Bolus

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Like all males in my age cohort, every day is a struggle to deal with the same angry, burning question: where are those jet packs we were promised in the 60's? Because let's face it: without them, the rest of our so-called modern technological "marvels" -- like nanobots, iPhones, and Roombas -- are merely the bitter fruit of Science's shameful legacy of failure.

But now, just in time for Cinco de Mayo, and on the heels of Earth Week, reader Brian Knotts forwards the latest in South-of-the-Border transportation technology: personal strap on Mexican rocket helicopters!

That's right -- honest to goodness personal flight technology from our science amigos to the south. Brian writes:

Technologia Aeroespacial Mexicana (TAM) has designed a strap-on  helicopter. Tiny rockets on the tips of the propellers eliminate the need for a tail rotor, making it possible for the device to be worn on a human body.

More about this marvelous apparatus here.

Longtime readers know that I'm an enthusiast of rocket-powered personal transportation, so you can imagine how happy I was to learn of this breakthrough. I suppose I was a tad disappointed the design utilizes a whirring, 2000 rpm rotor blade rather than pure rocket thrust, but science often involves compromise. As long as it cuts down my travel time to the liquor store, who am I to quibble?

So here's a big thank you to Brian and a grande gracias to Technologia Aerospacial Mexicana for restoring this hardbitten cynic's faith in the future. Andele! Arriba!

Ball of the Day

Submitted by Greg McCoy: micro spark plug for Jim Walker Fireball (see yesterday's B.o.t.D. for explanation)

Ball of the Day

Submitted by Greg McCoy: All-American U-Control Fireball.

No, the PLANE, stupid.

The need for speed

So yesterday, I posted a link to this at my own den of online iniquity:

We had crossed into Libya and were approaching our final turn over the bleak desert landscape when Walter informed me that he was receiving missile launch signals. I quickly increased our speed, calculating the time it would take for the weapons-most likely SA-2 and SA-4 surface-to-air missiles capable of Mach 5 - to reach our altitude. I estimated that we could beat the rocket-powered missiles to the turn and stayed our course, betting our lives on the plane’s performance.

After several agonizingly long seconds, we made the turn and blasted toward the Mediterranean. ‘You might want to pull it back,’ Walter suggested. It was then that I noticed I still had the throttles full forward. The plane was flying a mile every 1.6 seconds, well above our Mach 3.2 limit. It was the fastest we would ever fly. I pulled the throttles to idle just south of Sicily, but we still overran the refueling tanker awaiting us over Gibraltar.

That's the venerated SR71 Blackbird he's talking about, of course, and it ought to send a thrill up the spine of any dedicated go-fast gearhead who still registers a pulse in this age of underpowered eco-friendly eggmobiles. But just like Ron Popeil used to say: wait, there's more!

More reports suggest that the FY2009 budget will indeed include money for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) hypersonic demonstrator, named Blackswift. Ares and our colleagues over at Danger Room have been covering this since mid-2007 and the outlines have now emerged clearly.

It's a $750 million program to produce a small unmanned demonstrator - F-16-size or smaller - that will be able to fly off a runway, get to Mach 6 or higher, decelerate and land under power, using relatively conventional fuel.

Uhhh...Mach 6? On conventional fuel?

Yes, he has pictures. And there's video of a sort, and more info, here.

I'll be in my bunk.

Bombs Away

Last summer I met up with some friends for a hot rod cruise out to Marengo, Illinois to check out an amazing project underway at Marengo Metal Works -- the restoration of B-17E 41-2595, a/k/a "The Desert Rat."

This warbird has quite a history. There are only 43 B-17 "Flying Fortresses" left in the world and the Desert Rat is believed to be one of only 3 remaining B-17E's (the other two are reportedly buried in Canadian ice).  The rarity of the E is due to the fact it was a mostly pre-WWII model, and was largely supplanted by the more common B-17F and B-17G as the war dragged on.

The Desert Rat was converted to a cargo carrier and spent much of its wartime service in India.  Here it is in its salad days...

In October 1944 it was shipped by ferry back to Dow Field in Maine, and after the war was sold to a local salvage yard for scrap. The salvage yard owner cut it into 8 big chunks but for reasons unknown never got around to crushing it. It languished in a Maine grove for more than 35 years. In the mid-80s, Chicagolander Mike Kellner discovered it and brought it back to the midwest. Here's a picture of what was left of the Desert Rat at that point:

Around 15 years ago Kellner began restoring the Desert Rat,  a "hobby" project that necessitated a complete lifestyle change. It's now in a large building specially constructed for the restoration, flanked by a few other warbirds awaiting their own restos.  It's an arduous, long-term effort, assisted by volunteer team of warbird fanatics who meet every week at Kellner's "garage" to chip in.  Kind makes a hot rod project seem like a Lego kit.

Here's a Flickr slideshow of the afternoon. You can read more about the Desert Rat here.