Outside the Envelope
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Outside the Envelope
Prompted by stories of high altitudes in the Vulcan, 'Ihave a friend' who used to earn his crust by sitting in the back of an F3 Tornado. Now, he didn't mind the ride at M2.15 but he was a bit miffed at the double hush as the jet peaked at FL680!!! Still, no stick no vote - should have worked harder at school. BTW this event occurred in the early nineties. Anyone else out there been 'outside the envelope'?
Join Date: Oct 2004
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Did your "friend" really sit in the back seat of an F3?
Certainly possible in theory, as F3's were zoom climbed to above FL700 I believe during initial trials,
However, these aircraft would have been very different to fleet aircraft, and I certainly have never been that high personally.
If he'd been chasing Mach 2.15, I wouldn't be surprised to hear a 'double hush' of the fuel starvation variety
Certainly possible in theory, as F3's were zoom climbed to above FL700 I believe during initial trials,
However, these aircraft would have been very different to fleet aircraft, and I certainly have never been that high personally.
If he'd been chasing Mach 2.15, I wouldn't be surprised to hear a 'double hush' of the fuel starvation variety
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10 out of 10 for trying LC, I sense my toy is better than your toy coming up
Have you tried Thunderflash assistance on your Hat-trick,apparantley FL ridicularse is achievable, especially if your hat is in a clean config!!!!!!
Have you tried Thunderflash assistance on your Hat-trick,apparantley FL ridicularse is achievable, especially if your hat is in a clean config!!!!!!
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It doesn't have a cannon in the nose if that helps - but it does have a lump of metal shaped exactly like a cannon - with all the intricate components modelled exactly as they would be for a real cannon........Makes you wonder why I didn't just leave a working cannon in there really.... but it is just a hat after all!!!!
Gentleman Aviator
A very different league, but I don't suppose that FL435 in an (unpressurised!) JP 4 counts for much......
Mind you ... I felt grim for days afterwards, and didn't even win the Course "how-high-did-YOU-go-on-the-high-level-solo" prize....
Mind you ... I felt grim for days afterwards, and didn't even win the Course "how-high-did-YOU-go-on-the-high-level-solo" prize....
Can anyone help me out:
I was reading a short story from a book called "Wild Blue: Stories of Survival from Air and Space". One guy ejected from about 50k above a thunderstorm. He goes into great detail about how much it hurt and how his body nearly exploded. How can you take an unpressurised jet that high if this is true? What am I missing?
I was reading a short story from a book called "Wild Blue: Stories of Survival from Air and Space". One guy ejected from about 50k above a thunderstorm. He goes into great detail about how much it hurt and how his body nearly exploded. How can you take an unpressurised jet that high if this is true? What am I missing?
Join Date: May 2005
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If it's the event I'm thinking of, originally from a book called "The Man Who Rode The Thunder" by William Rankin, then I don't think he was at 50k when he abandoned the aircraft (a Crusader, IIRC).
It was somewhat lower, inside a Cb and breaking up when he ejected. It was the subsequent ride in the cloud that bubbled him up to extremes of altiitude.
It was somewhat lower, inside a Cb and breaking up when he ejected. It was the subsequent ride in the cloud that bubbled him up to extremes of altiitude.
Thats the one. Just dug out the book - he says he ejected at 48000ft. He then focusses on describing the specific 'unbearable' pain of 'explosive decompression'. He says he felt like he could burst and that his stomach visibly became swollen. He also talks about scientist saying his blood would boil at such low pressures.
Is this true? If so you couldn't take an unpressurised jet to 45k ft. And if this is true, what is so different between that and rapid decompression in the chamber to 38k ft?
Is this true? If so you couldn't take an unpressurised jet to 45k ft. And if this is true, what is so different between that and rapid decompression in the chamber to 38k ft?
