Comments on: Episode 66: Concrete Glider

By: Brian

Brian — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 09:45:37 +0000

I don’t know how Adam and Jamie could reproduce the exact set of circumstances, but an acquaintance of mine and his colleague were sucked into a passing high-speed train whilst bird watching in a railway cutting somewhere, I believe, in eastern Europe. My acquaintance was severely injured and spent many months in hospital. His colleague was killed.

By: Brian

Brian — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 09:39:19 +0000

What’s so special about a concrete conoe? In the late 1940′s and early 1950′s there were many concrete lighters moored on the River Medway in north Kent, UK.

By: Doug

Doug — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:44:57 +0000

I wonder if Jamie calculated the MAC before adjusting the CG

By: Bertie the Bunyip

Bertie the Bunyip — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 12:12:53 +0000

In fact, not only will a concrete glider, or for that matter, a glider made of just about any material that you can get to hold together, fly, it will fly equally as well as a glider of the exact same shape made out of a much lighter material.
The L/D (lift over drag) of any flying machine does not change with weight. in other words if you take a glider and load it up it will still go the same distance for a given altitude at the best glide speed for that weight.
The glider will descend more quickly, but it will go faster and just as far.
this isn’t to say a concrete glider is practical, but one made of the exact same shape as a lighter one will glide just as far.

By: adrianqx

adrianqx — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:16:14 +0000

Have to agree the concrete canoe website ,is the worst i have ever seen, super ugly reminds of the simpsons episode when homer created a website granted hes was better looking

By: Mr trauma

Mr trauma — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:15:44 +0000

In this episode there is a shot where karis skirt gets blown up by the train, is there a better angle of this event?

By: Dennis Baile

Dennis Baile — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:37:52 +0000

There was an incident in Flagstaff AZ where a brother and sister named Sult were pulled towards a passing freight train and the girl received MAJOR head trauma from the contact. I believe that it was in about 2000 and was reported in the local newspaper.

By: Myra

Myra — Thu, 01 May 2008 06:31:25 +0000

I know I’m posting this a long time after the original air date so I should probably also post this suggestion again somewhere else if I want it to be seen BUT…
I saw the subway vortex myth for the first time a few weeks ago, and it immediately reminded me of a myth I grew up with. As a child living near a shipping lane, I was told that the vortex behind large ships (freighter or cruise ship size) can suck a person into the propellers. My father loved scaring me with stories about swimming in the Panama Canal and fighting the suction whenever a cargo ship passed nearby. This myth is actually the reason for a phobia I have of boat propellers. Since water has such a different density than air and boats are a bit different than subway trains I’d LOVE to see this myth actually tested (and find out if my dad was just pulling my leg).

By: Dave Fairley

Dave Fairley — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 05:28:01 +0000

During WWII Geoffrey Pyke proposed the use of a incredibly strong form of ice dubbed “pykrete” for the construction of aircraft carriers. Pykrete was a mixture of wood pulp and ice and it was believed that a ship constructed from it would be unsinkable, given its incredible strength. According to Strange Brains and Genius by Clifford Pickover a one inch column of pykrete can support an automobile. This is a WWII myth I would love to see put to the test.

By: Christine Williams

Christine Williams — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 05:55:26 +0000

This episode saved a mans life. In the above news article a 14 year old boy recalled the train episode and managed to save a mans life. Well done mythbusters.