The Aviation Thread [Contains Lots of Awesome Pictures]

[Cold Fussion]

It's a pilot landing in rough seas, nothing more.

 

[MrChips]

On the side of the plane? I guess. :?

Not the first time that has been done, either. The USAF, Hughes and Boeing made a very specialised version of the RC-135 with a gigantic radar replacing a large section of the forward fuselage. Designated the RC-135E "Rivet Amber", the aircraft was lost under somewhat mysterious circumstances in 1969 - it is thought that Rivet Amber suffered a massive structural failure originating from somewhere near the radome cutout.

And, since I am feeling lazy, a quote from Wikipedia:

Originally designated C-135B-II, project name Lisa Ann, the RC-135E Rivet Amber was a one-of-a-kind aircraft equipped with a large Hughes Aircraft phased-array radar system. Originally delivered as a C-135B, 62-4137 operated from Shemya Air Force Station, Alaska. Its operations were performed in concert with the RC-135S Rivet Ball aircraft (see below). The radar system alone weighed over 35,000 pounds and cost over USD$35 million (1960 dollars), making Rivet Amber both the heaviest C-135-derivative aircraft flying and the most expensive Air Force aircraft for its time. The radiation generated by the radar was sufficient to be a health hazard to the crew, and both ends of the radar compartment were shielded by thick lead bulkheads. This prevented the forward and aft crew areas from having direct contact after boarding the aircraft. The system could track an object the size of a soccer ball from a distance of 300 miles (480 km), and its mission was to monitor Soviet ballistic missile testing in the reentry phase. The power requirement for the phased array radar was enormous, necessitating an additional power supply. This took the form of a podded General Electric J-85 turbojet engine in a pod under the left inboard wing section, driving a generator dedicated to mission equipment. On the opposite wing in the same location was a podded heat exchanger to permit cooling of the massive electronic components onboard the aircraft. This configuration has led to the mistaken impression that the aircraft had six engines. On June 5, 1969, Rivet Amber was lost on a ferry flight from Shemya to Eielson, and no trace of the aircraft or its crew was ever found.

 

[flyinhawaiian]

Took this panorama while waiting to take off out of Ft Lauderdale Executive (KFXE) yesterday... Sat at the hold-short line for 20 minutes!


KFXE Panorama by Finktel Jr Productions, on Flickr

 

[Heathrow]

Looks like you are number three there, what was the long hold for lots of landing traffic? :?

 

[flyinhawaiian]

Yeah. That place was as busy as any international airport I've been to. Lots of arriving and departing traffic. Behind us (out of shot) was a TBM700 and the airplane behind the one pictured on short final had to go-around (Citation Sovereign). We departed after the first Citation then had to side-step left as the Falcon 2000 departed behind us. It was insane! Luckily, in the Arrow, we're climbing out at between 90-102kts, so we're not TOO slow (compared to 79-87kts in the Cherokee).

 

[Lieutenant47]

Ahhh... the Cherokee. I have some fond memories of flying that bird. Yeah, not as sleek as the Arrow, and definitely a lot slower, but it was a good handling bird and quite forgiving. The Cherokee was also the bird of one of my object lessons in the "You think you're hot shit until something happens to give you your biennial humility shot" category.

I had flown down to a private airstrip with my Dad, a retired UAL 727 Captain, B-17 Pilot in WWII, with more hours in the air than I'd been alive practically. He had been retired for some years, had let his medical lapse and was no longer actively flying since he sold his last airplane (a Tri-Pacer). Anyway, we visited with some of his friends down there and since the Cherokee was certified Day-VFR only, got ready to leave later that afternoon.

Get in, strap in, go through the checklist, start the engine. Lo and behold the engine is running rough. Rougher with a little more throttle and better at idle, but still a bit rough.

I'm thinking, "Crap, here we are out in the boonies, no A&E for miles around, with late afternoon sun fast going down in a Day-VFR only airplane." I tell my Dad, "Looks like we might have to stay here overnight and call a mech to come down tomorrow." He looks at me kinda funny for a couple seconds and with an impassive face worthy of a real Cherokee, says, "Push in the primer and lock it."

Primer had been pushed in, but I hadn't locked it and just the pressure in the line had caused it to come out a bit. Once I pushed it in and locked it, the engine instantly smoothed out and ran perfectly.

On climb-out, I'm still feeling a little sheepish when my Dad's voice came over the intercom. "Bet you won't make that mistake again."

He was right.

 

[nsx_23]

 

[Cobol74]

This thing is fun - I approve - now make it work properly.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/306741

 

[flyinhawaiian]

Took these this morning:


T-minus 10 by Finktel Jr Productions, on Flickr


Liftoff!! by Finktel Jr Productions, on Flickr


Cleared the Tower by Finktel Jr Productions, on Flickr


Endeavor Rolls by Finktel Jr Productions, on Flickr

I wish my camera recorded sound too, because 45 seconds after launch, the wave of sound and power hit us like a freight train. Was certainly a humbling experience...

Here's the full set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/finktel_jr/sets/72157626735264346/

 

[narf]

I wish my camera recorded sound too, because 45 seconds after launch, the wave of sound and power hit us like a freight train. Was certainly a humbling experience...

Would probably be pointless to record that with a built-in camera mic :lol: I sense lots of distorted noise.

 

[Viper007Bond]

Would probably be pointless to record that with a built-in camera mic :lol: I sense lots of distorted noise.

You might be surprised. I recorded a really loud Foo Fighters concert on my iPhone and the audio turned out perfect: http://www.viper007bond.com/2011/03/17/foo-fighters-live-in-austin-for-sxswi-2011/

Okay, so a rocket is a bit louder than a concert but still.... :lol:

 

[narf]

You might be surprised. I recorded a really loud Foo Fighters concert on my iPhone and the audio turned out perfect: http://www.viper007bond.com/2011/03/17/foo-fighters-live-in-austin-for-sxswi-2011/

Okay, so a rocket is a bit louder than a concert but still.... :lol:

It's not just the felt volume. Small microphones fail to deliver the movement necessary to record loud, lower sound. You can observe the same with your iPhone videos - the speech range and up works well, while the lower band is all but missing. All the thundering he felt would be gone.

 

[RdKetchup]

Example of a video of a 747 passing overhead recorded on my phone. The sounds becomes totally distorted (and this is during the approach, with the engines nowhere near full power).

[video=youtube;4v-zqU4axX8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v-zqU4axX8[/video]

 

[narf]

Example of a video of a 747 passing overhead recorded on my phone. The sounds becomes totally distorted (and this is during the approach, with the engines nowhere near full power).

That's pretty much what I had in mind. The small microphone (and the circuits behind it, probably) is overwhelmed by the sound.

 

[flyinhawaiian]

Would probably be pointless to record that with a built-in camera mic :lol: I sense lots of distorted noise.

Of course... i would want some nice muffled, directional mics to record it, but no matter what, you?d never be able to convey the FEELING of the sound from that thing. its certainly moving a LOT of air!!

 

[narf]

Well, given a proper PA system you'd get close to the feeling but I know what you mean, nothing's like being there (well, 15km away obviously).

 

[Heathrow]

BEA Website - Flight AF 447 on 1st June 2009

A330-203, registered F-GZCP


16 May 2011 briefing



Following operations to open, extract, clean and dry the memory cards from the flight recorders, BEA Safety Investigators were able to download the data over the weekend.


These operations were filmed and recorded in their entirety. This was done in the presence of two German investigators from BFU, an American investigator from NTSB, two British investigators from AAIB and two Brazilian investigators from CENIPA, as well as an officer from the French judicial police and a court expert.



These downloads gathered all of the data from the Flight Data recorder (FDR), as well as the whole recording of the last two hours of the flight from the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR).

In the framework of the safety investigation directed by the BEA, all of this data will now be subjected to detailed in-depth analysis.


This work will take several weeks, after which a further interim report will be written and then published during the summer.

Now that is good news both for aviation safety and the families of those lost, who will be able to find out what happened.

 

[flyinhawaiian]

Here's a little photoshop magic on one of the photos I took:


Punch It (Contrast) by Finktel Jr Productions, on Flickr

 

[BlaRo]

Took these this morning:

Beautiful shots! How far were you from the launch site, and what lens?

 

[flyinhawaiian]

Beautiful shots! How far were you from the launch site, and what lens?

Was about 11.5 miles away and was shooting with a Canon Digital Rebel XTi + EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS... If only I had the 100-400mm L-glass that I rented for the original launch date! Oh well, got one more launch left to make that count!