Sail and Fly

Tempelhof Tribute

2008-10-26T18:33:00.003+01:00

Today, Berlin-Tempelhof Airport , "the mother of all airports",received her last international flight.It has been a sad moment for a lot of berliners and aviation-enthousiasts. A referendum was held on April 27 the impending closure but failed due to low turnout.Designated by the ministry of transport on October 8, 1923, Tempelhof is one of the oldest airports in Europe. Tempelhof was one of Europe's three iconic pre-war airports — the others being London's old Croydon Airport and Paris Le Bourget.
One of the airport's most distinguishing features is its large, canopy-style roof that was able to accommodate most contemporary airliners during its heyday in the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s, thereby saving passengers from the elements. Tempelhof Airport's main building used to be among the 20 largest buildings on earth.
The site of the airport was originally Knights Templar land in medieval Berlin, and from this beginning came the name Tempelhof. Later, the site was used as a parade field by Prussian forces and unified German forces.
In 1909, Frenchman Armand Zipfel made the first flight demonstration in Tempelhof, followed by Orville Wright later that same year.Tempelhof was first officially designated as an airport on 8 October 1923. Lufthansa was founded in Tempelhof on 6 January 1926.
As part of Albert Speer's plan for the reconstruction of Berlin during the Nazi era, Prof. Ernst Sagebiel was ordered to replace the old terminal with a new terminal building in 1934.
The airport halls and the neighbouring buildings intended to become the gateway to Europe and a symbol of Hitler's "world capital" Germania. ". As a forerunner of today's modern airports, the building was designed with many unique features including giant arc-shaped hangars for aircraft parking.The building complex was designed to resemble an eagle in flight with semicircular hangars forming the bird's spread wings. A mile long hangar roof was to have been laid in tiers to form a stadium for spectators at air and ground demonstrations
War production started in Tempelhof's underground tunnels for assembling fighter planes. The airport is an arrangement of underground tunnels. Germany did not use Tempelhof as a military airfield during World War II, except for occasional emergency landings by fighter aircraft.Soviet forces took Tempelhof in the Battle of Berlin on 24 April 1945. Tempelhof's German commander, Colonel Rudolf Boettger, refused to carry out orders to blow up the base, choosing instead to kill himself. After he died the Russian troops attempted to clear the 5 lower levels of the airbase but the Germans had booby trapped everything and too many were killed, leading the Russian commander to order the lower levels be flooded with water. The lower 3 levels are still flooded to this day, having never been opened up due to un-exploded ordinance.On 20 June 1948 Soviet authorities, halted all traffic by land and by water into or out of the western-controlled section of Berlin. The only remaining access routes into the city were three 25-mile-wide air corridors across the Soviet-occupied zone of Germany. Faced with the choice of abandoning the city or attempting to supply its inhabitants with the necessities of life by air, the Western Powers chose the latter course, and for the next eleven months sustained the city's two-and-a-half million residents in one of the greatest feats in aviation history. Operation Vittles, as the airlift was unofficially named, began on 26 June when USAF Douglas C-47 "Skytrains" carried tons of food into Tempelhof.Soon this force was augmented by United States Navy and Royal Air. On 15 October 1948, to promote increased safety and cooperation between the separate US and British airlift efforts, the Allies created a unified command -- the Combined Airlift Task Force.Airlines carried members of the UK and US armed forces stationed in Berlin and their dependants as well as refugees from East Germany and Eastern Europe, who were still able to freely enter the city prior to the construction of the infamous Berlin Wall, on their flights. This operation was also known as the second, Little Berlin Airlift.

Het Fearless Yacht F28 van Porche

2008-10-23T00:06:00.004+02:00

Last Voyage for the Queen Elisabeth

2008-10-21T22:29:00.003+02:00

Fusion Man

2008-10-15T22:04:00.002+02:00

On 26 September 2008, Yves Rossy, nicknamed "Fusion Man", successfully flew across the English Channel from Calais, France to Dover, England in a winged pack with rigid aeroplane-type carbon-fiber wings.
His flight took 9 minutes and 7 seconds. His speed reached 186 mph during the crossing.
The wings span 2.4 m and have four small jet engines underneath. These engines are large versions of a type designed for model aeroplanes.
Rossy claims to be the first person to gain altitude and maintain a stable horizontal flight thanks to aerodynamic carbon foldable wings.
After being lifted by a Pilatus Porter plane, he jumps out with his wings folded, unfolds them while in free-fall, flies horizontally for several minutes, then lands using a parachute.He achieves true controlled flight using his body and a hand throttle to maneuver.
Yves has served as a fighter pilot in the Swiss Air Force, flying Dassault Mirage IIIs, Northrop F-5 Tiger IIs and Hawker Hunters. He also flew Boeing 747s for Swissair and now pilots an Airbus A320 for Swiss International Air Lines.
Rossy's jetpack was exhibited on 18 April 2008 at the opening day of the 35th Exhibition of Inventions at Geneva. Rossy and his sponsors spent over $190,000 to build the device.
It has been claimed that the military has been impressed and asked for prototypes for the powered wings, and that Rossy kindly refused the request and stated it is only for aviation enthusiasm purposes.

Tornado Tribute

2008-10-09T23:26:00.006+02:00

Tornado sailors knew it already, but for the catsailors who didn't :

Next Olympic Games there is no olympic catamaran class anymore.

And that's a shame if you know how many sportsmen like the speed of multi-hull sailing.

The Olympic Organisation threw the Tornado class out.

The Tornado class was the only multihull till the 2008 Beijing (Qingdao) Olympic sailing competition, and there will be no multihull class anymore in the 2012 London Olympics. Too bad, as this high performance catamaran, with a top speed of over 30 knots, is really something to behold.

Designed by Rodney March in 1966, and having made it's Olympic debut 10 years later, the Tornado is a hull-flying performer with a penchant for "digging in" and capsizing spectacularly. It was sailed in the Olympics by a two man crew and the cat's rapid acceleration made for some uniquely interesting racing.

The competition is particularly tight in this class, and with this being the end of the tornado's Olympic career, the Olympics do not only lose a great class but also a lot of excellent athletes.

Blue Giants

2008-10-05T22:49:00.005+02:00

Almost every seafarer knows the blue containercarriers of Maersk. They do not only have a beautiful color but a lot of them have a very large capacity. Ships like the Emma and the Elly Maersk are almost 400 m long and have a capacity of 11000 TEU.

For most pilots it is not just a peace of cake anymore to guide them through dangerous or congested waters. For jobs like these, they need simulators to practise the manouvres.

The Maersk company invites sometimes pilots from Le Havre to visit these ships already in Zeebrugge so that they are beter prepared for their task. (source: www.meretmarine.com)