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Are You Ready For Space Travel !!!

May 10, 2013NatarajanLeave a comment

The next frontier of travel? If Richard Branson and others like him have their way, the answer is outer space. The Virgin Atlantic CEO marked a major milestone in space tourism last Monday with the first supersonic test flight of Virgin Galactic, a passenger spacecraft aiming to become the world’s first commercial “spaceline” by 2014.
But are travellers really interested in going to space?
According to a 2008 ABC News poll on the topic, although 65% of respondents believed that in the years ahead ordinary people will travel to outer space, the median price that they were willing to pay was just $2,000 – a far cry from the $200,000 ticket Virgin Galactic ticket.
However, in a 2006 survey by Spaceport Associates and Incredible Adventures, two US companies pioneering space tourism, if cost were not an issue nearly two-thirds of respondents would go on a “round-the-moon adventure”. More than 70% surveyed would spend two weeks or less on a suborbital tourism flight and 88% were interested in spacewalking.
“These trips are the beginning of what could be a lucrative 21st-century industry,” wrote Kevin Bonsor on science website howstuffworks.com, noting that several space tourism companies have begun building suborbital vehicles for commercial space travel. “These companies have invested millions, believing that space tourism industry is on the verge of taking off.”
Among them are Xcor Aerospace Inc, which hopes to join Virgin Galactic in the space tourism business. Private company SpaceX is developing its own rocket family, Falcon, capable of sending seven people to any space station. Space Adventures Ltd is working on a circumlunar mission to the moon (price per passenger is currently $100 million). Even commercial airliner Boeing is getting in on the venture, building a spacecraft to transport passengers to the International Space Station, a habitable satellite low in Earth’s orbit where scientists from around the world live, work and research.
As for Virgin Galactic’s commercial space tourism project, some 529 would-be space travellers (including such celebrities as American actor Ashton Kutcher) have already signed up for the two-hour, $200,000-a-seat experience.
But until those flights become financially attainable for more tourists, it’s unlikely that space travel will rival air travel.

space travel astronaut

According to a 2008 ABC News poll, 65% of respondents believed that in the years ahead ordinary people will travel to outer space. (Andrew Rich/Getty)

SOURCE:::bbc.com…passportblog

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Plane Phenomenon That is Out of The World !!!!!

May 10, 2013NatarajanLeave a comment

Glory

A glory is a truly spectacular sight. Picture: Brocken Inaglory/Wikicommons

NEXT time you’re lucky enough to score a window seat opposite the sun, watch out for this spectacular phenomenon.

The rainbow “glory” optical phenomenon is plane cool – during your flight a series of coloured rings may become visible around the reflection of the ‘plane’ projected against a layer of cloud.

But be warned, blink and you could miss it.

It’s actually a fairly common sight in the skies but can only be seen when certain conditions are met. The clouds must consist of water droplets – not the clouds composed of ice particles higher up in the skies.

Glories are caused by diffraction, where sunlight shines onto water droplets and is reflected back towards the person on the plane, and the droplets interfere with the lights process, scattering it in many directions and creating multiple rings.

We see the individual colours as rings because white light is made of all the colours of the rainbow.

The size of a glory can vary depending on the dimensions of the water droplets and the altitude of the flight.

Travellers have managed to take some stunning photos of Glories….
Glory

Glory

source::::news.com.au

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Just For Laugh !!!!….Free Fall Flight !!!!

May 9, 2013NatarajanLeave a comment

The Expensive Flight…
Matt and his wife lived in the country. Matt was very stingy and hated spending money. One day a fair came to the nearby town.

“Let’s go to the fair, Matt,” his wife said, “We haven’t been anywhere for a long time.”

Matt thought about this for a while. He knew he would have to spend money at the fair. At last he said, “All right, but I’m not going to spend much money. We’ll look at things, but we won’t buy anything.”

They went to the fair and looked at all the things to buy. There were many things Matt’s wife wanted to buy, but he would not let her spend any money. Then, in a nearby field, they saw a small, old looking airplane.

“Fun flight!” the notice said, “$10 for 10 minutes.”

Matt had never been in an airplane and he wanted to go on a fun flight. However, he didn’t want to have to pay for his wife, as well.

“I’ve only got $10,” he told the pilot. “Can my wife come with me for free?”

The pilot wasn’t selling many tickets, so he said , “I’ll make a bargain with you. If both of you can hold from screaming or shouting the whole flight, you won’t have to pay for her.”

Matt agreed, and got into the small airplane with his wife.

The pilot took off and made his airplane do all kinds of things, up and down and all around, tricks, fast turns, everything he could to scare them. But they never uttered a word.

Eventually, the pilot said, “O.K., we’ll land now. None of you made a sound so your can have her ride for free.”

“Thank you,” Matt said. “wasn’t easy, especially when she fell out.”

source:::::babamailnet

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Aviation Giants….Super Sized Planes !!!!!

May 8, 2013Natarajan1 Comment

Biplane behemothThe biggest plane of World War I was the Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI. Made of wood, each plane required a ground crew of 50.

Boat with wingsAnother German giant was the Dornier Do X, a flying boat powered by 12 engines which could carry up to 100 passengers. It weighed a massive 56 tonnes.

Super-sized SovietTupolev’s ANT-20 was a propaganda tool, an airliner with a radio station, cinema and photo lab – and a huge engine above the fuselage to help it fly

Iconic bomberWorld War II’s biggest aircraft. Boeing’s B-29 Superfortress dropped the atomic bombs on Japan and ushered in a new age of giant, long-ranged bombers.

Millionaire’s follyEccentric industrialist Howard Hughes’ H-4 Hercules has the largest wingspan of any plane; but the giant ‘Spruce Goose’ flew only a handful of times.

Cold War giantThe Convair B-36 Peacemaker was the world’s first intercontinental bomber, and needed a mix of propellers and jet engines to get its vast bulk airborne.

Jet veteranBoeing’s enormous B-52 Stratofortress remains one of the biggest jet aircraft ever made, only getting into the air thanks to eight powerful engines

Russian record-breakerThe world’s heaviest combat aircraft, Tupolev’s Tu-160 has a maximum take-off weight of some 275 tonnes; it’s the biggest swing-wing plane ever made.

Outsized airlinerWhile the Boeing 747 was the first to be referred to as a Jumbo Jet, Airbus’ A380 is even bigger – it can carry 850 people. Can airliners get any bigger?

source::::bbc.com..future

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Boeing…..A Retrospective Look !!!

May 5, 2013NatarajanLeave a comment

A Pan American Airways flying boat aircraft passing over a clipper ship on the Spanish coast. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). January 1938

Colonel Roscoe Turner, the pilot of an American Boeing plane, showing his wife a model of the plane, at the airfield in Mildenhall. (Photo by R. Wesley/Fox Photos/Getty Images). 19th October 1934

The Boeing B-17-C-type Flying Fortress, known to the RAF as a Fortress I bomber, in flight. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1950

Three Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers dropping bombs over North Korea. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). 1952

The Pan-American World Airways clipper “Flying Cloud”, the first of a fleet which will fly between New York and London. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images). 1949

Interior of a giant Boeing 707 jet airliner which can take up to 165 economy class passengers. Owned by Pan-Am she is carrying a service crew for noise test flights over Britain. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). 8th September 1958

A Boeing 720 crash lands on a runway with a faulty nosewheel. (Photo by Stroud/Getty Images). 1962

The hijacked Boeing 707 of Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines, with the safety chutes down, at Lydda Airport, Israel. The plane was hijacked by a whisky-drinking Libyan, armed with two pistols, soon after its take-off from Nicosia, Cyprus, en route to Beirut, and diverted to Israel. Israeli commandos stormed the plane and rescued the 109 passengers and 10 crew. (Photo by Daniel Rosenblum/Keystone/Getty Images). 17th August 1973

A Pan-American 747 jumbo jet on the tarmac at Heathrow Airport, where it touched down after carrying 380 people, a new world record for the number of people ever to fly in one aircraft. (Photo by Dennis Oulds/Central Press/Getty Images). 12th January 1970

After completing its second successful mission into space, the STS-2 Orbiter Columbia begins its return flight to the Kennedy Space Centre aboard the Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 1981

source:::avaxnewsnet

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Questions Before All Airlines After Lion Air Crash …..

April 18, 2013NatarajanLeave a comment

Lion Air Boeing 737

Indonesian rescue workers help remove a section of a Lion Air Boeing 737 four days after it crashed into the sea near Bali

For all the headline-grabbing stories about security breaches, intoxicated pilots and faulty equipment, sometimes a commercial plane’s worst enemy is Mother Nature.

That appears to be the case for a new Boeing 737, operated by Indonesian budget carrier Lion Air, that crashed into the shallow waters off the coast of Bali on 13 April, just short of the runway at Ngurah Rai Airport. At the helm was an experienced pilot who managed to save all 108 passengers and crew, but told Reuters it felt like his aircraft was “dragged” down by wind as he fought to regain control. The crash – and the pilot’s alarming comments – are renewing fears about the chilling phenomenon known as windshear.

A windshear or “microburst” is a sudden change in wind speed and direction that can cause planes to rapidly lose altitude. They are often caused by storms creating strong downdrafts of wind.

Airplanes rely on wind speed and direction to control takeoff and landing, typically doing so in the direction of the wind. But sudden shifts in wind speed and direction can cause planes to lose control, especially during takeoff and landing, when they are low to the ground and have reduced engine power and little room to manoeuvre.

How likely is it that Lion Air’s crash was caused by a windshear? Officials from a bevy of agencies – including Indonesian state officials, the US National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), theMeteorological and Geophysics Agency and Boeing – are investigating the incident and expect to release their findings within a month. But initial tests show that the pilot was experienced, was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and the plane, a brand new Boeing 737, had no technical issues, all of which rules out pilot or plane error.

What’s more, weather reports indicate a strong storm and driving rains were developing as the plane attempted to land, which lends support to the idea of windshear as the culprit.

But the surprising – and unnerving – point is that aviation officials consider windshear to be a problem that was solved long ago. Between 1964 and 1985 windshear was responsible for some 26 civil aircraft crashes in the US, leaving about 500 fatalities and about 200 injuries, according to NASA. The most famous incident involved a Delta Airlines Lockheed Tristar, which crashed in 1985, killing 134 passengers and crew near the Dallas-Fort Worth airport.

Since then, windshear-related incidents have dropped considerably, thanks to FAA- and NASA-developed technology that warns pilots of oncoming storms. The Predictive Windshear System, available below 700m, warns pilots some 10 to 40 seconds ahead of windshear to go around the bursts.

But for now, a lot of unknowns remain, including whether the Lion Air crash was caused by windshear, whether the windshear warning system was functioning on the aircraft and perhaps the biggest question for the airline industry – whether windshear may again become a serious concern.

Most Unusual Landings Of Aircrafts !!!!

April 18, 2013NatarajanLeave a comment

A Lion Air plane is seen in the water after it missed the runway in Denpasar, Bali.

Navy officers and firemen work in the rescue of a private aircraft of aerial company Ocean Air which fell on Guanabara Bay upon landing at Santos Dumond airport on August 12, 2010 in Rio de Janeiro,

Emergency services attend to the scene of a Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane which crashed on landing at Schiphol airport on February 25, 2009 in Haarlem The Netherlands.

A Saha Airlines Boeing 707 is seen where it finished its skid after careering off the runway at Tehran Mehrabad Airport April 22, 2005 in Tehran, Iran.

A handout photo provided by Russian news agency Agentstvo-Novostei TV2 and taken on July 11, 2011 shows the wreck of Antonov-24 passenger plane, floating on the Ob River in Siberia shortly after the plane’s emergency landing. The plane belonging to the Angara airline was forced to make an emergency landing on the Ob River in Siberia on July 11,2011.

NEW YORK – JANUARY 15: Rescue boats float next to a US Airways plane floating in the water after crashing into the Hudson River in the afternoon on January 15, 2008 in New York City. The Airbus 320 flight 1549 crashed shortly after take-off from LaGuardia Airport heading to Charlotte, North Carolina.

A Falcon Grand Air cargo jet sits amid the tombstones of Mt. Olivet Cemetery after skidding off the runway at Detroit City Airport during an emergency landing August 28, 2001 in Detroit, Michigan.

Police and fire department personnel, including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited officials, gather near a Schweizer helicopter that made an emergency landing on the rooftop of a residential building in Bangalore on April 12, 2012. A trainee helicopter pilot made an emergency landing on the rooftop of an apartment building in a busy residential district in southern India on Thursday after developing engine trouble.

A Peruvian Navy helicopter which was transporting humanitarian aid for the victims of the 7.9-magnitude earthquake that rocked Peru on Wednesday, is seen on the roof of an uninhabited deposit in Ica, more than 400 km south of Lima, 17 August 2007, after it’s pilot made an emergency landing. The pilot looked for the safest place possible to attempt a landing, after the chopper apparently lost height.

A helicopter lands on the Tiradentes Avenue, after being forced to do so due to the heavy rain, on December 14, 2010 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

A China Airlines aircraft Boeing 737 lies in ruins at Naha Airport August 20, 2007 in Okinawa, Japan. The aircraft’s left engine exploded after landing following it’s flight from Taiwan. Despite the resultant fire destroying the plane all 165 people on board escaped safely.

Picture taken 29 October 2007 shows the wreckage of a helicopter that crashed into a tanker as it was attempting an emergency landing at Rudskogen near Rakkestad, southeastern Norway, 29 October. A private helicopter with three people on board crashed into an oil lorry in southeastern Norway 29 October, narrowly avoiding disaster as it rammed the cabin and not the full tank, police said. No one was injured in the accident, which occurred as the pilot was trying to carry out an emergency landing.

A photo taken by a local resident, shows the wreckage of a helicopter next to the wall of the compound where according to officials, Osama bin Laden wss shot and killed in a firefight with U.S. forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan on Monday, May 2, 2011.

source:::::yahooindianewsnet

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Lion Air Jet Crash…. What Next ?

April 17, 2013April 17, 2013NatarajanLeave a comment

Indonesian workers prepare to remove the wreckage of a Lion Air jet after it crashed into the sea.

AN Indonesian salvage team is using a crane to haul seats and baggage out of a plane that crashed in Bali, as investigators probe what caused the jet to go down.

The Lion Air plane missed the runway as it came in to land on Saturday, slamming into the sea and splitting in two. Dozens of the 108 people on board were injured, but there were no fatalities.

Terrified passengers swam to shore or were plucked to safety by police in rubber dinghies. Witnesses and experts have suggested the crash could have been caused by a freak storm, although no official reason has yet been given.

The salvage team hauled the seats and baggage out of the Boeing 737-800, and were aiming to begin cutting the fuselage of the plane into pieces later in the evening, Bali army commander Colonel Anton Nugroho said.

Indonesian boys carry pieces of a Lion Air jet a day after the aircraft crashed into the ocean, at Jimbaran beach, in Bali, Indonesia on Sunday, April 14, 2013. All 108 passengers and crew survived after the new Lion Air jet crashed into the ocean and snapped into two while attempting to land Saturday on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, injuring up to 45 people. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

However, local navy commander Lieutenant Colonel Edi Eka Susanto said the operation had to be carried out very carefully, as the plane “is not yet stable, and we fear there are still oxygen bottles inside that could explode”.

After the plane was cut up, the team planned to lift the parts by crane onto a truck, and from there they would be taken to a nearby beach, said Nugroho.

If that was not possible, then the parts would be pushed through the water using balloons to an area of coast where it was easier to lift them, he said.

This handout photo released by the Indonesian Search And Rescue Agency (SAR) on April 14, 2013 shows the aircraft cabin of a Lion Air Boeing 737 lying submerged in the water after skidding off the runaway during landing at Bali’s international airport near Denpasar.

The 70-strong team, made up of military, rescue agency, airport and Lion Air personnel, hoped to be finished by tomorrow.

The cockpit voice recorder was found wedged between a wing and the body of the aircraft on Monday, and was being flown to Jakarta on Tuesday, Masruri, from the national transportation safety committee, which is probing the crash, told AFP.

Indonesian workers prepare to remove the wreckage of a Lion Air jet in Bali, Indonesia on Tuesday, April 16, 2013. The new Lion Air jet that slammed into the sea as it tried to land on the Indonesian resort island of Bali over the weekend remains stuck in shallow water and must be cut into pieces for removal, vividly underlining the challenges facing the budget airline as it races to expand in Asia. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

“The black box will be cleaned and checked for damage and hopefully we will be able to extract the data in it,” said Masruri, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, adding he would not comment further on an ongoing investigation.

Five passengers were still in hospital on Tuesday following the crash, said Lion Air airport service director Daniel Putut, although he said he did not have details of their conditions.

Indonesia rescuers remove the seats of a partially submerged Lion Air Boeing 737 three days after it crashed while trying to land at Bali’s international airport near Denpasar on April 16, 2013. The pilot and co-pilot of a Lion Air plane that crashed at Bali’s airport have passed initial drug tests, an official said on April 15, as investigators probe the causes of the accident that left dozens injured but no fatalities.

Government officials and the airline said at the time of the crash the weather had been fine, but the transport ministry has since said the jet flew through thick cloud and witnesses have spoken of torrential rain before the crash.

Indonesia, which relies heavily on air transport to connect its sprawling archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, has one of Asia’s worst aviation safety records.

source:::news.com.au

Melbourne Airport…New Domestic Terminal ….Ready for Take Off By 2015 !!!!

April 17, 2013NatarajanLeave a comment

Artist’s impression: Melbourne Airport’s new terminal extension.

A NEW domestic terminal at Melbourne Airport will ease congestion and help drive economic growth, the federal government says.

The terminal, capable of handling up to 10 million passengers a year, is part of the $400 million first stage development of the airport’s long-term southern precinct project.

The project, due to open in mid-2015, will include 17 new aircraft parking bays, extra car parking, ground transport facilities and road upgrades.

Approving the development on Tuesday, federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said expanding airports is necessary to connect Australia to the world and drive economic growth.

He said increasing capacity will help the airport deal with an expected doubling of its annual number of passengers to 64 million by 2033.

“What that means is jobs and economic growth and positioning Australia in the Asian century,” he told reporters in Melbourne.

Melbourne Airport chief executive Chris Woodruff said the development will create jobs and provide a boost to the Victorian economy.

He said the expansion was driven by strong domestic passenger demand and will provide for further growth.

The works will focus on the area south of terminal 3 and around terminal 4.

source::: news .com.au

Here is a Collection of Amazing & Spectacular Aircraft Photos, From Around the World !!!

April 12, 2013Natarajan1 Comment

An F-16 Fighting Falcon refuels from a KC-10 Extender

Two Soviet MiG-29 aircraft en route to an air show in British Columbia are intercepted by F-15 Eagle aircraft of the 21st Tactical Fighter Wing.

Two Soviet MiG-29 aircraft en route to an air show are intercepted by F-15 Eagle aircraft.

North American P-51D Mustang

US Navy F-14D Tomcat Refueling

Admiring the noctilucent clouds - Noctilucent clouds are not fully understood as a meteorological phenomenon. Clouds generally are not able to reach such high altitudes with such thin air pressures.

Admiring the Noctilucent clouds from Boeing 767 Flightdeck, which sit at an altitude of around 50 mi up (mesosphere).

Noctilucent clouds are not fully understood as a meteorological phenomenon. Clouds generally are not able to reach such high altitudes with such thin air pressures.

Cockpit of Airbus A320-211

C-17 Globemaster III, having just released a series of flares over the Atlantic Ocean

C-17 Globemaster III, having just released a series of flares over the Atlantic Ocean.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) returns to the Kennedy Space Center after a ten month refurbishment.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) returns to the Kennedy Space Center after a 10 month refurbishment.

Boeing 757-23A (R/W 26L)

Departing Boeing 757-23A (R/W 26L) four minutes after sunrise.

shot of this EK/Atlas Air 747 (2000ft above us) being chased by EK B777-200 (A6-EML, 4000ft above us) right at its tail. Captured out of a EK (now thats coincidence...) B777 flightdeck (through left #1 window upwards - thats why the neck was twisted ;-). Us at FL340, 747 at 360, other B777 at 380. Canon S50 max zoom.

Shot of a EK/Atlas Air 747, being “chased” by EK B777-200..Photo actually taken from the cockpit of another EK B777!

A 401st Tactical Fighter Wing F-16C Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft as another F-16 stands by during Operation Desert Storm

A F-16C refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker, as another F-16 stands by during Operation Desert Storm.

SOURCE:::web valuer.org

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