MetaFilter posts tagged with flying and flight

"The world's most famous missing person."

kirkaracha — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 06:11:32 -0800

"The unburied come back to haunt us." On July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan took off from Lae, Papua New Guinea (map) in their Lockheed Electra en route to Howland Island (map). They were never seen again. Earhart and Noonan's flight was one of the last legs of an attempted around-the-world flight at the Equator. (A previous attempt, flying east to west, failed when Earhart's plane was damaged in Hawaii and had to be sent to California for repairs.) The most common explanation is that they ran out of fuel, ditched in the ocean, and drowned, but the disappearance is an enduring mystery. In Search of...Amelia Earhart (part 2, part 3). Where's Amelia Earhart? The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR; previously) is a leading supporter of a theory that the Earhart and Noonan crash-landed at Nikumaroro (then called Gardner Island; map) TIGHAR's map of Nikumaroro shows the locations of possible evidence to support their theory. TIGHAR recently obtained a reference sample of mitochondrial DNA from a direct female relative of Earhart's, and is making a new expedition to Nikumaroro in May 2010 to look for DNA evidence. Crash Reconstruction by the National Institute for Aviation Research at Wichita State University.

"I was up in those clouds all night."

emelenjr — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:10:47 -0800

"We were having dinner about four months ago and I was showing Clelia some pictures I'd taken in the air, and she said, 'Oh, that's so beautiful. I want to do that,'" Ben said. Easier said than done when you're 95. Be sure to check out the slideshow.

fear of flying

lalex — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:41:19 -0800

Ask the Pilot. Columnist Patrick Smith explains why you shouldn't be afraid of flying. For the past several years, the invaluable Patrick Stewart has been answering common passenger questions, including: Is turbulence dangerous? What are the safest airlines? No really, what are the safest airlines? How dangerous is in-flight decompression? Too hot to fly? A plane crossed in front of us? WHAT?? What does a runway near-miss mean? Will using an electronic device really down a plane?

If you squint your eyes it could pass for a private jet

MrMerlot — Sun, 11 May 2008 08:03:14 -0800

Is solar-powered flight getting any nearer? As noted previously on Metafilter, solar powered aviation has travelled a long way since the heady days of the Gossamer Penguin. But could it actually one day power commerical flight? Trouble is, a quick look at the prototypes reveals that most solar-powered planes remain a world away from passenger aviation. But that could be subject to change. Although we are not quite at the stage of the easyJet ecojet just yet, what might be just over the horizon is something like the Hy-Bird, a hybrid of hydrogen, solar-power and lithium-polymer batteries. The Hy-bird still looks like a bit like a prototype, but it is beginning to look more like a proper plane. If you squint your eyes, it could pass for a private jet. Lisa Airplanes, the Hy-bird's manufacturer, is planning to take the plane on a voyage that will circumnavigate the planet later this summer. According to Inhabitat, the Hy-bird gets just 10% of its power from solar, but that's still a significant contribution. Yes, we should all fly less if we want to reduce CO2. But the prospect of a truly green-powered aeroplane is enough to spark the imagination. Could we both save the planet and still be able to fly?

Vintage Flight Attendant Photos

brain_drain — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 09:07:58 -0800

Remember when air travel was viewed as glamorous and exciting? Of course you don't. So check out this collection of vintage flight attendant photos: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

We're Not Gonna Take It Anymore!

ThePinkSuperhero — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 09:19:42 -0800

I now know what to do in case I ever got stuck on an airplane that's not going anywhere- organize and stage a revolt, like the passengers of Continental flight 1669.

Birdie, Birdie In the Sky.......

fenriq — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 22:26:50 -0800

The Super Sky Cycle is a convertible gyrocopter that lets you fly at better than freeway speeds, land in 20 feet, be driven home as a motorcycle, and fit in your garage. It is available now for a mere $37K. Check out the flight vid, the cool MacGyver soundtrack is extra though.
Note, yes, "Super" and "Cycle" might be stretches in the name of this product. But it is still pretty damned cool. via

Homme de Fusée

gottabefunky — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 21:47:12 -0800

Rocket Man. One three-meter wing + four model engines + one crazy Swiss dude = Yves Rossy, the world's first jet-powered flying man.

Superman Had It Easy

fenriq — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 16:43:28 -0800

Hovering in History
From the HZ-1 Aerocycle, which looks like someone standing on top of a blender, to the VZ-8P "Airgeep" to the WASP X-Jet aka The Flying Pulpit and the collapsible Rotorcycle as well as the Inspector Gadget-esque Hoppi-Copter, the Army has dropped a ton of R&D money on personal flight machines. Of course, the newer iterations of personal flying machines are no less fascinating, like the SoloTrek, but it seems the Dream of Personal Flight will remain a dream for a while longer.

Stunts

growabrain — Fri, 13 May 2005 19:37:05 -0800

Haute Voltage stunt flight (Direct .mpg. Bonus if you read Russian)

Aviation Explorer

jdroth — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 13:19:59 -0800

Aviation Explorer "Your online source for aviation information and media...aviation web resources for pilots and flight enthusiasts." I'm neither a pilot nor a flight enthusiast, but still found this site interesting (especially the accidents section, which reminded me of this previous thread on cockpit voice recorders).

southisup — Sun, 10 Jun 2001 21:22:13 -0800

White Dwarf is a flying HPV. I thought they only existed in books. More fun on a still day than a Frisbee.
Link via:Velo Vision

roboto — Tue, 05 Jun 2001 12:49:03 -0800

My new hero John Ninomiya is going to fly tethered to a cluster of balloons this weekend. I've dreamt of doing this since a kid and I guess I'm not alone.

rdr — Sat, 03 Mar 2001 18:33:52 -0800

This scares me silly given the general skill level drivers display in my town. I'm imagining some idiot chatting away on a cell phone taking out my condo.