"V1. . .Rotate!"

[jinman]

Mark: Were you the pilot or a passenger????

When an airplane stalls, everyone is a passenger.

 

[mjarrels]

Passinger... Jet shook violently for a few seconds... seemed like hours!

mark

 

[Steve_Miller]

Let's go flyin'.

The building in question, does this view allow light to be seen through like it is shown? As far as the lighting goes, when was the picture taken, daytime, dusk, etc. When did the rain hit, before or after the photo? Was there flood lighting on at the time of the photo? Was it taken with a cell phone camera, a good trigger finger if so. I'll take it as a valid photo until someone states a lot more details about it.

Thanks for the photo,
Steve

 

[gordon21]

Quote; When an airplane stalls, everyone is a passenger.
__________________


No problem. Just let go of the yoke back pressure and everything will be fine in 2 seconds. Oh wait, that's a 172 where that happens..........

I guess mark was in something bigger than a 172.

Jinman, you are so right and so eloquent with your quote.

Is anyone going to Sun-n-fun in 2 weeks?? I can't make it this year. I would gladly send someone the money for a 2008 t-shirt and a prepaid padded bag mailing envelope if you could grab me one.

 

[MossRoad]

When an airplane stalls, everyone is a passenger.

That's the one and only thing that bugs me about flying... falling.

 

[mjarrels]

Rare sight the past few days... An American Airlines jet actually taking off!

mark

 

[jinman]

One day last week, I counted 25 MD80s lined up on the west taxiway at DFW airport. It looked like an airplane graveyard. By the end of the week, it was down to 5 and probably all are complete now. I heard there were over 110 planes involved in this inspection, but I only saw 25 close to my route out of the airport at night.

 

[ray66v]

I'll take it as a valid photo until someone states a lot more details about it.
Thanks for the photo,
Steve

The aircraft taking off, is suspiciously close to the terminal, (first clue). This aircraft does not appear to be on a proper runway for an aircraft of this size, Commercial runways are commonly hundreds of feet wide. (second clue). Save the photo, and zoom in on the wheels of the departing aircraft. The wheels are not on pavement, there is grass there. Including a runway marker which is directly below the left wing. Note the markers in the foreground for reference as to what they look like. An aircraft this size, taking off, would be no where near a runway marker. (third and final clue).
Photoshop fake, and not a very good one.

 

[jinman]

The aircraft taking off, is suspiciously close to the terminal, (first clue). This aircraft does not appear to be on a proper runway for an aircraft of this size, Commercial runways are commonly hundreds of feet wide. (second clue). Save the photo, and zoom in on the wheels of the departing aircraft. The wheels are not on pavement, there is grass there. Including a runway marker which is directly below the left wing. Note the markers in the foreground for reference as to what they look like. An aircraft this size, taking off, would be no where near a runway marker. (third and final clue).
Photoshop fake, and not a very good one.

Just for the sake of argument. . .

What makes you think the airplane is touching the ground at all? Why couldn't it be about 25' in the air and much closer than you first think when looking at the picture? I titled this "V1-Rotate," but I think that plane is approaching 35' and about to go "gear up." The fuselage is as well lighted as the closer runways/taxiways are. I don't think it is near the terminal at all. I think somebody was using a camera from a distance and cropped this section out for its impact. When you are close to the ground and looking across a flat airport, depth perception will play tricks on you.

This may well be a fake, but when I look at it, I surely see it different than you see it.

 

[ray66v]

Ok, consider this: If the airplane has just taken off, it is not parallel to any of the concrete shown in the photo, it is at about a 45 degree angle. The runway it used would be aligned with the plane, from a "normal" perspective, and should be visible behind it, but is not. Therefore, there is some distortion by the camera used in the photo. A wide angle lens would bend the perspective so the lines of the runway are not where they should be. If the distorted runway was visible, at the bottom of the photo, it would appear to be an arc, with the portion below the plane aligned with it.
The problem is, the lens would have also bent the lines on the terminal, and they are straight. So are the row of lights behind the terminal.

 

[Steve_Miller]

The problem is, the lens would have also bent the lines on the terminal, and they are straight. So are the row of lights behind the terminal.

Ok, maybe the lights were in an arc and the lens has straighten them out. Just enjoy the picture.

Steve

 

[Cottonhawk]

The Atlanta tornado shot is some photo and the clouds are scary looking.

 

[MossRoad]

The aircraft taking off, is suspiciously close to the terminal, (first clue). This aircraft does not appear to be on a proper runway for an aircraft of this size, Commercial runways are commonly hundreds of feet wide. (second clue). Save the photo, and zoom in on the wheels of the departing aircraft. The wheels are not on pavement, there is grass there. Including a runway marker which is directly below the left wing. Note the markers in the foreground for reference as to what they look like. An aircraft this size, taking off, would be no where near a runway marker. (third and final clue).
Photoshop fake, and not a very good one.

The aircraft that is taking off appears to be larger than the aircraft behind it. It also appears to be an MD80, which is not a very large jet, at all. Since it appears to be larger, it is closer to the camera than the planes behind it. I'd say that part of the picture is accurate.

The runway that I think the plane is using is runway 17R. That runway is 200 feet wide, as are most of the runways at DFW. The MD 80 wingspan is about 108'. From the camera angle, it is impossible to determine the width of the runway because we cannot see both sides of the concrete.

Runway 17R and 17C are very close to the terminal and to each other. The runway markers that we see in the photo are from both runways and the maze of taxi ways that go between them and the terminal. See the attached photo.

There are three almost identical terminals at DFW that the image could be looking at. I don't think it is the southernmost terminal, because the plane would most likely be further off the ground by that far down the runway.

I don't think it is the middle terminal, because there are light poles behind the building in the picture and there is no parking structure behind the middle terminal.

I think it is the northermost terminal because there is a parking structure behind that terminal. If I am correct, that would put the plane rotating at about the intersection of runway 17R and main east-west taxiway that leads out to the start of runway 17L. Actually, at the next intersection just south of that main intersection. That puts the plane about 2/3 the way down runway 17R, a very plausible place to be rotating.

Runway 17R is almost straight south. Since the lightning strike appears to be to the west of the airport, behind the terminal that I think is in the photo, and the plane appears to be heading south, and there is sunlight on the east side of the airplane, I would place the photo taken sometime between sunrise and noon. I would say closer to noon. A storm is heading in from the west. The sun is directly in line with runway 17R. A cloud shadow is just coming towards the camera, so the edge of the shadow on the ground is between the terminal building and the runway. The lightning struck, and the bolt is visible through the windows at the top of the terminal.

That explains everything.

 

[MossRoad]

If anyone here does not have Google Earth, I highly recommend this free program. Load it and install it. Then search for DFW. It will take you right there and you can zoom in and out all over that airport and see all kinds of neat stuff including the runway numbers, buildings, structures, everything I mentioned in the last post. Kind of fun, really.

 

[MossRoad]

I also think the photo is not a hoax because it was taken by Tom Fox of the Dallas Moringin News and has won some awards.

Award of Excellence | Science/Natural History

 

[MossRoad]

(A bolt of lightning strikes near Terminal D as an American Airlines jet takes off from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Monday, Sept. 11, 2006, near Dallas, before an approaching storm moves through the area. Photo by Tom Fox, The Dallas Morning News, via AP)