Check out this amazing video of a hydrofoil record speed attempt. It really is amazing and reminds me of a scene right out of the 1995 movie Water World. And the coolest part (at least to me) are the underlying physics that make it all happen.
Basically it’s really simple- A hydrofoil is a submerged wing that’s attached to the boat above it. As the boat accelerates, the wing under the water produces lift- Just like a wing on an airplane. Remember it’s still fluid dynamics, whether it’s air or water.
The great part about hydrofoils is that as the boat accelerates, overall drag is reduced- The opposite of aircraft. That is because as the foils produce lift they raise the boat out of the water and walla, the drag of all that water on the boat’s hull is gone!
Check this next video out. This guy is a retired Boeing engineer who converted his Bayliner with hydrofoils. The other part I thought was really cool is that he uses his laptop as an autopilot to control bank angle!
And last, check out how much fun the guy in this next video is having. It’s a great video to watch and is of a hydro wakeboarder being pulled behind a boat. I’d embed the video here, but it’s author has requested that it not have that capability, so I’ll post the link instead: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoGqdZNdb_o.
Well, that’s about it for hydrofoils today. Check back though because I find hydrofoils so fascinating, I just may do another post about them in the near future! ~Capt’n Chris
With all the media coverage of Yves Rossi’s flight the other day, you’re probably wondering why I haven’t posted anything here about it. One reason’s rather obvious- It’s been covered pretty extensively already.
The other is that I’ve covered Yves before. In fact, he was the subject of the very first PlaneMadness Podcast on May 2, 2007. You can check it out, if you don’t mind a real trip back to yesteryear, a USB mic, or quite a nervous host.
I can’t help but find it somewhat coincidental though that in PlaneMadness’s one year anniversary month, Yves is back out before the cameras again. Perhaps I should do a full episode about him and pursue an interview now, but since I’m not reporter Megyn Kelly, the opportunity for that was probably more of an option for Episode #1! (Capt’n Chris would be forever indebted though, if someone out there reading this just happened to know Yves and could provide the hookup…).
You can find Yves’s latest video here, but personally (and aside from the barrel roll and a reported loop?) I happen to like the video below a little better.
Maybe it’s the pulsating rif from Moby that adds just the right amount of awe to a jawbone that’s already on the ground? I don’t know, but there’s one thing I do know- I definitely want my own jet wing now!
I have had the privilege of taking part in an email exchange with a couple of Airline Captains who flew during Edward Daly’s era. One was even a World Airways Pilot. I asked for and obtained permission to duplicate those emails here. I would love for these guys to join up on PlaneMadness.Com (HINT… HINT..) but until then, this is the next best thing. I think this kind of insight into airline yesteryear is absolutely incredible and deserves all the attention I can give it.
You can see the emails at the bottom of this post. Capt’n Chris
Here’s another top-notch find from PlaneMadness Member SpeedBird48.
It’s Dan Rather from 1975 doing a report for the CBS Evening News on the deteriorating situation at that time in Da Nang, South Vietnam.
On the directive of it’s owner, Edward J.Daly, World Airways sent a number of flights into Da Nang to transport stranded refugees out of South Vietnam.
On this final flight, the US Embassy and the Vietnamese government warned that they would be unable to secure the airport from mobs of people. Still, Daly wanted to send one last flight in to pick up women and children and transport them to safety.
Instead, crowds mobbed the Boeing 727 after landing as it continued moving on the tarmac. Daly himself fought off soldiers who were pushing women, children, and their own relatives out of the way to get a spot on the plane.
So instead of a load of women and children, the 727 was mostly full of men, who shockingly had pushed their own family members out of the way to get on. The plane was also heavily over-loaded, and people were jam-packed in the cargo compartments - with the doors still open in flight.
After departure, the pilots were never able to get the gear up, as their were people in the wheel wells. The rear stairs never came up either, as there were also a number of people clinging to them as the airplane climbed- Most of which fell off but Daly crawled out onto the stairs himself and pulled the one last survivor in.
This is a tale of heroism and bravery on World Airways and Edward Daly’s part.
Many thanks to SpeedBird48 for the link.
Capt’n Chris
—– Original Message —–
Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2008
To:
Subject: World Airways - Last Flight from Da Nang
Bob, one time I landed at E.L. Cord’s Fish Lake Valley ranch. (E.L.Cord founded American Airlines and hired C.R. Smith) The ranch foreman told me that the day before a guy named Ed Daley was there, in a Citation jet, and he got off the plane wearing a brace of revolvers. The foreman thought it was pretty cool. <g>
—– Original Message —–
Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2008
To:
Subject: World Airways - Last Flight from Da Nang
Steve, I knew all those guys. My only “combat” experience with Ed Daly was in 1979 when we were on strike and he came to the picket line with a revolver. He was waving it all over the place. I was about 3 feet from him and turned to go get my picket sign when I heard the damn thing go off. I dived into the iceberg plants and then heard the bastard laughing. He fired off a couple more rounds then left. He used to come out and arm wrestle us on the picket line. He was very strong. He was known to show up to union negotiations with a gun, slap it on the desk and say, “OK you sons of bitches let’s talk!” Our union was the Teamsters and he even scared them. I’ve got a lot of Daly stories some funny but most were sad. He was a mega drunk and won World in a poker game.
While that flight was going on I was flying Rescue HC-130s for the USAF.
BTW, We had to watch that video during new hire indoc and some recurrents until Daly died. He was an SOB but definitely a real man. Loved to fist fight to settle problems.
Bob
p.s. Sometimes on a quiet night I can still hear all my different airline uniforms fighting in the closet! World always won-must be the Daly legacy!
How unbelievably beyond completely cool can this be? I’m serious folks the ‘awesome’ factor here is so far off the charts with this one, that it’s in low Earth orbit by now. This guy put what he calls an “afterburner effect” on his R/C Turbine F-16. Now whether or not that constitutes a real afterburner I don’t know, however his use of the word ‘effect’ has me thinking it’s just that. An effect.
So after watching the video and thinking about it, I went searching the internet just to see if any companies were offering a real R/C Turbine with a real afterburner - Turns out there is one. It’s a German company and some details can be found here.
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The great part about hydrofoils is that as the boat accelerates, overall drag is reduced- The opposite of aircraft. That is because as the foils produce lift they raise the boat out of the water and walla, the drag of all that water on the boat’s hull is gone!
~Capt’n Chris
| 
With all the media coverage of Yves Rossi’s flight the other day, you’re probably wondering why I haven’t posted anything here about it. One reason’s rather obvious- It’s been covered pretty extensively already.
~Capt’n Chris
Capt’n Chris
