R.J. Mitchell memorial

Reginald Joseph Mitchell (20 May 1895-11 June 1937) is probably best known as the designer of the Supermarine Spitfire. Thirty Thousand Feet received a notice that a memorial day for the life of R.J. Mitchell will be held in Eastleigh on June 10, 2007.

A Spitfire will be on the ground which visitors can look over and sit in. Memorabilia and the current Schneider trophy will be on display. There is no charge for the event.

At 14.00 there will be a short service followed by a wreath laying at the cenotaph in the town centre. All welcome to attend.

Resources:

Wikipedia, R. J. Mitchell.
spitfire.org
Aviation History, Supermarine Spitfire - Great Britain

VLJ engines

The International Herald Tribune recently printed an informative article titled, "A very large market for very light jets?" If you want to get current on the state of the VLJ industry, this piece will help.

In describing the Eclipse 500 and the Adam Aircraft A700 twin-jets, the IHT notes that both:

use small, lightweight jet engines originally developed to power U.S. Air Force cruise missiles on one-way trips toward their targets. Reliability was important, but the engines were not designed for long service or repeated takeoffs and landings.

But don't consider that an issue as both engine manufacturers (Pratt & Whitney Canada for the Eclipse and Williams International for the Adam Aircraft) have made the design changes necessary for high cycle civilian use.

In addition to this article, see the Thirty Thousand Feet Very Light Jet section for links to VLJ manufacturers and resources.

Will the FAA kill you?

Veteran pilot and retried lawyer Ron Irwin has just released his new book The FAA Will Kill You. Irwin tells Thirty Thousand Feet the book is for anyone who flies, and reveals:

• The FAA rules permit convicted felons, even terrorists to obtain a pilot license.
• Even post 9-11, the FAA has no regulation restricting the sale of civilian aircraft to literally anyone; even Osama bin Laden.
• The FAA has only minimal security for its most vital facilities including those that provide essential radar services to high flying jets.
• The FAA has written regulations that in many ways tend to entice unsafe flying.
• FAA rules allow instructors to teach instrument flight even when they, the instructors, have absolutely no actual instrument flight experience.
• The FAA continues to under staff numerous air traffic control facilities.

A life long avid pilot and aviation instructor, Irwin hopes this book will inform the public and encourage the Congress to implement critical changes.

The book is available online through:
www.lulu.com/browse/preview.php?fCID=870333.

Sharing the airspace with UAVs

As both civil and military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) begin to proliferate, the issue of safe coexistence with manned aircraft is becoming more important. We've already seen conflict in the U.S. between the interests of the U.S. Border Patrol and general aviation.

The European Defense Agency has launched an initiative with the European Commission and the Aerospace and Defense Industries Association of Europe (ASD) to:

...address the challenge of enabling UAVs to operate alongside conventional air traffic. This is the key to expanding the use of UAVs beyond the purely military into the security and ultimately commercial domains and to creating the scale of demand around which European industry can unite.

Starting with an EDA-funded roadmap study, the proposed approach aims at progression from the current state of affairs, in which military UAVs can fly in segregated airspace, to a situation in which civilian and government-operated UAVs could operate alongside other manned aircraft in integrated airspace by 2012. This will require innovative technology development and system demonstrations for UAVs to be considered fully airworthy and for the right regulatory framework to be in place for this integration.

The initial study budget is €500,000.

Source: Background on New EDA Initiative on UAVs

Eos Airlines fashion show

The following comes from a Gen Art employee:

Gen Art is an arts and entertainment organization dedicated to showcasing the best emerging talent in film, fashion, visual arts and music. Next Tuesday, May 22, 2007, they are holding their annual Gen Art Styles runway show, an international fashion design competition and awards show.

This year Gen Art is partnering with Eos Airlines, a new luxury airline. Eos provides single-class premium flights from New York's JFK to London's Stansted Airport. Eos' planes are the world's only Boeing 757s that have just 48 'suites,' each of which houses an award-winning 6'6" fully-horizontal flatbed and provides 21 square feet of personal space. Their motto is "Uncrowded. Uncompromised."

What they are doing for the Gen Art Styles show this year is really special. The first three rows will be special Eos-branded seats. These 90 seats will be available to guests with 'Eos Class Tickets.' There will be special servers in Eos Airlines outfits providing specialty cocktails and champagne. There will be other airline amenities as well, such as hot towels and tasty treats. This is definitely a fun, unique twist to a fashion show. The pairing of this travel brand with Gen Art truly makes a statement about both companies.

During the after-party, there will be an Eos Airlines Lounge for VIPs. It'll be guarded by two personnel in Eos uniforms.

The show is open to the public:

Hammerstein Ballroom
311 West 34th Street
(b/w 8th & 9th Avenues)
New York, NY

How green is the airline industry?

More and more in the press, the measure of environmental impact is the carbon contribution of an industry. How does the airline industry fare? The widely reported figure is a 2% contribution to U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

The Air Transport Association (ATA) testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on climate change and energy independence.

ATA President and CEO James C. May testified that airlines are extremely carbon efficient, noting that while U.S. commercial aviation contributes about 2 percent of domestic greenhouse gas emissions, it also drives $3.4 billion in U.S. economic activity every day. Furthermore, May added, airlines continue to strive to improve fuel efficiency through aggressive fuel conservation programs. These programs are yielding dramatic results; the industry has improved fuel efficiency by 35 percent since 2001.

That figure is interesting because airliners of today are not 35% more fuel efficient than they were in 2001. What has changed is airline yield, which is another way of saying that planes are more full than they were before. A full planeload of passengers burns more fuel than one that is 75% full, but the fuel burn per passenger mile is lower. I'm sure that's how you get a lot of that 35%.

May went on to comment:

Commercial airlines are extremely carbon efficient. We are the greenest form of mass transportation.

Additional fuel efficiency improvements will come from three areas, May said:

1. A modernized air traffic control system permitting more direct aircraft routes would reduce fuel and emissions by 10 percent to 15 percent per flight.
2. Reinvigorated NASA and FAA environmental research and development programs
3. Further commercial development of alternative fuels.

Source: ATA News Release: ATA Tells Congress Airlines Are Extremely Carbon Efficient and Will Continue to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

June is a busy month for this non-profit organization dedicated to acquiring, documenting, preserving, and maintaining a collection of aircraft flown by Canadians and the Canadian military services from the beginning of World War II to the present. They preserve artifacts, books, periodicals, and manuals.

On Saturday, June 9th,2007 you can attend the CWH Lobsterfest Dinner at the Museum on 9280 Airport Road, Mount Hope, Ontario. The doors open at 6pm, and dinner is at 6:30 with a cash bar. Bring your own lobster utensils.

Live music will be provided by Failte, and they'll have raffles, door prizes, and a silent auction from many donors. All proceeds from the event go to support the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. For further information, or to order tickets call (905) 679-4183 or visit www.warplane.com.

Flyfest 2007 is June 16 and 17. You can watch flying, vintage aircraft such as the Lancaster, B-25, PBY Canso, and Firefly. Ride in a Harvard or Stearman. Special appearances are planned by an Me109, a Hurricane, and a Corsair.

The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum is located next to Hamilton International Airport.

A reader sent the following in to Thirty Thousand Feet:

Guillermo "Willy" Cabeza, CEO of Arrow Air in Miami and Humberto Roca, CEO of AeroSur Airlines in Santa Cruz, Bolivia were fully profiled in the recently launched "Transportation Issue" of Two Mundos Magazine (released 5/1/07). A sneak peek of their articles representing them as $180 million power players can be seen at twomundos.com.

Cabeza is characterized as "the youngest airline president in U.S. history" and heads Arrow Air, Inc., a cargo airline based at Miami International Airport with over 90 weekly scheduled cargo flights.

Two Mundos is self-described as "a high-end urban and bilingual magazine for the affluent Latino and English-speaking audience in the South Florida and Washington, D.C. areas." They "cater to the hip and cosmopolitan enthusiasts interested in expanding their mindsets."