Unrestricted Aerospace

Pappalardo, Joe. Unrestricted Aerospace. Popular mechanics. Aug 2008.
In the Mojave desert a private company, XCOR Aerospace is hoping to build a space craft to take paying customers into space. Other companies also are working in the desert. Scaled Composites is the company that invented the first aircraft that flew around the world without having to refuel. SpaceShipOne became the first private craft to take a pilot into outer space. This ship won the Ansari prize of 10 million dollars!

Aerospace history takes place in secert areas where designs can be tested without people spying and where if a mistake happens the craft will not crash into a shopping mall.The US Air force base was at Groom Lake Nevada; here is where they tested planes for defense contractors. Some tenants work on 'black' projects, this means they are top secret.Mojave is called the New Area 51 - the old Area 51 is where our government is supposedly hiding alien aircraft they captured.

Mojave's first airport was built in 1935. The government took it over in WW II to use as a Marine air station. In 2004 the FAA certified Mojave as a spaceport. This means private companies can launch people into space from here. New Mexico is also building a spaceport.Plenty of jobs exist here from both military and private contractors.

Would You Survive

Segal, Gregg.Would You Survive. Popular Mechanics, Aug. 2005.

As a nice follow up to my last chapter in flight school about airplane collusion avoidance, I'm doing this article about surviving in the wilderness if your plane crashes. Guess he didn't study the aircraft collision chapter very well!

This article is about Scott Thurner who was driving his Cessna 172 from Nevada to Colorado when it iced up. Scott did not file a flight plan and survived the crash landing but was 15 miles from the nearest road. The weather conditions were bad and freezing. Not filing a flight plan was stupid and nobody knew where he was.

The article goes on to say that statistically people are found in 3 days, dead or alive.
It says what you need to pack for survival and constructs a eight piont plan to make it through the first 72 hours. Caleb Randells, a instructor in the Air Force wrote a book, the Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive. It tells how to stay alive until help comes.

Scott Thurner is still alive today. he dug a snow cave and used the plane door as a roof. He set off his emergency beacon and rescuers found him in 24 hours. The strategies recommended are: stay with the plane and signal for help. Drawing a X on the wing can help.

Chapter 4 Section A : Safety Of Flight

This section was easy to understand and because it was related to safety, parts of it related to my life guard training. Pilots operate under VFR/ Visual Flight Rules or IFR/ Instrument Flight Rules. Studies show that the majority of mid-air collisions occur in VFR conditions so many techniques are for collision avoidance. Pilots must developed effective visual scanning which is short spaced eye movements. I didn't realize that if you see another airplane that doesn't seem to be moving your probably on a collision course.
Sky conditions can effect your ability to see traffic, obviously a sunny day is better than a cloudy day but phenomenon can occur that pilots must be aware of and take steps to overcome. Empty field myopia is when your looking at a sky with nothing in it; your eyes only tend to focus 10 to 30 feet ahead, a spot on your windshield can actually be a plane far away. Night myopia is worse because your eyes only focus from 5 to 6 feet in front of you. Airplanes, like cars, have blind spots and pilots learn to look around them. Before starting any maneuvers, like landing, pilots make clearing turns that are at least a 180 degree change in direction, to see around blind spots and better to see the area. The FARs spell out right-of-way rules. When two aircraft of the same category come together the plane on the left gives way. The right away goes in this order...

1. Aircraft in distressed
2. balloon
3. A glider
4. Aircraft refueling
5. Air ship (blimp)
6. Airplane
7. Rotor craft (helicopter)

Another safety feature of the FARs is minimum safe altitude. Over a congested city you have to be 1000 feet over every obstacle like a sky scraper. In a uncongested area you must be 500ft over the land or water. To fly over hazardous terrain like mountains pilots get specialized training. This training teaches you about wind conditions that can happen over open water or around mountains.

This section ended with introduction on Postitive Exchange Of Flight Controls. The Instructor will demonstrate a manuver than pass the controls to me. When this happens the FAA recomend this three step process.... the instructor says "you have flight controls." the student says "I have the flight controls." the instructor says "You have the flight controls." Now we know who has control over the plane.