From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: from lists.gentoo.org (pigeon.gentoo.org [208.92.234.80]) by finch.gentoo.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 65EFE13877A for ; Sun, 29 Jun 2014 19:29:32 +0000 (UTC) Received: from pigeon.gentoo.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by pigeon.gentoo.org (Postfix) with SMTP id 45E1EE0B23; Sun, 29 Jun 2014 19:29:03 +0000 (UTC) Received: from mail-wi0-f174.google.com (mail-wi0-f174.google.com [209.85.212.174]) (using TLSv1 with cipher ECDHE-RSA-RC4-SHA (128/128 bits)) (No client certificate requested) by pigeon.gentoo.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 29090E0B1B for ; Sun, 29 Jun 2014 19:29:02 +0000 (UTC) Received: by mail-wi0-f174.google.com with SMTP id bs8so5014481wib.7 for ; Sun, 29 Jun 2014 12:29:01 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20120113; h=message-id:date:from:user-agent:mime-version:to:subject:references :in-reply-to:content-type:content-transfer-encoding; bh=gFKuo8oHDw2t8mESBKh2WJu7mZ/dxYH0I/vrnYKu2oA=; b=CSXfC4WaxXgwM7EqyCdcmW89q78zeY3vMN3yzlw/Z2PhW7KKoWDhAEEqUPPyryLRxw rLaOWNC7KdQnTIWhFNFdeet+p821Gn1MbZoThj2e/j4cpFiUPH+V2yjvD3yhu6+iuPuE MCBwyXJqo2tnJo1HUHdEGYrmTYnvVyqkRAr3Ack2IL6aeyBL43S2Qm6TQdQhhXZQ21uu Osawjhxxf+nsUbsACyHxQC/ZKvYgaOL6PSsymV8upnpy2hcCx1ovJmGFZ25926b0qyxv fwhnPyvs0Nv/Qy2jOoksGKbQjvfYWco4gdgg4HgWqqQxS+fNFtGcIfWELso5CfX1ibLl HBGw== X-Received: by 10.194.243.10 with SMTP id wu10mr39708197wjc.44.1404070140937; Sun, 29 Jun 2014 12:29:00 -0700 (PDT) Received: from [172.20.0.41] (196-215-51-166.dynamic.isadsl.co.za. [196.215.51.166]) by mx.google.com with ESMTPSA id di7sm36341657wjb.34.2014.06.29.12.28.58 for (version=TLSv1 cipher=ECDHE-RSA-RC4-SHA bits=128/128); Sun, 29 Jun 2014 12:29:00 -0700 (PDT) Message-ID: <53B068CA.3080302@gmail.com> Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 21:28:10 +0200 From: Alan McKinnon User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:24.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderbird/24.6.0 Precedence: bulk List-Post: List-Help: List-Unsubscribe: List-Subscribe: List-Id: Gentoo Linux mail X-BeenThere: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org Reply-to: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org MIME-Version: 1.0 To: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org Subject: Re: [gentoo-user] [Way OT] Tally ho! References: <2496439.MpaEqoKpQ0@wstn> <2449262.q8siHepaFf@wstn> <53AFDAC8.8040608@gmail.com> <2331335.SeYTxk6H8K@wstn> <53B040F3.7020801@gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <53B040F3.7020801@gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Archives-Salt: 614667b5-f0f5-41f6-9877-f721c62ef171 X-Archives-Hash: eba8ad59ef9fd6a61bab653b0b05a5e8 On 29/06/2014 18:38, Dale wrote: > Peter Humphrey wrote: >> Of course! I missed the Spitfire, so I don't know how high it flew, but the >> Hurricane sound from no more than a couple of hundred feet or so was among the >> two or three most impressive of my life. Both planes have V12 Rolls-Royce >> Merlin engines (I think). As each cylinder fired, the sound pressure went up >> extremely fast at the start of the exhaust beat, suggesting huge exhaust >> valves, and the deep-throated roar was ... just ... beyond description. >> >> The only engine to come close was an extraordinary 1/3 scale model of a nine- >> cylinder radial aero-engine I saw years ago at a national model engineering >> exhibition. The crankshaft was anchored to the frame, and the entire engine >> and prop rotated around it. That's what you call air-cooling! Absolutely >> fantastic when he fired it up once an hour or so! > > Yep. Some of those prop engines are very powerful, maybe not so > efficient tho. Anyway, they sure do make some noise even if the engine > is small. I don't think they have mufflers or if they do, it isn't much > of one. I also think they burn methanol or something too. I'm not sure > and it may even vary from one engine to another. I don't think they > burn plain old gas like cars. The Harvard trainers we were using when I was in the military all used 140-odd octane gasoline, I beleive that's normal for aircraft piston engines. It's still gas, but not what you put in the car. You should see what that stuff does for a little old 1600 Mazda - goes like the clappers but the motor doesn't last very long :-) Those Harvards[1] are famous around here, anyone in the SAAF until 15 years ago knows the sound well, it's very distinctive. Nowhere near as loud as the V12 Merlin [1] http://www.saairforce.co.za/the-airforce/aircraft/38/harvard-1-iia-iii-na-88 > > >>> I live about 4 or 5 miles from a air force base here. We have mostly >>> training type planes that fly over us but on occasion, we have something >>> really big here. We have even had the space shuttle land there a few times. >>> The B2 bombers have been there as well. >> Sounds like a good place to live! That's not Edwards, is it? I drove up to the >> gates once to see what they'd say. They were actually quite polite. > > I'm close to Columbus Air Force base in Mississippi. It has a huge > runway. It is one reason the space shuttle lands here. It takes a long > runway to land and take off when carrying that thing. I say space > shuttle, it's mounted on the back of a 747 I think. What's more neat > tho is the big bombers. My Dad several decades ago was doing a contract > job at the base. For some reason they had the really big bombers out > there with armed military guards everywhere. They wouldn't let anyone > even near those things. He could see them real good tho. He said "it > looked like death, just plain death". Later on my Dad found out it was > loaded up with bombs that they were moving somewhere else. Death was > more accurate than he thought. I also spent time at Hoedspruit, and every time the Shuttle was coming home the base would be on standby alert. there's two runways in the southern hemisphere that could land a shuttle - Hoedspruit (7 miles) and one in Australia somewhere. It was never needed so we never did get to see a Shuttle live. Pity, but maybe it's for the best, I don't recall ever seeing a 70 ton mobile crane hanging around to get it up onto a 747 for the flight home :-) We *do* get to see the USAF's enormous transport planes every two when the SAAF puts on it's bi-annual air-show. USAF is kind enough to always bring their big 'uns. But never the good stuff, so we don't get to see the B2 :-( -- Alan McKinnon alan.mckinnon@gmail.com