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I read it some years back, really great book.
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| # ? Sep 13, 2011 15:44 |
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| # ? May 23, 2013 16:33 |
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Captain Apollo posted:I flew this today. Lucky bastard. I love that plane. How many hours did you log? Colonial Air Force fucked around with this message at Sep 13, 2011 around 16:43 |
| # ? Sep 13, 2011 16:10 |
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.3 Pilot in Command I was actually in the airplane for 1.5 hours though. Here we are during formation. It was for memorial day. My plane did the missing man drop out....  Formation Flying on 9/11 Captain Apollo fucked around with this message at Sep 13, 2011 around 17:12 |
| # ? Sep 13, 2011 17:10 |
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Captain Apollo posted:.3 Pilot in Command I was actually in the airplane for 1.5 hours though. Did this get you any IFR hours, or were you just up for the fun of it?
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| # ? Sep 13, 2011 17:18 |
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iyaayas01 posted:So I just finished up reading Fate is the Hunter by Ernest Gann. Anyone interested in a mini-let's read on it in here? Not sure how familiar everyone is with it...if everyone's already read it then I won't bother but if you haven't read it there are a lot of really interesting/harrowing stories from the early days of commercial aviation, spanning from the early days in the '30s through spanning the globe with Air Transport Command during WWII and then finishing out in the post WWII boom. I've seen the movie they made of that book on TCM. By the sound of it, though, they changed it into a accident-investigation drama.
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| # ? Sep 13, 2011 18:11 |
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Colonial Air Force posted:Did this get you any IFR hours, or were you just up for the fun of it? Memorial Day Fly Over at a park. No IFR
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| # ? Sep 13, 2011 18:31 |
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Captain Apollo posted:.3 Pilot in Command I was actually in the airplane for 1.5 hours though. To bad you couldn't find another Baron for the formation, or a Mooney. The cessna looks out of place.
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| # ? Sep 13, 2011 19:01 |
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Bonanza had to drop to 15in of MP with two notches of flaps and the cowl flaps out to stay with the 182...
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| # ? Sep 13, 2011 19:10 |
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Came across this glider crash from last year while browsing for Silence Twister videos. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxbulrrQVig While the crash looks bad, this sequence of photos will make the hairs on your neck stand up, stall and cartwheel down your back. (no gore, pilot survived with injuries) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...hes-runway.html
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| # ? Sep 13, 2011 20:32 |
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Ola posted:Came across this glider crash from last year while browsing for Silence Twister videos.  Looks like it really did a number on the crumple zone there, probably saved the pilot's life in its destruction.
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| # ? Sep 13, 2011 21:00 |
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Holy poo poo That sequence photography is amazing. Glad he made it.
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| # ? Sep 13, 2011 22:28 |
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Captain Apollo posted:Christ 222 5 star reviews? Ordered from amazon I'm curious to read it. It really is that good. It reads like an extremely well written novel but all of it is taken straight from Gann's life; some/all of the names were changed and that's it. The man has a way with words, particularly when it comes to describing flight. Nebakenezzer posted:I've seen the movie they made of that book on TCM. By the sound of it, though, they changed it into a accident-investigation drama. Yeah, it sounds like the movie was not based on the book at all. Gann pulled his name from it. However, two other Gann novels (The High and the Mighty and Island in the Sky) were later adapted into movies, incidentally both starring the Duke; both were largely based from real life events described in Fate is the Hunter. What the hell, here you go...from the beginning of the prologue: Ernest Gann posted:The night is sinister. There are no stars to enliven it. This air mass has not changed its shape or moved as much as fifty miles in a week, and so there is only stagnation and staleness - near suffocation when we pass through occasional dank tendrils of cloud. This sky is exhausted, having given to the earth below nearly all that it can. It should be shoved along by younger air and pushed out over the Atlantic Ocean so that the process of rejuvenation can begin.
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| # ? Sep 14, 2011 00:51 |
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drat, need to reread that. It is a bit like Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance only in the air and without the mental illness.
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| # ? Sep 14, 2011 12:01 |
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Ernest Gann posted:For a time I stare at the ceiling of the cockpit which curves only a foot or so above my head. There, at least, everything is familiar. I know the printed figures on the placards by heart. I can, without fumbling, reach surely for each switch, button, and knob. I can do it with my eyes closed. I know the diamond design sewn into the green leather which is supposed to insulate the ceiling against cold and noise and which does neither. If you spend over two thousand hours in the same little room, a room smaller than a prisoner in solitary confinement could tolerate, and if in spite of its cramped area you like the room and devote your entire career to mastering its peculiarities, then you must know that room and everything within it as certainly as a miser knows his hoard. For two thousand hours is a long time. I plan on going kind of slow through the prologue and extracting quite a bit because a) I think it has some of the best writing in the book (which is really saying something) and b) it is one long continuous story with a pretty big payoff, and it sets the tone for the rest of the book. I'll start being more judicious with my selections once we get into the book proper, although even there it will be hard to pick and choose because the entire book is seriously that well written. You all should just go out and buy it.
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| # ? Sep 15, 2011 06:28 |
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Saw this on the SR-71 page on Wikipedia, and it's gotta be my favorite picture in a while:
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| # ? Sep 15, 2011 19:56 |
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Cygni posted:Saw this on the SR-71 page on Wikipedia, and it's gotta be my favorite picture in a while: Looking back, the Soviets would have killed for that kind of photo.
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| # ? Sep 15, 2011 23:05 |
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movax posted:Looking back, the Soviets would have killed for that kind of photo. probably did 
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| # ? Sep 16, 2011 02:56 |
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwC8MP6uOiQ
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| # ? Sep 16, 2011 04:32 |
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Cygni posted:Saw this on the SR-71 page on Wikipedia, and it's gotta be my favorite picture in a while: If you labeled this "Space Ship Assembly" people would believe it. Then again that's not far from accurate. Now I'm imagining a re-engined Blackbird able to do sub-orbital ballistic hops. I bet it wouldn't take much modification. But I'm no engineer, and probably underestimating thermal load/airframe stress.
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| # ? Sep 16, 2011 06:51 |
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Stormangel posted:If you labeled this "Space Ship Assembly" people would believe it. Then again that's not far from accurate. I'm no engineer either. According to the numerous aero-loser books I own on the topic, the Blackbird could exceed Mach 3.2, but as the heat built up, past that speed it would start to lose systems. In Paul Crickmore's "SR-71 The Secret Missions Exposed", theres a story of a flight over Libya where they exceeded 3.2 - some silly misunderstanding involving missile launches - and had no problems. They attributed it to being colder than usual at altitude. Now, you cover that airframe in shuttle tiles or something, that would be interesting... I learned that Beale AFB, where SR's flew from for a while, used to have a nice base museum, put together by SR program volunteers. Beale does not have a base museum now because some shitbird officer decided they needed the space for a mess hall. I sincerely hope he is now assigned to a nice chilly arctic base.
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| # ? Sep 16, 2011 07:35 |
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Schindler's Fist posted:I'm no engineer either. According to the numerous aero-loser books I own on the topic, the Blackbird could exceed Mach 3.2, but as the heat built up, past that speed it would start to lose systems. In Paul Crickmore's "SR-71 The Secret Missions Exposed", theres a story of a flight over Libya where they exceeded 3.2 - some silly misunderstanding involving missile launches - and had no problems. They attributed it to being colder than usual at altitude. My favorite thing I've read (albeit on Wikipedia) about the SR-71 is this quote: "If a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate and outrun the missile." 
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| # ? Sep 16, 2011 08:15 |
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Previa_fun posted:My favorite thing I've read (albeit on Wikipedia) about the SR-71 is this quote: I remember watching a show on the history channel, where one of the pilots remembers looking out the side of his window and seeing a missile go flying by. I believe it was over Libya, and they had launched the missile without locking on so that the SR-71 wouldn't just leave it in the dust, and they only missed it by a little bit, I think the pilot said maybe 100 yards or so.
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| # ? Sep 16, 2011 15:07 |
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Not sure if there are any Daily Show fans in this thread, but about a month ago he had an author on named Ann Jacobson who'd written a history of Area 51. I've picked it up, and I'm part way through it. It's a ripping yarn so far; right now I'm in the middle of the CIA's Oxcart program becoming operational. (I didn't realize the SR-71 was originally called the RS-71, until Lyndon Johnson accidentally transposed the letters when announcing it's existence.) A little story from the book: when the Bell P59 Airacomet was being flight tested in the Mojave desert, it was of course, top secret. Propless airplanes in 1943 was a alien idea back then, so the air force was careful to keep them out of sight, even fixing fake props to them when they were on the ground. Still, P-38 Lightning pilots on training would occasionally fly close enough to get a good look. So, the head test pilot orders from a Hollywood prop shop a gorilla mask, which he wears the next time a Lighting pilot was peeping. The test pilot also flies close enough to the Lightning so the Lightning pilot can get a good look inside the cockpit. So, upon landing, the Lightning pilot heads straight to the local bar, orders a stiff drink, and announces that he's seen a propless airplane being flown by a Gorilla. Naturally, no one believes him. And because of this, all the other Airacomet test pilots order their own Gorilla masks. 
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| # ? Sep 16, 2011 15:50 |
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Schindler's Fist posted:I'm no engineer either. According to the numerous aero-loser books I own on the topic, the Blackbird could exceed Mach 3.2, but as the heat built up, past that speed it would start to lose systems. In Paul Crickmore's "SR-71 The Secret Missions Exposed", theres a story of a flight over Libya where they exceeded 3.2 - some silly misunderstanding involving missile launches - and had no problems. They attributed it to being colder than usual at altitude. The operating manual for the SR-71 (which is available to read online for free) actaully gives the maximim allowable speed as Mach 3.3, as long as the compressor temperature of the engines remained below a certain temperature. However, performance charts in that same manual also show that the SR-71 could reach about Mach 3.5 without exceeding the temperature limitations if the temperatures were cold enough, so I'd guess that Mach 3.3 was probably exceeded quite a few times when SR-71 crews needed to get out of an area a little quicker.
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| # ? Sep 16, 2011 17:41 |
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I would love to see a cockpit video of an SR71 flight at altitude and speed. Were any ever done and released to the public?
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| # ? Sep 16, 2011 19:00 |
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There's just something to be said about a vehicle that is limited in speed by what temperatures the metal can withstand. You can go as fast as you want until it starts to melt 
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| # ? Sep 16, 2011 22:28 |
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azflyboy posted:However, performance charts in that same manual also show that the SR-71 could reach about Mach 3.5 without exceeding the temperature limitations if the temperatures were cold enough, so I'd guess that Mach 3.3 was probably exceeded quite a few times when SR-71 crews needed to get out of an area a little quicker. There was a story posted a while back, possibly in this thread, about flying a mission over Libya where they were shot at, and the aircraft got up to Mach 3.6. Nebakenezzer posted:(I didn't realize the SR-71 was originally called the RS-71, until Lyndon Johnson accidentally transposed the letters when announcing it's existence.) This is an urban legend. Before Johnson's speech, the AF Chief of Staff Curtis LeMay lobbied to change the designation to SR-71 instead of RS. The transcript of the speech just wasn't updated before being handed to the press. Slightly more interesting is why they chose 71 (Instead of 1, since it's the first). It's a continuation of the bomber numbers from before 1969. For a while the Air Force was considering using the XB-70 as a recon plane, under the designation RS-70. Then they decided the CIA's A-12 would do better, and went with that as the RS-71. Then LeMay got bitchy about the name for no apparent reason. RS is way better. Under the tri-service designations it means Reconnaissance Spaceplane. SR stands for Strategic Reconnaissance, which is just some bullshit that LeMay made up. Under the rules it would normally stand for "Anti-Submarine Warfare Reconnaissance." Also, since this is AI, the RalliSport 71.
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| # ? Sep 16, 2011 23:33 |
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ApathyGifted posted:This is an urban legend. Before Johnson's speech, the AF Chief of Staff Curtis LeMay lobbied to change the designation to SR-71 instead of RS. The transcript of the speech just wasn't updated before being handed to the press. Blackbird pilot and author Richard Graham sought to research this with the help of LBJ library was able to get a copy of the speech text and audio, which stated the craft was the SR-71 and LBJ said it that way. However an acquired copy of a stenographer's transcript shows it backwards. The stenographer mixed up the letters, and that copy was given to the press. What the thing was really officially supposed to be called according to what military faction is unclear, but it appears the president wasn't the one who made the mistake. And here is a/the link to a Libya hot run: http://gizmodo.com/5511236/the-thri...sr+71-blackbird Styles Bitchley fucked around with this message at Sep 17, 2011 around 00:05 |
| # ? Sep 16, 2011 23:59 |
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How about another SR-71 shot? Click here for huge.
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| # ? Sep 17, 2011 00:15 |
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Styles Bitchley posted:And here is a/the link to a Libya hot run: quote:I pulled the throttles to idle just south of Sicily , but we still overran the refueling tanker awaiting us over Gibraltar. That part gets me every time.
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| # ? Sep 17, 2011 00:18 |
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A racer hit the stands in Reno today  P-51 Galloping Ghost, there are injuries and probably fatalities. Sad day.
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| # ? Sep 17, 2011 00:41 |
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Yeah, this doesn't look survivable http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMJf-mOhdJ4
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| # ? Sep 17, 2011 00:47 |
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pbpancho posted:A racer hit the stands in Reno today Sounds like they'll never be the head of a major corporation.
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| # ? Sep 17, 2011 00:47 |
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My Dad was there today. I spent a good half hour panicked before I got a hold of him. There will be a lot of deaths.
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| # ? Sep 17, 2011 01:01 |
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ursa_minor posted:There will be a lot of deaths. I'm listening to it now Reno Scanner; let me put it this way - they're trying to find parts to try to perform identification when possible.
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| # ? Sep 17, 2011 01:14 |
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Viggen posted:I'm listening to it now Reno Scanner; let me put it this way - they're trying to find parts to try to perform identification when possible. Yeah. This is where he went in: 
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| # ? Sep 17, 2011 01:15 |
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Jesus christ 
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| # ? Sep 17, 2011 01:20 |
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ApathyGifted posted:Then LeMay got bitchy about the name for no apparent reason. LeMay loved the XB-70 like it was one of his own children and saw the SR-71 as a threat to it. This feeling was not totally irrational as when Kennedy was briefed on the existence of the A-12, his first comment was "Could we get it to carry some bombs?"
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| # ? Sep 17, 2011 01:26 |
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Weren't there a few guys in this thread talking about going to Reno? Did any? Jesus I hope not.
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| # ? Sep 17, 2011 01:30 |
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| # ? May 23, 2013 16:33 |
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Another view http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTzX35wOGas
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| # ? Sep 17, 2011 01:38 |
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