Attendant Devices
It looks like Star Trek got it right, again. Long before we had tablet computers, the crew of the Enterprise “D” could be seen running to Captain Picard with devices that looked suspiciously like an iPad or Galaxy Tab. Now, in our timeline, on mere jet-powered aircraft, cabin crews are using this Star Trek-esque technology as a new way to connect with their passengers.
Aspirational Aeronautics
The Aviation High School opened in 2004 in its first temporary quarters, with a freshman class of 100 students. Gilman became the school’s first principal and led the drive to find a permanent home. “It took us almost a decade to get the funding,” she says. $43.5 million was raised from public and private sectors, including the State of Washington, the Port of Seattle, Boeing, and Alaska Airlines. Recognizing the major contribution of Sherry and James Raisbeck of Seattle’s Raisbeck Engineering, the new school opened in fall 2013 and was renamed Raisbeck Aviation High School (RAHS).
46 Years of 747
The very first Boeing 747 took to the air February 9, 1969, barely four months after the airplane rolled out of its then new factory in Everett, Washington. The prototype, “Queen of the Skies,” was known by her serial number RA001. She was soon joined by additional test aircraft, all working towards the airplane’s entry-into-service in January 1970 with Pan American World Airways. Since then, over 1,500 747s have been delivered.
In Profile: Joe Sutter
Joe Sutter is a giant in the history of commercial aviation. And he’s also not the least bit reserved about speaking his mind! Sutter, now in his ‘90s, graduated from the University of Washington’s College of Aeronautical Engineering in 1943. After World War II, in 1946, he joined Boeing’s aerodynamics group and was assigned to work of the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, a four-engine propeller passenger plane that would enter service in 1949. Sutter would go on to a life-long career with Boeing, and is famously known as “The Father of the 747.”
Rideshare in the Air? There’s an App for That!
A new startup company, JetSmarter, hopes to bring a disruptive process to the method of organizing a corporate aircraft charter that has traditionally used paper booking, middlemen and agents. Sergey Petrossov, JetSmarter’s 26-year-old founder and CEO, has created a mobile app that provides the availability and details of more than 3,000 corporate aircraft, tied to a client’s specific needs through the company’s unique software.
All Nippon Airways Helps Passengers Take Their Minds Off Takeoff
Although many airline passengers enjoy the experience of flying, there are those who simply don’t. For those passengers, even the thought of having to get on a plane can induce anxiety, stress and even crippling fear. There are seminars and personalized programs for anxious passengers, and just last week, All Nippon Airways (ANA) introduced a smartphone app that might just help.