planes are awesome

This one is so, so, so cool. Behold the biggest fucking plane ever! It's literally so fucking awesome (shoutout to my dad for telling me about it!)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) comes from the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA); NACA was formed in 1915 and dissolved in 1958 to form our beloved NASA.

While both terms refer generally to the same structure in the aircraft -- the wing --, they both mean different things and have different implications regarding their use.

*it's important to note that these terms are used in this way when referring to aerodynamics and project calculations.

The main difference between a wing and an airfoil is its tip and root; airfoils don't have them. Airfoils are essentially "infinite wings", meaning they have no root or tip, they're used to test and calculate aerodynamic flow without the interference of the tips. They're done in wind tunnels and have both ends attached to the walls of the wind tunnel

Mach 6.70! How cool is that?!

In the late 40s the manyfacturer de Havilland developed the Comet 1. Introduced in 1949 it was the first of a kind: four turbojet engines licated at the root of the wings, pressurised cabine, aerodynamic sleek profile, and large square windows. It promised to revolutionize comercial aviation with the first jet airliner, it only had one itsy bitsy problem:

It kept breaking and falling and killing people.

The de Havilland Comet was involved in 25 hull-loss (irreparable) accidents, 13 of which were fatal. Much investigation was done to find the causes of so many grave accidents so close to each other.

One of the tests was a fatigue test in which a brand new aircraft was placed inside a container filled with water for 24 hours. The pressure of the water would simulate the pressure of the altitude in which the aircraft flew, recreating the conditions of the accident safely.

They found that the corners of the aquare windows created stress points where the fuselage ripped, ripping apart the plane, causing the accidents. Following the many devastating accidents, the public strongly lost the little confidence they had on commercial jet planes. Though they did win the marked over later, it was a hassle.

"Enola Gay

Is mother proud of Little Boy today?

Ah-ha, this kiss you give

It's never ever gonna fade away"

It uses refraction of sound to do so, meaning it can do routes the Concorde (RIP) could only dream off since it was only allowed to go over the speed of sound over thr ocean.

So, Tex was the only one allowed by the insurance policy to fly that plane and his only instructions were "sell the plane"; instead of just flying over the river, he decided to roll the plane (a trick that looks like the plane is falling in spiral).

It's a beautiful passanger and military plane that fits about 20 people (including pilot and co-pilot). It's got two Pratt & Whitney turboprop engines, a 15,32 m wingspan and weights 3.402 kg empty, 4.670 kg in take off. Its maximum altitude is of 27.100 ft and top speed of 426 km/h.

It started being produced in serie in 1972 and its maiden flight happened in 1973.

Here are some pictures I took of the third model ever made:

[Note: I realized I've only taken pictures from the inside :x]

And, it was entirely by chance! You see, although the project promised a lot, it could not go high enough to fight the german planes; the test pilot, Ronnie Hawker (Harker? Conflicting sources), who worked for Rolls Royce noticed their new powerful v-12 engine, Merlin, would fit just right.