Efficiency of a Real Aeronautical Engineer

Skunk Works of Lockheed Martin is one of the most respected organizations in the world. It's truly the birth place of many legendary aircrafts known to mankind. 

Skunk Works was a company inside company. It had rules similar to many current startups. They were very agile and flexible. It had all the traits of a billion dollar startup. Small competent team. No B.S. with politics or corporate laws. Strict financial control. And most of all they loved what they were creating. 

The corner stone of Skunk works were laid by none other than the great Kelly Johnson. Kelly was a brilliant engineer and skilled leader. 

He was so efficient that higher management was always chasing him with position of president in LM. But his real efficiency is with U-2 project. 

Usually in every government project around the world, companies run out money. Companies all around the world try very hard to stay in line with budget. Projects especially with aviation takes longer and usually break the budget line. It's through variation and added value, contractors gain the money. 

With U-2 top secret project it was different.

U-2's project was handled in such a way that US Air Force got an aircraft that performs beyond their expectations and cost less. With U-2 project, LM returned 1 million dollar back to the government. 

That's how efficient Skunk Works was. That's how efficient a real aeronautical engineer is. 

Strive to be a better engineer. A better leader. 

Cheers.

CK

Oh, It's good to Back!

Alright folks. I'm back, stronger than ever. 

I had to take some time off between my office and business. My apologies. 

Starting tomorrow we will resume our blog posting; although, technically this is also a post. 

I thank all my readers for your faith and support.

Cheers! 

CK

New B-2 Stealth Bomber Air-to-Air Footage

This video was uploaded by Northrop Grumman recently. It has amazing air to air footage of B-2 Spirit seen never before. Watch it in HD.

I couldn't write last week. My apologies. 

CK

Costliest Aircraft in the World

B-2 Spirit.

One B-2 Spirit cost $ 2.1 Billion. That is the entire fortune of Evan Spiegel, founder of Snapchat and currently the youngest billionaire in the world.

It's the most expensive aircraft in the world.

B-2 was designed and constructed by Northrop Grumman who were pioneers in flying wing technology. B-2 Spirit was a quantum leap in technology and modern warfare. It changed the entire aviation military as we know it.

During the cold war period U.S. Air Force needed aircraft that can penetrate enemy defense to gather strategic military data and bomb them. B-2 was designed to be the master of stealth and can penetrate any air surveillance radar network without being noticed. In other words, they were invisible.

Legendary aircraft like U-2, SR-71A and B-2 - all were designed to gather information. I think what we should take away from this is - Knowledge is actually a power we cannot even fathom.

The initial plan was to built 220 B-2 stealth bombers. Since the cost of units was way past billion dollars, only 21 were built. One B-2 sadly crashed in 2008. 

Only 20 B-2's exist in the world now. 

It's truly one of the magnificent and majestic machines in the world. They are planned to be in service till 2058. Suits well for a machine that cost $2.1 billion dollars.

Thank You for reading.

CK

Highest Manned Flight Altitude Ever Flown

In contrary to the popular belief, SR-71A Blackbird's record of highest manned flight altitude is not actually the highest. 

It was made by a legendary Russian Fighter Jet called Mig 25 Foxbat.

A symbol of the Cold War, the MiG-25 flew with Soviet allies and former Soviet republics, remaining in limited service in Russia and several other nations. It is one of the highest-flying military aircraft, and the second fastest after the SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft.

On August 31st 1977, Mig 25 cruised at 123,520ft (37.50Km). SR-71 A Blackbird cruised at 88,000ft. 

In the movie Iron Man, JARVIS says "SR-71 A Blackbird" as the highest flying fixed wing aircraft. Well, that's false.

Thank You Guys for reading.

CK

Story of Russian Air Force

Russia is the only country in the world that can stand up against United States of America (USA) in military strength.

It's a fact and that is no small strength.

They were once a super-powered nation with massive arsenal of nuclear power. There ability to be a dominant country was partly due to its massive military strength.

Russian Air Force fly some of the most advanced jets in the world. The technology being used in Russian aircraft are state-of-the-art. 

The most famous Russian jets are Mig 29 and Su-35. Recently SU PAK FA stealth fighter which is planned to enter in service next year is also popular.

Russian fighter pilots are one of the most elite in the world with strict training regime and equipment.

Currently the Russian Air Force operates a total of 61 air bases. This includes 26 air bases with tactical aircraft, of which 14 are equipped with fighter aircraft.

In 2012, the Air Force was made up of:

• 38 fighter squadrons (7 operating MiG-29s, one operating the MiG-29S, 2 operating the MiG-29SMT, 7 operating the MiG-31, one operating the MiG-31B, 4 operating the MiG-31BM, 7 operating the Su-27P, 8 operating the Su-27SM, 1 operating the Su-27SM3 and Su-30M2, 1 operating the Su-35S, 1 operating the Su-30SM)
• 15 bomber squadrons (9 operating the Su-24M, 2 operating the Su-24M2, 4 operating the Su-34)
• 14 assault squadrons (10 operating the Su-25, 4 operating the Su-25SM)
• 9 intelligence squadrons (operating the Su-24MR, and various UAVs)
• 13 training and testbed squadrons

After the end of cold war in 1991; Russian Air Force was faced with financial scrutiny. There was a time when pilots were not paid for 7 months consistently. There was even a strike for monthly wages.

This caused the Air Force to take a down turn until the rise of Vladmir Putin. Putin later increased the defense fund massively. 

Aircraft technologies,be it commercial or defense were greatly appreciated and was funded. This resulted in developing advanced support aircraft , unmanned aerial vehicles to stealth aircraft. 

Keeping the communist political views aside; Russian aircraft technology deserves admiration and respect. Pushing the boundaries of technology has been the strategy of many countries lately. And those who excel in that has a chance to spread fortune and prosperity. Russian fighter aircraft are an example of that.

спасибо за чтение (Thank You for Reading).

CK

Airbus Flight of the Future

Charles Champion, the man behind A380 has a grant vision for the future Air Travel. Check the link below to find the video by Airbus. Even though the video is old, it is an indication that Air Travel will change in the coming decades. Watch Out~

CK