Model Airplanes

Spoiler warnings: we’re guessing at some stuff in Star Wars: The Force Awakens here, and this article also continues spoilers for both trilogies to date and a couple of new canonical novels. Enter at your own risk…

Up there with the most iconic weapons ever to feature in science fiction, Han Solo’s BlasTech DL-44, which Star Wars legend tells us has some ‘special modifications’ the smuggler made himself, is a prop that many fans thought they may never see used in anger on screen again. Yet there it is, in the second teaser trailer in the hands of its rightful owner aboard the modified ship that got him through Episodes IV and V despite its quirky ways. It’s also in prime position for this amazing poster…

The design work of Star Wars’ set decorator Roger Christian – who, alongside production designer John Barry, was one of the first people hired by George Lucas as he prepped Star Wars – Solo’s DL-44 became something of a proof of concept for the use of greebles in the Star Wars universe.

A word derived from a George Lucas-ism (“greebles” was how he described anything he couldn’t specifically define), “greebles” became the term Industrial Light and Magic coined to describe the mechanical parts that litter the surfaces of ships, models, and sets of the “used” Star Wars universe, but could well have been the brainchild of the British duo.

The importance of greebles to Star Wars probably can’t be overstated. They serve both to give its fantastical locations and devices a grounding in reality (if you haven’t

Article source: http://www.denofgeek.us/movies/star-wars/251208/star-wars-the-history-of-han-solos-blaster-what-it-might-mean-for-rey

Before heading out to the local park to fly a new Christmas toy like a remote control airplane or drone, you might want to check the rules.

There are some park districts that restrict the use of any motor propelled devices except those used to transport people to and from the parks.

The Cincinnati Park District and Anderson Park District are two such entities where these types of toys are prohitied.

Interim Business Services Manager for Cincinnati Park Board confirmed that no flying apparatus are allowed within Cincinnati Parks. She said she doesn’t know why the rule is in place, but Park Board Rule No. 32 addresses “Flying Apparatus and Motor Propelled Vehicles.”

Per the rule: “Except as expressly set forth in these Regulations, no person shall operate, fly, launch, drive, or use any motor propelled vehicle, or flying apparatus or other vehicle (except motor vehicles driven on roadways designed for that purpose subject to any separate regulation thereof) on or over park property, including but not limited to airplanes, balloons, gliders, hang-gliders, boats, snowmobiles, go-karts, rockets, powered model planes, motorbikes, motorcycles, or automobiles, except with the written permission of the park board and except within such areas as may be designated by the park board and except in compliance with any reasonable safety regulations set by the park board and made a condition of any consent.”

Anderson

Article source: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/local/community-news/2015/12/09/drones/77030860/

The first Boeing 737 MAX rolled off a spanking-new assembly line in Renton last week, and on Tuesday morning it emerged in a teal-colored livery from the paint hangar for a celebratory unveiling before up to 8,000 first-shift employees.

Until this year, the Renton plant housed two highly productive assembly lines, each churning out 21 single-aisle jets per month. In a rabbit-out-of-the-hat transformation, Boeing has now fitted within the same factory space a third assembly line for this new jet — one big enough to accommodate seven 737s nose to tail.

“The complexity of this is not so much the changes in the airplane itself, but more about how you weave this new airplane into a factory that’s been producing (the current 737) for 19 years now,” Keith Leverkuhn, vice president of the 737 MAX program, said in an interview Monday.

Without pausing its breakneck production pace of 42 jets per month, Boeing cleared space for the MAX by consolidating all the subassemblies that feed into the assembly lines and creating a highly automated and efficient fixture for installing the systems inside the empty fuselages that arrive from Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kan.

In parallel, Boeing automated its wing manufacturing in an adjacent building to handle further production-rate increases.

Yet as the first finished MAX debuted Tuesday, Boeing faces a tough reality: Arriving late

Article source: http://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/boeing-unveils-the-first-737-max-and-its-new-production-line/

Honda Aircraft has been awarded final type certification for the HondaJet, allowing deliveries of the light business jet to begin.

The certification also means that the full effect of Honda Aircraft’s first aircraft offering will begin to be felt in the business jet market and by competing aircraft makers, including Wichita’s Textron Aviation and Bombardier Learjet.

While the single-pilot HondaJet – with seating for up to six passengers and a $4.5 million price tag – comes in at the low end of the business jet market, one expert thinks the jet is only the company’s first offering.

I think you have to look at the Honda investment as a long-term investment. … This is the beginning. This is not the end.

Aviation forecaster Rolland Vincent

“I think you have to look at the Honda investment as a long-term investment,” aviation forecaster Rolland Vincent said Wednesday. “They’ve made a bet on business aviation … This is the beginning. This is not the end.”

Honda Aircraft said in a news release Wednesday evening that the certification was awarded Tuesday. It said it will begin to ramp up production of the airplane, 25 of which are on its final assembly line.

FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory said in an e-mail to The Eagle that the type certificate had been awarded, but referred details of it to Honda Aircraft.

$4.5 million Price tag for a new HondaJet

The awarding of the certificate comes 12 years after a proof-of-concept HondaJet took flight on Dec. 3, 2003. In 2006, the company made

Article source: http://www.kansas.com/news/business/aviation/article48919530.html

Airbus is producing A320 airplanes in Mobile. (Mike Kittrell/Alabama NewsCenter)

By: Mike Tomberlin

It’s a pattern we’ve become used to in Alabama.

An international automaker chooses a site in the state for a new manufacturing plant. It produces a popular new model using some parts that are produced from suppliers that also located in Alabama. Its success leads to it expanding its plant, making it feasible for more suppliers to expand or set up plants here to supply other suppliers and the auto plant itself.

Mercedes-Benz introduced us to this accelerated, compounded growth with production at its Tuscaloosa County plant in 1997. Honda mirrored it when it began producing minivans in Talladega County in 2001. Hyundai joined the mix when its Montgomery plant began production a decade ago.

All have since expanded, investing billions of dollars and creating thousands of jobs both at the plants themselves and among supplier and vendor companies throughout the state. Some suppliers, like Birmingham’s Kamtek, keep growing by supplying multiple automakers in Alabama and neighboring states.

Last year, the state produced nearly 1 million vehicles in a single year for the first time, ending the year with 994,902 produced. The state is expected to cross the 1 million mark when final numbers are released after the end of this year.

Economic impact reports like the one released last week for Honda remind us of how massive and important the industry is to Alabama. The

Article source: http://yellowhammernews.com/business-2/airbus-expansion-could-lead-to-alabama-aerospace-boom/