My friend Vincent Wolanin of PrivateSky Aviation sent this very cool video of a shuttle landing shot from the cockpit view.

The video attached to this file is an impressive cockpit view of the landing of a space shuttle at Edwards AFB, California to Runway 22 (southwest direction).  The view is through the cockpit window with a HUD  (Head Up Display) superimposed in front of the window.  The HUD makes it  possible for the astronaut to look out of the space shuttle yet have the  relevant information to fly and land in the space shuttle – altitude, speed, on course or not, wings level, etc. (no need to glance down at his instruments).

  The video opens with the space shuttle flying in an easterly direction in
  preparation to land.  There is some light conversation among the crew    
  about a cloud cover – an undercast.  You will see the undercast (clouds)  
  at the bottom of the picture with the atmosphere giving off a faint color
  differentiation and then the darkening shades of blue to dark space.      
  One crewmember is backing up the flying astronaut by reminding him of the  next events – important because there is little to no room for error as  
  the space shuttle is one giant glider with no chance to add power or go  
  around. 

  Just short of 3 minutes into the video one crewmember gives the flying    
  astronaut a point when he should start a right turn for the runway.  At  
  about 3:10 in the video the astronaut is told he has the ‘needle’        
  centered referring to being on course.  At about 3:46 the astronaut is    
  told he is at the 90 – referencing the point in the pattern where he is  
  to make a final 90 degree turn to line up with the runway.                
  Soon after the astronaut calls “Yeah we have the runway.”  look at the    
  upper right corner of the video to see the runway come into view.  (The  
  runway is 16,500 feet of cement – 3 miles long.)                          

  The height above the runway makes for a steep descent by commercial      
  airline operations – it is a 19-degree glide slope.  A typical airline    
  flies a 2.5 to 3 degree glide slope.  Notice how fast the shuttle passes  
  through altitudes and the high approach speed 200 knots.                  
  At one point the flying astronaut makes the point that the wind is        
  greater than anticipated and he knows that could make a difference in the
  remaining energy to reach the runway.                                    
  It is a great video to the end.    

The media, drunken with Obamania.  Literally, as you’ll see from this clip of Diane Sawyer the morning after BHO’s Inauguration.

This is fantastic!  Yes, it’s obviously just a publicity stunt by a couple of brilliant marketing folks … Okay, before you say anything, Larry Flint & Joe Francis are not “brilliant.”  But, they have been smart enough to make a fortune off man’s simplest pleasure:  hot naked women.  And, they have enough street savvy to recognize an opportunity to parody our government and get some attention for themselves — and THAT is brilliant.

The scary thing is the way our government is nationalizing American industry and pushing us towards socialism, this kind of bail out is entirely possible.  Banks, Insurance Companies, Auto Manufacturers, Housing Industry … it’s only a matter of time before it trickles down to porn … And, porn would be the first of those industries I would actually vote to bail out!

Here’s the press release I just received:

Hustler’s Larry Flynt and Girls Gone Wild CEO Joe Francis Ask For Government Bailout Of The Adult Entertainment Industry

The $13 Billion Industry Is In No Fear Of Collapse, But Why Take Chances?

January 7, 2008 Los Angeles, CA  As the 2009 AVN Adult Expo opens in Las Vegas this week, Girls Gone Wild CEO Joe Francis and HUSTLER magazine publisher Larry Flynt are petitioning the newly convened 111th Congress to provide a financial bailout for the adult entertainment industry along the lines of what is being sought by the Big Three automakers, a spokesperson for Francis announced today.

Adult industry leaders Flynt and Francis sent a joint request to Congress asking for $5 billion in federal assistance, “Just to see us through hard times,” Francis said.  “Congress seems willing to help shore up our nation’s most important businesses, we feel we deserve the same consideration.  In difficult economic times, Americans turn to entertainment for relief.  More and more, the kind of entertainment they turn to is adult entertainment.”

But according to Flynt the recession has acted like a national cold shower. “People are too depressed to be sexually active,” Flynt says, “This is very unhealthy as a nation.  Americans can do without cars and such but they cannot do without sex.”

While not to the degree felt by banks and automakers, the Adult Entertainment industry has been hit by the effects of the economic downturn.  DVD sales and rentals have decreased by 22 percent in the past year as viewers turn to the internet for adult entertainment.  It is estimated that roughly half of all internet users visit adult sites, with the number of unique visitors to adult websites (including GirlsGoneWild.com and Hustler.com) has grown to more than 75 million per month.

But the “saltpeter” effect remains.

“With all this economic misery and people losing all that money, sex is the farthest thing from their mind,” Flynt says, “It’s time for congress to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America.  The only way they can do this is by supporting the adult industry and doing it quickly.”

“The popularity of adult entertainment in America has grown steadily for the past half century,” Francis says.  “Its emergence into the mainstream of popular culture suggests that the US government should actively support the adult industry’s survival and growth, just as it feels the need to support any other industry cherished by the American people.” 

# # #

Z99.5’s Ugly Christmas Sweater Party 2008 at Buckwildz with Indy.com and the Smiley Morning Show.

In conjunction with Hulu & IMDB, thirteen episodes of the classic radio drama WKRP In Cincinnati are now available for online viewing!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

WKRP was the creation of Hugh Wilson and MTM Productions, airing for nearly four seasons on CBS starting in 1978. It is a classic for those of us in the broadcast industry who can relate to all of the characters and most of their misadventures.

WQXI/Atlanta is most often cited as the basis for WKRP. And, on a personal note, I’ve had several people tell me that former QXI Program Director Jan Jeffries was the basis for PD Andy Travis and my uncle, WSGN/Birmingham newsman Les Coleman, was the basis for Les Nessman … although, I’ve never been able to confirm it.

You can see reruns of WKRP every Sunday night at 7pm ET on WGN America.