Thursday, November 12, 2015
Monday, November 9, 2015
Friday, November 6, 2015
Watch This Jetpack Do Strange Things Near Ellis Island [feedly]
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Watch This Jetpack Do Strange Things Near Ellis Island
// Popular Science
JB-9 Jetpack In Flight
Jetpack Aviation
Most jetpacks aren't. The catchy term for personal flying devices includes ducted fans, rockets, engine-powered wing suits, and even hovercraft, but rarely does the device involved actually use jets. Perhaps aware of this incredibly misnamed category, jetpack makers Jetpack Aviation bill their JB-9 device as the "world's only jetpack." Here's what it looks like skirting the Statue of Liberty:
At their site, they describe themselves as Jetpack Purists, noting:
We believe a JetPack should be just that – a jet turbine powered backpack that is capable of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), is extremely light and small and can easily be carried around by the pilot. It should be powerful enough to lift the pilot quickly to thousands of feet above the ground but small enough to fit into the trunk of a car.
The company claims that the JB-9 offers a 10 minute endurance, a top speed over 10 0mph, and a maximum altitude of over 10,000 feet. The device also supposedly has its heritage from a long line of "jet belts," first built in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Here's a rocket belt tested for Popular Science in the 2000s:
The team of David Mayman and Nelson Tyler say that between them, they have 70 years of experience in jetpack design. After this design, they want to work on a four engine design, a virtual reality simulator to train jetpack pilots, and an automatically deploying parachute.
Watch it buzz Ellis Island below:
Video of World's only JetPack flies in New York
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Russian Aviation Committee Suspends Boeing 737 Certificates [feedly]
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Russian Aviation Committee Suspends Boeing 737 Certificates
// Federal Aviation Administration News
Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee on Thursday suspended the flight certificates for all Boeing 737 commercial airliners, the TASS news agency reported, citing safety concerns with the aircraft - one of the most widely used commercial aircraft designs in the world. In a letter published on the body's website Thursday evening, the IAC explained that all Boeing 737 aircraft in service with Russian airlines would lose their operating licenses until their safe operation could be ensured, TASS reported.
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Thursday, November 5, 2015
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Monday, November 2, 2015
100 year old film of Red Baron
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>> The following is a very rare piece of film, 100 years old. It shows Baron Von Richthofen, doing an external prior to a mission, as well as his putting on a flying suit prior to flight in cold weather. If you look close you will notice Hermann Goering.The Baron was shot down on 21 April 1918 by Roy Brown of the Royal Navy Air Services, a prelude of the R.A.F.. The Aussies also claim that one of their machine gunners on the ground shot the Baron down. UK & Aussie Doctors, after the autopsy stated that the fatal bullet was shot from above.The author of this has been very involved as a Director of the Roy Brown Museum in Carleton Place, the home town of Roy. Many letters have been written over the past 3-4 years and finally Roy Brown was inducted into Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame on 4 June 2015…To think this film is almost 100 years old! If you're interested in history or aviation, you cannot miss this footage. It was just posted online, and I've never seen anything like it. It's from 1917, and it's an up-close and personal look at the most legendary combat pilot who ever lived, the infamous Red Baron, Manfred Von Richthofen. Watch the extremely rare, extremely old footage and re-live history. ULTRA-RARE footage of the most famous fighter pilot ever.
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>https://youtu.be/XIiuyijwKRs
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Thursday, October 29, 2015
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Fwd: [WP0165233] FREE WEBINAR - Get a Better Preflight Briefing! - FAASafety.gov
| FAA Safety Team | Safer Skies Through Education | |
| You have asked us to notify you when a seminar is scheduled that meets your criteria. The following seminar may be of interest to you: "FREE WEBINAR - Get a Better Preflight Briefing!"Topic: How to prepare for and receive a better preflight briefing. On Wednesday, November 4, 2015 at 16:30 Location: ONLINE ONLY--Webinar 16501 Sherman Way Van Nuys, CA 91406 Select Number: Description: In this 90 minute webinar you will significantly improve the quality of your briefings and your understanding of the information provided to you. You'll also learn what the briefer needs to know in order to provide you exactly what you want and need. Lastly, you will learn the differences in various forecasts and what to look for to begin to identify hazardous weather conditions. Click here to register. To view further details and registration information for this seminar, click here. The sponsor for this seminar is: FAASTeam The FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) is committed to providing equal access to this meeting/event for all participants. If you need alternative formats or services because of a disability, please communicate your request as soon as possible with the person in the 'Contact Information' area of the meeting/event notice. Note that two weeks is usually required to arrange services. The following credit(s) are available for the WINGS/AMT Programs: Basic Knowledge 3 - 1 CreditAdvanced Knowledge 1 - 1 Credit Master Knowledge 1 - 1 Credit | |
Fwd: [NR0364577] Cross Country Challenge - FAASafety.gov
| FAA Safety Team | Safer Skies Through Education | |
| You have asked us to notify you when a seminar is scheduled that meets your criteria. The following seminar may be of interest to you: "Cross Country Challenge"Topic: Cross Country Challenge On Wednesday, November 4, 2015 at 19:00 Location: Southern Museum of Flight 4343 73rd Street North Birmingham, AL 35206 Select Number: Description: To view further details and registration information for this seminar, click here. The sponsor for this seminar is: AOPA Insurance Agency The FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) is committed to providing equal access to this meeting/event for all participants. If you need alternative formats or services because of a disability, please communicate your request as soon as possible with the person in the 'Contact Information' area of the meeting/event notice. Note that two weeks is usually required to arrange services. The following credit(s) are available for the WINGS/AMT Programs: Basic Knowledge 3 - 1 Credit | |
Fwd: "FAA Safety Briefing Departments- All Things IFR" - FAASafety.gov
| FAA Safety Team | Safer Skies Through Education | |
| FAA Safety Briefing Departments- All Things IFR The September/October 2015 issue of FAA Safety Briefing focuses on IFR Operations. Articles review things that might be helpful to all IFR pilots whether you just got your instrument rating or you've been flying in the soup for decades. In this issue's Jumpseat department (p. 1), Flight Standards Service Director John Duncan looks at the importance of "A Stabilized Approach," while Checklist (p 21) examines ways a pilot can stay current. Nuts, Bolts, and Electrons focuses on preflight items that require special emphasis when getting ready for IFR operations. Angle of Attack (p 29) reviews the FAA's #FlySafe campaign which is aimed at helping prevent Loss of Control (LOC) accidents. | |
Friday, October 16, 2015
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Monday, October 5, 2015
What is with this hellish airplane seat arrangement from Airbus? [feedly]
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What is with this hellish airplane seat arrangement from Airbus?
// The Verge
Don't be fooled: this isn't a torture device, nor is it a geometric painting from one of the abstractionist masters. It is, somehow, a proposed seating arrangement for aircraft brought to you by the sadists at Airbus, who have now resorted to physically stacking passengers on top of one another.
What?
As near as I can tell, one "advantage" of this setup is that at least some of the seats can be configured to lie flat — but that doesn't change the fact that there are people on top of people. If there was any doubt in your mind that we are merely cargo when we board a flight, this should take care of that.
The airline industry's never-ending push for brutal efficiency has brought us ridiculous seating arrangements before, and I imagine this won't be the last of it. The silver lining, if there is one, is that this is only a patent application right now — there's no sign that this is making it into real aircraft, at least not any time soon.
The Onion had it right all along.
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Flying Robot Bees Can Now Swim, Too [feedly]
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Flying Robot Bees Can Now Swim, Too
// Popular Science
Robot Bees
Robot bees as seen in 2013, soon after they first achieved controlled flight.
When given the choice between sinking and swimming, these RoboBees will swim every time.
We first wrote about Harvard scientists' invention of robotic bees back in 2013. In some ways, not much has changed. The bees are still leashed to their power supply, too small to carry onboard computers and batteries. But in the past two years, they've picked up a new trick: they've learned how to swim.
The bees are so small and light that the surface tension of the water prevents them from delicately sinking into a glass. But the researchers found that if the bees cannonball into the water, they turn into very happy swimmers. As it turns out, moving through the air and moving through water aren't that different for the RoboBees—they simply flap their wings more slowly underwater.
See the robot bees in action here:
Video of Harvard RoboBee Diving, Hovering, Swimming
Needless to say, real bees and water don't mix quite as well, and though RoboBees and real bees are similar sizes, they still have very different functions. Robot bees may one day be capable of pollinating crops, but that day is at least 20 years in the future.
For now, the researchers are focused on expanding the RoboBee's basic capabilities, including new tricks like swimming. And even if we got to a point where RoboBees were able to pollinate crops, the robotic option would remain far more expensive than the natural, biological source of inspiration.
In the absence of good robot alternatives, researchers are still focused on saving bee populations, which have been in decline for the past several years. Looking into a whole host of scientific research from conservation methods, to bee illnesses, and alternative pollinators, means that we probably won't have to rely on RoboBees to pollinate our food anytime soon. But they're still incredibly cool.
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Airline Captain Dies En Route [feedly]
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Airline Captain Dies En Route
// AVweb Top News
The captain of an American Airlines A320 died during a flight on Monday from Boston to Phoenix, according to an airline official. Few details have been released about the pilot, but officials said the death was due to an illness. The flight diverted to Syracuse, N.Y. and landed shortly after 7 a.m. An ariline spokesperson told ABC News they were "incredibly saddened" and are focused on taking care of the family members and crew involved.
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Saturday, September 26, 2015
Friday, September 25, 2015
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Fwd: "New " - FAASafety.gov
| FAA Safety Team | Safer Skies Through Education | |
| New
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Saturday, September 12, 2015
Monday, September 7, 2015
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Friday, September 4, 2015
Reported Drone Collision Was a Birdstrike [feedly]
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Reported Drone Collision Was a Birdstrike
// AVweb Top News
Although it hasn't been officially confirmed, last week's reported collision between a drone and a Piper PA-23 was, in fact, a bird strike. Residue on the aircraft's de-icing boot was analyzed by the Smithsonian Institution and found to contain the remains of a small, non-predatory bird, sources familiar with the investigation told Avweb on Friday. The NTSB has opened up an investigation on the incident but we weren't given a specific schedule on when its findings might be released.
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