Model Airplanes

 Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone premiered on October 2, 1959, and over the course of its five-year run would churn out 156 episodes and cement itself as a classic of science fiction television. Its influence would be felt in any number of shows and movies that would follow — from The Walking Dead to Stranger Things — and beyond, becoming one of the enduring pop culture staples of its era. This Day in Twilight Zone History presents key commemorative facts about the greatest science fiction/fantasy television series of all time, presented by author Steven Jay Rubin, whose latest book is The Twilight Zone Encyclopedia (arriving this October). Whether it’s a key performer’s birth or death, the date an episode debuted, or any other related fact, This Day in Twilight Zone History presents a unique aspect of the rich history of this television series and the extraordinary team that created it.

Today, September 22, This Day in Twilight Zone History celebrates the original premiere of “The Arrival” on this day in 1961.  While the world mourned the plane-crash death of U.N. Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold, which had taken place four days earlier, television audiences were treated to another form of air incident.

 The culprit in “The Arrival” – a DC-3 – with no crew, passengers or luggage. 

In “The Arrival,” a commercial DC-3 airliner, inbound from Buffalo, New York, has landed at this eastern airport without crew, passengers, or luggage. Federal Aviation Agency investigator

Article source: http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/this-day-in-twilight-zone-history-september-22nd-celebrating-the-1961-debut-of-the-arrival

An estimated 350 airplanes are descending on the Wichita area for the American Bonanza Society’s 50th Anniversary convention.

The group’s annual convention, which starts Thursday and is expected to draw about 800 of the group’s 9,200 members, comes on the 70th anniversary of the first delivery of the Bonanza, a single-engine airplane that’s still in production today at the Textron Aviation East Campus at Central and Webb.

Wichitan Paul Miller was a member of the Bonanza’s original design team.

Miller, 99, was one of the eight Beech Aircraft Co. engineers comprising a “volunteer” team led by Ralph Harmon that designed the piston-engine, four-seat airplane.

“If one individual gets the credit, he’s the one,” Miller said of Harmon, who he added was a visionary and “a great boss.”

Harmon, however, needed engineers on the Bonanza team who were willing to work without pay.

That’s because the idea for the Bonanza emerged during World War II. And Beech was in the throes of war-time production.

“There was no work of any consequence in the country that was not war related, really,” Miller said, “and of course, we in the airplane business were not allowed to do anything except support the war effort.”

Beech produced 7,400 airplanes for the military during the war

Article source: http://www.kansas.com/news/business/article174600981.html

Photo courtesy of SITAONAIR

Saudia Airlines has deployed new in-flight connectivity (IFC) technology across 76 aircraft with a unique business model. According to SITAONAIR, supplier of Saudia’s IFC, first and business class passengers will receive free Wi-Fi access by entering their e-ticket code in the access portal.

The Middle Eastern carrier has also taken steps to eliminated the need for passengers to take their credit cards out and enter their information while airborne. Passengers traveling in coach cabins on Wi-Fi equipped Saudia airplanes will be able to purchase their access during the initial booking phase for their flight. SITAONAIR worked in collaboration with the airline and Amadeus on an Application Programming Interface (API) integration project to give passengers better control over their inflight connectivity experience.

Saleh Al Jasser, director general of Saudia Airlines, says the new Wi-Fi equipage and business model implemented alongside SITAONAIR, “has enabled us to reconfigure our Wi-Fi price plans for all our passengers, enabling us to offer the service for a lower cost.”

Article source: http://www.aviationtoday.com/2017/09/20/saudia-deploys-new-connectivity-76-airplanes/