And politics. They kind of go together.
For Americans (or anyone curious) who’ve ever wondered about the whole differentiation of England, Scotland, Wales, Great Britain, and on to the British Isles, there’s this:
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Blue Angels Cockpit Views
Stumbled into 16 minutes of onboard video with the USN Blue Angels:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ynvoriv09Ks
Impressive to see views with the Blue Angles over several different cities, although much of the video is over Lake Washington during Seafair in the Seattle, WA area.
Curtiss Pusher
Ride along with a restored, 1909 Curtiss Pusher aircraft:
The airspeed indicator appears to be an ultralight-style indicator. It shows airspeed from ram air as it moves through the air. Low-tech and very lightweight, but I’d imagine it will impart a small amount of drag. Not nearly as much as, oh, the rest of the aircraft’s rigging would.
Also, the two strings hanging from the trailing edge of the upper canard share maritime term but have a different purpose and position: telltales.
On sailboats, telltales are typically on the face of the sail and help to indicate whether the sail is in need of trimming or adjustment.
On aircraft, they indicate to the pilot whether the aircraft is in a slip. On some aircraft, they’re part of the avionics and are required!
There’s even more about this aircraft here.
Winter, Meh.
This region does indeed have four distinct seasons.
I can deal with Spring and Autumn. Temperatures and precipitation are tolerable.
Summer is challenging. We’ve had a few weeks of temperatures hovering around 110F.
But Winter — it angers me.
We’ve endured -10F, which about what we’d endured in Soap Lake a few years ago. Fortunately, we’re not living in a 5th Wheel RV as we were then. It had its drawbacks. But it also had its benefits, like the ability to head to warmer climes.
But, presently, I’m disliking this whole “winter” thing.
No, that’s not quite right.
I don’t mind Winter, but I suppose I dislike most isn’t the cold or the precipitation — I’m disliking the current condition (existence? non-existence?) of the shelter, equipment, and gear to cope with it.
the rest of me 