Orion was 1950's Project to study the posibility of a spacecraft powered by nuclear pulse propulsion. The design would have worked by ejecting nuclear weapons from the rear of a vehicle, detonating them, and catching the blast with a shock absorber equipped pusher plate. This sequence would be repeated thousands of times, in effect an atomic pogo stick. The project was scrapped in 1965 amid fear about fallout both political and radialogical. Footage shown is of scale testing done using conventional explosives.
One of the world's worst airshow disasters. Seventy-two spectators as well as three pilots were killed and 346 were seriously injured in the resulting explosion and fire. The event took place in front of an audience of 300,000 on 28/08/1988 at the Ramstein Air Base in the US.
Compilation of various Soviet coldwar missile systems set to music.
Colour archive footage of the Italian and German airforces in action during WW2
Apache training video
Developed for the USAF as reconnaissance aircraft more than 40 years ago, SR-71s are still the world's fastest and highest-flying production aircraft. The aircraft can fly more than 2200 mph (Mach 3+ or more than three times the speed of sound) and at altitudes of over 85,000 feet. As research platforms, the aircraft can cruise at Mach 3 for more than one hour.
Footage of the BLU-82B "daisy cutter" bomb in 1970. Designed to create an instant clearing in the jungles of Vietnam, it has also been used an anti-personnel weapon because of its very large lethal radius (280m). The BLU-82 uses conventional explosive incorporating both agent and oxidizer. In contrast, fuel-air explosives (FAE) consist only of an agent and a dispersing mechanism, and take their oxidizers from the oxygen in the air. The minimum altitude for release due to blast effects of the weapon is 1,800 m above ground level. The warhead contains 5,700 kg of low-cost GSX slurry (ammonium nitrate, aluminium powder and polystyrene) and is detonated just above ground level by a 965 mm fuse extender, optimized for destruction at ground level without digging a crater. The weapon produces an overpressure of 1000 psi near ground zero.
A brief introductory glider flight with the Adirondack Soaring Group out of Saratoga (NY) County Airport
Glider Flight
The A-10 was designed for high-survivability with a titanium cover surrounding both the cockpit, ammunition and fuel tank. Placement of the engines decreases the infrared signature lowering it's vulnerablity to heatseeking missiles and ground fire.
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