AEROPLANE TO AEROPLANO

     Besides the references to the controversial figure of Italian "monk" Enzo Bianchi and his opinions on the matter, that could escape non-Italian, non-Catholic readers (and probably will), the following article is interesting because it directs the attention of the readers to the political aspect of an act which, besides being repulsive in itself, is only apparently an individual selfless action, inspired by a religious belief (not to say that selflessness is necessarily good), but it is just another weapon in the panoply of warriors. Your comments will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Leonardo Pavese      A Political Calculation      By Roberto Dal Bosco      (Translated and edited by L. Pavese).      The self-immolations in Tibet, to protest the Chinese presence in the region, are continuing. Yesterday (4/25/2013), three new cases of monks and civilians who set fire to themselves wer...

“It is certainly German. Its wings bearing the black crosses reveal it; but it’s a very odd bird. It’s running away at full speed. It’s really extraordinary: it has a cruciform empennage, but it looks like it not only has a forward propeller but also a pushing one behind the stabilizers, at the end of the tail.” Do-335 This is how Pierre Clostermann described his first encounter with the Dornier Do 335 Pfeil, over the Elbe River, in April of 1945. Ten years earlier, Alberto Jona had designed an astonishingly similar heavy fighter, the J.10. The  drawing of the J.10 that was filed  in 1935. By Roberto Gentilli  (translated by L. Pavese) The drawing of the first patent, # 342987, which was filed on June 22, 1935, depicts a large single-seat, monoplane, retractable-gear fighter. The projected aircraft was powered by an air-cooled radial engine, mounted in the conventional position in the nose, and by a fuselage mounted, in-line eng...