Okay, SERIOUSLY people - STOP IT WITH THE TREES!

YES, the California Science Center is uprooting about 400 trees along the 12 mile route from LAX to Exposition Park where Endeavour will spend the rest of its life. But they are re-planting more than twice that after the fact. News media is hyping this like crazy - to what end, I don't know, and they always miss the last part - THEY'RE REPLANTING MORE THAN 800 TREES WHEN THEY ARE DONE!

Understand what's going on here:

First off, it's only a 78' swatch down three major streets in the greater L.A. area, so they're not running into parks or apartment complexes to uproot random trees all across L.A.. Most of what will be cut down or removed are trees that reside in the MEDIAN OF THE STREET - surely you don't propose that these are great trees for shade, recreation, and having a nap under - at best, they dampen some sound. I have also learned that several areas along the route are sue to be construction zones soon, and many of these trees were to be uprooted anyway. Additionally, the city of Inglewood is not in favor of keeping the species that is currently planted, and when the trees are replaced, they will be replaced with a different species. I have heard that only 10% of the trees being uprooted are actually being destroyed. Take a look at the route, seriously, there's three major streets that this thing is traveling down, and all three of them at some point have a median that has trees planted in it - all but maybe 5-6 trees are relatively small, and relatively young anyway - it's really not as big a deal as news sources seem to be making it out to be.

Dis-assembly of the shuttle is prohibited by the terms laid out by NASA in the acquisition process of the disused Shuttles. It would also be nearly impossible to reassemble the Shuttle once it is taken apart, and ensure its structural stability for the rest of its life. When I was at the California Science Center, they said that they intend for the permanent installment of the Shuttle to be structurally sound for the next 250 years. It is the responsibility of the organization awarded the Shuttle to arrange for transportation and storage - which has to be environmentally controlled - which, for example, is why Enterprise, on the deck of the USS Intrepid in New York is in a blow-up cocoon rather than just being out in the open - even though it is a temporary storage location. The same is true with Endeavour at the California Science Center; a temporary shelter was constructed from the ground-up, at considerable expense, which is to be climate controlled--which is expensive; it protects the orbiter from rain, and sun. And when the final display facility is constructed, and Endeavour is moved to that location, there will have to be sacrifices made there as well. Endeavour is going to be displayed in its launch configuration with two Shuttle SRBs that have already been moved from Florida to Edwards AFB for temporary storage, and an External Tank that the science center is going to have made specifically for display purposes (probably with some interior space for displays or education).

From the California Science Center's website regarding dis-assembly:

"Is Endeavour going to be moved from Lax to the Science Center in one piece?

"Yes, we want Endeavour to be as close as possible to its post-flight condition immediately following touchdown from its last mission. Removing either the wings or the tail would destroy the protective tiles on the vehicle as these are very fragile. Even if the tiles could be removed and replaced, NASA cannot safely separate and reattach the wings or the tail without the infrastructure that is provided in the orbiter processing facility, meaning that the vehicle could not be reassembled if it were taken apart."

http://www.californiasciencecenter.org/Exhibits/AirAndSpace/endeavour/Mission26/Mission26.php

The media seriously needs to stop with the headline sensationalism, and present the whole story - and when you see something that upsets you - go dig a little, and see if it really is what you think. Better yet - stand up to the incorrect source and hold them accountable for their misinformation.

Dryden Flight Research Center #DrydenSocial Part 1

All of my life, I've wanted to be an Engineer. Well, except for that time when I was four, and I told my Mom I wanted to be a trash truck - not the trash man, but the trash truck. But I think that I embody what my wife refers to as endless curiosity, and as she says, I never stop dreaming. Some of the things I dream about I fully well realize that I will never see them in reality. Flying through the sky in a glider that can takee off with little more than a skateboard push towed by a Killer Whale, I never fully expect to see. There are some dreams, however, that while I never expect any kind of realization of them, throw me for a loop if and when they do come true.

Friday, May 4th 2012 I got to go to the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California - a dream come true.

Just being on base, in the same place where history took place as far as aviation is concerned was enough, but it got so much better from there, and in this series of posts, I will attempt to show you just how.

How did...
First off, you're probably wondering (either as a lay-person like me who never had a hope, or as someone who has had to jump through a lot of hoops to do so) just how it was that I was able to get on base. Well, as part of an effort to increase awareness through social media, NASA has been inviting its social media followers from Twitter, Facebook and Google+ to take part in rare and exclusive opportunities to be able to join in all of the fun and science, and see just what is going on behind the scenes to make what reaches the public stage a reality. I know, that when you think of NASA, you predominantly think of the Space Shuttle, and launching rockets, and space stations like ISS and all, but bear with me - there is a connection: NASA is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Aeronautics comes first. It had to come first to develop many of the systems that we now largely ignore as standard, and as you'll see in the next couple of installments, there is a lot of active aeronautics research that is continually going on at NASA, and most of it takes place at the Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) in California.

  

Announcements went out that NASA was going to be holding a #NASASocial at DFRC over Twitter, Google+ and Facebook, and on their website (for future reference, and announcements of other social media events, you can look here). As soon as I heard about it, I was foaming at the mouth, ready to submit my entry. When they made their selections, and I got an e-mail saying that I was in, I was over the moon. Immediately, my mind started racing about all of the things that I hoped to see, and what I would love to hear more about.

One of the coolest things about this event, was that from the very beginning, as people started turning up on Twitter with their exclamations over being selected, we all used the tag #DrydenSocial to be able to kind of find each other. Someone started a Facebook group, and we immediately began making travel plans, organizing carpools, and to meet up afterward for more rucus over dinner. Right away the group was sociable, and friendly, and everyone went over and above to make one feel welcome, and to get to know their fellow participants. I have to say that I was impressed, and found several people with whom I would love to stay in touch with for a long time.

The morning of the event, I got up at 0-Dark:30, and picked up my two awesome carpool buddies for the ride up there. The drive really wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I drove up once before to try to see me a Shuttle when one was in town, but with no traffic, despite a couple of construction zones, we were actually making up time all the way there. A quick stop for breakfast, and off to the front gate.

I'm one of those obcessive people that when I know that I'm going to go somewhere, or if there's a chance that I might be going somewhere, I research it like crazy. A couple of reasons: You can see 'stuff' everywhere. Some of it is meaningless. Some of it is cool to look at. But most of it has a history, and if you know that history, then you are better able to fully grasp the magnitude of its importance in history. I like to grasp the magnitude of the stuff that I'm looking at had on history. So, one of the places that I insisted we stop is Century Circle, just outside of the West gate - a collection of the "Century Series" of aircraft on display along with the control tower that served Edwards AFB until 1998. I remember very distinctly, the smell of the air as we got out of the car to look around at Century Circle - it was the smell of history.

Enjoy some photos of Century Circle while I prepare my next installment.



One feature that is accessible to the general public outside the gates of Edwards AFB, is Century Circle. The control tower in the middle is what served the base until 1988 until it was replaced. The aircraft featured here are part of the "century series" of aircraft. LtoR: F-102, F-100, F-101



F-102 Delta Dagger



F-102 Delta Dagger



Another odd shape in the wing of a TF-102 trainer.

F-104 Starfighter

YC-15, a STOL prototype intended to replace the C-130 first flown in 1975. The first of two airframes built.

This shouldn't require explanation

F-104 Starfighter

TF-102 Trainer

F-101



F-100



We literally got here before the sun came up. It had been ages since I had actually seen a sunrise. Usually, I'm still awake, but this time I actually beat the sun up.



Dryden Social - the anticipation

I'm sure everyone has had a 'thing' for airplanes at some point in their lives. Maybe it comes on at an early age, and then fades away as career choices, and dating invade. Maybe it is sparked later in life, as some new fascination that makes you feel alive, and flying is the best sensation you know. For me, it's not the flying, the action or thought of flight or even the sensation of flight -- it's the planes. And it always has been.

I've been flying a handful of times in my life, and believe it or not, I've been in more private planes (single-engine prop planes) than I have commercial planes. I was taken flying when I was a kid. One of my Dad's friends had his pilot's license, and took myself and my Brother along with my Dad. Not long ago, my Brother got his license, and I've gone with him a number of times. Only place I've flown commercially was LAX to Seattle and back. But for as long as I can remember, if I saw something in the sky, I could sit and marvel at it all day long. The curtains in my childhood room were airplanes. The Shuttle was a fascination when I was a kid - from STS-1 to STS-135. Plastic models, paper airplanes, balsa and tissue planes, planes made out of clay, cut out of pencil erasers in class, planes made out of LEGO, flight simulator video games - all planes. Little else has come along that evokes such a reaction in me.

No surprise then, that I've known about Edwards AFB for most of my life. I've flown into it, and took off from it in thousands of flight simulator excursions in hundreds of different aircraft. I even drove up there once, thinking they might let me in if I just wanted to see the Shuttle that was there after returning from space (not bloody likely). I have pored over Google maps to see what aircraft they have sitting around. And then I go research those that I don't know by sight. Some of the stranger ones fascinate me, like the F-16XL, and the High Maneuverability F-15 with the strange canards in front. The X-29 with its forward swept wings and canards. And some just baffle me, like the oblique winged AD-1. Just the fact that the M2-F1 flew, to me, is awesome! (Of course, if you apply enough speed to anything, it will fly).
Friday May 4th will bring to me an opportunity that I have been secretly waiting for all of my life: I get to go to Edwards AFB.

Dryden Flight Research Center has invited me, and 49 other Tweeps, Facebookians, and Google Plussers to come and see what they are doing, and who is doing it. On top of *that*, we get to see... aircraft. Though all of my life, I have had the fascination with the aircraft, I have been learning over the last couple of years that it's not the aircraft that make the accomplishments, it's the people. So I am warming to the idea that it may be cooler to meet the people that make it happen than to just see the aircraft. I really am excited to see just what they have in store for us up there. There has been a lot of talk, and all of it is exciting, and I can not wait! They've even threatened that we might even get a chance to feel/hear a sonic boom, which for some is an annoyance, but for me is... a thrill!

Additionally, with the selection announcements, came a wave of invitees wanting to hook up and organize carpools, hotels, dinner, patches, stickers, t-shirts, and generally share thoughts and experiences. We've all gathered in a facebook group, and have been having a great time just with the introductions, and back-end of planning and preparing for the event. It's a great group of people, and I can't wait to meet them all. I'm sure that there will be fun and friends long after this event is over, and I hope that the connections that we make through this event last a long time.

Because I'll probably forget later in the midst of piddling myself, I want to thank NASA, and the people of the Dryden Flight Research Center for making this possible, and for inviting me. I know the event hasn't happened yet, but this is going to be by far, one of the coolest things that I have ever done.

I <3 The Interwebs

When I was planning our road trip to Florida, I developed, or rather, realized an interesting, and I think healthy habit: I found that before I go somewhere, I like to research about it, and what is there, and why any of that would be significant or interesting at all.

As well, with this upcoming trip to Dryden Flight Research Center as part of the #DrydenSocial that I have been invited to, even though I know a lot about some of the projects that have taken place at Edwards AFB, I find myself researching planes, and people, and research results. An insatiable thirst for knowledge is a curious thing. The more you learn, the more you want to learn. The more you research, the more subjects you find that are interesting.

Of course, what makes this easy, and convenient, is the internet.

Being able to sit in my livingroom at home with my Wife, and watch some TV, or a movie, and upon discovering some nugget of curiosity, I can almost instantly find out what about that intrigued me, why it was, how it was, who was involved, and what else about it might be interesting. In that regard, I am like a sponge - especially when it comes to Aerospace stuff.

On Sunday, we went over to my Brother's house for a bit, and ended up watching 'In The Shadow Of The Moon', and though I'd seen it before, there were all kinds of things that I found to be interesting. I won't bore you with a list, or rob you of the particular joy of discovering the who, what, when, where and why of it for yourself, but suffice to say, pause was a commonly pressed button, and it took twice as long to watch the movie than it did last time, and the time before that, and there was quite a bit of good conversation. I love that both my Wife and Brother share an interest in Aerospace with me.