Model Airplanes

NEW YORK – In America, businessmen shake hands. In Japan, they bow. But all over the world airline executives engage in a greeting that is all their own: the exchange of model airplanes.

When airlines start flying to new cities, make deals with other carriers or finance new jets, these high-quality models — typically one to two feet long — provide the perfect photo backdrop, can help break the ice or serve as a cherished “thank you.”

While a business card might be quickly stuffed away in some desk drawer, models remain prominently displayed on the desk of politicians and industry power brokers. Puerto Rico’s governor, Alejandro García-Padilla, has models from JetBlue, Lufthansa, Avianca and local airline Seaborne in his office. Each has established or expanded service to the island since his 2013 inauguration.

“It’s one of these gifts that people get and don’t put in the closet,” says Jeff Knittel, who oversees aircraft leasing for financier CIT Group Inc.

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus took in 1,456

Article source: http://www.htrnews.com/story/money/2015/03/21/airline-worlds-tiny-secret-infatuation-model-planes/25119263/

The group that represents people who fly drones for fun is challenging the Federal Aviation Administration’s inclusion of such devices in its legal definition of an aircraft. 

The FAA has decided that model aircraft should be subject to same rules as other small planes in its interpretation of a rule that was included in legislation passed by Congress in 2012. 

The interpretation of the aircraft definition is included in the proposed rules for small drones that were released by the agency last month, to the dismay of the Muncie, Ind.-based Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA). 

The model aviation group contends Congress made clear that hobby aircraft should not be subject to the FAA’s drones rules in the 2012 legislation, which directed the agency to create the drone regulations. 

“In its proposed rule, the agency concluded that regulations relating to the commercial use of [small drones] should not apply to the longstanding, educational hobby of flying model aircraft,” the group said in a statement. 

“These are two very different activities, and Congress appropriately made clear in 2012 that model aircraft operated within the safety programming of a nationwide community-based organization should be exempt from federal regulation,” the model aviation group continued. “This is good news for AMA members, who have operated under a strict National Safety Code for nearly 80 years.” 

The FAA’s proposed rules define small drones as devices that weigh less than 55 pounds and require them to be operated at heights that are less than 500 feet and speeds that are less

Article source: http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/236455-drone-hobbyist-dispute-federal-definition-of-aircraft

Gerry Laderman, senior vice president of finance and procurement at United Airlines, has collected his fair share after 30 years in the business. There’s no room left in his Chicago office, so new acquisitions are displayed on the hallway windowsill.

“I stopped counting after 100,” Laderman says. “My wife doesn’t let me bring home models anymore.”

Model planes have their roots with aerospace engineers, who used them in an age before computers to design planes and then test them in wind tunnels.

Huy Ha works on a model plane at Pacific Miniatures. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)     

Then in 1946, two workers from the Douglas Aircraft Co. started Pacific Miniatures with the encouragement of the aircraft manufacturer. It was right after World War II and Douglas faced a major challenge in getting nervous travelers to fly.

“They were tasked with promoting the romance and luxury of air travel,” says Fred Ouweleen, Jr., current owner of the company affectionately known as PacMin.

The company, based in Fullerton, Calif., created large cutaway models that showed aircraft interiors to a public that had — for the most part — never stepped foot on a plane. Those models would become a mainstay of travel agencies for decades.

Related: The 10 Weirdest-Looking Aircraft to Ever Fly

Soon there was demand for smaller models that could fit on people’s desks and bookshelves. Today it is those models, scaled to one hundredth of the size of a jet, that PacMin is best known for.

“In the case of a fire,

Article source: https://www.yahoo.com/travel/airline-execs-and-model-planes-by-scott-mayerowitz-113965464092.html

In America, businessmen shake hands. In Japan, they bow. But all over the world, airline executives engage in a greeting that is all their own: the exchange of model airplanes.

When airlines start flying to new cities, make deals with other carriers or finance new jets, these high-quality models – typically 1 to 2 feet long – provide the perfect photo backdrop, can help break the ice or serve as a cherished “thank you.”

While a business card might be quickly stuffed away in some desk drawer, models remain prominently displayed on the desks of politicians and industry power brokers. Puerto Rico’s governor, Alejandro García-Padilla, has models from JetBlue, Lufthansa, Avianca and local airline Seaborne in his office. Each has established or expanded service to the island since his 2013 inauguration.

“It’s one of these gifts that people get and don’t put in the closet,” says Jeff Knittel, who oversees aircraft leasing for financier CIT Group Inc.

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus took in 1,456 passenger plane orders from 67 airlines around the world last year. It also placed 30,000 of its own orders – for model Airbus jets.

Multimillion-dollar plane purchases are decided on the fuel efficiency of a jet, its maintenance costs, how much cargo it holds and how far it can fly. However, desktop models help start the conversation, says Chris Jones, vice president of North American sales for Airbus.

“Putting a model on the table won’t sway a deal, but it might get their attention,” Jones

Article source: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article15408758.html