To bad it was not a C-130. Not having served, he has probably missed that character building experience.

(Written on 2020年 09月 23日)(Permalink)

Sorry for the hyperbole, closer estimate is 125 gallons. "During water operations, the main gear well is flooded with approximately 1000 pounds of water." That quote is taken from an EAA Flight Report by Russ Erb, circa 1999. Ideally that water is suppose to drain aft and exit aircraft thru a pipe due to acceleration forces. Briefly commanding a wheels down opens the forward gear doors to drain residual. The resultant pitch-up has to be anticipated, also countermand the gear down before that becomes a drag issue and adds to the control problems. Looking for a POH reference. Thanks for your comment.

(Written on 2019年 02月 17日)(Permalink)

There was a local Boston TV station video clip of the incident but this was in the pre-digital era. I had a VHS copy at one time but that is long gone, you could try Googling it. The pilot was Rob Carlson who unfortunately was lost when his Albatross when down in the jungles of Central America.

(Written on 2019年 02月 15日)(Permalink)

In the pre-9/11 times a fellow with a Grumman Albatross decided to set down on the Charles River in Boston to see how feasible it would be to watch the 4th of July concert & fireworks on the river bank. He did this while in contact w/ KBOS and Boston Center, however no one informed Boston PD & Fire, and they turned out in force. It was a real mess with a MA State Trooper attempting to arrest the pilot and seize the plane. After all the excitement subsided, the authorities decided it would be best if the Albatross just left river. After a few high speed taxis to clear the river and ensure sufficient takeoff distance, the fellow did as instructed. The retractable nose wheel cavity floods with more than 200 gallons of water which is released upon getting airborne. This occurred as the Albatross was just clearing the Comm Ave bridge. That part of the story will have to be told some other time, but it was not pretty.

(Written on 2019年 02月 15日)(Permalink)

Numbers can be mis-leading, I am someone that flew a lot of long-haul flights in the 70's, 80's and 90's mostly on 747s. My 150+ flights are probably counted as 150+ passengers rather than one little old me. However, than minor error in counting should not minimize what an amazing aircraft Boeing developed and the airlines flew. Among all the 747 variants, the 747SP was in a catagory of its own.

(Written on 2019年 02月 06日)(Permalink)

The FLYING article is interesting. Thank you for posting it. My comment has to due with the aircraft she is ferrying. The Cessna 210 was featured in a series of YouTube videos about three young men flying from Boston to Austria. The four or five videos that chronicle the trip are interesting from a piloting perspective as well as simple entertainment. The initial YouTube video URL is: https://youtu.be/W9Uf-ynoDUE. One of the fellows was Matt Guthmiller, known for his solo circumnavigation at age 19.

(Written on 2018年 06月 18日)(Permalink)

Lufthansa should charge her for additional fuel used to get in & out of BIKF.

(Written on 2017年 04月 03日)(Permalink)