Glad I'm not a passenger

DumboFixer

Joined Feb 10, 2009
217
I was at that airshow and that video is misleading. While the aircraft did attain a very steep climb angle there is no way it was near straight up. I'll see if I've got video of that take-off from a different angle.
 

Thread Starter

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,218
I was at that airshow and that video is misleading. While the aircraft did attain a very steep climb angle there is no way it was near straight up. I'll see if I've got video of that take-off from a different angle.
Right... the video did say that the plane was taking off at an angle of 30°, but the camera is placed almost in front of the plane, giving the illusion of a much steeper angle... it's still pretty impressive, though...
 

MikeML

Joined Oct 2, 2009
5,444
I was waiting at runway 16 for take off clearance at Renton, WA (KRNT), when the tower cleared a brand-new, fresh-out-of-the-Boeing plant, 757 to take off on runway 34 (opposite direction on the same runway). I understand that as these aircraft roll off the assembly line, they do not yet have any interior (seats, fittings, etc), and they put just enough fuel in them to ferry them to where-ever the production process is finished. The runway is short, and they pull into what appeared to be about a 40degree deck angle to climb rapidly for noise abatement. It sure looks impressive when the take-off roll is directly toward you. I'm thinking that the 757 was more than 2000ft agl when it went over me. Not bad off a runway that is only 5380 ft long.
 
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ErnieM

Joined Apr 24, 2011
8,377
Back in the early 90's I was driving out on east Long Island to go night fishing when I spotted a pair of dull red orbs on the near end of the runway at Calverton Airport. At the time Calverton was a private airfield of the Grumman Corporation and they were using it to base F-14 Tomcats in for rebuild or repair.

I locked up the brakes (after checking six) and stopped on the road side. Shortly the dull red orbs went bright red, scooted down the runway and I swear did indeed go straight up and out of sight.

You never forget your first full military power take off.
 

Papabravo

Joined Feb 24, 2006
21,157
You have to remember that most wing sections have a maximum angle of attack of about 18° before they stall. Of course the angle of attack is measured with respect to the relative wind.
 

MikeML

Joined Oct 2, 2009
5,444
Those videos taken through a telephoto lens always make it look much scarier than it actually is. The fore-shortening caused by the lens makes the crab-angle look much more extreme than it actually is.

Low-wing jet aircraft with wing-mounted engine pods cannot do what I do in my high-wing Piper or Cessna, which is to land in a slip, with the upwind wing low, touching down on one main wheel. If they did, they would scrape the engine pod on the runway.

My landings keep the aircraft axis aligned with the runway center line all the way to touch down. Jets have to hold the crab-angle to just above the runway, and then kick-out the crab just before the wheels touch to prevent side-load on the main landing gear.
 

Thread Starter

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,218
Those videos taken through a telephoto lens always make it look much scarier than it actually is. The fore-shortening caused by the lens makes the crab-angle look much more extreme than it actually is.

Low-wing jet aircraft with wing-mounted engine pods cannot do what I do in my high-wing Piper or Cessna, which is to land in a slip, with the upwind wing low, touching down on one main wheel. If they did, they would scrape the engine pod on the runway.

My landings keep the aircraft axis aligned with the runway center line all the way to touch down. Jets have to hold the crab-angle to just above the runway, and then kick-out the crab just before the wheels touch to prevent side-load on the main landing gear.
Actually, it's the way the tail swayed to and fro before touchdown that impressed me the most...
 
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