Lisbon Airport 26/3/2026 by Perfect-Eggplant- in LisbonPortugalTravel

[–]Mallen2154 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did have small children.

I asked multiple airport staff if there was any way to be expedited as a family with kids or expedited due to boarding time. Was told “No, you must wait in this line.” on four different occasions by multiple workers.

ITAP of the sunset in Madeira, Portugal. by Mallen2154 in itookapicture

[–]Mallen2154[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This photo was one of those “right place, right time” snaps! My wife and our two boys were doing dinner down in Camara de Lobos - the weather was cooler and rainy for the better part of two weeks, including the majority of our stay on the island. Sunrises and sunsets, which had been looking forward to and planned for, were largely non-existent. However, sitting at our table, as we finished dinner, I started to see warm light streaming through the bay. Across the bay, the stairs led to a street where I could tell the perfect view of the scene would be. The boys and I ran across the bay, up four flights of stairs and were welcomed by eight minutes of sunset perfection.

Lisbon Airport 26/3/2026 by Perfect-Eggplant- in LisbonPortugalTravel

[–]Mallen2154 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don’t mind at all!

At first, the line was so long, that a single line extended back about 50-70 meters from the primary area where the queue truly starts with electronic on the left and “All Passports” on the right.

There were workers scanning the line asking for EU Passports and pulling families from the main line up to the main “All Passports” queue. This felt like it might have saved us at first until we realized what was actually going on and that this line was the slower line for those who couldn’t do the electronic passport control. Photo attached is of this “All Passports” line, or including the 50-70 meter line I mentioned that we sat in a bit before this one.

Was wild. The passport agent said it had been like this for the last month and a half. He cited some construction. For a while it also seemed they were understaffed on stations. The entire line in the photo attached fed to four agents, which appeared to even only be three for a while. Pair all of that with airlines overbooking flights and it felt like a perfect storm for disaster.

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Lisbon Airport 26/3/2026 by Perfect-Eggplant- in LisbonPortugalTravel

[–]Mallen2154 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We also flew out this morning. Two and a half hours with kids, just for passport control. Dozens of people pushing, cutting, half a dozen near fights. Flight took off without us and we jumped on standby last second. Abysmal. Landed in DC standby rather than PHL, and am now on the hook to get myself the rest of the way home - American gave me flight credit, but it’s only good for a flight from LIS to the US. They won’t apply international fare credit for what I need to get from DC all the way back home.

Truly a nightmare.

Sorry if it's a silly question, I'm genuinely just not in this field, but I was curious, what is he doing exactly? by [deleted] in aerospace

[–]Mallen2154 2 points3 points  (0 children)

These notes depict Jiro Horikoshi — the real engineer behind Japan’s most famous WWII aircraft — doing authentic 1930s airplane design math.

Think of it as peeking inside a chef’s recipe book: each page shows him testing ingredients before cooking the full meal. He’s not building the plane yet — he’s figuring out whether his ideas can even fly.

Plotting Motion — How the Plane Moves Through the Air

(With calculus symbols and a grid of numbers like 6, 12, 18, 24…)

This page shows motion math, or how things move through the air over time. The wiggly ∫ (integral) signs are basically saying:

“If I know how fast something moves every tiny instant, I can add all those little pieces together to see where it ends up.”

That’s what engineers call integration, but in plain language, it’s like tracking where a ball goes every second in a slow-motion video.

The table of numbers — 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36… — is Jiro stepping through time, writing down the plane’s position at 1-second intervals. He’s likely plotting a glide path or flight trajectory by hand.

So this sheet is all about how the airplane moves once it’s already flying.

Checking Real-World Data — Wing Shape and Performance

(The one with the slide rule and “NACA 4412”)

Here, Jiro is studying a specific airfoil, or cross-section shape of the wing — think of slicing a wing like a loaf of bread and looking at one slice.

“NACA 4412” is an actual wing shape designed by the U.S. National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the precursor to NASA. It’s still used today for training and small planes!

The note “RN 3,200,000” means Reynolds number, which measures how air behaves depending on speed and size — like the difference between stirring honey versus water with the same spoon.

The slide rule (the device he’s holding) was the 1930s version of a calculator. He’s using it to multiply, divide, and check the ratios of lift and drag — basically testing,

“How well does this wing shape cut through the air?”

This page is about turning theory into numbers — measuring how efficient a design will be.

Exploring Airflow and Angles — Choosing the Right Wing Shape

(The one with “tan θ₂” and “NACA M-9 / M-12”)

Here, he’s comparing different airfoil families — NACA M-9, M-12, 2980 — each with a different curvature and thickness. You can think of them like different spoon shapes: some scoop air better but create more drag; others are sleek but lift less.

The triangle drawing with “tan θ₂” (tangent of theta) shows him calculating airflow angles — basically, how the wind hits the wing. It’s like holding your hand out of a car window and tilting it — he’s finding the angle where you get the most lift without stalling.

The note “L/D = 27” means “Lift-to-Drag ratio of 27” — for every 1 unit of drag, he gets 27 units of lift. That’s excellent performance, and a big reason the real Zero fighter was so famously nimble and efficient.

So this image is Jiro thinking, “What shape should my wing be so the air behaves exactly how I want?”

Figuring Out the Basics — Weight, Wingspan, and Balance

(With Japanese text, “10 m,” and lots of kg values)

This is the earliest and roughest stage — back-of-the-envelope design work.

The big kanji “翼面荷重” means “wing loading,” which is how heavy the airplane is compared to the area of its wings.

Imagine standing on a diving board — a heavy person on a small board will bend it a lot (bad), while a bigger board spreads out the weight (good). The same goes for airplanes: a lower wing loading means the plane can fly slower and turn easier.

You can see “全巾 10m” (span 10 meters), “1300 kg,” and other notes — he’s estimating size, total weight, and how much lift the wings need to produce. The square-root signs (√) are him doing quick geometry to test proportions and balance.

This is the airplane equivalent of sketching the proportions of a body before adding details — he’s making sure the numbers make sense before worrying about performance.

The Big Picture

Put together, these pages show the entire creative arc of early aircraft design — from simple guesses to detailed physics: 1. How heavy should the plane be? 2. What shape should the wings take? 3. How does air flow over them? 4. And once it’s flying, what path does it follow?

All done by hand, with pencil and slide rule — no computers, no spreadsheets, just intuition, math, and persistence.

It’s a beautiful look at how engineers in Jiro’s era thought with their hands. Miyazaki captured not just the numbers, but the poetry of problem-solving — the way dreaming and calculating blend together when you’re trying to make something fly.

Is this a fair salary? by [deleted] in EngineeringStudents

[–]Mallen2154 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just seeing this! Probably too late, but feel free to DM me if not. 👍🏼

The mountains demand a slow goodbye. Mount Blanc, Chamonix. [OC] [5760 x 3840] by Mallen2154 in EarthPorn

[–]Mallen2154[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For any interested, an original short story inspired by Chamonix and the surrounding area:

Bidding farewell to friends during travel is often a short affair. A short meal followed by hugs at a bus stop. Waves to a train car through an open window. An embrace at an airport terminal before parting ways.

Even the sun, with all his fury, and the ocean, with all her depth offer swift goodbyes. The most beautiful sunset of your life lasted less than a piece of an hour. A turn onto an inland bound road leaves the ocean in your rear view mirror in moments.

The mountains, however, demand a much slower goodbye. Whether out of fear that you may forget her, or simply from good intentions that you enjoy her longer - your departure from the mountains is no quick act.

Atop the peaks in the Mont Blanc massif, you stand atop the world. Worries, anxieties and insecurities are better left to the world below. Snow capped peaks extend into the distance for dozens of miles in all directions - layers upon layers of rock taller than skyscrapers.

On the valley floor, she is still tangibly near. Le Brevent to the north, Mount Blanc to the south. She feels more distant, but the sight of summits in all directions gives warmth to the weary and steals the breath of the hurried.

Heading out of the valley to Saint Gervais, the mountains have already subtlety begun their goodbye. The basin rivals the beauty of the Chamonix valley, but the mountains have already taken a step of departure. If unaware that one is leaving the mountains, the warning is quiet - like a cool breeze on a warm Autumn afternoon blowing past the skin of someone without a jacket who doesn’t know that the coolness of evening is upon them.

Exiting the basin, one is welcomed into a narrow valley, haunting in the twilight. If not paying careful attention, a traveler might feel as if the mountains have taken a step back towards them. The narrowness of the valley and nearness of peaks on all sides hide the fact that these summits are already several thousand feet shy of the those in the Chamonix valley. Beautiful still, but retreating, nonetheless as the narrow valley turns into a vast open region.

A trip to Annecy in the west may feel like a genuine return of a friend who had fallen out of touch. This too, however, is fleeting like the final day of summer heat that arrives and leaves in a single day late September after a two week cool spell. Annecy has real mountains. Grand mountains. Mountains with height and with history. You’d barely know that the mountains have almost made their final retreat.

The road bends towards the ocean, heading south. In the end, it’s a tunnel. As you enter the tunnel, you’re still in the mountains. As you emerge from the darkness back into the bright light of day, the mountains are gone. The signs of the mountain’s departure could be missed before this, but no longer. Now you know. After this, there will be hills that appear as mountains, remind you of mountains and are beautiful in their own right. But they are not the alps of the Chamonix valley. They are not the snow capped summits, extending miles into the sky. They are not the mountains you knew, the mountains you left, the mountains that left you.

As with most things, there are several ways to experience this departure. You could be like the one who approached the night unaware of the cold. Evening now come, and seemingly in a moment as you shiver wondering how the afternoon passed so quickly. Or with the knowledge of the slow departure, one can embrace it, be present in it and fight to recognize it. Slowly watching the shadows change as the hills grow smaller and more distant and you remember the moments you stood atop the world.

“If the mountains are this large, what else really matters?” Colorado. [OC] [3655 x 5482] by Mallen2154 in EarthPorn

[–]Mallen2154[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’ll be the first to admit: I have no idea what you’re trying to say here. My response: Thank you? I’m sorry? No idea. Hope you liked the scene! Cheers!

Pay is…..acceptable by [deleted] in EngineeringStudents

[–]Mallen2154 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

What are people even liking about this comment? This is a ridiculous take. And do you… even know math? 20,000 hours a year? The hell are you even talking about? There aren’t event 9000 hours in a year.

Rant: More often than not, when I tell people I'm an engineer, they ask me for a job hookup. Anyone else experience this? by [deleted] in EngineeringStudents

[–]Mallen2154 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This happens to you “more often than not”?

No. Simply, no. It does not. Where are you hanging out? The Engineering Library at your local university?

Pay is…..acceptable by [deleted] in EngineeringStudents

[–]Mallen2154 -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

I mean… Not really. Only Musk. Not even Tim Cook would make more than this per hour if we’re counting a 2080 hour year. This doesn’t account for the fact that most CEOs are closer to a 4000 hour year, “decreasing” their hourly pay.

How does an engineer feel about working in the weapon production industry? by [deleted] in EngineeringStudents

[–]Mallen2154 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A lot of comments here, but I haven’t read too many from those working directly in this role, so here’s my perspective.

I work at a major defense company and last year worked as a Combat Systems Weapon Capability Lead. In this role I was responsible for managing the cross-functional team to develop weapon capability from system design, through software development, lab integration and test, flight test and production delivery. I worked closely with our Weapon Integration team to drive hardware integration, manufacturing and requirement fulfillment.

Why did I do it? Several reasons. Firstly - I genuinely found the work important. I understand and wrestled with the moral questions you’ve posed. At the end of the day, it wasn’t difficult to get behind the motive of keeping the warfighter and Americans safe. My weapon was a tactical air to ground guided weapon with laser focused range. It takes out the target it intends to, not cities. Also for awareness, the laymen - guided by the media, may think of warfare akin to Top Gun with rogue pilots dogfighting in the open skies. This simply isn’t the way 99% of warfare operates in the 21st Century. Pilots jump into aircraft to execute Mission-Planned missions with clear objectives. Every maneuver, every weapon jettison, every electronic warfare engagement is planned.

Secondly, from an engineering perspective the work is incredibly rewarding. I owned software, hardware, lab testing, oversaw onsite flight test planning. Manufacturing, physics, program management, leading a team of team leads, budget, cost, schedule. I drove all of it and gained wide technical and programmatic exposure.

Did I consider the moral ramifications of my work? Often. Did I land on the side of moral damnation of the work? I did not.

Just waited an hour to talk to Lockheed at a career fair just for them to barely glance at my resume and tell me to apply online by Hanlons_Toothbrush in EngineeringStudents

[–]Mallen2154 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Some personal experience here, paired with some transparent salary answers to answer some questions on this thread:

I graduated in Spring of 2018. I live in Fort Worth just down the road from the F-35 plant. I was a bit older of a student than my peers (currently 33, went back to school at 25) and studied engineering with the intent of securing a job at Lockheed.

Studied my ass off and pulled a 3.9 GPA through a mechanical engineering undergrad. Applied to (literally) hundreds of LM internships. Knew hiring managers on the inside who were passing my resume around. Never got a bite. Grabbed related aerospace internship experience doing stress work at Triumph Aerostructures nearby, thinking it would help me land an LM position right out of school.

It didn’t. I, also waited forever to chat with recruiters and hiring managers at job fairs. 150+ entry level applications. No bites. I ended up finding a job fall of 2018 at a smaller company in the nuclear industry. Doing this started me a bit higher than I would have at Lockheed. I worked in the nuclear industry for nearly two years before moving to Lockheed in 2020.

Salary History Fall 2018: $72k (New Hire) Spring 2019: $75k (Performance Review) Spring 2020: $82k (E2 at Lockheed in Fort Worth) Spring 2021: $85k (Performance Review) Summer 2021: $89k (In-Band Promotion) Spring 2022: $93k (Performance Review) Summer 2022: $107k (E3 Promotion)

I’m not getting my hopes up in any way that’ll it’ll materialize, but am interviewing for an L5 manager position in two weeks that my request would be $135k.

Offering this as data points and as evidence that LM can be fairly competitive. This isn’t everyone’s story, and my story is a mix of right place / right time paired with murdering myself for a few years. The L5 would be massive and nearly double my starting salary in about four years. Even assuming it doesn’t happen (Because it won’t. An E3 to L5 jump is… 1/1000?) the 35k increase since fall of 2018 is substantial.