Re: Aviation and Aerospace Thread

[Standaman94]

Cessna 404 Titan crash landing after a hydraulics failure

[nickyf1]

NASA's EM-2 mission in 2021 currently has the objective of visiting a yet-to-be captured asteroid in Lunar orbit, but law makers are looking into the possibility of changing it's objectives to make use of planetary alignments to send a crew of humans on an epic voyage across the inner solar system; to make a flyby of Mars via a gravity assist from Venus.

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2014/02/lawmakers-potential-mars-flyby-mission-2021/

This same mission was proposed as part of the AAP programme in the 1960s as a use for the surplus Apollo hardware after the cancellations of Apollo 18 through 20.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manned_Venus_Flyby

[Standaman94]

Beluga to the moon!

[Standaman94]

Fantastic WWII pilot training video

[Standaman94]

The view of the F-35 the Army don't want you to see Bonus points to those who can determine which series it is.

[nickyf1]

Perhaps very OT, but it's an impressive piece of civil engineering! Sure, I use the Subway in Glasgow all the time, and I consider myself the sort of person who finds public transport 'easy', but our major interchange stations pale into insignificance when you try to negotiate Bank/Monument in London, and believe me, I have tried (admittedly it was after about 4 pints of overpriced Peroni, but hey...)

[DeweyTee]

The view of the F-35 the Army don't want you to see :PBonus points to those who can determine which series it is.

Don't you mean the Marines? I'd say it was the VTOL F-35B.   

[Standaman94]

Haha that's what I mean And yep, it's the B

[LMR Sahara]

When my sister was in the Army, she took me with her to Camp Pendleton a lot, and from driving by the airstrip often, I can say that C-130's are smaller than you think

[Standaman94]

Yes, the C-130 is only about as big as a B-1. In fact, you can fit the fuselage of a C-130 inside a C-5 Galaxy.

Meanwhile...

[Ax4x Kane]

I believe the C-5 Super Galaxy is the largest aircraft in service with the USAF. It towers over the C-130

[RumbleBee 392]

Yes the C-5 is the largest. C-130 is cool when fitted as an AC

As for my favorite, C-17. Very fun to ride in.

[nickyf1]

Not sure if anyone follows space like I do, but if you've been paying attention recently, you'll be aware of the Commercial Crew Program.  The CCP will return the USA's orbital spaceflight capability, and allow NASA to concentrate on deep space missions.

With the tensions over Russia spreading into the cooperative efforts in space, it's becoming increasingly likely that the Russians will go it alone after 2020, removing the Russian Orbital Segment from the ISS, possibly to create a new outpost (Currently known as OPSEK).  This leaves the rest of the world without any access to LEO, as the only other country to fly humans into space is China, who are still far behind technologically, and relations are also strained.

Enter the CCP.  NASA is currently funding three projects from which it will select at least one to send it's astronauts to LEO.  NASA will basically 'hire' seats on commercial ships for it's astronauts, these ships will not be controlled at the JSC in Houston, but they will be controlled from the commercial operator's facilities.  So we have the exciting prospect of lower cost launches, and more activity in LEO, all while allowing NASA to develop it's SLS/Orion package for deep space missions.

So, here's the three projects competing for the call-sign 'USCV-1'..



Sierra Nevada Corp - Dream Chaser



Sierra Nevada's entry is based off NASA studies into a possible lifting body replacement for the shuttle in the late 90s.  This baby orbiter will launch vertically and land horizontally, much like the shuttle.  It has already completed an unmanned free flight ALT test, as pictured above.





SpaceX - Dragon V2



SpaceX is considered the favourite in the running.  Elon Musk unveiled his companies 'Dragon V2' in recent weeks.  It is a large capsule type design, which will launch atop SpaceX's very own Falcon 9 rocket.  It features a unique propulsive landing system, which it's designers say will allow it to land with great accuracy ''like a helicopter''.  SpaceX already fly a cargo version of the Dragon to the ISS, and a test flight using SpaceX astronauts will fly in the next few years.







Boeing - CST-100



Boeing have been the quietest of the three, but they mean serious business here, and are considered the dark horse in this race.  While they are more well known for their airliners, Boeing have been instrumental in every major US achievement in human spaceflight.  This legacy shows in it's traditional capsule design.  It's proportions are the same as the Apollo Command Module, but it's size is larger.  Somewhere inbetween the Apollo CM and the under-development Orion MPCV.  It will be compatible with several rocket types, including SpaceX's Falcon 9.

Unlike SN and SpaceX, Boeing have went for an airline inspired interior.  Looks very Star Trek: TNG..

[Standaman94]

Wow, it's like Avatar/Prometheus all up in there. All they need now is a holographic computer AI which will slowly kill them off one by one.

[skyshadow5]

Wow, it's like Avatar/Prometheus all up in there. All they need now is a holographic computer AI which will slowly kill them off one by one.

Called HAL

[LMR BlackHawk]

i just got an apprenticeship working at GE Caledonian as a fitter and i went on a tour around the workshop last week and its insane how much all the parts cost like carbon fibber fan blades are over £100K and how much damage the engines can take without failing.

[CQR Rogue]

^^^ Nice 1 I sell units for over 2 milion lol

[LMR BlackHawk]

show off

[LMR Sahara]

Hey guys, Ill be leaving to a aviation celebration at the local airport in a few minutes here. Ill be sure to get some photos and post them in here for you all. I already know for a fact that there will be a B-25 and a B-27G, along with about 300 other aircraft.

[WhoIsJohn117]

Hello, everyone!

Don't know how I missed this thread until now. Just saw it flash by on the left side of the forum homepage under the latest threads.

I am a self-proclaimed avgeek and work in the industry. Like many others, my first interaction with aviation was via a Christmas gift from Santa of FS98. The bug really bit me when I was on a US Airways flight into Pittsburgh during Christmas of 1999, and I was amazed that the pilot was able to land the aircraft in a whiteout with nearly zero visibility. Being an inquisitive young lad, when I returned home, I got every book they had at my local library on aviation, and my FS98, then FS2000, moved from being just a game to being an actual "simulator" I used to practice what I was reading.

In the US, you cannot get your pilot's certificate until you're 17 or solo until you're 16. The bug had bit, though, and I could not wait to fly. My best friend gave me a discovery flight for my 13th birthday, and much to my parents' chagrin, fell even more in love with flight. I worked small jobs here and there and flew about once every other month to keep current and keep moving. As I neared my 16th and 17th birthdays, I flew more and more. I soloed not long after my 16th birthday and got my certificate not long after my 17th.

I decided that aviation was what I wanted to do for a living and decided to go to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, FL for college. Thankfully, I was able to get some good scholarships and started there in fall of 2006. I graduated from there in 2009 with my undergrad degree and Commercial ASEL/AMEL, Instrument, CFI/II, MEI, AGI/IGI, and Dispatcher certificates. I was also a competing member and Board member of the university's flight team and went on to serve as Coach after my undergrad. Given the climate of commercial aviation in the US at the time, I elected to continue instructing for the university (now full-time) and do my Master's degree on their dime at nights. I finished that in 2012, got married, got my ATP, and now work as Manager of Operations Quality Assurance for a Part 121 air carrier in the US. I am hoping to get checked out early next year and split time between flying the line and working the office (an ideal situation, IMO).

Sorry if that is longwinded, but that is my story. Glad to see a few other avgeeks on here. If I'm not playing Forza, you can usually find me on VATSIM. On most of the cars that I paint for TORA, you will usually see my company's logo and Boeing's logo on the side of the car. For those of you that know my title sponsor from TASCAR, Southwest Airlines, that is not my current company, but I would love to work for them. Also... now you know why my TORA number is 737.

[Standaman94]

Very cool I had a shot at being an ATC here in lil old UK but I didn't get past one of the final stages... They're very rigorous!

[WhoIsJohn117]

Very cool I had a shot at being an ATC here in lil old UK but I didn't get past one of the final stages... They're very rigorous!

Cool stuff. I read that farther up. I looked at doing ATC but decided I'd rather stay on the pilot/airline side. Here in the US, you have to be younger than 31 to start in ATC, so the door is rapidly closing on me being able to switch over if I wanted to.

[LMR Sahara]

It was great, Ill post photos in here tomorrow.

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