AERA Corp., which is developing the Altairis Rocket for civilian space travel, has started selling tickets for its maiden flight, expected to lift off from Cape Canaveral in December 2006. Altairis is designed to launch six passenger astronauts and one mission commander into space and bring them safely back to Earth. But there aren’t any […]
After you Alphonse…
Reports of the Airbus A380 maiden flight have introduced a new, and exquisitely European, phrase to cockpit management: Command Sensitivity Awareness. To demonstrate their Command Sensitivity Awareness, the oh-so-politically-correct French announced that the A380’s two pilots were “alternate pilots in command and shared responsibility for the flight.” Is it, peut-etre, impossible for a Frenchman to […]
Not just another AirVenture souvenir…
Going to Oshkosh? Is buying a Lake Amphibian on your list of things to do? How about buying the entire kit and kaboodle? For the first time ever, the AirVenture grounds will be the site of an auction of all the assets of an aircraft line — the Lake Amphibian. The auction, slated for 4:30 […]
When the glass goes dark
What happens when the lights go out? Phrased one way or another, that is among the first questions to cross the minds of people unfamiliar with glass cockpits, but all too familiar with Microsoft’s notorious Blue Screen of Death. It’s a good question. Backup instruments are required by the FAA. How they are provided is […]
Vimy to recreate first transatlantic flight
“Yesterday I was in America, and I am the first man in Europe to say that!” John Alcock said that, shortly after landing a World War I-era Vickers Vimy bomber in Ireland on June 15, 1919. He and Arthur Brown had left St. John’s, Newfoundland, a mere 16 hours and 12 minutes earlier. If all […]
Hurricane outlook: up to five big ones expected
The National Hurricane Center’s forecasters are predicting another above-normal hurricane season for 2005, unhappy news after last year’s destructive season. “NOAA’s prediction for the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season is for 12 to 15 tropical storms, with seven to nine becoming hurricanes, of which three to five could become major hurricanes,” said retired Navy Vice Admiral […]
A 60-something celebration
On May 28, 1943, the first class of Women Airforce Service Pilots graduated from Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas. Now, 62 years to the date, the field will host another WASP first, the first WASP Memorial Day Fly-In. About 25 WASP from around the country are slated to attend the event, which will feature aircraft […]
Glacier Giel by the numbers
Would you like Glacier Girl to fly at your fly-in or air show? It’s possible, for a price. One of the rarest airplanes around, P-38s are not operationally inexpensive. According to Bob Cardin, operations manager for Glacier Girl, it costs $2,300 an hour to fly the grand old dame. That includes fuel, pilot salary and […]
Curiosity and invention
“Results! Why, man, I have gotten lots of results. I know several thousand things that won’t work.” That was Thomas Edison talking. Edison probably was the most prolific and successful inventor of our, or any, time and his statement emphasizes the importance of curiosity. In Edison’s case, that often meant research just for the sake […]