Browsing: Vehicles

A Brief History On August 19, 2002, the Russian military suffered the worst fatal helicopter incident and crash in the history of aviation when a missile fired by Chechen Islamic Separatists struck a Russian Mi-26 helicopter, bringing the huge helicopter down in a minefield and killing a total of 127 Russian soldiers. Digging Deeper The Mil Mi-26 (NATO code named “Halo”) is a heavy lift helicopter introduced in 1983.  Over 300 of the giants have been built, and it is the biggest and most powerful production helicopter ever produced.  Its 2 turboshaft engines produce a total of almost 23, 000…

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A Brief History On July 30, 2003, in Puebla, Mexico of all places, the last of the “old style” (what we like to call “real”) Volkswagen Beetles came off the assembly line, ending the longest and most prolific manufacturing streak of any car platform ever made. Digging Deeper (Note:  The Toyota Corolla has sold 40 million units under that name, but the car has definitely not been the same basic car for its lifespan, from 1966 to Present.  It is the same in name only.) The Volkswagen Beetle was the brainchild of Ferdinand Porsche (yes, as in that Porsche) who…

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A Brief History On July 29, 1973, British race car driver Roger Williamson met his death when his Formula 1race car crashed at the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort Circuit in the Netherlands.  The 25 year old 2 time British Formula 3 champion was trapped under his flipped car, not seriously hurt from the crash, but was burned to death as the car was engulfed in flames.  We wrote about that crash in our July 29 article, “10 Famous Car Wrecks”.  Today we look at another 5 famous/infamous car crashes that you may find interesting. Digging Deeper 1.  Tiger Woods, November…

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A Brief History On July 28, 1935, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress made its initial flight.  Called the Flying Fortress because of its unprecedented heavy armament of 12 (later13) .50 caliber machine guns, this mighty bomber would be eclipsed by other planes in future years.  Here we list 10 of the Most Heavily Armed Warplanes, meaning armed with machine guns and cannons.  (No significance to the order listed.)  Obviously, World War II was the golden age of gun armament, with modern fighters using missiles as primary armament.  Still, some modern planes have impressive guns nonetheless. Digging Deeper 1. Convair B-36 Peacemaker…

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A Brief History Thomas Parker, described by Lord Kelvin as “the Edison of Europe”, built the first practical production electric car in London in 1884, using his own specially designed high-capacity rechargeable batteries. Today, over 130 years later, data from WeBuyAnyCar.com in the UK reveals that owning an electric car will make perfect sense for the average driver by 2022.  This year is the tipping point for when it will become cheaper to power a car with a battery rather than gas. Digging Deeper If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe…

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