View Single Post
  #5  
Old February 26th 14, 06:16 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Eric Bick (1DB)
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 24
Default Tales of being distracted by scenery and/or euphoria while soaring

On Wednesday, February 26, 2014 9:35:50 AM UTC-8, son_of_flubber wrote:
On Wednesday, February 26, 2014 11:53:05 AM UTC-5, kirk.stant wrote:

On Wednesday, February 26, 2014 10:25:50 AM UTC-6, Dan Marotta wrote:




Dude... Stop smoking that stuff!








Dude, don't bogart that joint!




That would be "Easy Flyer"? But seriously, I don't partake in mind altering substances, prescription or OTC drugs, and I have no documented neurological impairment.



To complete the picture, lift topped out at 6000 MSL that day, so this was not hypoxia-induced euphoria (and hypoxia tends to dull color perception?). And 50% of my field of vision that day was brilliant orange foliage, so there might have been some sort of retinal over-stimulation, or after image. A shift in color perception is a well known trait of euphoria, something to do with brain chemistry, adrenaline, serotonin levels etc.. And I should clarify that I have never seen any leprechauns on the wingtips (maybe if I flew on March 17th?).


OK - this is an easy one - given that you were flying toward the "maroon/int'l orange" glider. We're all familiar with the red shift associated with the expansion of the universe, right? Objects moving away (at relativistic speeds) show a spectral shift toward the red end of the spectrum, and, conversely, objects moving toward us - at relativistic speeds - show a blue shift (to shorter wavelengths). A rough calculation shows that if you were approaching the "maroon" glider at 0.75c (c= speed of light), then the spectral shift would move maroon into the orange part of the spectrum. So the real question is how you kept the wings on and didn't burn up in the atmosphere ... or, translated ... what were you smoking?
Eric Bick -