Glad I'm not a passenger

Thread Starter

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,788
"Good to see they were worried about the pilots safety. God forbid he might get hurt while flying the bomb."
"Just before the collision it is essential that you do not shut your eyes for a moment so as not to miss the target. Many have crashed into the targets with wide-open eyes. They will tell you what fun they had.”⁣ -Kamikaze Suicide Manual. ⁣
 

nsaspook

Joined Aug 27, 2009
16,359
They need some range time.
No they don't, these guys are experts. I'm a pretty good shot (had a BB gun before a bike) but when we had gunnery practice, I couldn't hit jack using regular windage and leading. The camera doesn't accurately show the ships pitch, yaw, roll, speed and it kicks like a mule even when mounted, so we were all taught to aim low and to sweep up when I was on the ships security detail.
Calm seas and a static target.
 
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WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
32,944
The weather is not so good for training....

Looked like extremely good weather -- or at least a lot better than is often the case.

I love watching training activities like this. We get to see the final product in (highly edited) scenes like the opening sequences of both Top Gun movies and other films, but I've always liked the behind-the-scenes look at how these highly skilled professionals get that way. It doesn't happen over night or just by reading a manual or attending some classes (though both are critical elements). I think one thing that many people might be surprised by, if they thought about it, is one thing that is NOT the norm. Some people might expect that you would have a few students along with only the most skilled other players -- for instance, your best deck crews when student pilots are doing their first carrier quals, or your best pilots when you have new deck crews working for the first time. Not what happens. It's not uncommon at all for new folks in just about every position to be thrown together -- with close supervision -- right from the get-go. It's all part of the culture that emphasizes that fact that what you are doing is real with few, if any, safety nets or training wheels. It underscores that, from the moment you step on that flight deck, you have to have your act together because there are other folks that are just as inexperienced as you are out there and you have to be on-task all the time to ensure that you don't let any oversights that anyone else makes slip by.
 

nsaspook

Joined Aug 27, 2009
16,359
What a horrible situation Baltimore is going through right now ...
Someone needs to pay for a new bridge, That shipping company is likely going bankrupt as I don't think they have a $1B coverage plan.
https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/...e-shuts-down-port-UWTGE4KLJ5HUXDX2OTEETMW3EY/
“This is unbelievable,” he said. “More than anything, I’m praying for people and their families. I know there is going to be a loss of life, and that is devastating,” said Salling, a Republican from southeastern Baltimore County.

Salling serves on a transportation subcommittee in the General Assembly and said eventually there will need to be serious considerations about repairing and replacing the bridge — a massive and expensive task that’s difficult to fathom at the moment.

“I believe it will take a very, very long time,” he said.
Handout a time plus demolition contract , everyday sooner than X the channel is open, gets a extra X dollars.

It's a total loss, so it looks like (to a armchair expert) you could just blow the truss girders where the ship hit it and move it aside with massive cranes.

https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/...y-bridge-collapse-YDNMRSLMDREE7ADUZJQFQJ3WDA/
Cargo ship sent mayday call before collision; construction crew missing

A mayday call enabled officials to stop traffic at both ends of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge and try to evacuate people from the span before it collapsed on Tuesday, according to several federal and Maryland officials.

1711467878789.png
 

Thread Starter

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,788
Someone needs to pay for a new bridge, That shipping company is likely going bankrupt as I don't think they have a $1B coverage plan.
https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/...e-shuts-down-port-UWTGE4KLJ5HUXDX2OTEETMW3EY/


Handout a time plus demolition contract , everyday sooner than X the channel is open, gets a extra X dollars.

It's a total loss, so it looks like (to a armchair expert) you could just blow the truss girders where the ship hit it and move it aside with massive cranes.

https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/...y-bridge-collapse-YDNMRSLMDREE7ADUZJQFQJ3WDA/
Cargo ship sent mayday call before collision; construction crew missing

A mayday call enabled officials to stop traffic at both ends of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge and try to evacuate people from the span before it collapsed on Tuesday, according to several federal and Maryland officials.

View attachment 318488
It's probably going to be the greatest write off in the county's budget history. I wonder how much the cleanup operation itself is going to cost ...

I think I'm going to start posting in the other thread, now. Lest this one becomes quickly saturated with this awful news.
 

nsaspook

Joined Aug 27, 2009
16,359
https://www.businessinsider.com/man...ions-after-black-hawk-helicopter-crash-2024-3
US Army Black Hawk helicopter hit by snowmobile, rider sues government for $9.5 million, says report
Smith's case is that the Black Hawk crew was negligent in parking the stealth helicopter on a seldom-used airfield that snowmobilers also used, adding that they did not warn them about the aircraft's presence.
...
The government has attempted to pin blame on Smith, saying he was driving at 65 mph after drinking two beers and taking prescription medication. It has also argued that it can't be sued under the Federal Tort Claims Act and that the crew was unaware it was landing in an area used by snowmobilers.
Impaired driver crashed into a aircraft at an airfield but wants millions. Yes, this is America.
 
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