The VZ-9-AV Avrocar (official designation but often listed as VZ-9) was a Canadian VTOL aircraft developed by Avro Aircraft Ltd. as part of a secret U.S. military project carried out in the early years of the Cold War. The Avrocar intended to exploit the Coandă effect to provide lift and thrust from a single “turborotor” blowing exhaust out the rim of the disk-shaped aircraft to provide anticipated VTOL-like performance. In the air, it would have resembled a flying saucer. Two prototypes were built as “proof-of-concept” test vehicles for a more advanced USAF fighter and also for a U.S. Army tactical…
Author: John Greenewald
Project Isinglass was the code name given to two heavily classified, manned reconnaissance aircraft studied by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as potential replacements for the Lockheed A-12 and SR-71 during the mid 1960s. The first proposal under the Isinglass name, a high-altitude plane to fly at Mach 4 to 5, was considered an insufficient advancement over existing aircraft; the second, much more advanced design, sometimes referred to as Project Rheinberry, was an air-launched, Mach 20 rocket-powered boost-glide aircraft that would use a very-high-altitude trajectory to avoid defenses. This aircraft was considered too costly for development, and the project was…
Stealth technology also known as LO technology (low observable technology) is a sub-discipline of military electronic countermeasures which covers a range of techniques used with aircraft, ships, submarines, and missiles, in order to make them less visible (ideally invisible) to radar, infrared, sonar and other detection methods. Air Force Stealth Technology Review [53 Pages, 1.26mb] Effects of Modern Technology on Airpower and Intelligence Support [49 Pages] JPRS Report, Science & Technology. China: Stealth/Counter-Stealth Research [29 Pages] Inside Logistics – Exploring The Heart of Logistics. Stealth Fighter Avionics [5 Pages] Stealth, the End of Dedicated Electronic Attack Aircraft [62 Pages] Stealth…
Background This document describes a system designed to study the feasibility of augmenting tolerance to acceleration stress using external pressure pulsations synchronized to the electrocardiogram. The system, known as synchronized pulsating anti-gravity suit, consists of a modified G Suit, a controller and a pneumatic subsystem. The modified suit has individual bladders for calf, thigh, and abdomen with separate inlet/outlet ports. A microcomputer controls the synchronization, phasing and sequencing of pressure pulses in the bladders. Desired high and low pressures are obtained using feedback of pressure signals to a set of comparators. Solenoid valves and related circuitry regulate the flow of…
Background In the early 1960s, Bell Aerosystems built a rocket pack which it called the “Bell Rocket Belt” or “man-rocket” for the US Army, using hydrogen peroxide as fuel. This concept was revived in the 1990s and today these packs can provide powerful, manageable thrust. This rocket belt’s propulsion works with superheated water vapor. A gas cylinder contains nitrogen gas, and two cylinders containing highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide. The nitrogen presses the hydrogen peroxide onto a catalyst, which decomposes the hydrogen peroxide into a mixture of superheated steam and oxygen with a temperature of about 740 °C. This was led…