Unofficial Aviation Buff Thread

[Dejan Corovic]

U.S. Air Force Reveals New B-21 Design Details | Aviation Week Network

U.S. Air Force Reveals New B-21 Design Details​

Steve Trimble March 08, 2023

Credit: U.S. Air Force
A newly released Northrop Grumman B-21 picture offers the first clear view of both of the bomber’s unique air inlets.
The image, which the U.S. Air Force published March 7, reveals for the first time that the inlets are shaped like sideways teardrops.
The designers appear to have positioned a bulbous inboard section to ingest the boundary layer of air flowing over the leading edge of the wing.
If viewed from above, the inlet also appears to be L-shaped, with a right angle placed at roughly one-third of the inlet length. Both sides sweep forward from the right angle, with the outboard section at roughly two-thirds the length.
The B-21 also is designed with a pair of indentations above the engine nacelles on either side of the aft fuselage. The openings may be slits for supplemental inlets or exhausts. Alternatively, they could be apertures for sensors or communications.
Several stenciled markings appear on the wings and fuselage. The symbol for Northrop’s advanced projects division appears on the right wing, as viewed from the cockpit. The roundel of the U.S. Air Force is shown on the left wing. Along the right side of the fuselage aft of the cockpit appear three more unit logos, but the details are not visible.
The image appeared in a presentation by Gen. C.Q. Brown, the Air Force chief of staff, who addressed the Warfare Symposium in Aurora, Colorado.
The Air Force first revealed the B-21 during a Dec. 2 ceremony at the Northrop factory in Palmdale, California, but carefully obscured views of the inlet from the crowd and live footage. The aft section of the aircraft still has never been shown to the public, nor has the identity and quantity of the engines on the bomber been disclosed.
The B-21 is still scheduled to fly this year, but Air Force officials do not offer more details. “It will fly when it’s ready,” Andrew Hunter, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, told the symposium audience on March 7.
Air Force officials have consistently said the bomber’s development has gone generally to plan, and that certain aspects of the program have proceeded faster than similar advanced aircraft in the past.
The B-21’s mission system recently demonstrated that it could detect, target, track and destroy a target in simulations, Gen. Thomas Bussiere, the commander of Global Strike Command, said at the symposium. Although no further details were released, Bussiere’s remarks suggest the B-21 may be further along than the Lockheed Martin F-22 and F-35 at the same stage of development. Neither aircraft began testing the mission systems onboard until at least three years after first flight.
“The capabilities and technology integrated into that weapon system is second to none,” Bussiere said. “It will be the most advanced strike platform ever designed or built on the planet.”

It does look like a ghost from Ghostbusters movie

 

[wwkirk]

U.S. Air Force Reveals New B-21 Design Details | Aviation Week Network

U.S. Air Force Reveals New B-21 Design Details​

Steve Trimble March 08, 2023

Credit: U.S. Air Force
A newly released Northrop Grumman B-21 picture offers the first clear view of both of the bomber’s unique air inlets.
The image, which the U.S. Air Force published March 7, reveals for the first time that the inlets are shaped like sideways teardrops.
The designers appear to have positioned a bulbous inboard section to ingest the boundary layer of air flowing over the leading edge of the wing.
If viewed from above, the inlet also appears to be L-shaped, with a right angle placed at roughly one-third of the inlet length. Both sides sweep forward from the right angle, with the outboard section at roughly two-thirds the length.
The B-21 also is designed with a pair of indentations above the engine nacelles on either side of the aft fuselage. The openings may be slits for supplemental inlets or exhausts. Alternatively, they could be apertures for sensors or communications.
Several stenciled markings appear on the wings and fuselage. The symbol for Northrop’s advanced projects division appears on the right wing, as viewed from the cockpit. The roundel of the U.S. Air Force is shown on the left wing. Along the right side of the fuselage aft of the cockpit appear three more unit logos, but the details are not visible.
The image appeared in a presentation by Gen. C.Q. Brown, the Air Force chief of staff, who addressed the Warfare Symposium in Aurora, Colorado.
The Air Force first revealed the B-21 during a Dec. 2 ceremony at the Northrop factory in Palmdale, California, but carefully obscured views of the inlet from the crowd and live footage. The aft section of the aircraft still has never been shown to the public, nor has the identity and quantity of the engines on the bomber been disclosed.
The B-21 is still scheduled to fly this year, but Air Force officials do not offer more details. “It will fly when it’s ready,” Andrew Hunter, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, told the symposium audience on March 7.
Air Force officials have consistently said the bomber’s development has gone generally to plan, and that certain aspects of the program have proceeded faster than similar advanced aircraft in the past.
The B-21’s mission system recently demonstrated that it could detect, target, track and destroy a target in simulations, Gen. Thomas Bussiere, the commander of Global Strike Command, said at the symposium. Although no further details were released, Bussiere’s remarks suggest the B-21 may be further along than the Lockheed Martin F-22 and F-35 at the same stage of development. Neither aircraft began testing the mission systems onboard until at least three years after first flight.
“The capabilities and technology integrated into that weapon system is second to none,” Bussiere said. “It will be the most advanced strike platform ever designed or built on the planet.”

Looks terrific. Surprising color though.

 

[Dejan Corovic]

Truly unbelievable:


View: https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=8995584280515238

 

[Rick Hunter]

That's a Piper Cub, isn't it? Bush pilots like them because they can land in really tight spots.

 

[pigfarmer]

Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. They have an old gag where they have the next door farmer who wants to mow the field. He's drunk and doesn't care if there's a show. So at about 1:44 after they let him 'look inside' the plane to shut him up he accidentally takes off hanging out of the cockpit.

Now, that farmer is no kid and he's got a serious gut. (and obviously not really drunk). But he's also a superb stunt pilot in a vintage machine that has been perfectly maintained. I think the Piper predates WW2. This is from 2008 but it never changes.

I betcha The Drunk Farmer could land that thing on a helipad and wouldn't even need a Red Bull !

 

[Dejan Corovic]

Actually, buying STOL plane is one of my dream buys.



There is other one, I forgot the name, which has tricycle wheel so it can't stick propeller into dirt. It has a short and stubby wings with forward slut. I want that one. That plane is like helicopter and its born for hunting and maybe chasing UFOs .

But there are so many different ones now.

 

[Dejan Corovic]

And here is "beauty of the day", Spitfire.

 

[pigfarmer]

@Dejan Corovic - just curious if you're a pilot.

I've seen Spitfires up close, running and flying at Oshkosh, Wisconsin years ago. Not having legs was probably doing Bader a favor in those things. My friggin' skeleton is way too big to even think about shoe horning myself into one even if I knew how to fly. Big debate with those guys - Hawker Hurricane of Spitfire? The Hurricane probably did most of the heavy lifting but the Spitfire's sexier. And teeny tiny inside.

Also at Oshkosh one year I saw some oddly marked Tornadoes. Then I saw the Maltese Cross and the young men in .... slightly different uniforms. Luftwaffe. Flying the same planes as a lot of other people .... but man they knew how to just own it. Very cool. Achtung, baby.

 

[Dejan Corovic]

@Dejan Corovic - just curious if you're a pilot.

I've seen Spitfires up close, running and flying at Oshkosh, Wisconsin years ago. Not having legs was probably doing Bader a favor in those things. My friggin' skeleton is way too big to even think about shoe horning myself into one even if I knew how to fly. Big debate with those guys - Hawker Hurricane of Spitfire? The Hurricane probably did most of the heavy lifting but the Spitfire's sexier. And teeny tiny inside.

Also at Oshkosh one year I saw some oddly marked Tornadoes. Then I saw the Maltese Cross and the young men in .... slightly different uniforms. Luftwaffe. Flying the same planes as a lot of other people .... but man they knew how to just own it. Very cool. Achtung, baby.

Unfortunately I'm not a pilot. Probably I'm coming close to the age limit as well. And, I'm a bit too tall, as well.

But ( in my dreams ) I keep hesitating between going hunting in mountains in a helicopter or in a STOL aeroplane.

Spitfire was the best designed single engine plane of WWII, particularly because of its unique very thin wing, that was expensive to make, but it offered very little drag.

 

[Dejan Corovic]

The most glamorous weapons of WWII were ballistic missiles, jet engines and atom bombs.

But very few folks know about the analogue computerised gunsights that enabled B-29 bombers to have 11:1 kill ratio that was many, many times deadlier then P-51 or P-38. Here is a rare video going into details:


View: https://youtu.be/xJNsvWRpBiE