I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived (2009) • Hacker News Board

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

#271

Post by jrumbut » Thu, Oct 27, 2022, 5:00 PM UTC

aliqot wrote: post #236

jrumbut wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow you two really understand each other! I was thinking "what movie did I miss where they discussed Dicky Eklund and George Chuvalo?" I was wondering if it was from that old Showtime documentary about Dicky's darker times.

It's heart warming that people know Dicky in this context, it's tough to see him go from where he was to the person they saw during his appearance on HBO's "High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell" https://deadspin.com/the-real-dicky-eklund-in-hbos-high-on-c...

My memory of him is always going to be Mickey Ward's corner, I'm not old enough to remember his own career but he had some legendary moments as a second.

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

#272

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Oct 27, 2022, 5:01 PM UTC

Aerroon wrote: post #264

ghoward wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, absolutely. I have a pilot acquaintance that would refuse to go to the doctor when he was younger. I also tried to become a pilot, but because of a documented history of taking anti-depressants, the FAA grounded me for life, despite being years removed from needing them. [1] I wish that history was not documented. [1]: https://gavinhoward.com/2022/09/grounded-for-life-losing-the...

It's unrelated, but I wanted to nitpick this: > safety comes first. Always. The safest way to keep the airspace above the US would be to ban all general and commercial aviation. Safety does not come first. Safety never comes first, because the safest course of action is to never do anything. It is always a balancing of risk. It is very unfortunate that something like this is keeping you from your dream. I'm sorry.

[deleted]

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

#273

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Oct 27, 2022, 5:24 PM UTC

nwiswell wrote: post #228

dctoedt wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Sounds like there was something at play besides pure camaraderie and no-man-left-behind ethos: > Hambleton had Top Secret access to Strategic Air Command operations and was an expert in surface-to-air missile countermeasures. The North Vietnamese Army may have possessed information about his presence in Vietnam and his capture would have meant a huge intelligence bonanza for the Soviet Union.

[deleted]

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

#274

Post by egberts1 » Fri, Oct 28, 2022, 1:58 AM UTC

- 1/25 of squadron without a spleen

- 1:1000 parachute failure (general stats)

- 1:~970 surviving a free fall. (News excerpts, napkin math).

- 3:4 death by ruptured spleens (auto accidents, AMA)

- 1:~10500 total failure in a single flight of F-8 Crusader (1955-1978). Nearly all F-8s were declared non-flight ready over time before decommissioning. Last squadron of F-8 were rendered incapacitated by Mt. Pintubo eruption in Philippine air base.

- 1:~48 ejection seat failure (1970s, USAF), assuming before F-8E model. Martin-Baker took over at F-8E+.

- 1:~15000 total failure of a single inflight refueling by C-130A drogue approach. (1960-1968 est.)

Or odds were 8.522882234222e−18.

Feels like he was beating at winning the MegaLotto odds.