AvGeekWorld

A collection of #AvGeek mania

[avgeekworld]

Frequent Flyer

"Frequent Flyer" is a 20-minute documentary about frequent flyer miles, the people who collect them, and the world of airports and airplanes that they inhabit. 

Fittingly, I traveled around 35,000 miles in the making of it, from Osaka, Japan to Punta del Este, Uruguay.

The result is a look at the world of miles and some of its most enthusiastic participants, examining how miles and points have become an important world currency and, in turn, an obsession for those who have figured out ways to earn them in the millions.

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Boeing 100 Video

FCB created three spots (this is the Director’s Cut) to celebrate Boeing’s 100th anniversary. 

Executed using seamless design and hyper-real CG, they drew inspiration from engineering blueprints, as each spot captures the awe-inspiring process that starts with a single spark in the mind of a Boeing engineer, and finishes with a gravity defying roar of an engine taking a machine to unprecedented altitudes. From the historical, 1916 B&W plane to the 787 Dreamliner, Boeing products come alive, celebrating 100 years of technological triumphs in Space, Defense and Commercial travel.

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Gemini 4 Spacewalk

“I’m coming back in… and it’s the saddest moment of my life.”

Ed White expresses his sorrow at the conclusion of the first American spacewalk during the Gemini 4 mission on 3 June 1965.

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Just like a car, all aircraft carry a unique registration. This is usually a sequence of letters and numbers beginning with a unique letter or two that identifies the country the aircraft is registered in. In the United States these begin with N, in Australia it is VH, in Ireland EI and in the UK …

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A Challenge from the President

“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.” 

- John F. Kennedy

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Vintage Airline Destination Tags

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Vintage Airline Posters

In the post-World War II era, commercial travel by airplane was growing dramatically and the airlines made very effective use of posters to encourage more travel to various destinations. 

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Vintage Pan Am Posters

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The Vickers VC10 - A Gorgeous Design

The last of the Vickers built designs was the Type 1101 VC10, the first of which (G-ARTA) flew for the first time from Weybridge on 29th June 1962.  By this time and despite being named ‘Vickers VC10’, Vickers-Armstrongs themselves had already amalgamated to form part the Commercial Aircraft sector of the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). 

The VC10 was characterized by its soaring T-tail and four rear-mounted Conway engines which provided a quiet passenger cabin and was exploited in the contemporary BOAC advertising with the slogan ‘Try a little VC-Tenderness’.

Despite consistent popularity with its passengers the VC10 saw service with BOAC from April 1964 to 1975 with just 12 examples reaching completion. Other operators included British United Airways (subsequently British Caledonian), East African Airways, Ghana Airways, Air Malawi and the Royal air Force.  Nigerian Airways had planned to order a pair of VC10’s but cancelled the order due to financial difficulties.

The Type 1151 / Super VC10 was developed to offer lower seat per mile costs on Trans-Atlantic services and featured an increase in fuselage length, take-off weight and passenger capacity, combined with increased thrust Conway engines.

On 7th May 1964, the first Super VC10 (G-ASGA) flew for the first time before entering airline service with BOAC in April the following year.

BUA ordered the VC10, specifying a large forward cargo door, resulting in additional sales to Ghana Airways, East African Airways and, significantly, 14 aircraft for the RAF for use by Transport Command as the VC10 C.1 (later C.1K).

The RAF aircraft were later augmented by additional examples (of both the VC10 and Super VC10) purchased from civil operators, the type being re-fitted to support air-to-air refuelling operations as the VC10 K.2 and K.3.  The VC10 tankers continued to serve the RAF operating from Brize Norton until 20th September 2013 although the last recorded flight was that of ZA147 which landed at Bruntingthorpe on 25th September 2013, bring to an end 51 years of VC10 service.

(Source: BAE Systems)

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Tribute to Joe Sutter, Father of the 747

Joseph Frederick "Joe" Sutter (March 21, 1921 – August 30, 2016) was an American engineer for the Boeing Airplane Company and manager of the design team for the Boeing 747 under Malcolm T. Stamper, the head of the 747 project.

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Airline employee described as "suicidal" steals plane and crashes

The man could be heard on audio recordings telling air traffic controllers that he is "just a broken guy"

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Vintage United Airlines Poster

In the post-World War II era, commercial travel by airplane was growing dramatically and the airlines made very effective use of posters to encourage more travel to various American destinations. In this beautiful design created by Joseph Binder, we see an idyllic autumn scene in New England with the many leaves changing color in advance of winter.

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A Visit to See the First Queen of the Skies (#QotS)

Scott Bateman takes us on a tour of the Museum of Flight and Ship 001. 

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Unpopular Opinion: The More I Travel, The Less I Care About First Class... - God Save The Points

It turns out, you actually can go back… By any means of calculation, I am a very frequent traveler. I cross the world’s oceans more times than I can keep track of each year, and thanks to credit card points, airline miles and flight deal hunting tips, I spend a large majority of those journeys …

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Sometimes, flying feels too godlike to be attained by man. Sometimes, the world from above seems too beautiful, too wonderful, too distant for human eyes to see.

Charles A. Lindbergh