All it needs is the 4 bladed propeller...
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
How can the same flight take longer than it did 10 years ago?
Well, according to an article on msn, flights are now taking much longer, up to 30%, than they did 10 years ago. Given the new technologies, better airplanes, etc., how can this be?
The answer is that airlines have started to incorporate the typical tarmac and air traffic delays that they have experienced in the past as par tof their scheduled "flight time ". While this has been happening for a while, it seems like it is now again getting mainstream media attention and it seems like it is getting worse, not better. Because the FAA penalizes airlines with excessive delays, but does not regulate the amount of time that a flight should take, the airlines have started to calculate their flight times based on the history for a particular flight, instead of the time that a given flight should take, based on the distance + takeoff and landing times. This way, the airline appears to be on-time, even when there are traffic delays. How nice, now we even have to deal with traffic even when we are flying somewhere.
This fact, together with he added hassles of airport security and having to waste a minimum of 2 hours on the airport to guarantee you will get on your flight, has spurred a noticeable amount of private jet traffic.
This sounds like good news to the pilot wanna-be's like myself, who like the idea of additional number of airplanes taking to the skies, which in turn mean an added number of pilots required to fly them.
So next time you are sitting on an airplane wasting a good 1/2 hour - 45 minutes just waiting to take off, remember to thank your friendly airline for planning flights during times where they know you will have to endure this hassle, while not getting punished by the FAA at all.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Memorial Day
It was with a sense of wonder the people stood and stared. It was a great relief that they no longer had to be scared.I looked down at the faces of the parents and their children in the crowd. I felt a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. Today I felt so proud.
To be a soldier and to fight for my country, family and life, I would choose to do it again…and bear the stress and strife.
Not a day goes by I don’t think of the losses and the pain. Not a night goes by that I don’t miss my family and feel the strain.
Each day I slug through the difficult weather and hard terrain to go another mile into enemy land…then, the rain clouds part and I see the rainbow.
The promise that greets my tired and gritty eyes and fills them with salty tears. Suddenly I am five again and experience the world through childish eyes and ears.
I long for the comfort of my loved ones arms and ache for a loving touch. I miss my parent’s concerned faces and wish I could see them so much.
The job I am doing is important and the strength of my conviction frees me. It helps me through the darkest nights and doesn’t let the fear of death seize me.
The war is ending, we hear through the lines and through the radio. We all feel such joy and yet so much sorrow. Sorrow for all the fallen comrades who will never again feel the warmth of the sun. Those who would never touch their countries soil or bask in a job very well done.
I’ve seen their bodies lifted out to make that long final journey home at last. Full well knowing that they have already gone home and this life is in the past.
Upon reaching home’s shore, I will hug my loved one’s to me and say: "I am so very glad to be home with you, at last, today.” I know that deep inside, despite all my joy, I will have a part of me that says… “To my fallen friends, I will be thinking of you now and always.”
Poem by: SilverCeltic Moon
XB-70 Six Pack
6 times YJ93-GE-3 engines, each of it has an afterburning thrust of 30,000 lbs. That is 180,000 pounds of thrust if my math is right.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
F-107A
This was a strange looking airplane that never went into production. It was based on the F-100.
R/C Electric American MD-80
Photo from Keith Sparks with his LiteFILM covered solid foam MD80. Wingspan is 7 feet and has a length of 6 feet. 5 1/2 pounds ready to fly. Four, three cell, Li-Poly packs power the two Mega brushless motors pulling 30 amps turning 7x5 props. Castle Creations speed controllers are used. A Hitec 555 receiver is used with Futaba mini servos and a standard servo on the elevator. The silver LiteFILM was painted with good results. Wet sand the surface with 600 grit paper, just enough to scuff the surface.Note: Keith has published a new book, "Building With Foam". Our LiteFILM is recommended in the book. Lots of photos on building with foam. Good details on various types of ways to make aircraft from foam. Price is $16.95 plus shipping. For more information on his book contact:
www.parkflyerplastics.com
This 3 ft. span MD-80 is 20 oz. ready to fly. covered with Nelson film
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Where that engine go?
Boeing 747-132(SF)USA - Wisconsin, April 26, 1997
N625PL (cn 20247/159) Flying with an engine missing! Ferry from Honolulu to Oscoda, after a crack was found in an engine mount and there was no spares there it was removed and carried onboard in the main deck.
Originally at Airliners.net
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Low Flying SU-27
Those Russian pilots are true barnstormers, or did someone photoshop the landing gear out of this shot. Hummmmmm...
Monday, May 21, 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Sean Tucker is a Badass...
Saw him perform at the Fort Lauderdale Air and Sea Show... He was great.
Aerobatic pilot Sean D. Tucker, front, and John Klatt, right, fly their stunt planes during a demo run out of Manassas, Va. on Wednesday, May 16, 2007. Tucker will be flying his custom built Oracle Challenger III bi-plane at the Andrews Air Force Base Joint Service Open House and Air Show in Camp Springs, Md., from this Friday to Sunday. Klatt will also be performing at the show. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Aerobatic pilot Sean D. Tucker, front, and John Klatt, right, fly their stunt planes during a demo run out of Manassas, Va. on Wednesday, May 16, 2007. Tucker will be flying his custom built Oracle Challenger III bi-plane at the Andrews Air Force Base Joint Service Open House and Air Show in Camp Springs, Md., from this Friday to Sunday. Klatt will also be performing at the show. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Boeing Dream Lifter
Designed to carry the components of the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
The tail of the super freighter 'Dreamlifter' aircraft, carrying the massive wings for the first Boeing 787 'Dreamliner,' is opened after it's arrival from Japan, Tuesday, May 15, 2007, in Everett, Wash. The tail of the specially designed 747 freighter swings open for huge payloads that are unloaded using the largest cargo loader in the world. The Boeing factory needs one more major component, a central fuselage section from Charleston, S.C., before workers can begin to assemble the plane that is scheduled to roll out July 8. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
The tail of the super freighter 'Dreamlifter' aircraft, carrying the massive wings for the first Boeing 787 'Dreamliner,' is opened after it's arrival from Japan, Tuesday, May 15, 2007, in Everett, Wash. The tail of the specially designed 747 freighter swings open for huge payloads that are unloaded using the largest cargo loader in the world. The Boeing factory needs one more major component, a central fuselage section from Charleston, S.C., before workers can begin to assemble the plane that is scheduled to roll out July 8. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Skydiving at Jet Speeds...
You won't catch me doing that anytime soon...
Caption: May 9th, 2007-- Have you ever wondered what it would be like to jump out of a passenger jet like the famous hijacker in the 70's-- DB Cooper? What I can tell you is that it is a rush like no other or probably anything else on earth for that matter, just the sheer wake from the fuselage where it creates a suction as you exit that literally rips you out of the aircraft; then the blast from the engines added on top of that->just do the math-> that equals one wild ride.
As for what happened to DB Cooper, my take on this is simple, he had inferior equipment and the big question is was he trained or not and did he even know how to put on a rig harness himself? Nobody really knows but my estimate now that I have done it is 40% made it 60% not. The most amazing thing about this photo itself is the photographer. Imagine for a second taking a clear photo like this as you have just been flung out of a jet and you have about a split second to take it!! I give her the most credit here and YES it's a HER!! Later in the near future I will post a unusual sighting that happened on a skydive that I did see with my own eyes that was very strange and unexplained.
--Rob
Perris, Calif
Originally at Coast to Coast AM
Caption: May 9th, 2007-- Have you ever wondered what it would be like to jump out of a passenger jet like the famous hijacker in the 70's-- DB Cooper? What I can tell you is that it is a rush like no other or probably anything else on earth for that matter, just the sheer wake from the fuselage where it creates a suction as you exit that literally rips you out of the aircraft; then the blast from the engines added on top of that->just do the math-> that equals one wild ride.As for what happened to DB Cooper, my take on this is simple, he had inferior equipment and the big question is was he trained or not and did he even know how to put on a rig harness himself? Nobody really knows but my estimate now that I have done it is 40% made it 60% not. The most amazing thing about this photo itself is the photographer. Imagine for a second taking a clear photo like this as you have just been flung out of a jet and you have about a split second to take it!! I give her the most credit here and YES it's a HER!! Later in the near future I will post a unusual sighting that happened on a skydive that I did see with my own eyes that was very strange and unexplained.
--Rob
Perris, Calif
Originally at Coast to Coast AM
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
I want to see it [link me] 
More photos from the 2007 Fort Lauderdale Air Sea Show...
P-51 Mustang heritage flight with F-22 Raptor
Thunderbirds dirty diamondSunday, May 13, 2007
Thunderbird #5 at Fort Lauderdale...
Thunderbird #5 F-16 transitions from low to high speed as it passes low over Fort Lauderdale beach at the 2007 Air and Sea Show.
Photo by Pete Alvarez
Friday, May 11, 2007
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
F-18 Super Hornet at Florida Jets 2007
Yes I attended the 2007 Fort Lauderdale Air & Sea Show and yes I took some cool photos. I also got a massive case of sunburn from which I'm currently recovering. As soon as I have a chance I will post some of the photos... Enjoy this awesome R/C F-18 in the meantime.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Pioneer astronaut Wally Schirra dies at 84
Astronaut Wally Schirra - Circa 1962Schirra died of a heart attack at Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla, said Ruth Chandler Varonfakis, a family friend and spokeswoman for the San Diego Aerospace Museum. NASA had said he died late Wednesday but the family and the medical examiner's office both said it was Thursday.
Full Article here
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
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