Sitting in Narita watching the go arounds

Is the lack of grip on that slippery runway a help or hindrance? seems to this non pilot that a grippy surface would make the transition from flying to "driving" much more dramatic.
Please educate me

 

A slick surface makes it difficult to get the airplane to start tracking down the center of the runway after touch down. Flight controls lose their effectiveness as the speeds are reduced.

Airplanes have been known to slide right off the runway.

The transition from crab to landing on a dry runway may be more abrupt but there is also better traction and control.

 

I'm nothing more than a lurker in this section and I love the stories. Bob I really enjoy reading your posts, very informative and entertaining.

And to all you pilots these videos really make me glad you guys are getting my ass down safe

 

Thanks, Fave. I've been accused of getting too mouthy at times but I like sharing stories from a long time ago. Most of the stories are made up, though, so I can't be taken seriously...well, maybe some of the time.

 

You, too mouthy, Bob? Never! We'll read your posts as often as they come, and enjoy.

P.S. I expect to attend the Seafair race this year. Maybe I can give you and Spasso a hydroplane pit tour? I'll keep you posted.

 

Seafair Race? What in the world is that? I never heard of anybody racing a Seafair but we are game to go see it with you. Jim, I saw the very first Gold Cup race in Seattle in 1951 after Slo Motion won it in Detroit in 1950. THAT was an exciting time here in Seattle and Detroit race teams tried for umpteen years to win it back by sending a crowd of boats back here to beat the Seattle clan. The hull technology and the aircraft based skills of the Seattle guys just couldn't be beat for a long time. Looking forward to getting together with you again.

 

Mr. Parks,

Was this crew from Detroit the Gar-Wood team?

 

No, Gar wood was long gone when the 1950's Gold Cup races began. The Detroit people were sponsored by numerous big names in industry, Pepsi-Cola, Gale Electric, Such Crust bakery, and some rich private outfits. Eventually Bernie little got involved and brought in the Miss Budweiser , sponsored by all the beer money in the world. Wood's boats were displacement types with the hull plowing through the water. Ted Jones, a Boeing engineer, designed a hull that rode above the water on the runners of two sponsons and the prop blade, supported by a cushion of air trapped in the tunnel between the sponsons. He was hired by a Chrysler dealer named Stan Sayers who financed the enterprise. The hull was not formed of heavy logs of mahogany like Miss Pepsi but of light ribs and stringers supporting a 1/4 inch thick skin of African mahogany plywood. The bottom of the hull had a sheathing of 1/4 inch aluminum. Ted Jones designed the entire system and was never given full credit for what he had done but he turned the Gold Cup boat racing on its ear. His design functioned on the action of gentle slopes of the sponson runners and the aerodynamic lift from the curvature of the hull. The Detroit people didn't understand the aerodynamics of the hull or appreciate the importance of the aircraft type fin that reacted the force of the propellor that wanted to walk the stern sideways as it impacted the water at 10,000 RPM. At first their boats did not exhibit the fin. Aircraft metallurgy came into play in the design of the propellor shaft and the prop itself, both constructed of monel. The installation of the engine and systems was strictly aircraft borne and played a pivotal roll in the reliability of the boat. One of the Detroit boats, The Such Crust, burst into flame during the race in 1954 because the engine primer line was unsupported over the length of the engine and broke during the race. My buddy and I commented on the rather " loose" installation of things when we watched the crew prepare the boat the night before the race. I knew some of the crew that worked on the Slo-mo-shun and Hawaii Kai and they were all top of the heap mechanics and engineers, all from Boeing. I saw the first loop done by a hydro when Lou ***eol was running in time trials with Slo-mo-shun 5 and it went flying on the back stretch. He was thrown out of the cockpit at the top of the loop and landed in the water with a huge splash. Saved from injury by a heavy chest cast the he was wearing from an earlier injury. The boat was repaired in time for the race but they installed 2 inch diameter ropes across the beam of the hull to try to kill the lift. The hull of Slo-mo-shun V had a higher curve in the hull to give it more lift to improve acceleration. It did both but at higher speeds it did too much and the boat wanted to fly...and it did. Pretty exciting days.

 

I remembered reading that Gar Wood supplied the engine that was in Miss Great Lakes when Bill Muncey made his maiden hydroplane race. The boat sank and Wood got on the team's case for getting his engine back!

 

That's funny, Jim. As if that engine would be runable.

 

Just a thought here..and Lou you can answer this best...How would an autoland system deal with situations like this ? Can it even be used ?

 

One for his nephew please. He was one of the "greatest generation" and a unique man..

 

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Thai A380 - wow!