Here’s what the Bay Area’s big Zeppelin looks like from San Francisco…
…and here’s what San Francisco looks like from the Bay Area’s big Zeppelin:
Ah, mem’ries:
Passing by Coit Tower:
A close up view, click to enlarge. Can you see pilot Fritz Guenther and his Peltor brand headphones? Sure you can.
And an adorable piggly tail in the back:
There we go, back to normal:
Well it sure looks that way:
“Feed My Starving Children - Feeding God’s starving children hungry in body and spirit.”
OK fine.
As seen on Fell at Masonic:
Click to expand
However:
“California law requires that station operators provide free air and water to customers who purchase gasoline or diesel fuel.”
So, no tithing is required to get your ride back on the road.
All right, now back to the Christians:
“Our Statement of Beliefs
As a Christian Organization:
What’s this big metal tower thing on the left?
Of course it’s not actually a windmill, but maybe it’s some kind of air exhaust for something underneath the streetcar tracks of the Embarcadero?
Click to expand
Now, the “Free Leonard” tree banner, well, I think it’s this, but I remain baffled by that tower…
Yesterday, owing to the unusual winds what blew away* the fog, I saw jumbo jets above S.F. in places where I normally don’t, but I couldn’t really hear them. (I guess jets have gotten a lot quieter these days.)
Like this low-flying United Air 747-400 near the Ferry Building – you could hardly hear it:
Click to expand
*I suppose – cf. yesterday’s Blue Sky Red Bridge from Burrito Justice
There I was monitoring recent Zeppelin activity over the 415 and what do I see but an old-school Allegiant Air McDonnell Douglas DC9 / MD80 / MD85 / MD90 / whatever flying out of OAK.
See?
Click to expand
You can buy a used jetliners with ancient low-bypass engines for as cheap as $4,000,000 and then start up an airline? Did not know that.
Anyway, these kinds of planes are old, baby.
But you can fly to Phoenix, AZ for $32* so I guess that’s some consolation.
*Plus fees, baby. Lots and lots and lots of fees.
Down with the landing gear
Up goes the useless prayer
(As always, If You Assume That Any Given Plane Crash is Due to Pilot Error, You’ll Probably Be Right.)
Here’s an article about the new NTSB report.
Does it make sense to commute to Los Angeles for work, assuming you had a pilot’s license and an airplane? I don’t know.
Does it make sense to listen to the advice of your air traffic controller concerning the advisability of taking off into heavy fog, even if you don’t have to? Yes it does.
Is there a reason why pilots are told to turn over the Bay after takeoff? Yes there is.
Oh well.
Here’s what people down Palo Alto Way are saying.
And here‘s the “chilling recording” from a SpotShotter tower. (It’s about what you’d expect, with crashing noises and the yelling of the day care center kids who saw the crash.)
The former N5225J, a Cessna 310R with relatively new, perfectly-fine-at-the-time engines:
(I’ll tell you, I don’t know why our federal government subsidizes Tesla Automotive (and for that matter, General Monkeybusiness in Detroit). Was Tesla paying for the avgas that this Cessna was burning? Does Tesla reimburse CEO Elon Musk for the jet fuel that he burns as he joyrides around the world, as is his wont? I think Tesla used to, but I don’t know about these days. You know, for an electric car company what’s produced not a whole bunch of electric cars, Tesla seems to burn up a lot of petroleum…)
Anyway, here’s the summary – the whole thing you’ll find after the jump.
“NTSB Identification: WPR10FA136
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, February 17, 2010 in Palo Alto, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 11/22/2011
Aircraft: CESSNA 310R, registration: N5225J
Injuries: 3 Fatal.
The pilot departed the airport in near-zero visibility instrument meteorological conditions, and shortly after takeoff, struck a power pole and power lines before impacting terrain. Review of recorded air traffic control tower (ATCT) transmissions revealed that the pilot was initially given his instrument flight rules (IFR) clearance to turn right to a heading of 060 degrees and climb to 3,000 feet. Shortly after verifying his IFR clearance, the pilot received his IFR release from the ATCT controller and was informed that the runway was not visible to the controller. The controller further informed the pilot that takeoff was at his own risk. Shortly after, the controller notified the pilot that he had two minutes for his IFR release, before it expired. The pilot stated that he did not hear a “cleared for takeoff” instruction from the controller. The controller responded that he could not clear the pilot for takeoff, due to not having the runway environment in sight and that “the release is all yours and it’s at your own risk sir.” The pilot acknowledged the transmission and proceeded to take off. One witness, who was adjacent to the accident site, reported that she observed an airplane “suddenly appear from the fog” left of her position. The witness stated that she continued to watch the airplane fly in a level or slightly nose up attitude until it impacted power lines.
Accident site evidence was indicative of a level impact with a power pole about 50 feet above ground level (agl) and at a high airspeed. All major structural components of the airplane were located within the wreckage debris path. Examination of the airframe, engines and propellers disclosed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomaly. Weather conditions reported five minutes prior to the accident were wind variable at 5 knots, visibility 1/8th mile, fog, and vertical visibility of 100 feet agl. Weather conditions recorded by the ATCT 11 minutes after the time of the accident were visibility 1/16th mile, fog, and a vertical visibility of 100 feet agl.
Local law enforcement provided recordings from a sound recording system, which captured the accident sequence. The recordings were coupled with airport surveillance radar to interpolate a flightpath for the airplane. The interpolated flightpath indicated an approximate 45-degree left turn shortly after departure to the area of initial impact with the power pole and power lines. A sound spectrum study determined both engines were operating near full power.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot’s failure follow the standard instrument departure as instructed, and his failure to attain a sufficient altitude to maintain clearance from power lines during takeoff in instrument meteorological conditions.”
Obviously, non-targeted species will be affected when the Feds airbomb the Farallon Islands with rodenticide to kill all those mice.
Like this one. See it? Here’s the big version, via nature photographer Jenny Erbes.
But so what. What’s the deal?
This is one of the things that the feds do right.
Like, they were so effective up north not too long ago that Rat Island will need a new name after 229 years.
So, hurry up Feds, we’re waiting on you…
Oh man, your 2011 Pacific Coast Air Museum Air Show, Wings Over Wine Country, is going to be soooooo much better than the wine-sipping alternative, it’s not even funny.
Check the slideshow, baby! Check the FAQ too. Get your tickets here.
Via Tom Hardin – click to expand
So, take a vacay from your Sunday Punch routine and get out there – let’s hope that B25J will be on hand this year. (Don’t Mess With Texas, or Tennessee, or, well, just don’t mess with 12 machine guns when they’re all firing together.)
See you there!
All the deets:
“Here’s a sneak preview of just some of our 2011 Air Show performers:
You see, the Feds had a plan to kill the famous rats of Rat Island, Alaska and they did that, with extreme prejudice, just a few years back.
See? No more Japanese rats from that shipwreck of the 18th century:
Click to expand
So why can’t the Feds do the same thing with our Farallon Islands?
Get cracking, Feds.
You know, one of these days, I’ll start a half-assed non-profit, pay myself a six-figure salary, put the wife on staff, hire the kids too, put cute animal pictures on the homepage to keep the cash coming in – whew, good times.
Anyway, unrelated to that, srsly, comes now WildCare Bay Area to object to the Feds’ plans to airdrop a couple tons of poison on the Farallones (or Farallon Islands, (Spanish for pillars or “rocky outcrop,” see comments)) to kill the thousands of resident, non-native house mice what eat the eggs of endangered native birds.
Like this one. See it? Here’s the big version, via nature photographer Jenny Erbes.
All right, enough of Marin, let’s hear from the people on the scene:
In closing, Marin, You So Crazy!
A relatively fog-free day in the Sunset District.
Through the tinted glass of the ginourmous windows of Yelp-rated Sava Pool
From a higher sperspective in the Twin Peaks area, on an exceptionally clear morning.
Can you see the lighthouse on the top of South East Farallon Island?
Noisy Canon 10D at 840mm, from Christmas Tree Point Road, a skosh more than 30 miles away…
