Doc

2nd Sep 2005

Octopussy (1983)

Corrected entry: When Bond flies the mini-jet through the hangar, he banks the wings to get through the closing doors, to the point where the wings are vertical as the plane exits the building. The problem is, aircraft are turned by banking the wings; if the wings are banked, the aircraft is turning, and the greater the bank, the tighter the turn. The hangar would have had to be almost u-shaped for Bond to have made it through.

Correction: It is perfectly possible to fly a straight line in a vertical-wing position - also known as knife-edge - for a limited time, even near ground level. While it is true that the vector of the wings' lift acts sideways during that, you can compensate that motion by changing the angle of attack with the elevator. At the speed of an airplane, the deflection would be 1-3m max on the length of that hangar anyways. To compensate for the missing lift, you'd use a bit of rudder and the momentum of the plane.

Doc

11th Nov 2013

M*A*S*H (1972)

Correction: Not every shell automatically produces a sound audible beforehand at the location of impact. In fact, many artillery shells arrive on target at close to the speed of sound or even supersonic, making it physically impossible to hear any flight sound before the impact.

Doc

14th Sep 2003

M*A*S*H (1972)

Correction: Elsewhere in the series, Hawkeye himself describes mental conditions with the word "moldy", which indeed is the English translation of farshimmelt, see also the German "verschimmelt" of the same meaning. Since obviously to the writers "moldy" was a legitimate if somewhat humorous description of a less-than-optimal mental condition, the word "farshimmelt" is probably not a mistake but an intentional use.

Doc

Corrected entry: Indiana's boat was destroyed by a giant propeller. However, no boat in history has a propeller that is only half submerged in water and the other half in the air.

moleman

Correction: Actually, there are a number of legitimate reasons why a ship's propeller may be only partly submerged. Several types of heavy-load ships have their propellers exposed when they carry neither load nor ballast. Almost every type of nuclear submarine has part of its propellers clear of the water when its ballast tanks are blown dry. Since the ship was moored and the propeller turning rather slowly, it was probably supposed to be deballasted for yard repairs and undergoing an engine test.

Doc

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