September 26th, 2008

PlaneMadness Episode 39

BLogbook Entry #659
Arrival Time: 13:59
Wright Time: 4.5

 
icon for podpress  PM Episode 39 [33:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It’s another PlaneMadness Podcast! It’s Episode 39 this time and there’s lots to talk about. Things seem to be happening as I recorded this episode as well - Namely (besides the US economic implosion) that Yves Rossi made it across the English Channel!

And last but certainly not least, my apologies for it having been so long since Episode 38.

As usual, life got in the way :grin: .

In this episode:

  • BREAK: The benefits of Milk! - 8:15
  • Space Shuttle to be Replaced by… A Soyuz? - 17:17
    NASA is running out of time to have something to replace the Shuttle
    Click here…
  • Another Wingsuit Winner - 20:20
    A great video of Dave Barlia flying through the trees!
    Click here…
  • The Carver: First Hybrid Car & Motorcycle - 23:40
    A revolutionary new design in vehicles
    Click here…


PlaneMadness Episode 39 Show Notes:
http://www.planemadness.com/2008/09/26/planemadness-episode-39/

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Filed under: PodBlerps, Podcast | a | a

September 26th, 2008

Space Shuttle to be Replaced by… A Soyuz?

BLogbook Entry #651
Arrival Time: 10:15
Wright Time: .4

As if everything else wasn’t falling apart, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin is strongly urging Congress to buy Russian Soyuz spacecraft because the Space Shuttle is set to retire in 2010, and NASA will not have anything to transport our astronauts to and from the International Space Station in 2011.

No, I’m not kidding folks. According to an article in USAToday, if the financing doesn’t come before the Congress’s mid-October break, we’ll have nothing to use after 2011.That’s because it takes the Russians 3 years to build a Soyuz… And if things didn’t seem bad enough already, Congress isn’t making any promises; Especially in light of the recent economic melt down here in the US.

NASA is in the process of building a Shuttle replacement, called the Orion (see pic at left -Ed) but it won’t be ready for Space Station work until 2016.

Additionally, the US has invested over $100 billion in the Space Station, so it’d be a shame not to have a US astronaut on it for the 5 year period after 2011 it’s going to take to complete a new US vehicle. That’s if everything goes according to schedule, and the money is there to build a new vehicle.

Not to be all doom and gloom here, really, but that’s another thing all in itself. Congress wants to borrow against the national debt to bailout Wall Street, while continuing to do the same to finance the war in Iraq. One can only wonder if US creditors abroad don’t already see current conditions as a strategic opportunity to completely pull the plug on the US financial system and gain a military edge through an economic hit in the process, but (luckily) for now, that’s just nervous speculation on my part.

Anyway, time will tell what Congress will do with NASA’s request.

In the mean time one can only wonder what the US astronauts are thinking about riding in the Soyuz after the recent mishaps. In the last one, the vehicle didn’t right itself correctly for re-entry, instead re-entering at a much steeper angle then normal, called a “ballistic descent”  which placed enormous g-forces on the crew and blew the Soyuz’s landing hundreds of miles off course, finally putting the icing on the cake by making a large gouge on the ground before completely coming to a stop.

Fortunately, everyone lived through it.

:shock:
Capt’n Chris

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September 26th, 2008

Non Stop Wingsuit Vids…

BLogbook Entry #658
Arrival Time: 10:14
Wright Time: .1

Here’s Dave Barlia and Andy West flying Wingsuits above Wengen, Switzerland at the 2008 Nissan Outdoor Games.

Incredible!
:grin: Capt’n Chris

Filed under: Videos | a | a

September 25th, 2008

Another Wingsuit Winner…

BLogbook Entry #656
Arrival Time: 15:35
Wright Time: .1

Dave Barlia on Wingsuit Flying in Cheminee, France. Make sure to watch the ending shot where Dave does a horizontal perowet while passing the ski lift at over 150 mph.

Awesome…
:grin: Capt’n Chris

Filed under: Videos | a | a

September 25th, 2008

Gov’t to Museums: “Ah… No”

BLogbook Entry #652
Arrival Time: 13:48
Wright Time: .2

Several aviation museums lost their Tomcats last year after the government showed up and removed them, citing security reasons. Recently the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino California reached a financial settlement with the US Government over the matter, which also absolved it of any wrong doing.

Many of these old Top Gun birds were rendered useless, without engines and elevated onto pedestals in the museum’s front yards. Perhaps a business opportunity exists now for any handy craftsman to construct full scale models as replacements, but that remains to be seen.

One may recall the guy who had FBI agents knocking at his door (Note the source of the previous article - Ed) after he put a retired, deconstructed Blue Angles F-18 on eBay and said it could be flight ready after only a few hours of re-building. Not. It didn’t have it’s flight computer brain anyway, thanks to prior actions by the government.

I do not know if the confiscated Tomcats were demilitarized, but after seeing the Feds reaction, one could guess that they were probably not.

:shock:
Capt’n Chris

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