GUSTAVE WHITEHEAD FLEW ON AUGUST 14, 1901

He took off that day. It was 115 years ago, two years before the Wrights. Gustav Weisskopf had changed his name into Gustave Whitehead before building his aeroplane whose name was the « Condor », or number 21. Gustave was a German immigrant from Leutershausen in Bavaria, where a splendid museum https://www.weisskopf.de commemorates the feats of the brilliant inventor.

Two replicas of his plane #21 flew in 1986 in the U.S.A., and in 1997 in Germany. Several books have been written about Gustave Whitehead so far. Susan O’Dwyer Brinchman published the latest one last year. Her searching follows her father’s, Major William J. O’Dwyer, a retired U.S. Air Force Reserve officer who had found early Whitehead’s photos in an attic, in 1963, and researched Whitehead for the next 45 years, interviewing many witnesses. Susan worked with him during the later decades and recently, has found even more. She explains why Whitehead must have been the first in the world to perform a steerable, propelled without catapult, heavier-than-air flight. She shares an extensive FAQ and lots of resources on her website here: http://gustavewhitehead.info/gustave-whitehead-resources/  which are quite compelling. You can order her book Gustave Whitehead: First in Flight on Amazon or get a signed one by clicking on the cover here below:

Book cover First in Flight on Gustave Whietehead by Susan O'Dwyer BrinchmanBook cover story of Gustave Whitehead First in Flight aviation history Connecticut

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LONDON AIR TRAFFIC WELL EXPLAINED

Here is a remarkable video for training purpose. It is not easy to understand how air traffic is managed at Heathrow airport but this video helps a lot to make out the stakes:
Voici une vidéo remarquable à but pédagogique. Il n’est pas facile de comprendre comment la circulation aérienne est gérée à l’aéroport de Heathrow mais cette vidéo est d’une grande aide pour comprendre les enjeux:

Note that there are four stacks in the vicinity of London. The word « stack » means « holding pattern » here. However, stack can mean another thing in aeronautical and general English. For instance:

Notez qu’il y a quatre « stacks » aux environs de Londres. Le mot « stack » signifie ici « circuit d’attente ». Cependant, stack peut vouloir dire autre chose en anglais aéronautique et général. Par exemple:

  • Stack of folders = Pile de dossiers
  • Smokestack = Cheminée d’usine
  • Hay stack = Botte de foin, meule de foin
  • Radio stack = Equipement radio à bord de l’avion (radio com, radio nav, transponder)
  • Wood stack = Tas de bois
  • Stack up / Stack down = Espacement décalé vers le haut ou vers le bas entre des avions de chasse ou d’acrobaties aérienne
  • Vent stack = Colonne de ventilation
  • To stack = Empiler, entasser
  • Stack = Circuit d’attente dans l’espace aérien londonien pour les avions à destination d’Heathrow

Note that easterly operations match westerly winds, and westerly operations match easterly winds.

Notez que les opérations d’est correspondent aux vents d’ouest, et que les opérations d’ouest correspondent aux vents d’est.

 

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GENERAL ENGLISH – HAPPY ST PATRICK’S DAY!

https://youtu.be/x7Ahgnpf3G4 about Saint Patrick’s Day

Who was the real St. Patrick?

VOCABULARY:

  • Saint Paddy’s Day = Saint Patrick’s Day
  • Leprechaun, pronounce [ˈlɛpɹəkɔːn]; lutin farceur, cordonnier, génie, qui fait partie du folklore irlandais
  • Shamrock: trèfle (attention, aux cartes, on dit « king of clubs » pour « roi de trèfle »
  • Pinching people who forget to wear green: pincer des gens qui oublient de s’habiller en vert.
  • Slavery: esclavage
  • Monk: moine
  • Gospel: parole d’Evangile
  • The very people: ceux-là mêmes
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RED BULL AIR RACE – 2 FRENCH PILOTS ON PODIUM

The French took the lead through Nicolas IVANOFF and François LE VOT in this season-opening air race in Abu Dhabi, UAE on Saturday, March 12, 2016. Ivanoff finished first after a narrow victory since the German Matthias DOLDERER was only 0.110″ behind him. The RBAR biggest surprise came from LE VOT who finished third. It is the first time he has been on the podium. The Australian Matt HALL could not perform as expected as he hit a pylon during the opening round. The Austrian Hannes ARCH was disqualified for surprisingly flying off track. The next race should fit him better since it will be in Spielberg, Austria on April 23rd and 24th.

2016 MASTER CLASS CHAMPIONSHIP RANKING – 1st Race :

  1. FRA – Nicolas IVANOFF, 15 points
  2. GER – Matthias DOLDERER, 12 points
  3. FRA – François LE VOT, 9 points
  4. USA – Kirby CHAMBLISS, 6 points
  5. USA – Michael GOULIAN, 5 points
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MUST SEE – WEIRD TAKEOFF EXPLAINED

Thanks to this video shared by @air_english, here is an example of the kind of accident you can avoid if you follow some basic flight safety rules. Even if nobody could expect such a spectacular accident while weather and visibility were excellent, some precautionary measures could have prevented the aircrew from a catastrophic failure. This video will let you guess what provoked this. You will find an analysis of this German Robin DR-400 accident here.

Thanks to AIR-ENGLISH and John Maxwell. Please, pass the information on for it is a flight safety issue and it could happen to anybody. It is useful for BIA-CAEA too.

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