Yawn, was Re: ROBOT: Global Hawk Outperforms Charles Lindbergh (by orders of magnitude)

From: Michael M. Butler (butler@comp-lib.org)
Date: Tue Apr 24 2001 - 22:58:57 MDT


Yes, it's absolutely true that Lindbergh was not jet-powered, nor was his wingspan comparable to that of a 737.
Confusing the vehicle with the aviator is crappy thinking.

FWIW, consider Yeager and Rutan in their circumnavigation aboard Voyager--they "outperformed" Global Hawk several years
ago, _and_ they were privately funded. GH is six-year-old news.

"J. R. Molloy" wrote:
>
> Robotic spy plane makes the Lindbergh stunt look human... merely human. --J.
> R.
>
> About Global Hawk
> http://www.dsto.defence.gov.au/globalhawk/1_about.html
> Global Hawk is the world's most advanced high-altitude, long-endurance,
> unmanned aerial vehicle.
> Global Hawk is jet-powered and equivalent in wing size to a Boeing 737
> commercial airliner. It has a range of 14,000 nautical miles and can fly at
> altitudes of up to 65,000 feet (19,812 metres) for more than 30 hours.
> Australia and the US are collaborating to evaluate and further develop Global
> Hawk as an airborne surveillance system.
> http://www.dsto.defence.gov.au/globalhawk/home.html
> On 23 April 2001, Global Hawk flew non-stop from Edwards Air Force Base,
> California to Edinburgh Air Force Base, South Australia, where it will be
> based for nearly two months undergoing a series of demonstration flights.
>
> ----------------------------
>
> Stay hungry,
>
> --J. R.
>
> Useless hypotheses:
> consciousness, phlogiston, philosophy, vitalism, mind, free will, qualia,
> analog computing, cultural relativism
>
> Everything that can happen has already happened, not just once,
> but an infinite number of times, and will continue to do so forever.
> (Everything that can happen = more than anyone can imagine.)



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