Traveling commercial can be stressful enough — but add pregnancy and/or children into the mix and it can reach new levels of complication. Most scheduled flights won’t allow a pregnant woman to travel after 36 weeks and they can even require a ‘safe to travel’ medical waiver after 28 weeks. Who needs that level of attention?
Private jet operators generally follow slightly more flexible guidelines and can offer flights at later stages with a doctor’s permission. That said, the benefits of flying by private jet while pregnant extend far beyond the privacy intrusion and include the ability to:
- avoid standing in long security lines
- enjoy greater cabin and seating space
- fully recline the seats and even beds
If flying pregnant isn’t hard enough, flying with children can be equally difficult. Baby food, baby milk, and children’s medication can be taken on board a private aircraft without the TSA scrutiny, and special food can usually be provided when required. Passport details are no longer a last-minute surprise because they are worked out in advance before the flight.
Other features that make flying with children on a private jet a no-brainer include:
- ability to adjust the temperature
- sitting close to your child
- avoiding close proximity of too many people during flu season
- on-board entertainment systems that meet your child’s needs (not the needs of everyone on board)
- option of crafting your own menu
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you can avoid the disapproval of others that inevitably occurs when you mix even the most well behaved children with adults who are less than supportive of parents. If your toddler does throw a fit, you are free to handle the situation without fear of scrutiny from other passengers.
Traveling with your family should be a fun, stress-free experience. Flying private can make it easier to get where you need to go without the worry that comes with traveling with children.
Contact L & L International if you need assistance in purchasing or selling a private jet.
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visit us online.
When messages started showing up in the sky above New Orleans in late April, the public was baffled, intrigued, and above all else — delighted. Turns out, a New Orleans businessman named Frank Scurlock, hired Kentucky-based skywriter Nathan Hammond to ‘paint’ the cheery and uplifting messages in the sky as random act of kindness.
Over 10 days of gorgeous weather, Hammond and Scurlock colluded over conference calls to determine the content and location of each day’s positive messages (three times a day). The messages spelled out “LOVE”, “FREEDOM”, “RELAX”, and true to the heart of New Orleans, “JAZZ”. Smiley faces and hearts also appeared in the sky.
A long history
Skywriting, originally called ‘smoke casting,’ first appeared in 1922 when a pilot demonstrated writing a phone number in the air over Times Square. Operators at the hotel that owned the phone number received nearly 50,000 calls in three hours as the number floated across the sky. While skywriting is a rare art these days, it was considered the pinnacle of advertising less than a century ago. The technique is relatively simple, but it takes a significant amount of skill to do well. Engine-heated paraffin oils are mixed with the plane’s exhaust to produce fluffy streams that expert pilots can loop and turn to spell letters and shapes on the canvas of the sky.
Today’s skywriting pilots are allowed to fly at level altitude while skywriting, and they turn off their radios to pay attention to their art, communicating only with local air traffic control. A message has to be pointed in the right direction, positioned correctly in relation to the wind, and of course spelled correctly.
Why the skywriting over New Orleans? Frank Scurlock seems to be a true Good Samaritan. According to his co-worker Charla Miller, the man behind the message was concerned with the increased violence as of late and wanted to remind people that good exists. Turns out, that sentiment runs in the family —Scurlock’s father is credited with inventing the bouncy house!
Reports indicate that the bill for the skywriting has been over $20,000 so far, but Hammond recently hinted he would be decorating the sky over Baton Rouge once again sometime soon. So keep your eyes on the sky to see what new delights skywriting will bring.
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It’s not a complete reinvention of the aircraft wing, but it comes close. NASA researchers partnered with the Air Force Research Laboratory and Ann Arbor, Michigan private tech firm FlexSys, Inc. on an innovative project. This team has proved once more that small changes to aircraft design can make big changes in fuel efficiency.
According to NASA, the new wing will save millions of dollars in fuel costs every year. The plane wing can change shape in flight with a flexible edge that moves with more finesse than the traditional hinged flaps. Essentially, the flexible wing is designed to operate a full range of positions during flight, similar to the flight of a bird.
A conventional wing design includes a number of mechanical parts: slats, air brakes, ailerons, and other parts add weight and drag. In many instances, that drag is one contributing reason a plane’s speed is slowed as it lands. The new, flexible edge of this wing design still allows for the flaps to angle down to increase the size of the wing and drag, but the mechanics inside the aircraft pull to contort the wing’s surface instead, promising a more aerodynamic effect and greater fuel savings.
The Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge wing design (otherwise known as ‘sharklet’) installed on some Airbus planes, for example, can save up to 4% in fuel. In addition to improving aerodynamic efficiency, it significantly reduces the noise generated during takeoff and landings — a change certain to be joyfully welcomed around the globe.
What’s next? NASA is reportedly working on next generation aircraft tail designs with the same intention of delivering fast improvements with relatively small design shifts. Aviation is once again proving they lead the pack in environmentally conscious design, and years of research and innovation are finally starting to pay off.
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June 5, 2015 is World Environment Day, started by the U.N. and celebrated by over 100 countries worldwide. Individuals and companies are investing more heavily in areas of environmental responsibility and sustainability. While aviation pollution rates (689 million tonnes of CO2 in 2012, around 2% of the global total) pale in comparison to the amount of carbon released into our earth’s atmosphere from other sources, we all recognize that aviation is a catalyst for growth. We’re leaders in promoting sustainable development. We believe that aviation should be affordable and accessible to ensure mobility to all sectors of society.
Taking on the challenge
Scientists, aircraft engineers, and many others in the aviation industry are challenged by the dream of reducing carbon emissions and increasing fuel efficiency from aircraft. In 2010 the ICAO Assembly adopted some innovative and challenging goals for the aviation industry including a global annual fuel efficiency improvement of 2% up to 2020 followed by improvement rates of 2% per year after.
Currently, a number of efforts are underway to bring about change, including:
- A very exciting zero-emission airplane powered by the energy of the sun. Developed by Spanish designer Oscar Vinals, the triple-decked aircraft could carry up to 800 passengers and offer more space than a standard commercial airplane, with room for private rooms, shops, and restaurants. It would also be noiseless, as solar panels on the room and wings provide the ultra light plane with the fuel it needs to fly rather than a noisy engine (predicted in 2030).
- NASA has been researching how to make aircraft lighter and reduce drag. One recent NASA project is the Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) project that explores new vehicle design concepts and takes to the air to test them. Some of the challenges worked on with this project include innovating flow control for drag reduction, advancing composite materials for weight reduction, and advancing engine designs for noise and fuel consumption reduction.
- NASA is also involved with a number of biofuel concepts and working on research designed to determine whether biofuels can reduce soot and carbon emissions from aircraft. It found that when a biofuel blend was used in place of standard jet fuel, soot emissions from a DC-8 were reduced by 50%.
Achieving these goals will take strong commitment from all stakeholders. We all live in this world and we are responsible for taking care of it. As bizav works towards creating a safer, healthier world, we hope you’ll join us in celebrating World Environment Day this week!
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
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