"Jcarr" (jcarr)
08/25/2016 at 15:29 • Filed to: Planelopnik
7
13|
"Jcarr" (jcarr)
08/25/2016 at 15:29 • Filed to: Planelopnik | 7
| 13 |
Lockheed D-21/M-21 aka Project Tagboard
Azrek
> Jcarr
08/25/2016 at 15:33 |
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COBRA!!!!!!
Leadbull
> Jcarr
08/25/2016 at 15:35 |
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This thing is currently at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.
Prisma’d:
HammerheadFistpunch
> Jcarr
08/25/2016 at 15:36 |
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Turns out the D-21 was kinda of a dud. It failed a lot, often landing in the enemies backyard. Too far ahead of its time.
With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username
> Jcarr
08/25/2016 at 15:38 |
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WHY DID YOU TURN?????
ttyymmnn
> Jcarr
08/25/2016 at 15:38 |
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Interesting concept, but sadly ahead of its time. Johnson canned it after the loss of an SR pilot when the drone damaged the mother ship. I wouldn't be surprised if we are flying a supersonic drone soon. We may be already.
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Jcarr
> ttyymmnn
08/25/2016 at 15:54 |
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I’m just listening to this section in Skunk Works . I don’t know how I hadn’t stumbled upon it before. Such a shame that Torrick may well have survived if he’d just kept his helmet shut in the water.
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Jcarr
> HammerheadFistpunch
08/25/2016 at 15:55 |
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I’m just getting through this section of Skunk Works . Very interesting stuff.
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ttyymmnn
> Jcarr
08/25/2016 at 16:07 |
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I read most of Skunk Works, but haven’t finished it. I found the parts about the U-2, A-12 and SR-71 much more interesting than the bits about the F-117. But then again, I’m a history nerd.
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Jcarr
> ttyymmnn
08/25/2016 at 16:09 |
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Me too. The F-117 was a technological marvel, but I’ve just never been as interested by it.
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ttyymmnn
> Jcarr
08/25/2016 at 16:23 |
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By the F-117, we had moved away from slide rules, T squares and seat-of-the-pants aircraft design to CAD and computer modeling. The computer took over from the human, and we had lost that “Let’s see if it will fly” mentality. Kelly Johnson, a true genius if ever there was one, knew intuitively if a design would be successful (except maybe with the F-104). Yes, computers take out much of the guesswork, but aircraft have somehow become less human. And, in many ways, much uglier. Aircraft design as an art form is disappearing. That’s why the late-40s and 50s is my favorite era of aviation history, a time when aircraft were both functional and beautiful.
user314
> ttyymmnn
08/25/2016 at 17:26 |
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I wonder what the RCS of a D-21 is. I have a feeling these would do quite well with a few new tweeks (lighter cameras, satcoms) to the original design. Hell, we still have the B-52s to launch them from.
wafflesnfalafel
> Jcarr
08/25/2016 at 23:49 |
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that thing is amazing in person...
sunnydaysam
> Jcarr
08/27/2016 at 11:57 |
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One of these is the centerpiece display at the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field in Seattle. I never tire of looking at it.
