Antigravity

If you are old enough to remember the start of the "space race," you probably got goose bumps at some point thinking about the possibility of antigravity flight. But then you grew up and moved onto other things that weren't so embarassing to talk about in public.

Well, some folks either didn't grow up, or they're not embarrased by much, or they know something we don't. American Antigravity "is dedicated to spreading the word about open-source Antigravity research..." and claim to "reach an estimated 40+ million annual viewers on Radio, Print and Television." They sell CDs with articles, interviews, information, and plans. They have blogs. They even have a one-hour, Windows Media video presentation, Antigravity-The State of the Art filmed at the August 2005 TeslaTech Conference.

If you need more, American Antigravity has information and artist drawings of Millenium Twain's Fireship technology. These aircraft use "high-output scramjet designs" that achieve "near-orbital flight altitudes at speeds up to 25,000 miles per hour." Wow. That's cool.

I guess Millenium Twain is some kind of purveyor of alternative physics who dreams about things that are not, but could be. He used to be associated with Fireships.com, but that's a dead URL as I write this. If you try the Internet Archive Wayback Machine, you'll find the site from 2000 to 2005. [Have you seen the Wayback Machine? They say it's 55 billion web pages archived going back to 1996. Yet another good reason to not say, do, or show anything on the Internet that can be associated with you. Not unless you don't care if anybody finds out between now and, say, forever.]

Anyway, the images of these craft seem Aurora-like and are very fluid in appearance. But they are just shapes. I found a picture of Mr. Twain and some of his friends. He looks a lot like a certain figure from about 2000 years ago who was intimately involved in the formation of Christianity, but that might not have any significance.

Googling Twain tuns up a bunch of old references, but also the Bioneers forum where he (or someone using his name) has recent posts. Bioneers are supposed to be people with "visionary and practical solutions for restoring the Earth." I can't find fault with that as I rather like the Earth and want to make sure it doesn't get into a condition that requires restoration. Their site has lots of good stuff that reminds me of what we said back in the 60's and 70's then forgot as we became grown-ups and moved on to other things to talk about in public.

So the folks over at American Antigravity seem to still revere Millenium Twain, but his Bioneer posting suggests he's moved on to other, greener things (LeagueOfTheLastDays · Global Illumination Is At Hand !!). Yet he's still got his hand in it with his NuclearStructure discussion group that comes with the description, "To discuss the recent publication of the structure of the nucleus by Millennium Twain, father of the US/International Space Station program."

What's the point, you ask? Well, aviation and dreaming go hand-in-hand. Dreaming is at the core of flight because, well, we don't fly! We have to dream of machines, or of alternative physics, or something to get off the ground and into the air. If you believe this dreaming is important, then the (very nice I'm sure) folks at American Antigravity are doing something important. Millenium Twain is doing something important. And I'm anxious to see something really important come of it.

Really good military aircraft photos

This raw list of links points to some really spectacular photographs of military aircraft:

http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20051111.htm
http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-The-Spectacular-Clouds-of-the-Transonic-Flight-Regime.htm
http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20041216.htm
http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20041217.htm
http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20050914.htm
http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20051129.htm
http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20050822.htm
http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20041010.htm
http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20040823.htm

Enjoy!

The Flying Kiwi

Richard Seaman is a New Zealander who lives and works in the U.S. He has a passion for photography, and his website, The Flying Kiwi, is worth a visit. You have got to see the Airshows and Aircraft Museums sections for some really impressive photos.

The B-2 Spirit at the 2005 Edwards AFB Airshow, with photographs and accompanying text, starts with takeoff and continues with some awesome aerial shots. (I know "awesome" has become over used, but I don't care. These photographs are awesome!) A lot of the photos show very close up detail.

The F-22 Raptor display at Edwards AFB airshow 2005 is equally impressive. The afterburner takeoff with water vapor being squeezed out of the air is perhaps my favorite.

There's a lot more to see at The Flying Kiwi. If you love aviation, or if you just appreciate good photography, go visit the site now.

Credit for bringing this site to my attention goes to Kevin over at the Here's what I think about that... blog. While Kevin does have some interest in aviation, his blog is all about things in the world that are worth contemplating. Many people hear things or see things, but Kevin takes the time to think about some of them. Have a look.

More aviation music

Previously, I had posted Aviation and Music and Aviation, Music, and Video about a composer knicknamed "yoyoman." He develops tracks that combine aviation audio and music. I don't think there is anyone else out there creating this kind of work.

Surf over to the yoyoman page at SoundClick and listen to his latest works, including Tarmac Activity and the new Birds of War, which is a particularly strong piece.