aviation – Maduko World Headquarters

Lighter Than Air

I’ve always been fascinated with dirigibles. This week, watching the Goodyear blimp floating above Tulsa covering the PGA, reminded me of the day I got a ride on the iconic airship.

My memory is fuzzy on the exact year, but it was early Seventies, so I was 10 or 12 years old. Dad, like a lot of Tulsa dads, worked for American Airlines. In the Seventies he was an inspector in the Gear & Brake Shop, which dealt with a lot of Goodyear products. As I understood it, the Goodyear rep offered him two tickets to ride the blimp during it’s upcoming visit to Tulsa.

The Columbia was a true blimp, unlike the current generation of Goodyear airships.

Tools for Travel

Remember when flying was fun?

If you’re under 40 the answer is most likely, “No.”
With the advent of the “hub-and-spoke” system of routing flights through a small number of central hub airports, journeys by air became much more like a bus trip than a jet-set adventure. Then came 9-11, and then the TSA, then baggage fees and… well, here we are.

It’s not fun.
But there are some helpful tools available to organize and monitor your flights and travel agenda. I’ve compiled a list of apps and websites that have helped me survive the stressful rigors of modern travel. Take note road warriors! And feel free to share your favorite travel tools in the comments.

Tripit • Flight Aware • Expedia • Google

First off, I have a very general recommendation for creating a Google account. If you’re using Gmail then you’ve already got one. But even if you don’t use Gmail, the benefits a Google account offers for organizing your travel and itinerary are pretty awesome. More on that later…

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A Helicopter in Every Driveway!

That was a totally serious prediction shortly after World War Two. It (thankfully) never happened.

But the dream of flying cars is alive and well in the 21st century. There’s even going to be a seminar!

Recycled Rockets

The first real step towards a world of Jonny Quest rocket planes traversing the globe.

SpaceX has succeeded in re-launching one of its Falcon 9 rockets for the first time ever, an undertaking that saw the first ever reflight of an entire orbital class rocket ever, by anyone. The achievement is a key ingredient in SpaceX’s long-term business plan for making rocket launches more affordable and accessible to corporate and…

via SpaceX successfully re-launches an orbital Falcon 9 rocket for the first time — TechCrunch

A Seaplane in the Desert

A few years ago I attended a conference in Albuquerque. I arrived at ABQ late in the evening and headed toward baggage claim. Walking through the terminal I made my usual scan of the airport’s amenities. I like to know what the airport offers just in case my return trip becomes a campout. Food court, check; sports bar, check; news stand, several; wooden propeller… what?!?

sm55-prop-albuquerque A small exhibit with a wooden propeller hanging on the wall above it caught my eye. As I got closer I was surprised to see an unmistakable silhouette. Inside the display case was a scale miniature of the wacky flying catamaran from Italy known as the Savoia-Marchetti SM.55. An unusual flying boat–or more accurately two boats–joined by a massive wing.

The story of this propeller and how it ended up in Albuquerque, New Mexico is a tale of international intrigue– and an overlooked bit of aviation history. Continue reading A Seaplane in the Desert