Plane / Planes / Aircraft / Aeroplane / Airplane appreciation

Today I learned that Martin-Baker still operates a Metor for flight testing its ejections seats!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPdzjF6m7tc

based up the road from me at Chalgrove . Also, they have two

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/39%C2%B001'18.5%22N+93%C2%B035'40.5%22W/@39.0218892,-93.5952977,221m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xd87af7588b9c362e?hl=en-GB

Stealth bomber in flight on google maps

Was that a dummy being ejected? I thought the G forces when the rockets went off wasn't good for the spine....

Yes it's a high-tech dummy with lots of accelerometers & other sensors.

Not great for the spine is true, compression fractures are common, although modern seats have smoother acceleration from using rocket motors, and are better than the original seats/installations which used something akin to a shotgun shell.

GD-CAM Pilot & keen Cyclist by the look of it!

https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/10156004

Kinda dumps ona 911 with suckers.

I spotted that a couple of times in the summer, assuming there can't be that many painted silver/orange in the UK?

I think Martin Baker's two are the only ones still flying in the UK

Went to see that mig in the gallery. Underwhelmed.

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Did you ever see that shitty TV show on Discovery in the 10s called "When pilots eject"?

It had an interview with a US pilot who survived a supersonic ejection. Holy shit! I'm not sure what is more amazing, the fact he survived or the fact he survived and flew military jets again!

I'm talking all four limbs nearly severed, head swollen like a basket ball, spinal injuries...

Nope, but it sounds grisly. Ejection is a fraught business in ‘ideal’ conditions, but you read about crew who have ejected from an SR-71 at Mach 3+ and have to wonder about how they fared, even though they made it out.

Found a quote. His navigator unfortunately didn't survive.

“It felt like somebody had just hit me with a train,” said Udell. “When I went out into the wind stream, it ripped my helmet right off my head, broke all the blood vessels in my head and face, my head was swollen the size of a basketball and my lips were the size of cucumbers. My left elbow was dislocated and pointed backward, the only thing holding my leg on was an artery, the vein, the nerve and the skin and my left leg snapped at the bottom half.”

To make his story even more incredible it was nightime and over a stormy sea. He had to climb into a life raft with those injuries.

T -30mins for JWST launch...

Can anyone tell me what this is? Fuselage very much like a DC3 but much more modern wing outline and higher pitch engine sound.

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There are a few converted DC3 planes, with turboprop engines. There's one mapping stuff down south at the moment, I think it's been mentioned upthread ?

This maybe?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basler_BT-67

It is. Good spot. Not seen one in the UK, @Kernowdreamer, where was the pic taken ?

Porthtowan, W Cornwall.
Midlife, I met a mate on the coast path as this flew over and he confirms the mapping explanation. I was walking for a couple of hours and it did at least half a dozen passes.
Cheers folks.

Have flightradar24 on my phone, for just such emergencies

100% a turboprop conversion, look how long the engine are.

South Africa had a few I believe, mentioned here

https://youtu.be/r0VqXA_k0HE

They can’t be a cheap conversion, so the airframes must be incredibly strong to make the investment worthwhile. Even the youngest DC-3’s must be 80 years old.

On topic

https://v.redd.it/c5ycy7o6le481

Can't remember if it was in here, or a music thread or... Dunno, can't find it, but someone posted a link to previous day's downloadable ATC radio with the silences shortened? Or something like that... Any chance anyone has that link kicking about please?

Edit - Wait, maybe I'm thinking of TDF race radio 😂

Found it!
Though if there is an ATC equivalent I'd be interested :)