Just out of curiosity - Airplane Guys

Y'all airplane fellas might be interested in the non-nuke EMP flyer https://drrichswier.com/2015/05/27/does-israel-have-a-non-nuclear-emp-missile/ (note date of the Boeing tests) Consider implications...for the present day.

Speaking of flying machines... F-16 robot flyer vs F-16 human driver in actual (very careful) test aloft> AI tends to win, of course they say...it's a rice bowl imperative...but it's also probably true.
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2024/04/19/us-air-force-stages-dogfights-with-ai-flown-fighter-jet/

(I have seen "test" rigged, and suppose I am not the only fella wot has.)

(FWIW the discussion of flyers and their weapons as they are now seem to traduce the rule on political discussion, but... I am happy to read what you fellas bring to the page. Thanks! Very neat-o machinery, beautiful! Just sorry to see people hurt by them.) Not quite a pacifist...but almost. ;) I have no political opinions...well, maybe Sermon on the Mount and I dislike nazis. I remember a lot. )
 
Adamc said:
You gotta love this craft; click below

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In the fall of 1994 I was teaching as a guest professor at Loyal Marymount Univ. in Los Angeles (wow - what a place!) and one day in November, the Dean's EA brought the earthquake procedures memo for me to read to my first year Engineering Drawing class.

So, I carefully read this one-pager which outlined the procedures to be followed in case of an earthquake:
  • everyone was to drop to the floor and get under a desk
  • everyone was to use their arms and possibly a book to shield their head and eyes from flying objects and breaking glass
  • I was to have a class list on me at all times and be generally familiar with who was sitting where in the room (not easy as there were about 80 students in the class)
  • NOBODY was to run out of the classroom - stay put under the desk was the rule
  • Once the shaking stopped, I was to do a roll-call to ensure that everyone was OK and able to move
  • Only then was the class to saddle-up and leave the room and assemble on the big open lawn adjacent to the building - where I was to do another roll-call.
I had juuuuust finished reading that notice when about 20 seconds later, there was a gawd-almighty BOOM from outside which rattled the glass. I and all of the students - but one - jumped and hit the floor as the windows rattled.

Once things had calmed down, I realized that it was not an earthquake and I noted that one kid had simply sat right in his chair the entire time, cool as a cucumber. He never flinched at all.

So, everyone re-took their chair - and I asked him - why hadn't he gone under the table?

He replied, "Sir, I am from Rosamund California which is right on the edge of Edwards AFB up north near Palmdale and that was a sonic boom from the Space Shuttle landing at Edwards. We hear them all the time in Rosamund."

After I changed my underwear, I felt better.
 
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MaxPete said:
In the fall of 1994 I was teaching as a guest professor at Loyal Marymount Univ. in Los Angeles (wow - what a place!) and one day in November, the Dean's EA brought the earthquake procedures memo for me to read to my first year Engineering Drawing class.

So, I carefully read this one-pager which outline the procedures in case of an earthquake:
  • everyone was to drop to the floor and get under a desk
  • everyone was to use their arms and possibly a book to shield their head and eyes from flying objects and breaking glass
  • I was to have a class list on me at all times and be generally familiar with who was sitting where in the room (not easy as there were about 80 students in the class)
  • NOBODY was to run out of the classroom - stay put under the desk was the rule
  • Once the shaking stopped, I was to do a roll call to ensure that everyone was OK and able to move
  • Only then was the class to saddle up and leave the room and assemble on the big open lawn adjacent to the building - where I was to do another roll call.
I had juuuuust finished reading that notice when about 20 seconds later, there was a gawd-almighty BOOM from outside which rattled the glass. I and all of the students but one - jumped and hit the floor as the windows rattled.

Once things had calmed down, I realized that one kid had simply sat right in his chair the entire time, cool as a cucumber. He never flinched at all.

So, everyone re-took their chair - and I asked him - why hadn't he gone under the table?

He replied, "Sir, I am from Rosamund California which is right on the edge of Edwards AFB up north near Palmdale and that was a sonic boom from the Space Shuttle landing at Edwards. We hear them all the time in Rosamund."

After I changed my underwear, I felt better.
Click to expand...
Don't think I've told this one before, but I'm at that age... ya know? :er:

Late 90's... was a flight mechanic on a 727 freighter. A flight mechanic is just a glorified name for a mechanic that flies with the airplane when it travels to places where there's no maintenance. Here's a typical drill...

Arrive at the jet about 7pm, power it up and look it over. Open the cargo door for the ramp monkeys. Loaded up, we're wheels up at about 11:00pm. Fly into the hub, unload, fix anything that can't be deferred, take on new cargo and depart about 4:00am. Fly out to wherever 's scheduled... usually on the ground by 8:00am. Now your day's just getting started. Daily... tires and brakes to change, tighten up a few hydraulic leaks... fix anything that was deferred during the night... this and that... Before you know it, it's after 3pm. Catch a shuttle to the hotel, eat, shower and off to bed. Up about 6pm and do it all over again. Schedule was 2weeks on, 1 week off. Yeah... it was grueling. At the end of 2 weeks you were little more than a zombie on autopilot. I was in my 40's then... no way I could do it now. Anyway....

Towards the end of a 2 week stint, we're out of New Orleans, bound for Houston... I'm fast asleep in the jump seat just behind the captain... still dark. Lack of sleep makes ya surly. Aircrews generally know this and go out of their way to not piss you off. Suddenly I'm bein' shaken.. and it's not turbulence, it's OC. He's the flight engineer. He's based out of Houston and does this run all the time.... I ignore him. He punches me in the arm. Now I'm awake and I yell loudly "leave me the fuck alone!!" He punches again... I'm ready to kill him. Finally he yells "look up." I peer up through an eyebrow window...

There's a golden streak reaching halfway across the sky. At the head is a golden light, heading east. It's so bright you can't stare at it. After a second or so you have to look away. "What the fuck?" I asked. "It's the Space Shuttle, heading for the Cape" OC said... "fourth one I've seen."

At 40,000 ft we have the most fantastic view you could imagine. We watch for a good 2-3 minutes... and it's gone. It still ranks as one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen.
 
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An F-80C of the 144th Fighter-Bomber Squadron AK ANG cruises down 4th Avenue during the Veteran's Day parade in Anchorage, Alaska circa 1954 :yikes:

1714057490614.png
 
Vincenthdfan said:
An F-80C of the 144th Fighter-Bomber Squadron AK ANG cruises down 4th Avenue during the Veteran's Day parade in Anchorage, Alaska circa 1954 :yikes:

View attachment 324038
Click to expand...

Oh wow - it sure looks like that airplane is moving under its own power.

I sure hope they did a good "FOD-walk" prior to the parade.....
 
One of my favorites is the PBM Mariner. Yeah, it's not usually on most folks list, but my Dad's squadron flew them in the Pacific during WWII. Cleaning the windows in his office prior to a mission.
Dad1.jpeg
 
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NP2650 said:
One of my favorites is the PBM Marnier. Yeah, it's a not usually on most folks list, but my Dad's squadron flew them in the Pacific during WWII. Cleaning the windows in his office prior to a mission.
View attachment 324072
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Very cool - I like the Mariner too!

...one truism I have read about flying boats: a wrench dropped, is a wrench lost...
 
This is not verified
1714097236944.png

An artwork by artist Peter Chilelli depicts the Boeing B-47 Stratojet nuclear-capable strategic bomber underneath the Mackinaw Bridge on Apr. 24, 1959.

Bomber Bridge Buzz Tops Maverick’s Tower Blast By A Bunch- But Is It Baloney? ​


We’ve all seen the fictional tower buzz scene from Top Gun. And, of course, nothing like that could ever happen in real life. Or could it?


65 years ago today on April 24, 1959, legend has it that an aviation stunt so bizarre it defies belief actually took place in the Mackinaw Straits between the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan.


A U.S. Air Force RB-47E Stratojet reconnaissance aircraft piloted by Strategic Air Command pilot Capt. John Stanley Lappo was said to have flown underneath the Mackinaw Bridge where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron converge. As history records the event, no photos of the aircraft flying under the bridge exist, but the stunt, if it actually did happen, created enough buzz that a legend was born.


According to the thisdayinaviation.com website and the Wikipedia page for the Mackinaw Bridge, fitting a Boeing RB-47E Stratojet under the Mighty Mac was a tight squeeze with little margin for error. The highest place between the water surface in the Mackinaw Strait and the bottom of the Mackinaw Bridge is 155-feet at the center. The tail of an RB-47E stands 27-feet, 11 inches off the ground. If you do the math, that leaves about 127-feet of space between the water and the bottom of the bridge to play with. Considering the RB-47E stall speed in these conditions may have been as slow as 150-190 MPH, the plane would cover that distance in altitude in just over a second or two.

Boeing_RB-47E_Stratojet_050421-F-1234P-009.jpg
Boeing RB-47E Stratojet. (U.S. Air Force photo)
As the story goes, and is told in several media outlets, Capt. Lappo was, “Reported by his navigator” to some higher authority after the bridge fly-under. The legend claims that Lappo was, “charged with violating a regulation prohibiting flying an aircraft below 500-feet”. No great aviation tale is complete without details, and the story is that Capt. Lappo was permanently removed from flight status by the Commanding General of the Eight Air Force, Lieutenant General Walter Campbell.


The deeper you get into the story of the RB-47E bridge fly-under, the more believable it seems to become. Apparently, Capt. Lappo had served as a reconnaissance pilot in classified intelligence gathering flights on the other side of the Iron Curtain at the height of the Cold War. After his alleged bridge stunt, Capt. Lappo did stay in the U.S. Air Force. He even is said to go on to become the vice commander of Alaska’s Elmendorf Air Force Base. He eventually became a lieutenant colonel.


Can we believe the story of Capt. Lappo and the Mackinaw Bridge fly-under? It’s difficult to say. An in-depth Freedom of Information Act inquiry may produce records of any military disciplinary actions as a result of Lappo’s impromptu airshow. But as far as media results go, there is mention of an October 17, 1976 news story in the Free Press, a Detroit, Michigan newspaper. We could not locate that story with an internet search of the Free Press archives or through conventional search engines.


One story in the Free Press does feature an image of an August 26, 1959 story with the headline, “AF Captain Punished: Flies Jet Bomber Under ‘Mac’ Bridge”.
1714097312719.png

Anyone know fersher?
 
Cannot comment on the Mackinaw Bridge incident, but have in the past read about some unlikely-sounding but said to be true low-flying exploits during WW2.

For example, Spitfires returning from low-level straffing raids in occupied Europe with twigs in the under-wing radiators. Ditto with Hawker Typhoons - though a Spitfire pilot would no doubt point out the Tiffy had a much larger radiator intake. The largely-forgotten Typhoon excelled in a ground-attack role so pilots presumably did a lot of low flying. But even so . . .

hawker_typhoon.jpg


But one that will forever stand out was when Sqn Ldr Leonard Cheshire, VC, was briefed to take his squadron of Lancaster 4-engine bombers low over Amsterdam on the return from a night bombing mission over Germany. Apparently this was at the request of the Dutch resistance, who needed a distraction to occupy the occupying German forces. So of course, Cheshire and his men complied with the request, flew low over Amsterdam, and later his ground crew found machine gun bullets fired from rooftops of houses in the city, lodged in the upper surface of his Lancaster's wings. That is impressive low flying, in a big aeroplane, at night, while under fire from all sides.

Cheshire flew an unmatched 102 bombing missions and ended the war as the most highly-decorated bomber pilot in the RAF.
 
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