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#51
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"Jose" wrote This is true. However, it is not what is (likely) important. When you change blade length, you need to change something else to compensate (for what?). To use the HP being produced. You could use wider blades, or add more blades. Efficiency would suffer a certain amount. None of that will happen, since a whole new prop system would have to be invented, and that would be something less than inexpensive. (insert sarcasim here) -- Jim in NC |
#52
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On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 00:44:37 GMT, "Mortimer Schnerd, RN"
wrote: We had the Thunderbirds come through Lajes Field in the Azores once and I can remember sitting up on the hillside looking down on the F-100s as they flew *below* us. Pretty damned neat stuff. I saw the Thunderbirds with the F-100s at Sewart AFB at Smyrna Tennessee in (dang, when was the last Ice Age?). My younger brother and I managed to find a spot away from the crowd on a little hill. Back in the 60s you could actually do that. One of the solo pilots went by our "hill", and as God is my witness, when he pulled up, the tail didn't miss us by more than 20 feet. Mike Weller |
#53
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Aerobatics performers are like bull riders.
Pretty much. Also like auto, speedboat, or motorcycle racers, parachute demonstration jumpers, circus acrobats and tigtrope walkers, and pretty much anyone else who does something that is both technically demanding and dangerous for the entertainment of the crowd. Interestingly enough, my circle of friends includes all of the above. Birds of a feather, I suppose. Consider for a moment the difference between a circus acrobat and an Olympic gymnast. The skill level (and even the skill set) is quite similar. The main difference? The Olympic gymnast performs moves that are know to (expert) judges to be technically demanding, and performs them just high enough off the ground to get the job done, over a cushioned mat, wearing a simple leotard. Even the best sometimes make a mistake and slip and fall, but the resulting injuries are rarely severe. In the circus, the emphasis is on moves where it looks like the performer will slip and fall, the leotards are flashy, and the act is done dangerously high - some used to perform without a net. In a nutshell, that is the difference between competition aerobatics and airshow performance, though many refuse to admit it. The aerobatic competition (or non-competition recreational aerobatics) is for the pilots. The airshow is for the crowd. That changes things. Aerobatic competition is primarily about skill. Even at the highest levels, there is a hard deck below which one may not go. It may not be much, but it's enough to give the pilot a margin - for an engine coughing, for a slight error, for all the things that happen. At lower levels of performance, there is more altitude margin. All kinds of pilots fly aerobatics at times - even confirmed destination flyers like yours truly. Aerobatic competition (and practice for same, and recreational aerobatic flight) may not be safe as houses (or even cars), but it's no worse than GA flying as a whole. Aerobatic demonstration takes skill, but it also takes a certain amount of willingness to take some pretty big risks to thrill the crowd. Airshows have an absolutely horriffic safety record. Airshow pilots are pretty much the most skilled out there, but the fatality rate is orders of magnitude higher than it is for the nearest equivalent - cropdusting - never mind GA as a whole. Of course not all airshow acts are of the loud, violent, extremely hazardous variety - but those are the ones that pay the bills and bring in the crowds. Pilots might show up to watch the skillful and graceful - Red Barons or some glider acro routine - but most of the crowd won't. They want to see planes screaming toward the ground or towards each other. They're not there to see a graceful aerial ballet - they're there to see the performer play a game with death, and they don't much care who wins. If you don't believe me, go to West Virginia on the third Saturday in October. It looks like half the state (though official figures say it's only 100,000) goes to the New River Gorge Bridge to watch a few hundred idiots jump off with parachutes. Inevitably some leave by ambulance. A couple have left by hearse. Now that's entertainment. In the interest of full disclosure - I was one of those idiots. I've also done some airshow work as a demonstration jumper. I han't really intended to, but I was in the right place at the right time, I had the necessary skills (and yes, there is way more to it than jumping out and pulling a ripcord, just like there is way more to bull riding than holding on) and it did start out as one of those skillful and graceful gigs. We would build a diamond, fly it around so it pointed at the crowd, and starburst it at 3000 ft or so (about the minimum altitude that would allow disentaglement and reserve deployment if the maneuver went wrong, as they sometimes do). For the uninitiated, a starburst is a timed maneuver where everyone drops grips at exactly the same time and flies a predetermined course - it looks lie the diamond explodes. That was nothing different than I would have done at a training camp practicing for the world record attempts. It didn't take long for the word to come in from airshow management - it wasn't enough. We needed to do something down low for the crowd - they wanted the plummeting towards the ground thing. And next thing I know, there I am, piloting a stack in a hard spiral, dropping people off the bottom with every 360, knowing that if one of the drops goes bad (as they sometimes do) we don't have nearly enough altitude to resolve the entanglement (which is a nice way of saying hack the lines with a hook knife until we're clear) and get reserves out. But hey - we're all skilled and experienced and as long as nobody makes a mistake and we don't get some really freaky strong gust, all will be fine. And it was. And it usually is. But it's not something you can count on pulling off 1000 times out of 1000. And that's why airshow performers rarely die in bed. A goddamned stupid thing to do, serves no useful purpose and you deserve what you get. For those who get it, no explanation is necessary. For those who don't, no explanation is possible. Remember - little airplanes are rarely useful. Stupid and crazy are not the same thing. And in the end, everybody dies. Not everybody lives. Michael |
#54
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In article , Morgans wrote:
Shaun Tucker bores you? He has extreme power, but the stuff he does can not be done by airplanes. Somehow he does them. :-) Actually, yeah. Now, a few years back, we ran into his airplane and his ferry pilot stuck in the same weather we were in Maryland. Turns out that biplane has a complete, removable IFR panel. The ferry pilot was talking about his experiences flying it in hard IFR. _That_ was cool. Tina Marie -- http://www.tripacerdriver.com "...One of the main causes of the fall of the Roman Empire was that, lacking zero, they had no way to indicate successful termination of their C programs." (Robert Firth) |
#55
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"Michael" wrote in message ups.com... Pretty much. Also like auto, speedboat, or motorcycle racers, parachute demonstration jumpers, circus acrobats and tigtrope walkers, and pretty much anyone else who does something that is both technically demanding and dangerous for the entertainment of the crowd. Interestingly enough, my circle of friends includes all of the above. Birds of a feather, I suppose. snip an awesome reply Remember - little airplanes are rarely useful. Stupid and crazy are not the same thing. And in the end, everybody dies. Not everybody lives. Michael Well put, Michael! ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =---- |
#56
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Airshows have no impact whatsoever on GA insurance.
To watch the pilots at a top airshow is to watch some of the finest in the world. For myself, I'll sit and watch a plumber - if he's the best at what he does. There is a lot to be said for watching the best - whatever their talent is. And in airshows, I'm watching the best of the best of the best. That is the intoxication that brings us back every year. Tony C-GICE In article . com, "Denny" wrote: I have long expressed my opinion that public displays of low level aerobatics entails risk vastly out of proportion to any benefits, perceived or real... Aerobatic displays do not improve public support for general aviation nor for the preservation of local airports... Aerobatic displays do not foster a favorable opinion of general aviation among the lawmakers of this country - who are exquisitely sensitive to the mood of the public... And the carnage albeit infrequent, only reinforces the perception among the insurance companies that any form of aviation is an underwriting loss just looking for a place to happen... I simply do not see any benefits to GA stemming from low level displays of aerobatics in front of the general public... denny -- Tony Roberts PP-ASEL VFR OTT Night Cessna 172H C-GICE |
#57
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Denny wrote:
Interesting bunch of responses, but nothing I have read so far induces me to change my statement... Reread the first sentence of my original post... For those who suggest I am operating from lack of information, I have been ground crew at internationally sanctioned aerobatic competitions... cheers ... denny OK, thanks for confirming that you are operating from a lack of information. Matt |
#58
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I don't really know. They brought the plane back after that late
routine, and the windshield was split . Could have been stress, overspeed, combination of the two or a freak occurance. Either way, they were drilling holes in the windshield and were tying it back together with something like a lace. Mike Morgans wrote: "pittss1c" wrote I was at the performer party immediately afterwards. Jimmy cracked the windshield durring that performance. I bet he sold a lot of airplanes that day. How did he crack the windshield? Jimmy came to our Aviation Explorer's base camp, and gave a presentation / question-answer session. Everyone really enjoyed him. But as someone said, he really liked to live life on the edge. I saw the first season of the jet powered biplane. All I could do (while watching his show) was stand there with a big stupid grin on my face. It was just so funny, strange, weird, and just not right, but I loved it! Both will be missed. |
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