WIP Video - we’d love your feedback
Added 2024-11-14 14:00:19 +0000 UTCComing soon: the physics that doomed Amelia Earhart. We'd love to hear your feedback and suggestions as we finalise this video.
Thank you so much!
-Team Veritasium
Comments
Navigation was almost impossible back then. I mean, they could only measure air speed for flights by watching the clouds from the ground. No clouds or no perfect visibility, no or false measurements. And the air speed data you get from the ground gives just an idea, but no real wind speeds or correct data to make correct calculations. And then there's compass drift (nautical north and geographic north, don't underestimate that!). that means you can't fly 100% accurately with the compass you have back then, and you have the problem that you can only estimate winds, and without contact with others like ships along the route to keep you updated with the weather, you have no chance of flying properly. And Navigating with LFR back than was more like switching between the stations and hoping to catch and read one signal to see on which range you are. Look about "catch and fly the beam" from a ATC of that time I know that at the 1950s it was common or at least no surprise to be 100nm off course after a flight across the atlantic. And to be honest for Amalia Erhart with no ground contact she could have been almost everywhere. I mean you have the hustle to find the right direction with your radio. But what to do with no signal? What I want to say is, what you say is correct but you doesn't feel the problem that flying back than really was like walking blindfolded across a park. And that even if you did everything perfectly right, it was no easy task.
Thomas Biersack
2024-11-15 17:55:56 +0000 UTCDefinitely. One of the reasons she might not have turned back is she was extremely overloaded with fuel when she took off- a lot of stress on her plane. Plus, she needed a special type of fuel (100 octane) to take off with that much weight. She would've had to wait in Lae until more could be delivered to try again. Not a good enough reason to not turn back, but just some more context on what she might have been thinking. -Sulli
Veritasium
2024-11-15 16:49:11 +0000 UTCShe kinda did. It was really crazy -Sulli
Veritasium
2024-11-15 16:46:56 +0000 UTCgood call! before 1947 it was gmt-10.5 so we will clarify that -Sulli
Veritasium
2024-11-15 16:45:22 +0000 UTCWe actually reached out to a lot of fox hunters about equipment for the demo, but they mostly use Yagi antenna's now instead of loops. -Sulli
Veritasium
2024-11-15 16:44:51 +0000 UTC...Since then, pilots learnt that they can listen to AM radio stations on their ADF anntennas :)
Zeus
2024-11-15 15:24:39 +0000 UTCAmateur radio orienteering ("fox hunting") using pretty much the same antennas was a sizeable sport a few decades ago. I'm surprised you didn't mention it. (~16:00)
Zeus
2024-11-15 15:17:27 +0000 UTCTime code 25:10. Hawaii time zone is GMT-10 not 10.5.
Kyle Nishioka
2024-11-14 19:28:29 +0000 UTCThank you! I missed that!
Charles S. Cook
2024-11-14 18:05:40 +0000 UTC32:20
SkaveRat
2024-11-14 17:57:51 +0000 UTCAt about 0:40 you mention that there is one switch that could have been switched to change things. I did not hear the resolution to that one switch later in the video.
Charles S. Cook
2024-11-14 16:32:28 +0000 UTCAmazing Video!
Thaddeus Paul Hatfield
2024-11-14 16:13:04 +0000 UTC12:30-12:40 Repeated txt
Jan Doggen
2024-11-14 15:51:27 +0000 UTC8:30 "Earhart commandeered 3 US navy and Coast Guard ships" Did she have the clout to do so?
Jan Doggen
2024-11-14 15:47:30 +0000 UTCCommunications were a critical part of her flight plan. A fundamental error on her part was not aborting when she could not communicate with the Ontario. Turning back, the headwind would become a tailwind and she would have easily made it back to New Guinea. Her flight became a series of errors compounding on errors. Pilots with "get-there-itis" frequently make poor decisions to initiate or continue flights when they know things are wrong.
Walker Mangum
2024-11-14 15:21:53 +0000 UTC
