First Flights
I’m a total AvGeek, and I happen to hold a very unique world record: I’ve flown on more inaugural airline flights of the “first of type” of a new commercial aircraft than anyone else in the world. This isn’t a record that I originally set out to claim; it’s thanks to good fortune, good timing and good planning that I was on board the first-ever Boeing 747, Airbus A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Airbus A350 and Bombardier C Series flights.
Reel Time
It’s been almost a century since the first, primitive experiments with in-flight film projection took place in an Aeromarine Airways Curtis F5L aircraft. It was 1921, and the 11 passengers on a sightseeing flight over Chicago were shown a silent movie promoting the city. But it wasn’t until 1961 that David Flexer’s Inflight Motion Pictures brought regular in-flight entertainment to passengers on Trans World Airlines’ early jets.
An Alpine Giant: Heli-Austria
It’s important to have the right tool for the job. Looking at Heli-Austria’s large and diverse fleet of helicopters, it’s clear that CEO and Chief Pilot Roy Knaus has a big toolbox to draw from, stuffed full of the right machines for a wide range of missions.
World’s longest nonstop flight: Airbus A350-900ULR set to enter service
Singapore to New York, nonstop. Almost 20 hours in the air. By the end of this year, passengers on Singapore Airlines' newest plane, the Airbus A350-900ULR -- for Ultra Long-Range -- will travel on a record-breaking, globe-spanning flight that will reconnect the two major metropolises.
Remote Access
Up in the air, there have been remote controls for as long as in-flight entertainment (IFE) has been in the cabin. Long before touch screens, control buttons for an IFE system were either installed in a seat’s armrest or on a tethered remote unit that retracted into a recess.
A Burning Question
Lithium-ion batteries are ubiquitous portable powerhouses in the world of rechargeable energy storage, with billions of cells produced annually. Found in everything from wireless earbuds to in-flight entertainment tablets, their pervasiveness extends to the aircraft cabin – but maybe not for long.