May 2008 Archives

First up was Jenson Button - here courtesy of Honda and their HondaJet.

He's buying a couple of aircraft and also announced his intention to set up a charter business.

Next is former world champion Kimi Raikonnen, keeping the boys at Piaggio happy with an appearance at their stand to do a bit of autograph signing.

Unfortunately for the waiting press Kimi was running two hours late.

Apparently, there were no free slots at Geneva Airport for him to land so he flew into Zurich and drove down (presumably not in his Ferrari F1 car.

And last but not least was Bombardier's chap Lewis Hamilton, who was guest of honour at an intimate Bombardier dinner, helping to promote Bombardier's Year of Learjet campaign.

All this has led to discussion as to just why aviation and F1 are such good bed fellows. Maybe it's because the drivers are big users of biz jets to get round the circuit.

Maybe it's that the lifestyle of these rich thrill-seekers inevitably leads some of them into the piloting world. Or possibly it's just that aviation and racing driving simply attract the same kind of people who are into speed and technology wrapped up in a glam lifestyle.

• One of the more strange stories was from someone who claimed he had been in contact with aliens since he was only 7. He said he had been visited twice and had witnessed a UFO being shot down. Then he tried to arrange a meeting between one of the aliens called Algar and the British Government. But later told them that Algar had been killed by the rest of the aliens before the meeting could take place.
  
• One spotting in Hastings, East Sussex in 1999 told of  "A UFO that looked like a helicopter? It hovered and then shot off into the distance. It had red flashing lights!"( i wonder what that could be!?.
To find out some interesting stories for yourself, look at the MOD website

This week starts with highlights from the Red Bull Air Race, where Paul Bonhamme took the second race in San Diego. Follow this year's events on AirSpace as we bring you the latest standings and video and picture highlights:

To celebrate 100 years of publishing, Flight has been compiling a aviation survey to establish the best moment,person, engine, civil aircraft and military aircraft of the past 100 years.

This list has not been without controversy, springing a fierce debate on whether the concorde can be bettered, whether landing on the moon beats the first unmanned flight, and so on and so forth...

The first video this week showcases the new Embraer Phenom 300, which performed its first flight from the Gavião Peixoto test runway: