Looks like some of us are getting a heatwave. But of what importance is that when the Internet has such riches as these? 
Happy invoicing!
- Trial by Fire: The crash of Aeroflot flight 1492 - ”On the 5th of May 2019, travelers at Moscow’s biggest international airport were greeted by the astonishing sight of a passenger plane skidding down the runway in flames… The crash of Aeroflot flight 1492 isn’t a simple story. It ended in a wall of fire, but it began with a thunderstorm, a lightning strike, and a malfunction of the fly-by-wire control system, followed by a desperate return to the airport, an unstable descent and approach, and a botched landing attempt that slammed the plane into the runway over and over until it broke. The sequence of events was so long, raising so many complex questions, that it took investigators from the independent Interstate Aviation Committee nearly six years to reach firm conclusions and publish their report.” Admiral Cloudberg tells the story of the doomed flight and subsequent investigation.
- What’s Going On Inside Io, Jupiter’s Volcanic Moon? - The answer seems to be “We’re not sure”: ”Recent flybys of the fiery world refute a leading theory of its inner structure — and reveal how little is understood about geologically active moons.”
- Archaeologists Followed a Forgotten Staircase—and Uncovered a 400-Year-Old Burial Vault - ”An excursion down a forgotten staircase in a 12th century French church resulted not only in a lost burial vault, but in a trip back in time to the sixth century.” More details, albeit in French, and cool photos: Sous les piliers de l’église Saint-Philibert de Dijon
- Poison Pill - The time somebody added poison to paracetamol and put it in shops: ”Is the killer behind the 1982 Tylenol poisonings still on the loose? Exclusive revelations by investigators yield the first authoritative account of what happened and who likely did it.”
- How to Build a Cult of Personality - ”Lessons from dictators and despots on the eve of Trump's military birthday parade.” Given that said parade turned out to be a pathetic shambles, it seems Trump still has a lot to learn from the more unpleasant rulers of the world
- Goodbye Surfing, Hello God! - In memory of Brian Wilson, an article originally published in 1967: ”In 1966, Brian Wilson entered the studio to compose Smile, a Beach Boys album that he believed would change the band, and perhaps the face of popular music, forever. What happened next became legend.”
- Asterix in translation: the genius of Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge - Aunty Muriel explores the complex business of translating jokes: ”What follows is a discussion of the translation of some of my favourite Asterix gags. The translators’ modus operandi was to include as many jokes in the English translation as existed in the original French text, and on occasions, this task required a great deal of ingenuity on the part of the incomparable Bell and Hockridge.”
- AAIB Bulletin: 7/2015 Hawker Sea Fury T Mk 20, G-RNHF (PDF) - HT to DoctorStrangelove for this addendum to the report on the crash of G-RNHF on 31 July 2014 at 1601 hrs: ”The aircraft was performing in a public air display at Culdrose when the pilot became aware of a significant engine vibration and then a corresponding loss of thrust. Despite the loss of engine power the pilot was able to land the aircraft on the runway but the landing gear collapsed on touchdown, causing it to veer off the runway. The aircraft came to a stop on the grass approximately 1,500 ft from the initial touchdown point. The pilot vacated the aircraft unaided and without injury.” More on the Sea Fury from Classic Warbirds: Hawker Sea Fury.
- Inside the Apollo "8-Ball" FDAI (Flight Director / Attitude Indicator) - Ken Shirriff gets back to Apollo: ”During the Apollo flights to the Moon, the astronauts observed the spacecraft's orientation on a special instrument called the FDAI (Flight Director / Attitude Indicator). This instrument showed the spacecraft's attitude—its orientation—by rotating a ball… It's not obvious how the ball can rotate to an arbitrary orientation while remaining attached. In this article, I look inside an FDAI from Apollo that was repurposed for a Space Shuttle simulator and explain how it operates.”
- Leicester Cathedral - Jay Hulme is the Churchwarden of the ancient St. Nicholas Church in Leicester, but for the past few years he’s been popping over the inner ring road to clamber around Leicester Cathedral as it underwent extensive refurbishment and repair: ”In January 2022 the Cathedral vacate the building for good. One rainy afternoon, under a cluster of Cathedral-branded golf umbrellas, the clergy solemnly process the reserved sacrament out of the building, across the ring road, and over to the aumbry in St Nicholas Church… The work can finally begin. And I set about persuading people to let me take a look. Over the next few years, I visit, often in hi-vis and hard hat, to take a little peek at the goings on.” This is a new grotesque of a Leicester Longwool sheep installed along the edge of the roof
Happy invoicing!
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