AOG and proud of it! Gary Gulfjet (beaming, and showing photo of gleaming business jet used to provide 24h aircraft on ground emergency support): "We're very proud of this. We launch this every time one of our customers is in trouble. It's been launched 600 times! (pause) Err...actually I don't know if that's good or bad."
Spotter's update For those of you brushing up for your Reginald S Potter finals this summer, here's a last bit of info to add to your prep list. Thanks to its distinctively pointed radome, Embraer's fab new E-170 has apparently already earned the nickname "Womble", which is a lot less derisory than its smaller sibling, which "rejoices" under such names as "Barbie Jet" or "Jungle Jet" Now, just for fun, pair the following: Lump, ATP, Trisaurus, A319, 777, BAe 146, Megabus, Guards Van, 767, NintendoJet, 757, Parrot, 737, "4 leaks connected by an electrical fault", A380, 747, Stick Insect, Big Foot, 727, Slug, A320, VC9, Microbus. (In case you've never heard of a Womble, they were invented by author Elisabeth Berseford and are creatures who "pick up things that people leave behind" on Wimbledon Common in London.)
Mother tongue? Monty Orangeball: "And how many languages can your voice recognition system understand?" Dick Shonary: "10 at the moment – English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish and Norwegian." Monty: "That's only eight" Dick: "Awww yeah, sorry mate – good on yer for spottin' that…gee whiz, I oughta have seen that comin' outta left field…but jolly well done old boy all the same. Actually, when I said ‘English' that's actually English-English, American-English and Australian-English!"
Wings and wheels Stacks of roaring, crackling Rolls-Royce Merlin engines and the enormous Napier-Railton racing car will be among the highlights of the Brooklands Museum‘s "Wings & Wheels" event on 4 June at Dunsfold Aerodrome. Most of the Merlins will be airborne at one time or another, and connected to airframes such as the Avro Lancaster, Supermarine Spitfire, aaahhhh Hawker Hurricane and North American P-51 Mustang – part of a fleet of up to 60 vintage and classic aircraft gathering together to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and the 70th anniversary of the first flight of the aaahhhh Hawker Hurricane. The Red Arrows and other more modern attractions are also on the bill! Details of the event, which will be raising money for local charities, can be found at: www.wingsandwheels.net or by telephone: +44 (0) 1932 857 381 ext 249
Ultimate UAV? (Spotted in Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies report on the Russian Regional Jet by Nephew Gordon Weekes):" "Germany's Liebherr and Russia's Voskhod design center will design the RRJ's remote-control systems. Liebherr will also build the air conditioners."
Source: Flight International
