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June 27, 2008

CelebAir: No i'm not joking!!

Sometimes stories come out of the press release ether that are just perfect targets for commentary and scorn. In the last week, we have had Ryanair's naughty video, and now we have the story about CelebAir, a new ITV2 show where 12 "celebrities" would have to run an airline, dealing with real customers and real routes.  

So just as I was preparing my pithy take on the situation, about how 12 idiots can handle real customers and make an airline run efficiently, and jokes on Vanessa Feltz and other likely keen candidates, I find that I have been beaten to it by colleagues (who annoyingly have done a better job than I could). So here's the scoop from Airline Business and Travolution, who were too quick on the draw for little old me!

June 25, 2008

Video sightings galore as UK goes UFO mad!

From Stephen Andrews

Remember back in the days when technology was so basic, the thought of the "mobile phone" seemed absurd? Today the proliferation of advanced technology is so great,that even beings which do not have the brain capacity of a human can use them.

Ironically the growth of these technologies and the advancement of flying abilities has only served to increase the levels of UFO spotting, as a recent MOD report indicated. Two recent video sightings however have awoken the British public to the mystery of UFOs!

Continue reading "Video sightings galore as UK goes UFO mad!" »

May 28, 2008

Pilots named as sexiest profession (by adultery website!!!)

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Today male pilots everywhere can proudly have a bounce in their step and a smile on their face, as it has been revealed that theirs is the sexiest profession (photo credit: Andrew Cooper)

IllicitEncounters.com (apparently the UK's biggest extra marital dating website and of course the most reliable source for these things), surveyed nearly 3,000 women (who obviously love an affair) and found that a massive 27% would like a "bit of rough and tumble" with a pilot.

Continue reading "Pilots named as sexiest profession (by adultery website!!!)" »

May 14, 2008

The Ministry of Defence go all X-Files and release UFO files

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The Ministry of Defence have today released their UFO files, charting reported paranormal events since way back in the 1970s. Apparently the MOD were so inundated by requests to access the files that they decided to release them in a "structured way", to the excitement of conspiracy hunters the world over. Here are two examples found from the released report:
 
  • 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

May 8, 2008

Williams Formula one boss Frank Williams picks his favourite aviation events

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...

Continue reading "Williams Formula one boss Frank Williams picks his favourite aviation events" »

April 25, 2008

VIDEO: Brazilian priest takes a ride with helium balloons and goes missing

The Roman Catholic priest who took flight by tying himself to a chair with hundreds of helium balloons has gone missing off the coast of Brazil.

Continue reading "VIDEO: Brazilian priest takes a ride with helium balloons and goes missing" »

April 16, 2008

Heathrow Terminal 5 Song: Bringing rap back to British Airways

White boy rapping and aviation has traditionally gone together like toothpaste and orange juice, but the recent Terminal 5 chaos has prompted a guy to get all satirical, and release the “Terminal 5” song:

Similar to a Flight of the Conchords ditty, this satirical view (also produced by a Kiwi man) is quite humorous, and shows how the at least some people can laugh about the travel chaos. If they haven’t got there bags auctioned off that is!

*Hats off to Goose on AirSpace for the link.

April 1, 2008

Future of aviation - Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it there at all?

Is it a bird, is it a plane….is it there at all….? Or could it be just another April’s Fool…?

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Continue reading "Future of aviation - Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it there at all? " »

February 14, 2008

Valentine's Day kissing madness with Ryanair

Never a company that shies away from publicity, Ryanair attempted to capitalise on the loving feeling of Valentine’s Day with a “snogathon” at Leicester Square in Central London.

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Continue reading "Valentine's Day kissing madness with Ryanair" »

February 8, 2008

Cat 1 approach

If you can't bear to leave the moggy at home, take him with you when you fly and get him to give you some unique feedback to you landing prowess.

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January 23, 2008

Why Ank Air should really have thought harder about their logo

If you’re Turkey's World Focus Airlines and you are going to rebrand your company to a name like ‘Ank Air’, you maybe should give the logo design a little more thought:

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Can you think of anymore stupid rebranding exercises. Have your say on AirSpace

January 22, 2008

Southwest airline's stripper flight- a male fantasy or a myth!

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After last summer's furore surrounding Kyla Ebbert, scantily clad women became the hot topic for Southwest airlines. And now it has re-appeared for a wholly different reason.

Continue reading "Southwest airline's stripper flight- a male fantasy or a myth!" »

January 16, 2008

The nuisance of newts

Newts have been causing a bit of a stir in Samlesbury, where aerospace giant BAE Systems are about to begin work on a £100 million business park which will include the development of four office blocks.

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Continue reading "The nuisance of newts" »

January 9, 2008

Video: Travel company advert that makes Boeing land beach side!

In this time of darkness and cold thoughts often wander to warmer climes, whether booking your summer holidays, or for the more impatient, shunning the gloves for the swimming shorts and immediately head to the Mediterranean.

One such travel company that has cleverly plaayed on this feeling is Dutch company X-travel, who have produced this funny animation of a Boeing 737 literally landing in the sea:

If only this could happen, i'll be on it tommorow...coupled with a dingy and some swimming trunks. Anything to get out of this cold!!

A terminal work of art

Here is a photograph of Terminal 4 at Madrid Barajas Airport by Richard Rogers and Architects. It's the final picture in a slideshow showing a sample of works of art as part of at the top ten exhibitions around the world.

Continue reading "A terminal work of art" »

December 27, 2007

Blogging highlights of 2007

This year Flightglobal has seen our blogging output increase significantly, both in terms of number and in scope.

Continue reading "Blogging highlights of 2007" »

December 24, 2007

Top discussions of 2007

Since June, Flightglobal's community site AirSpace has been awash with controversy, exclusives and a sprinkling of light banter to match. Here are some of the highlights.

Continue reading "Top discussions of 2007" »

December 20, 2007

Flightglobal's Top 10 picture stories of 2007

This year has been full of dramatic incident and exclusive stories, many of which have been accompanied with images. Here is the story of the year in pictures.

Continue reading "Flightglobal's Top 10 picture stories of 2007" »

December 19, 2007

Flightglobal's top 10 videos of 2007

From crashes to low flying to first flights, this year has been packed full of incident, much of which has been captured on video. Here is a top ten list of the most popular:

Continue reading "Flightglobal's top 10 videos of 2007" »

December 7, 2007

Ryanair Calendar girls

Here's the Ryanair "charity" calendar in full...

Continue reading "Ryanair Calendar girls" »

December 5, 2007

No need for sick bags at zero g

We managed to get hold of this video of a couple of girls taking a ride in an aircraft and the pilot took them to zero g manoeuvre.

Continue reading "No need for sick bags at zero g" »

November 16, 2007

Feel the fear and do it anyway

If you're scared of flying you could of course avoid it or you could conquer your fears and take a course, but not a course of valium.


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November 14, 2007

Is someone missing a box?

Today our colleagues at Air Transport Intelligence were surprised to get a rather large delivery:

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Continue reading "Is someone missing a box?" »

November 5, 2007

Mike Mangold wins Red Bull Air Race Tournament; causing more British heartache!

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It seems that Lewis Hamilton isn't the only disappointed English motorsport star this autumn with Mike Mangold pipping leader Paul Bonhomme to the Red Bull Air Race title.

A close fought contest culminated in Mangold winning the title due better results in elimination rounds , highlighting a competition that has really come to life this season.

Flightglobal covered the air race while in London, while we have highlights of the 2007 campaign on our AirSpace gallery.

October 29, 2007

K-9 Fighter pet

Trawling the newspapers this morning I discovered that somewhere out there, a little Westie Stanley travels about, not on four legs but a makeshift Spitfire.

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Continue reading "K-9 Fighter pet" »

October 5, 2007

Club Aviation

When I heard about an album inspired by the sound of aviation I thought it would be awful and amateurish but I was pleasantly surprised.

Continue reading "Club Aviation" »

September 27, 2007

Test your airport knowledge with 'Virtual Pilot' game

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Do you know your Riga from your Katowice? Then test your knowledge on this new game from Lufthansa!

Continue reading "Test your airport knowledge with 'Virtual Pilot' game" »

September 24, 2007

A man and his grommet

Here at the blogathon we have been talking about the stranger names and acronyms that dictate each industry? My personal favourite for aviation has to be a grommet,although all day I have been explaining to people that it isn't a dog in the animation, but that beautiful little invention that help link bolts together ( I know, really sexy stuff).

The bored officeworkers 'weapon' of choice

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A big thank you for our colleague at Travolution for this one, who found this wonderful gadget that allows you to mercilessly attack your colleagues that don't offer to make the next tea round.

Continue reading "The bored officeworkers 'weapon' of choice" »

The blogging world in a single day

Have you ever wondered what journalists do when grouped together in the same room? Do they just fight like banshees over the latest press release, or hug their Blackberries for the latest inspirational gossip? Well neither in fact, as today we are uniting in aid of the blogging world.

To set the scene a little, journalists within our parent company Reed Business are uniting to produce a day of blogging wonderment, both for charitable causes and to highlight the latest stories from aviation and beyond.

So stick around and we will show you what's going on in the world...well a tiny bit of it anyway.

September 14, 2007

Collins ParaNav: A Must for the Male Parachutist

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Men in motion get lost because men on the move won't ask for directions, or so the saying goes.

With Rockwell Collins' new ParaNew GPS however, males, at least those hanging on a parachute, will be able to find their way without ever asking.

The avionics maker says the new system, which consists of a miniature flight management system and GPS receiver integrated into a helmet with a small Head-Up display, will help with situational awareness and allow the parachuter to find the right landing zone. Failing that, he'll be able to plop down at a proper alternate.

September 13, 2007

A time to reminisce with aviation museums on Flightglobal

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There are times when working in the Flight office can seem like The Weakest Link quiz show; each journalist trying to outscore the other with their aviation know-how!

Nothing gets an aviation journalist going like discussing of aircraft gone by. With this in mind, and because we know how much people love to reminisce, we have created an area designated to the Mecca of all things historical, the aviation museum.

June 18, 2007

Read this week's Flight - of 1917, 1927, 1937...

Under the cover of a pseudonym, to protect my friends and family from repercussions and recriminations - okay, embarrassment - I participate in a forum for those like me who love cancelled and secret aircraft projects. It's www.secretprojects.co.uk, and it is a very cool site. They have just discovered Flight's online archive, which went live earlier today. The reaction? To quote one: "Wow! This is an incredible resource." And it is. Searchable and downloadable pdfs of hundreds of past issues of Flight. There are gaps, which are to be filled in over the coming weeks, but what is there is amazing.

June 15, 2007

Can you win the Microsoft paper plane challenge?

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Bored? Got that Friday feeling?Then why not try throwing a paper plane out of a window?

To celebrate the release of Flight Simulator X, Microsoft have released a quirky game that challenges you to see how far you can throw an imaginary paper airplane.

By using your mouse alone, you can attempt to throw the airplane as far as possible, causing the competitive souls within Flight to argue over the best throwing "technique".

Our current champion is Online Editor Michael Targett,who threw an impressive (but i still call lucky) throw of 38.9 Meters. He wanted to round it up to 40 but as everybody knows, in life, every bit of length counts.

Let us know how far you can get?

About fun

This page contains an archive of all entries posted to Flight International in the fun category. They are listed from oldest to newest.

EBACE is the previous category.

Helicopters is the next category.

Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.