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"I'm a fairly visual thinker. In doing science, I think in terms of pictures of things happening, and then do the mathematics."
- Gregory Benford
 |
| Flying Wing | ||
| A V-shaped plane capable of flight to the edge of the atmosphere. |
"Doc" Smith lost no time in putting the most modern technology into his novels. The science-fictional YB-49 Flying Wing had just been tested the year before.
| The ship was a tremendous flying wing. A standard commercial job. Empty - passengers, even crewmen, were never subject to the brutal accelerations regularly used by unmanned carriers. Phryges scanned the panel. Tiny motors were pulling tapes through the controllers. Every light showed green. Everything was set. Donning a water-proof coverall, he slid through a flexible valve into his acceleration-tank and waited.
A siren yelled briefly. Black night turned blinding white as the harnessed energies of the atom were released. For five and six-tenths seconds the sharp, hard, beryllium-bronze leading edge of the back-sweeping V sliced its way through ever-thinning air. The hellish vibration ceased; the fantastic violence of the drive subsided to a mere shove; Phryges knew tha the vessel had leveled off at its cruising speed of two thousand miles per hour. He emerged, spilling the least possible amount of water upon the polished steel floor. He took off his coverall and stuffed it back through the valve into the tank. |
| From Triplanetary,
by E.E. 'Doc' Smith. Published by Not known in 1934 Additional resources -
|
Here's an excerpt from a company article describing the revolutionary Flying Wing aircraft:
"...a twin trail of black smoke, the sky monster swept into the air before the awed thousands gathered to witness the historic take-off."
Famed aviation designer John Northrup spent twenty years researching an all-metal construction flying wing plane. See a very cool YB-49 Flying Wing test flight video.
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Flying Wing-related
news articles:
- DARPA Vulture Five Year Flying Wing
| 'Jules Verne' ATV Launch Video |
| Mercury 'Spider' Has Fans Seeing Babylon 5 Shadow Ships |
| SpaceShipTwo Spaceliners From Virgin Galactic |
| Lorentz-Actuated Orbit Spacecraft May Ride Planetary Magnetic Fields |
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Gerry was dubious. She had seen abortive attempts at paralysis rays before.
Let your fingers - uh - your robot do the walking. And hopping.
