Model Airplanes

In August 2013, in an effort to convince the population of north-west England that “fracking” (drilling for shale gas) was good for them, British Prime Minister David Cameron assured everyone they would save several pounds on each month’s energy bill. Like Margaret Thatcher (who said “there is no such thing as society”) or George W Bush (who told Americans that the best response to 9/11 was to go shopping), Cameron believes he leads a nation of passive consumers. Justifying fracking – by then controversial due to earthquakes – on the basis of saving enough energy money to buy something more frivolous was the end of the argument as far as he was concerned. But the Anglican Bishops meeting in Liverpool fired back that this was not about saving a few quid on energy bills. The real issue, they insisted, is our “responsibility as stewards of the Earth”.

This difference of opinion exemplifies a seismic cultural shift currently in progress: from a society based on consumerism to one that embraces stewardship and sharing. This shift will have far-reaching consequences for our economy and our personal lives. We are still in the early stages of the transition because consumerism is so strongly based on the oil and gas on which our world still depends. But as the use of renewable energy increases, so too grows the culture of stewardship.

Each energy source brings certain cultural values with it, either because of what we have to do to get it (as with coal) or by virtue of the

Article source: http://europe.newsweek.com/energy-debate-really-revolution-what-we-think-about-everything-329965

U.S. aviation regulators and industry officials have begun developing comprehensive cybersecurity protections for aircraft, seeking to cover everything from the largest commercial jetliners to small private planes.

A high-level advisory committee set up by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration—including representatives of plane makers, pilots and parts suppliers from around the globe—was scheduled to meet for the first time this…

Article source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-panel-aims-to-shield-planes-from-cyberattack-1435537440

July 7, 2015 | By Simon

When it comes to some of the most effective uses for additive manufacturing, products such as custom-fitting prosthetics and one-off airplane parts certainly come to mind – but what about more simple cases such as consumer products?

While we’ve seen a wide range of 3D printed personal accessories ranging from jewelry to eyewear, only a select few really rise above the crowd as truly innovative uses of the technology and in more cases than not, utilize actual body scan data before creating a custom manufactured product.  

Among others who have been actively exploring what’s possible when using 3D scanning to create custom 3D printed products is Boulton Eyewear.

“Eyewear today is still mass manufactured and sold in standard sizes,” says the company on their Kickstarter page.  

“But our heads, noses and ears are not standard at all. They are unique. So are our personal styles and wishes. That’s why we started Boulton Eyewear, the most personal eyewear brand in the world.”

Aiming to create custom-tailored solutions for heads similar to how suits are created to custom-fit our bodies, the Boulton Eyewear team uses a process that allows users to scan their faces using their own phones rather than a dedicated 3D scanner.  Once the company receives the photos, they then create a digital model of a user’s face to reference for creating the final measurements of the 3D printed eye frames, which come in both sunglasses or prescription lenses in a variety of styles.  

According

Article source: http://www.3ders.org/articles/20150707-dutch-start-up-boulton-launches-dlp-sla-3d-printed-eyewear-on-kickstarter.html

It’s hard to imagine why getting smaller than your opponent is a useful super power, but shrinking has been a staple in comics since 1939. I can’t explain why, but with the advent of “Ant-Man” the movie (premiering July 17), a look at the biggest heroes who are tiny seems useful.

The top 10 tiny heroes in comics:

10) Leonard “Doc” Samson (created 1971): “Incredible Hulk” supporting character Leonard Samson doesn’t shrink physically, but he is a psychiatrist for superheroes. Get it? He’s a “shrink”! Ha ha!

OK, that was lame. But honestly, the competition for this 10th slot is immense, because there are so many terrible shrinky characters in comics history to choose from. In the 1940s alone you had, among others, the original Atom from All-American/DC (who didn’t shrink at all, but was just short), Harvey’s Fly-Man (not be confused with the later Archie character of the same name, who didn’t shrink) and Midgetman (who rode a pet rabbit named Bucky).

9) Micronauts (1979): The toys on which these characters were based only lasted from 1976 to 1980, but the Marvel Comics adventures of this merry band of guerrillas lasted considerably longer.

“Micronauts” was set in a subatomic world called the Microverse, which consists of varying habitats connected like a drawing of molecules. It had been conquered by Baron Karza, a Darth Vader-like bad guy, and the rebels who rose to oppose him were the Micronauts, consisting of Commander Arcturus Rann (based on the “Time Traveler” toy), Princess Mari (“Marionette”), Acroyear,

Article source: http://www.popmatters.com/wire/195147-captain-comics-characters-who-lived-large-as-tiny-creatures/

Embraer Legacy 650 operators concede that there are more luxurious, larger cabin, higher flying, faster cruising and longer range large-cabin business aircraft than the aircraft they fly. But nothing comes close in terms of “value for money.”

“You want to fly out of Aspen to Europe on a hot day? Get yourself a three-hole airplane. Need to cruise at Mach 0.82 and climb into the mid-40s? This is not your airplane. Routinely fly between Paris and Dallas? You need another airplane,” says Michael Mahan, who flies serial number 1165 managed by Million Air Dallas.

“But, for average users, there is no comparison. Our all-up operating cost, excluding the mortgage, is $3,400 per hour, including pilots, hotels, meals and rental cars. You can’t touch that in any other large-cabin aircraft.”

The Legacy 650 is the only business jet priced under $41 million with three seating zones, an optional forward crew lav and transatlantic range. With a base price under $32 million, it can fly eight passengers 3,800 nm, making possible nonstop flights between London and New York, Dubai and London, São Paulo and Miami, or Singapore and Sydney. That’s about 500 nm more range than its predecessor Legacy 600 offers.

“Pound for pound, dollar for dollar, it’s much less expensive than the competition,” says Glyn Anderson, deputy director of flight operations for London Executive Aviation, a U.K. firm that operates three Legacy 650s and five Legacy 600s among its 70 aircraft fleet.

Embraer positions

Article source: http://aviationweek.com/bca/embraer-legacy-650-operators-survey

It’s hard to imagine why getting smaller than your opponent is a useful superpower, but shrinking has been a staple in comics since 1939. With the advent of “Ant-Man” the movie (premiering July 17), a look at the biggest heroes who are tiny seems useful.

The top 10 tiny heroes in comics:

10) Leonard “Doc” Samson (created 1971): “Incredible Hulk” supporting character Leonard Samson doesn’t shrink physically, but he is a psychiatrist for superheroes. Get it? He’s a “shrink”! Ha ha!

OK, that was lame. But honestly, the competition for this tenth slot is immense, because there are so many terrible shrinky characters in comics history to choose from. In the 1940s alone you had, among others, the original Atom from All-American/DC (who didn’t shrink at all, but was just short), Harvey’s Fly-Man (not be confused with the later Archie character of the same name, who didn’t shrink) and Midgetman (who rode a pet rabbit named Bucky).

9) Micronauts (1979): “Micronauts” was set in a subatomic world called the Microverse, which consists of varying habitats connected like a drawing of molecules. It had been conquered by Baron Karza, a Darth Vader-like bad guy, and the rebels who rose to oppose him were the Micronauts, consisting of Commander Arcturus Rann (based on the “Time Traveler” toy), Princess Mari (“Marionette”), Acroyear, Bug (an insectlike being original to Marvel), Microtron and Biotron. If that all sounds very “Star Wars,” that’s because it was.

Micronauts didn’t shrink, as they were tiny already. But the Fantastic Four did, when they’d

Article source: http://www.commercialappeal.com/go-memphis/book-reviews/captain-comics-the-10-best-tiny-heroes