"You can do anything if you have enthusiasm. With it, there is accomplishment. Without it, there are only alibis."
- Henry Ford ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak."
- unknown ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing."
-Wernher von Braun ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer."
--Frank Zappa ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The thing about quotes on the internet is that you cannot confirm their validity."
I don't remember where I found this online, or for that matter where I put my Star Fleet book with documents including fold-out blueprints for the ship...
But pretty it aint. The Bell X-14, I want one! Can anyone name another jet powered aircraft with an open cockpit? I suppose it's just as cool that the X-14 is a VTOL, but I like the open cockpit best. I want to take it to the coast and wave to the girls as I cruise slowly just off the beach, scarf trailing behind. Surprisingly it would go 172mph and reach 20,000Ft, brrrr, it's cold up there! Well, not too surprising, any plane that can VTO has power to spare. Range was 300 miles. Corpus Christi here I come.
The X-14 was built on the cheap in 1957 using Beach Bonanza and T-34 Mentor parts. Vertical lift is provided by a belly mounted flap that vectors the dual jet exhausts downward. Bleed air from the engines to puffer vents at the wingtips and tail provides control in hover.
Good news, it's being restored at a museum in Indiana.
Here's another pic I found at China Lake Alumni. The very first pic in the 1962 gallery. I haven't seen one of these in at least 20 years. I do know what it is. Do you?