Podgorica

To all frequent visitors and guests marking the holiday today, Merry Christmas!

Среќен Божиќ
Srećan Božić
Срећан Божић

Visit tomorrow for the latest aviation news

Belgrade

I recently sat down to dinner with three close friends.  After some time, the conversation entered into some intriguing domain.  The following question was posed: “What moment in history best defines mankind?”  There are so many instances where man has done something of great significance.  How could one choose just one defining moment?  It would need to be an event of upmost importance – one that changed the course of history in a major way.  It should also reflect the nature of our species and set us apart from other ones.  After some pondering, each of us expressed our respective view on the matter.

The first opinion came quickly, and it was a bit of a gut reaction.  My friend said that man’s defining moment was when the internet entered into the public domain.  Certainly, this drastically altered the course of history.  In a couple of decades, the event led to a global village here on Earth.  It is already difficult today to imagine life without the worldwide web.  The advent of the internet also reflects man’s desire to connect, communicate, and express oneself.  The internet has allowed billions of individuals to communicate instantaneously.  Finally, this suggestion is a valid one because it sets us apart from all other creatures on Earth; the ingenuity required for such a tool is simply beyond the capability of any other animal from these parts.

Friend number two rang in, stating that perhaps the moment that audiovisual equipment was invented was the defining one.  At first glance, this suggestion seems like an odd choice.  Let’s take a closer look before brushing it off.  When images and sound could be stored in a memory outside one’s own brain, the ultimate method of recording history had arrived.  We sometimes forget that the concept of time loses its significance without memory.  Indeed, the passage of time could now be documented for future generations or even civilizations.  The information would not lose accuracy with time, so in a sense, time could be encapsulated with this device.  Film is also perhaps the most versatile art form, and art is most certainly a defining feature of man.

At this point, I expressed my opinion.  I said that man is defined by its desire to explore and discover, and therefore the lunar landing represents man’s crowning achievement thus far.  If man wanted a claim to fame, this was it.  Columbus discovering a new part of land on Earth was very important, but man’s ability to leave the celestial body on which it evolved to set foot on another, despite all of the hurdles involved in doing so, represented a valid nomination for man’s defining moment.  It was the first step towards an endless realm of possibilities, and a wonderful illustration of our ingenuity, perseverance, and insatiable curiosity.  The moment also represents the end of a space race, which implies man’s underlying competitive nature.

The fourth member at the table had patiently considered our points of view.  Thus far, three engineering feats had been presented by three men.  The soul woman at the table gathered her thoughts, and expressed her view, which upon reflection, is probably the best of the lot.

She stated that the moment that defines man is not really an engineering feat at all, but rather a biological one.  The moment that defines man is the moment where man became defined, ie, the final evolutionary step that brought us into this current adaptation of hominid, Homo sapiens.  Perhaps it was the moment when man discovered it could use bones as weapons to fight off other animals, as suggested in the film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.  She argued that all of the engineering feats that followed this quintessential moment of evolution were inevitable consequences of our coming into existence as a species.

This notion implies another.  Are we all best defined as individuals the moment we are born?  I could not argue against the defining moment of the Universe being the big bang.  In the end, is it our roots that best define us?  Are the initial conditions of greater significance than the governing equations?

The point of view that man’s step into Homo sapiens was its defining moment proved extremely compelling that evening, and none of the three men could muster much argument against it.  And besides, on this night, the woman who provided this incredible insight was also the woman who prepared a delicious dinner for the four of us to enjoy.  If a competitive spirit is a part of man’s definition, then score one for the lady.           

2 expansion projects for Belgrade Airport in 2011

The CEO of Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, Velimir Radosavljević, has said that with nearly 3 million passengers in 2010, Belgrade’s airport can expect large scale investment in 2011, Serbian media report. From January 1, Belgrade slashed its landing fees, which should attract more low cost airlines. According to the CEO, the airport will see an increase of at least 15% in 2011 compared to last year , passenger wise, most of which will come from low cost carriers. Wizz Air will open its base in Belgrade on April 1. “We are trying to create a free and fair market for everyone. No one has any special treatment and no one is discriminated against”. Radosavljević noted.

Two major investments are planned for the airport in 2011, the expansion of Terminal 2 and the expansion of the parking platform. “The most important investment in 2011 will be the expansion of the terminal which will increase passenger comfort and services. We have to be very careful not to disturb other traffic during the expansion. This is why we have divided the project into 14 phases. There will be 8 new gates added to the terminal and the new areas will be opened once each phase of the project is complete”, Radosavljvević explains. He added that the expansion of the parking platform, which will allow more airlines to use the parking area instead of the gates, has already begun. “We have already connected our two main platform areas. We will add another one stretching over the size of 2 football pitches”.

By request - here are four more Cessna 185's - no longer with us in this form.

Cessna 185D ZK-CHS was c/n 185-0793 and initially used by Rural Aviation in the ag role. By 68 it was with the Rex/Taupo Flying School, then to Air Central and lastly with Taupo Air Service. It crashed alongside the Desert Road on 19-03-1979. Photo taken at Taupo in September of 1969.

ZK-CKU is another 185D. Its c/n was 185-0931. Seen here in the old Tauranga hangar in its Adastra scheme in March of 1969. In the 70's it went onto floats and in this mode it crashed at Waihora Bay on Lake Taupo on 19-02-1978.

Two more of Mount Cook 185s. Above is the A185F ZK-COH c/n 185-1009 as seen on the private strip at Franz Josef on 05-04-1972. It has a undercarriage collapse on the Fox Glacier on 06-12-1980. Fortunately this airframe was rebuilt and became ZK-LJG in November of 1996, and as such we should see her at Masterton.

Cessna 185 ZK-CVG was c/n 185-0681R - being a rebuild of ZK-CGD which had been bent at Porangahau in November 1966. It was rebuilt by Rural Aviation and became ZK-CVG on 01-08-1967.  It was involved in a mid air with the Aerospatiale AS 350D Astar ZK-HEA2 near Fox Glacier on 27-06-1992.

Taupo on 2 January produced a surprise when I came across John Spry working on the electronics of his Nieco Lancair 320 ZK-VDQ. It is normally based in Wellington but John flys it to Taupo for the holidays. John kindly replaced the top engine cowling for this photograph.

ZK-VDQ was purchased by John from Australia as a partly completed kit which he then finished. It was first registered on 16/11/05. John is obviously really keen on Lancairs as he has previously owned 2 others: ZK-PDS (Pretty Darned Speedy?) from 4/92 until it force landed in the Pauatahanui Harbour in 3/97, and was cancelled in 9/97. And then ZK-SDQ (Seriously Darned Quick?) from 30/9/97 to 11/10/05, and which is still owned in the Wellington area.

PM tours around Skopje’s new terminal

On time and on budget, Skopje Alexander the Great Airport’s brand new terminal is set to open in time for the 2011/2012 winter season, in October. Macedonia’s Prime Minister, Nikola Gruevski, visited ongoing work on the construction of the multi million Euro terminal. Besides the new terminal, Skopje’s runway is also being extended, which will allow larger aircraft to land, while a new administrative building, a cargo storage building, new access roads, new parking for 250 vehicles and 100 taxis and a new fire department building are all under construction or have already been constructed.

“We are building a terminal ten times greater than the current one”, Gruevski said. The Prime Minister noted that some facilities will be ready by June. A total of 120 million Euros will be invested into both Skopje and Ohrid airports while additional funds will be set aside for a cargo airport in Štip, in the country’s East. By extending the current runway at Skopje, Gruevski believes that the airport will be able to handle long haul flights. Skopje is expected to see a big increase in passenger numbers this year, according to the airport’s management, on top of the impressive results recorded in 2010. Reconstruction of Ohrid’s terminal and is expected to be completed by April this year. Macedonia’s two airports are run by the Turkish company TAV.

In a related note to yesterday's post on possible changes to the 3rd class medical requirement for Private Pilots, FAA proposes new wording re the "auto-feathering" description for LSA powered gliders.
The official description simply removes the word "auto" from the term "autofeathering".  It's more of a semantic rather than practical change, updated to reflect actual hardware modes already out there.
In effect, the amendment embraces both manual and autofeathering ops for powered LSA gliders.
Anyone who wants to comment can go to the link above until Feb. 2, 2011.  The final rule becomes official on March 4, 2011.