American Exceptionalism. We Need To Remember We Are Capable Of Excellence
In an era of parts falling off of commercial planes, train wrecks, car recalls, food recalls, ad nauseum and freaks in our government.
The Empire State Building completely built in 410 days!
The design, planning, and construction of the Empire State Building took just 20 months from start to finish. The Art-Deco plans are said to have been based in large part on the look of a pencil. The 102 story Empire State Building went from nothing to completion in only 410 days! Construction started on March 17, 1930, and was completed April 11, 1931. It was opened on May 1, 1931. Construction progress averaged of 4.5 stories a week. During one 10 day period, 14 floors were built!
Fun and sad fact: Today, it can take a year to just lay one mile of pavement!
There were 3,400 workers, mostly European immigrants, and hundreds of Mohawk tribe iron workers. Despite practically no safety regulations, only five workers died during construction.
The construction of the Empire State Building was part of a competition that originally started between John Jakob Raskob of General Motors and Walter Chrysler of the Chrysler Corporation for the “world’s tallest building.” The real grudge match was between Craig Severance and William van Alen, former partners and the architects of 40 Wall Street and the Chrysler Building respectively. The Empire State Building took the prize in height upon its completion on April 11, 1931, 12 days ahead of schedule..
All this construction was going on right in the middle of the Great Depression! Wall Street crashed October 24, 1929.
Fun fact: 40 Wall Street was the tallest building for two months at 927 ft. till the 185 ft. tower spire was added to the Chrysler building. The 70 story 40 Wall Street building was actually built in less than one year, started in May, 1929 and finished May 26, 1930. It is now known as Trump Tower. One of his properties the corrupt New York Attorney General Latitia James has her eye on for seizure after Trump lost in a civil fraud judgement with no victims and no fraud.
The Empire State Building was hit by a plane in 1945 and reopened in two days! Interesting….
The bicycle mechanics from Dayton, Ohio, Oroville and Wilbur Wright:
Remembering American Exceptionalism On The 120th Anniversary Of THE FIRST Powered Controlled Human Flight In History
THE FIRST powered controlled flight in history near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina Dec. 17, 1903, at the Kill Devil Hills dunes. Courtesy of two bicycle mechanics from Dayton Ohio, Wilbur and Orville Wright. Orville is flying the plane. I originally published this post on
B-24 Production at one plane PER HOUR
By mid-1944, the Ford Willow Run assembly plant was producing one B-24 per hour - accounting for half of all B-24s produced that year!
President Roosevelt stunned millions of listeners when he announced during a May 26, 1940, fireside chat that government must “harness the efficient machinery of America’s manufacturers” to produce 50,000 combat aircraft over the next 12 months to confront the “approaching storm” of global war. FDR’s goal exceeded the total of all planes built in the U.S. since the Wright brothers’ 1903 flight at Kitty Hawk, NC, and he challenged the aviation industry to match that number in succeeding years. As he spoke, the country had fewer than 3,000 warplanes in its arsenal, most obsolete.
Automobiles of the era had 15,000 parts and weighed around 3,000 pounds. Sixty-seven feet long, the B-24 had 450,000 parts and 360,000 rivets in 550 sizes, and it weighed 18 tons. Skeptics dismissed mass production of a plane this enormous and advanced as a carmaker’s fantasy that would crash and burn when repeated design changes disrupted assembly lines and junked expensive tooling. “You can’t expect a blacksmith to make a watch overnight,” sniffed Dutch Kindelberger, president of North American Aviation.
Ford proved them wrong, not easily nor entirely, during a 2.5-year production run in a 3.5-million-square-foot factory built over Willow Run Creek near Ypsilanti, MI. The massive plant turned out 8,645 Liberators vs. 9,808 manufactured by four factories of Consolidated, Douglas Aircraft, and North American Aviation. Together they produced more of the slab-sided behemoths than any American warplane ever.
The SR-71 Blackbird, arguably the finest aircraft ever built with just a slide rule
The slide rule…
Before calculators, computers and computer simulators
The slide rule is a hand-operated mechanical calculator consisting of slidable rulers for evaluating mathematical operations such as multiplication, division, exponents, roots, logarithms, and trigonometry. It is one of the simplest analog computers.
Fun fact: Years later, the aircraft was reviewed using modern aviation design computers only to reveal that the machines would not have suggested any changes to the design.
“Build an aircraft that can't be shot down, and do it fast!”
The legendary Lockheed “Skunk Works®” under the direction of Kelly Johnson had the reputation of delivering impossible results in record time like the U-2 high altitude spyplane.
It flew at 70,000 ft. but at only 475 MPH. One was shot down over the Soviet Union with pilot Gary Powers being displayed as a Soviet prize embarrassing the United States and President Eisenhower.
“Everything had to be invented. Everything,” - Kelly Johnson
The plan called for a plane that could fly at Mach 3, or 2,223.29 MPH for hours at a 90,000 ft. altitude. The result was the single person A-12 which was modified into the larger two person SR-71.
Such speed for an extended period would heat the leading edges of the airframe to over 1000 °F, which would melt a regular airframe. Titanium was the only option, strong as stainless steel yet about half the weight. The problem, it's brittle and easily damaged by steel tools, so all the tools had to be remade into titanium.
Flying at 85,000 ft, the air temperature is somewhere between -56°F and -62°F, so different parts of the plane would be at different temperatures. The plane was painted black because it both absorbs and dissipates heat.
The panels on the plane were not tight which resulted in the plane bleeding fuel while on the ground. However, that allowed for expansion, or the skin would have buckled once heated. The surface of the SR-71 has corrugated ridges that flatten out when the plane heated. The plane actually expanded several inches.
Glass would melt at 600°F so 2” thick quartz was used for the windows.
Electronics, radar domes, hydraulic pumps and fluid had to be redesigned to withstand heat. The grease used would be like cement at normal room temperature. JP-7 was the fuel used since like diesel, it has a high flashpoint and also doesn't vaporize at altitude. It was pumped through plane to act as a coolant.
The pilots wore the full pressure space suit designed for NASA's Gemini astronauts. Above 10,000 ft., the human body doesn't do well. At the altitude the SR-71 flew, your blood would actually boil.
“Faster than a speeding bullet”
Fun fact: My .243 Winchester with a 95-grain bullet has a muzzle velocity of 3,120 feet per second. At Mach 3.2 or 2,370 MPH the SR-71 traveled at 3,476 feet per second. The difference? The bullet slows as soon as it leaves the muzzle while the jet will maintain that speed till it runs out of fuel.
The original Pratt & Whitney J58 could only go Mach 3 for a few seconds before it would be severely damaged. The SR-71 Pratt & Whitney J58 engine is a hybrid engine that combined turbo jet and ram jet technology. The engine's power came from the combination of the inlet, engine, and exhaust functioning as a single unit. The only one of its kind. No other engine can operate at even near Mach 3.2. The Soviet MiG - 25 could, but not for any length of time without serious damage.
Fun fact: The Blackbird does not have a top speed. Its engines and airframe could reach much greater speeds, except eventually, the plane would begin to melt from friction. Maj. Brian Shul claimed he flew at Mach 3.5+, (2,590 MPH+), during flights he flew over Libya evading Surface to Air Missiles, (SAMS).
Piloting the Blackbird was an unforgiving endeavor, demanding total concentration. But pilots were giddy with their complex, adrenaline-fueled responsibilities. “At 85,000 feet and Mach 3, it was almost a religious experience,” said Air Force Colonel Jim Wadkins. “Nothing had prepared me to fly that fast… My God, even now, I get goose bumps remembering. ”
The first stealth jet
The flat tapered shape of the plane was to lower its radar reflection. The engines were strategically placed about mid plane to reduce radar reflection and so that the shock wave at the designed cruise speed of Mach 3.2 would just miss the inlets of the engines. A radar absorbing element was added to the paint. The result. A 107 ft. long plane with a 55 ft. wingspan that reduced its radar signature by 90%.
The SR-71’s camera and radar packages allowed it to survey 100,000 square miles per hour of the Earth's surface from an altitude of 80,000 feet. When it sensed a missile was fired, the pilot switched on radar jammers ,hit the gas and outran them.
Brian Shul, an American hero, 1948 - 2023
Brian Shul was a Vietnam-era attack pilot who barely survived being shot down, only to come back as a celebrated SR-71 pilot before becoming an acclaimed public speaker and photographer.
From 1970 to 1973, he flew 212 combat missions till his plane was shot down. He couldn't get out and was horribly burned, yet evaded capture in the jungle till rescued. He was given little chance of surviving let alone flying again. He was flying two days after release from the hospital. He first flew the A-10 Warthog when they were introduced. He then qualified for the SR-71 program.
He wrote a book about the SR-71 and his experiences as a pilot called “Sled Driver”, and co-wrote one with his navigator Walter Watson called “The Untouchables.” One with his autogragh is worth thousands of dollars. He also wrote a book about the Air Force Thunder birds and one about the Navy Blue Angels. He was a professional keynote speaker and told great stories, the most famous, “the LA Speed Check Story” which has millions of views. Flying over LA, after hearing a Cessna, a Beech craft and a Navy F-18 ask for a speed check from the tower, his new navigator, Walter Watson, couldn't help himself and just had to have their speed checked, (which was almost 1,900 MPH). Enjoy!
His laugh, his advice, his counsel, everything about the man was special. He touched millions of people through his teaching as an instructor pilot, his incredible piloting skill that enthralled airshow goers, his unbelievable photography and writing, and his speeches that captivated audiences.
He was a patriot who loved the United States of America. But most importantly, Brian was an incredible friend and son and brother. He touched so many of us with his humor, knowledge, skills, and advice. He is mourned but all who knew him are better for it. His spirit will carry on. - Colonel USAFR (Ret.) Edward “Otto” Pernotto, wrote for The Aviationist a great memory of his close friend and fellow aviator Brian Shul.
The SR71 Blackbird set many records and to this day remains the world’s fastest and highest-flying manned aircraft. Despite having 4,000 missiles shot at them, none were ever shot down. Mission accomplished! It flew 2404 miles coast to coast in 67 minutes from Los Angeles to Washington DC in 1990 on its retirement flight to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum.
Contrast that with Boeing airliners having five incidents in the month of January 2024 alone
January 5 - A Boeing 737 MAX-9 operated by Alaska Airlines flying to Ontario, California, was forced to make an emergency landing after someone at the factory failed to install bolts to secure a door plug.
More outrageous? The National Transportation Safety Board knew about the three previous incidents of the pressurization warning light going off and just said don't fly over water!
January 13 - A Boeing 737-800 operated by Japan's All Nippon Airways was forced to cancel its takeoff on January 13 after a window in the cockpit cracked.
January 17 - Secretary of State Antony Blinken was scheduled to travel on a Boeing 737 from Switzerland on January 17 but was forced to board a different plane after an issue relating to a possible oxygen leak.
January 18 - Videos posted on social media on January 19 captured flames coming out of a Boeing 747-8 in Miami, Florida.
January 20 - A Boeing 757 operated by Delta Airlines lost a wheel during an attempted takeoff.
Culminating with the “ suicide” of a Boeing whistleblower after his first testimony who publically stated he wasn't suicidal!
American “Liberty Ships” took ship construction from an average of 244 days down to 39
While reviewing blueprints of the Liberty ships at the White House, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who loved naval vessels and had an eye for design, mused aloud to Maritime Commission administrator Admiral Emory S. Land, “I think this ship will do us very well. She’ll carry a good load. She isn’t much to look at, though, is she? A real ugly duckling”. Thus, the Liberty ships received their second nickname “the ugly ducklings“.
German U-boats were wreaking havoc on American and British cargo ships in the North Atlantic transporting troops, ammunition, food, and other essential supplies, creating a desperate shortage of merchant ships.
Britain came up with an emergency fleet plan designing a class of simple cargo ships known as ‘Emergency’ ships or ‘Ocean’ class vessels. The United States Maritime Commission (USMC), took the British designs and modified them by adding a bigger hull and a different steam engine type. The initial design was classified as the EC2-S-C1 type. Soon it came to be called the Liberty Ship.
Liberty ships were about 441 feet long and 57 feet wide, with a draft of around 28 feet when fully loaded. They could carry 10,800 tons ranging from tanks and airplanes to food and fuel. They were powered by a 2500 hp, three-cylinder triple expansion steam engine, which could move the ship at a top speed of about 11 knots. They had a single 4-inch or 5-inch gun mounted on the stern and a variety of 40mm or 20mm anti-aircraft guns. They depended on their naval escorts for protection against submarines, but many were still lost.
The genius of the Liberty Ship
Instead of riveting plates together, Liberty Ships were the first to be completely welded which was much quicker. Instead of being completely built at a shipyard, the ships were constructed similar to an auto assembly line in prefabricated sections with all the wiring, plumbing and air ducts already in place. Similar to mobile home sections. Then taken to the shipyard and welded together in a specific sequence to ensure the ship’s structural integrity, with all the wiring, plumbing, etc., then connected. This innovation allowed a 441 ft. ship to be assembled in an average of only 39 days!
The record time for assembling a Liberty Ship was set by the SS Robert E. Peary, built by the Kaiser Permanente Metals Corporation’s yard in Richmond, California. Launched just 4 days, 15 hours, and 30 minutes after the keel was laid.
American women in the war effort
As American men went off to war, American women had to step in to create the supplies and weapons that were needed.
By the end of WWII, 19 million women were in the workforce and 350,000 served in the military.
There were so many ships they were running out of names
They were first named after patriots and heroes of the Revolutionary War. Then they branched out to people from all walks of life.
They were named after famous politicians (Abraham Lincoln to Simon Bolivar), scientists (George Washington Carver to Alexander Graham Bell), artists (Gilbert Stuart to Gutzon Borglum who sculpted Mt. Rushmore), and explorers (Daniel Boone to Robert E. Peary).
Without innovations like the Liberty Ships the war would have been impossible
2,751 were produced and used for cargo, troop ships or even hospitals in the Atlantic and Pacific. Many were sunk, yet their production outpaced their losses, ensuring that vital supplies got where they needed to go.
Contrast that with an 18 month delay on the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier
The Ford-class carrier, which is currently under construction at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, will deliver in September of 2029, 18 months later than its previous scheduled delivery date in March of 2028, blaming “delays in material availability and industry/supply chain performance”.
USS George Washington Leaves Newport News After Almost 6-Year-Long Refueling Overhaul
The typical nuclear refuel and overhaul of a Nimitz class aircraft carrier only takes four years!
Incompetence and mediocrity or excellence? Your choice!
Our so call representatives are rather proud of themselves again because last night they were successful in writing themselves another counterfeit check to add to the rest that your grandchildren's grandchildren will be paying! Fun disgraceful fact? This November practically all of them will be rehired by us to keep doing it!
Back to Trump for a second. Latitia James actually ran her campaign for Attorney General on the promise to commit any illegal act necessary to find a real or imaginary crime to prosecute Donald Trump AND WON! How sick is that?
We are being set up for another Trump Russian Collusion scam. How? After all his assets are seized, the premise that he is being paid by Putin will come out. Don't believe me? Susan Rice on MSNBC already said he is a national security risk!
Over 400,000 Veterans who deserve our admiration and respect are being denied health care because Biden diverted the money to illegals.
In my state of Washington the Supreme Court actually decided minorities are too stupid to pass the Bar exam to become a lawyer so they don't have to take the test!
In Nashville, the Police Department just dropped an "ability test requirement” in order to increase its female force from 13% to 30%.
These are only a miniscule few of the examples I could give.
Are we doomed to this downward spiral, or do we choose, as the great Americans I expounded on in this post, to exhibit excellence and come up with solutions to a challenge and fix this disgusting mess while we still have a chance?
You have it in you! All you have to do is choose.
When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.
When you're down to nothing, God is up to something. The faithful see the invisible, believe the incredible and then receive the impossible.
Where liberty dwells there is my country.
- Benjamin Franklin
So anti-WOKE! Nice.
It seems impossible that we can come back from where we are now. If the corruption and collusion in the uniparty was still a secret we might be able to return to a place where we could pretend everything is fine.
But there's no unseeing what has been seen over the last 7 or 8 years. They went too far and overplayed their hand. Now, there are only two choices: total victory or total defeat.
Either we will overthrow tyranny again and salvage something from the ashes or we will fall fully into enslavement and eventual destruction.