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Grant Imahara (Mythbusters) rides in an RV?

Cool!

That's ok Chad....your post told me something I didn't know.

Grant is over at OCC.

Wonder what's up there?
 
Grant was with Tardy (Chuck Newman)

Heck,

Grant's a nice guy and all, but frankly I preferred having the lovely Kari fly with me :D:D:D:D
 
Them's fightin words......

Jamie Aust said:
No, its the one about " real men fly tail wheel RV's " :eek:
Click to expand...

Now you done dropped a rusty bucket down my well!! That was lower than a snake's belly in a wagon rut.
Sorry don't get it done, Dude! :D
Oh wait, you fly a 7A too! I take it all back!!
 
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The "Myth"

Caummisar said:
What's the Myth they are trying to Bust? Experimentals are hard to build and fly?:eek:
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The myth is that birds fly in formation to save energy. I suppose I shouldn't spoil the story -- Watch on Nov. 30 on Discovery Channel.
 
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Jamie Aust said:
No, its the one about " real men fly tail wheel RV's " :eek:
Click to expand...

Nope, not that one either (and I ain't steppin' in that wagon rut! ;)) We had A's and TWs in the mix, all working together...OMG! :p

What could the myth(s) be? (besides what Steve already didn't give away :))

That Slick could talk on camera: Confirmed/Plausible/Busted?

That Slick could steal the girl from his wingman/men: Confirmed/Plausible/Busted?

Hmmm...there was a flying one in there somewhere too, wasn't there. Had something to do with formation...we...

...nah...I won't spoil the story either Steve!

Tune in...it'll be fun to watch!!! :D

scsmith said:
The myth is that birds fly in formation to save energy. I suppose I shouldn't spoil the story -- Watch on Nov. 30 on Discovery Channel.
Click to expand...


Cheers,
Bob
 
Kari, Grant and torry were in all the flights.
They had as much fun as we did.
From where i was sitting, Kari had an RV grin the whole time.
 
Is the RV grin for real? Confirmed/Plausible/Busted? (although I think we all know the answer to this one...;)

Are Checkerboard control surfaces an unsung speed mod?Confirmed/Plausible/Busted? Only Carnak knows for sure:rolleyes:

Tune in or set your DVR. It should be a fun time!
 
Joe Blank said:
Is the RV grin for real? Confirmed/Plausible/Busted? (although I think we all know the answer to this one...;)

Are Checkerboard control surfaces an unsung speed mod?Confirmed/Plausible/Busted? Only Carnak knows for sure:rolleyes:

Tune in or set your DVR. It should be a fun time!
Click to expand...

Carnak considering checkerboards for new speed mod this winter! :p

philip_g said:
you had me at kari :eek:
Click to expand...

It was good to be dash 2 that day! :D

Cheers,
Bob
 
As dash 2,
All I had to do was line up hinge bolt to spinner,
And Red Head to canopy rail.
Now thats a sweet spot.:D

Goose
Dash 2
 
N269SD said:
As dash 2,
All I had to do was line up hinge bolt to spinner,
And Red Head to canopy rail.
Now thats a sweet spot.:D

Goose
Dash 2
Click to expand...

BUT, you have a thing for Red Heads, Blondes, and Brunettes. Sounds like a GREAT place to be.
 
N269SD said:
As dash 2,
All I had to do was line up hinge bolt to spinner,
And Red Head to canopy rail.
Now thats a sweet spot.:D

Goose
Dash 2
Click to expand...

Ya think they ever figured out the real reason we put the 7 with the pilot in the right seat as dash 2 (left wing), and the 6 with the pilot in the left seat as dash 3 (right wing)? ;)

Kari's a good sport! They were all great to work with! Should be fun to watch!

Cheers,
Bob
 
rvmills said:
Ya think they ever figured out the real reason we put the 7 with the pilot in the right seat as dash 2 (left wing), and the 6 with the pilot in the left seat as dash 3 (right wing)? ;)
Click to expand...

You could then surmise that the entire flight was actually following Kari, and not necessarily Slick. ;) Sorry Tim, but that's just a guess...
 
here's a myth

Wingmen have time to notice things like hot redheads while in formation. Confirmed/Plausible/Busted?
 
DirecTV channel 278 (Discovery Channel) at 7 pm tonight in Arizona.

If you look it up, the Episode is called "Toilet Bomb"...:D
 
Looks like poor Kari needed a thicker seat. That's one of the things I don't really like about the back seat of an -8 (if you aren't long torso or have a "booster seat"). You sit down in a hole!

But, very cool show!
 
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I'm just glad they didn't get an idea to put "Buster" in the back of Tim's plane!
Things never turn out to well for things around Buster!:D
 
Was anybody else surprised at their results? I wasn't aware if you "rode" the wake, that it was more efficient, and how the lead plane was more efficient is beyond me. Some how the planes following the leader reduced it's drag? Kind of how in NASCAR, a car following the car in front can spin him out by taking air off his wing???
 
steve91t said:
Was anybody else surprised at their results? I wasn't aware if you "rode" the wake, that it was more efficient, and how the lead plane was more efficient is beyond me. Some how the planes following the leader reduced it's drag? Kind of how in NASCAR, a car following the car in front can spin him out by taking air off his wing???
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Yes surprised.

I'm not a statistician, but three data points collecting snap-shot fuel flow data every 30 seconds...and a 3% change is significant?

Besides, what about lead's fuel flow going down by 3% while in formation vice in a gaggle...seems like inconsistent data to me.

Now if they measured fuel used with the same accuracy as their comparison of driving with the air-conditioning on & windows up vice a/c off & windows down, then I might be more apt to believe.

Just my thoughts about the analysis. The rest of the footage was great!

-Jim
 
jthocker said:
I'm just glad they didn't get an idea to put "Buster" in the back of Tim's plane!
Things never turn out to well for things around Buster!:D
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VETO POWER...that's what leading is all about...I wasn't getting anywhere near Buster.

Slick
 
fehdxl said:
Yes surprised.

I'm not a statistician, but three data points collecting snap-shot fuel flow data every 30 seconds...and a 3% change is significant?

Besides, what about lead's fuel flow going down by 3% while in formation vice in a gaggle...seems like inconsistent data to me.

Now if they measured fuel used with the same accuracy as their comparison of driving with the air-conditioning on & windows up vice a/c off & windows down, then I might be more apt to believe.

Just my thoughts about the analysis. The rest of the footage was great!

-Jim
Click to expand...

Thanks to Chuck Newman's excellent work, we had fuel flow to the 1/7000th of a gallon per hour...how much more accurate do you want it?

The savings were higher than reported, but I'll let the NASA guy (Steve Smith on this forum) defend the science...I are just the pilot.

Slick
 
steve91t said:
Was anybody else surprised at their results? I wasn't aware if you "rode" the wake, that it was more efficient, and how the lead plane was more efficient is beyond me. Some how the planes following the leader reduced it's drag? Kind of how in NASCAR, a car following the car in front can spin him out by taking air off his wing???
Click to expand...

I have not watched the show yet but have it on DVR.

Efficiency comes in reducing induced drag. Works like having a larger aspect ratio. Think of them as increasing your wing span. Lead plane gets the effect as well as those in trail. I have done studies for the big company as well as read NASA reports from back in the (early) B-52 days.
 
Safety first...

Brantel said:
Glad nobody died in the side by side formation...
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All of the formations flown in the show were well briefed and practiced by well qualified pilots. While this particular formation is non-standard for most formation flying, as the camera ship pilot for the side by side flight, I can assure you that these guys were ROCK solid...
 
My formation experience is limited to one flight as a passenger in a flight where Gary was lead.

I have no idea what I am talking about but that looked dangerous to me.....I am most likely wrong.

Anyway, that was a cool episode and great job guys!

[ed. One of the mods deleted some of these replies w/o my knowledge. I think they are perfectly OK (about safety). Sorry for the hiccup and sure several of the formation qual'd folks with answer your Q's. dr]
 
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Steve does decribe the science in this thread: http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=79555. Some great comments there, and I chimed in with some observations from the pilot's perspective. Cliff notes:

The benefit to the lead is not inconsistent.
The experiment was very successful, and we gathered some great data.
The conga line was no fun (really!)
Plus more...

Take a look there for more info. This was a fun project!

Cheers,
Bob
 
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