Straighten Up and Fly Right

This past January I reported my first drone flying crashing experience.

The weather has warmed but the rain and wind has been a too frequent visitor. Recently the air was mostly still on my deck but when I reached an open space in a nearby park the wind conditions were very different. I gave the drone a try anyway. The wind was pushing it around at will. After one hard landing I noticed I had cracked one of the four arms.

It was a fun challenge to repair it with tape and popsicle sticks. My "fix" didn't effect my flying. Still more hard landings than soft. However, I have increase my airtime between landings. The unpredictability of controlling it with wind and battery power has convinced me not to fly it around any crowds.  

No GPS, no live video streaming and no automatic avoidance system on my drone. Flying it requires constant eye contact with it.

(oh I found this Nat King Cole song performed by Lyle Lovett in my i-tunes collection - good fit for the video) 

moving on, up, down

A Christmas surprise and mild weather this January has offered me a chance to create my first dronie. Now I figured this new word was out there already and sure enough it was. Like a selfie, a dronie is picture but taken by a drone.

first dronie

Compared to others I know I’m not “into” gadgets that much. One problem I see with gadgets is the high cost for something that the bugs are not worked out of yet. I believe early adopters pay the price for being too early.

I’m a novice in the drone world. Novice sounds young so it’s an alright label by me. I categorize the retail drones in 3 groups. First very small indoor type drones, next the outdoor type with limited controls and finally full featured ones. The full featured ones start about $600 and go up from there. I suspect their GPS and avoidance features allows beginners better control.

My gift drone fits into my second category. No GPS, no live video streaming and no automatic avoidance system. The drone I’ve been crashing (not sure if I could call it flying yet?) is very light which is good and bad. Good because knocking it down as it came toward our adult daughter with my hand worked fine without any cuts. Bad because a slight breeze will push it around.

My first attempt of flying confirmed my belief that all this drone delivery talk is just hype to gain attention. Sure the commercial drones will be heavier with more powerful motors but I don’t see them delivering during a thunderstorm or even a high wind day. Sorry that same day delivery was cancelled due to an act of God.

Quick story about one of my first attempts. Granddaughter of 5 was over recently and I thought I would just show her (amaze her?) how it worked by lifting off and landing quickly on our deck. It was cold out but not bad for winter. I told her stand behind me. It lifted up about 4 feet caught a breeze and crashed into the deck railing. Took about half a minute total. Seeing this she told me, “It’s cold out I’m going back inside now.” Smart kid.

Now that I’m giving more attention to drones, I found this upcoming drone concept. I’m wary of the whole idea. A personal taxi drone called the EHANG 184. The Chinese company is currently test flying prototypes. No pilot, just the passenger and well tested software. I’ve flown in small helicopters which are fun but expensive. I've never felt scared since I had just watched the pilot land and take off with other customers before me. This no human pilot thing? No way, I’ve worked on too many software bugs in my career. 

step inside for a ride

For the readers who have read to the bottom of this post, thank you and for your enjoyment here is a clip of my crashing abilities. Just amazing outstanding crashing skills! (Oh the drone does record video onto a tiny memory card for later viewing.)

I want to know

DOES THIS AIRSTRIP MAKE 

MY RUDDER LOOK FAT?

( Bob Driver / Lockheed Martin / August 31, 2012 )

Lockheed Martin's P-791 Airship, a precursor to the company's new 290-foot airship called SkyTug, is shown in its first flight in Palmdale in January 2006.)

space fragments

Seems like 20 years ago but today my mind is slow. I don’t really know. 

I had a job that occasionally put me inside the large aircraft factories of Boeing and Airbus. Being up close to large aircraft in various stages of completion for me was like what some get from going to an art fair. Amazing how these complex machines come together. 

A younger me next to an older specialized Airbus plane:

Hopefully you heard of the recent good news coming from NASA’s Mars Curiosity mission. I was able to stay up and watch mission control on the internet. The landing was complex but went as planned.  They parked a small car sized rover near a mountain on Mars.

Thinking of space and the past, I went back and read an old post about a very curious shop in California. I’ve never been there but would love to look around the place some day.

There’s nothing like a good gimbal. Check out this mini thruster.

Picture copied from Norton Sales CA

lisleman’s broken news

Those other news outlets offer breaking news. Over here you'll find slightly damaged news on clearance. Don’t come here expecting fresh news. What you can expect here is stale opinion aged wisdom on the news.

picture from The Farmers Airship site

Yo got your zeppelin up? 

I first posted about Airship Ventures back in late 2008. A zeppelin comeback.  Not the dazed and confused stairway to heaven type. (easy to get dazed and confused on the stairway to most anywhere) No this is a zeppelin flying comeback. An airship company has been operating in California. Farmers Insurance is a big sponsor so you can find out more at “The Farmers Airship” site. The site has a gallery of zeppelin pictures which is the source of the above picture. 

Speaking of sponsors, anyone want to sponsor me on a zeppelin flight? I promise pictures and a great post. I would love to get off the ground for awhile.

This zeppelin is down. 

Like six feet under I think. Last month Led Zeppelin II of downstate Illinois (Chicagoland people call most of Illinois downstate - sad isn’t it) died of a heart attack. I didn’t know him but the album was a favorite part of my teens. 

Changing your name to a rock band name is big change.  For him it came after another big change in his life, a divorce. I wonder if a possible Led Zeppelin obsession contributed to the divorce. The article states that he redid his living room in album covers.

Oh wait a minute (or two) 

Remember that new follower I shared a picture of a few posts ago? No, that’s ok, I found out she can play the accordion and sing (at the same time too!). Here she is performing a Led Zeppelin cover.

(now don't be thinking I have a SC obsession - if it makes you happy some summer day after I soak up the sun I'll make a change and will be leaving Las Vegas because everyday is a winding road.  obsession - HA don't be silly)

another circus 

free hula in the air

It must be my week for youtube clips. Yesterday was dumb and dumber.

Today I offer a nice change from those dumb boaters. How about a talented flash mob flying through the air?

A hula dance group traveling from San Francisco to Honolulu surprised their fellow passengers on a Hawaiian Airlines flight recently.

I've never seen a fun surprise like this on a flight (the long flights could use things like this) but I did get a surprise once on the tube between Heathrow and London.  At one station a magician got on and started performing very entertaining magic tricks.  Just before another station down the track he passed his collection hat and got off.  I presume he got on the train going the other way and started his magic performance over again.  The Brits call these performers buskers.  Most of them are very good.

I wonder if this group got some extra frequent-flyer miles, they deserved something for such a good performance.

(oh they do two songs - I like the second one - "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" the best)

another circus 

no chicken wings

Ever been to the Grand Canyon?

Have you seen the PBS series "The National Parks: America's Best Idea"?

I am fortunate to answer yes to both questions (I did write the questions). I would like to go back to the Grand Canyon. It is hard to describe. Maybe I don't know enough words meaning BIG. All Americans should have it in their travel plans.

I wish I could share a photo from our trip there but it was before the digital camera and I have not scanned those pictures yet. (side note - I don't think blogs would have become popular before the digital camera)

For those who have been there (others look up some pics), imagine what it would be like to fly over it with a jet pack wing? A what? 

I understand there is only one of them. I posted about this Swiss inventor zooming over the English Channel before.

Recently, he strapped on his jet powered wing, hopped on a helicopter and dropped himself over the Grand Canyon. (side note - he had an easier time getting permission from a Native American tribe than the FAA)

Reminds me of the Jetsons, Rocketman, James Bond, etc. (not chicken man)

The cartoon idea

The real thing

Hey for an extra A-Few-Clowns-Short point - What was Mrs. Jetson's first name?

another circus 

bird on the wing

Jillsy Girl’s One Word Wednesday is soar.

This word immediately brought to mind a great adventure from my recent memory and had me wondering when I was going to do it again.

Soaring

as in a glider ride.

Having the fortunate experience of flying in small airplanes a few times (only a passenger), I came to the conclusion that to enjoy flying you need to feel you are flying. But after my glider ride, I modified that belief. To enjoy flying you need to fly without an engine.

Here’s the craft that gave me this transforming experience.

It’s a two seater. The pilot sits in back and you get to sit in front. With the canopy surrounding you and nothing blocking your view, you really do feel like a bird soaring.

Sitting in front you also get to pull the lever to release the rope from the tow plane. I was shocked that it is a rope (like a water ski rope) and not a cable.

The feeling as you release and look around to see nothing but the wind holding you up is amazing.

I was also given the chance to fly a little. That was another surprise. I thought I could master the foot pedals and stick. Maybe after much more practice but I was more than ready to give control back to the pilot after I jerked the plane to one side and then the other.

While the pilot was flying the ride was smooth with only a small bump or two on our final approach.

Maybe when the warm spring breezes start flowing I’ll get another chance to soar.

from the song “Let Your Love Flow”

“...let your love fly

like a bird on the wing...”

Fly like the Jetsons

Back before my face was on an electronic virtual book, back when a single computer would fill large rooms and were fed by paper cards - 

back long ago -

I thought this would happen someday.

Flying cars  --  cool

A favorite cartoon of mine was the Jetsons. The ordinary family of the future (Jetsons) had a flying car and robot, so that could be my future.   I was ordinary but not a cartoon.

Did you watch the Jetsons?  Did you think a flying car and robot servant might be possible when you grew up?  

I didn't research when this idea was first tried, but I took a picture of an early attempt on display at a museum in Seattle.  From the looks of the flying car, I'm thinking the sixties.

Actually we are not quite there yet. The company, Terrafugia, is taking orders but the first ones don't roll off production until late 2011. Also, the price is slightly above an ordinary family's reach - $194,000.

  

But the Jetsons were there in the sixties.

No security lines and no checked baggage fee - Priceless!

winging it jet style

I suspect you may have seen a report of this. It's very interesting and I suspect it will be widely covered. A swiss pilot flew a jet powered wing across the English channel (22 miles of open sea).

After checking the various reports and video, I have an idea of how it works but still a few questions. Since turning his head alters the flight direction, how does he check on where he is headed?? Does he have radio contact during the flight?

One more - did 007 do this already in a movie??

Here's more info from the web:
The CNN report video below has most of the details of the channel crossing.

The National Geographic Channel has a special page with a collection of pictures and video.

Also there is the BBC report.

FLUGTAG Chicago 2008

Update May 2011 --

Mrs. 4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time, started a saturday collection service many months ago.  What does she collect?

Why good blog posts of course.

This was a fun one to create because going to this event was fun.  It's also a good example of odd stuff that I enjoy.  Not weird - just odd.

Unknown Mami started this Sunday share a post of your city theme. You can find her blog by clicking this badge:

At the beginning of the clip you get a view of the Chicago downtown from North Beach. The John Hancock building is very noticeable as I pan my little camera.

Ok - the music is kinda corny but I was trying to find some flying music and I didn't look too long. It was fun to watch and I don't know when they be doing it again.

Enjoy -





I made it to Flugtag Chicago last Saturday. North Beach

I put together this short video. It would have been better if I just could of been there a little earlier and been able to position on the other side of a bush and a few people. Of course it's hard to get a good view of the "landing strip". I heard there were about 70,000 people trying to get that view.

Here's a few pictures too. (click the picture for a larger version)

The flying El was a Chicago favorite. It was written up in the Tribune. They did a great job of creating an L train, but it didn't fly far. The article about the team explained it all in one sentence.

"....Basically, it gave us a reason to get out our power tools and pound a few beers at least once a week...."

The pirates throw a wench in the water first.

The guy looks like he is wing walking on the way down!!!


Getting that "hitting the water" shot from my position was tough.