Blog Post #6

This is a very short video, but it features a machine that actually creates and launches new paper airplanes from old paper. Although entertaining, you have to wonder: who actually puts money into making a machine like this?

Blog Post #5

Hubble satellite allows NASA to discover the oldest, most distant galaxy found yet. While distant, this proves to be the galaxy closest to the Big Bang, although it technically would have still formed several millions of years after the event :

Blog Post #4

Two elderly ladies experience their first ride in an airplane, in order to visit Barcelona. Loved this video: the ladies are adorable, and their expectations and doubts for the trip are very entertaining. An interesting look into flight from the eyes of an older generation (although I must admit I had some of the same doubts when taking my first flight). Especially loved one lady’s description of the feeling of ascending “It’s like you’re in love. It’s so unpleasant.”

Blog Post #3

NASA puts a camera on a rocket booster, allowing a unique view of a rocket takeoff, flight into space, and re-entrance into the atmosphere. Especially cool to see the initial takeoff, and the included miles-per-hour tracker. Not to mention the frosting-over once the craft actually gets into space. Warning: if you tend to get dizzy easily, this video might prove difficult to watch :

Blog Post #2

Found a cool video that gives a visual representation of exactly how a jet engine works, including the pros and cons of the invention, and more modern improvements. Maybe I just haven’t learned a lot about jet engines in the past, but I have to say I learned quite a bit from this video: never realized how this technology is so complex and simple at the same time. I know have a new appreciation for jet planes Here's the video: http://www.wimp.com/jetengine/

Aviation Story #6 - Brittany Robinson

My final aviation story is on the bizarre event that has graced the news recently- the story of a 15-year old boy who hid in a plane's wheel well, and survived a 5 1/2 hour long flight. He had runaway from home at least 36 hours previously, and hopped an old airport fence in San Jose, California during the night to get to a Boeing 767. He spent most of the flight unconscious due to low oxygen and freezing temperatures, but awoke when the plane landed. Authorities say he is lucky to be alive. Although this sort of scheme is not unheard of, most people who attempt it do not survive. Since 1947, worldwide, it is thought that around 105 people have tried to stow themselves away in flights- with a 76% survival rate (Federal Aviation Administration). 

Needless to say, the boy (whose name has not been released) was extremely lucky to survive the flight from San Jose to Maui, Hawaii. Because he was unconscious, it was said that he could not tell tales of his journey afterwards. Officials have said that his family was notified, and they assured the family members that they would get him home safely. No legal action is being planned against the boy.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/22/us/boy-who-hid-in-planes-wheel-well-beat-long-odds-in-surviving-5-hour-flight.html

Blog Post #3 Aircraft Nuclear Accidents Jonathan Smithers

This weekend on 60 minutes they were talking about the state of land based nuclear weapons in the United States. The topic of the show was mainly about the land based nuclear arsenal, but they briefly mentioned a couple of nuclear accidents that have occurred. This got me interesting in know what other nuclear accidents have occurred, specifically involving aircraft. One that caught my attention was an incident involving a B-36. The B-36 was simulating an attack on American cities; it was also being used to test if the aircraft could make it to Russia during the arctic winter. The plane was carrying a mark 4 nuclear bomb, the successor to fat man, one of the bombs dropped on Japan. Several hours into the exercise, three of the engines needed to be shutdown because ice caused them to catch on fire. The crew bailed out of the plane and the nuclear bomb was released and destroyed in midair. Another nuclear accident the occurred a little closer to home was when a B-50 flew straight into the ground while carrying a nuclear bomb. This incident occurred in Lebanon, Ohio. The explosive in the bomb went off, but there was no nuclear explosion. There are numerous other nuclear accidents that have occurred that are known. It’s kind of scary to think about the number of accidents that we still don’t know about.