Kansas Pilot Car Certification Form: Fill & Download for Free

Update on February 23, 2020:Apparently in a new attempt, Mike Hughes pretty much managed to do everything I expected in his first attempt, sadly leaving him deceased.Daredevil ‘Mad’ Mike Hughes dies in rocket crash near BarstowUpdates at the bottom…So, to start with, as a retired, less than athletic looking man, and going from the acceleration curve of the Skycycle X-2 (Evel Knievel’s steam based rocket), he will likely black out under the five seconds of 4G acceleration his body goes through when he “pulls the trigger” and launches. This is based on a 0–400 mph acceleration. If he actually hits 500, it’s going to be another G or so of acceleration.Assuming the structure of the rocket doesn’t fail, which is a big “if” under that kind of stress, he will now be slammed, semi-conscious, forward into whatever restraints he’s wearing, as the acceleration runs out, and aerodynamic deceleration kicks in. So, he goes from 4–5 Gs to probably -1.5 Gs. Not a pleasant experience.Coasting upward now, he will reach his maximum altitude of 1800–2000 feet about 11–12 seconds after launch. At this point, he will begin to experience weightlessness, as his capsule begins to free-fall from altitude. This won’t last long as the vehicle will quickly reach terminal velocity in a vertical direction, and gravity will return after 2–3 seconds. At this point, probably still groggy from the launch, he’ll have 2–4 seconds to deploy the parachute — at least I assume he has a parachute — to stop his plummet to the Earth. Failing to deploy the chute means that he Wile E. Coyotes into the ground with accompanying accordion effect. Sadly, unlike the cartoon character, Mr. Hughes will not just de-pancake in the next scene.Assuming that he is aware enough and can physically activate the control to deploy the parachute, which is iffy, and the parachute mechanism successfully deploys the parachute, which, since it’s untested, is pretty iffy, and the parachute successfully opens, which, ask the guys at NASA who do this for a living, is pretty iffy, and the parachute doesn’t mechanically fail, which, again, is pretty iffy, and the parachute was correctly sized to deal with the mass of the rocket, which is iffy, and if any prevailing winds don’t drag him into power lines, buildings, or other things that will foul the parachute, electrocute, or crush the rocket, which, I should mention, is pretty iffy, then he will float smoothly to the ground, having seen practically nothing during his flight to an altitude lower than the Burj Khalifa tower[1][1][1][1].Whew, that’s one big, iffy, run-on sentence.In all likelihood, one or more of these things will go horribly wrong.Steam rockets are tricky, as people don’t realize the high temperature steam is hideously corrosive, and will eat the rocket nozzle like acid. Losing the nozzle means losing control of the thrust, which means lower altitude, shorter times to react, etc., etc. Not getting up to a certain altitude means the chute doesn’t have time to deploy and slow the rocket’s descent to the ground. In purely technical terms, that’s what’s known as, “bad.”High speed aerodynamics tend to get tricky, and it doesn’t really look like his fins extend into a useful realm of airflow when the air breaks around the nose cone at high velocity, creating vortices and voids near the rocket body as the laminar flow separates from the skin of the rocket behind the nose cone. With the fins in near-vacuum, they have no effect of stability.Without aerodynamic stability, the rocket could very easily go rogue at high speed, spinning around like a deflating balloon, and tearing the rocket apart, with tragic results for our intrepid rocketeer.His rocket nose is also a prism (cone) rather than an long elliptical shape, which is a terrible idea for the realm of speeds he’s looking to attain. Go look at the front of any passenger jet that travels at 500+ mph. It’s not a pointy cone, it’s a blunt ellipse. Pointy is only used on super-sonic aircraft, because it’s actually aerodynamically worse than an elliptical nose cone, but works well for breaking shockwaves in supersonic flow.All this assumes his scrap-metal boiler will withstand the 500+ PSI that the steam will generate prior to release. Boilers are tricky enough that even ones that withstand 15 PSI require extensive testing and certification. The idea he just welded together a high-pressure boiler from scrap metal with, apparently, no experience in the area is… well… iffy. Boiler explosions back in the age of steam train engines, running at 150 PSI, could launch 50 ton parts of the engine over a quarter mile from the explosion. Not something I’d want to mess around with, especially at over three times that pressure.The internal structure of the rocket is also a big unknown. It looks like a rocket, but aerodynamic stress at 500 mph is like pushing through treacle, and I doubt he really put an adequate sub-structure in there to support that. Thanks to the Wolfram-Alpha drag-force calculator[2][2][2][2], at 500 mph (223.5 m/s) that rocket, assuming about a 1.2 meter diameter, will be experiencing about 70,000 newtons of drag. That’s like stacking 15,700 pounds of weight on the front of the rocket. Does that thing really look like you could safely stack about 4 average US passenger cars on top of it? If the answer to that, like mine, is, “Not on your life!”, then that rocket is going to crumple like a bad tin can, and Mr. Hughes has a very bad day. By the way, using a proper elongated elliptical nose cone would reduce this drag by as much as two-thirds. That’s still a car and a third on the top of it, but I might just be on the edge of believing it can support that from the views I’ve seen.Also, if he’s not transferring the thrust from the engine across the frame properly, then the moment that engine lights up, it could just shoot right through the rocket, taking the squishy bits of Mr. Hughes right along with it. Again, this is the kind of thing that gives someone a really bad day.And, of course, this all begs the question of what Mr. Hughes is thinking. His flight is pointless from a science perspective. His claim that “science is fiction” is truly disturbing, as he’s using science to build his rocket. Sure, he says, “that’s just formulas,” but it was decades of science that actually derived and discovered those formulas.His flight is pointless for “seeing if the world is round.” He can drive to the top of Pike’s Peak (14,115 feet/4,302 m high) in a passenger car[3][3][3][3](or ride the cog train![4][4][4][4]) and see the horizon with way more curvature than he’s going to see in his 25 second long flight. Even from that high, the curvature is subtle, but you can definitely see it if you want to. The kicker is, at the top of Pike’s Peak, with some good binoculars, you can see all the way to Denver and out to the edges of Kansas, something you can’t do even half-way up the mountain. That’s way more indicative of the “Round Earth” than anything he’ll get in his rocket.Which leaves only two possibilities. The first possibility is that Mr. Hughes is completely insane, and enjoys the thought of climbing into a death trap with total disregard for health and safety. This is a real possibility, in which case, someone should probably step in for his own protection.The second possibility is that he is attempting just about the most elaborate and spectacular suicide plan in history. We can only assume he’s aiming for the Darwin Award Hall of Fame. [5][5][5][5] From a purely Libertarian point of view, that’s his right, as long as he doesn’t endanger anyone else, and his plan to launch over a ghost town at least shows he’s not threatening anyone in particular.I can only hope someone with a modicum of sense in their head is trying to talk him out of it, but I suspect that if he’s gotten this far without someone stopping him, he will soon become part of a pile of scrap metal on the desert floor. It seems wasteful, but I suppose it might be proof of the phrase, “Sometimes the meaning of someone’s life is to be a warning to others, that says, ‘Don’t do this.’”So, in the end, what’s going to happen when Mike Hughes launches his rocket?It will be a lesson in rocketry, and proof of Elon Musk’s favorite phrase, “Rockets are Hard.”Quick Update 2017–11–25: We now know at least part of his motive. This morning his “free live stream event” on YouTube went to Pay-Per-View only. You figure it out…Just a couple of other quick items to address. First off, after doing a bit of research, this is either the second or third time Mike Hughes has launched himself. The first time, in 2014[6][6][6][6][7][7][7][7] which I think was unmanned, and maybe another try in 2015[8][8][8][8] , he sent himself a quarter-mile horizontally, and 1300 feet into the air. It’s difficult to tell from the videos exactly what’s going on. The first one claims to be the “SkyLimo X-2” and the second video is clearly a different rocket, because it’s different colors, but the flight videos seem almost identical between the two. There’s still some debate about that launch in 2014 or 2015, because, while the parachute deploys, it’s nearly shredded when it opens and the picture of the rocket on the ground shows the whole thing reduced to about half its length. The only photo of Mr. Hughes is of people “dragging him from the wreck moaning” but its unclear how he even fit into it if the first video’s pictures are correct. The second video shows the capsule nearly undamaged as they drag him out, but then there’s shots of debris. The whole thing seems a bit off. There’s a lot of speculation that, while the rocket does fly the distance, Mr. Hughes was nowhere near it. I can’t claim any special knowledge, but looking at that crumpled rocket, and the relatively clean and unharmed Mike Hughes…. Well, let’s say I have my doubts.In any case, even in that rocket, he claims to have passed out from the G-forces, and spent three days in the hospital. This new rocket is at least 8 times as powerful as that one.Also, you notice I said this is his second or third launch? That’s because he was set up for a half-mile jump over a small canyon in 2016, and there’s footage of him at the site, all set up to jump, but I can find no actual mention of him actually doing it. My only guess was that it was an unmanned attempt, and it went horribly, catastrophically wrong, and there was no way to claim he flew in it, so they just hushed it up.In any case, in about 3–4 hours from when I’m posting this, I guess we’ll all know the answer as to “what happened.”Another update: It’s possible the event has been cancelled given this video from Mike Hughes himself… MAD MIKE HUGHES FLAT EARTH ROCKET UPDATE! CANCELLED (No Music)And more: Now he says he’ll do it on Tuesday, about 3 miles down the road… https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/11/24/a-flat-earthers-plan-to-launch-himself-in-a-homemade-rocket-just-hit-a-speed-bump/?utm_term=.9646ac18c39cUpdate 2018–01–21:Apparently Mike Hughes is now planning to compete (at least somewhat) with the Super Bowl (Sorry for using that term that I have no rights to — all rights reserved by the army of lawyers employed by the NFL) by launching on February 3rd. Flat-earth rocket pilot on February launch: I expect 'more viewers than the Super Bowl'The strange thing is, is that since he “canceled/not canceled” the flight in November, he has moved the new flight about 4 times, and is finally back on the original plot of private land, but instead of firing off at a 45 degree angle, he now plans a near vertical launch to “three-eighths of a mile” of altitude (1980 feet, or 600 meters.)In the meantime, he has managed to drop the rocket not once[9][9][9][9] , but twice[10][10][10][10] while trying to move it, including when he attempted to move it from the mobile-home launch rack to the trailer so he could cart it back to his house to repair it.I’ve also seen claims that he’s broken the launch ramp and was seen trying to weld the bent pieces back together. In any case, the whole thing is getting sillier and sillier.Even the flat-Earthers seem to be getting sick of him.[11][11][11][11] Probably because they realize how ridiculous he’s making all of the flat-Earth crowd look. Not that they need a lot of help.Update: Feb 1st, 2018Apparently you will be able to pay $5 to watch the launch on Noize TV.Browse - Noize tvNot sure I’m willing to pay $5 for what might turn out to be a snuff film.Update: Feb 5th, 2018Apparently, when the cameras were on, and the people were watching…. Mike chickened out.[12][12][12][12] There was no launch on the 3rd, and NoizeTV is refunding a lot of money today.Update: March 7th, 2018So, apparently Mike Hughes was going to launch again yesterday, but instead, as the steam kettle warmed up, it began leaking at only 200 psi. It’s supposed to hit 500psi. In comments on his facebook page, he stated that two o-rings failed. So, at least he’s got that much in common with NASA.There’s a claim he’ll try again next week, so… stay tuned? I guess?Update: March 29th, 2018So, yeah, he actually went and did it, and amazingly enough, he survived actually doing it.Congratulations to Mike Hughes, who accomplished… well… not a lot really, other than surviving doing something really, really, stupid.'Mad' Mike Hughes, who believes Earth is flat, blasts off in self-built rocketTo quote my favorite web comic: (Maxim 44) “If it’s stupid and it works, it’s still stupid, and you’re lucky.”[13][13][13][13]Footnotes[1] Home | Burj Khalifa[1] Home | Burj Khalifa[1] Home | Burj Khalifa[1] Home | Burj Khalifa[2] Wolfram|Alpha Widgets[2] Wolfram|Alpha Widgets[2] Wolfram|Alpha Widgets[2] Wolfram|Alpha Widgets[3] The planet's best source of knowledge about Pikes Peak[3] The planet's best source of knowledge about Pikes Peak[3] The planet's best source of knowledge about Pikes Peak[3] The planet's best source of knowledge about Pikes Peak[4] Pikes Peak Cog Ry.[4] Pikes Peak Cog Ry.[4] Pikes Peak Cog Ry.[4] Pikes Peak Cog Ry.[5] Darwin Awards. Chlorinating The Gene Pool.[5] Darwin Awards. Chlorinating The Gene Pool.[5] Darwin Awards. Chlorinating The Gene Pool.[5] Darwin Awards. Chlorinating The Gene Pool.[6] Mike Hughes Jump X-2 SkyLimo Rocket Jump on June 28, 2014[6] Mike Hughes Jump X-2 SkyLimo Rocket Jump on June 28, 2014[6] Mike Hughes Jump X-2 SkyLimo Rocket Jump on June 28, 2014[6] Mike Hughes Jump X-2 SkyLimo Rocket Jump on June 28, 2014[7] MAD MIKE HUGHES ROCKET FLIGHT[7] MAD MIKE HUGHES ROCKET FLIGHT[7] MAD MIKE HUGHES ROCKET FLIGHT[7] MAD MIKE HUGHES ROCKET FLIGHT[8] Mad Mike Hughes Rocket Jump[8] Mad Mike Hughes Rocket Jump[8] Mad Mike Hughes Rocket Jump[8] Mad Mike Hughes Rocket Jump[9] MAD MIKE HUGHES ROCKET DAMAGED! DEC 4TH. Rocket FELL From Trailer. LAUNCH MAY BE CANCELLED[9] MAD MIKE HUGHES ROCKET DAMAGED! DEC 4TH. Rocket FELL From Trailer. LAUNCH MAY BE CANCELLED[9] MAD MIKE HUGHES ROCKET DAMAGED! DEC 4TH. Rocket FELL From Trailer. LAUNCH MAY BE CANCELLED[9] MAD MIKE HUGHES ROCKET DAMAGED! DEC 4TH. Rocket FELL From Trailer. LAUNCH MAY BE CANCELLED[10] 💣 Mad Mike Hughes Rocket Falls AGAIN! Flat Earth News ✅[10] 💣 Mad Mike Hughes Rocket Falls AGAIN! Flat Earth News ✅[10] 💣 Mad Mike Hughes Rocket Falls AGAIN! Flat Earth News ✅[10] 💣 Mad Mike Hughes Rocket Falls AGAIN! Flat Earth News ✅[11] Mad Mike is not a Flat Earth researcher. ✅[11] Mad Mike is not a Flat Earth researcher. ✅[11] Mad Mike is not a Flat Earth researcher. ✅[11] Mad Mike is not a Flat Earth researcher. ✅[12] NoizeTv[12] NoizeTv[12] NoizeTv[12] NoizeTv[13] Saturday 14 April 2018[13] Saturday 14 April 2018[13] Saturday 14 April 2018[13] Saturday 14 April 2018

Different Kinds & Types of Aircraft [1][1][1][1](Courtesy General Aviation Serves America web site)General Aviation (GA) aircraft come in all shapes, sizes, and prices. Many used airplanes bought and sold in the United States today cost no more than an SUV, and some cost as little as a used car. From ultralights to helicopters to private planes to corporate jets, there’s a different kind of aircraft for every type of flying, as well every size budget.Single-Engine PistonAs their name implies, “singles” have only one piston engine, usually mounted at the nose of the airplane using a propeller to drive the airplane. When the engine is mounted at the back, it’s called a pusher. These aircraft comprise nearly 68 percent of the GA fleet. Pilots who are certificated (licensed) to fly these airplanes will have a single-engine land rating (SEL).Business JetsThese range in size from small seven-person jets like the Learjet 35A to the Boeing business jet that is based upon the 737 airliner. Most, however, seat about nine people and operate over distances of a few hundred to 1,500 miles.Far from being a luxury, today’s corporate jet ferries tens of thousands of replacement parts, customers, and mid-level employees for companies of all sizes. All save time and money by using America’s General Aviation (GA) business fleet to avoid airlines delays and their congested hub-based route systems. Turbojet (jet) aircraft comprise 4 percent of the GA fleet.Tricycle GearAfter World War II, the industry began to make widespread use of a design that put the two main landing gear a bit further back on the aircraft under the wing, with a steerable nosewheel in the front. The result resembles the arrangement one would see on a child’s tricycle, hence the term “tricycle gear.” These airplanes sit level on the ground and are easier to operate than a taildragger.AmphibiansAmphibians are like floatplanes, except they also feature retractable wheels for operating from paved runways or grass strips.TaildraggersBefore World War II, most airplanes had their two main landing gear and wheels — otherwise known as “the mains” — toward the front of the airplane and a small tailwheel under the tail. On the ground, these airplanes sit with their tails low to the ground, hence the name “taildragger.”Taildraggers excel at flying from primitive dirt or grass strips, so they’re very popular in wilderness areas and Alaska (see video). However, these airplanes are harder to taxi, takeoff, and land than a standard “tricycle” gear airplane with a nosewheel in the front. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires pilots who want to fly these airplanes to get special training and a logbook endorsement from an FAA certificated flight instructor.HelicoptersHelicopters were first conceived by Leonardo da Vinci. Today, they perform a wide range of lifesaving roles, as well as roles in filmmaking, police work, and agriculture. Helicopters couple their engines to an overhead rotor that serves as the helicopter’s rotating wing. This allows them to take off, hover, and land vertically. Rotorcraft, including gyroplanes, make up roughly 3 percent of the GA fleet.TiltrotorsThese aircraft combine the vertical takeoff, hover, and landing capabilities of a helicopter with the forward speed of a turboprop. Their engines and propellers tilt up to form the rotors for vertical flight and tilt forward to create propulsion for fast forward flight.UltralightsAs the name implies, these simple and fun aircraft are lightweight, carry no more than 5 gallons of fuel, travel no faster than 63 mph, and land at slow speeds. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also classifies hang gliders and powered parachutes as ultralights. Most ultralights are built or assembled from factory-made kits using FAA-approved designs. They’re a fun and affordable way to taste the joy of flight.Light Sport AircraftThere is an ever-growing crop of light-sport aircraft (LSA) emerging within the U. S. aviation marketplace. Many of these aircraft have been flying in Europe and elsewhere in the world for years but are now making their debuts in America.Multiengine PistonThese airplanes have two or more piston engines using propellers to drive the airplane. They offer more speed and performance than most singles, cost more to buy and operate, require advanced training and a special FAA rating to fly, and offer the redundancy of a second engine. They comprise 8 percent of the GA fleet. Pilots who are certificated (licensed) to fly these planes will have a multiengine land rating (MEL).TurbopropsThese airplanes use a gas turbine (jet) engine, coupled through a transmission, to drive the blades of a conventional propeller. They combine the reliability of a jet engine with the short takeoff and landing performance of a propeller-driven airplane.Many have two engines. Yet, because of the incredible reliability of today’s turbine engines, a growing number use only one turboprop engine mounted on the nose. Turboprops comprise about 3 percent of the GA fleet.Floatplanes or SeaplanesThese airplanes either have floats instead of wheeled-landing gear or their hull is shaped like that of a boat, allowing them to take off from water or land on water. These are a common sight in Alaska and in wilderness areas where fishermen or sportsmen want to reach remote lakes. Pilots who are certificated to fly these airplanes will have a single- or multiengine seaplane rating (SES or MES).BiplanesBiplanes have two main wings. This type of airplane was very common before World War II and continues to be popular today among stunt and agricultural pilots. The vast majority of biplanes are also taildraggers. They make excellent aerobatic airplanes and can be seen at picturesque grass airstrips throughout America.GlidersThese aircraft use the wind and rising columns of warm air for lift. Like birds, they can soar for great distances and to great heights. The world’s first successful airplanes were all gliders, including many built by the Wright Brothers. Gliders are towed aloft by powered airplanes, a winch, or a small retractable engine.GyroplanesGyroplanes use an airplane engine and small propeller to push or pull themselves forward. As they move, air rushing up through the free-wheeling overhead rotor blades causes the rotor to rotate. The rotating rotor serves as the gyroplane’s rotating wing. They can take off and land in very short distances, yet they are less complex and therefore less costly to operate than a helicopter.Kitbuilts or HomebuiltsThe Wright Brothers’ original airplanes were all homebuilts, meaning that they were built at home by aviation enthusiasts and entrepreneurs. Today, under strict Federal Aviation Administration guidelines and stringent FAA inspections, many thousands of airplanes, gliders, helicopters, and other experimental flying machines are built by individuals in their basements and garages all across America. Most are built or assembled from factory-made kits using FAA-approved designs. Some can be very sophisticated.Powered ParachutesThis is as simple and affordable as it gets. You strap a motor with a propeller on your back, then hang from a parachute while you get a true bird’s-eye view of the world around you. If the motor quits, you float gently to earth in your parachute. Some large versions seat two people.Airships (Blimps & Dirigibles)Like balloons, airships use hot air and/or lighter-than-air gases to generate lift. But unlike balloons, they also carry one or more engines and propellers to generate thrust and have aerodynamic control surfaces for steering. This allows them to move through the sky at will, without being beholden to the wind.There are three different types of airships: non-rigid, semi-rigid, and rigid. Non-rigid or semi-rigid airships, like the Goodyear blimp, use only the pressure of their lifting gases to maintain their shape. Rigid airships like the infamous Hindenburg have full-envelope metal interior framing.BalloonsHot air balloons were first used by the pre-Incan Nazca civilization more than 2,000 years ago. Balloons use hot air and/or lighter-than-air gases to generate lift. They are carried across the landscape by the winds aloft. Most carry three or four people, although some larger models used for commercial services carry more. Some can be seen in the shape of advertising products.Footnotes[1] Wings over Kansas[1] Wings over Kansas[1] Wings over Kansas[1] Wings over Kansas

In CA, you can get one in some extraordinary circumstances as a hardship license. But this usually only happens in rural areas if the teen in question has nobody to take them to school.[1][1][1][1]I am of the opinion that the driver’s license age should stay the same (16 for a Jr license, 1 year of restricted driving privileges), but the age for a learner’s permit should be lowered to 14 or 15 from 15.5 in order to:Provide more training timeIf lowered to 14 for supervised driving with a permit, maintain synchronicity with the FAA’s minimum age for solo flying unpowered planes and baloons. If the FAA thinks you’re old enough to fly one of those, then you’re old enough to begin driving lessonsSync up with some other states that have a permit age of 14 (Idaho, Wyoming, Kansas, Arkansas, Iowa). If it’s lowered to 15 from 15.5, then it keeps ages nice and round while also allowing some more training time for teensHowever, given the FAA says you must be 16 to solo as a student pilot and 17 to get a full pilot certificate (and thus fly passengers without flight instructor oversight), leaving the driving age at 16 for unsupervised driving and 17 or 1 year of holding a license for an unrestricted license is good for parity. Because if the FAA thinks you’re good to fly a plane, you’re certainly good enough to drive a car.Footnotes[1] Hardship License For California 14-Year-Olds | by IMPROV® Traffic School[1] Hardship License For California 14-Year-Olds | by IMPROV® Traffic School[1] Hardship License For California 14-Year-Olds | by IMPROV® Traffic School[1] Hardship License For California 14-Year-Olds | by IMPROV® Traffic School