The team at Terrafugia is about to fulfill the fantasy of every driver pilot: a consumer vehicle that can take to the highways and the skies. All they have to do is finish the first one.
And yet they’re doing it. As this article goes to press, a full-scale, fully functional proof-of-concept vehicle is being readied for a flight test in November. Every expert I spoke to expects the design to fly. More than 40 customers have put down a good-faith deposit of $7,500 to $10,000 for a Transition, and the company has roughly $1 million in private funding. The investors have been told that the first customers will be driving it next year. In a category marked by decades-long efforts, it’s an insane schedule. But the group has hit every one of its benchmarks since starting out two years ago, methodically pushing through its plan. Dietrich and his partners have adorned their bumpers with the message “My next car will be an airplane.” To them, this is not a joke. It’s the headline to a list of promises they intend to keep.The team at Terrafugia is about to fulfill the fantasy of every driver pilot: a... more
As a screener at Newark Liberty International Airport, Pythias Brown was supposed to keep deadly objects off airplanes. But for the past year, authorities allege, Brown has been swiping electronic equipment from luggage of the passengers he was supposed to protect.
A laptop here, a cell phone there. Within months, he had snatched more than 100 items, authorities say.As a screener at Newark Liberty International Airport, Pythias Brown was supposed to... more
PASSENGERS aboard a Qantas flight have told of their horror as the plane plunged up to 2000 metres over Western Australia, hurling people around the cabin.
The Airbus A330-300, with 303 passengers and a crew of 10 bound from Singapore to Perth, experienced what Qantas described as a "sudden change in altitude"on Tuesday, prompting it to make an emergency landing at Learmonth, about 40 kilometres from Exmouth on WA's Gascoyne coast.
Air safety investigators yesterday said a computer glitch caused the jet to climb and then nosedive. More than 50 of those on board were treated for injuries ranging from cuts to broken bones and spinal injuries.
Ben Cave, of Perth, who was among the passengers flown to Perth on two special flights on Tuesday night, said he had not been wearing a seatbelt and had slammed into the cabin roof when the plane plummeted. He said he had feared for his life.
Andrea Hutchins, 39, of Singapore, said some people appeared to be pinned to the ceiling of the plane or suspended in mid-air.
"The plane was dropping quite quickly so they actually stayed in the air and then they came crashing down," she said.
"The people who were wearing seatbelts, like myself, were OK.
"The people who were standing were the ones who got hurt the most. To be honest, I think it's a lesson in wearing seatbelts."
The Air Transport Safety Bureau said yesterday the investigation into the drama could take up to six months, but a preliminary report could be completed within 30 days. A team from the bureau has flown to Exmouth, and the plane's flight recorder and cockpit voice recorder will be tested.PASSENGERS aboard a Qantas flight have told of their horror as the plane plunged up to... more
Thirty-three people have been injured, some with broken bones, after an Australian Airbus A330 airliner hit turbulence before making an emergency landing.
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The Qantas aircraft made an emergency landing at Learmonth airfield in the northeastern town of Exmouth.
It was carrying 303 passengers from Singapore to Australia.
The Australian Air Transport Safety Bureau said in a statement: "While cruising in level flight, the aircraft experienced a sudden in-flight upset, resulting in injuries to a number of cabin crew and passengers, primarily in the rear of the aircraft.
"The crew declared a Mayday and diverted the aircraft to Learmonth, near Exmouth ... where it landed without further incident."
Police initially described the aircraft as an airbus A320 with 370 passengers on board, but Qantas later said flight QF72 was an A330-300 with 303 passengers and 10 crew.
"Early reports indicate that three cabin crew and approximately 30 passengers sustained injuries, including about 15 with serious injuries, namely broken bones and lacerations."
Learmonth has only one runway, about 10,000ft long, and is used mainly by oil and gas companies.
The nearest town is the port of Exmouth, around 700 miles north of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia.
Qantas has been hit by a spate of incidents recently.
In one, Australian air safety investigators blamed an oxygen bottle for a mid-air explosion which blew a minivan-size hole in the side of Qantas 747 last month.Thirty-three people have been injured, some with broken bones, after an Australian... more
This guy created a jet pack and flew over the English Channel! That is amazing! Next thing you know, we could all have the possibility to fly or have a real-life Iron Man!This guy created a jet pack and flew over the English Channel! That is amazing! Next... more
This happened during the last show of Van Sinkel by Tim Gladdines. It gave the first two rows of the audience a near death experience and us as players a heart attack. In short it's hillarious.This happened during the last show of Van Sinkel by Tim Gladdines. It gave the first... more
Photographs from the 2008 Royal Melbourne Show at the Melbourne Showgrounds in Melbourne, Australia on Thursday, September 18, 2008.Photographs from the 2008 Royal Melbourne Show at the Melbourne Showgrounds in... more
Clarence House has announced that Prince William is to train as a full-time pilot with the RAF Search and Rescue Force in order to "serve operationally".
William, who learned to fly with the RAF earlier this year, is an officer in the Household Cavalry Regiment and has also spent time with the Navy and Army.
He said he wanted to build on his experience "especially because, for good reasons, I was not able to deploy to Afghanistan this year". He added: "It has been a real privilege to have spent the past year understanding and experiencing all aspects of the British Armed Forces. I now want to build on the experience and training I have received to serve operationally."
William undertook a shortened training course - less than four months compared with the usual four years - and was awarded his wings by his father Prince Charles in April. Announcing his plans, the prince said: "The time I spent with the RAF earlier this year made me realise how much I love flying."
He will begin 18 months of search and rescue training in January and continue his charitable and royal duties until then, Clarence House said. He could be flying operationally in 2010 at one of six UK-based RAF Sarf units.Clarence House has announced that Prince William is to train as a full-time pilot with... more
With airlines cutting security and safety measures from onboard and inflight safety, I have to admit that perhaps we will be required to fly with risks for our own safety in the name of saving fuel costs.
This article states the reality of fear that perhaps not just having security screening which allow TSA officials to look at our naked bodies, but now, we'll have to disclose our weight to ticket and gate agents. Is nude flying next ?
I think I'll stop eating those outlandishly generous peanuts inflight to lose some kilos.
DanielmkloppWith airlines cutting security and safety measures from onboard and inflight safety, I... more
After spending 10 years building a plane with parts sent in the post the two fliers were delighted, until thier new craft crashed on its maiden flight.
The pilot - Bill Knott, 73, who is said to be afraid of heights, was taken to hospital suffering neck and back injuries.
His co-pilot, who has not been named but was also in his 70s, escaped with minor injuries. After spending 10 years building a plane with parts sent in the post the two fliers... more
An official with Air Canada's regional carrier Jazz says the airline is removing life vests from all its planes to save weight and fuel.
Jazz spokeswoman Manon Stuart said Thursday Transport Canada regulations allow airlines to use floatation devices instead of life vests provided the planes remain within 50 miles of shore.
Safety cards in the seat pockets of Jazz aircraft now direct passengers to use the seat cushions as floatation devices.
Stuart says Jazz is a transcontinental carrier that doesn't fly over the ocean.
Jazz planes do fly over the Great Lakes and along the Eastern seaboard from Halifax to Boston to New York.
Stuart says all of Jazz's flights operate within 50 miles of shore. She says they operate 880 flights daily to 85 destinations in North America and says the number of flights that operate over water are minimal.
A commercial-style life vest weighs roughly a half-kilogram, meaning 25 kilograms would be saved by removing them from a Dash-8 aircraft with 50 seats.
Sounds risky, doesn't it?An official with Air Canada's regional carrier Jazz says the airline is removing life... more
A plane bound for Barbados was forced to return to Gatwick Airport after the captain reported a technical problem.
The Virgin Atlantic flight returned to the West Sussex airport an hour after take-off.A plane bound for Barbados was forced to return to Gatwick Airport after the captain... more
The move to green up the airline industry is heating up. The recent gas prices have been fueling the fire and environmentalists are fanning the flames, but there are some cool eco-friendly ideas on the horizon that could completely change the way we fly. Here are a list of some of the coolest... most innovative... scariest green flight concepts.
Check out the site for pics and descriptions of each concept...The move to green up the airline industry is heating up. The recent gas prices have... more
When choosing a wedding venue, most people think of churches and beaches, well not Darren McWalters and his bride Katie Hodgson, they chose the wings of two identical planes.
They were married at 1,000ft by the Rev George Bringham who, conveniently, was flying ahead of them on the wings of a third aircraft, with a walkie-talkie linked to a speaker on the ground for all the congregation.
Cheap way to get the honeymoon flight paid for I guess.
When choosing a wedding venue, most people think of churches and beaches, well not... more
Reports have emerged that an Asian budget airline who were considering 'weighing passengers to calculate the overall weight of the aircraft' were misquoted.
The Sun found an interesting article in trade magazine Travel Today, which "reported the company - which flies mainly between Malaysia and Australia - would consider extreme measures to bump up revenue if fuel costs continued to increase," with the general manager Darren Wright claiming the move "could help Aussies lose weight." Reports have emerged that an Asian budget airline who were considering 'weighing... more
New Zealand inventor Glenn Martin has built what he describes as the ultimate personal flying machine, the world’s first practical jetpack. Modern-day attempts to build jetpacks have evolved from the 1940’s and 50s comic book marvels and early television-series heroes. Since the 1960s, science geeks have built a number of real jetpack designs, but none has been able to fly for more than a minute.
Martin’s JetPak is said to be able to run for 30 minutes. The contraption doesn’t look much like the classic jetpacks of science fiction. Martin's JetPack has somehow been able to make the future look very, very nerdy. It is also not, to put it bluntly, a jet. A gasoline-powered engine runs the Martin JetPack, not really jets as we know them today. According to Martin, all that counts is that it flies.
And just how well does this very, very noisy dream machine actually fly? Well, so far the ultimate personal flying machine, priced at $100,000, has not flown any higher than six feet. That’s about $17,000 a foot!!
Photographs and two humorous videos of Martin's geeky personal flying contraption are included.New Zealand inventor Glenn Martin has built what he describes as the ultimate personal... more
As thousands looked on Tuesday, the inventor's 16-year-old son donned a helmet, fastened himself to a prototype Martin jet pack and revved the engine, which sounded like a motorcycle. Harrison Martin eased about three feet off the ground, the engine roaring with a whine so loud that some kids covered their ears.
With two spotters preventing the jet pack from drifting in a mild wind, the pilot hovered for 45 seconds and then set the device down as the audience applauded.
The Martin jet pack can; in theory; fly an average-sized pilot about 30 miles in 30 minutes on a full 5-gallon tank of gas. The apparatus was unveiled Tuesday at AirVenture Oshkosh 2008, the annual aviation convention of the Experimental Aircraft Association in east-central Wisconsin.As thousands looked on Tuesday, the inventor's 16-year-old son donned a helmet,... more
T"his isn't how a jet pack is supposed to look, is it? Hollywood has envisioned jet packs as upside-down fire extinguishers strapped to people's backs. But Glenn Martin's invention is far more unwieldy — a 250-pound piano-sized contraption that people settle into rather than strap on.
As thousands looked on Tuesday, the inventor's 16-year-old son donned a helmet, fastened himself to a prototype Martin jet pack and revved the engine, which sounded like a motorcycle. Harrison Martin eased about three feet off the ground, the engine roaring with a whine so loud that some kids covered their ears.
With two spotters preventing the jet pack from drifting in a mild wind, the pilot hovered for 45 seconds and then set the device down as the audience applauded.
The Martin jet pack can — in theory — fly an average-sized pilot about 30 miles in 30 minutes on a full 5-gallon tank of gas. The apparatus was unveiled Tuesday at AirVenture Oshkosh 2008, the annual aviation convention of the Experimental Aircraft Association in east-central Wisconsin.
"Wow, that went better than expected," Glenn Martin said afterward, his accent revealing his New Zealand roots. "People will look back on this as a moment in history.""
T"his isn't how a jet pack is supposed to look, is it? Hollywood has envisioned jet... more
