Rosso Fango

Knowing what you know, what would you do had you the choice?

Rule 5: Talk about attention-grabbing! Nigella Lawson stands out in multicoloured skintight dress as she launches new book in the US

Among The Joshua Trees

Rule 5: Talk about attention-grabbing! Nigella Lawson stands out in multicoloured skintight dress as she launches new book in the US

Oh My!

 

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“Flying On The Bleeding Edge”…and Crosswind Landings

I have a friend who I would consider in the top 2% of programmers. But for a few changes he could have been another Steve Wozniak of Apple – having worked for Xerox about the same time as The Woz worked for HP  –   and trying to convince Xerox to make a small microprocessor-based computer. Like the Woz at HP (at the time) his efforts met with a similar fate, with the Woz and Steve Jobs going  on to found Apple.

Anyway, your truly, having refused to subscribe to a cable network for 20 years (not wanting to subsidize a bunch of little-viewed programs just to get 3-5 that I want) – finally took the first step with streaming.

And with Netflix, I have discovered a whole new universe. Not only do have the choice of some of the best series from the 50s (The Twilight Zone) to the 90s (Frazier), but I can watch the entire series starting with episode 1. I’ve told Larry that I am always on the bleeding edge of technology.

One of the series I’m hooked on is Flying Wild Alaska. The Tweto Family runs a small regional air service, flying everything from Cessna 206s toBeech 1900s.

I’ve always admired bush pilots. They don’t fly the fastest planes, or the biggest, but they are always challenged – to the extreme – by weather, weight and balance, and landing conditions.

In one episode of Flying Alaska the pilot is being chased by a gale force storm, and to maximize his payload, he left 30 minutes of fuel in the plane after the destination – accounting for the weather. Talk about pressure. The payload – whether food for villages or people, pays the costs and fuel doesn’t.

I have flown as a passenger  with these pilots in New Zealand and Alaska, and whether landing through a canyon, with trees 40′ from each side of the wings, or alongside a 4,000′ rock cliff along McKinley, their skills are – to me – razor sharp.

Since any Pilot’s Operating Handbook will – in the crosswind landing area – say “maximum demonstrated crosswind – xxx knots “- – all the test pilots could find during the time of certification- I’m sure these pilots in Alaska have on a regular basis found much higher winds.

And in rural Alaska with weather there are usually no alternates.

Anyway I just saw this segment.

Cutaway Thursday: X-51 Waverider

Imperial War Museum Duxford – a peek

For the non-facebook members, I’ve re-posted some photographs I put on for the `Facebook Group` from when I visited Duxford last week. I’m no photographer and only have a basic digital camera and some of these had to be snapped on my `mobile` phone as batteries conked out, but I hope it gives you a little insight into some of the things going on at Duxford.

It would have been more fitting to have got these up for your Memorial Weekend, but I was out doing my own remembrances at the Thorpe Abbotts 100th Bombardment Group museum. Will put up a couple of videos from that in due course. Hope you enjoy these.

Outside the American museum is this Memorial Wall to all who were lost on missions from UK bases.

The American Memorial Wall outside the US Aviation Museum at Duxford

 

Each panel represents a specific Group’s aircraft losses

Aircraft type shown in silhouette

Work in progress

 

Gloster Gladiator – airworthy

Bristol Beaufighter – a long job

The P.40 had just landed after a great practice session

 

 

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DOD Furlough Observations from Bill Paisley

From our good friend and fellow Lexican, Bill “Pinch” Paisley.

Among The Joshua Trees

Good old “Pinch” Paisley had this at his Facebook today. I am also one of those getting the furlough letter as I work for the Air Force at Eddie’s Airplane Patch. Sucks. But Bill has this short but most eloquent post…………..Shipmate, Friend, Blog Bud and Lexican.

 

Furlough letter today. Yay. Makes me feel better when I’m losing 11 days of work and Major Nidal Hasan is getting his full pay. Or when the White House has parties for Justin and Beyonce. Or millions of dollars are spent on a study of Chinese prostitutes to try and make it more difficult for American businessmen to become HIV Positive while on a trip to Hong Kong. Ain’t that America.

 

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Dambusters – postscript

2 weeks ago I posted about the Dambusters 70th Anniversary commemorations broadcast live on the BBC which I thought was very well produced and staged by the RAF and BBC .

I’ve just found these recently posted extracts on You Tube. One is of the aforementioned BBC broadcast and the other is amateur  footage taken of events during that day. Some quite good shots, which may be of interest to our bloggers.

 

Heh

Snigs' Spot

I think there’s a slight disconnect beyond the obvious here…

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Blue Spitfires with no guns

Never saw this before, maybe you haven’t either.
Round trip to Berlin, no guns, just cameras. And an American to boot!

New URL for this post Tuesday May 29. Sorry about the other one, it kept on going to videos not related.

High Wind Warning in The Mojave Desert

Welcome to The Mojave Desert in The Spring Time.
The Wind doesn’t blow at Edwards. Barstow sucks……………………………..

Among The Joshua Trees

These things at times are never ending around here. It  has actually picked up since sun up. The line will be interesting to say the least.

High Wind Warning

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA 1059 AM PDT TUE MAY 28 2013 CAZ095-099-290200- /O.CON.KHNX.HW.W.0005.000000T0000Z-130529T0600Z/ /O.CON.KHNX.WI.Y.0040.130529T0600Z-130530T1200Z/ KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT- 1059 AM PDT TUE MAY 28 2013 ...HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM PDT THIS EVENING... ...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 5 AM PDT THURSDAY... A HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND THE SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT. A WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 5 AM PDT THURSDAY FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND THE SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT. * WINDS: WEST TO NORTHWEST 25 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS…

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