Video: A Crash Landing From The Pilot’s Point Of View

by Jessica Festa on




Talk about a crash landing. While flying over Cleveland National Forest, Larry E. Hockensmith, a student glider pilot and licensed power pilot of almost 40 years, thought he was going in for a smooth landing. Unfortunately, he didn’t notice the nearby mailbox, which caught the right wing of the sailplane about 8 inches from the tip.

While many would be embarrassed about the guffaw, Hockensmith instead is choosing to own up to his mistake of lingering on the “lee-side of a ridge over rough terrain,” and to make the crash into a learning experience. Not only did his soaring club host a safety meeting where they watched the full 16-minute video and participated in discussions, but Hockensmith also posted the video to the YouTube community, asking them how they thought the differences between the training of a power pilot and glider pilot could have affected the outcome.

“Going into that turn I wanted to make sure I did not stall and added a bit too much airspeed,” Hockensmith explains. “Next time, hitting the spoilers, dropping airspeed and putting the skid down fast might produce a better outcome.”

If you found this interesting, the pilot will be posting more videos on this in the near future. You can click here to follow his YouTube account.

Video: The Beautiful Sights And Sounds Of Yellowstone

by Kraig Becker on

Yellowstone National Park is one of the most beautiful locations in all of North America. Its lush forests, snow-capped peaks and unique geothermal activity make it a place that is unlike any other. Those amazing landscapes have been admired by visitors for more than 140 years, but now the park is being recognized for its amazing soundscapes as well.

The video below gives us some great examples of both the landscapes and the soundscapes of the park, where the wildlife, running rivers, geothermal features and other natural elements all blend together to create a sensory experience that will delight visitors of all ages. The howling of a wolf, babbling of a brook and rushing of the wind all contribute to making Yellowstone a special place, and the National Park Service wants to preserve those sounds as much as the sights.

This video was added to Yellowstone’s new YouTube channel a few days ago as the park continues to expand its use of social media. In addition to YouTube, Yellowstone now has a Twitter feed, Facebook page and a Flickr stream, and fans of the park will no doubt find something to like in each of them.


Video Of The Day: Florence Time-Lapse

by Elizabeth Seward on

Semper Firenze

I came across this time-lapse video from a New Year’s outing in Florence, Italy, on Vimeo (user MattBen) today. It struck me immediately as dramatic, but also mesmerizing. The time-lapse starts off and ends with slow sounds and visuals. The video climaxes in the middle with chaotic and dissonant music paired with footage of people moving along the streets of Florence furiously. Time-lapses are something I like because, when done well, they present to us the image of a longer span of time in a place than a single snapshot can provide. With that we can view the changes that take place in a destination over the course of a few hours, a day, weeks, or months. If you know of any good time-lapse videos you’d like to share with us, please do so in the comments.

Mission Aquarius: Journey To The World’s Last Undersea Research Station

by Jessica Marati on

For 50 years, the underwater Aquarius Reef Base in the Florida Keys has been an important center for oceanic exploration. Today, it is the last remaining undersea research station in the world. But funding for the program is about to be cut and unless a new source is found, Aquarius will soon be shut down.

To bring attention to this issue, One World One Ocean and MacGillivray Freeman Films are teaming up for Mission Aquarius, a six-day underwater expedition and media campaign headed up by Dr. Sylvia Earle, an oceanic research pioneer and National Geographic Explorer-In-Residence. By documenting the expedition, these parties hope to bring attention to the accomplishments of the Aquarius Reef Base, as well as highlight the importance of oceanic research and the challenges facing the world’s oceans.

“We know more about the moon than we do about our ocean, which sustains all life on this planet,” Earle said in a release. “Only by making undersea exploration and research an international priority can we learn what we need to know about the ocean to protect it and protect ourselves.”

Mission Aquarius, which runs from July 16 to 21, will provide a fascinating glimpse at life 60 feet under the sea. Individuals will be able to dive into real-time footage on Ustream.TV, explore related content on One World One Ocean‘s website and sign an online petition to signal their support for continued program funding.


Video: Great White Shark Drafts Sea Kayaker

by Laurel Miller on

There have been a number of great white sightings in Cape Cod of late, but first-time sea kayaker Walter Szulc, Jr. got a closer look than most while paddling at Nauset Beach on Saturday. He safely made it to shore, and the beach was closed. On Sunday, three great whites were spotted in the region, the largest reaching up to 18 feet in length. [UPDATE: Scientists are now disputing the species following Szulc, which may have been a harmless basking shark, but have confirmed the presence of great whites in the region].

Scientists say the sharks are drawn to the area because of the growing seal population, and are monitoring beaches via aircraft. Researchers are tagging the sharks to aid with further study, as they’re on the endangered species list. The following YouTube clip shows a close encounter of the worst kind.