Model Airplanes

U.S. aviation regulators on Monday will propose mandatory inspections and, if necessary, replacement of suspect parts on nearly 1,600 jetliners to prevent potentially catastrophic failures.

The pair of proposed Federal Aviation Administration safety directives, related to certain Boeing Co. and Embraer SA jets and slated to be formally published Monday in the Federal Register, are unusual because they are each intended to counter a…

Article source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/faa-to-propose-safety-fixes-for-certain-boeing-and-embraer-jets-1448754141

More than a century ago, the Wright Brothers achieved the first successful flight with an aircraft weighing 750 pounds, including the pilot and motor. That’s quite a different proposition from the A380 superjumbos of today which carry hundreds of passengers and weigh in at over 570 tonnes.

The pace of innovation in the aviation sector has hardly let up in the 112 years since the Wright Brothers’ landmark moment. The search for increased efficiency and greater income – the global airline industry’s revenues have doubled over the past decade, according to the International Air Transport Association – has also become critical for the UAE, which has emerged as one of the world’s leading airline hubs.

Researchers at the Masdar Institute in Abu Dhabi are working to help find those efficiencies by testing airplane parts currently being made in the UAE.

Yusra Abdulrahman, 25, a graduate student from Dubai, is part of the team working on the development of a non-destructive testing and thermal imaging system in collaboration with Strata, the Al Ain-based aerostructure manufacturer.

The Masdar Institute researchers are working on a model which tests carbon fibre and polymer parts supplied by Strata.

“We’re not trying to create something new, but rather innovate the existing [testing] techniques,” she says.

The Masdar Institute system takes two to three minutes to test structures, a significant difference from the current models on the market that take hours, according to Ms Abdulrahman. An additional improvement is the benefit of automation requiring less manpower.

Improvements

Article source: http://www.thenational.ae/business/aviation/aviation-research-at-masdar-institute-takes-flight

“Reason is immortal, all else is mortal” said Pathagoras, but for a brief span of 59 years, Steve Hed trumped reason with pure creativity.

From the earliest days of the second Industrial Revolution, when a chain first drove a cog that turned a sprocket that moved a wheel, the motor age was dawning, but technology doesn’t just happen, it happens just, and the catalyst of change was the bicycle, the most noble of inventions. The innovations began to flow in the final years of 19th century. The pneumatic tire was developed for bicycles, and let’s not forget that motorcycles began life with pedals. The earliest cars and trucks ran with chains and sprockets; some were steered with handlebars. As late as WW II an American fighter plane used a hand cranked chain and sprocket drive to raise and lower the landing gear. The thing looked like it might have been cannibalized from a `40’s Schwinn tank cruiser, and it turns out the company actually made airplane parts in support of the war effort.

A Novel Concept, Made in America
The robust DNA of bicycles was the genesis of the mechanized transportation civilization we live today. It is an inescapable fact that the pioneers of the motorized movement, Ford, Champion, Chevrolet, and

Article source: http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/features/remembering-steve-hed/

A line of ride-on toys modeled after old-style airplanes are being recalled because parts can detach, posing a choking hazard to young children. Other recalled consumer products include faulty child bicycle trailers and fire alarms.

Here’s a more detailed look:

Ride-on toys

DETAILS: Peanuts Flying Ace ride-on toys modeled after old-style airplanes and sold at Target stores from July through August. The toys are intended for children ages 12 months to 2 years. The body of the plane is red, the steering wheel, propeller and wings are yellow and the hubcaps are blue. “Snoopy Flying Ace” is printed on the front of the toy airplane and Snoopy characters are printed on each wing and on the front. A hang tag attached to the product at purchase has “#38126” printed on it and one of the following date codes: BCHTAR616A13-0515, BCHTAR614A13-0515, BCHTAR615A11-0515, BCHTAR684A20-0515, BCHTAR682A05-0615, or BCHTAR683A05-0615.

WHY: The toy’s blue hubcaps can detach from the wheel’s axle, posing a choking hazard to young children.

INCIDENTS: None reported.

HOW MANY: About 11,000.

FOR MORE: Call Target at 800-440-0680 from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, or visit www.target.com, click on Product Recalls at the bottom of the homepage under the Help section. Consumers can also click on the Product Recalls tab on Target’s Facebook page for

Article source: http://www.app.com/story/money/business/consumer/2015/11/24/peanuts-flying-ace-toy-planes-recalled/76324880/