Low cost US airline JetBlue announced a partnership to become the official sponsor of University of Texas (UT) Athletics including all 20 UT men's and women's sports programmes, "with significant exposure at Longhorns events in football, volleyball, men's and women's basketball and baseball."
As part of the promo, in the foreground of this picture is Bevo, UT's Longhorn mascot, on the Austin airfield with a JetBlue aircraft. Poor beast must be wondering what on earth is going on.
This week marks the centenary of the La Grande Semaine d'Aviation de la Champagne held at the current site of the Reims Airbase BA112, according to Flightglobal user Stephen Wolf on 22-29 August 1909.
Flight wrote a pre-show report it in its 14 August issue, in which it said: "The Grand Semaine de Champagne will commence [22 August], and in view of the long list of prominent aviators who have promised to take part in the various contests, this will go down to history as the first great meeting of aeroplanes. Its most prominent event will be the first contest for the Gordon-Bennett Aviation Trophy."
There was to be a race in which competitors must cover two circuits of the 10km course. "The one who covers it in the fastest time wins a £500 trophy for his club and £1000 for himself."
Great Britain was to be represented by Mr. G. B. Cockburn on a Farman biplane, and America by Mr. Glenn Curtiss on a machine of his own design.
In Flight's 28 August issue, its leader piece said: "The Rheims meeting marks an epoch in the history of mechanical aerial locomotion. It is the first occasion on which a wide variety of machines has been brought together, and on which one has been pitted against the other day after day..."
Mr Wolf said: "The joy of flying was captured in the displays, and was a fitting tribute to those brave pioneers of 100 years ago, where every flight was an adventure destined for the record books.....
"I hope this centenary will get a mention on the FlightGlobal website, particularly as there are some great articles on the event in the annals of Flight."
Pictures of the Rheims 1909 aviators
A fuselage test barrel for Bombardier's CSeries was delivered to its Saint-Laurent, Quebec facility today.
The barrel is a model of the main fuselage section of the single aisle aircraft that will test manufacturing and engineering structural concepts before the aircraft's final design phase begins next year.
The barrel is approximately 23ft (7m) long, has a maximum diameter of 12ft (3.7m) and is made of advanced aluminium alloys.
The CSeries is set for service entry in 2013.
USAF doctor, Maj. David Simons reached a record height of 100,000ft (over 19 miles) by balloon, to test human reactions under artificial conditions at the edge of the earth's atmosphere. The flight lasted 32 hours, according to Flight International in its issue dated 30 August 1957.
We reported at the time: "Maj. Simons was accommodated in an aluminium gondola 7ft high and 3ft wide beneath a helium-filled plastic envelope designed to expand to a diameter of 202ft and began his ascent from Crosby, Minn, at 9.30 a.m. (2.30 p.m. G.M.T.) on August 19...
"The flight constitutes a record (so far as the F.A.I. is concerned, at present unofficial) both for altitude--variously reported as 102,000ft and 118,000ft--and for duration.
In the pdf archive:
Issue dated 25 October 1957 - The Astronautical Congress: Flight reported that Maj. Simons "spoke of the importance of the balloon system in simulating many of the conditions that must be faced in a manned satellite, providing as it does an invaluable tool for gaining an insight into the human factors involved.
"These include a sealed cabin atmosphere, isolation, radiation heat balance, and an opportunity to observe the earth and sky from above 99 per cent of the earth's atmosphere."
1911 The hydrogen balloon
1914 The Parseval-Sigsfeld kite balloon
1920 Principle of the captive balloon
1922 The Gordon Bennett Balloon Race
1948 Joys of ballooning revived
1950 Piloting a free balloon: translating aerostatic principles into practice - what the efficient aeronaut must know...
1979 Balloon fiesta (in Alberquerque) breaks all records
1996 Technology challenge
More balloons elsewhere on Flightglobal -
Alexander Yakovlev, famous for designing the Russian Yak fighter aircraft, died on this day in 1989.
Yakovlev made up part of a feature in Flight International in 1943 about Russian aircraft designers.
In 1966 he was awarded the Order of Lenin for creating new aircraft.
Flight wrote: "Under his guidance Soviet engineers have created dozens of new types of planes and helicopters, mainly piston-engined and jet fighters and fighter-interceptors."
Munich Oktoberfest is almost upon us and Lufthansa is celebrating by dressing its Munich-based flight crew in Bavarian traditional costume, the dirndl.
You'll spot that the seasonal uniform reflects Lufthansa's corporate colours. Male flight attendants will ne wear traditional Bavarian suits and a tie that complements the female crew.
Vanguard Airlines last week became the second US carrier to shut down this summer, after Midway Airlines' decision to ground itself at least until October. Vanguard had failed four times since the 11 September attacks to win US government loan guarantees.
Stefan the Pilot and I went to Walthamstowe Marshes recently in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the first all-British flight just under the railway arches at Walthamstowe Marshes.
I produced some videos from the day out including one of a chat I had with A.V. Roe's grandson, Eric Verdon Roe and of Mike Taylor, project leader of Roe Heritage Group who talked about the modern day problems encountered with building an aircraft from the early 20th century.
The event was sponsored by BAE Systems and organised by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.
Flight International profiles the Roe Triplane in its 1 April 1911 issue but recorded the flights of Roe's, triplane at the time saying: "On July 23rd, he made four successful attempts, of which three were flights of some 300 yards in length each. In the first flight Mr. Roe failed to fully accelerate his engine, and the machine alighted after a brief ascent, but on the second, third and fourth flights, he got going properly and ascended to an altitude of from 6 ft. to 10 ft. above the ground." Continue reading...
Picture: copyright Rex Features/Sipa Press
Pilot Edmund Salis flew an original replica Bleriot monoplane over the English Channel to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first cross-Channel flight.
He flew from Sangatte, France, to Dover in England - landing on a grass airstrip at the Duke of York's Royal Military School, close to where Mr Bleriot crash-landed after his flight. The cloth and wood monoplane he used, which dates from 1934, is identical to the one Bleriot flew.
French engineer Bleriot became the first person to successfully fly from Calais to Dover on 25 July 1909 in 36.5min.
Salis took off from Bleriot Beach, Sangatte, France. The crossing was part of the Dover 2009 celebrations marking the centenary.
Salis landed on a grass airstrip just before 0900 GMT at the Duke of York's Royal Military School, close to where Bleriot crash-landed after his 36-minute flight, in the shadow of Dover Castle.
See Flight's account on Bleriot's Channel crossing plus a report following the event including a general arrangement.
More on the Channel flight...
The UK's Hubert Latham lost out on victory to Bleriot as his Antoinette monoplane proved impossible to fly in "our famous July weather... first on Friday, then on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and so on up to the time of going to press, when Mr. Latham is still on French soil and still continues to calmly scan the horizon between times when he is not in touch with his Antoinette machine or renewing his notice to fly."
Texan Wiley Post, a one-eyed American Indian, died today in 1935, following a crash in Alaska.
He was the first pilot to fly solo around the world. Flight reported that he "accomplished his circuit in 7 days, 18 hours and 50 mins."
In our pdf archive I discovered that it was important enought to report on the type of flying suit WIley Post would wear for his round the world trip. His helmet looks a bit like one used for diving which looks like it would have surely obstructed his vision, and especially worrying considering Post only had one eye.
Post flew a Lockheed Vega called Winnie Mae and Flight published data on standard Lockheed types detailing which engines the Vega is fitted with and includes a general arrangement diagram.
Here's another feature soley on the engine: Pratt & Whitney Wasp.
Post flew at high altitude and Flight published a feature on the advantages and disadvantages of flying in thin air.
Here's a feature on flying fitness. But for all my searching, I wasn't able to find a archive entry for Post's death which I'm sure Flight will have recorded. If you find it let me know.
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