Member Since: 14 Jan 2008
Location: Aberdeen
Posts: 2514
Great pictures Derek Its not the height of the fall but the sudden stop at the bottom that hurts!!
6th Nov 2024 10:29 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73075
Difficult to get a bad pic here, even for Mrs DSL.
I am so much in trouble now.
6th Nov 2024 11:17 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73075
PS this train trip. Big of a long haul!
Click image to enlarge
6th Nov 2024 11:55 pm
nigethecat
Member Since: 11 Sep 2016
Location: Marnoch
Posts: 4244
I would ask if you visited all the "Swing States"? but I think the evidence from your visitations has become very clear I want to see the sweets before I get into your windowless van... I'm not stupid!
Corris Grey D4 Commercial SE 2016
Zermatt Sliver 2007 D3 SE manual (gone)
Indus Silver D4 HSE 2015 (gone)
Bonatti Grey D3 HSE 2006 (gone)
White D3 S (LHD) 2007 (gone)
Firenze Red D4 HSE 2014 (gone)
Black RRS 3.6TDV8 2008 (gone)
Rusty Green Defender 110 1997 (gone)
Black FL2 HSE 2013 (gone)
7th Nov 2024 9:50 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73075
U mean the Swung States!!
Every time I see Trump speaking I think of that Trumpy Trout. It’s an image I can’t get out of my head!!
Click image to enlarge
7th Nov 2024 12:38 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73075
And greetings from New Orleans, on National Fried Chuck Day according to the TV. Loooooooooooooong train ride down here, sleeper “roomette” on an Amtrak so can lie out but was glad to be here.
Yesterday was pretty much all day at the Nat WW2 museum, riding the 5 minute ferry across the Mississippi River, and back. Mrs DSL’s a bit disappointed we haven’t seen any gators but there is time yet. Went out for scoff last night, it’s a bit sleazy and didn’t stay out much after dark, deffo our least fave city so far.
Getting rest of to-do stuff done here today as Hurricane (now Tropical Storm) Raphael is due to sling a load of rain our way tomorrow. Plus glad we’re hugging the Mexican border (ish) as from top of New Mexico up is big time snow, up to 42” in places!!
Gratuitous pic of B-17 hanging around.
Click image to enlarge
C-47, not unlike the one we slept to in WA many moons ago. Except this one doesn’t have a kitchen in the back and shower behind the cockpit.
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Finally as a nod to us Brits, though the US did fly spitfires themselves back in the day.
Click image to enlarge
Bit more culture, and tram streetcar riding, today. Which is better than the laundry day we’d planned. That can wait. It might keep the gators away!
Home of RLD Hidden winch mounts Spare wheel Locks Trailer Body Fabrication ray@rld-tech.co.uk D3/4 sump plates MY 14 sump plates and the Discovery Sport wheel protectors Discovery 5 wheel locks
more Helsport tents and other things for camping Law of Mechanical Repair:
"After your hands are coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch and you'll have to pee!"
10th Nov 2024 8:27 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73075
Getting a bit dodgy here, one of these was not far from us. Like a street across and a few up.
Click image to enlarge
I might be able to help NOPD as this veeeeehickle is deffo suspect!
Click image to enlarge
We’re getting a lot of rain at the mo, Rafael is just spinning around in the Gulf ruining the weather here. First officially miserable day of the jolly.
10th Nov 2024 2:13 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73075
And greetings from Houston, in the Great State of Texas. Latter part of that needs to be said in a John Wayne voice. Sun is going down, wine is served and all is well with the world.
Gratuitous sunset pano from a few mins ago.
Click image to enlarge
In the medical area, never seen so many hospitals in one place!
Click image to enlarge
And a few sweet ducks from the ponds in Herrmann Park. Would have been rude not to include them.
Click image to enlarge
Re New Orleans, glad to be out of there. Did not like it one bit, it’s grim with a capital G, R, I and M! Not many places we’d not return to, NO is on #1 that list! Long AMTRAK ride yesterday, was glad to get to our hotel here. Too late for lounge food, instead hit the bar for a light snack and a glass of VC. Note Mrs DSL tucking in without delay, it was a long day and we were hungry!
Click image to enlarge
Hire car is in the hotel’s garage ready to head down to Johnston Space Centre tomorrow, full day of astronautical fun and frolics planned. Mind you, they’ll need to dig out the heavy lift boosters to get me into space! Should be lots of pics of space type things, normal service will be resumed.
12th Nov 2024 11:48 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73075
Looooooooong day today. First proper foray into Houston traffic, first time navigating (well following Suzie SatNag) various Interstates around Houston, making sure we avoid the Toll roads. I haven’t done US big roads since the early naughties, luckily now I have Mrs DSL riding shotgun and making sure I stick to the right side of the road, literally! Rental car is a Chevy Malibu, it has a boot and works CarPlay so happy days.
Today was spent all day at Johnston Space centre so needless to say a few pics. Great pair of T-38s on the way in.
Click image to enlarge
And the 747/Shuttle (latter a mock-up) up front and centre. This is one of 2 747s that did this job, the other one is over in Palmdale CA, and is on the To-Do schedule.
Click image to enlarge
And to the ultimate big boys toy, the good old Saturn V rocket. And this one is the only one that’s flight certified! Bung some LOX in there, point it in the right direction and The Moon here we come. It’s actually bits from Apollos 18, 19 and 20 so never got to fly. It’s truest mahooooooosive and in a big shed. Alongside a few Texas Longhorn cows cattle.
Click image to enlarge
We were there when it was pretty quiet, it can get a bit packed on w/ends in the summer.
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Then back and straight off for the historic Mission Control tour. The actual place where the Apollo missions were ran, incl Apollo 13. All it needed was Gene Kranz in there with his signature waste-coat. We had a chat with one of the Cust Service peeps (weirdly she was from Berwick upon Tweed) and she told us that Kranz still regularly pops in, wearing his waste-coat, to check all was good and do talks & Q&As.
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
As someone who is old enough to remember the moon landings it was like reliving a chunk of history. Re the 66 Sea King, we saw that almost 2 years ago on the USS Hornet on a prev trip, well kind of. It was the one painted up as 66 for the Apollo 13 movie. It got taken out of service shortly after filming so kept the paint scheme.
Click image to enlarge
And now for something completely different, the NASA Neutral Buoyancy Lab. A massive great swimming pool where Astronauts and Ass-Cans (yes, that’s the official title of trainee wanna-be astronauts) do micro-grav training. At the time we were there, 2 Ass-Cans were in there from ESA, one Spanish and a Swiss. Difficult to get pics of as it just looks like a giant hotel pool.
A couple of the present capsules for training. First SpaceX one then the Boeing one, if I got that right.
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
The area of the pool that has a black cover is currently used for a DoD project, much secretness and nothing to do with aliens. Allegedly!
Click image to enlarge
In this pic there are 4 divers and an AC (being kind and not calling him an Ass-Can), just impossible to see.
Click image to enlarge
Easier to see on the screen but didn’t think to take a pic until there was no-one in the shot.
Click image to enlarge
No pics of the only simulator we could try, the restroom sim. Skipped the selfie opertunity!
And to a lab where they do engineering mock ups of stations, vehicles (space and surface), incl the Artemis Gateway station that’s due to be built to orbit the moon in prep for the Mars mission. Subject to Artemis surviving Musk’s scalpel.
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
I’m assuming this is Boeing’s attempt at humour!!
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
And part of a mock-up of the Soyuz vehicle. The top of it is a mock-up but the lower part is an actual Soyuz capsule that went into space and returned. That got added to Apollo 11 capsule in the list of space vehicles touched. And 3 peeps returned to Earth in that!
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Ah, make that the 3rd as there was a Soyuz capsule in the tank & aircraft museum in Warsaw.
Click image to enlarge
And a few last pics. A couple of rovers, the first as seen driven by Matt Damon in The Martion.
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Scary NASA robot. Very Iron Woman.
Click image to enlarge
747/Shuttle combo.
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Lunar rover and the crew capsule from Apollo 17.
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
We were flagging by then, gift shop had closed and explorers were due to be evicted in 10 minutes so we headed for the traffic. Final shot of the SpaceX Falcon rocket thingie as seen from the car on heading off.
Click image to enlarge
Busy day, tomorrow is start of road trip across to LA. With a load of stops on the way.
14th Nov 2024 3:14 am
Gareth Site Moderator
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26772
That is very interesting. We’ve been to Kennedy Space Centre in Florida a few years ago.
14th Nov 2024 7:10 am
Moo D3 Decade
Member Since: 13 Aug 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 14382
I've been to Kennedy Space Centre a few times. I still find it incredible what they did with the space program so quickly after the war. Those astronauts strapping themselves onto those rockets had real guts.New Defender L663 110 SE (known as Noddy!)
Sold Volvo XC90 R-Design (known as Basil)
Sold - D4 HSE (Known as Gerty)
No longer the Old Buses original owner
231,000 miles and counting
05 S manual owned from March 2005
D4 Face lifted
Still original injectors and turbo
V8 Front brakes
BAS Remap, Allisport Intercooler and deCat
EGRs blanked
T-Max split charge
Hanibal Expeedition rack
Prospeed ladder
Duratrac tyres
IID BT
BAS FBH control
14th Nov 2024 10:18 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73075
Also went to Kennedy about 20 years ago, it’s on the to-do-again list with SWMBO. Off to San Antonio today, going to try and take the “normal” road rather than the freeway, but first pop in here https://lonestarflight.org/ as we’re virtually passing it and it’s half price today. Half price = more to spend on merch. Also it’s right next to where astronauts fly their T-38s, they might have laid in an airshow for us.
14th Nov 2024 1:38 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73075
And a “few” pics from the Lone Stat Flight Museum. Absolutely fantastic little aircraft museum, all the exhibits looked like they came out the factory yesterday. And lots of them actually fly!
SWEEEEEEEEET! Bear on a Steerman.
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Gorgeous TA-4J that last flew 3 weeks ago. And is for sale! Sadly they don’t take credit card or cheques but would be handy for this trip.
Click image to enlarge
Also notice tail bit of O-1A Bird Dog. It “served” in the Vietnam/SE Asia war as part of the Raven FACs. Think equiv of Misty FACs over Ho Chi Minh Trail but in little prop planes cf twin seat supersonic F-100Fs. Not sure if mad or brave.
Click image to enlarge
And while talking re SE War, a gorgeous A-1 Sandy. Seen a fair few of these on my travels, mostly in Vietnam and Thailand, but this one was the best looking by a long chalk.
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Some more prop stuff from bye gone days.
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Me flying a fimulator in F-18 mode.
Click image to enlarge
Not sure I’d fit in this sim, a real sim that helped train 500,000 pilots in WW2. Defo sweet looking.
Click image to enlarge
First sighting for me, Predator drone.
Click image to enlarge
And some NASA stuff. Rover as seen yesterday and The Martian, just no holes cut in the roof and Matt Damon falling through to David Bowie.
Click image to enlarge
And yet another very strange NASA robot. Very strange indeed!
Click image to enlarge
And the Vomit Comet 707 zero G a/c outside. Notice blue skies. Good for watching 2 x F-16s playing over the Ellington field.
Click image to enlarge
But the cherry on the cake, the B-25 Mitchell in Doolittle colours that regularly flies. This B-25 flew last year to Palmdale for the first flight of the new B-21 Raider. We’ll be near Palmdale plant in a week or so, who do I email to arrange a B-21 fly past?
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Lovely to see all the drip trays under most of the a/c, that means real engines and could be airworthy.
Click image to enlarge
And the cream on the cherry on the cake? We were chatting with one of the volunteers, chewing the fat re aircraft, and he invited us up into the Mitchell. FANTASTIC!
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
And that’s all folks from today, the rest of the day was battling freeway traffic on I45 & I10. Scary stuff at times.
15th Nov 2024 2:14 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73075
Enjoying a nice cup of coffee with deffo the best view EVER! But my interests make me biased.
Click image to enlarge
And it’s yet another BOOOOOOOOOTIFUL day. A teaser pic.
Click image to enlarge
And we thank the USAF for the air show. F-16s, A-10s and Pave Hawks. All while enjoying a cuppa.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
