How Did the Lockheed Martin P-791 Hybrid Airship Work?

How Did the Lockheed Martin P-791 Hybrid Airship Work?

Short Answer: It Combined Helium, Hull Lift, and Vectored Thrust The Lockheed Martin P-791 combined buoyant lift from helium, aerodynamic lift from its shaped hull, and vectored engine thrust. The two-person, half-scale demonstrator looked a little like a blimp, a...

James May, A Toys Story, Touches on Power Systems

My favorite BBC presenter is James May of Top Gear fame. He has several series if you wish to look them up. In this episode they race the Germans over a 10 mile course between two cities that at one time were connected with rail service. Lots of interesting...
Was the Curtiss-Wright VZ-7 an Early Quadcopter?

Was the Curtiss-Wright VZ-7 an Early Quadcopter?

Short Answer: It Was an Early Full-Size Four-Rotor Aircraft Yes, in the broad modern sense: the Curtiss-Wright VZ-7 was a piloted VTOL aircraft with four vertically mounted rotors. “Quadcopter” is a useful shorthand today, although the Army called the machine an...

Can you think out of the block?

I love all things interesting mechanically or engineering wise. Check out this engine project. Great engineering and thought whet into this. You can tell by how simple it is. Any dummy can engineer a solution with great complexity. Genius is in working out simple...