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Golf Hotel Whiskey: for pilots and aviation enthusiasts

Videos

Video: A Spanish F/A-18 Hornet doing a crazy flyover

We have posted videos in the past of Argentine pilots doing crazy flyovers (see Crazy flyover by an Argentine Air Force IA-63 Pampa pilot video and Argentinean pilot videos: Showing bravery or plain stupidity?), but David Cenciotti of the Aviationist blog has found and posted this old video of a F/A-18 Hornet belonging to the Spanish Air Force performing a very low level flyby along a taxiway at the Gando airbase on the Canary Islands:

Of course, we can’t post such videos without commenting about whether such stunts are appropriate from a safety standpoint (as they usually aren’t). Admonitions aside, it definitely takes some very good flying skills to pull off such dangerous maneuvers.

The ultimate British race: A Spitfire vs. a Range Rover

Ahead of this weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, FortyOneSix.com organized this unique race between two British legends – the Supermarine Spitfire and the Range Rover:

The Vickers Supermarine Spitfire (piloted by Matt Jones from the Boultbee Flight Academy) was a 1945-vintage model powered by a 1,750-bhp V12 Merlin engine with a maximum airspeed of 400 mph or 644 kmh while the All-New Range Rover Sport was a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 model with 510 hp driven by Mike Cross, Jaguar Land Rover’s Chief Vehicle Integrity Engineer.

The race took place on a grass airstrip at the Goodwood Aerodrome in Sussex and involved a straight drag run down and back on the runway along with a U-turn. However, grass terrain is considered to be one of the most challenging terrains for a vehicle to gain traction as well as to accelerate or brake on. Nevertheless, Cross still manage to hit speeds of 130 mph or 209 kmh before having to brake for the mid-race turn.

Cool video: Learn how to paraglide

Ryan Southwell Films has released a really cool short film about flying powered paragliders over California’s Glamis Dunes and the Salton Sea earlier this year:

If you think it would be fun to go paragliding somewhere, check out the website of Team FlyHalo (or their YouTube channel) – an Oregon based powered paragliding training and paramotor sales company with training centers in coastal Oregon (ideal for training during the summer months), California (training can be done during the winter and spring months) and Galveston, Texas (with great wind and warm sunny conditions during the fall and winter months). Just be aware that you will need to spend a full 7 to 10 days away from home to become properly trained.

And if flying over a desert fails to appeal to you, here is a video showing Team FlyHalo’s paragliding training above Oregon:

 

Imitating E.T.: Two British cyclists design and fly a flying bike

Two British cyclists with life-long dreams of flight have created one of the world’s first flying bicycles – a conventional bike that converts to an easy-to-operate aircraft that they claim can soar to 4,000 feet and cover 75 miles+ after liftoff.

Yannick Read, 42, and John Foden, 37, who met while living on the same road in Kingston upon Thames, are both avid cyclists who decided to partner together to create a flying bike. As Read told ABCNews.com:

“Growing up we wanted to be pilots, but training and maintenance and cost are real barriers. We wanted to create an aircraft that was as accessible, relatively speaking, as could be.”

In March 2011, read sent a long-shot email to Jim Edmondson with British paramotor manufacturer Parajet to outline the pair’s design and concept for a flying bike. To their surprise, Edmondson was not only enthusiastic, but told the pair to widen their concept as they would have his assistance and support.

The results of their work is the Paravelo, a combination of a para-wing and a conventional bike which (like various recent flying car concepts) tows a trailer carrying a powerful fan. When the cyclist reaches a stretch of open road, the para-wing is unfolded, the fan with an electric-start motor is started and the bike is airborne in a matter of meters. At this point in time, Read says:

“We built a series of prototypes, and the current one is fairly polished. The next version, with funding, would be to develop, to ruggedize it, make it more robust, the way we envision it being used — as a bicycle Monday to Friday. You will be able to commute on the bike. Then, make use of the flying capability.”

Read and Foden have begun a Kickstarter campaign with a goal of reaching £50,000 ($78,000) to launch their flying bike.

At least for now, flying bikes in the UK don’t require a special license to operate; but of course, that might change soon if they gain in popularity. Read also added that:

“It’s safe because of low air speeds. You’re flying about 25 miles per hour, that low speed makes it so safe. In terms of controlling, it’s like controlling a little Vespa scooter.”

In other words, if you want to imitate the famous flying bike scene E.T., soon you will be able to!

German Dornier Do-17 successfully raised from the English Channel

A German Dornier Do-17 that was shot down off the Kent coast more than 70 years ago during the Battle of Britain was successfully raised from the sea bed in the English Channel on Monday. Attempts by the RAF Museum to salvage it had been hit by strong winds over the last few weeks, but weather conditions for the hour-long operation were “near perfect” on Monday evening:

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Source: BBC

It took three years to come up with a plan to raise aircraft which ultimately involved divers attaching lifting equipment to what was believed to be the strongest parts of it’s frame and then raising it whole in one single lift. Originally, the plan called for building an aluminum frame or cradle around the wreck, but those plans were abandoned after it became clear it would take too long  cost more than the £600,000 project budget to do so.

The Dornier Do-17 aircraft is believed to be the only intact example of its kind in the world and has lain in 50 feet (15 meters) of water on the Goodwin Sands. However, the aircraft will still need a two-year restoration at the RAF Museum’s site in Cosford, Shropshire.

To learn more about the Dornier Do-17, check out a cool BBC interactive by clicking here along with an album of pictures showing what’s left of the aircraft.

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