Venezuela!

 War is coming, but at what cost to the Region?

The Americans claim to have the tech to win this quickly, but Venezuela has some really cool new Russian teach, that is far better than what the U,S, Presidents claims along with his narcotic claims and idiotic polices regarding Honduras!

The real reason is free resources and the removal of a socialist government, but what the U.S. administration does not understand at this time, is that this will go on for years and it will not take the worlds eyes off the middle-east or the Russia-Ukraine conflict along with many others!

Russia has supplied Venezuela with some sophisticated kit and U.S. collateral damage will not go down well with the public back home, while the republicans might not see them back in office ever again?

Sukhoi Su-27's, F-35's, Tupolev TU-160, B-2 bombers and fighter jets, missile systems galore, battle experienced troops fighting in the Ukraine and other nations like China and N-Korea will lead to world war -III something that Mr, Trump has hinted too for some time, to change the world!

Moving into Electric?

Cars, planes and Boats!

Norway has become a leader in this new conception, while many who started the trend such as Tesla are going out with financial costs running to high. Many countries claim to have something to develop in the area, but it will be some time before we see a real all electric powered vehicle, rather than a battery operated one?

Battery is not bad but the technology for it has not changed much in the last one hundred years so apart from solar and alternative energies we will just have to wait and see is there really any alternative to fossil fuels even in the near future!

We do not get to hear to much of what is going on in the developing world when it come to this type of technology and what breakthroughs that they have made with alternatives to fossil extraction fuels!

Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar.

A glider concept Engined.

World War-II (1939-45) produced many concepts in military transportation, one being gliders by both the British and Nazi-Germany to move troops and equipment! But despite being clever and useful they were easy targets for the artillery on each side!

After the war the Fairchild company produced a concept that may have been copied from Nazi-German ideas, and this proved to be on of the first effective designs from 1947 to at least 1970. Speed was not fast compared to later machines, but sixty-two troops and vehicles could be moved over at least 3.400 miles with a crew of four.

The French Nord N2501 Noratlas developed from 1960, but much smaller was based on the same tail configuration design! it carried forty-five passengers and five crew at a range of 1550miles and was exported to Chad, Greece and Nigeria.

The aircraft was exported to Ethiopia, India, Italy, Morocco and Thailand, apart from early U.S. service. The C-119G was converted to the AC-119 gunship version, this was later superseded by the Fairchild C-123 Provider of a more conventional design from 1949.

Many nations who received these initial aircraft, went on the buy the long serving Lockheed C-130 Hercules.

Chemical Weapons. Part-Two.

Who poisoned the Skripals?

Britain has begged many nations to support its anti-Russian stance, but many have refused to go the whole way? Why would they do this and what is the real truth behind this alleged Salisbury attack? 

Did Skripal want to make up with the Russians and return home and so the British had to kill him, or did his daughter fail to deliver the goods smuggled out to the west? These are the two most probable truths to why they were poisoned!

The world has made many agreements in relation to the use and non use of such weapons, but they still exist and Porton Down has as many and are able to create new ones if desired, but they claim they have Been pressured by the British government to pull into line!

We hear much today about the use of chemical weapons in Syria and the media twist the truth in relation to who has them and uses them? ISIL/S has perhaps the largest stock of weapons in the world, while many other nations may too have their own stocks of chemicals, gases and other agents one being N-Korea?

Russias Nuclear Powered Drone?

Unlimited Flight!

Russia has revealed a series of new weapon systems, including a claim it has the worlds first nuclear powered drone! This is a major breakthrough in unmanned flight and may lead eventually to commercial aircraft being powered in a similar way?

Finally we have an alternative to fossil fuels, but what of the dangers and radioactivity, if they are shot down or captured by hostile forces? These claims come with the upgrade of several former Soviet era missiles and other technologies and a warning that when they wanted peace they were ignored by the world or left behind!

But now that they were back the world was all worried again and so the New Russia is going to defend its allies India and the Republic of China, while perhaps this is an indirect warning to the U.S. and NATO that they will not stand by to allow N-Korea, Iran or Syria be walked over?

A changing aviation Market?

Airbus A380 and A350-100 at a loss!

The world wants smaller aircraft, rather than larger ones and in the civil commercial airline market one does not get any bigger than the Super-Jumbo and the Extra-wide bodied? 

New aircraft such as the Bombardier C-series are more desirable, Embraer has taken the market with its E-Jet series and new comers from Russia, China and Japan are quickly following suite with their own versions!

Boeing has kept to a tight ship in its developments, staying with the 747-8bio-fuelled and struggling with the Dreamliner? But it has given up on the DC-9/717, for the expansion in the 737-800/900 and MAX, all of which is in demand around the globe.

Airbus has taken on the C-Series with reluctance, because it clashes with the A321-neo and similar designs that will be forthcoming?

NASA's New Propultion Discovery.

The Electric Engine.

A new type of propulsion will see air travel on this planet revolutionised over the next one-hundred years and will also lay the bases perhaps for Martian flight and also on other Moons and Planets in our Solar-system.

You will have the go yourself to the NASA site to check it out, because it is to complicated to explain it here. There are many new ideas about getting into space at the moment and many nations have their own takes, but the questions is who will be the first apart from the United States?

Meanwhile the recent successful Solar powered around the world flight will lead to solar powered machines for mars and the Moons of Saturn and Jupiter!

Driverless Vehicles. Part-One.

Robotic Vehicles.

What is behind the idea to have a driver less vehicle? Is it a way to control speed and cut out joy riding and motorway incidents! What advantage do we have without the human over ride, if one is not fitted and will these vehicles be monitored by the police and security to know were we travel too?

The benefits may come in slower speeds and helping people with disability, but a lot will be lost perhaps to the freedoms of driving we currently have. The individual choice of a sports car over and small family car may be lost in us only having the types provided.

Will these new cars be driven by petrol engines or electric, will they be fitted with hidden sensors even to the point of security cameras to gather behavioural information? 

They are questions worth answering before the world goes down the road of more state control. What will happen to the vehicles we now have, will they become obsolete, banned or limited in their use and what about the rest of the world?

Air Freighters. Part-Four.

The 1970's onwards.

From the 1970's and the advent of the McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 to the 11F, Lockheed Tristar and the rise of the Jumbo jet, Boeing 747-100/400 the age that we live in has now occurred. From day one these aircraft had the potential and the Boeing 747, MD-11F soldier on with many specialist airlines operating all around the world.

Apart from post and parcels (DHL, UPS, FexEx, TNT) many are employed in the movement of military equipment of various type. Airlines such as Kalitta, Atlas, Gemini, Air Bridge cargo, Aerologic all carry sometimes unlisted loads using the above mentioned types.

Meanwhile the Boeing 757, earlier 737's and the newer 777 are now converted fro this role. The European Airbus manufacturer has also used its older types for freight, Post and general cargo. Some of these types were intially offered in the combi-configuration, especcially the Boeing 747-200. it looks like that his will continue to be the case.

Air Freighters. Part-One.

Cargo and Freight.

Through human history on this planet we have always had to move goods and this was either done by boat, ships or waggon's of one type or another. With the advent of the steam age from the 19th Century, it was the invention of the railways that revolutionised movements across vast areas of our land masses and then seventy years later the aeroplane was invented.

Initially aircraft were for breaking speed records and then World War-I (1914-18) saw the military side of this new machine. It was not really until the 1920's that aircraft were big enough to both carry mail and passengers. Every year a new world record of distant flying was being broken and the need to carry goods started to be demanded.

Airships and rigid Durables were also in competition with the aircraft, despite being slow and vulnerable they were able to carry heavier loads than aircraft could.

The Biz Jets. Part-One.

Business.

From almost day one in aviation the idea of the business plane was born, for the business man to get from A to B without the bother of being with other people. Early flight was initially either for the very rich or for military uses, it was not until the 1920's that new types of aircraft allowed for longer and longer distances to travel.

From cross Channel to Continental flight, some business people preferred travel with the post rather Handley-Page types than mixing and this continues today. Early aircraft were limited, but during World-War-II )1939-45) this type of travel came to the fore. British PM Mr. Winston Churchill prop-seated in a Douglas  DC-3/C-47 around the world negotiating an effective alliance against Adolf Hitler. The U.S and Soviet Russia followed.

Railways.

Trains.

In the recent months we have seen three major train accidents in France, Spain and Switzerland. Speed was one of the key factors, but there was also human failure and bad track maintenance involved. We have asked the question before is speed essential, people today do seem to want to get from A to Z quickly?

Railways since they were created have become an essential life line for all the nations around the world who have them. Locomotives, wither steam, diesel or electric do not matter as long as they work. But it is still human error and negligence over speed issues and will to repair tracks that are and will continue to lead to failure, leading to accidents and deaths sadly.

Buses, Coaches.

Even in the light of the recent coach crash in a Swiss road tunnel, very sad as it is. This is probably one of the most successful of human inventions. Buses are used world-wide and are to be found in all sorts of places cold and hot, wet and dry. Despite the many accidents that occur on mountain roads, they are still the best and cheapest way to travel from A to B. One of the latest inventions for the bus is the sliding side way Volvo coach. Much easier to park in urban environs, but still too expensive for many.  We today still have double decker's and now the bendy bus, love or hate it. but in eastern Europe there remains the trolley buses. What is the future I wonder in this century for the coach, bus?