Can you imagine 200 hours of somersaults? Unusual attitudes are one thing, but how would you like to perform nose-over-tail somersaults in the Space Shuttle? The return to flight rehearsals for the Space Shuttle now include that maneuver. The idea is that the flip will expose the underside of the shuttle for tile inspection. A […]
Fly a different plane each day
Can’t get enough flying? How about flying every day? You can — at least at your desk — with the 365 Tiny Paper Airplanes Page-A-Day Calendar from Workman Publishing. The calendar, designed by paper airplane world record holder Ken Blackburn and engineer Jeff Lammers, features a year of paper airplanes small enough to fit in […]
80-year-old woman sets record as oldest to experience zero gravity
Neither age nor gravity stopped 80-year-old Dorothy Simpson from flying into the record books. According to Guinness World Records, she recently became the world’s oldest woman to experience weightlessness on a zero-gravity flight with Space Adventures, Ltd. “”I didn’t set out to break any records,”” says Simpson. “”But experiencing weightlessness on my Zero-G flight was […]
Moving on up
Are you ready for a jet? With all the hoopla surrounding the first flights and certification tests of the new very light jets coming to market, excitement is high. Anyone who’s been to any of the major shows in the past few years knows that the jets are among the most popular attractions. Pilots — […]
Perceptions
It’s pretty common for the family and close friends of a pilot to consider that pilot “the only one I’d feel comfortable flying with.” It’s no different with my family and non-flying friends. (Those friends of mine who do fly know better!) My wife is my No. 1 flying groupie. We’ve been flying together for […]
NASCAR races to the battefield
For the past several years, NASCAR race cars have had their windshields covered with thin laminate films that can be removed easily during a race for increased visibility. The same technology will soon be applied to U.S. Army Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters flying in Iraq and Afghanistan. “”A lot of technology comes from the armed […]
Discovery Wings deployed, becomes the Military Channel
Discovery Wings Channel, a favorite among aviation enthusiasts since its debut in July 1998, has signed up for active duty. The cable channel becomes the Military Channel Jan. 10. The revamped channel will feature “”a dramatically broadened programming mission,”” according to channel executives. New programming is designed to take viewers “”behind the lines”” to tell […]
Want to own a piece of the Concorde?
Just a year ago, a Hungarian businessman paid £320,000 for a Concorde nosecone at a Bonhams Auction. Now the only remaining “”spare”” flown nosecone is up for sale on eBay with a reserve of just £24,500 pounds — less than 10% of last year’s winning price. The eBay nosecone is believed to be the last […]
Flying High (Book Review)
Can a hyperactive, teetotalling, non-flying entrepreneur, whose first business went bankrupt and who was fired by a top company, do anything significant in the airline business? If your name is David Neeleman, the answer is a high-flying “yes,” as told in the new book “Flying High, How JetBlue Founder and CEO David Neeleman Beats the […]