RAF-977

The RAF-977 was a Soviet (now Latvian) van made by Riga Autobus Factory (RAF) based on components from the GAZ-21 Volga. It was introduced in 1958 and was manufactured in two main styles: a 10-seat minibus and an ambulance. In 1961, an updated version called the RAF-977D was put into production; this had a one-piece windshield, instead of the split, and Volga steering wheel among its other detail changes. Variants included the 977I ambulance and a special Intourist model, which had better seats, roof lights, and sunroof.

The RAF 983, based on the 977, was a fire department vehicle.

The shortened RAF 978, powered by the Moskvitch 407's 45 hp (34 kW; 46 PS) 1,360 cc (83 cu in) engine, was not a success, in part because the engine lacked torque, and ride quality suffered due to the shortened wheelbase.

In 1969, it was replaced by the improved RAF-677DM. This had a wider passenger door and fewer but longer side windows (three on driver's side and two on passenger's, rather than five and three before). The ambulance now had the same number of windows, rather than fewer; it was now the 977IM, and the tourist variant was the 977EM.

Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar

The Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar was an aero engine developed by Armstrong Siddeley. The Jaguar was a petrol-fuelled air-cooled 14-cylinder two-row radial engine design. The Jaguar III was first used in 1923, followed in 1925 by the Jaguar IV and in 1927 by the Jaguar VI.

Design and development

The Jaguar was developed from the Royal Aircraft Factory RAF.8 design proposal of 1917, and was engineered to use a gear-driven supercharger. First run on 21 June 1922 initial performance was not as expected, as a result the bore was increased to 5.5 in (139.7 mm), with all variants after the Jaguar I using this dimension. Throughout its career the Jaguar suffered from vibration due to a lack of a crankshaft centre bearing.

The most powerful version of the engine, the Jaguar VIC, produced a maximum of 490 hp (365 kW) on takeoff at 1,950 rpm and weighed 910 lb (413 kg). The later Lynx was designed using one row of Jaguar cylinders.

Variants

Applications

Engines on display

A preserved Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar is on public display at the Science Museum (London).

Rotary Air Force RAF 2000

The RAF 2000 is a two-seat kit built autogyro that was designed by Bernard J. Haseloh. Kits were first manufactured by Rotary Air Force Marketing Inc. in Canada. The marketing and manufacturing rights were sold to the Mocke Family in Upington, Northern Cape, South Africa in April 2007.

The RAF 2000 is one of only a few autogyros with type approval from the Light Aircraft Association in the United Kingdom.

Development

The RAF 2000 was a development of the single seat RAF 1000 and was designed primarily by Bernard J Haseloh. The aircraft kits were manufactured by Rotary Air Force Inc of Canada until April 2007 when the marketing and manufacturing rights were transferred to Rotary Air Force Ltd located in Upington, South Africa.

There were over four hundred RAF 2000 kits produced and sold world wide.

As a result of test flying in the UK the RAF 2000 has been documented as being subject to Power Push Over (PPO), whereby the thrust line is above the aircraft's vertical centre of gravity. This results in a power application causing a nose-down pitching moment and increases the risk of tail to main rotor contact.

Weekend (Earth and Fire song)

"Weekend" is a song from 1979 by Dutch band Earth and Fire. It was written by guitarist Gerard Koerts for the album Reality Fills Fantasy.

Earth and Fire version

"Weekend" was released by Earth and Fire as a single in November 1979 and reached the number one spot in the singles charts in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and Portugal.

Track listing

Chart performance

Chips version

Weekend was first covered by the Swedish group Chips on their eponymously titled debut-album. Originally, the version was recorded in 1980, but was only available on the album's first printed issues, as all subsequent releases (now called "Sweets'n Chips") replaced the song with the track "Good Morning". It wasn't until the release of the 1997 Greatest Hits-album "20 bästa låtar" that the song became widely available again. The B-Side on the single was the Instrumental track "Tokyo".

Track listing

Scooter Version

"Weekend" was also covered by German techno group Scooter as "Weekend!". It was released in February 2003 as the first single from their 2003 album The Stadium Techno Experience. The single reached number 2 in the German Media Control Charts and was also a top-10 single in Norway, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden.

Weekend (Underground Lovers album)

Weekend is the eighth album by Australian indie rock/electronic band Underground Lovers, the band's first after a 12-year hiatus. It followed a reunion for Sydney and Melbourne performances at the 2009 Homebake festival and the release of their 2011 retrospective album, Wonderful Things. A Rubber Records media release said: "This led to sporadic carefully selected shows and the realisation that the band still had something to say."

"The moment we got back together it clicked", lyricist and vocalist Vincent Giarrusso told The Courier-Mail. "We did one rehearsal, we had six or seven song ideas and we went to the studio to record them. The first four songs on the album are from that initial recording and some of those are first takes. The song 'Can For Now', what you are hearing is the first time we played it." The band also reunited with producer Wayne Connolly, producer of their 1997 album Ways T' Burn, to get the guitar sounds they wanted.

Giarrusso said the album was inspired by the energy of director Jean-Luc Godard's 1960s cinema hit Weekend, and Godard's film was used in their video for "Au Pair".

Weekend (2011 film)

Weekend is a 2011 British romantic drama film directed by Andrew Haigh. It stars Tom Cullen and Chris New as two men who meet and begin a sexual relationship the week before one of them plans to leave the country. The film won much praise after premiering at the SXSW festival in the US, and was a success at the box office in the UK and the US, where it received a limited release.

Plot

On a Friday night in Nottingham, Russell attends a house party with friends. He assures his best friend Jamie that he will be there Sunday for his daughter's birthday. Russell leaves early, but decides to go to a gay club, alone and looking for a hookup. Just before closing time he meets Glen, a student artist, and they have sex back at Russell's apartment. The next morning, Glen coaxes a hesitant Russell to speak into a voice recorder about their experience the previous night. Glen tells him this is for an art project. The more reserved Russell is taken aback by Glen's blunt discussion of sex. After Russell finishes, they exchange numbers and Glen leaves. Russell is shown writing about Glen on his laptop, evidently something he does after each of his encounters.