Airport
” My Dream is to Fly the 747 Oneday…” Says Capt. Indu Nair…
In our Special Independence Day series, Rediff.com looks at India through the lives of her people.
Today: Captain Indu Nair, who joined a private airline after her tenure as a pilot in the Indian Air Force ended five years ago. From the second batch of women pilots in the IAF, she flew during the Kargil conflict.
As a commercial airline pilot, one of her best experiences, she says, is taking off with an all woman crew!
It is no longer unusual for passengers to have a lady pilot fly them to their destinations. I have been a pilot for 20 years and it has been a lovely journey. My dream, however, is to fly the Boeing 747!
India has many women pilots now. There are days when both the pilots in the cockpit and the cabin crew — are all women. It is a superb feeling to have an all women crew.
I served the Indian Air Force as a pilot for 15 years and became a commercial pilot when my career ended since I was on a short service commission.
There was a time in school I wanted to be an air hostess, but my sister superior counseled me against it. I then started looking at the civil services but was always fascinated by the uniform and that’s how I joined the IAF.
I was among the earliest batch of women officers. A male bastion till then, I think it took longer for the male officers to adapt to us that us to them.
At the time of the Kargil conflict, two of us women officers were called by our senior officer and told that while the male officers would fly for the Kargil operation, the two of us would be assigned ground duties.
We came out of his office and went back in again to tell him that we are trained pilots like the men and we can do the same. We were told that it would be hard, we would have to sleep in the airplane, use common toilets as the men and be in difficult terrain. We told him we were ready and we were giving flying duties during the Kargil conflict.
We flew in ammunition and supplies; on the way back we carried the bodies of our martyred soldiers.
Ferrying the bodies of young men who had died defending our country was one of the toughest things I have done.
It was tragic. It left me numb.
Indu Nair was from the second batch of lady pilots to join the Indian Air Force. Photograph: Kind courtesy, Indu Nair.
When I was in the Indian Air Force, I flew the AN-32 — a rugged but forgiving Russian aircraft. You needed physical strength to operate the AN-32.
I now fly the ATR, a delicate machine.
Before a take-off, I take a walk about of the airplane and do the external checks. I often pat my aircraft and in my mind tell her to take us to our destination safely.
Safety is of paramount importance. As captain of the aircraft, I am responsible for the safety of the passengers and the aircraft.
I have seen sunrise and sunset, up in the sky, from the windows of my cockpit. I was telling my copilot just the other day how privileged we are to see nature in all its glory.
We have also seen how fickle nature can be, and how bad weather disrupts flying schedules. In all these years of flying, I have realised that a pilot has to respect the weather and follow the flying manual to a T.
I remember once on a flight, passengers got into an argument with the cabin crew when the flight was diverted because of poor visibility. They kept saying that if they can see the air strip from the window, why couldn’t the pilot!
When we landed at the airport we were diverted to, the first officer and me as the captain, had to explain to the irate passengers that if the air traffic control tells us that we cannot land, we just cannot!
An AN-32, the Russian-made aircraft she flew in the IAF. Photograph: Kind courtesy, Indu Nair.
My usual schedule is 6 days of flying, followed by two days of rest.
I have to report at the dispatch room at the airport before the flight. We get written regulations; a medical and breath analyser test is done.
In the cockpit, I am in charge as the captain. The first officer and me discuss the flight, make the necessary announcements and steer the aircraft to the destination.
After a flight, we complete the necessary paperwork, go back to the dispatch room and then leave for home.
What I sometimes miss is having a regular 9 to 5 schedule, but such is the nature of my profession that this is not possible.
IMAGE: Her last sortie as a wing commander in the IAF. Photograph: Kind courtesy Indu Nair.
My children are used to seeing mummy as a pilot and my older child is showing some interest in following in my footsteps. Once I am home, I cook, spend time with the family and get early to bed. On my days off, I catch up on household affairs — I like going and buying vegetables.
My husband laughs that I am better in the cockpit than in the driving seat of a car — but driving on city roads is no longer a pleasant experience.
The thing that I don’t enjoy too much about being away as a pilot is eating hotel food over days. How much airline and hotel food can you eat, after all!
So often, passengers on my regular routes have told me that once they hear I am in the cockpit, they know it would be smooth landing.
Women pilots are not an unusual sight and people, especially, girls look at us with pride.
More and more women every year are taking the commerical pilot’s license. And over the year, women have proved to be efficient pilots. It is there for everyone to see.
Out of 5,100 pilots in India, 600 are women, according to the ministry of civil aviation.
A pilot with Jet Airways for the last five years, Captain Indu Nair will join another domestic airline next week. She lives in Mumbai with her husband, a former Indian Air Force officer, and two daughters.
She spoke to Archana Masih/Rediff.com
Source….www.rediff.com
natarajan
Dream turns sour: A swanky airport and just one flight……
Months after take off, Durgapur airport in West Bengal struggles to stay afloat
Close to three months after a star-studded take-off with Tollywood celebrities, India’s first greenfield airport project, the Kaji Nazrul Islam airport in Durgapur is in trouble. Two non-scheduled flight operators — Pinnacle Air and Spirit Airways– have suspended operations and Air India’s lone flight on the Kolkata-Durgapur route is faced with a low demand. Now, it’s left to Bengal Aerotrolplis (BAPL) to go all out to keep the airport afloat.
Pinnacle Air, which was running flights from Kolkata to Cooch Behar four times-a-week, touching down at Durgapur and Bagdogra, along with Air India marked the beginning of commercial operation at Andal airport on May 18 this year. But poor demand has prompted it to suspend operations within months.
Spirit Airways, a non-scheduled flight operator, started three days-a-week services on the Kolkata-Andal-Patna route in mid-June. But it took them only a few weeks to decide that the service was not viable. When asked, regional manager (operations) of Spirit Airlines Gouranga Bhattacharya, did not want to comment on this.
Air India’s six days a week Durgapur-Kolkata flight is also struggling to get passengers with the effect that the airport-surrounding looks nearly-deserted. Apart from a couple of CISF personnel and a handful of Air India staff roaming around, the site is anything but airport-like.
An Air India personnel on duty says, the average occupancy is about 15 to 16 daily. It is continuing the service as BAPL is subsidising the loss in accordance with a deal with Air India for viability gap funding.
“Apart from the flight hours in the evening you will hardly find anyone here. It is difficult for those working there as well, as there is only barren land all around. Hope things will change soon with the city coming up,” said the staff.
BAPL managing direcor Partha Ghosh, promises to stand up to the hope. “Yes, occupancy is about 30 to 35 per cent now. These are very initial days. We are working on campaigns and promotions to make the airport popular and get more flights.”
While initially the fare was fixed at Rs 2,500, Air India is offering promotional offer of Rs 999 (excluding taxes) for one way journey on Durgapur-Kolkata route. The AI flight takes off from Kolkata at 5 pm and lands at Andal airport at 5.45 pm daily. The return flight takes off from Andal at 6.05 pm and reaches Kolkata at 6.50 pm.
Many argue that there are cheaper and convenient ways to travel to Kolkata from Durgapur. Including taxes one will have to pay about Rs 1,300 for a one-way journey now. “A passenger needs to report to the airline counter two hours prior to departure. Then there is a 45-minute flying time. Also, after landing, one has to spend some time collecting baggage and then more than half an hour to drive from Andal to Durgapur. Compare it with a journey by road on a Volvo bus or an express train which takes hardly three hours,” argued Anil Punjabi, chairman, east, Travel Agents Federation of India.
“BAPL needs to work with corporate houses, travel agents there to get the traffic. It has cultivate to its catchment area with more aggression. They will also have to focus on basic passenger amenities like non-avilability of transportation to and from the airport. Subsidising the flier or “seat underwriting” may not sustain for more than a year,” he added.
According to him, BAPL may consider other routes like direct flights to Delhi or even an international flight to Dhaka, which may attract passengers. Here is an interesting perspective why a Durgapur-Delhi flight could attract more passengers. “Of the 10 to 15 passengers travelling daily from Durgapur, most are employees of SAIL, who take connecting flights to Delhi from Kolkata airport,” said an Air India staff. It’s a convenient for many SAIL employees to take the flight because of the through check-in facility.
Partha Ghosh said BAPL is in talks with Air India for the Durgapur- Delhi route, which will be the next offering, without giving any specific dateline. But, there is catch. A 48 seater ATR flight can’t fly the distance of Durgapur to Delhi, it has to be A-319 flight which would have capacity of over 120 seats and to get that many passengers would be really difficult given the current scenario.
“As we talk we are carrying out promotonal events tying up with local clubs, institutions, local chambers of commerce. We are also engaging with all corporates in the the region
All through, BAPl has banked on the Asansol-Durgapur-Dhanbad industrial belt. The Asansol Durgapur Planning Area has a population of about three million. BAPL’s catchment area accounts for facilities across the iron & steel, aluminum, locomotives, cables, specialised optical lenses, coal mining and power generation sectors, along with related ancillary units. Major units in the catchment area employ a large number of staff, of which 15 per cent is management cadre, says a BAPL internal assessment report. “There are 17 engineering colleges, two deemed universities, 18 polytechnics and management institutes within the project’s immediate and extended catchment area,” the report adds.
It is time for them to cultivate what BAPL has believed all these years. More so, as the future of the proposed airport city with an information technology park, hospitals and a residential complex, spread over 1800 acres also hinges on success of the airport to a great extent.
Photograph by Ananta Karmakar, courtesy, Kazi Nazrul Islam International Airport/Facebook
Probal Basak in Kolkata
Source: 
and http://www.rediff.com
and http://www.rediff.comNatarajan
Believe it or Not…No Casualties in these Air crashes….
When one thinks of airplane disasters, one relates them to tragedy, loss and devastation.
However, German photographer Dietmar Eckell finds ‘miracles in aviation history’ at the abandoned sites of wrecks that have resulted in no casualties.
‘Happy End’ is a photo-project of 15 airplanes that had forced landings but all on board survived and were rescued from the remote locations. The planes remain abandoned in nowhere for the last 10-70 years.
He writes, “It’s part of my long term project ‘restwert’ (German for residual value) to document abandoned objects with fascinating backgrounds like cold war relicts, Olympic sites, flooded churches, railroad tracks, never finished nuclear reactors, overgrown adventure parks etc.”
Douglas Skytrain C-47, Yukon, Canada
In February 1950, a Douglas Skytrain C-47 plane accidentally crashed into the ridge and 10 passengers on board miraculously survived in the cold weather. Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
The pilot made it down to a nearby highway to get help rescuing the other nine survivors.Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
The photographer spent two hours at the crash site taking various shots of the wreckage. Speaking of his experience, Eckell says, “I still cannot imagine how they survived in February 1950 with temperatures in the -40s up there.” Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
Carvair, Alaska
In June 1997, Carvair took off from Venetie, United States of America. The aircraft was climbing when the engine on the left wing began to run rough. Soon, a fire broke out, causing the engine to fall off the wing. The captain was forced to carry out an emergency landing on a sand and gravel bar in the ChandalarRiver. Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
Fairchild C-82, Alaska
A twin-engine Fairchild C-82, carrying cargo, experienced troubled and had to crash-land in January 1965 in the Tundra forest, cutting down many trees. The three crewmembers survived by building a huge fire from the surrounding pines, which proved their salvation when a spotter plane saw its glow 3 days later. Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
Cessna T-50, Alaska
This Cessna T-50, also known as the “Bamboo Bomber,” crash-landed in Alaska after it ran out of fuel in the 1960s. Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
Cessna 310, Australia
A Cessna 310 in repose in Western Australia after it crashed in 1993. Eckell captured this image after a 1,500 kilometre drive. Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
B-24 Liberator, Papua New Guinea
This massive B-24 bomber crash-landed in Papua New Guinea swamp in October 1943 after running low on fuel after a bombing mission. The crew successfully parachuted to the ground, and the two pilots were unhurt in the crash landing.
Douglas C-53, Australia
The Douglas Skytrooper was forced to land in February 1942 after the pilot missed the airport and ran out of fuel. This cluttered transport wreck is the last shoot — to date — of the Happy End project. Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
Grumman hu-16 Albatross, Mexico
This Grumman Albatross crashed on a beach about 70 km south of Puerto Escondido, Mexico. The locals told Eckell that the plane was used by drug traffickers. Eckell discovered the wreck in 2010, six years after the crash. The imminent storm gave him precisely the backdrop he wanted. Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
Avro Shackleton, Western Sahara
Two engines of this plane suddenly failed, sending it down to the desert sand in 1994. Surviving this crash in such an inhospitable environment was an astonishing feat for the 19 passengers and crew. He remembers his attempt to reach the plane as dangerous. “After a 30-hour car ride from Morocco to Mauritania and a 26-hour ride on an ore train, I got to a mining town and there had to convince the local Polisario leader to take me over the border to the Western Sahara. I had the plane’s GPS location and we drove cross country to avoid getting caught by the Mauritanian military. Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
Curtiss C-46 Commando, Manitoba, Canada
This Curtiss Commando made a heroic emergency landing in the hills of Manitoba, Canada. All 3 people aboard survived. The Commando was often used as transport aircraft in World War II; command crews nicknamed the C-46 the ‘flying coffin’. Eckell explains that although this wreck is relatively easy to hike to, it involves an extra threat: It’s in polar bear country. Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
Douglas C-47 R4D-8, Iceland
In November 1973, this US Navy transport plane crashed after encountering severe weather conditions and icing near Vik, Iceland. All 7 passengers and crew members made it to safety.Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
Vought F4U Corsair, Hawaii
A Vought F4U Corsair ended up in Hawaii waters a few years after World War II. cal diving school operators helped Eckell to find the small fighter plane and told him the pilot escaped.Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
Bristol 170, Canada
This Bristol Type 170 broke through the frozen lake on landing, fracturing the wing, and has been there ever since 1956. Eckell tracked it down with the GPS coordinates and persuaded a local Cessna pilot to fly him out to it. Photograph: Dietmar Eckell
Check out Dietmar Eckell’s Facebook page
Source….www.rediff.com
Natarajan
World-class airports offering perks so good you’ll actually want a flight delay….!!!
Singapore’s Changi airport has a swimming pool to float away the time. Picture: Alamy Source: Alamy
BELIEVE it or not, flight delays can actually be a blessing in disguise, especially if you’re stuck at one of these airports.
From golf courses to wave pools and a game of croquet, these airports are truly destinations in themselves. These are six of the world’s best airport terminals.
Incheon International Airport, South Korea
Earlier this year, this airport was hailed the world’s cleanest by Skytrax, a UK-based consultancy that reviews airports.
When you’re not taking advantage of the free showers in the hotel-style bathrooms, you can also enjoy a museum, golf course, casino and ice-skating rink. No one would notice if they scraped the “airport” off the sign and changed it to “resort.”
Changi International Airport, Singapore
It almost seems silly to fly out of this airport — because how many destinations can hold a candle to its awesome attractions?
The hands-down coolest thing? A Hobbit Hole inside the Naturally New Zealand exhibit — holla! It’s a hobbit village as depicted in “The Lord of the Rings,” built by some of the same film crew. (OK, the installation ended in April, but something equally cool is bound to replace it.)
Not to be outdone, the Social Tree claims some bragging rights. It’s surrounded by eight interactive booths made from 32-inch televisions with touch screens. You can take photos to send to yourself, to store in the system, or to display on its massive wall.
Fancy a dip before your flight? No problem — pre- and post-flight swims are available at Changi’s rooftop pool. For some serenity, check out the koi ponds and 500,000 plants throughout five indoor gardens, which require maintenance from 11 fulltime horticulturists.
Munich International Airport
Sometimes you need to take the edge off before a flight — and this airport has you covered in the hippest way possible: It has its own microbrewery. There’s also an in-house art gallery.
And if you get sick of waiting for your flight, there’s always the Audi car showroom above Terminal 1, in case your destination is within driving distance.
But Munich’s sweetest amenity has to be the newly opened wave pool, where surfers can enjoy stationary shredding.
London Heathrow Airport
Often considered the crossroads of the world, there’s very little Heathrow doesn’t have — including a Harrods outpost.
When retail therapy doesn’t cut it, there’s always the Molton Brown Travel Spa in British Airways Terminals 1 and 4, where you can grab a quickie hydrotherapy shower. The therapeutic technique increases your circulation, thanks to all that (water) jet action.
And don’t forget to enjoy croquet on a mini court.
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
If you’re still on a high from all that Amsterdam has to offer, and forgot to pick up souvenirs for your loved ones, don’t despair: This airport has Dutch diamond purveyor Gassan, offering cut and polished bling with all the proper certifications. Freaked out by the price on your receipt? Then check out the meditation centre.
Queen Alia International Airport, Zizya, Jordan
Sure, it’s been known to heat up in Jordan in summertime, but the airport — whose terminals are shaped like desert palm leaves — has taken care of that. In an eco-friendly move, it uses actual rainwater for the indoor garden, cooling everything down in the process.
Source…..www.news.com.au
Natarajan
The World”s Strangest Unsolved Plane Mysteries….
The shadow of a Royal New Zealand Air Force P3 Orion is seen on low-level clouds while the aircraft searches for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in March 2014.Photo: AP
Plane debris that could possibly be linked to missing Flight MH370 has been discovered washed up on the beach of a remote island in the Indian Ocean, officials revealed Wednesday.
The component found is believed to be the flaperon from a Boeing 777, the same type of plane that disappeared over the southern Indian Ocean in March 2014 with 239 people onboard.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 is the only Boeing 777 currently unaccounted for, and experts have taken the part away for further analysis in an attempt to determine its origin.
This is the first major development in the flight’s puzzling disappearance over a year ago in an event that has become one of the biggest unsolved aviation mysteries in history.
However, this is not the first time a plane has disappeared or crashed under mysterious circumstances. Here are some of the other unexplained aviation disasters that have taken place in the last century:
1. Aer Lingus Flight 712
On March 24, 1968, Aer Lingus Flight 712 from Cork in Ireland to London’s Heathrow Airport crashed into the sea, killing all 61 onboard.
But when investigators looked into the crash, they could find no explanation for what brought the plane down. In the years following the crash, several witnesses came forward to claim that the plane had been shot down by an experimental British missile — a claim that was strongly denied by the British government.
2. B47 Stratojet Bomber
In March 1956, a Boeing B47 Stratojet long-range bomber carrying three US Air Force personnel vanished over the Mediterranean Sea while en route from MacDill Air Force Base in Florida to Ben Guerir Air Force Base in Morocco. The plane disappeared without a trace. Frighteningly, the bomber was carrying two nuclear warheads, which were never recovered.
3. Helios Airways Flight 522
On Aug. 14, 2005, Greek air traffic controllers lost contact with Helios Airways Flight 522 as it headed toward Athens airport to begin its descent after a short trip from Cyprus. Strangely, the plane stayed within its set holding pattern around the airport for over an hour. When fighter jets were scrambled to intercept the flight, they saw the pilot slumped over the controls. The plane descended rapidly around 30 minutes later, crashing into a hillside outside the city and killing all 121 souls onboard. An investigation into the crash determined that there may have been a gradual cabin pressure loss that had likely incapacitated the crew.
4. Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra
One of the most famous aviation mysteries in history occurred in 1937 when the Lockheed Electra plane piloted by pioneer aviator Amelia Earhart vanished over the Pacific Ocean during her attempt to circumnavigate the globe. No wreckage was ever found, and the plane’s disappearance has been the focus of intense conspiracy theories ever since. There have been stories of her being shot down by the Japanese or being a spy. Some have speculated that she faked her own death, and a very small contingent is convinced she was abducted by aliens.
5. Flight 19
Flight 19 was the name given to a US Air Force training exercise that took place on Dec. 5, 1945, involving an Avenger Torpedo Bomber. The plane disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle with 14 airmen on board. The Air Force then sent a Mariner flying boat with 13 men onboard to attempt to find the missing aircraft. That plane also went missing. Neither of the planes, nor the 27 crew members in total, was ever seen again, and investigators could never determine the cause of either flight’s disappearance.
6. Egypt Air Flight 990
Flight 990 was a scheduled flight from Los Angeles to Cairo with a stopover in New York. But on Oct. 31, 1999, the Boeing 747 mysteriously crashed into the Atlantic Ocean about 100 miles south of Nantucket, killing all 217 people onboard, including 14 crew members. While investigators never discovered the specific cause of the crash, the FBI believed that the evidence suggested the crash was deliberate rather than accidental. Egyptian and American authorities never agreed on the cause of the crash, with the Egyptians concluding it was due to mechanical malfunction and the Americans stating it was the responsibility of the relief first officer.
7. Pan Am Flight 7
Pan Am Flight 7 was once considered one of the most exclusive and luxurious “around-the-world trips” available. But in 1957, during a leg from Los Angeles to Hawaii, the Boeing Stratocruiser vanished into thin air. Rescue crews hunted for five days before finding the plane floating in the ocean, hundreds of miles off course, with very little actual damage to the aircraft. Autopsies on the passengers found that they had been poisoned by carbon monoxide emissions, but no reason for the poisoning was ever found. Many speculated that it was possibly an act of insurance fraud.
8. Air France Flight 447
On the morning of June 1, 2009, Air France Flight 447, traveling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, went missing with 216 passengers and 12 crew members onboard. The Airbus A330 had flown through a thunderstorm, but no distress signal was sent. For several days there was no trace of the plane, and it took over two years to recover the black boxes from the ocean floor. Analysis of the boxes found that a combination of equipment malfunction and human error resulted in the crash.
Source…. Sohpie Forbes, Yahoo Travel in http://www.nypost.com and www,news.com.au
Natarajan
” How to Overcome Your Fear of Flying ….” ?
A full 40% of Americans don’t like to fly.
It makes sense if you think about it: hurtling across time zones in a metal tube at the height of Everest isn’t something our ancestors evolved to face. We get by on white knuckles, a Xanax, or a pre-flight pit stop at the terminal bar.
But about 3% of us are grounded, refusing to fly at all, even if it means being left out of family vacations, spending multiple days on interstate freeways, or never seeing Paris in the springtime.
Fear of flying can grow from many different roots—particularly harrowing turbulence, knowing someone who was in a plane crash, learning to be afraid as a child from a fearful parent, or media images of crashes, hijackings, or terrorist attacks.
So what to do to keep fear at bay? Here are 5 tips to deliver you safely and sanely from jetway to jetway:
Learn About the Physics of Flight
Learning accurate information is the quickest way to calm your fears. There are a number of extensively detailed and very reassuring websites available explaining how airplanes work, so I won’t reinvent the wheel—an online search will land you on an explanation that works for you. But here’s a quick primer on some common fears:
- Falling out of the sky, The plane cannot fall out of the sky any more than you could fall out of a swimming pool of water. Air has mass, just like water. It is also continuous and secure, just like water. Indeed, you’ve never walked down the street into an “air pocket” where you suddenly couldn’t breathe. Such it is at higher altitudes as well. Therefore, picture the airplane “swimming” through supportive, continuous air, much as you would swim through water.
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- Engines failing, First of all, planes are well-maintained and checked regularly—much more often than you would ever think of checking your car engine. Second, there are multiple engines, and even if one goes out, pilots can often re-start it, just as you might restart a car engine. Third, in a worst-case scenario, even a commercial jetliner can glide—inelegantly, but glide nonetheless—to an emergency landing.
- Turbulence, Turbulence isn’t a problem for planes any more than bumps in the road are a problem for cars. Think of the last time you drifted onto the rumble strip on the highway—those bumps are no more than tiny striations in the concrete, but they cause a major vibration that says “wake up!” Likewise, little ups and downs in the air can have a deceptively big effect. Turbulence is so routine that the plane can often handle it on autopilot, much like cruise control is sufficient for normal bumps in a road. It feels scary, but the biggest danger with routine turbulence is getting coffee on your laptop.
- Some crazy guy trying to open the door during flight. Even if the doors weren’t locked (which they are), opening the door during flight is physically impossible due to the difference in air pressure inside versus outside the plane. So let the crazy guy go to town on that door. At least he’s not telling you about his conspiracy theories while you’re trying to sleep.
Tip #2: Keep the Movie Rolling
You may have a preconceived flight tragedy movie in your mind that plays over and over when you have to get on a plane. I’d be willing to bet it ends at the most terrifying moment.
For example, let’s say you’re frightened of the plane crashing into the ocean. You picture it happening and freeze frame at the most horrifying image. Instead, keep the movie going until you’re safe. Picture the flight attendants deploying those yellow slides, then sliding into a raft. Then picture a helicopter or rescue boat arriving, heading to land or a military carrier, and getting checked out at a hospital, if necessary. And then? And then you’d go home.
Keep your imaginary movie rolling until you picture yourself safe. You’ll feel better knowing that even in the unlikely event your fear comes true, it doesn’t end with the scariest moment.
Tip #3: Don’t Confuse Possibility with Probability
Images of US Air 1549 floating in the Hudson River, the Asiana crash at SFO, and of course, September 11, are rightfully seared into our collective memory. However, the detailed media coverage of these tragedies makes us perceive that crashes, hijackings, or terrorist attacks are common and likely to happen.
This is called overestimation of threat, a common misstep of the mind. We misjudge the potential for catastrophic consequences based on highly visible, but extremely rare, outliers. We confuse possibility with probability—a crash is possible, but it’s definitely not probable. Crashes make the news precisely because they are rare.
Specifically, in 2012, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the trade association for the airline industry, recorded just 1 accident per 5 million flights on western-built jets. Even if you’re on that one-in-5-million flight, of all passengers involved in U.S. plane crashes from 1983-2000, a full 96% survived.
Tip #4: Tune into What’s Going on Around You
Take a page from the mindfulness book to root yourself in the safe, present moment. Keep yourself from spiraling into imaginary worst-case scenarios by looking around you and describing what you see. Look at each person who files past you down the aisle, describing them without judgment. Describe the interior of the plane. Look internally as well—scan sensations but don’t interpret them.
“My heart is beating quickly” is fine but stop short of “and that means I’m going to have a heart attack.” Absorb yourself in what is, and you’ll have less room for hypothetical what ifs.
Tip #5: Use Good Old-Fashioned Distraction
Virgin America today announces its new summer menu and partnership with Dean & DeLuca.
To get your mind off a racing heart or catastrophic imaginary thoughts, tune outward, not inward. Soothing music works for some, but for others it reminds you that you’re trying not to be nervous. So rather than trying to soothe yourself, which can feel too “therapeutic,” engage yourself with a riveting movie, captivating book, or addictive app.
Plan ahead and bring something you’ve really been wanting to read or watch so you’re not limited to in-flight entertainment or whatever’s in the airport bookshop. And although the research says distraction doesn’t help you get used to flying; I say do whatever gets you through to baggage claim. Remember, zero judgment.
Test out these 5 tips, and after a while, you might even like to fly. As for liking airline food or baggage fees, well, we’ll leave that to the crazy guy trying to jimmy the door.
Read the original article on Quick and Dirty Tips. Copyright 2015. Follow Quick and Dirty Tips on Twitter.
Source… ELLEN HENDRIKSEN, QUICK AND DIRTY TIPS in www.businessinsider.com
Natarajan
Spain’s Ciudad Real airport sold at auction for €10,000…
A group of international investors has won a bankruptcy auction for an abandoned airport in central Spain with a €10,000 (£7,000) offer – 100,000 times less than it cost to build.
The investors were the only bidders for Ciudad Real airport, south of Madrid, completed during Spain’s boom years.
But it is not clear if the sale will go ahead as another buyer could still step forward outside of the auction process.
The winning bid was made by a Chinese-led consortium of investors.
The group, Tzaneen International, says it wants to make the airport an entry point into Europe for Chinese companies.
Minimum price
Ciudad Real airport, located 235km (146 miles) south of Madrid, was meant to be an alternative to Madrid’s Barajas airport.
It cost more than €1bn to built. It opened in 2008 but went bankrupt and closed in 2012.
There is still a possibility that another buyer could meet the minimum price of €28m set by the receiver for the sale to go through before the end of September.
The central Spanish airport has a capacity for 2.5 million passengers per year.
It is one of a number of “ghost airports” constructed during Spain’s building boom that did not attract enough passengers.
A similar fate has befallen Castellon airport in the east. It opened in 2011 but has not received a single flight.
Source….www.bbc.com
Natarajan
Most Dangerous and Strange Airfields in the World ….
Source….www.you tube.com
Natarajan
A Solution to Bringdown Noice Level ….Amsterdam Airport Shows the Way…!!!
Noise is an issue at many airports, including Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. Source: Getty Images
TWO years ago, Dutch land artist Paul de Kort was given a tough brief.
Administrators at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) had long been looking to address the levels of aircraft noise that affected those living near the airport.
So, taking inspiration from the ground, de Kort created a landscape that has had a significant effect on dampening the roar of planes for those living near one of the world’s busiest airports.
But long before de Kort broke ground, researchers from the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) had already been studying the noise level at AMS. They noticed that in the fall, after the fields surrounding the airport had been ploughed, noise levels decreased significantly.
It turns out that the furrows created by ploughing helped to absorb, deflect and mute aircraft noise.
The labyrinth design. Picture: Schiphol Group Source: Supplied
Working off these findings, de Kort collaborated with architectural firm H+N+S Lanscapearchitects and scientists from the TNO to create Buitenschot Land Art Park.
Located to the southwest of AMS, just off the edge of the runway, this huge green space is laid out in an interlocking system of ditches and trenches.
While its primary purpose is to dampen the ground noise created by passing aircraft, the park also features bike paths, sports fields and even sculpture to create a space that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing.
To create this mazelike park, de Kort also drew heavily on the past and was particularly inspired by the work of Ernst Chladni, a 17th century German physicist. The scientist’s Chladni patterns served as the inspiration for the furrows and ridges now seen at AMS.
Completed in October 2013, this collaborative project has since been viewed as a renowned success. The creation of Buitenschot had an immediate effect, cutting the decibel level of aircraft noise down by half, the Smithsonian reported. And it has continued being a success since then.
De Kort, however, has one regret. Speaking to Hansman, he explained that, “The ground sound spreads behind the plane that’s taking off, so in fact you fly away in the other directions. You won’t be able to actually see the area from the air.”
Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport is one of the world’s busiest. Source: Getty Images
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Source…www.news.com.au
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