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Idaho, Technology

East Idaho Wildfire 2012: Busy 30 minutes at Pocatello Airport, as fire fighting aircraft fly into action

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The following pics (which you can make bigger by clicking on them) were taken by AAron B. Hutchins, within a thirty minutes period, at the Pocatello Regional Airport (USFS Air Tanker Base), on 12JUL2012, between 11:30 hours and 12:00 hours.

Remember, these pics were taken within a 30 minute period.

EAST IDAHO WILDFIRES 2012: MORE NEW FIRES ON 11 JULY, FIRE NEAR NUKE REACTOR, CRATERS OF THE MOON

Crews preping S-64 Skycrane to join in battle against Cox’s Well Fire. Photo by AAron B. Hutchins, 10JUL2012.

SIKORSKY SKYCRANE LEAVES POCATELLO AIRPORT FOR COX’S WELL FIRE

Idaho, Technology

East Idaho Wildfires 2012: Sikorsky Skycrane leaves Pocatello Airport for Cox’s Well Fire

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Click on pics (by AAron B. Hutchins) to make them bigger:

Idaho, U.S.

Some examples of how hot & dry it is in southeastern Idaho

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Some people might think local officials are being a little too cautious with their control over who has access to the Charlotte Fire burn area, at the south end of  Pocatello.  But, it really is so dry out their that I wouldn’t be surprised if the cause of the fire was spontaneous combustion of tinder dry field grasses (I’ve seen it happen in hay stacks).

I recently got my city of Chubbuck, Idaho, water bill for 08 May 2012 to 05 June 2012.  It shows you what you used the previous year.  For the same time in 2011 I used 4,000 gallons (15,141.6 liters). Yet, for 2012 I used 13,000 gallons (49,210.35 liters), a 9,000 gallon increase!  And I was really trying to conserve, but I have a large yard with a victory garden and the amount of water I used in May was just barely enough to keep most plants from dying.

I have a pear tree and several plum trees, and for the first time in more than a decade they have no fruit!  My Golden Delicious apple tree has not even half the amount of fruit it normally does.

Two of my three grape vines returned to dormancy two months ago, and have only now started to come back, after tons of water was flooded onto them.  One of my two blackberry vines died.  My normally over productive raspberry vines are now struggling, with only two raspberries visible.

My huge decades old pine tree stopped dropping pine cones a month ago.  This is normal when you get into dry summer months, but since my pine tree is located in the middle of my back lawn it usually drops cones throughout summer because it gets enough water when I water the lawn.  This year I’ve been flooding sections of the lawn, including around the pine tree, due to how dry the grass is getting, and yet no pine cones.

By the way, lawn grass is the most inefficient plant on the planet, and yet our incompetent municipality leaders create laws forcing us to maintain a grass lawn, for the sake of property values!  And then they jack up our water/sewer/trash rates!!!

For example: In 1998 I swear I was paying a basic water/sewer/trash rate of $38.00 USD per month (not counting the per thousand gallon water charge). In 2010 it was more than $77.00.  Now, in 2012 the basic water/sewer/trash rate is more than $92.00!!!

Between 1998 and 2002 water conservation actually helped keep my water bill down, but at this point none of my water saving efforts are paying off, because the city has jacked up the basic services rate so high!  And you can’t conserve too much because then the city hits you with violation of beautification codes!

The city of Chubbuck actually has employees driving around neighborhoods in “code enforcement” vehicles, giving out warnings.  If warnings are not heeded the city brings in landscapers and sends you the bill.

Another sign of how hot and dry it is: Laundry.  I hang my laundry to dry outside in summer, it so hot/dry that a full load is dry within 20 minutes or less.  That’s much less time than if I used the dryer in the house.

How about southeast Idaho reservoir levels?

Devil Creek reservoir, north of Malad City, Idaho, off Interstate Highway 15, 29 June 2012. Two months ago it was full.

Deep Creek reservoir, east of Malad City, on Idaho State Highway 36, 29 June 2012. Two months ago it was full.

Idaho, U.S.

Pocatello burning! Evacuations! Southeast Idaho burning! Bannock County bans fireworks, declares state of emergency!

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Click on pics to make them bigger. Pics by me.

 

Kit Bashing, Reviews

Kit Bashing: PJ Production has new pilot figures: 1/32 Soviet, 1/48 Modern U.S./NATO & 1/72 SAR

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For the second time this year, PJ Production has released three new PUR (polyurethane resin) cast figure kits.  Philippe Jacques (PJ) has just recently issued a 1/32 scale Soviet or Modern Russian pilot, with optional helmets.

1/32 mig pilot1/32 mig pilot parts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A new 1/48 scale modern U.S./NATO pilot joins the growing number of 1/48 PJ pilots.

1/48 u.s./nato1/48 u.s./nato parts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally a set of four 1/72 scale helicopter SAR (Search And Rescue) figures.  Two are seated pilot/co-pilot figures while the other two are crew figures (one standing, one kneeling).

1/72 sar1/72 sar parts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PJ PRODUCTION HAS NEW FIGURE KITS

Idaho

Grass fire sets Idaho junk yard on fire, fears of propane and liquid oxygen tanks exploding results in blocked roads

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Initial reports say that a grass fire on U.S. Highway 30 (Old Bannock Highway) near the Hoku plant, and the malting plant, in Bannock County, Idaho, caused a massive junk yard fire.  Fortunately the wind was blowing the flames away from the gas company.

Walt’s Auto Salvage fire, July 26, 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

The salvage yard is run by Walt’s.  Law enforcement blocked off several roads, because a gas company, Ameri Gas, is located right next to the salvage yard. They deal in liquid oxygen and propane.

WAS fire, U.S. Highway 30, Bannock County, July 26, 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By 14:30 (2:30 PM) about 45 vehicles in the yard were on fire. The fire was brought under control around 15:00 (3:00 PM), thanks to the massive response by local fire fighters.  Some witnesses say the junk yard fire started after one or more propane tanks exploded.

 

Kit Bashing, Reviews

Kit Bashing: PJ Production has new figure kits

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PJ Production has released three new figure kits. Two in 1/72 scale, and one in 1/48 scale.  The kits are polyurethane resin, so you’ll have to use cyanoacrylate (super type) glue.

F-16/F-18 Pilots Sitting

F-16/F-18 Pilots Standing

 

 

 

 

 

Philippe Jacques (PJ) has issued two 1/72 scale “F-16/F-18” pilots, one set sitting, the other set standing/boarding.  They’re basically present day U.S./NATO/European pilots, so if you want up to date pilots for your present day ‘western’ aircraft better get ’em while they’re hot out the silicon mold.

USN Bomb Crew

The other set is 1/48 scale World War 2 U.S. Navy bomb loading crew.  It comes with four figures and a little bomb dolly.

The figures have nice detail, unfortunately the pics don’t show it.

 

Little Bomb Cart

 

 

 

 

 

 

Idaho, Technology, U.S.

Ancient Nuclear Powered Jet Engine found in Idaho Desert, Proof of Ancient Alien Visitors?

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Text: AAron Hutchins

Photos by: Alex Hutchins (click on the pics to make them bigger. More pics, including plaques that explain HTRE, in the Galleries section, click on the INL Nuclear Power Site)

Barely noticeable from the two lane highway, sitting literally in the middle of nowhere, a brick building with some strange caged objects next to it. Getting any closer doesn’t help you identify the metallic two story tall objects, behind locked fences with barbed wire on top. They seem extraterrestrial. Perhaps some ancient Alien visitors left behind their space vehicle?

HTRE-3

It’s like something out of X-Files. But this isn’t Area 51, in Nevada.  It’s not Roswell, New Mexico.  It’s eastern Idaho, and today is windy and cold.  As my son Alex said, “It’s Big Wind.”

As far as ‘ancient’ goes, well, some people might think 1950s is ancient.  That’s when the strange twisted metal craft first appeared. Extraterrestrial?  Many people in the 1950s thought the scientists of the day were out of this world with their crazy ideas, like nuclear powered jet aircraft.

Taking Exit 93 off Interstate 15, turn west towards Arco. Stay on Highway 26 for about 40 miles.  As you drive the lonely 40 miles you’ll pass the big “Welcome to the INL” sign. Then you’ll come to an intersection, make a left, just follow the arrows to Arco. You’ll see building complexes to your right, that’s part of the main Idaho National Laboratory complex.

INL Entrance

At that point pay attention to your left. You should see a lone building in the distance, EBR-1, the world’s first nuclear reactor. That’s where the strange alien vehicle looking things are. There should be a left turn lane coming up, with signs for EBR-1.  Make the turn, then another left turn lane, again follow the sign for EBR-1.

It’s a desolate place, my son and I were the only ones there that windy, cold day.  We passed a couple of parked cars on the roadside, with no one in them, out in the middle of nowhere, mmm.

EBR-1

There they are, like something left behind, and forgotten, by some advanced species, in the middle of the vast, windy East Idaho desert, HTRE-1, 2 & 3.  The three huge Heat Transfer Reactor Experiments units making up world’s first nuclear powered turbine engine. Intentionally twisted metal, big pipes, gigantic turbos, and two little jet engine exhaust at the back. Don’t think these guys are safe, they’re radiation warning signs all over.  Many of the openings and fittings are sealed off.  Even the giant weld seams on the reactor have been recently coated with a white colored material.

Nuclear powered jet engines and the lead-lined train that pulled them.

Some people would say that only an evil scientist would come up with such a thing. Maybe they’re right? General Electric spent one billion taxpayer dollars on the project, before it was canceled by President Kennedy in 1961. And that’s 1950s dollars, whew!

There are several informational plaques that give the visitor more understandable, and more interesting, info than what I found on the internet. Like “Operation Wiener Roast”. They actually burned a nuclear turbine engine to see if dangerous levels of radiation would be spread if a nuclear powered aircraft crashed.

Operation Wiener Roast

Testing of the reactor turbine was successful, but an actual aircraft was never developed. The program was conducted in Idaho, in Test Area North, of what is now called the INL.  The project was managed by the U.S. Air Force and the Atomic Energy Commission.  There’s lots more information on the signs, you need to go there to look for yourself.

One things for sure, this archeological find proves that the U.S. government spent taxpayer dollars on some really far out stuff in the 1950s.

Radiation signs next to jet engines.

Lead-lined train in the Arco desert in Eastern Idaho. Photo by Alexander Hutchins.

GHOSTLY NUKE TRAIN ROLLIN’ ‘CROSS IDAHO DESERT

Kit Bashing, Reviews

Kit Bashing: Italeri P-51 Mustang 1 Out of Box Review

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Unfortunately this kit is not what it should have been.  I read some positive reviews about some of Italeri’s 1/72 scale kits, but I don’t think having nice decals and recessed lines qualifies as good.

Initially this Mustang 1 kit looked good to me, until I did some research on the actual aircraft.

The overall shape of the fuselage looks okay, but the wings are for the P-51D.  This kit comes with a sprue of parts for the P-51 Mustang 1, which include the fuselage.  The sprue with the wing on it is actually from Italeri’s F-51D Mustang kit.  The Mustang’s wing shape changed as each new model came along, so how could Italeri think their F-51D wing would suffice?

Also, since the wings are for the F-51D it has wing tip lights, which is incorrect for the earlier model Mustangs.

Oddly, considering a lack of concern over accuracy, Italeri molded a deep recess line around where the air scoop is, I assume because the actual Mustang 1 air scoop could open up for more air flow.  The instructions don’t mention this.

The canopy is lacking canopy framing.  The cockpit interior is typical of most 1/72 kits; there’s detail, but it’s not accurate.

The decals look good.

You get markings for one USAAF in North Africa, and one RAF recon aircraft.  The box art depicts the USAAF version as a recon aircraft, with a camera behind the pilot, but of course there is no camera in the kit, nor is the canopy right for a recon version (recon variants used anything from bulged clear panels to panels with holes cut in them).

I recommend this kit if you’re looking for a quick build, and are not concerned with contest winning accuracy (that would require a lot of correcting, scratch building & kit bashing).