Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a 'hover wing'

For travellers who can't decide whether to sail or fly, it is the perfect compromise.

Rudy Heeman has developed a hovercraft with the ability to lift- off, leaving other waterbased craft in its wake.

By James Bond standards it may seem a little dated, but the inventor is hoping there may be a commercial market for his creation, the hoverwing.

New Zealand mechanic Rudy Heeman has spent the last eleven years building a hovercraft. Its' optimum height is about 4ft 6in above the water

Some people think of doing that others haven’t thought of and some achieve it in meanwhile. This suits no batter than a New Zealand man, Rudy Heeman of Nelson, who has designed and built a machine that can fly and could be used as boat or land vehicle.

This hovercraft took almost a decade of Rudy’s stern efforts to bring it to the present form. Made in the inventor’s garage, this hovercraft is crafted while using various parts from other vehicles like scooters, BBQs, and junked cars.

This machine works as a boat as long as it doesn’t hit 70km/h. Once it touches this landmark, it takes to the sky. This machine which is technically a boat doesn’t require a pilot license to fly it.

Other than having Rudy’s aerodynamic principles and acquired knowledge of fiberglass lamination, this machine has a 1.8 liter Subaru engine which allows for a maximum of 225 kilometers and its wings are removable.

When in flight, this machine can carry only two people or 160 kg, but in hovercraft mode the capacity increases to three people. The maximum altitude of this Flying Hovercraft is around 3 meters.

And surprisingly, some of the parts in this flying hovercraft are household items including an old gas bottle of a barbecue. On the other, Rudy has to make some special tools in order to form some of the more unusual components.

If you fancy having your own hovercraft, this machine is available on the New Zealand auction site Trade Me till 13th March, and the bid for the same has already gone beyond $26,000.

http://www.automotto.org/entry/rudy-heeman-s-diy-hovercraft-lands-at-trade-me-for-auction/

Amazing Video of Fighter Aircrafts

Russian Su-37 Maneuvers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWN3-s9ACpw&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgmxc-X3XZ4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWN3-s9ACpw&feature=related

Cobra Maneuver

Sukhoi PAK FA

The Sukhoi PAK FA (Perspektivny aviatsionny kompleks frontovoy aviatsii, literally "Future Frontline Aircraft System") is a fifth generation fighter aircraft being developed bySukhoi OKB for the Russian Air Force.

The current prototype is Sukhoi's T-50[11]. The PAK FA when fully developed is intended to replace the MiG-29 Fulcrum and Su-27 Flanker in the Russian inventory and serve as the basis of the Sukhoi/HAL FGFA project being developed with India. A fifth generation jet fighter, it is designed to directly compete with the American F-22 Raptor and American/British F-35 Lightning II. The T-50 performed its first flight January 29, 2010. Second flight was on February, 6. Third one on February, 12.

Although most of information about the PAK FA is classified, it is believed from interviews with people in the Russian Air Force and defense ministry that it will be stealthy, have the ability to supercruise, be outfitted with the next generation of air-to-air, air-to-surface, and air-to-ship missiles, incorporate a fix-mounted AESA radar with a 1,500-element array and have an "artificial intellect".

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 22 m (72 ft)
• Wingspan: 14.2 m (46.5 ft)
• Height: 6.05 m (19.8 ft)
• Wing area: 78.8 m² (848.1 ft)
• Empty weight: 18,500 kg (40,785 lb)
• Loaded weight: 26,000 kg (57,320 lb)
• Useful load: 7,500 kg (combat load) (16,534 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 37,000 kg (81,570 lb)
• Powerplant: 2× New unnamed engine by NPO Saturn and FNPTS MMPP Salyut of 175 kN each^[31][38]
• Maximum Fuel weight: 10,300 kg (22,711 lb) ^[36]

Performance

• Maximum speed: 2,600 km/h (Mach 2.45) (at 17,000 m altitude) (1,615 mph (at 45,000 ft altitude))
• Cruise speed: 1,300 - 1,800 km/h (808 - 1,118 mph)
• Range: 4,000-5,500 km^{[dubious – discuss]} (2,500-3,100 miles)
• Service ceiling: 20,000 m (65,616 ft)
• Rate of climb: 350 m/sec (1184 ft/sec)
• Wing loading: 330(normal) - 470(maximum) kg/m² (67(normal) - 96(maximum) lb/ft²)
• Thrust/weight: 1.4
• Maximum g-load: +10.0/+11.0 g ^[36]

Armament

• Guns: 1×30mm GSh-30-1
• Hardpoints: 10 internal, 6 external for R-74M Archer and R-77M Adder missiles

Avionics
N050(?)BRLS AFAR/AESA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22fN4fVoFdY&feature=fvw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTdiEaEJ9wI&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpQ-mToRvn8&feature=related

Some Comments

Brilliant Russians solved the wheel well and air intake trans-sonic problems by mating the spaces together. Look at the air intakes. a bump in the air intake will build a pressure wave forward diverting airflow as needed away from the intakes above Mach 1.
The wheel wells form a trans-sonic chin within the intakes. Brilliant use of space. That frees up space to reduce the stealth weapons bay belly. 1-2-3, the design issues solved.

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It has strongly S-curved intakes. There will be no turbine blade radar signatures. This thing could come up on you and nobody would know till it was all over.

The main difference between the T-50 and the F-22 is the aft configuration. The T-50 has a massive radar and missile module between the engines, while the F-22 just has a small pod. On the one had the F-22 shields it's heat signature better, but has virtually no aft protection. The aft defensive tail on the T-50 is so massive, probably with passive and phased array radars that it could detect any threat and begin to outrun it. I doubt any F-22 could catch the T-50 and get close enough from behind to launch missiles to begin with.

That's the largest aft phased arrray (likely) on any fighter today. So the Russians said forget trying to hide the heat of 17 ton thrust engines and just go for intelligence-threat warning and do a premeptive escape. While the F-22 is so slow, that it can be easily tracked from 45 degrees from the rear on either side of dead center.

Vayu Sakthi 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7AiygYy54o

Showcasing its precision strike capabilities during day and night, Indian Air Force on Sunday carried out a massive fire power blitzkrieg using its frontline aircraft such as SU-30 MKI, Mirage-2000, MIG 27 and MIG 29, at the Pokhran ranges in Rajasthan.

The high-voltage exercise ‘Vayu Shakti’, witnessed by President Pratibha Patil, Defence Minister A.K. Antony and a host of foreign dignitaries, showcased massive bombing, aerial dog fight and day-night air drop of commandos in the Thar desert.

In the two-hour event, 100 combat, reconnaissance, transport and rotary wing aircraft took part in the massive Fire Power Demonstration (FPD) by the world’s fourth-largest air force and displayed the day and night employability of air power by frontline fighter aircraft.

Speaking on the occasion, South Western Air Command Chief Air Marshall P.S. Bhangu said the demonstration was being carried out after six years and the plan was to hold it more frequently.

Despite Saturday’s crash-landing at Jaisalmer, the Sarang team performed with its ALH Dhruv helicopters. A chopper of the team had crash-landed due to loss of power in flight on Saturday while rehearsing for the show.

Along with the Surya Kiran and the Sarang aerobatic display teams, the Sukhoi-30s also performed aerial stunts.

Russian-origin Mi-35 attack helicopters, Mi-17 medium lift helicopters, IL-76 heavy lift and AN-32 medium lift transport plane also flew over the venue for the day-and-night air drop for specialised operations.

For the first time, the AWACS was used to monitor the mammoth exercise while an unmanned aerial vehicle streamed live video images of the target destruction.

In addition to 70 aircraft which participated in the exercise, 30 aircraft were kept on standby, in both air and on the ground.

For the FPD, mock radar sites, tanks, marshalling yards, terrorist camps, runway, BMP infantry fighting vehicles, blast pens and convoys are among a few of the targets that pilots destroyed.

IAF’s Special Forces Garuds were also para-dropped, who carried out the drill to neutralise a mock terrorist camp.

Displaying jointness among Services, Army’s Special Forces and Navy’s Marine Commandos also took part in the exercise.

The idea of the exercise is to project the IAF’s objectives in its present avatar, as spelt out by Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik: “To see first and farthest, to reach first and furthest and to hit hard and accurately.”

X Planes

The X-planes are a series of experimental United States aircraft (and some rockets) used for testing of new technologies and usually kept highly secret during development.

 

As of 2006, new X-plane projects are still underway. The designation X-52 was skipped to avoid potential confusion with the operational B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber.

X-44

Nasa X-43A

X-50

X-33

X-38

X-29

X-50A 

Virgin Galactic

The Bird of Prey

X-43 (Hyper-X: Greased Lightning)

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/9-12/features/F_HyperX_Greased_Lightning9-12.html

X-35

X-47A

X-48B

http://www.fas.org/programs/ssp/man/uswpns/air/xplanes/xplanes.html

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/history/HistoricAircraft/X-Planes/1940/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-plane

Acrobats

Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in normal flight. Aerobatics are performed in airplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment and sport. Some helicopters, such as the MBB Bo 105, are capable of limited aerobatic maneuvers

Most aerobatic maneuvers involve rotation of the aircraft about its longitudinal (roll) axis or lateral (pitch) axis. Other maneuvers, such as a spin, displace the aircraft about its vertical (yaw) axis. Maneuvers are often combined to form a complete aerobatic sequence for entertainment or competition.

Aerobatic flying requires a broader set of piloting skills and exposes the aircraft to greater structural stress than for normal flight. In some countries, the pilot must wear a parachute when performing aerobatics.

Red Arrows - UK

Surya Kiran - India

Thunderbirds - USA

Refuel