Chinese 5th-generation fighter « J-20 Black Eagle » HD video

The first J-20 BLACK EAGLE taxiing-test snapshots have popped up throughout the blogosphere for a few days. These so-called leaked pictures reveal a design that comes straight from the J-XX with the front part similar to the F-22 Raptor’s one, and the aft a bit like the Sukhoi PAK FA’s one.

Thanks to ChineseKungFu100, you can watch below a High-Definition video in which you can see a huge glass cockpit. It is believed that the J-20 is likely to be cheaper than the PAK FA / T-50, and far cheaper than the JSF F-35 and the F-22, with lower performance though longer radius of combat, and bigger strike capability. The shapes after the forward canards and the chine, may be low-RCS caret air intakes with DSIs – Diverterless Supersonic Inlets – which maintain high-quality airflow to the engines over a wide range of conditions. It is believed that the J-20 may have Russian engines. She is likely to be equipped with an AESA radar.

With this new fighter aircraft, and its brand new aircraft carrier, the PLAAF (People’s Liberation Army Air Force) could be on a par with the lead air forces in the world.

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Sea King helicopter blade

Sea King helicopter blade cutaway view
Rotary-wing blade - Figure 1-17 © www.tpub.com

The main rotor or rotary wing on the H-3 has five identical wing blades. Other helicopters may have two, three, or four blades. A typical wing blade is shown in figure 1-17. The rotary-wing blade is made of aluminum alloy, except the steel cuff by which the blade attaches to the rotor hub. The main supporting member of the blade is a hollow, aluminum alloy extruded spar, which forms the leading edge. The steel cuff is bolted to the root end of the spar. Twenty-three individual pockets constructed of aluminum ribs, aluminum channels, and aluminum skin covering are bonded to the aft edge of the spar.

Text and cutaway view: www.tpub.com courtesy

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Oustanding views from homemade spacecraft!

This video features an American family that managed to send a balloon into space – up to 100,000 feet – and retrieve its camera which shot outstanding views from the upper stratosphere. Special thanks to Xavier (http://passiondesavions.blogspot.com) who provided the link to this amazing footage:

Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.

Video from a camera attached to a weather balloon that rose into the
upper stratosphere and recorded the blackness of space.

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Beriev Be-2500 almost twice as big as A380!

The Beriev Be-2500 Neptune is a super-heavy transport seaplane proposed by the Beriev Aircraft Company of Russia. Its maximum take-off weight should reach 2,500 tons! It would be the largest aircraft ever proposed. It might weigh four times more than the largest aircraft in the world, the Antonov An-225.

This gigantic project would range from $10 to $15 billion. The Be-2500 would be a « flying ship » able to compete with the maritime shipping and air transport industries. Its size is not clearly quoted due to a discrepancy in the figures available. However, it would nearly double the Airbus A380 size!

It is deemed to be an ekranoplane (also known as a « wing-in-ground-effect – WIG », « flarecraft », « wing-in-surface-effect ship – WISE », « sea skimmer », « ground effect vehicle – GEV » thanks to its cushion of high-pressure air provided by the aerodynamic interaction between the wings and the surface, which is known as ground effect.

Last but not least, it could fly far over the surface (airborne) like any heavy cargo. Watch what it could look below:

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Flying saucers to be produced !

Russian Volga region moves to produce flying saucers

07:13 03/03/2010 The government of the Ulianovsk Region in the Volga area has approved a five-year program to produce so-called « flying saucers » – a bizarre hybrid of a helicopter and an aerostat.>>

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