Heavy Metal

Can’t see the picture


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This image shows an early stage in the construction of the USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), the second Gerald R. Ford–class aircraft carrier, at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. The photo captures the massive hull sections (called “superlifts”) being assembled inside the dry dock. These enormous steel modules are welded together to form the ship’s lower hull and flight deck structure.

In the image, you can see workers and scaffolding surrounding the unfinished hull, along with heavy cranes lifting and positioning the carrier’s gigantic sections. The reddish-brown color is due to the anti-corrosion primer coating applied to the steel before the final paint layers are added.

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This image shows an early stage in the construction of the USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), the second Gerald R. Ford–class aircraft carrier, at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. The photo captures the massive hull sections (called “superlifts”) being assembled inside the dry dock. These enormous steel modules are welded together to form the ship’s lower hull and flight deck structure.

In the image, you can see workers and scaffolding surrounding the unfinished hull, along with heavy cranes lifting and positioning the carrier’s gigantic sections. The reddish-brown color is due to the anti-corrosion primer coating applied to the steel before the final paint layers are added.

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Due to the recent forum software update, pictures uploaded during that time appear to need to be reloaded.
 
Submission Sunday: The world’s only US-registered IL-78.

Here’s a writeup I found on Reddit:

Company owner Gary Fears purchased the IL-78 (N78GF) in 2006 for the purpose of being used in an outsourced US DoD aerial refueling program. The plane was never used for this purpose, and in 2009 the IL-78 took off from North Texas Regional Airport with a Ukrainian crew for Pakistan. Due to a lien against the plane for unpaid maintenance costs, it was diverted to Sawyer International Airport in Michigan and prevented from leaving US airspace. The Ukrainian crew was deported after the plane landed for visa violations. Fears company (Air Support Systems) filed for bankruptcy which revealed creditors including a mercenary group, a front company, and a gambling executive with ties to the Chicago mob. The plane is still sitting at Sawyer International Airport today.



If you’d like to submit your own photos for a future Sunday, send me a message!

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Ilyushin Il-78 - Wikipedia

The Ilyushin Il-78 (Russian: Илью́шин Ил-78; NATO reporting name Midas) is a Soviet/Russian four-engined aerial refueling tanker based on the Il-76 strategic airlifter.

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General characteristics
Crew:
6
  • Capacity: Max 100,000 kg payload (T-6 military jet fuel)
  • Length: 46.59 m (152 ft 10 in)
  • Wingspan: 50.5 m (165 ft 8 in)
  • Height: 14.76 m (48 ft 5 in)
  • Wing area: 300 m2 (3,200 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 72,000 kg (158,733 lb)
  • Max takeoff weight: 210,000 kg (462,971 lb)
  • Special equipment: 3 x UPAZ-1M 'Sakhalin', (Unifitsirovaniy Podvesnoy Agregat Zaprahvki;— standardised suspended refuelling unit), refuelling pods; Two on pylons under the outer wings, and the third on the port side of the rear fuselage.
    • Fuel transfer rate: 900 to 2,200 liters/min
    • Powerplant: 4 × Aviadvigatel D-30 KP turbofan engines, 118 kN (27,000 lbf) thrust each
  • Performance
    • Maximum speed: 850 km/h (530 mph, 460 kn)
    • Range: 7,300 km (4,500 mi, 3,900 nmi)
    • Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,000 ft)
    • Thrust/weight: 0.23
 
The Avro Arrow was cancelled in 1959. Many of the engineers and technicians were hired by NASA and were part of the Mercury and Apollo programs
Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow - Wikipedia
 
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  • The B-24 was developed from Boeing's B-17 but had a longer range, a heavier bomb load, and a higher top speed.
  • B-24 earned the nickname "Flying Coffin" due to design flaws and inferior specifications compared to B-17.
  • Despite shortcomings, the B-24 was the most-produced American wartime aircraft, with over 18,000 examples made.

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18,000 total made. alleged only 13 left and 2 that fly.
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Thi
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factory in Renton,Washinton. they built over 1,800 planes. popular plane. Boeing 727 - Wikipedia
This is one that I spent a LOT of time with from 2000 - 2017. I first crawled around the aircraft in 2000 at Mojave airport (boneyard). My manager said that they should have bought the other aircraft that was parked next to this one, as the price was less than the cost of two good engines at the time.

Voodoo 1: The Raytheon Technologies Boeing 727 With A Pointy Nose

Three exterior areas where
I left a mark…

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This one (DC-10-20) was touched in the late 90s and then again in the late 2000s 2010s.

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https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/7031958
 
don't follow you chief .... what was (is) your involvement with these planes?

aside: i sure hope we get to the bottom of what happened in Louisville?

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https://www.tmz.com/2025/11/06/new-kentucky-ups-plane left engine is clearly off the plane and that ain't supposed to be able to happen. design of the spar always bugged me, but it seemed robust/well tested.

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2025/11/06/white-paper-the-dc-10-and-md-11-engine, i'd feel better able to control for this IF this was a tragically misapplied mechanical procedure versus a bad design issue.

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The latter might cause existing planes (or ones with similar engine mounting) to never fly again -- without remediation which would be expensive.

God bless those people.
 
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don't follow you chief .... what was (is) your involvement with these planes?

aside: i sure hope we get to the bottom of what happened in Louisville?

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https://www.tmz.com/2025/11/06/new-kentucky-ups-plane left engine is clearly off the plane and that ain't supposed to be able to happen.

design of the spar always bugged me, but it seemed robust/well tested.https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2025/11/06/white-paper-the-dc-10-and-md-11-engine, i'd feel better able to control for this IF this was a tragically misapplied mechanical procedure versus a bad design issue.

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The latter might cause existing planes (or ones with similar engine mounting) to never fly again -- without remediation which would be expensive.

God bless those people.
I was part of the engineering team that modified the aircraft to provide aircraft services (electrical, forced air and liquid cooling) including instrumentation. I was also a program manager for electronics subsystems that wanted to fly on the 727. The last project that I worked on on the 727 was a bastardized lab antenna that we had to ruggedize for flight and a commercial back end that demonstrated the capability that became the ALQ-249 Next Generation Jammer (mid band). Data collected was inserted in the technical volume of the winner take all proposal.

Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band Achieves Initial Operational Capability

This vvv
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Myasishchev M-50, a Soviet prototype for a supersonic strategic bomber.

The M-50, which was given the NATO reporting name "Bounder," was a four-jet engine bomber developed by the Myasishchev design bureau.

It was designed to be a strategic bomber for the Soviet Air Force during the Cold War.

The aircraft's unique engine placement featured two engines under the wing and two on the wingtips.

The M-50 never entered service, with only one flightworthy prototype being built. It first flew in October 1959 and was displayed at a Soviet Aviation Day flyby in 1961.

Myasishchev M-50 - Wikipedia

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