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Inacio posted:canard pusher pax jet when I assume there’s an obvious reason why these aren’t a thing, but I’m still offended they aren’t. I drool over Rutan designs and Velocity kitplanes though, so I clearly have bad judgement.
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Feb 14, 2020 18:25
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slidebite posted:My vote is tiny Saba (SAB) airport, on the also tiny Caribbean island of Saba (about 10 miles south of SXM). I've wanted to visit Saba for a while but always assumed you'd get there by boat...
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Feb 14, 2020 18:26
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Not a specific airport, but there's a bunch of airports in Iowa (and probably other states too) descended from decommissioned Naval Air Stations which were basically just four runways put together in a square pattern so that you'd be able to find two runways at one of the fields where you could land and take off directly into the wind, as you would expect to do on a carrier. They had bases at some of them that were organized like a carrier, IE you couldn't get off the base because you were at sea, and you would only have access to amenities you would be able to have at sea. If you look around Iowa on google maps you can see some giant concrete squares in weird places out in the country or in small towns, chances are it's a former naval air station. E: here for example, phoneposting with only a couple minutes of lunch break or I'd give a proper link https://maps.app.goo.gl/8bjvSTviWcdLkdFN7 EvenWorseOpinions fucked around with this message at 18:52 on Feb 14, 2020 |
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Feb 14, 2020 18:46
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We used to autocross at the Oskaloosa airport(https://goo.gl/maps/BWb2dWvK74VpVD8s9), which is one of those naval air station bases. I think most of the concrete is starting come apart, unfortunately.
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Feb 14, 2020 18:51
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MrYenko posted:KTNT I fly over that all the time going into MIA and wondered what the story was, I just assumed it was something to do with the space program. EvenWorseOpinions posted:Not a specific airport, but there's a bunch of airports in Iowa (and probably other states too) descended from decommissioned Naval Air Stations which were basically just four runways put together in a square pattern so that you'd be able to find two runways at one of the fields where you could land and take off directly into the wind, as you would expect to do on a carrier. They had bases at some of them that were organized like a carrier, IE you couldn't get off the base because you were at sea, and you would only have access to amenities you would be able to have at sea. If you look around Iowa on google maps you can see some giant concrete squares in weird places out in the country or in small towns, chances are it's a former naval air station. Browsing through the state by state list of WWII Army Air Force fields on Wikipedia is always fun. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:United_States_World_War_II_army_airfields A lot of interesting local history. e.pilot fucked around with this message at 19:02 on Feb 14, 2020 |
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Feb 14, 2020 19:00
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Lightbulb Out posted:We used to autocross at the Oskaloosa airport(https://goo.gl/maps/BWb2dWvK74VpVD8s9), which is one of those naval air station bases. I think most of the concrete is starting come apart, unfortunately. I've been out there a few times and it does indeed look pretty rough. I haven't heard good things about the FBO manager's maintenance practices either. Something like 20 minutes south is Ottumwa airport, which has a bunch of air station buildings in various stages of intactness, including it's original hangar. There is a group working on restoring the old officer's quarters to turn into a museum, I haven't check in on them in a while but I imagine it's probably starting to look pretty good
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Feb 14, 2020 19:01
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drgitlin posted:I've wanted to visit Saba for a while but always assumed you'd get there by boat... It's a pretty little island. I have family there. Definitely not a place for beach time (you will be very disappointed) but probably one of the top 10 for diving. The marine sanctuary is renowned.
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Feb 14, 2020 20:48
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I have lots of favourite obscure airports, and one totally unrelated one, but more on that one later. My favourite obscure airports are a legacy of one of Canada's unsung contributions to WW2, that being the British Commonwealth Air Traning Plan. To summarise a very vast topic, dozens of airports were built all over Canada during the war with the express purpose of training pilots for the RAF; after the war, these airports went on to form the backbone of the civilian air infrastructure in Canada, helping to open the country up to fast and easy air travel from coast to coast. In addition to all these airports - which I should mention were about as close to a SimCity-style of airport in that basically everything was pre-fabricated and all you needed was a plot of land big enough - they built a large number of very distinctively-shaped auxilliary airports too, which served as places for trainees to perform training away from the main airport, or as a relief field in the event the weather took a turn at the main airport. Hundreds of smaller auxilliary fields dotted the landscape in the surrounding area to the main airport, and they all pretty much had this layout:  You can still see hundreds of these airfields all over Canada, particularly in the prairie provinces; some are still in use today, like Innisfail is, while others have almost totally returned to the earth. As for my favourite airport that's totally unrelated, that would have to be Castlegar (CYCG) in British Columbia, home of one of the most daunting instrument approaches anywhere in the world.
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Feb 15, 2020 00:50
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I live in East Anglia which is littered with WW2 airfields, varying from 'still in active military use' to 'completely erased from the landscape' with most being somewhere in between. After a while they come really easy to spot, because RAF wartime/1950s architecture was utterly standardised and used quite a distinctive, if plain, style. So you'll be driving along a road in the middle of nowhere between what appear to be timeless fields and there'll be a little row of 1950s airmans' houses, a gatehouse or sentry hut standing at the end of what appears to be a farm track, some pointless concrete hard-standing on the edge of the road for no apparent reason, a few derelict Nissen huts in a clump of trees and maybe some ex-machine shop or readiness shacks visible across the fields and, sure enough, when you look on Google Earth you can see the distinctive A-shape runways, even when it's just a shadow in the cropmarks or a perimeter track now picked out by a treeline. Of course if the airfield in question was a USAF base there will be an immaculately-maintained memorial stone just off the road in a little fenced-off space with a US flag and a bench, which is a bit of a giveaway!  Just scarred heathland with the perimeter track now marked by footpaths.  Storage units built on the runways  Runways and taxiways still in-situ, grass being infilled by solar farms.  Pretty well preserved, but the runways have been narrowed as much as possible to return as much as possible to farmland  Just a scrubby A-shape in the woods  Two-thirds of the field gone back to fields, with a stub of runway and the original hangars now used by a gliding club  Couple of hangars and some bits of apron/taxiway, but hints of the runways in the crop marks
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Feb 15, 2020 02:04
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This reminds me of this gem of a website. https://forgottenairfields.com
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Feb 15, 2020 02:12
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BalloonFish posted:I live in East Anglia which is littered with WW2 airfields, varying from 'still in active military use' to 'completely erased from the landscape' with most being somewhere in between. After a while they come really easy to spot, because RAF wartime/1950s architecture was utterly standardised and used quite a distinctive, if plain, style. So you'll be driving along a road in the middle of nowhere between what appear to be timeless fields and there'll be a little row of 1950s airmans' houses, a gatehouse or sentry hut standing at the end of what appears to be a farm track, some pointless concrete hard-standing on the edge of the road for no apparent reason, a few derelict Nissen huts in a clump of trees and maybe some ex-machine shop or readiness shacks visible across the fields and, sure enough, when you look on Google Earth you can see the distinctive A-shape runways, even when it's just a shadow in the cropmarks or a perimeter track now picked out by a treeline. That's really cool stuff, thanks.
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Feb 15, 2020 02:17
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EvenWorseOpinions posted:Not a specific airport, but there's a bunch of airports in Iowa (and probably other states too) descended from decommissioned Naval Air Stations which were basically just four runways put together in a square pattern so that you'd be able to find two runways at one of the fields where you could land and take off directly into the wind, as you would expect to do on a carrier. They had bases at some of them that were organized like a carrier, IE you couldn't get off the base because you were at sea, and you would only have access to amenities you would be able to have at sea. If you look around Iowa on google maps you can see some giant concrete squares in weird places out in the country or in small towns, chances are it's a former naval air station. Here’s an intact one in California. The pavement is all still there, though weathered, 3000′ × 3000′, more than two hundred acres. Google Maps 
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Feb 15, 2020 02:46
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A good post for Valentine's day: China is using drones to combat coronavirus, with them even using hovering drones carrying signs with QR codes on them so drivers can log their location
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Feb 15, 2020 02:47
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e.pilot posted:This reminds me of this gem of a website. Another great site for this sort of thing, mostly focused on the US. http://www.airfields-freeman.com/
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Feb 15, 2020 03:06
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Nebakenezzer posted:A good post for Valentine's day: China is using drones to combat coronavirus, with them even using hovering drones carrying signs with QR codes on them so drivers can log their location Why can’t they just have a sign with the qr code that drivers pull up to 
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Feb 15, 2020 03:45
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priznat posted:Why can’t they just have a sign with the qr code that drivers pull up to not effective as propaganda, won't get any articles made about it
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Feb 15, 2020 03:59
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Inacio posted:not effective as propaganda, won't get any articles made about it Ah it’s sort of like their segway special forces then
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Feb 15, 2020 04:01
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priznat posted:Ah it’s sort of like their segway special forces then 
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Feb 15, 2020 04:08
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This whole thing is pro-click (it might showcase the bulk of the operational B-1 fleet), but I couldn't help but notice this one Super Hornet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KENwjRG69U8&t=287s That little 'tail' poking upwards at a 30 degree angle in burner - is that normal or does one of the guide vanes have a hole in it? Fake edit: Never mind, just realized it's light reflecting off the underside of the tail. BIG HEADLINE fucked around with this message at 04:16 on Feb 15, 2020 |
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Feb 15, 2020 04:13
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How long did that guy live after that photo was taken I wonder
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Feb 15, 2020 04:18
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MrChips posted:As for my favourite airport that's totally unrelated, that would have to be Castlegar (CYCG) in British Columbia, home of one of the most daunting instrument approaches anywhere in the world. It's somewhat less daunting now that it's an RNAV instead of something weird and hosed up like NDB/NDB/DME (obviously, operationally, no one would touch that poo poo with a ten-foot-pole, but I'd love to have them available for training, even just in the sim) but it's still a really tricky finicky approach that we love to visit in the sim. I'd love to get my hands on an old copy of the CAP 2 from back before those approaches were decommisioned. I've flown in as a passenger in IMC and, wow, that was a ride!
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Feb 15, 2020 04:24
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debated posting this in the Idiots On Social Media thread but I think people here would grasp it better. imgur comments on a video of a plane's wheel touching down: https://i.imgur.com/zOWUPfb.mp4 
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Feb 15, 2020 05:45
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PT6A posted:It's somewhat less daunting now that it's an RNAV instead of something weird and hosed up like NDB/NDB/DME (obviously, operationally, no one would touch that poo poo with a ten-foot-pole, but I'd love to have them available for training, even just in the sim) but it's still a really tricky finicky approach that we love to visit in the sim. I'd love to get my hands on an old copy of the CAP 2 from back before those approaches were decommisioned. My Dad was a captain on the 737-200 when Pacific Western Airlines routinely flew into Castlegar (and many other northern and interior airports) where jets don't go anymore. Based on his stories, it was bananas trying to get in there in bad weather, and worse than just about any other place they flew (and they went to some crazy places...Resolute Bay, Inuvik, Norman Wells, to name just a few that were off the beaten path!)
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Feb 15, 2020 06:07
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Sagebrush posted:debated posting this in the Idiots On Social Media thread but I think people here would grasp it better.  Except for takeoffs you know
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Feb 15, 2020 06:49
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So what made/makes Castlegar especially bad?
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Feb 15, 2020 08:03
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BalloonFish posted:I live in East Anglia which is littered with WW2 airfields, varying from 'still in active military use' to 'completely erased from the landscape' with most being somewhere in between. After a while they come really easy to spot, because RAF wartime/1950s architecture was utterly standardised and used quite a distinctive, if plain, style. So you'll be driving along a road in the middle of nowhere between what appear to be timeless fields and there'll be a little row of 1950s airmans' houses, a gatehouse or sentry hut standing at the end of what appears to be a farm track, some pointless concrete hard-standing on the edge of the road for no apparent reason, a few derelict Nissen huts in a clump of trees and maybe some ex-machine shop or readiness shacks visible across the fields and, sure enough, when you look on Google Earth you can see the distinctive A-shape runways, even when it's just a shadow in the cropmarks or a perimeter track now picked out by a treeline. When I was a kid my dad was stationed at RAF Woodbridge. From time to time I check out satellite photos of the area to see how it's changed. It always blew my mind that nobody could find a use for that runway after the USAF left. Base housing, on the other hand, is still in use (but the roads look to be in much better shape).
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Feb 15, 2020 08:39
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Munin posted:So what made/makes Castlegar especially bad? Terrain rises sharply on both ends of the runway. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIAdRdFTfww&t=66s
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Feb 15, 2020 08:58
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Munin posted:So what made/makes Castlegar especially bad? It's basically in a valley surrounded by high mountains that turns at a few points, and one that doesn't line up with the runway at that. It's essentially the Death Star trench run of instrument approaches. Of further interest, the landing minima are now lower than the takeoff minima, meaning you could conceivably land but be unable to depart afterward.
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Feb 15, 2020 14:49
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Awesome posts lately, thanks all. Abandoned airports, super good stuff. KTNT (which I had no idea about)...talk about fascinating. Sounds like maybe/possibly brought back to life?
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Feb 15, 2020 15:16
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C-Bangin' it 
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https://www.platinumairways.org/files/DOTW_Charts/CYCGCharts.pdf You can check out the approach plate here. I'm not a pilot, but to me it looks like you're cruising through a valley and then suddenly have to get down and make a turn *right now*.
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Feb 15, 2020 15:24
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Colostomy Bag posted:KTNT (which I had no idea about)...talk about fascinating. Sounds like maybe/possibly brought back to life? It would require significant high-speed public transit to be built across a state wildlife preserve, possibly a national preserve, and possibly reservation land. In Dade county, Florida. NotEverGonnaHappen.txt
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Feb 15, 2020 19:01
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Thanks for the clear explanations. PT6A posted:Of further interest, the landing minima are now lower than the takeoff minima, meaning you could conceivably land but be unable to depart afterward. Surely the opposite would be worse? Getting down safely is more important than getting up at all surely?
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Feb 15, 2020 19:14
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NightGyr posted:I'm not a pilot, but to me it looks like you're cruising through a valley and then suddenly have to get down and make a turn *right now*. I know of a certain Youtube-famous pilot who was born for this type of landing.
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Feb 15, 2020 19:18
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The proximity to those peaks on that approach made me grimace a little.
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Feb 15, 2020 19:21
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There's an RNP into KSUN (the approach is unique to our airline, so I can't post it) where the missed approach goes down a couple of valleys, and in a "worst case" scenario (single engine, hot and heavy airplane) you're actually looking up at the sides of the valley you're flying down. Sun Valley is also fun since airplanes generally land one way and depart the opposite direction, so it's one of the few places you'll routinely see part 121 carriers departing VFR, since that lets you fly down one side of the valley while the arrivals are on the opposite side. It's also a relatively short runway (6600ft for landing) at 5300' MSL, so it's a little interesting landing larger airplanes there in the summer.
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Feb 15, 2020 21:45
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NightGyr posted:https://www.platinumairways.org/files/DOTW_Charts/CYCGCharts.pdf That’s loving excellent, those are the old plates I was looking for! I misremembered, the weird approach wasn’t NDB/NDB/DME, it was LOC/NDB/NDB. As for not being able to land, you’d always have an alternate airport selected anyway and just fly there. If you land but can’t take off again it’s not a safety issue but it would gently caress with an airline’s schedule something fierce.
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Feb 16, 2020 00:35
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https://twitter.com/AeronewsGlobal/status/1228716036117221376
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Feb 16, 2020 00:56
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Ars Technica has an article on the Fairey Rotodyne.
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Feb 16, 2020 22:19
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https://twitter.com/tarenceray/status/1229121584507518977 Yay! Ref.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEH7OpnA-I4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=182AepOJjMs
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Feb 17, 2020 03:40
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Like you wouldn't
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