Recently in Quirky Stuff Category

Whether it was Dassault's in-house aircraft interiors solutions for the Falcon line or Design Q's work on a Bulgaria BAe-146, aircraft interiors rocked in Dubai (as did the Saab laser-guided missile defense system - now that's a big gun!) .

 

How does the Flightglobal team operate at an air show? Do you each have special subjects to cover? 

That's the question I got today from excellent aviation industry journa-blogger David Parker Brown of Airline Reporter.

Here's my answer:

The Flightglobal journalists have expertise in different subjects, but we also need to be able to step out of our beats and into another one at a moment's notice, especially at an air show.

Case in point. I've largely covered commercial air transport for nearly 11 years. Yesterday, the Flight Show Daily urgently needed someone to interview Eurofighter. I said: "Sure, I'll go interview Eurocopter." And they said: "Thanks, and it's not Eurocopter, it's Eurofighter."

Ah yes, right.

So I ran to the Eurofighter chalet, asked the PR rep to give me a quick "Typhoon 101 course" before I interviewed a former RAF test pilot about that bad-ass bird (yep, it's bad-ass, I saw US fighter pilots loving the Typhoon simulator). I got a great story from Eurofighter and it's now running at the following link: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/11/16/334952/dubai-09-eurofighter-making-its-mark-in-the-middle.htm

Here in Dubai, Flightglobal has got all angles covered, and we're writing about it for print and online, plus tweeting and engaging in other social media, plus doing lots of video and images.

It's a huge team effort and the only way we can do it is by loving aviation, loving what we do, loving working with each other AND drinking lots of lovely coffee. Yep, that's a lot of love.

Jon Ostrower, aka Flightblogger, joined me in wrapping up day one of the Dubai air show.

There I was, skipping down an aisle at the Dubai air show, and who should I spy but my friends at EMS. Hadn't I just visited with these nice folks at WAEA in Palm Springs? Why yes, but we sat and a little chat anyways because, even in the heat of an air show, I've got IFEC on my mind.

Here's a pic of our gathering. I know the lighting casts halos on their heads, but fear not, EMS is not the second coming. They are, however, saints for taking time out of their busy schedule to talk to me.



   

Design Q wants to transform luxury travel, and it just might do that with its new futuristic modular heliport design. Read the entire story at the following link. But check out Design Q's other blueprints, exclusive to Flight (below).

You'll see that while Design Q is happy to serve the low-cost market with solutions like MAXCABIN, it also knows how to reach the high-end market too (these are ex-Jaguar guys after all)!

Here's a fun fresh explanatory quote from Design Q co-founder Howard Guy:

"These large pods are designed to be self sufficient 'lounges' with water, power, receptions areas and lounge facilities so in any terrain -.middle of Russia, middle of China, middle of Saudi Arabia, it offers a comfortable transfer port for helicopter travel.

"The four outer pods act as holding lounges then raise up to the Heli deck once the helicopter has landed allowing comfortable boarding on the same level out of the heat of the sun or in monsoon!

"We are in a position to start building these for discerning commercial or private customers. I also see a great opportunity for VIP transfers for the London Olympics."

I arrived in Dubai a few hours ago, after taking a thoroughly enjoyable flight on Emirates' 777-200LR out of JFK.

I've been writing about the carrier's stellar in-flight entertainment system ICE (information, communication, entertainment) for years, but this was the first time I've actually had a chance to  try it (in business class, praise the Lord).

I must admit I found the system a bit overwhelming at first. So many choices! But, on a 13-hour flight, having loads of choices is a very, very good thing.

The system, based on Panasonic hardware and CoKinetic software, further solidified my belief that embedded hardware IS NOT headed for the scrap heap, as some individuals have suggested. Indeed, having a robust IFE AND C offering (yes, Emirates offers sat phones and narrowband SMS/email) is crucial for long-haul flights.

I've taken my daughter's Barbie doll with me on this trip to stay in touch by sending snaps back to the munchkin. Here, Barbie does Bob Barker proud and showcases the funky, wireless multi-purpose seat control/system control in business class.



Emirates is making its "C" offering even better by equipping its fleet with AeroMobile's in-flight mobile connectivity solution. The Emirates birds now flying to the USA have not yet been equipped with AeroMobile, but that will come in due time.

AeroMobile chief commercial officer Peter Tuggey in August told me that, at that time, Emirates' AeroMobile traffic as a whole indicates that 35% of usage occurs on routes to Europe, 16% to the Middle East, 15% to North Asia, 4% to South Asia, 21% to Africa and 9% on Australasian route.

"When we look at where the traffic comes from, although we've got a lot of aircraft installed and Emirates moves aircraft around, the results that we have to date are representative of having 40% of the Emirates fleet installed. As we get on some more of their [Boeing] 777s, I think we'll see their traffic levels increase for the USA and Asia as well," he said.

So what's the #DXB09 in this blog post's headline, you ask. That's the hashtag that all aerospace journalists will be using when reporting from and about the Dubai air show on Twitter. I'm currently ensconced in the Flightglobal news room. Yeah, we got this baby wired and ready and rock n' roll. Come and join the party at Flightglobal's Dubai air show landing page.

Chock it up to incredibly unfortunate timing.

Boeing  placed its 747-8 mini mockup on display at this week's World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) conference and exhibition in Palm Springs, California only to announce later in the week that the aircraft programme would be delayed again and that the airframer would take a pre-tax charge of "approximately $1 billion" against its third quarter.

Poking a bit of good-natured fun at Boeing this week, one WAEA attendee approached staffers at the Boeing booth and said something very close to the following: "I hear you're raffling the 747-8 mini mockup and that it costs a dollar to participate."

Boeing, which wasn't raffling the mockup, allegedly gave a quizzical look and asked what the nice gentleman was talking about, to which he replied something like: "Isn't there a raffle for the mockup to help pay for the $1 billion write-down?"

Who says the in-flight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) industry - or IFE&C if you prefer - isn't a bunch of cheeky monkeys?

Meanwhile, check out the common area envisioned by Boeing for the 747-8. Comfy couches and a big-screen monitor. Oh-so-fun!