spenaroo

WB-57F there is 3 operated by NASA, I think they look like something out of star-wars with the bigger engines.

Oh fun fact. Harley-Davidonson batteries are FAA certified. Always amused me, but they over engineered the batteries due to the vibration and heat of the big twins. Can literally drill into the battery without anything leaking. The terminals are lead, so if it short circuits to the frame or seat it just melts the terminal. When I was working for them there was nothing on the market that had higher CCA or lasted longer. Guys were regularly getting 7 years from them. Had a few come in with 9+, only time in my experience in the bike industry the genuine factory batteries were stocked, didn't even bother keeping an aftermarket alternative

well yeah, note they need a plastic spacer to replace the bigger sizes. literally a battery designed to meet the minimum specs for the widest range

its a Mottobatt, replace it. Id know that yellow battery casing anywhere. I've used them in my motorcycles because they are cheap. but they are not the same quality as a Yuasa. Pretty much every motorcycle dealer stocks Motobatt because they have multiple fitments. (4 terminals) greatly reduced number of types we needed to keep (form memory 24 different motobatt sizes, replaced 120 standard sizes). and importantly was a good selling price. if they last longer then 12 months you'll probably get 3-5 years from it. sitting around seems to be what kills this brand the most. it drops a cell, so will still show 12v, but wont take any load.

Isnt that why there is a whole community of medical professional's, set-up for pilots with mental illness in the USA to be treated, anonymously so it doesn't get reported.

thrust vectoring did come to mind. but the idea of a roof mounted engine pod that swivels amuses me. wouldn't look to dissimilar to existing seaplane design's. imagine it would help with crosswinds oh could link it to the throttle too, no need for more right rudder

How many young teens/adults who wrap a car around a tree/telephone pole have been done for manslaughter over killed passengers? hell it even has its own term Vehicular manslaughter I don't see the difference just because its an aircraft.

yeah, used mostly in low speed, high thrust applications. the density means that they have a large drag at higher speeds. so question. with outboards, and azimuth pods being talked about. is there any aircraft steered by changing the prop position?

Which also brings up a good point, there already exists shrouded props

It is used in ships and sailing vessels

Maybe.... But they were comparing a 5k aftermarket prop, to a $300 standard prop. not apples to apples. be interesting to see how it performs against an equivalent aftermarket prop. was the first performance change we did on Jet-skis. everyone knew going to an aftermarket stainless, multi pitch prop gave a proven performance boost all-round over the stock items. Think of it like testing a composite prop, compared to a wooden prop on a Jabiru. we all know there is a performance advantage to changing - but plenty still use the wooden option because its good enough. but using the wooden prop as a benchmark for a new performance prop is pretty silly - except if you want to the big percentage increases for marketing.

they fail my basic sniff test.... Is it used in racing? if the race teams looking for any advantage without care for the budget aren't using it... then its probably marketing hype

I think that is a little outdated, pretty much every motorcycle manufacturer I worked for had a supported product life span of 10 years. all reduced down to in the 2010's. realistically after about 5 years it started to be questionable, especially anything out of the ordinary - often waiting till they had a big enough back-order list before they would manufacture the part. and they didn't scrap the parts, they would sell them in a bulk lot to interested parties. there are specialist company's that purchase and distribute NOS this is the company I know Harley uses, looks like Boeing does too https://www.vpartsinc.com/aviation

that's interesting, as it fits with my mentality. I am terrified of heights. whether it be tall stairs or windows in high rises. send my mind into panic. don't dare stand near a ledge But I am mostly fine about flying, occasionally the fear creeps in when thinking about consequences of sudden failures etc... but mostly its a meditative thing. always found it difficult to explain the disconnect, whether its because my whole focus is on the present actions, knowledge of the physics. or the different setting being in the cage (one of these days ill have to try an open cockpit)

so have to renew my membership and it gives 3 options. 12 months, 2 years, 3 years. all fairly standard but gets interesting when you look at the cost breakdown. 12 months $285 2 years $559 ($11 saving) 3 years $840 ($15 saving) doesn't seem to be much incentive to go for the 3 years....

Ive been taught all of it at different points. the use ground effect and zoom climb over the obstacle for the end of the runway at hot days. rolling entry into the runway... watching the speed not to tip or slide. full brakes, full throttle release and go. never been taught that one is always better then the other. like a slip or flaps to adjust height on final. its multiple tools to use as comfortable

im wondering if everything is partially right. and a fuel selector was the issue. happened to pilots before. gives both fuel in one tank to drain, but run dry in the other with nothing but air. pilot too low to run through the full checks and committed to the landing instead of trouble shooting

...... Have you bought parts to rebuild a car or motorcycle recently? that's a pretty reasonable cost for OEM piston rings.

So basically its wing warping without the actual wing changing shape. using the same idea as blown flaps

and that's why insurance basically writes off any boat or ski that is sunk instantly. they have to guarantee for the life of the repair

all of this stuff is only really as good as the access available. seen plenty of spark plugs corroded into the heads of ski's because the boot/cap in the well prevents it from properly getting treated when cleaned. same with the pulleys on supercharger belts - hard to get to so commonly corrode and seize. despite owners using all the correct products and washings. by the same token I know of sunk ski's that have been revived. but they are usually 2 stroke stand-ups. so I believe engines were stripped down and soaked.

yeah there is a few products I remember from the jet-skis lanolin spray before use, and salt-away after use

oh and if you see a custom bike for sale - just needs registering..... chances are that it cant be registered, plenty of people buying wrecks as a starting point, because they are changing everything anyway.... only to find out that it has to be original parts to go through the inspection report, same with repairs that "just needs inspection" i.e. I don't have the paper trail for every part - a requirement to be passed off. I have heard of people getting around it with having the VIN crossed out and registering it as an ICV. but thats a whole different ballgame (edit to above repairable write off, is uneconomical - just noticed it and cant edit as timed out. stat write-off is dead, end of story)

Oh man, used to deal with this quite a bit with my old job as a parts interpreter/workshop adviser for Harley/Ducati. did all the quotes and dealing with the insurance assessors so many people buying wrecks at auctions and not knowing what was required - the days of the cheap repair and re-register are long gone. Stat write-off is better termed as Un-economical write off. usually with parts and the price of the auction value of the vehicle…. its worth more then a new one. their whole business is minimizing loss, no idea why people still have the mentality of it being cheaper to repair a car then buy one in good condition. used to have it about once a month where someone would come in wanting a new frame for the Harley... "cool, what's your VIN number. ill need the neck of the frame where its stamped cut out and brought in - so we can get a replacement with the same details." only to be told that its a wreck they bought at auction - and needs a new VIN. which they fail to understand that we cant just get a new frame with a different VIN... Ducati was an interesting case because the bikes are special. numbered bikes (normally 500 to 1000 built worldwide) could get up to 3/4 of the value before being written off by insurance (and then the wrecks would usually go overseas to be rebuilt and registered). new models were in such high demand that minor damage (literally a drop needing side fairings) would write it off, as they got such high amounts at auction for the bikes. (literally had people come in puffed up as they bought a wreck for 20k in the auction, buy 6k in parts to get it ready for inspection.... and then see the demo we have on the floor is being sold for 25k)