Florence WebCam

Ol' Glory will weather the storm. She might take a lickin, but she will not fall!
 
Watching the storm for sure. Planning on doing relief flying once it's safe to do so.
 
Good day to be watching a web cam,rather than flying in the area
 
Watching the storm for sure. Planning on doing relief flying once it's safe to do so.

Good on you! I helped last year for cajun airlift. I happened to make the news too and wouldn't you know it the crap I caught. People I work with say it was wasteful for us to fly stuff down when they can cram way more stuff in a truck and take it down. And yeah these are all prior military pilots that said that to me. Whatever, I told them Im flying anyway so might as well do some help. Haters! Ill help this time too if I can!
 
Good on you! I helped last year for cajun airlift. I happened to make the news too and wouldn't you know it the crap I caught. People I work with say it was wasteful for us to fly stuff down when they can cram way more stuff in a truck and take it down. And yeah these are all prior military pilots that said that to me. Whatever, I told them Im flying anyway so might as well do some help. Haters! Ill help this time too if I can!

After doing non-profit flying for more than 10 years, I have found that anytime you do good, someone will tell you why you shouldn't and it's just wasteful. I've learned to ignore those people.

My philosophy is if you're doing good, then you're doing good, whatever that good may be. Sure I have causes I like better than others, we all do, but I'm just happy to see people doing and/or supporting a cause they believe in.
 
GOODd GOD...This storm is TEARING our country apart!...looks like a great day to go sailing...

Screen Shot 2018-09-13 at 2.58.02 PM.png
 
Great time to practice crosswind landings
ha! I believe they use an R44 to ferry people the 34 miles there and back. I know I'm paranoid over water, but 34nm over water in an R44?! Damn. I trust our piston engines.. but I'd be happy when that flight is over!

looks like a great day to go sailing
Yeah, I wish they had an anemometer showing the speed on the screen. Hard to tell from the camera and the waves, but I would say that's anywhere from 50 to 75 knots.. That poor flag was in one piece this morning!
 
Well, at least the breeze will keep the mosquitoes away.... for the moment.
 
ha! I believe they use an R44 to ferry people the 34 miles there and back. I know I'm paranoid over water, but 34nm over water in an R44?! Damn. I trust our piston engines.. but I'd be happy when that flight is over!

Hahahahahaha

My first overwater flight in a piston was like 400 nm overwater.
 
So I try to compare the wind speeds reported on the news with what is reported at various airports, normally I use sky vector. The airports always seem to be significantly less. Is the measurement taken at a different altitude or do winds vary that much by just a mile or so. Just curious what POA thinks?
 
@NoBShere I have noticed the exact same thing, and I chalk it up to the news doing everything they can to make it as sensational as possible.. 45 with gusts to 60..? Round it up and say "wind reported approaching 70 miles an hour!!"
 
nice and calm this morning. And the flag healed.
 
nice and calm this morning. And the flag healed.
I noticed that too.. did they have someone ride the storm out out there? The eye was just moving through Wilmington / Cape Fear area so I doubt they powered up the Raven just to put a new flag on.
 
Let's see. 60 knots, um... that would be, um... 69 miles per hour... Approaching 70? Sounds right to me.
Fair enough, but that's during a gust, sustained will be lower and I think it's undeniable that in general they like to sensationalize as much as possible
 
I was wondering. Wasn't sure where the platform was actually located, but doubted it was that peaceful this morning.
0J4yhWS.png
 
@NoBShere I have noticed the exact same thing, and I chalk it up to the news doing everything they can to make it as sensational as possible.. 45 with gusts to 60..? Round it up and say "wind reported approaching 70 miles an hour!!"

I was afraid that would be the thought but, hoping there was something I was missing...
 
How far from land? And yeah, I think I will pass on that kind of trip

I thought about this some more and realized that I misspoke. My first overwater flight was crossing Lake Erie, going from Erie, PA to Grand Rapids, MI. The low en route charts have changed, I think that a Canadian VOR got decommissioned, but it looks like it was about a 75-80 nm over water stretch, and probably never more than about 30 nm from land at the furthest. This was in an Archer. I did that crossing several times.

In that same Archer I crossed Lake Michigan, around a 50 nm crossing, so never more than about 25 nm from land. Did that a few times. @EdFred does it regularly in his Comanche.

Next overwater conquest (in the Aztec, not a Conquest) was V139, "The Shark Route" which goes from SIE to HTO off the coast of NJ/NY. There you're a hair under 40 nm from land at the first part, just far enough that you can't see the coast at lower altitudes you fly in non-pressurized piston birds.

Next trips were Key West to Cozumel and Cozumel to New Orleans. Key West to Cozumel you're only about 50 or 60 nm from land at the furthest point, but keep in mind that point is Cuba for most of the trip. Sub ideal landing spot if you have to, although I've heard they actually handle it well so long as you have a real emergency and are polite. I've even done this trip in the 310 after it got new engines... they only had 10 hours on them as I was switched over to Havana center.

Cozumel to New Orleans, that's a real no-games overwater flight. About 600 nm and you're around 250 nm from land at the furthest spot. There are oil rigs around but I always had a hard time spotting them.

Going from Houston down to Costa Rica in the MU-2 (via Belize) was a hair longer overwater... maybe 275-300 nm from land at the furthest point, of course that was higher up in the flight levels in a much more capable aircraft than the Aztec. Going back home from Costa Rica to Key West is actually less over water, the longest segment is around 380 nm, so figure only around 190 away from land at the furthest point. Somewhere under 200.

Everyone's afraid of an engine failure overwater and ending up in the ocean. Reality is your exposure is typically pretty low, and on most routes they're pretty well traveled. I'll take the risks associated with overwater flight any day over the risks that go with flying over mountains. And by the way, I do both, including flying over mountains at night. Now granted flying a twin, especially a turboprop twin, that risk profile is different than in a piston single. I wouldn't want to make the long overwater trips in a single of any sort. But for those shorter ones? No problem. I wouldn't worry one bit about doing that in the Robinson, either.

Besides. Start at 1:00

 
I was afraid that would be the thought but, hoping there was something I was missing...
Saw this earlier on someone's Facebook and it reminded me of this thread

Cozumel to New Orleans, that's a real no-games overwater flight. About 600 nm and you're around 250 nm from land at the furthest spot.
Thanks Ted for the cool stories and extra details. there was a thread somewhere, I'm not sure if it was on this site or somewhere else, about the Gulf of Mexico, and there was a guyther posted posted a picture of his panel in the Mooney in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico.. no thank you!

Reality is your exposure is typically pretty low, and on most routes they're pretty well traveled. I'll take the risks associated with overwater flight any day over the risks that go with flying over mountains.
This is true, while engine failures do happen, they tend to be extremely uncommon and generally, for the most part, the results of something dumb like fuel starvation.. still, does make you a little uneasy. it might be because I'm flying a plane now with a parachute, but I'll take the mountains over the water. At least it you can survive the landing and hopefully find shelter until the elt goes off there you are found.. plus, wreckage on land with a big parachute will be fairly easy to spot, I guess unless it is getting snowed on
 
Meanwhile... Allegiant went right over the top of it
Granted, I know that in the flight levels hurricanes tend to be non events, and even IN the hurricane all the air is moving in the same direction, but, you are sort of trapped up there on top of it.. love that all the other flights went way around it inland

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAY2237
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Thanks Ted for the cool stories and extra details. there was a thread somewhere, I'm not sure if it was on this site or somewhere else, about the Gulf of Mexico, and there was a guyther posted posted a picture of his panel in the Mooney in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico.. no thank you!
on

Here you go - from my Costa Rica trip.

Note that after about 200 nm the 530 shows no airports as nearest. I found that interesting.

126364DB-0E7E-4D83-828C-49FB40DE033A.jpeg 291A5354-E71A-46CD-AB73-5B57AE67B57A.jpeg 9F31E302-0C24-4B81-A29D-93427B26B973.jpeg
 
Are you the reporter in foul weather gear that can barely stand? Or are one of the 2 dudes wearing shorts in the background casually strolling across the street?

 
Are you the reporter in foul weather gear that can barely stand? Or are one of the 2 dudes wearing shorts in the background casually strolling across the street?

"UPDATE: Sept. 14, 2018, 3:36 p.m. PDT The Weather Channel issued the following statement to BuzzFeed: “It’s important to note that the two individuals in the background are walking on concrete, and Mike Seidel is trying to maintain his footing on wet grass, after reporting on-air until 1:00 a.m. ET this morning and is undoubtedly exhausted.”
 
It's important to note that the reporter for The Weather Channel probably picked a funnel spot where he could show winds to be dramatically stronger than they actually were. You can clearly see that the reason the guys in the background aren't struggling is that the wind where they are isn't blowing that hard. Gusts to 48 are pushy, but when not gusting, it's pretty easy to walk straight.
 
"UPDATE: Sept. 14, 2018, 3:36 p.m. PDT The Weather Channel issued the following statement to BuzzFeed: “It’s important to note that the two individuals in the background are walking on concrete, and Mike Seidel is trying to maintain his footing on wet grass, after reporting on-air until 1:00 a.m. ET this morning and is undoubtedly exhausted.”
I suppose it's not as egregious as this classic:
staged.jpg


 
You’d think that these storms are sensational enough on their own merits without reporters creating exaggerated circumstances to make them look worse. But it seems to be the norm these days.
 
GOODd GOD...This storm is TEARING our country apart!...looks like a great day to go sailing...

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The flag code says that you don't fly the flag in storms and otherwise let it get trashed. This is incredibly disrespectful to the men and women who have died to defend it.
 
The flag code says that you don't fly the flag in storms and otherwise let it get trashed. This is incredibly disrespectful to the men and women who have died to defend it.

Actually that is not entirely correct per the US Flag Code assuming an "all weather flag" was used:

§174. Time and occasions for display
  • (c) Inclement weather
    The flag should not be displayed on days when the weather is inclement, except when an all weather flag is displayed.
Now, it will be retired and new one has already been donated:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/09/1...st-to-be-replaced-with-donated-old-glory.html
 
The flag code says that you don't fly the flag in storms and otherwise let it get trashed. This is incredibly disrespectful to the men and women who have died to defend it.

They'll get over it. They did not die to defend a piece of multicolored cloth. They died for a democratically elected republic that espouses the virtue of the individual freedom. Sadly, a torn up flag in a hurricane is absolutely last in the list of things that are disrespecting what those folks died for.
 
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