Things to try in a 744

[torrence]

Zero G video

I don't usually latch on to every 'viral' video out there, but this one (which I'm sure some of you have seen) is neat.  Nice to see something cool done without generating everything with CGI etc in a computer and green screens.

Think what you could do with a properly equipped 744 and a few hours of parabolic flight paths ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWGJA9i18Co

Cheers,
Torrence

[Will]

That's excellent. Those guys are real performers. It looks like it was shot in one take, which I hope was the case given all the paint... :-)

[torrence]

I read some of the backstory on the video in a 'making of' story on TV.  I think they only got some 20sec of zero G with each maneuver  and did have to do some nifty old fashioned video editing to stitch together the final (you can see people/things carefully going off camera after each bit of action).  Still haven't figured how they made everyone getting back in their seats look so smooth.  Took them a couple of dozen 'takes' and I think some got woozy - the story was the performers used anti-nausea patches but the techs rode it out and used up quite a few air-sickness bags. Paint - yes, you notice that came right at the end.  Wonder if the airline kept the paint scheme as a souvenir  .

Got me thinking how you would fly zero G parabolas in PSX - even full motion sims can't do more than momentary accelerations.  In a fighter sim with a G-meter I guess you could push over and try hold G at 0 (I remember some of the old combat sims used to simulate blackouts for high G  maneuvers).  Anyone with real airtime have tips on what instruments would show when holding ~ zero G?

Cheers,
Torrence

[Will]

Great question, torrence. I'm sure PSX calculates the acceleration at any given moment and could display it, just as in the real aircraft the pilots could reference an accelerometer affixed it to the glare shield (or built into the instrument panel, or on their HUD). Short of Hardy doing that for PSX, how would we know the load was exactly zero?

[torrence]

Interesting, Will

I guess you could think about an add-on that gave you a networked g-meter on a separate display.  The only PSX thing that I think responds to g forces directly is the whiskey compass.  Maybe you could in a distant version of PSX put something there that acts like a g-meter instead.

* For the PSX Aerobatics version 1.0 *

Cheers
Torrence

[Tord Hoppe]

Hold the obligatory G&T in front of face.
Let go.
If G&T hovers in front of face = 0 G.
If not...

[cavaricooper]

Tord-

BRILLIANT! Just make sure it's Hendricks

C

[torrence]

You'd put tonic in Hendricks!!!!??? The mind boggles.

But maybe GnT's a good icon for the future, as yet conceived or developed, PSX g-meter.

Cheers,
Back to putting Hendricks in a Martini (stirred).
Torrence

[Will]

PSX patented onboard accelerometer!

Based on the theory of GnT. (Gravity and thrust?)

[cavaricooper]

Will- Sure... Let's go with that

Torrence- Hendricks & Dubonnet- a proper Martini

C

[torrence]

I prefer Lillet, but that's a quibble.  Rapidly going off topic, but who notices after the martinis?

Cheers,
Torrence

[Will]

You guys are making me thirsty. I like Bombay Sapphire. I've tried some of the gins with more complex aromatics and they're too strong for me to make it through a whole martini. Sapphire hits just the right balance of aroma and drinkability, your mileage of course may vary.

The problem with the GnT accelerometer is that you can't tell zero G from 0.1 G without a weight readout. (Gin at zero G just kind of sits there, waiting for something to move it about.) So that would involve bringing a baker's scale into the cockpit, mounting it on the glareshield, and then resting the martini on the scale. Which begs the question of the necessity of the frosty beverage, but of course, I insist on keeping it there because science should be fun.

[Tord Hoppe]

Nah, you´re overengineering it. If it sits still you´re at zero G, if it moves you´re not. Direction of travel indicates positive or negative G which tells me to push or pull. Point is to find and stay weightless. The next step is to stay at zero G WHILE DRINKING!