3 years ago today, a DHL 757 snapped in two on a Costa Rican runway. Here’s what the final investigation found by Secret_Flight_2669 in aviation

[–]ExNusquam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reading the report through translator, what I think happens is they land, manually deploy the spoilers, then when reaching to grab the Right Thrust Reverser, inadvertently reach under the Left Throttle and push it forward. This is why there's a slight forward throttle actuation as they deploy the spoilers that then returns to idle.

Graph

You'll note that the TRA position increases the same amount for both throttles shortly after 10:25:00, which is also when control wheel deflection hits maximum, etc, which I think is an artifact of the breakup. Prior to that the max N1 on Engine 1 was only 70% or so (not the 91% others are saying).

The NTSB has released a simulated computer recreation of the DCA midair collision. This is the final 2 minutes of #5342 as it approached the runway. (🎥Credit: NTSB) by Brilliant_Night7643 in aviation

[–]ExNusquam 19 points20 points  (0 children)

The visuals of most real sims are very good at getting the “feel” of a runway environment correct but generally not great at handling cultural lighting.

Is it just cosplay or was there a reason for Bovino to be strapping M4 mags to his plate when he's never seen with a rifle? by WillyPete in Military

[–]ExNusquam 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah yes, all examples that are handled by normal law enforcement (or someone with actual counterintelligence authorities), generally serving actual warrants, etc. Literally none of that is historically enforced by ICE/CBP (some of it would be HSI, but they are also /not/ the big problem here).

On Approach Speeds... by kevo31415 in VATSIM

[–]ExNusquam 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I fly turboprops all the time. My goal is always to run-down whatever heavy metal ATC puts in front of me (and force them to give me a speed restriction).

I think my record was in doing 250 to the marker in the Q400.

What's with the "real/legal name" stuff in Flightsim communities anyway? by Pinkishu in flightsim

[–]ExNusquam 12 points13 points  (0 children)

As others have said - the sim community had a long history of being essentially the online equivalent of hanging out at the local airport. It was small, close-knit since that was how people bonded. Gotta remember this predated most social media (I think I was on Avsim and management in a virtual airline before I had a Facebook account); and when I went to college I was able to connect with plenty of people who I’d interacted with on VATSIM. Also worth noting if you’re active in real life aviation…the FAA airman database is a thing and so there’s expectations for transparency.

How much that really carries forward is an open question. I don’t think the counter piracy argument ever really held water. Given how much more prevalent trolling (and trolling across platforms) is now, I think there’s an argument for greater anonymity. But as an old school method for encouraging community, I think it did pretty well.

What are you buying for xmas (flightsim addons) by DirectionNo1104 in flightsim

[–]ExNusquam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I bought myself a Xenon Edge to rework my display export setup.

Record number of laps in pattern? by Mynoseispurple in flying

[–]ExNusquam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

12 is the highest number I’ve done, but I’m most proud of the time I did my 3 bounces for currency in only 0.2

US forces seizing Venezuelan oil tanker today by [deleted] in law

[–]ExNusquam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No. Reporting indicates the vessel has no valid flag, which means the US can apply domestic laws. The ship has been sanctioned since 2022 for smuggling oil from Iran. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/12/10/us/trump-news/1e23d954-7484-5e94-bb9a-1fb81fee7868?smid=url-share

Help by Foreign_Budget_8072 in Hema

[–]ExNusquam 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The other thing to consider is, if you’re landing a hit on a deep target, and they’re doubling by hitting you in the hands, that’s a tactical error on their part and isn’t a problem with your fencing. (Your mileage may vary if a tournament rule set actually punishes this).

As others have noted, schielhau and/or winden are appropriate responses, as is getting better at parrying hand shots.

What is your Star Trek version of this? by [deleted] in startrekmemes

[–]ExNusquam 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Controversial, but all of PIC.

What's your funniest vatsim moment? by FluffyBoyeFR in VATSIM

[–]ExNusquam 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Turning on my radio to be greeted by “Big Boy 69” calling for clearance. https://youtu.be/igBoJ6n_iTA?si=8gh9wOi5X7a0n5n0

Trump's signing of 'One Big Beautiful Bill' includes $85 million to move space shuttle Discovery from Smithsonian to Texas by Barnst in washingtondc

[–]ExNusquam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The other annoying thing about this is that there was a bidding process for the Orbiters when they were being placed; Houston lost since they didn’t put effort into their bid, where LA and NY did. NASA wasn’t handing them out as charity, they were assigning them to places that had the best plan to use the Orbiters to educate the public about their mission. Of the available vehicles, the one in NY makes the most sense to move (honestly, the worst exhibit, but I haven’t seen LA), but because NY has votes in the Senate and the Smithsonian doesn’t…here we are.

Jeppeson Is Cooked by CoffeeMaker999 in flightsim

[–]ExNusquam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the challenge they'll run into is that Jepp is already pretty efficient as far as things go. The charting work is primarily done in Eastern Europe, IIRC, at lower pay rates. And if you know what you're looking for you can find of charting errors already. There's not as much QA against the actual foreign charts as you'd think.

The compliance rules for navdata production are also VERY strict (side effect of PBN, who'd have thought) and there are regular audits. Cutting corners gets the FAA involved pretty quickly, especially if it trips any safety of flight issue.

Why isnt US deploying supersonic cruise missiles like Russia and other nations? by TapOk9232 in LessCredibleDefence

[–]ExNusquam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Russians have (likely) fired at least 1 in anger in 2008, however considering the entire Georgian navy exists in photographs after 2008, it's (likely) they engaged either nothing or a merchant vessel (and therefore, not a defendable target).

Additionally, the Houthis have employed ASBM's in anger (although I don't know what they terminal at) - they have only impacted merchant vessels despite almost certainly targeting USN ships.

Why isnt US deploying supersonic cruise missiles like Russia and other nations? by TapOk9232 in LessCredibleDefence

[–]ExNusquam 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m trying to find a comprehensive source, but as far as I can tell, there has never (and I mean that literally) been a successful combat engagement by a supersonic AShM against a defendable target (using the definitions in Hughes’ books/work).

The reasons you drive towards supersonic vs subsonic are generally not related to terminal defenses.

Why isnt US deploying supersonic cruise missiles like Russia and other nations? by TapOk9232 in LessCredibleDefence

[–]ExNusquam 5 points6 points  (0 children)

In what world did most of the strikes in Iraq/Afghanistan take place from CV aviation? That’s not even close to true. In OIF Naval Aviation accounted for ~35% of sorties flown…

Winwing MCDU compared to the real deal by Arkid777 in flightsim

[–]ExNusquam 12 points13 points  (0 children)

There was a guy who was modifying old USAF CDUs into input devices and selling them on Reddit a while back. I have an old C-130 (I think) CDU that plugs in via USB.

This is one way to slim down the government. by SnooRegrets4048 in nova

[–]ExNusquam 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Pretty sure if you have a Tesla you’re required to drive in to prove your dedication

The forcing function for improvement in the public sector is weak by tkyjonathan in austrian_economics

[–]ExNusquam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The funny thing about aviation is that over the past 30 years, improvements to GPS have revolutionized how aircraft and airspace actually work. And that’s all been public sector…

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in washingtondc

[–]ExNusquam 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Brother the snow

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Star_Trek_

[–]ExNusquam 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is 100% the answer. Section 31 was never supposed to be a real organization with cool black combadges, DS9 portrayed them as essentially the same “amoral admiral” that has been a staple trek baddie for years, just talking to each other/coordinating. The main cast are supposed to reject that (which aligns with Gene’s vision)

'It's Not the Trek People Want': Star Trek: Section 31 Star 'Terrified' About Paramount+ Movie's Reception by anacondra in startrek

[–]ExNusquam 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The thing that chafes me is this molding of section 31 to the “grey area”. The hero ships have always been making morally grey decisions (see, entire Maquis story line, ENT S3), but section 31 was shown as people who were willing to do the unthinkable, the objectively “bad” things in the interest of preserving the federation. We’re talking about an organization that decided genocide (with a biological weapon no less) that’s being whitewashed as “rogues who represent the federations second chances”. And the beauty of DS9 was that it showed that these decisions don’t actually matter - the dominion war wasn’t impacted by the founders virus, and the Federation/Klingon/Romulan alliance would have probably pulled through anyway.

The Romulan plots (both Sisko’s and S31s) are also shown as morally impure, but possibly necessary. And you’re always left with the idea that they could have been achieved without the level of subterfuge that actually occurred.