How Vancouver became China’s aviation hub to the West
There are few pop culture icons better known on both sides of the Pacific than Jackie Chan. The action-movie star's work across US and Asian film made him an obvious choice to represent Hong Kong Airlines and fly on the airline's first flight to North America. The Hong Kong-based airline -- as its name suggests -- had its maiden flight to YVR Vancouver International Airport on June 30, its first destination outside of Asia and Australia. The carrier's flight is just the latest inaugural flight to YVR from mainland China and Hong Kong.
Fairey Tale
The history of aviation is littered with aircraft concepts and prototypes that promised to bring point-to-point passenger services to the traveling public. The idea of replacing massive and remote airports with a rooftop or downtown landing pad was, to say the least, inviting. The 1950s were a time of enthusiastic aerospace development and innovation, and one odd-looking aircraft of the era was the Fairey Aviation Company’s Rotodyne. It was designed to meet a short-haul vertical-lift requirement of British European Airways (BEA), an ancestor of today’s British Airways.
Setting the Scene: James Bond’s Role in Setting Travel Trends
Writer Ian Fleming’s Agent 007 burst onto the movie screen in 1962’s Dr. No, in an era when the glamor and cachet of jet travel had permeated the public psyche. Long before social media, the idea of connecting the world through high-speed air travel was popularized by the movies, television and magazines of the time. The rich and famous were featured flying to far-flung destinations in what seemed to be the blink of an eye.
Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame welcomes new inductees
A sell-out crowd celebrated the 2017 inductees to Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame (CAHF) during a gala event at Vancouver International Airport on June 15. Skies was on hand as over 430 people gathered for the 44th annual event. Host Denis Chagnon welcomed the crowd and introduced the four inductees–Erroll Boyd, Robert “Bob” Deluce, Danny Sitnam, and Rogers Eben Smith–each of whom has made significant contributions to Canadian aviation.
F4 is A-OK: Inmarsat Launches Fourth GX Satellite
Inmarsat’s I-5 F4 satellite thundered into space yesterday evening, carried by a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster. In a picture-perfect evening liftoff, the rocket launched at exactly 7:21 p.m. (EDT), precisely at the beginning of the launch window.
4 of the best helicopter sightseeing tours in North America
It's magical. And it's very loud. That moment when a helicopter lifts off is a sweet sensory overload, with turbine engines screaming and the main rotor beating the air into submission just a few feet above your head. But coddled in a good set of noise-canceling headphones or cocooned in a super-soundproofed cabin, you can experience the wonder of rotary-winged flight while marveling at the spectacular views unique to heli-sightseeing.