Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with aviation

I want to learn to soar in Phoenix!

Alterscape — Sat, 10 May 2008 08:46:49 -0800

So I want to learn to fly sailplanes. Any advice, recommendations for soaring instruction in driving range of Phoenix, AZ? Google finds me a bunch of sailports and organizations in the area, but I'd rather get some opinions before I give anyone my money. In terms of my experience level and what I'm looking for -- never soared before, but I grew up around private aviation. I'd like to get my soaring rating both because the skillset and challenge involved seem bloody awesome, and because I've heard that it instills discipline that will be useful if/when I have the time and money to pursue a powered rating. With that in mind, can anyone recommend a training organization? A specific instructor would be great, too.

Help me find the best paper airplane for this project

snsranch — Sun, 04 May 2008 17:40:40 -0800

Can anyone suggest a really great paper airplane design or a cheap balsa glider? The idea is to nest it beneath a kite and release it at the highest possible altitude. I have the release worked out (we have considered dropping eggs on people) but don't have any idea what plane would work best in this scenario. My kids have been really into flying kites lately and I thought this would be a cool way to have some fun with it. Thanks in advance!

I want to fly my own damn skies.

trinity8-director — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 15:30:29 -0800

Seattle Area Flight Schools: Who's the best? I am considering flight school in the Seattle area and expect that there may be a vast difference between offerings from different companies.

I plan on taking an intro class to begin with but wanted to know if there are any here folks who can share some personal experiences with any of the companies between Auburn and Everett. Thanks!

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.

Jump start a web forum

543DoublePlay — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 05:53:51 -0800

Web Forum Filter: We have started a public forum on our website and I would like some ideas on how to jump start it and get some people posting on it. The subject of the website and forum is aviation safety and the human factor in aviation safety, so it is a fairly narrow audience - primarily commercial pilots (corporate and airline) although anyone in the aviation industry would be encouraged to post there We would like pilots to come to the forum (and the rest of the site of course) and get them to share their thoughts and ideas on those subjects and get some discussions going.

We have had a couple of early postings from ‘friends’ of our company, but I would really like to get a buzz going and get people to come to us as opposed to them finding it by accident. I know that once people start posting and reading posts on a forum they then become self-sustaining, but how do we get the word out and get people to register and make that initial first post?

What's the float?

mwhybark — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 11:10:29 -0800

What is the annualized cost to operate a Zeppelin NT? Please take crew,maintenance, facilities leasing, fuel, and insurance into account. Do not include the cost of the ship itself. Assume the ship will be used as a passenger vessel, as is the case today in Germany and Switzerland.

What do test pilots sound like?

COBRA! — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 08:48:18 -0800

I need to know about test pilot preflight procedures. I'm working on a graphic novel project about aircraft designers in the early 60s. For verisimilitude, I need more information about the preflight (or in-flight, I suppose) specifics of test flights. Like, what sort of checklists would the crews/pilots go through before taking an experimental plane up? What would the radio chatter sound like? What sort of jargon would they use?

Any pointers to resources, anecdotes, or other nuggets of information would be really, really welcome.

Question number 14295

Anonymous — Fri, 21 Jan 2005 21:21:08 -0800

I have no visual depth perception, and I would like to learn to fly an aircraft. I have already passed a FAA Class 3 physical, the only restriction being "Must wear glasses".

I'm looking for advice from any pilots/instructors here that have learned to fly without depth perception, or have taught someone without depth perception to fly. What modifications need to be made to a normal flight/ground school curriculum for a student pilot without depth perception?

Question number 10724

tss — Wed, 06 Oct 2004 21:08:39 -0800

In search of a missing webpage: an aviation autobiography [description inside].

Question number 8941

ALongDecember — Sat, 24 Jul 2004 22:14:19 -0800

I know this is a bit morbid, but have there been documented cases of airline safety floatation devices saving people? [more inside]