Donation moves Wright ‘B’ Flyer closer to new airplane

Posted on April 3, 2015 by Writer

For Greene County News

MIAMISBURG — When Wright “B” Flyer Inc. takes its one-of-a-kind airplane to AirVenture 2015 in July, it will take more than filing a flight plan.

The Wright “B” Flyer, a modern lookalike of the Wright brothers’ first production airplane, has short range and is tiring to fly. Instead, the nonprofit organization’s volunteers will laboriously disassemble the 3,400-pound biplane, carefully load it into a custom trailer and have it hauled overland to Oshkosh—where the same scenario will play out in reverse to put it together and fly it.

Transporting the next-generation Wright “B” Flyer will be a much simpler affair. The organization is designing another one-of-kind flyer, this one designed for easy disassembly and scaled to fit in a standard shipping container that will allow the nonprofit to show and display the airplane worldwide.

Wright “B” Flyer Inc. has received more than $100,000 towards its $300,000 fundraising goal for the project, with a challenge grant to match up to another $50,000. The fundraising campaign recently advanced with the donation of a steel container by Benedict Tractor and Containers Inc. (BEI) of Monroe, Ohio. Wright “B” Flyer estimates the donation saved it more than $4,000.

“This container is exactly what we will need to represent America’s aviation heritage across the country and overseas. We’re extremely grateful for BEI’s support,” Wright “B” Flyer President William J. “Jay” Jabour said.

Like the current “B”, the new airplane will resemble the original, 1910-era Wright Model B Flyer, but it will use modern materials and meet modern

Article source: http://fairborndailyherald.com/news/news/152638781/Donation-moves-Wright-B-Flyer-closer-to-new-airplane

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Pilots Find Plenty to Hate in Allegiant’s Low-Cost Business Model

Posted on April 3, 2015 by Writer

Pilots at the lowest of the low-cost U.S. airlines are fuming over a two-year contract struggle with Allegiant Travel they say exposes abuses of the no-frills model, including overworked, underpaid staff and lax maintenance practices. 

A rare pilots strike the union had called for early today fizzled when Allegiant, based in Las Vegas, won a temporary restraining order. The airline had filed a lawsuit against the pilots’ union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, on March 30 seeking the restraining order and asking that its pilots be barred from staging a “sick-out, slow-down, work-to-rule campaign” or any other actions that could foul up Allegiant’s operations.

The strike would have affected as many as 250 flights and 33,000 passengers, according to a statement from the union. “Striking is a last resort, but we cannot continue to stand by a company that [flouts] the law by robbing the pilots of legally protected rights and benefits,” Allegiant pilot Tom Pozdro said in the statement. 

Allegiant, which flies between leisure spots in Florida and the Southwest to 89 mostly smaller cities, such as Bangor, Me., and Peoria, Ill., has been in mediation with its pilots since April 2014; another session is scheduled at the National Mediation Board on April 29. The union says Allegiant used pending changes in U.S. rules on rest periods for pilots to launch a pilot-scheduling system in 2013 they don’t like, along with other work-rule changes they say hurt them. They say the scheduling system often leaves the airline’s 500 pilots fatigued and away from home for extended periods.

On top

Article source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-02/pilots-find-plenty-to-hate-in-allegiant-s-low-cost-business-model

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Historic boat’s construction details preserved

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Writer

Avalon

Avalon

Built in Gig Harbor in 1929, the 66-foot fishing vessel Avalon now exists only in photographs, drawings and memories. It was demolished on March 5 at the Port Townsend Boat Haven, but not before local draftsman Jack Becker completed a meticulous documentation of the vessel. His drawings will be submitted to be part of the National Park Service’s Historic American Engineering Record program, which preserves records of feats of American engineering. Photo by Jack Becker

Demolition of Avalon

Demolition of Avalon

The 66-foot fishing vessel Avalon was demolished on March 5 in the Port Townsend Boat Haven. Photo by Jack Becker

Article source: http://www.ptleader.com/news/historic-boat-s-construction-details-preserved/article_cc0ed960-d7f5-11e4-954f-f7596532ed62.html

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Model airplane classes to take off in CSL

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Writer


model airplane classes to take off in CSL

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April 1st, 2015

By Anthony Bonaparte

 – Beginning Thursday, April 9, the Model Aeronautics Association of Canada (MAAC) St. Lawrence Zone, in collaboration with the City of Côte St. Luc, will offer an introductory model aviation  program. The two, five-week concurrent courses will be taught by Steve Woloz, the zone director for MAAC’s St. Lawrence region and a radio-controlled, (RC) model-aircraft enthusiast who’s been flying the toys for more than 30 years.
The idea for the program grew out of the relationship that developed between CSL and MAAC members who, for the past four years, have been putting their hand-built creations on display and demonstrating their flying skills during Côte St. Luc’s annual Canada Day festivities.
The reaction was always quite positive and when MAAC held an indoor RC aircraft exhibition at the CSL Aquatic Centre this past January, the talks began.
“We wanted to come up with an activity that a parent and a child — even a grandparent and a child — can do together,” said Harold Cammy, CSL’s manager of sports and administration. “We have lots of programs where kids play sports, take painting, do arts and crafts, but we’ve never actually had a program where

Article source: http://thesuburban.com/news/articles/?id=article05094

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Warmer temps, possible t-storms Thursday

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Writer

BE SURE TO CALL YOUR DOCTOR. BACK TO YOU. Carmen: A LOT OF STUFF GOING AROUND. Devin: AND LOOK AT WHAT’S GOING UP. THE WEATHER TODAY WAS LOVELY! Ben: WE DIDN’T HAVE THE BRISK WINDS WE HAD EARLIER IN THE WEEK, SO WE GOT TO ENJOY IT. HERE’S THE GOOD NEWS, WE SHOWED YOU THIS MAP LAST NIGHT WHERE THE MARGINAL RISK FOR SEVERE WEATHER WAS IN MICHIGAN. AND NOW THIS IS A LITTLE BIT FURTHER SOUTH, SO LOOKS LIKE THE STRONGER STORMS ARE GOING TO STAY SOUTH OF THE STATE LINE. WE’LL STILL BE IN FOR THUNDERSTORMS. SO WE’LL GET DOWNPOURS AND SEE THE LIGHTNING. BUT LOOKS LIKE THE STRONGEST OF THOSE STORMS ARE GOING TO REMAIN ACROSS NORTHERN PARTS OF OHIO AND INDIANA TOMORROW. WE’LL TALK TIMING IN A MINUTE. LET’S GET YOU CAUGHT UP ON WHERE WE’RE AT. 58, PARTLY CLOUDY, BUT WE’VE SEEN A LOT OF SUNSHINE. EAST-SOUTHEAST WINDS AT 9. AND WARMER TO THE WEST. CHICAGO IS 72. MADISON 75. AND THEY’RE STILL IN THE 80s, IN FACT 83 RIGHT NOW UP IN THE TWIN CITIES. WE’RE NOT GONNA GET THAT WARM, BUT I THINK WE’LL HIT 70. IST WILL DEPEND ON THE TIMING OF THE THUNDERSTORMS. HERE IN MISSOURI, THAT WILL HAVE AN IMPACT ON US LATE MORNING. MOST OF THE THUNDERSTORMS AT LEAST ACCORDING TO THE COMPUTER MODEL WE’LL SHOW YOU HERE, WILL STAY OFF TO OUR SOUTH. I THINK WE’LL GET SOME ACTION OUT OF THAT ONCE WE GET INTO THE LATE

Article source: http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/warmer-temps-possible-tstorms-thursday/32139724

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College class recreates WWI history by crafting model planes

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Writer

On Fridays at noon, students in Craig Livingston’s history class set aside their textbooks and meet their professor in the Lone Star College Montgomery Commons.

Instead of presenting a lecture, Livingston leads his students in a whole other type of venture – crafting models of the British fighter planes, the SE.5, out of balsa wood.

Once the students complete these intricate mini-fighters with 24-inch wingspans, the class will head to a field off of Gosling Road for a flying contest. Livingston estimates that the event will be held by the end of April or in early May.

The professor explained that the exercise is part of his efforts to teach the history of the First World War.

“We’re in the 100th anniversary zone for World War I,” he said. “The whole world is celebrating and remembering this time.”

Livingston led a similar course for the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in 2012.

“We had a good success, and I wanted to repeat it,” Livingston said.

He not only taught a class on the Civil War, but also hosted a lecture series, as well as dinner and movie nights. “We cooked in Dutch ovens just like they did at the time, making Union coffee and Confederate chili,” he said. “It was a ton of fun – outdoor, open fire cooking.”

Livingston also led a live memorial march and battle reenactment with more than 350 participants.

“It was a really neat event,” he said. “It was one of the high points of my teaching

Article source: http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/woodlands/news/article/College-class-recreates-WWI-history-by-crafting-6172619.php

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Two die in plane crash near Pleasanton, Kansas

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Writer

PLEASANTON, Kan. — Authorities with the Kansas Highway Patrol and National Transportation Safety Board responded to a fatal plane crash that happened on Tuesday. The highway patrol confirmed two people died in the crash.

The Federal Aviation Administration released a statement saying the plane went down around 4 p.m. after hitting a tree following takeoff from a local airstrip. The NTSB reports the plane is a small, private aircraft.

The Zodiac CH601XL is made in Mexico, Mo., by Zenith Aircraft Company, but the model isn’t currently being made. The FAA calls it a “special light sport aircraft.” The plane used to be sold in a kit, in parts or flight ready. The plane model has had issues in the past. FAA records indicated that the plane had to have adjustments made before it could be certified to fly.

The victims have been identified as a 67-year-old Herbert Siegel from Stillwell, Kan. and a 57-year-old Brian Decker from Independence, Mo.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol crash report, Seigel was piloting single-engine plane when it went down.

Pleasanton, Kan. is about an hour south of Kansas City.

Article source: http://fox4kc.com/2015/03/31/fatal-plane-crash-reported-in-pleasanton-kansas/

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