Sorry. I'm not at all familiar with any TRW weapons package. I had very little interaction with the AWACS program (ran one proposal to install an infrared sensor on the airframe, and did some field of view analyses for potential installation of phased array communication antennas).
My other claim to fame was to invent an approach to using solid propellant in a kinetic kill vehicle, later developed under the Lightweight Exo-Atmospheric Projectile program. Couldn't find any customers, so Boeing dropped the idea. The propulsion technology was picked up by Raytheon who later developed it into the KKV warhead for the Standard 3 missile. I saw a cutaway model one time at a professional conference. It looked like what our 2nd generation KKV would have been.
Well, being in Aerospace yourself I gotta ask? What's your "take" on the status of OUR Anti-grav tech? Been interested in all forms of flight since childhood, and I'm of the opinion we've already got such tech.
No chance. I've been privy to study papers going back to the 1970s, but nothing material has resulted. Some concepts would seem to be technically infeasible from the outgo (massive rotors at high rotation rates).
NASA worked for some time on an "EmDrive" (a supposed reactionless electromagnetic drive) but couldn't produce more than millinewtons of force, which was later determined to be smaller than environmental noise. Meanwhile, the Russians have released information on a similar gadget that produced 100 newtons/kilowatt, so they are in the lead. You still have to factor in the specific power (kW/kg) of the power source.
I actually understand what you’re stating and am familiar with the EmDrive experiments. I live near Oak Ridge TN and believe they gotta be working on that power source; whether it’s E-115 or cold fusion. There are stories about spinning mercury and energizing it to create a space bubble etc…then you gotta control it. I dunno…it fascinates me is all. -Tx
That USAF link I posted describes TRW’s involvement with your laser payload. I guess it was installed at Edwards. Anyway, well even tho there weren’t any customer’s it’s pretty rewarding to see your work be put into fruition? I enjoyed the AWACS platform as it took me overseas and my work rewriting the Maintenance Manuals and schematics got me to NATO. Later with Lockheed I fielded the first (large) Aerostat into Iraq then Afghanistan as a force protection platform. I dug into the L3 MX-20 multi camera system working on laser designator upgrades. I miss my Aerospace career as health concerns sidelined me a decade early, and now busy writing my memoirs/experiences.
Memoirs? Good for you! I got a lot out of the few personal histories I was able to read, and I think it is salutary to produce more for posterity. How can there be "lessons learned" if there are no teachers of lessons? (I was on a program where the situation was so dismal, we referred to "lessons ignored.") I have a similar objective, but I am like a woodworker without a workshop. I need about 300 ft2 for office space to put all my reports, memos, and files in accessible order. Funny how things you take for granted in the work environment turn out to be next door to impossible in a home environment.
Free time at home always distracts from our goals. My final stumbling block on this “book” is many of my best stories are possibly not disclosable due to unknown Classifications involved. Sounds like a cop-out but it’s real. I’m figuring ways to shroud those parts and get this tome done. I’m doing it for my children mainly tho, I have my doubts on the reading public and the overall interest level…but I’m being a logical doubter too. Anyway, Bless You Fren & know we did what brought us fulfillment? I sleep well knowing my “programs” were overall defensive and life saving.
Sorry. I'm not at all familiar with any TRW weapons package. I had very little interaction with the AWACS program (ran one proposal to install an infrared sensor on the airframe, and did some field of view analyses for potential installation of phased array communication antennas).
My other claim to fame was to invent an approach to using solid propellant in a kinetic kill vehicle, later developed under the Lightweight Exo-Atmospheric Projectile program. Couldn't find any customers, so Boeing dropped the idea. The propulsion technology was picked up by Raytheon who later developed it into the KKV warhead for the Standard 3 missile. I saw a cutaway model one time at a professional conference. It looked like what our 2nd generation KKV would have been.
Well, being in Aerospace yourself I gotta ask? What's your "take" on the status of OUR Anti-grav tech? Been interested in all forms of flight since childhood, and I'm of the opinion we've already got such tech.
No chance. I've been privy to study papers going back to the 1970s, but nothing material has resulted. Some concepts would seem to be technically infeasible from the outgo (massive rotors at high rotation rates).
NASA worked for some time on an "EmDrive" (a supposed reactionless electromagnetic drive) but couldn't produce more than millinewtons of force, which was later determined to be smaller than environmental noise. Meanwhile, the Russians have released information on a similar gadget that produced 100 newtons/kilowatt, so they are in the lead. You still have to factor in the specific power (kW/kg) of the power source.
I actually understand what you’re stating and am familiar with the EmDrive experiments. I live near Oak Ridge TN and believe they gotta be working on that power source; whether it’s E-115 or cold fusion. There are stories about spinning mercury and energizing it to create a space bubble etc…then you gotta control it. I dunno…it fascinates me is all. -Tx
That USAF link I posted describes TRW’s involvement with your laser payload. I guess it was installed at Edwards. Anyway, well even tho there weren’t any customer’s it’s pretty rewarding to see your work be put into fruition? I enjoyed the AWACS platform as it took me overseas and my work rewriting the Maintenance Manuals and schematics got me to NATO. Later with Lockheed I fielded the first (large) Aerostat into Iraq then Afghanistan as a force protection platform. I dug into the L3 MX-20 multi camera system working on laser designator upgrades. I miss my Aerospace career as health concerns sidelined me a decade early, and now busy writing my memoirs/experiences.
Memoirs? Good for you! I got a lot out of the few personal histories I was able to read, and I think it is salutary to produce more for posterity. How can there be "lessons learned" if there are no teachers of lessons? (I was on a program where the situation was so dismal, we referred to "lessons ignored.") I have a similar objective, but I am like a woodworker without a workshop. I need about 300 ft2 for office space to put all my reports, memos, and files in accessible order. Funny how things you take for granted in the work environment turn out to be next door to impossible in a home environment.
Free time at home always distracts from our goals. My final stumbling block on this “book” is many of my best stories are possibly not disclosable due to unknown Classifications involved. Sounds like a cop-out but it’s real. I’m figuring ways to shroud those parts and get this tome done. I’m doing it for my children mainly tho, I have my doubts on the reading public and the overall interest level…but I’m being a logical doubter too. Anyway, Bless You Fren & know we did what brought us fulfillment? I sleep well knowing my “programs” were overall defensive and life saving.