Author Topic: The space shuttle (Read 3371 times)

Weasels wake · « **on:** September 21, 2012, 06:55:49 PM »

From a good buddy of mine in Santa Cruz, it went right over his house today at about 1000 feet ~

It went over my house also, I saw it, but it was at about 25K feet, nothing but a con trail, with something shinny at the front, but loud.

SoCalSupper · « **Reply #1 on:** September 21, 2012, 07:15:59 PM »

great shots-was driving south on 405 near Long Beach and it flew right over me!

surfcowboy · « **Reply #2 on:** September 21, 2012, 11:39:52 PM »

I was in the Valley when it flew by at 800 ft. Amazing sight.

AJR · « **Reply #3 on:** September 22, 2012, 06:44:11 AM »

Really cool - I'd that a Virgin America plane it's piggy-backing?...

Celeste · « **Reply #4 on:** September 22, 2012, 07:02:37 PM »

It is NASA's modified 747. I believe it was built specially for that. If you recall, the shuttles use to land at Edwards Air Force Base and get carried back to Florida. The tail had to be changed because the shuttle on top changed the way air flowed over the tail

Weasels wake · « **Reply #5 on:** September 22, 2012, 09:22:54 PM »

Quote from: Celeste on September 22, 2012, 07:02:37 PM

It is NASA's modified 747. I believe it was built specially for that. If you recall, the shuttles use to land at Edwards Air Force Base and get carried back to Florida. The tail had to be changed because the shuttle on top changed the way air flowed over the tail

No way!!!
It's the shuttle!!! It's amazing that that little shuttle has enough power to lift that 747 up and fly around, truly amazing, American inventiveness will never be equaled!

LaPerouseBay · « **Reply #6 on:** September 22, 2012, 09:54:26 PM »

^ That's funny.

Here's the wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuttle_Carrier_Aircraft

My favorite passage.

The flight crew escape tunnel system was later removed following the completion of the Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) due to concerns over possible engine ingestion of an escaping crew member.

The fuel used is about 5 times that of an unladen 747.

Flying with the additional drag and weight of the Orbiter imposed significant fuel and altitude penalties. The range was reduced to 1,000 nautical miles (1,850 km), compared to an unladen range of 5500 nautical miles (10,100 km),

Unladen, I like that word.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail: 3 Questions

SUPerstitious · « **Reply #7 on:** September 23, 2012, 09:19:47 AM »

I had the great privilege to be on my SUP on Friday in Manhattan Beach when it did the low pass over LAX before circling around for the actual landing. It went over my head while on a wave at El Porto. Amazing view...just wish I had a camera at the time.