So, you're saying "nobody knows anything, and I can assert whatever I want"? Again, good luck.

(Written on 2019/07/26)(Permalink)

There are individuals out there who believe just about anything you can think of (the Earth is flat, vaccines are more risky than what they prevent, the Moon landing was faked, the Illuminati control the world, a DC pizzeria was the center of a Democratic pedophile conspiracy, human activities aren't driving climate change, etc. etc. etc.). The fact that you can find someone who supports your theory doesn't mean that you are correct. You need to see what the broad range of experts say ("no", "no", "no", "no", "no" and "no", respectively) before you can separate truth from fiction. Good luck.

(Written on 2019/07/26)(Permalink)

This was done using airborne background-oriented Schlieren photography. Basically, the King Air did high-resolution video of the T-38s flying over textured terrain. The video is then processed to measure the apparent displacement of the terrain by the shockwaves. Details: https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/TOP2-271 and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Background-oriented_schlieren_technique

(Written on 2019/03/29)(Permalink)

If you're going hell-bent-for-leather in a jet stream that fast, is there any concern that the plane will wander out of the stream (or the stream will wander away from the flight path), causing the plane to violate its air-speed limitations? Alternately, just how high and wide is the jet stream, and how suddenly does the speed change as you move across it?

(Written on 2019/02/25)(Permalink)

No snakes on that plane...

(Written on 2019/02/08)(Permalink)

What a horrible thing to have to listen to; I'm glad it isn't my job, and hope it doesn't become public.

(Written on 2019/01/25)(Permalink)

Perhaps it was not the chaff itself, but its (possibly incendiary) dispensing system that was the safety concern.

(Written on 2018/12/14)(Permalink)

Freebird!

(Written on 2018/12/07)(Permalink)

I can definitely see this as an accident. Somewhere, someone typed "CATHAY PACIIC" into a program, and that's all she wrote. An enormous plotter started cutting out pieces of vinyl far too large to read as a whole, producing a stack of sections. The team applying it started at the right end so it could be aligned with the door and end of the windows, and worked backward through the name. The letters are 4' high, and the workers were within a foot or two handling the floppy material; they couldn't see more than a couple of letters at a time. Then, when done, they turned their backs and went on to their next tasks.

(Written on 2018/09/21)(Permalink)

Yup: just use $100 bills for... wait a minute...

(Written on 2018/05/18)(Permalink)