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150 YEARS AGO THEN TODAY'S BOEING
PHANTOM EYE: A HIGH-ALTITUDE-LONG-ENDURANCE
(HALE)-UNMANNED-AERIAL-
VEHICLE- HYDROGEN-POWERED-SPY PLANE
Rewrites By: J. B. Robinson
Posted: 07/26/11
During the Civil War, a man named Thaddeus Lowe spoke of his notion that hot air balloons with balloonists could be effective as a unit of the United States Army for the purpose of flying over enemy territory to do surveillance, plus reconnaissance and suppression of enemy defenses with air strike. On June 11, 1861, 150 years ago, Lowe hauled his balloon to the lawn of the United States White House in front of spectators such as Abraham Lincoln and members of the United States Congress. There, Lowe ascended to the skies. *
Today, 150 year later according to Wikipedia, "The Boeing Phantom Eye is a high-altitude-long-endurance (HALE)-unmanned-aerial-vehicle-hydrogen-powered-spy plane developed by Boeing Phantom Works."
According to a http://www.nasa.gov/
centers/dryden/news/X-Press/
phantom_ray_first_flight.html, "the successful first flight of The Boeing Co.'s Phantom Ray, newest jet-powered, fighter-size unmanned aircraft system, was completed April 27th at Dryden, before which, Dryden's center hosted Phantom Ray flight test operations and provided hangar facilities, engineering and ground test support. Flight test range support for the project is also being provided under a Boeing-funded commercial Space Act agreement with NASA."
"The 17-minute flight followed a series of high-speed taxi tests in March that validated ground guidance and navigation and control systems and verified mission planning, pilot interface and operational procedures. The craft flew to 7,500 feet and reached a speed of 178 knots."
The flight demonstrated the Phantom Ray's basic airworthiness, setting the stage for additional flights were scheduled for the next few following weeks. The upcoming Boeing-funded flights will prepare the aircraft to support potential missions that may include intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; suppression of enemy air defenses; electronic attack; strike; and autonomous air refueling.
"The first flight moves us farther into the next phase of unmanned aircraft," said Craig Brown, Boeing's Phantom Ray program manager. "Autonomous, fighter-sized unmanned aircraft are real, and the UAS bar has been raised. Now, I'm eager to see how high that bar will go."
The Phantom Ray program is one of several in Boeing's Phantom Works - including the Phantom Eye - and is part of a rapid prototyping initiative to design, develop and build advanced aircraft and demonstrate their capabilities. Dryden also is hosting the Phantom Eye developmental test flights.
* Found in the upcoming book soon to be published under new titled book "American Clouds" by J. B. Robinson previously copyrighted under "Promise To Live". Watch for future publication information on the Literacy Topic web page of Town Biz 101."
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SHORT VERSION OF THE EVOLVING OF
FARMING AND FARM MACHINERY
Provided Anonymously
Posted: 07/26/11
Farming and farm machinery have continued to evolve. The threshing machine has given way to the combine, usually a self-propelled unit that either picks up windrowed grain or cuts and threshes it in one step. The grain binder has been replaced by the swather, which cuts the grain and lays it on the ground in windrows, allowing it to dry before being harvested by a combine.
Plows are not used nearly as extensively as before, due in large part to the popularity of minimum tillage to reduce soil erosion and conserve moisture. The disk harrow today is more often used after harvesting to cut up the grain stubble left in the field. Although seed drills are still used, the air seeder is becoming more popular with farmers. Today's farm machinery allows farmers to cultivate many more acres of land than the machines of yesterday.
CONVOY
THE JOHN YOWELL STORY
By: Joanne Robinson (Koski)
Posted: 02/09
My name is John Yowell. I was born into an Episcopalian family in Old England over a hundred years ago in 1907. As a young man, I purchased a horse and a cart for the purpose of hauling groceries. In doing so, I started my first transportation business. As my little business prospered, I saved what money I could. Gradually, I had enough money to travel like my forefathers across the seas to America.
After arriving in the USA, I reentered the transporting industry where I became acquainted with three other men who eventually became my partners in a corporate venture that took us beyond our wildest dreams. We named our little trucking company "Consolidated Freightways". We hauled a large variety of freight eventually growing into the third largest transportation company in the USA.
In the 1930's, we started our own truck manufacturing operations and called it "Freightliner Corporation". We ceased production of trucks during World War II only to start up again after it was over. At which time, "Freightliner Corporation" was relocated to Swan Island - an island located on the Portland, Oregon side of the Columbia River.
At some point, I decided that I wanted to strike out on my own so I maintained my interests in "Consolidated Freightways" and purchased a boat transportation company. Eventually, we ceased moving boats and started the manufacturing of auto transporters and the transporting of vehicles, of which, most were automobiles, pickup trucks, and vans.
In the USA, my company was called "Convoy Company" and headquartered in Portland, OR. Above the upper forty-eight, we named her "Canadian Auto Carriers". My manufacturing company was Westland Trailer. Even today in 2009, one can see automobile transporting equipment and accessories attached to both the eighteen-wheelers and above her cabs. These are designed engineered in the likeness of those built by Westland Trailer.
In the manufacturing of the automobile transporters, we bought the trucks and cabs from a variety of manufacturers - some, of course, from Freightliner; others, from our customers like Ford, GMC and Dodge. By 1975, and probably long before then, "Convoy Company" was the largest auto carrier west of the Rockies. At one point in time, Convoy Company was the only automobile carrier with government authorization to transport every type/model of automobiles built. We, also, built auto transporters for our competitions. Among competition, even today if you live in Southern California, you might see a PTM transporter hauling vehicles. No, we did not build today's, however, we built yesteryear's.
Convoy Company did what is in the industry called "piggy back". Our drivers picked up vehicles that had travel via railroad cars some across the nation while others shorter distances. These vehicles were then unloaded from railroad cars and there loaded (drove and anchored) onto Convoy trucks. Some of our drivers drove back East to "Detroit's Big Three", loaded our transporters, and then drove them West.
We picked up vehicles that were unloaded off of ships docked in ports all the way up and down the West Coast from Seattle, WA
to the Port of Portland, OR to San Diego, CA. Convoy Company had trucking terminals and repair shops in Los Angeles, CA, San Francisco, CA, Portland, OR,
Tigard, OR, Seattle, WA, Spokane, WA, Denver, CO, and Kansas City, MO. From there, the trucks were
dispatched to thousands of automobile distributors where people like you purchased new vehicles.
Once in awhile, there are men and/or women who are blest in the fact that they have a passion for their life's work and, fortunately, what they do benefits many, many others. That was the case for me. During my lifetime, Consolidated Freightways, Freightliner Corporation, Convoy Company, Candian Auto Carriers and Westland Trailer provided tens of thousands of jobs for household providers that paid incredibly good salaries enabling our employees and their families to be housed, feed and enjoy the benefits of a good life style. What an absolute gift to be one of the captains of these teams.
For the last time, one sunny day in Portland, OR in 1977 seventy years after my birth, I walked down the halls of Convoy Company passing a dedicated employee and had the need to ask one question of which I did. "Are you and the girls going to be okay?" Satisfied with the answer of "yes", I walked out the front door of my beloved Convoy Company never to return. I drove home to my lovely wife of decades. Soon, thereafter, I laid down and died.
I, John Yowell, lived a full and spiritual life and worked with many fine spiritually-connected professional people. Convoy continued without me for a few years before selling to Ryder Trucks. At some point, Freightliner was sold to Mercedes Benz.
While still Convoy Company, my people like so much of the world to come, computerized and became the first automobile transporter in the USA to become computerized and tied into Detroit's Big 3 with a Material Management Systems (MMS). This MMS both tracked the automobiles we hauled for Ford, GMC and Chrysler and, also, streamlined our Accounts Receivables. Secondly, MMS was installed into place for Purchasing, Materials, Production, and Maintenance Control for our manufacturing factory and maintenance shops. Full computerized accounting systems followed.
I, also, did not live long enough to see Dick Swennes, my Executive Vice President of Operations for Convoy Company, receive his appointment as Chairman of a Transportation Committee that reported to the Secretary of Transportation under the Carter Administration.
By: Joanne F. Robinson (Koski)
Posted: 02/09
...and it all started with a horse, a cart and a young, working man.
If you wear it, use it,
and/or eat it, it was
haul one-way or the other
to you via truck, railroad
and/or ship - a member of
the CONVOY. |
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