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  • FOD in Space
    - Thursday September 21, 2006
    Many of you saw the images this past week of a piece of space debris traveling in space near the space shuttle. The shuttle's return was delayed in order to inspect the vehicle to ensure the floating object was not a critical piece of the shuttle that had broken off. In the end, the shuttle got the OK to return to earth, but the piece of debris was never identified. As conscious as we are about foreign object debris (FOD) in aviation, I imagine that NASA would be ten-times more sensitive. So I find it funny that NASA could not rule out if the debris was a tool that had floated away from the shuttle bay. Is there no tool accountability in space? A few years ago I met an editor for a space magazine. He told me that there were...

  • Good Goshamighty
    - Monday September 18, 2006
    Boeing has flown the damndest aircraft you’ve ever seen from Taipei to Seattle. Called the Large Cargo Freighter (LCF), the airplane looks like somebody stuck a 747 into a giant hot dog bun. That’s logical enough since it’s an adaptation of the 747-400. It will be used to carry the wings of the new Boeing Dreamliner—expected out in 2008—from the Orient to the USA. Could anybody over 50 possibly look at this behemoth without thinking of the Guppy airplanes of yore? I doubt it. In fact, can anyone who ever saw a Guppy ever forget that unbelievable first impression? I can’t. The Guppy was largely the brainchild of John Conroy and Lee Mansdorf. An extensive modification of another Boeing, the 377...

  • Surprise in the Family
    - Tuesday September 12, 2006
    I am amazed. Wife (of 39 years) Gail is the last person I would have suspected. I hear my airline-pilot friends complain about passenger behavior (passengers won't listen, they won't behave, they don't know what they're doing). Usually, I have chalked it up to poor customer service. After all, why should we expect infrequent flyers to know the ropes? I may be forced to change my thinking. This morning (at 6:00, BTW) I took Wife Gail to the airport for her first airline flight since the foiled terrorist plot in London. Last night I suggested she check one bag with everything in it that she could possibly live without for a few hours. Now bear in mind that this is an intelligent woman. She keeps up. She reads. Also, she has...

  • In a Week of 9/11 Memories ...
    - Tuesday September 12, 2006
    … let me add one. It's 9/11/01 and we're in Montreal for the annual convention of Airports Council International – North America. In my hotel room, I tie my tie as I watch CNN; they're trying to explain why one of the World Trade Center buildings is burning. I'm ready to leave the hotel room and get to the convention but I can't get away from that image on the screen. As I go to turn off the TV, I watch as another plane hits Tower No. 2. My response (yelling to myself): "The bastards have finally done it!" All of us in industry (and government) knew airline-controlled passenger screening was a joke. The concept of using airplanes as weapons was not a new idea. The interesting thing for me was my immediate reaction when I saw...

  • Writing While on Hold
    - Friday September 8, 2006
    I am writing this blog entry while on hold. You see, I am trying to book award travel to Dallas in a few weeks. I want to fly Midwest Airlines because they have a nonstop flight from Milwaukee with their nice comfy 2x2 seating. I started off by calling Midwest Airlines to see what flights were available. I only have enough miles with Midwest for two of the four tickets I need, so I wanted to check for seat availability and flight times. Here’s how that call went: 1. Call toll free number. 2. Press award travel option. 3. Talk to an agent who helped me with flight availability, and booked my two tickets using my Midwest miles. Total time – about 10 minutes. Next I had to call Northwest to use Northwest miles for the other two...

  • The LEX Incident …
    - Thursday September 7, 2006
    … is at once a tragedy and a lesson (re)learned. The crash of Comair Delta Flight 5191 killed 49 of 50 persons on board; it appears pilot error was the cause, as the jet departed the wrong and shorter runway at Lexington on its way to Atlanta. One question to be answered: Was there confusion in the cockpit because of recent changes in taxiway procedures due to construction? George Vickas is a veteran of airfield operations at O’Hare International, and today contracts to teach about runway incursions and navigation to companies doing construction work on the airfield. Vickas is also the owner of Chicago-based P3 Technologies, which offers an anti-runway incursion product for this and other applications...

  • New Jeans with Holes?
    - Thursday September 7, 2006
    I was with my son this past weekend doing some shopping for school clothes. He told us he wanted some new jeans for school. So off we went to the mall to go back to the store where he bought his last pairs of jeans. He likes the fit of that brand and doesn’t want to get any others at this point. So he went to the shelves and he picked out two pairs. He went to the dressing room to try them on. As we were checking out, I was amazed at the price of the jeans. Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I find it even more amazing the condition of the jeans. They were worn, faded, and had holes in them. “Heckâ€, I told my wife, “Maybe I should rummage through my closet. I probably have a couple hundred bucks worth of jeans in...

  • What Are They Thinking?
    - Monday September 4, 2006
    Less than a month ago this BLOG reported amazement that the airlines were increasing capacity. We are more amazed today. I just bought a ticket roundtrip from Huntsville, AL—we are not a major hub and have no discount airline service—to fit my schedule, on a legacy carrier, for a grand total (including fees and taxes) of $258.19! I also got a quote from here to Boston and return for an all-up total of $296.60—again, to fit my schedule, on a legacy carrier. (I didn’t buy that one yet. I’m waiting on prices to go down!) Is there any hope for the airline industry? What is their competition? Not driving, that’s for sure. Gas alone on the Phoenix trip would be more than the airline ticket. Gas...

  • Black Sunday
    - Monday August 28, 2006
    The safest five-year period in U.S. airline history ended abruptly Sunday morning in Lexington, KY. By now we know the details and several of the theories. It seems to be fact that the Comair flight tried to take off on the wrong (short) runway. The experts are now working to figure out why, and how to make sure it never happens again. I spoke for the International Society of Air Safety Investigators—NTSB is a member—last year, and never met an aviation group that impressed me more. I trust these folks. Accident investigation is something we do well in this country. The truth will out, changes will be made, and airline travel—already the safest means of transportation in the history of the world—will become...

  • As the VLJ Moment Comes Upon Us …
    - Wednesday August 23, 2006
    … there is enthusiasm, and skepticism. This came through loud and clear during a recent week in Chicago and Oshkosh, WI. At the annual Oshkosh AirVenture show, put on by the Experimental Aircraft Association, the very light jets were the story. Eclipse received its temporary type certificate from FAA in a highly publicized moment, and Honda introduced its VLJ entry, the HondaJet. For the VLJ manufacturers, the orders are there; the financial backing is there. But what is the potential?  A number of companies foresee a network of air taxis around the country, utilizing VLJs. And, when it comes to VLJs, therein lies the real potential for the aircraft, say some. But when one considers the traditional model of business aircraft...