ATR’s Meet God’s Wrath in GSO
By miller22 | May 16, 2008
A strong storm that swept through Greensboro, left the following carnage for two of FedEx’s ATR-42’s
Topics: ATR, Pictures | No Comments »
Welcome to the Future: Jet Packs
By miller22 | May 15, 2008
There’s a thin line between courageous and crazy. Sometimes it comes down to elements outside your control as to which one you’re remembered. Take Charles Lindbergh, for instance. If he had crashed on takeoff (which he almost did), he would have been called crazy and St. Louis would have a different name for it’s airport.
Which brings us to Yves Rossy. The crazy/courageous pilot who has developed and demonstrated his own jet pack. So is this guy crazy or courageous?
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Wierd Airline Callsigns…Say What?
By miller22 | May 7, 2008
To reduce confusion, callsigns are used by air traffic control to designate an aircraft, and is typically phrased as the callsign then flight number. For example, Delta 202 would refer to Delta Air Lines flight 202. Likewise, American 128 refers to American Airline flight 128. But what about Brickyard 6557, or Speedbird 119? What is the true story behind these odd callsigns?
“Speedbird”
In a nice bit of nostalgia, British Airways retained their “Speedbird” callsign from their original logo back from when they were still called BOAC. (Hint: it’s just to the left of the “BOAC”).
“Candler” and “Acey”
Atlantic Southeast Airlines was founded by the then head of Coca-Cola, Asa Candler. This solves the mystery of the “Candler” call-sign, but what about “Acey”? Turns out, before “Candler”, the airline used the Atlantic SouthEast Airilnes name to produce the ASEA acronym. Once the name was switched back, it was only natural to use the original callsign, but spelled more phonetically. “Acey” is now the latest callsign for ASA.
“Clipper”
When I tell you this callsign belonged to Pan-American Airlines, it should be obvious where they got the name. For a trip down memory lane, check out this post about Pan-Am’s famous Flying Clippers that explains it all.
“Redwood”
Richard Branson never leaves a marketing opportunity behind, and with the growing popularity of going green, the callsign was a perfect candidate to advertise Branson’s new product. Factor in that Virgin America is based in Northern California, and the reasoning for the “Redwood” callsign becomes clear.
“Critter”
Not the most endearing of names, I must admit I’m basing this on rumors and conjecture. Valujet was known for that little playful looking “critter” painted on the side of their airplanes. Think that’s bad? During the transition to Airtran, they used the name “Manatee”.
“Citrus”
Born from “Critter” and “Manatee,” Airtran could not use the callsign “Airtran” because it was too close to American Trans Air’s “Amtran” callsign. Of course, Citrus referred to the destination of most of its passengers to leisure destinations where citrus was grown. Listen carefully, and you’ll hear this one referred to as “Citerus.” No further comment, your honor.
“Brickyard”
Race fans should be able to deduce where Republic Airways found their callsign. Would it help if I said they were based in Indianapolis?
“Windy City”
There should be no mystery about where this airline called home, but not many people know this airline. Chicago Express was a connection carrier that flew Saab 340’s for ATA (which is now gone as well). Their main base? You guessed it. Chicago Midway.
“BlueStreak”
Speaking of nostalgia, one of US Airways feeder airlines carries the name of PSA, one of several airlines merged into US Airways. This airline was given the “BlueStreak” callsign after ATC noticed blue streaks coming from the lavatory service doors on it’s aircraft. Actually, that’s a lie. I have no idea where they got the name.
Of course, I’ve missed quite a few, but I’ve left that to the comments section. So I’ll test the airline knowledge of those who read this blog. What airline’s callsigns are (were) “Hustler” and “Waterski?” For extra credit, why would a merger between Chautauqua and PSA never work?
Till next time…
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Looking for Fellow Podcasting Partners
By miller22 | May 5, 2008
I’ve been planning to put together an industry podcast for quite some time, but as it turns out, my voice is far too boring to go solo. So, I’m looking for someone who would be willing to meet via Skype once a week to discuss the industry on a podcast. The show would be between 45 minutes and 1 hour, and we’d discuss the airline industry as it is, and how we think it should be.
Of course, the prerequisite to join us on this podcast would be a detailed knowledge of the industry and a sense of humor. We have to know what we’re talking about, and as anyone will tell you, you have to have a sense of humor to deal with me, anyway.
If you have at least a cheap USB headset and the ability to meet on Skype for an hour weekly, and you have think you’ve got what it takes to keep me from sounding like a fool all by my lonesome, send me an email. Please let me know a bit about yourself, and how to contact you, and we’ll see how it goes.
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Why It’s Important to Secure Your Cargo
By miller22 | May 1, 2008
The similarities between passengers and freight end at their seemingly similar IQ. Passengers walk themselves on the aircraft while you have to hire someone to load your freight. Passengers complain while freight remains silent (usually, anyway). Passengers buckle themselves in while you have to make sure freight is secure…or at least you should.
Take this Atlas 747-400, for example, that was carrying oil drills that were…um…less than secured, shall we say. One drill came loose during the takeoff rotation, and shot to the back of the cabin, and through the pressure vessel, narrowly missing a critical hydraulic pump before it finally came to a stop without puncturing the skin of the aircraft. The crew returned to the airport unevenfully, and were suprised to see this:
Topics: Cargo, 747, Pictures | No Comments »
Frontier Declares Bankruptcy
By miller22 | April 11, 2008
In attempts to stay hip with the times, Frontier has entered chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Of course the big parallel being the shutdown of ATA, Aloha, and Skybus last week, but fear not, Frontier customers. Frontier Airlines will continue to fly while they reorganize.
This is not entirely unexpected as the Denver airline has seen less than stellar financial performance for quite some time. While not a complete stranger of profitability, Frontier has struggled significantly after Southwest’s surprise decision to go after Frontier’s passenger base in Denver.
For those of you outside of Denver who haven’t had the opportunity to know the Frontier brand, you’re missing quite a company. Well known for their culture and specifically for their commercials, Frontier has found quite a loyal customer base.
For more commercials by Frontier, you can find them in our Airline Commercials Collection.
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British Airways 777 LHR Crash Pictures
By admin | April 6, 2008
For those of you just joining this story, this British Airways 777 experienced a loss of engine control while on approach to London’s Heathrow airport. Barely clearing an airport fence, the plane slammed onto the grass clearway, losing its landing gear, and leaving healthy skid marks announcing its arrival. No fatalities were reported, and only one serious injury.
Topics: 777, British Airways, Boeing, Pictures | No Comments »
Skybust - Turns out $10 Fares Aren’t Profitable
By admin | April 4, 2008
As of Saturday, April 5, Skybus ceased all operations citing rising fuel costs and a downturn in the ecomony. I’ve spent a lot of time focusing on the Skybus filings which lay out their business plan, and this is no big surprise. Firstly, Skybus assumed a $1.21 per gallon jet fuel price, and about a $70 average ticket price. The problem in this area seemed to be that Skybus saw an almost tripling in their fuel price (up around $3.50) without any significant increase in yields. Of course their difficulties didn’t end in their gross underestimation of fuel costs. Critics have pointed to Skybus’ questionable route planning, and this author definitely agrees. Several weeks ago, Skybus announced a Portsmouth, NH. to Newburgh, NY flight. This hour-long flight was to catch the Boston-New York market, only it never could. Because Portsmouth was an hour North of Boston, and Newburgh is an hour and a half North of Manhattan, it would have taken longer for a passenger to fly than to drive.
But this seeming oblivity to how to make money flying airplanes was not exclusive to the Portsmouth - Newburgh route. With cities chosen such as St. Augustine, Chikopee, Gary, and Chattanooga, it starts to make one wonder how they even made it to April 5th.
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Guns in the Cockpit: Bad Guys Shot - 0, Holes in Airplane - 1
By miller22 | March 26, 2008
The issue of guns in the cockpit is somewhat of a controversial topic. Born after the 9/11 attacks, there is a program which allows pilots to go through training in order to be allowed to carry a loaded weapon with them in the cockpit. The reasoning behind this program is that pilots are the last line of defense, and should be armed accordingly. The problem? The cockpit is hardly a shooting range. Its not much of a range at all. With the largest cockpits being no more than 8 feet deep, the protection offered from a ranged weapon is suspect.
With the security notices that no cockpit door is to ever be opened during a security threat, it is very reasonable to question why a gun would be used to protect this confined space. But the program went through, and pilots are now carrying guns. One less pilot, anyway.
On a US Airways A319, a pilot accidentally discharged his weapon into the side of the aircraft while in flight. The bullet went through the side of the cockpit and harmlessly into open air at 8,000 ft over Charlotte. Other than hearing a bang, no passengers or crew were hurt, and the only casualty was the pride of the pilot.
In an effort not to stir up any more controversy over this rediculous program, I’ll just leave you with the picture of the first victim of guns in the cockpit.
Topics: guns | 1 Comment »
Gulfstream Announces World’s Fastest Civil Jet - G650
By admin | March 13, 2008
Step aside, Cessna Citation X. Gulfstream seems to have trumped you in the speed department. Announced today, the new Gulfstream 650 will be able to produce a maximum range of 7,000 miles at Mach .85 or 5,000 miles at Mach .90, and won’t hit the barber pole (max speed limit) until Mach .925, a full M .005 faster than the Citation. (Ok, so it’s not that much faster, but at the very least we’re seeing a new and exciting battle for speed.)
If this aircraft produces the level of performance Gulfstream is promising, they will have accomplished quite a feat. The Citation X, while currently the fastest civil aircraft in the world, doesn’t have the range with which to appropriately take advantage of the extra speed. The G650, with 7,000 miles worth of fuel, will be able to make up some serious time on some serious legs. For example, on a Dubai-Chicago flight at 6,370 miles, the G650 will save you 88 minutes over a comparably ranged jet. Not bad, considering cost won’t be a factor to those who will own this bird.
| Citation X | Gulfstream 650 | |
|---|---|---|
| Max Speed |
Mach .92 |
Mach .925 |
| Max Range |
3,070 nm |
7,000 nm |
| Ceiling |
51,000 ft |
51,000 ft |
| Maximum Takeof Weight |
36,100 lbs |
99,600 lbs |
| Full Fuel Payload |
1,362 lbs |
1,800 lbs |
| Engines |
2 Rolls Royce/Allison AE 3007C1 |
2 Rolls Royce BR725 |
| Engine Thrust |
6,764 lbs |
16,100 lbs |
| Take Off Distance (ISA, MTOW, SL) |
5,140 ft. |
6,000 ft. |
| Coolness Factor |
Crazy Awesome |
Crazy Awesome + 1 |
Source: Gulfstream
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