And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
When I was a kid, I thought that the idea of a point response fighter that could take off and land without a runway made sense. I recall this aircraft. The Harrier, and now the F-35B do it better, but the concept was always necessary.
Is it just me, or does anyone else view Convair designs as just so much aerodynamic spaghetti thrown against the wall, hoping something will stick? It seems nothing was too outlandish, and often had that 'designed by committee' look. Take, for example, the XB-36 that was shown here a few days ago. Instead of taking a logical look at a multiple wheeled landing gear to cope with the enormous weight, they just built ONE BIG WHEEL; multiple wheel assemblies at least provide some safety in redundancy.
When I was a kid, I thought that the idea of a point response fighter that could take off and land without a runway made sense. I recall this aircraft. The Harrier, and now the F-35B do it better, but the concept was always necessary.
ReplyDeleteI remember those model airplane kits from when I was a boy.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what a pristine example of the model kit might go for today?
DeleteIs it just me, or does anyone else view Convair designs as just so much aerodynamic spaghetti thrown against the wall, hoping something will stick? It seems nothing was too outlandish, and often had that 'designed by committee' look. Take, for example, the XB-36 that was shown here a few days ago. Instead of taking a logical look at a multiple wheeled landing gear to cope with the enormous weight, they just built ONE BIG WHEEL; multiple wheel assemblies at least provide some safety in redundancy.
ReplyDeleteDesign rant OFF.