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  Photo of the week 245a (July 12, 2009)

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Author Topic:   Photo of the week 245a (July 12, 2009)
heng44
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Posts: 3387
From: Netherlands
Registered: Nov 2001

posted 07-12-2009 02:36 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for heng44   Click Here to Email heng44     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote

Forty years ago today, Neil Armstrong flew a helicopter from KSC to sharpen his landing skills in preparation for the Apollo 11 flight. The helicopter maneuvers simulated some of the techniques Armstrong planned to use during the descent to the moon.

Ed Hengeveld

stsmithva
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Posts: 1933
From: Fairfax, VA, USA
Registered: Feb 2007

posted 07-12-2009 06:40 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for stsmithva   Click Here to Email stsmithva     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
If memory serves, there was a 1970s/80s Neil Armstrong letter for sale recently in which he tells someone that he is certified for rotary aircraft (i.e. helicopters) but he always feels like they are trying to get out from underneath him. (I didn't use quote marks because I'm not sure how accurate that is.)

For someone who flew the spacecraft (and LLRV) he did to say that sure indicates how truly tricky helicopters are to fly. A helicopter pilot once told me matter-of-factly that the dynamics of an airplane make it WANT to keep flying, while a helicopter is always looking for a chance to go spinning out of control.

Not that I want to start a debate thread about fixed wing/rotary wing aircraft.

Apollo Redux
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Posts: 346
From: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Registered: Sep 2006

posted 07-16-2009 05:46 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Apollo Redux   Click Here to Email Apollo Redux     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Open-air helicopter cabins; Flying Bedsteads; 'Moon Shots', wow! These guys seem even larger than life, forty years later.

Thanks for posting it.

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