My dive today

[SeaRat]

Dec 21, 2020 16:28:37 GMT -8 vance said:

Tape is the most versatile material ever. I call duct tape (duck tape) 90 mile per hour tape 'cause it can withstand speeds well beyond 90mph!

There are more elegant solutions, but the stuff works.

I've been using some slightly oversized (at the horn end) 1" replacement hoses for HW, Dacor, and the like. These are regs with 1" mps. My HW, H-P, and Dacor mps are bigger than the horns, so no problem there.

On the other end, I've been using some heat shrink tubing over 3D printed expanders (5/8" long x 1/32" thick (?) cylinders that slip over the horn (by James: thanks, bud!). I run some RTV over the horn, slip the expander on and put a bit of heatshrink tubing over it all. I hit it with heat and let it dry. Seems to work well.

hh43b by John Ratliff, on Flickr

This is our HH-43B Huskie helicopter, the only helicopter in the USAF that had laminated wood blades. Because of the laminated wood blades, it was restricted from flying in rainstorms much, and when it had to, the flight engineer would use duct tape on the front edge of the blades to protect them. They said that they could tell when they needed to replace it because their would be a high-pitch wail from the blades. Those blades were turning at a lot greater than 90 mph! I believe each of these had a roll or two of duct tape onboard for all flights. The blades themselves were very strong, and because of this arrangement where the blades were twisted rather than rotated, had much fewer parts to go wrong. I spent a year on the HH-43 helicopter in 1969, and also flew them in Okinawa and Thailand.

John

[nikeajax]

John, another aircraft that used even more wood laminate was the de Havilland Mosquito:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Mosquito#Design_and_manufacture

Dang, that's one elegant machine, isn't it?



Those Huskies were so ugly they became cute again

JB

[SeaRat]

Apr 12, 2021 14:13:26 GMT -8 nikeajax said:

John, another aircraft that used even more wood laminate was the de Havilland Mosquito:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Mosquito#Design_and_manufacture

Dang, that's one elegant machine, isn't it?



Those Huskies were so ugly they became cute again

JB

JB, during WWII my grandfather, who worked for a lumber mill in Bend, Oregon, was recruited by the military to go into the Oregon Coast Range and look for Sitka Spruce, which was to be logged and used for airplanes.

Huskie of sunrise, Kunsan 1969 by John Ratliff, on Flickr
This is perhaps the best photo I've taken of the HH-43B Huskie helicopter. You can see the "servo flaps" on the trailing edge of the rotors, which twisted the rotor as it rotated around the helicopter for lift.

...Firm in his belief that a servo flap (also called a servo tab) was the answer to stability problems, Kaman designed small elevator-like flaps, which were atteched to the trailing edge of each rotor blade, three-fourths of the way out to the blade tip. Similar to ailerons--the movable surface on the trailing edge of an airplane wing--servo flaps were linked to the pitch controls and changed the pitch by unilizing aerodynamic forces acting on the blade itself. Up to that time, helicopter blade pitch was controlled by using mechanical force at the rotor hub to move the entire blade. being much smaller than the blade, the servo flap required much less force to move and thereby control pitch. That translated to less vibration and easier pilot control, which increased pilot efficiency..."
Mutza, Wayne, Kaman H-43, An Illustrated History, A Schiffer Military Book, Schiffer Military/Aviation history, Atglen, PA, 1998, pages 7-8.

Now, the HH-43B and HH-43F had an inglorious nickname, the "Flying S**thouse." But even so, it broke a number of records in its time.

The H-43B distinguished itself in the record-setting arena, breaking eight world records, four for Class E-1 helicopters (all gross weights) and four for Class E-1.d helicopters (3,858 to 6,614 pound gross weights.) The first record was established in FAI Class E-1.d on 9 December 1959, when a H-43B piloted by two Air Force pilots, attained an altitude of 29,846 feet! The standard H-43B, in mission configuration, topped the previous record held by a Soviet MI-4 helicopter, which flew to 21,982 feet on 12 March 1959. On 25 May 1961 A H-43B reached an altitude of 26,369 feet with a 2,204-pound payload aboard, exceeding the previous mark of 24,492 feet set by a Soviet MI-4 on 26 March 1960. The type then went on to claim three time-to-climb records on 24 October 1961. The successive distance and times were 9,842 feet in 2 minutes, 41.5 seconds and 29,426 feet in 14 minutes, 30.7 seconds...
IBID, page 14.

I'm pretty sure that I flow on the bird that set that altitude rocord, #260. The other bird I flew on was #848. We had a contest while I was in Kunsan, Korea in 1969 with the F-100 squadron to see which bird could fly to 10,000 feet fastest, and I think it was a tie.

As you can tell, I have a really soft spot in my heart for this Huskie helicopter. When we were "On Alert" with this helicopter, we could be off the ground in one minute. That was important when there was a jet fighter on its way to a landing with a problem.

F-100 after landing at Kunsan by John Ratliff, on Flickr

John

PS, obviously, this is not about diving, as I haven't been wet since last October. But its getting closer. Our local pool is now open for lap swimming, but only through on-line registration, and restricted to one person per lane. The Clackamas River is also settling down, and I may be diving it again in about two months (when the lifeguards get there on Memorial Day).

[scubalawyer]

Got tired of working so went for a beach dive today. 2 minute video clip:

[nikeajax]

Mark, way cool buuuuddy! Again, very envious

Your music reminded me of "Green Sleeves", I'm sure that's no accident by whoever wrote it: I kinda wanted the fish to start singing, "Alas, my love, you do me wrong..."

Nice touch slowing down that ray BTW

JB

[surflung]

Nov 23, 2021 17:43:14 GMT -8 scubalawyer said:

Got tired of working so went for a beach dive today. 2 minute video clip:

Wow, nice video... I'm at work doing the Black Friday Hustle and thinking, A beach dive with Mark would sure be a lot more fun than this...

[antique diver]

Very Nice Mark! I wish I was there for few days instead of landlocked in 34 degree N. Central Texas with only a muddy stock pond.

[SeaRat]

Nov 23, 2021 17:43:14 GMT -8 scubalawyer said:

Got tired of working so went for a beach dive today. 2 minute video clip:

Mark,

Your videography is absolutely stunning. Thank you for sharing it.

John

[scubalawyer]

ThanksJohn! It's just a GoPro using natural light. I did correct the white balance so that the colors tend to be more accurate. I believe I had my .2" - infinity flat frame close-up lens on so that allows me to put less water between the lens and the subject. All fun!

[scubalawyer]

Well, I went back out for a few more dives this past week with my long-time dive buddy Jack. He's only 75 years old and can beat me back up the hill to our vehicles wearing full gear.

[SeaRat]

I like the doubles setup! That lobster didn't stand a chance. Wow!

John

[scubalawyer]

Went out for a beach dive yesterday with my old buddy Jack.

Viz: 35'+

Temp: 67 F

Dive Time: 62 Minutes

Location: Montage Resort, Laguna Beach, CA (South end of Treasure Island)

Here is a distance shot of me taken by Jack.


Here is me on the left and jack on the right.

[Aquala1]

Jun 12, 2022 12:03:13 GMT -8 scubalawyer said:

Went out for a beach dive yesterday with my old buddy Jack.

Viz: 35'+

Temp: 67 F

Dive Time: 62 Minutes

Location: Montage Resort, Laguna Beach, CA (South end of Treasure Island)

Here is a distance shot of me taken by Jack.


Here is me on the left and jack on the right.

Looks amazing! So is 67° about as warm as it gets?

[scubalawyer]

Jun 12, 2022 19:17:26 GMT -8 Aquala1 said:

Jun 12, 2022 12:03:13 GMT -8 scubalawyer said:

Went out for a beach dive yesterday with my old buddy Jack.

Viz: 35'+

Temp: 67 F

Dive Time: 62 Minutes

Location: Montage Resort, Laguna Beach, CA (South end of Treasure Island)

Here is a distance shot of me taken by Jack.


Here is me on the left and jack on the right.

Looks amazing! So is 67° about as warm as it gets?

I have always found the warmest ocean temp months in Laguna to October and November, although most folks will say its July and August. I've seen surface ocean temps here up to 72F or 73F. Surface temps of 68F/69F are pretty common in late summer to early fall. 58F is pretty common in winter and spring. Temps drop 5-8 degrees at 50 feet depth but even that varies. YMMV. M

[SeaRat]

Right now I'm admiring your dive site. Mine, last week, was not divable:

High Rocks at Flood by John Ratliff, on Flickr

Here's what High Rocks on the Clackamas River normally looks like:

IMG_2453 by John Ratliff, on Flickr

John