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[grupo] 25/9/2009 07:22

solar airship

[l0rd lucan] 15/8/2008 18:28

Its a Monday and a Friday.

[hectorp] 15/8/2008 17:53

Now baggage handlers are going on strike 25th August and 29th August at Heathrow and Gatwick ( at least). Thanks, go and stick the boot in at holiday time. Half of them don't know what Bank Holiday is anyhow as the countries they came from don't have such a holiday.
My flight is on the 27th, but ..

[don muang] 07/5/2007 18:30

Residents of the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay) are wondering how long it will take to remove a disused Boeing 737 that has been abandoned in a busy road.
The decommissioned aircraft was being driven through the city at the weekend when the driver got lost and then abandoned the plane.

[ariane] 19/4/2007 11:32

Total Pole Airship



Mar. 05, 07



"Learning more about the mechanisms involved in climate change and the action required to slow the process and reduce future consequences is one of the key challenges of the 21st century.

There is an urgent need for such action, and yet we still lack much of the information we need to ensure that our action is effective. As a major world energy player, Total is concerned by the climate change issue in many ways. Going beyond our initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of our operations and our products, Total has chosen to take an active part in the public debate on climate change and to partner efforts to gather the data that will help us gain a better understanding of this phenomenon.

Obtaining new data thanks to innovative measurement technologies can certainly advance scientific knowledge in this area and Total is pleased to support the new expedition to the North Pole, to be led by Jean-Louis Etienne. This first field campaign to measure the thickness and extent of the polar sea ice should provide information that will be vital to further research on the ice pack and climate change, to be undertaken as part of International Polar Year 2007-2008."

Christophe de Margerie
Total's Chief Executive Officer









Our first dive under the ice


tuesday, april 17 2007 previous


Weather overcast, snow, wind 20 kph, temperature -15°C.

The camp has once again been hit by bad weather and we are snowed in by an almost-blizzard that softens the shapes around us, absorbing contrasts and reducing visibility. No flying today, but the diving team isn't worried by the weather conditions: now that they've finished cutting their hole they're keen to get down into the water and explore the underside of the ice pack.

The diving site is about 800 metres from the Borneo camp. We have set up a dome tent there, with a little fuel heater so that it's a bit warmer for the divers to put on their diving suits before they slip into the icy water. They wear an impressive collection of gear: 2 air bottles, 2 flow regulators, a stabilizer, a harness with 15 kilos of lead weights, and an ice grapnel to cling to the underside of the ice if they have a problem.

The divers go down in pairs, and whenever they're diving there's another diver suited up and ready to go if they need help, and a surface crewman at the end of the divers' lifeline. The first to go down are Ghislain and Jerome, charged with attaching the end of the mast that is positioned half in and half out of the water to provide a common geographic reference point for surface and underwater topography. Then the two divers explored within a radius of about 20 metres of the pressure ridge that we are going to measure.

They came up speechless with wonder at the beauty of the ice above them and the clarity of the Arctic seawater. Sam and Laurent went down later and said it was a bit like floating in the cosmos. It didn't occur to any of them to complain about the cold even though the seawater temperature was -1.8°!

Tomorrow we send down the ROV to start taking the first measurements of our subsea topographic survey.

[don muang] 08/2/2007 07:02

always helps when the runways long enough:

Airport Says that Longer Runway Will Enhance Global Connectivity

Birmingham International Airport (BIA) today confirmed that it has secured Board approval to finalise a Planning Application for the extension to the main runway.

A 400-metre extension to the southern end of the existing runway would increase the potential range of Birmingham's existing aircraft types, make BIA competitive with Manchester and the London Airports, and stimulate the regional economy. Plans for an extension date back to 1995.

Business leaders have long supported an extension to the main runway, and research by Loughborough University has indicated that Birmingham is only connected with 3 of the 'top twenty' fastest growing 'Global Cities' – primarily because of runway length.

There are around nine million people within a one-hour drive of Birmingham International Airport; of those that fly, only 44% use BIA – primarily because the short runway does not support the demand for long-haul destinations.

It would be possible to complete the work by 2012, bringing the benefits of Global Connectivity to the Midlands in the same year as the UK hosts the Olympic Games.

BIA's Head of Corporate and Community Affairs, John Morris, said:

"Adding another 400 metres to the main runway will dramatically increase the capability of Birmingham International Airport and the economic fortunes of the region - by providing the opportunity for direct flights to the West Coast USA, the Far East and other long-haul destinations".

[don muang] 08/2/2007 06:58

I'd have thought this hadline today would be a case of an Airline shooting itself in the foot:
'British Airways is planning to add up to £240 to the cost of a return long-haul flight if passengers want to check in an extra bag.'

[don muang] 07/1/2007 17:18

well in the case of Bristol, the answer seems to be 'grouded'....
at least it has shown that Easyjet DO put safety first - unlike some other other airlines such as RyanAir..... (until they came along then I used to think the old Dan Air that operated out of Gatwick were a bunch of cowboys).

The airport's Web site said that other airlines, including Continental, KLM, and Ryanair, are continuing to fly into Bristol, which is about 120 miles (190 kilometers) west of London......

[don muang] 30/12/2006 04:10

Airport capacity warning
By Ivan Gale, Staff Reporter

Dubai: It's commonly assumed that Gulf governments, flush with revenues from rising oil prices, will hit a goldmine with their plans for new or expanded airports. Gulf leaders are diversifying their economies, and why wouldn't this be yet another winner? After all, aviation is a truly global industry worth $450 billion per year and growing.

[waldron] 12/9/2006 06:07

Global helium shortage to deflate things

CLEVELAND (AFX) - Party planners beware: a global but temporary helium
shortage could deflate festive balloons this fall.
The shortage affecting some suppliers results from a series of unconnected
events, including delays in getting helium plants on line in Algeria and the
Mideast, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management said.
The agency manages public lands, mostly in the West, and their mineral
resources. It handles 42 percent of the U.S. production of crude helium, the
colorless, odorless gas best known for inflating balloons that is derived from
natural gas production.
The government provides more than one third of the world's helium, selling
it to private plants for processing.
The various factors involved in the shortage in recent months should be
resolved by November, according to Leslie Theiss, who manages the BLM office in
Amarillo, Texas, the heart of U.S. production of helium.
The U.S. government helium production remains at 100 percent, but output
will be trimmed in the fall for up to two weeks for scheduled maintenance that
has already been postponed to reduce further supply disruptions, Theiss said.
Any supply disruptions are most likely to affect occasional users -- such as
stores that sell seasonal party balloons -- with year-round contract users in
better shape.
In Cleveland, Cornelia Franklin at A Pink Gorilla party-supply store said
she has used the same supplier for 17 years and has been assured her store will
get uninterrupted priority shipments.
Helium use for balloons can be seasonal, including busy Valentine's Day and
Christmas holiday demand, Franklin said. Any reduced supplies probably won't
affect people much because fall is not a peak period, she said.
Inflating -- "lifting" in industry lingo -- represents less than 7 percent
of helium use. Most uses are industrial, including aerospace, electronics, fiber
optics, metals and medical imaging equipment.
The first public hint of the shortage emerged when party-supply stores
warned customers that they were coping with reduced supplies amid reduced
production and demand rising about 4 percent annually worldwide.
A key issue in the shortage involves contracts for helium supplies from a
Qatar plant and two in Algeria which that been off-line, said Hans Stuart, a BLM
spokesman. One overseas plant has been involved in lengthy maintenance and two
are behind on construction schedules.
Along a 1-mile suburban Cleveland commercial corridor, the helium supply
situation was uneven.
Factory Card and Party City stores, both with a wall of inflated sample
balloons, reported no helium supply problems. But Party Place, whose logo
includes red and blue balloons, warned customers with a notice taped to the
entrance that temporary supply limits meant it cannot rent helium tanks used for
mass inflating.
Pam Brooks, emerging from the Party City store with $9 worth of eight white
and translucent balloons to promote an office-supply store open house, wasn't
too worried, as long as the temporary shortage doesn't mean big price increases.
"Any kind of balloon -- especially helium balloons that float around -- are
visual and attract attention and display a sense of fun," she said. "When people
see balloons they know that's where the party is."
Would she pay a premium if helium gets expensive? "I guess it depends on how
much more. It's not expensive as it is to get a display like this," she said.
Praxair Inc., a leading helium supplier based in Danbury, Conn., announced a
10 percent to 15 percent price increase Friday, in part due to high demand and
energy costs. Airgas Inc. in Radnor, Pa., said in May it was raising prices for
various items, including 15 percent or bigger hikes for helium because of higher
energy and operating costs.
Praxair said it was working to keep its regular customers satisfied. "Given
the fragile nature of the helium supply system, we are not able at this time to
supply spot, backup, or unplanned volume," the company said Monday.
A high-profile helium user, the blimp fleet of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in
Akron, said it was more concerned by price increases resulting from any
shortage. About 10,000 cubic feet to 20,000 cubic feet of replacement helium is
pumped yearly into the blimps, which have capacities of 170,000 cubic feet to
180,000 cubic feet.
Blimps lose more helium in hot, humid weather, said Roger Rydell, a Goodyear
vice president. He said the company would not disclose what it pays for helium