Falcon H, Bubba

Liftoff is 5:26 into the Video - They're Going to Make Space Exciting Again!

When I was just a boy, we went to the Moon. Shortly after I graduated from high school, we went to the Moon for the (until sometime in the future) last time. I vividly recall the moment that Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon. That was nearly 45 years ago. Almost a Half Century. On occasion, I wonder if we have peaked and are on a long, slow decline like that which resulted in the demise of the Roman Empire. Even to this day, the Saturn V Rocket remains the most powerful launch vehicle that mankind has ever produced. At launch, it put out just under 8 million pounds of thrust and put as much as 310,000 pounds into low Earth orbit. In the times since before any of my children were born, newsworthy space travel consisted of Space Shuttle explosions.

However, events such as yesterday's SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch give me hope that our greatest times may still lie ahead. While the Falcon Heavy has less than half the payload of the Saturn V, it is a major step back into the Future. SpaceX is a company that I've never worked for, though I worked in what is now their Hawthorne facility when Northrop produced 747 structure there and I also worked for Rocketdyne when they were designing the Space Shuttle engines. John Glenn was a part of our extended family and my father worked on the Saturn V for Boeing. I pay a lot of attention to what goes on with humanity's reach into space. You might say it's in my blood.

The movie, "The Right Stuff" had a phrase spoken when someone did well. I recall it as "Fuckin A, Bubba!" Well, now we can say "Falcon H, Bubba." It may be more polite, but it is entirely accurate and we can all look forward to seeing what comes next. I know that SpaceX is planning a larger rocket, known as the "BFR." I won't speculate on what BFR might be an acronym for, but I'll guess it is in the same spirit as the bubba comments in "The Right Stuff." When the BFR launches, we will finally go beyond what we accomplished with the Saturn V back in 1967.

Yup, perhaps our best days DO lie ahead, though probably none of our astronauts that went to the Moon will see mankind first set foot on Mars.

Redemption

From My Post, "Still Unloved"

Some know that I worked at Northrop for many years. Nearly 25 years ago, Northrop lost the "ATF" fighter competition to a combination of what is now Lockheed Martin and Boeing. I watched Dick Cheney make the announcement at 1:20 PM on April 23, 1991, live on CNN. It really hurt a lot. We put up signs around the area that said "Will Design the World's Most Advanced Fighter Jet for Food."

Today, we were redeemed.

News announcement in the Seattle Times, HERE. The LA Times announced it HERE. This is the largest contract award in at least a decade and perhaps in a generation.

In contrast to 1991, I did not see anything on CNN about the award, and even HLN had Nancy Grace on.

While I feel badly for Boeing, redemption is sweet. Jack Northrop and TV Jones are probably both smiling from their graves.

Passing of an Era

Thomas Victor Jones, with YF-17 Model before it Evolved into the F-18

As is always the case, the end of a year is marked by news agencies summarizing notable people who passed away during the year. Among these articles reviewing 2014, there is at least one giant name missing; Thomas Victor Jones. You see, Tom Jones was the last of a breed in the aerospace industry that we are not likely to see again in our time. Some might not think that a bad thing, but it also probably means less future innovation in that same industry. The photo, above, comes from the LA Times Obituary. Perhaps it is ironic that Ralph Vartebedian wrote it - Ralph was a thorn in Jones's side for many years.

Northrop F-5 at Boeing Museum

In the first half century of aviation, most companies funded a major portion of new aircraft from their own resources. Northrop Corporation was one such. When I started work there, Jack Northrop was still alive, though frail. The CEO was Tom Jones. He made his name by pushing for the T-38 and F-5, aircraft that are still in service today more than 50 years later. He also pushed to get Northrop into the unmanned aircraft business. The mostly Northrop-funded YF-17 later developed into the F/A-18 on his watch and is still being built. It was a point of pride at Northrop that almost ALL the company facilities were company owned. More commonly, the US Government owned large aircraft facilities. Northrop was different under Jones. We purchased license plate holders that said: "Northrop Aircraft Division, a Good Place to Work" at the company store.

Less well known is that Northrop, again under Tom’s watch, played a major role in funding and supporting Boeing (his son just passed away as noted HERE) in the development of the original 747. I’ve been told that Northrop built and owned many of the original tools for that aircraft until Boeing later purchased them back. Certainly, Jones’s support of stealth research and guidance systems directly led to Northrop’s B-2, Peacekeeper missile and YF-23, and there is much more.

It was the F-20 that truly showed him as having the spirit of a Mississippi river boat gambler. It also led to his downfall. For those not familiar with the F-20, it started life as the “F-5G.” The F-5G was Northrop’s response to a Carter Administration initiative to have US companies privately develop fighters for export to friendly countries that were outside the NATO/Israel umbrella. Well, to make a long story short, Northrop spent $1.25 billion of its own money only to find its potential market completely undercut by that same US Government. It then got to spend hundreds of millions more on the ATF competition. Jones went away from Northrop and the last Mississippi river boat gambler was gone by 1990. You can read the whole, sordid story, HERE. Not long after he left, the City of Hawthorne renamed "Thomas Victor Jones Park" to "Holly Park." Sheesh.

Unlike Jack Northrop, who was pretty much despondent when the US killed off his flying wings and ordered them cut up, Tom Jones went into an elegant retirement. He founded Moraga Vineyards around his mansion in Bel Air, California. Moraga is the most expensive vineyard property on the planet. In 2013, he sold the place to Rupert Murdoch (yes, THAT Murdoch) and remained in the house itself until his death in early 2014. We will not see his like again soon. Perhaps it is fitting that the Moraga property once belonged to Victor Fleming who directed “Gone With the Wind.” Maybe Jones was a bit inspired by Rhett Butler.

From the Moraga site, a Low Key Note of Tom's

Oldfool Leads to the Lost Ark

It's strange how sometimes we pick up stuff from the Internet that the authors never intended. A recent post on the excellent blog "Oldfool" is a case in point. You see, it led me to find out where one of the largest treasure troves of Southern California and, indeed United States aviation history has wound up. In fact, a modern day "Ark of the Covenant" to an aeronautical engineer such as myself.

The trail started here. Within that post, was the comment

"...college at the Northrup institute of Technology in Inglewood, California."

That comment caused me to reflect on my own association with Northrop University, where I co-taught a composites design course for a number of years. I still remember the photo of Jack Northrop in the library. THAT caused me to peruse Wikipedia, where I found what I already knew: Northrop University was no more. My recollection varied from Wikipedia a bit, with the law school playing a more prominent role in my memory about the downward spiral, but basically, the place went kaput as described here.

Still, the Wikipedia article raised a question: "What happened to the aviation collections?" Specifically the "American Hall of Aviation" and the "David Hatfield" collection. It seems to me that the vanishing of collections with a half million pieces would leave a trace somewhere. A half million pieces of aviation history. GONE! It was like the mystery of the Ark of the Covenant, as popularized by a movie, entitled "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

Like an Internet version of Indiana Jones, I started to search on the topic. It was pretty quick that I discovered that Northrop University has more or less been taken over by a pretty good Charter High School. On their web site, there was nary a word about what happened to either the American Hall of Aviation OR the David Hatfield Collection. Hmm.

Northrop Institute of Technology, Transformed into a Very Good Charter High School - Via Google Streetview

Looking futher, the trail led to a former Lockheed employee by the name of Carol Osborne. Due to her interest in the whole thing, she inherited some of the artifacts and was named as the executor of the collection.

Carol Osborne, Surrounded by Amelia Earheart's Sister and Bobbi Trout. In 1987 Via 2009 Airport Journals

It happened this way: from "Airport Journals"

Although Northrop University campus still exists, its doors were closed in 2003. Many of the historical pieces that were located in the library are now in storage and owned by the Museum of Flight or Osborne. The AHAH library was legendary to aviation and Hollywood.

Prof. Hatfield had a passion for aviation history and had already authored 12 books, from mythology to his "Pioneers of Aviation: A Photo-Biography" series. By the 1980s, Hatfield was producing a series of videotapes called the "History of Flight," chronicling the subject from ancient times to the exploration of space, all for the purpose of educating young people and future generations. He was amazed with the new technology. When Hatfield passed away at the age of 77, he left behind his aviation history and videotaping equipment to an astonished Carol Osborne. It changed her life.

Besides uncounted thousands of photos, the collections included interviews with over 450 aviation pioneers before their passing. Over a dozen had their licenses signed by Orville Wright. Yes, THAT Wright brother. It is an irreplaceable collection. Video interviews with the pioneers at the very beginning of aviation. Mostly, these are people connected with Southern California.

The question remains, however, "what happened to all this stuff?"

The "Airport Journals" article offered a clue. Namely, the "Museum of Flight." But WHICH Museum of Flight. I first went to the logical ones in Southern California, but found no joy there. I saw a few mentions of the collection, but nothing about where it resided.

Almost by chance, I happened upon a Southern California website that provided insight into the mystery. Here, it stated:

Carol Osborne explains that, as Dr. Hatfield's Executor, she only dealt with his personal property.

The large Northrop University / American Hall of Aviation History collection went first to Santa Monica 'Museum of Flying' and then to Seattle 'Museum of Flight'.

I don't understand why our local Southern California aviation history is in a truck cargo container, un inventoried after years. It should be here, in our area, where we will take care of it and display it.

The similarity with the movie became obvious. Hence the video clip below, though instead of the "government guy," we could substitute the "Boeing Museum Guy" instead.

Still, there is hope for the aviation legacy of California, hidden away in a Seattle museum. From the "MUSEUM OF FLIGHT" web pages, we find references to both collections, though neither is available to the general public. Specifically, the links are below:

THE HATFIELD COLLECTION
&
MORE, DISGUISED AS NORTHROP and other DOCUMENTS

The Trip of the Last Incredible

From the Boeing website "newairplane.com"

The pace and nature of technological innovation has shifted in our society. The production of ever-more wonderful aircraft has slowed dramatically during my lifetime. Innovation is measured more often in what engineers can make electrons do rather than in faster-stronger-higher aircraft. All of my children were born after our species last set foot on the moon. Still, over 50 years after the start of the jet age, Boeing is the largest American exporter, though competitors are nipping at it around the edges.

Boeing bills this as the roll-out of "The Next Incredible," but I think that, in reality, it is "The Last Incredible." Still, if you have never watched the roll-out of a major new aircraft, you might want to consider the live webcast that will be here. I previously posted on the first flight of the new 747 cargo version here.

One by one, the original incredibles are passing from our eyes. My mother-in-law was an "incredible." However, the 747, "Queen of the Skies" has one last act to play out. If you have never watched an aircraft roll out event, you might want to consider this. There will certainly be more new aircraft rolled out in the future, but perhaps none with the grandeur of this one.

HH100 Report - Sheppard AFB

Entry to Sheppard AFB, Wichita Falls Texas, on HH100 Day

Last year, I really didn't have much of anything to say about the "Hotter 'N Hell 100" rally, as noted here. This year, it seems things are quite different. So different, in fact, that I shall divvy up the HH100 into several reports. First up, this year, rather than riding the whole hundred again in frigid sub-100 conditions, I decided to take the shortcut from Hell's Gate and include Sheppard AFB in my itinerary. It was a good choice. If you ride the full 100 miles, you'd miss this and it is not something you really want to miss. It is included in all the other ride distances.

By the way, some of you may not know, but the Air Force is the most enlightened and sensible of the Armed Forces. Even those that come from the Marines will admit there's compelling logic about an Armed Service that keeps the enlisted men on base while sending the officers out to fight.

Right Inside the Sheppard AFB Gate, You are Greeted by the Iconic Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. The Last of These Rolled off the Production Line in 1962

Turn Right and You'll See Sheppard Planes on Display, Including an All-Time Favorite, the Northrop T-38. Including F-5 Models, Over 3500 were Built.

They Also Have Other Planes on Display

Look in Front of the C-130 Hercules and You'll See Ladies in Pink with Wings on Their Backs. They Were a Favorite With the USAF Personnel

As You Can See, We Were Allowed Good Views of the Planes, and Flight Crew Answered Questions, as About this A-10 Warthog

Continuing Along, Past an F-111 Display, We Were About to See the Treat for the Day

We Got to Run a Friendly Gauntlet of Cheering Sheppard Airmen Who Were as Enthusiastic as it Looks

A LONG Gauntlet!

At Sheppard, as Elsewhere, the Water Tower
Lets You Know the Next Landmark in Advance

Tex Johnston

Was the pilot who, at the controls of the only prototype of the Boeing 707, performed "the Gold Cup Roll" in full view of most of Seattle. As he recounted, after a chat with William Allen, CEO of Boeing, he allowed as how he wouldn't do such a thing in future, and he didn't even have to go work for another company to prove it. Prior to his Boeing flying, he was a pilot for Bell, including a flight in the X-1 (the aircraft that Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in). He grounded the X-1, leading to improvements that gave Chuck the opportunity to "put the spurs to her." The roll is something I could see Rantwick doing just for the fun of it. Actually, me too...

Tex Johnston at the Controls of the Aircraft that Meant Everything to Boeing's Future

In Front of Tens of Thousands of Gold Cup Race Spectators. A Perfectly Safe Maneuver, its Impromptu Nature
Nearly Gave the Boeing Board of Directors Mass Heart Attacks. The Boeing CEO had a Chat with Tex.

You GO BOE 2!

Today, the 747-8 Intercontinenal flew for the first time. It's lucky for me, because it saves me from a post I've been considering about a deep dark subculture of the cycling world that Lizzylou inadvertently unveiled when she talked about hair removal. The mystery deepened when I read more about subcultures of the cyclocross subculture in my cyclocross book I got for Christmas.

On a lighter note, maybe there's still a bit of life in the old "Lazy B" yet.

The 747 is still the Queen of the Skies in my book. This day's for you, and all the "Incredibles!"

First Flight of the Boeing 747-8
February 8, 2010

Flagship Detroit

John Testrake, a fellow Jaguar XJ owner, noted that the DC-3 I saw recently flying over Fort Worth Alliance Airport is NOT the one in the AA Museum, but another. The one I saw must have been the American Airlines Flagship Detroit. Unfortunately, the link John sent me can't be embedded here, but I found another, with the Detroit visiting Vancouver. It's even better, and one has to appreciate those delightful Western Canadian accents, eh?

The group that restored this wonderful icon is here. Among other things, see who sponsored the restoration. I am glad to see that Boeing has not fogotten Douglas, at one time it's main rival.

You GO BOE!

What can I say, I'm still a Seattle boy. UPDATE: They did it!

First flight of the Boeing 787, December 15,2009. Light that candle!

The good ol' USA can STILL get a few things done, even if it takes a while. First flights of planes I worked on are always an inspiration to me, and this is the one I feel the most for since 1990. I DO still get the thrill. Accountants and lawyers are fine, but engineers make it happen! Make no mistake about it, the future of American aviation and manufacturing is riding on their shoulders this coming week, and THEY are standing on the shoulders of giants. My mother-in-law is smiling down from Heaven, and life is more than just about bikes...

obsolete Boeing logo, but it's still the one I love the most

If you need added inspiration, there's a video, featuring a Bell product, of course. I have no doubt that Boeing will live up to the standard. Any of my engineers that look at this will now know what a "Yeager handle" is if they watch between minute 2:45 and 4. I often think of the movie, and particularly of Yeager, when I ride my bike in heavy traffic. The technology has dramatically changed, but thorough preparation, professionalism, and, perhaps, a smidge of "the right stuff" will see them through.

an American hero, portrayed by Sam Shepard

Godspeed Boeing!

Cycling Mythbusters - Simple Green

Screen shot from Simple Green website about using SG on aluminum

ORIGINAL POST on Saturday, November 28

Velo, TX suggests in his comment of November 25th that Simple Green eats aluminum. He even included a link that showed some nasty looking aircraft parts, ostensibly due to the pernicious effects of Simple Green. Well, y'all ought to know better than to put such a dare in front of Steve after he's been recovering from the flu and watching an unhealthy number of "Mythbusters" episodes. I've been using Simple Green for many years to clean both aluminum and steel components with never any ill effects on the treated parts, so this "myth" seemed suspect. No Jaguar has never collapsed into a heap of rubble due to Simple Green as far as I know. Still, Velo spoke with the voice of one who's found something out the hard way, so I determined to test this myth. I got my hands on a pair of ancient and lousy wide-reach brake calipers that came off a Schwinn. Aluminum. But before I could sacrifice these brakes in the name of science, I decided to see what Simple Green said on the subject. THAT is the picture above. Basically, Simple Green do not recommend leaving aluminum to soak in a vat of Simple Green for weeks. I would also not do what the Chinook maintainers probably did - spray the stuff on and then not get it wiped off properly afterwards. I'm also going to go out on a limb and guess they didn't use the Simple Green that conformed to Boeing Specification D6-17487P. I've never done that - not until now. Spray on and wipe off has always been the modus operandi, as with other cleaners. One would do well to remember this is a water-based product. Would you leave your chain to soak in a bucket of water for a couple of weeks? And no, I don't buy my Simple Green to the Boeing Specification. I'm not in the "money is no object" class yet, though I notice that the SG Marketing people would probably love the added profit margin.

While I was reading what Simple Green had to say, my oldest daughter came to the rescue of the brakes, so our initial test will involve ALUMINUM FOIL, immersed in Simple Green (undiluted). The test vat is below. No explosions - so far. Immersion at 4PM, CST. If this turns ugly, please don't dwell on the fact that you probably used something similar to this foil when cooking your turkey yesterday. You can take comfort in remembering that you didn't spray the bird with Simple Green before cooking. If this doesn't work in a reasonable time, we may ramp things up. Based on what I read, I would NOT suggest mixing Simple Green with sulphuric acid. Interestingly, Simple Green do not recommend mixing SG with bleach or ammonia simply because those things reduce its ability to clean. No explosions. A search in their FAQs for "danger" yields nothing.

Simple Green - How long will it take to eat this piece of aluminum foil?

Updated at 4:15 - I snuck out to the garage. So far, it looks just like the picture, except the garage is starting to smell like Simple Green. Perhaps this experiment will have to move out to the driveway if my wife wants to know what that SMELL out in the garage is from. LOVE the smell of Simple Green in the afternoon! Thank goodness I had the presence of mind not to keep the concoction in the kitchen or I might be out in the driveway...

Updated at 1PM Sunday - The Simple Green smell in the garage has leveled out, thank goodness. No visible change in the foil so I tried poking it a bit. BORING! I thought about spitting in the solution, but that seemed rude. Where do you get C-4 around North Texas and where are the approved locales for detonating it?

Updated at 8PM Monday - Still the same. The Simple Green seemed a little chillier when I dipped my finger in it, but otherwise nothing...

Updated at 8PM Saturday, December 5th - COOL, most of the Simple Green has gone away. The aluminum foil seems unaffected, it's just sorta sticky and got green film on it. Some say that when I saw this, I said "Aw shucks! This here dang experiment ain't doin' nothin'. I'm done with it now, I reckon!" I'm stomping off to bed. We'll see if THAT has an effect. If not, I'm going to squirt some water back into the container and maybe stir in a little dirt.