Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with aircraft

Unidentified Flying Boat

renovatio1 — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:07:14 -0800

AircraftFilter: Help me identify the aircraft in this photo I looked entirely through my copy of The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft and found a couple that have a similar fuselage, wing placement, and tail section but they are quite obviously not the plane in the photo.

I did a quick search for airplane spotter / identification forums and couldn't find anything that looks all that good. I'll try posting to airliners.net or contacting an aircraft site owner (e.g. www.aviastar.org) but I figured I'd try here first to see if anyone knows; thanks!

What would you do if you had an engineering degree?

MechEng — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 08:55:15 -0800

What would you do if you were a recent engineering graduate? (What companies would you be looking into across Canada?) Suggestions for all branches of engineering are welcome.

A bit of background about myself:
Recent Mechanical Engineering graduate. ( with ~ 2 years of co-op experience). I am interested in almost anything Mechanical Engineering related, from vehicle engineering (aircraft, trains, automotive, etc) , HVAC, to power generation. What would you suggest as companies to apply for within Canada?

Willing to move anywhere for the right Job / experience. (Although Major cities of interest are Ottawa, Vancouver, Victoria, Toronto)

It has also been suggested to go back to school for something business related (seen a bunch of links about mba on ask metafilter)

I understand that mechanical engineering is a wide branch of engineering on it's own, and would like some suggestions as to which direction I should take.

Anything is better than driving?

tmcw — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 09:00:09 -0800

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 specifically... I'm not actually commuting but rather visiting Charlottesville when I'm not working in DC. And it would be nice if it were fast, cheap, and convenient, but I'd understand if it's just two out of the three.

Help me identify this obscure/bad tv movie!

chookibing — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:14:21 -0800

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. I remember seeing this on tv a long time ago. I don't think it was a theatrical release. I thought the title had the word "pandora" in it. I think the plot revolved around the computer preventing the plane from landing in the Washington DC area, otherwise it would explode and destroy everything in the area. There is a line in it about diverting the aircraft to a nearby but safely distant military base "let the wizards at Pax River" handle the plane. THe plane then did a low-altitude pass of the tower.

Anybody remember this?

While speculating is fun I'd like to know for sure

Mutant — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:06:44 -0800

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. I'm a farm boy and pretty much always orient myself by compass; I know where Heathrow, Gatwick and City Island (our local) airports are relative to our home in London's East End, and I can tell when planes are coming from or going to those airports. We currently use City to get to Amsterdam every month and that airport only flies two engine prop Fokker 50's, so that's easy. And there were years when I was flying about 100K miles (or more) annually for banking, so I know the approach and descent routes for the other airports in the metropolitan area.

But we're not interested in planes that are landing or taking off, we'd really like to know about the aircraft that are flying at 30K feet or more; small silvery specks, perhaps leaving contrails. While its fascinating to look up and speculate where these planes are coming from and where they're going (and who is on board and of course what they are doing), I'd like to know for sure.

I suspect some originate at Continental airports (e.g., Schiphol, Frankfurt am Main, de Gaulle, Paris-Orly, etc) and perhaps pass over London on their way to North American destinations, but how is there any way we can tell? Also, some must be long haul flights originating at points east of London (e.g., Stockholm-Arlanda, Istanbul Atatürk, Cairo etc) and are just passing over as well, but is there any way to tell for certain?

Even knowing what flight paths take aircraft over the London metropolitan region would be helpful.

What is this plane?

basicchannel — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:38:56 -0800

Whilst backpacking in the Sierra Nevada mountains, a friend of mine came across what appeared to be the detritus of an aircraft crash. He found a propeller and some aluminum skin and plastic (photos of the prop: here and here). The only other bit of information they could glean was the prop had "NOT FAA APPROVED" stamped on it.

Based on this (extremely limited) information, are there any reasonable assumptions as to the size of the aircraft and its purpose?

Is Chicago under attack?

shipbreaker — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:08:20 -0800

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. Every three minutes or so, blue-and-yellow military aircraft go whizzing by the downtown skyscrapers, it is really making me nervous. Is Chicago under attack? I haven't been able to learn anything from the news. Thursday August 14th 2008, tell my mother that I loved her.

Wireless/microwaves disrupt pacemakers/aircraft how?

spock — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:26:11 -0800

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. This question was spurred by the pacemaker remote hacking thread.

Where's the best place to watch the Chicago Air show?

nitsuj — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:08:46 -0800

Where's the best place to watch the Chicago Air show?

Buy an airplane slide?

Marky — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:34:01 -0800

Where can I buy an airplane evacuation slide? I'd love to get one of these for my treehouse. I probably couldn't afford a new one, but surplus would be fine. I know they part out old aircraft, someone must sell these, but I don't know where to look. None on Ebay...

Boy, that plane sure looks close...

googly — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:26:18 -0800

Where can I find information on a recent runway incursion involving a flight that I was on? Earlier this week, I was on board a plane that was taking off from National Airport in Washington, DC. As we were turning on to the runway to line up for takeoff, I noticed that a plane approaching the runway to land seemed very close. We started the takeoff, but about 5 seconds after throttling up the plane cut power and sharply turned off the runway, immediately after which we could see another plane landing on the runway we had just exited. We then taxied around and then took off a few seconds later. None of the flight crew made any comment about it for the duration of the flight.

Is there anything publicly available on the web that might give me more information on this incident (I believe it is called a "runway incursion")? I looked here (which I found through this question), but it doesn't seem to include my flight. I'm not looking to complain or file a report, I just would be interested in learning a bit more about what actually happened.

Flashy blinky.

@homer — Thu, 29 May 2008 08:55:25 -0800

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.

Stewardess, is that Bobby Hill on my flight?

galimatias — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:51:43 -0800

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?!? This is really random, but here goes... While on recent flights in the United States (US Air operated by Republic Airways), I encountered the most amusing flight safety card for the Embraer 170 aircraft. The safety card featured drawings of a baby in a life vest who comically resembled Bobby Hill from King of the Hill. My colleague and I got quite a laugh out of it, and I wanted to get a copy of the instruction booklet for my own amusement. I figured it would be poor form to take the actual safety card off the airplane, but I was hoping to be able to find a picture online (the internet has everything, right?). Anyway, no such luck. Can anyone help me locate a photo (or the real thing)?!? Thanks in advance!

How were cell phone calls completed from hijacked planes on 9-11?

Pastabagel — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 08:20:35 -0800

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? On the radio this morning, I heard some conspiracy theorists posit that proof of the 9-11 hoax is that all the evidence of the hijackers comes from cell and AirFone calls from the planes. They claimed that one of the planes was not equipped with AirFones, but that nonetheless descriptions of that hijacking came from passengers calling loved ones and their own voice mails on their cell phones (I don't not remember which plane they claimed didn't have airphones). All I could find online that was remotely coherent was here but it is very light on the technical details which would seem to put this issue to rest conclusively.

Some my questions are as follows:

A. How was it possible to for passengers to complete these calls at high altitudes? Were phones and towers more powerful then? Did they use a different encoding scheme that was more robust? (Analog vs. Digital, CDMA vs. GSM, etc.) The more technical the response, the better.

B. Were any of these calls from passengers recorded? What about the infamous "Let's Roll" (or "let's roll it"?) call? Are the voice mails available online?

C. Is a map available of the flight paths of the four planes that (a) includes their altitude, and (b) includes tower locations from 2001 from the major wireless carriers?

D. Has anyone been able to complete a cell phone call from an aircraft at any time between a minute after takeoff and a minute prior to landing? What carrier and phone?

E. If you have ever worked near the top of a very tall building (i.e. much taller than surrounding buildings and far above the ground, i.e. Transamerica in SF, Sears Tower in Chicago, Empire State or WTC in NY, Petronas Towers, Taipei 101, etc), have you experienced poor service that was explained because of your floors height above the surrounding towers?

F. Do cell towers not broadcast or receive signals from above? I assumed that towers broadcast signal radially and would therefore be subject to the inverse square law. Am I wrong? Are towers in rural areas significantly higher and stronger than towers in urban areas? Why?

Sorry if this is too long or inappropriately formated for AskMe. There is very little I could find about this on the web, so any help would be appreciated, and as I said, the more technical, the better.

Documentaries About Living in Hi-Tech Artificial Environments

jimmyjimjim — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 15:15:33 -0800

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...

Cheap flights -- do they exist in general?

rolypolyman — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 21:11:32 -0800

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.

Toilet getaway folklore question

rongorongo — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 07:28:25 -0800

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?

Music video about an aerospace engineer

tss — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 22:27:15 -0800

Seeking a music video about a daydreaming aerospace engineer in the 1950s. Details inside... I can't recall who the band was, though I don't think they were too obscure. The video showed up occasionally on Italian MTV in spring 2001 (but I don't think the band was Italian). It was made to look as if it had been shot in the 50s: it featured vintage cars, grainy (simulated) filmstock, slide rules, and extremely narrow neckties. The protagonist shows up at work, sits at a drafting table, gets lost in a fantasy, and winds up scribbling doodles on his plan documents. The song is soft and slow and features a single male voice. Any ideas?

Ear popping sucks.

Galvatron — Tue, 02 Aug 2005 12:11:04 -0800

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? I'm having difficulty finding a definitive answer, but I would guess it's one of the following:

too difficult/expensive to regulate at that pressure
decreased oxygen keeps passengers calm
reduces metal fatigue on the fuselage, thus cutting maintenance costs
the fuselage is simply not designed to withstand higher differential pressures
the airlines hate us

I'm trying to ID two very big airplanes I saw a few years ago.

cmyk — Thu, 13 Jan 2005 11:54:46 -0800

VeryBigAirplaneFilter: I'm trying to ID two airplanes I saw a few years ago. (more) I live in Tampa, near MacDill AFB, and I remember two enormous planes flying out from the base. They weren't refuelers or cargoes (I see those all the time); these were obscenely big, grey, low-flying, and loud. I noticed the sound when I was in rush-hour traffic, if that says anything about volume. They made my car shake. I want to say they had at least two engines per wing, and the exhaust left small dark trails in the air that faded quickly. I also want to say they did a flyover for a Bucs game; the path they flew (due north from the Base) would take them right over the football stadium, and they were low in the sky, but I don't remember if there was a game that day. It also could have been in conjunction with an important political or military visit to CentCom. Pictures would be welcomed.

CBC Max Ferguson Show - Dave Dunston Air Traffic Controller Talk?

DrJohnEvans — Tue, 11 May 2004 10:36:09 -0800

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.