Landing a A380 on an aircraft carrier

[Brumby]

a wide angle lens can only exaggerates the curvature (which is what you observe in the edge of space videos) but it cannot create the curvature.

So yes, it is a valid evidence of round earth.

 

Credibility fail.

Utterly.
Completely.
Irrevocably.

[rrinker]

 That Pinnacle thing - reading what happened to the engines, the machine shop I used to work for, we made those honeycomb bits for GE turbines, though not that particular model engine.

 I keep skipping the opportunity to fly on a B-17 when they come around every year for the WWII Weekend they run at the local airfield, once of these days I will just pony up the money and do it.

 Back in the day with MS Flight Simulator I was able to land the DC-3 on the aircraft carrier outside of SF. Not enough room to move back to place to attempt a takeoff. If I started out on the carrier, I could get it in the air - barely. The landings required a stall onto the stern, since there were no arrestor wires.

[SeanB]

Quick ones from when I was in the air force.

When an apprentice I was helping to swing the compasses ( compensate for the ferrous metal in the airframe) on a Super Frelon, and, after the obligatory 3 hours in the middle of the swamp ( the compass swing bay was a tarred circle that was 50m off the main runway of the airport, literally if you went off the tar, you would sink knee deep in the ground. Altitude zero feet above mean sea level, and with a plane landing or taking off every 10 minutes) we were finished, and the pilots asked who wanted to go for a relaxing de-stressing ( for them) flight, seeing as they had been sitting in the cockpit for 3 hours, in the sun, with the engines running at near full power, with my boss lying inside the rear of the cabin up inside the access panel ( and losing around 2l per hour as sweat there) turning the little adjustment compensator magnets on the fluxgate compass, and with my other boss outside in the sun with the theodolite and compass to get the reference.

I was the gofor, running around and relaying the instructions from one to another. Turning the chopper was a tow tractor, who had to get the bird in the right orientation, then get unhooked and drive onto the access road, so the big 16 ton metal mass would not interfere, then come and move it 90 degrees, and rinse and repeat. We had started with full tanks, but at the end were down to under a half tank, so there was a hour of fuel minimum left. So, loaded the stuff on the tractor, and let the AC fitter drive it back, along with the one, who was feeling very dehydrated ( 30C and 100% RH, like any summers day) from his time in the toaster oven, while the rest of use went for a flight.

Super Frelon is not designed for negative G at all, but you can do positive G rolls and barrel rolls, which were very nice to enjoy, sitting in the open door, with my feet dangling out, and belted to the frame. Looking up and seeing the sea, and down to see the sky. Lucky they did not drop me off on the top of the water tower on the Radar installation, which was a famous thing they did at times.

[Skimask]

Quick ones from when I was in the air force.
When an apprentice I was helping to swing the compasses ( compensate for the ferrous metal in the airframe) on a Super Frelon, and, after the obligatory 3 hours in the middle of the swamp ( the compass swing bay was a tarred circle that was 50m off the main runway of the airport, literally if you went off the tar, you would sink knee deep in the ground. Altitude zero feet above mean sea level, and with a plane landing or taking off every 10 minutes) we were finished, and the pilots asked who wanted to go for a relaxing de-stressing ( for them) flight, seeing as they had been sitting in the cockpit for 3 hours, in the sun, with the engines running at near full power, with my boss lying inside the rear of the cabin up inside the access panel ( and losing around 2l per hour as sweat there) turning the little adjustment compensator magnets on the fluxgate compass, and with my other boss outside in the sun with the theodolite and compass to get the reference.

Compass swings...had to do a couple on the B-52G.  No APU.  Can't do it with engines running.  Had to use a power unit right off the nose as far as the power cord would stretch.  Same thing...turn 30 degrees, write down the numbers, turn 30 degrees, etc.etc.etc., wash, lather, rinse, repeat.  Only difference was I never did one in hot weather...maybe 80F was the hottest.

[bitseeker]

any plane simulator fans here ?

I used to spend a lot of time in FlightGear, and before that TRI Fly & FlyII, MSFS all the way back to DOS days, although my interests were never heavy iron - low, slow, stick and rudder, STOL and rotary wing was my thing.

Same here. The Flight Unlimited series too. Bush flying!