Yesterday I headed over to the Future of Flight and designed my own airplane. You have until June 7th to design your own airplane and submit it to the Future of Flight and have it displayed. Obviously you don’t need hardcore skills, just a little imagination and some crayons work! Make me proud, submit your airplane design.
A special thanks to Sandy at the Future of Flight for taking this video!
Hawiian Airlines brand new Airbus A330 next to their first plane, a 1929 Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker
GUESSING HAS BEEN CLOSED. I WILL POST THE ANSWERS TOMORROW (JUNE 8th) MORNING. I have locked it down so no more comments can be made.
Hawaiian Airlines is making a big change. They are adding an Airbus A330 to their fleet. On Friday June 4th the first passenger flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles will commence, starting a new era.
The new A330 is named Makali’˜i for the constellation Pleiades that helped guide ancient Polynesian voyagers across the Pacific.
This is one amazing photo and quite a few things are impressive. What got my attention (besides the fact this is Hawaiian’s newest and oldest aircraft together), is the Airbus A330 has a lei on it.
See it? Those purple/pink flowers right behind the cockpit? I wrote to Hawaiian PR guy Patrick Dugan and asked, “How many flowers does it take to lei an Airbus A330?” Guess what he told me? No, seriously guess…
CONTEST: How many flowers (they are dendrobium orchids, if that matters) did it take to create the lei (just the lei on the A330, not the stairs or other flowers) seen in the photo (bigger version) on the Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330?
The closest person(s) to the correct answer will win a prize (I have a few you can choose from). You can leave a comment or you can email me at da***@*************er.com (don’t worry I am not collecting emails in any fashion). I will give you until Monday June 7th at 5pm PST, then I will give the answer and announce the winner(s)!
Hint? It is a lot more than you think…
Capt. Ishii and Capt. Carriker relax in the flight deck between missions. From Boeing.
To be one of the lucky few that get to fly the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Until recently, only Boeing folks got the opportunity to fly the airplane. Two All Nippon Airways, who will be the Dreamliner’s first customer, pilots got to take the Dreamliner for a spin.
The flight lasted about two and a half hours, but won’t count towards the Dreamliner’s certification.
This also we are one step closer for the first Boeing 787 to be delivered and the general public gets to start flying in them!
Air New Zealand Boeing 777 at Auckland, New Zealand
The idea of being able to access the internet on a flight is almost not newsworthy anymore, since it is so common (I love that). But a recent press release from Air New Zealand did catch my interest.
The airline will offer mobile phone and data capabilities with new Boeing 777-300’s to be delivered in November. In connection with AeroMobile, passengers will be able to text message and email on GSM phones. You will not be able to talk on your cell phone (thank goodness) and Air New Zealand does not plan to allow it. AeroMobile does have the ability to allow passengers to talk, but Air New Zealand decided not to offer that service (thank you).
’œFeedback from our customers has shown they wish to be able to text, and check emails, to stay in touch with friends, family and colleagues during their long-haul flights,’ said Ed Sims, Air New Zealand Group General Manager, International Airline.
You will still have to wait until you reach cruising altitude and your phone must remain on silent mode (good thinking). There is no additional fee except for standard roaming and text charges. Don’t go texting like crazy on your seven hour flight until you confirm your cell phone’s international roaming plan.
How does this work? AeroMobile installs a small base station (called a Picocell) on the aircraft, which relates data on board the airplane to a satellite, then back down to the ground. since there is very little needed to install the Picocell, there is no downtime for the aircraft, since it can be installed during normal maintenance.
Another great step towards being fully connected, even while flying!
Image: MJField
Can you find all 16 US Airways tails in this photo? (there is a bigger version in the links). Photo by Drew V.
Last week I put the challenge out to find photos with lots of airline tails. When I put the photos of a bunch of Qantas Airline’s tails, I only saw nine. However a reader smartly pointed out that there are really ten. Here are the photos I was sent:
* My original Qantas with TEN tails
* 10 Delta Air Lines tails from Daniel
* Aireal shot of 20 Delta tails from Daniel
* Who wants to count all these tails up? from Daniel
* 16 US Airways tails (with markings showing all 16) from Drew V
* 40 FedEx tails sent in from Rowen
* Five Qantas Airlines Boeing 747 tails at LAX by daeguowl
* A whole load of old US Airways Shuttle photos (even though I said Mojave wouldn’t work, but I can break my own rules) by @FlyInsider
* 12 Lufthansa tails from @FlyInsider
* Go ahead and count them in this satellite shot of Mojave forwarded by @BinkyAirways
* I count 15 Northwest Airlines tails, which will soon be going away – from @TerminalWanderer
So who is the winner? That is hard to tell since I am not counting them for all the photos. I will say EVERYONE is a winner for finding such great photos.
UPDATE: I have added a few more photos. It is not too late to send them on in to me, if you want them posted.