Aaron Koblin collected a single day’s worth of mundane air-traffic data from the FAA and rendered the associated traffic patterns and density output as a gorgeous video. He then laid a gentle, trance-y soundtrack over the top of it, and the result is an abstract, interpretive map of the US.
Equal parts genius and beauty, the light-display-map shows familiar shapes, drawn by flight patterns, emerging from the darkness. Can’t spot Hawaii? You will in about 5 seconds.
[Via Collision Detection]
Every airline seems to have a different policy when it comes to flying with your pet. Some charge to bring them in the cabin, and some don’t. Some won’t let short-nosed animals, like pugs or Persian cats, on the plane at all — fearful that their short nasal passages will make breathing at high altitudes too difficult. Because of the complications arising from sedating animals in-flight, Continental requires passengers to sign a waiver saying they haven’t sedated their pet — though most airlines have yet to adopt this regulation.
If you’re finding it hard to keep all this straight, here’s a list of the basic guidelines that both airlines and pet-owners are required to follow by law. While some of it’s common sense, a few of the rules may surprise you, and all the tips are helpful. For instance, did you know that you shouldn’t feed or give water to your pet two hours before departure? Or that American Airlines requires paperwork certifying that pets were fed and watered within four hours before delivery?
In any case, flying with a pet will probably be stressful for both you and the animal. However, by knowing the rules, and planning ahead, you can make the process as easy as possible.
There was one fundamental flaw with the Concorde; when breaking the sound barrier, it made a big boom.
Anyone living underneath the flight plan of the Concorde didn’t want to hear the boom every day so the Concorde was limited to its supersonic speeds only over the ocean where dolphins and whales couldn’t really complain.
And then, in 2000, the Concorde crashed, and along with it, the entire category of First Class, supersonic air travel. The Concorde was grounded and the rich had to resort back to the same speed the rest of us travel.
According to Wired Magazine, however, supersonic travel may be making a comeback. Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works have been hired by Supersonic Aerospace International to design a 12-seat jet that will “minimize sonic booms.” The project is expected to cost $2.5 billion and has no guarantee of actually accomplishing its goal.
Here’s one thing that’s guaranteed, however; those seats are going to cost a whole lotta cashola.
If you’re feeling annoyed when you have to go through airport security checks, particularly in Manila, whatever you do, keep your pants on. One German tourist, Hans Jurgen Oskar von Naguschewski, age 66, took his off when asked to go through an X-ray machine twice and he may find himself in a jail in the Philippines for awhile. Six years is the maximum sentence he could receive. Hans already spent a weekend in the slammer after he was arrested for doing his partial strip tease. If he was in a hurry to get to Frankfurt where he was heading, he was out of luck that the officials weren’t in a laughing mood.
From what I read, he became annoyed after being asked to go through the security check again. It must have been a long day and this was the last straw. It doesn’t sound like he was particularly violent or anything, just less clothed when he walked through the detector the second time around than the officials would have liked. I can imagine for everyone else waiting in line this must have livened up the day and helped them be a little more patient for a while longer.
If you are going to be traveling through the Manila airport, I came across some tips in the Virtual Tourist on Airport Security checks that might give you an idea of what might try your patience in Manila and reasons why it’s so security minded there. It doesn’t sound like the airport is much different than many other places in the Philippines and travelers have a variety of opinions about the safety measures.
The people designing tomorrow’s aircraft are turning to animals for inspiration.
In an effort to create a plane that would make no noticeable noise outside an airport, the Silent Aircraft Initiative is mimicking owls. The owl’s fringe-like feathers muffle the passing air as the bird swoops in for the kill — an age-old technology that could be Incorporated into planes of the future.
But it’s not just owls. For instance, NASA is also looking to birds, as they research planes that can shift the size and shape of their wings — creating a more efficient and versatile aircraft. NASA is also examining bats, and their ability to move more nimbly than man-made aircraft by sensing tiny changes in winds.
And yes, there’s even someone trying to create a machine that keeps itself in the air by flapping it’s wing. How completely and totally awesome.