Bombay bomber?
According to a recent report in Aviation Leak, the Indian navy is looking for new maritime-patrol aircraft and "the likely candidates are used US Navy P-3 Orions equipped with Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicles". Hmmm - well, maybe not, muses our sub-continent watchdog Gas Giant. The DSRV consists of three steel tubes, in a glassfibre housing that is 15m long and weighs 30t. It seems that Lockheed Martin's upgrade programme for the aircraft extends further than we had been led to believe. There's no doubt, however, that having a 30t thingy dropped on you would certainly get your attention. If the US Air Force can do it with the Massive Ordnance Airburst Bomb and Massive Ordnance Penetrator, why can't the Indian navy?
F..F..FFFFFarnborough
Researching an epic about the possible demise of Farnborough, our Hampshire watchdog "Ah Hawker" stumbled upon an interesting statement in the SBAC's Farnborough International 2004 newsletter: "Farnborough International website is the first place trade professionals (sic), journalists and aviation enthusiasts surf for up-to-date information." Ummmm...particularly as they mull over the future of air shows as we know them...
Testing times
Captain Sensible: "And basically we want test pilots everywhere to be able to share information about incidents without having to worry about getting into trouble with their companies. After all, the information is going to come out eventually whether the company wants it to or not."
Budgie News: "How do you mean?"
Sensible: "Well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who 'a large American airframe manufacturer' might be."
Budgie: "Or even a test pilot?"
Relics on ice?
The Stanley Cup, for those of you not in the know, is the most prestigious trophy in the sport of ice hockey. Imagine the horror then when Walter Neubrand, the "keeper of the Cup", arrived at Fort St John, Canada after an internal Air Canada flight from Vancouver, and discovered his precious cargo was not with the rest of his baggage. Air Canada later explained the famous Cup had been removed because of weight restrictions and had been held in a secure location in Vancouver. But these were not words of comfort for one fan who had planned on viewing the Cup on Sunday night. Describing the action as blasphemous he said "It's not like it's a brown paper bag. It's the Holy Grail. It's probably the most important non-religious artefact in Canada." (And by the way, would the owner of the fibula of St Biplane of Boscombe please come to baggage reclaim immediately).
Source: Flight International
