Model Airplanes

I’ve been making a list — and checking it twice — of things that have been disappearing in my lifetime.

Waxing nostalgic, let me begin with encyclopedias, VCRs and video stores. I have included manual transmissions, along with classified ads, clocks with hands, road maps, cursive writing and almost everything to do with Alexander Graham Bell — pay phones, land lines, phone booths, phone books and fax machines.

(I would add parking meters to the endangered list, but they have made a rather unfortunate reappearance in downtown Macon.)

Which brings me to mistletoe.

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Although I’m not willing to place it on any vanishing watchlist, I’m concerned about its welfare. Whatever happened to the holiday tradition of kissing under the mistletoe?

Tis’ the season to pucker up. Or sneak up on a cheek. Has innocence been rattled by the #MeToo movement and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” backlash?

Sigh.

Mistletoe is not in any danger of becoming extinct. In rural areas, it grows like weeds. In some neighborhoods, it’s urban sprawl across the tops of trees.

It mostly stays undercover, hidden by foliage for much of the year. You never really notice it clinging high in the branches until the bare-limb landscape of winter arrives, and its clusters are visible up there with the squirrel nests.

To be regarded as a symbol of romance, mistletoe isn’t getting much love these days. I don’t know

Article source: https://www.macon.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/ed-grisamore/article223303570.html

LAKELAND, Fla. – The pilot of a small aircraft has died after crashing onto the Sun and Fun Expo Campus in Lakeland, according to officials from the Lakeland Fire Department.

The crash occurred at 10:12 a.m. Saturday, according to officials from the Federal Aviation Administration. Authorities said the pilot of the Bristell-model airplane was the only one onboard and involved in the crash.

The Sun and Fun Expo Campus’ fly-in area, where the crash occurred, is located at the Lakeland Linder International Airport. Both the Lakeland Police Department and Lakeland Fire Department responded to the scene.

FAA officials are investigating the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board will determine its probable cause.

Article source: https://www.clickorlando.com/news/pilot-dies-in-aircraft-crash-in-lakeland-authorities-say

Richard J. DiPrima Richard J. DiPrima passed away peacefully Nov. 7, 2018, in Salisbury, Md. He was 77. He was born and raised in Bristol, Pa., by his beloved parents, Richard and Frances DiPrima. Richard was an entrepreneur at a young age, washing cars for neighbors, and later selling ice cream every summer during college breaks for O’Boyles Ice Cream Co. His many talents included playing the clarinet and saxophone in the band while a student in the Bristol Borough School District. In addition to music, his many interests were fly fishing, boating, and building and flying model airplanes. Richard studied Industrial Engineering at Penn State University and upon graduation with a BS degree in 1962, he accepted a position with General Electric Co. His first assignment was in Schenectady, N.Y., followed by another year in Ft. Wayne, Ind. He continued working for GE in St. Petersburg, Fla., for 32 years, during which he earned a Master’s degree in Engineering at the University of Southern Florida. He accepted a position with Sandia Labs in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and worked there for another 16 years. Richard (Dick) is survived by his loving wife of 50 years, Judith of Salisbury, Md.; a son, Richard G. of Washington, D.C.; as well as two sisters, Anna DeFranco and her husband, Joseph, of Bensalem, Pa., and Rose Gorton of Lumberton, N.J. In addition, he has several nieces and nephews: Joseph DeFranco (Lori), Judith Mastrocola (Louis), John DeFranco (Ilana), Dr. Joanna DeFranco, John

Article source: http://www.goerie.com/Levittown/OBITUARIES/20181223/RICHARD-J-DIPRIMA

Air Italy A330-200Air Italy

Exploring new frontiers in commercial aviation, let’s take a chronically money-losing European airline and put it together with a heavily subsidized Middle East airline and then dramatically boost flying to the United States, even though the Middle East airline had indicated it wouldn’t do that.

What do you get?

“The Italian version of Qatar,” is what United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz called it earlier this month, during a conference call with reporters.

In 2017, Qatar purchased 49% of Air Italy, which very quickly thereafter adopted a Qatar strategy: Build a hub with rapid expansion of U.S. service, enabled by lots of new airplanes purchased with government money.

This month, Air Italy announced plans for 2019 service from Milan to Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. That’s after it began Milan service to JFK in June and to Miami in July. For January travel, Air Italy is selling roundtrip JFK-New Delhi seats for as little as about $900.

Last week, Delta arranged a reporters’ conference call where the financials were spelled out: Subsidized Qatar remains deeply unprofitable, suffering an operating loss of $1.4 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018. Over the years, it has received about $24 billion in government subsidies.

Air Italy’s predecessor airline lost 52 million euros in 2015, 46 million euros in 2016 and 57 million euros in 2017. Larger losses are anticipated in 2018.

Business model: Lose money on every flight. Add flights.

Today Delta CEO Ed Bastian posted a column entitled “Air Italy’s Mysterious Benefactor”

Article source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2018/12/21/air-italy-is-just-qatar-airways-draped-in-an-italian-flag/

One week down, one to go.2018: The Winners and Losers

As Engadget looks back on the year that was, we prefer to think of the world using a different binary: winners and losers. In 2018 the headphone jack basically became extinct on smartphones even as many people were still using it. Huawei is making great phones, even though its devices are nearly impossible to obtain in the US. Cryptocurrency made headlines, but not always for the right reasons.

‘Negative Ghostrider, the pattern is full.’UK police arrest two over Gatwick airport drone disturbance

Drones flying around London’s busy Gatwick airport have disrupted air travel since Wednesday evening, but now the Sussex Police Department has announced two arrests connected to the incidents. The airport reopened for service Friday morning, but another drone sighting shut down flights for about an hour around 5 PM. Police Superintendent James Collis said the arrests occurred around 10 PM (local time) Friday.

Look at it.Mars Express orbiter snaps stunning image of Korolev crater

The European Space Agency has released a gorgeous composite image of Mars’ Korolev crater, an 82-kilometer-wide crater situated in the planet’s northern lowlands. The ESA’s Mars Express orbiter snapped pictures of the crater over the course of five orbits, and five “strips” were combined to make this stunning image.

Could use a stronger GPU and Thunderbolt 3.Surface Studio 2 review: A better all-in-one

Article source: https://www.engadget.com/2018/12/22/the-morning-after-bent-ipad-pros-and-drones-vs-airplanes/