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A comment on Enroute Airbus A380 wake flips Challenger business jet upside down. Parent comment

Re:Enroute Airbus A380 wake flips Challenger business jet up... by sgustard on Friday March 17, 2017 @03:55AM (#13892312)
Every once in a while I have to re-realize how amazing this phenomenon is. The only thing in nature that flies are birds which weigh a few ounces. Nothing human-scale flies. Cars don't fly. Yet, the flying machines we decide to build weigh a million pounds and fly simply by going fast until the air lifts them up. That is some ludicrous black magic.
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Re:Enroute Airbus A380 wake flips Challenger business jet up... by nicolas314 on Friday March 17, 2017 @04:47AM (#13892492)
There is no magic. If you look carefully enough you can see the string holding planes in the air.
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Re:Enroute Airbus A380 wake flips Challenger business jet up... by eCa on Friday March 17, 2017 @04:46AM (#13892491)
Imagine seeing the quetzalcoatlus[1] fly...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetzalcoatlus

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Re:Enroute Airbus A380 wake flips Challenger business jet up... by mcguire on Friday March 17, 2017 @12:34PM (#13895343)
The size comparisons there don't do it justice.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/09/de/53/09de53063...

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/0a/a1/80/0aa180ef6...

If you're near Austin, the Texas Memorial Museum on the UT campus had a mounted skeleton.

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Re:Enroute Airbus A380 wake flips Challenger business jet up... by subroutine on Friday March 17, 2017 @10:08AM (#13894059)
Possibly James Cameron's inspiration for Toruk Makto

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7NZERuFNEw

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Re:Enroute Airbus A380 wake flips Challenger business jet up... by hyperknot on Friday March 17, 2017 @05:04AM (#13892552)
A lightweight paragliding set can be as light as 3 kg these days, and experienced pilots can travel 200+ kilometers regularly with a tiny bit heavier set (say 8 kg).
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Re:Enroute Airbus A380 wake flips Challenger business jet up... by lloeki on Friday March 17, 2017 @06:58AM (#13893000)
Paragliding requires ascending currents to maintain or gain altitude, IOW you're always going downwards relative to the surrounding air mass. Birds don't (although they obviously do know how to use it for the cheap).

I think maybe the GP is more amazed about the (self-) generated lift and assorted scale. Seems like humans have a thing for hurling self-propelled heavy metal boxes at ridiculous speeds, whether on ground, in the air, or in a vacuum.

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Re:Enroute Airbus A380 wake flips Challenger business jet up... by rubberstamp on Friday March 17, 2017 @08:10AM (#13893334)
gyrocopters are light weight and can takeoff and land in small patch of land.
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Re:Enroute Airbus A380 wake flips Challenger business jet up... by LoSboccacc on Friday March 17, 2017 @08:13AM (#13893351)
http://www.lensman.se/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/140223-Dalm...

"and then he said, 'ounces'"

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Re:Enroute Airbus A380 wake flips Challenger business jet up... by Eduard on Friday March 17, 2017 @04:30AM (#13892419)
bats and many insects can fly too.
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Re:Enroute Airbus A380 wake flips Challenger business jet up... by bbcbasic on Friday March 17, 2017 @04:46AM (#13892487)
And small planes
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Re:Enroute Airbus A380 wake flips Challenger business jet up... by vpribish on Friday March 17, 2017 @12:43PM (#13895445)
Very small rocks
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Re:Enroute Airbus A380 wake flips Challenger business jet up... by mcguire on Friday March 17, 2017 @12:51PM (#13895549)
The occasional large rock, for short distances.
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