If you love classical music....
01-19-2010 | 09:10 AM
#3
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,780
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From: Pasadena, MD
I prefer soloist arrangements... it requires more skill. Check out Bach's Chello suite, most commonly played by Yo Yo Ma. Orchestral music is a little to busy for simple listening. However the video is sweet!
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01-20-2010 | 03:10 PM
#8
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,624
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GE/Dillon Aero M-134 Minigun
Notes: The M-134 is basically an electric Gatling gun, a six-barreled machinegun with an electric motor. Development of these modern "electric Gatling guns" started shortly after World War 2, and the first of these was the famous 20mm M-61 Vulcan series, but early in the US involvement in Vietnam, the Army realized that a scaled-down version of the Vulcan would be wonderful for providing massive volumes of fire when used as helicopter armament. They were first mounted on the various ad hoc UH-1 Huey gunships deployed, and then on the first AH-1 Cobra gunships. Quickly, mounts were designed to allow the M-134 to be used on pintle mounts as helicopter door guns, on patrol boats, in pods on light aircraft and helicopters, and of course, the famous AC-47 "Puff" gunships. The cyclic rate of fire for the original M-134s was originally set at 4000 rpm, and the rotating six-barreled configuration kept the barrels from overheating because each barrel essentially had a much lower rate of fire. Later versions of the M-134 could be set for later rates of fire, ranging from short 10, 50, and 100-round bursts to twin rates of fire of either 3000 or 6000 rpm; this is the rate of fire for most "current: GE-built M-134s, with the burst length essentially controlled by how long the trigger is depressed. (A skilled gunner is capable of squeezing off 100-round bursts, and I’ve even heard of some gunners able to squeeze off bursts as small as 50 rounds when the Minigun is set on its 3000 rpm setting).
The reason I wrote "current" GE-built models because GE no longer builds the original M-134s (they built the last one in 1975) – in fact, parts for original M-134s are not even being made in the US anymore. Some can be procured from countries still making these parts, but as far as I’ve been able to discover, complete M-134s in their original configuration are not being made anywhere anymore, and most countries that still make spare parts will not sell them to civilians or even directly to military forces – a country’s government has to ask for them. Most parts available in the US these days are the result of cannibalization or their being made from scratch in machine shops.
The GE-built M-134 is, as all modern Gatling-type guns, electrically powered from the vehicle in which it is mounted or an external power source; potentially any external power source may be used, from a battery pack to a generator, but it must be able to provide 28-Volt DC or 115-Volt AC power at 260 amps (though sustained fire requires only 130 amps). If the length of an ammunition belt exceeds 1.5 meters in length, an additional electrical motor must be added at the top of the ammunition chute to provide more belt-pulling power. In addition to their use as aircraft, helicopter, and internal vehicle armament, M-134s can be mounted on pintle mounts, used as helicopter door guns (a very common method of use), or even mounted on standard heavy tripods of various sorts, including those designed for use with heavy machineguns such as the M-2HB and Mk-19 automatic grenade launchers. (I even have a picture of three Miniguns on a single ground mount.) Feed may be from either side; belt length is effectively unlimited, but the normal lengths of belt used with manually-operated M-134s are listed below. If special ammunition boxes and feed chutes are used, the M-134 can be fed from unlinked ammunition. The length of each barrel is 22 inches; the barrels are normally parallel, but barrel clamps are available that allow a variable convergence point. Individual barrels are heavy, designed to fire at least 40,000 rounds between failures (some say as much as 100,000 rounds).
However, 1975 was not the end of US M-134 production. US special operations units still loved the Minigun, but theirs were rapidly wearing out by the early 1990s. There were still a lot of M-134s used as door guns, armament on foreign helicopters, and even by some variants of the AC-130. GE was no longer tooled-up to produce the M-134 or its parts, and they were unwilling to re-establish the production line for the Minigun. Parts could be obtained to a certain extent by cannibalization or by buying them from foreign sources, but this essentially reduced the supply of available Miniguns and buying parts from foreign sources was much more expensive than having a domestic supplier. A company in Arizona called Dillon Aero stepped up to the plate, they essentially bought the complete rights to production and sale of the M-134 from GE. At the same time, they took the opportunity to correct a number of small deficiencies with the M-134, as well as simplifying the design and improving its reliability. The result was the M-134D. Externally, the M-134 largely resembles the original M-134; internally, the M-134D is a very different weapon. The original magazine hoppers and feed mechanism have been redesigned to allow slightly greater capacity, eliminate unnecessary parts, and the actual belt feed repositioned to the top so that weight of the belt pull is minimized. A small electrical booster was also added to the feed mechanism, eliminating the need for a separate electrical motor if very long belts or feed chutes are used. A common cause of jamming on the original M-134 was misaligned rounds (especially when unlinked rounds were used); this problem has been eliminated. Spent rounds and duds are ejected from the bottom of the M-134D, where they can be ejected outside of the vehicle or aircraft or collected in an attached container (or simply fall on the ground). A mechanism has been added which essentially spins the barrels backwards for a fraction of a second in the case of a stoppage, in order to eject the stuck round or case. The M-134D uses coatings and other modifications to reduce friction and increase tolerance to dirt. The bolt is strengthened by building it from a nickel-steel alloy instead of standard steel. Further modifications to the M-134D’s bolt helps ensure that the firing pin consistently strikes the primer (another problem with the original M-134). Variable cyclic rate mechanisms have been removed, and the M-134D fires only at 3000 rpm (mostly to stop wasteful ammunition usage). Normally, manually-fired M-134Ds have no sights (aim is to be corrected by tracers), but sights can be added. The amount of possible mountings for the M-134D (and other Dillon M-134s) are so vast that they cannot all be mentioned here; they have even modified a Chevy Suburban to fire a Dillon M-134 out of the rear!
Dillon has recently designed a new version of the M-134D, called the M-134D-T. Designed to reduce weight, the M-134D-T uses some skeletonized components where possible, but most of the weight reduction has come from replacing the rotor, housing, parts of the feed mechanism, and the barrel clamp/flash suppressor with versions made from titanium instead of steel.
In all cases, Dillon Miniguns can be had with three lengths of barrels: the standard 22-inch barrel, a heavy 22-inch barrel, and a short 18-inch barrel. Currently, Dillon does not built tripods or soft mounts for their Miniguns, but they can still use M-2HB tripods and soft mounts, as well as a large amount of pintle mounts, internal aircraft and helicopter mounts, pods, internal and pintle vehicle mounts, boat and ship mounts, and even on mounts like the new remote weapons stations. It has even been used successfully with some of the experimental combat robots DARPA is testing. Dillon also offers rebuild kits to convert existing M-134s to the M-134D or M-134D-T specifications.
Statistics below are for Miniguns mounted designed for mounting on tripods or pintle mounts; Miniguns designed for internal vehicular, helicopter, or aircraft use are typically 4-6 kilograms lighter (depending upon the installation type). The weight includes a typical power source and electrical motors (but, as usual, not a tripod).
Twilight 2000 Notes: M-134D development and production was dramatically ramped up prior to the Twilight War; in addition, Dillon agreed to make spare parts for older M-134s in addition to making conversion kits. The M-134D-T does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.
Weapon
Ammunition
Weight
Magazines
Price
M-134
7.62mm NATO
33.76 kg
1000 Belt, 1500 Belt, 4000 Belt
$7945
M-134D (Standard Barrels)
7.62mm NATO
29.98 kg
500 Belt, 1000 Belt, 1500 Belt, 4000 Belt, 4400 Belt
$6622
M-134D (Heavy Barrels)
7.62mm NATO
31.07 kg
500 Belt, 1000 Belt, 1500 Belt, 4000 Belt, 4400 Belt
$6824
M-134D (Short Barrels)
7.62mm NATO
28.35 kg
500 Belt, 1000 Belt, 1500 Belt, 4000 Belt, 4400 Belt
$5889
M-134D-T (Standard Barrels)
7.62mm NATO
24.09 kg
500 Belt, 1000 Belt, 1500 Belt, 4000 Belt, 4400 Belt
$6681
M-134D-T (Heavy Barrels)
7.62mm NATO
25.18 kg
500 Belt, 1000 Belt, 1500 Belt, 4000 Belt, 4400 Belt
$6883
M-134D-T (Short Barrels)
7.62mm NATO
22.46 kg
500 Belt, 1000 Belt, 1500 Belt, 4000 Belt, 4400 Belt
$5948
**************************************************
Current pricing WITH a ffl-3 is about $250,000.00 plus tax,license,and dealer prep.
Notes: The M-134 is basically an electric Gatling gun, a six-barreled machinegun with an electric motor. Development of these modern "electric Gatling guns" started shortly after World War 2, and the first of these was the famous 20mm M-61 Vulcan series, but early in the US involvement in Vietnam, the Army realized that a scaled-down version of the Vulcan would be wonderful for providing massive volumes of fire when used as helicopter armament. They were first mounted on the various ad hoc UH-1 Huey gunships deployed, and then on the first AH-1 Cobra gunships. Quickly, mounts were designed to allow the M-134 to be used on pintle mounts as helicopter door guns, on patrol boats, in pods on light aircraft and helicopters, and of course, the famous AC-47 "Puff" gunships. The cyclic rate of fire for the original M-134s was originally set at 4000 rpm, and the rotating six-barreled configuration kept the barrels from overheating because each barrel essentially had a much lower rate of fire. Later versions of the M-134 could be set for later rates of fire, ranging from short 10, 50, and 100-round bursts to twin rates of fire of either 3000 or 6000 rpm; this is the rate of fire for most "current: GE-built M-134s, with the burst length essentially controlled by how long the trigger is depressed. (A skilled gunner is capable of squeezing off 100-round bursts, and I’ve even heard of some gunners able to squeeze off bursts as small as 50 rounds when the Minigun is set on its 3000 rpm setting).
The reason I wrote "current" GE-built models because GE no longer builds the original M-134s (they built the last one in 1975) – in fact, parts for original M-134s are not even being made in the US anymore. Some can be procured from countries still making these parts, but as far as I’ve been able to discover, complete M-134s in their original configuration are not being made anywhere anymore, and most countries that still make spare parts will not sell them to civilians or even directly to military forces – a country’s government has to ask for them. Most parts available in the US these days are the result of cannibalization or their being made from scratch in machine shops.
The GE-built M-134 is, as all modern Gatling-type guns, electrically powered from the vehicle in which it is mounted or an external power source; potentially any external power source may be used, from a battery pack to a generator, but it must be able to provide 28-Volt DC or 115-Volt AC power at 260 amps (though sustained fire requires only 130 amps). If the length of an ammunition belt exceeds 1.5 meters in length, an additional electrical motor must be added at the top of the ammunition chute to provide more belt-pulling power. In addition to their use as aircraft, helicopter, and internal vehicle armament, M-134s can be mounted on pintle mounts, used as helicopter door guns (a very common method of use), or even mounted on standard heavy tripods of various sorts, including those designed for use with heavy machineguns such as the M-2HB and Mk-19 automatic grenade launchers. (I even have a picture of three Miniguns on a single ground mount.) Feed may be from either side; belt length is effectively unlimited, but the normal lengths of belt used with manually-operated M-134s are listed below. If special ammunition boxes and feed chutes are used, the M-134 can be fed from unlinked ammunition. The length of each barrel is 22 inches; the barrels are normally parallel, but barrel clamps are available that allow a variable convergence point. Individual barrels are heavy, designed to fire at least 40,000 rounds between failures (some say as much as 100,000 rounds).
However, 1975 was not the end of US M-134 production. US special operations units still loved the Minigun, but theirs were rapidly wearing out by the early 1990s. There were still a lot of M-134s used as door guns, armament on foreign helicopters, and even by some variants of the AC-130. GE was no longer tooled-up to produce the M-134 or its parts, and they were unwilling to re-establish the production line for the Minigun. Parts could be obtained to a certain extent by cannibalization or by buying them from foreign sources, but this essentially reduced the supply of available Miniguns and buying parts from foreign sources was much more expensive than having a domestic supplier. A company in Arizona called Dillon Aero stepped up to the plate, they essentially bought the complete rights to production and sale of the M-134 from GE. At the same time, they took the opportunity to correct a number of small deficiencies with the M-134, as well as simplifying the design and improving its reliability. The result was the M-134D. Externally, the M-134 largely resembles the original M-134; internally, the M-134D is a very different weapon. The original magazine hoppers and feed mechanism have been redesigned to allow slightly greater capacity, eliminate unnecessary parts, and the actual belt feed repositioned to the top so that weight of the belt pull is minimized. A small electrical booster was also added to the feed mechanism, eliminating the need for a separate electrical motor if very long belts or feed chutes are used. A common cause of jamming on the original M-134 was misaligned rounds (especially when unlinked rounds were used); this problem has been eliminated. Spent rounds and duds are ejected from the bottom of the M-134D, where they can be ejected outside of the vehicle or aircraft or collected in an attached container (or simply fall on the ground). A mechanism has been added which essentially spins the barrels backwards for a fraction of a second in the case of a stoppage, in order to eject the stuck round or case. The M-134D uses coatings and other modifications to reduce friction and increase tolerance to dirt. The bolt is strengthened by building it from a nickel-steel alloy instead of standard steel. Further modifications to the M-134D’s bolt helps ensure that the firing pin consistently strikes the primer (another problem with the original M-134). Variable cyclic rate mechanisms have been removed, and the M-134D fires only at 3000 rpm (mostly to stop wasteful ammunition usage). Normally, manually-fired M-134Ds have no sights (aim is to be corrected by tracers), but sights can be added. The amount of possible mountings for the M-134D (and other Dillon M-134s) are so vast that they cannot all be mentioned here; they have even modified a Chevy Suburban to fire a Dillon M-134 out of the rear!
Dillon has recently designed a new version of the M-134D, called the M-134D-T. Designed to reduce weight, the M-134D-T uses some skeletonized components where possible, but most of the weight reduction has come from replacing the rotor, housing, parts of the feed mechanism, and the barrel clamp/flash suppressor with versions made from titanium instead of steel.
In all cases, Dillon Miniguns can be had with three lengths of barrels: the standard 22-inch barrel, a heavy 22-inch barrel, and a short 18-inch barrel. Currently, Dillon does not built tripods or soft mounts for their Miniguns, but they can still use M-2HB tripods and soft mounts, as well as a large amount of pintle mounts, internal aircraft and helicopter mounts, pods, internal and pintle vehicle mounts, boat and ship mounts, and even on mounts like the new remote weapons stations. It has even been used successfully with some of the experimental combat robots DARPA is testing. Dillon also offers rebuild kits to convert existing M-134s to the M-134D or M-134D-T specifications.
Statistics below are for Miniguns mounted designed for mounting on tripods or pintle mounts; Miniguns designed for internal vehicular, helicopter, or aircraft use are typically 4-6 kilograms lighter (depending upon the installation type). The weight includes a typical power source and electrical motors (but, as usual, not a tripod).
Twilight 2000 Notes: M-134D development and production was dramatically ramped up prior to the Twilight War; in addition, Dillon agreed to make spare parts for older M-134s in addition to making conversion kits. The M-134D-T does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.
Weapon
Ammunition
Weight
Magazines
Price
M-134
7.62mm NATO
33.76 kg
1000 Belt, 1500 Belt, 4000 Belt
$7945
M-134D (Standard Barrels)
7.62mm NATO
29.98 kg
500 Belt, 1000 Belt, 1500 Belt, 4000 Belt, 4400 Belt
$6622
M-134D (Heavy Barrels)
7.62mm NATO
31.07 kg
500 Belt, 1000 Belt, 1500 Belt, 4000 Belt, 4400 Belt
$6824
M-134D (Short Barrels)
7.62mm NATO
28.35 kg
500 Belt, 1000 Belt, 1500 Belt, 4000 Belt, 4400 Belt
$5889
M-134D-T (Standard Barrels)
7.62mm NATO
24.09 kg
500 Belt, 1000 Belt, 1500 Belt, 4000 Belt, 4400 Belt
$6681
M-134D-T (Heavy Barrels)
7.62mm NATO
25.18 kg
500 Belt, 1000 Belt, 1500 Belt, 4000 Belt, 4400 Belt
$6883
M-134D-T (Short Barrels)
7.62mm NATO
22.46 kg
500 Belt, 1000 Belt, 1500 Belt, 4000 Belt, 4400 Belt
$5948
**************************************************
Current pricing WITH a ffl-3 is about $250,000.00 plus tax,license,and dealer prep.
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