ap0r's recent activity

  1. Comment on Booting from a vinyl record in ~comp

    ap0r
    Link Parent
    Thanks! I was able to watch the video. Still unable to access the website to learn how the infernal noise was made.

    Thanks! I was able to watch the video. Still unable to access the website to learn how the infernal noise was made.

    2 votes

  2. Comment on Booting from a vinyl record in ~comp

    ap0r
    Link
    It seems to be down right now :(

    It seems to be down right now :(

    1 vote

  3. Comment on The hidden engineering of runways in ~engineering

    ap0r
    Link
    There is so much engineering that goes into airports in general as well. To add to the video's material: All the navigation aid antennas and lighting poles near runways have to be frangible; i.e....

    There is so much engineering that goes into airports in general as well. To add to the video's material:

    1. All the navigation aid antennas and lighting poles near runways have to be frangible; i.e. fail in a controlled manner when crashed into to minimize damage to aircraft.

    2. A flat apron (the parking space for aircraft and where cargo and passengers are loaded and unloaded) is great for easy maneuvering and towing. However, it will flood easily in rain, so a graded apron is better. But the grading must be carefully designed, else under icing conditions planes, tow trucks, and even people may slide downhill or be hard to control. There are specs for grading airport aprons.

    3. To minimize the traffic of fuel trucks, many airports have a system akin to fire hydrants to deliver fuel under pressure directly to parking spots. One end of a hose to the airplane, the other end to the "fuel hydrant". To further take advantage of this system, many modern aircraft are designed with a single refueling point and a selector panel that ground crews can operate to fill separate tanks as needed instead of filling individual tanks on each aircraft, which requires hose repositioning.

    4. Airports can be surprisingly complicated to navigate on the ground, as there are many taxiways. Especially during the night or in bad weather, people have gotten themselves lost (or even used the wrong runway, which tragically resulted in fatalities). On many airports, you can request a "follow me" car, which does exactly that. A person familiar with the airport will drive to you, and guide you to a parking spot or runway.

    5. The iconic control tower look is there for a reason; the glass angle minimizes blinding sun reflections to aircraft approaching runways, and minimizes internal reflections for controllers.

    6. All airports will have a light gun to issue signals to non-radio equipped aircraft. Yes, flying without a radio is still legal in 2026. No, it is not a good idea to use busy airspace in a non-radio-equipped aircraft.

    7. Runway numbers and letters are not random; they are based on the runway's orientation. Instead of typing another paragraph, here is a video on the topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSRmfNDk87s

    5 votes

  4. Comment on What private companies are you happy doing business with? in ~talk

    ap0r
    Link Parent
    Of course the recipes are there to influence people to consume more baked products, ideally from that brand. What Slade meant (correct me if I am wrong, please) is that there is a difference...

    Of course the recipes are there to influence people to consume more baked products, ideally from that brand. What Slade meant (correct me if I am wrong, please) is that there is a difference between providing helpful information that may lead to a sale and disguising pure advertising as information.

    In other words, if I am a toolmaker and I publish a web compendium of useful niche tools, some of which I don't even make, this would be a boon to tool users, whereas if I published a web compendium of how to use my screwdrivers as ice picks, back scratchers, and tiny spears, I am fully focused on increasing my sales rather than providing true value to my customers.

    3 votes