Airplanes

[entropy]

A “number” of years back as a young DC9 copilot, I flew with a gent who always wore Nomex gloves. It was kind of an “anomaly” amongst the pilot group. Everyone knew him and giggled. One day, I was flying with one of his greatest critics. When it came time to do the checklist, I reached up on the glare shield and grabbed it with my flowerd-garden-gloved hands. I thought the captain was gonna wet his pants from laughing. About a year later, same guy shows up for a trip fresh off a vasectomy. His briefing was “I’m gonna just sit here today. You got it all.” So...when it came time to do the intro PA, I introduced him as “Captain Gelding”.

He said it hurt when he laughed...

😁

[GJM]

Alaska connection to 208 crash:

https://mustreadalaska.com/plane-reg...g-test-flight/

[Basher]

Stuff like this:

https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/20...egal-dnr-says/

I think some of it as well was just how commonly they were used as trainers. In the heli world, the Robinsons have the same stigma. “Oh, they’re dangerous toys, I’ll never fly one.” If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard that…

Yet I have some 275hrs in the R22 (from Private through CFI and then some), and I’m just under 20hr and building in the R44. They have a high accident rate because they’re the most popular helicopters in the world, not because they’re inherently unsafe (helicopter jokes in general notwithstanding).

But ANY aircraft can fall victim to a wire strike. Because the “wire environment” (500’ AGL and below) is our playground, us heli guys watch plenty of videos and get plenty of training on how to manage the risks involved. Flying low over rivers is a known hazard. Sometimes it bites you.

[TC215]

Witness account of the B-17/P-63 disaster:


https://airfactsjournal.com/2022/11/...r+Reaction+%2b

[entropy]

Ernest Gann’s Fate is the Hunter is a book every aviator should read before they break 500hrs. It makes you think.

[awp_101]

Skip to 5:55 if you want to get straight to the action

Giant Wright R-3350 Radial—Hear it Roar!

[TC215]

Rented a Skyhawk a couple days ago to take the family flying and put my 6 year old in the left seat:

[awp_101]

The shop where I work backs up to Executive Airport. I saw this memorial to the air show victims last Tuesday on the way back from lunch. Traffic and the location didn’t lend itself to a better pic unfortunately.

[Stephanie B]

While I’m not in the viper community (always was my dream though, so raising my glass to you guys), I can speak to a commonality as I have some experience in the training commands where we have AF students flying the T-6 alongside Naval/MC and Coast Guard students. All the IPs cut the fingers off the gloves for all the reasons. Touch screens, paper approach plates, writing while flying, small buttons on LSKs, etc. As soon as they see the IPs do it, within a week of their first flights, all the students have cut offs.

To the point where I see the students everyday now (I’m an FRS IP) flying helicopters with cut gloves. When I ask why, they say “T6”.

I think it’s mainly for looking cool and over 20+ years of GWOT, personal freedom has greatly increased. (As well as new gear. Some gloves are manufactured with the thumbs/ indexs missing; none are issued gear though)

All I’ll say is once you’ve seen an aircraft burn to the ground with your own eyes…..buddy, you can’t have too much coverage when it comes to your skin!!

Have an online friend elsewhere who was burned badly in a T-34 crash. He had been a Zoomie and he wore flight gloves. They saved his hands.

[Flamingo]

When I was in high school I worked as a flagger for a crop dusting company. One of the pilots crashed with a load of sulfur. It caught on fire before we could get to him. Hearing him scream before he died is one of the hardest things that I have experienced. The fire was so hot we couldn't get close to the plane.