Venezuela!

 U.S. Invasion coming Soon?

The training videos off the Puerto-Rico look impressive, but will they be able to land without loss. one thinks that there will be casualties and loss for what, more oil and a change of government under the guise of fighting drug crime!

Meanwhile the pardoning of the Honduran president makes the whole affair hypocritical, because peace will not be achieved in any of the Presidents ventures, just the bluster of his own aged dementia, like the guy before him!

It is at this time hard to know what new tech may be deployed and how good it will work or not, the marine landings look impressive when not under fire and we cannot be sure if other nations will not step in to help or China attack Japan, Taiwan and others with N-Korea, will Iran and the Houthis attack Israel and what will Russia do, may hit the U.K. and Europe?

Trump has already told his military to prepare for the third world-war and it looks like its coming sooner than we thought!

End of the McDonnell-Douglas MD-11!

 Is this the final demise of the McDonnell-Douglas MD-11?

These aircraft operated by United Parcels Services (UPS) and FedEx have now been stood down, but is this really the end of them or will they be scrapped, after ten years of the last incident called for their retirement in the freight business for postal services or other unknown or not disclosed loads!

The history of this type has been successful, but the earlier version the DC-10-30 had a engine tail flaring problem, which lead to disaster and great loss of life?

The MD-11 was to be more, but safety concerns drove into its current role, but these aircraft are old and no match for say the Boeing 777-300/X or the earlier 747-300/400. It is not clear what other operators may do in Europe and other parts of the world!

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NATO and Europe!

 Dwindling Forces?

Without the back up of the United States, ie paying the bills of other peoples wars and the U.K. talking about supporting the Ukraine, when we and many of them have nothing to keep going for a few months? 

One finds it hard to believe that our government still has the clout to think we are a world key power, when we have been cutting back our own armed forces for the last twenty-five years!

It is easy to believe that the U.S. will back us up, but with the anti-Israel situation, we have lost curry favor already with the Donald.

Submarines and forces in Estonia may look good to the media, but when facing the Russian bear, many lives will be lost and this proud moment will lead to more memorials and duties for the British royal family to keep going???

Trump is shutting down Musk?

 Happy and a Peaceful New Year 2025!

Trump is not for Electric?

Wow it looks like all that money that Musk has invested in Trump is going nowhere and his dreams may be coming to naught with the gas guzzling new President and the automobile is to stay on for another while!

European reality is moving still for the electric future and perhaps Musk will open a European plant for his cars and trucks and take a piece of the market off the Chinese, but one has to wonder what Trump might make of that?

In recent weeks many electric powered projects have been cancelled in Europe in relation to flight and this may be in relation to U.S. sales of the types and heavy U.S. tariffs, but it might also be that conventional bio-fuels are more reliable than all electric?

Buses and Coaches!

 Disabled Access?

We tend to think and lump together the disabled to specialist vehicles, rather than the ordinary fleets that serve towns and cities across the U.K., because of lack of investment!

Most vehicles are designed for the able bodied and they are up to day with technology and comfort, but they are limited to wheelchair access and other to deal or share with those who are disabled?

We want and claim from time to time that we live in an equal society, but that is not true if you are in a wheelchair or struggle to walk or move in a able way!

The lack of investment is common in all forms of transport and yet crossing into Europe it is a different attitude, with provision being made for all on a equal basis and an ever improving set of vehicles and fleets of all type of transport!

A year on and Russia is winning!

 Ukrainian Bragging?

It is unlikely that the Ukraine will beat Russia in a war of any kind, since the deployment of the hypersonic Sukhoi SU-50 and its variant's will obliterate any western aircraft that might be deployed against it and what the west is providing Kiev in now old stock?

Russia has raced ahead in the field of hypersonic and the United States has lagged behind, due to financial crises that has plague the states since the end of the era of President George Bush.

These new types can our run and gun any other aircraft and if the U.S. and Europe were to deploy the good tech such as the F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning and the Typhoon, Swedish JA-27, they still would be no match for this unique aircraft.

Hydrogen!

 The power of the immediate Future?

Gas powered buses are popping up everywhere and London is promising a huge fleet, but down in Plymouth these vehicles continue to run with the conventional so one cannot not see if they will make much difference across England at this time?

Legislation to get the infrastructure into place for alternative energy fuels will as it does take time and one has to wonder when it does get through what new tech will be available? 

We seem to always be lagging behind here in the U.K. with transport and trying to improve or claim to be greener when in reality we are not like the rest of Europe or many other places too!

Hydrogen will be easier to manage that the rechargeable battery for now and with some automobiles having options this is the beginning of a new future? Sadly the lack of will by the producers not to cut the prices on these alternative new cars may prove in the long term that they are not as good as is being claimed?

The Ort Field.

An ice cloud that surrounds our Solar System?

The Voyager spaceships have now reached the furthest points of our Solar system to discover that we are in some ways protected by a ice shield, but as yet the depth of this Ort cloud is still not known and what is beyond it may be deep space!

It is one of may new discoveries that are being made this year about our universe, with new radio signals coming from strange new objects not seen before and several Nova's exploding where there was thought to be nothing?

In other news we will be having some close encounters this month with some very large asteroids and a warning that in years to come a potential collision!

Many probes are also on the way to Mars, the U.S., the U.A.E and Europe are all sending theirs, so something interesting must have been found that we as yet are not being told about?

Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star.

Interesting History?

This year the Wales National Air Show in Swansea Bay, S-Wales U.K. was the attraction of the Shooting Star and American Jet fighter of the 1950's era. But this aircraft was conceived long before World War-II (1939-45) as Americas first Jet fighter the T-33, work began in 1943 at Burbank as the XP-80 lead by Clarence L. Johnson based on the De Havilland H-1 turbo jet and 180 days later its first flight for the USAAF took place.

After various engine alternatives and testing 525 aircraft were delivered at the end of the war in 1945, thirteen YP-80's operated in Europe and two in Italy in October 1944 for special operations. An order of 5000 was dropped to 2000 and eventually to a lover number of about 240  were built between 1946-47.

The F-80 was a single seater and the T-33 became a two seat trainer, there were also other specialised versions and both served with the Air force and the US, Navy. Some were exported to the former Yugoslavia, Italy, Belgium, Turkey and Japan in the 1950's. 

The Royal Canadian Air Force produced a licensed version of this aircraft and it saw operational service in the war on the Korean Peninsula. Max speed 180 mph and range approx. 1345 miles for early versions and later 558 mph and a range of 540 miles. Armament six machine guns and two hard points for bombs or rockets.

Farm Machinery. Two.

Sophistication and the Robotic Age?

Most of the new machines of various type coming on to the market are now built for one role, thus the days of the common tractor may be coming to an end? Over the last one-hundred and fifty years the need for labourers has gone down from 50 to 5 on most farms.

The steam engine began the mechanised decline and this was followed by the ever increasing size of the fields in Europe. Today we are entering the driver less car and soon the farm machine will follow, with the operator working from the laptop in their home.

What started off as a game, will soon become a reality in robotic farming. What of the machines, well perhaps all will be repaired by themselves, even cutting out humans? But the updating and programming will remain a human intervention for some time yet?

Land Rover. Part-Two.

Not all a success Story.

No manufacturer can claim a perfect record and not all the products, even some present ones have been a success? The Land Rover truck for the British armed forces was one such flop, it was well meant and looked really good, but when in service it just did not perform as was expected.

In recent years some of the newer Range Rover designs sold to various Police forces have the aesthetics on the looks, but lacked on performance as was claimed. Much was spent on advertisement, which has helped sell record numbers in recent years and now again exported world wide.

But the dropping of the long established Defender has come as a disappointment to many, because the vehicle still has much civil and military potential. The history of the company from the series Mark1 to the Defender and various other adaptions has seen massive sales and promotion, with nearly every country in the world using the type.

Mercedes-Benz was the main competition in the European and Arabian market for some years, comfort, capability and performance out ranked Land Rover, but they caught themselves on and were quick to introduce more versatile designs and retake the market.

The RNLI, HM Coast Guard, Mountain Search and Rescue, Electricity Maintenance, Military Patrol vehicles, Police, other Emergency, Security, Farming.    

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.

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.

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.

Animal Power.

'Two Ways.

Just becuase we live in the age of the machine, does not mean that our animals have become redundant so soon. The majority of what is termed 'the second and third world' continue to rely on horses, donkeys and oxen to do the work of expensive machine alternatives.

Romania and Bulgaria are in the news at the moment, because Europe is worried of an immigration influx. But in these countries animals are seen pulling and hauling loads, yet every home has their own car. People want to travel far, for entertainment and travel.

The future also holds the concept of mechanical animals, which are under development for various military forces world-wide. Many people are using animal waste to power vehicles and generation, as an cheaper alternative energy source.