#lta series

[solradguy]

Alright. Reached the end of the Livejournal search results for "guilty gear scans." Didn't find a whole lot. There was the Christ doujinshi from yesterday, the Axl/Ky doujinshi, and a bunch of icons. Found a pile of dust that used to be a Testament themed Geocities site. Lots of dead links. Wayback Machine had more than I expected, but those niche fansites just do not survive well.

I knew Sol/Ky was the biggest ship in GG by a country mile, but holy shit it's way bigger than I thought it was. There was like one mention of Sol/Axl, Johnny/May, Millia/Jam (?!), and some others I've already forgotten. There was one very forlorn Millia page. More Jam than I expected, to be honest. So so so so so soooo many jokes about how gay this series is. GOD it's funny how it's been seen as "the LGBT video game" since at LEAST 2003 here in the English community.

Overture opinions were pretty 50/50 split. That game absolutely was the wedge that split the fandom back in the day and why it died off the way it did until Xrd. Most of the translators/archivists didn't like what it was doing to the lore and jumped ship while the people that liked the gameplay of it didn't pick up what the archivists were doing. There was more love for Missing Link than I expected too, and a surprising chunk of people working really hard to make GGX materials accessible to English-only speakers.

I used to think there was at one point a full/partial English translation of Lightning the Argent that had been lost, but after digging around tonight I don't think there was ever even a full first chapter translation. Just really detailed summaries of the story for it and Butterfly & Her Gale. That was haunting me, so I'm grateful to finally have that mystery solved lol What convinced me was that there were a lot of posts from people excited about what translations were in progress at the time, but LtA was this big mystery thing that was only mentioned briefly as something that existed somewhere out there over in Japan. No one was posting about how they were looking forward to it or referencing anything other than the summary off the old gearproject site. No one talked about Butterfly &HG at all. Not a single post about it.

Even though I didn't find anything really exciting to share, it was cool getting to see more of the old fandom and what their thoughts were on things. I want to add some of the site archives to my Neocities for other people to flip through soon. For now though I need to get to bed. It's almost 3am again lmao

Here are some icons I saved. Wretched Photobucket watermarks...

[airsllides]

airsLLide No. 1340: OH-LTA, ATR 42-312, Finnair, Turku, July 14, 1987.

Finnair's first ever ATR 42 rests on a domestic flight to Turku (Åbo for the Swedish minority, see bi-lingual sign on terminal) on the Southwestern Coast of Finland.

Although OH-LTA, manufacturer serial number 006 (i.e. the sixth of over 1'700 ATRs built so-far) already left the fleet in 1990, Finnair still flies ATR commuters as of 2024. To be more specific, the current fleet consists of eleven of the larger and more advanced ATR 72-600 series, delivered between 2006 and 2012.

[channeleven]

LTA: Primos

Another day another controversial show is in the works. Primos. A new cartoon is coming to Disney Channel, and it somehow managed to piss nearly everyone off. But I’m not gonna focus on that. Is the series looking to be as bad as it seems? Probably not, short answer. Read on for the long one.

Primos is a series centering on the life of a Hispanic girl having to put up with her siblings, a huge amount of siblings. I know this may seem familiar to you, but that’s because it is. On the surface, Primos looks like another generic bean cartoon, one certain members of the cartoon community would latch onto because it has a young female lead, that’s not the case here…

But back on track, it seems like this is meant to be Disney’s answer to The Casagrandes, or The Loud House. Let’s face it, TV shows that have a large family, as in siblings, relatives, the like, aren’t as common as you think, especially as both of these have those reaching the double digits. They wanted something to get Nickelodeon’s audiences with, the creator of Primos just so happened to be the first to offer.

Not helping the parallels is that this series is inherently about a girl trying to be cool but finds herself bogged down by her wider family. Also going all Gravity Falls or Doug from its art style to its fantasies, even a journal.

It seems like Disney had little thought to how to handle a series with a predominantly Spanish cast of characters, I mean with stuff like Encanto they could give a shit, but it's clear representation is second to marketability, as they wanted a cute series they could push to said Loud House audience and get a similar following. It didn't work.

It doesn't work because Disney is handling it, and they seem to have a more cynical attitude toward representation, as in, doing it for the sake of doing it and getting relevance, why else is every instance of representation their first a lot of the time? I feel Primos personifies such cynicism, and does absolutely nothing with it.

If it were up to me, Primos would be a show about a girl falling out with her Spanish roots and is caught between two different cultures, trying to make the best of either. There is a lot more to this show, but I don't want to accidentally bury the lead here.

All I can say is that Primos looks like it's gonna bomb hard, not that the creatives are making things any better.

[stateofsport211]

📸 🎥 ATP official website via LTA's official YouTube

While the initial parts of the second set became a servefest, J. Vesely's ground game was unreliable as H. Searle kept pressing further. In this regard, after a series of unforced errors from the baseline in the sixth game, H. Searle broke thanks to his preceding flat forehand get to J. Vesely's failed tweener to break 3-2. The British wild card then consolidated his position to 4-2.

Several games later, H. Searle found himself in a troubled position by having to face 3 break points on his serve. However, he dug deep to win 5 straight points to hold his serves 5-3, thus earning him the opportunity to serve for the match two games later. He constructed a serve and volley finish to close a rally for his match point creation before sealing it with an ace to 6-4, securing his spot in the second round as well as his maiden Challenger-level victory thanks to his deep strokes.

[spacenutspod]

December 1968 ended a year more turbulent than most. For the American space program, however, it brought the Moon landing one giant step closer. The successful first lunar orbital flight by Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, and William A. Anders proved the space worthiness of the Apollo Command and Service Modules (CSM) at lunar distances and demonstrated navigation beyond low Earth orbit. Preparations continued for the next two missions – Apollo 9 to test the Lunar Module (LM) in Earth orbit in February or March 1969, and Apollo 10 to repeat the test in lunar orbit in May. If those missions proved successful, NASA hoped to achieve the first Moon landing by the summer of 1969. Left: Apollo 8 astronauts James A. Lovell, left, Frank Borman, and William A. Anders during the preflight crew press conference. Middle: At the White House, Apollo 7 astronauts R. Walter Cunningham, left, Donn F. Eisele, and Walter M. Schirra, Apollo 8 astronauts Anders, Lovell, and Borman, standing at right, watch aviation pioneer Charles A. Lindberg sign a commemorative document, as First Lady “Lady Bird” Johnson, President Lyndon B. Johnson, former NASA Administrator James E. Webb, and Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey look on. Right: During the countdown demonstration test, Borman, standing left, Lovell, and Anders pose with their backups Neil A. Armstrong, kneeling left, Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, and Fred W. Haise. On Dec. 2, Borman, Lovell, and Anders held their preflight press conference at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Borman summed up the crew’s readiness, “I think we can say we’re ready two weeks before” the flight. President Lyndon B. Johnson invited Apollo 7 astronauts Walter M. Schirra, Donn F. Eisele, and R. Walter Cunningham to a state dinner at the White House on Dec. 9, 1968. He also invited Apollo 8 astronauts Borman, Lovell, and Anders, just 12 days from their historic launch to the Moon, as well as aviation pioneer Charles A. Lindberg to sign a commemorative document to hang in the White House Treaty Room. Two days later, Borman, Lovell, and Anders and their backups Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, and Fred W. Haise participated in the countdown demonstration test at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Left: The Apollo 8 launch vehicle at Launch Pad 39A during the countdown demonstration test. Middle: Apollo 8 crew of William A. Anders, left, Frank Borman, and James A. Lovell at the Command Module simulator at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Right: Lovell, left, Borman, and Anders enjoy some pre-holiday cheer on the eve of their launch to the Moon. Engineers at KSC’s Launch Complex 39 completed the Apollo 8 Countdown Demonstration Test (CDDT) between Dec. 5 and 11, consisting of “wet” and “dry” phases. In the first wet phase, they simulated the entire countdown including the loading of propellant in the rocket’s three stages, down to T minus 8.9 seconds, the time when the first stage’s five F-1 engines ignite. For safety reasons, the crew did not participate in the wet countdown. At the end of the wet phase on Dec. 10, workers drained the fuel from the rocket and recycled the countdown. The next day, the countdown again proceeded to the point of first stage ignition, but for this dry phase the astronauts suited up and strapped into the capsule as they would on launch day. The CDDT also tied in the Mission Control Center (MCC) at MSC, and the Manned Space Flight Network, a series of tracking stations around the world used to monitor the mission. With the CDDT completed, the countdown for Apollo 8 began on Dec. 15. Left: Liftoff of Apollo 8. Middle: A rapidly receding Earth shortly after Trans-Lunar Injection. Right: The spent S-IVB third stage with the Lunar Module (LM) Test Article-B (LTA-B) visible where a LM would normally reside. On Dec. 21, 1968, at precisely 7:51 a.m. EST, at Launch Pad 39A the five engines of the Saturn V’s first stage came to life, powering up to their full 7.5 million pounds of thrust. The brilliance of the flame rivaled the sunrise. At the top of the rocket, strapped inside their Command Module (CM), Borman, Lovell, and Anders experienced firsthand the power of a Saturn V launch. As soon as the rocket cleared the launch tower, control of the mission transferred from the Launch Control Center at Launch Complex 39 to MCC at MSC. From there, three teams of controllers, led by Lead Flight Director Clifford E. Charlesworth and Flight Directors Glynn S. Lunney and Milton L. Windler, working in eight-hour shifts, monitored the mission until splashdown. During the launch and early phases of the flight, Michael Collins served as the capsule communicator, or capcom, the astronaut in MCC who spoke directly with the crew. Within 11 and a half minutes, the three stages of the Saturn V placed Apollo 8 into Earth orbit. For the next 90 minutes, MCC and the astronauts thoroughly checked out the spacecraft’s systems, and capcom Collins informed the crew, “You are go for TLI,” or Trans-Lunar Injection, a less than dramatic way of saying “You’re off to the Moon!” Those words committed the mission to break the bonds of Earth’s gravity and set a course for the Moon. Near the end of the second revolution around the Earth, the rocket’s third stage engine fired for a second time, for more than five minutes, increasing Apollo 8’s speed from 17,400 miles per hour to 24,226 miles per hour, enough to overcome Earth’s gravity and send it on a Moonward trajectory. Soon after the burn ended, the astronauts separated their spacecraft from the spent stage and began their three-day cruise to the Moon. The famous Earthrise photograph from Apollo 8. During the journey, Borman, Lovell, and Anders passed through the Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts and crossed into the Moon’s gravitational sphere of influence. About 69 hours after launch, Apollo 8 passed the leading edge of the Moon and disappeared behind it, all communications with Earth cut off. While behind the Moon, the astronauts performed the Lunar Orbit Insertion maneuver, but for a few anxious minutes, only they knew that their spacecraft’s engine had performed as expected. As they emerged on the Moon’s other side precisely at the predicted time, MCC confirmed that Apollo 8 had achieved lunar orbit. The astronauts began to describe the Moon as no other humans had seen it before. Left: The Tsiolkovski Crater on the Moon’s farside, seen directly by human eyes for the first time during Apollo 8. Middle: Apollo 8 shortly after splashdown, with the astronauts in the life raft awaiting pick up by the recovery helicopter. Right: Apollo 8 astronauts arrive on the prime recovery ship U.S.S. Yorktown. For the next 20 hours, they orbited the Moon 10 times. On their ninth revolution, knowing that Christmas Eve had turned to Christmas Day, Borman, Lovell, and Anders read from The Bible’s Book of Genesis and wished everyone on “the good Earth” a Merry Christmas. On their final revolution, they disappeared behind the Moon one last time and fired their spacecraft’s engine to propel them out of lunar orbit to head back toward Earth. Once they reestablished contact at the predicted time, Lovell proclaimed, “Please be informed there is a Santa Claus,” his way of saying that the engine burned as expected. The astronauts spent the next three days coasting back toward Earth, ending their historic six-day mission with a predawn splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Teams from the prime recovery ship U.S.S. Yorktown (CV-10) recovered them from the water and brought them aboard the carrier. Left: Apollo 8 astronauts (wearing leis) William A. Anders, left, James A. Lovell, and Frank Borman listen to Hawaii Governor John A. Burns during their brief stopover at Hickam Air Force Base (AFB) in Honolulu. Middle: Anders, left, Borman, and Lovell give short speeches to the crowd gathered to welcome them home at Ellington AFB in Houston. Right: The Apollo 8 Command Module on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Image credit: courtesy Museum of Science and Industry. From the Yorktown, Borman, Lovell, and Anders flew to Hickam Air Force Base (AFB) in Honolulu. Following a brief welcome ceremony hosted by Hawaii Governor John A. Burns, their boarded a transport jet bound for Texas. Upon their arrival back in Houston on Dec. 29, more than 2,000 people greeted them at Ellington AFB despite the pre-dawn chill. Meanwhile, after the Yorktown arrived in Honolulu on Dec. 29, workers removed the CM to begin safing its systems. They flew it to Long Beach, California, and from there trucked it to its manufacturer, the North American Rockwell Space Division in Downey, California, where it arrived on Jan. 1, 1969, for a thorough postflight inspection. Since 1971, the Apollo 8 CM has been on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. TIME magazine named Borman, Lovell, and Anders Men of the Year for 1968. Apollo 8 brought the Moon landing one giant step closer. Apollo 9 astronauts James A. McDivitt, left, David R. Scott, and Russell L. Schweickart pose in front of the Apollo 8 Saturn V during its terminal countdown demonstration test at Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Due to delays in its development, the LM remained one component of the lunar mission architecture that Apollo 8 did not test. The task of conducting the first crewed evaluation of the LM fell to Apollo 9, scheduled for late February 1969. As the prime crew for the 10-day Earth orbital mission, NASA assigned James A. McDivitt, David R. Scott, and Russell L. Schweickart, with Charles “Pete” Conrad, Richard F. Gordon, and Alan L. Bean as their backups. McDivitt and Schweickart planned to enter the LM while Scott remained in the CM. Before the two spacecraft undocked, Schweickart planned to conduct a roughly 2-hour spacewalk, using prepositioned handholds to translate from the LM to the CM, where Scott awaited him in the open hatch. The dual spacewalk served to demonstrate a backup transfer capability should a problem arise with the internal transfer tunnel. The spacewalk would also serve as the only in-space test of the new Apollo A7L spacesuit before the Moon landing. Following the spacewalk, McDivitt and Schweickart planned to undock the LM and conduct an independent flight up to a distance of 100 miles, and test both the descent and ascent stage engines, before rejoining Scott in the CM. Apollo 9 prime and backup astronauts test the new Apollo A7L spacesuit in the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center, now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. David R. Scott, left, Russell L. Schweickart, and Alan L. Bean. International Latex Corporation (ILC) of Dover, Delaware, developed two versions of the Apollo A7L space suit for NASA – one for use exclusively inside the spacecraft, such as during launch, and the other that astronauts can also use during spacewalks, using the Portable Life Support System (PLSS) backpack. Both types of the suit could operate under vacuum conditions, but crew members wearing the inside version remained attached to the spacecraft via hoses that provided life support such as oxygen. The external version’s PLSS provided the required oxygen and communications during spacewalks outside the vehicle, for example on the lunar surface. For Apollo 9, McDivitt and Schweickart wore the external versions (even though McDivitt did not plan to do a spacewalk) while Scott wore the internal version. McDivitt, Scott, Schweickart, and Bean tested their A7L spacesuits with the PLSS under vacuum conditions in Chamber A of the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory at MSC. In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Left: The assembled Apollo 9 spacecraft arrives from the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building, and shares space in the transfer aisle with the recently arrived Apollo 10 first stage. Middle: Workers hoist the Apollo 9 spacecraft in preparation for stacking onto the Saturn V rocket, with the Lunar Module’s landing gear visible. Right: Workers stack the Apollo 9 spacecraft onto its Saturn V rocket. On Nov. 30, workers in KSC’s Manned Spacecraft Operations Building (MSOB) installed the Apollo 9 LM in its Spacecraft LM Adapter (SLA) and then stacked the CSM on top. They transferred the assembled spacecraft to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) three days later where engineers stacked it atop its Saturn V rocket in High Bay 3. Rollout to Launch Pad 39A occurred in early January 1969.  Left: Workers ready the Apollo 10 S-IC first stage for stacking onto the Mobile Launcher in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Middle: Workers stack the Apollo 10 S-II second stage. Right: The S-IVB third stage for Apollo 10 arrives at KSC. Preparations continued for Apollo 10, the mission planned for May 1969 to test all the spacecraft components in lunar orbit as a possible dress rehearsal for the Moon landing. The Apollo 10 prime crew consisted of Thomas P. Stafford, John W. Young, and Eugene A. Cernan, the first all-veteran three-person crew, with L. Gordon Cooper, Donn F. Eisele, and Edgar D. Mitchell assigned as their backups. Stafford and Cernan planned to undock their LM and fly it to within nine miles of the lunar surface before rejoining Young in the CM. At KSC, in the VAB’s High Bay 2, by Dec. 7 workers had stacked the first two stages of the Apollo 10 Saturn V. The third stage arrived at KSC on Dec. 10 and workers stacked it atop the rocket on Dec. 29. Apollo 9 spacecraft testing in the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Left and middle: Simulated docking test between the Apollo 10 Lunar Module (LM), top, and Command Module. Right: Joining the LM’s ascent stage to the descent stage. In the nearby MSOB, engineers performed a docking test of the Apollo 10 CSM and LM on Dec. 11. Following the test, workers mated the LM’s ascent and descent stages in a vacuum chamber in preparation for altitude tests in January 1969. In parallel, engineers conducted altitude tests with the CM, with prime and backup crews participating. Left: Chief test pilot Joseph S. “Joe” Algranti ejects from the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle-1 (LLTV-1) with seconds to spare. Middle: The LLTV-1 explodes as it crashes to the ground. Right: Algranti floats safely to the ground under his parachute. Apollo commanders used the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle (LLTV) to simulate flying the LM, especially the final 200 feet of the descent. Following Armstrong’s May 6, 1968, crash in an earlier version of the training aircraft, NASA grounded the fleet until engineers could take corrective action. Flights with LLTV-1 resumed at Ellington on Oct. 3, 1968, with MSC chief test pilot Joseph S. “Joe” Algranti at the controls. During the next two months, Algranti and fellow MSC pilot H.E. “Bud” Ream completed 14 test flights with LLTV-1 to check out the vehicle. Ream also piloted LLTV-2’s first two flights beginning Dec. 5. During LLTV-1’s 15th flight on Dec. 8, the final certification flight before resuming astronaut training, Algranti took the vehicle to 680 feet altitude and began a lunar landing simulation run. The vehicle began to oscillate in all three axes, which Algranti tried to control. But unexpected wind gusts exceeded the craft’s aerodynamic control limits and it began a sudden descent. At 100 feet altitude, and with less than a second to spare, Algranti ejected and safely parachuted to the ground with only minor bruises, but LLTV-1 crashed and burned beyond repair. Left: At Houston’s Ellington Air Force Base, workers prepare the LLTV-3 for packing into the Super Guppy cargo plane. Right: Workers at Ellington load the LLTV-3 into the Super Guppy for shipping to NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, for wind tunnel tests. Once again, NASA grounded the LLTVs and MSC Director Robert R. Gilruth set up an investigation board, chaired by NASA astronaut Walter M. Schirra. To better understand the vehicle’s aerodynamic characteristics, in late December NASA shipped LLTV-3 to the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, where engineers tested it in the wind tunnel. Findings from the board and from the Langley tests indicated that a gust of wind that overwhelmed the vehicle’s control limits caused the LLTV-1 crash, unrelated to Armstrong’s accident. Recommendations included increasing the level of thrust in the craft’s thrusters by 50 percent to provide an additional margin of safety.  News from around the world in December 1968: Dec. 6 – The Rolling Stones release their album “Beggars Banquet.” Dec. 7 – The United States launches the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory-2 space telescope. Dec. 11 – President-elect Richard M. Nixon introduces his 12 Cabinet nominees. Dec. 11 – The film “Oliver!” opens in the U.S. Dec. 16 – Musical-fantasy film “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” premieres in London and two days later in New York City. Dec. 16 – Led Zeppelin’s concert debut in Denver, as opener for Vanilla Fudge. Dec. 30 – Frank Sinatra first records “My Way.” Share Details Last Updated Dec 19, 2023 Related TermsNASA HistoryApollo Explore More 8 min read 50 Years Ago: Skylab 4 Astronauts Push Past the One-Month Mark Article 2 days ago 7 min read 120 Years Ago: The First Powered Flight at Kitty Hawk Article 6 days ago 3 min read Contributions of the DC-8 to Earth System Science at NASA: A Workshop Article 1 week ago

[recentlyheardcom]

As dawn breaks over Silicon Valley, the world is getting its first look at Pathfinder 1, a prototype electric airship that its maker LTA Research hopes will kickstart a new era in climate-friendly air travel, and accelerate the humanitarian work of its funder, Google co-founder Sergey Brin.The airship -- its snow-white steampunk profile visible from the busy 101 highway -- has taken drone technology such as fly-by-wire controls, electric motors and lidar sensing, and supersized them to something longer than three Boeing 737s, potentially able to carry tons of cargo over many hundreds of miles."It's been 10 years of blood, sweat and tears," LTA CEO Alan Weston told TechCrunch on the eve of the unveiling. "Now we must show that this can reliably fly in real-world conditions. And we're going to do that."A series of increasingly ambitious flight tests lie ahead, before Pathfinder 1 is moved to Akron, Ohio, where LTA Research is planning an even larger airship, the Pathfinder 3. The company eventually hopes to produce a family of airships to provide disaster relief where roads and airports are damaged, as well as zero-carbon passenger transportation.For the next year however, the gigantic airship looks set to become a Silicon Valley landmark as its novel materials and systems are methodically put through their paces within shouting distance of companies like Google, Meta and Amazon. "I'm excited about the potential of not building just one airship, but laying the foundation for many airships to be built," said Weston. "The innovations and the technologies that we're about to demonstrate have the potential to lay the foundation for a new industry."The biggest aircraft in almost a centuryPathfinder 1 during outdoor flight operations testing November 8 at Moffett Field in Mountain View, California. Image Credits: LTA Research.At 124.5 meters long, Pathfinder 1 dwarfs the current Goodyear airships and even the massive Stratolaunch plane designed to launch orbital rockets. It's the largest aircraft to take to the skies since the gargantuan Hindenburg airship of the 1930s. Although similar in appearance to that ill-fated airship, and using a passenger gondola supplied by Zeppelin, the Pathfinder 1 was mostly built from the ground up using new materials and technologies.LTA's airship uses stable helium rather than flammable hydrogen as a lifting gas, held in 13 giant rip-stop nylon cells and monitored by lidar laser systems. A rigid framework of 10,000 carbon-fiber reinforced tubes and 3,000 titanium hubs form a protective skeleton around the gas cells, surrounded by a lightweight synthetic Tedlar skin.Twelve electric motors powered by diesel generators and batteries enable vertical take-off and landing. They can propel the Pathfinder 1 at up to 65 knots (75 mph), although its initial flights will be at much lower speeds.This morning, the airship floated silently from its WW2-era hangar at NASA's Moffett Field at walking pace, steered by ropes held by dozens of the company's engineers, technicians and ground crew.The whole operation occurred under the cover of darkness, not because LTA has something to hide but because the airship's flight test program begins with the first rays of the morning sun. The first lesson its engineers hope to learn is how Pathfinder 1's approximately one million cubic feet of helium and weather resistant polymer skin will respond to the warming effect of Californian sunshine."We have sophisticated methodology that allows us to replicate real-world conditions using static test stands," said Jillian Hilenski, senior mechanical engineer at LTA. "However, dynamic on-ship flight tests provide the best data on the health and efficiency of the airship."Test, test, test againLTA Research’s Pathfinder 1 airshipLTA Research’s Pathfinder 1 airship prototype at Moffett Field in Mountain View, California. Image Credits: LTA ResearchAt the start of September, the FAA issued a special airworthiness certificate for the Pathfinder

1 allowing test flights in and around Moffett Field and the nearby Palo Alto airport, and over the southern part of the San Francisco Bay.Those tests will initially happen just a few feet off the ground, with the airship tethered to a mobile tripod mast. These will be followed by simple maneuvers around Moffett Field, before a series of flights out and over the Bay."The advantages of going over the water are multiple," said Weston. "First of all, when you come off Moffett Field, the air is smoother over the Bay than it is anywhere else. That's very important. And there's not much in the way of traffic on the surface, so that's a big plus as well."Safety is top of Weston's mind as he works to reintroduce rigid airships to the skies of North America -- and ultimately the world. The first 50 flights of Pathfinder 1 covered by the FAA certificate will allow flights no higher than 1,500 feet, and will use two pilots rather than the single pilot the airship was designed to need."I can count the number of companies in the lighter-than-air space on my hands, and we all have a lot to lose if anybody has a serious problem," he said. Weston says LTA is working closely with the FAA to ensure that anything the company builds has a safe and sensible path to full certification. "The last maiden flight of an airship like this was the Graf Zeppelin II in 1938," he noted during the interview. "The FAA wasn't even around then."Back to the futureIn a world of eVTOL air-taxis, electric aviation startups and hydrogen planes, Weston acknowledges that airships are only ever likely to be a partial solution. "I can't see airships replacing aircraft," he said. "But I do see a niche for airships to be part of the transportation architecture that reduces the carbon footprint of air travel."Another important niche could be responding to natural disasters like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and hurricanes. Sergey Brin also funds a nonprofit called Global Support and Development that aims to deliver humanitarian aid within the first 24 to 96 hours of a disaster.Brin founded GSD in 2015 after using his own superyacht to deploy medics to the scene of a cyclone in the South Pacific. The nonprofit has since partnered with the nonprofit YachtAid Global, and now also has its own purpose-built vessel, the MV Dawn, that can swiftly transport dozens of doctors and aid workers, alongside life-saving supplies.While Pathfinder 1 can carry about four tons of cargo in addition to its crew, water ballast and fuel, future humanitarian airships will need much larger capacities. They will also likely use zero-carbon technologies like hydrogen fuel cells for power, said Hilenski. That will involve a long, slow slog to validate the new technologies and to demonstrate, to the FAA and paying customers, that a new generation of super-large airships can match the generally excellent safety and reliability record of today's commercial jets."What excites me about what we've done so far is that we've shown to ourselves, and we hope to show to the rest of the world, that we can scale in size and productivity," said Weston. "And I believe in our potential to scale up again in the future."The FAA's experimental certificate for the Pathfinder 1 expires in September 2024.

[phonemantra-blog]

The Pathfinder 1 aircraft has been certified airworthy and will be used for humanitarian missions, delivering supplies and personnel to inaccessible areas. Completion of the test program is expected within 180 days Lighter Than Air (LTA) Research, founded in 2015 by Sergey Brin to develop humanitarian and cargo airships, successfully received a certificate of serviceability for the Pathfinder 1 helium airship in early September. The certificate issued by the authorities allows the company to begin a series of flight tests at Moffett Field Civil-Military Airport in Silicon Valley. The approval allows LTA to operate the Pathfinder 1 aircraft within Moffett Field and over neighboring Palo Alto Airport at altitudes up to 460 meters. This mode will allow the southern San Francisco Bay Area to be reached while safely not interfering with aircraft flying into San Jose and San Francisco International Airports. [caption id="attachment_76010" align="aligncenter" width="780"] Pathfinder 1 airship[/caption] Following ground testing on the mobile unit, Pathfinder 1 will begin a series of approximately 25 low-altitude flights totaling 50 hours. Although the design of Pathfinder 1 reflects the legacy of the giant airships of the early 20th century, this airship is completely different from all previous models. It features 96 welded titanium assemblies and 288 carbon composite tubes that are light enough to use helium instead of explosive hydrogen. the Pathfinder 1 airship for humanitarian missions is ready for flight tests Twelve electric motors located laterally in the tail of the aircraft and four steering fins allow vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and speeds of up to about 120 kilometers per hour. To provide vertical takeoff and landing and speeds of up to 120 kilometers per hour, the Pathfinder 1 aircraft is equipped with twelve electric motors located on the sides and the tail. A durable layer of laminated fluoropolymer film called Tedlar contains 13 gel bags made of durable nylon with integrated lidar systems for monitoring gas levels. The Pathfinder 1's hybrid drive system includes two 150 kW diesel generators, powered by 24 batteries to power the electric motors. LTA plans to use hydrogen as fuel and lift gas in future versions of the aircraft. Although Pathfinder 1 was originally designed for a single pilot, it is equipped with dual controls and LTA said two pilots will be on board during the first flight tests to test the workload. The airship for LTA was developed by the German company Zeppelin and can accommodate up to 14 people, although additional passengers are not envisaged at this stage of testing. Following extensive flight testing in California, Pathfinder 1 will be shipped to a former Goodyear airship hangar in Ohio acquired by LTA for future production. In parallel, work is already underway to create an even larger airship, Pathfinder 3, 180 meters long. LTA plans to use its aircraft for humanitarian missions, delivering supplies and personnel to hard-to-reach areas. The non-profit organization Global Support and Development, headed by Sergey Brin, is already actively carrying out similar missions in the Caribbean, Latin America, and the South Pacific. Initially, these missions were carried out on Brin's yacht, and recently the MV Dawn was a specially designed vessel capable of transporting dozens of medical personnel and cargo containers, as well as equipped with its boats and vehicles to create and unload large supplies of fresh water. This project could become an example of future humanitarian airships. The Pathfinder 1 airship's certificate of airworthiness will be valid for a year, but LTA's letter to the Federal Aviation Administration said it plans to complete the test program within 180 days.

[letsgethaunted]

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Welcome to the photo dump for Episode 149: The Curious Case of the L8 Ghost Blimp of 1942! Faced with defending America’s west coast waters against the submarines of the Japanese Imperial Navy, the U.S. decided to enlist the help of blimps. This first official fleet of “LTA” or “lighter-than-air” crafts in California was named Squadron 32. Based out of the cities of Santa Ana, Moffett Field, and Tillamook, Squadron 32 developed a series of helium-filled blimps fitted with bombs and guns to take to the Pacific Ocean for battle. One of these crafts (purchased from the Goodyear company) was named the “L8”. The L8 had a long and lustrous career, carrying out many top secret missions without incident until one fateful day in the early dawn hours of August 16, 1942. On that day, two navymen would mysteriously disappear from the blimp without a trace. The abandoned blimp would later be found crashed in a residential neighborhood - one of its bombs still attached. Some say that hot coffee, sandwiches, and even pieces of the men’s clothing remained inside the blimp, undisturbed. Mired in mystery, conspiracies, and intrigue, the L8 soon took on a more sinister nickname - “The Ghost Blimp”.   Image 01: The crashed “Ghost Blimp” aka the L8 Image 02: The L8 floating awkwardly above the power lines before crashing, semi-deflated in the middle Image 03: Another photo from the crashed blimp being cleaned up by the navy and the fire department Image 04: Another angle of the aftermath of the crash Image 05: Yet another angle of the aftermath of the crash Image 06: The two pilots: Ernest Cody and Charles Adams Image 07: Blurry photo of the blimp hovering low over the ocean, taken by a civilian (photo courtesy of Otto Gross) Image 08: Blurry photo of the blimp (zoomed in on the gondola) hovering low over power lines, now headed for its demise, taken by a civilian (photo courtesy of Otto Gross) Image 09: Deflated blimp back in the hangar (photo courtesy of Otto Gross) Image 10: Another photo of the blimp, prior to lowering itself from the sky but on its way down deflating (photo courtesy of Otto Gross)

[captaintrainblog]

Part 3 of SMRT Rolling Stock preview. I had covered on KNS and SIE preview on Tumblr. Now I am going to share with you guys about the next old gen series rolling stock in SMRT.

I would like to introduce one of the 1st Gen series that had entered service in 1987 on the North South Line Phase. Introducing the Kawasaki Heavy Industries C151.

Here are the previews and history about this rolling stock. The Kawasaki Heavy Industries C151 commonly known as KHI C151 for short, is one of the oldest masterpiece in SMRT's history books. It was manufactured by Kawasaki and was then constructed from 1986-1989.

It begun revenue service on the 7 November 1987 on the North South Line whereas five MRT stations were opened from Yio Chu Kang to Toa Payoh a short trip service during the grand opening.

The first set that had launched out for revenue service was EMU001/002. It was the first ever KHI train to be launched for the special opening during train operations.

There were common upgrades on the KHI trains and difference throughout the years. First off, the Unrefurbished C151 is more likely similar variety to the Siemens Aktiengesellschaft C651. The interior of the train were the same from each other. However, refurbishment on the C151 begun from 2006-2008. The difference was the interior and the exterior of the train are different during mid-life refurbishment.

Secondly, the Permanent Magnetic Synchronous Motor (PMSM) were also upgraded on some KHI C151 sets. The purpose of this component was to have more than 35% energy saving and quiet operations for rail reliability.

The list of sets of KHI trains had been upgraded with PMSM motors are 025/026, 055/056, 065/066, 095/096, 109/110 & 131/132. Those are the KHI sets had their PMSM motors in placed.

On June 2020, LTA had announced the retirement of KHI trains. The first to be decommissioned was set 045/046. Due to the newest rolling stock that was going to replaced the other old gen series, the KHI trains will slowly make it's way to retire.

Fun Facts: MediaCorp has it's own show called ThirdRail but do you know what set was used for that show? The answer is EMU095! It was delivered to Changi Exhibition Center with two carriages by the following 3095 & 1095 while the 3rd carriage 2095 went for scrap.

If you guys watched part 1 ThirdRail on MediaCorp, you would actually see a real PMSM KHI train wore it's KMRT livery. It was superstitious and attractive to everyone else but you clearly can be seen an SMRT logo roundel on one of the carriage. Very much for an action movie right?

The preservation of KHI trains will be confirmed. Do remember to ride and treasure your favourite childhood rolling stock before its gone.

[jungkussyficrecs]

What’s the dynamic with JK and Reader in Let’s Talk About Sex? Dom? Sub?

I'm thinking Switch Jk? I think for his hyungs he'll be subby and switch bottom/top, and for reader x jk i feel like he and reader will switch between dom/sub depending on the vibe. But I'm def getting golden retreiver puppy JK bf vibes for his noona.

[libraryofsports]

[solradguy]

Hello! Genuine question, because I don't know how and where to ask. I know there's Guilty Gear manga, but, uh... Is it long? And if there's more than one manga line/series, which one is better to start from? (Shamelessly asking for manga guide)

Don't worry about it haha Figuring out what order any of the GG stuff is supposed to be in and where to find it is like herding cats.

Short answer: It's Complicated™️

Long-ish answer: There are a bunch of manga but only 2.5 of them are in English and only about 60% of the ones solely in Japanese have been scanned. Here are the ones in English:

= The Digest comics - These are official recap summaries of the major story arcs throughout the entire series. They're on ASW's website and can be read in about one sitting. Start with this one. https://www.guiltygear.com/ggst/en/story/

= Guilty Gear Xtra - I forget what this one is actually about because I don't like it and only read it once ages ago lol. The art's alright though. Spinoff story focused on a kid named Tyr with a Gear arm? Scanlated by the Justice Revival Project. IIRC it was only two volumes, so you could probably read this in about one sitting too. Not a single thing that happens in this story is so much as referenced in the actual games. https://mangadex.org/title/911025e8-ae47-499c-8eff-453d18b6459a/guilty-gear-xtra

= Guilty Gear (1998) Comic Anthology - A collection of one-shots released a few months after the first Guilty Gear game that are focused on different characters. Some of them are serious, some comedic, a few recap important character lore. I'm currently working on translating this one and am nearing the halfway point (!!). Also relatively short, even if it was finished (it's only one volume). https://mangadex.org/title/3dde0c8d-ed85-4e16-92c0-837434f0bb58/guilty-gear-comic-anthology

As for the Japanese scans: I have a list of all the volumes, scanned and unscanned, in the masterpost linked in my pinned. It's near the very bottom: https://solradguy.tumblr.com/post/701138089295364096/comprehensive-guide-to-unofficial-guilty-gear

There are also three light novels (novellas with illustrations): Lightning The Argent, The Butterfly & Her Gale, and Begin. Begin is in English and Volcanic Fighter (& Brainchoco) are currently working on Butterfly. I'm working on LtA now but.... I keep getting distracted.... Begin can be read here: https://archive.org/details/guilty-gear-begin-english-translation

A couple of the drama CDs have been transcribed and translated too. They're in the masterpost.

Have fun!! If you know anyone that can do JP>EN translations send them to the GG fandom because the situation's dire LOL

[channeleven]

LTA: JaxExci (pain)

You know those characters in cartoons that are often a target for jokes at their expense, and are otherwise destined to become flandarized douchebags? JayExci is one of those, who was monkey's pawed to life and decided to become a YouTuber.

I got the idea to do this after watching a video by ToonrificTariq, where he ranked Fox's failed animated sitcoms. I had expected him to outright trash most of the edgier ones, but not only did I agree with the ranks, even if he didn't like it he sought to see the positive and approached more offensive fair reasonably, which led me to see the contrasts, after I gave one certain individual a fair shot.

Now let me make this clear, if you enjoy JayExci, that's perfectly fine, they appeal to you and by all means, check them out. May this be in a bubble, just something I wish to personally express.

Here's what happened. I first heard of Jay through NoBullshit, around the time I stopped watching his content and sought videos making fun of him. I then saw Jay' review of The Prince, that HBO Max series people probably don't talk much about anymore, but I don't recall if I saw the entirety of it. Then came the straw that broke the camel's back. Jay covered Brickleberry (well for a second time), along with the other Roger Black/Waco O'Guin stints.

When I saw Jay's Brickleberry video, I ducked out toward the last quarter because it got repetitive, but after a while I gave it another chance, then I got through the entirety of it, gave the Paradise PD video a shot, got through it, then the goodwill sustained itself through to the Farzar video... until it crumbled away within the last minute or so.

What do I think of Brickleberry?

Before I go further, I'd like to give my opinion on Brickleberry and by extension Paradise PD and Farzar, you know, just in case. I remember watching an episode of Brickleberry when it was new. I saw episode 7 and episode 9 to be precise, a year or so later I would check out the first episode. I mean, I have a high threshold when it comes to media, I got through whatever episodes I watched.

If you can survive the cold open to the first episode, you can survive anything.

But, that isn't to say Brickleberry is, well, for me. I'm not one to get offended over anything. Media Mementos coined a term that sums up my feelings on Brickleberry and its ensuing variants. Shock fatigue, you see one edgy joke, you've had your fill and you just get bored of it right away. At the very least for the first season, in my opinion it's not as grating as Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon or the newer Family Guy episodes, those that seem desperate to be edgy, from a lack of a filter to accepting that the show will never die no matter how hard you try.

Beyond shock fatigue, a big issue with the show is that they rely too much on subversion, a very short gap to jump for a joke, and the outcome is often very easy to predict, from what actually happens to what the framework of it is, and with the glut of most jokes it feels like it's mocking the conventions of edgy animation while having little much to say about it.

Then Malloy, best I could say about him is that after seeing his parents brutally murdered and being forced to live in a park where said murderer lives, I'd razz the shit out of everyone there too. It's important to note that the voice of Malloy, Daniel Tosh, was a big reason the show got picked up by Comedy Central, as his vanity card proudly demonstrates.

"So basically, do Malloy however you want, all we ask is that you put in a good word for us at the network."

In short, Brickleberry isn't my cup of tea, but if I have to watch an episode it won't be the end of the world, I at least know where I stand with it. But for the rest of their shows, the best way to compare Black and O'Guin is to Data Design Interactive games, essentially new money for old rope, the same ideas just with a different enough coat of paint, even the closing logos are the same, not helping that Bento Box Entertainment did animation for all three shows, and with a roster that also consists of The Prince, Allen Gregory and Hoops, it's no surprise.

I mean it's not like they did anything good, like the first season of Bob's Burgers, Out There, Neighbors from Hell, Koala Man, Hazbin Hotel, Smiling Friends, Duncanville, Central Park, The Great North, Bordertown depending on your sense of humor... huh, impressive.

But in terms of being insufferably offensive, Velma blows this right out of the water for sure, at least Brickleberry was built from the ground up. The show has a 7.1 on IMDb, so it has its fans, it's not particularly alienating, they must be doing something right.

Brickleberry doesn't get to me as much as Family Guy does... okay that's about it.

Now Back to JayExci

With a title like The Painful Tale of Brickleberry, going into it I expected some behind the scenes information, how it came to be, etc. I did not come for a video where a non-binary(?), whatever orientation, basically says they were offended for over half an hour, making the same points over and over, citing one or two of the same shows over and over, thrice.

JayExci clearly doesn't enjoy edgy shows, that's their right, I'm in favor of more varied opinions on media, keeps discussions flowing nice and even, but you always have to approach topics with objectivity, make sure you boil down your points as much as possible to preserve a good flow, and above all, don't make it obvious you're well outside of what demographic the show/movie/game was aiming for.

Brickleberry and its off-spring had a niche audience in mind, it seems, JayExci is well out of it, clearly. It seems anyone who tends to revisit topics frequently would always find a way to burn good will with most audiences, isn't that right LSMark?

On one hand, it seems like a genius idea for Jay to capture the repetitive nature of Brickleberry's jokes by repeating their disgust over them over and over again. On the other hand, offense without nuance is just going to get as old as the jokes in Brickleberry. Something like this would only work if your attitude reflects your feelings. For instance, MrEnter often has an angry and nitpicky persona, of course someone like that would approach a show like that that way. You can laugh along with the personality and see some truth rooted in their reactions.

With Jay, their points are played incredibly straight, one person plays up the outrage, the other is dead serious, like these edgy shows are a sin against humanity, and takes cartoons too seriously. This is dangerous because it would indirectly validate the writers of said shows, like they get the reaction they were aiming for, it's not about the jokes not working or are brought up in bulk, it's that people are offended by them and they gave the reaction desired.

You may think "Well Jay wasn't offended they're just criticizing the show." The reason I make the claim is the frequency behind the complaints. Something set them off, that's for sure. Also they low-key brought up a theater where an old Black/O'Guin character got burned down. Classy.

Given most of Jay's content consists of video essays relating to old cartoons, and of course their coverage of NoBullshit, they confirm the stigma that they're against certain kinds of humor, you know where their intentions lie, but that's just one thing. Jay makes it clear what makes them laugh, they bring up stuff like Archer, asdfmovie and Fresh Meat (whatever that is).

Now sure, those are good programs, no doubt about that, but they speak numbers about Jay's humor, that is, simplistic telegraphed subversion, a joke and little else, and any and all variations on common adult animation tropisms, that is, well outside of the crowd Brickleberry aims for, more simplistic changes and gags, a restrained sense of humor.

Of course you'd hate stuff like Brickleberry and anything similar. Now, if this was just a character playing a role, this easy to offend individual going after easily offensive shows, it'd be a home run I'd get the picture. But that isn't so.

Then there's the matter of how condescending they come off. You know that bit at the end of Miracle Lake where Malloy shoots Steve into the lake well aware that it lost its magic? Well when Jay criticizes it, they drag it out for so long you'd soon realize that Malloy would just say "Yeah I know." I'd settle for a multiple choice bit.

Demonstration

Woody: Malloy, the lake doesn't heal people anymore!

Do you think Malloy is going to say:

A: It doesn't?

B: But he got us into this mess in the first place.

C: Yeah I know.

D: Good, get Connie over here.

End Demonstration

See? Much better.

Final Thoughts

I had given Jay another chance, and I realize now that was a mistake. The best way to describe Jay's videos is like an exaggerated script delivered by someone who took five doses of ambien, someone who freaks out at the slightest joke made at anyone's expense, someone who assumes people are either stupid or have short-term memory loss, someone who has a very plain outlook on life and media in general, they try so hard to criticize something that they ironically hold similar faults through their execution.

But, let's try and be constructive here. If you find yourself making the same points over and over again, try to make them more varied, try to show some self-awareness or just trim the fat if one point can speak for the rest.

The aura I get from the videos is "I hate this show and I sure as hell want everyone else to agree or see just how much it grinds my gears an' shit, I will repeat myself as many times as I have to.", absolutely spiteful stuff, to the point I can't even suspend my sense of disbelief. It is especially bad because I'd get that impression for the rest of your content, just someone who writers seek to gaslight on a daily basis.

Adult animation isn't perfect by any stretch, and some err toward certain extremes more often than they should (indirectly poisoning the well for more well-meaning shows), but people need to be better about discussing it (unless they go full banana sandwich and decide to be over the top or funny.)

[couripacepals]

New Tournament Series Starts Now!

The Global Speedrun Association (GSA) is starting a new speedrun tournament series called the Speedrun World Record Circuit. Minecraft 1.16 Any% RSG is one of the included speed games.  For the first season, seven minecraft speedrunners have been invited to participate.  They are:

Fruitberries

Illumina

Feinberg

K4yfour

Dylqn

Silverr

PeteZahHutt

The seven will be participating in monthly online LTA (Live Time Attack) events, where the runners compete to see who can get the fastest completion on a random seed in a set period of time.  At the end of October, all seven will be at PACE in Maryland for the live finale, so look forward to that!

The series starts today, right now, on the GSA twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/speedrun and on the individual runners’ channels.  They’ll be going for 7 hours today and 7 hours tomorrow so there’s plenty of time to catch them live.  See you there!

[husheduphistory]

Ghost Blimp: The Mystery and Missing on the L-8

On Sunday, August 16th 1942 Richard L. Johnston was going about his business. He had just finished waxing his car in Dale City, California when he looked up and saw something huge creeping out of the sky and towards his house. Suddenly it hit a utility pole, electrical wires broke sending sparks cascading down to the street, and Johnson ran into the house to protect his mother. When he came back outside there was a large group of people in the street including Fire Deputy Marshal Sean Wood and Johnston’s next door neighbor, volunteer fireman William Morris. Johnston’s car was completely hidden under a massive fold of what looked like canvas. When Johnston woke up that morning he probably didn’t expect that a blimp would land on his car that day. And yet, moments later the scene became even more bizarre.

In August 1942 the United States Navy was on high alert. Within nine months after entering World War II Japanese submarines sunk at least six Allied ships off the American west coast and shelled one of California’s largest oil drilling facilities. The fear of another attack on American soil was high and in order to keep an eye on the sea along the west coast the Navy took to the air, deploying blimps to cruise over the ocean and watch for any suspicious activity.

World War II Navy blimp. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

The blimp that landed on Johnson’s car was the L-8 airship, acquired by the Navy from the Goodyear company and commissioned on March 5, 1942. It was an excellent machine, completing over 1,000 trips and never requiring any work beyond routine maintenance. The two-man crew tasked with piloting the airship had records as impeccable as the craft itself. Lieutenant Ernest Dewitt Cody was a 1938 graduate of Annapolis and although he was only twenty-seven years old he was highly regarded with his commanding officer describing him as “one of the most capable pilots and one of the most able officers” under his command. Cody was relatively new to flying LTA (lighter-than-air) airships, but in April 1942 he proved his ability when he flew the L-8 to deliver cargo to the USS Hornet before the ship departed for Doolittle’s Raid over Tokyo. It was that trip that earned him his promotion to Lieutenant in June 1942. Ensign Charles Ellis Adams was eleven years older than Cody and had twenty years of experience flying LTA airships, but only earned his commission the day before their flight together making his trip with Cody his first flight as an officer.

Lieutenant Ernest Dewitt Cody and  Ensign Charles Ellis Adams.

The L-8 delivering cargo to the USS Hornet. Image via National Archives.

Their task together was a routine anti-submarine mission, fly out from Treasure Island, patrol a fifty-mile radius of San Francisco, then head to the Farallon Islands before heading back to Treasure Island. When they left Treasure Island at 6:03am there was approximately five miles of visibility with the Golden Gate Bridge off in the distance. At 7:38am Cody radioed Moffett Field and reported their location as being four miles east of the Farallon Islands. Four minutes later Moffett Field received a second message from Cody, “Am investigating suspicious oil slick—stand by.” Since an oil slick could indicate an enemy submarine below the waves it was not unusual for the airship to investigate the scene. As the L-8 descended closer to the sea its movements were seen by a fishing boat, the Daisy Gray, and a Liberty cargo ship, Albert Gallatin. Apprehensive about seeing the Navy airship creep closer to the surface of the water and then set off two flares, the ship crews pulled in their nets, manned their guns, and nervously waited to see what happened next. But, as they watched the L-8 nothing out of the ordinary happened. The blimp circled for about an hour and crews from both ships could see two men in the gondola. At approximately 9am the blimp again rose into the air and restarted its route back toward San Francisco. Everything appeared normal to the ships and spectators below, but personnel at Moffett Field were getting nervous, they had not heard a word from the L-8 since 7:42am and were not able to reestablish any communication. Two Vought OS2U Kingfisher floatplanes were sent to look for the blimp and other aircraft were asked to keep their eyes open.

The intended flight path of the L-8 aircraft. Image via unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com.

At approximately 10:49am a series of blimp sightings began to roll in. A Pan American Clipper pilot reported seeing the blimp over the Golden Gate Bridge, then at 11am one of the Kingfishers spotted the L-8 three miles west of Salada Beach at approximately 2,000 feet. Although a height of 2,000 feet would typically be avoided by an airship for safety reasons, there was no indication of the ship being out of control or in danger and it began to descend. The next plane to spot the blimp, an Army P-38 pilot, also saw no indication that the airship or its crew was in any distress when it was seen near Mile Rock, seemingly on its way back to Treasure Island. Within minutes an off-duty seaman named Richard Quam saw the L-8 as he was driving along the highway between San Mateo and San Francisco and he decided to take a picture of the sight. He may have been the first person to capture that something was amiss, the blimp was now noticeably bending in the middle.

The L-8 airship visible sagging as it flew over Daly City. Image via National Archives.

Things began to happen quickly. At approximately 11:15am the L-8 was seen approaching the shore of Ocean Beach in San Francisco but its motors were now silent and there was noticeable sagging. It touched down on the beach for a moment but kept moving until it hit the side of a hill, knocking off one of its 325lb depth chargers. Now carrying 300lbs less, the airship again rose, clearing the hill, and moving further inland. Thousands of people now watched as the L-8 staggered overhead obviously in peril. But, according to witnesses, the ship was not unmanned, in a later interview seventeen-year-old C.E. Taylor told reporters that as the blimp descended he was watching the cabin through his binoculars and that two men were clearly visible inside the entire time.

Finally, at 11:30am the blimp came to a clumsy rest on top of Richard Johnston’s freshly waxed car. Sirens blared and firemen surrounded the blimp, slashing it open in an attempt to save Cody and Adams inside. But, when the rescuers got to the gondola they found a scene that made no sense. The door was open, the microphone for communication was hanging from the doorway, a hat was resting on the controls, the life raft and all parachutes were still in place, but Cody and Adams were nowhere to be found.

Once the initial shock of the crash wore off a feeling of worry began to quickly take over. The L-8 was traveling an extremely visible route and was tracked and seen by hundreds of people and ships, with many reporting the same as young C. E. Taylor, that the men were visible inside the cabin. The Navy immediately launched a search for Cody and Adams and the craft was inspected for any clues to solve the disappearance. The engines were in perfect running order, the ignition switches were on, and there was four hours of fuel left. The only thing that was unusual on board was that the blimp's batteries were drained and part of the fuel supply had been dumped out with no obvious explanation why.

The scene after the crash of the L-8. Image via National Archives.

For three days the shore where the blimp initially crashed and the Pacific coastline was heavily searched but there was no trace of the two missing men. A board of investigation was convened by Navy Commander Francis Connell and over the course of seven days thirty-five witnesses gave their testimony of watching the L-8 hover overhead with nothing seeming suspect. Multiple people both on land and at sea at the time reported seeing the men inside and there being no indication that they ever fell or jumped out of the gondola. In the end it was determined that "no fire, no submersion, no misconduct, and no missiles struck the L-8.” While that may have answered some questions the big one still remained, what happened on the L-8 between 7:42am and 11:15am that made two Navy officers stop communication and vanish before crashing their blimp in a residential neighborhood?

Unfortunately, there were many theories but no concrete answers to that question. Some believed it was a simple tragic accident, that a malfunction with the door led to one man falling out at a low altitude and the other following him out in an attempt to save him before they were both lost to the sea. Others proposed much more elaborate theories, that the men were secret spies, that they were lured close to the surface of the water and grabbed by enemy forces, and some even said that the men ended up killing each other by falling out of the blimp during an argument over a woman. Some guesses tried to remain optimistic, that the men fell out but they were able to swim to shore and would be found hiking back to civilization any day now. Maybe they were picked up by a passenger ship after falling from the aircraft, they just had to wait until they were returned home. But, time ticked forward and the men never reappeared. Shortly after the crash the wives of both men were told that their husbands were officially missing. It was becoming painfully obvious this was not going to change and one year after their disappearance the men were declared dead. The Navy officially classified the incident as “100% Unknown/ Undetermined.”

The L-8 was repaired and continued to be used as a training vessel until the end of World War II when it was returned to Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. It was refurbished, renamed America, and was used to broadcast sports events until it was finally retired in 1982.

Nearly eighty years after the disappearance of Lieutenant Ernest Dewitt Cody and Ensign Charles Ellis Adams there is still no official explanation as to what happened on that clear August morning over the Pacific coast

After its retirement the gondola of the L-8 was fully restored and is currently exhibited at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida.

The refurbished gondola of the L-8 on display at the  National Museum of Naval Aviation. Image via www.history.navy.mil. 

*************************************************

Sources:

Mystery of the Ghost Blimp by John J. Geoghegan https://www.historynet.com/mystery-of-the-ghost-blimp.htm.

The Crew of the L- 8, https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/The_Crew_of_the_L-8

The Bizarre Tale Of The World War II Ghost Blimp And Its Missing Crew by Gina Dimuro, https://allthatsinteresting.com/ghost-blimp  

In 1942, a war blimp fell out of the sky onto Daly City. Its crew was never found by Katie Dowd and Andrew Chamings, https://www.sfgate.com/sfhistory/article/SF-Ghost-blimp-Daly-City-15739903.php

Ghost Blimp Mystery of WW2 – Crashed in San Francisco & Crew Was Never Found by Ruslan Budnik, https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/mystical-disappearance-pilots.html. 

[gear-project]

So the retcon complaint is a different design? Bridget had been gone in universe for 6 years, it makes some logical sense to have a different look when you come back as time progresses and things change, Testament is another good example, having been gone a while as well, they decided to go with a design more fitting of the gender neutral appearance that they wanted to go with, Ky meanwhile has a radically different design from Xrd series to Strive and it had been according to sources, 3 weeks. Same for other characters with different designs compared to Xrd series. (Mostly as an outsider looking in, also not counting Jack-O since I think her hair color being different is explained properly). I mean it would be like complaining that Noel Vermilion in Blazblue suddenly had a fairly different design between Continuum Shift and Chrono Phantasma (if you didn’t play the latter’s story).

Yeah there's a lot of things they arbitrarily changed, some of which you'd be surprised about.

Of course, I haven't listed all concept art from the Xrd series (which is just as bizarre if you think about it).

Speaking of inconsistencies though, Kuradoberi Jam went through several revisions as I recall before they finally settled on her look in Xrd. Even Raven had to go through several changes too from his LtA Novel Appearance to GG2 appearance to how he looks in Xrd.

The main takeaway from all this that I think people need to understand is that they want these characters to be both compelling and universally appealing, but also "characters with lives of their own" (meaning character progression is a factor as well in the designs).

It would have been fine if Bridget's design was the only thing that changed... but the story routes in Strive are very confusing and semi-conflicting with past interpretations and that bothered a lot of people.