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January
Ryanair is an
airline based in
Ireland. It is
Europe's largest
low-cost carrier, operating 209 low-fare routes to 94 destinations across 17 European countries. Over the years it has evolved into the world's most profitable airline, running at remarkable margins by relentlessly driving costs down. Ryanair has been characterised by rapid and continuing expansion, enabled by the
deregulation of the air industry in Europe in
1997. It operates a fleet of 74
Boeing 737s, and currently has firm orders for an additional 225 Boeing 737-800 airplanes by
2010, with options on a further 193. Ryanair is one of Europe's most controversial companies, praised and criticised in equal measure. Its supporters praise its commitment to exceptionally low fares, its radical management, its populism, and its willingness to challenge what Ryanair calls the 'establishment' within the airline industry. Critics, meanwhile, have attacked its
labor union policies, and have charged that it practises deceptive
advertising.
February
An
airport is a facility where
aircraft can
take off and
land. At the very minimum, an airport consists of one
runway (or
helipad), but other common components are
hangars and
terminal buildings. Apart from these, an airport may have a variety of facilities and infrastructure, including
fixed base operator services,
air traffic control, passenger facilities such as restaurants and lounges, and
emergency services.
March
The
Civil Air Patrol is the official civilian auxiliary of the
United States Air Force. It was created just days before the
Attack on Pearl Harbor in
1941, and is credited with sinking at least two German
U-boats during the War. It was seen as a way to use America's civil aviation resources to aid the war effort, rather than grounding them, as was the case in the
United Kingdom. Today, the Civil Air Patrol is a volunteer organization dedicated to education and national service, including people from all backgrounds and all walks of life. It performs three key missions:
Emergency services (including
search and rescue), aerospace education for youth and the general public, and cadet programs. The
September 11, 2001 attacks demonstrated the importance of the Civil Air Patrol, as it was this organization's aircraft that flew blood to victims of the attack as well as providing the first aerial pictures of the World Trade Center site.
April
Pan American World Airways, most commonly known as "Pan Am", was the principal international
airline of the
United States from the
1930s until its collapse in
1991. Originally founded as a
seaplane service out of
Key West, Florida, the airline became a major company; it was credited with many innovations that shaped the international airline industry, including the widespread use of
jet aircraft,
jumbo jets, and computerized reservation systems. Identified by its blue globe logo and the use of "Clipper" in aircraft names and
call signs, the airline was a cultural icon of the 20th century, and the unofficial
flag carrier of the United States. Pan Am went through two incarnations after 1991. The second Pan Am operated from
1996 to
1998 with a focus on low-cost, long-distance flights between the U.S. and the
Caribbean. The current incarnation, based in
Portsmouth, New Hampshire and known as the Pan Am "Clipper Connection," is operated by
Boston-Maine Airways. The airline currently flies to destinations in the northeastern
United States,
Florida,
Dominican Republic, and
Puerto Rico.
May
A
Zeppelin is a type of rigid
airship pioneered by Count
Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early
20th century. Due to the outstanding success of the Zeppelin design, the term
zeppelin in casual use came to refer to all rigid airships. The German defeat in
World War I halted the business temporarily, but under the guidance of
Hugo Eckener, the successor of the deceased count, civilian Zeppelins experienced a renaissance in the
1920s. They reached their zenith in the
1930s, when the airships
LZ127 "Graf Zeppelin" and
LZ129 "Hindenburg" profitably operated regular
transatlantic passenger flights. The
Hindenburg disaster in
1937 triggered the fall of the "giants of the air", though other factors, including political issues, contributed to the demise.
June
A
jet engine is a type of air-breathing
turbine engine, often used on
aircraft. The engine draws
air in at the front and compresses it. The air then combines with
fuel and the engine burns the resulting mixture. The
combustion greatly increases the
volume of the
gases which are then exhausted out of the rear of the engine. The process is similar to a
four-stroke cycle, but with the processes - induction, compression, ignition and exhaust - taking place continuously.
July
Apollo 8 was the second
manned mission of the
Apollo space program. Commander
Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot
James Lovell and Lunar Module Pilot
William Anders became the first humans to travel beyond
Earth orbit and into an orbit around the
Moon. It was also the first manned launch of the
Saturn V rocket. NASA prepared for the mission in only four months. The hardware involved had only been used a few times—the Saturn V had only launched twice before, and the Apollo spacecraft had only just finished its first manned mission,
Apollo 7. However the success of the mission paved the way for the successful completion of
John F. Kennedy's goal of landing on the Moon before the end of the decade. After launching on
December 21,
1968, the crew took three days to travel to the Moon, which they orbited for twenty hours. While in lunar orbit they made a
Christmas Eve television broadcast that is thought to be one of the most watched of all time.
August
The
Space Race was the competition between the
United States and the
Soviet Union roughly from
1957 to
1975, involving their efforts to explore space with satellites and to eventually land a human being on the
Moon and return him to
Earth. Though its roots lie in early rocket technology and in the international tensions following
World War II, the Space Race effectively began with the Soviet launch of
Sputnik in
1957. The term was coined as an analogy to the
arms race. The Space Race became an important part of the cultural and technological rivalry between the USSR and the U.S. during the
Cold War. Space technology was a particularly important arena in this conflict, both because of its military applications and due to the psychological benefit of raising morale.
September
Air Force One (the
ATC callsign of any U.S. Air Force aircraft carrying the President) has, since 1990, consisted of two specifically-configured, highly customized
Boeing 747-200B series aircraft. The planes' three floors (4,000 square feet – 372 m²) include multiple modifications including the president's executive suite which includes a private dressing room, workout room, lavatory, shower, and private office.
October
Montréal-Mirabel International Airport is a large airport located in
Mirabel,
Quebec, near
Montreal and was opened
4 October 1975. The airport serves mainly cargo flights, and is a manufacturing base of
Bombardier Aerospace, where final assembly of
regional jets (CRJ700 and CRJ900) aircraft is conducted. It is part of the
National Airports System. It is the second largest airport in the world in terms of area, covering more land area than the five New York City boroughs.
The airport's location and lack of transport links, as well as Montreal's economic decline relative to Toronto, made it unpopular with airlines. Eventually relegated to the simple role of a cargo airport, Mirabel became an embarrassment widely regarded in Canada as being a boondoggle, or a "white elephant," and one of the best examples of a failed megaproject.
November
The
F-35 Lightning II, called in development the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), is a
military fighter aircraft designed by the
United States and the
United Kingdom. It is intended to replace the current generation of strike fighters, particularly the
vertical take off and landing (VTOL) Harrier jump jets: the
AV-8 Harrier II (US),
Harrier GR7/9 (UK), and the
Sea Harrier, along with the conventional
A-10 Thunderbolt II,
F/A-18 Hornet and the
F-16 Fighting Falcon. It will be a multi-role
strike fighter (a plane with a strong emphasis on
close air support and tactical bombing as well as being capable of air-to-air combat), and will make considerable use of
stealth technology in that it will be almost undetectable (stealthy) to
X-band radars (tracking radars, often short range) in the forward hemisphere but not particularly stealthy in the rear hemisphere and not stealthy to
L band (search radars, often long range) in either hemisphere. It is currently in production with
Lockheed Martin, along with partners
Northrop Grumman,
BAE Systems, and
Smiths Aerospace.
December
Gliding is a
recreational activity and competitive
sport where pilots fly un-powered
aircraft known as
gliders or sailplanes. Properly, the term
gliding refers to descending flight of a heavier-than-air craft, whereas
soaring is the correct term to use when the craft gains altitude or speed from rising air. After launching glider pilots search for rising air to gain height. If conditions are good enough, experienced pilots can fly many hundreds, or even thousands, of kilometers before returning to their home airfields. However if the weather deteriorates, they must often land elsewhere, but some can avoid this by using engines. While many glider pilots merely enjoy the sense of achievement, some competitive pilots fly in races round pre-defined courses. These
competitions test the pilots' abilities to make best use of local weather conditions as well as their flying skills. Local and national competitions are organized in many countries and there are also biennial
World Gliding Championships. Powered aircraft or winches are the most common methods of launching gliders. These and other methods (apart from self-launching motor-gliders) require assistance from other participants. Gliding clubs have thus been established to share airfields and equipment, train new pilots and maintain high safety standards.
