American Advances in Aviation

The Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. announced that,

"Ten classic American aircraft from the 1930’s, ‘40s and ‘50s take to the skies in the form of postage when the U.S. Postal Service dedicates the American Advances in Aviation commemorative stamp sheet at the world’s premier air show, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2005."

"The stamps will be available at Post Offices and Philatelic Centers nationwide on Saturday, July 30." Also, "Six of the aircraft stamps will be in the form of limited edition prints measuring 12 3/4 x 13 3/4 inch. They’ll only be available on the grounds at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2005."

I'll be at the Post Office on the 30th to get my stamps!

Addendum: See the U.S. Post Office site for detailed information about these stamps, and related offerings.

Paris Air Show Points to Flight Paths for Aviation's Future

Paris in a nutshell from E-Composites, Inc.:

The Paris Air Show has showcased the aviation sector's future flight paths, from superjumbos to nano-drones, with even dirigibles making a big comeback in the interest of surveillance.

Hundreds of thousands of visitors were expected to throng the final day Sunday of the weeklong show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris. Emerging from the maze of stands and displays of some 1,900 exhibitors from 41 countries at the show, restricted to professionals on the first four days, were key approaches to the future of flight.

In the commercial aircraft sector, competing visions of "spoke-and-hub" and"point-to-point" flight services found a certain balance in superjumbo and midsize aircraft initiatives launched by Airbus and Boeing.

Airbus's new A380, the world's biggest commercial airplane, exemplifies the European aircraft maker's belief in strong demand for an aircraft that can deliver masses of passengers to major "hub" airports, such as Heathrow and Singapore.

On the midsize market the two aeronautic rivals were locked in a dogfight at the show. Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner was conceived with the idea that passengers prefer to fly point-to-point rather than having to change planes at a busy "hub" airport.

Taking the point-to-point concept to the extreme, Boeing unveiled its new 777-200LR Worldliner - the world's longest-range passenger plane, capable of connecting virtually any two major cities around the globe.

The boom in luxury private flying - catering mainly to high-powered executives and the wealthy - was on display in a wide range of aircraft for those who want to avoid the commercial grid and fly whenever and however they want.

Interest in supersonic flight lifted with a French-Japanese announcement to codevelop a "Super-Concorde". The Franco-British Concorde was withdrawn from service in October 2003 after 27 years as a technological marvel but a commercial disaster.

Another hot area of interest was in Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV), or drones. Their usefulness in military reconnaissance and operations has crossed over to the civilian side, where their roles can include police and borderpatrol, maritime safety and environmental monitoring.

Perhaps the tiniest aircraft in the show was the palm-size Libellule, or Dragonfly. Developed by a small independent French laboratory, Tecknisolar-SENI, the solar-powered, high-altitude aircraft weighs 4.5kilograms (9.9 pounds) and can survey a large area.

The sizzling surveillance market made the comeback story of a new generation of dirigibles, the Zeppelin NT. The giant balloons can overfly or remain stationary, useful for monitoring a range of situations, from maritime oilspills, road traffic control and forest fires and to air quality.

Its manufacturer, a tie-up between Sofema Groupe of France and Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik of Germany, assured that new technologies make the dirigible much safer. Zeppelins fell out of favor after the 1937 fire and crash of the Hindenburg in the US state of New Jersey.

McDonnell XP-67

A site visitor sent this email:

"I am in the process of helping a friend attempt to market, for sale, a pair of historically significant Continental Motors aircraft engines from the McDonnell XP-67 Moonbat project of the early 40's. These engines are currently in my friends private collection. We have composed a short letter (available upon request) that explains our intentions, and announces that these engines will be offered for sale privately, and/or on eBay (we'll see how that works)." [yenpit@hotmail.com]

Now, I didn't know anything about the XP-67, so after a little Googling, I found these:

• McDonnell XP-67 - From the USAF Museum.
• McDonnell XP-67 - A fairly detailed history.
• McDonnell XP-67 "Bat" - Good photos.

Two of these aircraft were ordered in 1941, and the first was completed in late 1943. The engine exhaust gas was used as a "jet-assist." The aircraft had a number of problems (engine and other) and failed to meet it's performance goals. In 1944, an engine fire destroyed the aircraft and the second one was never built.

U.S. airlines must reveal where aircraft were built

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that:

"U.S. airlines must tell passengers where planes were built, under a rule that becomes final today [22 June 2005] and was prompted by a U.S. lawmaker's concern that so many aircraft are being manufactured outside the country.

"Carriers... must place the information on the plastic cards in airplane seat backs that describe emergency exits."

Well, that seems pretty pointless to me. Airbus agrees:

"The requirement is 'irrelevant' because aircraft manufacturing is a global industry and planes contain parts from countries around the world, said MaryAnne Greczyn, a U.S. spokeswoman for Airbus."

This great idea apparently came from Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., who is chairman of the House Aviation Subcommittee. Maybe you guys in Florida can remember this next time he's up for re-election. Maybe the rest of us should follow the Subcommittee goings-on at their website.

Opinion Poll -- Cell phones on aircraft

JoePodcaster, of the Fly With Me aviation podcast, is conducting an audio poll:

"The FCC is currently considering allowing passengers to use cell phones on aircraft. Let me know what you think -- call (323)284-5104 and leave a message. I've asked some flight attendants what they think, and I'll post their replies along with some of yours."

What do you think? Leave him a message or post a comment.

As for me, I'm against cell phones on flights. Call me a Luddite, but I don't want to listen to some fool sitting next to me (or in the next aisle) shouting into his mobile phone.

Japan, France to Jointly Develop a Supersonic Plane

Bloomberg reports that:

"Japanese and French companies plan to develop a supersonic commercial aircraft to succeed Concorde...

"The companies will study ways to cut engine noise and reduce the weight of aircraft flying faster than the speed of sound... Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy industries Co.'s spokesman Keiichi Sakamoto said Japan's biggest maker of aircraft jets may 'be involved in engine research.'

"France, which spent $30 billion in today's dollars from 1956 to 1976 to develop Concorde with the U.K., wants to revive high- speed air travel after ending the world's fastest commercial flights with the Concorde. Ishikawajima-Harima, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Co. and Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. already make wings, fuselage and parts for Boeing Co.'s 787, designed to burn 20 percent less fuel than other aircraft."

Sources for Aviation News

There are many sources for aviation news out there. You'll find many in the News section of the Thirty Thousand Feet aviation directory. The News by Email area lists some providers where you can subscribe to free email newsletters. With respect to commercial aviation, these are a few of my favorites:

• Commercial Aviation Today - "Daily Commercial Aviation Intelligence for Airline Professionals." A good source for airline industry news by region.

These two share the same format and some articles overlap, but they are very well done and worth looking into:

• AIA dailyLead - A daily e-briefing containing news for aerospace professionals.
• ATA SmartBrief - A free, daily newsletter created for managers in the airline industry.

If you've got some other favorites, feel free to leave a comment and mention them.

GE Ecomagination

GE's "Ecomagination" site promotes their greenery and it's a multi-media tour de force: you'll need the latest Flash, cookies, and JavaScript on. Look under "Transportation Aircraft" for the GEnx and GE90 engines. The "GEnx Theater" (under "Detailed Info") has got some particularly good 3D animations of the engine from the inside. If you want to see how modern jet engines work, or you are interested in the technologies GE has employed for this new engine (for the 787) this is a must see. It's really that good. Go now and look at it.

I had different degrees of success with different browsers. Opera had trouble with the navigation links, my I.E. kept crashing, but Firefox seemed to render the site properly.  What works may depend on your own configuration.  Perhaps we're dealing with a little too much technology here.  I'm sure the engines will be more dependable.  [Whoops! That's someone else...]

Aviation blogs

Some aviation blogs I just discovered:

Blogging at FL250 - Rants and reflections from a regional airline pilot (Bombardier Q400 turboprop).

the AirfareDig - Hard to find deals on low airline fares. By a 15 year old blogger!

Kartik's world - "Politics, Sports, Commericial Aviation and world around us." [OK, spelling is not everyone's strong suit.]

Find others in the Aviation Blogs & Podcasts section of my Thirty Thousand Feet aviation directory.

Aircraft Composites

The composites content of airliners has been steadily growing. Just look at the Airbus A380, and especially the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Being a derivative, the A350 has more composites than the A330, but not the level seen in the 787. Add in UAVs and you can imagine why the composites industry is abuzz over the growth and visibility they are receiving.

As an example, just look at the June 4, 2005 issue of Steve Loud's Composites eNews. Remember, this is a composites industry publication, not an aviation publication. Amongst the 30+ news items in that issue, you'll see these:

Airbus Upgrades A350 to Compete with Boeing's 787, Ready to take on 787 and 777-200

Boeing 787 Highlights $600 Million in Contracts with Chinese Suppliers, Including Composites

A380 First Delivery Delayed About 6 Months

Vought Aircraft Completes Tests on Enhanced Composite Wing for Global Hawk

Northrop Grumman Starts Construction of its X-47B J-UCAS Unmanned Surveillance Attack Aircraft

Alenia Aeronautica has Successful Flight of the UAV Sky-X and Sets the European Record

Hawker de Havilland Awarded F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Work by Northrop Grumman

Scion Industries Announces Plans to Produce Prototype Jet Wing in Record Time

Boeing Hopes for 700 New Orders for 787 Dreamliner

Air Wars - Airbus Pressures DTI, Jobs in Balance 'if £400m State Aid is Denied' A350 - 4 reports

Ethiopian Airlines Increases 787 Dreamliner Order by Five Airplanes

Airbus Says it is Confident of 100-plus A350 Orders

If you want to follow the growing use of composites in the aviation industry, consider getting connected to Composites eNews, or one of the other e-publications available.

Boeing 777-200LR Flight Test Journal

Boeing has launched an online 777-200LR Flight Test Journal to chronicle the good, the bad, and the ugly on the path to certification. This blog will follow the two 777-200LR flight test aircraft (WD001 and WD002) through the eyes of the participating pilots, mechanics, and engineers.

We're seeing corporations starting to discover the value blogs can bring them. Some corporate blogs are, frankly, pathetic. They remind you of the early attempts by many companies to establish Web sites - they were simply translations of traditional marketing materials into a new medium. They did nothing to exploit the capabilities of the medium. So we see the same thing now with blogs. This Boeing blog, on the other hand, offers at least the opportunity to be something much better. We'll see...

On the subject of blogs (aviation or otherwise), you might want to see the book, Who Let the Blogs Out?: A Hyperconnected Peek at the World of Weblogs by Biz Stone. This work examines corporate blogging opportunities, and also the detailed history of blogs, how to start one, how to be successful with your blog, and how to position you and your blog for further opportunities. An interesting read.

Aviation and Music

One way to discover something creative is to find something similar between dissimilar things.

A Belgian, who likes to perform yo-yo tricks synchronized with Techno, has done just that. He goes by "Yoyoman" (what else?) and he's created compositions that combine his music with aviation sounds for a really unique result.

So far, his compositions are:

Brussels National - Dance music containing authentic ATIS broadcasts and ground / tower / airplanes conversations from Brussels National Airport.

Transplania - A trance based on in-flight noise you hear as a passenger.

Propeller Symphony - A real conversation between propellers and music from relaxation to trance.

Turbofan Adrenaline - In this sequel to "Propeller Symphony," you feel the power of turbofans.

Yoyoman is looking to extend his work to include a videoclip. His next project is to sychronize a track as he always did (blending aviation and music) and to built his track around an aviation video, thus synchronizing the 3 elements instead of 2!

For this purpose he's looking for a collaboration with a video furnisher on the Internet to:

• guide him towards the most appropriate video, and
• help him sort out any credit / copyright issues.

He will release a compilation CD in the future.

You can read more and hear it all on his site. Then go out and do something creative yourself!