A Marine Corps helicopter known as one of the Vietnam Era's most iconic aircraft is officially history.
The Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469 (HMLA-469 ) and Marine Light Attack Training Squadron 303 (HMLA-T 303) honored the UH-1N Huey in a farewell ceremony at MCAS Camp Pendleton Friday afternoon.
The old "November" model huey is being replaced by the next generation, UH-1Y "Yankee" aircraft, which flies faster, lifts more and uses more powerful weapons.
The Yankee is also equipped with advanced computer operating systems that mimic video-gaming system controls and displays.
#1
I am somewhat mystified why no one has ever developed centrifugal fan, "fanwing"-type pods for helicopters, for better efficiency as well as greater lift.
While it may not be optimal for a combat aircraft, it would seem to be just the thing for a cargo aircraft. Centrifugal fans are simple, strong, stable, and have better lift than rotors. And reducing the load on the rotors would make a helicopter much more fuel efficient.
#2
They did try it, back in the 1960's. IIRC, it turned out to be less efficent/ useful/ robust/ idiot-proof than the rotor systems we still use today.
Otherwise, we would be already using centifugal fans today.
#3
I've long been interested in this stuff. If you have any links or pics they would be appreciated. I know a British company that has been doing a lot of R&D with fanwings.
[Pak Daily Times] Indonesia issued a red alert Friday after Mount Karangetang on the island of Sulawesi erupted, sending lava and searing gas clouds down its slopes, a volcanologist said.
"We raised the volcano's status to the highest red alert level today at 5:45 pm (1045GMT) and ordered an evacuation in three villages on the slopes," government volcanologist Surono told. He said that the 1,784-metre (5,850-foot) mountain on the sparsely-populated island off North Sulawesi oozed lava, heat clouds and debris reaching as far as 3,800 metres away down its slopes.
"The eruption is still going on and its current activity remains high," he said. "The main threat is heat clouds that will be fatal for people living in villages on the slope." The volcano killed four people during an eruption in August 2010.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
May explain the massive, off-shaped skyflash I saw to Hagatna/Agana Bay's SW after midnite Guam time last nite, + despite very heavy overcast - off-shape aurorae "ripples" too.
Choate, 56, of Houston last fall won a year's supply of coupons from Shipley's Do-Nuts as one of the lucky prize-winners during Astros Fan Appreciation Day at Minute Maid Park.
"I went up to the customer service window, fat, dumb and happy, and signed a form and picked up a fistful of certificates, each good for a free doughnut or a dozen doughnut holes and one free cup of coffee," he said.
But last month, much like the Grim Reaper, the punch line to his prize landed in Choate's mailbox: an Internal Revenue Service Form 1099, informing him that he owed taxes on $927.61 in "free" coffee and doughnuts.
Choate, mind you, is no rube. He knew about Form 1099s, and he presumed there would be some tax liability for his edible appreciation. Nearly a thousand bucks, however, exceeded his expectations considerably. The Astros should have known better and given a prize of lesser value.
A quick google suggests that lottery winnings are taxed as ordinary income, so the IRS wouldn't take more than 39.6%, surely.
The federal tax code states that prizes and awards are subject for taxation "at their fair market value." If prizes are valued at more than $600, donors are required to issue a Form 1099 stating the value of the gift or prize.
Shipley's charges 83 cents for a glazed doughnut, $1.25 for doughnut holes and $1.25 for a small cup of coffee, so the maximum value per coupon of about $2.50, multiplied by 365, comes to approximately the $927.61 on Choate's 1099. Mmm, Shipley's Donuts. I'll take them over those cake-y Krispy Kreme anyday.
Even if Choate never uses all the coupons, which have no expiration date and, thus, can be used beyond this year, Aksamit said the IRS will demand its dough.
"The minute you sign to accept the award, you get tagged," he said. "The only option is not to accept the award."
#2
I believe you can offset your winnings with your costs down to $0. But, you have to keep receipts. Who does that?
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
03/19/2011 8:10 Comments ||
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#3
Just about every casino has their own resident IRS agent. Whenever anyone hits big, they go up to the winner, take their cut right then, and give him a W2-G (gambling) form to submit, to show the money has been taken.
#9
Spouser went to Vegas with the daughters for a long weekend back on 08 forgot to tell me about the 6K she won, man they had a great time. IRS turns up last year want 1600 bucks. Okay sorted it out and paid up then the F'ers turned me over to the State who wanted $680. What happens in Vegas follows you home.
Posted by: Retired LEO ||
03/19/2011 16:06 Comments ||
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#10
I'm not sure why this is even news, let alone something that shows up on Rantburg. This is not new - the IRS has been doing this for years.
Apparently very few Rantburgers have ever won anything the IRS cared much about.
#11
Apparently very few Rantburgers have ever won anything the IRS cared much about.
Oh dear. Anguper Hupomosing9418, should I have reported my winnings from the Symphony Club's "split the pot" lottery? I've won several hundred dollars over the years. I was going to buy a new purse with last month's winnings, but if I need to set it aside to pay taxes...
[Pak Daily Times] Heavy arms fire rang out early Friday in a stronghold of internationally recognised Ivory Coast president Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan where an earlier attack left up to 30 dead.
"Yesterday (Thursday) at around midnight we heard shooting from heavy weapons. We got under the bed, on the floor, out of fear of being killed," said one resident of the city's most populated suburb. Several witnesses confirmed the shooting, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
On Thursday the UN mission in Ivory Coast reported between 25 and 30 people were killed in an attack with missiles by armed forces loyal to outgoing president Laurent Gbagbo ... President of Ivory Coast since 2000. Gbagbo lost to Alassane Ouattara in 2010 but his representtive tore up the results on the teevee and Laurent has refused to leave despite the international community's hemming, hawing, and broad hints... , in one of the bloodiest days since the start of a crisis following disputed elections in November 2010.
The missile attacks may constitute crimes against humanity, a front man for the UN human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... chief said in Geneva on Friday. Despite repeated requests by AFP, Gbagbo's camp has refused to comment and state television has made no mention of the fatal attack.
Abobo, an electoral stronghold of Ouattara has become a site of daily festivities between fighters backing the recognised leader and forces loyal to Gbagbo - as a stalemate over the presidency deepens and armed combatants seek control of the financial capital. Meanwhile, ...back at the abandoned silver mine... Missile attacks by forces loyal to Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo that killed up to 30 civilians in an Abidjan suburb could be crimes against humanity, a front man for the UN rights chief said Friday.
"We condemn the rocket attacks on civilian areas," said Rupert Colville, front man for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Relief agencies warned that the intensifying violence is hindering aid delivery in the country, particularly in Abidjan and surrounding areas.
"Checkpoints, harassment and armed fighting are reducing humanitarain agencies' ability to move and turning aid delivery into a slow and risky undertaking," said Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo is willing to consider talks to find a peaceful exit to a bloody post-election leadership crisis, his government said Friday, urging his rivals to disarm.
A statement read on state television by Gbagbo's front man Ahoua Don Mello said the outgoing president "notes the framework of discussions proposed by the African Union and is awaiting the appointment of the high representative by the institution to consider inter-Ivorian dialogue."
During a mediation summit on March 10 in Addis Ababa, the AU endorsed the presidency of Gbagbo's rival Alassane Ouattara after a disputed election in November 2010. Gbagbo's aides rejected the decision.
The Peace and Security Council had decided to reconvene "in two weeks" to open negotiations between the Ivorian parties "to put in place the terms of the propositions" including a government of national union. The PSC also asked AU Commission chief Jean Ping to name a "high representative" to Ivory Coast to implement the plan to solve the crisis. The statement by Gbagbo said dialogue was "the only guarantee of a peaceful outcome to the crisis, the only way to preserve the safety of citizens."
Gbagbo "calls on rebels to disarm and stop the violence" read the statement. The Gbagbo camp refers to fighters backing internationally recognised president Alassane Ouattara as "rebels".Gbagbo accused Nigerian President Goodluck (Jonathan), of providing "military assistance to the rebels by transporting nearly 500 mercenaries to Bouake."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2011 00:00 ||
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Rooters - Encouragingly, the situation at the most critical reactor - No. 3 appeared to come back from the brink after fire trucks doused it for hours. Work also advanced on bringing power back to water pumps. "We are making progress ... (but) we shouldn't be too optimistic," said Hidehiko Nishiyama, deputy-general at Japan's Nuclear Safety Agency. But radiation has been discovered in Tokyo!
The sample contained 1.5 becquerals per kg of iodine 131, well below the tolerable limit for food and drink of 300 becquerals per kg, the government said. Japan said the traces so far found posed no risks. Yet U.N. atomic watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency said Japan was considering whether to halt all food product sales from Fukushima prefecture. It's for the children. The Japanese children. Why export food when you have half a million homeless?
In other news - Oshika peninsula in Miyagi prefecture shifted 5.3 metres (17 ft) east and its land sank 1.2 metres (4 ft). In contrast to the generally negative images so far, generated by the generally nagative MSM, one video emerged showing the crew of a Japanese coastguard vessel successfully riding a massive wave by turning the bow directly at the wall of waters.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/19/2011 15:23 ||
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#1
I was going to link the Oshika Penisula, so you could see where it was, before I posted, but hit submit instead of preview.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/19/2011 15:40 Comments ||
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#2
-- If the land sank 4 feet, no wonder the tsunamis did so much damage. Hard to rely on sea walls that can suddenly get much shorter. I would guess other parts of the coast sank even more. Those parts of Japan have been reclaimed by the sea.
-- Has anybody else wondered why robots have not played a bigger part in the work at Fukushima Daiichi? Perhaps the ones that were there were also destroyed by the tsunami.
#4
I have heard that one problem with using robots is that unless they are specifically 'hardened' the radiation levels will crater their electronics in no time. Probably need some real primitive remote-control stuff.
#5
one problem with using robots is that unless they are specifically 'hardened' the radiation levels will crater their electronics in no time. I am thinking of something like a Cat D-9 with 6 foot thick concrete &/or metal walls around its key electronic components. AFAICT that was doable, but I don't know if anyone has done it.
H/T Instapundit, Hot Air
The first radiation measurements from within a 37-mile radius of the disabled Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant do not reveal any immediate health threat and perhaps not even any health problems measurable decades from now, if levels stay where they are. Wailing, lamentations, and teeth gnashing among the World's elites
NEW DELHI - Sarah Palin says U.S.-India ties are key to the worlds future, but that she worries about China.
In a speech in New Delhi on Saturday, Palin said Chinas military growth cant just be for defensive purposes, and suggests America and India will need each other, especially as these other regions rise.
The 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee was coy about whether she hoped to run for the U.S. presidency in 2012. Her visit has raised speculation that she is looking to burnish her foreign policy credentials.
Palin travels next to Israel.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/19/2011 23:39 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Pak Daily Times] Indonesia issued a red alert Friday after Mount Karangetang on the island of Sulawesi erupted, sending lava and searing gas clouds down its slopes, a volcanologist said.
Laurent Gbagbo
NEW DELHI - Sarah Palin says U.S.-India ties are key to the worlds future, but that she worries about China.
