Flew over a famous runway today

Looks like SLF.
See any gators sunning themselves there?
 
cowman said:
Ok, perhaps it was too obvious. Was really cool to be able to do it though, just had to ask Orlando approach and they OKed us right in.
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Yeah, but did you shoot the approach?

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Seems to take forever to fly the length of it in a 172.
 
Maybe we should challenge Bryan to do his 1-foot wheelie flying at lots of famous runways, including the one at KSC
 
It's called the Shuttle Tour. Ask for it on JAX approach go as low as you want, just don't chirp em.......
 
Back when I was a student pilot, '92-'93 you could get a NASA tour. Ask the shuttle approach and they would use a different frequency and the controller would guide you through the area, naming buildings and what is or has been done in them, naming launch pads and what took off from them and ending it with a shuttle strip fly over down the centerline, but not to descend below 500 MSL.
 
That's really hallowed ground. I was fortunate enough to do some automotive testing there around 2015, and there's lots of cool stuff to see. Some astronauts landed in a T-38, and we got to see it fire up with the start kart and depart later on afterburner, pretty much straight up (they no doubt were putting on a show for us!). Note the shuttle mate/demate structure in the background.

We were doing top speed runs, but in one direction only...past the threshold in the other direction was some active testing of Project Morpheus, an autonomous lander fueled with methane and liquid oxygen...pretty relevant to future Mars missions as these propellants can potentially be produced on both the moon and Mars. You can see the test field behind it, strewn with piles of rocks to avoid. The lead engineer was so nice and accommodating; they were obviously busy but they took a full 20 minutes or so to explain their testing and allow us to take pictures, etc.

I remember getting out of the van before entering the facility and doing a FOD check on the tires, picking pebbles out of the tread. And retracing the shuttle crews' steps through the building there, right after they'd pulled off the world's greatest dead-stick landing. I was awestruck and gobsmacked at the same time, if that's possible. The flip side was the solemn remembrance of the crews who didn't make it. Gut check. What a dark time that must've been.

Just wow.



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zodiacflyguy said:
That's what, 35K feet in 16NM? That bastard was coming down like a bowling ball.
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I think the bowling ball might have it beat. That's more like a Steinway being flown by Wile Coyote.

15.85 miles/26,000 feet = 3.7:1 or 15.66º from the 180 point (22.2º between this point and the next)
11.93 miles/17,000 feet = 4.3:1 or 13.56º from the 90 point
8 miles/10,000 feet = 4.86:1 or 11.87º from the FAF, though it's really 5 miles at 18-20º and 3 miles at 1.5º.

I don't know if the cockpit video of the approach and landing is still around that has the HUD and the view out the front window, but I do remember that they started their flare at 2,000 feet and dropped the landing gear at 200 feet. :eek:
 
I didn't mean literally like a bowling ball, but just putting it to paper. At 300kts per the plate that would take an average of about a 6500fpm decent to not overshoot the threshold. And that is while they are scrubbing off speed in the turn. Its gotta be about a 10k fpm decent from 35000 to 10000, Unless I am missing something. (Never had to do these calc on paper with REALLY exotic Rockwell gliders before)

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
flyingcheesehead said:
I think the bowling ball might have it beat. That's more like a Steinway being flown by Wile Coyote.

15.85 miles/26,000 feet = 3.7:1 or 15.66º from the 180 point (22.2º between this point and the next)
11.93 miles/17,000 feet = 4.3:1 or 13.56º from the 90 point
8 miles/10,000 feet = 4.86:1 or 11.87º from the FAF, though it's really 5 miles at 18-20º and 3 miles at 1.5º.

I don't know if the cockpit video of the approach and landing is still around that has the HUD and the view out the front window, but I do remember that they started their flare at 2,000 feet and dropped the landing gear at 200 feet. :eek:
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Cool stats. Reminds me of my friend, who says his Starduster bipe "has the glide ratio of a well-thrown manhole cover." :)
 
Didn't NASA once say if you dropped a brick from when the Shuttle enters the atmosphere the Shuttle will land before the brick? Or something like that...
 
cowman said:
Flew over a famous runway today
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If I had a nickel every time I flew over a famous rwy ..... I'd have a quarter today. :D

But seriously, cool thing that they let you do that. Many pilots still don't understand the basic concept of "ask and ye shall receive".
I guess your overflown famous runway is still cooler than all my famous runways combined.
Next time I'm by JAX, I'll ask for the shuttle tour too!
 
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