air force and Royal Navy have the long and well tested BAE Hawk-200 Jet, this aircraft has also been adopted by the United States of America and is known as theT-45A Goshawk. France and Germany developed their own Alpha Jet, which today is newly operated by the Nigerian Air force.

Spain and Italy have also designed the Casa C-101 Avio jet and the Aermacchi MB-339. Argentina FMA IA-63 Pampa, Taiwan the AIDC AT-3, the Czech Republic Aero L-39 Albatros

Many smaller nations cannot afford the millions that a fully fledged combat jet such as the F-16 costs, so they opt for light-attack and Counter-Insurgency. What seems a mid-level machine, still has the potential to do substantial damage combined with speed. These aircraft can be fitted with a host of rockets and missiles, some can carry a 20-30mm cannon and a variety of bombs and all sorts of combinations.

Having the ability to go from a two-seat trainer to a combat role saves time and money, but of course they have their disadvantages up against the dedicated fighter combat jets.

Submarines.

Under water vessels and craft.

Before Irishman Hollande invented the Submarine with finances from the Irish Republican brotherhood, a fore runner of the IRA. The diving bell was really the only viable sub and we can only guess how long ago it was invented. Early records suggest the Greeks were the first, but we now understand that ancient Greek technology was only an advancement on existing ideas.

Today the Submarine in its many forms from warship to robotic craft has become an invaluable tool into research of the worlds seas, oceans and lakes. Man has gone to the Moon, planets, Mars and yet we still know very little of what lies at the bottom of the seas of our own planet.

Robotic technology was used first on the discovery of the wreck of the Titanic, the submarine has gone from the two barrel concept of Loch Ree in County Tipperary to the former Soviet class Typhoon the largest nuclear ICBM capable submarine in the world.

Monorails.

Still viable.

Today if you want to travel on a Monorail you only have to visit a handful of countries around the world, Germany, China, Japan, Canada, India and Dubai in the U.A.E. The concept of this form of transport was developed from two projects in 19th Century Ireland, one in Fenit, County Kerry and the other in Killiney. Co. Dublin.

There was a third project in County Donegal, some of these were not totally Monorail in their operation and function. Fenit was the first ground rail project and I believe it has been partially restored. It was to Germany that the credit for the first hanging Monorail would go.

We will not look deep into the systems at this time, but since then many nations have developed successful railways on this concept worldwide. Monorail may come into its own as are cities become more crowded this century.

Space...

The Final Frontier.

We have all grown up with the concepts of Space, wither it is with Science fiction, Star Trek, Blake 7, Atlantis, Star gate SG-1. The realities of NASA putting the first man on the Moon 40 years ago and the various missions to the planet Mars and other planets in our Solar system.

Space travel was a regular occurrence in the United States, prior to the retirement of the ageing Space shuttle programme.

Space travel plays an important role in communications, Satellite TV, the Internet and weather. It also has many military aspects, that we know very little about accept perhaps for GPS.  Currently thirteen nations are involved in the International space station (ISS). Which one can see flying over some part of the Earth each night.

 Many schools and colleges are involved in connections daily to the astro/cosmonauts, who are on board. The ISS is the largest International gathering of co-operation between nations peacefully for some time.

Sail Ships. Part-One.

Knowing the basics.

Living by the sea one see's loads of yachts and boats, including the odd sail ship. Over the years I have missed quite a few of them either in Swansea Bay, and the Bristol Channel and many other parts of the UK and Ireland.

There are a few films on classic yachts and some of them may be original trawlers, since the trawler started life in this part of the world anyway. Sail ship deign is strange enough still improving, but it was in the early 19th Century, that the Clipper came to its fore. Ships like the 'Cutty Sark, which has now been restored and is at Greenwich in London by the River Thames.

She was built in Dumbarton Scotland in 1869, weighing 921 tons and was 212 feet long. Her hey day was in carrying tea from China to the Port of London in 100 days and at a speed of about average 16 knots. 

The basic sail layout of these ships had developed from one main sail and a few smaller one to the three-four mast tall riggers. Ships like the Cutty Sark ended their days in the wool industry from Australia and the introduction of steam power and the opening of the Suez canal in Egypt.

Eurocopter EC-135/145.

Most Versatile.

The EC-135 is perhaps one of the most reliable and versatile helicopters ever built. Used by the emergency services, police, air ambulances, line inspections it is fuel officiant and has good seating options for a compact light machine. 

As far as I know military versions are in use in other countries. The helicopter has built up a reputation of being it is easy to operate for the trained pilots and push around.

This was all very true up until the Glasgow, Scotland crash on the Clutha pub. We still do not know the cause of this tragic crash, it has been suggested it ran out of fuel? Normally the most feared failure in a helicopter is the Jesus nut in the rotor area.

It's called the Jesus nut, because when it fails you will be calling on his name.

So we will have to wait and see what the enquiry into this crash finds.

Since the grounding of the EC-135, I have only seen the Wales Air Ambulance G-WASN make two dashes over Swansea City. But I have not seen the Heddlu pronounced (Hethli)/police G-WONN flying.

The EC-145 is a slightly larger version and I expect it uses similar components to the EC-135.

Tuesday 4th March 2014.

 It would seem that the EC-135's are back flying again with the Police and Air Ambulance services.

The Class 66/1-9.

General Motors Locomotive.

The Class 66 Locomotive (12N-710G3B-EC) has been perhaps the best ever to have entered service in Britain. This Canadian built engine is the backbone of most freight operations in the UK. 

(Northern-Ireland Translink jointly owns their Class 201's with the Republic of Ireland. Thirty-four were delivered to Ireland from 1994-95, but most of these are now withdrawn apart from the Dublin to Belfast Enterprise service and the Dublin to Cork service. Ireland has replaced them with state of the art South-Korean DMU's).

Over four-hundred locomotives have been purchased since they were first introduced in 1998-2008. They have proved to be an invaluable asset, working all types of freight duties from coal trains to container freight. You will see them nearly in every part of the country, working day and night.

Two versions were built for the UK, the JT42CWR and JT42CWRM low emissions engines. Some of the British loco's were sent to France to work in the Channel tunnel crossings, but I think all these have now returned. Meanwhile the first delivered have been withdrawn for servicing and assigned to other workings. 

Speed and weights vary between the Irish and British versions. IR locos worked 90-100mph and weighed 112 tonnes. British version had a top speed of 87.5 mph, but were restricted to 60-75mph. their weight was heavier at 127 tonnes.

The Automobile. Part-Three.

What is a Motor car and how will it progress?

Despite energy problems around the globe, I do not think the car/automobile has seen its day just yet. The car is basically a metal carriage with a mechanical powered engine and all that is required to maintain power and wastes, fuel and fumes.

Since the conception of the car in the 19th century, it is still built on the same mechanical engineering principles. Engines may be more powerful, new fuels developed and new deigned body shells with fancy comfortable interiors. But they are all the same in that everything is similar to what was.

The future of the car will depend on the public response to those people who drive like idiots, kill innocent people, break the speed limits and are reckless. Otherwise the car still has so much going for it, operations in remote areas. The ability to be adapted for invalid use, emergency vehicles and delivery usage.