Straight & Level: 16 May 2006

Oooops! Wrong airport (again)

So your aged Uncle’s memory isn’t so bad after all! Thanks to nephew Leonard Craig for confirming that a DC-9 nearly did land at Langford Lodge, Northern Ireland in error. “This event took place on 25 May 1975; this Aviaco-operated McDonnell Douglas DC-9, EC-CGQ, made a touch and go after the mistake was realised,” he says. Nephew David Barker (and a former DC-3, Bristol 170, Britannia, VC10, 707, BAC One-Eleven and A320 captain) recalls more details about the “Wren” cartoon at the time the Pan Am 707 landed at Northolt. “The cartoon showed the captain’s head out of the DV window. The caption read ‘Elstree, are you sure?’” he says.

Dubai blues

Fellow ex-BOAC nephew Clive Raymond questions our sums when he writes to say: “Perhaps it is as a result of ‘Everything about Dubai being slightly unreal’ [Gulf News press cutting P92, April 4-10], but I did find it surprising that Emirates’ 84-ship fleet includes 29 A332s, 12 773ERs, 12 cooking 773s, nine 772s, 10 A345s, eight 343s, one 310, six 747Fs and three 310Fs.” This, he finds, adds up to 90. “Something to do with the sum of the parts or the parts of the sums or whatever, or was the FADEC inop?”

Only fools and waypoints

Nephew Brian Race rounds off our healthy discussion about waypoints with the following comments: “Brought up with VORs such as Brookman’s Park, Pole Hill and Dean Cross, the emergence of INS waypoints with such classics as BEENO, DANDI and TOPPA may have signalled a certain “dumbing down” direction. With GINIS en route to Dublin and KELLY to the Isle of Man and LESTA being recently joined by PIGOT, there may be much to search out in UK airspace. Perhaps DELBO and RODNI might be joined in future by RAKEL, ALBUT, TRIGA and BOYSI, or is it all a little bit BARMI (UL7, LCC Sectors 10/11)?”

Stopped rotor?

(Spotted in All Headline News story from 5 May, 2006.)
Lucknow, India (AHN) – Mustkeem, a resident of Bhagwat district of northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, has constructed a two-seated helicopter from two scooter engines. According to a local daily paper, the helicopter may be the smallest helicopter ever at a measurement of 15 x 7ft [4.6 x 2.1m] and weighing 250kg [550lb]. When the Mustkeen and other villagers gathered to test the helicopter, local police stopped them and arrested Mustkeem. Chief police officer of Bhagwat district says: ‘We have no problem on the testing of helicopter if they will have a permission from Indian civil aviation department.’”