# 56,000 pounds of thrust **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 28, 2005, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/56-000-pounds-of-thrust/333067 "2005-11-28T16:49:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![galen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecc23a/32.png) [@galen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/56-000-pounds-of-thrust/333067/1 "2005-11-28T16:49:12Z")
Can [this video](http://www.lemonzoo.com/funny_videos/725/the_747_top_gear_car_test.html#mtop) be real? ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/56-000-pounds-of-thrust/333067/2 "2005-11-28T16:56:23Z")
Yes, those are some huge engines. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/56-000-pounds-of-thrust/333067/3 "2005-11-28T18:00:30Z")
That poor invisible driver! His imaginary wife is going to be pissed that he wrecked their real car. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/56-000-pounds-of-thrust/333067/4 "2005-11-28T18:05:07Z")
“Big engine, lightweight hippie car. This should be fun!” ---
**Author:** ![Tuco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tuco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuco)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/56-000-pounds-of-thrust/333067/5 "2005-11-28T18:12:50Z")
> [@galen](#): > > 56,000 pounds of thrust Nope, it’s 58,000 lbs. That’s the BBC show Top Gear, they do all kinds of stunts like that, I think it’s on BBC America. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/56-000-pounds-of-thrust/333067/6 "2005-11-28T18:17:53Z")
I remember watching that episode. Yes, it’s real. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/56-000-pounds-of-thrust/333067/7 "2005-11-28T18:43:01Z")
Oh, rats! I thought this was going to be another “My Dick is So Big” threads! 😃 [This page](http://www.apolloarchive.com/lynchburg/attractions/main.html) has a blurb about a NASA/USGS “Rotational Tuning Facility” that makes fine adjustments to Earth’s rotation using jets located around the world…I’ll bet those suckers generate more than 56K of thrust! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/56-000-pounds-of-thrust/333067/8 "2005-11-29T13:25:13Z")
Airline pilot here … That’s real. I can throw baggage carts & lav trucks a long way with a twist of the wrist. I’ve seen it done. Gotta be very careful since the Boss gets really upset if I do that. ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/56-000-pounds-of-thrust/333067/9 "2005-11-29T13:37:27Z")
The Mythbusters tried this once, I think, but it didn’t quite work out. (Slight hijack: can anyone identify the choral stuff that plays around the blowing of the first car?) ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/56-000-pounds-of-thrust/333067/10 "2005-11-29T18:50:20Z")
> [@Stark Raven Mad](#): > > The Mythbusters tried this once, I think, but it didn’t quite work out. > > (Slight hijack: can anyone identify the choral stuff that plays around the blowing of the first car?) They did use a much smaller engine IIRC. Leer jet sized, vs 747 size. Minor difference. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TheOnlySaneOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@TheOnlySaneOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheOnlySaneOne)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/56-000-pounds-of-thrust/333067/11 "2005-11-29T18:52:19Z")
> [@Stark Raven Mad](#): > > The Mythbusters tried this once, I think, but it didn’t quite work out. > > (Slight hijack: can anyone identify the choral stuff that plays around the blowing of the first car?) (Reply to slight hijack: I think it maybe something from one of the Lord of the Rings movies.) ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/56-000-pounds-of-thrust/333067/12 "2005-11-30T01:21:52Z")
I would like to see that except use a 777 with 108,000 pounds of thrust. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/56-000-pounds-of-thrust/333067/13 "2005-11-30T01:25:50Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > I would like to see that except use a 777 with 108,000 pounds of thrust. A mere trifle! Let’s strap on a Saturn V booster–7.5 _million_ pounds of thrust. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/56-000-pounds-of-thrust/333067/14 "2005-11-30T04:54:15Z")
Did you guys notice the following? [ul] [li]The Virgin Atlantic logo was blurred on the tail, but not on the nose of the 747. I wonder why?[/li][li]The rear bumper and rear window of the Mondeao was blown off / out before the car had completed the first roll?[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/56-000-pounds-of-thrust/333067/15 "2005-11-30T06:44:15Z")
> [@TheOnlySaneOne](#): > > (Reply to slight hijack: I think it maybe something from one of the Lord of the Rings movies.) It’s “The Flight to the Ford”, from the score of _Fellowship of the Ring_. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/56-000-pounds-of-thrust/333067/16 "2005-11-30T08:20:21Z")
> [@An Arky](#): > > Oh, rats! I thought this was going to be another “My Dick is So Big” threads! 😃 > [This page](http://www.apolloarchive.com/lynchburg/attractions/main.html) has a blurb about a NASA/USGS “Rotational Tuning Facility” that makes fine adjustments to Earth’s rotation using jets located around the world…I’ll bet those suckers generate more than 56K of thrust! 😃 That page also has a blurb about the “low gravity cavern” :dubious: : > [@](#): > > Although not actually in central Virginia, the Galax low-gravity cavern bears inclusion here for its uniqueness. In 1996, Virginia spelunkers Tim Doyle and Vaughan James were exploring unmapped areas of a cave near Galax, Virginia when they entered a chamber in which they suddenly felt light on their feet. They quickly discovered to their utter amazement that, in this chamber, they could effortlessly leave the ground merely by “pushing off,” and rise high into the chamber before gently falling back to the floor. What Doyle and James had discovered was soon confirmed by government scientists to be a “gravity hole,” a phenomena that had, up to that point, only been theorized by geophysicists. The gravity hole is essentially a region of reduced gravity which results from an unusually-dense mass immediately above the area, suspected in this case to involve a high concentration of the element iridium. > > The Galax low-gravity cavern has since become a hotbed of controversy and dispute over ownership and intended use. A court battle currently rages between landowners wanting to create an amusement park which features the “Low-G” cavern as a centerpiece, and the federal government who has laid claim to the cavern with the intention of researching the gravity hole phenomenon further and potentially using it for astronaut training. ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/56-000-pounds-of-thrust/333067/17 "2005-11-30T19:55:03Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > Did you guys notice the following? > [ul] > [li]The Virgin Atlantic logo was blurred on the tail, but not on the nose of the 747. I wonder why?[/li][li]The rear bumper and rear window of the Mondeao was blown off / out before the car had completed the first roll?[/li][/ul] 1. Not in every shot of the video. It’s clearly visable on the tail in many of the scenes. 2. The rear bumper was simply torn off when the wind got “under” it. The rear window blowing out followed the side window blowing out at the start of the roll. the pressure allowed (forced) inside of the passenger compartment simply blew out the rear window seal. You’ll note the boxy-VW Bug like car had it’s entire roof blown off in the similar “first roll”. Great video, and a great site! I wish it wasn’t blocked from work, that’d be a real time sink on a bad day. -Butler ---
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/56-000-pounds-of-thrust/333067/18 "2005-11-30T22:50:33Z")
Another 747 Video to deconstruct. **LSL Guy** , what do you think is going on here? [http://www.metacafe.com/watch/30410/boeing\_747\_extreme\_landing/](http://www.metacafe.com/watch/30410/boeing_747_extreme_landing/) ---
**Author:** ![St\_Ides](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@St\_Ides](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St_Ides)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2005, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/56-000-pounds-of-thrust/333067/19 "2005-12-01T01:08:47Z")
> [@shelbo](#): > > Another 747 Video to deconstruct. **LSL Guy** , what do you think is going on here? > > [VideosHub | Popular Internet Videos](http://www.metacafe.com/watch/30410/boeing_747_extreme_landing/) I’m not LSLguy, but I’ve got this whip… That’s a KLM 747 landing at Kai Tak airport in Hong Kong. It had an absolutely insane approach that involved low level turns, and was a quite a low altitude over tall buildings. It was pretty unanimously known as the most difficult airport to land at in the world. That landing was probably just an approach that got a little hectic. It looks like the pilot made some pretty huge mistakes… but a perfect landing at Kai Tak didn’t look much different than that. From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kai_Tak_International_Airport) > [@](#): > > The landing approach using runway 13 at Kai Tak was spectacular and world-famous. To land on runway 13, an aircraft first took a descent heading northeast. The aircraft would pass over the crowded harbour, and then the very densely populated areas on Western Kowloon. This leg of the approach was guided by an IGS (Instrument Guidance System, a modified ILS) after 1974. Upon reaching a small hill marked with a checkerboard in red and white, the pilot needed to make a 47° visual right turn to line up with the runway and complete the final leg. The aircraft would be just two nautical miles from touchdown, at a height of less than 1000 ft when the turn was made. Typically the plane would enter the final right turn at the height of about 650 ft and exit it at the height of 140 ft to line up with the runway. Of course, this is all in the past. Kai Tak was closed back in 1998.