AVIATION - Fact or Fiction??

[David Morton]

Hi Ron,
Yes it was really brought up as a possible cause. The convoy had passed, or was passing on the Southern perimeter road which passes underneath the approach (about 700m) short of RW27L. I think I know from working in the industry a little about EMC and EMI checks and the prime ministers car would have probably been emoliated by the energy from it's own transmissions if it were the case. The chronology of the event doesn't stack up either as apparently the said car passed underneath the centreline when the aeroplane was 70+ seconds from touch down so at the CPA (Closest point of Approach) they were approximately 2 miles apart. Even the ECM surrounding Buckingham Palace only extends to the Victoria Statue on the roundabout between the Mall and Constitution Hill ( directly in front of the Palace) so it's wishful thinking that this aeroplane was shot down 2 miles away as the PM was reading a text. If it was, it's a hell of a weapon.........

ps - don't hold your breath for BA and Boeing to come up with answers. They can wait forever if necessary as there is no mandate for them to give answers . The AAIB is mandated however though they don't have any time line .

 

[Keith]

Anyone throw any light on this little gem? :stunned:

youwouldntwanttobeonthisflight.flv - Video - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

 

[Ron Earp]

Computer generated.

 

[Keith]

So, fiction then! :drunk:

 

[Chris P.]

Holy cow that was poorly done.

 

[Bill Bayard]

Anybody who's ever been to St. Maarten will appreciate this one. Similar, except for the fake crash, and that this one is real. The pucker factor multiplies exponentially, the closer you get to the runway. By the way, this isn't an unusually low landing, actually rather typical. That runway stretches the short field capabilities of most commercial airliners, let alone a whale, like the 747. The 1500' tall "hill" at the far end of the runway, makes departures interesting too! If you lost an engine on approach or departure......YIKES!


YouTube - 747 Landing - St.Maarten

YouTube - 747 Takeoff Sunset Beach SXM St Maarten

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

Here is a compilation of interesting landings. Like the music? YouTube - AMAZING LANDING

And you do need good brakes.YouTube - Airbus A380-800 Brake test.

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

Go here....Airliners Videos and look at the A380 crosswind landing certification video.

 

[Marcus]

Go here...
YouTube - flugzeug rennen

 

[Bill Bayard]

Man flying lawn chair lifted by helium balloons
2008-07-05 19:49:11
By JEFF BARNARD Associated Press Writer



BEND, Ore. (AP) — Riding a green lawn chair supported by a rainbow array of more than 150 helium-filled party balloons, Kent Couch succeeded Saturday in his third bid to fly from central Oregon all the way to Idaho.

Couch kissed his wife and kids goodbye, and patted their shivering Chihuahua, Isabella, before his ground crew gave him a push so he could clear surrounding light poles and a coffee cart.

Then, clutching a big mug of coffee, Couch rose out of the parking lot of his gas station into the bright blue morning sky, cheered by a crowd of spectators.

"If I had the time and money and people, I'd do this every weekend," Couch said before getting into the chair. "Things just look different from up there. You've moving so slowly. The best thing is the peace, the serenity.

"You can hear a dog bark at 15,000 feet."

Said his wife, Susan: "He's crazy. It's never been a dull moment since I married him."

Couch, 48, rode the prevailing wind to the area of McCall, Idaho, about 230 miles east, and traveled at about 20 mph.

Each balloon attached to his chair gives four pounds of lift. The chair weighed about 400 pounds, and Couch and his parachute 200 more.

"I'd go to 30,000 feet if I didn't shoot a balloon down periodically," Couch said.

For that job he carried a Red Ryder BB gun and a blow gun equipped with steel darts. He also had a pole with a hook for pulling in balloons, Global Positioning System tracking devices, an altimeter and a satellite phone.

It was his third flight. In 2006, he had to parachute out after popping too many balloons. And last year he flew 193 miles to the sagebrush of northeastern Oregon, short of his goal.

"I'm not stopping till I get out of state," he said.

Couch had to dump some of the 45 gallons of cherry Kool-Aid he carried as ballast before he was able to disappear into the distance. "We wanted some color, and it kind of reminded me of kid days," he said of the ballast.

Couch was inspired by a TV show about the 1982 lawn chair flight over Los Angeles by truck driver Larry Walters, who gained folk hero fame but was fined $1,500 for violating air traffic rules.

Dozens of volunteers wearing fluorescent green T-shirts with the slogan "Dream Big" filled Couch's 5-foot-diameter latex balloons and fastened them to the rig carrying his chair. A few balloons popped, and one got away.

"I think it's wonderful he's got guts enough to do it," said retired commercial pilot Bob Banta. "I've owned 12 little airplanes, but I've never done anything like this."

Couch, a veteran of hang gliding and sky diving, estimated the rig cost about $6,000, mostly for helium. Costs were defrayed by corporate sponsors.



Personally, I think there was a little something extra in his Kool Aid!