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Airline pilots landing at LAX report “a guy in jetpack” flying alongside them

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Re: Airline pilots landing at LAX report “a guy in jetpack” flying alongside them

#221

Post by Rochus »

Rochus wrote: post #114
elteto wrote: post #17

ATCs have a reputation for never losing their cool and that really shines through here: “Tower, there’s a guy in a jetpack flying outside.” “Copy. To your left or your right?”

This has less to do with coolness than with the fact that the controller will most likely not be able to see the guy on the ASR, and I would assume that the guy has no transponder either. You can only control the airspace if you can see who/what is around.

Maybe I should mention that I was responsible for the testing of different ATC radar systems.

Re: Airline pilots landing at LAX report “a guy in jetpack” flying alongside them

#222

Post by hinkley »

ISL wrote: post #64
dghughes wrote: post #24

I've always been of the belief that a jetpack could never exist until flame-proof pants/trousers were made first.

Nomex is incredible: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomex https://www.google.com/search?q=nomex+pants

I remember when Top Gear drove that ridiculously fast Bugatti on the Ring, they pointed out that at top speed the lifetime for the tires was something like 500 miles, which was just a couple hours. And the tires cost as much as a decent used sedan.

I suspect the Nomex pants might be on a par with that Bugatti. 2 hours per pair.

Re: Airline pilots landing at LAX report “a guy in jetpack” flying alongside them

#224

Post by michaelcampbell »

hinkley wrote: post #217
snapetom wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's probably recordings publicly available somewhere, but I thought the same thing when listening to the Columbia disaster. It was the first space disaster play out in real time over the internet. NASA streamed mission control communication on their site. We got everything unfiltered. The nation just lost a pride and joy, and mission control was incredibly calm and professional throughout. I was constantly hittin…

I was still in school, and science class happened to line up with the [Challenger] disaster. We had a substitute so I was used to that class being Bedlam anyway. I walked in and didn't believe people when they said what happened. (I had a similar reaction when my spouse woke me up at the crack of dawn by announcing "They knocked down the Towers!") Then the sub rolls in a TV cart. Oh. The other thing that struck me wa…

I've got a few years on you evidently; I was in a college mechanical drafting class that had just let out after the disaster. As it was at UCF east of Orlando, I had to but look East and see it.

Re: Airline pilots landing at LAX report “a guy in jetpack” flying alongside them

#225

Post by sudosysgen »

imglorp wrote: post #20
sandworm101 wrote: post #6

>> They are also very high-profile in nature and require a mothership to launch from, such as a helicopter, or at least a very high point to leap from. No. Yves "Jetman" Rossi's design can now launch from a standing position on the ground. It is able to launch, hover, transition to forward flight and zoom-climb to several thousand feet. Other than the landing, which is currently still via parachute ... ironman.

Even if it's not Rossi, whose design has been years in the making, I think a copycat is most likely here. Rossi's wing operates at 4000+ feet and 189mph, which is comparable to jets slowing down on long final. Those hobby jet engines are very expensive but off the shelf, and anyone can build a wing in their garage. The FAA would classify it as an aircraft (already has), and would like to talk to this operator. I thin…

a 400N jet engine is now only 6000$. Building a wing with a TWR > 1.0 would only cost about 18 000$ in engines, which is really not that much.

Re: Airline pilots landing at LAX report “a guy in jetpack” flying alongside them

#226

Post by ufmace »

supernova87a wrote: post #199
sharkweek wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I listened to the audio book of “The Only Plane in the Sky” (do recommend), and they played real recordings of ATCs on 9/11 as the planes were hitting buildings. It was surreal listening to them talk about the catastrophe but all while maintaining a total sense of calm.

Speaking of, and coming up on the anniversary in September, here is a description of what a passenger experienced in a plane on that day: "On 9/11, I was listening to Ch. 9. I was on a flight out of ORD to AZ (757) seated in 5F. We had just taken off and where climbing to cruise. A flight out of Rockford, IL was squeezing between us and the UA in front of us. I watched as he lined up to get on the highway westbound.…

Wow, that's an amazing story!

I wonder how many of these pilots flew fighters or something for the Air Force before they took a job flying airliners.

I wonder how a fully automated system like we often think about would handle a situation like this.

Re: Airline pilots landing at LAX report “a guy in jetpack” flying alongside them

#227

Post by ericcumbee »

snapetom wrote: post #210
elteto wrote: post #17

ATCs have a reputation for never losing their cool and that really shines through here: “Tower, there’s a guy in a jetpack flying outside.” “Copy. To your left or your right?”

There's probably recordings publicly available somewhere, but I thought the same thing when listening to the Columbia disaster. It was the first space disaster play out in real time over the internet. NASA streamed mission control communication on their site. We got everything unfiltered. The nation just lost a pride and joy, and mission control was incredibly calm and professional throughout. I was constantly hittin…

I keep remembering hearing Capcom keep saying "COLUMBIA HOUSTON,UHF COMM CHECK OVER" You could just tell every time he repeated that it just got harder and harder for him to say it with out cracking.

Re: Airline pilots landing at LAX report “a guy in jetpack” flying alongside them

#228

Post by sandworm101 »

larrywright wrote: post #171
sandworm101 wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That story is often told but is generally considered apocryphal. There is too much wrong with it procedurally. It's funny, but not likely a conversation that actually happened.

I thought it was apocryphal as well, but this is the pilot who did it. https://youtu.be/8AyHH9G9et0 Not saying it’s impossible that he made it up or embellished, but it seems likely that it actually happened.

I would like to know exactly which frequency/airspace he was using that allowed all mentioned parties to hear each other.

Re: Airline pilots landing at LAX report “a guy in jetpack” flying alongside them

#229

Post by ericcumbee »

michaelcampbell wrote: post #224
hinkley wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was still in school, and science class happened to line up with the [Challenger] disaster. We had a substitute so I was used to that class being Bedlam anyway. I walked in and didn't believe people when they said what happened. (I had a similar reaction when my spouse woke me up at the crack of dawn by announcing "They knocked down the Towers!") Then the sub rolls in a TV cart. Oh. The other thing that struck me wa…

I've got a few years on you evidently; I was in a college mechanical drafting class that had just let out after the disaster. As it was at UCF east of Orlando, I had to but look East and see it.

Columbia happened on a Saturday.

Re: Airline pilots landing at LAX report “a guy in jetpack” flying alongside them

#230

Post by sandworm101 »

pc86 wrote: post #215
sandworm101 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is also odd that they said "in a jetpack" rather than wearing or riding on/under a jetpack. Might this also be a very small but conventional aircraft? Might it be a mannequin mounted inside a smaller drone? Size gets distorted in these situations. (FYI those hobby jets are one option, but there are considerably more capable small jets available, mostly used for cruise missiles and heavy drones.)

Airline pilots typically earn their 1500-hour minimum for their license in "small but conventional aircraft" so the odds of them mistaking one for a jetpack is approximately zero.

And I probably have 5000+ hours driving cars. That doesn't mean I don't occasionally confuse one type of road vehicle for another, especially when dealing with odd/rare types.
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