HUD view of a near-miss

On Sat, 16 Dec 2006 16:02:57 GMT, Matt Whiting
wrote:

Roger wrote:
On Fri, 15 Dec 2006 13:11:34 GMT, Matt Whiting
wrote:


Roger wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2006 18:11:15 -0500, "Darkwing"
theducksmail"AT"yahoo.com wrote:



wrote in message
s.net...


Here's a very close call as recorded through the HUD camera of a T-38C.
Scott Wilson
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=qLVtstYAZLY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLVtstYAZLY


That was about as close as it gets without aluminum scraps flying.


It can get closer.
Many years back as a student I was landing a Piper Colt on 36. A
Comanche was flying the express way East to West. The end of 18/36 is
about as close to the road as it can get. That would put me at 300
feet or less at that point. There is an over pass about a city block
to my left (West).
The Comanche not only went under us and had to pull up a bit for the
over pass, he put the top of his vertical stab less than a foot below
us. I had this flash and the impression of looking at rivets.
He was past us before either the instructor or I jumped and we have
fast reaction times. The speeds may have been way less, but the mess
would have been just about as bad.

How did you measure the distance with such accuracy?


When you happen to be looking at the spot out the window and the top
of the stab is about a foot below your butt most any one can guess
that close. I'd guess about 9 out of 10 could come within a few
inches of getting it right. It's like a flash photo. You just see the
image.

Even if I missed it by 100 % he'd only be two feet below , or scraping
paint..

Most people couldn't estimate a foot if the airplanes were stationary
with one held above the other by a crane. You definitely can't estimate
distance with this precision at the closing speed of two aircraft,
unless they are flying in formation. :-)

There I beg to differ. You aren't looking at the closing speed. You
don't even see them coming as far out as they did in the HUD. If the
object is only one or two feet from you and appears as a flash it's
pretty easy to come within a foot on the estimation. Particularly
whey that flash shows individual paint scrapes and paint missing
around rivets. It appears like a sudden still image that just fades
away.

As I crossed the highway I leaned against the window to look down and
had that image.



Matt
Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com