Adventurers` Club News Aug 2006 - The Adventurers` Club of Los

^^j e
^^^
^^^1
Rbbenturer.5'
^1^t^i^^^^' ^Y^i^l
Ctub PeW.5
Volume 50
August 2006
Number 7
P-175 Polecat—
Polecats Lockheed
Lockheed Photo
The
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
Volume 50
August 2006
Number 7
Polecat – Lockheed Martin’s New Flying Wing
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company Advanced Development Programs
Editor’s Note: This article is compiled from material supplied by Lockheed’s Skunk Works, and from various other
sources.
L
ockheed Martin Aeronautics Company develop technologies that enable its customers to maintain a capability edge. The
Advanced Development Programs
(ADP), commonly referred to as the Skunk Polecat Unmanned Aerial System (UAS)
Works, has unveiled the existence of a high- was specifically designed to verify: 1) new,
cost effective rapaltitude unmanned
aerial demonstraid composite prototyping and mantor named Polecat.
ufacturing techPolecat is an internal effort to
niques using lightweight materials;
better understand
2) verify projected
flight dynamics of
a tailless unmanned
aerodynamic performance required
air system; mitigate
for sustained high
risks in removing
costs from develaltitude operations
with a tailless deoping UAV syssign aircraft; 3)
tems and reduce
risk in pertinent
demonstrate flight
autonomy
attechnologies in
P-175
Polecat
(Photo
courtesy
Lockheed
Skunk
Works)
tributes and 4) desupport of our ongoing research and development work for the
velop composite component thermodynamic qualifications. Polecat has flown
Air Force’s future Long Range Strike Program
twice, with flight test profiles up to 15,000
and next generation ISR platforms.
The Skunk Works, known for its legend- feet. Current flight test program consists
of approximately 10 flights, with projectary rapid prototyping capabilities, began the
initial design effort of Polecat in March ed flight test profiles exceeding 60,000 feet.
2003 and was ready for first flight 18
Aeronautics funded the design and manufacture of this system entirely with intermonths later. ADP continues to expand and
(Polecat continued on page 2)
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
1
August 2006
Polecat
(Polecat continued from page 1)
nal research and development dollars, demonstrating Lockheed Martin’s commitment to
the “next generation” of unmanned systems.
Polecat is powered by twin FJ44-3E Williams International engines that when combined provides a total of 6,000 pounds of
thrust. It is designed for sustained flight
above 60,000 feet. Gross takeoff weight
of the demonstrator is 9,000 lbs, has a 90
foot wingspan and an endurance of approximately four
hours, accommodating a reconfigurable
payload/weapons bay of
1,000 pounds.
Polecat
was
constructed using advanced
manufacturing
techniques and
the
primary
structures is The Polecat development team
compromised of
98% advanced composite materials, excluding engines, landing gear and avionics.
The aircraft design configuration is “payload friendly” with a large central bay nestled between the engines providing the best
fields of view and smoothest ride. In addition to the favorable location, payloads
benefit from ample power, state-of-the-art
avionics and computer-friendly digital data
link with modern protocols.
During the launch and recovery phase,
Polecat is capable of autonomous takeoff
and landing using a combination of onboard models and differential GPS.
Rapid Prototyping Methods
A
key requirement for the Polecat Unmanned Aerial Demonstration System
was that it be ready for flight, just 18
months after a go-ahead decision was
made. In keeping with the Skunk Works
tradition of rapidly developing prototype
and demonstration vehicles, a streamlined
organization was established and an inclusive
environment created to give maximum focus on
the goals of the
project and the
freedom to execute with minimal interference.
This approach allowed streamlined processes to
be used and new
methods developed to rapidly
(Photo courtesy Skunk Works)
design, fabricate,
integrate, and test a large, unmanned system
affordably and rapidly. Two key areas where
this was very evident were the extensive use of
unique air vehicle construction techniques and
rapid software development and integration.
UniqueAir Vehicle ConstructionApproach
major challenge in the development
of a rapid prototype is the ability to
design and fabricate the airframe as well as
obtain the necessary raw materials and subsystems in time to support an aggressive
schedule. Through extensive use of off-theshelf components and materials readily
A
(Polecat continued on page 5)
August 2006
2
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
Tribute to Doolittle
(Doolittle continued on page 4)
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
3
August 2006
NOHA
(Doolittle continued from page 3)
August 2006
4
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
Polecat
(Polecat continued from page 2)
available, long lead items were obtained in that communications will be variable and
a fraction of the time typically required. the system must accommodate the real
The airframe itself was designed almost world of drop outs, varying bandwidth and
exclusively using composite techniques re- complete outages. The Polecat team has defined over the past 10 years within ADP. veloped, and validated during inflight tests,
Key features of this approach are large, a dynamic and adaptable air-ground interintegrated composite assemblies with a face. Operator error is a significant part of
many UAV failgreatly reduced
number of parts The airframe structure consisted of fewer ures and LM has
brought the disversus conven- than 200 parts...
tional metallic construction. The airframe cipline of manned aircraft design to the
structure consisted of fewer than 200 parts, human reliability engineered into the operwhich is more than an order of magnitude ator work spaces. The working environreduction in parts over a conventional design. ment is considered part of the human facFewer parts translated into fewer drawings, tors with ample space, comfortable coninspections as well as fabrication and assem- soles and lighting designed for optimal perbly time, resulting in a cascade of cost reduc- formance during the missions.
tions throughout the build process.
Rapid Software Development and
Integration
Ground Control Station Development
hen developing an unmanned system
he GCS build also demonstrated a 6with autonomous functions, a major
month build schedule which required schedule driver is the time to develop and
extensive software reuse and extensive com- test the software. A great deal of attention
mercial off the shelf (COTS) components, was focused on developing, integrating, and
providing a high level of functionality, at testing the software used on Polecat so that
low recurring cost. Based on the latest PC it would not drive the schedule. This was
and networking technology, the GCS supports accomplished through the use of auto-genthe air vehicle with complete display and in- erated software, single point interface conterface configurability. The architecture
trol, and concurrent integration efforts.
makes for easy insertion of new system ca- Legacy software was also leveraged from
pabilities, user friendly payloads, dissemina- programs like the X-35 prototype of the
tion interfaces, and value-added processing.
Joint Strike Fighter Program to maximize
The GCS is optimized for reliable opera- software reuse and maturity. The net result
tion and expansion of mission applications.
of using this approach was that the vehicle
Reliability is provided through hardware
flight software, ground station displays and
redundancy, air-ground interface and hu- simulations were completed within 14
man interface design. A fundamental re- months and updates were made in a matter
quirement of the air-ground interface is of days instead of weeks.
W
T
(Polecat continued on page 18)
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
5
August 2006
Grundoon
A Grundoon on the Moon
Ed Boden #659
O
ne day at Cape Canaveral (I can’t rethat I was not guilty but was certainly
sist calling it that and have for 45
going to look into the matter when I reyears) a sailing shipturned to JPL.
mate of mine accosted
me with, “Okay, Bo- Whence It Came
den, how did you get
o back up a bit. In 1955, I was one of
that name on the
the crew on a 1947 ketch in the Transspacecraft?”
Jim Burke was the Pac Race from Los Angeles to Honolulu.
Another of the crew had, somewhere,
Project Manager for the
RANGER series of picked up the word “grunt” that he used
moon landing spacecraft liberally as a replacement for gismo or thingamajig. After a few days, it became a bit
for Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, tiresome and so another crew asked him,
CA in the early 1960s. I “Bob, where did you pick up that word,
was on the countdown ‘grunt’?”
team for the same series
“It’s short for ‘grundoon’.”
with operations at Cape
“Oh,” I said, “Well, ‘grundoon’ has a nice
ring to it,” and, I’ve been using the expresCanaveral, FL. Also, he
and I were shipmates on sion ever since.
a vessel called Sparkle engaged in sail racing in How It Happened
Southern California.
ack to JPL. One day the engineer in
For several years, I’d
charge of the vacuum chamber
used the word, grunasked me if I knew
doon, in place of
where the word
‘gismo’ or ‘thincame from. At that
Ranger IV Launch gamajig’; or for
point, nobody had
practically anything where the propever told me where.
er word didn’t come to mind immeHe infor med me
diately. My proclivity was fairly well
that Grundoon was
known.
a character in the
“Me? Name?”
comic strip “Pogo”;
“You know darn good’n well
okay, but I’ve conwhat name. I just signed off on the
tinued to use it.
assembly drawing this morning and
It took a couple of
there it was – Grundoon!”
weeks and some in“Oh, really!” I said, and insisted Ranger IV
quiring before I
T
B
August 2006
6
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
Grundoon
learned how the name,
grundoon, became a
part on the spacecraft.
It seems that the design and specifications
for the part fell to one
of the engineers, Elliot Framan. It was to be
a small spacer to fill a
gap between two of
the spacecraft’s modules. He had tired of
calling the several
necessary filler pieces
“spacers” or “shims”,
or what-have-you,
and asked Alan Forsythe (another sailing
shipmate of mine)
what else to call it.
Alan flippantly said,
“How about ‘grundoon’.”
The
drawing
checker, however,
wouldn’t okay the
name in the title
block because he
couldn’t find it in the
dictionary. So, Elliot took the drawing
to Harry Cottel, the
checker’s boss. Harry was another
friend of mine and
gave the okay and so
the part became
‘g r undoon’. A few
days after I returned
to Pasadena, I received a copy of the
drawing with a grundoon taped to it
and a handwritten note from Burke,
“See? I do read what I sign.”
The grundoon went to the moon
aboard RANGER IV on 23 April 1962
and I helped because I was on its countdown team at Cape Canaveral.
In 1970 when I was in Majuro, Marshall Islands, I was given a bunch of
books and magazines amongst which was
a copy of Reader’s Digest. In one of their
short sections at the end of an article was
“Space-Age Dictionary” and there in the
contents, “Grundoon – Space Age word
for a spacer.”
1979 Datsun 210 NC License Plate
Finally, for the past dozen years, the
license plate on my ’79 Datsun 210 has
been GRUNDOON. It has a nice ring to
it, don’t you think?
Atlas-Agena B
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
7
August 2006
NOHA
NOHA – Night of High Adventure
ANNOUNCING
N. O. H. A.
2006
Date:
Time:
Place:
Sunday, October 22, 2006
5:00 PM
Sheraton Delfina Hotel
530 West Pico Boulevard
Santa Monica, California 90405
Tickets: $85 ($95 after September 1)
Contact: Jim Heaton – (310) 465-9500
Dress:
Dinner Dress – Black-tie Formal
Ethnic Formal
August 2006
8
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
What’s Happening...
What’s Happening...
ing his neck. Sven was rushed to the hospital where he remains.
Sven is out of surgery, but complications
have delayed his recovery.
Lucky Lady Too, a cheetah, and Me
Kim McCoy’s Imperfect Adventure
In April, bought Honda XR400R motorcycle (contrary to John Goddard’s advice). Accumulated a liftime total of 4 hours off-road
experience, and then left on unsupported offroad motorcycle trip through Baja (only a
Frenchman and myself), approx. 2000 kilometers (90% in the dirt!). By Apr. 20, experienced: lost gear bag, lost 10 lbs., got lost, runin with Federales, dislocated shoulder, two
flat tires, headlight burned out, completed an
unpassable 15 km section of Baja Coast in
an open Panga boat, slept outside – a sucessful motor cycle trip by any measure!
In May, had stitches removed from face and
leg (see April for details), designed Great White
Shark Jaws for Discovery Channel Shark
Week, got married (for first time!)
In June, left marriage after 4 days (sounds
bad but is not), flew to Rome, ate food,
drank wine, swam in Mediterranean, passed
medical exams, embarked on Oceanographic NATO research vessel (where I
will remain until July)...but the month is
not over YET!
Lady Luck Two & Cheetah
B
ob Gannon (#1066) just completed leg
#18 of his world flying adventure.
He departed from a grass strip outside
of Kruger National Park (where he had
parked Lucky Lady Too) to Swaziland,
Lesotho, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and over to Victory Falls in Zimbabwe then back down to the grass strip in
South Africa. Bob landed at 55 places in
those countries.
This will complete his southern Africa
legs (3 in total). He will depart in late August for West Africa and then jump over to
South America.
Editor’s Note:
Each month we will feature recent activities of
members and friends on this page. If we get enough
material, we will expand it to two pages. Please send
your material along with any photos to the Editor by
email or snail mail. Designate it for “What’s
Happening....”
Cheetah & Bob Gannon
Sven Wahlroos – Ill
W
ord has come in that Sven Wahlroos
(#976) suffered a heart attack. He
blacked out and fell from his chair, breakADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
9
August 2006
Book Review - The Chicken Little Agenda
BOOK REVIEW - The Chicken Little Agenda
Author: Robert G. Williscroft #1116, Pelican Publishing, Gretna LA, hardcover, (256p w. index; 5 3/4 x 8 3/4) ISBN: 978-1-58980-352-7
T
reading The Chicken Little Agenda, you
would be the best informed, smartest person
in the room when some idiot began to tell
everyone that the Earth was doomed, there’s
no way to provide electricity without producing greenhouse gases, blah, blah, blah! This
is hands-down the best book
I have read in a very long
time when it comes to explaining and debunking the
kind of nonsense in Al
Gore’s new film or the cover
stories of Time and other
so-called news magazines.
Do yourself a very big favor and read it.
he Chicken Little Agenda – Debunking
“Experts’” Lies was published this May
by Pelican Publishing.
Prof. Walter Williams, John M. Olin
Distinguished Professor of Economics,
George Mason University, wrote the following comment about The
Chicken Little Agenda:
Robert Williscroft has masterfully debunked what
masquerades as science in a
range of hot button topics
from the environment and
energy to education and government. He’s made his arguments accessible to the ordinary person, supplying
him with intellectual ammunition to confront the experts.
Alan Caruba, Editor-inChief at Bookviews.com
wrote:
What if I told you there
was a book that even a person with no scientific knowledge could read and understand
that would dispel all your fears about “global warming”, nuclear energy, “ozone holes”,
and much of what the daily media tells you
poses a terrible threat to the Earth and you?
What if I told you the book was written by
a retired submarine officer with a B.S. in
oceanography and meteorology from the University of Washington and a M.S. and
Ph.D. in engineering from California Coast
University? What if I told you that, after
August 2006
The Chicken Little Agenda
is loosely organized
around seventy columns
in the Thrawn Rickle series
Dr. Williscroft originally
wrote in response to his
sense that the general public was just not getting it:
The guy at the corner gas station, the Idaho lumberjack, the small town school bus
driver, and – for that matter – newspaper
editors and college professors, were systematically being misled by a Chicken Little
mentality that insisted the sky was falling
every time the word radiation appeared in
print, whenever global warming or the
ozone layer was mentioned, or whenever
an act of terrorism took place.
The original columns were published in
various newspapers and periodicals in the
10
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
Book Review - The Chicken Little Agenda
so-called protective ozone layer. Dr. WillisNorthwest and Southern California during
the late 1980s and early 1990s, although croft’s experience as the scientist in charge
of the National Science Foundation efforts
much of it has appeared either updated or
as new material within the last two and a in these areas at the Geographic South Pole
half years. Although politically pertinent at for a year lends conviction to these arguthe time of its publication, the original ments.
The book closely examines power genermaterial is timeless, as pertinent and fresh
today as when written. The current materi- ation, giving the reader clear insight into
al is, of course, as timely as today’s and how electric power is produced, distributed, and consumed. It exposes serious mistomorrow’s headlines.
Dr. Williscroft’s eclectic interests and conceptions surrounding Three Mile Island
and Chernobyl, and creates a strong case
broad experience have ideally prepared him
to drop Chicken We may no longer huddle in our back- for making full use
of nuclear energy.
Little on the spin
yard
bomb
shelters
like
our
parents
As part of this disdoctors who terrify
cussion, it proposthe general public during the 1950s
with their dire predictions of immanent di- es a simple, practical solution to the nuclear waste problem. The book also addresses
saster. We may no longer huddle in our
backyard bomb shelters like our parents various forms of alternative energy producduring the 1950s, but we spend millions of tion, and proposes a dramatic new approach
personal dollars “protecting” ourselves from for meeting the nation’s energy needs far
a vast entourage of things we sincerely be- into the future.
The Chicken Little Agenda squares off
lieve will harm us (after all, Carl Sagan
against the education establishment, comsaid…), and we spend billions in tax dollars solving “problems” that exist primarily ing down strongly on the side of educating
in the minds of agenda-driven, self-ap- our children. The book exposes misconceppointed experts who have managed to con- tions that the National Education Associvince themselves and us that that acorn was ation and the Liberal Intellectual Establishment seem to take for granted, offering soa precursor to the fall of heaven itself.
The Chicken Little Agenda examines with lutions that are both as old as education
critical precision several major elements itself and as new as tomorrow’s headlines.
The book focuses its sights on governthat make up modern society. It exposes
the underpinnings of the Green Revolution, ment, examining what it is, and comparing
revealing the hidden agenda that drives this this with what Dr. Williscroft believes it
loosely knit group of environmental ex- ought to be. It humorously exposes govtremists, and it lays bare the lies they tell ernment intrusions into the daily lives of
the ordinary citizens. The book not only
to support their arguments.
The book discusses the scientific concepts demonstrates how to make the system work
underlying the planetary greenhouse and the for you, but also how to modify the system
(Polecat continued on page 12)
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
11
August 2006
Book Review - The Chicken Little Agenda
(Polecat continued from page 2)
so that it actually works.
feeling of awe, he leads the reader through
War is not pleasant, but it happens, even some of the astonishing findings of recent
in a free society. The Chicken Little Agenda research in physics and cosmology. The
examines how war impacts free men, and
discussions remain light and lively with a
then looks at some of the weapons at their sprinkling of humor, never forgetting that
disposal. It closely examines the role of a scientist is but an ordinary man or womterrorism in today’s world, and exposes an with extraordinary training and a dose
some of the scare tactics used to manipu- of special insight. The book demonstrates
late free citizens.
how easily an ordinary man or woman can
Although not religious himself, Dr. Willis- understand some of the extraordinary incroft was raised in a strict religious envi- sights these people have made.
ronment, and
The Chicken
understands This is a book for everyman and everywoman, Little Agenda is
better than J. Q. Citizen at large who knows what probably a feel-good
most how is, but is being confused by the conflicting book that alc o m p l e t e l y claims of self-appointed experts.
lows the readthe American
er to exclaim
way of life depends on its religious under- confidently: “I knew it all along! There’s
pinnings. The book tackles the subjects of no way that space probe can contaminate
morality and ethics, responsibility and ac- the solar system!” or “I thought so, because
countability, and drug addiction and alcoI’ve seen Spotted Owls nesting in wheat
holism with sensitivity and insight. Recog- fields. So what’s this nonsense about not
nizing the changing landscape of Ameri- cutting trees?” This is a book for everyman
can religious attitudes, it develops an ap- and everywoman, J. Q. Citizen at large who
proach to these subjects that sidesteps spe- knows what probably is, but is being concific religious faith in order to create a broad
fused by the conflicting claims of self-apset of standards that will work within ev- pointed experts. This is a book that tells it
ery faith, and yet be independent of them. like it is, let the acorn fall where it may.
Dr. Williscroft has never lost his wonder
The Chicken Little Agenda – Debunking “Exat the marvelous insights modern science perts’” Lies is available online at argee.net
has given us about the universe in which and amazon.com, and can be ordered at
we live. With a deft ability that triggers a local book stores.
August 2006
12
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
The Thrawn Rickle
THE THRAWN RICKLE
From the Ancient Scottish: thrawn = stubborn; rickle = loose, dilapidated heap
Robert G. Williscroft #1116 - Editor
L
bution of The Adventurers’ Club News, and I
need your help. Each month about the time
of the last meeting of the month, I arrive
at the Club with a stack of completed magazines, ready for addresses and stamps. But
guess what...the address labels and stamps
don’t get there by themselves.
What we need are two or three volunteers who will agree faithfully to arrive at
the club promptly at 6 p.m. on the last meeting day of the month. Your job will be to
take the labels (which someone else will
supply), the little sealer tabs, and the
stamps, and address and seal each magazine. Since we can save a significant amount
of postage cost if members will pick up
their copy on that night, we intend to wait
until after the meeting to put the stamps
on the remaining magazines – this should
take only about fifteen minutes or so.
Please call or email me right away, if you intend to volunteer. We all thank you very much!
When I took this job, I told you that from time
to time I would speak my mind. Now is the time.
I have noticed that several of our members participate on the Board of Directors,
or make themselves otherwise useful to the
Club, but then refuse to join our meals, attend the lectures, or in other ways they snub
the general membership.
My sense is that these individuals are not
really dissing everyone so much as specific
individuals with whom they have a beef.
In my opinion this is a silly way for grown
men to behave, and I call for a setting aside
of differences, and a restoration of the general camaraderie that is the historic hallmark of this Club.
ast month I told
you about a
new feature to the
Club Magazine:
What’s Happening...
I wrote that,
“Obviously, this
will only work if
each of you contributes something
each time you do something.” Well, guess
what? I have received virtually nothing
from the membership at large. Yet I know
that several of you have done something
that I am convinced would interest your
friends here. This feature is intended to give
you, the members, an opportunity to participate vicariously in the various activities of
the other members and friends of members.
I know that many of you are out there on a
regular basis, participating in activities that would
interest the rest of us. Take your digital camera,
or even your film cameras, snap a few photos,
and email or snailmail them to me along with a
short description of what you did.
This month, because I didn’t receive a
book review from any of you, we are featuring a review of my own recently published book – The Chicken Little Agenda –
Debunking “Experts’” Lies.
I want to draw your attention to October 22, our annual Night of High Adventure – NOHA. The deadline for discounted tickets in only a month away. This gathering promises to be one of the best, so be
sure to purchase your tickets in the next
week or so, in order to get a better table.
We have a logistics problem with distriADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
13
August 2006
Can You Survive? / Letters to the Editor
Can You Survive? – Revisited
Roger Haft #1098
you the reasons for my choices yet, but here
is how I arranged the list of items Roger gave
us. The first part of the list seems pretty clear to
me. From 9 down, it becomes pretty arbitrary.
Please email or write me with your solutions, and your reasons for choosing that
particular order. I will publish the best of
the resonses next month.
You are adrift on a private yacht in the
South Pacific. As a consequence of a fire
of unknown origin, much of the yacht
and its contents have been destroyed.
The yacht is now slowly sinking. Your
location is unclear because of the destruction of critical navigational equipment and because you and your crew were
distracted trying to bring the fire under
control. Your best estimate is that you
are approximately 1,000 miles South
Southwest of the nearest land.
The following is a list of 15 items that
are intact and undamaged after the fire. In
addition to these articles, you have a serviceable rubber raft large enough to carry
yourself, the crew and all of the items listed in the table.
Your task is to rank the 15 items in terms
of their importance to your survival. #1
the most important to #15 the least.
As your all knowing editor, I have endevored to solve this problem. I will not give
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
he’s speak at The Adventurers’ Club, he
agreed, but the posers that be at that time
thought it would not be interesting. He’s
probably still available if interested.
To the Editor:
I understand you were looking for people who
have or had Buck Knives, so I thought I’d respond.
The one I carry is a Buck/Whittaker climbing knife
with a locking blade and lanyard attachment. I have
several others, including a camping knife my son
gave me, and an underwater knife/tool I carry
in my tool bag on all my wreck dives.
Obviously, I think they’re the best knives
made.
Several years I asked Charles Buck if
August 2006
Dave Finnern #1065
Thanks for the input. Actually, Al Buck was my mother’s
older brother, and Chuck is my cousin. I also thought that
if there is sufficient interest, he might give us a visit. I’ll
check with him – Editor
14
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
Minutes - June 29, 2006
THURSDAY NIGHTS AT THE CLUB
Shane Berry noted the scheduling of the
Little Petroglyph Canyon near Ridgecrest
to October 8th. It is ½ mile wide and three
and a half miles long.
Jim Heaton inquired about interest on a
cruise on the Lane Victory.
Bob Silver showed color film he took in
the early 1960s of the Bamian Valley in
Afghanistan. This was the farthest west
extent of the Buddhist religion. People
lived in caves decorated by frescos. Invading armies destroyed frescos on the lower
levels but those higher up still exist. Recently, the Taliban destroyed the three giant Buddhas.
June 29, 2006
Bob Zeman
I
t was great to see past President Keith
Chase #664 from Carmel.
Frank Haigler said he saw the CSPN
program on Jimmy Doolittle and it was
excellent. It gave good photos and reviews
of the Club. A friend called and told him
of the showing. Vince Weatherby and
others said that they were unable to find
the listing but urged members to go online and look for a rebroadcast of the
program.
Larry Stern is going out to Santa Cruz
Island for an overnight stay.
Bob Zeman is going to Belize to look
for birds and Mayan ruins.
President Vince asked if members were
concerned about the U. S. flag on the podium and how old it was and how much dust
it had. Bob Silver asked how many stars
were on it.
We are acquiring a new projector since
the old one burned out at the Doolittle program.
Bob Walters attended the 50th anniversary party of Sven Wahlroos. Many of
Sven’s friends from the south Pacific flew
in for the party.
Mark Lane sent us a post card from Hawaii.
Bob Walters mentioned the movie:
“Who killed the electric car?” Bernie
Harris owns a GEM which is an electric car and gets him around Santa
Monica.
Jim Heaton is excited about NOHA on
October 22nd – a Sunday.
Modern Technologies in Airborne
Search and Rescue
ark Swaney was introduced to the
Club by Ken Freund. Mark joined the
Civil Air Patrol at age 15 and has been a
member for 39 years. He earned his private
pilot’s license at 18 and graduated from the
University of Cincinnati with a degree in
aerospace engineering.
M
Mark Swaney
One of his instructors in college was
Neil Armstrong who was on the Board
of Directors at Lear Aviation. Neil men(Minutes continued on page 16)
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
15
August 2006
Minutes - June 29 & July 13, 2006
(Minutes continued from page 15)
tored Mark in experimental flight test
there.
Mark joined the Navy in 1975 and selected for flight officer training. He became an F-14 tomcat Radar Intercept
Officer and later graduated from the
Naval Test Pilot School. After several
operational tours his last command was
at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons division, Point Mugu and China
Lake.
The Civil Air Patrol was established in
1941 and has 60,000 members. It provides emergency services, cadet programs
and aerospace education. It has 550 aircraft, 4,500 fixed land radios, 8,100 mobile radios and 918 vehicles in its eight
regions.
Most of the planes are Cessna 182s and
206s along with some gliders and Australian Gippisland planes.
SARSAT is a search and rescue satellite
system in which a distress beacon transmits to a satellite to a local area receiver to
a control center to a rescue coordinator
center from which a helicopter is dispatched.
This system using 121.5 megahertz
worked well but the search time was ten
to 12 hours. A new system using 406
megahertz reduces the search time to
minutes.
Another system is ARCHER (Airborne
Real time Cueing Hyperspectral Enhanced
Recovery.) It can detect a change in anomaly down to finding a propeller wing in the
Mojave desert.
Mark also noted that every weekend the
CAP is flying along the border.
August 2006
July 13, 2006
Bob Zeman
W
e had a large crowd for dinner and
even more for the program tonight
and President Vince Weatherby welcomed
all.
Bob Gannon took off six years ago on
his trip to fly around the world. He just completed his 16th leg flying from South Africa
through Zimbabwe and Zambia. His next
leg will take him across central Africa to
Brazil.
Knut Oxnevaad leaves soon for three
weeks in Tahiti and the Marquesas.
Alan Feldstein leaves for four days kayaking on the Hudson River.
Jim Dorsey will try again to climb Mt.
Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. He will also visit
Moses Pelei in his village. Jim’s efforts were
foiled last year due to illness.
Bernie Harris received a birthday
present from his sons of a week’s training
with the astronauts in Cape Canaveral.
Shane Berry and his wife are going to
Alaska to see Denali and the Kenai fjords.
Derek Borthwick beat his postcard back
from Brazil.
Jim Heaton said that we will have
speakers on Easter Island and piloting an
FA-22 jet at Night of High Adventure.
London Steverson will deliver a card
signed by members to Sven Wahlroos.
Sven slipped and fell shortly after his
75 th birthday party and broke a vertebra. He has been in and out of a coma
since.
Cards were also signed wishing speedy
recoveries for Roy Roush and Al Adams.
16
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
Minutes - July 13, 2006
Nile. There are monasteries on the islands.
In Addis Ababa he viewed the palace,
university and the bones of Lucy. After
three and a half weeks in Ethiopia he headed south to Kenya.
Near Nanyuki he splurged and stayed one
night at the Mt. Kenya Safari Club. Previous lodgings ranged from $3 to $15 per
night. Then he
went south to
Nairobi.
The capitol city
was nice but
tourists are advised not to walk
around at night.
He rented a
Peugeot
504
with others to go
to Murchison
Falls. On the way
he saw lions, giraffes, impala,
hyena, wildebeest and other wild animals. A boat took
him to a mile from the Falls and then he
and his friend hiked to the base.
Nearby, he took a boat and then hiked to
see African pygmies. They are taller now than
in the past due to breeding with other tribes.
Another bumpy ride to him to Kigali
where he had dinner at the Hotel Rwanda.
Then he got a cheap price (it was off-season) and went to see the mountain gorillas.
They came quite close and one even
touched him. But they are vegetarians.
South to Ujiji he saw the meeting place
of Stanley and Livingstone. Markers are
abundant. Then he went east to Dodoma,
Overland from Cairo to Cape Town
M
ark Weitz was inspired by African explorers and John Goddard to visit
Africa. Last January, he signed up with a
company that took him from Cairo across
to top of Africa and down the west coast
and over to Timbuktu, Ghana, Togo and
Benin. But the
tour was dull and
unadventurous
so he left.
He got to
Aswan trying to
catch the weekly
ferry south. But a
Muslim holiday
delayed him for a
week. He toured
the small pyramids before embarking across
Lake Nasser to
Mark Weitz
Wadi Haifa.
A mini bus that normally holds six to eight
people took him and 10 others to Khartoum.
Outside of the big cities, Sudanese food is
basically beans and olive oil in a bowl. Alcohol is strictly prohibited and 40 lashes can be
administered to violators.
After viewing the confluence Niles, Mark
then ventured up the Blue Nile. In virtually every place throughout the trip, he slept
there were fleas and a dirty toilet. In eastern
Sudan he saw the dancing of the dervishes.
His bus took him to Aksum which he
toured and then to Gonder where the
Queen of Sheba had a home. Nearby was
beautiful Lake Tana source of the Blue
(Minutes continued on page 18)
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
17
August 2006
Minutes - July 13, 2006 / Polecat
(Minutes continued from page 17)
previous rides, the driver had always been
capitol of Tanzania, Arusha and Zanzibar.
able to fix the vehicle problem. But this
He arrived at Lake Malawi on Good Friwas insurmountable. Mark and his friends
day and took a ferry down the lake. The
hailed a passing
economy has
truck and paid
collapsed
in
additional monZimbabwe and
ey to resume
the U. S. dollar is
their trip.
worth 100,000
Finally, the end
Zimbabwean
in
Cape Town.
dollars at the ofMark toured
ficial rate of exRobbin Island
change
and
where Nelson
200,000 on the
Mandela was held
black market.
prisoner
and
Mark went to
beautiful beaches.
Victoria Falls,
He stayed at the
Harare and Bulhome of some
awayo where he
Mark
Weitz
and
fellow
travelers
friends who had a
saw the Zimbasmall pet rhino and a blind Cape buffalo in
bwe ruins and the statue to Cecil Rhodes.
their yard.
Then he rode in a truck to Botswana and
Mark is a young man who spoke well and
Namibia. The German influence is still strong.
showed good slides along with maps showFrom Windhoek he was in the back of a
ing his stops down the continent.
truck and saw the rear wheel fall off. On
(Polecat continued from page 5)
Conclusion
T
he Skunk Works is uniquely positioned
to combine lessons learned from its internally funded Polecat UAS with those from
current full-scale programs and ongoing advanced technology exploration. Polecat leverages the customer investments in the F-35 to
take advantage of existing advanced technologies including – 11 million lines of software
code, advanced 5th generation avionics, network enabled capabilities, integrated subAugust 2006
systems, advanced materials, and situation
awareness. It then combines internal investments in emerging technologies including:
compact air vehicle inlets; survivability; and
advanced apertures; and autonomy. It is this
combination of advanced technology exploration, proven systems development
and internal investment that provides Lockheed Martin a sound foundation for the next
generation weapon systems.
18
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
New Members
New Member Profiles - Richard F. Litchfield #1118
R
He has visited and explored Catalina, the
Hawaiian Islands, Roatan, Baig Islands,
Cayman Islands, Bahamas, Jamaica, Mexican Islands, Guadelupe, Revillagigedo, and
the Islas in the Sea of Cortez.
When pressed, Richard will tell you that
he considers himself to be an outdoorsman
and survivalist, but then he goes on to add
a whole list of other accomplishments:
marksmanship, mountaineering, hiking,
skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing,
snow-packing, backpacking, sailing, offshore yacht racing, sport fishing, salt and
fresh water angling, moto-x, desert motorcycle racing, vintage auto restoration and
racing, restoration of fixed and rotary wing
aircraft (he holds an F.A.A. airframe and
powerplant technician license).
Besides our own Club, Richard belongs
to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the National Air Racing Association,
the Airborne Law Enforcement Association, the Naval Institute, the Navy League,
and the Air Force Association.
ichard Litchfield was born in the mid
dle of the Cold War, on September 22,
1953, in the Southern California city of
Santa Ana. In the ensuing fifty-three years,
Richard has made a virtual career of traveling the hard way.
During 1975 and 1976 Richard travelled
through Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua,
Honduras, British Honduras, Isla de Roatan, Belize, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, and
Baja California.
In 1978 and 1979, he backpacked the
entire Pacific Crest Trail, on foot, alone,
starting in the Mexican deserts, and completing the trip in the mountains of Northern Canada.
Richard has managed to visit every state
in the Union, and has recently traveled to
Egypt and North Africa via London.
Richard is a U.S. Coast Guard licensed
Merchant Marine Master and Captain. He
has sailed the Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean,
Mediterranean, and Red Sea, and he has
also sailed up the Nile River.
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
19
August 2006
New Members
Richard Flores #1120
Larry W. Schutte #1121
R
arry Schutte was born in Akron, Ohio,
on September 16, 1948.
Larry’s parents ran a reservation trading
post in Northern Arizona between Winston
and Flagstaff, and so Larry grew up on a
Navajo/Hopi Reservation. Through his fifteenth year, Larry participated in many adventures and native rituals throughout the
Four-Corners region. These experiences
have enriched and significantly influenced
his later life, and remain a part of him even
now.
For the past twenty-eight years, Larry has
backpacked throughout Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and in Canada north of Vancouver,
Toronto, and Montreal. He has also explored the regions around Mexico City and
Acapulco, and has visited all the Islands of
Hawaii.
Larry owns Spectrum Sight & Sound, and
has produced events in all fifty states, and
L
ichard Flores is one of those rare
breeds: a native of Los Angeles, born
on November 25, 1955 (which makes him
one of the younger members of The Adventurers’ Club of Los Angeles.
Richard has traveled extensively in Europe, Russia, China, the Mediterranean, the
Caribbean, and South America. He jokingly claims that he makes these trips on plastic, and spends the rest of his time working to pay off his credit cards.
Richard likes to leave the beaten path on
esoteric dive trips to the South Pacific,
which he prefers to undertake by himself,
hooking up with one group or another at
the various locations he visits.
Richard recently shared one of these adventures with the Club membership in his
article “Truk Stop in the Pacific,” published
in the April, 2006, edition of The Adventurers’ Club News.
August 2006
20
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
Programs
Forthcoming Programs
August 3, 2006
– “Show and Tell” where different members speak about an item or artifact of
August
August
August
August
–
–
–
–
10, 2006
17, 2006
24, 2006
31, 2006
September 7, 2006
September 14, 2006
September 21, 2006
September 28, 2006
October 5, 2006
October 8, 2006
–
–
–
–
–
–
October 12, 2006
October 19, 2006
–
–
October 22, 2006 –
October 26, 2006 –
November 2, 2006 –
November 9, 2006 –
interest to the group. “GPS and Remote Sensing” Robert Yowell; “Mangled
Mercedes Cabriolet” Bob Silver; “The Kilt” Don Walters; “The Wave” Bob
Zeeman – and others.
LADIES NIGHT – “X-Prize” Peter Diamandis
“The Great American Cross Country Solar Powered Race” Wally Rappel
“The Skunk Works Test Pilot” Thomas Morgenfeld
“No halibut fishing career in my future” – A San Diego-based photographer,
covering projects around the world for a wide variety of clients. His background includes a degree in Journalism, and a passion for producing creative
images to tell a story that might otherwise not be visible. Tod Warshaw
“U.S.S. Bunker Hill – Aegis Class Missle Cruiser ” Captain Gaouette
“Around the World by Sail” Bob Silver
“Solo Row across the Atlantic” Roz Savage
“Wilderness Camping by Airplane and other Adventures” Ramona Savage
[open]
FIELD TRIP – “Little Petroglyph Canyon” Shane Barry – A trip for Club
members to this finest of all petroglyph finds in North America.
[open]
“Globel Surface Travel – How Far Can You Get From Los Angeles Without
Flying” Alan Hogenauer
NOHA – Night of High Adventure. Sheraton Delfina Hotel in Santa Monica.
Advance tickets for $85. After September 1, $95. (Dinner Dress, Black Tie, or
Ethnic Formal)
[open]
[open]
“Going for the Record” – Einor Enevoldsen. Einor and Steve Fossett will be
attempting to set a new worlds Record for dual gliders in 2006 He will report
on the results.
Notes
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS
21
August 2006
The
Adventurers’ Club News
PO Box 31266
Los Angeles CA 90031
FIRST CLASS MAIL
August 2006