For fans of space, rockets and the movie "October Sky", it's time to make the pilgrimage to Coalwood, West Virginia, for the 10th anniversary of the October Sky Festival. The festival celebrates local hometown hero, Homer Hickam, the author who inspired the film about his childhood adventures involving rocketry.

Festival attendees will enjoy model rocket launches from nearby "Cape Coalwood," and performers from across the state will provide a backdrop of bluegrass.

The festival starts at 10 am on October 4 and it's free. Shuttle Astronaut Tom Jones will also be on hand to share his space experience, and NASA is even bringing a moon rock for guests to check out. After the click, check out an exceedingly earnest video tour of 2007's fest.]]> kjb 2008-09-23T12:30:33-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/6/17/72513/1012

If our other rafting suggestions haven't done it for you, maybe this one will get you moving. ACE Adventure Center in West Virginia has rock climbing, biking, kayaking, horseback riding and more on a 1,400-acre resort.

The center runs rafting trips on different sections of the New River. Each trip varies in difficulty, with some for beginners and some for those who can handle class V and class V+ rapids. For those just starting out, trips in 16-foot rafts make the ride a little more stable and comfortable, so there's no reason to sit on the shore.

With only two weeks until the 4th of July, it's not too late to get there for the holiday weekend. Three of ACE's rafting trips on the Upper New River will be half of the usual price, and there are a couple of discounted options on the Lower New River. The cheapest start around $100.

Related Stories:
· ACE Adventure Center [Official Site]
· Summer Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Sleestak66]]]> kjb 2008-06-17T11:30:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/4/8/141345/2900

On Monday morning, the future for Jet America looked pretty grim, but we were holding out hope that John Weikle could get his airline aloft. But after Skybus went down in flames, he decided to pull the plug on the new project.

Charleston Area Alliance President Matt Ballard says fundraising for the project has stopped, and the Daily Mail quotes Weikle as saying checks are going back to investors. That's the end of Jet America for now.

Meanwhile Ballard says a lack of leadership on national energy policy is what's killing airlines these days, not a bogus business model:

I think all of the investors here in the local area still believe in John Weikle's ultra-low cost carrier model. In fact, there were many who despite the Skybus announcement wanted to move forward...I believe John will make this model work in the US; it works for Air Asia and Ryanair.

Related Stories:
· Skybus Founder Says Refunds of Public Money Coming [Daily Mail]
· What the Skybus Shutdown Means for Jet America [Jaunted]
· Jet America coverage [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-04-08T14:14:16-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/4/7/112459/8007

Skybus plans to file for bankruptcy in Delaware today, and that has a lot of people in West Virginia nervous. How's that? The founder of the 'bus, John Weikle, is now at work on Jet America, an ultra-LCC set to take off from Charleston in 2009.

Among those sweating is Yeager Airport Director Rick Atkinson:

[The Skybus shutdown] is like throwing a wet blanket on plans for Jet America...I don't see how we could go forward with this model.

Also worried is at least one local business leader--who's now frozen some of that seed money his group pledged to Jet America:

There's no way we would have done this if I didn't think Skybus was successful.

For his part, Jaunted pen pal Matt Ballard hasn't given up on the idea of Jet America. But we have to wonder: Does it count as an airline shuttering if the carrier never took a flight?

Related Stories:
· Weikle's Skybus Ceases Operations [Charleston Gazette]
· Top Secret Airline Watch: More Details on Jet America [Jaunted]
· Jet America coverage [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-04-07T11:37:50-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/4/3/113751/6790

Though it's still a long way off, more details are leaking out about the planned ultra-low cost carrier Jet America. At present, we'll be waiting until at least 2009 to see some actual planes.

Until then, The Charleston Gazette has the details on what to expect:

The paint scheme--called the aircraft livery--features a tail with a blue background and white stars. The rest of the back-end of the plane will be red, with a white outline. The airline's name...and website will also be on the side of the plane.

While the model of plane is still under wraps, the aircraft will hold at least 120 passengers, one investor said.

As far as we can tell, president John Weikle, pictured, is still shopping around for a $40 million investment to help things along. And Matt Ballard--who we spoke with recently--says destinations and more information should be released soon.

Related Stories:
· Jet America Details Still Under Wraps [Charleston Gazette]
· Jaunted Interviews: Matt Ballard Fills Us in on Project New Horizons [Jaunted]
· Top Secret Airline Watch: Yeager LCC Will Be Called Jet America [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-04-03T11:39:09-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/3/18/92248/5642

A Jaunted Exclusive

We're obsessed with the idea of Jet America, the new ultra low cost carrier that could start flying in Charleston, West Virginia. But we don't really know that much about it. So instead of just speculating, we decided to actually ask someone who knows what he's talking about.

We got in touch with Matt Ballard, the President and CEO of the Charleston Area Alliance, a non-profit development group that chipped in some seed money to get Project New Horizons off the ground. Matt was bound by a confidentiality agreement and SEC regulations, but he did manage to illuminate some things for us.

One biggie: You won't see this airline till 2009 at the earliest.]]> pbb 2008-03-18T10:01:36-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/3/13/143944/541

According to a Jaunted tipster, and now confirmed by the Charleston Daily Mail, Skybus founder John Weikle's Project New Horizons has an official name: Jet America, World Police. Ok, we made up the world police part. Besides, you would think an airline based at Yeager would go after a name like The Right Stuff -- nope.

Jet America Inc. was registered on Nov. 26 with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.

Jet America is a name from the aviation bone yard. Seven California businessmen established an airline with that name in 1981 in Long Beach. The original Jet America started with flights between Long Beach and Chicago.

]]> markj 2008-03-13T14:43:22-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/