No flying this week. I missed the short window of opportunity that opened Wednesday morning. By 10 am the wind was gusting to 25 knots and it hasn’t let up much since. The commercial airport (KRNO) a few miles north of me has winds out of the south gusting to 36 knots right now. That’s not fun flying in the flatlands and definitely to be avoided up here in the mountains. The forecast last night had it blowing through Monday. It must be Spring…
I hope you have good weather where you are – be careful if you’re headed to Sun-n-Fun.
Here are some articles that you may have missed this week:
This is from the New York Times. Ron Akana was 21 years old when he applied to be a United Airlines Flight Steward. That was 63 years ago and he is still flying. He is not the oldest working Flight Attendant, that distinction belongs to Bob Reardon at Delta, but Akana is reportedly the longest working flight attendant. It has been quite a ride for him…
Aviation has a tendency to link unlikely personalities and events.
This is from Fredericksburg, Virginia. On this particular day a couple of aviation legends stood in front of a legendary aircraft and began to reminisce. The result was a story linking a grape drink to a Kreider-Reisner KR-34 hanging in the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Annex…
New Try to Solve Old Mystery
This is from the Wall Street Journal online edition. This week a group announced at a State Department event that they were mounting a new expedition to search for the remains of Amelia Earhart. The privately-funded search is being spearheaded by TIGHAR and is supported by Robert Ballard, the undersea explorer who found the Titanic, the German battleship Bismarck and Kennedy’s PT-109 patrol boat.
Pima Air Museum launches 800-pound paper airplane.
This one is from Mobile Magazine. The Pima Air Museum in Arizona, inspired by 12-year-old Arturo Valdenegro, launched an 800-pound paper airplane this week. The article includes a short YouTube video of the flight
Female aviation pioneer shares her love of flight with some college students
This last one is from The Missourian. This is a very good article about Wally Funk, one of the Mercury 13 – the thirteen women who went through exactly the same Astronaut training as the original Mercury 7 men, but who were not permitted to fly. She has quite a history…
Comments
4 responses to “Aviation Articles for March 23, 2012”
Hi Tracy,
I think the link to the first story points in the wrong direction. Funny/strange, it is also one of the few articles that you offer that I’d found on my own. I’ve met Mr. Akana once or twice and he is a genuine treasure. Many PAX prefer the ‘old mamas,’ but Mr. Akana would alwalys be my first choice. United and the entire industry should be very proud of him. Yes, working mt way through the other items and I sure hope your flying weather improves next week. G25 and G36 could easily ‘blow’ the fun out of an otherwise *winderful* day. -Craig
Craig,
I found the link and think I have it fixed now. Thanks for pointing it out. It appears the KR-34 photo/link replaced the article link for some reason. I usually catch that on my last check before I hit ‘Publish’.
Today was forecast to be ‘Breezy’ and tomorrow is supposed to be ‘Windy’ Can’t wait…
tr
Thanks Tracy. Ron Akana now has his proper place in Blog Heaven. The pix that replaced him, if briefly, were also a lot of fun (I viewed a LOT of them and before noting the minor type-o . I sure hope that you get some flying weather next week. Salutes and best wishes, -Craig
Thanks – me too!
tr