The A380 – REVEALED

The A380 - REVEALED

A remarkable new era began for Airbus and for air travel today when the A380 – the world’s first double-deck passenger aircraft – was unveiled.

The world took its first official look at the biggest airliner yet built during a spectacular ceremony attended by the leaders of four countries, the heads of 14 airlines and operators – Airbus’ A380 customers – shareholders and thousands of invited onlookers, including hundreds of journalists.

Airbus President and CEO Noël Forgeard welcomed British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero to witness an historic event seen as a milestone in aviation.

A stunning sound and light show – featuring fireworks and illuminated fountains – captured the magical romance of flying and conjured up the spirit and imagination of Airbus, reaching its climax in the unveiling of the A380 at the Jean-Luc Lagardère Final Assembly Line in Toulouse.

The show told, through a storyteller projected onto a vast screen, how the A380 has become a reality thanks to the Airbus policy of listening to its customers and then applying innovative skills and expertise to make their wishes for their dream aircraft come true. Four giant human figures, representing the cultures of France, Germany, Spain and Britain paraded on stage. A flying machine represented Man’s romantic desire to fly as it has manifested itself through the centuries. Images of Airbus aircraft, from the A300/A310 Family, A320 Family and A330/A340 Family, flew across a sky backdrop and round the auditorium. Airbus’ A380 customers also appeared on screen expressing why they wanted the A380: its capacity, innovation, range, fuel and cost efficiency, environmental friendliness and cabin comfort.

As four children released the veil to reveal the gleaming new aircraft, the first sight of the Airbus flagship of the 21st century drew loud and spontaneous applause from the audience of nearly 5,000.

Simultaneously revealed was the brand new Airbus livery – crossing lines of blue, grey and white symbolising the blend of cultures and innovations, which has been the cornerstone of the company’s success.

Before joining shareholders to press a button to light up the A380 and christen the aircraft, Noël Forgeard spoke of the “optimism” and “commitment driven by confidence in the future” which the success of Airbus and the A380 programme embodied.

All four national leaders spoke of the great achievement the A380 represented for Airbus employees and for the company’s shareholders and suppliers worldwide.

It was a day of enormous pride for all: a vibrant, jubilant ceremony on a grand scale befitting the world’s biggest and most advanced passenger aircraft.

MiG -21 safest flying machines

MiG-21 aircraft, once known as ‘flying coffins’, are now not only among the safest flying machines but are more lethal for the enemy.

The number of mid-air crashes is now almost zero since these have been upgraded according to this local web site. And induction of a training schedule for pilots has brought down human error while maneuvering.

This year, 2 combat aircraft have crashed, but none of them is MiG-21 Bison, the upgraded version of the old MiG-21. IAF officers said “The MiGs are safer than ever before. Only 4 MiG-21 Bison aircraft have crashed since their induction in 2002. IAF plans to fly the Bisons – which it describes as an almost brand new fighter, with the latest avionics, improved gearboxes, and other advanced systems – till 2017.”

The latest technology in aviation registers 0.5 accidents every 10,000 hours of flying and the old technology touches 1.75 crashes in a similar number of flying hours.

MiG-21 Type 75, MiG-21 Type 93, and MiG-21 Bis have been upgraded to MiG-21 Bison with altogether new avionics and onboard electronic systems apart from night-vision devices and mid-air refueling capabilities, making it more competitive than American F-16 Fighting Falcons, sources in Western Air Command added.

The introduction of a new training schedule for pilots to improve man-machine relationships has helped bring down human errors.

“The main reasons for aircraft accidents are human error and technical defect. A continuous and multi-faceted effort is always underway in the IAF to enhance and upgrade flight safety. Measures to enhance the quality of training to improve the skill levels, ability to exercise sound judgment, and situational awareness of pilots are being pursued,” sources said.

Plane Windshields Crack at Denver Int. Airport

Plane Windshields Crack at Denver Int. Airport

NewsLover writes ” 

Airlines were investigating why windshields on at least 13 planes cracked at Denver International Airport as winds of up to 100 mph whipped through the foothills in Colorado.

SkyWest Airlines reported cracked windshields on 8 planes that were taking off or landing Friday as winds gusted up to 50 mph, spokeswoman Marissa Snow said. One plane’s windshield cracked while it was airborne.

SkyWest, a regional carrier for United Airlines, said the planes involved were the Embraer EMB120 Brasilia and Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet, though she did not immediately have numbers.

Two Frontier Airlines Airbus planes had their windshields crack while airborne, while two other windshields cracked while at the gate, airline spokesman Joe Hodas said.

In all instances the planes returned to the airport and/or made it to the gate safely. No emergencies were declared and no injuries were reported.

Hodas said it was unclear whether the high winds were to blame. “It’s not exactly unusual weather for Denver,” Hodas said. “We don’t know what it is… It’s kind of a mystery at this point.”

Spokesman Steve Snyder said windshields cracked on several different makes and models of airplanes from several airlines, though he did not immediately know which and how many. None of the pilots reported flying debris, Snyder said.

When Are Pilots Happy?

When Are Pilots Happy?

One fine hot summer afternoon there was a Cessna 150 flying in the pattern at a quiet country airfield. The Instructor was getting quite bothered with the student’s inability to maintain altitude in the thermals and was getting impatient at sometimes having to take over the controls. Just then he saw a twin engine Cessna 402 5,000 ft. above him and thought, “Another 1,000 hrs of this and I qualify for that twin charter job! Aaahh.. to be a real pilot going somewhere!”

The 402 was already late and the boss told him this charter was for one of the Company’s premier clients. He’d already set MCT and the cylinders didn’t like it in the heat of this summer’s day. He was at 6,000 ft. and the winds were now a 20kt headwind. Today was the 6th day straight and he was pretty dang tired of fighting these engines. Maybe if he got 10,000 ft. out of them the wind might die off… geez those cylinder temps! He looked out momentarily and saw a B737 leaving a contrail at 33,000 ft. in the serene blue sky. “Oh man,” he thought, “My interview is next month. I hope I just don’t blow it! Outta G/A, nice jet job, above the weather… no snotty passengers to wait for …”

The 737 bucked and weaved in the heavy CAT at FL330 and ATC advised that lower levels were not available due to traffic. The Captain, who was only recently advised that his destination was below RVR minimums, had slowed to LRC to try and hold off a possible in-flight diversion, and arrange an ETA that would helpfully ensure the fog had lifted to CAT II minima. The Company negotiations broke down yesterday and looked as if everyone was going to take a dang pay cut. The F/O’s will be particularly hard hit as their pay wasn’t anything to speak of anyway. Finally deciding on a speed compromise between LRC and turbulence penetration, the Captain looked up and saw Concorde at Mach 2+. Tapping his F/O’s shoulder as the 737 took another bashing, he said “Now THAT’S what we should be on… huge pay .. super fast… not too many routes…not too many legs… above the CAT… yep! What a life…!”

FL590 was not what he wanted anyway and he considered FL570. Already the TAT was creeping up again and either they would have to descend or slow down. That dang rear fuel transfer pump was becoming unreliable and the F/E had said moments ago that the radiation meter was not reading numbers that he’d like to see. Concorde descended to FL570 but the radiation was still quite high even though the Notam indicated hunky dory below FL610. Fuel flow was up and the transfer pump was intermittent. Evening turned into night as they passed over the Atlantic. Looking up, the F/O could see a tiny white dot moving against the backdrop of a myriad of stars. “Hey Captain” he called as he pointed. “Must be the Shuttle. “The Captain looked for a moment and agreed. Quietly he thought how a Shuttle mission, while complicated, must be the-be-all-and-end-all in aviation. Above the crap, no radiation problems, no dang fuel transfer problems…aaah. Must be a great way to earn a buck.”

Discovery was into its 27th orbit and perigee was 200ft out from nominated rendezvous altitude with the commsat. The robot arm was virtually U/S and a walk may become necessary. The 200ft predicted error would necessitate a corrective burn and Discovery needed that fuel if a walk was to be required. Houston continually asked what the Commander wanted to do but the advice they proffered wasn’t much help. The Commander had already been 12 hours on station sorting out the problem and just wanted 10 minutes to himself to take a leak. Just then a mission specialist, who had tilted the telescope down to the surface for a minute or two, called the Commander to the scope. “Have a look at this Sir, isn’t this the kinda flying you said you wanted to do after you finish up with NASA?” The Commander peered through the telescope and cried Ooooohhhhh yeah! Now THAT’S flying! Man, that’s what its all about! Geez I’d give my left arm just to be doing THAT down there!”

What the Discovery Commander was looking at was a Cessna 150 in the pattern at a quiet country airfield on a nice bright sunny afternoon.

Sky-Nets Create WiFi Network for General Aviation

Sky-Nets Create WiFi Network for General Aviation

Sky-Nets, Ltd. announced on September 20, 2006, the creation of a new Wi-Fi hotspot network which will serve the general aviation community with free secured wireless Internet access in Fixed-Base Operators (FBOs) at airports throughout the United States. The hotspot network will be funded by sponsors, which enables Sky-Nets to provide pre-configured hotspot equipment to participating FBOs at no charge while also giving free access to users.

This new hotspot network will help make certain that general aviation pilots and passengers have wireless Internet access readily available from their laptop or PDA for various applications, such as accessing the Internet and obtaining weather reports and airport information.

In addition, Sky-Nets offers many other benefits to the general aviation community, which includes ensuring everyone has an effective and safe Wi-Fi experience by providing tips on using hotspots and software to encrypt user connections while using Sky-Nets’ Wi-Fi hotspots. Without this software, user traffic is exposed to nearby wireless eavesdroppers which could lead to identity theft and invasion of privacy. This is typical of the majority of public wireless networks throughout the world. The Sky-Nets Wi-Fi Hotspot Secure Client Software, however, solves these issues and makes the wireless hotspot connection very secure.

The hotspot network also creates a unique method for general aviation companies and organizations to market their brand. Sky-Nets offer different sponsorship levels to accommodate varying marketing goals and financial situations. Sky-Nets is currently pursuing “founding” sponsorships in order to go live and start deploying hotspots at FBOs.

Participating FBOs of the Sky-Nets Wi-Fi Hotspot Network will likely receive more aircraft activity and visitors due to offering free wireless Internet access. The FBOs can advertise the availability of the hotspot on their websites, and the hotspots will be listed in online hotspot directories.

In addition, the hotspot equipment given free-of-charge to the FBOs provides an easy way to integrate or create a secured private wireless network for internal use while providing public wireless access, even when using a single Internet connection. Furthermore, FBOs having existing public Wi-Fi networks can use the free Sky-Nets equipment to expand the hotspot coverage area.

While FBOs wait for the Sky-Nets Hotspot Network to go live, they can sign-up on the waiting list and will be notified when deployment begins. At that time, the free pre-configured hotspot equipment and other materials, such as “Wi-Fi here” window decals and posters, will be disbursed according to the order of FBOs on the waiting list and available funding.

The Sky-Nets Wi-Fi Hotspot Network is scheduled to begin deployment and go live in early 2007. For more information about the program you can visit www.sky-nets.com.

About Sky-Nets:

Sky-Nets, Ltd. was created in 2006 by Eric Geier, a wireless networking and computing consultant and author. Eric is an author and contributor of several books, including Wi-Fi Hotspots: Setting Up Public Wireless Internet Access published by Cisco Press, and is a regular contributor of tutorials and product reviews on Wi-FiPlanet.com. For several years, he was employed as a consultant and instructor with Wireless-Nets, a consulting firm focusing on the implementation of wireless mobile solutions and training.

Lawsuit against Jet 1 alleges fraud

Lawsuit against Jet 1 alleges fraud

A Palm Beach luxury club is suing the troubled Jet 1 Charter Inc., alleging the Naples charter company fraudulently leased it a plane that was repeatedly grounded due to problems.

But Jet 1 owner Scott Phillips branded the matter a contractual dispute, saying he grounded the plane because Legacy Club didn’t pay its bills. He called the lawsuit’s allegations false and said Legacy Club’s founders, who both have past legal problems, concocted the allegations to avoid paying leasing costs.

“The guy is broke and can’t pay his bills,” Phillips said of Thanos Papalexis. “He was trying to use this airplane as part of his smoke and mirrors routine to lure investors. … This lawsuit was filed to try to stop me from filing a lawsuit against them. This guy’s background is pretty bad. I’m not the only one going after him.”

The lawsuit, filed March 30 in Collier Circuit Court, alleges fraudulent misrepresentation in the leasing and sale of the plane and seeks damages, including return of the club’s $100,000 deposit; compensation for the cost of flights to and from New York; and reimbursement for the loss of business opportunities, frequent delays due to the plane’s poor condition, and overhead expenses due to delays.

Grand Legacy is a private residence club that requires members to pay a more than $200,000 fee and nearly $1,000 monthly to use a mansion there and another on Legacy Cay, a private island in the Bahamas. Members get full access to a “world-class spa,” pools, beaches and dining.

Its Web site says membership provide owners with the “opportunity to live life on a grand scale, reminiscent of the golden days of opulence.” But records show both its owners —Papalexis and Daniel Gorman — have had past legal problems involving fraud and that seven years ago, Gorman, who was hired to operate a national citrus program, pleaded guilty to defrauding the Florida Citrus Commission out of $85,000.

The lawsuit is the latest problem to hit Jet 1. In March 2006, a federal court judge approved an agreement that put Jet 1 Center in Chapter 7 bankruptcy, prompting a trustee to liquidate its assets. The agreement also called for the Naples Airport Authority to take over Jet 1 Center at the Naples Municipal Airport property, so Phillips moved his operations nearby and set up Jet 1 Charters.

FSX Aeroprakt A-22 Foxbat Package

Description

FSX Aeroprakt A-22 Foxbat Package

The A-22 ‘Foxbat’ is available as a Ready-To-Fly factory built aircraft or as an advanced kit. Building time for the kit is 300 to 500hrs. Designed by former Antonov design engineer, Yuri Yakovlev , the A-22 is one of a line of many aircraft produced by Aeroprakt in the Ukraine. Construction is aluminium with some parts of the wing and control surfaces covered with Ceconite.

The A-22 is powered by the reliable Rotax 912 or 912S engine, and the 3-blade composite ground adjustable propellor from KievProp is very quiet. A cabin width of 120cm (128cm at the elbows) ensures ample room for pilot and passenger. As a comparison, the cabin with of a Cessna 172 is 100cm and a Jabiru SP is 97cm (107cm at the elbows).

Transparent doors with convex sides allow for excellent downward visibility. The instrument panel has room for a generous instrument layout. Dual controls are standard with options of either conventional control yokes or a centre stick. A centre stick with a “Y” grip is also available. Basic VFR flight and engine instruments are included with the ready-to-fly aircraft. A stall speed of 50kph (30mph) using the full span flapperons puts the A-22 safely into the microlight category. The all round visibility from the A-22 is spectacular. Rick Piper.

FS2004 FS9.1 No CD Crack

Description

This is the No-CD patch or ‘crack’ for FS2004 version 9.1 (after FS9 Update patch). When applied, there is no need to insert your CD4 when attempting to play the software. Simply replace the FS9.exe file in the root folder with this one and play away! Thanks to michlin for hunting this down.

Keywords

FS2004FS9NoCDCrack

Date:

31.05.2007 05:11

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Civil Air Patrol – USAF Auxiliary

Civil Air Patrol - USAF Auxiliary

I am trying to make connections with pilots in the area that might want to participate in the pilot program through Civil Air Patrol – USAF Auxiliary (CAP – USAF). In addition to what I have noted below, they can become qualified to do orientation flights for our cadets 12-21 years old.

Serve Your Community by Doing What You Love CAP pilots fly reconnaissance missions for homeland security, search and rescue and disaster relief, and even counterdrug reconnaissance at the request of government or law enforcement agencies. They transport medical personnel and supplies, blood and live tissue. In times of disaster, they assess damage and transport emergency personnel from site to site.

The Civil Air Patrol’s aircraft are hangared at strategic locations throughout the nation to be readily available when missions arise. CAP members maintain these aircraft at the highest levels of safety and efficiency and have access to specialists at CAP National Headquarters for maintenance, safety and training questions.

You’ll have to satisfactorily complete a flight check and pass a written exam. You’ll also need to complete aircraft questionnaires for each plane you’re qualified to fly. As a CAP pilot, you perform some of the organization’s most important work. CAP is also a great place for you to meet and work with people who share your interest in flying and want to use their skills in a meaningful way.

If anyone is interested they can contact me directly or for more information visit www.CAP.gov.

Reality XP released Flight Line Wx500 Weather Radar

Reality XP released Flight Line Wx500 Weather Radar

Anonymous writes 
Reality XP announced the release of its new offering for Flight Simulator 2004, a Century of Flight. The highly anticipated Flight Line Wx500 integrates with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 to provide a realistic simulation of an Onboard Weather Radar. Flight Line Wx500 has an authentic photorealistic look and slick design and it retrofits any aircraft with its included EZConfig application.

Flight Line Wx500 is invaluable for tactical weather situation awareness and avoidance offering a real time picture of various weather related parameters. With its superior weather display you get the time you need to select the smoothest, most-efficient routes around dangerous weather systems. Some amazing and unique features are Gain Control, Radar Beam Tilt angle, WX, WXA and MAP mode, WAC (Weather Attenuation Compensation), Radar Ground Clutter echoes* and Radar Shadow from heavy water bodies.

For more information visit Reality XP Web Site:
www.Reality-XP.com