May 29
Discovery Channel aired Top Ten Helicopters on their “Top Tens” show last May 24, Saturday. Here’s a recap of the Top Ten results:
10 – Bell 47
9 – Focke-Achgelis Fa-223
8 – VH-3D Sea King
7 – CH-47 Chinook
6 – Mil Mi-24 “The Crocodile”
5 – OH-6 Cayuse
4 – AH-1 Cobra
3 – UH-1 Huey
2 – UH-60 Black Hawk
1 – AH-64D Apache Longbow
If you missed watching the featured show on TV, here’s the clip: (from youtube.com)
May 28
The International Space Station’s one and only toilet has broken, leaving the three-man crew in a sticky situation.
While one of the crew was using the Russian-made toilet last week, the toilet motor fan stopped functioning. Since then, the liquid waste gathering part of the toilet has been working on and off. Russian officials don’t know the cause of the problem and the crew has been unable to fix it. They have used the toilet on the Soyuz return capsule, but it has a limited capacity. They are now using a back-up bag-like collection system that can be connected to the broken toilet.
NASA may order an in-orbit plumbing service call when space shuttle Discovery visits next week. But until the galactic plumber arrives, the crew will have to make do with their makeshift system when they need to go number one. Fortunately, the solid waste collecting part is working properly.
May 26
NASA’s Mars Phoenix Lander is currently sending photos of Mars’ surface on the first day of its three-month mission: to analyze the soils and permafrost of Mars’ arctic tundra for signs of past and present life.
Mars Phoenix Lander is capable of scooping ice and dirt in search for organic evidence that life once existed there or to prove that life currently exists there. Like some NASA spacecrafts, it comes equipped with a robotic arm specifically for the mission.
Peter Smith, an optical scientist of the University of Arizona said:
“We are not going to be able to answer the final question of is there life on Mars. We will take the next important step. We’ll find out if there’s organic material associated with this ice in the polar regions. Ice is a preserver and if there ever were organics on Mars and they got into that ice, they will still be there today.”
The twin to the Mars Polar Lander spacecraft, Phoenix was supposed to travel to Mars in 2001 as the Mars Surveyor spacecraft but Polar malfunctioned and crashed during its descent into Mars’ atmosphere in 1999 due to various design flaws and other malfunctions. The mission’s failure, as well as another spacecraft called the Mars Climate the same year, led NASA to put future missions on hold and to think strategically for “better, faster, cheaper” approach. In 2003, Mars Phoenix, literally and figuratively, had risen from the ashes of Surveyor.
NASA team was concerned with the landing system of the Phoenix. NASA had not successfully landed a probe on Mars using landing legs and stabilizing thrusters since the 1970s Viking missions. Three successful Mars landings, Pathfinder and the Spirit and Opportunity rovers have used massive airbags that inflated around the landing craft just before landing to cushion the impact. The Phoenix doesn’t have airbags like other aircrafts of NASA since it was too big and heavy which could interfere with its functioning.
Phoenix Lander’s landing site was targeted for the far northern plains of Mars, near the polar ice cap. Mars Odyssey spacecraft data indicate large quantities of ice there, likely in the form of permafrost, either on the surface or just barely underground. In 2004, the rover Opportunity found evidence that a salty sea once lapped the shores of an area near Mars’ equator called Meridiani Planum. Astrobiologists generally agree that it’s best to look for life in wet places, just as NASA’s Mars exploration strategy, “follow the water” became the unifying theme.
May 26
These days, traveling along with the whole family is the true leisure of vacation. Even if we’re not yet on our final destination, it is still a must to look after our children. Especially the tots.
Airports are beginning to realize that child travelers wander off and their parents don’t know what to do when they lost the child. Fortunately, airports in the United States and those abroad are developing imaginative, interactive children’s play area and some airports are franchising child-centric shops that have educational and entertaining items on offer.
Some of these features are aviation-themed play areas which keeps the children occupied while waiting for a flight while also teaching kids something about aircraft and air travel.
In Baltimore/Washington International Airport, they have a flight-themed play area in the observation gallery which displays airplane parts like the tail, wings, to let kids see aircraft up-close.
In Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has an aviation-themed play area with a miniature traffic control tower, runway, model airplanes and so on. The whole area is padded and places for adults where they can watch the little ones are provided.
In San Francisco International Airport showcases a museum, the Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum, built on the footprint of SFO’s 1930s passenger terminal with replicas of a huge globe of the earth, vintage Pan American pilots’ and flight attendants’ uniforms and other mementos. On the mezzanine level are sterling wall-mounted photographs of early air travel. The museum is located in the international terminal and mostly attractive to children 11 years old and above.
Also, some U.S airports had opened shops that feature Discovery Channel, National Geographic and other educational toys, books and maps. Airports overseas are going through similar upgrades for a more child-friendly environment.
These will be more convenient to have around but nothing beats attentive parenting and checking on kids constantly.
May 23
Relive America’s rich history and commemorate the Men and Women behind the nation’s involvement in the battlefield. In celebration of 2008 Memorial Day, Warplanes.com brings you 20% discount on selected World War II model airplanes and free shipping if you enter the promo code as you check out the item/s. Hurry! Promo runs until May 26, 2008 only.
May 21
It is said that the most dangerous airport in the world is Princess Juliana International Airport (Saint Martin), Netherlands Antilles.
The airport is the second most occupied airport in the Caribbean Eastern. It is famous for its short landing strip – only 2.180 metres/7,152 ft, which is rather hardly for heavy travel out of jet. For this reason, the planes approach the flight of extremely low island, right finished beach of Maho. Innumerable photographs of great voyage out of jet flight with 10 — 20 m/30-60 ft above the tourists at the beach were isolated like fakes much time, but are nevertheless true. For this reason as well it was well to a favorite for planespotters. In spite of the difficulties in the approach, there was no records of the principal incidents of aviation to the airport.
May 21
In the future, it is possible that damaged aircraft could repair themselves automatically, even during flight. The inspiration? Healing processes found in nature.
One method could be as simple as a resin that oozes into cracks on demand. Not only might such a breakthrough lead to safer airplanes, it could also lead to lighter craft that would save fuel, drop costs, and reduce global warming gas emissions. Nowadays, aircraft designs that help cope with damage end up adding weight. And the heavier the plane, the more fuel is consumed.
Planes routinely suffer damage from day-to-day use. Researcher Ian Bond, a materials scientist at the University of Bristol in England, says, “You would be surprised how often trucks drive into aircraft when parked at airports. And then you have tools dropped on planes at maintenance hangers, or hailstones when flying through storms. Very subtle damage, little dings and cracks and bangs that, if left undetected, could grow into something serious. At aircraft hangers, a lot of time is spent trying to find these defects.”
The solution would be hollow fibers loaded with epoxy resin and hardener. Such vessels could be embedded in any part of the structure of the plane, and would “bleed out” when cracked to seal any hole, mimicking scabs over a wound. The epoxy is colored, making it easy for mechanics to spot the repairs and make a permanent fix.
Scientists are also working on systems where the healing agent is not contained in individual fibers, but can actually move around in a network of tubes which is, according to Bond, “just like the circulatory systems found in animals and plants.”
Bond and his colleagues are currently developing a custom-made resin optimized for use in the system. Bond suggested that a working system could be up in the next five years.
May 20
The seven-seat, single-engine plane, with RPC-1996 registration number had gone down in a rice field in Talibon in the
A man witnessed the plane crash and arrived at the scene of the accident. He had both pilots rushed to the local hospital immediately.
According to the pilots they were flying 3,500 feet going to Eastern Samar, a coastal province in the eastern
The plane is owned by Southern Pioneer, a company owned by Kevin Go, who bought the plane from its previous owner,
May 19
Shortly, after the tragic September 11, 2001, George E. Pataki, Governor of New York, wrote a request letter to the Secretary of the Navy, Gordon England, to bestow the name USS New York (LPD-21) on a surface warship involved in the War on Terror in honor of 9/11 victims. Governor Pataki said he understood state names are currently reserved for submarines but he gave special consideration so the name could be given to a surface ship. On August 28, 2002, the request was approved.
The construction of the ship was built with steel. Twenty four tons of the steel came from the small amount of rubble from the World Trade Center actually reserved for posterity. Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down at Amite Foundry and Machine in Amite, Louisiana to cast the ship’s bow section. It was poured into the molds on September 9, 2003. With seven tons melted down and cast to form the ship’s bow. The shipyard workers reportedly treated it with reverence by gently touching it as they walked by. In 2003, the contract to build New York was awarded to Northrop Grumman Ship Systems of New Orleans, Louisiana in 2003. New York was under construction in New Orleans at the time of Hurricane Katrina.
On March 1, 2008, New York was christened in a ceremony at Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dotty England, the ship’s sponsor, smashed the traditional champagne bottle on the ship’s bow and christened the ship New York. Several dignitaries attended the christening, including Louisiana Congressman William J. Jefferson, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, members of the New York Police Department and New York Fire Department and family members of 9/11 victims.
Starting May, 26, 2008, History Channel International will premiere “Hero Ships”, featuring interviews and insiders look into the real heroic stories of sailors.
May 19
On May 14, 2005, USS America (CV-66) was deliberately sunk in the
The experiment lasted approximately four weeks. The Navy battered
After completion of the tests,
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