Tag: Aviation

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One Guess for What Country Has the World's Largest Zeppelin Museum

September 18, 2012 at 9:02 AM | by | Comment (1)

The US has no shortage of aviation museums and, indeed, another one just opened in Ohio this summer. Still, while walking under warbird wings and checking out the occasional spacecraft it's all too easy to forget about those lumbering pioneers of long-haul travel: the airships.

Airships (or Zeppelins/dirigibles/blimps, whatever term you most prefer) had a short shelf life thanks in part to the development of actual airplane aviation and thanks, also in part, to that "oh, the humanity" tragedy that saw the Hindenburg mega-airship go up in flames in 1937. But, for a time, Zeppelins were the coolest thing in air travel; Germany operated regular trips to both Recife, Brazil and New Jersey using them!

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Say HEL-lo to Helsinki: Inside Finland's Deserted Aviation Museum

September 14, 2012 at 12:37 PM | by | Comments (0)

HEL-lo Helsinki! Hilarious puns on the city's airport code (HEL) aside, our man about the world John "Yes, That John" Walton has been spending some down time in Helsinki this year, and has some great recommendations all this week for things to do in the world's most northerly capital!

Who can turn down an afternoon poking around a completely empty aviation museum, with old planes just waiting for you to clamber around them?

Not us! Ee spotted the Suomen Ilmailumuseo while taking the hotel bus to a Helsinki Airport hotel earlier in the summer, so on our return to HEL, with a carefully crafted morning free, we made sure to stop off.

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Chasing LAN's Boeing 787 Dreamliner with the Aerial Photographers of Wolfe Air

September 5, 2012 at 3:40 PM | by | Comments (0)

New airplane alert! On Saturday, September 1, LAN Airlines picked up its very first Boeing 787 Dreamliner, becoming the first in the Americas to operate the aircraft. From the factory to the runway at Boeing's Paine Field in Everett, WA, we were there to kick the tires, put the seats back and get a feel for her. Stay tuned the next couple days for more Dreamliner dispatches.

Have you ever been on a flight and spotted another flight off in the distance? It's just the coolest thing to see another plane in midair; they become your friend for a few minutes, as if you're sharing the delicious secret that 38,000 feet is the place to be. And it is. Now imagine that flying alongside other airplanes was an everyday occurrence for you—even better, that it's your job. This is actually the case for the badass pilots and aerial cinematographers at Wolfe Air.

Thanks to our buddy David Parker Brown of AirlineReporter.com and the team at Wolfe Air, we were able to go beyond watching the LAN Boeing 787 Dreamliner delivery flight to participating in it while discovering how Wolfe Air makes their magic—the magic of capturing the Dreamliner on film, in flight, from a few hundred feet off the raked wingtip.

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Photos and Video: Inside and All Around LAN's Very First Boeing 787 Dreamliner

September 4, 2012 at 1:21 PM | by | Comments (3)

New airplane alert! On Saturday, September 1, LAN Airlines picked up its very first Boeing 787 Dreamliner, becoming the first in the Americas to operate the aircraft. From the factory to the runway at Boeing's Paine Field in Everett, WA, we were there to kick the tires, put the seats back and get a feel for her. Stay tuned the next couple days for more Dreamliner dispatches.

It's been nearly one year since the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner flew off into the blue skies above Boeing's factory on its way into commercial service. And, in that year, not one airline in the Americas has gotten their hands on the American-made aircraft. Until now. Until Chile's LAN Airlines signed on the dotted line, picked up the (ceremonial) key and said hasta luego before heading down to Santiago with a shiny new 787-8.

Why's it such a big deal anyway? Oh, well, aside from years of hard work and billions of dollars behind it, the 787 has some nifty features passengers will notice right away. For one, there's ginormous auto-dimming windows made possible by the plane's construction of composite materials. Another: the 30% increase in overhead bag storage space. Yet more: less engine noise, less CO2 emissions, the addition of humidity to that horribly dry cabin air, and the ability to pressurize the cabin at a lower altitude to cut down on headaches and fatigue. Enough—let's go inside already!

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Follow Along with Us During LAN Airlines' First Boeing 787 Dreamliner Delivery

August 30, 2012 at 5:59 PM | by | Comments (0)

You know what happens when you buy a brand new airplane from Boeing? It's not as simple as signing a contract, doing a massive money transfer and picking up the plane out back. Nope—a new aircraft delivery involves ceremony, months and months of planning for a single flight to start the plane into service, and yes—even a little key.

Tomorrow, LAN Airlines becomes the fourth carrier to receive a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and first in the Americas. It's a pretty big deal and, as the United States will be seeing routes down to Chile on her before 2012 is over, we've hightailed it out to Everett, WA to check out what LAN has in store for their fresh bird.

Here's how to follow along for all our hot and bothered LAN 787 Delivery excitement:

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An 'Airline-Inspired' Chair Made for Your Living Room

August 8, 2012 at 7:03 AM | by | Comments (0)

An extra $2,000 or so can’t get you your own airplane, but it might just be able to get you your own airplane seat—kind of. We’ve had our eyes on some aviation-inspired seating surfaces in the past, but now we just spotted a brand new option. We’re not totally sold on this one just yet, but if you’re looking to get us something for the holidays we’re certainly not going to turn one down.

The Flight Recliner won’t be heading anywhere at 35,000-feet in the air, but it will be making its way into living rooms and offices across the globe. Designed by Jeffrey Bernett—he designed some seats for Northwest Airlines—the chair is now on sale for a cool $1,759.50 from Design Within Reach.

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Photos and Video: Up, Up and Over Wisconsin in a 1929 Ford Tri-Motor Airplane

August 1, 2012 at 1:05 PM | by | Comments (0)

It has always been said that the state of Ohio is the "birthplace of aviation" (it also happens to the birthplace of your intrepid editor. Coincidence? I think not). Still, head some 40 minutes north of the state line and up into Michigan, and you'll hit a town that serves as the birthplace of the automotive industry.

It's Dearborn, MI, the international home of the Ford Motor Company and former location of Ford Airport, site of many firsts: first U.S. airport hotel, first concrete runway, first U.S. scheduled passenger service, first contracted airmail service, first radio control for a commercial flight and first U.S. passenger terminal. Though the airfield is no more, the planes that earned their wings on it are, somewhat miraculously, still flying.

Around 18 of the 199 Ford Tri-Motors originally produced still have the sun glinting off their corrugated metal wings, the wind through their three radial engines. And two of these 18 were present at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2012, offering rides for $80 per person this past weekend. You know we had to.

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The EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2012 Air Show, in Instagram

July 31, 2012 at 11:37 AM | by | Comments (0)

Admit it. You'll ogle aircraft at any available opportunity. We understand. There is help out there for you...in the form of yet more airplane porn from our day at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2012.

In addition to the slew of pro photos and slick video, we of course shot from the hip with an iPhone 4S, uploading to Instagram all the live-long day.

Understanding that not everyone has Instagram (get it & get it now!) and it can be trying to keep up with all images in a constantly flowing stream of visual candy, we've included most (but not all!) of our Oshkosh Instagrams from this past weekend. Check 'em out:

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Jaunted at Oshkosh: Inside One Crazy Day at 'Aviation's Greatest Celebration'

July 30, 2012 at 11:33 AM | by | Comments (0)

Oshkosh, Wisconsin's Wittman Regional Airport has no regularly scheduled flights. And yet it manages to rack up over 90,000 landings every year. It has no impressive passenger terminal. And yet it counts visitors in the millions. What OSH does have, you see, is EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, a massive aviation celebration that swamps the tiny town for one week every summer.

At 8am this past Saturday we landed right in the thick of things, arriving on one of Southwest Airlines' newest, shiniest Boeing 737-700s after a quickie flight up from Chicago-Midway International. Here we could type a slew of fawning adjectives to describe our day (not even a full day!) spent zipping from the expansive cockpits of military transports to reclining in the slim leather seats of private props, but luckily a simple word—a word we maybe whispered and shouted a thousand times at OSH—sums it up: awesome.

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Inside Ohio's New Liberty Aviation Museum and Ford Tri-Motor Airplane Restoration

July 23, 2012 at 5:15 PM | by | Comment (1)


Yes, that's a plane being restored right there

Hey, did you know that Ford once made airplanes?

It was the 1920s and Henry Ford had a finger in many industries, but aviation took a backseat only to cars. During the period from 1925-1933, 199 Ford Tri-Motors were produced in Dearborn, Michigan and Henry himself blatantly bragged that its all-metal, American-built construction made it the "safest airliner in the world."

Ford Tri-Motors are still puttering around, outliving and outflying countless other airplanes. They've lived crazy lives, for example going from Pan Am to drug smuggling in Central America, doing domestic routes in Cuba to hopping between the Lake Erie Islands. It's that last piece of the Tin Goose's history that's being celebrated with the debut of a new museum at Ohio's Erie-Ottawa Regional Airport (PCW), the former home of Tri-Motor operator Island Airlines.

The Liberty Aviation Museum formally opened on Friday, and we were there for the fanfare. Focusing on World War II, the golden age of aviation and vintage aircraft, the museum covers multiple bases for history lovers. However, it's the Ford Tri-Motor that rings most truly with us, having figured in our personal family history. This is a story, told by my mother, of her first flight ever—onboard an Island Airlines Ford Tri-Motor from PCW to Lake Erie's South Bass Island.

Let's continue.

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Watch a Boeing 747-8 Wing Flex on Takeoff in This Awesome Video

Where: 1 Saarinen Circle [map], Sterling, VA, United States, 20166
July 19, 2012 at 10:58 AM | by | Comment (1)

You know we love a window seat and the awesome views it offers. But one of the best parts? Watching the super-flexible new wing of the Boeing 747-8 raise up on takeoff.

With a seat in Business Class on the lower level, right in front of the wing, we set our camera to HD video mode, propped it up against the new larger windows and enjoyed the view.

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Six Million Pieces and Three People: Inside the Boeing 747-8i's Redesigned Cockpit

June 5, 2012 at 10:57 AM | by | Comments (0)

New airplane alert! On Friday, June 1, Lufthansa sent the very first Boeing 747-8 for passengers on its very first regularly scheduled flight. Hopping from Frankfurt, Germany to Washington DC's Dulles Airport, the jumbo-jumbo jet made history with us onboard. Stay tuned the next few days for dispatches from the tarmac!

So yes, the world's first Boeing 747-8i is up and flying and, while it's fun to celebrate all the new seats and passenger-side comforts, real appreciation for the new aircraft must include understanding that most of the major improvements came for the technical, operational end of the jumbo.

This is a plane made up of over 6 million pieces, all controlled by a few men sitting up front, switches and buttons beneath their fingertips...fingertips that know the geography of the cockpit by heart. Welcome to the Boeing 747-8i's flight deck....where the magic happens.

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