Model Airplanes

On August 3, 1970, Pan Am 747 “Clipper Victor,” lifted off from JFK for San Juan, carrying 359 passengers and 19 crew. Flight 299 was a “redeye,” one of the first regularly scheduled routes since Pan Am inaugurated Boeing 747 service back in January.

Aboard was Esther de la Fuente, one of the first 747 flight attendants. In mid-flight, she was approached by a short, bearded man wearing a beret. “I want to go to Cuba,” he said. Esther thought he was joking and responded airily, “No. Let’s go to Rio. It’s a lot more fun at this time of year.”

Then he pulled out a gun, and the first ever 747 hijacking was underway.

Clipper Victor’s Captain, Augustus Watkins, declared an emergency and diverted for Havana. Flight 299 touched down at 5:31 am at Jose Marti Airport under the gaze of Fidel Castro.

As stunned passengers gathered their thoughts, Watkins exited the airplane with the hijacker, soon finding himself face-to-face with Castro. The Cuban leader then unloaded question after question about the flying behemoth, the largest airplane to ever land in his country.

It was the first time he had ever seen one with his own eyes.

A “Big” Deal

Five years before Wakins was forced to set down in Havana, Pan Am president Juan Trippe asked Boeing CEO Bill Allen for a long-range airliner twice the size of a 707 in order to circumvent

Article source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/flight/airlines/a15172254/747-badass-plane/

LONGMEADOW — Todd Young, part of the Young family of Absorbine fame that gave the Brewer-Young mansion  its name, remembers how much fun it was growing up in and around the “big house” on Longmeadow Street.

There were epic hide-and-seek games through the 11,000-square-foot mansion and its massive basement. Kids launched model airplanes from the roof. 

“We had lots of fun,” he said Wednesday by telephone from his home in Raleigh, North Carolina. 

“Yes, the house was our family home for over five generations, and we miss it dearly,” they wrote in a letter now being circulated. “And from the community’s perspective, it is a distinctive landmark that has significant historical and architectural value.

“But the other reality is that this aging edifice and its surrounding grounds is an extraordinary financial burden for anyone who owns it. To think otherwise would be foolish,” they wrote.

But

Article source: http://www.masslive.com/business-news/index.ssf/2018/01/young_family_writes_in_favor_of_brewer-y.html

Lompoc should regulate drones

By RON FINK

The Lompoc City Council was scheduled to discuss a proposed city ordinance concerning unmanned aerial vehicles on Jan. 16. To some, these are toys much like model airplanes, to others they are tools, and to still others they are a nuisance and an intrusion on their privacy.

The military, police, and fire agencies use these aircraft for important reconnaissance work during emergencies. Farmers, engineers, developers, surveyors, environmental scientists, geologists, miners, foresters, and many other specialties use them to help with their work.

In private use they began as harmless toys designed to amuse men, women, and children who had them. Soon though, a toy became far more sophisticated as cameras and leveling gyroscopes were added to give the operator an airborne view of his surroundings without flying in a piloted airplane.

This is where problems began; people didn’t like the idea of someone “peeping” on them from above, and they began to complain. This was particularly troubling to entertainment personalities and executive protection services.

The issue became further complicated when operators of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) began flying over emergency areas where retardant dropping aircraft, helicopters, and other piloted public safety tools had to stop being used until the UAVs were located and removed. Of course, this further aggravated the emergency.

Early in the life of these devices, the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) didn’t have rules established concerning where they could fly. With no rules, it was left up to the operator to fly his craft safely; this wasn’t working

Article source: http://www.santamariasun.com/commentary/17033/lompoc-should-regulate-drones/

Boeing is moving into making aircraft seats to try to reduce costly delays to deliveries by plane manufacturers, forming a joint venture with car seating leader Adient.

Adient Aerospace will develop and sell seats to airlines and leasing companies, both for installation on new airplanes and as retrofits on planes made by Boeing and rival manufacturers, the two companies said late on Tuesday.

They cited forecasts suggesting the aircraft seating market would grow from $4.5 billion in 2017 to $6 billion by 2026.

Adient’s tie-up with Boeing is the industry’s latest response to industrial problems in aircraft interiors, with congestion in cabin supplies contributing to late airplane deliveries in the past two years.

These can cost airplane manufacturers $100,000 a day, said Vertical Research Partners analyst Rob Stallard, making the bottlenecks in aircraft seating a top industry priority.

“Both companies are investing in this joint venture because the seating supply chain has been a persistent challenge for customers and the industry. Boeing and Adient believe we can add value to the market,” Adient’s global communications director, Ulrich Andree, told Reuters.

Adient, spun off from Johnson Controls in 2016, says it is the largest automotive seats maker, with a 34 percent share of a business dominated by five companies, and its 75,000 workers supply seats and interiors for 25 million vehicles a year.

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Article source: http://www.autonews.com/article/20180117/OEM10/180119716/adient-boeing-joint-venture-airplane-seating