DUNE BUGGY VS. B-1B; VEHICLE TAKES ROLE OF TANK IN TEST RUNS.Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer The request was a bit odd, but 2nd Lt. Nicholas Hardman made the argument that it was in the Air Force's best interest to acquire a dune dune, mound or ridge of wind-blown sand formed in arid regions and along coasts. Dunes are common in most of the great deserts of the world. Often a dune begins to form because material is deposited by the wind as it encounters a bush, a rock, or other obstacle to buggy Refers to software that contains many flaws. Many in the software industry swear that bugs are inevitable, and perhaps they are right. As long as we work in the competitive, pressure-cooker environment of our high-tech world, products will more often than not be developed too hastily and . The B-1B bomber flight-test team wanted a tank on which to test a system for tracking moving targets. Instead of going through the effort of acquiring a tank, shipping it to Edwards and operating it, Hardman hit on the idea of equipping a dune buggy to simulate a tank. It cost $7,200 to acquire the Volkswagen-powered dune buggy and get it fully equipped, saving the Air Force $62,000. ``It's cheaper than driving a tank around here,'' Hardman said. ``We look like a tank to them, but we're cheaper.'' The moving-target system is intended to track vehicles traveling as fast as 65 mph. The system will allow bomber crews Noun 1. bomber crew - the crew of a bomber bomber aircrew air crew, aircrew - the crew of an aircraft bombardier - the member of a bomber crew responsible for using the bombsight and releasing the bombs on the target to deliver nonprecision weapons - bombs without guidance system - closer to moving targets. The dune buggy is equipped with a global positioning system Global Positioning System: see navigation satellite. Global Positioning System (GPS) Precise satellite-based navigation and location system originally developed for U.S. military use. receiver, which uses signals from satellites to pinpoint its precise location. The data from the GPS is recorded by a laptop computer. On top of the dune buggy is a radar corner reflector 1. A device, normally consisting of three metallic surfaces or screens perpendicular to one another, designed to act as a radar target or marker. 2. In radar interpretation, an object which, by means of multiple reflections from smooth surfaces, produces a radar return of , a sort of cap made of sheet metal that makes the tiny, tube-framed dune buggy look as big as an armored tank to the bomber's radar. After test runs, in which no bombs will be dropped, the data from the dune buggy is compared with the information from the B-1B showing where the target system thought the vehicle was during the bombing run Noun 1. bombing run - that part of the flight that begins with the approach to the target; includes target acquisition and ends with the release of the bombs bombing, bombardment - an attack by dropping bombs . Prior to a set of test runs Wednesday, someone put a sign on the dune buggy that read ``rat patrol This article is about the bicycle club. For the American TV show, see The Rat Patrol. For the track by They Might Be Giants, see Long Tall Weekend. Rat Patrol is an anarchist based out of Chicago. ,'' a reference to the 1960s TV series, ``The Rat Patrol,'' about two Jeep units fighting the Germans in North Africa during World War II. The tests are being conducted on Rogers Dry Lake, which, after the El Nino rainstorms, is now dry enough for the dune buggy, but not yet ready for aircraft landings. The testing started in March and is expected to be finished in July. A second round of testing is slated to begin in October. ``It's a fun twist,'' Hardman said of the dune buggy tests. ``It's a bit different from engineering.'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1-2--Color) Above, from left, Lts. David McDaniel David Edward McDaniel (June 16, 1939 - November 1, 1977) was a US science fiction author, who also wrote spy fiction, including several novels based upon the television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. and Sam Shifflett drive a dune buggy at Rogers Dry Lake on Wednesday during a test of a moving-target tracking system for a B-1B bomber. At left, the bomber passes over the vehicle, outfitted to register as a tank on the tracking system. No bombs were dropped. Jeff Goldwater/Daily News |
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