aircraft

An article in today's wiki about "preighter" airplanes, specifically passenger planes used to haul freight during the pandemic, got me thinking. Converting a passenger airliner to freight can be a very makeshift procedure, sometimes no more than securing crates and containers on and among the...

I have an odd an unexplained fascination with military aircraft. I'm not really sure why. I think it's because they tend to be cutting edge and because I'm fascinated with the reasons they haven't really become any faster in the last 50 years or so. Preamble aside, I simply wasn't aware that...

I would've sworn we had a thread on Oscar Vinals idea from last year but can't find it. (it's referenced in the breathless omg article - the "Skywhale") But now he's upping the ante to "trip to Mars" fantasy levels, I feel. Apparently we have 40% of the technology already! (Just that those...

Last night I was watching an episode of "Secrets of War", and I see this brief scene.... (check minute 5:44 to 5:47) BIgwHeUgKAE Three aircraft sweep through the scene dropping bombs, but what are they? They appear to be... Single engine High-wing Retracted undercarriage I thought I knew...

When you look at photos of this plane you can see a blister towards the back of the plane that is clearly designed for someone to sit in. In some variations of this aircraft the purpose is obvious...a rear gunner. However specifically with the Mark 21 there are photos of people sitting in this...

At this location: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Kapustin+Yar,+Russia&hl=en&ll=48.311472,46.253943&spn=0.009076,0.022724&sll=38.942772,-103.279106&sspn=0.042457,0.090895&vpsrc=6&hnear=poselok+Kapustin+Yar,+Akhtubinsky+District,+Astrakhanskaya+oblast,+Russia&t=h&z=16 there is a military airport...

OK, I'm officially stumped. Why aren't there high-speed biplanes? The answer I'd always heard was the extra drag from the additional wings and the bracing, which forever relegated biplanes to lower speeds. Looking at these drag curves though...

Despite the title, this is open to anyone. It's really a thread meant for amusing discussion perhaps touched with real education as opposed to being an academic thread with only a touch of fun. I've no idea if this article concerning Australia's dilemma over the purchase of new fighters is...

Would the "smoke ring" airship idea here work? If so that'd also mean submarines could work like that as well, since hydrodynamics is just aerodynamics in a thicker medium?