King Air airplane in Wichita crash had been sold back to Beechcraft

The Beechcraft King Air B200 that crashed Thursday morning at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport was manufactured 15 years ago and had been reacquired by its manufacturer earlier this fall.

Federal Aviation Administration records show Beechraft Corp. at 10511 E. Central was the registered owner of the twin-engine turboprop airplane that received its airworthiness certificate on Dec. 18, 1999.

The airplane’s prior owner was Sheetz Inc., an Altoona, Pa.-based convenience store chain, said Sheetz spokeswoman Tarah Arnold. “We sold the plane on Sept. 25 … back to Beechcraft,” Arnold said.

An official from Textron Aviation, the owner of Beechcraft, said in an e-mail to The Eagle on Thursday that the company would not comment on any stories related to Thursday’s crash because it has been “invited” to participate in the National Transportation Safety Board investigation.

That investigation has just begun, and no conclusions about the cause of the deadly crash are expected for months. It typically takes more than a year for the NTSB to render a final report for an airplane crash, although it often releases preliminary data sooner.

Two aviation experts described the King Air line of airplanes as reliable.

“The 200 was the first King Air with a T-tail,” said David Bernstorf of BSC Consulting, who was an engineer at Beechcraft and its predecessor companies for 37 years. “When I came to work at Beech, that was the first project I was assigned to.”

Bernstorf said there have been a number of variations since the 200, the original certification of which was in December

Article source: http://www.kansas.com/news/business/aviation/article3483035.html

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Radio-control airplane club celebrates 50 years up in the air

Still, he gets his aviation fix by flying a radio-controlled aircraft, better known as model airplanes.

“I figured this would be the next best thing,” he said. “I love the excitement and adrenaline of flying planes.”

Stotler is one of 40 members of the Sentral Illinois Radio Society, a remote-control airplane club. On Oct. 11, the club held an open house on its property near Funks Grove, celebrating the club’s 50th year.

“My dad got me started,” said Justin Worden of Pontiac. “I grew up with it by going out to the airfield and watching and learning. My kids are doing the same thing.”

The planes are controlled remotely by an operator on the group using a hand-held radio transmitter. The transmitter communicates with a receiver in the plane based on the position of the joystick on the transmitter.

“It took me about a full summer to learn how to do it,” said Jerry Worden of Normal, who has been in the club for 30 years. “It’s a lot of fun, but it also takes a lot of concentration. There are lots of things that you have to be aware of such as other planes or crosswinds.

“Safety is also a big concern. We don’t want to be flying over people’s heads or anything like that.”

The planes are flown over a grass field, away from wires or buildings. Spectators are welcome, and members are always teaching people how to fly.

“Aviation is a big interest of mine,” said the club’s president, Dave Haas. “It’s fun to see

Article source: http://www.saukvalley.com/2014/11/04/radio-control-airplane-club-celebrates-50-years-up-in-the-air/a2h4y43/

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Virgin Galactics Flight Path to Disaster: A Clash of High Risk and Hyperbole

It was always recklessly optimistic of Sir Richard Branson to imagine that he could go straight from experimental test flights of his Virgin Galactic SpaceShip Two to carrying passengers in a matter of months.

That’s not the way that things work when you’re pushing at the edge of the unknown, as this program was.

And yet there was Sir Richard, only a few weeks ago, suggesting that once the ship had fired up its rocket motor with a new kind of fuel he would be riding the first passenger-carrying flight early next year.

He’s never seemed either to understand or admit how many technical challenges had to be faced before space tourism could be an everyday event, as safe and simple as flying an airline.

Every milestone in aviation and aerospace has been reached only after exhaustive and often dangerous testing.

The closest parallel to the Galactic challenge is the example of Chuck Yaeger being the first man to successfully fly at supersonic speed in 1947.

It was called, rather dramatically, breaking the sound barrier. In fact, there was no barrier but there was much to be discovered about changes to the controllability of an airplane as it surged beyond the speed of sound.

Yaeger’s Bell X-1 rocket ship was a one-off experimental machine. It would be years before air force pilots could safely fly the supersonic fighters that evolved from these test flights into a very different form.

Yet Virgin Galactic posited the notion that an experimental test vehicle and the final form of a

Article source: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/01/virgin-galactic-s-flight-path-to-disaster-a-clash-of-high-risk-and-hyperbole.html

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What’s Up With That: Boarding Airplanes Takes Forever

airplane-ebola-inline

Robert Couse-Baker/Flickr

I was at the airport last week, and all I wanted to do was sit down, strap in, and lift off. Of course I couldn’t, because there were a bunch of people standing in my way. As the line crept along, I scanned ahead for malingerers, but everyone seemed sufficiently ready to board. I couldn’t help but wonder, is there a more efficient way for airlines to put get our butts into our seats, and into the air?

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Millions of other people probably have pondered this question. At least one wrote a computer program to find the answer. Jason Steffen is an astrophysicist at Northwestern University, and several years ago he modeled different airline boarding methods to see what made them so slow. He also figured out how airlines could get us on board much faster.

Most airlines board back-to-front, an approach that makes sense, at first glance. But Steffen argues boarding back-to-front is actually one of the worst ways to board a plane. The problem, as he sees it, is this method creates traffic jams as people stuff their stuff into the overhead bins above their seats. Even if the line were

Article source: http://www.wired.com/2014/11/whats-boarding-airplanes-takes-forever/

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Google Flu Trends update shows underlying issues of big data

A Google software engineer took to an official company blog last Friday to announce that the tech firm was changing its Flu Trends tool for the 2014-15 flu season. That’s potentially good news for healthcare for at least two reasons. First, it presumably means that the healthcare community will be getting more accurate data about flu incidence. Second, it provides a good opportunity to think about some of the challenges posed by the use of so-called big data, massive data bases combed through by computer power rather than human brain power, for healthcare’s future.

Google’s Flu Trends tool was based on the idea that the company could predict the incidence of influenza faster and more locally than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which typically sent out its data with a lag. The Google tool initially used a group of 50 to 300 search queries that it believed was correlated with flu incidence and extrapolated from there. The company has since expanded the tool to 29 countries, and launched Dengue Trends in 10.

The thinking behind the tool was similar to the logic Google uses for its business model, namely that people often want or are experiencing what they search for. That makes it easy to sell advertisements against searches and is the same insight that’s driving its virtual visits trial: if you search “knee pain,” chances are decent you have knee pain and would like to do something about it.

The problem, Article source: http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20141103/BLOG/311039995/google-flu-trends-update-shows-underlying-issues-of-big-data

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Welcome to the laptopcoolingpadreviews.com

Welcome to the laptopcoolingpadreviews.com Since many people would like to know additional information on the finest air conditioning mat for laptop, we have composed this short article relating to this intriguing subject. Heating up may well be one of the more popular notebook computer connected problems. It might interrupt operate, result in information damage, lead to hardware harm, and render the notebook computer worthless for a lot of minutes or so. Despite the fact that we would like to feel the laptop computer getting too hot concerns will be the subject put to rest but because of poor design, inappropriate vent places, and extended hours of consumption several new laptops nevertheless have problems with this time tested issue. This is certainly specifically where an excellent laptop cooling cushion comes into play. A laptop computer chilling pad may or may not have followers mounted on it but at the conclusion helps you to always keep laptop computers awesome and prevents unexpected closed downs. These cooling down padding are wisely created to match most laptops and often includes a little incline to allow an appropriate working place. The Numerous Form of Notebook computer Chilling Pads: There are actually no shortages of laptop computer air conditioning padding in industry these days. In fact there are numerous various choices and types, selecting a certain model can certainly end up being a daunting event. Despite the fact that there are several a number of different designs and styles of laptop computer cooling pads, there are 2 standard varieties of laptop computer chilling patches with regards to the way that they work. Active Chilling Cushion: These chilling padding use one or multiple followers either to blow oxygen to the notebook or pull hot air out of it. The improved airflow helps to keep the laptop amazing even while in very hot summer time days and nights. These padding are generally run throughout the Universal serial bus dock. In choosing a certain air conditioning cushion, retaining the path of air-flow under consideration is vital. What this is means is if a laptop vent blows out air then it’s best to line it directly above a pad that sucks out air. If a laptop vent is designed to pull in air then the pad below it should blow air directly into it, on the other hand. Passive Air conditioning Cushion: These chilling padding have no enthusiast or any relocating pieces and thus demands no capacity to work. These are tough rectangular surfaces and comes along with raised designs which are designed to promote optimum airflow. These pads will also be rigorous and works as a shield between the heating system result in the laptop along with the user’s lap. Despite the fact that these chilling pads will not be constantly as effective as the energetic patches they are small and light and are great for vacation. Benefits Of A Notebook Chilling Cushion Aside from the obvious good thing about taking on the laptop’s temp and stopping shutdowns, the chilling patches likewise have another pros. Helps prevent Shutdowns: There may be nothing at all a lot more annoying than the usual laptop computer turning off in the course of operate. Without proper back up methods end users usually get rid of hrs of work. A quality notebook cushion will helps prevent shutdowns caused as a result of overheating. Guards The Components: Abrupt system shutdowns sets a great deal of toll using the pc computer hardware. You can get circuit problems and hard disk accidents. Increased heat in the notebook slowly problems all of the components and reduces a laptop’s all round life span. What this means is a suitable notebook chilling mat not simply will save you the computer hardware components but additionally helps to keep the appliance healthier for an extended length of time. Increased System Functionality: The improved cooling effect of your GPU along with the Processor allows the notebook to operate quicker for an extended time frame. The heat manufactured by the GPU as well as the Central processing unit is connected sent to the device efficiency. Keeping them at the reasonably lower temp enables these factors to operate more challenging creating the device react speedier. Comfortable Lap Use: As the pad forms a barrier between the lap and the laptop, it keeps users thighs away from the heating effect of the laptops. This might not seem to be a huge advantages but there has been cases of user’s thighs becoming used up on account of extented use. Chillier Functioning Environment: Some laptops breath out a lot hot air that this heats up the region throughout the notebook computer. This is especially valid for old models. With no air conditioner working on these machines can turn into a sweaty situation. A chilling cushion raises the airflow cools down the nearby surroundings. Surface To Safely Place The Laptop: One of the minor usages of the cooling pads is that it provides a safe platform to securely place laptops. It is a excellent advantages for folks who needs to travel a whole lot and contains to use their laptops outdoors.

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7 Must-Read Stories about Tim Cook, Amelia Earheart and Slut-o-Ween: The …

Tim Cook: Why ‘I’m Gay’ Isn’t Enough
By Tim Teeman

Plaudits were showered on Apple’s CEO for coming out, but they miss the subtext of his declaration: The gay and powerful should use their power to effect change.Money, Murder, and Adoption: The Wild Trial of the Polo King
By Jacqui Goddard

It’s a bizarre story, even by Florida standards. After four years, two trials, an adoption, and multiple jury scandals, polo mogul John Goodman was found guilty of manslaughter.

High Rents Are Killing the Restaurant Capital
By Will Doig

Exorbitant rents, the rise of Brooklyn, lazy millennials. NYC is having its worst year in restaurant closures, and only one thing is certain: its epicurean reign is in trouble.

How Amelia’s Plane Was Found
By Michael Daly

Two decades after finding a piece of metal on a remote Pacific atoll, Ric Gillespie says he has proof it was used to patch the aviator’s plane—and it fits ‘like a fingerprint.’

How ‘Titanic ’Helped This Brave Young Woman Escape North Korea’s Totalitarian State
By Lizzie Crocker

The 21-year-old North Korea defector Yeonmi Park watched her father die, her friend’s mother executed, and much more horror. In a candid interview, she compares the brutality of life in North Korea to the Holocaust.

In Defense of Slut-O-Ween
By Emily Shire

The internet is buzzing with debate about whether it’s OK for women to dress ‘sexy’ for Halloween parties. Surely this should be one day of the year where anything, and everything, goes.

Marvel and DC Plan 20 Movies for

Article source: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/01/7-must-read-stories-about-tim-cook-amelia-earheart-and-slut-o-ween-the-best-of-the-beast.html

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