Free Republic

There are a lot of woolly, fabulous tales out there about Howard Hughes, the famously reclusive, eccentric billionaire. And the Wikipedia version of his life is not the only one that "needs additional citations for verification." The Martin Scorsese movie "The Aviator" recently advanced the images and legends of Hughes and his obsessive compulsions. Hughes officially died in April 1976, an emaciated, drug-addicted, long-haired, tragic, lonely old man who proved to some people money couldn't buy happiness. But not really, according to a new book, "Boxes: The Secret Life of Howard Hughes," by Douglas Wellman, assistant dean of the School...

A $1 billion solar plant approved in 2011 never delivered what it promised and closed last year. Solar farms are the new frontier in energy, with falling costs and myriad benefits. A combination of terrible management and simple technological advancement turned the plant into a dinosaur. ======================================================================= Bloomberg reports that a planned $1 billion solar plant was out of date and obsolete before it could even be completed. The Crescent Dunes plant opened outside of Las Vegas in 2015, when its technology was already behind, and the solar boom since then has completely eclipsed it. Now, the closed and...

Airbus A380 a bit too superjumbo Passenger plane is 5.5 tons overweight, customer reports By JAMES WALLACE P-I AEROSPACE REPORTER The Boeing Co.'s 787 Dreamliner is not the only jetliner in development that needs to go on a diet. The double-decker A380, the 555-passenger giant from Airbus that has been delayed for up to two years by what Airbus has said are wiring problems, is about 5.5 tons overweight, a senior executive with an airline that has ordered the plane disclosed Friday. Airbus has not previously acknowledged that its flagship new jet is significantly heavier than customers were promised. Tim...

Salem retiree Evelyn Potts, visiting the "Spruce Goose" at the Evergreen Aviation Museum, shook her head in irritation at the name the famous airplane is known by. "It was birch, not spruce," Potts said, looking the plane over. "It really is birch." She should know. She ordered the wood the plane is made from, as well as the glue that holds it together. Potts played an important role in the construction of the Spruce Goose, the enormous wooden aircraft built by millionaire aviator Howard Hughes during World War II.