This is the Schienenzeppelin, a Weimar-era German "rail zeppelin" that used a giant prop to pull itself down the railroad tracks:
Conceived and built in 1930 by the German rail company Deutsche Reichsbahn, the Schienenzeppelin was a design alternative to the streamlined steam locomotives of its day. It was a slick and relatively lightweight at 20 tons, running on but two axles and powered by a 46-liter BMW V-12.
The same engine was later used to power the light bombers of the Luftwaffe. The engine sent 600 horsepower to a massive ash propeller, tilted seven degrees to produce downforce. It was one of those designs that would shock and delight even in these times, when aluminum is used not for Bauhaus trains but for high-revving V-8s and computers from the near future.
Originally good for 120 mph -- on par with the fastest streamlined steam locomotives -- the Schienenzeppelin topped out at a magnificent 140 mph in the summer of 1931. It was a record that stood for 23 years and was never surpassed by a gasoline-powered locomotive.
Here is a video showing a trike performing a monster wang. Probably somewhere near 130 degrees. This is highly dangerous and can break a trike if not performed correctly.
The video comes from Paul Hamilton who was one of the first weight shift examiners in the country. I personally will never try this move no matter how good I think I am. At least not intentionally that is.
There are many things that the passenger can do besides just enjoying the flight. They can be another set of eyes to watch for other aircraft. See and avoid is the rule of the sky. Having another set of eyes watching out for other aircraft, power lines, dust devils, and other hazards really helps.
Once I have instructed the passenger in a pre-flight briefing how to board, where to hold onto, how to work the intercom, and what to expect as we begin the takeoff roll, I will then ask them to help me watch out for hazards in the air. Other than enjoying the flight and chattering on the intercom about how much fun they are having, the only role assigned to them is to notify me of any hazards they see that could affect our flight. Another plane visible in our airspace, a power line stretching across a canyon we are flying up, or a massive dust devil slithering across a field toward us could all be potential hazards.
Mike, here is his site, gave a presentation at Trikefest 2010 in Cushing last year. He even picked on my Hirth engine when he asked who was flying the Northwing tied down out front.
Hopefully this weekend I can get the Hirth back together and start flying off the Phase 1 hours. I will tie it down on the trailer and run it for an hour at cruise throttle with several 5 minute full throttle bursts. If the temps all look good then I can sign it off for phase 2 and go fly the thing.
Warning: this is a long story but it tells a side of the story that no one gets to hear. Anyone who flies can can easily put ourselves in this Captain's shoes. There are times that we desperately need to land and have few options beneath us. If you have already seen it - Sorry. But it is still a very good read.
"I'm currently still in one piece, writing from my room in the Narita crew hotel. It's 8am. This is my inaugural trans-pacific trip as a brand new, recently checked out, international 767 Captain and it has been interesting, to say the least, so far. I've crossed the Atlantic three times, so the ocean crossing procedures were familiar.
Not a good landing spot for a jet, but OK for a trike
By the way, stunning scenery flying over the Aleutian Islands. Everything was going fine until 100 miles out from Tokyo and in the descent for arrival. The first indication of any trouble was that Japan air traffic control started putting everyone into holding patterns. At first we thought it was usual congestion on arrival. Then we got a company data link message advising about the earthquake, followed by another stating Narita airport was temporarily closed for inspection and expected to open shortly (the company is always so positive).
From our perspective things were obviously looking a little different. The Japanese controller's anxiety level seemed quite high and he said expect "indefinite" holding time. No one would commit to a time frame on that so I got my copilot and relief pilot busy looking at divert stations and our fuel situation, which, after an ocean crossing is typically low.
The search continues for Joseph Radford, 47, a volunteer pilot for Pilots N Paws.
Radford was flying RV6 Kit Built, cherry red airplane with tail number N650RV at the time that he disappeared.
Radford took off from the Glendale Municipal Airport at 6:30 am on Monday, refueling at the Grand Canyon Airport in Tusayan at 8:30 am.
The Glendale Police were contacted by Radford’s family on Monday when he failed to return home.
A pilot flying over the canyon called the airport after detecting an emergency locator transmitter about 30 miles northwest of the Grand Canyon Village in a remote region of the park. The airport then notified the NPS, which immediately deployed a helicopter to investigate.
When the helicopter pilot found no evidence of an aircraft crash or an emergency beacon, the NPS called off its search because they had no notice of a missing plane.Rescuers resumed their search in an area encompassing a 600 square mile portion of the Northeast portion of the Grand Canyon.
According to Shannon Marcak, spokesperson for the Grand Canyon,
"It's an extremely backcountry area and we have no indication in terms of vertical relief where this plane went down -- or even if this plane went down," She also said that search and rescue had yet to locate the emergency beacon that was first detected by a private aircraft pilot on Sunday.
Individuals within the rescue community are praying for a positive outcome for Radford, a man that has played a significant part in the saving of many “death row” dogs.
One of the puppies that Radford helped transport is featured in the photo included in this article. From fellow rescuer, Diane Ybarra,
“A photo I call Angel in the Sky was taken by missing pilot Joe Radford on a weekend when he flew into Kern twice to save deathrow babies. May he be found safe and sound."
The rescue community is reaching out for help. Please share his story and pray for his safe return.
Anybody who has seen Radford or his aircraft since Friday at 8:30 a.m. is asked to contact the National Park Service at (928) 638-7805.
This is a video showing the successful deployment of a Ballistic Recovery System and the parachute bringing the broken trike gently to the ground.
Look at how it saved the pilot's life here. A typical person can handle about +5 Gs and about -2.5 Gs before getting a G-LOC. By the time the leading edge tubing breaks in this video, the G's are in the 7 to 8 G range. That's not a humongous amount of time but its enough with an aware pilot. Especially one who has repeatedly rehearsed the situation where the onset of a tumble requires a quick pull of the BRS.
I wanted to put up a few interesting photos that I have run across lately. These just resonated with me somehow and I have been collecting them in a folder.
This is a great sky to go fly in
Sometimes you have to do a double take to really see what the picture is all about.Which birds are real and which are shadows?
Pigeons and their shadows
How would you like to be greeted with a sunrise like this every morning while taxiing out to the runway?
Every now and then a photographer has the perfect depth of field and clicks the shutter at the perfect time to capture a rare photo like this one. I would hate to be the varmint this owl has in his sights.
Look at the focus in this owl's eyes
Some skies are beautiful and deadly at the same time.A sky like this means convective turbulence that would probably end in disaster for a trike pilot.
This is a horrible sky to go fly in
And then. there is this photo of Jeff landing at Lonnie's farm near Roswell. Slowly descending till the machine meets it's shadow and hopefully transferring the weight from the wing to the wheels without even a hint of abruptness is the goal of every pilot. Many times Jeff makes it look much easier than it really is.
I have landed at some unusual places and some of the touchdown points are far from being called runways, so can you image what it must look like from a pilots point of view landing on this Portuguese runway?
The airport's runway has a length of 2,781 meters (9,000 ft), of which 1,000 m (3,000 ft) are supported by 180 pillars, each pillar 50 meters in length (about 17 floors). The runway is designed to accommodate 747s. Like landing on an aircraft carrier. Note the cars parked below the runway.
Let's not even think about running off that runway!
Not much room for error from either direction
The picture above is what the runway looked like before they added the extension. it kind of looks like my home field of Los Alamos pictured below.
My home field KLAM with 400ft canyons on either side
Although here I do have more options if the landing does not go smooth. And I don't have to worry about sliding off into the ocean either.
John Olson used to teach trike flying in Rodeo New Mexico with the Sky Gypsies. Quite the wanderer, he spends a lot of time south of the border. I first met him at Copperstate, the EAA fly-in near Phoenix Arizona, several years ago while he was helping Slim and Scott staff the Airborne booth at the show.
That is his motor home in the center of the picture parked near the dirt road that he uses as a runway. He took this photo on a fly by.
John wrote a series of books, "Tales from the wild blue yonder" which chronicle his days hang gliding and trike flying here in the US and in Mexico. One of his blogs, Sky Writer, continues those adventures. He is a colorful character and it comes through in his writing.
When I finally get to retire, like John, I may head to Mexico to fly there too. It is an interesting place.
This is the question that Paul Hamilton asks. Trike flying is dangerous, or is it to you?
Everybody has a different opinion about what is dangerous, crazy, stupid, and/or irresponsible. So here is a risk assessment range that lets us evaluate the risks for ourselves and others.
Flying over a carpet of clouds on my way to Moriarty; risky behavior?
There is the lower end or Zero (0) risk – those who think trike flying is dangerous, crazy, and stupid.
They think the people who fly trikes (those unsafe ultralights that crash all the time) are irresponsible to their families and society to fly for fun. There are plenty of these people out there.
Frank sent me this link that shows the Powrachute aircraft carrier. The Powrachute factory has a rep that goes around selling trikes and PPCs to law enforcement agencies. Craig, the factory rep, is currently working the Mexican border and his route is coming to New Mexico this month.
The triple axle aircraft carrier holds a Revo trike and a Powrachute PPC. It looks like it has living quarters at the front and is towed by a dually diesel. If you put in a dirt bike, a dual sport motorcycle, a whitewater raft, and a Powered Paraglider, then what more could you want in a toyhauler? I might have to see if Craig needs any help with his venture.
Frank sent an invitation to the local trikers to come fly with Craig when he passes through our area. I hope I have my engine back together by then. Even if I don't I might just get a ride in the back seat of the Revo with Craig.
I was fortunate to see Larry put the Revo through it's paces at Cushing Field and at Oshkosh last year. This is one amazing trike. It also has an amazing price. I'll have to win the lotto before I can afford one of those.
Earlier I read about an accident concerning Birds of Paradise in Hawaii, and now Big Sky Kauai has had one too. This report from the local news station gives the details.
With such a beautiful place to fly, who could resist the desire to get airborne in Hawaii. Our thoughts are with those who have lost loved ones. May their pain diminish quickly.
