Model Airplanes

Roger Gordon may be known around Ramona as the sheriff’s senior volunteer who does vacation checks on homes and helps walk-in customers at the station’s front desk. But behind his official persona lies a man who has nearly 30 years of experience in the Federal Aviation Administration.

Many of Gordon’s duties carried the weight of senior-level responsibilities. Like the time he was vice chairman of the American Maintenance Review Board for the supersonic Concorde in the early 1970s. The turbojet-powered passenger airliner flew at 1,341 mph and could reach a top speed over twice the speed of sound.

Gordon’s role with the Maintenance Review Board was to ensure that the French and British builders of the Concorde complied with U.S. certification requirements.

“In essence, part of the certification process is to meet U.S. requirements,” Gordon said. “I was inspecting the entire plane plus the engine. The primary responsibility for me was the Rolls-Royce Olympus engine inside the Concorde. It was very high-tech at the time.”

Gordon developed an early interest in aviation while building model airplanes as a child. While growing up in New York City, he attended the School of Aviation Trades, a vocational high school for boys. He then learned to be a mechanic in the Navy and was hooked on aviation.

He became a professional mechanic, inspector and supervisor at Lockheed Aircraft Service International (LASI), a New York division of California-based Lockheed Aircraft Corp.

“At the LASI in New York we did all the heavy maintenance on Air Force One, the

Article source: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/ramona-sentinel/lifestyle/story/2019-04-23/roger-gordon-has-lofty-tales-from-lengthy-aviation-career

Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for Boeing, said, “We prioritize safety and quality over speed, but all three can be accomplished while still producing one of the safest airplanes flying today.”

Planes were also damaged during manufacturing. A Dreamliner built for American Airlines suffered a flood in the cabin so severe that seats, ceiling panels, carpeting and electronics had to be replaced in a weekslong process.

While inspecting a plane being prepared for delivery, Mr. Clayton, the technician currently at the plant, recently found chewing gum holding together part of a door’s trim. “It was not a safety issue, but it’s not what you want to present to a customer,” he said.

An employee filed a complaint about the gum with the F.A.A. The agency is investigating, an F.A.A. official said.

[If you’ve worked at Boeing and want to discuss your experience, reach us confidentially here.]

The disarray frustrated one major carrier. In 2014, factory employees were told to watch a video from the chief executive of Qatar Airways.

He chastised the North Charleston workers, saying he was upset that Boeing wasn’t being transparent about the length or cause of delays. In several instances, workers had damaged the exterior of planes made for the airline, requiring Boeing to push back delivery to fix the jets.

Ever since, Qatar has bought only Dreamliners built in Everett.

In a statement, Qatar Airways said it

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/20/business/boeing-dreamliner-production-problems.html

Engineers at MIT are flying the first ever plane without moving parts, powered by an ionic wind instead of propellers or turbines.

MIT have created the first ever plane without moving parts, using the ionic wind, also known as electroaerodynamic thrust. The ionic wind can be produced when a current is passed between a thin and a thick electrode. If enough voltage is applied, the air in between the electrodes can propel a small aircraft.

Flying without fossil fuels

According to MIT, the silent, lightweight aircraft doesn’t depend on fossil fuels or batteries.

Steven Barrett, associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT, said: “This is the first-ever sustained flight of a plane with no moving parts in the propulsion system…This has potentially opened new and unexplored possibilities for aircraft which are quieter, mechanically simpler, and do not emit combustion emissions.”

The design of the plane

According to MIT, the team’s final design resembles a large lightweight glider. It weights approximately five pounds and has a five metre wing span. The aircraft “carries an array of thin wires, which are strung like horizontal fencing along and beneath the front end of the plane’s wing. The wires act as positively charged electrodes, while similarly arranged thicker wires, running along the back end of the plane’s wing, serve as negative electrodes.”

The future of planes: “more like shuttles in Star Trek”

Barrett said his idea for the plane was

Article source: https://www.scitecheuropa.eu/plane-without-moving-parts/91035/

But one recreational activity the community lacks space for, especially in the winter, is flying model airplanes. That’s why Crosslake’s Paul Dorweiler is working to establish a local micro airplane club. This group would allow members to fly small planes around the gymnasium at the Crosslake Community Center.

“What I’m trying to do is get the community center to … let me fly in there, and hopefully I can attract some other people who are interested,” Dorweiler said.

The retired writer considers himself a model plane enthusiast and has dabbled in the art of making and flying planes for roughly 70 years.

“When I was 10 years old I got into it. At that time you could go to the store and buy a 10-cent airplane – a little rubber band wind-up airplane,” Dorweiler said. “And you could buy kits for a nickel 70 years ago.”

As Dorweiler got older, he began building his own planes and fitting them with electronic radios to make them fly, a skill he taught himself over the years.

“I just picked it up over a period of time. And then you get together with other guys and see what they’re doing,” he said. “When you’ve been at it for … 70 years, you pick things up.”

Sticking with any hobby for that long takes commitment, but Dorweiler attributes his dedication to the ever-changing world of technology.

“It’s something new all the time, especially the electronic end of it,” he said. “Because it’s changing all the time, it keeps your interest …

Article source: https://www.pineandlakes.com/community/people/4203225-model-airplanes-are-crosslake-mans-hobby-70-years-dorweiler-has-high-hopes