Aircraft detection before Radar

Aircraft Detection Before Radar — Acoustic "Ears"

Here are some historic images that are quite amazing and unique. Prior to the invention of radar, there were a lot of contraptions built to listen for approaching aircraft.

How air attacks were detected before radar…  Old time acoustic hearing aids

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London Secret Wildlife - A year in the life of Richmond Park

Photographer captures London’s secret wildlife

A photographer who rose every day before dawn for a year has unlocked the secret world of London's majestic wildlife.

The stunning scenes, which occur right under the noses of the eight million people living in the capital, were captured on camera in a series of incredible pictures.

Dedicated Alex Saberi went out every morning before work to scout out the beautiful sights that most city dwellers would expect to travel to the New Forest or Exmoor to find.

Winter wonderland: The stunning scenes, which occur right under the noses of the eight million people living in the capital, were captured on camera in a series of incredible pictures by dedicated amateur photographer Alex, 34

Family affair: Dear in the snow at Richmond park. A year of getting up before dawn to record the changing seasons had paid off for Alex with collection of stunning photographs

But Alex, 34, travelled around Richmond Park, south west London, on a bicycle to find the fairytale scenes of rutting stags and swans swimming through the eerie dawn mist.

His outstanding shots include pictures of majestic deer roaming placidly under beams of sunlight and rabbits rising from their warren on a dewy morning.

An inquisitive squirrel is caught on camera hunting out his breakfast while a kingfisher surveys the silent morning.

Alex, a web designer from Putney, said: 'I used to live right next to the park and I would go every morning to take pictures.

Mysterious

Gulls on a frozen winter lake

Crows in the freezing winter

Swans on a misty lake

A winter scene and a kingfisher captured resting on a tree

Deer in a spring glade

'I'd wake up before it got light and head out there. If it was a work day, I'd go for an hour then cycle straight to the station to catch the train.

'It's a magical place. You feel like you're out in the wild.

'The best conditions for me are when there's a bit of mist to make it atmospheric, especially when it's sunny or with a bit of cloud.

'I like the drama of the beams of light shining through.

First rabbit of spring

Lone stag at sunset

Resting damselfly

Lone goose at dawn

Geece fly over a still lake

Stags at dawn

'I'm a bit different from other photographers in that I don't have the huge amounts of patience. I like to get on my bike and cycle round, just seeing what I can find.

'If nothing's happening in one area, I'll cycle off somewhere else and see what I can see. It's all about perseverance really.

'Even on the best days, you only get perhaps an hour and a half of the maximum conditions so you have to make the most of it.

'That's the exciting part of it - you never know what you're going to see next.'

Swan after dark

Stags rutting in the autumn

Stags rutting

Stags rutting

Autumn squirrel

Dewy spiders web at dawn

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Simple Animation to Explain Engineering Principles

I found this presentation interesting, please wait until full animation loaded.

1. Aircraft Radial Engine

2. Oval Regulation

3. Sewing Machines

4. Malta Cross Movement - Second Hand Movement used to Control the Clock

5. Auto Change File Mechanism

6. Auto Constant Velocity Universal Joint

7. Gun Ammunition Loading System

8. Rotary Engine - An Internal Combustion Engine (the heat rather than the piston movement into rotary movement)

9. Inline Engine - (cylinders lined up side by side)

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NPC Conference Call/Webinar with NIH on Monday, May 2

On Monday, May 2, 2011, the NNPDF will host a conference call/Webinar (online meeting) with key constituents and researchers, for all interested parties in the Niemann-Pick Disease Type C (NPC) community to learn more about the work being done at the NIH. Parents and extended family members, clinicians, researchers, caregivers, educators, and anyone with an interest in NPC is invited to participate.

Agenda topics for the conference call/Webinar are expected to include: NPC Observational Study at the NIH; development of NPC biomarkers; the NAC trial; use of a blood test for NPC diagnosis; and the current effort at TRND/NIH toward developing plans for a cyclodextrin trial at NIH. Presenters/experts we expect will participate include: Dr. Forbes “Denny” Porter, Dr. Daniel Ory, Dr. Marc Patterson, and Dr. Christopher Austin.

This meeting will begin at 4:00 pm Central Time (5:00 pm Eastern, 2:00 pm Pacific). International participants are invited, as well.

The meeting will be held using GlobalMeet’s “PGiMeet” interface. Participants will need access to a telephone for the audio portion of the call, as well as a computer to log in to a Web page to see any documents and graphics. Therefore, Internet access as well as access to a telephone will be required for full participation. (Those without access to a computer may participate in the audio portion only by telephone.)

Visit the NNPDF Web site for instructions on how to join the call/Webinar.

Where Planes Go to Die

Where planes go to die: Massive £22bn air force 'Boneyard' revealed in high resolution by Google Earth

It's where old planes go to die - a 2,600-acre patch of U.S. desert where several generations of military aircraft are stored in what has been dubbed 'The Boneyard'.

The $35billion (£22billion) worth of outdated planes is kept as spare parts for current models at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona.
 

End of the line: The 2,600 acre site is home to 4,200 aircraft, of which 80 per cent are used as spare parts for the current U.S Air Force fleet
 
Four of the numerous types of military aircraft kept at the site in Arizona


Some planes are merely stored at the base between deployments, but for more than 80 per cent of the 4,200 aircraft that call it home, it is a cemetery of steel - 350,000 items to be called on when needed.

The base is home to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance And Regeneration Group (309 AMARG) which carries out repairs to the craft and even gets some of them flying again.

Engines, munitions, wiring and electronics are all recycled to help lower the cost of maintaining the current-day fleet. In 2005, staff at the facility recycled more than 19,000 parts worth $568million (£366million) .

The U.S. government even allows the military in other countries to buy parts and even planes from the site.

The facility is the size of 1,300 football pitches.

The site has been a curiosity for eagle-eyed Google Earth users since the satellite imagery software was launched in 2005, but now for the first time it is available to view in high resolution.

The desert is a perfect place to store the mass of steel, because low humidity and rainfall means very little rust occurs. In addition, the hard soil means they can be parked up without the need for building concrete ramps.

The military has used Davis-Monthan as a plane storage facility for 60 years, and in recent years its unique landscape has been called on by Hollywood for such films as Transformers.

One of the reasons why the aircraft are kept here is because in the desert there is low humidity and rainfall which means very little rust occurs

On the left are B-52 bombers, which were built to carry nuclear weapons. They have been chopped up for scrap and (right) these are F-4 Phantom fighter-bombers which were used extensively in the Vietnam War



Squeezed up against each other these B-52s are stored at what has been dubbed 'The Boneyard'

See Link: Now see the image for yourself on Google Earth

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