Click Click Boom

When things go wrong in the wind tunnel, they go wrong quickly. Like at 200+MPH it takes all of about 0.3 seconds to get from test section to the prop. At that point, all bets are off.
BEFORE:

AFTER:BEFORE:


AFTER:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
When stuff up to and including Aluminum go through a B-29 prop spinning 1200RPM, there is not much left on the other side. I used a broom to sweep up the white bits of housing and the remains of the cooling fan that was inside the housing.

Not a Texas A&M Shooting

Most folks will have heard by now that there was a shooting NEAR the Texas A&M campus. NEAR not on. This is not a Texas A&M shooting or anything like that it was a shooting incident Near Texas A&M Campus in a residential area three blocks south of campus. People should know better. Especially folks on our side of the civil rights movement.

Accidental Release of Info MY ASS!

So the prosecutor's office in the George Zimmerman case has "accidentally" released confidential information covered by a gag order as well to the press. What they "accidentally" released was selectively autopsy photos and Zimmerman's school grades. All designed to make him look bad, evil, not understanding the law, stupid, who knows? But it is interesting what was released "accidentally" by these assclowns. They released these records on purpose and they know it. They are trying to win in the court of public opinion with selective information since they know they have no case to take before a jury. This is nothing more the the systematic destruction of an individual to fit the politically correct narrative of the day. Racist and stupid gun carrying neanderthal brutally murders innocent child who was just trying to get his life together.

What a way to celebrate the 4th

So, the morning started with the sound of chainsaws in the air and the smell of burnt two cycle fuel. Cutting down a bunch of trees that had died as a result of the drought last year. Then took a break and walked over to the range to do a little shooting. Well, it would have been a perfect day but there were mechanical problems to be had. We shall see how things shake out. Next up will be the ritualistic charring of dead mammal flesh and consumption of mass quantities. Soon as I start the fire and get the grille warmed up. Movies from then on out. Fun Day!

BUSY BUSY BUSY

So for the three of you that refuse to stop coming here despite my failure to update lately, Between work (new job responsibilities) and home (dead trees left over from the drought, continued fire danger this year, trying to save the trees we have left, repairing fences, dealing with cows......) I've been busy and am going to be busy for a while. Probably not too many updates here. I haven't even been able to wrangle time in for teaching as much any more either. I guess this is a good problem to have though since things are going relatively well for us right now.

MoH

So, now the truth can be told, I was awarded the Medal of Honor. TWICE! Unfortunately it was posthumously both times.

purse or cell more importnt that your child?

So there is a campaign on the radio to raise awareness and prevent child heat stroke brought on by people leaving their kids in the car. The ad and news stories that are being repeated suggest you should leave your purse or cell phone in the back seat with your child so you don't forget either. WHAT. THE. HELL? Is your cell phone more important to you than your child? If that is the case, you deserve neither. The idea that someone needs to use forgetting their purse as a reminder that they are forgetting their child is laughable in my book. What kind of self absorbed society have we become?

Out with the old, In with the new

After 70 years of service the original motor here at the wind tunnel finally gave up. Last week we pulled the old motor out and spent the week cleaning out 70 year old grease and slime and dust and other stuff that I am evidently allergic to as I and a couple other folks had skin reactions from it.

Well, today we finally reached a point where we could install the new motor. Problem was a line of storms rolled through last night and they were predicting more for today. We managed to get the new motor dropped into place before the heavy weather got here and the lid on top of the tunnel is back in place at least temporarily so we can continue to work inside.Here's to 70 more years of service form this new motor.

BaG Day gun 2012

Well, I made a BaG Day purchase but have not put it all together yet. This year I actually had funds to make a purchase and plans to get a gun that is something I have wanted for a while. Pictures will come once it is all together.
I've wanted a long range rifle without actually getting a custom rig built so, I consulted with a friend from Rifles Only Inc. and he and I came up with a pretty cool package. Start with a Remington 700 SPS Tactical AAC-SD. Man that's a mouthful. Top that with Badger Ordnance  mount base and rings holding a Bushnell Elite Tactical Mil-Dot scope and a Harris Bipod.

All was going well until I realized I had ordered the 30mm rings instead of 34mm rings. So, short delay in putting it all together. Pictures will follow once I have it all together in picturable form. So, now I wait on the 34mm Rings and shipping the 30mm Rings back or selling them to a friend or deciding to keep them and use them on another rifle. They're just so massive and cool, it is hard to think about getting rid of them. However, I don't have another rifle worthy of them or the optics they would hold.

Chasing the Dream

So, the majority of testing we do here at the wind tunnel is customer proprietary so we cannot talk about it.  Well, the last few months we have been beating ourselves with a major project and now it is public. We have been working on Sierra Nevada Corp's The Dream Chaser. This has been quite the undertaking with Texas A&M faculty, staff, graduate students and undergrad student workers all contributing to making this test a big success. The students involved in this have made major contributions in helping with this project from beginning to end and until now have not been able to talk about the really cool stuff they got to do. Never underestimate the ability of students. they can and do do some pretty incredible work and I very much enjoy and appreciate working with them. They know who they are.

Alone, Cold and in the Rain

So, I posted earlier about letting the smoke out of our main drive motor 2 weeks before we had scheduled to replace it. I called Utilities and Energy management here on campus and asked them to come disconnect incoming power to the motor so we could start demolition. We went through a round of "are you sure? really? really sure?" questions and followed up with written confirmation that we are never going to run this motor again. They sent out a crew to disconnect and lock out incoming power.
As soon as they guys got here, it started to rain and get cooler as a cold front started through. Hence the title of the post, this motor that has given 60+ years of service to the Texas A&M University Low Speed Wind Tunnel after being surplussed from the US Navy, has finally met it's end.

Alone, Cold and in the Rain.

Magic Smoke

Most folks who work in electronics and or electro-mechanical systems know that everything runs on magic smoke. Once you let the smoke out, things stop working. Here at work we are prepping for replacement of the main drive motor. That is supposed to start in two and a half weeks.

Well, it starts now. Yesterday we let the magic smoke out of the bearings of the main drive system. Actually, the bearings came apart and that burned oil and that let out the magic smoke. This bearing is supposed to be smooth but it has shredded. Things went down hill quickly.

Not to mention the spacious work area. Trashed one set of clothes with the grease leftover inside the housing. Not to mention all the shavings of babbit that were floating all over with the oil smoke.

Whheeeeeeee.....................................

R.I.P., Jonathon Frid

Jonathon Frid, who portrayed Barnabas Collins in the original Dark Shadows has passed away.

I was going to make a snarky comment that he must have seen the trailers for the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp reboot, but then I read that he has a cameo in it.

BaG day purchase

Well, technical difficulties prohibit me from posting pictures at the moment. Will have to wait. First a story that starts with, last year my Mom passed. We're not rich but there would be some inheritance, if you knew our family you would understand that when we went on family vacations, we would never had gotten there if not for Dad and we never would have had fun getting there if not for Mom. She was a firm believer in feeding your whimsey on occasion. So, part of inheriting is the condition that goes with honoring the passed. That meant using the inheritance to pay bills and get things fixed around the house but keeping a little back for something fun. So, I set some aside for a new gun fund for something I would normally not spend that kind of money on. Then last month I took ill and spent some time in the local hospital and underwent all sorts of poking and prodding. Well, each person or group that does the prodding gets their own cut of the bill and we got hit with a series of bills and are still getting them. Just so happened that the amount was pretty much what I had set aside. So, the funds got sent to the hospital and various specialists and diagnostics companies.
Then misbeHaven steps in and informs me that I will be buying that gun. If we had to put other things on hold for a time so be it but I was going to get the gun I had been planning. Have I said lately how much I love my wife?
So, I called around after one gun store had been looking for the particular one for a while with no success and found a shop about an hour and a half away that had one on the shelf. The woman I spoke to said come at noon as that is a slow time and would be able to get the attention needed. So, I made the drive. Walked in and the first salesman I came across was busty with someone else as were all the sales people. If this was slow, I wouldn't want to be there when they were busy. Anyhow, the salesman asked if I was just looking or looking for something in particular. So I told him I had called yesterday and was told they had what I wanted on the shelf. I said," I'm here to get a Remington 700 SPS Tactical AAC-SD M O U S E R E S P E C T." He responded by turning and pointing at the rack behind him and replied, "Oh, that's right he...... wait, A WHAT?" After it sunk in, he pulled the rifle off the rack and handed it to me then finished with the customer that he was helping. In between steps helping the current customer he asked if that was really it and I told him, "Yup I'll take it." so he reached for a 4473 and said, "You're easy, now you need to fill this out and we'll get a check started." So, I dropped my CHL on the counter and replied, "Don't bother wrapping it, I'll wear it." You may get the idea now that I am a bit of a smart ass but the guy was having fun with it and so was I. Anyway, we finally got into the deal, the salesman went into teh back room and not only did they have the one on the shelf but had two more on the shelf in back in their boxes. Being the salesman, he asked about optics and such and I explained, I already had Badger mount and rings on order and a Bushnell Elite Tactical scope to go on it.
Since this is uncharted territory for me, I talked to my friend and neighbor who teaches at Rifles Only and we put together a beginners package that will fill the bill for my purposes. His professional opinion was that I could put this together to get the most bang for the buck and do everything I had wanted and more. And since I already have .308's and reloading setups for it as well I would be able to tweak as much as I liked without any additional setup needed.
When I have it all together I will get pictures. I already took shots of the bare rifle to add to the gun inventory database and put all that information in but need to get the finished ensemble together and take finished pictures. Then it is off to the range for break in, sight in / dope gathering and some serious learnin from the student side instead of as the instructor.

Medium Voltage Fun

So, some of you may think 15KV is High Voltage but in reality it is really Medium Voltage. This morning was all about lifting a 15KV 2400KVAR capacitor bank and a four place 15KV / 1250 Amp Trayer Switch into place All this is to control / feed a 15KV / 4160V step down transformer that will end up powering a 3000HP induction motor and variable frequency drive to power the main propeller of our wind tunnel. This will be quite the upgrade from the WW2 surplus 1000HP synchronous motor we are currently using. The existing was surplus when it was sent here and it has served well past it's expected lifetime. It is now past due for retirement. Add to that the ancient transformers that are in the low right corner of the picture. That is the original gear installed to power the tunnel and the crews that care for the power distribution here at the University are more than happy to see it all go away.