WATCH: It Went Mach 3, World's Fastest Nuclear Bomber | Loungtastic

Nice!

The North American Aviation XB-70 Valkyrie is am immense, exotic and incredibly fast supersonic bomber. Many have never seen the Valkyrie because only two models of the prototype jet were built and used for testing. So what is the history of the XB-70, the world’s fastest supersonic bomber?

Introduced in 1964 the XB-70 was planned as a supersonic bomber as well as a research aircraft. It underwent rigorous testing over a period of five years to ensure that it was suitable for combat missions. Equipped with six engines it had no trouble hitting a top speed of Mach 3 while flying at over 70,000 feet.

Nice!

Those high speeds allowed it to easily outpace enemy fighters and missiles targeting it.

General Characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 189 ft 0 in (57.6 m)
  • Wingspan: 105 ft 0 in (32 m)
  • Height: 30 ft 0 in (9.1 m)
  • Wing area: 6,297 ft2 (585 m2)
  • Airfoil: Hexagonal; 0.30 Hex modified root, 0.70 Hex modified tip
  • Empty weight: 253,600 lb (115,030 kg; operating empty weight)
  • Loaded weight: 534,700 lb (242,500 kg)
  • Max. takeoff weight: 542,000 lb (246,000 kg)
  • Powerplant: 6 × General Electric YJ93-GE-3 afterburning turbojet
    • Dry thrust: 19,900 lbf[78] (84 kN) each
    • Thrust with afterburner: 28,800 lbf[79] (128 kN) each
  • Internal fuel capacity: 300,000 lb (136,100 kg) or 46,745 US gallons (177,000 L)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: Mach 3.1 (2,056 mph, 3,309 km/h)
  • Cruise speed: Mach 3.0 (2,000 mph, 3,200 km/h)
  • Range: 3,725 nmi (4,288 mi, 6,900 km) on combat mission
  • Service ceiling: 77,350 ft (23,600 m)
  • Wing loading: 84.93 lb/ft2 (414.7 kg/m2)
  • Lift-to-drag: about 6 at Mach 2[113]
  • Thrust/weight: 0.314

The development program of the XB-70 was a success but it was not without accidents. On June 8th, 1966 during a promotional photo shoot an F-104 underestimated its distance from the Valkyrie and crashed into its wing. Unfortunately, the XB-70 program was canceled in 1969 and the only remaining model remained in storage.

Nice!
(U.S. Air Force photo)
North American XB-70A Valkyrie just after collision. Note the F-104 is at the forward edge of the fireball and most of both XB-70A vertical stabilizers are gone. (U.S. Air Force photo)

There is some good news, Jeff Duford the curator of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force has successfully moved the only remaining Valkyrie into a public display. Take a look at this video showing the rich history of the XB-70 and its exciting test footage. Nice!

After you watch this, we already know what you'll be thinking.

"There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots." Although that saying is mostly true, there are a few exceptions. Take Chuck Yeager for example. Ace during World War II, Korea, and oh yea, he flew the experimental X-1 rocket strapped to his butt. What we're saying is that some of these crazy talented, and crazy, talented people do live a long time.

The point is that this the guy in this video has some serious flying chops. Unfortunately we don't actually know who he is as the description of the video failed to mention that important fact, but one thing stays the same. This dude can fly. Not only is he fast and low, he banks like a maniac.

MBB BO 105s were introduced in 1970 and are still in service today.

Another thing of course is the chopper itself. You'll be looking at a Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm Bo 105. It's a German twin-engine helicopter which was one of the most innovative pieces of equipment of its time.

Featuring a hingeless rotor system, it can perform aerobatic maneuvers such as inverted loops. Although it's highly maneuverable, you do need to know how to fly it.

This guy does.

Europe Flight

All I want, need, and desire in life! Europe FlightI love this! Nice! Nice!

What did I just watch?

This video shows the approach to Megeve Airport. Both the pilot and instructor have several thousands of flight hours, but maybe he was more concerned about an oven he left on in the kitchen? Would this sound be enough to remind you of something?
Send Flowers at 1-800-FLORALS

Nice!

Not cool! Now THAT's A short takeoff for a giant! Nice!

FYI: Ilopango International Airport (ICAO: MSSS) is an airport located on the eastern part of the city of San Salvador, El Salvador. This incredible footage shows the moment a small plane crashes into the ocean off the California coast - before a pilot and his passenger on board filmed their own rescue while being stung by jelly fish and treading water. 

Pilot Owen Leipelt filmed as his friend's plane hit the water off Half Moon Bay 

He alerted air traffic control and kept circling above the crash scene on Tuesday

In the water below, the pilot of the downed plane, David Lesh, was also filming

He captured the moment his plane sank before filming his rescue from the water

Both Lesh and his female passenger were rescued unharmed by the coast guard

Pictures show the plane sinking and the two survivors as the helicopter arrives

The two survivors even seem in good spirits, laughing and joking in the water  

The friends had left from Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose and were in the air together to take pictures of Lesh's new aircraft when it lost power

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the accident, a spokesman confirmed Pilot Owen Leipelt filmed as the engine on his friend's new Beechcraft Bonanza light aircraft failed and the plane hit the water off Half Moon Bay. Leipelt alerted air traffic control to the incident as he kept circling above the crash scene on Tuesday. 

In the water below, pilot of the downed aircraft, David Lesh, 34, was also filming on his waterproof phone as he and his only passenger, who has not been identified, found themselves treading water for 40 minutes before being rescued. They were unharmed.

'I was probably 3,400 feet, did everything I could. I couldn't get the motor running and put it into the Pacific.

'We skipped along the water for a few hundred feet and the impact was very minimal, it was not hard at all and we immediately opened the door and got out onto the wing. 

'We took a quick inventory of what was in the plane. I grabbed my cell phone and the keys to the car. 

'I knew we had about 20 or 30 seconds before it sunk.' 

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the accident, a spokesman confirmed to the DailyMail.com. 

A spokesman for the FAA said: 'The FAA and NTSB will investigate. The NTSB is the lead agency and it typically takes the NTSB a year or more to determine a probable cause of an accident.' 

Lesh said he believes bad gasoline "caused the plane to malfunction."

Surprise! The Rock is a married man -- he finally worked up the courage to say "I do" to his longtime girlfriend, and it went down in his home state of Hawaii.

Dwayne Johnson and Lauren Hashian tied the knot Sunday after more than a decade of dating, and they both wore white -- a beautiful full-length gown and veil for her ... and a button-down with white pants for him to really rock the island vibes.

The Rock shared the big news Monday morning, writing on IG, "We do. August 18th, 2019. Hawaii. Pōmaikaʻi (blessed)." He also shared a pic of himself dipping Lauren into a romantic kiss with an ocean backdrop.

His acting partner, Kevin Hart, was one of the first to congratulate him on wifing up Lauren.

The couple's been together since 2007, and they have 2 daughters together -- 3-year-old Jasmine and 1-year-old Tiana. Johnson also has an 18-year-old daughter from a previous marriage.

As for the timing of the wedding, it comes just weeks after The Rock announced he "quietly retired" from wrestling.

An amazing thermal video of Boeing 757 landing at Gatwick Airport has been taken by the UK National Police Air Service.

The thermal imaging video shows up all the “hot” spots in white and you can clearly see the engine exhaust and then on landing the wheels and brakes “light up.”

Terror at Oshkosh 2019

This video is a brief analysis on getting very close to a crash at Oshkosh. No finger pointing here. Landing in such an enviroment is unusual and stressful for sure. Check the video first and then ask yourself a few questions.

As the analysis points out, the pilot likely went for full elevator up and this avoided a more critical issue. But was this an attempt to go-around or just to save the landing? Landing at OSH, knowing that thousand of people are looking and operating in non-standard ways is not easy. But is there a reason not to initiate a go-around?

Teacher Punished For Giving Oral Sex To Students

eeak!

If this woman, Jill Meldrum-Jones, looks to you like she's feeling terrified, that could well be the case. She admitted to doing something completely wrong and inexusable on an airplane (and other places), lost her teaching career and faces jail time because of what she did.

eeak!

You would think a married teaching assistant and mother of two living and working in England would enjoy a chance to chaperone and be part of a four-day school trip to South Africa just for the break, wouldn't you?

eeak!

Wouldn't you expect that a 37-year-old teaching assistant, who is also a wife and mother, would teach the kids about South Africa since that's where the class was going? But instead, Meldrum-Jones went where she shouldn't have ever gone at all...

eeak!

On the airplane full of students, Jill Meldrum-Jones sexually molested a 15-year-old student of hers by masturbating him and giving him oral sex during the flight home to England from South Africa. She actually admitted to doing those two acts three times each during the 10 hour flight "under the cover of darkness."

eeak!

Even worse, this wasn't the first time Meldrum-Jones had performed sex acts on this child. She told the court there were several other occasions she engaged in sexual acts with this student during this school trip. The teaching assistant admitted that the first time she performed a sex act on the child was on a mini-bus on the way back from a day-long excursion. In addition to the charges of child molestation, Meldrum-Jones pled guilty to two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity which involved him performing oral sex on her.

eeak!

After the South Africa school trip, rumors about something going on with the teaching assistant and student were circulating and the two were often seen going for walks together. The school can't be named to protect the child. Under questioning by authorities, Meldrum-Jones admitted what she'd done before pleading guilty in court.

eeak!

Jill Meldrum-Jones was given a jail sentence of two years, eight months. She has been added to the sex-offender registry list.

Did The Punishment Fit The Crime? Thoughts?

Comments

Airline Secrets Revealed

It doesn’t matter if being up in the air feels like a second home to you and you’re practically an honorary pilot at this point for how much you jet set — there’s a lot you probably never knew about your commercial flying experience.

woah!

1 You’re probably flying with dead bodies.

Airlines need to make money however they can, and that includes taking on additional cargo like corpses and body parts. Ever wonder how donated kidneys make it from St. Louis to Dallas, or a body is flown from one city to another? Now you do.

--->2 You should never, ever drink the coffee or tea.

Your commercial flight has only three possible ways of getting the water for that fresh brew: bottled (too expensive, you’ll need to fly private for that), bathroom tap (the same sink someone may have used to deal with air sickness after a bout of turbulence), or from a fresh tap water holding tank that’s positioned just a few inches from the human waste and trash tank on most commercial flights. You do the math, and consider a can of seltzer or bringing your own Starbucks on board.

woah!

--->3 Cabin lights get dimmed for a reason.

It’s not mood lighting, people. It’s for the sake of your eyes adjusting more easily to the outside world in the event of a crash upon landing. Less soothing than thinking your pilot just wants to create a spa-like environment, right?

--->4 Your floatation device may be missing.

While airplane designing minds decided long ago that storing floatation devices and vests under seat cushions would be a great way to maximize space and safety, they never accounted for the popularity of thieving passengers. It turns out those vests are one of the top stolen items on airplanes, and the crew hardly has time to notice. Make sure you check under your seat before taking off.

--->5 Your cell phone won’t make the plane crash.

But the signal censors up front in the cockpit are pretty sensitive, so if your pilot is up front trying to get clearance for a takeoff and you plus 30 of your favorite seat mates can’t just enjoy airplane mode for a few minutes — you’re going to delay everyone. Don’t be that person.

--->6 Nobody can tell you not to breastfeed.

If you’re up in the air and your baby is hungry or cranky, it’s your right to feed. If the passenger next to you complains or causes a stir, the cabin crew is usually obligated to relocate them, not you.

--->7 Bad passengers are seated in the kiddie section.

If for some reason your seat changes last minute and you find yourself in the middle of a family of 14 young children, it’s likely because you did something to annoy the gate agent. Yes, they can punish you, so it's best not to be rude or demanding.

Podcast #54! Have you enjoyed an actual entertaining podcast today? No?! Change that! ⛴️ Tune in to our podcast where we discuss hot topics and entertaining news in the world.

Trump Impeached

Impeachment Begins...

trump impeached impeachment

Faced with new allegations against President Trump and administration stonewalling, Democrats have ended months of caution.

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke on the House floor before the House vote on a resolution to formalize impeachment proceedings, marking a significant step in the ongoing inquiry into Impeaching President Trump...

“The actions taken to date by the president have seriously violated the Constitution,” she said after emerging from a meeting of House Democrats in the basement of the Capitol. Mr. Trump, she said, “must be held accountable. No one is above the law.”

The announcement was a stunning development that unfolded after months of caution by House Democrats, who have been divided over using the ultimate remedy to address what they have called flagrant misconduct by the president.

In this case, with an avalanche of Democrats — including many who had resisted the move — now demanding it, Ms. Pelosi said that Mr. Trump’s reported actions, and his administration’s refusal to share details about the matter with Congress, have left the House no alternative outside of impeachment. The inquiry has the potential to reshape Mr. Trump’s presidency and to cleave an already divided nation only a year before he plans to stand for re-election.

At issue are allegations that Mr. Trump pressured the president of Ukraine to open a corruption investigation of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, and his son. The conversation is said to be part of a whistle-blower complaint that the Trump administration has withheld from Congress.

Mr. Trump said on Tuesday that he would authorize the release of a transcript of the conversation, practically daring Democrats to try to find an impeachable offense in a conversation that he has called “perfect.” But Democrats, after months of holding back, demanded the full whistle-blower complaint, even as they pushed toward an expansive impeachment inquiry that could encompass unrelated charges.

“The actions of the Trump presidency revealed dishonorable facts of the president’s betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security, and betrayal of the integrity of our elections,” Ms. Pelosi said.

In a meeting on Tuesday afternoon, Ms. Pelosi told senior Democrats that the chairmen of the six committees that have been investigating Mr. Trump for various issues would put together their best cases on potentially impeachable offenses by the president and send them to the Judiciary Committee, according to two officials familiar with the conversation. That could potentially lay the groundwork for articles of impeachment based on the findings.

The decision to begin a formal impeachment inquiry does not necessarily mean that the House will ultimately vote to charge Mr. Trump with high crimes and misdemeanors — much less that the Republican-controlled Senate will vote to remove him. But Ms. Pelosi and her leadership would not initiate the process unless they were prepared to reach that outcome.

Airline Secrets Revealed

It doesn’t matter if being up in the air feels like a second home to you and you’re practically an honorary pilot at this point for how much you jet set — there’s a lot you probably never knew about your commercial flying experience.

woah!

1 You’re probably flying with dead bodies.

Airlines need to make money however they can, and that includes taking on additional cargo like corpses and body parts. Ever wonder how donated kidneys make it from St. Louis to Dallas, or a body is flown from one city to another? Now you do.

--->2 You should never, ever drink the coffee or tea.

Your commercial flight has only three possible ways of getting the water for that fresh brew: bottled (too expensive, you’ll need to fly private for that), bathroom tap (the same sink someone may have used to deal with air sickness after a bout of turbulence), or from a fresh tap water holding tank that’s positioned just a few inches from the human waste and trash tank on most commercial flights. You do the math, and consider a can of seltzer or bringing your own Starbucks on board.

woah!

--->3 Cabin lights get dimmed for a reason.

It’s not mood lighting, people. It’s for the sake of your eyes adjusting more easily to the outside world in the event of a crash upon landing. Less soothing than thinking your pilot just wants to create a spa-like environment, right?

--->4 Your floatation device may be missing.

While airplane designing minds decided long ago that storing floatation devices and vests under seat cushions would be a great way to maximize space and safety, they never accounted for the popularity of thieving passengers. It turns out those vests are one of the top stolen items on airplanes, and the crew hardly has time to notice. Make sure you check under your seat before taking off.

--->5 Your cell phone won’t make the plane crash.

But the signal censors up front in the cockpit are pretty sensitive, so if your pilot is up front trying to get clearance for a takeoff and you plus 30 of your favorite seat mates can’t just enjoy airplane mode for a few minutes — you’re going to delay everyone. Don’t be that person.

--->6 Nobody can tell you not to breastfeed.

If you’re up in the air and your baby is hungry or cranky, it’s your right to feed. If the passenger next to you complains or causes a stir, the cabin crew is usually obligated to relocate them, not you.

--->7 Bad passengers are seated in the kiddie section.

If for some reason your seat changes last minute and you find yourself in the middle of a family of 14 young children, it’s likely because you did something to annoy the gate agent. Yes, they can punish you, so it's best not to be rude or demanding.

Podcast #54! Have you enjoyed an actual entertaining podcast today? No?! Change that! ⛴️ Tune in to our podcast where we discuss hot topics and entertaining news in the world.

Trump Impeached

Impeachment Begins...

trump impeached impeachment

Faced with new allegations against President Trump and administration stonewalling, Democrats have ended months of caution.

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke on the House floor before the House vote on a resolution to formalize impeachment proceedings, marking a significant step in the ongoing inquiry into Impeaching President Trump...

“The actions taken to date by the president have seriously violated the Constitution,” she said after emerging from a meeting of House Democrats in the basement of the Capitol. Mr. Trump, she said, “must be held accountable. No one is above the law.”

The announcement was a stunning development that unfolded after months of caution by House Democrats, who have been divided over using the ultimate remedy to address what they have called flagrant misconduct by the president.

In this case, with an avalanche of Democrats — including many who had resisted the move — now demanding it, Ms. Pelosi said that Mr. Trump’s reported actions, and his administration’s refusal to share details about the matter with Congress, have left the House no alternative outside of impeachment. The inquiry has the potential to reshape Mr. Trump’s presidency and to cleave an already divided nation only a year before he plans to stand for re-election.

At issue are allegations that Mr. Trump pressured the president of Ukraine to open a corruption investigation of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, and his son. The conversation is said to be part of a whistle-blower complaint that the Trump administration has withheld from Congress.

Mr. Trump said on Tuesday that he would authorize the release of a transcript of the conversation, practically daring Democrats to try to find an impeachable offense in a conversation that he has called “perfect.” But Democrats, after months of holding back, demanded the full whistle-blower complaint, even as they pushed toward an expansive impeachment inquiry that could encompass unrelated charges.

“The actions of the Trump presidency revealed dishonorable facts of the president’s betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security, and betrayal of the integrity of our elections,” Ms. Pelosi said.

In a meeting on Tuesday afternoon, Ms. Pelosi told senior Democrats that the chairmen of the six committees that have been investigating Mr. Trump for various issues would put together their best cases on potentially impeachable offenses by the president and send them to the Judiciary Committee, according to two officials familiar with the conversation. That could potentially lay the groundwork for articles of impeachment based on the findings.

The decision to begin a formal impeachment inquiry does not necessarily mean that the House will ultimately vote to charge Mr. Trump with high crimes and misdemeanors — much less that the Republican-controlled Senate will vote to remove him. But Ms. Pelosi and her leadership would not initiate the process unless they were prepared to reach that outcome.

Airline Secrets Revealed

It doesn’t matter if being up in the air feels like a second home to you and you’re practically an honorary pilot at this point for how much you jet set — there’s a lot you probably never knew about your commercial flying experience.

woah!

1 You’re probably flying with dead bodies.

Airlines need to make money however they can, and that includes taking on additional cargo like corpses and body parts. Ever wonder how donated kidneys make it from St. Louis to Dallas, or a body is flown from one city to another? Now you do.

--->2 You should never, ever drink the coffee or tea.

Your commercial flight has only three possible ways of getting the water for that fresh brew: bottled (too expensive, you’ll need to fly private for that), bathroom tap (the same sink someone may have used to deal with air sickness after a bout of turbulence), or from a fresh tap water holding tank that’s positioned just a few inches from the human waste and trash tank on most commercial flights. You do the math, and consider a can of seltzer or bringing your own Starbucks on board.

woah!

--->3 Cabin lights get dimmed for a reason.

It’s not mood lighting, people. It’s for the sake of your eyes adjusting more easily to the outside world in the event of a crash upon landing. Less soothing than thinking your pilot just wants to create a spa-like environment, right?

--->4 Your floatation device may be missing.

While airplane designing minds decided long ago that storing floatation devices and vests under seat cushions would be a great way to maximize space and safety, they never accounted for the popularity of thieving passengers. It turns out those vests are one of the top stolen items on airplanes, and the crew hardly has time to notice. Make sure you check under your seat before taking off.

--->5 Your cell phone won’t make the plane crash.

But the signal censors up front in the cockpit are pretty sensitive, so if your pilot is up front trying to get clearance for a takeoff and you plus 30 of your favorite seat mates can’t just enjoy airplane mode for a few minutes — you’re going to delay everyone. Don’t be that person.

--->6 Nobody can tell you not to breastfeed.

If you’re up in the air and your baby is hungry or cranky, it’s your right to feed. If the passenger next to you complains or causes a stir, the cabin crew is usually obligated to relocate them, not you.

--->7 Bad passengers are seated in the kiddie section.

If for some reason your seat changes last minute and you find yourself in the middle of a family of 14 young children, it’s likely because you did something to annoy the gate agent. Yes, they can punish you, so it's best not to be rude or demanding.

More Aviation...