Before we had Star War’s canyon overseas in Oman, we had the Grand Canyon right here at home.
Yes, the music is painfully anachronistic.
But those were the days.
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Oh wow, that is unspeakably awesome! Thanks to a link at Instapinch, I had just read through the last few episodes of Rhythms this morning before venturing to the homepage here. This was like the cherry on top of a delicious desert.
I’m grinning like an idiot.
Sort of a gripe, why is the autoplay on?
Fixed, I think.
Check Sat, no longer on auto-pilot here.
The guys better be careful if they’re still alive. If the big kids in today’s AF get a look and identify those guys, they’ll recall ‘em back into the service at age 80+ and run ‘em thru a courts martial faster than you can spell zoomie…
No they won’t. You’re an idiot.
Gentlemen, gentlemen!
I don’t know how “Someone Smarter Than You” is, but if he’s new ’round here he’s obviously unacquainted with VX’s sarcasm/irony…
He soon will be.
Boy, ain’t that the truth.
I just KNEW I was smarter than the average Bear, and now I have living proof!
Even if you already know it, it’s still nice to have the confirmation from outside sources.
First off: IMHO: Satriani is never “anachronistic.” I seems to convey the high rate of focus needed for such things as this and skysurfing or any other mentally intensive endeavor full of speed.
Secondly: Very cool….and for you wannabes…Google Earth has a flight sim built in! Cessna or F-16. Go were you want to go, then do what you want to do. Ctrl-A brings it up. I did, one time about an year ago, fritter away about a few hours in the GC and an F-16, thanks to technology for free!
re: Satriani. Beat me to it! I gotta start getting up earlier.
Nice flying, ever careful not to damage multibillion year old rock.
Just wondering if the gracious Navy host understands ancient Zoomie Handspeak.
Thanks for the video, was awsome.
But one question, did I read the words at the beginning right? The plane was piloted by an RAF pilot? If so that is just a classic English name!
That was great. I remember back in my college days we had a field geology class at Split Mountain, in the Anza-Borrego area. It was, um, intersting to see the Navy pilots flying the gorge below us, especially that little jog about midway through it.
That gorge was fairly awesome itself, at least in the eyes of someone raised in AL. We used to camp nearly every weekend in the Borrego desert and we rode motorcycles out to that gorge. You just brought back some wonderful memories – thanks.
Video is great, music is AWFUL!!!1
Perhaps they should have played “It’s not unusual” or “My Delilah” in the background, Mr. Jones? I loved your performance in “Mars Attacks”.
I an SHOCKED, SHOCKED I TELL YOU that such wasteful squandering of our taxpayer’s confiscated, er, cheerfully remitted monies was used in such a vainglorious manner. I for one never, ever, ever resorted to such uses of the aircraft entrusted to my care by the U.S. Navy. Ever. At any time. So that wasn’t me. Couldn’t have been. It was somebody else’s side number. I didn’t do it, nobody saw me do it, you can’t prove anything! That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Sierra Hotel.
VR,
Comjam
What? You were just engaged in a field exercise to hone and develope your skills in spatial orientation, maneuvering, and critical decision making. What is wrong with that?
CJ: That was right out of the Bart Simpson play book.
Well done, sir! Nicely executed!
Boy that looks like some ride! I just might have to do that someday. The fine and losing your license if you get caught would be worth it!
Thanks for the video, Lex! Another reminder of a simpler, less complicated world. I’ll take the Red Menace over Al Queda any day.
Why is everyone so nervous? I think the last time I did that was around 1980. Center used to solicit you and ask if you wanted to cancel in instruments and descend below the rim, and then pick up your clearance at the other end.
Canyon ‘Surfing [flying sideways] with the Alien’ CRAB takes on new meaning – thank you Mr. Satriani. http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question24925.html
A reminder of one of our host’s stories.
Some observations:
Bird in the opening ground scene has ironic TR-666 side number.
Must have scared lots of birds, bugs or beasties back then, which the enviros insist we cannot do now.
Hope the pristine wilderness was not polluted with too much scrap aluminum and JP4.
Pilot retired as Air Vice Marshall, so Sierra hotel in many ways.
Airdales!
Not exactly the Grand Canyon, but there is a nearby ravine that starts at the top of a 8,000 ft mountain and runs downhill. There are a number of twisty turnies including two hard 90 degree opposite direction turns near the bottom, which is great fun in the T-28 at 250 KIAS (absolutely no more than that below 10,000….honest). Sometimes loops, immelmans, barrel rolls, and half cuban eights just won’t do it.
I really miss that.
April of ’85 a few of us went for a lengthy tour of the Grand Canyon in an HH-1k, but 90 kt isn’t anywhere near the same thing.
TACAN went out on the first leg to China Lake so it was all DR with a Sectional, but we managed to follow the right cow tracks and water tanks to our turnaround point at G.C. airport.
It snowed later that day…in April…and the bozo left behind to fuel the Helo didn’t have his jacket. Damn, that was chilly! Ah well, it was the Skipper’s last hurrah and he paid out of pocket for room and board.
On the way back, we found the highway sign for Peach Springs, made a right turn, and jumped back in to the Canyon. All in all, a good time was had by everyone; free video of trip included.
And the ‘Varks used to do it at night. ‘Course the scenery sucks after dark…
WSO: “Hey did you see the shadows we just passed back there?”
Stick Manipulator: “Most excellent, Dude!”
Lovely video — it’s hard to get a sensation of speed when you’re 15K feet from what you’re passing, and clouds offer no sense of scale. I’ve done the ton in most every wheeled vehicle capable of doing it. The cars were a rush, the motorcycles a thrill, but on an FKE cart with my butt an inch off the ground and my knees in the slipstream was probably the most intense.
This looks to be a lot more fun. Good thing those jets are expensive, else I’d have a new hobby.
Serious question, though: The T-33 and F-80 had those wing-tip fuel tanks. Why? Wouldn’t you want the tanks as close to the center of gravity as possible? I’d think the rounded tanks wouldn’t help with wingtip vorticies, and all that extra weight out there would surely make rolls and turns more difficult to control. They should have built the tanks long and slim along the outside of the fuselage, right above and behind the engine air inlets. That way the fuel would be closer to the CG, the tanks would offer some small protection against small-arms and shrapnel fire, and it would lessen the chance of being out of flyable trim should one tank have a failure (something Lex surely knows more about).
It’s awfully easy to criticize after-the-fact, hindsight being 20/20 and all, but I’m not trying to do that here. This plane was designed by people who have forgotten more than I’ll ever know about aerodynamics and physics and mechanical design. I’d sure like to know what they knew that I’m overlooking.
– Max
My dad flew inside the Canyon back when he was flying Naval Air Transport, probably in an R4D (C-54???). I imagine his passengers were very satisfied-
He also told me that about dusk July 4th 1946 he flew out of Maryland to Moffett watching the fireworks displays going off all across the country the first July 4th after WWII ended.
I’m trying to think of a comment that wouldn’t be horribly anticlimactic after those two items.
DAVE/
God, what a sight that must have been! Sends chills up my spine even today at my advanced age just thinking about. (I’ve flown into the old Moffet NAS, btw, way back in 68 as a USAF guy, no less)