The lost aviator

"We all have standards. From whether you never leave the house without a tie to cleaning your children’s faces before they go to school, we all have a level that we refuse to allow ourselves to fall below. I’m sure you can see people’s standards being eroded in your workplace, just look around you. The girl who is having a muffin and coke for lunch, the boss who has started to come into meetings late or the guy who is skipping the gym and putting on weight. When you allow your standards to slip you are effectively allowing yourself to be ‘less awesome’. You are approving of your own poor behaviour and saying, ‘I’m going to let myself down today.’ ‘Airmanship covers a broad range of desirable behaviours and abilities in an aviator. It is not simply a measure of skill or technique, but also a measure of a pilot’s awareness of the aircraft, the environment in which it operates, and of his own capabilities.’ ‘Truly superior pilots are those who use their superior judgment to avoid ...

https://youtu.be/AsO8GTXgGAI Take a flight in a World War II B-17G bomber. Interesting to see the detail of engine start, taxi, take off, cruise and landing all from cockpit.  You can take a flight in this B-17 as well, book via the link below http://www.yankeeairmuseum.org

https://youtu.be/f7tg94QflBY Avoiding Dangerous Divergent Aerodynamic Flutter. One of the most dangerous events that can occur in flight is a phenomena called "flutter". Flutter is an aerodynamically induced vibration of a wing, tail, or control surface that can result in total structural failure in a matter of seconds. The prediction of flutter is not a precise science and requires flight verification that flutter will not occur within the normal flight envelope. The aerodynamic surfaces of an airplane are constructed so that they can carry the loads that are produced in flight. For example the wing must be capable of supporting the weight of the airplane as well as the additional lift produced during turning flight. The resulting wing structure can be viewed as a blade or spring extending from the fuselage. If we "tap" the spring with a hammer, it will vibrate at a frequency which relates to the stiffness of the spring. A stiff spring will vibrate at a higher ...