· Nappy news: Uncle Roger is delighted to announce the arrival of a new nephew - young Andrew John Swallow (7lb 8oz) who's dad is GKN Aerospace's Isle of Wight-based Bombardier cell manager.
Like many of Uncle Roger's relatives, the youngster arrived at a most inopportune time.
Not surprising really as his two year old sister Sophie also arrived slap-bang in the middle of Farnborough two years ago...but then the date was September!
The best laid plans of mice, men and family planning consultants...
New nephew, dad Pete and mum Dee are all doing well.
· Let us spray: Lymington firemen had their moment of glory at the Show - the Hampshire Fire Brigade crew turned out to tackle... a dusty road.
Uncle Roger understands that some mega-deal was about to be signed and big-wigs at the show didn't want to it to blow up in their faces. So the fire crew walked along the main roadway in front of the chalets, watering down the verges... dust in case.
· Note of alarm: One amusing facet to Farnborough 2000 concerns the 'executive' car park in front of the line of chalets - and adjacent to the active runway.
Every time a fast jet takes off with afterburner glowing - especially the Eurofighter Typhoon - the only sound that can be heard when the pilot turns the noisy bits away from the crowd line is the shrill warbling racket of hundreds of car alarms.
Clearly the nearby Transport Road Research Laboratory didn't take supersonic shock waves into consideration when approving the anti-theft devices.
At least the owners of the plethora of Mercedes, Rovers, Jaguars, Audis, BMWs et al know that their alarm systems are working fine... although after a full afternoon's flying display, some of them may have found their batteries a tad on the low side when they returned to their vehicles...
· Yin-yang-yawn: "In business, I am pragmatic; emotional I save for the bedroom..."
The speaker was a darkly handsome Italian Eurofighter marketeer, sharply dressed and with twinkling eyes and a self-deprecating air. "Now that I'd like to see," muttered the young blonde waitress at Eurofighter's press breakfast.
· Coefficient of lift: Spotted limping down the chalet rows yesterday was Emirates' group managing director Maurice Flanagan, who is nurturing a sprained tendon.
Turns out he was searching for the Boeing chalet, where he had been invited for lunch.
Given that Emirates has this week signed contracts worth billions of dollars for aircraft from both Airbus and Boeing, you'd think a golf trolley ride might have been on offer, or perhaps even a sedan chair for such an esteemed customer. Come on chaps... give the man a lift!
· Rodent's revenge: Airbus Industrie's A3XX may be the superjumbo of the 21st century, but at its heart is none other than the jumbo's nemesis, a mouse. The cockpit panels - eight altogether - could be controlled by a computer mouse rather than the keyboards used now.
Source: Flight Daily News
