Monday, July 22, 2024

FIREWEED AND FRIENDS!

 


FIREWEED AND FRIENDS!




The Fireweed plant grows in much of the North American

 Continent. It is often the first plant to appear in burned-

over areas, but also grows in meadows and fields. It is

 characterized by its bright pink flowers.

The plant is very popular with Bees and Butterflies, and

 the flowers make great honey.

In our featured video you can get a brief look at how


 Butterflies and Bees interact with the Fireweed!


Copy and paste the link into your browser.


https://www.brighteon.com/c08c361d-06ac-4ab8-b52d-9053eb759f9b



Posted by the Blogger


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Wednesday, July 3, 2024

LIARS and CENSORS!

  

Liars and Censors!


Trails in the Sky!

There is nothing that is more irritating to people who are interested in facts and truthful observations, than to see legitimate concerns and opinions marginalized and censored.

We live in a "Make-believe" world that is full of all kinds of agendas and make-believe stories. It is getting worse and worse by the day. If the people that think they RUN our world REALLY believe in "diversity," and really believe in "contrary opinions" and really belive in "free expressions," then they do not need to marginalize anything, nor do they need to censor anything.

The way to resolve things is through honest discussions. While many of us welcome that, there are people in power who want total control of the narrative, no matter whether it is correct or not.

What is embarrassing to the "powers that be," is that sooner or later the truth comes out. Look at the embarrassing way in which Joe Biden, our puppet president in the US, has conducted himself over the course of his "term." The MSM (mainstream media) has covered for him every time he makes a goof. Now after a "debate" with Candidate Donald Trump, the World was horrified to see what bumbling idiot the man is. No need to "cover it up" anymore.

I maintain a video position on You Tube. I also maintain one on Brighteon Social, and I may add others over time. The purpose is diversification, to guard against censorship and/or loss. I used to post videos on GAB too, but they shut down their TV for "economic" reasons. It was a shame, because I had a decent audience there!

Recently, I produced a Production Video called CHEM TRAILS. It showed the government practice of spraying around the world in very graphic scenes. YouTube immediately put a disclaimer ABOVE my explantion, making fun of my confusing CHEM TRAILS with CONTRAILS! They are not the same! Today, as I went to YouTube to get the URL for a post, I discovered the Video is GONE, HIDDEN, they say! It is still up on Brighteon! You can copy and paste and see CHEM TRAILS here:

https://www.brighteon.com/cd3b11fb-7a2d-4ff0-aa83-29d640745cbc

After my experience with CHEM TRAILS on YouTube, I decided to use different terms! I called the next video THE SPRAYERS and never mentioned "chemtrails" in the narrative. It was NOT tagged or removed! You can find that video on YouTube and Brighteon. Here is the Brighteon link:

https://www.brighteon.com/689d83c4-69fe-4516-bf5d-cc110fc2449f

These are valuable videos that make a correct statement and deserve to be widely diseminated! 

Remember that there is a lot of deliberate misinformation out there. That is done to give the impression that contrary opinions are just Photoshopped junk not fit to be seen and thereby are  discredited. Also beware of what you see. Best to verify if you can. There is a lot of AI stuff out there. I am not a fan of that personally, and do not use AI at all. I may never use it. I do not like to use the word "never" in this context. We will have to see how AI evolves!

All Original content written and produced by the Blogger
Harald Hesstvedt Scharnhorst

(I post videos to YouTube as HAL SCHARN CHANNEL
and
on Brighteon as Harald Scharnhorst Videos.
I also post to Facebook and GAB under the same name.

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Saturday, May 25, 2024

HARD LANDING AT SPOKANE!

 

HARD LANDING AT SPOKANE!


HARD LANDING AT SPOKANE!


(Note: This video has now been viewed over 1,000 times on YouTube....)




                          Please copy and paste into your browser the following link:

           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcgSiwc7d8s


Last year when I returned from an extended trip overseas, I was treated 

to a shockingly HARD landing at Spokane. Airlines always 

encourage passengers to give feedback on their “flight experience.” I normally 

never do as a matter of policy. But this one concerned me, so I sent 

the following polite reply. Need I say that no one reached out to me??! 

I chalked it up to more “corporate stupidity!” 

Corporate crap? Yes. But not stupidity. I was partly wrong.


                QUOTE: Your on board staff and your gate agents do a masterful job.

                  I won't have anything but good things to say about their efforts.

Your pilots have a tough job. As a former General Aviation Pilot, I can tell 

you that the landing at Spokane was NOT professional, in fact was so 

hard as to cause passengers to gasp. It cannot be good for the landing gear. 

I took a landing video, by the way, and it shows the hard landing. It will be

 available on line when I have finished loading all my other travel 

videos. My polite suggestion is that your cockpit crews need more 

practice in how to make smoother landings..… END-QUOTE.


It turns out my “understanding” lacks one important point. Because 

passenger aircraft CRUISE at altitudes between 35,000 to 40,000 feet 

and the outside temperatures there are between MINUS 60 and 

MINUS 70 degrees for LONG periods of time, and the temperature 

INSIDE is PLUS 60 or better AND because cabins are pressurized at 

near 5,000 feet, there is a lot of stress applied to the air-frame and 

components. Wheels and parts don’t come off by themselves!!


I mentioned the landing to an A and P mechanic (Air-frame and Power-plant,

 to you non-pilots!) recently, and he gave me an interesting 

explanation. In general aviation, we practice SMOOTH landings, 

because they are easy on landing gears and the air-frame. 

Apparently, with aircraft getting larger and larger and having more 

and more large landing gears, the cold temperatures for long time 

periods literally FREEZES the gear and associated fluid driven 

hoses to an extent not normally encountered at lower altitudes. 

Because large aircraft do not have time to begin THAWING until 

closer to 10,000 feet altitude, an effort is made to PLUNK 

the craft on the ground. The mechanic told 

me that a SMOOTH landing can drag the wheels along the ground 

long enough to TURN THEM BALD, destroying $10,000 dollars 

worth of tires in almost an instant. He said he had seen this with his 

own eyes through his own experience.


This was all new to me, as I have noticed a tendency for airliners to 

make fairly abrupt landings. There is a trade-off here and I doubt it is 

good for the aircraft. In any case, the landing at Spokane was 

anything but average. In this eight minute video, you can see the 

greater Spokane area from the air, as the pilot turns and configures 

the aircraft for landing. Because of the sun’s angle, we chase our 

SHADOW all the way to the ground!


Here is the You Tube Link you can copy and paste:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcgSiwc7d8s


Enjoy our show!


                                  POSTED BY THE BLOGGER


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Tuesday, April 23, 2024

AVIATION MISTAKES!

 

AVIATION MISTAKES!


 So, you like to fly!


Man has always liked the idea of flight. After all, birds make flight

 seem so “effortless!”





But it was not til the late 1800’s and into early 1900, that flying

 became a reality. The technical information that needed to be

 gathered and learned in order for “machines” to fly was huge.

 There were many mistakes made, and corrections also had to be

 made. There were also people killed trying to do what is not

 natural for humans! Some mistakes and lessons are not

 survivable!


My father flew one of the first Bi-Wing planes that was sold in

 Norway. He used the plane along with a friend as a quicker way to

 travel to Germany from Norway for his ladies-wear

 manufacturing business in Oslo.




When I returned home from my stint in the US Army, I followed

 suit, and purchased a Cessna 150 in which I learned to fly, first as

 a Private Pilot, and later receiving my Commercial Certificate for

 Single Engine Land aircraft.




Recently, I happened to see an hour-long documentary on You

 Tube regarding the DC-10. It was the first of several craft that

 were large in stature and were to change aviation, drastically. But,

 there was competition between Mc Donnell Douglas, Boeing and

 one other company. Each had a large plane under development

 and they were all in a hurry to get THEIR product to market

 FIRST!


The DC-10 made it and was first. The major airlines could not wait

 to buy and place DC-10’s into service. In the process of quick

 development, there were shortcuts made, some were minor and

 others became catastrophic in nature. Sound familiar?


The DC-10 had a cargo door that was manufactured “backwards.”

 It opened OUT instead of IN, which most doors on pressurized

 aircraft do. In one spectacular accident, the Cargo Door blew

 OUT, causing fast decompression. The floor separating the

 passenger compartment from the cargo area also blew out and 

the control cables between the cockpit and the elevators on the 

tail were severed. The plane became uncontrollable, but 

because there was plenty of altitude, the captain was able to use 

the engines to steer the plane and made a spectacular landing 

back at the originating airport of Detroit. The NTSB, which

 investigated the matter, discovered the problem, and made

 recommendations regarding how to fix this permanently. 

The trouble is the NTSB has no enforcement ability. 

The FAA, which is charged with airplane safety did nothing. 

As a result, NOTHING WAS DONE.

 This is how government works!


A couple years later, the same thing happened again, this time in

 Paris, France. But the results then were different. The plane had

 the SAME PROBLEM, but the accident happened at a much

 lower altitude and the captain was unable to level the plane in 

time and all passengers and crew aboard died. Investigation

 showed the SAME PROBLEM as on the earlier flight. 

This turned out to be the most deadly aviation disaster up to 

that time.


The result was also deadly for Mc Donnell Douglass. There was a

 blizzard of lawsuits filed and the company ended up paying out

 millions in compensation. What damned the aircraft

 manufacturer, was the “smoking gun,” a memo from one

 company official mentioning that the current design would

 eventually result in a catastrophic failure! It was buried! Th

e result was that Mc Donnell Douglass went broke and the 

company was sold to Boeing! How well I remember that story!


This is what happens when short-cuts are made, corporate greed

 runs amok, and good old common sense goes out the window!


Fast forward to today. So far, Boeing has had two catastrophic

 failures on door-plugs on its recent planes which resulted in the

 planes being grounded! Apparently, Boeing, in its quest for the

 dollar on the bottom line, is not as particular about safety as they

 seem, either! No only that, they HAVE LEARNED NOTHING

 FROM THE PROBLEMS ON THE DC-10!! I know people who

 have worked for and retired from Boeing, and their comments are

 not always reassuring…….


It is not just aircraft manufacturers that are a problem. The same

 thing is found in automobile and medical fields. Stuff is being

 hurriedly pushed and sold without all the safety checks in place.

 Remember the “warp-speed” racket with the COVID “vaccine?”

 As before, nothing happens till disaster strikes again and enough

 publicity is generated to FORCE REASON TO PREVAIL!


It is always like that. WHEN YOU LEAVE YOUR WELFARE TO

 OTHERS, YOU TAKE YOUR LIFE IN YOUR OWN HANDS…..


Written  by

Harald Hesstvedt Scharnhorst


Photographs as credited. Photo of Bi-Wing Airplane taken by

an unknown photographer.



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Tuesday, January 30, 2024

BARNSTORMING!

 

BARNSTORMING!


My Travel Buddy!

After I returned home from my stint in the US ARMY, I started

 taking flying lessons, working towards a Commercial License. I

 bought a Cessna 150 and took instruction in it. One spring, I flew

 from San Diego County, California to Grants Pass, Oregon, on a

 mission for my father. I did not accomplish what was hoped for,

 but I did resolve matters. I first debated driving the distance of

 about 800 miles of mostly boring, familiar freeway. I did not relish

 that. Since the weather was perfect for the trip except for Coastal

 Low Clouds and Fog, I elected to FLY. It was a trip with some

great experiences and I made some surprising new friends.


My Pilot Log Book shows I landed at Fresno Air Terminal on the

 first leg of the flight. Since I carried four hours of fuel on board,

 Fresno was a logical choice. However, the distance between

 airports remaining from there, meant two SHORT hops and one

 longer one was needed. I opted for Modesto for the next stop, and

 from there to Siskiyou Airport near the Oregon Border.


A Northern California Community with its Airport.


 Now Siskiyou Airport is a County field, but it was a “joint-use

 facility” with the US Air Force back then. So, I ended up dealing

 with an Air Force Controller. The Airport was used for all kinds of

 flight operations in a remote area for AF pilots who got their

 required monthly flying time in there.


As I crested the pass between Mt. Shasta and the Trinity Alps,

 visibility was more than 50 miles. The airport was easy to find, 

but the air turned very bumpy beyond the crest, and I was held 

busy keeping the airplane flying straight and level. 

I tuned in the  tower

 frequency to see what was happening there and soon learned the

 winds were straight down the runway from the south at 25 knots!

 In other words, it was WINDY. They had one of those large B52

 type aircraft in the pattern doing touch-and-goes. I was evaluating

 what my options were. Large aircraft are a danger to all planes

 because of wing-vortex winds known as “wake turbulence.” The

 tanker was doing a left hand pattern which kept him to the east of

 the field. He lifted off fairly early for a heavy plane and then

 circled back for another approach. It was obvious I could AVOID

 the whole turbulence issue by flying a straight-in approach with a

 hefty tailwind. The winds worked to my advantage by keeping the

 “wakes” moving to the north! My skill level at the time easily

 allowed for this option. I had not yet received my Commercial

 License but was within a dozen hours of qualifying. I radioed the

 tower to advise them of my position and aircraft type. I was

 pushing a ground speed at the time of 130, selling off my altitude

 in the rough air. I requested a straight-in approach, mentioning

 my concern about wake turbulence and that I was willing to

coordinate approach times. I was cleared to land (...“wheels down

 and locked!” the controller said! Cessna 150’s do not have a

 retractable gear! That was apparently standard AF procedure.)

The big boy extended his down-wind a bit and I had clear sailing.

 Getting the craft slowed down took some doing, and eventually I

 added 20 degrees of flaps for the landing. It was too bumpy for 

full flaps but it turned into a smooth operation with the big boy

 landing minutes later in the OPPOSITE direction as planned. I

 gassed my plane, rested a bit before tackling the remaining 

hour to Grants Pass. When I spotted the big fellow off the ground I

 requested to taxi to the midpoint of the runway, and I would take

 off from there. Normally one does not do that, but the deciding

 factor in my decision was the strong southerly wind and the

 guarantee of no “wake.” I was cleared for a midpoint takeoff, did

 so, and was airborne in seconds. I requested a right-turn climbing

 departure, received it, and wished them all a good day.


Thompson Creek Airstrip. Can you spot the grass runway??!



At Grants Pass, I gassed again, and inquired about using 

the Thompson Creek Airstrip, which was my eventual 

destination. The neat grass strip is no longer used. It was a 

one-way field at the time and could be tricky! It was just 

a few feet from where we lived when I entered the military, 

so this was a great piece of luck for me in completing 

my reason for going.


Today, several ranches in the area keep their own planes and 

active runways in more suitable locations nearby. I looked 

the place over before deciding my approach. Once I was 

sure I could land, I returned to Grants Pass to top off my 

fuel for the eventual trip south. I also talked to pilots familiar 

with the strip for any additional tips.



Left-hand landing pattern with arrow showing the grass runway.



Since I had never landed at Thompson Creek Airstrip before, 

opted NOT to land up-canyon with the unfamiliar terrain and

 tail-wind. The windsock indicated up-canyon winds from the N/W,

 so down-slope was the logical approach! A good rule here was

 early morning operation, landing uphill and only takeoff to the

 north. Taking off to the south was always a no-go because of the

 high hills and mountains in the way. If you cannot out-fly the

 terrain, it can be a deadly gamble. I landed in the afternoon, so

 uphill landing was iffy. There could be no go-around. Our photos

 tell the story of how my flight operation was conducted here, and

 shows the landing using a left-hand traffic pattern. Basically, I

 followed the terrain, cleared the trees and dropped down onto the

 grass.


As I rolled to a stop to secure my plane, a house across 

Thompson Creek emptied of people, Two adults and a mess 

of kids came running across the creek see who this 

“barnstormer” was! The kids wanted to see the cockpit with all 

its instruments, sit in the cockpit and so on. They were a very 

nice family. I told them my mission and next thing I knew, I was

 invited for dinner! I had planned to camp under the plane 

in my sleeping bag, but they would not hear of it, and so I 

spent the night in their warm house instead! What a neat 

visit it was. Trying to get the kids to go to bed was a challenge 

for the adults. Just too much excitement and too many 

stories to tell!


The next morning I gave a ride as a reward. I made a solo take-off

 first, to familiarize myself with the grass strip. Then I took the

 father in the family up. He had never seen the place from this

 perspective and he was thrilled. Carrying extra weight meant a

 longer take-off run to clear the trees at the end of the runway.

 When our visit concluded, I said my goodbyes and prepared to

 start the engine again.


A Random photograph of the Oregon Cascades!


It would not start!


Oh, the starter turned all-right, but the starter clutch would not

 engage the propeller! I could not find anything wrong in the

 engine. There were no oil leaks or any obvious signs of troubles!

 So I went back to the tried-and-true method of HAND-

PROPPING the engine. I set the brakes, cracked the throttle a bit

 and hand-pulled the prop through its cycle. First time it did not

 catch. The second time was full contact. I jumped in the plane to

 manage the engine. I waved goodbye to my hosts and taxied 

to the end of the runway. All along, I checked to make sure 

I did not have any other issues. Engine run-up was normal, 

the magnetos checked out and there was no carburetor 

icing. The takeoff was normal, I cleared the trees and when safe to

 do so, I made a 360 degree turn, climbed above the scattered low

 clouds and the Greyback Mountains and began my trip south! 

The way it turned out, I had to prop the airplane on each landing

 til I got home so my mechanic could deal with the problem. It 

was a minor clutch issue, as it turned out.



Clearing the Low Clouds and clearing the Greybacks!


I left Thompson Creek as early as the low clouds would permit.

 Once airborne, I filed my VFR flight plan with the local Flight

 Service for my first destination, Ukiah, California. The route of

 flight took me over the Trinity Alps, one of the most remote areas

 in the USA. The pictures show the sights. It was very much a

 “Lone Ranger” type of flight. No-one around for miles…..

 Eventually the harsh mountain landscape became more rolling. I

 passed the Yolla Bolla Wilderness (yes, that is what it is called!)

 and settled into a seeing a softer landscape. The morning low

 clouds had dissipated. The flight took a little more than two-and-

one-half hours of smooth sailing.


The Greybacks looking South to the Coastal Fog and Low Clouds!



Ukiah, California is in the wine country of Mendocino and is a

 TYPICAL California scene with Oak trees, Madrone Trees

 (unique to the area) and chaparral hillsides. The airport was an

 easy find, I refueled and spent some time relaxing. I was not in a

 hurry and kept myself well-watered and fed! I propped the plane

 again!



Marble Mountain Wilderness in the Trinty Alps!


An Alpine Lake in the Trinity Alps!


The next planned stop was Paso Robles, a scenic town on the

 Central California Coast south of San Francisco. Crossing the

 Golden Gate was a sight. Not many get to fly over the bridge that

 close to the water. But I stayed clear of the San Francisco Airport

 traffic pattern and headed south along the coast to Big Sur. I

 avoided the military restricted area as I moved south. Eventually

 Paso Robles came into sight almost three hours later. It was now

 late afternoon. I made this a serious rest-stop, planning to fly

 direct to my home base at Fallbrook. The timing meant I would be

 landing after dusk and I planned for an alternate airport in the

 event Fallbrook was not usable due to landing lights not working

 or due to fog and low clouds. I propped the plane for the last 

time!


 The trip south from Paso Robles was nice. The late afternoon sun

 gave a certain glow to the hillsides of the Los Padres National

 Forest. Once while I was looking around for other aircraft, I was

 surprised to see one pass a few hundred feet below me headed 

in southwest direction! It woke me up to the fact that even 

in visual flying, one cannot be careful enough. Mid-air 

collisions are rare, but can happen if two pilots do not see each

 other! I did not want to be “the rare one!”


Dusk fell, and night along with it. Once I cleared the crest of the

 mountains, the entire Los Angeles Basin lay before me with

 millions of lights! It was breathtaking. I flew at about 10,000 feet

 over LAX, and could see the planes landing and taking off below.

 Eventually, I cleared the basin as well as Orange County to the

 south.


At last it was time for the decent to my home airport at Fallbrook. 

I sold off the altitude with nose down, increased speed and less

 power and lost all the lights of the city as they passed behind 

me. My concern now was the coastal low clouds. They had 

already formed along the water, but had not seriously invaded

 inland. Below two thousand feet, the smell of moisture 

penetrated the cabin, and I looked for the landing lights marking

 the short 2000 foot runway. My eyes slowly became accustomed 

to the darkness. Since I was very familiar with the area, I found 

the lights fairly easy and focused on them. I was high, so I 

added 40 degrees of flaps and idled the engine.

The landing approach was very normal, my landing lights lit up 

the runway, I touched down beyond the threshold and rolled 

to a short stop. I taxied to the turnoff then taxied further to my

 hanger to secure the airplane.


I was home again, the adventure was over!


Written and photographed by 

Harald Hesstvedt Scharnhorst



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