Big Jim posted:Several of us were sitting around shooting the bull when my engineer, named Pete, started telling a story about how he had once been a test pilot for the Air Force. We all listened intently as he told about one particular flight and each maneuver he was asked to perform. The airplane performed as expected and there were no problems. That is, until he was asked to put the plane in a steep dive. As the altimeter began to unwind, the speed kept increasing. The more the speed increased, Pete said the harder is was to control the plane. The altimeter was unwinding faster and faster, 20,000...15,000...10,000 feet. the altimeter was spinning backward faster than he could count. Pete tried and tried to pull out of the dive. 9,000...7,000...5,000 ft. and nothing was working. The controls were locked! 4,000...3,000...2,000...1,000 feet. and Pete went silent. The silence went on for a few seconds, so, I finally piped up..."Pete! What happened?" Pete simply replied..."They threw a Red Board in my face!"
"It's a good thing that lady walked out of the grocery store and unplugged the ride before you crashed."
That is the response Pete might have received in my neighborhood.
Great story. Thank you, Big Jim. This is fun stuff.
