Oh what a great holiday gift! This video shows the pilot’s perspective of moving Christmas trees quickly in Oregon to be sold for the holidays. This pilot is flying a Bell 206B-3 JetRanger helicopter and the video was taken in 2011.
According to The (Vancouver, Washington) Colombian, Oregon is the nation’s largest grower and exporter of Christmas trees. The state sells nearly seven million trees per year, which is a $100 million-plus industry in the state.
Obviously, the tree farms need to move all those trees quickly from where they are grown to the trucks, and what better way to move them than using a helicopter? (well, there surely isn’t a more fun way)
So, next time you buy a tree, make sure to ask for one that was transported using a helicopter!
On overview of hangar four shows a handful of aircraft in the shop. Most notably however, is the LOT 737-400 in the foreground. The airplane, now out of service, was painted gold to celebrate the free and fair elections in the country after the fall of communism.
By Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren and originally published November 20, 2013 on Airchive.com
As part of our trip to Poland in October we had an opportunity to visit LOT Aircraft Maintenance Services on a Saturday afternoon. Technically separate from LOT, the company can handle anything from a simple tire repair to a heavy D-check, aircraft painting to 737 avionics.
A model of the Shanghai Y-10. There is one extant copy, but it is very hard to get close to. – Photo: Shizhao
Today, the Chinese are building their second fully designed and built airliner, the Comac C919. However, back in 1980, they flew their first designed and built in-house airliner, the Shanghai Y-10 and it has an interesting (and quite short) history.
The Chinese aviation business after the 1949 revolution was, to say the least, lagging behind both the west and the Soviet Union.
The only aircraft assembled in China that was even close to the dimension and role of those built by their peers was the Xian H-6 a sinofied and license-built version of the Soviet Tu-16. Though the first Chinese medium bomber flew in 1959, no H-6 would ever be fitted with indigenously-designed engines. Chinese fighter aircraft followed along a similar trajectory, though their designers were offered a little more creativity in terms of adding differing body kits to license-built Soviet planes.
Something, however, was missing from the Chinese aviation industry. The skilled fabricators and support staff were there, but there was no real push for engineering talent- particularly in the civil market.
It is unclear how long the Shanghai Aircraft Research Institute had been researching a large, narrow-body passenger aircraft prior to receiving the government’s blessing in August of 1970, but the will was clearly there. Or at least, convicted Gang of Four member Wang Hongwen believed there to be. As a major player in the isolationist factions of the Chinese Communist Party, he was, in some ways, running astray of Mao’s latest internationalist gambits by trying to achieve a self-sufficient aviation industry. Let us ignore that, however.
Today, Air Canada, in a surprising move, has decided to replace their current Airbus narrowbody fleet with the offering from the competition – the Boeing 737 MAX.
They have ordered a total of 61 of the aircraft, with 33 going to the MAX 8 and 23 to the larger MAX 9. The “up to 109” part of the transaction comes from 30 purchase rights and 18 options. At list prices, the firm orders would be a transaction of over six billion dollars, but you better believe that the airline made a stellar deal for the planes.
“We are pleased to announce our agreement with Boeing for the purchase of 737 MAX aircraft as part of the ongoing modernization of Air Canada’s fleet,” said Calin Rovinescu, President and CEO of Air Canada. “Renewal of our North American narrowbody fleet with more fuel efficient aircraft is a key element of our ongoing cost transformation program and the enhanced passenger cabin comfort provided by the Boeing MAX will help us to retain Air Canada’s competitive position as the Best Airline in North America. Our narrowbody fleet renewal program is expected to yield significant cost savings. We have estimated that the projected fuel burn and maintenance cost savings on a per seat basis of greater than 20 per cent will generate an estimated CASM reduction of approximately 10 per cent as compared to our existing narrowbody fleet.”
By 2019, Air Canada plans to have an all Boeing long-haul fleet, and a majority Boeing short-to-medium haul fleet. Currently, the airline operates a fleet of 27 Airbus A319s, 36 A320s and 10 A321s.
An Airbus A321 pushing back at Philadelphia. Is this a Boeing 757 replacement? – Photo: Mal Muir | AirlineReporter.com
With most Boeing 757s heading toward the end of their life cycles, airlines are moving forward with plans for more fuel-efficient aircraft that can hold similar amounts of passengers over a decent range. The most popular option at the moment is the Airbus A321. Having never flown one myself, I was excited to have an opportunity to test out this aircraft on a recent flight out east. I wanted to see first hand how the newer A321 stacked up to the (soon-to-be) classic 757.
At the moment, the only current operatosr of the A321 in the U.S. are Spirit and US Airways; however JetBlue and American Airlines have received their first ones and Delta, and Hawaiian have plans to expand their fleet with the A321 in either CEO (Current Engine Option) or NEO (New Engine Option) flavor. In some cases, these aircraft will replace 757s, such as with AA; however, some are just for expansion as with the case of JetBlue & Hawaiian.
My first-ever flight on an Airbus A321 was with US Airways, travelling from Phoenix to Washington DC’s Reagan National Airport. Not only would this be a new aircraft for me, but also a new airport (Phoenix) and a new airline (US Airways). Hee-haw, I was down for the AvGeek newness tri-fecta.
