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murf02
climber
NYC
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Apr 16, 2012 - 08:46pm PT
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ms55401
Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
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Apr 19, 2012 - 10:47pm PT
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what are the odds of a n00b launching off the Cap and not getting caught or tased? I'd guess that, all things considered, there's a 2-in-7 chance of things not going well
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Robb
Social climber
The other side of life
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Apr 20, 2012 - 02:19pm PT
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Awesome Red Flag video!
Thanks Tom
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Brokedownclimber
Trad climber
Douglas, WY
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Apr 21, 2012 - 10:54pm PT
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In spite of missing the Todd Gordon fest in Joshua Tree today, life was still good!
My damaged airplane was finally fixed last week, and Wednesday my CFI signed me off for my High Performance Airplane logbook endorsement. And today, I made my first solo flight in the "Rainbow Bird." I had another pilot in the right seat, but I was flying as PIC (pilot in command). Brian was a CFI candidate, waiting for HIS checkride with the FAA Designated Examiner, and wanted a chance to ride in the airplane as an observer. Yep. We had fun.
Finally some good pictures:
Even though it looks very sleek and racy, it isn't a speed machine; it's my flying SUV and a heavy load hauler. Normal cruise speed in normal flying conditions is 137 KIAS, and 146 KIAS is about the top speed in calm air. (That's 158 and 168 mph, respectively)
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Apr 22, 2012 - 01:53am PT
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SWEET! Now you just have to keep idiots away from it and keep the shiny side up.
But you knew that although I don't think you have "Keep idiots away" on the checklist. :-)
Don't feel bad. My bro-in-law was in a part of Canada that they tell a lot
of jokes about. It was a couple months ago and he landed as a big blizzard
was rolling in. He had an early departure the next morning so he went out
to the airport to make sure the ground crew got the plane prepped properly
and on time. He saw a mechanic on a stepladder holding an 18' flex duct that
was hooked up to a 'Herman Nelson' to pre-heat the engine. A 'Herman Nelson
is one of those giant propane heaters that looks like a small jet engine.
Andrew went up to the mechanic and asked him how long he had been heating
the engine. He got a rather vague reply. Andrew informed the guy that he
could probably speed up the operation if he would make sure the flex duct
was actually connected to the heater. There, now you know a true-life 'Newfie' joke!
Mind you this was a union mechanic. ;-)
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Santa Cruz Mountains and Monterey Bay
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Apr 27, 2012 - 11:30am PT
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Apr 26, 2012 - 11:21pm PT
Asteroid Mining Plans Revealed by Planetary Resources, Inc. (with video)
"Planetary Resources, Inc. announced today its plan to mine Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) for raw materials, ranging from water to precious metals. Through the development of cost-effective exploration technologies, the company is poised to initiate prospecting missions targeting resource-rich asteroids that are easily accessible."
http://spaceref.biz/2012/04/asteroid-mining-plans-revealed-by-planetary-resources-inc.html
View our multi-media news release with photos and video: http://prn.to/PlanetaryR
Resource extraction from asteroids will deliver multiple benefits to humanity and grow to be valued at tens of billions of dollars annually. The effort will tap into the high concentration of precious metals found on asteroids and provide a sustainable supply to the ever-growing population on Earth.
A single 500-meter platinum-rich asteroid contains the equivalent of all the Platinum Group Metals mined in history. "Many of the scarce metals and minerals on Earth are in near-infinite quantities in space. As access to these materials increases, not only will the cost of everything from microelectronics to energy storage be reduced, but new applications for these abundant elements will result in important and novel applications," said Peter H. Diamandis, M.D., Co-Founder and Co-Chairman, Planetary Resources, Inc.
Additionally, water-rich NEAs will serve as "stepping stones" for deep space exploration, providing space-sourced fuel and water to orbiting depots. Accessing water resources in space will revolutionize exploration and make space travel dramatically more economical.
"Water is perhaps the most valuable resource in space. Accessing a water-rich asteroid will greatly enable the large-scale exploration of the solar system. In addition to supporting life, water will also be separated into oxygen and hydrogen for breathable air and rocket propellant," said Eric Anderson, Co-Founder and Co-Chairman, Planetary Resources, Inc.
Of the approximately 9,000 known NEAs, there are more than 1,500 that are energetically as easy to reach as the Moon. The capability to characterize NEAs is on the critical path for Planetary Resources. To that end, the company has developed the first line in its family of deep-space prospecting spacecraft, the Arkyd-100 Series. The spacecraft will be used in low-Earth orbit and ultimately help prioritize the first several NEA targets for the company's follow-on Arkyd-300 Series NEA swarm expeditions.
Chris Lewicki, President and Chief Engineer, said "Our mission is not only to expand the world's resource base, but we want to increase people's access to, and understanding of, our planet and solar system by developing capable and cost-efficient systems."
"The promise of Planetary Resources is to apply commercial innovation to space exploration. They are developing cost-effective, production-line spacecraft that will visit near-Earth asteroids in rapid succession, increasing our scientific knowledge of these bodies and enabling the economic development of the resources they contain," said Tom Jones, Ph.D., veteran NASA astronaut, planetary scientist and Planetary Resources, Inc. advisor.
Planetary Resources is financed by industry-launching visionaries, including Google CEO Larry Page and Ross Perot, Jr., Chairman of Hillwood and The Perot Group, who are committed to expanding the world's resource base so that humanity can continue to grow and prosper:
 Eric E. Schmidt, Ph.D., Executive Chairman of Google, Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Planetary Resources, Inc. investor: "The pursuit of resources drove the discovery of America and opened the West. The same drivers still hold true for opening the space frontier. Expanding the resource base for humanity is important for our future."
Ram Shriram, Founder of Sherpalo, Google Board of Directors founding member and Planetary Resources, Inc. investor: "I see the same potential in Planetary Resources as I did in the early days of Google."
Charles Simonyi, Ph.D., Chairman of Intentional Software Corporation and Planetary Resources, Inc. investor: "The commercialization of space began with communications satellites and is developing for human spaceflight. The next logical step is to begin the innovative development of resources from space. I'm proud to be part of this effort."
The company's advisors include film maker and explorer James Cameron; General T. Michael Moseley (Ret.); Sara Seager, Ph.D.; Mark Sykes, Ph.D.; and David Vaskevitch.
Founded in 2009 by Eric Anderson and Peter H. Diamandis, M.D., Planetary Resources, Inc. is establishing a new paradigm for resource utilization that will bring the solar system within humanity's economic sphere of influence by enabling low-cost robotic exploration and eventual commercial development of asteroids. For more information, please visit www.PlanetaryResources.com.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Apr 27, 2012 - 12:11pm PT
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Here's what the future of air freight looked like sixty years ago...
[Click to View YouTube Video]
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
merced, california
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Apr 27, 2012 - 12:44pm PT
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If anyone cares about the history of the aircraft, visit one of Central California's best museum displays in Atw#ter, Calif.
It is well worth the time.
http://castleairmuseum.org
Has anyone knowledge or photos of the downed jet located in the gully above Tenaya Canyon to the left of Pywiack Cascade?
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/10972487
In 1970 or 1971, part of our search team was detailed to descend the gully shown near the left side of the photo and we found the wreckage half-way down. The fuselage but no wings, no engines, and I don't remember about the tail. Schmitz was the leader of this group. He can vouch for it. I am certain he must remember it. It involved tragedy.
Werner, you been in there yet?
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Brokedownclimber
Trad climber
Douglas, WY
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Apr 28, 2012 - 12:03pm PT
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Another "must visit" air and space museum is in McMinnville, Oregon: the Evergreen Air and Space Museum. It's the home of the Spruce Goose, world's largest all wood airplane. It's a really huge bird. Many other outstanding aircraft there as well.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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It seems that they just can't fix the F-22's O2 system so now pilots are
refusing to fly it! Are you kidding me? I can't believe the AF is even
admitting this although I guess they must have some reason other than just
being up front and open.
F-22 pilots refuse to fly
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Brokedownclimber
Trad climber
Douglas, WY
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Oberleutnant Franz Stigler also narrated the English soundtrack of the original German W.W. II training film of the Me 262 jet fighter.
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Santa Cruz Mountains and Monterey Bay
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Mutant space microbes attack ISS: 'Munch' metal, may crack glass
http://rt.com/news/iss-bacteria-mir-mutation-765/?goback=.gde_48305_member_110223536
Seventy-six types of unregulated micro-organisms have been detected on the International Space Station (ISS). Though many are harmless, some are already capable of causing severe damage. And no one knows how they will mutate in space.
“We had these problems on the old MIR space station, now we have them on the ISS. The microflora is attacking the station. These organisms corrode metals and polymers and can cause equipment to fail,” Anatoly Grigoryev, the vice-president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Interfax news agency.
Despite extensive precautions, most of the microbes are accidentally brought to the space station with various cargoes.
One of the early Russian crews also carelessly released a fungus that was later allowed to spread.
Of particular concern is the Zarya – the first ISS module launched into space in 1998.
But the crew is also in potential peril.
“Uncontrolled multiplication of bacteria can cause infectious diseases among the crew,” said Grigoryev.
Surprisingly common problem
As stations grow older, microbe contaminations get worse.
On the predecessor of the ISS, the Russian MIR (Peace), there were 90 different micro-organisms in 1990, four years after its launch. By the time it was decommissioned in 2001, the number had risen to 140.
In the relatively sterile and temperature-controlled environs of the station, bacteria were allowed to spread easily.
Micro-organisms also evolved and became highly aggressive. Cosmonauts reported corroded illuminator glass, holes in the metallic casing of the control panel, and exposed leads, the insulation of which had been eaten away.
The ISS is expected to be in operation at least until 2020.
Russian scientists also believe that particularly resilient bacteria can survive for years in extreme conditions on the outside of the station, as several experiments have proved.
Whether their mutations could be dangerous if these are allowed to escape is not clear.
Currently, Russian cosmonauts are wiping down surfaces in their modules with anti-bacterial liquids, but it is not possible to reach all contaminated areas by hand. Russian scientists are planning to deliver a powerful anti-bacterial UV lamp in one of the next shipments to combat the growing problem.
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ms55401
Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
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two questions: (1) how much does a standard rig cost, and (2) how soon can one do a solo jump?
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Tfish
Trad climber
La Crescenta, CA
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Your first AFF jump is solo, but they hang onto you. You don't need to go tandem or anything, you can just start the AFF jumps.
I think AFF level 5 is like your first solo jump where you dive out and they don't touch you but just hang out next to you.
And then after 7 AFF's you can go solo and do coach jumps, but you need your A licence after 25 jumps to jump with your friends.
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