Hat tip to WhichAirline.com for posting this video from the Australian comedy show “The Chaser’s War on Everything” which shows just how bad (and perhaps how lax…) airport security has become.
A Cessna 150 (literally) freezes on the tarmac
Hat tip to Sylvia from the Fear of Landing blog for finding and posting this video of a Cessna 150 that literally froze on the tarmac. According to the Youtube caption for the video:
After a night of freezing rain, this is what we showed up to. Almost an inch of pure ice on almost every surface of the plane. Even the antennas were completely cased in ice.
However, there was no mention of where or when the video was taken (it was uploaded earlier this month) but we can probably assume it was recently taken in some very Northernly latitude.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWk8mUYOO2k&w=480]
When a band flocks near a runway…
Posted on Businessballs.com from S. Smith, Nov 2009:
I was working local control for the runway 25’s at LAX one afternoon and a pilot reported a ‘flock of seagulls’ on final approach. Without hesitation, I replied, "Was that the band or the birds?" I got absolutely no response from the pilot… I guess not everyone has a sense of humor!
Or maybe not everyone is a fan of 80s music… To further jog any memories (Also posted on Businessballs.com from J. Douglass, Nov 2009):
Pilot: "Boeing Tower, Cessna 761 Uniform Alpha for a Mercer Departure at Alpha Niner with information X-Ray."
Tower: "Cessna 761 Uniform Alpha cleared for takeoff, runway 13 right, fly the Mercer departure."
Pilot: "Cessna 761 Uniform Alpha cleared for takeoff, is rolling."
45 seconds later…
Co-Pilot: "Boeing tower, please be advised, there is a flock of seagulls near the south end of runway 13 right at 400 ft."
Tower: (singing) "And I ran, I ran so far away… I just ran, I ran all night and day… I had to get away.."
Pilot: "Cessna 761 Uniform Alpha has humor…"
Tower: (hysterical laughter)
Specifically and for pilots not familiar with 80s music, the lyric is from the following chorus of the 1982 hit song “I ran” by A Flock of Seagulls:
The top 10 aviation video stories for 2011
FlightGlobal’s Flight Blog has posted links to the top 10 aviation video stories for 2011 which included:
- A380 hits CRJ while taxiing at JFK
- Tu 154 struggles against in-flight oscillation
- Sendai airport deluged as earthquake strikes
- ANA 737 rolled near inverted after rudder trim blunder
- ANA unveils first 787 configuration
- PICTURES & VIDEO: F-35B critical tests
- An-12 rolled inverted before Congo crash
- No viable all new single aisle before 2030
- Boeing poised for crucial phase in 747-8 test effort
- Test pilots extract stranded Alrosa Tu-154
If there are any other interesting aviation videos from 2011 not included in the above list, feel free to post a link to it in the comments section.
Alec Baldwin mocks pilots and American Airlines on Saturday Night Live…
Actor Alec Baldwin, who recently got booted off an American Airlines flight for behaving badly, has appeared on Saturday Night Live’s "Weekend Update" segment dressed as an American Airlines captain wearing the three-stripe uniform of a first officer in order to apologize to himself.
However and in case you are in a location, most likely anywhere outside the USA, where you can’t watch the video, the segment is also available on Youtube here – until the copyright police pull them! Likewise, we have included the full transcript below as it appeared in the Dallas Morning News’ Airline Biz Blog.
Seth Meyers: "On Wednesday of this week, actor Alec Baldwin was kicked off an American Airlines flight after he refused to turn off his phone and stop playing ‘Words with Friends.’ Now here to comment, the pilot of that flight, Capt. Steve Rogers. Thanks so much for coming, captain."
Alec Baldwin: "Thanks for having me, Seth."
MEYERS: "So, Capt. Rogers, what’s your take on the events of last Wednesday?"
BALDWIN: "It was awful, Seth, which is why it was very important for me to come here tonight and, on behalf of everyone at American Airlines, issue an apology to Mr. Alec Baldwin."
MEYERS: In a stage whisper ("Alec, are you sure this is the right way to handle this?")
BALDWIN: ("Yeah, yeah, keep going, keep going.")
MEYERS: "So let me get this straight – you, Capt. Rogers, want to apologize to Alec Baldwin."
BALDWIN: "Yes, Mr. Baldwin is an American treasure, and I am ashamed at the way he was treated. I mean, what harm would it do to let him keep playing his game. Not any game, mind you, but a word game for smart people."
MEYERS: "But, Capt. Rogers, don’t phones interfere with the plane’s communications systems?"
BALDWIN: "Oh, you don’t believe that, do you, Seth? Would you really get on a plane that flew 30,000 feet in the air if you thought one Kindle switch could take it down? C’mon! It’s just a cruel joke perpetrated by the airline industry. We would have gotten away with it, but Alec Baldwin was just too smart for us. He really is something, Seth."
MEYERS: ("Seriously, Alec, I just don’t think this is…")
BALDWIN: ("Keep going, keep going.")
MEYERS: "But didn’t Alec Baldwin getting kicked off the airplane delay the takeoff?"
BALDWIN: "It did. It did. And it was the first time in the history of American Airlines that one of our flights was delayed. C’MON, SETH! We’re bankrupt. How dare we speak ill of the great Alec Baldwin and we can’t even take off on time?"
MEYERS: "It was also reported Alec Baldwin slammed the bathroom door so loudly that you could hear it in the cockpit."
BALDWIN: "Now, Seth, Words with Friends can be frustrating, and again, I just started to play the game myself. But when you think you’re about to play ‘JAILERS’ off of someone’s ‘QUICHE’ and then you realize that you don’t have the ‘I,’ let me tell you, that’ll make you slam the bathroom door, too. Besides, when I go to the bathroom on a plane, I always want that door slammed nice and tight, doesn’t everyone? Gee willikers!"
MEYERS: "Ok, Alec, this is too much. I don’t want to be part of this any more."
BALDWIN: "Seth, I’m not Alec. Do you hear me? But I wish I was. That man’s a hero, a smart hero."
MEYERS: (Sending Alec Baldwin off camera) "Capt. Steve Rogers!"
BALDWIN: "Y’all fly safe now."
Paul Allen announces plans for a space jet: The Stratolaunch
In an effort to transform the space industry just like Richard Branson and his Virgin Galactic project, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has announced that he will build the world’s largest airplane in order to create a mobile platform for launching satellites into space at a low cost. Specifically, the Stratolaunch will be able to transport both passengers and cargo into orbit and is set to be commercially available by 2016.
More importantly and unlike traditional rockets, the Stratolaunch will not need a launch pad for liftoff as the aircraft simply goes to a high altitude where the rocket part of the aircraft is released in-order to blast the ship into outer space.
The Wall Street Journal has produced the following video segment about Stratolaunch where some skepticism was expressed – not so much on the science or technology behind the idea but about whether the project will be commercially viable:
Otherwise, Stratolaunch has also produced its own video:
Of course, Richard Branson already has a big head start with his Virgin Galactic project plus a clear business model (space tourism) but apparently Allen believes there is a market to send small satellites into space and plans to spend $50 to $100 million on his Stratolaunch project. Moreover, he has teamed up with aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan plus Elon Musk, the founder of PayPal and Tesla, to launch his Stratolaunch project.