civil aerospace Civilian aviation/aerospace thread

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^^

Lol whats this? No proof reading, verification loop? Is the rest of the aircaft also built to such standards? What was also not seen?

Points to crappy internal processes and people doing stuff there not knowing what they're doing.
 
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I'm fairly sure this combination of aircraft is British, but don't know the era. Moderizers please move if it doesn't fit here. In any case, it's quite unusual. I've no idea why they're connected.
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I'm fairly sure this combination of aircraft is British, but don't know the era. Moderizers please move if it doesn't fit here. In any case, it's quite unusual. I've no idea why they're connected.
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The Short Mayo Composite was a piggy-back long-range seaplane/flying boat combination produced by Short Brothers to provide a reliable long-range air transport service to North America and, potentially, to other distant places in the British Empire and the Commonwealth.

Short Brothers had built the Empire flying boats which were capable of operating long range routes across the British Empire but could only attempt the trans-Atlantic route by replacing passenger and mail-carrying space with extra fuel.

It was known that aircraft could maintain flight with a greater payload than that possible during takeoff. Major Robert H. Mayo, the Technical General Manager at Imperial Airways, proposed mounting a small, long-range seaplane on top of a larger carrier aircraft, using the combined power of both to bring the smaller aircraft to operational height, at which time the two aircraft would separate, the carrier aircraft returning to base while the other flew on to its destination. The British Air Ministry issued Specification "13/33" to cover this project.

The first successful in-flight separation was carried out from the Shorts works at Borstal, near Rochester, Medway, on 6 February 1938, Maia piloted by Parker and Mercury by Harold Piper. Following further successful tests, the first transatlantic flight was made on 21 July 1938 from Foynes, on the Shannon Estuary, west coast of Ireland, to Boucherville, near Montreal, Quebec, Canada, a flight of 2,930 miles (4,720 km). Maia, flown by Captain A.S. Wilcockson, took off from Southampton carrying Mercury piloted by Captain Don Bennett. As well as Mercury, the launch aircraft Maia was also carrying 10 passengers and luggage. Mercury separated from her carrier at 8 pm to continue what was to become the first commercial non-stop East-to-West transatlantic flight by a heavier-than-air machine. This initial journey took 20 hrs 21 min at an average ground speed of 144 miles per hour (232 km/h).

The Maia-Mercury composite continued in use with Imperial Airways, including Mercury flying to Alexandria, Egypt, in December 1938. After modifications to extend Mercury's range, it established a record flight for a seaplane of 6,045 miles (9,728 km) from Dundee in Scotland to Alexander Bay, in South Africa between 6 and 8 October 1938.

Only one example of the Short-Mayo composite was built, the S.21 Maia with the registration G-ADHK and the S.20 Mercury G-ADHJ. The development of a more powerful and longer-range Empire boat (the Short S.26), the increase in allowable all-up weights with the standard "C-Class", the further development of in-flight refuelling and the outbreak of the Second World War combined to render the approach obsolete. Maia was destroyed in Poole Harbour by German bombers on 11 May 1941. Mercury was flown to Felixstowe for use by 320 (Netherlands) Squadron RAF a unit of the Royal Air Force formed from the personnel of the Royal Netherlands Naval Air Service. This squadron was based at the time at RAF Pembroke Dock. When this squadron was re-equipped with Lockheed Hudsons, Mercury was returned to Shorts at Rochester on 9 August 1941 and broken up so that its aluminium could be recycled for use in the war effort.
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When in high school I participated in some kind of junior program with the Civil Air Patrol, which allowed deeply discounted glider lessons. These were in Schweizer sailplanes, flying out of Dillingham airfield on the island of Oahu. They used O-1 Birddogs for tow, which is definitely a favorite small aircraft. True STOL.
The end of the airfield is less than 100yd from the ocean, squeezed opposite of the tail end of a steep portion of a mountain range. All day long the O-1 tow pilots come in very very low descending at 90 degrees to the airstrip over or inside of a lane to the back of the strip. They make the descending turn at the height of about a 3 story building, to a spectacularly short landing. You can see a small parking lot oceanside. After landing the glider is right there, ready for next flight.

I've enjoyed watching them many times as one of my best dive/spearfishing spots is right outside. You can see the reefs in the pic.

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Google link for more pics.
gliders dillingham field
 
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Today the last Boeing 747 – the Queen of the Skies – ever built flew the following pattern en route to its new owner:

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emember that ATR accident in Nepal? The preliminary report is out and it is not pretty ?

"At 10:56:27, the PF disengaged the Autopilot System (AP) at an altitude of 721 feet Above Ground Level (AGL). The PF then called for “FLAPS 30” at 10:56:32, and the PM replied, “Flaps 30 and descending.”

The flight data recorder (FDR) data did not record any flap surface movement at that time. Instead, the propeller rotation speed (Np) of both engines decreased simultaneously to less than 25% and the torque (Tq) started decreasing to 0%, which is consistent with both propellers going into the feathered condition."



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Unfortunate registration on a PC-12 awaiting delivery to Finland.

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Unfortunate registration on a PC-12 awaiting delivery to Finland.

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I double checked if they had to specifically request the registration like the US, and it looks like they do, so seems like they wanted that.
 
Another great moment for the Boeing 737 max and parts ripping off a new airplane...

Good thing noone was seated near the window.

@TheKiwi : excellent legroom! 😉

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An article in the Seattle Times raises doubts on the readiness of two new awaited versions: the "7" and the "10"

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