# Washington D.C. buildings evacuated! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 11, 2005, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-d-c-buildings-evacuated/303403 "2005-05-11T16:08:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-d-c-buildings-evacuated/303403/41 "2005-05-12T02:38:40Z")
By the way - how much weight can the “average motorcycle” safely carry? ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-d-c-buildings-evacuated/303403/42 "2005-05-12T03:26:02Z")
> [@av8rmike](#): > > Great post, **asterion**. I think I remember that one the first time around. > > And on cue, there’s **Broomstick** with an essay. 😉 😛 Thanks. It’s probably my only real use of a whole year’s worth of college physics. And yeah, I caught that too. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-d-c-buildings-evacuated/303403/43 "2005-05-12T03:46:13Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Fantastic. I must make a note of this and find an occassion to use it, even if I don’t personally own a scrotum. Be my guest. 😉 > [@Broomstick](#): > > I have flown a half dozen different Cessna 150’s, rented in three different states. _Not one_ had a GPS installed. One had no VOR’s whatsover. None had more than one VOR, unless you could by personal ICOM handheld with VOR capability. Most people do not carry such a thing, and of those who do, I am one of the few who probably actually knows how to use it. I always flew dad’s airplanes. He had two VORs in both the C-172 and the C-182. The Robinsons and Schweizers I flew had single VORs; but with the hilly terrain of Southern Californa and the low altitudes (typically about 500 feet AGL), they were useless. I do have a VOR-capable tranceiver (from Sporty’s), but I don’t think it would be of much use in a helicopter. For one thing, there are the low altitudes I mentioned. For another, it’s a little unhandy when you have to use both hands and both feet to fly one. > [@Broomstick](#): > > Flying is not like driving in that there really is no road and no signposts - you have to keep an awareness of where you are in three dimensional space at all times. Helis fly low enough you can read road signs. 😉😛 > [@Broomstick](#): > > I think the 110 mph belongs to the C152 - I’ve yet to fly a true C150 that can get more than 100 mph even on a cold day with just me aboard, much less with two adult men. The only way to break 100 is to use gravity to assist. > > Also, the legal maximum take off weight is 1600 lbs. I’ve never flown a 150, and haven’t been in one since I was a child. Thanks for the numbers. I thought CNN Miles was a bit high on the 2,000 pound number; but he was illustrating that even that light weight was ‘heavy’ for a 150. > [@Broomstick](#): > > We won’t get into the _faux pas_ of a non-working radio (so they claimed) in such high traffic airspace so near Class C and B airports, which is \*another \* major no-no. _Definitely_ not having an operable radio is a violation. Not to mention the mode-C transponder. I was over L.A. in a 172 with an inoperable transponder. We were told they were just getting a skin paint, so we recycled the switch and it started working. Fortunately. > [@Broomstick](#): > > By the way - how much weight can the “average motorcycle” safely carry? Depends on the bike. I loaded up my Yamaha XJ600 with 400 pounds of people once. Worked okay on the flat, but wouldn’t make it up one road in the Hollywood Hills. I suspect I could carry more on my 1000cc YZF-R1. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-d-c-buildings-evacuated/303403/44 "2005-05-12T03:56:55Z")
Frederick, Maryland in the News! I was raised there. The airport is a good one. It is long enough for large planes (it can take Air Force One if need be), and it has the State Police right there. A good choice. And as noted the AOPA is there too. Not that that matters. ---
**Author:** ![SuperNelson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@SuperNelson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNelson)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-d-c-buildings-evacuated/303403/45 "2005-05-12T04:36:48Z")
How does an F-16 escort a Cessna 150? Can the F-16 even remain airborne below 90 mph? Or would the jets just orbit around the Cessna in big fast circles? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-d-c-buildings-evacuated/303403/46 "2005-05-12T09:58:28Z")
Yeah, the big planes would probably have to circle, or fly as slow as possilbe alongside (at a safe distance) from the little plane’s tail to the nose, then break away and come back when they pass it. Flying something like an F-16 slow enough to escort a C150 and yet not stall and drop is a demonstration of very excellent flying. There was at least one Blackhawk helicoptor involved, too. The authorities has started to use helicopters for the slow speed intercepts after an incident involving an ultralight. However, the fighter jets can get to a location much faster and I’m sure that was a factor here for the initial contact. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-d-c-buildings-evacuated/303403/47 "2005-05-12T12:02:19Z")
I was home watching the news when they interrupted the news (never a good thing) to bring the story. My first thought was “OHMIGOD! It’s the 11th.” Could the pilot had done this on some other date? ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-d-c-buildings-evacuated/303403/48 "2005-05-12T12:42:17Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > By the way - how much weight can the “average motorcycle” safely carry? Not a whole lot. My bike, a Sport Touring bike meaning it’s pretty big, already weighs 600 pounds, plus my 200. I would say you could get away with 1100-1200 max on a bike, it wouldn’t be fun but you could do it. So loaded and two up I would be around 1000 pounds and could probably push 115mph. Then again the bike is smaller then a plane. **Paul in Saudi** where did you grow up at? I grew up there as well in Middletown and I still live 20 miles away. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washington-d-c-buildings-evacuated/303403.md?page=2)