Tower: Have a good trip…
Pilot: Make that a round trip . . .
— Lloyd Lace, USAAF, 1944 before departing on C-46 missions, flying over “The Hump” (China – Burma – India).
Vulcan and other rare aircraft set to appear at this weekend’s Victory Show
The Victory Show at Foxlands Farm (Cosby) will be held this weekend and on Sunday (weather permitting of course), visitors will be able to see the XH558, the world’s last flying Vulcan and a symbol of British aviation during the Cold War, take to the skies. This will be the first Vulcan appearance at the show in three years and is intended to mark the 60th anniversary of the first Vulcan flight and the 30th anniversary of the Falklands Conflict – the last time the Vulcan bombers saw action.
The Victory Show itself will run all weekend and there will be plenty to see and enjoy for the whole family on the 100 acre site – including over 50 authentic Second World War re-enactment displays along with more that 200 military vehicles plus (for the kids) there will be tank rides, miniature steam train rides, model aircraft and a model boating lake.
However and besides the Vulcan, aviation buffs will enjoy an air show featuring two Spitfires, a Hurricane, three P-51 Mustangs, two P-40 Warhawks, a C-47 Dakota and plenty of other classic aircraft.
Remembering the 1952 Farnborough Air Show tragedy
Thursday September 6th marked a grim anniversary: The 1952 Farnborough Air Show tragedy where 31 people lost their lives after a jet aircraft came apart and crashed with pieces hitting the crowd (29 spectators were killed and many more were seriously injured). Pilot John Derry and flight test observer Anthony Richards were flying a De Havilland 110 fighter and after making a low-level supersonic flypast, the aircraft began to climb during a left bank towards the spectators. At that point in time, the outer starboard wing and then the outer port wing broke off the aircraft followed by both engines and the cockpit. It was one of the engines that broke up and ploughed into the spectators on Observation Hill.
A subsequent accident investigation revealed that maneuvering had resulted in airframe instability because of a faulty D-nose which led to a redesigned DH.110 that ultimately evolved into the successful de Havilland Sea Vixen naval fighter. The accident report also attached no blame on Pilot John Derry.
The tragedy led to important changes in how air shows and air show demonstrations were conducted. Hence and since 1952, there has not yet been another major crash at the Farnborough Air Show.
In addition, GetHampshire.co.uk also has a great eyewitness account of the tragedy from Richard Gardner, the chairman of the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust (FAST) Museum, who was just a little boy at the air show with his father who was also filming it. Likewise and if you were an eyewitness to the 1952 Farnborough Air Show tragedy or know of any other personal accounts from someone who was, feel free to tell us in the comments section.
As UAV and drone use is set to rise in British airspace, here are the current rules
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has told BBC Newsnight that large unmanned drones or UAVs could be flying in British skies by the end of this decade and that they have already handed out 120 permits to fly small, lightweight drones. And while the merits of allowing more drones in British airspace can be debated, what’s clear is that its already legal to fly one if it weighs less than 20kg and flies more than 150 meters from a congested area.
However, there are exceptions and certain rules that must be followed. To begin with, using drones for any commercial activity (like aerial photography) will require permission from the CAA with permission already having been given for inspecting power lines and doing crop surveillance as well as for police use. Moreover, direct visual contact with the drone is required at all times.
If the drone is larger than 20kg, the CAA will need to approve its use the same way that commercial aircraft is approved for use in British airspace but the CAA has also made it clear will not approve such drones until it is convinced that they can automatically “sense and avoid” other aircraft. So far, that’s also the missing link in drone technology.
However, critics also say that the general public is unaware of just how quickly the drone market is developing and the consequences of that development. Over in the USA, the FAA has predicted that by 2017, 10,000 unmanned commercial aircraft will be flying over American airspace – a trend that has already led to campaigns to make some cities “drone free” as well as plans for a privacy bill that would require operators to inform the government of just what data is being collected.
In the UK, the BBC quoted privacy campaigner Chris Coles (who runs the Drone Wars blog, which looks to be more of a blog against the use of drones in warfare) as saying that very few members of Parliament are talking about drones and that no proper discussion or debate is happening yet in the UK.
Hence, what do you our readers think about the coming increased usage of drones in British airspace? Moreover, should drones larger than 20kg be allowed – even if they have “sense and avoid” technology?
Building planes in the sky
Hat tip to FlightSchoolList.com for finding and posting this video of the “Building planes in the sky” commercial that was made for EDS (Electronic Data Systems). Actually the commercial is pretty old as it appears to date from the mid-2000s and it first aired during a Superbowl (as in American Football). Hence, its probably familiar to American pilots and it was also part of a set of commercials that aired during the games (the others being “Cat Herding” and “Running of the Squirrels” – also classics that rank among the best commercials of all time!).
However and for anyone who is a pilot and also involved in technology or running their own business, the “Building planes in the sky” will hit home as it was intended to be metaphor for the complexities of working in a digital age as well as for implementing change. And as you can see from the commercial, the ad agency or marketers that came up with it could not have picked a better metaphor than building an airplane in the sky!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7XW-mewUm8&w=480]
Round the world in seven days for charity
Richard Tams, British Airways’ head of UK & Ireland sales and Management Consultant and oneworld Emerald top tier frequent flyer, Andrew Solum, are warming up for a globe-trotting week’s challenge to raise money for charity.
The tenet of their challenge is simple: make it round the world by hook or by crook (or in reality by oneworld partners) within seven days in order to raise at least £20,000 for the Comic Relief Children’s charity Flying Start.
The daring duo will set off on September 15 from the oneworld headquarters in New York. That day they will start with American Airlines from New York to Chicago then on to the Tokyo Narita international hub of Japan Airlines.
The following day they will fly with Japan Airlines from Tokyo to the Hong Kong home of Cathay Pacific and on September 17 undertake a three-flight schedule from Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur with Cathay Pacific, Kuala Lumpur to Singapore with Malaysia Airlines, which is on track to join oneworld at the turn of the year. They will then travel on from Singapore to London with Qantas arriving early on September 18.
British Airways will carry them on to Amman, base of Royal Jordanian.
On September 19 they will fly from Amman to Frankfurt with Royal Jordanian, then with airberlin to Germany’s capital city.
On September 20, they will take to the air again with airberlin to Frankfurt, then off with LAN to Madrid. From its base at the Spanish capital, Iberia will then carry them to the Moscow hub of S7, landing early on September 21, before a swift transfer to S7 for a flight to St Petersburg.
The following day (September 22) they will begin the last leg of their journey heading with Finnair from St Petersburg to its own Helsinki home then on to Heathrow to connect on to their final flight, a British Airways jet from London to New York arriving at 8.55pm local time.
In total they will cover just over 30,000 miles, flying along the way on every oneworld member airline and via 11 of the alliance’s major hubs.
Tams said: “I’ve done a lot of flying in my time at British Airways, but never so many destinations in such a short period. We’ll be going through
16 airports, flying on ten different aircraft types and visiting 11 countries on 12 airlines. We won’t even have time to stop and enjoy the views!
Mr Solum said "it will be tough going on standby staff tickets with no guarantee where we’ll be seated, but at the end of the day, every penny we raise will make a difference to a child – and that is really our driving force for this challenge."
Tams added “We’re enormously grateful to our oneworld partners for supporting our challenge – it’s a great reflection of the reach the alliance has. I’d also like to thank our hotel partners in this, the Global Hotel Alliance, Starwood and Marriott.”
“The travel trade have also already been really supportive and we’ve already hit £8,000+ of our target but we really want to reach at least £20,000 so we’re asking everyone to dig deep and help us out. Anyone can pledge money at:
http://donate.ba-flyingstart.com/funraiser/roundtheoneworld.”
The money raised will all go directly to Flying Start, the global charity partnership between British Airways and Comic Relief UK. It will help to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of children living in the UK and in some of the poorest countries across the world. The aim of the charity is to help create lasting change by giving children and their families the chance to start supporting themselves.
This is a guest post from my friend Andrew Solum about his upcoming charity adventure.