Helicopter unloading on steep hillside

Sure, we suck at nation-building.  But we're awesome at flying helicopters.  USA!  USA!

H/t to Demon_Xanth at Opposite Lock.

Paper airplane record

Approximately 227 feet (69 meters).  The plane was thrown by former Cal QB Joe Ayoob.  His day job?  Selling Anchor Steam beer.

Israel bombing Iran, and its consequences

The New York Times has a detailed article about what it takes to wipe out Iran's nuclear program.  In summary,:

• The four targets are Natanz and Fordo (uranium enrichment facilities), Arak (heavy water reactor), Isfahan (yellow cake conversion plant).
• Of the three potential routes (see map above), the central route through Iraq is the most likely.  Iraq has virtually no air defenses and the U.S. is not obligated to defend its skies.
• Israeli F-15s and F-16s are capable of bombing raids, but do not have the 2,000 mile round trip range.  The planes also need extra time in the air to "loiter" over a target and to fight off attacks from missiles and planes.
• Israel does not have enough airborne re-fuel tankers.  It has at most eight KC-707s.  More F-15s and F-16s would be needed to protect the tankers.
• The Natanz facility is under 30 feet of concrete.  Fordo is in a mountain.  Israel's bunker busting bombs may not be powerful enough.  A nuclear weapon(!) may be needed to penetrate.

The conclusion from the article: Israel does not quite have the capability to pull off the attack on its own.

But what is to say that Israel is going to attack all four facilities?  Also, never underestimate the power of the Israeli military.

The regional and global consequences are of course numerous.  Just off the top of my head:

• Iran could cut off its oil exports further, affecting not only Europe, but Asia as well.
• Iran could attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz.
• Saudi and other pro-west Gulf States will up oil production to control oil prices.
• Israel will be attacked by Iranian missiles and explosives lobbed from southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.  We might see a return of suicide bus bombers inside Israel.
• Iran will no longer be able to financially prop up the Syrian regime, which is hemorrhaging its foreign exchange reserves.  In an act of desperation, Syria will further escalate its attacks on rebels and protestors. 
• Iran's preoccupation will mean a slight power vacuum in neighboring Iraq.  Iraqi Sunnis and Al Qaeda in Iraq will take advantage of this and try to increase its power in government and take revenge through violence.
• China's inability to positively influence what happens in Iran (and Syria) proves that it is not quite a superpower.
• I can't figure out how Egypt is going to react.  Is its people's animosity against the Israelis stronger than the general Arab dislike of Persians?  Does the U.S. have any influence over the current Egyptian government?
• I can't figure out how this is going to affect the Kurds in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
• The Keystone XL Pipeline that is supposed to bring Canadian oil to the United States, which was put on hold by Obama, might be green lit before the November election.  The only thing that is going to stop Obama from being re-elected is if the economy stalls again.  And he absolutely must keep gasoline prices down. 
• I'm trying to find a map of prevailing wind patterns in and around Iran.  Because if uranium ends up in the atmosphere, it's going to drift into neighboring countries.

David Coulthard flying in zero gravity

Citroens and Concorde

To quote the great Quagmire: Giggity!

Niihau, Pearl Harbor, a crash landing, and Japanese internment

Interesting theory as to why Japanese-Americans were interned during World War II.

6 Concordes

H/t to engineer.

Flying to Niihau

The trip to Niihau was the highlight of our vacation.  Not only was it a difficult place to reach, but it was the first time I've ridden in a helicopter.

Niihau is a 69.5 square mile island 17.5 miles southwest of Kauai.  It has 130 permanent inhabitants.  We approached it via its eastern cliffs and traveled clockwise around the island.  We landed on a secluded beach on the northwestern tip, across from Lehua Island (that U-shaped islet on the map below).

The only way visitors can reach the private island is via Niihau Helicopter.  The island's owners, the Robinson brothers, bought a helicopter for medical evacuations.  It offers tours to defray costs.  On average, it flies tourists there (5 to 7 tourists per trip) two to three times a week (so about 750 tourists a year).  But since medical flights, military use (for a radar station on the island), and residential use take precedence, getting bumped is the rule rather than the exception.

The helicopter office is in an anonymous building just west of Port Allen on the south side of Kauai.

After getting weighed in (the Agusta 109A maxes out at 1,100 pounds), we drive to Port Allen airport.

I got to sit in the front, which was really cool.

Over the channel, we flew between 2,000 and 3,000 feet at a maximum of 180 knots.  The wheeled Agusta is the fastest civilian helicopter in the state.

Here is the approach from the east.  Lehua is on the right.  If you look closely, you can see that Niihau almost touches Lehua.  From afar, you'd think that Niihau only consisted of the cliffs, but there is also a significant, low, flat area between Lehua and the Niihau cliffs.

A view from the side window.  A/C is too heavy (600 pounds) for the helicopter, so we stuck our hand out the window to let fresh air in.

Niihau, a very arid place, has the largest lakes in the state.

Dry lake bed.

This is us skirting the western shore, heading north.  Lehua is in the background.

This is a view down.  I was terrified that my rental car key was going to fall through the opening.  This shot is very Magnum, P.I.

A few monk seals dotted the beaches.  I'll post a picture of one we saw on the beach tomorrow.

There are signs of life.  Dirt trails.  The settlement of Pu'uwai, where all the residents live.  And quite a few Korean War era army trucks, which are used as transportation.  They look very post-apocalyptic.  To protect their privacy, we did not take any pictures of the town or the residents.  Trust me, I really wanted to take pictures of the trucks to share with you all, but there was almost always a resident or two in or next to the vehicles.

There is a herd of elands, introduced from Molokai Ranch.

Our shadow along a dirt trail.

The leeward beaches are pristine.  The windward beaches, not so much (more on that later).

Lehua is in the foreground and Niihau is in the background.  After we landed on Niihau, we first hung out at the beach to the left, and then we moved to the beach on the right.

Here is us landing.  You can barely make out one of the old cars in this picture.

Rode shotgun on copter ride to Forbidden Isle

Take the bus if you're Mexico's Interior Secretary

Two out of four of President Felipe Calderon's Interior Secretaries have perished in aviation accidents.  That is a freakishly high rate.

November 4, 2008, Juan Camilo Mourino dies when his Learjet crashes in Mexico City.

November 11, 2011, Francisco Blake Mora dies when his Aerospatiale Super Puma crashes just outside Mexico City.

They may both be innocent accidents, but one cannot ignore the many dangers of fighting the narco-traffickers.

RIP.

How to fly (and bail out of) a P-38

The Oldtimer I visited last week to check out the Merkur had a surprising car collection.  What was even more fascinating was that he flew a Lockheed P-38 during WWII.  He even crash landed once in the Philippines.

How To Fly The P-38 - Flight Characteristics from David Taylor on Vimeo.

Separated at birth: Lincoln MKX, Jabba the Hutt's Sail Barge, Moffett Field hangar

John Belushi on Skylab

Click to enlarge graphic about tomorrow's satellite crash.

Tomorrow, a satellite is supposed to fall back to earth.  Here's Belushi's Skylab bit on SNL, circa 1979. The bit about the World Trade Center is chilling.

Man survives plane crash

Check out the dude's forehead gash!