Posts by Robin Baker 32 publicly visible posts • joined 25 Jan 2008
.I am a bit late to the degrees argument but persons of my (mature) years were educated when degrees Kelvin was the accepted terminology, the degree bit was dropped later to conform with other SI (spit!) unit nomenclature. When you have spent years writing degrees Kelvin remembering not to put degrees in there is difficult.
Rob
Oh, SNagged, with my old monitor and even older eyes S's and H's look very similar.
But all hail to Vulture Central for keeping alive British stick and string aircraft manufacture, I've been in the industry for nigh on 40 years and this loks like the most interesting thing going at the moment.
Rob
I have always thought that is just easier to design clothes that fit someone (M or F) who has no curves.
Think about the complexity of a curvy woman's body ...I'll give you a minute or two ... now think about trying to wrap that closely in fabric... I'll give you another minute or two...
All those ins and outs, humps and bumps, it's bloody difficult, needs lots of darts and inserts and the flats (technical term for the pattern used to cut the cloth) quickly become complicated.
So in our age of instant satisfaction it's simpler to ignore real people and pretend everyone is straight up and down.
Rob
(by straight I mean linearly straight not not gay)
It all goes round and round: The electricity companies are promoting Economy 7 like power again, Ffestiniog and Dinorwig are mentioned (even the Scots are talking of new pump store schemes) The problem is the sheer scale of it all.
Dinorwig took about 12 years to build and now think of the NIMBYism that would accompany the planning of a new one. It only provides 1320 MW for a limited time, to help with peak lopping where would you put the lakes for all the others we are going to need?
Also remember why the two Welsh sites were chosen, Ffestiniog as base load for Trawsffynnth and Dinorwig for Wylfa - both nuclear plants that really like to be going 24/7 and steadily.
I don't know an answer let alone a quick political fix. Stock up on candles and wind-up radios, cook over a hearth with a log fire. 1300 here we come again.
There's little point training for years and then being stuffed because there's no real money in production. Us engineers have seen an effective pay freeze for the last decade or so in real terms while we watch the 'city types' walk away with the loot.
Bitter, me, no not at all.
Rob
You are right about the 803 being able to play 'music' via its built-in speaker. When I was at Bletchley Park in the 70s we used their 803 to play carols at Christmas - someone had produced a paper tape with a selection of tunes on it.
Note: the 803 that is in the museum is not the 803 that was in 'D' Block, I still wonder what happened to that one.
Rob
As a long-time contractor, although not in the oil industry, I have not seen any rate increase for about seven years so the thought of taking less is disturbing. This smacks of HR taking advantage of the panic over the financial situation and blackmailing their workers by threats of replacement.
It would be good to see contractors acting in unison for once and standing up to this but I have in the past found that someone will do it for less, either from necessity or sharp-practice. It's very difficult to get more once you have accepted less.
Rob.
I f you count non-indigenously developed launcher rockets, try looking up Ariel-1, 1962 was it??
The whole idea was you had to do all of it in country (except the lighting the blue touch paper bit where you really need to be as close to the equator as possible, thanks for 'lending' us Woomera!!!)
My first ever real job was on this programme, it's been downhill ever since.
R.
Reading all the words in the latest report - the fuel metering unit valves, that is the mechanical bits, were fully open so there was no avionic system overriding the command for more fuel as far as I can see.
This is a conundrum for all at the moment and I hope the AAIB are close to finding the real answer for two reasons 1) I was involved with the FADEC software and 2) I am flying on holiday on a 777 fairly soon and the rest of the family are pretty nervous at the best of times...
babelise it:
Symbioti Ephemeralization, in the context of this offers, with of
Community-of-practical the independent one goes, therefore, exactly if
in him only the preoccupations of the cooperation of the advice of
ephemeralization of product one to him of hypercycle.
...that's a lot better, can I go to the pub now ?
Quite right LUCOL it is, and it is translated not interpreted and its overhead in timing and memory is far lower than compiled languages. The typical box it runs in is a hansom cab compared to a PC being an F1 car. And ADA (I can do that too) is complicated, was trendy and could have been excellent, but only a sub-set is really safe enouigh to fly with (IMHO, of course).
Personally, I don't need to G**GLE for LUCOL or Dolman, though I did try last night just out of interest, but as AC reports above you tend to get results that point you at restricted sites. Should I want information I can read my own notes (should have done that first, would have got over the interpreted/translated error) or have a beer or two with the guys who really wrote LUCOL that I am still in touch with.
I was around when it first flew, I still am and I intend to be around for quite a while longer thanks, but if Goodrich get their way my 67p might appear over-generous!
The FADECs on the B777 are the last generation to use a modular assembler language developed specially for engine systems by Lucas Aerospace. It has no assocation with ADA, no need for any ADA complier, it has its own unique interpreter. I am not sure that there are definitive papers on this but I will try to find something that may satisfy.
The design was done using Yourdon methodology with Teamwork and a lot of sweat and tears.
The picket line doesn't apply to me but I will get a Lucas pension in 2012 - should be 67p a year!
Just to add what I know about the systems:
The AIMS and FADECs are only linked at the throttle levers, AIMS drives servos and resolvers determine the angle selected for the FADEC thrust setting.
The FADECs on the B777, R-R engines are NOT programmed in ADA - most of the rest of the plane is, true, but not those particular items.
The teams that developed the software for the FADEC are VERY experienced professionals who have had safety-critical training. Not that we can't make mistakes just the same, just not very likely.
(anyone spot the 'we' there - oh, what a give away!!!)
I am not second guessing the AAIB, I will leave that to the PPRUNE massive, who seem to have attracted even more speculators than a gold-rush. And, I do post there too, trying to keep the arguements to the facts, though it's an uphill struggle.
at which point, pass my anorak and show me the door
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