Aviation – Page 4 – Quartz City

JetBlue from Long Beach rules!

While other folks are having problems with airlines and the the awful state of affairs in which you have to figure out which airline sucks the least, I have to admit that I’ve fallen for JetBlue. Direct flight from LGB (Long Beach) to JFK with no layovers or plane switching. Reasonable airfare. Comfy seats for my 6′ 3″ frame and accompanying 15″ PowerBook G4. Satellite television in every seat. Amazingly, JetBlue is profitable and hasn’t gone whining to the federal government at the slightest drop of a loss. I can’t recommend them highly enough, and will continue to vote with my dollars. They’re one of the cult brands I’m happy to be a cult member over.

Flying out of Long Beach is wonderful, it’s how I’ve imagined flying in the 1940s was like. The airport terminal still has it’s period deco architecture and is decorated with period travel and flight posters. There’s no gates really, passengers still go outside to board their planes on the tarmac. Very relaxing place. And you can’t go wrong with the free 802.11b.

Aurora for real?

So am I the first to notice that this artist’s conception painting the BBC used for the HCV hypersonic bomber is a splitting image of the much rumored Aurora spy plane that was kicking around Area 51 (and causing sonic booms all over southern California) in the late 80s/early 90s?

ANA Jet lightning strike

Amazing video clip of an ANA jet getting struck by lightning on take off.

Abandoned and little-known airfields

A nice guide to abandoned and little-known airfields. Includes my beloved Rice Air Base.

A question that was asked…

A friend on a mailing list asks:

Hi All, does anyone know what the effect is called when say, you can see the propeller on a plane spinning clockwise then as it gets faster it looks like it’s spinning anti-clockwise?

Real curious to know what it is.

Sioux City, Iowa’s airport may no longer SUX

Until then, it really SUX.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), after denying a request by Sioux City officials to change its official three-letter airport code from SUX to another designation, may reverse its decision.

Airport Director Larry Hobald said the western Iowa municipality appealed the ruling after the FAA refused its initial request made last March.

“We feel vindicated and hopeful,” said Sioux City chamber of commerce spokesperson Wendy Warf. “Residents here are quite conservative and are embarrassed when tourists and relatives ask why “SUX” tags have been attached to their luggage.”

Frozen P-38 flies again

“Glacier Girl”, a P-38 that crash landed on a Greenland ice field in 1942 and subsequently buried under the ice for 50 years flies again.

I thought the Boeing/Klingon plane looked familiar

Ladies and gentlemen… The Curtiss XP-55 Ascender.

More info here and here. Remaining example here

Boeing unveils Klingon Bird Of Prey

So this thing has been flying since 1996 and I’m sure it accounts for a nontrivial amount of Area 51 freakouts. As with the F-117, it’s hard to get a handle on just what this thing looks like. I’m sure the folks over at Jane’s have just pulled the phone out of the wall by now.

The promo films on the Boeing site are a prime piece of ephemeral military promo films. Am I the only person to immediately think of the line “The Crossbow Project… Because the best defense is a good offense!”