Rocket Deign. Part-One.

Russia leads in the Field.

Getting into space is the most expensive thing that humanity has undertaken, in its known history. The rocket at the moment or since 1957 has been the only way to get outside the earths gravitational field!

America had to play catch-up to the Russians in the 1960's but made it to the Moon, which many scientists believe was the biggest waste of resources? Since then America built the Space shuttle, which did a fantastic job, apart from a few losses?

But President Barak Obama cut the programme on two accounts, one cost and two old technology. There may be many other reasons in relation to its bad fire tiles safety record? Meanwhile the U.S has to share with Russia it Kazakhstan facility, to get their crews up to the ISS (International Space Station).

Half of the ISS is made up of the latest MIR sections, while the U.S. and Japan have their various modules and ESA may have one or two attached.

Russia has lead in rocketry from 1926 and its ideas on Spaceships, it has just kept on improving what it has and despite its many other developments such as the Progress Robotic modules and Mir Components both have again improved with time and reliability.

What does the future hold?

The development of a reusable plane concept has ben on the books, since the 1960's, but only up until recently was a new type of non-rocket development in the U.S. by NASA which is the first Electro Engine?

Rockwell/North-America A-10 Bronco. Part-One.

Origins of!

The appearance of the A-10 Bronco of  the Vietnam war 1967-74 was an amazing site at this years Wales National Air show in Swansea (WNAS16), but I knew that I had seen something similar in aviation books about World-War-II (1939-45).

The A-10 Bronco is one of those types that seem to come out of the blue and the United States don't normally do that type of design idealism, but rather improve and expand on what they already have.

This aircraft was used in the role of reconnaissance during the Vietnam war, but it had several other roles in transport and light or counter insurgency (COIN). West-Germany was one of its first to receive the export versions, apart from Thailand.

But this aircraft looks very similar to Nazi-German Focke-Woulf  Fw-189 deigned in 1937 as a short range tactical reconnaissance aircraft. It entered service with the Luftwaffe in 1938 and into serious production in 1940, by the end of World War-II 864 had been built by Aero in Czechoslovakia 17 by Sud-Quest in France. Fourteen of the type was supplied to Slovakia and 30 to Hungary.

After the second world war many German aircraft and other military equipment became as always the spoils of war and were returned for storage in Britain, Russia and the United States, who got what is still not known today, but it can be easily guessed upon?

Hollande Types.

United States and Great Britain.

The age of the submarine is a long one going back to the ancient Greeks, but we will look at its early years from the late 19th Century to the early twentyeth. France, Germany and Italy developed their own versions almost totally separately from the first Holland prototypes.

But it is these eleven or so types that has gone on to influence all modern design, up until recently when the British Royal Navy is going with an advanced copy of an early French designed hull.

All submarines in some ways have their shape based on or around the Holland original, because this fish like structure works well under the water for speed and manoeuvrability. 

But the French design which was taken on by Soviet Russia and now several other navies has more to do with the ability to dive deeper, hiding being the new game in submarine warfare.

Never seeing the light of Day. ONE.

Bores.

Boring machines come in various sizes and uses, we tend to associate them with tunnel construction as in the London Tubes, Channel Tunnel and the new London Cross rail project?

But there are as many used in a variety of roles from water well sinking to the present day need of fracking. Many of the surface drillers are set up for short-term workings, where as the boring machines are constructed under ground and when the jobs are completed they are buried or encased.

Smaller boring machines where developed for the mining industry to take men off the coal face, but today many are no longer used.

Despite computer or robotic automation, humans are still required to clear obstacles and this has lead to some very serious and devastating accidents in China, Russia and South-America.

New Aircraft Types.

Over Southern-Wales, U.K.

Aviation, shipping and train spotting remain great hobbies for the choice of designs or types to be seen. Many countries have varied types of stock still in active operation for years past their date of service?

But with aircraft there are many new types coming into service or some are already in mainstream service, but are replacing some older types in this region of operations.

When I heard that Irish airlines Aer Lingus was going to purchase two Sukhoi Super Jets, I was not sure if this was a practical joke, but now that they are in service on the Dublin-Cardiff and other routes one awaits the opportunity to film the type.

Meanwhile the Embraer 170/190-5, Airbus A350 and Bombardier 6000 (being used by Swiss Air) is over flying the region. Some older types such as the McDonnel-Douglas MD-11F, Boeing 757 and 767 remain in service.

Army Transportation. Part-Two.

Modern Commercial Transportation.

Over the last twenty years or so many nations are now opting for civilian commercial transporters over that of their own military equivalents. This is because of two key factors cost and civil disguise in the upsurge of International terrorism.

Many other areas such as training demand the continuation of the usage as these dedicated vehicles, while many age quickly and are sold off from various arms dumps around the world. Some vehicles go overseas to continue in this role, while others are painted in commercial colours and schemes and continue in that disguise.

Heavy lifting of the Main Battle Tank was the initial role for the military transport, while also other vehicles have been designed for recovery or heavy vehicles themselves. The United States, Canada, Russia, China, India and Brazil, Australia still maintain a dedicated military fleets, because of the expanse of their less populated land mass.

There are many other types of Amphibious landing tracked vehicles such as the U.S. LVTP's, large Armoured Personnel  carriers and Surface to Air missile platforms that need to be moved over shorter distances that either their own power or that of the use of the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, C-130J Hercules, Airbus A400M, Russian Antonov An-22, 124 Ruslan and Ilyushin Il-76TDM. Embraer KC-90 transport aircraft.

The Typhoon Class.

Worlds largest Submarine.

Soviet Russia was one of the most ambitious nations in the history of the world, especially in the last one-hundred years of civil engineering and the invention of machines. They launched the Space race with the Sputnik and Gagarin and by their fall they had the largest aircraft ever built the Antonov An-224 Miry (Dream), the Buran Robotic Space Shuttle and the elusive Typhoon Class Submarine.

After the fall of Communism came the dismantling of the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons on both sides and there were many cutbacks of fighter bombers and submarines, and other military equipment. 

It is not known, if all as claimed how much was actually cut back, because today it is estimated by N.A.T.O. that Russia is as mighty as it ever was!

The Typhoon was designed to carry the largest number of multiple Inter-continental ballistic missiles that was possible to get on a (36) Submarine, meanwhile each missile was capable of having 12 to 16 warheads!

It was also the first of a new generation of robotic operated systems, with less crew (125) than would be required normally. 

Russia like many nations had discovered that the submarine was one of the most effective weapon systems to have, because they can go undetected for months under the sea.