Open Thread 31 MAR 21 ~ Flying
“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”
― Leonardo da Vinci
G'day all. Welcome to today's Open Thread. Had an inspiration from a newsletter posted by our local library with a flying theme.
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Langston Hughes
One of my favorite dreams as a youngster had me climbing up to a large opening in the barn, looking out at the fields, and soaring effortlessly out and about. Such a feeling of lightness and freedom were those dreams!
"Courage is the price that
Life exacts for granting peace.
The soul that knows it not, knows no release
From little things:
Knows not the livid loneliness of fear,
Nor mountain heights where bitter joy can hear
The sound of wings."
Amelia Earhart
"The higher we soar the smaller we appear to those who cannot fly."
Friedrich Nietzsche
"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things."
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Have you any uplifting experiences to share? At any rate this is a place to post whatever
comes to mind. Namaste
Comments
Before I fly out the door
Wanted to wish you all a decent day.
Not at all unpleasant here today.
Cheers!
good rainy morning..
After 2 dry days another rain today. We're supposed to be dry till next Wednesday, so maybe I can get a few chores accomplished.
Had an odd experience yesterday. Took the trailer down to Rome to pick up our golf cart which was being repaired. On the way down...boom...one of the tires disintegrated. Fortunately it has tandem tires on each side. Upon arrival I put on the spare. But that's the first blow out I've experienced. It did wipe out the trailer tail light which I'll have to replace. All's well that ends well I guess.
Went to air and space museum and spent the afternoon looking for Amelia's plane, but it wasn't there! Wink.
I see they did find pieces...
Amelia Earhart is one of America's most famous pilots - unfortunately it's because she went missing, and was never found, until now. Scientists have recently found pieces of her jet, on a small island, along with remains, and debunk the story that she was actually a spy!
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qtlzxp2NVTk]
Have a good one!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Happy landings to you too
In these turbulent times a
safe landing is about all we
can hope for
In pursuit of flying dreams.
It takes a lot of training and a little bit of crazy.
[video:https://youtu.be/s6QSbmqZR0o]
Wow, maybe a lot of crazy.
Makes hang gliding look sedate.
drones light show
And then those crazy Chinese
mind blowing
especially like the dragon!
Chinese hi-tech gone wild...
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0z5kAnsN_g]
Now we admire the beauty
BUT...
In The Ministry of Truth a sci-fi novel recced by a Caucus 99 writer and recently read by me....
Platoons of swarming drones surround and down airplanes in flight. (The killer drones were armed.)
60 of them exploded in one day done by desperate Climate Activists in one of their efforts to achieve cleaner air.
That desperate measure succeeded and at a later time, as air travel started to climb back up, 20 planes were taken down.
End of most flights forever.
NYCVG
sorry
for the downer post.
Not my usual mood but it rears its ugly head sometimes.
NYCVG
Well, reality
has a way of reasserting itself that way sometimes.
Not that I don't think people shouldn't hang on to their guns, but it's things like nano tech, intelligent weaponized swarms and such that are pretty disturbing to contemplate - that and the general dumbed-down passivity of the populace. An AR is of pretty limited use contending with problems like that.
Anyhow, failure to consider potential threats (as well as opportunities) is *really* a formula for having reality jump up and bite you in the ass...
On a more positive note:
Porco Rosso - Love and Honor
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlwW59c80dI]
Les Temps de Cerise
I saw quite a few geese
flying north last week, it was a large gathering of geese, a festival of geese, way up high. I was grounded, but I wouldn't mind going along.
Your video reminded me
of this paraglider video with a rescued Egyptian Vulture.
"Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now..."
There used to be a raptor rescue group
, right down the street from me. I don't think they are there anymore but they would take the birds that were being rehabilitated and healed to schools etc. and show them to the kids (and the parents). It was absolutely stunning to see them up so close.
Your very cool vid got me wondering if vultures are considered raptors. Here is an expert weighing in on that question;
https://www.audubon.org/news/ask-kenn-kaufman-falcons-hawks-owls-vulture...
There was one near Nashville when we lived there
that my wife spent some time helping out. Raptors have always been my favorite birds although the dozens of the hummingbirds we have in and around the yard are every bit as fascinating. They're also more quarrelsome and aggressive.
"Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now..."
I've seen three humming birds
, in the past 2 days. I don't have feeders up for hummingbirds but I do have some flowers. The coral honeysuckle are in full bloom (among others).
We have a resident red-shouldered hawk pair, a pair of Mexican eagle, and the itinerant hoot-owls (great-horned owls) that thrill every once-in-a-while and fly low over head. I get to hear and see the raptors fairly often...it's great.
raptor rescue in TX
Maybe it was Last Chance Forever? I knew John Karger from L.A. in the 1970's, and then one year here about '06 when I was leading trips for the Nature Quest festival in Concan, TX, he brought a bunch of birds out for a show. So we got to meet again. Great guy, with a great operation. They do shows all over with their rescues... that dang Black Vulture following him around the whole time like a dog. https://www.lastchanceforever.org/
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
After looking at that web site
I think that was the organization. It's been a long time but I remember them showing the birds at various venues. I saw them 3 times and it was always amazing.
6-22-2005 Amsterdam Schipol IAP
I spent the last eight years of a 38 year, 23,000+ hour career flying the A330. I could have gone to the 747-400 as planned years earlier but the 330 job and airplane were more to my taste. Taking the video is Dave H., a check airmen, peer, and friend, giving me a biannual line check. Enjoy.
Rats. Can't imbed an AVI so the Dropbox link must do.
NWA A-330-200 AMS 6-22-2005
"Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now..."
@vtcc73 Thirty five years for me;
Thirty five years for me; 23,000 plus hours, almost all of that in Boeings. I called my sister a few years ago, and told her that She was now the eldest of us siblings, because I had been "on earth" less time than she had.
Still trying to figure out if I will do any more, or not. I retired early, because the airline gave me a pretty good deal, and it helped them with Covid, too.
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
So they did not get covid because you didn't fly anymore?
fool me once and forever.
Some forty years ago we flew PAN AM at least four times a year across the Atlantic. They served real meals back then and on their Menu card they had ads with images of islands like Hawaii. That's the reason why my son flew to Hawaii and never came back.
No foolin' though I wished it were.
https://www.euronews.com/
@mimi No, Mimi, it's just
No, Mimi, it's just that they had close to 10,000 pilots...and suddenly needed no more than about 4000. They didn't want to furlough (temporary layoff) anyone, so they asked for people to volunteer to retire early. I took the offer, along with a significant number of other senior pilots, and saved the company some money, and made it possible for the company to avoid laying anyone off. Good deal for everyone.
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
indeed, good for everyone involved. Thanks to
explain it to me in simple words. We are at least humane being first and foremost. I like your sig. Wishing you can enjoy your early retirement. I just wonder now, if you ever flew me over the Atlantic. Heh, if you did, I thank you for having been such a good pilot.
My brain gets fuzzy and is deteriorating. My apologies for me not understanding so many things.
We got a flying phobia during our lifetime. Now all that is left are ships. Or swimming. ...
Should I take the ship of fools?
I am so tired. Have a good one.
https://www.euronews.com/
I just learned this;
a group of geese (or swan) in flight is called a skein.
A group of owls is called a parliament.
and a group of crows
... is a murder!
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
Poor crows,
, they have a bad reputation. I think I've read they're very intelligent. Perhaps murder in certain cases is justified?
Good morning QMS et all. I had never thought aboout it
but it would appear that flying is a great way to meed new friends:
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
@enhydra lutris Wow. What a unique
Wow. What a unique experience.
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
A song offering
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK1BoNkYBWQ]
I thought about joining the Air Force
as I approached my college graduation date. The idea was to have the Air Force send me to law school. I flunked the physical. No wings, and a student loan it took a decade to repay.
We set a bird bath in the yard in clear view of the porch where we can enjoy them washing off the dust. Soon comes the humming bird feeder, and the bird feeder. We will wear a plastic rain coat when we walk underneath them.
I am looking forward to having Friday off! Not sure what mischief I will cause, but I will come up with something!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Perfect place
For all our excess mic dollars and toys
[video:https://youtu.be/_1btDc5xJe0]
Shopping trollies...
Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation
Hot Air Website, Twitter, Facebook
Wow, put up a flight OT and lookie what happens. So cool.
Somewhere in my teens National Geographic ran an issue that had a great article on Gliding. Not until 2010 did I take my niece on a glider flight for her birthday and my first fun ride.
This pilot has many records to his name. On our flight we head East to the Surveyor's Ridge then catch the westerlies which drive upwards to give lift. Several fun things we saw, and maneuvers he did: Dog Salmon in the Hood River, so red, so visible; turns the ship in a tight circle the wing tip being the bottom of the cone of the turn; climb for altitude over the ridge to between 2,000 and 2,500 feet, turn, head West. At maximum speed, pull back and 360 backward. Heavy at first, then weightless for maybe 2 seconds. Losing the horizon was hard, but my niece ratted me out and we did it again. Buzzed walkers on the ridge, as we had been buzzed exercising our doggie, Harry. We also saw the beginning of the removal of the Hood River Power Dam.
This first video is a classic take-off:
[video:https://youtu.be/IgruHNgPYKE]
Video going over Mt. Hood. Climbers are seen. He returns four times to get his shadow over them so they can see him. Oxygen for the altitude. And a male passenger.
[video:https://youtu.be/M_m1yonHrh4]
Here is the classic tow plane release and southward flight over Surveyor's Ridge. Good pilot commentary on what is happening:
[video:https://youtu.be/wlJAq9hsVD0]
Boy do I like flying.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
did some stunts in a glider plane
out in the AZ mountains. The pilot was a trip.
Asked if we'd like to do some wing overs. My mate
(training pilot) said sure.
Pilots like to outdo each other with bravado.
Did about a dozen pirouettes in the air before coming
back down. Pilot said -- that's how I get the lint out of
the cockpit, ends up in the customers hair. Ha, not so much.
Yahoo's the bunch of 'em.
Wasn't a pilot named Gary by any chance?
He'd be the one. Those 360 backward flips we had to have a speed of around 100 mph down-slope, before doing the loop-over. I guess that's screamin' for a glider.
He moved to Arizona around 2012. It's not as pretty but he is such a good pilot.
Super stuff. Thanks so much. Put me in a much better mood.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
My mate was named Vicky
the pilot was known as demon.
Was early 80's, so it could be his spawn?
Never do that again!
This is my friend Vicky
70-year-old Ogden woman 1st in her age group to complete 90-mile bike race challenge in Mesquite
I met Vicky in the emergency room at the hospital we all worked at in '77 when she met me at the door after my accident and she said "NO." I had asked her for something for the pain. NO? WTF... have you really looked at me and couldn't see that yeah that must hurt? But it was the head injury she explained in her calm, caring voice. (IF you're interested in gory pics I'll PM the one the doc took just before he tackled putting my face back together.)
Vicky and her sidekick Gail asked me to play soccer with them and others from the hospital. I don't know how I said. "That's okay, none of us have played before either." So 15 women started playing a game we didn't understand and rules we knew nothing about. Offsides?" We gathered around the ref for an explanation. After we had done that 10 times on other penalties he said "get a rule book!", and we got wiped out in every game until finally after entering a tourney at end of season we won our 1st game. Did it bother me we lost and so badly? Nope. I was having a blast and that's what counted. We would be short a full field and often played with just 11 players at 6 o clock at night when it was over a 100 degrees.
70? How'd that happen? I'm not that old yet am I? I also have a cousin in her 70's that plays hard and I can only watch from the sidelines anymore. But boy did I have lots of fun when I my body was healthy. Healthier? Worked? Yeah that's the word.
My uncle and his boss owned a Cessna 152 and so I got to go flying often from a young age with both of them. Try staying awake flying over miles of water when you have mono and see how much you enjoy it. We flew to Lucern just outside Wendover, NV to see if his instruments worked. They did. I was bored. But the first time taking off was incredible. Pull the nose back a little...now pull it all the way back and off we went. But if you really want to enjoy flying take a Hot Air balloon ride. So peaceful and so quiet.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Your friend Vicki sounds great. My age too.
Always wanted to go up in a balloon. Packed one in New Mexico, but never got to go up. Working 80 hours a week on site, so little fun except eating.
Bicycling is good at most ages. We might have some good lanes and farm routes that would work pretty well here.
Your crash sounds horrible. I'll wait for the gore. No thanks for now.
ETA: well that was rude. Sorry. It seems you had a great team and they put you back together? If you played soccer afterwards. Good for you.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
lol
No it wasn’t rude. You didn’t want to see the gore. It’s really not so gorey as it is, omg that must have hurt." I forgot to add that Vicky was my ICU nurse and I had been in great and kind hands. The doctor actually screwed up my jaw and I had to have it redone 8 years later. I’d rather have the accident again then jaw reconstruction.
Hopefully you will get a chance to go in a balloon. After flying for so long it was so different but still flying. Like downhill skiing and cross country skiing.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
I'm a...
flying in a Blue Dream sorta guy...
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
Here's one I always liked, for reasons unknown
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
great pick OTC
I liked that song at first hear OTC! Funny small world, great minds think in parallel! I think the riff is A - B-C G - D. Good vid too! Lenny can rock. Once You Dig In is another good one.
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
Cool!
I was glad to have the excuse to hear it again.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Just one more...
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981