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BAE's Global Combat Vehicle Systems Division had come up with an electronic system which mimic's Harry Potter's cloak of invisibility. A tank division on the move can possibly be invisible to infrared detectors and other surveilance systems or even mimic a car or herd of cows.
The system consists of individual hexagonal metallic plates placed together around the hull, which are semi-conducters that are capable of being heated and cooled individually to match the surroundings. Earlier systems had huge power requirements, but BAE says they have solved that problem, but are not revealing much detail. The company has built up a library of heat signatures which can be reproduced on the panels. BAE says the system can be scaled up to be used on warships or other large vehicles. This stuff is spooky in the video. This just means there won't be a cow left standing. The worst that can happen to a defending army is they'll all have steak for breakfast. Of course, the cat's out of the bag when the sun comes up.
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If you live around the Sierra Nevada mountains, you can hike to a B-17 crash site. The aircraft has been there since it crashed in 1941, and while it is not the easiest thing to get to, souvenir hunters have made off with lots of the plane. Regardless of the sign denoting the plane as U.S. property, a shredded B-17 would be irresistable. Who wouldn't want a piece of it.
Someone who resisted the temptation and also documented his hike with pictures of the plane was Neil Mishalov, an avid hiker. His website details the trip and some pictures of the remains.
On Geocaching.com some guys were talking about hiking up there to visit the site and even published the co-ordinates. Personally I don't know it they are correct as the location seems to be a secret. Plugging them into Google Earth should show if they are close or not... a piece of the wing ought to be at N 38 degrees 54.950'
W 120 degrees 19.802'.
Check Six, a website for aviation history and adventure has a good run down on what happened to the plane in its last hours, and how the pilot saved every one else's life while losing his own. After you start searching the internet for downed aircraft in this country it is disheartening to see how many there are. There are so many it seems there can't be any left.
There is at least one left, a B-17 just flew overhead in Madisonville, Ohio, where my day job is. Must be heading for Lunken Airport to give rides. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for them.