So list your most-admired feats in these categories:


1. Motorcycle

Britten V1000

2. Airplane

XB-70

3. Spacecraft

TOUGH one... SpaceShip One.

4. Electronics

Tubes. Any and all vacuum tubes. I also greatly admire the Amiga computer system.

__________________
---"Why do things have to suck so bad?" a friend once asked me.
"Because space is a vacuum and that's a lot of suck." I replied.
(Actual quote)---

So list your most-admired feats in these categories:


1. Motorcycle

VERY little knowledge on this front. Let's say, the tune-till-you-drop Indian of Burt Munro. Because that bike, surpassed on all fronts now, was 95% engineering and 5% Indian . Trial and error engineering if you like, but still engineering.

2. Airplane

XB-70. Second that. From the limited information available, it appeared more practical than the Blackbird (you know, the leaking and refuel stuff and all that...). If they gave it some time, it would quite possibly have turned out real fine. Imagine it with modern materials, avionics and improved ejection system. But the point is, things weren't as readily available at that time, yet still there you have this magnificent, ultra fast, big bomber. Quite the engineering indeed.

I'll also mention the Gripen. Developed in a rather small country, this is an excellent fighter featuring very high tech avionics inside an advanced aerodynamic package. Can perform 3 roles in one design, is quickly and easily made ready for flight, can use regular roads to takeoff and land, and is quite cheap indeed. Solid engineering.

3. Spacecraft

May I just nominate the Saturn-V's F-1 engine? From the limited information on them, they appeared quite reliable indeed. Plus their thrust was massive, and a maaaajor key to achieving landing people on the moon.

4. Electronics

Oh this is hard. Tubes were revolutionary. Transistors as well. Computers... I love audio. I love computers. I love synthesizers. I think I'll go very basic and nominate the transistor in all its forms. Though that is more research than engineering. I'm thinking about an engineering challenge in the field of electronics...The analog minimal energy "neural network" circuits by Mark Tilden (for example used in the Spyder, Unibug, Nito, Lampbot). Using the most simple electronic components in very small numbers, he creates VERY interesting craft. These things work so simple yet good, he's got to be "on to something". My guess is he's mimicking some very basic motion steering patterns in living creatures very well with his circuits. Not only his circuits, but his craft as a whole are really sleek engineering. It's all so simple, yet it works excellent. The best engineering need not always be the most complex.

__________________
To the regular visitor of internet bulletin boards it is clear that it's an excellent idea your parents get to choose your real name.

1. Motorcycle

I know precisely nothing about motorcyles.

2. Airplane

I really admire the engineering/design of the Heinkel He 162. It leaped from the drawing board into active service astonishingly quickly, was cheap and easy to build and was nevertheless one of the best fighters of the second world war. Fortunately, too little, too late by that stage.

3. Spacecraft

Boringly enough, probably the workhorse Space Shuttle.

4. Electronics

Probably all the engineering that's gone into miniturisation.

__________________
I offer a complete and utter retraction. The imputation was totally without basis in fact, was in no way fair comment and was motivated purely by malice. I deeply regret any distress that my comments may have caused you or your family, and I hereby undertake not to repeat any such slander at any time in the future.

I've covered Spacecraft and Airplane in a couple other threads...
I can admire so much of the engineering in Airplanes and spacecraft that I literally could go on for pages. From mundane details about Apollo's lunar landers and capsules to the rocketry to the designs of heavy load aircraft and helicopters.

So I will leave those two alone. In motorcycles, I don't know squat sadly and would have nothing of interest to contribute.

In electronics- I run into the same problem- so I will toss out 2007's Nobel Winners.
http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/992.htm
http://www.geocities.com/peter_grunberg/

alright then...

1. motorcycle....Britten Bike (Kiwi)
2 aircraft of Richard Pearse (Kiwi)
3. spacecraft...ISS
4. electronics.....Integration...internet,TV,DVD,home security,movies,everything..all in one!!(this was at the Kiwiingenuity Expo)

Paul Leeks(proud to be a Kiwi!!)

I don't think much could touch the Britten bike. I'm calling that category a sweep.

__________________
---"Why do things have to suck so bad?" a friend once asked me.
"Because space is a vacuum and that's a lot of suck." I replied.
(Actual quote)---

1. Motorcycle

Honda's oval pistoned racing engine. They wanted a V8, but the rules limited them to 4.

2. Airplane

Add my vote for the XB70 Valkyrie

3. Spacecraft

I'm still waiting for it to be built.

4. Electronics

Digital signal processing. As far ahead of active crossovers as they are ahead of passive ones.

__________________
Any day you wake up on "the right side of the dirt" is a good day.

T. Anderson

1. Motorcycle

Yamaha RD350LC.

No real reason. Just because.


2. Airplane

Mosquito.

Engineered with "last years" materials, at a time of need, but did the job for many years to come.


3. Spacecraft

Spider. LM.

Kind of "beat" the CSM :-) (and did more than it was built for).


4. Electronics

Epson HX-20.

(Does your laptop have an inbuilt printer?)

__________________
More average than moderate.

Motorcycle: I dunno. One of those Blue Plate Specials cops used to ride?

Airplane: Most admired? I guess the Douglas DC-3 and its clones. They keep going and going...

Spacecraft: I guess the Saturn/Apollo stack.

Electronics: Meters. Those big old ones where you can see the jeweled suspension and spring.

__________________
The Devil offered me power. I told him I preferred aperture.

Motorcycle:
Never drove one I didn't crash, so motorcycles are evil.

Airplane:
SR-71 blackbird. Coolest plane ever.

Spacecraft:
Mir space station. A great example of how far you can push man/machine with duct tape. wire and determination.

Electronics:
HP laser Jet printer. A great use of lasers and electrostatic technology. Still hard to beat a laser printer for printing needs.

__________________
"The universe is driven by the complex interaction between three ingredients: matter, energy, and enlightened self-interest." - G'Kar

Motorcycle: no idea

Airplane: SR-71: faster than the XB-70, and did it with 1/3 the number of engines. Much more elegant than the 70 IMHO.

Spacecraft: Saturn V. The Mercury Atlas is nice too.

Electronics: Hard to say, but if I had to pick one, probably the Intel Core 2 Duo CPU.

__________________
WANTED:

Schroedinger's Cat

Dead And Alive

...which have the added advantage of EMP-resistance.

Ham Radio

5. Automobiles
Any Ferrari,---but the FXX Milli Chile will do for now.

__________________
*

Oh come on, NO PLANE is as elegant as the XB-70. Look at the adorable way this cuty is posing after landing. How much more elegant do you want it to be?

Attached Thumbnails

   

__________________
To the regular visitor of internet bulletin boards it is clear that it's an excellent idea your parents get to choose your real name.

Electronics: The Zilog Z-80.

Nick

__________________
Nick Theodorakis

1. Motorcycle

all big bikes

2. Airplane

i don't know much about planes , does kites counts ?

3. Spacecraft

hmmm....another thing that I'm not much familiar .

4. Electronics

Ipod - but I lost it a year ago

1.) Motorcycle: Know nothing about them, sorry to say.

2.) Airplane: Me-262. I shudder to think what this could have done if it had been fielded early in the War.

3.) Spacecraft: The Voyagers, which flew a once-in-a-lifetime mission full of close calls and stunning observations that--in the case of Uranus and Neptune, anyway--will write the books for decades to come.

4.) Electronics: Though I'm weak in this area, I'll go out on a limb and say transistors, which greatly reduced the size of electronic components.

__________________
"Call me old-fashioned, but I think fire is magic. And it scares me a lot."

--The State

Motorcycle: Any Harley Davidson
Spacecraft: Apollo Command Service Module (lots of delta vee)
Airplane: Boeing 747 (roomy, revolutionary air transport)
electronics: the laptop computer

Ok - by the numbers, this time:


1. Motorcycle

Kawasaki Ninja 900-R, the first motorcycle to have a completely counter-balanced engine, making it one of the smoothest revving pocket rockets of the late-80's.

2. Airplane

SR-71. Kelly and his boys had to invent not just the engineering of the plane, but of the materials out of which it was made, as well as how to machine those materials, so little was known about titanium at the time. It broke many barriers, some of which were thought to be unbreakable, and some of which were unknown. "Waitaminute - are you telling me the aircraft keeps getting stronger every time it's heated up and cooled?"

3. Spacecraft

Saturn Rocket. It couldn't be done. Leap-frogging past the Russians to build a very successful craft which launched us towards the brass ring. Thanks to Saturn, we did it.

4. Electronics

LED. Every bit on the Internet passes through one or more LEDs on it's way to it's destination. If it weren't for the LED, the Information Superhighway would be known as the Information Reservation System, where you submit reservations for your information and wait a few days until it's finally served up.

__________________
I am Mugs, of the Alien clan of Usa, Nordamerica, a Terran, of Sol. Human.

Whoever says "perception is reality" is daft. It's merely an abstraction, and often not a very good one.

An idea after my own ear... And no phase distortion, either.

__________________
I am Mugs, of the Alien clan of Usa, Nordamerica, a Terran, of Sol. Human.

Whoever says "perception is reality" is daft. It's merely an abstraction, and often not a very good one.