Photo Credit: KIM JAE-HWAN/AFP/Getty Images

Princess Juliana began life as a military airstrip in 1942 and became a civilian airport shortly thereafter. Just how close is the landing strip to the beach and the road? This close:

The airport is located on the Dutch half of the island: the eastern part of Saint Martin belongs to France and has its own airport. You’ve probably seen plenty of photos of the big blue KLM 747’s swooping in, but Josef Hoflener’s black and white series, one of which you can see above, treats the scene with a level of artistry (and a generous helping of bikini-clad women) rarely seen anywhere else.

Another way to capture the surreality is to use a cellular phone, adding a frightening immediacy to the landing:

And as if you needed telling, HEAVY JETS ARE DANGEROUS and can cause EXTREME BODILY HARM:

Photo Credit: Josef Hoflener, Jj04/Wikipedia

Mr. Popovich is not your typical repo man scouring the streets in a nondescript Super Duty F-250 with lynching chains on the back. Instead, he spends his time traveling the globe in search of the next big treasure. That treasure? Millionaire's winged play things.

Popovich has kept his multi-million dollar repossession firm running for twenty plus years with his wife Sage and he's collected quite the bounty over the years. His biggest catch has been the 747, of which he's nabbed 1,300 over the years. With the rest of his crew from Sage-Popovich they've managed to capture 2,000 delinquent airplanes from crooked French businessmen, South American arms dealers and everything in between. He's spent time in jail because of this job and he's almost been killed multiple times.

One of the largest single jobs he and his firm have tackled was the repossession of a fleet of corporate helicopters from flight school chain, Silver State, netting him a nice six-figure payment. They captured all of them using 125 flatbed trucks to haul out the 240 helicopters from 51 different Silver State locations as well as everything else they could grab including spare parts, computers and furniture.

There are many more wild stories that Popovich tells in Salon's article which you can read HERE. (Hat Tip To Less Lincoln!)
[via salon] Image credit: Flickr

Yep, 10 years ago he managed to buy a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter for $25,000, and he and his buddies have spent the years since turning it into the world's fastest hot rod.

The goal is to break the land speed record last year, shooing for 800MPH. He's got competition from more professional and better-funded groups, but come on. We've got to pull for the most extreme garage tinkerer in the country. Kick some ass, Ed! [NY Times

I know what you're all thinking; "What happened to my Jalopnik??" Don't worry, we're not a fully engaged Planelopnik just yet, but we had to show you this newest iteration of the F-15. It's a Jalopnik-esque story of a beat up and forgotten platform, that's been revamped and re-engineered to compete with the newest bad boys on the scene, the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Boeing is marketing the new F-15 Silent Eagle for the international set that want to get into the modern jet age, but don't have access to our newest, greatest ninja toys. The customers that Boeing has aimed its sights at are Israel, Japan, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and South Korea, which are all current F-15 customers.

Boeing has significantly re-worked the aeronautic design of the jet, though the overall profile remains familiar. Most noticeable are the new canted vertical V-tails that not only improve aerodynamic efficiency, but provide additional lift and critically reduce airframe weight. Also attributing to the improved aerodynamic profile is the Digital Flight Control System, which allows for much greater pilot control and feedback.

The ninja factor of the F-15 Silent Eagle is not anywhere near the stealth features designed into the F-22 or even the F-117 Nighthawk, but Boeing has improved certain design treatments as well as using a special coating on the jet's exterior to help deflect enemy radar. The single largest improvement to the F-15 Silent Eagle is the new conformal fuel tanks (CFT) that give the jet the capability to carry its air-to-air AIM-9 and AIM-120 missles and the air-to-ground weapons, Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and the Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) inside the tank, dramatically cleaning up the exterior radar signature. It can also carry the traditional F-15 armament attached to the wings and under belly, making the F-15 Silent Eagle a truly configurable jet. Boeing is planning an in-flight test launch of this system in 2010.

Boeing is not officially marketing the F-15 Silent Eagle to its largest customer, the U.S. Air Force; but has announced the ability to retrofit any existing F-15 with the new system. If you're buying new, Boeing is estimating that the total cost, including air frame, spare parts and training will run around $100 million per unit. You won't find us buzzing around in one of these, but while we're wooing "Maximum" Bob Lutz, we thought we'd bring this 'Countach of the Sky' to his (and your) attention.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled Jalopnik.

Boeing Press Release:

ST. LOUIS, March 17, 2009 — The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today in St. Louis unveiled the F-15 Silent Eagle (F-15SE), a new F-15 configuration designed to meet the future needs of international customers.

"The F-15 Silent Eagle is designed to meet our international customers' anticipated need for cost-effective stealth technologies, as well as for large and diverse weapons payloads," said Mark Bass, F-15 Program vice president for Boeing. "The innovative Silent Eagle is a balanced, affordable approach designed to meet future survivability needs."

Improvements in stealth include coatings and treatments on the aircraft. With the added advantage of redesigned conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) that allow for internal weapons carriage, the Silent Eagle becomes a very attractive fighter for Boeing's international customers.

Depending on the specific mission, the customer can use the CFTs that are designed for internal carriage or change back to the traditional CFTs for optimum fuel capacity and external weapons carriage. The Silent Eagle will be able to internally carry air-to-air missiles such as the AIM-9 and AIM-120 and air-to-ground weapons such as the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and Small Diameter Bomb (SDB). The standard weapons load used on current versions of the F-15 is available with the traditional CFTs installed.

The aircraft's canted vertical tails improve aerodynamic efficiency, provide lift, and reduce airframe weight. Another aerodynamic improvement is the Digital Flight Control System, which improves the aircraft's reliability and reduces airframe weight.

Survivability improvements include a BAES Digital Electronic Warfare System (DEWS) working in concert with the Raytheon Advanced Electronic Scanning Array (AESA) radar.

Boeing has completed a conceptual prototype of the CFT internal-carriage concept, and plans to flight-test a prototype by the first quarter of 2010, including a live missile launch.

The design, development, and test of this internal carriage system are available as a collaborative project with an international aerospace partner.

[via Boeing, FlightGlobal, YouTube]

Sure the power band is shaped funny, the in-cabin heat probably leaves you with extra crispy legs, and your friends complain about the melted paint on their minivans, but we would not care. Jet powered se7en. Totally flippin' awesome. [madabout-kitcars.com - you sure are]

I mean, there's already the Honda Jet. Comfortable, safe planes with the names that are the approximation of English words are on the horizon. [AFP via Breitbart.com]

The build came in the form of a US Air Force surplus General Electric J47-19 jet engines in a B36-H bomber engine pod planted on the roof of a modified Budd commuter car with a custom made, fitted cowling. On a high speed test run between in 1966 between Butler, IN and Stryker, OH, the M-497 reached a top speed of 183.681 mph - still the current high speed record for light rail in the United States. With the rails proven capable of high speed transit, the experimental was dismantled and the M497 returned to civilian duty as an NYC commuter car, running the route between Poughkeepsie and Harmon for Metro North where it live until its sale to Conrail in May 1976. In an undignified end, the car was cannibalized for parts in Dec. 1977 and scrapped by Metro-North in 1984. We can't help but think the fate of this historical car draws a certain parallel to the past and future history of rail travel in the United States. {read more at American Heritage]