 Share
|
« Previous Fallows | Next Fallows » |
Email
Print
|
Industrial glamor for the future
By
I mentioned earlier the beautiful old airplanes from the glamor days of air travel on display at the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual "Airventure" show in Oshkosh. That was yesterday; what about tomorrow?
Without getting into all the details -- I was only there for a day, I'm already fantasizing about the the full ten-day session one of these years -- here are a few:
The Terrafugia flying car -- or, more precisely, drivable airplane. Back in March, the Terrafugia took its first test flight:
And, in a company video, in land-bound mode:
Another flying car, the Maverick, from a missionary/explorer named Steve Saint who is teaching indigenous Amazonian people to fly it to bring in supplies or get medical help.
More on Saint and his jungle flying projects here and here.
Honda's personal jet:
Cirrus Vision personal jet (Cirrus officials doing the polishing)
A potential customer and his airplane, cruelly separated by a million dollars or so.
Electric-powered made-in-China airplane, the Yuneec. (Get it?!?)
There's way more but this will do for now.
UPDATE: I was typing this up this morning, went away for a while to ail from swine flu or some similar malady, and come back to see that my colleague Lane Wallace has just now mentioned many of the same airplanes and same companies! So you now have independent verification from two sources of the interesting-ness of these innovations. Lane is a "real" aviation writer, too, so her judgment is probably more credible.
_
* Note to the young: Amelia Earhart was lost in the Pacific in 1937. ** Note to the old: the Czechs are playing off their country's role as source of other kinds of models who might incite jealousy.
Without getting into all the details -- I was only there for a day, I'm already fantasizing about the the full ten-day session one of these years -- here are a few:
The Terrafugia flying car -- or, more precisely, drivable airplane. Back in March, the Terrafugia took its first test flight:
Here's how it looks on the ground:
And, in a company video, in land-bound mode:
Another flying car, the Maverick, from a missionary/explorer named Steve Saint who is teaching indigenous Amazonian people to fly it to bring in supplies or get medical help.
More on Saint and his jungle flying projects here and here.
Honda's personal jet:
Cirrus Vision personal jet (Cirrus officials doing the polishing)
A potential customer and his airplane, cruelly separated by a million dollars or so.
Electric-powered made-in-China airplane, the Yuneec. (Get it?!?)
This one I didn't actually see myself: photo and more info here.
Questionable adverising strategy:
The same talisman Amelia wore! Hmmm....*
More slyly charming advertising strategy, for a plane in the "light sport" category from a Czech aircraft works.**
Questionable adverising strategy:
The same talisman Amelia wore! Hmmm....*
More slyly charming advertising strategy, for a plane in the "light sport" category from a Czech aircraft works.**
There's way more but this will do for now.
UPDATE: I was typing this up this morning, went away for a while to ail from swine flu or some similar malady, and come back to see that my colleague Lane Wallace has just now mentioned many of the same airplanes and same companies! So you now have independent verification from two sources of the interesting-ness of these innovations. Lane is a "real" aviation writer, too, so her judgment is probably more credible.
_
* Note to the young: Amelia Earhart was lost in the Pacific in 1937. ** Note to the old: the Czechs are playing off their country's role as source of other kinds of models who might incite jealousy.
