Aircraft and Luxury Stuff

How is it like to fly in the latest Airbus A380?. With luxury class that you can be sealed in your own private compartment to your own device, watching movies and listen to music, with luxury foods and drink. Is it to much comfort for the passenger?. Whatever happen to the 'feel' of you flying and watching the clouds and 'earth' scenery out of the windows. Well I'll think all this has been 'asked' for in airlines survey with their passenger. For the businessman or businesswomen that flying are all just a norm for them, there is not much to shout about it and privacy is a must, I think. With much 'relax' needed to avoid flight fatigue for next stop over, who else to be blame for so much 'luxury' the airlines can afford to offer them and no wonder passenger willing to pay for it. How far they can go?.

Okay in another scenerio, that off course it won't be happen, I'll think, let say if a fighter pilot demand the same thing, for their long journey in a mission they wanted a fighter with bigger cockpit to stretch their leg, with flight service food and drink. Listen to music and watch a movie, while autopilot take over toward pre-determined coordinates. Is it wonderful, isn't it. Lol..we can only dream or probably maybe in the future there will be one. Or probably not, just send the 'Drone' much more cost effective and less human life to spared.

For me I never fly before, so for my first flying maybe I like to be seated near the window and watch clouds passed by and see the land below become a lying carpet until they gone out of sight.

New Plane and Old Plane Crash

How modern the fighter aircraft is, it won't stop it from crashing that's a fact and also small Cessna that supposed to be safest light plane still crash although a 3 years old child did escaped from it. So here's what happen.

A Japanese fighter jet crashed an instant after takeoff and went up in flames on Wednesday and lightly injuring the two pilots.

The F-2B fighter,two seated version (Above Picture) a new Japanese fighter aircraft that design with a collaboration of Mitsubishi and Lockheed, no wonder its appeared more like Lockheed F-16 Falcon was being taken up on a test flight prior to delivery to Japan's air force when it crashed, said Hideo Ikuno, a spokesman for the Daiya public relations firm representing the plane's maker, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
Mitsubishi had been conducting a regular inspection on the aircraft for the air force, top government spokesman Nobutaka Machimura said. The pilot appears to have aborted the takeoff, but the reason for this is not yet clear, he said.

Wednesday's accident was the first involving an F-2 fighter since Japan's air force began deploying them in 2000, air force spokesman 1st Lt. Yuki Shiiba said.
A total of 75 F-2s, including the one involved in Wednesday's mishap, have been deployed so far, he said.

The F-2 is Japan's operational support fighter.

While a Light airplane a Cessna 172 (Example Picture Above, not actual airplane that's invlove in the crash)carrying 3 passengers crash in Canada's Rocky Mountains. A THREE-YEAR-OLD girl survived and found hanging upside down in a safety seat for four hours before being rescued. She lost her grandfather who operated the Cessna 172 and also the co-pilot when the plane slammed into a icy creek bed, nose first.

When rescuers finally reached her in the treacherous mountain terrain, she told them her name, Kate Williams, and asked for her teddy bear, said the daily Globe and Mail.

"I had to brush off the teddy bear before she would take it."

Authorities said the 65-year-old pilot had left his home in Golden, British Columbia, on Sunday afternoon en route to Edmonton, Alberta, where he owned an engineering company.

An hour later, the aircraft began transmitting a distress signal.

Bad weather complicated the search, but a rescue helicopter finally landed on a nearby logging road just before nightfall, and rescuers seized her from the carnage.
The little girl was hospitalised overnight, and discharged late yesterday.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Marko Shehovac said it was a “miracle” the little girl survived the crash.

Her grandfather likely saved her life by “buckling her in real good,” he said.

Yes, it's really a miracle for her to survived the crash although she lost he grandpa and another pilot. While the two pilot in the fighter jet are lucky because modern jet equipped with injection seat, that's probably save them.

Jet...New Big Boys Toys?

Are you rich and love big boys toys?. Rich guy owing a supercars is a norm this day. Then if you are aviation buff like John Travolta and can spend your millions on private aircraft, ex-military jet or executive jet or light propeller aircraft then so be it.

Now day if you can't spend million on jet then you can buy propeller type kit aircraft or cheaper used plane.
But if you like an aircraft like in the science fiction movie that do V/STOL than you can owned a Volantor. Built by Moller Technology, depending on the number of orders received, the prices could vary between $90,000 for the M200G (Picture Above) to $450,000 for the Firefly 3. It's also potential for military and/or para-military used.

If you can splashed millions than take a peek on F-16 or F-18 feel and look good alike, that is ATG Javelin (Picture Above) price around $3 million each.

This is what their ads said.

"Designed to Turn Heads, Built to Perform.
The way a high performance sports car awakens your passion for driving, the Javelin ignites your fervor for flying. Leading the new generation of general aviation aircraft, the Javelin is built to perform, engineered to exhilarate, and designed to handle with ease. Like no other aircraft in today’s market, the Javelin is the complete package, guaranteeing an arrival in unparalleled style.
Whether you’re a business executive, experienced pilot, or aviation enthusiast; the Javelin is the solution when “time is money.” With dual controls in pressurized comfort, the Javelin caters to pilots who love to fly fast and passengers who love to ride in luxury."

A 37ft in length, 25.1 ft wing span and 10.5 ft height a dimension more or less equaled to the 1954 small and agile famous British design by Folland Aircraft known as 'Midge' than later known as Gnat. Served in RAF, IAF and Finnish airforce.

The glaring differences between Javelin and Gnat is that, Javelin is twin engine (possible by small missile engine technology available today) and twin canted vertical tails and also twin tandem seated. Moreover Javelin is built with a new technology for a possible safest flight,with a "glass cockpit"and composite material.

Regards to a performance, Javelin cruise speed they called it, is 925 km/hr while Gnat max speed is 1150km/hr. Range, Javelin is about 1,852 km while Gnat max range 1,900km.

So, small jets is not a new offering its started long ago only now it's open to public to buy, thats if you're a millionaire so its really good news for you...erm..again ..unless you're a milloinaire.

'Unlucky' Bombardier goes on

It's a third time Dash 8 Q400 aircraft involved in incidents that take its reputation away. Canadian aircraft maker Bombardier who acquired the de Havilland Canada and Canadair long time ago said Sunday its was "disappointed" with a decision by Scandinavian Airlines Systems to permanently discontinue flight operations with the Bombardier Q400 aircraft. SAS announced the decision earlier Sunday following a series of incidents involving the plane's landing gear.
On Saturday, Danish civil aviation grounded all Dash 8 Q400 planes in the SAS fleet after one made an emergency landing at Copenhagen airport. None of the 44 passengers and crew on board were injured.
According to Danish police cited by Ritzau news agency, the landing gear in the plane's right wing failed to deploy.
It was the latest in a string of incidents involving the aircraft which carries around 70 passengers and is manufactured by Bombardier of Canada.
On September 12, SAS grounded its entire fleet of 8 Q400s after two planes' landing gears failed in separate incidents.
But it Bombardier said it did not believe the plane's landing gear was defective.
It said the company and the landing gear manufacturer, Goodrich, "have completed a full review of the Q400 turboprop landing gear system and results have confirmed its safe design and operational integrity."
"Bombardier stands behind the Q400 aircraft," the statement went on to say. "Since entering revenue service in February 2000, the Q400 turboprop has proven itself to be a safe and reliable aircraft with over 150 Q400 aircraft in operation among 22 operators around the world."
It's well known that long time ago de Havilland Canada produced the Dash familiy of aircraft along the military version. I'm still remembered how the Test Pilot crash the Dash 7 or 8 while executing a STOL landing, the video of the crash still around in the net. The military version since 60's the Caribou and Buffalo is a work horse of certain air force, but like USAF and RMAF they retired it after several crash.
I'll think because of this tarnished reputation operators shy away from Bombardier aircraft more like shyness away from Russian Antonov aircraft. As example, Malaysian Firefly low cost subsidiary of MAS could purchase Bombardier aircraft instead opt to ATR72-500s to replaced its aging fleet of Fokker 50. Come 2008, 10 brand new 72 seats ATR72-500s model airplanes will be joining his existing fleet.