pilotdave

Spent the last 3 summers making access databases for aerospace companies. To get access to really do what you want takes a lot of learning. Luckily at my jobs I was able to spend as much time looking up how to do things as I needed, so I learned access pretty well. If all you're interested in is simply storing data and using the built in tools to find and sort the data, access isn't so bad. But if you want to create a really custom database that behaves just the way you want it to, you'll have to learn how to program in visual basic for applications. I'm not really a programmer type myself but I learned the basics over a summer. It's really not that hard, and there is plenty of info that you can find on the net. I search newsgroups with google to find answers to just about every question. If you make a user friendly database, it'll be a real time saver. If it isn't user friendly, you'll hate having to use it. Just remember that databases aren't like other programs. Word and Excel and Powerpoint just do their thing. Access doesnt do anything until you tell it what you want it to do. Oh and just remember to back up your database often. Access databases have a tendency to corrupt themselves every once in a while. A question might also be, how many people will likely access the database at any given time? If it's more than just a few, you might want to use a SQL server (which you can access with access). Ok, I've been awake for around 24 hours now. Damn project keeping me up all night. It's done and handed in so I'm going to bed. Goodnight. Dave

As long as you have all the necessary ratings (commercial, multiengine if necessary, etc), its up to the DZO. I know where I jump they require 500 hours minimum for a 182 pilot (not that they have one) and 1500 hours (i think of multi time) to fly a twin otter. I still have absolutely no clue how anyone gets those kinds of multi hours. Dave

Vortex generators have nothing to do with wingtip vortices. They are little pieces of metal that are placed in strategic locations just upstream from where flow is likely to separate (or stall, if you're talking about wings). They basically disrupt the flow causing tiny vortices to form along the surface. These bring high energy (fast moving) air from above down to the surface to prevent separation from occuring. Planes are never designed with them, they are added on when deficiencies are found after the plane is built. Big strong vortices can be a good thing in cases like the back ends of tailgate aircraft. Because the fuselage has such a high upsweep on a plane like a skyvan, the flow will separate behind the plane, causing all kinds of drag. So, the designers do something sorta counter intuitive. Instead of rounding off the ass end to make it more aerodynamic, they keep all the corners really sharp. This causes distinct vortices to form, instead of just random flow separation like you'd get behind something like a ball or cylinder. These vortices carry high energy air from next to the plane into the area behind the plane. The flow around the vortices kinda gets sucked in a little behind the plane. So, instead of trailing a big chunk of low energy air behind the plane, the air flows smoothly around the plane. It's just as if the plane was much longer and tapered in toward the back. Various vortex generating devices can be found all over most modern planes. Jet fighters have em everywhere. They can be used to control the flow all over the plane. It's possible those things on that canopy do something, but I seriously down they have any effect on reducing vortices. Then again, they've done the research, not me. Dave

I have no clue what they ACTUALLY do, but I seriously doubt they reduce vortices at all. They more likely create vortices (which can be beneficial for certain cases). Winglet design on airplanes is extremely complex. They don't simply reduce vortices. They are designed such that they produce a little bit of lift in the forward direction (ie thrust). This counteracts some of the drag caused by the vortices, yada yada. "Real" winglets are not simply flat pieces that stick up off wingtips. They must be curved at just the right angle to produce the desired effect. They were originally invented by Whitcomb and shaped by trial and error till he got the desired results. There may be a very good reason to put those things on a canopy, but they sure as hell arent winglets. Dave

Thanks to Craig Poxon, a collection of parachuting related newsreal movies are now available on skydivingmovies.com. The videos come from British Pathe. My favorite so far is 345.01.wmv. It's about the Golden Knights teaming up with the Red Devils for some helicopter jumps, 1965 style. 985.53.WMV is about a 1938 AAD...of sorts. The movies range in date from pre 1920 through the 60s. Lots of great stuff, and all small sizes. Most are around 1 meg. You can find them in the /BritishPathe/ folder. Dave

Awesome pics. I'm just curious about something. How do DZs get away with carrying paying passengers during formation flights? For a big, public event like a 300 way with so many planes, do they get a waiver from the FAA? Dave

Thanks to Craig Poxon, a collection of parachuting related newsreal movies are now available on skydivingmovies.com. The videos come from British Pathe. My favorite so far is 354.01.wmv. It's about the Golden Knights teaming up with the Red Devils for some helicopter jumps, 1965 style. Dates of some go back as far as the 1920s and even earlier. Lots of great stuff, and all small sizes. Most are around 1 meg. You can find them in the /BritishPathe/ folder. Dave

Or one hell of an expensive 2 way. Dave

I haven't counted the total size of all the files on the server in a while (since it was running on my own hard drive, which made it pretty easy to count). But, my collection is nearing 8 gigs, and I haven't downloaded every file on the server. My collection also has a few that were removed from the server, but I'd say there must be at least 8 gigs worth on there. I once added up the lenths of all the videos. I can't remember what the number was, but it was enough to keep ya busy for a few days. Dave

Hehe, ya know I JUST edited the !password.txt file on the server to explain this earlier today. What a coincidence. Dave

Ok, lemme rephrase. EVERYTHING SUCKS! Especially Notre Dame. Dave

september 28th. Yeah, I'm going nuts. I recently told my rigger to hold off on my reserve repack till January too. Winter sucks, wind sucks, cold sucks, finals suck, and Notre Dame sucks. Dave

Hell yeah. If everyone is gonna boycott collegiate nationals, I might just have to enter! Maybe I could win something! I think I'll go for accuracy. I might win landing 50 feet from the target! Just kidding. There's no way I'd spend that much money to compete. I won't be going out there, but good luck. Does the USPA have any explanation for where all this money goes? Dave

Oh I would NEVER do something like that. If any of it were to appear on the server, it would have been uploaded by someone else. Since I know that only the rightful owners of videos upload them, it would definitely have been uploaded by the company that made it. Definitely. Dave

My (extreme whuffo) brother bought me this DVD from

Doing this only after purchasing the licenses from the companies, right? Dave

I did nothing tonight and I'm about to start doing homework! I hate the end of the semester. I'm so screwed. Need to design a plane that can fly around the world nonstop, unrefueled. So far I have a very rough sketch of a design I pulled out of my ass. I need to get an estimate for the coefficient of drag at cruise, which will give me my lift to drag ratio, which will then give me my thrust to weight ratio. Then I need to calculate my takeoff weight, which will help me pick my wing area, which will then completely change my freaking drag, and the whole thing kinda starts over. I REALLY shoulda started this a month ago and I only have a week left. After picking the proper wing size I still need to calculate the tail size, then make a bunch of calculations for the landing geat, figuring out everything down to tire sizing. Then finally I need to make detailed 3 view drawings showing interior locations of the cockpit, crew sleeping quarters, fuel tanks (which need to have enough volume to carry the required amount of fuel), etc. UGH! Any aerospace engimaneers wanna help?? Dave

A lot of the clips from it have been on other TV shows. I'm sure they do it all legally. TLC did an entire show focused on the living room stunt. tlc-seeing_is_believing.mpg or tlc-seeing_is_believing.rm in /from tv/ on my server. I heard that Real TV pays quite well for clips, and treats the people that send them in very nicely. I know a lot of skydivers hate the show because of its "attitude" toward skydiving, but I think the video Reaper Cam proves we like the same stuff they do. If you don't like the commentary, hit mute when a skydiving scene comes on.

This video has been on skydivingmovies.com for months and I finally bit the bullet and spent a couple hours downloading it, now that I have a brand new 60 gig hard drive. It's a film on the making of the movie Gypsy Moths that came from the DVD. If you're interested in 1960s skydiving, check it out. A few highlights... a little packing demo of a round canopy (never seen it done before) wingsuit flying (yep, they've been doing that for a looong time) slow motion openings and my favorite, right at the end, 3 guys lined up in freefall, each with his bridle connected to the next guy's ripcord. first guy pulls, as his canopy comes out the next guy gets pulled, and so on. Who wants to try a modern day version of that? Problem is the file is over 100 megs. So guess what? I re-encoded it. It's down to 28 megs. Still big but not too bad for a 15 minute video. Only problem is the audio doesnt seem to line up perfectly with the video anymore. Oh well, not noticeable unless someone's talking anyway. The file will be TheSkydivers.wmv in the /misc/ directory. It's still uploading at the moment but chances are it'll be done long before you read this. If you want to brave the big version, it's about 108 megs and is the avi version of the same file. The quality isnt THAT much better than the wmv except for the audio thing. Definitely worth the download. Oh, by the way, thanks for the video Craig! Dave

Drooped tips are a completely different thing from anhedral. They're for improving takeoff performance mostly. Anhedral is used mainly on large, high mounted, swept wing aircraft. It's a little hard to explain without diagrams, but high wing planes kind of trap air under the low wing (in the "armpit") when they turn. This creates a high pressure under the low wing which brings it back to level. Swept wings also have another "dihedral effect" in turns (or sideslips actually). The low wing sees a slightly faster airflow normal to the leading edge. (really need a diagram to explain that... but its true). This gives the low wing more lift. Together, those 2 factors give a high swept wing too much dihedral so they must be angled down to counter it. As you said, too much dihedral causes dutch roll, where the plane kinda wanders in roll and yaw. Dave

I'm pretty sure I'll be going. I missed it last year but heard it was a lot of fun. Sounds like this year is gonna be even better. My club (University of Maryland) is bringing a big group... we're taking 2 vans this year. Should be interesting! Dave

I also can't see those pics. I'm looking into some issues with a photos directory on skydivingmovies.com. I'd do it right away but there may be some problems. Since photos are so much smaller than videos, I'm afraid we'd get a lot more hits clogging the server. I'll see what I can do. Dave

Yeah I have a 28" round for sale. ZP, good condition. All black. Ignore the kill line if you plan to land it. You can borrow it, but if it gets stained you have to buy it. Dave

King Air envy, huh? If ya own a kingair and you're not mike mullins, you have it. Dave

OOH good idea. I'm gonna replace every video on my server with videos of me sleeping. Then I'll sell usernames/passwords for $10 to get the real videos. YEAH! Thats right! From now on, if the server asks for a username and password, just send $10 to... Dave