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Memento posted:Four or so years back, Telstra (Australian telco) told a bunch of owners corporation buildings they would have to switch their telephone systems over to the NBN because they were turning off the boxes in the street that powered them and recycling the batteries in them. This meant that "hey folks your elevator phone is going to stop working. You've got ~18 month's notice, sort it out". Seems like an expensive monitoring fee though (note: I own no buildings but my home and it doesn't have an elevator in it so I guess my opinion doesn't matter too much)
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Sep 26, 2019 03:10
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there should be a sliding scale where if you're a hojillionaire and people suffer because you cheaped out on something routine, i kick you in the balls so hard they crash into your skull with a circus strongman bell sound effect. your eyes pop out cartoonishly. this is how i know i am the strongest, that the blows of my feet are sufficiently mighty.
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Sep 26, 2019 03:12
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tangy yet delightful posted:Seems like an expensive monitoring fee though (note: I own no buildings but my home and it doesn't have an elevator in it so I guess my opinion doesn't matter too much) Well it's 24/7 with guaranteed uptime, also this is Australia prices where everything costs more. I guess the main point is 
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Sep 26, 2019 03:14
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Dad had some OSHA-esque stories from his time in the Air Force. He was a radiation safety officer at a few bases. It's been years since he's told me these stories so I might be screwing up some of the details, but I'll do my best. It's also entirely possible he embellished these stories, but to this day, I believe them. All of these stories are decades old now, so I don't think any of them will get me/him into trouble, and at least for the C-141 crash, the details are available on the Internet. One of the things he had to do was go to the base hospital and verify that their of their radiology equipment was calibrated right/not irradiating people excessively. On one particular visit, they were doing the inspection on a fluoroscopy machine. Apparently calibrating this thing was a pain in the rear end - with the machine off, they'd make adjustments to it, turn it on and check the beam, turn it back off, make more adjustments, and keep repeating the process until they had it right. They had it nearly correct, only needing a little more fine adjustment. The tech decided that he wanted to speed things along, and with the machine on, stuck his hand in the machine - through the beam - to make the final adjustments, taking only a few seconds. It happened so fast that by the time my dad opened his mouth to say something, the guy was finished and the calibration complete. Dad's only response to the guy was, "You don't...you don't do that often, do you?" Dad's shop was also tasked with sampling the RF emissions from radar sets - one tale involved an F-15 that was being serviced in a maintenance bay. It had been jacked up off of the ground so that the wheels weren't actually bearing any weight. This is important because, as the tale was told, the F-15 has a safety interlock that prevents the attack radar in the nose from being turned on if there's weight on the wheels. One maintenance guy was in the cockpit working on something, as other people were outside working on whatever else needed doing. At some point, the guy in the cockpit turned on the radar - whether purposely or accidentally, I don't know. I don't remember if someone was underneath the radar dish as this occurred, or if the radar had been on for some time and someone walked underneath it, but the end result was that some poor tech got absolutely cooked by the RF coming off of the dish. Third degree burns on his back and neck. He also got to do some dosimetry surveys on foreign-built equipment. As I'm sure many of you know, cockpit instruments in airplanes used to be painted with Radium paint so they'd glow. This practice fell into disfavor in the West as we generally became more aware of how nasty Radium is, but apparently the Soviets continued using it long after we stopped. The cockpit of the MiG-21 he sampled was a particularly bad case - just about every switch tip and lever had Radium paint on it, to the point that any pilot sitting in the cockpit was being dosed with something like 4 mR per hour. (I don't remember the exact number, but it was measured in mR/hour, and 4 is the number that's really sticking in my head). 4 mR/hour isn't going to melt you like the Chernobyl firefighters, but it was a high enough dose that he recommended that cockpit be sealed. The final tale I can remember right now involved a C-141 crash - his team had to go and look for the Depleted Uranium counterweights that had been liberated from the airframe during the crash. That's not the OSHA part. The OSHA part is how, exactly, this thing had come to rest in a swamp a few miles from Hurlburt's runway. This particular -141 (tail number 66-60150) was flying into Hurlburt Field and was on final approach during a hellacious nighttime thunderstorm. The air traffic controllers were due for a shift change and apparently something about the transition between controllers didn't go right. By the time anyone noticed anything, the plane had bellied into the woods, leaving a huge swath of uprooted trees behind it. The cargo broke lose from the impact, crashed into the cockpit, and started a fire; everyone on board was killed. I do remember asking if they think it was the impact that killed the crew, or the subsequent cargo crash and fire, and I don't think they were sure - if one hadn't killed them, the other certainly did. Never did find those DU counterweights.
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Sep 26, 2019 03:16
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DirtyHarold posted:Rad stories. These are cool as hell to read about. Got any more?
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Sep 26, 2019 03:24
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Zipperelli. posted:
Did you do this on purpose
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Sep 26, 2019 03:26
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Bad Munki posted:
Yup. 
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Sep 26, 2019 03:31
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Zipperelli. posted:Yup. You’re all right by me, guy!
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Sep 26, 2019 03:33
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Bad Munki posted:You’re all right by me, guy! 
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Sep 26, 2019 03:35
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Memento posted:Well it's 24/7 with guaranteed uptime, also this is Australia prices where everything costs more. Ya I suppose the guarantee does cost (probably in terms of actual redundancies but also insurance for getting sued when it goes down at some critical time). Of course, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YCySD7GlKA
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Sep 26, 2019 03:45
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A few more I can remember... Just about every military aircraft has some radioactive component on it somewhere, so a lot of the surveys he did were out at crash sites, or surveying wreckage to try and recover radioactive sources. There was one helicopter crash I remember hearing about - I believe it was an HH-53. The story, as I remember it, was something like this: an A-10 pilot volunteered to play the role of a downed airman out on a training range. The helicopter crew was tasked with finding him and flying him back to base. That part went fine - they found him without issue, landed, and picked him up. On the way back, things went awry. The co-pilot of the helicopter asked the A-10 pilot if he wanted to swap places so he could get the full front-seat experience of the -53. Of course the A-10 pilot thought this sounded cool, so they both started the delicate operation of airborne musical chairs. At some point during this exchange, someone - either the A-10 pilot or -53 copilot - stepped on the collective control, dumping all of the lift out of the rotors. Dad's team went out there to try and find Strontium-90 sources that were part of the helicopter's blade monitoring system. If the blades develop stress fractures, minute quantities of Strontium will leak, setting off an alarm in the cockpit. If I recall right, they were able to find and dispose of those sources safely. What I do remember vividly is his description of the crash site. This thing had apparently just dropped right out of the sky and left a smoldering black spot on the ground. Nothing really resembling a helicopter remained. There was also the incident in the mid-90's in which Marine Harriers, on a training exercise, lit up Torishima Island with over 1,000 rounds of 25mm Depleted Uranium slugs. Dad got to take a helicopter ride out there to try and find them. Also on the helicopter were some SEALs, who were there to evaluate whether retrieving anything out of the Pacific was possible. The approach to the island was noteworthy. Torishima's a really isolated and tiny island...or pair of islands off Okinawa. Whether it's one island or two depends on whether it's currently high tide or low tide. As they were dropping altitude and preparing to land, the pilot spoke up and noted that there was something, small dark objects, littering the island. As they dropped lower, it became clear that all of those somethings? Unexploded ordnance. The pilot obviously became very vocal with his concerns - "No way I'm settin' this loving bird down on that island!" Eventually, however, he was able to find a clean enough patch of sand to set down on. The search for DU was fruitless; high tide was approaching and the SEALs took one look at how rough the seas were, how deep the water was, and how fast the shelf dropped off, and said, "Naw, we're not getting out there in that." There was also an F-4 crash - I don't remember what radioactive component they were looking for, but I do remember that he didn't have to go to a crash site to look at anything. What was left of it had been collected into several cardboard boxes in a hanger somewhere. Story on that was that it had been a nighttime training flight, and this thing had bellied into the desert floor going around 600 mph. Apparently, they found the pilot and backseater, or what was left of them, imbedded in the instrument panel.
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Sep 26, 2019 04:22
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Having a 'helicopter falls out of sky' button seems like a bit of a liability.
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Sep 26, 2019 04:53
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The Lone Badger posted:Having a 'helicopter falls out of sky' button seems like a bit of a liability.
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Sep 26, 2019 05:05
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Generally speaking, you do want to have a way to make the helicopter fall out of the sky in a graceful and controlled manner, as opposed to doing it on its own once the fuel runs out.
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Sep 26, 2019 05:20
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DirtyHarold posted:the Depleted Uranium counterweights that had been liberated from the airframe during the crash. That is just the most wonderful euphemism.
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Sep 26, 2019 05:33
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The Lone Badger posted:Having a 'helicopter falls out of sky' button seems like a bit of a liability. Helicopters constantly lust for human blood and will sate their thirst at any opportunity.
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Sep 26, 2019 05:38
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Memento posted:Helicopters constantly lust for human blood and will sate their thirst at any opportunity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_nut It's definitely a feature, too, not a glitch.
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Sep 26, 2019 05:41
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DirtyHarold posted:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_nut Mechanical failure? How about "sorry, you flew the helicopter wrong and now you're all dead" https://taic.org.nz/watchlist/robinson-helicopters-mast-bumping-accidents-nz quote:Mast bumping is contact between an inner part of a main rotor blade or a rotor hub and the main rotor drive shaft. Helicopters with the semi-rigid two-bladed rotor systems, like that used on Robinson helicopters, are susceptible to mast bumping during low-G flight conditions. Serious mast bumping that occurs in flight usually results in the helicopter breaking up during flight, which is fatal for those on board. For this reason, it is often difficult to determine exactly what happened to cause the mast bump. Hueys did it too! Memento fucked around with this message at 05:50 on Sep 26, 2019 |
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Sep 26, 2019 05:46
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Nth Doctor posted:In the cab is the absolute safest place to be in a stuck elevator. Seriously.
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Sep 26, 2019 05:49
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This is my favourite helicopter failure story. A passenger had to climb out onto the cargo basket to manually operate the collective.
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Sep 26, 2019 05:56
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Memento posted:Mechanical failure? How about "sorry, you flew the helicopter wrong and now you're all dead" I remember a goon linking an old as hell training video about mast bumping. I got sympathy anxiety for the pilots just from watching that.
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Sep 26, 2019 05:57
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Jabor posted:Generally speaking, you do want to have a way to make the helicopter fall out of the sky in a graceful and controlled manner, as opposed to doing it on its own once the fuel runs out. Auto rotation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autorotation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL1-QH7eQAY
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Sep 26, 2019 05:58
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TorpedoFish posted:Hey now, it's supposed to open in 2020, and I think that's only the sixth opening date. Just reading the Wikipedia article boggles the mind, the only world that comes to mind isn't in German for a change. "Omnishambles" sounds about right.
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Sep 26, 2019 06:07
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d3lness posted:I remember a goon linking an old as hell training video about mast bumping. I got sympathy anxiety for the pilots just from watching that. 
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Sep 26, 2019 06:25
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oohhboy posted:Auto rotation. You're not going to be able to do that without collective control, which is the "fall out of the sky" button being talked about.
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Sep 26, 2019 06:55
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Container ship elevators do have action movie style hatches and ladders and it's great
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Sep 26, 2019 07:16
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Jabor posted:You're not going to be able to do that without collective control, which is the "fall out of the sky" button being talked about. You said "Generally speaking". You needed to be more specific as there are other failure that don't involve running out of fuel that allow for a controlled landing. Also no, there isn't push button to die anymore than there is one in an air plane. Helicopters are more dangerous as their failures are a lot more binary while having much smaller safety margins. Gravity is a harsh mistress and helicopters cheat on her regularly.
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Sep 26, 2019 08:38
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You should try reading posts in the context of the ongoing discussion instead of treating them as some grand statement made in isolation.
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Sep 26, 2019 08:54
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Someone is going to ask about helicopter parachutes.
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Sep 26, 2019 09:03
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Jabor posted:You should try reading posts in the context of the ongoing discussion instead of treating them as some grand statement made in isolation. Mister, I registered a long time ago on this here forum and this seems crazy talk to me!
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Sep 26, 2019 09:09
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Memento posted:Four or so years back, Telstra (Australian telco) told a bunch of owners corporation buildings they would have to switch their telephone systems over to the NBN because they were turning off the boxes in the street that powered them and recycling the batteries in them. This meant that "hey folks your elevator phone is going to stop working. You've got ~18 month's notice, sort it out". Speaking of elevator phones, did you know they can receive calls from anywhere? And that they pick up automatically, without warning, regardless of who’s calling, and do not necessarily signal that they are active? I once got robocalled while operating an elevator. It scared the poo poo out of me until I figured out where the spooky voice was coming from.
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Sep 26, 2019 09:21
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My understanding was that in modern aeroplanes if you attempt a stick input that will make the plane fall out of the sky the computer calls you an idiot and refuses, and you have to click through a bunch of disclaimers and liability waivers before it will do what you want. Apparently in helicopters if you push the button marked 'die' it will obligingly kill you?
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Sep 26, 2019 09:23
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PHIZ KALIFA posted:there should be a sliding scale where if you're a hojillionaire and people suffer because you cheaped out on something routine, i kick you in the balls so hard they crash into your skull with a circus strongman bell sound effect. your eyes pop out cartoonishly. this is how i know i am the strongest, that the blows of my feet are sufficiently mighty. I like the scheme in Finland where fines are based on a person's income. quote:In 2002, Anssi Vanjoki, a former Nokia director, was ordered to pay a fine of 116,000 euros ($103,600) after being caught driving 75km/h in a 50km/h zone on his motorbike. Sadly, it only seems to be speeding fines, but it would be great if it applied to all areas of life.
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Sep 26, 2019 09:31
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This clip is ancient and has an equally ancient ad banner encoded into it! It was also filmed with a turnip. Supposed to be a rich guy who bought himself a helicopter, read the manual and thought he could just go for a spin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j40cNKgniA
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Sep 26, 2019 09:35
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The Lone Badger posted:My understanding was that in modern aeroplanes if you attempt a stick input that will make the plane fall out of the sky the computer calls you an idiot and refuses, and you have to click through a bunch of disclaimers and liability waivers before it will do what you want. Apparently in helicopters if you push the button marked 'die' it will obligingly kill you? Apart from the 737 Max where you had to click through the pop-ups in order to stop the plane from killing you.
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Sep 26, 2019 09:50
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TOS68qWHhw I found this interesting and thought the thread might like it
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Sep 26, 2019 10:55
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d3lness posted:I remember a goon linking an old as hell training video about mast bumping. I got sympathy anxiety for the pilots just from watching that. It's all about the introduction by Based Lindsay Graham https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QkOpH2e6tM
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Sep 26, 2019 11:37
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Shut up Meg posted:Apart from the 737 Max where you had to click through the pop-ups in order to stop the plane from killing you. That's only if you didn't buy the Safety Alert DLC.
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Sep 26, 2019 13:03
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Cojawfee posted:I worked in a classified building and the elevators kept getting robocalls. I worked in a government building with no elevator, no bathrooms on the ground floor, and handicapped stalls on the second floor.
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Sep 26, 2019 13:07
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Cat Army
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A pilot I knew in the army once referred to flying helicopters as "flying a bunch of spare parts in formation."
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Sep 26, 2019 13:10
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