Flight
Defecation relief unit for aeroplane personnel
How do fighter pilots poop while in the air? I think the answer is that they try very hard not to, because if they have to go, they're going in their flight suit. Back in the 1950s Constantin Paul Lent, et al., tried to come up with an alternative. From their patent (No. 2,749,558):Comparatively speaking it is an easy matter to provide adequate latrines for the men in the forces on land and sea. When the time comes to eliminate, one just walks to the nearest comfort station. But in the Air Force the problem of elimination can not be always solved that easily especially by aviation pilots...
The applicants are cognizant that there are relief tubes provided on most all jet planes for urinating, but no single seat aircraft is equipped with a safe and sure means for defecation. When the pilot of the jet, due to accident or enemy action needs to eliminate, the problem of defecation becomes acute. The pilot must wait until he lands his craft; and quite often he must remain aloft for a considerable length of time before he has a chance to visit a comfort station on the ground. In many cases due to the physiological and psychological effects produced on the pilot by enemy action, he is forced to eliminate even before he has a chance to land his plane.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Mar 24, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Flight, Patents, Excrement, Air Travel and Airlines, 1950s
The Avrocar Military Flying Saucer
If only this project had succeeded, we'd all have Jetson-style flying saucers today!Here is the Wikipedia page.
But I do think the version patented by one C. P. Lent right around the same time has a classier shape.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 25, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Flight, Military, Technology, Patents, 1950s
Human-Powered Flight
"Vélocipède aérien," proposed by Jean Jacques Bourcart, Paris, August, 1866
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jul 11, 2020 -
Comments (3)
Category: Death, Flight, Technology, Nineteenth Century
Death by helicopter
Parachuting onto the whirling blades of a helicopter is both an unusual and a horrific way to die. It's definitely the worst kind of parachute accident I can imagine. It happened to one young woman — her first time parachuting — back in August 1987.
The Guardian - Aug 10, 1987
Paula Goodayle “who was hacked to death when she fell through the whirling blades of a helicopter during her first jump.”
The Sport Parachutist magazine (Oct 1987) offered some details into the subsequent investigation of the incident. The basic conclusion seems to have been that it was a colossal screw-up to have had students continue to parachute when a helicopter was in the area.
The conclusions of the Board of Inquiry were that Drop Zone Control or Air Traffic Control failed to suspend parachuting when the helicopter was in the area and that the helicopter pilot failed to take avoiding action or clear the area when parachiting was in progress. The Board could see no reason why parachuting was not suspended or why the helicopter was in the area whilst parachuting was taking place.
The recommendations of the Board were that whenever a student parachute programme is in operation, the Drop Zone Controller must have radio communication with parachuting aircraft for the purpose of suspending parachuting.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Sep 14, 2019 -
Comments (0)
Category: Death, Flight, 1980s
Can man fly by flapping his arms?
John Seney, an engineer at the Du Pont laboratory in Seaford, Delaware, had an ambitious plan (which he called 'Project Daedalus') to study buzzards and thereby figure out a way to allow a man to fly by flapping his arms — with the help of 36-foot wings strapped to them.Seney's project received quite a bit of media attention for several years in the mid-1960s, but I can't find any report indicating that he ever got to the stage of a test flight.
"Leonardo, the buzzard, is chased in Seaford, Del., basement laboratory of John Seney, 50-year-old scientist who is using the buzzard in his human flight experiments. Pursuing the bird is Stephen Moore who is helping Seney, and if the experiments get off the ground, will see Moore get off the ground with human-propelled wings. That's why they have named the buzzard Leonardo — after Leonardo da Vinci who had dreamed of flying like a bird."
Sarasota Journal - Dec 30, 1964
Baltimore Sun - Feb 21, 1965
Posted By: Alex - Tue Feb 26, 2019 -
Comments (2)
Category: Flight, Experiments, 1960s
Live Light Show
Pigeons with LED lights attached to them flying over the East River in New York, now that's art!
Posted By: Alex - Mon May 09, 2016 -
Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Art, Flight
Opel Rocket Vehicles
Original pic here.
Opel-RAK were a series of rocket vehicles produced by Fritz von Opel, of the Opel car company, in association with others, including Max Valier and Friedrich Wilhelm Sander largely as publicity stunts.
The Lippisch Ente a rocket-powered glider was produced on June 11, 1928, piloted by Fritz Stamer, but is not usually considered part of the series.
Opel RAK.1 - a rocket car that achieved 75 km/h (47 mph) on March 15, 1928[2]
Opel RAK.2 - rocket car May 23, 1928 reached a speed of 230 km/h (143 mph) driven by 24 solid-fuel rockets[2]
Opel RAK.3 rocket train (quoted speed is variously 254 or 290 km/h. See: [3], [4], [5], [6], [7]) On the second run the train jumps the track and is destroyed.
Opel Rak IV rocket train, destroyed when a solid rocket explodes on the track, exploding all the other rockets. Railway authorities prohibit further runs.[3]
Opel RAK.1 rocket glider September 30, 1929
Some stock footage of some of the rocket vehicles was incorporated into this early SF film.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jan 25, 2016 -
Comments (4)
Category: Flight, Movies, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, Technology, Science Fiction, 1920s, Europe, Cars
Flying Squirrel
You just can't trust anyone now a days!
Posted By: Alex - Fri Oct 09, 2015 -
Comments (6)
Category: Animals, Enlargements, Miniatures, and Other Matters of Scale, Flight, Toys
The Coleopter
Original article here.
Why are the skies of 2015 not filled with coleopters?
Posted By: Paul - Sun Apr 26, 2015 -
Comments (4)
Category: Flight, Technology, 1950s
Heads Up
How would you like one of these guys to land on your head? People walking through a particular field in the Netherlands get the chance to find out what its like. The friendly owl likes to spend a minute or so on his human perches before flying off.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Mar 26, 2015 -
Comments (5)
Category: Animals, Flight
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