The Aviators Thread

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Now that's a great toy : scale model of the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier CVN-65 on Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show"

From a time when the US Navy had started to convert straight deck aircraft carriers to angled deck carriers ! #USnavy #USmarinecorps
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Now that's a great toy : scale model of the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier CVN-65 on Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show"

From a time when the US Navy had started to convert straight deck aircraft carriers to angled deck carriers ! #USnavy #USmarinecorps

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Looks like fun. It would have been perfect if they could make the plane land in the "right" direction.
 
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Must be something in the air, I was just (an hour ago) reading about Dennis Cambell, the Royal Navy Captain (later Rear Admiral) who invented the angled flight deck and saved thousands of lives by persisting it be adopted.
 
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Illustration from a WW2 German air gunnery manual. Needless to say, this wouldn't pass muster in this day and age! Image and text courtesy of a guy called "Kamran" on Facebook:


This image comes from a WWII-era Luftwaffe gunnery training manual (around 1943–44). It uses a bit of risqué humor to help air gunners remember the principle of "Vorhalten" - deflection shooting, or how much to “lead” a moving target so that your bullets intersect with its future position rather than where it currently appears.

Here’s a breakdown of the humor and instructional value combined:

“Viel vorhalten” - Lead a lot: the target is crossing quickly, so aim far ahead (the woman is mostly covered).

“Weniger vorhalten” - Lead less: target crossing more slowly, reduce lead (less fabric).

“Noch weniger” - Even less lead: target nearly on your line of sight (very little fabric left).

“Draufhalten!” - Aim directly: target coming straight at or away - no lead needed (no fabric at all).

The small line beneath humorously adds:

“...er Jäger stets am schönsten findet die Stellung, wo der Vorhalt schwindet.”
(“...the fighter pilot always finds most beautiful the position where the lead disappears.”)

So, while playful, the diagram served a genuine pedagogical function: turning a technical ballistic principle into something easily remembered under combat stress - a classic example of wartime instructional creativity blending humor, psychology, and practical training.
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#fblifestyle
 
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Airbus have issued a safety recall because of a software glitch affecting the flight control computer in their A320 aircraft. Guess it's one of the advantages of piloting a plane with old fashioned "dumb" flying controls rather than fly-by-wire!
https://www.theage.com.au/national/...australian-flight-delays-20251129-p5njew.html

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-29/vic-jetstar-travel-chaos/106081606
(added by Mod)
Edited by a mod:
 
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At least the days of dongle stacks are over!
🤣

I only just last week disposed of a whole bag full of dongles.
 
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🤣

I only just last week disposed of a whole bag full of dongles.
TMI…
 
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NASA isn't always about the Speedmaster, nor is it always about rockets and fast jets...
Langley engineers used light aircraft such as NASA’s blue-tailed Piper PA-28R-201T “NASA 519” for general aviation safety studies, spin/stall research, cockpit display experiments, and laminar-flow glove tests at Langley test facility in Hampton Virginia.
(photo: NASA)
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