Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Military Aviation News and Discussion Thread

I wouldn't put too much weight into a rumor echoed on a civilian's YT channel (all due respect to Denys' good work on there), but as far as the F-18s suitability over the F-16, it's an interesting one... The layman that I am would think that the F-16 would be a simpler and cheaper airplane to operat...

Re: ABL RS-1 Launch Failure

There was a time when I thought the small launcher market was going to get saturated with so many companies entering it all at once, but now I'm worried none of them will even manage to get a working launcher...

Re: Virgin Orbit Flight Failure

You are mistaking media fanfare for real significance and Branson getting far too easy a ride by them, many of those at Newquay would have been involved with the payload of satellites, I suppose losing those was funny too? I don't find any of this funny. In fact, any failure from these space startu...

Re: Biden admin Ban gas stoves?

Jeez people get riled up over nothing these days. Biden isn't coming for your cooktop. Or was the secret plan on that laptop! How else are they going to distract conservative voters from the fact that, for instance, the representatives they elected are gutting the house ethics committee to allow th...

Re: United Launch Alliance - Tests, Launches, News, Developments

Good news.

Although 'the latest SpaceX projections for Starship launch' seem about as accurate as a tarot reading these days...

It will be nice to finally see a BE-4 launching.

Re: Virgin Orbit Flight Failure

On the perils of bombastic and boastful marketing when engaging in high risk ventures...

That 'first launch from the UK' fanfare really was a bit of a stretch, and it almost literally blew up in their faces.

Re: 2023 F1 Season News and Discussion Thread

One thing I noted in last year's thread about the '23 calendar was its obvious inefficiency, with many races requiring back and forth intercontinental travel for seemingly no reason other than to accommodate the respective race organizers. Needless to say, this flies in the face of F1's commitment t...

Re: 2023 F1 Season News and Discussion Thread

I don't know why the FIA is still playing hard to get with Andretti's proposal. The GM tie up, along with Andretti's racing pedigree, now makes this a very serious candidate. Add to this F1 growing popularity in the US - and the associated revenue - and I think they would be crazy for leaving them o...

Re: Kevin McCarthy makes history... first in 100 years to fail Speaker vote

Well, if this isn't the inevitable and entirely predictable consequences of the MAGA-fication of the GOP...

Sow discord, reap chaos.

Re: Migrants dropped off at VP Residence Xmas Eve

Ah, yes, using human beings as pawns for political stunts. On Christmas.
What else would we expect from the merchants of anger and discord?

"And his heart shrunk three sizes that day".

Re: Arianespace News and Discussion Thread

Vega is really proving to be a problem child for Arianespace... Which is somewhat ironic since it was designed to be a relatively simple and cheap launcher. I guess it is just one more proof that 'simple' and 'cheap' just don't belong in space. Add that to the Ariane 6 delays and ESA is looking at a...

Re: NASA acquires 777-200

Re: Trump Digital Trading Cards

What's funny is not that he is trying to scam people - that's what he has dedicated his life to doing after all - it's that he is not even putting any effort in his cons anymore... He used to at least put some work in, like setting up a fake university or repackaging cheap liquor or that kind of cra...

Re: Musk, Twitter News and Discussion Thread

Now journalists are getting banned. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/twitter-aaron-rupar-twitter-suspended-b2246293.html Twitter has suspended the account of prominent liberal journalist Aaron Rupar as well as reporters from CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post. Rupar, w...

Re: Nuclear fusion: harnessing the power of the stars

This is a "humankind" game changer. Imagine no more burning fossil fuels to generate electricity...even if it means using the heat to just boil water.... As much of a fan of fusion as I am, I have my doubt that it will end up being a humankind game changer. As has been explained in other ...

Re: Musk, Twitter News and Discussion Thread

So why is Jack Dorsey carrying Elon's water here? Do they have some sort of deal? He's lending credence to the Twitter Files by accepting "blame". Also condemning the threats against his former Twitter colleagues. But not identifying Elon as the cause of those threats, which he clearly is...

Re: Marriage: do women change surname in your country?

All the people I know did take there husbands last name. But in Quebec its against the law for a woman to take her husbands last name, my nephew just got married in October to a young woman in Quebec and that's when I learned of it. It seems some woman that want to adopt there husbands last name po...

Re: Nuclear fusion: harnessing the power of the stars

My understanding is that the plasma is contained by magnetic fields. What happens if the magnetic field is removed. The fusion reaction instantly stops. It can only happen within the ultra-dense plasma that is created by that field. This is, among other reasons, why fusion reactors cannot 'runaway'...

Re: Boom Supersonic new configuration.

But going from 900lb thrust upwards will be an interesting challenge. Especially, at a guess, as reliability, maintainability etc will need to be higher than for a missile etc? No kidding... Boom needs a 35klbs class supersonic engine. That's a bit of a step up, as the British would euphemistically...

Re: Musk, Twitter News and Discussion Thread

This is the third time Musk has lashed out in a week. Other targets included Anthony Fauci, whom he accused of lying about COVID, and Yoel Roth, whom he accused of permitting pedophilia and not protecting children on Twitter. (Note that pedophilia is oddly his go-to accusation). Now that you mentio...

Re: 2022 F1 Season News and Discussion Thread

zkojq wrote:

Looks like Vasseur has left Sauber. I wonder what his destination could be?

Re: Russia frees US basketball star in swap with arms dealer Bout

FoxNews and other RW news/opinion media outlets are going full tilt to bash Biden and Democrats over. It will be seen as and I agree will be one of the biggest political mistakes Pres. Biden will have done as President. I'm really not sure what else the administration should have done if they were ...

Re: Mar-A-Lago raided by FBI.

I think this means Trump is finally running out of human shields. We all wondered when that would happen. His legal team is going to be so encumbered by contempt and sanctions, that they'll have no time to work for him. Making Attorneys Get Attorneys. I have wondered for a while how Trump manages t...

Re: Boom Supersonic new configuration.

They said "it will be by the end of the year" Did they say which year? Boom is another reminder that despite most of the industry spotlights being shone on airframe manufacturers, engine manufacturers are really the ones who dictate innovation and advancement in the sector. Especially at ...

Re: Musk, Twitter News and Discussion Thread

Ol' Musky is now angry that the city of SF is nosing around his sweatshop and inquiring about bedrooms that have allegedly been setup at Twitter headquarters. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/musk-slams-san-francisco-for-probe-of-bedrooms-at-twitter-hq/ar-AA14Zr5n?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=a18...

Re: 2022 F1 Season News and Discussion Thread

Hadn't they announced that China was cancelled about a week ago already? (As per the posts above) Or is it just now official? I doubt they'll replace it with anything in any case. They may just try to reshuffle things a bit to avoid the month-long lull. That said, if they really wanted to put someth...

Re: Musk, Twitter News and Discussion Thread

Von der Leyen announced the EU is blocking 300 billion Russian Central Bank reserves + 19b of Russian oligarch money and threatened to seize them to fund the reconstruction of Ukaine's economy. https://www.globalconstructionreview.com/eu-threatens-to-seize-e300bn-from-russia-to-rebuild-ukraine/ Wro...

Re: Musk, Twitter News and Discussion Thread

Musk arrived at Twitter with an approach that I am sure he thinks is pretty straightforward. The site, he believes, has a leftwing bias that should be corrected by allowing suspended users back on to the platform. The accounts of Donald Trump, Kanye West and Jordan Peterson have been reinstated, al...

Re: Which temperature convention do you prefer for pulldown kitchen faucets?

Forward (towards user) should be cold and back should be hot for kitchen faucets IMO. In fact, I plumbed mine backwards to have it this way. Then again I can see why some manufacturer would go fwd hot / back cold as some faucets can be installed rotated 90 degrees clockwise with the handle facing th...

Re: CX Cargo and Medium-haul Order

Bets on 777X to 787 conversion... 77F is likely to replace the 74F, but I could see some P2F from their own 77W fleet. Additional 321s are likely. If not now, at least down the line. Subsidiary LD has experience with 330 P2F. If positive and if they are looking for more of a regional-sized freighter...

Re: Musk, Twitter News and Discussion Thread

Things are going swimmingly over at Twitter. Half of their top advertisers have left the platform, as per a report from a few days ago: https://news.yahoo.com/less-month-musk-takeover-half-001257006.html And that list now includes Apple, which says it has cut its advertising on the platform. But not...

Re: Musk, Twitter News and Discussion Thread

It's always rather impressive - in a sad way - to witness someone slowly descend into madness, but when it happens to a boisterous billionaire, it becomes a worldwide spectacle. It's like a slow motion trainwreck that we can't take our eyes off of. Everyone reacts differently to the avalanche of unf...

Re: 2022 F1 Season News and Discussion Thread

Despite showing unity and confidence on the surface, it seems all was not well within the Ferrari team and that their disheveled seasons has taken a toll on Binotto, who will apparently quit after his Boss John Elkann lost confidence in him: https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/ferrari-f1-team-b...