The flying car

If you are dreaming of a car that can also fly in case of traffic jams, it could soon come true as the United States aviation authority has given its green signal for the commercial production of such a vehicle.
The vehicle 'Terrafugia Transition' is a two-seater car that can convert from road to air in less than a minute, without the driver leaving the vehicle.
Developed by former NASA engineers and built by a small American company from Massachusetts, Terrafugia Inc, the vehicle can travel at speeds of up to 90 mph in car mode with its wings folded.
The wings then unfold for flight mode in which it can cruise at a speed of 115 mph for up to 500 miles on a tank of unleaded gasoline, the Telegraph reported.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted the Transition an exemption -- allowing it to be classified as a 'light sport aircraft' despite being 120 pound over the limit.
The 'roadable aircraft', which is powered by the same 100-bhp engine whether it is on the ground or in the air, will require a 'Sport Pilot license' to fly.
It can take off or land at any public use general aviation airport with at least 2,500 feet of runway.
According to its manufacturer, one of the major advantages of the Transition over ordinary light aircraft is safety, as in the event of inclement weather, it can simply drive home instead of either being grounded or flying in unsafe conditions.
With a deposit money of $10,000 (Rs 460,000), nearly 70 people have already booked the car which is expected to cost $194,000 (about Rs 90 lakh), the company said.
Founded in 2006 by award-winning Massachusetts Institute of Technology-trained aeronautical engineers and management whizkids, Terrafugia is a company with a mission: to provide innovative solutions to the challenges facing personal aviation.
The result: the Transition Roadable Aircraft.

Its unique design allows the Transition to fold its wings and drive on any surface road with a modern personal airplane platform.
Once at the airport, the wings extend and the aircraft is ready.
Powered testing of the Proof of Concept has been ongoing since the second half of 2008.
Construction, testing and certification of the Production Prototype will follow completion of the Proof of Concept's testing programme.

To date, Terrafugia remains privately funded by a group of accredited individual investors.
The company is based just outside Boston in Woburn, Massachusetts, USA.
Performance

• Cruise: 100 kts (115 mph)
• Rotate: 70 kts (80 mph)
• Fuel burn: 5 gph (gallons per hour)
• Fuel tank: 20 gallons
• Useful load: 430 lbs
• On road: 30 miles per gallon, highway speeds
• Light Sport Aircraft (LSA)

1 US gallon = 3.78 litres
Convenience

• Front wheel drive on the ground
• Automotive-style entry and exit
• Automated electromechanical folding wing
• No trailer or hangar needed
• Cargo area holds skis, fishing poles or golf clubs

Safety

• Drive in case of inclement weather
• Proven 100 hp Rotax 912S engine
• Full vehicle parachute available
• Modern glass avionics
• Automotive crash safety features

Dimensions
Folded:

• 6 feet 9 inches tall
• 6 feet 8 inches wide
• 18 feet 9 inches long

Airplane:

• 6 feet 3 inches tall
• 19 feet 2 inches long

Wingspan:

• 27 fee 6 inches

Cockpit:

• 51 inches at the shoulder

Terrafugia Transition can take off or land at any public use general aviation airport with at least 2,500 feet of runway.
On the ground, the Transition can be driven on any road and parked in a standard parking space or household garage. Once on the ground, with the wings folded, the vehicle can be driven on any road.
The Transition is powered by a certified aircraft engine that runs on unleaded automotive gasoline. Perfect for trips between 100 and 500 miles, the Transition is not designed to replace anyone's automobile.
After landing, the pilot activates the electro-mechanical wing folding mechanism from inside the cockpit.
The wings fold, once at the root and once at the mid-span, and are stowed vertically on the sides of the vehicle in less than 30 seconds.
Simultaneously, the engine power is directed to the front wheels with a continuously variable transmission.
Before flying, the pilot extends the wings and performs a standard preflight. The engine power is directed to the propeller for flight through a carbon fibre drive shaft.
If bad weather is encountered en route, the pilot can land and drive without worrying about ground transportation.
At the destination airport the pilot can fold the wings and drive off the airfield without having to move bags or arrange for additional transportation.

Driving and flying can be combined between multiple airports as it is not necessary to take off and land at the same field.

High tides in mumbai

The Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has alerted a high tide of 4.70 metres at 1521 hours on Wednesday.

"Any tide above 4.5 metres is coupled with heavy rains and is a matter of concern," Joint Municipal Commissioner S S Shinde said.

Another tide of 4.07 metres is expected at 1421 hours, the civic body said.

"We appeal to Mumbaikars not to venture into the sea and stay away from the coastline area as a high tide has been predicted today," Shinde added.

The civic body had earlier said that the city would witness high tides measuring about 4.70 metres till June 17.

In the month of June, there will be tides from June 13 to 17 measuring between 4.58 m to 4.73 m, the BMC had said.

Heavy rains coupled with strong winds lashed the city and its suburbs on Wednesday, disrupting air and rail traffic and leading to water logging in many areas.

The city received 60.77 mm rainfall since Tuesday. Colaba in south Mumbai received 78.6 mm and suburban Santacruz received 95.0 mm, the MET department said.

On July 26, 2005, the metropolis saw unprecedented floods as 944 mm of rainfall coincided with a 4.48 m tide.

ANYTHING ON EARTH!!!!!!!!!: Terrorism today

ANYTHING ON EARTH!!!!!!!!!: Terrorism today

Terrorism today

The world , as you know is infected with terrorists who are brainwashed by their so called mentors to Do Or DIE.

I have a question....

If dieing for your ideologies is so easy why are the so called terrorist leaders alive today. they should have setup an example & died before brainwashing thousands of innocent teens to be human bombs or to die while on a killing spree. what is achieced by this?

The best eaxample of this is Kasab who is sentenced to death by the Indian Judiciary for killing hundreds of innocent people on the streets of Mumbai. What did he get out of it?

Can anybody explain to me what is behind all this brainless ideologies. I just cannot understand.

Judgement Day for Kasab-the Killing Machine

At around 12.15 pm, Judge Madan Tahilyani arrived late in the courtroom which was packed to the capacity. He was about to deliver the verdict on the case known as the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. This was the unique case where a Pakistani national Ajmal Kasab was tried in a terrorism case in India .

It was the case where India and Pakistan are engaged in high-level diplomacy. This is the case whose potential is still unfolding.

This is the case which India is showcasing to Pakistan that in India the 'rule of law' prevails and court judgements are free and fair. This is the case whose verdict will bleed many families in Pakistan because they know their children died for a useless and fruitless cause which was not worth fighting for.

Kasab, the main accused, came minutes after court started. He was gheraoed by policemen as soon as he sat next to Fahim on the bench. He was wearing a white salwar kameez, clean but wrinkled. He had a little stubble on his face. He kept looking at the floor. For almost next 90 minutes he didn't move. Not even once did he turn around to look at the media's enclosure to his left. When the court proceedings began on May 8, 2009, Kasab used to look into eyes of many media men and women frequently. The judge used to reprimand him for his playful conduct.

But since last the few months, his solitary confinement is having an effect. Ramesh Mahale, chief investigating officer, disagrees. He claims Kasab is playing smart. He says, "Only in the courtroom, before the media, he is 'acting'. Otherwise he behaves normally."

However, on Monday, when he was about to be declared guilty Kasab sat on the bench like a wooden statue. No emotions and no eye contact. It's difficult to judge anyone correctly without having eye contact.

This lone-surviving Pakistani accused, who has a Rs 300 million security operation around him, was the centre of attraction.

Judge Tahilyani took his own time to read the final verdict. He ensured that television journalists kept patience and listened to him. He forbade the media from leaving court till his entire explanation was over. This courtroom has many air conditioners, a fine audio system and full-proof security.

He told journalists, who wanted to flash the news of Kasab's conviction, "Don't leave the room till I give permission." Tahilyani has his way of handling situation with a carrot and stick approach.

Before pronouncing the historic verdict, the judge told Kasab to stand up in his box.

Then, in Hindi he told Kasab that, "Aap ke khilaf khun karne ki aur saazish karne ka aarop hai. (You were charged for murder and conspiracy) You are found guilty."

He also tried to educate journalists by giving a detailed account of his verdict. He said his verdict is 1,522 pages long. "I am not going to read the entire verdict," he said.

Then, he went on to explain in detail that since the case was so voluminous he has made it simpler by preparing 14 tables. That are attached to the verdict and all details of the tables are explained in the findings.

He said this case contained large numbers of casualties, arms and ammunitions so to sum up all details in context he has prepared tables.

Like the first table contained the nature of crime committed, which police company was assigned investigations and name of the police investigations under which place the crime falls. Table two gave entire details of 166 deaths in the attacks. A column in the table showed where they were killed, another column on nature of injuries.

The third table attached to the judgment showed 238 injured people's names and a column narrating the nature of injuries, details of medical examination/treatment.

Another table showed the details of medical reports, nature of injuries etc. One table showed a panchnama made of arms like AK-47 rifles and pistols. Table nine and ten showed details of all empties and bullets and cartridges found at the places of crime. The judge said that tables show details of seizures and comments of the ballistic reports. Table 14 showed various types of DNA tests that the court got.

Interestingly, Monday's judgment has accepted almost all the investigation into 26/11 except Arun Jhadhav, a Mumbai policeman's statement that the court found 'exaggerated'.

Jadhav was in the police vehicle in which senior police officers Hemant Karkare [ Images ], Vijay Salaskar and Ashok Kamte [ Images ] were killed. Also, the court has said it's not sure how Karkare and Kamte were killed because the bullets went through their bodies and empties found around didn't match with the terrorists' rifles.

As soon as judge started narrating how he has accepted that Kasab had forged an I-card of an Indian college and said he has convicted him for forgery, there was an excitement in the courtroom. The judge acknowledged that the US Federal Bureau of Investigations testimony was important. He said that the FBI's findings on the global positioning system used by the terrorists was vital. FBI's proof of how ten terrorists travelled from Karachi to Mumbai was accepted as evidence.

It was music to ears of Public Prosecutor Ujjawal Nikam when the judge, in his first half hour, kept saying, "I have accepted your case."

As he started accepting the evidence one by one, many knew, as expected, that Kasab will be pronounced guilty. The judge first talked about Kasab's offence of around 66 deaths under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. He said he found Kasab guilty of directly killing seven people that included policeman Tukaram Ombale. The judge said Kasab's rifle's bullets tally with those on these seven victims.

The court also said that 47 people were killed by Abu Ismail and Kasab. He says he appreciated the prosecution's evidence in this case. The court was very appreciative of photographer Sebastian D'Souza's testimony where he narrated how he took Kasab's picture while he on the killing spree at CST station.

One of the most important things that judge said while delivering the judgment was that he has accepted Kasab's statement made before a magistrate but he has also taken care to see that corroborative evidence is taken into account.

Kasab has retracted his statement that narrated his journey from Pakistan to India and his actions on 26/11. But the judge said Kasab's retraction is 'bald' without any reasons.

He said the law of prudence required that confessions of accused are corroborated by evidence. The judge assured that he has taken care of it. The court's decision was heavily depended on the confession of Kasab that was retracted.

The judge said he has accepted the evidence that Kasab was not at all under duress when he made the confession before the magistrate after his arrest. The court found him guilty of conspiracy charge also for which only circumstantial evidence exists.

The court has found Kasab guilty of deaths that occurred at other places also where he was not present.

The judge made 196 points in the 85-page summary of his 1,522-page judgment. The judge said, "These are crimes committed not by a normal criminal but by a committed man who wanted to wage war against India."