When people work together and it goes well
General Dynamics Convair . I did a little part.
General Dynamics Convair . I did a little part.
When every thing goes well
- Thread starter longbowhunter2
- Start date
Snake Charmer
Happiness is a warm gut pile
My uncle worked for North American aviation during the fifty'es and sixties and worked on the advanced Apollo project in it's day, He would read calculus publications like there were comic books and talk about them at length in ways that puzzled me but took the time to (try) and explain them ( I emphasize try). He was very smart but could never remember to pay his utility bill because he was so absorbed in his work (total geek but I loved him as an uncle.) He came from a humble existence same as my father (brothers) but was part of the greatest generation that we all owe everything to that we have now.
Cool info, yes I had the privilege of working with people way smarter than I am. Most of those were program managers, program engineers, stress and strain guys.
Just a bunch of smart people.
The ingenuity of how they came up with ideas was unbelievable.
And I mean a lot of very intelligent blue collar guys who did fabrication.
Back then they had fully cnc internal milling machines that could mill the inside of cruise missiles barrels.
State of the art 30 years ago.
They use to make longerons for MD11, don't remember the exact length. It something like 20-30 ft.
Made aluminum plate.
On machines called the plank Mills.
My neighbor at Harbison Canyon was an old timer there at Convair.
He welded up the Atlas bodies on machines specially built by Convair.
I could go on ..
The coolest deal was a cradel was been mfg by GD space systems
To hold and deploy the centaur rocket from the space shuttle.
All done here in San Diego.
It was never deployed.
Just a bunch of smart people.
The ingenuity of how they came up with ideas was unbelievable.
And I mean a lot of very intelligent blue collar guys who did fabrication.
Back then they had fully cnc internal milling machines that could mill the inside of cruise missiles barrels.
State of the art 30 years ago.
They use to make longerons for MD11, don't remember the exact length. It something like 20-30 ft.
Made aluminum plate.
On machines called the plank Mills.
My neighbor at Harbison Canyon was an old timer there at Convair.
He welded up the Atlas bodies on machines specially built by Convair.
I could go on ..
The coolest deal was a cradel was been mfg by GD space systems
To hold and deploy the centaur rocket from the space shuttle.
All done here in San Diego.
It was never deployed.
Here it is
Last existing Shuttle-Centaur rocket stage moving to Cleveland for display | collectSPACE
A last-of-its-kind rocket stage left over from a cancelled, controversial chapter in NASA's space shuttle history is moving to Cleveland. The Centaur-G Prime stage, which was built to launch with a robotic probe in the shuttle's bay, has left a space museum in Alabama.
www.collectspace.com
This post made me wonder about the current state of technology and space exploration. What is everybody's opinion on making another manned mission to the moon and the idea of reaching mars one day?
My feeling is, unless it has some kind of military importance....Scrap it....We've 20 trillion in the hole.
Well that is a good question.
The STS (Space Transport System) was seen as an expensive deployment. And loss of life.
But you know just like us when we go hunting. We take our chances.
And will not have it any other way.
Astronauts wouldn't have it any other way. Just like fighter pilots.
They do their job.
Should we stop Building jet fighters that cost more than a million.
How about Aircraft Carriers.
The next step is the country who controls the space. Will win the next war. Thus Star Wars Project.
There is a race as we speak.
Who can shoot who down first in outer space..
In the beginning he who had the biggest army on the ground would normally win. Then the ocean, then the Sky. Now it's outer space.
You decide.
I sorry I don't have pictures but in
Military defence plants it was big time not allowed. All I have is wall plaques. And old obsolete drawings.
My GrandPa Don worked for MDC (McDonnell Douglass Corp) for 40 years. Worked in Tool and Die production. That I recall one of the accomplishments he was most proud of being part of the team that engineered the nose-cone of whatever the kick-butt fighter jet was back in his time. F15? I wanna say?
I learned more from experienced skilled fabricators like your grandpa.
There were are people I worked with that were smarter than me but not wiser. I asked my senior elders lots of questions. About everything.. and any thing.. in my business you can not BS your way through.
I know big major companies tried to
Build their own gears. 3/4 the way in they started scraping gears.
Ended up 5 million of scraped hardware..
When GD Convair was a round
They did lots parts for different aircraft. Some not all, F-16, F111, F15
F14 , MD11, 727, KC10, DC10, F4, and more too much to list.
The gears above go into twin engine turbo prop civilian and military airplanes.