Bill Whittle celebrates the legacy of a great American, now beginning a long fade from the scene, as we kick off another raucous Backstage meeting.
Your Membership is our Jet A-1.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLEk4RVjDDM
SpaceX Launch that Scott Ott Mentions
Video below starts 12 seconds before liftoff.
17 replies on “Right Angle: Backstage (12-09-2022)”
Watch the video of the medical students rescued in Grenada in 1983. THOSE students admitted that their rescue completely changed their attitude toward America.
One thing I remember about the 747 is that the pilots called it “the hummingbird”, partly because of the power, as Bill said, and partly because despite its size, it was so easy to fly it didn’t feel big.
Also: The movie “The Aviator” went into quite a lot of detail about the Juan Trippe/PanAm vs. Howard Hughes/TWA rivalry.
I remember the first time on a 747 in the 70’s flying to Israel… can’t recall if it was a direct New York to Tel Aviv flight or KLM via Amsterdam… can’t count the number of subsequent flights… but even had an upgrade once to First class in that really cool upper deck…
the dreamliners are pretty nifty too…
and thanks for the Spacex video… truly awesome!!
There have been so many that I have no idea how many flights I’ve made in the three Jumbo Jets — The Lockheed L-1011, the Douglas MD/DC-10 and the Boeing 747. Many of the longest flights have been aboard the Boeing 747 “Longreach” types operated by Qantas.
(I’ve never been on an Airbus A380, my days of air travel were largely over by the time it came into service.)
I hate flying in airliners. I’m not afraid of flying in anything but commercial airliners are my least favorite means of travel. They’re crowded (I’ve only flown 1st class once in my life and I wasn’t paying for the ticket on that one.), uncomfortable and full of the sort of people that I as a general rule try not to be around. Everyone always wants a window seat … Not me. I want an aisle seat so I can get up and use the head without having to climb over anyone.
I’d like to say I’m sorry to see the 747 retiring because I have fond memories of that plane but … That would be lying. The best I could say is it has many times brought me back from where I didn’t want to be and never failed to get me home. For which I’m grateful.
RIP 747 – The end of an era.
Is it just my speakers, or does Bill sound warbly? His audio is “fuzzy” on my end.
I was surprised when Bill mentioned the worst aviation accident in history, the Tenerife collision between two 747s. I watched Mentour Pilot’s video on that accident last night, and agree that the Dutch pilot was the single largest contributor to what happened. I strongly recommend his YouTube channel if you are at all interested in what really caused various airline accidents and incidents. He is meticulous in his research and re-creations of what happened.
I, personally, like Bill’s idea of placing whoever’s show it is in the big box and keeping it there for the entire show. We still would have a clear view of the other two when they are speaking, and I’m sure that it would simplify Mark’s job of editing the productions.
Tex Johnston rolls the Dash 80 prototype: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaA7kPfC5Hk The airframe was extremely strong and overbuilt as they weren’t sure how much stress the jets would transfer through the structure.
As to President Eisenhower, you might find the book Eisenhower’s Bluff interesting.
Scott, it took me a while to get used to the change, but I love it now. My main concern was that the backstage, not subject discussion would go away. You know, like the time , in my favorite backstage that I bookmarked, you ended up talking about Foghorn Leghorn and Spinal Tap.
Ended up not being an issue.
Also, instead of four programs and one Backstage, we have six programs and two Backstages! Woo hoo! Win win!
Keep it up!
But don’t burn yourselves out.
I agree with David Pimentel. Bill’s microphone sounds like it’s trying hard to drive a loud voice through a venturi. I forgot the term but that’s what it sounds like
Thanks for the shout out, Steve.
Tried to figure out when I first started as a member. Can’t really remember but I do have a fleece jacket that says Common Sense Resistence on the back. How far back was that?
Winkin’, Blinkin’ and Nods.
OMG. I was rolling on that one.
I flew a 747 on my honeymoon from Hawaii to San Fransisco in 1977. That lounge was so cool back then.
I like it where you are now. I think that part of any complaints is that you probably have an older audience that is not as willing to see change and the shifting to the current speaker is not as easy for them to accept. and I am 75, but a geek for life.
I really wish Bill’s microphone gain was adjusted lower. There is a large amount of audio distortion from his LA studio.
Agreed!