For many people, the end-of-year holiday season is a time to snuggle up with friends and family and enjoy the long evenings. This year, consider skipping the tired holiday movie marathon and enjoy an aviation-themed movie night instead. Flight films are popular because of the familiar themes — riding in or piloting a plane — and because movies that take place in airplanes can be thrilling, hair-raisingly terrifying, or even romantic.
The following are some of the most popular flight-themed movies:
- The Flight of the Phoenix (1966) is a story of a cargo plane that goes down in the Sahara, only to be rebuilt from the wreckage through the efforts of one of the survivors, a German aircraft designer.
- A hilarious spoof movie, Airplane! (1980), is a classic that starts out with ex-military pilot, Ted Striker, following the love of his life, a flight attendant, onto a commercial flight in an effort to win her back. The hero, who is afraid to fly, must overcome his fears and land the plane.
- When Russian terrorists take the U.S. president and his family hostage aboard Airforce One (1997), the action gets tense as the president must work to defeat his captors and save his family 30,000 feet in the air.
- The fear of flying is nothing compared to sharing an aircraft with some of American’s most dangerous criminals. In Con Air (1997), a group of hardened criminals hijack an airplane and one, who is on a flight home, must step in and stop them if he is to return to his family.
- In the true story of Frank Abagnale, Jr., a man who impersonated a Pan Am pilot in the heyday of commercial flight, Catch Me If You Can (2002) presents a fascinating drama of an expert con man and the FBI agent determined to catch him.
- The title of Snakes on a Plane (2006) speaks for itself. A mob boss releases deadly, poisonous snakes on a flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles that carries a witness ready to testify against him. Viperous chaos ensues.
- When the isolation of continuously flying back and forth across the country gets to be too much, the life of a jaded business traveler, who knows his way around an airport better than his own home, is exposed in the affable comedy Up in the Air (2009).
- The gripping drama Flight (2012) is the story of a veteran pilot who successfully lands a commercial plane following a terrible malfunction. When a subsequent investigation reveals that the pilot, previously seen as hero, had alcohol in his blood, the story takes an interesting turn.
Which aviation-themed film is your favorite?
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Riding on the tailwind of a highly successful year, Gulfstream’s smash-hit G650 is followed by a new aircraft, the Gulfstream 500, or G500. While the G650 made use of remarkable new technologies and continuing development with customer input, Gulfstream designers are proving once again that they can deliver what business flyers really want.
High-flying debut
The G500 made its first cross-country trip at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Convention and Exhibition in Las Vegas in November. The Gulfstream test pilots flew from Savannah, Georgia, into 75-knot headwinds and still accomplished the 1,630 nautical-mile flight in just 4 hours, 36 minutes.
Averaging a speed of Mach 0.85 and an altitude of 45,000 feet, the G500 is proving to be the fastest- and highest-flying aircraft to come from the Gulfstream development team yet.
Practical efficiency
Some facts about the Gulfstream 500:
- Maximum range is 5,000 nautical miles
- Maximum operating speed (Mach) is 0.925
- Maximum cruising altitude is 51,000 feet
The width and height of the aircraft give it the optimal size and shape for speed, maneuverability, and fuel efficiency, while being large enough to carry up to 19 passengers. Fresh air, 100% replenished every two minutes, keeps the cabin refreshing; and the pressurized interior (to no more than 4,850 feet) significantly reduces jet lag.
Comfortable luxury
Of course, the G500 wouldn’t be a Gulfstream if it didn’t include sublime levels of comfort.
- Panoramic windows allow for captivating views and plenty of natural light.
- Cabin seats are equipped with built-in storage and touch-screen entertainment.
- Exceptional baggage volume includes fold-down shelving that can be individually configured.
- Hand-stitched leather, silk, or cashmere carpet and wood veneers complete the look.
Two additions to the Gulfstream 500 flight-test program are now undergoing rigorous testing. Certification is expected to be complete in 2017 and the first deliveries available in 2018.
Contact L & L International if you need assistance in purchasing or selling a private jet. You can reach our sales specialists today at sales@L-Lint.com, call us any time at +1.305.754.3313, or visit us online.
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These days, we’ve become accustomed to greater levels of automation than ever before. We have cars that can parallel park themselves, we have homes that operate without our input, and the future of driverless cars is getting closer. But how would you feel about flying in an airplane thousands of feet above the earth with no human pilot at the controls?
In general, people resist the idea of pilotless commercial and private flights — even though a good portion of today’s aircraft controls are already automated. Disasters like the failed landing of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 and other recent accidents demonstrate that sometimes pilots believe in their flight control systems so completely that they lose track of where they are.
Is it time to lose human pilots altogether? The current debate swirls around whether flights should transition to full automation or if too much automation is a simply a fresh disaster waiting to happen.
Pilotless flight pros and cons
You might be surprised to learn that many in the airline industry think passengers would be safer with fewer pilots. Some of the strongest arguments for pilotless flights include:
- Cost reductions — With fewer pilots, airlines could save on salaries, simulator training, healthcare, and layover costs. Reducing the flight crews on aircraft would save airlines loads of money and also potentially lower ticket prices for passengers.
- Passenger protections — On a pilotless flight, a terrorist has no one to threaten nor the ability to hijack a plane midflight. Disasters like the 9/11 plane hijackings could not occur, and passengers would arguably be safer.
Another argument is related to flight safety. Proponents of pilotless flights claim that pilots and copilots rely “too much” on autopilot systems and are ill-equipped to override the systems even when they believe they should.
Those against full automation have plenty of counter arguments, of course, and claim that no automation is completely foolproof. A pilot’s experienced judgment is important in ensuring the safety of the aircraft and its passengers. Case in point: Chesley Sullenberger’s skill in landing US Airways Flight 1549 in 2009.
Another argument against pilotless flights is the fact that pilots spend less time flying manually than they used to. Thus, using less automation in the cockpit may be more sensible because it will force pilots to hone their manual-flying skills. A final argument is this: Automation could add greater complexity to flight emergency response procedures, which are critical to passenger safety.
Despite the public’s resistance to the idea of traveling in a pilotless aircraft, that resistance could erode as unmanned aerial vehicles become more mainstream. Like many new technology concepts, once pilotless flying has a chance to prove itself, the public will likely accept it sooner or later.
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Would you pay a $10,000 deposit for a car that currently isn’t allowed on the road? What if that car could also fly? More than 100 people have already paid such a deposit in hopes of owning what could be the first viable combination car and aircraft: the Terrafugia Transition.
Carl Dietrich, the aeronautical engineer behind the successfully tested Transition, originally began working on its plans while he was a doctoral candidate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2006. Years later, the Transition has gotten closer to reaching the mass market than any previous flying-car concept.
The Transition’s development has been aided in part by the FAA’s “light-sport aircraft” (LSA) designation for planes that weigh less than 1,320 pounds and seat up to two passengers. The FAA rules have spurred product development in the LSA segment, making flying cars much more plausible than they were before the LSA regulations.
The Transition will be capable of speeds up to 70 mph on the road and 100 mph in the sky, and will run on regular unleaded gasoline rather than more expensive jet fuel. Dietrich anticipates that the aircraft vehicle will come to market within the next three years.
However, the dream of a road-to-sky vehicle may not be as glorious as it’s hyped up to be. As a very light and small aircraft, the Transition is dangerous to fly in any kind of inclement weather. The Transition also requires access to hundreds of yards of clear road in order to take off or land, presenting problems of access in cities or residential areas. Critics also say that a flying car as it exists today is likely to be neither a great car nor a great airplane, because of its limited capabilities. And with a price tag around $280,000, the Transition will not be affordable for many customers.
But for personal aviation enthusiasts, these hurdles are far from daunting. For those who believe the flying car’s time has come, the Transition marks the start of a new era.
Contact L & L International if you need assistance in purchasing or selling a private jet.
You can reach our sales specialists today at sales@L-Lint.com, call us any time at +1.305.754.3313, or visit us online.
