Autonomous aircraft

[Jagerbomb52]

 

[Nightbat2]

View attachment 5616

Reminds me of an allegedly true story told to me by an ex commercial pilot in the days when flying was still fun. On a flight from somewhere in Queensland to Papua New Guinea, in a mid-sized twin-engined prop job, the pilot emerges clutching two long pieces of twine obviously attached to something out of sight in the cockpit.. He stops by a lady sitting in the front aisle seat and tells her he has to have a comfort stop and asks if she would mind flying the plane while he does. He demonstrates by gently tugging the right string--at which point the plane begins to turn right, then does the same with the left and a few ups and downs--you get the picture. He then hands the strings to the lady, encourages her to make a couple of trial moves, tells her she's brilliant and disappears to the rear of the plane, actually for a coffee. After a minute, the plane begins to yaw to the left and the lady--very much on her mettle--tweaks the righthand string accordingly. This goes on for a few minutes and finally the pilot returns, tells the lady she's a natural and rewinds the strings as he returns to the cockpit, where the co-pilot is just about pissing himself laughing...May or may not be true, but I'd like to think so.

 

[HiloHawaiian]

Too funny, my first thought was of a GREAT book I read last year about C-47 pilots in backwater WWII New Guinea trying to impress nurses (shocking!) on a sightseeing flight over a remote valley they spotted (lost, off course) on another flight — full of 1,000’s of natives living like 2000 BC. The engines suppered, and....

A WWII Survival Epic Unfolds Deep In 'Shangri-La'

In May 1945, a plane carrying 24 men and women crashed into a hidden valley in New Guinea. There were only three survivors. Journalist Mitchell Zuckoff tells the remarkable story of their rescue in Lost In Shangri-La.

www.npr.org

 

[Nightbat2]

Too funny, my first thought was of a GREAT book I read last year about C-47 pilots in backwater WWII New Guinea trying to impress nurses (shocking!) on a sightseeing flight over a remote valley they spotted (lost, off course) on another flight — full of 1,000’s of natives living like 2000 BC. The engines suppered, and....

A WWII Survival Epic Unfolds Deep In 'Shangri-La'

In May 1945, a plane carrying 24 men and women crashed into a hidden valley in New Guinea. There were only three survivors. Journalist Mitchell Zuckoff tells the remarkable story of their rescue in Lost In Shangri-La.

www.npr.org

Amazing Story. Must get the book. The New Guinea highlands have still not been completely explored. The natives are generally friendly—though head hunting and cannibalism once were rife in remote areas. During WW2, when the Japanese were fighting overland to capture the capital, on their way to Australia, the people helped Australian troops along the Kokoda Track (or trail). Without them, carrying supplies and wounded Australian soldiers through some of the most rugged territory in the world, the Japanese mIght have won. The Diggers—as Australian soldiers are called—named them the “Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels” (because of their hair).

 

[HiloHawaiian]

Absolutely true. The only reason I read Shangri-la (which is unforgettable), was because a buddy in Hawaii gave me this book about the Aussies Diggers (who were amazingly robust) & totally unprepared and poorly equipped Americans that HIKED over the Owen Stanley Range from Port Moresby toward Lae to attack the enemy from the rear. Disease killed more of them than the Japanese. I bet very few humans to this day have done that. The author did it solely to write their story accurately. Even with expert companions, it was very difficult. Snakes, spiders, mosquitoes, leeches, and every bad bacteria on the planet in that jungle. It‘s another unforgettable read. The ones who made it over lost 1/3+ of their body weight—and then had to fight the enemy that was equally miserable.

The Ghost Mountain Boys