for the grumblers these old ships and stuff tie right into the hot rod era that everyone says this post isn't about. it's all about going really really fast.
Did someone say? ..... "NASA has meant little to my life. My hotrod can do without teflon, and what ever else the investment in that sort of stuff over the years has given us." Hmmmm ..... NASA, has a rich lineage, as do hot rods. Both owe a lot to aviation & aeronautics. And it goes on ... and on ... and on ... and .......
You know, every person who considers him/herself a hot rodder should make it their business to know everything they can about ALL the history and heritage of hot rodding and it's participants. How and why did WWII play a part? How and why did people such as Henry Ford play a part? How and why did aerospace technology of the 1950s play a part? The list literally goes on. Keep in mind, there is more to Hot Rodding than JUST being part of a lifestyle.
IMO it's about 50/50 that OBL has already been found and dealt with, but the gubbamint is keeping it on the low-low because they would rather it not be known and then have him become an Islamic "martyr". Now back to regular HAMB programming. Please.
You got that right. And let's not forget the manufacturer's who saw something in the consumer to build their fancy aero themed showcars and of course the Caddilacs. Or was it just propaganda at the time?
What's even more important is the fabrication guys, the welders and machinists, designers and engineers that made the Allied victory in WWII and the moon landings possible, all those guys had skills that are in danger of being lost to the ages. Building hot rods may not change the world, but at least it keeps a few people busy learning the old-school skills that can't be done on a PC.
Bingo! It was those guys, who after winning the war, came home and helped stimulate the phenomenal growth and development of hot hodding.
Well, to get the thread back on topic. It was fun to see the photos, and be reminded of the connection. Thanks for posting.
Yes, and now that we have been giving all of our manufacturing capabilities to our friends overseas. all to many of our citizens are paper-pushing middlemen (brokers, realtors, agents, and the like) that add no value. It's imaginary value paid for with real money. Much of our financial mess can be traced to this because a system based on middlemen is not sustainable over the long haul.
Here are a few things the space programs have done for us. http://techtran.msfc.nasa.gov/at_home.html
Wow, what a fantastic thread! One of my favorites on here. Doc, dude, you are a bevy of information. I learned a bunch reading yours, and everyone elses posts. It's kinda nice reading and learning about NASA and the space race in it's infantcy, especially somewhere like here, were you wouldn't expect it. Thanks!
Speaking of computer advancement through NASA: While working on the Apolo mission electronics at Geotech, in 1967 I was privy to the wildest computer you can imagine. It filled a huge room and was very noisey because it was HYDROLIC. Miles and miles of tiny tubes and valves. Why? It was imune to electro magnetic pulse radiation...for use AFTER an atomic attack on us.
this is a cool thread. lately ive been getting into the pioneers of flight and engineering. Im reading a good book on howard hughes now...what a genious!!!!
I worked at Lockheed California co. in Burbank from 1967-1970[,on the L1011 jetliner, not military or space projects], but we all were aware of the Skunk works ,even though we didn't have any reason to know, or ask what was going on there.We were told "see nothing, know nothing, tell nothing" when asked about that section of the plant.Still couldn't help feeling proud to know some other- worldly stuff was being developed there , even if we didn't know what it was, or have anything to do with it. Waldo
These fly over my house all the time. I usually don't have a camera handy. This one was higher than they usually are. Lots of fighter Jets too. They usually are around 100 ft. or so off the ground. They wife hates it, but I dig it.
Did you decide to have a Whammy Burger instead of breakfast????? Sorry saw your Screen name and just started chuckling to myself... And yes you are correct. There is almost an irreversible loss of skills going on in this country. Its just plain scary God help us........
while i love space talk, and it's really interesting (thanks for the John Stapp article link), i'm laughing because my post of my new project (a 1953 Triumph T110 chopper) got deleted because it was "gasp" off-topic. I guess the powers that be figured old motorcycles are less on topic than space exploration or the bends.
I really enjoyed this thread. I grew up on Merritt Island (where the launch pads are actually located) and I currently live in Cocoa Beach (borders Cape Canaveral) so the space flight and NASA have always been a big part of my life. And I agree with a common sentiment of this thread; whatever happened to our pioneering spirit and sense of optimism?
This to me was the ultimate Airbourne Hot Rod: Chuck Yeager was a god to me as a kid, and despite you guys stealing the designs from us Brits* I can still say that Chuck Yeager is still my hero! *The British sound barrier program was suddenly shelved after the US had visited our facilities and whilst our guys were meant to come over for an equivelant meet and greet suddenly the X1 became Top Secret and we weren't allowed to visit. All of a sudden the X1 had it's tail redesigned so that it was a "flying tail" design (the whole tail moved as a control surface) which was coincidently what we had develloped after years of research. I'm not bitter cos at least the 1st man to break the sound barrier spoke english
The Jalopy Journal
