Videos Archives - Page 11 of 44 - Golf Hotel Whiskey

How to tie down an aircraft (properly)

Jason Schappert, the blogger behind the MzeroA website, has recently posted a video guide showing how he ties down an aircraft. After all and as Jason pointed out, neither he nor many pilots are actually taught how to properly tie down an aircraft – which can be very important if you live in a windy location (or in the case of Jason, in Florida where there are hurricanes and tropical storms). Likewise, there are a number of different ways to properly tie down an aircraft.

In the video, Jason shows his method and he pointed out the importance of tying off the slack in the rope so that it does not blow around and cause damage to an aircraft. In addition, he emphasized that tying down an aircraft is not like stringing a guitar as if there is a windy day or a storm, you don’t want the aircraft so tightly tied down to the ground that it ends up getting damaged. In other words, you need to remember to leave some flex in the rope.

Jason also invited readers to post a comment in the comments section about any particular method they use to properly and securely tie down an aircraft and it would probably be interesting to hear from a few UK or Europe based pilots.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2AGOMD_kYg&w=480]

Building planes in the sky

Hat tip to FlightSchoolList.com for finding and posting this video of the “Building planes in the sky” commercial that was made for EDS (Electronic Data Systems). Actually the commercial is pretty old as it appears to date from the mid-2000s and it first aired during a Superbowl (as in American Football). Hence, its probably familiar to American pilots and it was also part of a set of commercials that aired during the games (the others being “Cat Herding” and “Running of the Squirrels” – also classics that rank among the best commercials of all time!).

However and for anyone who is a pilot and also involved in technology or running their own business, the “Building planes in the sky” will hit home as it was intended to be metaphor for the complexities of working in a digital age as well as for implementing change. And as you can see from the commercial, the ad agency or marketers that came up with it could not have picked a better metaphor than building an airplane in the sky!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7XW-mewUm8&w=480]

Jet! When Britain Ruled the Skies

Tonight from 9:00 to 10:00 pm, BBC4 will air part two of Jet! When Britain Ruled the Skies (part 1 aired last week and is also available on the BBC iPlayer here). The documentary is well worth watching as it examines advances in British aviation during the 1950s and 1960s by taking a look at the design and technology behind military planes like the Vulcan bomber and the Meteor jet fighter.

Episode one took a look at how the achievements came during a time of national austerity and will also pay tribute to some of the test pilots who paid the ultimate price to advance both British aviation and the jet age. For any non-UK based readers or those who missed the episode, I should note that someone has already uploaded it onto YouTube. Hence, you don’t have to stay up late to watch it but be warned, I am sure the copyright police will soon find and have it pulled from YouTube!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmV6_INb_p0&w=480]
With that in mind and should you miss episode two, I am sure it will also be uploaded onto YouTube within a few days.

The Solway Aviation Museum at Carlisle Airport faces uncertainty

Last weekend, the Carlisle’s News & Star profiled the Solway Aviation Museum at the Carlisle Airport in Cumbria and the museum’s uncertain future as the airport potentially expands.

In case you have never visited the Solway Aviation Museum, it’s the home of a collection of aircraft, aviation artifacts and displays that show how Britain was a world leader in aircraft design and innovation at the beginning of the jet age and the role Cumbria played during the War and the years after it ended. Noteworthy Solway exhibits include a 52-ton B2 Vulcan bomber (one of only 16 left in the world), a Phantom and an English Electric Canberra T4 WE188 – a high-altitude, jet-powered medium bomber that was intended to replace the Mosquito.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2CzqyGCW_A&w=480]

However, the volunteer staff who has built up the museum’s collection over the last 50 years are concerned about plans by Stobart Air to convert the site into a 394,000 sq ft distribution centre as well as plans to upgrade its civil aviation facilities. Moreover, restrictions on the museum’s lease prevents it from applying for funding.

The museum has been offered a five-year lease with an option that would give them six months notice to quit should the owners deem it necessary but that restriction probably still means its unlikely they will ever win the funding needed to expand the museum. And should they be forced to move, the Vulcan, the Canberra and the twin engine Percival Sea Prince would likely need to be scrapped.

However, the Solway Aviation Museum already attracts more than 4,000 visitors a year but volunteers believe they could double that number if they had the funds to upgrade the facilities plus its also one of the few remaining airport museums in the UK that is managed by a registered charity.

Penrith and the Border MP Rory Stewart has already pledged to find a way for the museum to continue operating at the site and it should be noted that Stobart Group chief executive Andrew Tinkler has stated that he has no issue with the museum staying at its current site as there are no plans to build on that plot of land but any proposed long-term lease would have to be approved by the Stobart Group board.

Hence, let’s hope some kind of compromise can be worked out that would allow for the airport to expand while giving the museum a more solid foothold so they can upgrade their facilities and exhibits.

Redefining general aviation art with Paola Pivi’s ‘How I roll’

Hat tip to the Alaska Dispatch for mentioning Italian-born but Alaska-based installation artist Paola Pivi’s newest art work which features a twin engine Piper Seneca suspended in air by its wing tips that actually rolls.

The aircraft is held horizontal by parallel steel columns and it quietly rotates forward, tail over nose and by 306 degrees. According to the Alaska Dispatch, the sight is unsettling because “aircraft are so seldom represented in this way it leads the observer to ask (either aloud or to herself): ‘Why would she do that?’”

Its not the first time that Pivi has used aviation as a theme in her art. In a 2006 instillation, she placed an upside down Wessex 558 (helicopter) in the middle of an Austrian square and called the piece: “A helicopter upside down in a public square.” It was meant as a tribute to the Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart but most viewers probably missed the connection.

For more about Paola Pivi’s work, visit her personal webpage here and for more about “How I Roll” plus some still shots, check here, here or here.

Aviation highlights from the opening ceremonies of the Olympics

The London 2012 Olympic games have officially begun and so have the efforts of the International Olympic Committee to block any unauthorized videos of the opening ceremonies from being posted on the Internet (Yahoo Sports has a good collection of photos from the opening ceremonies here) but one video they have not blocked is this one of the Red Arrows flying over the Olympic Stadium and Hyde Park:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-1ZtS6MBIk&w=480]

In this next video (if it has not yet been blocked!), the Queen is being escorted by no less than James Bond (Daniel Craig) to the opening ceremony:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0EtNLJS21o&w=480]

Finally and on a non-aviation note, The Guardian has assembled this short but quirky animated history of the Olympic games on its Youtube channel:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJGimegXUcg&w=480]