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I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived (2009)

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Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived (2009)

#211

Post by tyingq »

Diesel555 wrote: post #167
otikik wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only it’s inhumane, it’s also stupid: it incentivizes pilots who have problems like that to hide them, instead of coming forward.

I'm not sure I agree with the inhumane (flight pay is an incentive pay where without it pilots still make the same pay as the rest of the military their rank), but I can confirm the stupidity of the policy. Usually anyone medically interacting with a fighter pilot on an issue that could be grounding must spend some time gaining trust for the pilot to be completely open with them. The result of this policy is normally…

For some context, "flight pay" ranges from $150/month to $400/month today, depending on tenure. A brand new lieutenant has a ~$41k base salary, a 4-year captain ~$65k. So it's not a small incentive, but not huge either. There are other things like base housing (or a housing allowance), overseas pay, etc, that bump up overall comp a bit.

Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived (2009)

#212

Post by dmitrygr »

gavinhoward wrote: post #207
dmitrygr wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sure? Last I checked (a friend was on anti-depressants), as long as you only want a private (not commercial or ATP), a year off the meds or a year at a stable dose and a letter from your doc that you're ok will be enough to get a 3rd class medical.

I have been denied a medical by the Federal Air Surgeon. I have the personal letter from her to prove it. This is usually done on a case-by-case basis; I just happened to come down on the unlucky end of it.

Sorry, that sucks. There is hope that MATRIX will allow more small planes to be piloted without a medical. Hang in there.

Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived (2009)

#213

Post by blauditore »

zugi wrote: post #89
rootusrootus wrote: post #18

This happened in 1963. Planes had only been flying for 60 years at that point; it really is pretty amazing how quickly we progressed on technology during those early years. We still fly 737s, which are descended from a design that first flew in 1967. As well as the C130, which was part of this story. And don't get me started on B-52s, which are even older. We have made great strides since then, of course, but it does…

Some things are limited by unchanging physics, like what shapes work aerodynamically, limitations imposed by the speed of sound, the maximum amount of thrust that can be generated by a kilogram of fuel, and so forth. Once humans figure out what basically works, we keep making incremental improvements towards optimality given the physical constraints. In such scenarios the first steps always look the biggest. The Boei…

For many of these physical boundaries, airplanes (as well as cars) are nowhere near the limits. E.g. fuel efficiency of engines is usually well below 50%.

Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived (2009)

#214

Post by heavyset_go »

anderspitman wrote: post #97

Reminds me of a web page I stumbled upon many years ago. It was very much visually designed in the 90s style. The whole page was dedicated to tips and tricks for surviving falls from very high distances. I only remember 3 points: * For most of the fall, try to spread out like a flying squirrel to reduce your terminal velocity. * As you get close to the ground, rotate to take the impact primarily on your feet and legs…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachute_landing_fall

Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived (2009)

#215

Post by EarthLaunch »

merely-unlikely wrote: post #182
codefoster wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's foolish for the pure utilitarian to leave the human factor out of the equation. Or perhaps his error is to consider dollars to be the ultimate commodity. Really, we as humans work for a much more valuable commodity than money. The fighting of the war in the first place is a human attempt at creating a good story (of a country that actually realizes peace and prosperity). The saving of one man (whether soldier or…

Everyone in this thread has made good points and I don't disagree with any of them. Nor would I advocate to change policies here. My comment was really a surface level reaction to the number of resources deployed that I wouldn't expect to see living in the city for example. I almost deleted the comment right after posting but it was already generating discussion so I thought I'd leave it. > Or perhaps his error is to…

I liked your original comment, not because I agreed or disagreed with the utilitarian angle, but because it raised the most interesting emotional aspect of this story. Thanks for making it.

Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived (2009)

#216

Post by [deleted] »

anderspitman wrote: post #97

Reminds me of a web page I stumbled upon many years ago. It was very much visually designed in the 90s style. The whole page was dedicated to tips and tricks for surviving falls from very high distances. I only remember 3 points: * For most of the fall, try to spread out like a flying squirrel to reduce your terminal velocity. * As you get close to the ground, rotate to take the impact primarily on your feet and legs…

[deleted]

Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived (2009)

#217

Post by BenjiWiebe »

csallen wrote: post #209
Diesel555 wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He skidded the airplane. He applied rudder trim so that the tail was not directly behind the aircraft. He also mentions trying to be nose high. What this would look like I think. Slow down to increase angle of attack in level flight. The nose is now high (likely already occurred after flameout and ejection attempts without thinking about it - check). Go full deflection rudder trim to skid the aircraft. Now trim the a…

As someone who doesn't fly planes, it's almost impossible to understand this comment or the author's original passage lol

As someone who, years ago, spent a little time with an RC flight simulator, I think I followed it.

Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived (2009)

#218

Post by angrais »

dctoedt wrote: post #157
lefstathiou wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My childhood best friend went into the Army to be a Ranger. He once told me that there is basically no higher priority event than a search and rescue mission. Down to a man, if you are captured, or at risk of capture, special forces and black hawks get called in with the ability to use any means necessary to get you out of there alive. He said it was an extreme source of pride for him personally to see how far they w…

See, e.g., the unbelievable heroics — and losses — in rescuing a shot-down American flier during (what we call) the Vietnam war, including a Navy SEAL who was awarded* the Medal of Honor for his astonishing feats in finally getting the guy out more than ten days after he was downed. * For those who don't know: Recipients of medals for valor in combat (I'm not a member of that august group) don't like it when people s…

Why did you say "what we call" in reference to the Vietnam war?

Is there another name for it? Besides the obvious name of whatever the "enemy" called it at the time?

Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived (2009)

#219

Post by hinkley »

Diesel555 wrote: post #144
michael_fine wrote: post #22

In a story of insane luck (and unluck!), the craziest part is definitely this " He said that if I had had a spleen, it almost certainly would have ruptured when I hit the water, and I would have bled to death. Of the 25 pilots in our squadron, I am the only one without a spleen. It gives me something to think about. Maybe it does you as well."

I thought the craziest part was where in this sequence of events does the pilot say > “This is very serious,” I thought. It's just after > "The main, 24-foot parachute was just flapping in the breeze and was tangled in its own shroud lines. It hadn’t opened! I could see the white folds neatly arranged, fluttering feebly in the air. So... after the flame-out, after the fire, after the lack of radios, after the failed…

> after the flame-out, after the fire, after the lack of radios, after the failed ejection, after the canopy manual ejection, after jumping out of the plane, after not hitting the tail, then after pulling his parachute and it doesn't open does he finally think - man this is serious.

If you're a theist, you might be forgiven for thinking that someone was trying really hard to get your attention, after a day like that.

Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived (2009)

#220

Post by a4isms »

chasd00 wrote: post #195
genghisjahn wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://youtu.be/gv7mO41bbPg?t=74

didn't Eddie Murphy play all of those roles at the same time? well i mean it was edited to look like he played them all at the same time.

He played Saul, the hang-about with the Yiddish accent, and one of the two barbers. Arsenio Hall played played the other barber. Cuba Gooding Jr. played a customer.

The joke Eddie tells at the end in character as Saul cracks me up to this very day. When we succeed at tricking someone into recognizing an unpleasant truth, my entire family will waggle a finger and intone “Aha!” in tribute.

Example: “Hey, what colour is the rubber base of the dog dish?”

“Hang on… Ewww, it’s dirty, needs to be washed.”

“Aha!”

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