Legendary Alberto Santos-Dumont – First sportsman of the air

The Brazilian pioneer was the first to demonstrate that controlled flight was possible thanks to his dirigible balloons. He flew his « Number 6 » round the Eiffel Tower as early as 1901. He designed and flew the 14-bis « Oiseau de proie » (Bird of prey) in 1906. This invention was the first fixed-wing flying machine witnessed by the European press and French aviation authorities to achieve an actual controlled flight.

He designed and flew the Demoiselle (Damselfly) in 1908. This aircraft was controlled by wing warping, and a tail unit equipped with a rudder, and an elevator.

VIDEO:

Facebooktwitterlinkedinmail

NUCLEAR REACTOR MELTDOWN EXPLAINED

« Meltdown » means « the accidental melting of the core of a nuclear reactor », and literally after that, a large displacement of radiation throughout the entire atmosphere. Here is how it works (VIDEO):

Facebooktwitterlinkedinmail

JAPANESE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT EXPLOSION

Japanese officials have just confirmed a radiation leak at Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant. A radiation level of 1,015 μSv/h (mircrosieverts per hour) has been measured near the plant before the blast. The situation is deemed almost as serious as the Three Mile Island partial reactor meltdown in the 70s, and the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. Cesium would have been detected. Therefore, the reactor number one might be having a meltdown.

The U.S. is sending special coolant. Four workers have been injured. The cordoned-off area has been widened to a 20km-radius zone. The roof of the reactor would have collapsed in the aftermath of the explosion. A scram (shutdown) might not be achieved on another reactor because of a glitch in the emergency cooling system.

VIDEO:

Facebooktwitterlinkedinmail

HUMAN FACTORS – Situation awareness and confusion

Here is an example of perception confronted with reality at night, in conditions of fog and poor visibility. What happened at Theodore Francis Green Airport, in Warwick, Rhode Island, could have turned into a major disaster. Listen and watch the video:

Facebooktwitterlinkedinmail

THE PILOT (Willi Willer / Têtes à Claques) with script

cours anglais aviation Toni Giacoia FCL .055 OACI en ligne à distance

Cours d’anglais aéronautique sur FCL ANGLAIS

 

 

Transcript:

Mayday! Mayday! This is Flight DC-one-thirty-two requesting emergency landing « priorité ».
DC-one-three-two what is your emergency?
My onboard agent informs me there is a suspicious passenger on board.
Suspicious? In what way?
He has a nail file.
A nail file?
Yes, and he is filing his nails on my plane!
I do not see the problem.
You know it is against the rules!
Yes, well I would not worry about it.
I wouldn’t worry about it… What if he gouges my eyes out with that file? Who will fly the plane then, eh?
I could fly the plane, Captain.
SHUT YOUR FACE, Henri!
Captain, please, try to stay calm!
No, no, no, no, no… I will not stay calm. OK? Because the passenger also has a canette of grape juice!
So, he likes grape juice…
« So, he likes grape juice… » How do you know it is just grape juice, eh? Maybe there is an atomic bomb in that little canette. Then, what, huh? KA-BOOM!
Look, DC132, I cannot authorize an emergency landing for a passenger filing his nails, and drinking a can of grape juice.
Hey! Tower boy! Do-do you watch CNN, sometimes?
Yes.
Then wake up and smell the jet fuel, huh, huh?
OK! You know, you may be right Captain. We should not take any chances. I am sending two F-18s to shoot you down. Thank you for your vigilance, Sir. We will never forget your sacrifice – Over.
Huh, hello? Hello, tower? Come in, come in, tower?
Well done, « Capitaine »! Smooth…
Tower? This is flight DC132. Hello? Hello?
 
Facebooktwitterlinkedinmail