Communiqué Blackwater Airships By Dana Richardson The Blackwater Polar 400 hovers during a test flight above it s hanger in Elizabeth City, N.C. Airship Flies BW Armory Expansion Monster Meets Grizzly January 2008
Rising to New Heights!!! By Dana Richardson The history of the blimp dates back to 1783. These early blimps maintained their shape by internal gas pressure and are considered a nonrigid blimp design. Later, blimps were given a semi-rigid design, by adding a lightweight frame along the bottom of the blimp. The next major improvement being the semi-rigid dirigible airship. This rigid design freed the blimp's envelope of the need for internal pressure to maintain its shape. To date, this has been the basic design of blimps up to the present. Since 2006, Blackwater Airships has been working to accomplish a mission set to build a remotely-piloted airship vehicle (RPAV) to improve technology and assist in the market of airships. Blackwater brings airships beyond the technology of ones like the Hindenburg shown here, circa 1937. Destroyed by a catastrophic explosion, traditional airships like this one required a large crew to pull down and tether the aircraft. Due to innovative technology, the Polar 400 can remain aloft even after a puncture and requires only a small crew to secure the airship after landing. In the early 1900's, there was great interest by the military to use blimps. By World War II, non-rigid, helium-filled balloons were being used for patrolling, hunting submarines, and escorting convoys. However, when the U.S. military started increasing its use of helicopters, they halted the use of blimps for reasons including storage, construction and maintenance. Blackwater intends for its airships to be the low-cost and longer-operating alternatives to other unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) widely used by each branch of the military. With a few engineering innovations, Blackwater hopes to turn a time-tested platform into a modern tool for combating terrorism and other 21st-century needs. The Polar 400 Airship is soundly engineered, flexible in design, and easy to maintain. The airship was configured to allow rapid and economic integration for established and recently available technologies. A key feature of this new design includes the multiple thrusters of its groundbreaking hydraulic propulsion system, which provides excellent low-speed control and maneuverability, along with easier ground handling compared to traditional airships. The Polar 400 is piloted by remote control from the ground, negating the risk of injury to its crew unlike the Hindenburg disaster that killed 35 in 1937. The unique design of the Blackwater Polar 400 is an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) that will revolutionize persistent surveillance and other long-duration missions. The propulsion system gives it the capability to loiter over a desired location with excellent low-speed maneuverability, along with an ability to fly up to 50 knots, moving quickly to and from a target area. The airship can carry intelligence-gathering cameras, sensors and communications gear for counter terrorism, counter narcotics and border security operations. It features maneuverability and mobility like the familiar fixed-wing UAS but with persistence measured in days. It can operate for 48 hours and at altitudes ranging from 5,000 to 12,000 feet.
Blackwater s airships offer many advantages to a tactical environment including rapid deployment, can be transported in a standard 40-ft. shipping container, and the initial model will have manned capability for transit. The airship provides stable and low vibration platform, utilizes readily available Jet A1 or diesel fuel, and the vectored thrust that gives the airship vertical short take-off and landing (VSTOL) capabilities. With the major components located in the payload module utilizing many common airship components, many off-the-shelf commercial parts, making the Polar 400 easy to maintain. Blackwater Airships was pleased to announce the success of the recent initial test flights. The first flight was 45 minutes conducted on Thursday, November 8, 2007. The second 45-minute flight followed on Monday, November 12th. Both flights were manned by an experienced airship pilot and a flight observer to record flight data. This test excited the crew. "It's very responsive. It's the most maneuverable blimp I've ever flown," Blackwater test pilot Doug McFadden explains. Following further demonstrations, the program will move into the pre-production phase in early 2008. In the coming weeks, Blackwater will continue to test, innovate, and prepare the Polar 400 for production in 2008. A Glynco blimp lands on an aircraft carrier during testing. The potential uses were deeply explored during the 1950s by the U.S. Navy with limited use. Photo courtesy of DHS.
The Blackwater Armory Expands By Jennifer Granoff Why is the armory changing at Blackwater Worldwide? More contracts, a growing inventory of firearms and additional training classes are all contributing factors to the expansion. The armory was originally built with 1,800 square feet, roughly increasing to 2,700 square feet taking 30 days to complete, says armory chief Bill Kirkland. Training has significantly increased over the past year by three to four particular groups a month from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. Marines and the U.S. Coast Guard. The greater demand for firearm rentals is cause for increasing Blackwater s inventory from less than 2,000 to more than 3,000 rifles, pistols, and shotguns. Among the armorers are Bill Kirkland, Alan Alligood, Lee Estes and Roger Luff. Combined they have more than 60 factory armorer certifications. Some examples of firearms that they can repair include Sig Sauer, Colt, Remington and Glock. Each armorer is trained to repair all current military firearms as well as most available in the civilian market. Hands-on experience provides them with the ability to repair so many firearms, explains Bill Kirkland. The most common type of repair is parts replacement. Civilians who train with their own firearms typically have more extensive repairs, more so if they decide to assemble guns like the AR themselves. Malfunctions are extremely common with weapons; however, there are some ways to help prevent some common occurrences. Do not, under any circumstance, try to put the weapon together yourself when it says to take it to a professional. According to Bill, people think that because their gun may have been torture tested, they don t feel like they have to care of it. You need to clean your firearm each time it is fired. The most crucial prevention for keeping your weapon from malfunctioning is cleanliness. Airship Flies BW Armory Expansion Monster Meets Grizzly Above: Bill Kirkland, Blackwater armory supervisor brings 23 years of military experience to customers. Graduating an armorer course doesn t guarantee quality service which is why only highly-experienced armorers work on his staff. Photo by E.R. Poole Below: The mobile armory is a vehicle that transports repair service to clients on the range, maximizing the amount of time the customer spends on the range. On average, six to eight times a day the mobile armory is in transit. Photo by E.R. Poole Beyond the standard weaponry seen at Blackwater on a regular basis, each armorer possesses special skills making them vital assets to clients. Lee Estes works with a number of heavy weapons like the Mini Gun, Bill Kirkland capabilities extend to older military weapons such as the Beretta, M14, M1 Garand and the 1911. Alan Alligood s expertise includes the hunting rifle and bolt guns and Roger Luff enjoys dealing with HK firearms. The gentlemen are on call 24/7. They work every Saturday for as many as 12 hours and even some Sundays taking shifts. Whenever needed, all four are there with smiling faces. Being kept informed makes their job smoother. Whether it is being called on the radio, e-mail or even just stopping by to let them know what changes to reservations have been made. Communication goes a long way with their job.
Monster Trucker Grizzly Mk III 6-WHEELER!!! The Latest Grizzly Variant is Tested on OBX Dunes By Eric R. Poole I know a place, says famed Grave Digger creator, owner and driver Dennis Anderson. We re going to go out to a place I call Little Africa on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We can run along the beach and climb a bunch of dunes with this thing. Airship Flies BW Armory Expansion Monster Meets Grizzly SAND DUNES SPEED and SLIDES!!! A monster truck driver since 1981, Dennis and his many Grave Diggers have a lot in common with Blackwater s Grizzly. Although the Grizzly doesn t look much like a Grave Digger monster truck, it does share commonalities that makes this experience special. The first of each were created in an old garage with a lot of trial and error. Anderson pieced together his early monster trucks from discarded vehicles and testing ideas on making a vehicle of large proportions more dynamic. The first Grizzly prototypes were built on Ford, Chevy and bus chassis, none providing the right solution. Both the Grizzly and the Grave Digger feature a center drive, meaning that Dennis feels right at home while crushing everything in his path. In a recent visit, Anderson brought a film crew from Monster Jam and toured the manufacturing plant at Blackwater s headquarters in Moyock, N.C. It wasn t long before he jumped inside to get familiar with the 20-ton armored personnel carrier. Hop inside and let s go! A few Blackwater manufacturing employees came along for the ride and was shocked as to how quickly he became comfortable driving it. Once peeling out of facility, he ended up pushing the latest six-wheeled version of Blackwater s Grizzly along the highway at speed until reaching the outer banks. You can t drive that car where we re going, you better climb into the Grizzly, he says to those of us who followed in a mid-size car. We drove out onto the beach where he pushed the Grizzly along the sand at more than 55 miles-per-hour. We ve got about 10 more miles and it s going to get thick. A lot of trucks get stuck out here. We stopped and dropped the tire pressure down to 25 pounds for traction in the dunes. With more than 40,000 pounds resting on six tires, Blackwater engineers were excited to see that the Grizzly never bogged down. ABOVE Grave Digger-owner Dennis Anderson drives the Grizzly like a monster truck as he put the latest Grizzly variant through a rigorous test on Speed s T.V. Show Monster Jams. Photo by E.R. Poole BELOW Monster Jam host Dennis Anderson interviews Blackwater s John Tool Freeman before testing the new six-wheel Grizzly on North Carolina s sandy beaches. Photo by E. R. Poole Upon arrival to the northern part of the outer banks, we had already witnessed the Grizzly manage rigorous driving through sand and mud. Anderson wasn t afraid to push this vehicle up steep and unsteady inclines or along the water. Alright get out and be prepared to take some pictures of the Grizzly on the other side of that dune, Dennis says as he points of in the distance.
We piled over and stood off the road with our cameras ready. What was once a quiet moment of ocean air coming in off a calm breeze was interrupted by the sounds of a diesel engine being throttled. Showing its underbelly, someone next to me exclaimed, Look at that! He s almost got both front wheels off the ground! The evening fell on a long afternoon watching Anderson drive the Grizzly like a monster truck. It seemed as though he was a kid with a new toy as he crashed over trees and bushes and jumped from one dune to another. He s known for awe-inspiring free-style jumps and crashes. Watching him pound the Grizzly caused me to wonder if he treated every vehicle he owns this way. Before handing the keys back to Blackwater, he concluded That s about as much fun as someone in my business can have. From Blackwater Manufacturing s perspective, The Grizzly has never been driven that way. To survive a day with the Grave Digger, it only makes sense that a vehicle is built as tough as the Blackwater Grizzly.