Extreme hobbies

[Canoe]

11 minutes ago, ShrimpBrime said:

All gonna die some day. lol. ...

I hear ya.

I once was doing a high-speed taxi test in a twin I wasn't even briefed on, let alone checked out on. It's just a taxi test, what could go wrong. A nasty gust of wind came out of nowhere and picked me up and put me off to the side around five feet over top of the fence. So I applied power and banked away from traffic heading for a right-hand - which at the height & power I had meant I had to go under the high-tension lines (which I did just to the left of a tower for maximum clearance). Once under the wires, I climbed up. Heading back from the other side of the valley, I joined the circuit. But just before turning on final, one of the engines quit. Easy enough to make the button on one, but with that wind that had come up, even with enough height for a high-energy approach to punch through turbulence, I really didn't want to play mixies between controls and gusting, ebbing & veering wind, with asymmetrical thrust. Figuring I'd already used up my luck for the day, I just shut the remaining engine off and dead-sticked into the strawberry field beside the field. The only "damage", apart from my pride, was I was clenched so tight I feared I wouldn't be able to go for a week. A really cheap lesson.

The owner of the plane and rest of the guys at the field were howling with laughter.

 

So while you never know when you'll go, or won't, there's no need to avoid taking reasonable & appropriate precautions.

[Guest]

31 minutes ago, Canoe said:

I hear ya.

I once was doing a high-speed taxi test in a twin I wasn't even briefed on, let alone checked out on. It's just a taxi test, what could go wrong. A nasty gust of wind came out of nowhere and picked me up and put me off to the side around five feet over top of the fence. So I applied power and banked away from traffic heading for a right-hand - which at the height & power I had meant I had to go under the high-tension lines (which I did just to the left of a tower for maximum clearance). Once under the wires, I climbed up. Heading back from the other side of the valley, I joined the circuit. But just before turning on final, one of the engines quit. Easy enough to make the button on one, but with that wind that had come up, even with enough height for a high-energy approach to punch through turbulence, I really didn't want to play mixies between controls and gusting, ebbing & veering wind, with asymmetrical thrust. Figuring I'd already used up my luck for the day, I just shut the remaining engine off and dead-sticked into the strawberry field beside the field. The only "damage", apart from my pride, was I was clenched so tight I feared I wouldn't be able to go for a week. A really cheap lesson.

The owner of the plane and rest of the guys at the field were howling with laughter.

 

So while you never know when you'll go, or won't, there's no need to avoid taking reasonable & appropriate precautions.

I love planes, never have flown any though. Gramps (late) was Lt Colonel at O'Hare Air Force Base 1965. Command of 15,000 men stationed there. 

Needless to say the Air show was most excellent experience for me. When a Lt Colonel walks in with his grandson, they open the ropes and I got to sit in the latest air force equipment available between the 80s and 90s. Yessir, right this way sir. 

The ironic part neither one of us have flown a plane lol. Something about sitting in the cockpit of a plane gave me a familiar feeling though. Someday hope to experience a flight or two. Nothing I love more than speed and machines. 

 

Haven't really had any true near death experiences other than a few accidents. I walked out of one car that rolled over. My buddy Brian was sitting in front of me. He died 3 times living today paralyzed from the neck down. The Girl next to me Sue, and Shana driving only had her license 3 months. We where on a hilly dark back road and we caught air approximately 75 mph. I put my seat belt on in mid air. She locked the brakes up in the mean time, I knew we where in for a ride. My door was the only available opening door. Brian legs went into the dashboard. They had to cut him out of the car. Sue left rear seat I'm in the right rear. Sue went through the window and smashed her face/head against a tree the car leaned against. Shana broke her right leg and pelvic bone.

Seat belts where not a law back then. But I'm sure glad I had fast enough reflexes to put mine on in a hurry. Shana was told to slow down and she did, just not enough. I was the only one conscious and ran a 1/2 mile to someone's house to call 911. At the time, cell phones where not in everyones pockets. 

[Canoe]

27 minutes ago, ShrimpBrime said:

... When a Lt Colonel walks in with his grandson, they open the ropes and I got to sit in the latest air force equipment available between the 80s and 90s. ...

Cool!

I once got to watch the second half of an air show on imaging, in one of the seats inside something visiting that had imaging.

At another one, the pilot standing beside his craft wouldn't reveal the power of his forward looking optic. So my friend and I turned to each other and proceeded to estimate the sizes, calc its power and then it's potential useful 'digital' zoom. His jaw was hanging down. When we walked by on the way back, he was gone and it was covered up. lol It's likely in wikipedia now.

 

At another, a friend's son who was an Air Cadet, in uniform, was allowed in the pilot's seat of something visiting, back when they had just started being in public with 'measures' in place to keep people back. When the pilot had his back turned to talk with someone on the ground, the little bugger pulled his camera out of his tunic and snapped a pilot's view of the inside of the cockpit, then tucked it away with no one the wiser... No one had any idea he'd done that, until he showed us the photo a few months later.

 

27 minutes ago, ShrimpBrime said:

... I walked out of one car that rolled over. ... living today paralyzed from the neck down. ... They had to cut him out of the car. ... through the window and smashed her face/head against a tree the car leaned against. ...

o m g

I cannot imagine.

27 minutes ago, ShrimpBrime said:

... I put my seat belt on in mid air. ...

That is astounding presence of mind.

I learnt to fly before I learnt to drive. I do not feel comfortable unless I'm strapped in. I get four point or five point harness for my 4x4s, and have even made adapters for four-point in a few of my cars.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, Canoe said:

 

That is astounding presence of mind.

 

Always been that way, Alert when need be lol. Had an x girl that missed a stop sign on a sharp turn with an officer we where sliding right into cause she locked the brakes up. She had turned the wheel. I had to yell to let off the brake while hitting her in the leg. You don't even know how close that one was lol. Soon as she let off the brake we turned I swear took the clear coat right off the squad.

 

3 minutes ago, Canoe said:

I learnt to fly before I learnt to drive. I do not feel comfortable unless I'm strapped in. I get four point or five point harness for my 4x4s, and have even made adapters for four-point in a few of my cars.

That's cool that you where flying before driving. 

What kind of planes have you flown? I'd be curious so I can look them up. 

 

Strapped in isn't always best. That's a dependent situation. Sometimes getting out of a vehicle can save your life, some times not. 

 

If I was flying, I would rather jump out and kiss the world good bye right at the dirt instead of being wrapped in a tin can. Car or not, I've been in flying cars. They aint supposed to fly man lol. XD

[Canoe]

1 minute ago, ShrimpBrime said:

Always been that way, Alert when need be lol.

That seems very different from Time Dilation.

In a crisis, I seem to recognize 'something is happening' and jump right in and do. Likely to get me killed some day. Perhaps a carry over from pilot training. (Chief flight instructor warned he'd shut the engine off on his check rides. And he did. Really nasty when you're just 40 feet off, nose up and climbing.) "Left of Bang" could be likened somewhat to pre-flight planning.

 

But what you're describing seems distinctly different from my experiences.They say that 30% of passengers in a plane evacuation will freeze in place. You seem to be an extreme opposite of that. What you do may be related to that Protective Instinct that one of the football players had.

 

Perhaps you should have been a race car driver. Or the Sgt. that pulls idiots to safety when they drop a live one at their feet on the grenade range.

1 minute ago, ShrimpBrime said:

...What kind of planes have you flown? I'd be curious so I can look them up. ...

I'm afraid disclosing types would have too high a chance to dox myself. Many of the usual light aircraft, and a few that are not.

1 minute ago, ShrimpBrime said:

... Strapped in isn't always best. That's a dependent situation. Sometimes getting out of a vehicle can save your life, some times not. ...

That's exactly why four/five point harness. Your hand goes to one learned spot (first principle), and one pull and you're free. Even if you're hanging upside down. And the width of the straps distributing the force means you're not bruised if you have to throw something around. But that learned/first principle can bite you. I know of a pilot who hit his head bailing out of a light military aircraft. He woke up falling down. Groggy, when he realized he wasn't in his plane anymore, he caught himself as he was reaching to unbuckle his parachute to take it off.

1 minute ago, ShrimpBrime said:

... Car or not, I've been in flying cars. They aint supposed to fly man lol. XD

No. No they're not...

 

[Guest]

I used to fly too, but not in planes!

 

I started wih this:
 

Spoiler

 

and after a few years and new adventures I followed by this:

Spoiler

 

and a few years later, I added this:

Spoiler

 

A friend of mine had one of these:

Spoiler

and we made a few flights together, but... not what I liked... I prefer the previous ones!

 

[Canoe]

1 minute ago, Cora_Lie said:

I used to fly too, but not in planes!

I started wih this:

and after a few years and new adventures I followed by this:

and a few years later, I added this:

A friend of mine had one of these:

and we made a few flights together, but... not what I liked... I prefer the previous ones!

Cool!

I've not tried the first two. I was too chicken.

But I've done the other two, plus gliders, plus twin. And floats. I love low and slow.

Some of the hang-gliders out now look amazing. But I find para-gliders more interesting for some reason. Some amazing cross-country runs being made in the alps.

[Guest]

Arf... No... Para-gliders... had the opportinity but never managed to do it. Don't know why but always felt this lump in my stomach each time. Couldn't do it and finally assembled my hang-glider and just "whoosh"!

 

Funny how a difference in position creates different reactions.

[Canoe]

The hang-glider is clearly superior aerodynamically, in pretty much all ways. And you can certainly get that be like a bird. I have to do that by ignoring the materials around me. I once had some time in an ultralight, engine off, sharing a thermal with eagles. Sinking a lot faster than them (lol), as I approached they'd look over their shoulder at me with a look that said they regarded me as a very distant and rather dumb cousin.

 

It's a false bias, but I like the idea of "the parachute is already open".

I started on gliders, then went to fixed wing. Later, I was due to take jump training, but unfortunately by then I was fully indoctrinated into the "why jump out of a perfectly good working airplane". My frame of reference, physically and mentally, is strap it to my me and go.

 

A friend played a joke on me once. At a house party, while I was sitting on the couch facing the side talking with someone, he brought up some footage on his large screen TV. Hearing my name called, I looked over and he pointed at the screen. It was a POV in a cockpit, and just then a plane flew in from 2 o'clock on a collision coarse. Thankfully I didn't have a drink in my hand because he'd timed calling me perfectly. My hands and feet flew to non-existing controls to throw "me" out of the way.

 

(just a little thread drift...)

[LogicalDrm]

*** NOTICE ***

 

This thread was split off

Because it was derailing/off-topic there.

[Real_PhillBert]

I do motorcycle ice racing a few times a winter:

 

 

Also 10 years ago I was making a real effort to get my FAA Skydiving A license, but then realized how much that was costing me vs how much I would actually use it lol. 

[greenhorn]

I would be too afraid to fly with those hang-gliders or para-gliders although I think it would feel awesome if I could bring myself to try it. I love flying (in planes), I have until now flown twice as a passenger in light/ultralight aircraft (once in a 2-seater, once in a 4-seater), which was amazing and totally different from travelling in a regular passenger plane. On top of that, I also had 2 sessions in a professional Airbus A320 simulator with an instructor, which was really awesome as well (the cockpit was taken from an old, decommissioned A320 formerly used by Air France I think). I would do that all the time if it weren't that expensive because I enjoy it very much.