Introduce Yourself

[mkellytx]

Regards to Everyone!

Long time lurker, a little more engaged member these days, embarrassed to say it's taken over a decade to make a proper introduction. Surname Kelly, 45, Grandpa Kelly always went by just "Kelly" and "Kelly" also has a pretty prestigious aerospace pedigree. Aviation fanatic since age 3, made my mother take me to see "A New Hope" in 77, we waited in line for 3 hours with a friend who went on to be an F-14 RIO. She says my first words after the movie ended were, "I'm going to go into space one day." Devoured all things aviation and space growing up, got my pilot's license at 18 while home over Christmas break in 3 weeks. Spent 15 years in aerospace before moving to oil and gas in Texas. Two engineering degrees from Purdue (BS/MS Aero Eng.), MBA from UCLA.

Served 10 years in USAF, three as a B-1 Maintenance Officer, four and a half as Flight Test Engineer/Test Conductor mostly on Bombers (primarily B-52), Speckled Trout and C-17 then the last two and a half at SMC as a Systems Engineer/Program Manager with EELV. Got out at the end of 2012, put my systems engineering experience/MBA to use on business unit turnarounds, first in shales now in midstream. Pay and benefits are good, work with great people doing interesting work, but still love aerospace.

It's been so long now that I've actually forgotten how I found the forum. Most likely, it was the 2006/2007 timeframe when the signal to noise ratio went south on rec.aviation.military and sci.military.naval, which I followed since 1994. Finally, joined in 2009 when I was going to post on something that had nothing to do with the day job at the time. Most of my interest here is reminiscing, learning more about aviation history and scratching the aerospace itch. The early lurking was a strong desire not to end up as the next Dozer, but as that part of my life gets smaller in the rear view mirror there are things I'm now more comfortable to share.

As other's mentioned the change from when I first lurked to today are big. Then I was a 31 year old single captain just home from Iraq, now I'm 13 years married with a 5 year old boy. Here are a few from when I first started at Edwards

 

[SharcMint]

Hello! I go by SharcMint on the internet. I’m 24, from California.

I’ve visited this site many times over the last few years. Anytime I looked into passing mentions of never-built ships and aircraft on Wikipedia, I’ve ended up reading the forums here. It has been very helpful and I’m really impressed by the amount of knowledge that’s been built up here.

I am currently interested in any projects or studies that involved either fast surface ships or very large, ship-like aircraft. Surface effect ships, ground effect vehicles, and things like the Lockheed CL-1201 are all things that fascinate me.

That’s all for now, looking forward to learning more!

 

[AURI]

Hello Everyone, I'm from Indonesia. Aviation enthusiast since child because my father was a pliot in Air Force. but I ended up as GP. I like to build plastic model and currently build a lot of canceled project and Whiff. I never knew web like this exist, lot of new knowledge for me. I hope I can learning more about secret project and canceled project.

 

[Deino]

Even if I'm a member here since March 2006 a lot has happened since then.

Most of all i became old and grey ... and this is me last year together with Tony Buttler and Yefim Gordon:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1193917679893176322

And I found another image of me in the internet taken at Zhuhai 2018! ... the one with the yellow backpacker, that's me.

 

[sparky]

Hello Everyone! My name is Frank. I found this site while in the midst of an friendly argument with a friend over the engines on the F-14 Tomcat. Look forward to learning a lot here.

 

[Jfear]

Trying this again!
I’ve been an aviation fan forever and a kitbasher since being a wee tadpole. I was drawn here whilst cross referencing items from French Secret Projects Vol2 (the Estocade among others) and look forward to seeing what else I can find and contribute to here.
My what-if obsessions are generally X-planes that went nowhere (Convair Model 49 for instance) and the AH-56A Cheyenne.

 

[mkilkenny]

Hi-

I am Mark. I worked for NASA for 42 years, starting at Edwards/Dryden/Armstrong, then HQ and finishing at Lewis/Glenn. Although conversant in all things aerospace, I mostly am an "aeronut". I have a long-standing interest in seaplanes, WIG craft, and WW2 aircraft (particularly Japanese). I also have an interest in warships of all kinds and eras.

 

[Jonathan Ott]

Hello everyone. I'm Jonathan Ott and I stumbled upon Secret Projects looking for "Project ICARUS" photos. I build and fly high power model rockets and am in the process of preparing to 3D print a 1:52 scale Saturn V, but stumbled upon Project ICARUS and now I'm thinking about an ICARUS/Saturn V to be a little different.

 

[carvil]

Hi, my name is Carlos. I´m from Spain and interested in all kind of military technology.

 

[BigB]

Hi, I'm BigB. I'm a 58 year old engineer from California. I work for the US Navy. My MS is in propulsion with a thesis in nozzle flow, so I have a huge interest in aerospace. I have never worked in my field of study, so I don't have any great insight or insider knowledge. I lived in the UK in the early 80's. I was there for the Charles Diana wedding and the Falklands war. I was in Warrington at the time. Used to vacation in the lakes district. Got to see an Avro Vulcan in flight, great experience, wow what an airplane. Saw a Jaguar buzz a lake shore once and a Harrier hovering briefly before landing. Saw a few other things as well. I often search for info on British designs and came across this forum when looking for information on the Fairey Delta 3. I don't know that I'll ever have anything to post, but I enjoy browsing the board for knowledge. I have an insatiable thirst for knowledge about all things military. I really like many of the British designs. Like cars, British just have a way of making an airplane look like art.

 

[BATI]

Hola , saludos a todos, soy de Argentina , aficionado en el tema , actualmente estudiante de ing, mecanica ,estoy en busca de informacion sobre el DORMOY BATHTUB , veo mucha gente que sabe del tema y bien informada , gracias por aceptar , saludos

Hello, greetings to all, I am from Argentina, an amateur in the subject, currently an engineering student, mechanics, I am looking for information about the DORMOY BATHTUB, I see many people who know the subject and are well informed, thanks for accepting, greetings

 

[Antonio]

To all latest members: Welcome! Bienvenidos!

 

[MerlinPlease]

Hi, thanks for allowing me to join the forum. My name is Ray, I am currently an assistant teacher but about to go back to university and retrain as an aeronautical engineer. I am a former soldier having served in the Royal Engineers for 3 years in an EOD squadron, I was working towards my PPL before covid, for now I'm content with gliding.

I found this place whilst down the Scaled Composites rabbit hole (in particular looking to identify what "Sneeky Pete" actually is). I have a bit of a mild obsession with their proteus aircraft at the moment too. My main interests are prototype aircraft that have a niche role such as proteus, rotary wing helicopter projects and other interesting assorted projects.

 

[Raypall]

Hey There!

My name's Jan, I'm from the Czech Republic and I currently work as a copywriter in a small IT company. As a side job however, I write for several Czech-language magazines dedicated to military history, plus I run my own FB group about interesting military planes and tanks. I'm interested mainly in Second World War, but I won't refuse learning about something more modern either! I'm also avid gamer and flight sim aficionado.

I found this forum when I was looking for some info for my new blog and since it looks like there's a lot of interesting stuff here, I'll definitely stay for while!

 

[baytan99]

Hi e veryone. Great platform for me to learn and inspring ideas.

 

[TooWordy]

I am the owner and first moderator of this site. My name is Paul Martell-Mead, I am 32, and live in London, England. I work in IT, but I am very interested in military aviation technology and have built up a large database of knowledge on this subject. I post as "overscan" or "aerospacetech" on various aviation forums.

I recently got married in New Zealand and plan to move there eventually with my New Zealand wife, Vanessa.

[note this information is 14 years out of date - see this post - Admin]

My name is Ben Sharp. I am 65, from the states, once government service, USA, during the Reagan period to start. Been around the world a few times (not to brag just factual),and disabled since the day I discovered , much to my regret that an aircraft will NOT remain airborne indefinitely under all conditions. Had a wife no longer and not in the market. As of the current date, my state Oklahoma, is in the midst of THE coldest period since statehood , expecting -15F low and no desire to do it again, thank you.

 

[TooWordy]

Another new member from the Midwest USA. Have been an aviation and secret project buff since the 80s.
I attended aviation maint school but currently work in wireless as an engineering manager.

As a side note I actually found this site when searching for old copies if International Combat Arms magazine from the 80s.

Ha! I have a collection of those things I bought off ebay years ago. I'd originally bought issues when they were published but they got lost along the way. One day I was hunting for the latest issue in the magazine section of a local grocery store and spotted a book with an interesting white cover named, "The Hunt for the Red October" and bought it on impulse. At the time nobody had heard of Tom Clancy. Brings back memories.

My first Clancy book was Cardinal of the Kremlin. I read Red October after seeing the movie. Never made that mistake again. Sad story with Tom. I miss his writing.

 

[safsadfsadfsafadfsdaf]

Hi Everybody! My Name is Sam and from Iran. I'm 28 year

 

[T. A. Gardner]

Hello everyone,

I've got a long history of posting on various military history boards, and found this site while researching advanced military technology projects from 1935 to 55 for a potential book. I've seen some good stuff on this board occasionally on those topics before signing up, and think I can add to that and on other subjects as well.
I think there are some here who can point me to new material on such subjects, just as I likely have some myself.

On a personal note, I'm twice retired and live in Phoenix AZ.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Welcome to the recent arrivals!

 

[HaloCE]

Hi everyone!
I am Diego, 24 years old, currently working as a software developer.
I am really interested in military airplanes, ships and armored vehicles.

 

[jerry.p.smith]

G'Day, Jerry here introducing myself. I've been a Project Manager for many years, with too many interests! Primary among them are Military Aviation, PC's, Motorcycles, Cats and Beer. Current projects include a 1/72 U-Boat model I have been researching for about 5 years (and I may start building it one day). I am also doing some Sketch-Up projects including Pearl Harbour on Dec 6th 1941, a Ju-388 and the Dora 1 U-Boat bunker in Trondheim, Norway, along with a few other side projects. I have been going to Air Shows and reading books about aviation almost since I learned to read. The first aircraft model was a paper mache SR-71 in Primary school! have an extensive library, and many many photos. Happy to help where I can with Gloster Aircraft Company as I am not far from the Gloster Aircraft Museum (when it re-opens).

 

[MyQuillRose]

I am Paul, age 31, from the Philippines. Journalist as a profession, but I worked as a researcher in a company specialised in agriculture, technology (including big data and smart cities). Interests include sketching, politics, alternate history, science fiction, and technology (includes military tech).

 

[jimduck]

Hi everybody,
I'm Jim a retired structural engineer and now a keen aeroplane modeller and I live in Southampton, UK. I make rubber powered and electric powered aircraft.
I was reading a book on MiG aircraft since 1939 and came across the MiG 8 and am now considering it for my next project.

 

[NMaude]

Hello i'm Nicholas and i've had an interest in various British aircraft projects from the 50s and 60s that were cancelled in particular ones such as the SR.177 and the HS P.1154RAF/RN and the Hawker P.1121, I found out about a lot of them in from Derek Woods excellent book "Project Cancelled".

 

[XoXSciFiGuy]

Hello, my name is Robert and I'm from a small town near Seattle, WA USA. I work a regular job and on the side I write hard science fiction sometimes. I've always had an interest in the famous British Spitfire, and love the film 'Battle of Britain'. When I write about space and rockets and the like, I try to keep the science reasonably honest. When I'm not working or writing, I go camping and fishing a lot around the Great Northwest.

 

[NMaude]

I work a regular job and on the side I write hard science fiction sometimes.

Have you published any of them?

 

[XoXSciFiGuy]

I work a regular job and on the side I write hard science fiction sometimes.

Have you published any of them?

Yes. But I'm not here to promote my books. That wouldn't be kosher.

 

[raconnel]

Hi, my name is Richard. I'm a long time aviation lover living about an hour and a half south of NASA Langley. I'm very interested in experimental types from the '40s and '50s.

 

[vavia]

Hello for all!
I am Max, living in Venice (Italy) age 45 year, profession mechatronic....more passion for jets and military vehicle.....

 

[Acephalus]

Greetings!
My name is Telêmaco, I live in Brazil and I'm 35 years old.
As a child I lived close to the headquarters of the defunct airline VARIG, which made me interested in the subject and turned me into an aviation fanatic since I was 7 years old.
For a long time I have seen this forum when I research something about aviation on the internet. This time I made the decision to register, in order to learn more about the unbuilt aviation projects. I like this subject since I bought Bill Gunston's book "The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft" many years ago.
Thank you all.

 

[NamedUser_]

Salutations to members of the board here.
The name's Jackson (or just Jack if you prefer), currently living in the US and 21 years old.
Ever since I was a child, I've been interested in military history, more specifically- aviation history. Doesn't help that I live about 5 or so miles away from my state's Air National Guard base so I would often see those F-16s taking off. There's always been something liberating to fly into the deep blue sky, without a worry of the ground. Sounds stupid? Eh, maybe.
I've been a lurker to this site and I have decided to finally come out of the shadows and join this wonderful community.
I am very excited for this.

 

[Killnoizer]

Hello , we 2 are from Germany, Hannover City , aged over 50 and both active in some military car groups .
We spent our Holidays near army Airfields for spotting planes and we like to build plastic Modells too ...

 

[coldwarpod]

Hi,

My name is Ian Sanders and I'm the Host and Producer of the Cold War Conversations Podcast where we cover aviation-related subjects.

I came here via a search for details on SAC and have been enjoying the posts.

I have just interviewed the author of a new book on Gagarin and the race to put a human in space. An absolutely fascinating book. I thought I knew the Gagarin story, but learnt a huge amount.

Thanks for having me!

 

[CMJ]

Hi,

I'm Patrick from France and I'm in charge of the aircraft designer Marcel Jurca's legacy (archives, plans for builders and constructions followup). I fly a Jurca MJ-5 Sirocco and currently build a MJ-51C Sperocco. I also provide the French homebuilders/restorers with information through Les Cahiers du brA (www.rsafrance.com) and on the main page, you'll find my homebuilder catalog (700 pages with 249 designs available for French builders).

Blue Sky!

Patrick
www.marcel-jurca.com

 

[Gould3524]

Hello Everyone!
My name is Jared. I'm 34 years old and from California (diablo valley area). I love airplanes and have a thing for civillian airliners. I was a flight attendant for Virgin America and Alaska Air where I worked on our A319, A320, A321neo, and Boeing 737 aircraft. I am VERY interested in airline concepts of the past and vintage passenger aircraft (I love looking at pictures and watching videos that show the cabin interiors). The first time I flew when I was a little kid was on a L-1011 which is when my interest in aviation began

 

[Resister1976]

I'm a common man who is from the Easten Asia
I like to design the small stealth aircraft,and other weapon which is used by the guerrilla detachment.

 

[Slerski]

Hi everyone, I'm Vincent, 34 y.o. and I'm from the country who used to design the most ugliest and the most beautiful planes, France !!

 

[iamacat]

I am here to lurk, thank you. I actually found the site because I wanted to know about the rumoured electrogavitics systems on the B2, turns out it's not real?

Anyway, I want to build and send an object to space, like a small space X. Looking over the discussions here should give me some insight.

Also, it seems kind of rare to come across an interesting forum with active posters. Most forums are dead these days.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Forums were an fairly early, relatively simple and accessible form of community site (much easier to access than IRC or Usenet).

With Facebook Groups and Reddit becoming hugely popular, it became trivially easy to stand up new "forums" for free, compared to the cost and complexity of installing and managing forum software on a server. A lot of the more casual forum users have been siphoned off into these other channels.

However, Secret Projects Forum has always combined discussion and reference material - so I wouldn't view it purely as a forum. It also means that it has a memory, unlike most Facebook Groups for example which cyclically repeat the exact same posts over and over again from newly arrived members. Also Facebook Groups are so easy to make, they tend to splinter and duplicate endlessly.

The forum format seems to be working for us still - visitor numbers are trending slowly upwards, not down.