Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 08:24PM Apollo, MustSee, NASA, historical, space, video Email Article Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 09:19AM
Monday, March 22, 2010 at 09:39PM 
Today at 7:05am PST, Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo mothership left the ground from the Mojave Air and Spaceport carrying VSS Enterprise for the first 'captive-carry' test flight. The 2-part space vehicle launch system flew for 2 hours 54 minutes and reached an altitude of 45,000 feet. This is the first of many flight test hours that will be put on the system leading up to the first independent glides tests sometime later this year.
VSS Enterprise looking very much at home suspended under the mothership
Now that we're getting used to seeing the unique planform of the mothership, and especially now seeing the spaceship in place, the the whole package seems very logical and almost 'normal'. The test flight went extremely well and is bringing space tourism much closer to being a reality. Currently, Virgin Galactic has collected about $45 million in deposits from over 330 people wanting to experience space flight.
all photos: Mark Greenberg / Virgin Galactic
Sunday, March 21, 2010 at 09:47PM Listen right now thru this player
Download this episode (right click and save)
U-2 Spy Plane pilot: U.S Air Force Colonel Lars Hoffman
Interview with Col. Lars Hoffman - 1:01:20
Lars Hoffman is the husband of Jill Rutan Hoffman who I interviewed in podcast #6, and he's an experienced U-2 pilot. Lars shares a lot of really interesting details on what it's like flying the U-2 at altitudes up to 70,000 feet. The challenges of flying that high for both the airplane and the human body are significant, and we talk about a lot of them. You might be surprised like I was at many of the very unique characteristics of the U-2... it's a pretty fascinating operation.
The video below is from the 'James May on the Moon' special that ran on the BBC and it really helps to show what the experience is like when flying so high above the earth. I highly recommend you watch the video first, and then enjoy this interview with Lars as he takes you even deeper into the world of the U-2.
We also talk some about the work of Burt Rutan, who is the uncle of Lars' wife Jill, on the space tourism project. This video from the AMA Expo 2010 is a really neat look at Burt's experience over the years with model aviation, and it includes some interesting insight into the design and function of the spacecraft he has been designing.
I hope you enjoy this really interesting podcast!
Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 11:48AM This video is a little over 45 minutes long, but if you have a real interest in model airplanes, airplane design, or any of the work Burt Rutan has done over the last 40 years, then I suggest you carve out some time and soak this up. It's that good.
It's Burt talking at the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) Expo 2010 back in January. It's a great insight into what a big role model airplanes have played in Burt's life (and career), and it showcases one of the things that make Burt so cool... he's just a real person with a cracked sense of humor and a real passion for flying machines.
It's also good timing since I'll have my own video up soon of Burt from Oshkosh in 1984 when he and his brother Dick introduced the Voyager to the world. Check back soon : )
Monday, March 1, 2010 at 09:08AM While millions of people get their life sucked right out of them sitting in front of the TV every night, people like Steve Eves spend their time doing really cool stuff. Like his off-the-scale amazing 1:10 scale model of the Saturn V rocket. It’s the world’s largest model rocket. A little over 36’ tall, weighing in at over 1,600 pounds, and it really flies! In fact, as the video shows, it flies fantastic. Altitude reached with the array of 9 rocket motors was just over 4,000’.
The flight took place at Higgs Farm in Price, Maryland on April 25, 2009. You can learn loads more about this inspiring accomplishment at RocketsMagazine.com and also at RocketryPlanet.com.
Bravo, bravo, bravo!
MustSee, RC/modeling, homebuilt, rocket, space, video Email Article Sunday, February 28, 2010 at 10:36PM 
(click pic for hi-res)
This is definitely a great image for the CoolPix - X Planes category… Neil Armstrong in January 1960 standing in front of X-15 ship #1 after having landed on the dry lakebed at the Dryden Flight Research Center. It’s just awesome to see him here about 9 years before he was the first man to walk on the moon. Some interesting things to note are the skid tracks from the main gear legs, the apparent bottle jack under the nose gear, and Neil’s right hand placed just above the ball nose, also called the ‘Q ball’.
Here’s some great NASA info that tells more about Neil and the X-15:
Armstrong was actively engaged in both piloting and engineering aspects of the X-15 program from its inception. He completed the first flight in the aircraft equipped with a new flow-direction sensor (ball nose) and the initial flight in an X-15 equipped with a self-adaptive flight control system. He worked closely with designers and engineers in development of the adaptive system, and made seven flights in the rocket plane from December 1960 until July 1962. During those fights he reached a peak altitude of 207,500 feet in the X-15-3, and a speed of 3,989 mph (Mach 5.74) in the X-15-1.
Read more about Neil Armstrong and the X-15.
CoolPix, NASA, X-15, historical, space Email Article Friday, January 29, 2010 at 08:00PM I mean this in the nicest possible way… but if you don’t watch this video, you’re crazy. I know it’s 11 minutes long, but it is sooo worth it.
My interest in the 1950’s era Lockheed U-2 spy plane has been enhanced by my recent podcast interview with Jill Rutan Hoffman. Her husband Lars Hoffman is a Colonel in the Air Force and has a lot of experience flying this unique, ultra high altitude aircraft. That doesn’t mean he’s an old and crusty guy tho because the U-2 is still a totally operational aircraft to this day… well over 50 years after the first U-2 flew! They’ve even updated the cockpit in the last 8 years to all glass with a range of additional upgrades that improve capability while also reducing pilot workload.
The current plan is for the airplane to remain operational til at least 2014. As was mentioned in the podcast with Jill, I might get the chance to do an interview with Lars before long on what it’s like flying the Dragon Lady. Hopefully that comes together as it will be very interesting to better understand, from the pilot’s perspective, the challenges that go with flying 15 miles high.
This video is a segment from the program James May on the Moon that aired last year on BBC. You might already know that James May is one of the guys from the crazy-cool car show Top Gear. I didn’t know anything about this special program that looks back at the moon landings 40 years later, so this awesome segment was all a surprise to me. This is the part of the program where James goes for a ride in a two-seat U-2.
I actually found the link to the video this morning on Jill’s twitter page (@LookingSkyward) and thought that it might be interesting to watch since I had this increased interest in the U-2. OMGosh… it’s way more than interesting! I realize it might not touch you the way it did me, but watching this was a very powerful experience. The view of earth from 70,000+ feet, at the edge of space, isn’t just beautiful and awesome - it has the ability to change you. You are so far removed from the tiny, meaningless details of everyday life and so thoroughly confronted with thoughts of what it means to exist. It can boggle the mind and challenge the heart.
I know it’s not just me that feels it, as it’s clear that the ride had a real impact on James to be sure. I chose this version of the video on YouTube because it includes the very Top Gear-like intro which I think adds to the experience. It ends as James is exiting the airplane, but stops just before he says some very powerful words that can be found in the last 30 seconds on the versions that don’t include the cool intro… he says, as he’s walking down the portable stairway, “it’s just incredible… if everybody could do that once, you’d completely change the face of global politics... religion... education. Everything.”
This amazing video of a U-2 ride is truly a fabulous experience, and I hope it touches you in some special way. It moves me to add this line from the poem High flight:
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.
MustSee, U-2, space, video Email Article Monday, January 25, 2010 at 12:59PM Watch this video and then go check out RedBullStratos.com. Upcoming 'supersonic skydive' from 120,000 feet. It's kind of a big deal. More coming soon.
Saturday, December 12, 2009 at 09:10AM 
Bell Aerosystems built this fascinating flying simulator for NASA to help them test control and develop pilot skills for the eventual Lunar Modules for the Apollo missions. Officially named the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle, or LLRV, it first flew in 1964. It was powered by a vertically mounted, gimbaled turbofan with power settings adjusted to carry 5/6ths of the loaded vehicles weight. The contraption then had an array of hydrogen peroxide rocket thrusters to give full simulated control or the conditions expected in a lunar landing.
This video is pretty amazing for at least two reasons. First, the bizarre looking 'flying bedstead' as it was often called, is amazingly stable and controlled considering this was the mid-60's. But then that leads us to the second reason this is an amazing video... it shows the loss of control and safe ejection by Neil Armstrong! Fascinating video!
Apollo, NASA, VTOL, historical, space, video Email Article 
