Questions for Foreigners

[Lori_the_Hoosier]

Regarding measurement systems, and ones ability to determine nationality from them ...

Professionally, it seems that every measurement system ever devised by man is vying for a place at the table. We buy fuel from the refinery by the demi-barrel. Defined as 5333 1/3 ounces. That's not the same as the 7040 ounce (full) barrels, which are the reusable steel containers we haul that fuel to the interior in.

The aircraft used to fly that fuel burns the same fuel. Its Fuel Flow Gauge indicates in Kilograms per hour. At cruise it should read 35 to 42 depending on our gross weight. The fuel is pumped from the truck to the plane by the 160 ounce gallon, and once onboard the Fuel Quantity Gauge measures it by the 128 ounce gallon. 52 of them are supposedly usable in each wing. That gauge doesn't really matter unless we spring a leak, because it actually reads electrical impedance. Which is terribly inaccurate because impedance varies with temperature as does volume.

To determine how much fuel we have we physically dip the tank with a wooden stick, which is notched in theoretical hours of flight at cruising speed after warm up, takeoff, climb, and a safe reserve are allowed for. Because both the fuel fill and drain sump are in the forward part of the tank -- which is lower than median at flight attitudes but higher than median as the airplane sits on its wheels -- the stick must be inserted slowly, sliding perpendicular to the top of and along the back of the filler neck for an accurate read. Fortunately foreplay is not required for easy insertion.

Fuel pressure as it travels from the booster pump in the tank to the engine is measured in Pounds per square inch, so it's only illogical that we would burn it by the Kilogram, the equivalent of 60 of them each hour at climb. Mixed with air compressed in the supercharger to 44.5 Inches of Mercury it provides 310 Horsepower, and per the Airspeed Indicator moves the aircraft at 108 -- 6075.75 feet to the mile -- Nautical miles per hour as per the Vertical Speed Indicator it climbs four Meters per second to an altitude of 6,000 -- 12 inch to the foot -- feet per the Altimeter.

As I climb I glance at the Oil Pressure and Oil Temperature and Cylinder Head Temperature gauges to ensure the engine is not being overtaxed. Good readings are 75-90 Degrees Celsius at not over 85 Pounds per square inch for the oil and under 425 degrees Fahrenheit in the indicating cylinder.

The freight we haul, some of it is declared by Pound and some by the Kilogram. Measurements in Inches or Centimeters never matter because we gross out before we bulk out. The weight and balance computation table for this Swiss airplane built in Texas USA has us figure our weight in Pounds and our corresponding moment arm in Millimeters aft of datum.

Wasn't there an airliner flying out of Manitoba I think back in the 80's or maybe the early 90's that ran out of fuel half-way to their destination? I think it was because the fuel fill was calculated in kilogrammes and the pumps were calibrated in pounds. The refuelling crew didn't realize they had only half-filled the tanks so the plane had only half the fuel it needed to make the journey and had to glide/crash at a disused airfield called Gimley or Gimbley or something like that? I'm sure I saw a Showtime movie about it years ago

 

[oggbashan]

Many years ago, I was responsible for underground structures for my company.

We had one disaster. The manhole had been built to imperial dimensions but the reinforcing rods in the cover were the nearest equivalent metric. That meant they were a couple of inches too short and the cover fell into the manhole.

Another time we had an argument about pumping out a hole to build the manhole. The contractor said that because the new pumps were metric, they weren't as powerful as the old imperial ones. They kept pumping but the water kept gaining.

We sent one of our engineers to check. he found that the substrata was permeable and what they were trying to do was pump out the sea at high tide...

 

[AvroAnsonXIX]

Wasn't there an airliner flying out of Manitoba I think back in the 80's or maybe the early 90's that ran out of fuel half-way to their destination? I think it was because the fuel fill was calculated in kilogrammes and the pumps were calibrated in pounds. The refuelling crew didn't realize they had only half-filled the tanks so the plane had only half the fuel it needed to make the journey and had to glide/crash at a disused airfield called Gimley or Gimbley or something like that? I'm sure I saw a Showtime movie about it years ago

The Gimli Glider ...

AKA Air Canada Flight 143 from Montreal to Edmonton. It had a fancy computerized unit that (mis)managed fuel use. It recorded the amount of fuel taken on board -- and mistakenly recorded it as kilograms instead of pounds -- it also recorded the aircraft's fuel use. Because one pound is 0.453 kilograms the flight ran out of fuel on July 23, 1983 near Gimli Manitoba, slightly over half way to its destination.

I've flown out of the airport at Gimli. Saunders built the ST-27 commuter aircraft from retired deHavilland DH.114 Herons there. Transport Canada blatantly lies when it says in it's report that 143 landed at the "former air force base" in Gimli. The civilian airport is the "former air force base" there. The pilot of the Boeing 767 with 69 souls on board picked the best spot he could locate, and landed on a highway near the "former air force base."

The aircraft was towed to the airport overland, repaired right outside of the Saunders facility (it had struck the crash barriers, posts and cables erected between the traffic lanes) and was later flown out. It was really big news in a small town.

There are just so many things wrong with that whole scenario. Interconnected and interdependent systems experience cascade failures when one part fails. Old barometric Air Speed Indicators read Air Pressure and reported it as speed. Air pressure keeps a wing from stalling and it keeps the airplane in the air and those on board from abruptly impacting the earth. (A favorable condition known as "being alive.")

As you increase your altitude the force of gravity dissipates and air pressure falls. At altitude the number the Airspeed Indicator gives is off by the percentage that air pressure has fallen by. Is that important? No. Old airplanes carried handwritten or typed "correction cards" to calculate the constant error.

The computerized "solution" to this non-problem kills people. Modern radar Airspeed Indicators "ping" a radio signal off terrain and far more accurately report the actual speed the airplane is traveling. But airspeed doesn't keep the airplane's wing flying, pressure does. While the stalling speed is reported in terms of speed as the altitude increases the same amount of pressure is required to prevent a stall.

In an old airplane the erroneous speed accurately reported the pressure, no stall. in the newer "more accurate" airplane the pressure is over reported, many pilots unaware of this phenomenon have stalled aircraft at speeds that the "book" says are safe. Some of these airplanes have made sudden unplanned and uncontrolled impacts, often in an unsurvivable attitude, with prominent terrain features.

 

[Lori_the_Hoosier]

The Gimli Glider ...

AKA Air Canada Flight 143 from Montreal to Edmonton. It had a fancy computerized unit that (mis)managed fuel use. It recorded the amount of fuel taken on board -- and mistakenly recorded it as kilograms instead of pounds -- it also recorded the aircraft's fuel use. Because one pound is 0.453 kilograms the flight ran out of fuel on July 23, 1983 near Gimli Manitoba, slightly over half way to its destination.

I've flown out of the airport at Gimli. Saunders built the ST-27 commuter aircraft from retired deHavilland DH.114 Herons there. Transport Canada blatantly lies when it says in it's report that 143 landed at the "former air force base" in Gimli. The civilian airport is the "former air force base" there. The pilot of the Boeing 767 with 69 souls on board picked the best spot he could locate, and landed on a highway near the "former air force base."

The aircraft was towed to the airport overland, repaired right outside of the Saunders facility (it had struck the crash barriers, posts and cables erected between the traffic lanes) and was later flown out. It was really big news in a small town.

There are just so many things wrong with that whole scenario. Interconnected and interdependent systems experience cascade failures when one part fails. Old barometric Air Speed Indicators read Air Pressure and reported it as speed. Air pressure keeps a wing from stalling and it keeps the airplane in the air and those on board from abruptly impacting the earth. (A favorable condition known as "being alive.")

As you increase your altitude the force of gravity dissipates and air pressure falls. At altitude the number the Airspeed Indicator gives is off by the percentage that air pressure has fallen by. Is that important? No. Old airplanes carried handwritten or typed "correction cards" to calculate the constant error.

The computerized "solution" to this non-problem kills people. Modern radar Airspeed Indicators "ping" a radio signal off terrain and far more accurately report the actual speed the airplane is traveling. But airspeed doesn't keep the airplane's wing flying, pressure does. While the stalling speed is reported in terms of speed as the altitude increases the same amount of pressure is required to prevent a stall.

In an old airplane the erroneous speed accurately reported the pressure, no stall. in the newer "more accurate" airplane the pressure is over reported, many pilots unaware of this phenomenon have stalled aircraft at speeds that the "book" says are safe. Some of these airplanes have made sudden unplanned and uncontrolled impacts, often in an unsurvivable attitude, with prominent terrain features.

That's really interesting, and a real eye-opener, thank you!

 

[AvroAnsonXIX]

What they were trying to do was pump out the sea at high tide...

Bigger pumps?

 

[oggbashan]

Bigger pumps?

They started with the metric equivalent of 2 x 3-inch pumps. They then went to 2 x 6-inch, then four.

Eventually they built a coffer dam around the hole and poured concrete at low tide because the water was still coming up from underneath at high tide...

 

[Blind_Justice]

So, I have a question about US law enforcement.

I know many cities have a police department, and I also know that there are sheriffs around. Who does what and how do they coexist? Around which size does a settlement have one, the other or both?

I'm doing the Stephen King/H.P. Lovecraft thing and try to build my own fictional city deep in the Massachusetts woods, around 50k inhabitants. Will it have a complete police department or just a sheriff and his handful of staff?

Pointers to info or short answers both welcome.

 

[LAHomedog]

Question for Americans: Why do you call everyone else "foreigners?"

I was taken by the same thing, and I'm American. "Why wasn't it posted as "Why do people from other countries than America ..."

 

[SimonDoom]

So, I have a question about US law enforcement.

I know many cities have a police department, and I also know that there are sheriffs around. Who does what and how do they coexist? Around which size does a settlement have one, the other or both?

I'm doing the Stephen King/H.P. Lovecraft thing and try to build my own fictional city deep in the Massachusetts woods, around 50k inhabitants. Will it have a complete police department or just a sheriff and his handful of staff?

Pointers to info or short answers both welcome.

Every state in the USA has subdivisions established by the state government called counties. Counties have their own governments and law enforcement agencies -- usually called sheriff's offices. A sheriff's office or department is responsible for enforcing the law in the unincorporated portions of the county.

Within a county there are usually one or more incorporated cities. Cities usually have their own separate police forces, which enforce the law within the boundaries of the city. Sometimes smaller cities may rely upon the sheriff's office.

On top of that, most states have some form of highway patrol, which are responsible for patrolling and enforcing the law on public highways and roads and freeways.

A city with 50,000 in Massachusetts probably would have its own police department. Amherst, Mass has a population of 37,000 and has its own police department. Outside the city limits, the sheriff's department for that county would enforce the law.

 

[Blind_Justice]

Every state in the USA has subdivisions established by the state government called counties. Counties have their own governments and law enforcement agencies -- usually called sheriff's offices. A sheriff's office or department is responsible for enforcing the law in the unincorporated portions of the county.

Within a county there are usually one or more incorporated cities. Cities usually have their own separate police forces, which enforce the law within the boundaries of the city. Sometimes smaller cities may rely upon the sheriff's office.

On top of that, most states have some form of highway patrol, which are responsible for patrolling and enforcing the law on public highways and roads and freeways.

A city with 50,000 in Massachusetts probably would have its own police department. Amherst, Mass has a population of 37,000 and has its own police department. Outside the city limits, the sheriff's department for that county would enforce the law.

Thank you. Seems like I made my town an order of magnitude too big when Amherst even has their own police academy. I sent one of my characters to Boston to get her badge there. Ugh. From afar, it looked so easy...

 

[SimonDoom]

Thank you. Seems like I made my town an order of magnitude too big when Amherst even has their own police academy. I sent one of my characters to Boston to get her badge there. Ugh. From afar, it looked so easy...

Are you from England?

I imagine that for those from other countries it is confusing how fragmented and decentralized government and law enforcement are in the US. It's confusing even to a native. There are so many different law enforcement agencies, not to mention different bodies of law.

For example, many states now have decriminalized marijuana, but many have not, and the federal government has not, leaving the status of selling, possessing, and consuming marijuana somewhat uncertain, although as a practical matter in many states it's no longer something people are being arrested for.

By the way, I noted your fondness for chain mail bikinis. Do any of your stories cover that subject?

 

[Blind_Justice]

Are you from England?

By the way, I noted your fondness for chain mail bikinis. Do any of your stories cover that subject?

Germany. Our police system is a bit less convoluted, thankfully.

And no, I haven't written a chainmail bikini fetish story just yet, although I do feature a tall, red-blonde barbarian lady in my "Mud & Magic" series. She sadly passes away before the main character gets to lay her though.

That said, how likely is the typical American to give out a cell number to a person they just met on a Greyhound-like long-distance bus?

 

[SimonDoom]

I'm not sure there's a typical American. I know some people who are cautious about giving out cell numbers, and I know some who aren't.

I'm not an expert on other cultures. I have not spent a great deal of time in other countries. But my general impression is that Americans are more casual about things like that than people from some other countries might be.

As an author I wouldn't hesitate to write a scene where an American on a bus gave out a cell number in that situation, but I'd do two things in the scene: 1) provide a good reason or incentive for the person to give the number, and 2) write the person's hesitation about doing so but the mental process for overcoming the hesitation. That way you make it seem more plausible.

 

[Blind_Justice]

I'm not sure there's a typical American. I know some people who are cautious about giving out cell numbers, and I know some who aren't.

I'm not an expert on other cultures. I have not spent a great deal of time in other countries. But my general impression is that Americans are more casual about things like that than people from some other countries might be.

As an author I wouldn't hesitate to write a scene where an American on a bus gave out a cell number in that situation, but I'd do two things in the scene: 1) provide a good reason or incentive for the person to give the number, and 2) write the person's hesitation about doing so but the mental process for overcoming the hesitation. That way you make it seem more plausible.

Good advice I can work with. Again, thank you. One last, rather specific bit of detail - are there verbal announcements on an overland bus, something like "next stop: Bumfuck, Iowa" or the like? Are there still overland bussses (like Greyhounds) or is it assumed that everyone has their own car? As a foreigner AND someone blind with no driver's license, I figure getting around in the US is a major headache

 

[SimonDoom]

Good advice I can work with. Again, thank you. One last, rather specific bit of detail - are there verbal announcements on an overland bus, something like "next stop: Bumfuck, Iowa" or the like? Are there still overland bussses (like Greyhounds) or is it assumed that everyone has their own car? As a foreigner AND someone blind with no driver's license, I figure getting around in the US is a major headache

We have a national rail system called AmTrak. It is, most assuredly, not high-speed rail, but it can get you from one city to another, or take you across the country. I've taken the train between Washington DC and Boston, somewhere around 440 miles, I think, and I think it took about 8 hours.

The bus system is extensive. I've taken Greyhound buses, but it takes a while to get someplace. A long time ago I traveled about 800 miles on a bus and it took me about 24 hours, with all the stops in cities along the way. I don't specifically recall the announcements but I'm sure there were some.

Some cities have pretty good subway/metro rail systems, like New York, Chicago, Boston. Western cities generally do not. The San Francisco area, for example, has a rail system called Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) that is useful for commuting into the city from a suburb to work, but it's not as extensive or as useful for getting anywhere in the city as the New York and Boston systems, are. There are places you can live in New York City where you can do OK without a car much of the time. I cannot imagine doing without a car in Los Angeles, or Phoenix, or San Diego, or anywhere in California, for that matter.

Americans are more likely to drive and to fly. Someone traveling between San Francisco and Los Angeles (around 400 miles) is more likely to fly or drive than to take a bus or train.

 

[Blind_Justice]

We have a national rail system called AmTrak. It is, most assuredly, not high-speed rail, but it can get you from one city to another, or take you across the country. I've taken the train between Washington DC and Boston, somewhere around 440 miles, I think, and I think it took about 8 hours.

Heh, fun with AmTrak. I remember writing a story together with Zeb_Carter and we laid down some rail between Chicago and Las Vegas. Didn't go down with the audience.

In my story, the main character went from Paris to Boston by plane and from Boston to Greenbury (my fictional supernatural 'nexus' town) by overland bus. There's only one small road connecting Greenbury to the outside, which I have been told isn't unusual for some rural towns. They did have a train track for transporting lumber, but once the wood chopping became unprofitable, the train was shuttered along with the lumber mills which served it.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

We have a national rail system called AmTrak. It is, most assuredly, not high-speed rail, but it can get you from one city to another, or take you across the country.

Amtrak is I suppose a national rail system, but not as a European would think of it.

I just checked (having thought there werent trains south/west of Chicago) and yes, https://amtrakguide.com/routes/ shows you can go east-west across the US, but then saw how much of those routes are 1 train a day or less. The concept of being in a medium-size city (say Denver), checking the Departures board, and hopping on the next inter-city train just doesn't compute in America, outside the north-east and a bit of the Californian coast.

I often tell the story of when I learnt to drive in the American Midwest, and the instructor started yelling, "what you slowing down for?"
"The level crossing!"
"Yeah, so what you slowing down for?"
"There might be a train!"

Guy explains this railroad track is just for the harvest so there wouldn't be any train for another few months. I still think checking was sensible.

 

[oggbashan]

In the early 1950s, when my father was driving in Spain from Gibraltar, we had to cross an ungated railway level crossing. He slowed down and stopped to see if a train was coming. A local pedestrian told him not to worry. There was one train, every other Tuesday, and today was Thursday.

 

[Rustyoznail]

I often tell the story of when I learnt to drive in the American Midwest, and the instructor started yelling, "what you slowing down for?"
"The level crossing!"
"Yeah, so what you slowing down for?"
"There might be a train!"

Guy explains this railroad track is just for the harvest so there wouldn't be any train for another few months. I still think checking was sensible.

We have a line that’s only used to move grain, so people are a bit blasé outside of cropping season.

Except... every now and then a maintenance vehicle or train wanders down and catches the locals out. The results aren’t pretty.

Being cautious is a good thing.

 

[KeithD]

I often tell the story of when I learnt to drive in the American Midwest, and the instructor started yelling, "what you slowing down for?"
"The level crossing!"
"Yeah, so what you slowing down for?"
"There might be a train!"

Yeah, well, that brought up recent bad memories--of an unscheduled train taking the Republican U.S. congressional delegation to the Greenbriar in West Virginia through Virginia and hitting and wiping out a truck of the garbage men for my nearby area at such a train crossing. Damn right I slow down at truck crossings. It isn't just passenger trains using the rails. Far more freight trains are rumbling through.

 

[Javahead]

Yeah, well, that brought up recent bad memories--of an unscheduled train taking the Republican U.S. congressional delegation to the Greenbriar in West Virginia through Virginia and hitting and wiping out a truck of the garbage men for my nearby area at such a train crossing. Damn right I slow down at truck crossings. It isn't just passenger trains using the rails. Far more freight trains are rumbling through.

Well, my high school driving instructor would have chewed my ear off for not slowing down to check. He told us we were learning to drive the right way, not the probably OK way.

Though considering the accidents several of my classmates ended up having after getting their licenses, he probably wasn’t hard enough on them.