Heavy Metal

[3175375]

Hey chief, betcha cup of coffee it'll happen in 25 years (i am planning to live at least that much longer I hope).

We have drones/tecnology today with "aces" at the joystick. No match for an ace in a plane .. not that Tom Cruise movie, physics defying crap, but what real pilots with real skills at the limits of what man/machine CAN DO today.

View attachment 726980

Yeah, "dogfighting" is a stretch today .. but when the pilot CAN do a 9G Immelmann, but tomorrow the "rules of engagement" as we know them with men will be obsolete I predict. Meauevering for the kill would work differently.

A machine pilot will kill a human man in seconds with a another flying machine that can move in ways that would make a man black out.

Were I king of the military-industrial complex, I wouldn't work on another manned fighter system . Gen 6 would be it. Gen Seven fighters would do 9G Immelmans other cool stuff.

You might be right. However, it’s taken 20 years of development for the F-35 and it’s still not prime time ready. Putting more software in the equipment is only going to further increase costs and delays.

 

[3175375]

The 30,000-ton Schloemann closed die press from WWII. Built during WWII by Germany, the massive Schloemann closed-die forging press was designed to shape aircraft parts for the Luftwaffe, producing strong, lightweight components for jets like the Me 262.

After the war, the Soviets seized the towering machine, dismantled it, and shipped it to the Kamensk-Uralsky Metallurgical Works in Russia, where it was rebuilt and put back into service.

Still running today, it continues to forge aerospace parts—an enduring relic of wartime engineering.

 

[amazinblue82]

The 30,000-ton Schloemann closed die press from WWII. Built during WWII by Germany, the massive Schloemann closed-die forging press was designed to shape aircraft parts for the Luftwaffe, producing strong, lightweight components for jets like the Me 262.

After the war, the Soviets seized the towering machine, dismantled it, and shipped it to the Kamensk-Uralsky Metallurgical Works in Russia, where it was rebuilt and put back into service.

Still running today, it continues to forge aerospace parts—an enduring relic of wartime engineering.

View attachment 727053

fantastic ... thats a big un.

these mammoth presses. without 'em, theres no modern military aircraft.

Post in thread 'Heavy Metal'

Heavy Metal

 

[3175375]

The end is in sight for the McDonnell Douglas (No, not Boeing - they bought the naming rights) AV-8B Harrier II. It’s planned to be retired by the Marine Corps next year.

I had thought about becoming a Harrier Pilot but decided against it due to the long time commitment that the Marine Corps required. So, I worked for almost 33 years with Hughes Aircraft Company / Raytheon.

US Marine Corps Confirms Harrier Retirement in 2026 - Overt Defense



McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II - Wikipedia

 

[amazinblue82]

heavy "mini"-metal.

---

16 mins more info below. i think its same engine, different valve covers, etc.

 

[3175375]

Last night at EAA: B-29 Doc + Commemorative Air Force B29 B24 Squadron "FIFI" = way cool!

Doc & Fifi are the only two B-29s that still fly.

I got a ride in Fifi in August 2021. 8^)

Photo courtesy : Brett Schauf

 

[3175375]

When Omaha-class light cruiser USS Milwaukee (CL-5) was returned to the U.S. Navy in 1949 after being loaned to the Soviet Union for 5 years, one official said it was the dirtiest ship he had ever seen. The rusty ship smelled of stale fish and was full of rats, lice, and empty vodka bottles.

 

[3175375]

Some neat stuff happening in Oshkosh this year.

Historic moment at EAA AirVenture 2025! Thrilled to share my photos of the Messerschmitt Me-262 reproduction’s first-ever flight at Oshkosh, brought by the Military Aviation Museum. This is the world’s first operational jet-powered fighter, a WWII-era marvel with cutting-edge design, re-imagined with modern GE CJ610 engines. Flown in 2011 by the museum, its arrival at Wittman Regional Airport marks an ‘Only at Oshkosh’ milestone, celebrating aviation’s technological leaps from WWII to the Korean War era. Honoring Hans Guido Mutke’s 1945 flight, this is a must-see for history and aviation buffs! #AirVenture2025 #me262 #OSH25 #eaa #EAAAirVenture

Mikerollingerphotography

More on the project: Military Aviation Museum | Aircraft Collections | Virginia Beach, VA — at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.

I followed the construction of 7, I believe reproduction ME-262s a few years ago that occurred in Washington State. 4 were sold to private citizens. The others to museums/foundations.

 

[3175375]

Chance Vought F6U-1 Pirate was first flown in 1946, the F6U featured a compact design with straight wings, a single Westinghouse J34 turbojet, and an air intake mounted in the nose. Its most notable innovation was the use of "Metalite", a lightweight composite material made of balsa wood sandwiched between aluminum sheets, intended to reduce weight. However, this material proved problematic in the demanding carrier environment.

Vought F6U Pirate - Wikipedia

Only one remaining.

The 1940s U.S. Navy fighters in flight (front to back): A Vought F6U Pirate, a McDonnell FH Phantom, and a McDonnell F2H Banshee.

 

[amazinblue82]

....a WWII-era marvel with cutting-edge design, re-imagined with modern GE CJ610 engines.

View attachment 728423

Wow, didnt know there were repopped/repowered Me262's, and they used the General Electric CJ610. That engine is nearly as old as I am when first applied.


The General Electric CJ610 is a non-afterburning turbojet engine derived from the military J85, and is used on a number of civilian business jets. The model has logged over 16.5 million hours of operation. Civilian versions have powered business jets such as the Learjet 23 and the Hamburger Flugzeugbau HFB 320 Hansa Jet. The engines are also used in the flyable Messerschmitt Me 262 reproductions built by the Me 262 Project in the United States.

 

[3175375]

Wow, didnt know there were repopped/repowered Me262's, and they used the General Electric CJ610. That engine is nearly as old as I am when first applied.


The General Electric CJ610 is a non-afterburning turbojet engine derived from the military J85, and is used on a number of civilian business jets. The model has logged over 16.5 million hours of operation. Civilian versions have powered business jets such as the Learjet 23 and the Hamburger Flugzeugbau HFB 320 Hansa Jet. The engines are also used in the flyable Messerschmitt Me 262 reproductions built by the Me 262 Project in the United States.


View attachment 728433
View attachment 728430

I followed the builds for a while. Here’s some reference pages:

Me 262 Project - Wikipedia


The Me 262 Project - Building New-Production Me 262s

 

[Old Mike]

Wow, didnt know there were repopped/repowered Me262's, and they used the General Electric CJ610. That engine is nearly as old as I am when first applied.


The General Electric CJ610 is a non-afterburning turbojet engine derived from the military J85, and is used on a number of civilian business jets. The model has logged over 16.5 million hours of operation. Civilian versions have powered business jets such as the Learjet 23 and the Hamburger Flugzeugbau HFB 320 Hansa Jet. The engines are also used in the flyable Messerschmitt Me 262 reproductions built by the Me 262 Project in the United States.


View attachment 728433
View attachment 728430

The Jumo 004s in the original 262s were rated at around 1900 lbs of thrust per and the plane was good for around 540 mph. The performance of the repop should be a little better.

 

[amazinblue82]

The Jumo 004s in the original 262s were rated at around 1900 lbs of thrust per and the plane was good for around 540 mph. The performance of the repop should be a little better.

source: The Me 262 Project - Building New-Production Me 262s.

CJ610 is an J85 derivative, and they innovated on the mounting in the Jumo nacelle for COG reasons (and keep the WWII silhouette too). doggone engineers come with the coolest stuff.

Also shows advancements in jet engine design in 20 years ... 610's got 2,500 lbs of thrust out of 400 lbs, vs the Jumo's getting around 2,000 lbs of thrust out of 1,500 lbs - unreliably no less.

"The Jumo 004 turbojet engine would operate around 10 hours before failure, often times less, while producing a modest 2,000 pounds of thrust. A more reliable and far easier engine to acquire and maintain is the General Electric J85. This engine has been around for many years in military aircraft and is also available as a commercial engine as the CJ610.

In its non-afterburning configuration, the J85 produces around 2,500 pounds of thrust. While the J85 sounds like a comparatively simple choice to replace the Jumo, it also posed a significant problem.

Each Jumo 004 weighs over 1,500 pounds and is mounted ahead of the airframe’s center of gravity. The J85 weighs around 400 pounds, and if it was mounted in the same position on the wing, the aircraft would be around 2,200 pounds lighter but that would shift the center of gravity too far aft (too tail heavy) for safe flight.

After some innovative engineering, the solution was brilliantly simple – use the engine casting for the Jumo 004, but alter the interior of the casting to accommodate the J85. In short, the J85 was mounted inside the shell of the Jumo engine and thus the weight and balance problems went away and the new engines would not alter the profile of the engine nacelles."

 

[3175375]

source: The Me 262 Project - Building New-Production Me 262s.

CJ610 is an F85 derivative, and they innovated on the mounting in the Jumo nacelle for COG reasons (and keep the WWII silhouette too). doggone engineers come with the coolest stuff.

Also shows advancements in jet engine design in 20 years ... 610's got 2,500 lbs of thrust out of 400 lbs, vs the Jumo's getting around 2,000 lbs of thrust out of 1,500 lbs - unreliably no less.

View attachment 728483

"The Jumo 004 turbojet engine would operate around 10 hours before failure, often times less, while producing a modest 2,000 pounds of thrust. A more reliable and far easier engine to acquire and maintain is the General Electric J85. This engine has been around for many years in military aircraft and is also available as a commercial engine as the CJ610.

In its non-afterburning configuration, the J85 produces around 2,500 pounds of thrust. While the J85 sounds like a comparatively simple choice to replace the Jumo, it also posed a significant problem.

Each Jumo 004 weighs over 1,500 pounds and is mounted ahead of the airframe’s center of gravity. The J85 weighs around 400 pounds, and if it was mounted in the same position on the wing, the aircraft would be around 2,200 pounds lighter but that would shift the center of gravity too far aft (too tail heavy) for safe flight.

After some innovative engineering, the solution was brilliantly simple – use the engine casting for the Jumo 004, but alter the interior of the casting to accommodate the J85. In short, the J85 was mounted inside the shell of the Jumo engine and thus the weight and balance problems went away and the new engines would not alter the profile of the engine nacelles."

The solution to mount the J85 inside the Juno housing is brilliantly done and simple. This is a great example of how this country has become what it is today!

 

[3175375]

F-111B (top) and a F-4J Phantom both from Naval Missile Center home based at then NAS Point Mugu, CA, as seen on March 14, 1968 over the Sea Test Range.
Note the Phoenix weapons system logo on the tail.. that system was transferred to the F-14 Tomcat.

 

[3175375]

PT-810 during trials in the Chesapeake Bay in 1951.

She was a unique vessel, built to test an 89-foot aluminum hull. Powered by four V-12 Packard engines—each producing 2,500 horsepower and driving its own shaft and screw—PT-810 could exceed speeds of 40 knots.

PTF boat - Wikipedia

 

[3175375]

This ran across my Facebook feed. I had never heard of this aircraft before.

Ground crews load .50-caliber ammunition into a Republic P-43 Lancer, prepping it for another sortie. Though overshadowed by later fighters, the P-43 was one of the first U.S. planes to feature a turbo-supercharged engine.

Republic P-43 Lancer - Wikipedia

 

[3175375]

The 22,000-ton HMS Illustrious (R05), a light aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy, sails alongside the massive USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), a 100,000-ton nuclear-powered supercarrier of the United States Navy.

The striking contrast in size between the two vessels highlights the differing naval doctrines and capabilities of the UK and US fleets during the late 20th century.

 

[amazinblue82]

learn something every day ... Galileo's Cube-Square Law. 400 years ago.

source: https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2020/september/aircraft-carriers-bigger-better

Excerpt

"A number of Proceedings articles and commentaries in the past several years have advanced the idea of saving money and fulfilling the vision of “distributed maritime operations” by building a fleet of more, smaller, lighter ships.

For aircraft carriers, that argument tends to take the shape of more “Lightning carriers”—based on the hull form of amphibious assault ships such as the USS America (LHA-6) class—and fewer nuclear-powered carriers of the Nimitz (CVN-68) and Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) classes.

While LHAs are cheaper to build than CVNs ($3 billion vs. $10 or more billion), the argument misses several key principles that allow CVNs to pack a lot more punch (orders of magnitude more, in fact) and deliver it more economically—and more combat effectively—than the smaller flattops.

In 1638 Galileo wrote his Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences, in which he wondered why smaller objects moving through a fluid experience greater resistance than larger objects:“Observe then how much greater resistance, arising from the contact of the moving body with the medium, in the case of small bodies than in the case of large.”

"In the photo above (top left to lower right), three ships, USS_San_Jacinto (564 feet) , supply ship USNS_Laramie (677 ft), and the USS_James_E._Williams (509 feet) are conducting an underway replenishment, moving at the same speed.

Notice the churn of the ships’ wakes. The whiter the wake is, the more intense the churn. The more intense the churn, the harder the ship’s propulsion system is working to overcome the resistance the ship is experiencing. The wakes of the two smaller ships have a whiter, more intense churn than the supply ship’s.

Even though those ships are more streamlined than the supply ship, the whiter wakes show they are experiencing proportionally greater resistance than the larger ship.

This resistance difference is explained by Galileo’s cube–square law plus two other factors."

 

[3175375]

This is F4EJ No. 371 of the 301st SQ, which is attached to the JASDF Nyutabaru Air Base. This aircraft participated in the JASDF combat competition in 1990. The competition was likely a gun shooting competition, as this aircraft, No. 371, was painted with an illustration of a shark's mouth holding a dart target in its mouth. On the left side of the aircraft was a shark's mouth holding a dart part with many bullet holes in it, and on the right side was a shark's mouth with the tip of a dart protruding from it. It was a very interesting illustration and became a hot topic among enthusiasts at the time.