Just some fun shots of carrier ops - http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/600984/3241#10931800 Kelly
This isn't anything to salute although it depends on how you view it! A rare Brewster Buffalo aircraft found in an Atoll near Midway. Believe that the wreckage to the aircraft was allegedly found in just 10-feet of water. The aircraft was a warplane during WWII and was 'affectionately' known as the 'Flying Coffin'. As you would imagine this aircraft had a very poor combat record. The wreckage was literally stumbled-upon by divers who were cleaning-up trash at the time. According to evidence from February 1942 Marine records, officials believe this particular Buffalo was flown by Lt. Charles W. Somers Jr. He was believed to have escaped unharmed after landing short of the runway. Months after that incident, Marine Squadron 221 sent approximately 20 of these Buffalos to the Battle of Midway. If you remember your history, they came up against alot more Japanese Zero planes. The Buffalo couldn't handle itself and was vulnerable in dogfights with the Zeros. All but six of the initial 20 Buffalos were lost. In a stroke of luck, Lt. Somers had been transferred off the island prior to the battle. He went on to survive the war and lived until 1992. ***
The design of the Buffalo and the Wildcat were very similar. And yet the Wildcat got the job done while the Buffalo did not. Speaking of obsolete crates in WWII, add the Bell P-39 to the list. An uncle of mine was MIA on a combat mission up The Slot. They never did find him or the wreckage of his P-39. Kelly
Soo, Finnair has been announced as the World's safest airline. The top 10 list reads... Note that no U.S carriers are in that list...
Pedantic point, out here in the badlands we call that a "widow rock" rather than the "cave" in the vid's title. A miss would have been a really bad day!!!
Of course, miscalculating that and hitting the rock would be certain death, there is no way you could survive hitting the rock at that speed with little protection. Even then...
Pilot Planning An All-Electric Solo Atlantic Crossing Sounds crazy right? Chip Yates, the pilot who last summer broke the world speed record for flight in an electric airplane while flying his specially modified LongEZ, aims to become this century’s Charles Lindbergh by crossing the Atlantic solo on battery power alone. To achieve his goal, he’ll need some help. That’s where unmanned aerial vehicle “refuelers” come in. The UAVs, according to Yates’ plan, will provide additional electricity during the flight by joining up with him at predetermined locations along his route to transfer power to his airplane’s battery packs.
