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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Anyone else like Birds AND planes? (4 Viewers)

satyachil said:
Great discussion. I did a little more digging around and came across this paper in nature.com.
https://www.nature.com/articles/srep09914 They kind of reinforce the role of the alula in generating vortices which delay boundary layer separation and thus improve high aoa flight.
Click to expand...

I've seen somewhere (I've had a hunt but can't track it down) that the alula, as well as monitoring and controlling the overwing boundary layer, also incorporated a neural feedback mechanism which gave early warning of a stall, the flutter of the alula vibrating the quill in the skin, thus triggering wing muscles to alter the wing-shape correctively.

In addition, reduction of the over-wing boundary-layer effect causes the wing-feathers in the affected area to lift upwards, likewise triggering neurally a correction of the wing shape to restore the boundary layer.

Bird reflexes are faster than ours, which poses the question, 'Did the reflexes result in the adaptation of the neural pathways, or did the neural pathways detect the feather movements in turbulent air, resulting in reflexes becomeing faster...?
MJB
 
Farnboro John said:
Interesting how much assurance the authorities are demanding for the confirmation of positive lock for the wingtips, too: folding wings are not exactly new technology! John
Click to expand...

Even in the days of RAF Phantoms, Murphy kept popping up with his Law:

http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/82611

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/82617

I seem to remember there was at least one more such incident.

All 111 Sqn aircraft were FGR2, the RN and 43 Sqn were FG1. The FGR2 were manual, with orange telltale pins above the wing to indicate unlocked. The pinted-over pins referred to in report 82611 had probably been duringa repaint when the wings had been removed at deep servicing...

The FGR2 had been used extensively in the ground-pounding role, high-G at low level taking a toll on the outer wings, and so when the FGR2 took on the Air Defence role, it was only then that extensive stressed-skin 'panting' was discovered on the outer wings. This led to a programme of musical outer wings as they were fed in to a repair programme at a steady rate, the position on the programme dependent on the damage found on inspection. Consequently, you never got the same wings back on the original aircraft. A few outer wings had hinge/tang measurements that were at one end of the fitting tolerances whereas the receiving aircraft had them at the other end, and so a hunt-the-parcel game began to ensure that these outer wings could find an aircraft to which they could be fitted, the hope being that the exchanged wing would fit the robbed aircraft...

Oh, happy days!
MJB
 
MJB said:
Even in the days of RAF Phantoms, Murphy kept popping up with his Law:

http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/82611

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/82617

I seem to remember there was at least one more such incident.

All 111 Sqn aircraft were FGR2, the RN and 43 Sqn were FG1. The FGR2 were manual, with orange telltale pins above the wing to indicate unlocked. The pinted-over pins referred to in report 82611 had probably been duringa repaint when the wings had been removed at deep servicing...

The FGR2 had been used extensively in the ground-pounding role, high-G at low level taking a toll on the outer wings, and so when the FGR2 took on the Air Defence role, it was only then that extensive stressed-skin 'panting' was discovered on the outer wings. This led to a programme of musical outer wings as they were fed in to a repair programme at a steady rate, the position on the programme dependent on the damage found on inspection. Consequently, you never got the same wings back on the original aircraft. A few outer wings had hinge/tang measurements that were at one end of the fitting tolerances whereas the receiving aircraft had them at the other end, and so a hunt-the-parcel game began to ensure that these outer wings could find an aircraft to which they could be fitted, the hope being that the exchanged wing would fit the robbed aircraft...

Oh, happy days!
MJB
Click to expand...

A whole new meaning for wing-waggling.... ;)

So much for mass production and tolerances, as well!

MJB: Would I be right in thinking that after the retirement of Ark Royal, 111 Squadron also went to FG1, taking on the ex-RN aircraft, or did those just go to store to support 43? I vaguely remember Leuchars being all FG1 during our youthful spotting trips.

John
 
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Farnboro John said:
A whole new meaning for wing-waggling.... ;)

So much for mass production and tolerances, as well!

MJB: Would I be right in thinking that after the retirement of Ark Royal, 111 Squadron also went to FG1, taking on the ex-RN aircraft, or did those just go to store to support 43? I vaguely remember Leuchars being all FG1 during our youthful spotting trips. John
Click to expand...

After my time John, but I seem to remember something like that. The FGR2 AWG-12 radar was much more capable""" than the FG1's AWG-11. On 111, the radar tradesmen (we didn't have WRAF technicians until a few years later) were tasked, with their agreement, to tackle the entire power-supply system for the AWG-12 over a 3-month period. It involved many extra hours and included a lot of weekend working over and above maintaining 3 QRA aircraft (2 on immmediate standby with inertial navigation and radar systems running in standby mode, 1 spare aircaft for immediate replacement),

After that initial period, and with follow-up work identified during it, we raised the MTBF** from 1.6 hours to over 15 (that's 10 normal sorties) and the MTBS** to over 25...

**MTBF = Mean Time Between a compnent/system Failure which would degrade radar performance or limit the full functioning of an operating mode.
**MTBS = Mean Time Between enforced Shutdown of the radar.

The Trade Manager got the MBE and the radar troops got a barrel of beer for TGIF...
MJB
"""On a back-seat trip, at around 25000 feet, I locked on to an airliner at 30000 feet at a range of 250+ miles...
 
Can anyone verify that this is a fake shot?

I am thinking that this is a shot of some variety of petrel (I stand corrected if a different species) taken offshore and superimposed in front of the Lufthansa A380?
 

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Hi,

riotambopata44 said:
I am thinking that this is a shot of some variety of petrel (I stand corrected if a different species) taken offshore and superimposed in front of the Lufthansa A380?
Click to expand...

My kneejerk identification would be Oystercatcher, and these tend to gather in large flocks when migrating.

If the runway end is near the coast somewhere, I'd say the situation displayed in the shot is plausible.

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)
 
I think they are a smaller species of wader, rather than Oystercatchers, not only the profile but also the sheer numbers like in Dunlin, Plovers and the like on migration or wintering ground. Not superimposed from my perspective.
 
Watched the Top Gear episode featuring the RAF Lightning II F35b against a McClaren Speedtail around RAF Marham. Interesting content - also a nano second of a uniform very dark brown Common Buzzard showing noticable white wing patches as it took off, (resembled a Great Skua ). Had an F35b low over the house ( probably close to the 1000ft level ) yesterday afternoon, getting quite familiar with their sound nowadays especially on short bursts of reheat. Birds, fast jets and North Norfolk - bliss for an old boi.
P
 
Would I be right in thinking that after the retirement of Ark Royal, 111 Squadron also went to FG1, taking on the ex-RN aircraft,
Click to expand...

Yes, John. Both Leuchars squadrons 43 & 111 operated the FG.1s side by side. Only when 228 OCU moved up to Leuchars did we get FGR.2s based at Leuchars. Although Leuchars is now an army base the runway is still active and most days there seems to be some military traffic at least passing though (a touch and go or two), though I did see 3 Typhoons go vertical in full burner on take-off from the base as I was birding in St Andrews on 22/1. Was great to see, and especially hear. Jet noise was never far away when I was growing up in Dundee, so apart from the odd biz-jet operating into/out of Dundee airport, jet noise isn't quite so prevalent these days, and is much missed.

Don't have much in the way of Leuchars Phantom photos stored electronically (but could possibly rustle up a few 43/111 (and 228OCU) pics, from the late 'grey' days of the Phantoms in Fife). Here's "Black Mike" though....
 

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Stonefaction said:
Yes, John. Both Leuchars squadrons 43 & 111 operated the FG.1s side by side. Only when 228 OCU moved up to Leuchars did we get FGR.2s based at Leuchars. Although Leuchars is now an army base the runway is still active and most days there seems to be some military traffic at least passing though (a touch and go or two), though I did see 3 Typhoons go vertical in full burner on take-off from the base as I was birding in St Andrews on 22/1. Was great to see, and especially hear. Jet noise was never far away when I was growing up in Dundee, so apart from the odd biz-jet operating into/out of Dundee airport, jet noise isn't quite so prevalent these days, and is much missed.

Don't have much in the way of Leuchars Phantom photos stored electronically (but could possibly rustle up a few 43/111 (and 228OCU) pics, from the late 'grey' days of the Phantoms in Fife). Here's "Black Mike" though....
Click to expand...

Most of mine are wet film, too: we had some interesting trips including the one where 15% of the Tayside police were looking for us for 24 hours (we were blissfully ignorant of this till one found us....) I do have a slide/negative scanner, just haven't found the room or time to get it going yet. Thank you for the confirmation. :t:

John
 
My father had a long aviation career, starting with his first flying lessons at age 15 in 1943. He retired in 1989 in the left seat of the 747.

In the photo, he's at the controls of a Staggerwing Beechcraft over the Bighorn River, Montana USA circa 1954...
 

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Without being too techinical, what was the perceived advantage of the 'staggered' wing or was it dictated by the position of the cockpit?
 
Hi Andy,

andyadcock said:
Without being too techinical, what was the perceived advantage of the 'staggered' wing or was it dictated by the position of the cockpit?
Click to expand...

Staggered wings are normal biplane design practice, as it was found early on that they reduce drag caused by interference of the airstreams between upper and lower wing.

The "backward" stagger of the Staggerwing in my opinion aimed an giving thr pilot a better view up and ahead. Military biplanes usually had conventional stagger for better view to rhe rear, from where they might be attacked, but in civilian aviation, that was not a design concern :)

Regards,

Henning
 
Hauksen said:
Hi Andy,



Staggered wings are normal biplane design practice, as it was found early on that they reduce drag caused by interference of the airstreams between upper and lower wing.

The "backward" stagger of the Staggerwing in my opinion aimed an giving thr pilot a better view up and ahead. Military biplanes usually had conventional stagger for better view to rhe rear, from where they might be attacked, but in civilian aviation, that was not a design concern :)

Regards,


Henning
Click to expand...

I see, thanks, I'd never noticed this 'stagger' before, always thought they were just one on top of the other.
 
The Beechcraft had more than the usual amount of stagger, and its primary role was enhanced cockpit visibility... it truly was the "corporate jet" of its era.
 

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