AircraftFilter: Help me identify the aircraft in this photo [more inside]
posted by renovatio1 on Oct 7, 2009 - 7 answers

What would you do if you were a recent engineering graduate? (What companies would you be looking into across Canada?) [more inside]
posted by MechEng on Aug 31, 2009 - 10 answers

I've heard that there are twice-daily commuter flights to/from Charlottesville, VA and DC. I can't find any online... everything seems to be typical big-airliner, normal-expensive flights. Am I looking in the wrong place, and what's the best option for traveling between those two places minus a car? [more inside]
posted by tmcw on Jun 6, 2009 - 13 answers

Help me identify this roughly 10-year-old tv movie. It featured an aircraft with a supercomputer onboard, that was deranged and also controlled a powerful weapon. [more inside]
posted by chookibing on Feb 25, 2009 - 5 answers

Mrs Mutant & I live in London. We see lots of planes flying overhead. We wonder where they are coming from and where they are going and how to find out. [more inside]
posted by Mutant on Oct 30, 2008 - 10 answers

Whilst backpacking in the Sierra Nevada mountains, a friend of mine came across what appeared to be the detritus of an aircraft crash. [more inside]
posted by basicchannel on Aug 27, 2008 - 21 answers

There seems to be an unusual amount of warplane-related activity in the skies over Chicago. Some sort of display-of-force? I've never seen anything like it. [more inside]
posted by shipbreaker on Aug 14, 2008 - 22 answers

Pilots and medical personnel: Exactly why are cell phones and wireless devices prohibited at takeoff/landings and in ICUs (etc.). Are there known consequences on certain equipment? And why, precisely, are microwaves bad for pacemaker wearers? I'm interested in knowing exactly what mechanisms are/could be affected, how and why. [more inside]
posted by spock on Aug 13, 2008 - 15 answers

Where's the best place to watch the Chicago Air show?
posted by nitsuj on Aug 6, 2008 - 5 answers

Where can I buy an airplane evacuation slide? [more inside]
posted by Marky on Aug 1, 2008 - 7 answers

Where can I find information on a recent runway incursion involving a flight that I was on? [more inside]
posted by googly on Jul 3, 2008 - 14 answers

The Hancock building in Chicago has two different tower lighting systems. During the night the antenna structures have red lights to warn away aircraft. During the day the towers have strobes. Since I was a kid the towers always had red lights. Why did they make the change? It seems like two different systems would need twice as much maintenance.
posted by @homer on May 29, 2008 - 3 answers

I need your help to find an amusing airline safety instruction sheet I recently encountered while flying! My internet search skills are failing me - can anyone help?!? [more inside]
posted by galimatias on Feb 28, 2008 - 5 answers

9-11 Technology Filter: I have never been able to even get signal on my Blackberry 8200 (GSM) within 10 seconds of liftoff, so how were cell phone calls completed from hijacked planes on 9-11? Specifically, given the prevailing handset, carrier, and tower technologies present in the Boston, NY, and DC metro and intervening areas at the time, and given the flight paths and altitudes of the hijacked planes, how were passengers able to complete cellphone calls to loved ones? [more inside]
posted by Pastabagel on Nov 30, 2007 - 20 answers

Is there any one definitive, super-evocative portrait of life on on offshore oil rig? Preferably with lots of oh-cool gnarly imagery? ....that I can buy on DVD, download from iTunes or GUBA or torrent, etc? I know there are lots that sort of fit the bill, but I'm looking for extra transportive, extra in-depth cool treatments. Also of interest: looks at life on aircraft carriers, antarctic base stations, etc. I'm into transportive experiences of living in really artificial (and preferably somewhat high-tech) environments. Very XY chromosome I guess...
posted by jimmyjimjim on Sep 28, 2007 - 19 answers

Is it possible to get an ultra-cheap roundtrip out of the DFW area to anywhere, just for the sake of flying? I have a nearly-4 year old son who would love a plane ride, but I haven't seen any truly cheap tickets since the Southwest Airlines "Peanut Fares" days. If not, I'll just wait for a real vacation to come up one day.
posted by rolypolyman on Jul 7, 2007 - 14 answers

In his book "Catch me if you Can", Frank Abagnale claims he evaded arrest by removing a panel in the toilet of a VC10, climbing through it and hence escaping out of the (taxi-ing) aircraft through a hatch. Could this actually have been done?
posted by rongorongo on Jun 1, 2007 - 8 answers

Seeking a music video about a daydreaming aerospace engineer in the 1950s. Details inside... [more inside]
posted by tss on Nov 14, 2006 - 1 answer

I have read that airplane cabin pressures are regulated to match the pressure at about 8000 ft. Why is the pressure not regulated to approximate ground level conditions? [more inside]
posted by Galvatron on Aug 2, 2005 - 11 answers

VeryBigAirplaneFilter: I'm trying to ID two airplanes I saw a few years ago. (more) [more inside]
posted by cmyk on Jan 13, 2005 - 15 answers

His name is Dave Dunston. Or possibly Dunson. Or possibly some other variant that sounds similar; I've never seen it written. He is, or perhaps was, a British air traffic controller. Many years ago he gave a talk on air traffic control, and commercial aircraft in general, to a group of British bankers. Somehow it got recorded, and was broadcast on Max Ferguson's show on the CBC. It is definitely one of the funniest things I have ever heard. I managed to tape it, but the old cassette technology is dying a speedy death. I want another copy, preferably on a more dependable medium. Has anybody heard of this guy? Does anybody know how, or if, this air traffic control talk recording was released? Somehow it got into Max Ferguson's paws; I want it in mine.
posted by DrJohnEvans on May 11, 2004 - 8 answers