First real navy flight

[GAAN]

<ignoring the distasteful sounds of vigorously slapping pilot cocks>

punx link led me to this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hafner_Rotabuggy

a real flying jeep

[krolik]

That's what you need.

[Punx Clever]

That's a lot like how motorcycles were originally bicycles with wee little motors. Technically, a moped is a motorcycle... but I certainly reserve the term for a real motorcycle. YMMV.

Thing is, the navy has aviators, flight officers, and air crew. The air force and army have pilots. Gotta be a reason they call us something different. Wings of gold, or wings of lead, you choose!

[Monster Dave]

Congrats on a safe first flight! 

[Bick]

Gotta be a reason they call us something different.

Yes, there is a reason. 

Squid.

[77south]

Wings of gold, or wings of lead, you choose!

I'm going with wings of nylon and aluminum.  I picked up a hang glider last year*, and this year I am going to take lessons and learn to fly.

*this was an impulse trade.  I was on a long bicycle training ride last year, west of Madison WI.  I met another guy who was also on a training ride and we chatted as we biked up and down the hills by Mount Horeb WI, and as we were about to go our separate ways, he asked if I wanted to buy a hang glider.  I told him no, but I did have a carbon fiber road bike I could trade him for it.  A couple weeks later he had a new bike and I had a new white elephant.

[Punx Clever]

Yes, there is a reason. 

Squid.

I hate to admit it... but the boot gets it. Nothing quite like a good rivalry.

Hang gliding would be fun to.

[Drunken Monkey]

I hate to admit it... but the boot gets it. Nothing quite like a good rivalry.

Years ago I did some mock dogfighting in Marchettis. One of those deals where you go up with an instructor and have at it (with simulated guns) against another plane.

Instructor in my plane was an Ex-Marine aviator. Instructor in my buddy's plane was an Ex-AF pilot.

The trash talk over the radio between them was epic. 

[Adamm0621]

"The thing is, helicopters are different from planes. An airplane by its nature wants to fly, and if not interfered with too strongly by unusual events or by a deliberately incompetent pilot, it will fly. A helicopter does not want to fly. It is maintained in the air by a variety of forces and controls working in opposition to each other, and if there is any disturbance in this delicate balance the helicopter stops flying; immediately and disastrously.

Technically most modern jets are fly-by-wire, meaning that the aerodynamics of the plane on their own aren't sufficient for lift and thusly force the plane downward.  Without the aid of computers and avionics, a jet won't fly either...

[Scotzman]

Have you been through SERE yet? I don't know where in your pipeline it is, if not, good times.

[Punx Clever]

Have you been through SERE yet? I don't know where in your pipeline it is, if not, good times.

Later in the pipe... and yes. I expect many "fond" memories

[Drunken Monkey]

Technically most modern jets are fly-by-wire, meaning that the aerodynamics of the plane on their own aren't sufficient for lift and thusly force the plane downward.  Without the aid of computers and avionics, a jet won't fly either...

That's... wrong.

There's plenty of lift in a modern jet and the control surfaces can still be operated directly by a human being.

Now, will it be stable? Will it be stable as it goes from regular to supersonic flight?

Will the pilot not accidentally yank the stick in such a way that the plane stalls, rips its wings off or knocks out the pilot?

Uh, no.

So modern jets can fly without avionics, they just don't fly particularly well.

[MendoDave]

I'm glad I have a set of these.

[AeroGeek]

That's... wrong.

There's plenty of lift in a modern jet and the control surfaces can still be operated directly by a human being.

Now, will it be stable? Will it be stable as it goes from regular to supersonic flight?

Will the pilot not accidentally yank the stick in such a way that the plane stalls, rips its wings off or knocks out the pilot?

Uh, no.

So modern jets can fly without avionics, they just don't fly particularly well.

You are not quite right either.  As you can tell by my screen name, this is what I do (fighters in particular).

Fly by wire simply means the flight controls are activated via an electronic signal rather than a physical cable.

Avionics and computers controlling the flight controls are a totally different subject.  Yes, most modern fighters are not dynamically stable.  I think it is safe to say that is a requirement for them to be able to fly safely without the avionics being operational.  

The amount of lift an aircraft has is determined by its physical shape, not anything to do with computers, flight controls, or avionics.

It is unfortunately quite possible to "knock a pilot out" while flying.  This is called gloc, or Gravity-induced Loss of Consciousness.

[Punx Clever]

I'm glad I have a set of these.

You won't when I get my wings...