Aviation Blog Story 2: New Carlisle Heritage of Flight Festival

            New Carlisle is a small town of around only a few thousand citizens, but to me it is also my hometown. Every year an entire weekend is devoted to the New Carlisle Heritage Festival of Flight with many attractions including: a parade of air planes & more, the Main Street car show, 5k race, carnival rides, food & product vendors, bands, and more. It may not be the biggest and baddest festival around, but it’s definitely something many locals enjoying visiting every year. Last fall marked the 9^th annual festival with one of the biggest turnouts ever!



Me, my family, and family friends watching the 2013 parade

            So why does the small town of New Carlisle hold a festival in honor of flight every year? In 1954, a small group of pilots going by the name “Flying Angels” founded a little airport in the town, called the Andy Barnhart Memorial Airport. This airport still flies historical planes to this day very frequently (my brother took a ride in one of the historical planes once for a small price), and the festival is in honor of New Carlisle’s tradition of flying.



            Every year I only have to go to my mom’s house and walk out the front door to watch the parade that passes right down her road. I’m glad I had the chance to write this blog because it led me to learn a little more about the history of my hometown that I did not know before!

References:

[1] “New Carlisle’s 28^th Annual Main Street Holiday Parade.” Heritage of Fligh. 2009. Web. 1 February 2014. <thttp://www.heritageofflight.com/home.html>

[2] Turner, Brett. “Parade of Planes Set for New Carlisle.” Dayton Daily News. 2013. Web. 1 February 2014. < http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/events/festivals/parade-of-planes-set-for-new-carlisle/nbCPq/>

Aviation Blog Story 1: Flying Go-karts?

            Have you ever looked into the sky and witnessed what appeared to be a go-kart flying through the air with a parachute attached to the back? Growing up I would often see this myself several times throughout the summer. I never knew what the “flying go-kart” contraption moving through the air really was, and never thought much of it either. Why I wasn’t more concerned with this strange device flying not far from my home, I do not know, so that is why I decided to learn more about the “flying go-kart” in one of my aviation stories. Hopefully you will find learning about this puzzling aircraft interesting as well!

            These aircrafts can be called several names; some common names including powered parachutes and PPC. They actually are similar to a go-kart in that they have a metal bar frame and a motor, but they differ in that they have only three wheels and a circular piece in the back that helps with flying. These powered parachutes have only been around for a few decades, but they seem to have become one of the most user-friendly methods of flying on the market. Not only are they somewhat inexpensive, but they are also relatively safe (with proper training that apparently is not too intense). The powered parachutes usually fly at altitudes of 600 feet or less and on days where wind speed is very low. As long as the machine is properly maintained and thoroughly prepared before takeoff, almost anyone with training can fly a powered parachute.

            These flying go-karts from my childhood memories are now not so much a mystery. These aircrafts must be regulated in flight zones where they cannot interfere with other airplanes. Being that I lived less than a mile from the private and locally owned Andy Barnhart Memorial Airport, this must have been one of the areas the powered parachutes were able to fly, and why I had witnessed them flying across the skies growing up.

References:

[1] Kennedy, Carolyn. “An Unusual Flying Machine.” SW Aviator Online Edition. Southwest Regional Publishing, Inc. 2001. Web. 1 Feb 2014. <http://www.swaviator.com/html/issueND04/Parachutes.html>

Aviation Story Blog #5 - Kara Bobka

Girls:  Ever dream of how you would be proposed to?

Guys:  Ever wonder how you would propose to that special someone?

Because they started to allow pets on board a few years ago, Lovine thought he’d propose to his long distance love, Kat, via a mid air serenade and with their pet dog as an accomplice!

Lovine recalled the plan as simple – he wanted the place and time to be unexpected.  So, he thought why not magically show up on the same flight as Kat on her way to Burbank [to visit him].  Feeling ready, he took an early afternoon flight into Oakland in hopes to catch a later flight back to Burbank - the same one as Kat.  With the help of the Southwest Airlines team, he was right and made a good choice!

By blocking off an entire row for him to hide and giving him quick status updates on Kat, Lovine knew it was going to be perfect!  When he found out she was passed out in aisle 5, he acted.  He created flyers with the lyrics to their favorite song, “Real Love” by the Beatles and implemented the illustration Kat had designed on the front cover.  Each passenger received one; so, each person knew what was happening. 

As Lovine made his way down the aisle towards Kat, singing their song and strumming his guitar, she woke.  After her initial confusion, she smiled and Nickle (their dog) appeared wearing his cute airline steward pillbox hat with a ring attached!  Lovine bent down on one knee and popped the question.  Of course, Kat said yes! J 

To show his gratitude to the crew, Lovine posted the following to his blog:

Thank you, Flight 2363. Thank you, Southwest.

I have so many things to be thankful for today, and overwhelming gratitude to everyone who helped me get on board Flight 2363 (undetected).

The most blessed thanks, of course, to my wonderful fiancée for saying yes.

The free-spirited couple later wedded in the middle of Death Valley, where Nickle served as the ring bearer!  To read the full story or to see the wedding posts, please click on the link provided below:

http://bridalmusings.com/2012/08/a-unique-beautiful-airplane-proposal/

Source:

"A Unique & Beautiful Airplane Proposal." Bridal Musings Wedding Blog. Bridal Musings 2012, 15 Aug. 2012. Web. 27 Jan. 2014. 

 ___________________________________________________________________________________________

PS:  Looks like my future husband will have some tough expectations to exceed! J

Blog Post #3: Bone Loss in Space

Trabeculae in the spongy bone of the femur.
Source: http://www.gla.ac.uk/t4/~fbls/files/fab/tutorial/generic/bonet.html

On Earth, bones like the long bones in our femurs and the vertebrae in our spines change shape based on the amount of gravity applied to them. Inside those bones is specific bone called trabeculae. Trabeculae is
lightweight and thin, but very strong and supportive. Trabeculae are what make up the spongy bone in bones.

An astronaut lifting weights in space.
Source: http://www.tested.com/science/space/456642-
iss-experiments-cause-bone-loss-space/.

In space, the human body recognizes there is no gravity and bones begin to change. Since the same applied forces are not continuously applied to our bones, the trabeculae start to thin. In a 50 year-old woman on Earth that has not been diagnosed with any bone diseases, can lose up to 2% of the trabeculae in her hip bones. An astronaut can lose that same amount in one month. NASA has designed special exercise equipment and an exercise program for their astronauts while they are up in space so their bones can stay strong and healthy. The astronauts lift weights and work out for 2.5 hours a day for six days out of the week. It takes a person three times as long to regain the lost support in their bones as it does to lose the bone, so it is important that astronauts apply pressure to their bones while flying in space.



Source for this article: http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/humanresearch/index.html#.UugXV2Qo7-k

Blog Post #2: Hot Air Balloon Festival

Every year, I travel with parents and siblings to visit my family in Coshocton around the time of the fair. We make a point to go to the Coshocton County Fair every year. My favorite part is the Hot Air Balloon Festival. About twenty balloons come out for the festival.  In the beginning, all you see is deflated hot air balloons. Each owner meticulously prepares the balloon for flight by checking all of the supporting ropes and gas that heats the balloon. 

 You don’t fully understand how big each balloon is until they are completely inflated. It is a sight to see all of the balloons inflated and ready to go! I have always been amazed to see a large group of hot air balloons take off at the same time and float away. The colors of the patterns on the balloons are easier to admire when they are inflated. 

Saturday night of the fair week, the balloons are prepared and flown. This event happens right when it begins to turn dark. When the hot air balloons fly, it looks huge luminaries fill the sky! The hot air balloon festival has always been one of my favorite things to see at the Coshocton County Fair.

Aviation story #4: Leah Fry

SPACE CATS!

Did you know that cats have benefitted from aviation as well?! In 1963, France developed a lofty goal: to be the first country to send a feline into space. Twelve street cats tried out for this prestigious position. However, ten of these precious little cuties couldn't control their voracious appetites and grew too chunky to fit in the rocket ship. Of the two remaining contenders, Felix outshone his competition and was chosen to make kitty history. This is where the story gets a little furry.. Felix disappeared before he could be fitted for his astrocat suit! French officials have never confirmed whether Felix got cold paws or whether a top secret scandal caused him to be suddenly and unexpectedly decommissioned. Whatever the case, Felicette was next in line for the position. On October 18, 1963, Felicette pranced aboard a special cat castle capsule attached to a French Veronique AGI rocket sounding No. 47 and blasted off from the Algerian Sahara Desert. She traveled an estimated 100-130 miles into space before parachuting back to Earth after 15 minutes.

In more recent news, Iran is now hoping to send a kitty to space in the near future! Mohammad Ebrahimi, a senior space program official in Iran, announced in September 2013 that he hopes to send a Persian cat to space.

A Persian will be the first cat in the new century to enter space, if Iran officials are able to follow through with their plans.

Sources:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/13/130918-animals-cats-dogs-monkeys-space-iran/
http://user.xmission.com/~emailbox/spacecat.htm

Aviation story #3- Leah Fry

Some of my favorite TV shows to watch are on the subject of unsolved mysteries. A few years ago, I watched a show on the Bermuda Triangle and it has fascinated me ever since. Multiple incidents of ships and planes disappearing in the Atlantic ocean, between the geographical confines of Miami, Florida, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda have spurred a fairly well known urban legend. This area is also known as the "Devil's Triangle."


So how does this relate to aviation? The most famous "victims" of this mysterious part of ocean would be Flight 19. This flight consisted of five TBM Avenger Torpedo Bombers carrying 14 men that took off on a routine navigational practice flight from a U.S. Naval base in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 2:10 pm on December 5, 1945. They would never return, nor would the planes or their bodies ever be found. In fact, the triangle would claim a rescue plane sent to find them as well.

Lieutenant Charles Taylor was leading the flight, training naval members to fly a simple path and practice routine bombing. A radio message that was intercepted, that most likely took place between two of the planes flying, indicated that they lost control of the direction they were flying due to faulty on-board compasses and, with no landmarks on the ocean, were unable to find the right direction to fly before ultimately running out of gas and crashing into the sea. No wreckage was ever found. A rescue flight also disappeared, however, it was a certain type of plane that was known to explode with any impact and reports have surfaced from nearby boats that they saw a flaming object in the sky, possibly explaining this disappearance.

Scientists contend that the location of this triangle has to do with the mysterious disappearances that have occurred there. This place is one of two on earth where true north and magnetic north align, meaning that compasses have difficulties reading direction there. The ocean is also considerably deeper in this area, meaning that any wreckage could sink miles and miles beneath sea level and become impossible to find. Less scientific enthusiasts contend that extra terrestrials and giant squids are probably to blame!

Sources:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/12/1205_021205_bermudatriangle_2.html
http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq15-1.htm