A drone hit a passenger plane in Canada in first reported incident of its kind

Posted on October 17, 2017 by Writer

Fly your drone close to an airport or another off-limits location and there may be serious consequences.

A small drone struck a passenger plane in Canada last Thursday, October 12, in the first incident of its kind in the country.

The Skyjet aircraft was making preparations to land at Jean Lesage airport in Quebec City when it collided with what is believed to have been a drone. The plane suffered minor damage but the incident was deemed so serious that Transport Minister Marc Garneau felt compelled to issue an official statement about it.

“This is the first time a drone has hit a commercial aircraft in Canada and I am extremely relieved that the aircraft only sustained minor damage and was able to land safely,” Garneau said.

The plane, which was carrying eight passengers on the flight from the city of Rouyn-Noranda, 370 miles northwest of Quebec City, is likely to have been a King Air 100 or King Air 200 model. Reports suggest it was flying at an altitude of 1,500 feet (457 meters) when the drone, model unknown, hit the aircraft. No arrests have yet been made.

The minister noted that while “the vast majority” of drone operators fly responsibly, anyone tempted to fly their machine near an airport is “endangering the safety of an aircraft, [which is an] extremely dangerous and serious offense.”

Growing fears about risky drone flights prompted the Canadian government to issue a set of interim guidelines in March

Article source: https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/drone-collision-passenger-plane-canada/

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Cuomo touts Norsk upgrades

Posted on October 17, 2017 by Writer

by

October 17, 2017

5:20 PM

Article source: http://www.suncommunitynews.com/articles/the-sun/cuomo-touts-norsk-upgrades/

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Henry A. “Mr. Gee Bee” Haffke

Posted on October 17, 2017 by Writer

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Henry A. “Mr. Gee Bee” Haffke, 90, died peacefully on Oct. 12, 2017 at the Wesley Community in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Henry was born in Springfield, Mass., the son of Henry and Gladys (Jennison) Haffke.

Henry graduated from Orange, Mass. high school and enlisted in the Navy during WWII where he was an instructor in naval aircraft ordnance equipment, and was a qualified aircraft crewman and aerial gunner.

After the Navy, most of his career was spent as a professional roller skater, coaching many skaters (including his children and sister Sylvia) to the state, regional, national and world championship level. Then, he combined his love of model aviation as a designer with the Coverite corporation in Pennsylvania before moving with his wife, Lee, to purchase and manage a motel in Londonderry, Vt. Lee and Henry then retired and moved to the Saratoga Springs, N.Y. area.

Survivors include his children Karen Hart, Gary and Raymond Haffke, and his sister Sylvia Haffke. Henry was predeceased by his wife Lorraine “Lee” (Edgerly), of 57 years, a son Richard K. Haffke, and brothers Harry-Dana, Raymond (Rocky), and Gerald (Jake).

In addition to roller skating, Henry was an avid water skier, snow skier, and participated in several other sports. But his real passion was aircraft. In his early years, his father would take him down to the Springfield airport to watch the planes taking off and landing as “cheap entertainment.” In his teens, he started building model airplanes and obtained his pilot’s license at 16.

Although

Article source: http://www.samessenger.com/henry-a-mr-gee-bee-haffke/

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How Google’s Quantum Computer Could Change the World

Posted on October 17, 2017 by Writer

Hartmut Neven believes in parallel universes. On a recent morning outside Google’s Los Angeles office, the 53-year-old computer scientist was lecturing me on how quantum mechanics—the physics of atoms and particles—backs the theory of a so-called multiverse. Neven points to the tape recorder between us. What we’re seeing is only one of the device’s “classical configurations,” he says. “But somewhere, not perceived by us right now, there are other versions.” According to Neven, this is true for not just tape recorders but all physical objects. “Even for systems like you and me,” he says. “There is a different configuration…

Article source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-googles-quantum-computer-could-change-the-world-1508158847

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Lufthansa bids for Alitalia as European deals take off

Posted on October 16, 2017 by Writer

By Victoria Bryan and Agnieszka Flak

MILAN/BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s Lufthansa and British budget airline easyJet are two of seven companies that have bid for Alitalia on Monday but the process to rescue Italy’s ailing flag carrier is likely to drag out until late next year.

Alitalia, which has made a profit only a few times in its 70-year history, was put under special administration earlier this year after staff rejected a plan to cut jobs and salaries.

Seven envelopes were delivered by a deadline to submit binding offers for parts or all of the airline on Monday, Alitalia said in a statement, but gave no further details.

It was unclear whether any of the offers were for the whole airline. Both Lufthansa and easyJet said they were only interested in parts of it.

This may not find favour with Rome, which wants to sell the airline in one block to minimise the impact on its 12,000 staff.

Rome has ruled out renationalizing Alitalia, an airline that was once a symbol of Italy’s post-war economic boom but is now struggling to compete at home against low-cost carriers and high speed trains, and has not invested sufficiently in the higher-margin long-haul routes to get back to profit.

Lufthansa did not provide details of its offer but said it included plans for what it termed a new Alitalia “which could develop long-term economic prospects”.

Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported Lufthansa was offering 500 million euros ($590 million) to acquire the planes, airport runway slots and air crew.

Article source: http://kfgo.com/news/articles/2017/oct/16/lufthansa-offers-500-million-euros-for-alitalias-planes-and-staff-paper/

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A drone hit a passenger jet in Canada in first reported incident of its kind

Posted on October 16, 2017 by Writer

Fly your drone close to an airport or another off-limits location and there may be serious consequences.

A small drone struck a passenger jet in Canada last Thursday, October 12, in the first incident of its kind in the country.

The Skyjet aircraft was making preparations to land at Jean Lesage airport in Quebec City when it collided with what is believed to have been a drone. The plane suffered minor damage but the incident was deemed so serious that Transport Minister Marc Garneau felt compelled to issue an official statement about it.

“This is the first time a drone has hit a commercial aircraft in Canada and I am extremely relieved that the aircraft only sustained minor damage and was able to land safely,” Garneau said.

The jet, which was carrying eight passengers on the flight from the city of Rouyn-Noranda, 370 miles northwest of Quebec City, is likely to have been a King Air 100 or King Air 200 model. Reports suggest it was flying at an altitude of 1,500 feet (457 meters) when the drone, model unknown, hit the aircraft. No arrests have yet been made.

The minister noted that while “the vast majority” of drone operators fly responsibly, anyone tempted to fly their machine near an airport is “endangering the safety of an aircraft, [which is an] extremely dangerous and serious offense.”

Growing fears about risky drone flights prompted the Canadian government to issue a set of interim guidelines in March

Article source: https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/drone-collision-passenger-plane-canada/

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Zunum Aero’s First Hybrid Aircraft Could Fly as Soon as 2022

Posted on October 16, 2017 by Writer

As technology advances, more and more industries begin looking for ways to integrate hybrid or fully electrical motors into their vehicles. While we have seen most carmakers announce many EVs for the next few years, Zunum Aero seems to be the first company that moves towards fully electric flight.

Backed by Boeing’s HorizonX and Jet Blue’s Technology ventures, the company has recently revealed detailed information about the first vehicle that it plans to use. The new aircraft has been developed with regional service in mind, being able to accommodate 12 passengers. The delivery window for the Zunum vehicle starts in 2022.

This change could have a major impact on the industry, as the operating expenses of the airplane are around $260. Furthermore, it has a maximum cruise speed of 340 mph, a take-off distance of 2,200 feet, and comes with a hybrid engine that offers a range of 700 miles. In terms of pollution, the model has an 80% lower noise and emissions output, than normal regional planes.

Zunum Aero CEO, Ashish Kumar, stated that “In the past, very intentionally, we were quiet about operating costs, because it’s just shockingly low what you can get with an electric. So that you can get an aircraft of a size that could never compete with an airliner that can get you below commercial fares.”

The CEO plans to maximize the operating efficiency of over 5,000 U.S. airports which are currently operating under capacity. In order to do this, the Zunum airframe has been designed to work

Article source: https://www.greenoptimistic.com/zunum-aero-hybrid-aircraft-20171015/

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