A Pilot’s Blog
A blog about aviation, aviation news, and space.

Through the efforts of Google and other companies, satellite images taken of the search area where Mr. Fossett is believed to be have been uploaded to Amazon Mechanical Turk. If you have an account there, and some free time, you can assist with the search to find this legendary aviator.

I was very startled to come home today and read this news.

MINDEN, Nev. (AP) — Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett, who has cheated death time and again in his successful pursuit of aviation records, was missing Tuesday after taking off in a single-engine plane the day before to scout locations for a land-speed record, officials said.

Teams searched a broad swath of rugged terrain in western Nevada near the ranch where he took off, but searchers had little to go on because he apparently didn’t file a flight plan, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said.

I was very fortunate to be able to watch Mr. Fossett’s record-breaking flight around the world in the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer. Ironically enough, the picture I chose for my top logo last night was taken by me upon his landing following that flight. I pray that this turns out ok and he’s found alive and well.

Today, 07/08/07, brings forth the long-awaited unveiling of the 787 Dreamliner. Boeing will reveal aircraft #001 off the line in a ceremony starting at 3:30pm Pacific / 5:30pm Central time. If you aren’t fortunate enough to have access to one of the satellite channels they will be broadcasting on, you can catch the live webcast here. I can’t wait!

Also, be sure to catch the “7-Series” videos accessible from the webcast link. They’re a bit short, but a nice tribute to each of the members of the 700 line.

Update:

Here she is! A beautiful and sleek aircraft!

Picture courtesy of Airliners.net.

The rumors are swirling now that the first 787 off the line will be headed to paint tonight or tomorrow. I can hardly wait until the 8th. :-)

Dreamliner One has been lowered onto its own landing gear for the first time and the tooling towers were being pulled back. Engine installation was complete and it should be heading to the paint shop today or tomorrow.

Update 6/26: The rumor is true!

Boeing continues to rack up orders for their soon to be debuted 787 wide-body aircraft.

Boeing and International Lease Finance Corp. ( ILFC ) today announced that the two companies have finalized orders for 63 airplanes worth approximately $8.8 billion at current list prices.

ILFC will expand its fleet with a new order for 50 additional 787 Dreamliners. ILFC will take delivery of its first 787 Dreamliner in 2010, with additional airplanes arriving through 2017. Today’s order also includes 10 Next-Generation 737s, which extends ILFC’s delivery stream through 2012

This brings the order total for the 787 to 634 airframes. Not bad for a program where the first airframe isn’t even completely assembled yet.

Related: 787 Passes 500 Orders

I wonder if this is going to be the sequel to the cult hit “Snakes on a Plane”?

LONDON (Reuters) - A passenger plane was forced to land after flying into a swarm of British bees Thursday.

The Palmair Boeing 737, with 90 passengers on board, had to return to Bournemouth Airport in southern England shortly after take-off following an engine surge.

The pilot decided to abort the flight to Faro in Portugal and returned for safety checks. The plane’s engine was thought to have become clogged with bees, the company said Friday.

Huge clouds of bees have been seen around Bournemouth over the past few days, a spokeswoman said.

A new airline is taking to the skies with promises of $10 tickets and a no-frills service that makes even Southwest look regal by comparison.

Skybus said that every flight has at least 10 seats for the $10 fare. Other airlines have offered superlow fares, but only temporarily. Skybus, however, said the $10 fare is here to stay. “On every flight, there will be at least 10 seats for $10, said Skybus CEO Bill Diffenderffer. “That fare won’t go away.”
…
There is no first-class on Skybus, and to speed up boarding, seats are not assigned. However, for an extra $10, the airline offers some passengers the privilege of boarding first. But you still have to climb the stairs. To save time and money, the airline boards passengers directly off the tarmac, avoiding costly airport gate charges.

You also have to pay extra for any checked luggage, and for any food or drinks you want to consume on the plane - you can’t bring your own.

Is this the new breed of low-cost carrier? With the airline industry going the way it is nowadays, I bet we’ll see more airlines move to this model of ala carte service, rather than all services provided with the ticket. It just might be what the industry needs to start making real money again.

A pilot arrested on suspicion of being over the alcohol limit has been cleared after tests found heavy dieting had caused his breath to smell like drink.

The Virgin Atlantic employee - held at Heathrow on 31 March before a flight to New York - had failed a breathalyser.

I’ve never heard anything about dieting causing your breath to smell like alcohol, but I’m happy that that was apparently the case here and the pilot was not drunk and trying to carry out his duties. I’m always very irritated to hear about that sort of thing.

Today Boeing announced that with an order from Japan Airlines, the total number of confirmed orders for the 787 has passed the 500 mark, sitting currently at 514. It hit this mark in just under 3 years, making it the fastest selling commercial aircraft in history, all before the first airframe has even been completed. Way to go Boeing!

As if we couldn’t see this one coming a mile away. Boeing will hold its first public unveiling of the very first 787 airframe off the line on July 8th, 2007. I, for one, can hardly wait. With over 400 firm orders already placed, I can see the 787 easily having 1000 or more by the time Airbus’ A350 is ready to enter service.

Boeing Co. plans to debut its much-anticipated 787 Dreamliner model on July 8 at an event at its assembly plant in Everett, Washington, the plane maker said on Wednesday.

The mid-sized 787 aircraft, which uses lightweight carbon composite material to reduce operating costs, has racked up roughly $70 billion in orders in about three years on the market.

At the event—to be held on 7/8/07, according to American dating conventions—the public will be able to see the aircraft fully assembled for the first time.