Miss Collegiate Aviation 1941

In the interest of preserving NIFA tradition, I hereby propose the immediate and permanent reinstatement of the "Miss Collegiate Aviation" award.

The AWACS That Might Have Been

It's really a pity that the B-52 and E-3 never really hit it off.  Had the -52 been a bit more persistent, or had the E-3 had more of a morally casual attitude, this could have been the resulting love child:

Design Study: MD-90 Pylon Flaps

***UPDATE***

I have, at long last, captured a photo and video of the pylon flaps in the deployed position:

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Did you know the McDonnell-Douglas (ahem...Boeing) MD-90 has control surfaces that are not elevators, rudders, wing flaps, or ailerons?

Meet pylon flaps:

They are hydraulically powered, and are activated when the yoke is pushed near full forward position.  They aid in recovery from nose-high attitudes.  Presumably, the increased weight of the IAE V2500 engines in back makes nose-high recovery a bit more challenging than the MD-80 series with the comparatively lighter JT8D engines.

I'd love to see some photos of MD-90 pylon flaps deployed.  Anyone out there have access to an MD-90 maintenance hangar?  There may be beer in it for you.

This One Made Me Flinch

I've been asked whether this one is an air-to-air shot:

It's not.  In fact, a friend used his cell phone to capture me shooting it:

Despite being prepared for it, I still instinctively ducked in shock as it screamed over.  I think the pilot was slightly above normal cruising speed as he passed overhead...which is why he outran my focus...which is why the shot is less than sharp.

Oh well.  At least I got a free haircut out of it!

My Best Shots of 2010

None of them were deemed acceptable by the A.net screeners, but they're the shots I'm most proud of:

The rest of my favorite work can be viewed here.

Prefright Inspection

Oil level - check
Combat boots - check
Cell phone - check
Pink bikini briefs - check

Ok, ready for departure.

Worst Routing Ever

Why would a Comair flight be routed like this?  All I can think of is that it might have been a maintenance flight:

Design Study: F-104 Flaps

How did the F-104's razor-thin wing produce enough lift for takeoff and landing?  Blown flaps.  From a fantastic website of unofficial aircraft study guides called Airplanedriver.net:

"The Starfighter is equipped with a Boundary Layer Control system, often called "BLC". This system uses engine bleed air to blow over the trailing edge flaps whenever they are extended beyond 15 deg. This allows slower approach and landing speeds, but does result in a loss of lift if the throttle is closed prior to touchdown. The valve that controls this is mechanically driven by the flap actuator, thus is always in the proper position. 


After a go around, leave the flaps in the takeoff position for 30 to 60 seconds to let the BLC system cool. Damage to the system will result if you forget this."

Makes you wonder how many F-104 pilots have learned (the hard way) to avoid reducing thrust to idle in the flare.

The 757 That Might Have Been

Back when the Boeing 757 was in development, this was one of the configurations under consideration.  Called the "227", it had a T-tail and 737 nose section:

That's One Impressive Airplane

An actual photograph of the Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia Quick Reference Handbook:

'Tis the Season

Sim training is decidedly more festive at certain airlines:

Have you Landed on the Alphabet?

Inspired by a thread over at Airliners.net - have you landed or departed from every letter of the alphabet?

I've limited my list to general aviation flights, excluding airline travel:

A: ARB
B: BTL
C: CGX
D: DTW
E:
F: FNT
G: GFK
H: HAI
I: IRS
J: JXN
K:
L: LAN
M:
N:
O: OEB
P: PTK
Q:
R: RMY
S: SLN
T: TTF
U: UES
V:
W:
X:
Y: YIP
Z:

1: 1G0
2: 2H4
3: 3TE
4: 45G
5: 57D
6: 61D
7: 7N4
8:
9: 9D9
0: 0D2

I have yet to see anyone cover each letter and number.  If you think you can come close, prove it in the comments.  I'd love to see.