Check out these before after weight loss images:
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Northrop P-61C Black Widow
Image by Chris Devers
Compare & contrast:
Northrop P-61C Black widow:
* Front view
* Above view
Star Wars ARC-170 Fighter:
* Official page
* Wikia
* Wikipedia
* Toy review
I put it to you that they’re the SAME THING.
* twin engines
* double-cockpit in front
* gunner’s cockpit in back
* broad wing coming out from the middle
• • • • •
See more photos of this, and the Wikipedia article.
Details, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy | Northrop P-61C Black Widow:
The P-61 Black Widow was the first U.S. aircraft designed to locate and destroy enemy aircraft at night and in bad weather, a feat made possible by the use of on-board radar. The prototype first flew in 1942. P-61 combat operations began just after D-Day, June 6, 1944, when Black Widows flew deep into German airspace, bombing and strafing trains and road traffic. Operations in the Pacific began at about the same time. By the end of World War II, Black Widows had seen combat in every theater and had destroyed 127 enemy aircraft and 18 German V-1 buzz bombs.
The Museum’s Black Widow, a P-61C-1-NO, was delivered to the Army Air Forces in July 1945. It participated in cold-weather tests, high-altitude drop tests, and in the National Thunderstorm Project, for which the top turret was removed to make room for thunderstorm monitoring equipment.
Transferred from the United States Air Force.
Manufacturer:
Northrop Aircraft Inc.
Date:
1943
Country of Origin:
United States of America
Dimensions:
Overall: 450 x 1500cm, 10637kg, 2000cm (14ft 9 3/16in. x 49ft 2 9/16in., 23450.3lb., 65ft 7 3/8in.)
Long Description:
The P-61 Black Widow was the first United States aircraft designed from the start to find and destroy other aircraft at night and in bad weather. It served in combat for only the final year of World War II but flew in the European, Mediterranean, Pacific, and China-Burma-India theaters. Black Widow crews destroyed 127 enemy aircraft and 18 robot V-1 buzz bombs.
Jack Northrop’s big fighter was born during the dark days of the Battle of Britain and the London Blitz in 1940. British successes against German daylight bombers forced the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) to shift to night bombing. By the time Royal Air Force (RAF) Spitfires could launch, climb out, and then try to intercept these raids, the bombers crews had usually dropped their loads and turned for home. An aircraft was needed to patrol the skies over England for up to seven hours during the night, and then follow radar vectors to attack German aircraft before they reached their target. U.S. Army Air Corps officers noted this requirement and decided that America must have a night fighter if and when it entered the war.
The Army awarded a contract to Northrop on January 30, 1941. The resulting design featured twin tail booms and rudders for stability when the aircraft closed in behind an intruder. It was a large aircraft with a big fuel load and two powerful engines. Armament evolved into four 20 mm cannons mounted in the belly firing forward and a powered, remote-controlled turret on top of the center fuselage equipped with four .50 cal. machine guns. The three-man crew consisted of the pilot, a gunner seated behind him, and a radar observer/gunner at the rear behind the gun turret. Only the pilot could fire the cannons but any of the three could operate the machine guns.
Simultaneously, work was proceeding, at a laboratory run by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to develop the airborne radar set. The Army tested an early design in a Douglas B-18 in 1941. The much-improved SCR-520 set was ready by early 1942. Meanwhile, Army enthusiasm for the XP-61 produced another contract on March 10, 1941, for 13 service-test YP-61s. Even before these airplanes flew, Northrop received orders for 410 production machines! Northrop test pilot Vance Breeze flew the aircraft on May 26, 1942. Although the Black Widow was nearly as large as a medium bomber, it was a true fighter. The only prohibited flight maneuvers were outside loops, sustained inverted flight, and deliberate spins.
As Northrop advanced the design toward production, supply problems arose and modifications became necessary. The 4-gun top turret was the same type fitted to the top forward position on the Boeing B-29 Superfortress (see NASM collection) and that bomber had production priority over the P-61. As a result, several hundred P-61s did not have this turret. Those that did experienced buffeting when the turret was traversed from side to side and a fix took time. By October 1943, the first P-61s were coming off the line. Training started immediately, and the first night fighters arrived in the European Theater by March 1944. Combat operations began just after D-Day (June 6) and the Black Widows quickly departed from their original role as defensive interceptors and became aggressors. They flew deep into German airspace, bombing and strafing trains and road traffic and making travel difficult for the enemy by day and at night.
P-61s arrived in the Pacific Theater at about the same time as the European Black Widows. For years, the Japanese had operated lone bombers over Allied targets at night and now U. S. fighters could locate and attack them. However, on June 30, 1944, a Mitsubishi BETTY (see NASM collection) became the first P-61 kill in the Pacific. Soon, Black Widows controlled the night skies. On the night of August 14-15, a P-61 named "Lady in the Dark" by her crew encountered an intruding Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa (Peregrine Falcon) OSCAR (see NASM collection) and eventually forced it into the sea without firing a shot. Although the war was officially over, no one was sure that all of the Japanese had heard the message and stopped fighting. The American night fighters flew again the next night and "Lady in the Dark" again found a target. It was a Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki (Demon) TOJO and the fighters maneuvered wildly as they attempted to gain an advantage. The P-61 crew lost and reacquired the Ki-44 several times then finally lost it for good and returned to base. The next day ground troops found the wrecked TOJO. In the darkness, Lady in the Dark’s crew had forced the Japanese pilot to fly into the ground, again without firing a shot.
With the war over, the Army cancelled further production. Northrop had built 706 aircraft including 36 with a highly modified center fuselage. These F-15As (later redesignated RF-61C) mounted a number of cameras in the nose and proved able reconnaissance platforms. Many of these airplanes participated in the first good aerial photographic survey of the Pacific islands. A few, plus some special purpose P-61s, stayed in active service until 1950.
NASM’s Black Widow is a P-61C-1-NO, U.S. Army Air Forces serial number 43-8330. Northrop delivered it to the Army on July 28, 1945. By October 18, this P-61 was flying at Ladd Field, Alaska, in cold weather tests and it remained there until March 30, 1946. This airplane later moved to Pinecastle Air Force Base, Florida, for participation in the National Thunderstorm Project. The project’s goal was to learn more about thunderstorms and to use this knowledge to better protect civil and military airplanes that operated near them. The U. S. Weather Bureau and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) undertook the study with cooperation from the Army Air Forces and Navy. With its radar and particular flight characteristics, the P-61 was capable of finding the most turbulent regions of a storm, penetrating them, and returning crew and instruments intact for detailed study.
Pinecastle personnel removed the guns and turret from 43-8330 in July 1946 to make room for new equipment. In September, the aircraft moved to Clinton County Army Air Base, Ohio, where it remained until January 1948. The Air Force then assigned the aircraft to the Flight Test Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. After declaring the airplane surplus in 1950, the Air Force stored it at Park Ridge, Illinois, on October 3 along with important aircraft destined for the National Air Museum.
But 43-8830 was not done flying. NACA asked the Smithsonian to lend them the aircraft for use in another special program. The committee wanted to investigate how aerodynamic shapes behaved when dropped from high altitude. The Black Widow arrived at the Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Naval Air Station Moffett Field, California, on February 14, 1951. NACA returned the aircraft and delivered it to the Smithsonian at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, on August 10, 1954. When the engines shut down for the last time, this P-61 had accumulated only 530 total flight hours. Smithsonian personnel trucked it to the Paul Garber Facility in Suitland, Maryland. In 2006, the aircraft was preserved and assembled at the Udvar-Hazy Center. The three different paint schemes from its past service life have been revealed by carefully removing individual layers of paint.
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Photomontage of main entrance view, including P-40 Warhawk & F-4 Corsair up front, SR-71 Background below in the near distance, and the Space Shuttle Enterprise beyond
Image by Chris Devers
Blogged on ☛ HoloChromaCinePhotoRamaScope‽ as: Bye bye, Miss American Pie.
• • • • •
Quoting Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Curtiss P-40E Warhawk (Kittyhawk IA):
Whether known as the Warhawk, Tomahawk, or Kittyhawk, the Curtiss P-40 proved to be a successful, versatile fighter during the first half of World War II. The shark-mouthed Tomahawks that Gen. Claire Chennault’s "Flying Tigers" flew in China against the Japanese remain among the most popular airplanes of the war. P-40E pilot Lt. Boyd D. Wagner became the first American ace of World War II when he shot down six Japanese aircraft in the Philippines in mid-December 1941.
Curtiss-Wright built this airplane as Model 87-A3 and delivered it to Canada as a Kittyhawk I in 1941. It served until 1946 in No. 111 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force. U.S. Air Force personnel at Andrews Air Force Base restored it in 1975 to represent an aircraft of the 75th Fighter Squadron, 23rd Fighter Group, 14th Air Force.
Donated by the Exchange Club in Memory of Kellis Forbes.
Manufacturer:
Curtiss Aircraft Company
Date:
1939
Country of Origin:
United States of America
Dimensions:
Overall: 330 x 970cm, 2686kg, 1140cm (10ft 9 15/16in. x 31ft 9 7/8in., 5921.6lb., 37ft 4 13/16in.)
Materials:
All-metal, semi-monocoque
Physical Description:
Single engine, single seat, fighter aircraft.
• • • • •
Quoting Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird:
No reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated globally in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71, the world’s fastest jet-propelled aircraft. The Blackbird’s performance and operational achievements placed it at the pinnacle of aviation technology developments during the Cold War.
This Blackbird accrued about 2,800 hours of flight time during 24 years of active service with the U.S. Air Force. On its last flight, March 6, 1990, Lt. Col. Ed Yielding and Lt. Col. Joseph Vida set a speed record by flying from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging 3,418 kilometers (2,124 miles) per hour. At the flight’s conclusion, they landed at Washington-Dulles International Airport and turned the airplane over to the Smithsonian.
Transferred from the United States Air Force.
Manufacturer:
Lockheed Aircraft Corporation
Designer:
Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson
Date:
1964
Country of Origin:
United States of America
Dimensions:
Overall: 18ft 5 15/16in. x 55ft 7in. x 107ft 5in., 169998.5lb. (5.638m x 16.942m x 32.741m, 77110.8kg)
Other: 18ft 5 15/16in. x 107ft 5in. x 55ft 7in. (5.638m x 32.741m x 16.942m)
Materials:
Titanium
Physical Description:
Twin-engine, two-seat, supersonic strategic reconnaissance aircraft; airframe constructed largley of titanium and its alloys; vertical tail fins are constructed of a composite (laminated plastic-type material) to reduce radar cross-section; Pratt and Whitney J58 (JT11D-20B) turbojet engines feature large inlet shock cones.
• • • • •
Quoting Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Vought F4U-1D Corsair :
By V-J Day, September 2, 1945, Corsair pilots had amassed an 11:1 kill ratio against enemy aircraft. The aircraft’s distinctive inverted gull-wing design allowed ground clearance for the huge, three-bladed Hamilton Standard Hydromatic propeller, which spanned more than 4 meters (13 feet). The Pratt and Whitney R-2800 radial engine and Hydromatic propeller was the largest and one of the most powerful engine-propeller combinations ever flown on a fighter aircraft.
Charles Lindbergh flew bombing missions in a Corsair with Marine Air Group 31 against Japanese strongholds in the Pacific in 1944. This airplane is painted in the colors and markings of the Corsair Sun Setter, a Marine close-support fighter assigned to the USS Essex in July 1944.
Transferred from the United States Navy.
Manufacturer:
Vought Aircraft Company
Date:
1940
Country of Origin:
United States of America
Dimensions:
Overall: 460 x 1020cm, 4037kg, 1250cm (15ft 1 1/8in. x 33ft 5 9/16in., 8900lb., 41ft 1/8in.)
Materials:
All metal with fabric-covered wings behind the main spar.
Physical Description:
R-2800 radial air-cooled engine with 1,850 horsepower, turned a three-blade Hamilton Standard Hydromatic propeller with solid aluminum blades spanning 13 feet 1 inch; wing bent gull-shaped on both sides of the fuselage.
• • • • •
See more photos of this, and the Wikipedia article.
Details, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Space Shuttle Enterprise:
Manufacturer:
Rockwell International Corporation
Country of Origin:
United States of America
Dimensions:
Overall: 57 ft. tall x 122 ft. long x 78 ft. wing span, 150,000 lb.
(1737.36 x 3718.57 x 2377.44cm, 68039.6kg)
Materials:
Aluminum airframe and body with some fiberglass features; payload bay doors are graphite epoxy composite; thermal tiles are simulated (polyurethane foam) except for test samples of actual tiles and thermal blankets.
The first Space Shuttle orbiter, "Enterprise," is a full-scale test vehicle used for flights in the atmosphere and tests on the ground; it is not equipped for spaceflight. Although the airframe and flight control elements are like those of the Shuttles flown in space, this vehicle has no propulsion system and only simulated thermal tiles because these features were not needed for atmospheric and ground tests. "Enterprise" was rolled out at Rockwell International’s assembly facility in Palmdale, California, in 1976. In 1977, it entered service for a nine-month-long approach-and-landing test flight program. Thereafter it was used for vibration tests and fit checks at NASA centers, and it also appeared in the 1983 Paris Air Show and the 1984 World’s Fair in New Orleans. In 1985, NASA transferred "Enterprise" to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum.
Transferred from National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Exercise calisthenics #2
Image by Ed Yourdon
Note: this photo was It was published in an undated (Jan 2010) Squidoo blog titled "Fastest Way to Lose Weight." And it was published as an illustration in an undated (Jan 2010) Squidoo blog titled "Free Printable Exercise Log – Get in Shape for 2010!" It was also published in a Mar 28, 2010 Health Knowledge blog and an Apr 24, 2010 Shakeway blog, with the same title as the caption that I used on this Flickr page. It was also published in a Jun 21, 2010 blog titled "Placer, diversión y salud son las principales motivaciones para ejercitarnos." And it was published in an Aug 20, 2010 blog titled "what is the fastest way to lose 10 pounds?" It was also published in a Sep 21, 2010 blog titled "Help, I need to lose my “Just had a baby weight” FAST! Any ideas?" as well as a Sep 28, 2010 blog titled "Unsafe Ways To Lose Weight – My When – Fastest To Lose Weight." It was also published in an undated (Oct 2010) Weight Loss Shakes City blog, with the same title as the caption that I used on this Flickr page; and it was published in an undated (late Oct 2010) blog titled "Workout With An Exercise Bike." It was also published in an undated (mid-Dec 2010) blog titled "LA HCG Weight Loss Program Is Based On Cutting Edge Techniques," as well as a Dec 14, 2010 Buy HCG Cookbook blog with the same title and detailed notes as what I had written on this Flickr page.
In 2011, the photo was published in a Jan 2, 2011 Exercise BIke Zone blog, with the same title and detailed notes that I had written on this Flickr page. It was also published in a Jan 7, 2010 blog titled "What Is The Best Exercise Machine For Weight Loss?" and two undated (early Jan 2011) "Weight Loss Helps" blogs titled "The Big Role of Insulin In Your Exercise Program ," and "You Are Not Alone… The True Role of Supplements in Weight Loss and Muscle Building." It was also published in an undated (early Jan 2011) blog titled "Does anyone recommend any good fast weight loss diets?", as well as a Jan 11, 2011 blog titled "Weight Loss Supplement At Work – Is There A Special One?" It was also published in a Jan 19, 2011) blog titled "Finding the Best Weight Loss Supplements." And it was published in a Jan 20, 2011 blog titled "How To Lose 37 Pounds & Melt Away Belly Fat By Going Against Mainstream Diet & Exercise Advice!"
It was also published in a Feb 27, 2011 blog titled "How to Get People to Read My Blog." And it was published in a Mar 16, 2011 blog titled "The Poll Results About Solo Slim Side Effects Have Been Tallied!", as well as another Mar 16, 2011 blog titled "Get Rid of that Muffin Top and Enjoy a Free Waistband Best Diet to Lose Belly Fat." It was also published in an Apr 4, 2011 blog titled "Mejorar la salud con disciplina." And it was published in a May 20, 2011 blog titled "Get Fit Lake Mary! Fitness Classes @ Lake Mary Farmers’ Market." It was also published in a Jun 29, 2011 blog titled "Ab Workouts: Three Exercises for Fast Abs." And it was published in a Jul 3, 2011 "Cellulite Patches" blog, with the same caption and detailed notes that I had written on this Flickr page. It was also published in an Aug 16, 2011 blog titled "Tenersi in forma col wellness coach." It was also published in an Oct 25, 2011 blog titled "Nice Exercise Programs And Weight Loss photos," with the same caption and detailed notes I had written on this Flickr page.
Moving into 2012, the photo was published in a Jan 5, 2012 blog titled "Some thoughts about exercise and motivation," as well as a Jan 5,2012 blog titled "what is the best weight loss programme from an indian point of view?", and a Jan 6, 2012 blog titled "Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers and LA Weight Loss is the variation among what?" It was also published in a Jan 31, 2012 blog titled Exercise fights chronic disease sadness," as well as an undated (early Feb 2011) blog titled "Exercise for Depression: Suggestions for Making It Possible." And it was published in a May 31, 2012 blog titled "Exercise could be, er, bad for your heart, study says." It was also published in a Jun 4, 2012 blog titled "After Drug and Alcohol Rehab: Healthy Living." And it was published in a Jun 6, 2012 blog titled "Question by needtoknow: What is a good AB workout machine under 0?" It was also published in a Jun 22, 2012 RAAL blog, with the same caption and detailed notes that I had written here on this Flickr page. And it was published in an Aug 11, 2012 blog titled "Take A Look At These Muscle Building Tips!" It was also published in an undated (early Sep 2012) blog titled "How To Choose A Gym," as well as a Sep 5, 2012 blog titled "Exercise Your Mind And Improve Your Mental Health Before You Have A Breakdown." And it was published in a Dec 3, 2012 blog titled "How much weight do you have to lose to have excess skin?"
Moving into 2013, the photo was published in a blog, "Pack On More Muscle With This Weight Training Advice." It was also published in a Jan 6, 2013 blog titled "Tips For Getting The Right Amount Rest In Between Muscle Building Sets." And it was published in a Jan 8, 2013 blog titled "Great Advice To Help Build Muscle Fast!" It was also published in a Jan 20, 2013 blog titled "Ways On How You Could Achieve Bigger Muscles," as well as a Jan 25, 2013 blog titled "Aerobic Exercise is Best for Weight Loss, Study Says." And it was published in a Feb 14, 2013 blog titled "Exercises You Should Do For Putting On Muscles," as well as a Feb 18, 2013 blog titled "Muscle Development Tips That Will Help Get You Your Dream Body." It was also published in a Feb 24, 2013 blog titled "Discover The Muscle Building Tips Of The Pros." And it was published in a Mar 11, 2013 blog titled "Muscle Building Tips People Don’t Want You To Know! " It was also published in a Mar 17, 2013 blog titled, simply, "Exercise," as well as an undated (mid-March 2013) Dude Mountain blog titled "The Most Effective Muscle And Strength Building Tips." And it was published in an undated (mid-Apr 2013) blog simply titled "Exercise," as well as an Apr 14, 2013 blog titled "Tips That Will Help You Build Your Muscles." It was also published in an Apr 17, 2013 blog titled "10 Ways To Be Healthier In 10 Minutes Or Less," as well as an Apr 22, 2013 blog titled "Use These Ideas To Gain Bigger Muscles," and a May 7, 2013 blog titled "Helpful Ways to Build New Muscle Fast." It was also published in a May 8, 2013 blog titled "What is Mind/Body Exercise, And Why Should I Do It?", as well as a May 15, 2013 blog titled " Want To Increase The Size Of Your Muscles? Consider These Tips! " And it was published in an undated (mid-June 2013) website titled Lean Green Cleaning Machine. It was also published in a Jun 22, 2013 blog titled "Exercise and Harm," as well as a Jun 28, 2013 blog titled "Haftada 150 Dakika Spor YeterliyMİŞ" and a Jun 28, 2013 blog titled "Training Techniques In Order To Avoid Injury." And it was published in a Jul 11, 2013 Mother Nature Network blog titled "Exercise."
Moving into 2014, the photo was published in a Jan 8, 2014 blog titled "Terrific Abdominal Workouts Can Make You Cash." It was also published in a Jan 14, 2014 blog titled " LESSON 6: OVEREATING WHEN SAD DOESN’T CUT IT FOR ME." And it was published in a Mar 17, 2014 Mother Nature Network blog titled "Exercise."
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For the past several years, my family has spent a week, in early January, at the Club Med village in Punta Cana, on the southwestern shore of the Dominican Republic. (Our first visit to Club Med was back in 1985, and some photos of last year’s trip can be seen here.)
This year’s visit coincided with the awful earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti — about 260 miles away, on the eastern coast of the island of Hispaniola. From what I understand, the fault line went straight west, in our direction, but then cut south at approximately the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In any case, none of the vacationers at Club Med felt even the slightest tremor; we got all of our news of the ensuing events just like everyone else, by watching CNN. But because we expected the capitol city of Santo Domingo to be chaotic and congested with relief efforts, I decided to skip a daylong trip that I had tentatively planned to photograph the churches and markets of what turns out to be the oldest city in the Western hemisphere (settled in 1497 by Christopher Columbus’ brother).
In recent years, most of my photographic efforts have focused on the vacationers who fill the beaches and pool — especially the children, who come from Canada, France, Venezuela, and various other parts of the world besides the United States. So I decided to focus on something else this year, and … well, you can judge the results for yourself…