Telstar Logistics

Deranged Fire Truck Generates Flame, Giddy Laughter

This vintage fire engine was spotted at the 2007 Maker Faire, which took place last weekend near San Francisco.

Designated an Educational Response Vehicle, or ERV, the restored 1960 International has been modified to function as a mobile workshop for teaching glass flameworking, welding, torch cutting, casting, and blacksmithing. It also belches giant flameballs, which is always a crowd-pleaser. The ERV is operated by The Crucible, a wonderful nonprofit sculpture studio, educational foundry, and metal fabrication shop that offers very affordable classes in fine and industrial arts (Think: Burning Man VoTech).

The Maker Faire was great fun, and Telstar Logistics Senior Networking Czar Scott Beale has great coverage of it over at the always-excellent Laughing Squid blog.  Take a peek here and here.

(Photo above by Telstar Logistics)

Former Pan Am 747SP Becomes NASA's Newest Airborne Telescope

NASA will soon have a new eye in the sky!

After several years of complex modifications, the space agency's newest airborne observatory took flight for the first time recently, as the super-kustom Boeing 747SP begins its testing and evaluation phase. Dubbed SOFIA -- shorthand for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy -- the former Pan American and United Airlines jet has been equipped with a 20 ton telescope that will peer into the heavens through a 16-foot hatch cut into the rear fuselage. A rotating door covers the unpressurized telescope bay during takeoff and landing, and a liquid-nitrogen cooling system will pre-chill the telescope to match the conditions at high-altitude. Once the aircraft reaches 41,000 feet, the big door will open, allowing astronomers to gaze at the stars from a vantage point above 99 percent of the Earth's atmospheric water vapor.

From this lofty perch, SOFIA will enable researchers to probe a range of celestial mysteries, including the nature of galactic black holes, the evolution of galaxies, the composition of interstellar gas clouds, and the identification of complex molecules in comets.

On a feel-good note, NASA also decided to re-christen its 747SP the Clipper Lindbergh -- the same name the plane carried when it flew as N536PA for Pan Am.  After further tests at Edwards Air Force Base, SOFIA is slated to enter service in 2009 or 2010. Thereafter it will become a fixture in Silicon Valley, as SOFIA will be based at NASA's Ames Research Center at the Moffett Federal Airfield in Mountain View, California. Once operational, NASA envisions SOFIA flying several nights a week for the next 20 years.

PREVIOUSLY:
Dissecting a Boeing 747

LINKS:
NASA SOFIA home page
NASA Dreyden Flight Resarch Center, SOFIA Image Gallery
NASA video of SOFIA's maiden flight

(SOFIA photos above by NASA)

Electric Cars are Back! And This Time We Mean It!

We bring you this advisory from the Telstar Logistics Historical Research Unit which is currently deployed on a joint fact-finding mission with the Grain of Salt Division.

While wandering through a flea market on Sunday morning, this February 1959 copy of Motor Trend magazine caught our attention.  Specifically, we were attracted to the story highlighted on the top right of the cover: "Electric Cars Are Back."

That alone may generate some nervous laughter, but upon turning to the story, the sense of deja-vu becomes downright unsettling.  Here is the introduction to the 1959 article, which is itself a sort of ironic nod to the superlatives which have long been part of electric car salesmanship (Click the image to enlarge):

A new departure in electric vehicle constriction; light, safe, noiseless, odorless, clean, durable, comfortable, simple in operation. Battery guaranteed for two years. In no other vehicle are all these desirable qualities combined. One motoring reporter waxed enthusiastic about the car, and further stated that there was just no point in waiting for price reductions or improvements... this was it!  The car described was the Waverly, one of the best known of the early 1900 electric cars.

Some 59 years later, this reporter became quite enthusiastic while testing the Charles "Town-About," a completely new and modern electric car.  Tis newest of American autos is manufactured by the Stinson Aircraft Tool & Engineering Co. of San Diego, California. It is interesting to note similarity between the claims of the old Waverly, and the new Town-About.

Why, yes it is!

And it is no less interesting to note that the Charles "Town-About" itself faded into the mists of electric car history, such that a Google search today turns up precious few mentions, except for this brief reference quoted here in its entirety:

Charles Town-About
Built in 1958 and 1959 at the Stinson Aircraft Tool and Engineering Corp. of San Diego CA, these electric cars were named after Dr. Charles H. Graves, the driving force behind their production. Several prototypes were built, each refined from the previous version. It appears there was no significant production of these vehicles, with only about 12 being produced in total. The vehicles used nickel-cadmium batteries and were sold mostly to utility companies.

The moral of the story is probably obvious, but for those of us who harbor electric car fantasies, it still bears repeating: Caveat emptor!

(Photos above by Telstar Logistics)

Dissecting a Boeing 747

This neatly dissected Boeing 747-100 is on display at the Le Bourget Air and Space Museum, near Paris, France.

Peel away all the carpets, fabrics, upholstery, and plastic wall and ceiling panels, and this is the essential stuff that remains.

(Photo by Telstar Logistics)

Lost Streetcars of Lake Tahoe Fated to Become Diners and Sushi Bars in Missouri

The bizarre journey of San Francisco's Lost Streetcars, a fleet of old PCC cars last seen stranded in the snows of Lake Tahoe, has taken a strange new twist.

This month, at least eight of Gunnar Henrioulle's PCC streetcars (including former Muni cars 1113, 1127, 1145, and 1148) were purchased and relocated to a new suburban development near St. Louis, Missouri. Henrioulle, a resident of South Lake Tahoe, California, had previously hoped to use the streetcars as the foundation for a new regional transit network. Instead, in their new home, his former San Francisco streetcars will be converted for use as (GULP!) diners, cafés, sushi bars or bookstores.

Telstar Logistics called Mr. Henrioulle to get the full story.

"I'll tell you what, I've been trying to get my [PCC transit project] going here in South Lake Tahoe, but now the local casinos have gotten it into their heads that they want to build a monorail," he said. "A monorail! Can you believe that? At this point, I just want the cars to go where they will be appreciated."

Appreciation, of a sort, awaits the streetcars in Missouri. Here is an excerpt from the announcement by The New Town at St. Charles, a "new urbanism" development constructed by Whittaker Builders Inc.:

Whittaker Builders Inc. has arranged for transport from the hillsides of Lake Tahoe in California to St. Charles, Missouri! We will restore these streetcars and use them throughout New Town, a new urbanism development. Possible uses include an old-fashioned diner, café, sushi bar or bookstore. We will incorporate an educational component with plaques and informational handouts, allowing residents and visitors alike to appreciate the local heritage.

Whittaker Homes has already traveled back in time in a sense with The New Town at St. Charles. What’s old is new again with a town market and neighborhood stores interspersed within a town that is home to a mix of residents with different demographics and lifestyles. Tree-lined streets accommodate walking and biking first; cars second. These street cars – with their local heritage – fit perfectly into the town.

The City of St. Charles and Whittaker Homes have formed a Trolley Committee and are having initial talks about the possibility of bringing a streetcar system to the City. We hope to eventually restore these street cars so they are fully functional!

Well, maybe someday. But we won't hold our breath. In the meantime, however, this strikes us as an unfortunate chapter in the long history of these vintage streetcars -- particularly at a time when many PCCs have been restored to regular service in cities like San Francisco, Kenosha, and Philadelphia. But such are the forces of Progress, we suppose.

Back in Lake Tahoe, Mr. Henrioulle says he's also sold a few PCCs to Savannah, Georgia. That will leave just one original PCC -- former Muni car No. 1101 -- on his high alpine property, and he's holding on to that just in case. "We can still do this in Lake Tahoe," he says.

So to the citizens of New Town at St. Charles, we say:

Please take good care of our former streetcars!

We hope you enjoy them! (We sure do.)

We'd like a double soy latte with a side order of hamachi nigiri, to go, please!

PREVIOUSLY: How a Fleet of Vintage Streetcars Became Stranded in the Snows of Lake Tahoe

LINK:
Photos of Gunnar Henrioulle's PCC streetcars in 2006 and early 2007 (Telstar Logistics photos)

(Photos above from the New Town Courier Steetcars Photo Gallery)

Coming Events: Vintage Warbirds Invade the West

This is an Airborne Coming Events Advisory for the Western United States.

Residents of California, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado are advised to keep a few open dates on their calendars and an eye on the sky. During the weeks ahead, several vintage warbirds will traverse the region as part of the Collings Foundation's 2007 Wings of Freedom Tour.  As part of this flying history show, the foundation will bring three immaculately-restored World War II bomber aircraft -- a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, a Consolidated B-24 Liberator, and a North American B-25 Mitchell -- to airports near major population centers throughout the Western states.

At each stop, locals will have the opportunity not only to see these aircraft, but to climb around inside, watch a few take-offs and landings, or even go for 30 minute flights high above the homes of envious friends and neighbors.

Here's how it works: First, take a look at the Collings Foundation's 2007 schedule to see if and when the aircraft will come to an airport near you.  For example, this week, from May 16 through May 22, the planes will be in Silicon Valley, at the Moffett Federal Airfield. Later this month they will stop in the California towns of Lincoln, Sacramento, Livermore, Napa, and Concord, before continuing on to the Pacific Northwest.

If the aircraft are in your local airspace, you have four viewing options:

1) Go for a 30-minute Flight: We've raved about this experience before, and we still stand by every gushing word. Though the phrase "memories that will last forever" is widely abused, a flight aboard one of the Collings Foundation's aircraft is the gen-u-ine article. There is simply nothing like staring down at the ground from the vantage point of a clear plexiglass nose cone. Moreover, in the Thrill of a Lifetime price bracket, the cost of this experience is modest; just $450 for a flight in the B-17 or B-24, or as little as $325 for a ride in the B-25. Even better, your donation is fully tax deductible.

2) Tour the Aircraft on the Ground: Between flights, the Collings aircraft are open for tours on the tarmac  (in exchange for a small donation). This too is worthwhile, as it's stunning to observe how much these Axis-smashing aircraft resemble the aluminum Budwiser beer cans that are probably chillin' in your fridge as you read this now. Though rugged, the aircraft look and feel conspicuously flimsy. You will say to yourself, "We beat the Nazis flying planes like this??" And the answer is, Yes.

3) Watch Takeoffs and Landings: This is absolutely free. Even if you've seen one or more of these aircraft on static display at a museum, it's vastly more satisfying to watch them as they were meant to be -- vibrant and alive, with the motors running, and the propellers turning.  Just watching them taxi out to the runway will make you feel like you're present at the creation of every World War II newsreel you've ever seen.  No one will blame you if you begin to talk like Edward R. Murrow.

4) Keep an Eye on the Sky and Listen: Even if you can't make it to the airport, you may still catch one of the Collings warbirds flying overhead. The key is to listen for the throaty rumble. Unlike modern liquid-cooled engines, which make a high-pitched buzz, the air-cooled radial engines used on World War II-era bombers emit a deep growl that sounds like a hot rod V-8 idling at low RPMs.  If it's got four engines, skinny wings, and a funny tail (like the airplane to the left), it's the Liberator. If it's got four engines and a chunky, streamlined appearance, it's the B-17. Two engines means it's the B-25.

Last year, while taking a coffee break on the patio of the Telstar Logistics global headquarters, we heard a deep rumble emanating from the south.  It got louder, and louder, and then the Collings B-24 suddenly roared just overhead, flying at around 1000'. It almost looked close enough to touch, and as our heads spun around to track it, the plane began banked to the northeast, on an intercept course to downtown San Francisco.

Cheap thrills don't come any cheaper -- or any more thrilling.

Attention Maker's Faire Attendees: If you'll be in Silicon Valley to attend the Maker's Faire in San Mateo, California this weekend, rememeber that the arrival of the Wings of Freedom tour at nearby Moffet Field presents an easy twofer opportunity for geek fun.  Click here for directions on how to get from the San Mateo Fairgrounds to Moffet Field in Menlo Park.

Collings Foundation 2007 Wings of Freedom Tour Schedule.

PREVIOUSLY: Over Silicon Valley in a B-17 Flying Fortress (with photos!)

(All photos above by Telstar Logistics, from the 2002 Wings of Freedom Tour)

Hovercraft Save California Island from Raging Wildfire

It spans the seas like a ferry boat and traverses dry land like an oversized truck, but from the cockpit, you fly it like a helicopter. Late last week, when California needed assistance transporting firefighting equipment 25 miles offshore to battle wildfires on Catalina Island, the US Navy's biggest hovercraft proved to be the ideal vehicle to get the job done.

In Navy jargon, the hovercraft are called Landing Craft, Air Cushion, or LCAC vehicles. First introduced during the late 1980s, LCACs are primarily intended for use in ferrying Marines and their equipment from amphibious assault ships to onshore landing zones. As Globalsecurity.org explains:

The LCAC is capable of carrying a 60 ton payload (up to 75 tons in an overload condition) at speeds over 40 knots. Fuel capacity is 5000 gallons. The LCAC uses an average of 1000 gallons per hour. Maneuvering considerations include requiring 500 yards or more to stop and 2000 yards or more turning radius. The LCAC, like all "hovercraft," rides on a cushion of air. The air is supplied to the cushion by four centrifugal fans driven by the craft's gas turbine engines. The air is enclosed by a flexible skirt system manufactured of rubberized canvas. Unlike the Surface Effect Ship (SES), no portion of the LCAC hull structure penetrates the water surface; the entire hull rides approximately four feet above the surface.

LCAC operates in waters regardless of depth, underwater obstacles, shallows or adverse tides. It can proceed inland on its air cushion, clearing obstacles up to four feet, regardless of terrain or topography), including mud flats, sand dunes, ditches, marshlands, riverbanks, wet snow, or slippery and icy shorelines. Equipment, such as trucks and tracked vehicles, can disembark via ramps located both forward and aft, there by shortening critical off load time.

Those features were much appreciated on Catalina, where LCACs operated by the sailors of Assault Craft Unit (ACU) 5 from Camp Pendleton, Calif. assisted Los Angeles County  firefighters after the fire broke out on May 10. According to the Los Angeles Times:

As firefighters on the island regrouped, Los Angeles County dispatch began moving heavy equipment into place.

The command center put a convoy of 35 fire engines on the road to Camp Pendleton, where several hovercraft waited to make the hourlong trip. The first load of five engines reached the island about 8:45 p.m., as flames charged out of the backcountry.

Tossing a two-story-high wake, the massive craft looked as wide as Pacific Coast Highway.

The ships landed on the rocky Catalina shore like a seal throwing its body out of the water, with a deafening roar from the twin propellers. Within seconds, the massive balloon that suspends the ship on the water is deflated and a ramp lowered.

The hovercraft ran throughout the night and into Friday delivering more engines, 1,500-gallon water trucks, bulldozers and trucks full of inmate firefighters.

And what's a story like that without a happy ending?  By Friday, not only was the massive blaze contained, but firefighters were able to bring it under control in time to save Avalon, the biggest town on Catalina.

(Hat tip: Paul Saffo)

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Video: Navy Hovercraft Carry Fire Crews to Catalina Island (from MyFox Los Angeles)

Landing Craft, Air Cushion [LCAC] (at Globalsecurity.org)

LCAC aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard (Telstar Logistics photos from 2006)

LCAC-16's photostream (Flickr photos from a LCAC crew member)

Translations of "My hovercraft is full of eels" (a riff on a famous Monty Python Hungarian Phrasebook sketch)

News video of a Japanese Defense Forces LCAC delivering humanitarian relief to Indonesia:

(Photo: Top, An LCAC offloads a California Department of Forestry fire truck on Catalina Island, by the Associated Press.)

How to Evacuate 873 People from an Airbus A380

Ladies and gentlemen, we trust you are enjoying your flight.  We hope you have your seatback reclined, your tray table unstowed, your personal electronic devices turned on, and a complimentary beverage of your choice that's just been delivered by a cheerful member of your cabin crew.

Now imagine this: There are more than 800 other passengers on this brand-new Airbus A380, and something has gone wrong. Really wrong.  So wrong, in fact, that we have to make an emergency landing. But that's not the stressful part. The stressful part will occur after we land. Assuming the plane is still intact, and not, say, engulfed in searing fossil-fueled flames, we'll need you all to evacuate the cabin as quickly as possible via the slides that will inflate automatically from the emergency exits located on either side of the aircraft.

How long would it take for everyone to get off the A-380?

In a best-case scenario, with no smoke, no fire, limited structural damage to the aircraft, and no one who sustained any injuries during the landing, it would take a little under 80 seconds to evacuate 853 passengers and 20 crew members from an A380.

That's what Airbus learned after conducting a live A380 evacuation drill with a planeload of Lufthansa employees inside a darkened German aircraft hangar during March 2006. Yet even under those most ideal of circumstances, there were casualties: one broken leg and 32 friction burns. As the Wall Street Journal reported, it could have been far worse:

In a 1991 test of a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 inside a darkened hangar at Long Beach, Calif., one attempt took 132 seconds and resulted in 28 injuries. McDonnell Douglas did the test over and got people to move faster. But in the mayhem, a 60-year-old woman caught her foot on a slide. She flipped, crashed headlong against a pile of people at the bottom, and broke her neck. She was left paralyzed for life. McDonnell Douglas failed the test and the FAA denied its request to put up to 421 people on the MD-11. (It eventually approved up to 410.)

Still, what was it like inside that A380 during the evacuation?  Or, to put it another way, what's it like to be one of 873 souls scrambling to escape from a double-deck aluminum tube as fast as humanly possible? A video of the 2006 A380 evacuation drill was recently posted to YouTube, and you can watch it right here:

(Tip of the inflatable life vest to Upgrade: Travel Better)

Ghost Ship Surfaces on San Francisco Beach

Last week the citizens of Gotham were disturbed to see a ship "sinking" in the waters around New York.  This week in San Francisco, residents were shocked to see a long-lost shipwreck re-emerge from its watery tomb.

During a low tide on Monday, the wooden skeleton of the sunken ship mysteriously appeared above the waterline on San Francisco's Ocean Beach, not far from the city's zoo. Tourists and beachcombers were befuddled by the sight, but government officials were hot on the case.  According to the San Francisco Chronicle:

A historian for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area said the wreckage was surely that of the three-masted clipper ship King Philip, which was built in Maine in 1856. According to the records, which are frequently less romantic than the speculation, the ship spent much of its career carrying bird manure fertilizer around the world. In its last years, it carried lumber from the Pacific Northwest to San Francisco.

On Jan. 25, 1878, it was towed by a tug through the Golden Gate, then laid anchor to allow the tug to assist a nearby vessel in distress, according to historian Stephen Haller. The anchor didn't hold, however, and the King Philip drifted onto the sand at Ocean Beach, where it foundered.

Fortunately, everyone got off safely, which could be why the King Philip never got the fuss made over it as did a certain other vessel that hit an iceberg 34 years later.

The King Philip made a brief appearance in 1980, Haller said, when El Niño currents washed away an unusually large amount of sand. But no one had seen the ship since.

Until now.

(Above: The wreck of the King Philip emerges from Ocean Beach. Photo by David Gallagher)

Coop Shoots the Speed Trials at El Mirage

When Telstar Logistics visits the dusty Mojave desert town of El Mirage, California, we bring a shopping list. That's because El Mirage is home to Aviation Warehouse, a aircraft boneyard and scrap facility where we buy airplane parts to use as interior decor.  But El Mirage is a surprising sort of place that offers several unique attractions. For one, there's a former top secret air base in town that was most recently used by General Atomics to test out the company's Predator UAV drones. And twice a year, the dry lakebed at El Mirage comes alive swarms of hot rodders who bring their cars out to the flats and race them in straight lines as fast as they will go.

One such event, organized by the venerable Southern California Timing Association, took place last weekend, and Coop was there. Here's his mission summary:

We went out to El Mirage to spend the day in the desert with all the cool kids. What with the fluffy white clouds in the sky reflected in all that chrome and polished aluminum, it was a perfect day for shooting photos.

Indeed it was, and he's got the pictures to prove it.

LINKS:
El Mirage SCTA Meet, 5/5/07 (Flickr Photoset by Coop)
Positive Ape Index (Coop's blog)

CODA: Coop had a car accident after his visit to El Mirage... something having to do with "latte-swilling lawyers making left turns against the light." He broke a leg, and his Falcon station wagon took a nasty hit.  Ouch.  Management will be passing around a Get Well Soon card; please sign when it comes to your desk and then pass it around. Thank you.

(Photo above by Coop)

Overheard Wisdom and a Useful Travel Tip

In San Francisco recently, we overheard a well-dressed professional with a slight Valley Girl twang utter a nugget of sagely travel wisdom. Her comment, transcribed verbatim, was as follows:

"As long as you have a map, a credit card, and a smile, I figure you can go just about anywhere in this world."

(Above: Tourists on the Golden Gate Bridge, as seen from the passenger seat of a passing car.  Photo by Telstar Logistics.)

Sequel of the Moment: Spinal Tap is Back

We managed to wangle our way into an excluuuuuuuusive pre-screening of "Spiderman 3" last night, but we can't in good conscience recommend the experience if you're looking for something to see this weekend. Kinda long. Kinda predictable. Kinda not really worth your time.

If you're looking for something to see for the next 15 minutes, however, we've issued a Strong View recommendation for this Where Are They Now? online short about Spinal Tap, the official Telstar Logistics patron saints of rock n' roll. The film is a charity initiative connected to efforts to combat global climate change and help people with high insteps.

Quick summary: Nigel Tufnel is working as a farm hand to raise miniature horses, David St Hubbins runs a hip-hop label, and Derek Smalls is in rehab for Internet addiction. They now want to save the world.

Watch the whole thing HERE. (MSN video player)

ALTERNATE: Abridged YouTube version here.

A New Design for Delta Airlines

After a painful, 19-month restructuring effort, Delta Airlines emerged from bankruptcy this week. The milestone came after Delta slashed $3 billion worth of annual expenses and trimmed its domestic schedule to focus on more-lucrative international routes, but It would be a stretch to say that the revamped airline is now in the clear -- as signaled by the fact that when Delta's shares resumed trading yesterday, they did so at a price slightly below management's expecations. Yet to usher in the new beginning, Delta also launched a rebranding campaign spearheded by the creative agency Shepardson Stern & Kaminsky in New York, and the most visible component of that effort is an all-new livery that will be applied to the airline's planes over the course of the next few years.

Delta's old logo (left) versus the new.

This is something that airlines do from time to time. Occasionally their efforts are wildly succesful -- recall the blue-ball design Landor Associates created for Pan Am, or Raymond Loewy's twin-globe design for TWA, or the 1968 bare-aluminum livery that's still used by American Airlines. But many attempts to freshen-up an airline's appearance themselves seem dated before too long. (United's mid-1990's blue-grey livery comes to mind -- it somehow managed to make a 747 look like a dreary cubicle farm.) According to Delta's press release, the centerpiece of the new look is "a striking three-dimensional, red “Widget” icon flying across a blue background that reflects the company’s successful transformation into a highly differentiated, customer-focused airline."

Exactly how one makes the conceptual leap from a cubist Widget to a highly differentiated, customer-focused flight experience remains something of a mystery to us, alas, so Telstar Logistics packed a lunch and set out on the Internets to see what others had to say about Delta's new look.

Jonberrydesign thinks Delta threw the baby out with the bathwater and ended up with something bland and soulless:

All I see when I see the plane is the Citgo logo. The new Delta typography is nice, but looks strangely like a second-rate clone of United's typography. While their upper and lower case serifed "Delta" may not have been as strong, it did stand apart from the typical all-caps sans-serif airline type that most airlines use and helped to project Delta's "friendly" image. Several years ago, Delta adopted a visual identity whose hallmark was flowing fabric in red, white, and blue. They beautifully applied this to their planes to create one of my favorite tailfins anywhere. Any company that can clearly brand itself without having to even use their logo has made a bold statement. Delta's current look achieved that on everything from its planes to signage to its website. Delta has decided to walk away from that confidence in favor of a more flashy alternative. The company's fact sheet is clearly defensive about dropping the existing identity. Two thirds of the facts defend the new look as requiring fewer paint colors, less time to paint a plane, and even requiring 171 pounds less paint - equivalent to one passenger, they say. I suppose they figure favorable figures for beancounters are a reasonable justification for bad design.

Oh snap! But not everyone agrees; with only 19 ballots cast, one non-scientific Web-based poll suggests the new look may be more popular than the old.

Dispensatory Rhetoric likes the clean appearance of the new livery, but thinks the execution of the rollout was cheezy:

What stood out to me wasn't just the sparse design of Delta's new livery (which saves Delta money because it uses less paint), but the bad puns on the site's home page and the press release announcing their emergence and rebranding. "'Brand' new era," "chapter of success." Who works for these guys?

The Hot Iron has some shrewd insights about what really matters to airline ticketbuyers:

The physical airplane is the last step of the customer experience with the airlines.  And my only close-up view of the airplane is very limited, when I am at the gate just about to board the plane.  Sure, I may see other planes out the window of the plane I am currently on, but do I look out and say, “oh, I want to fly that airline, they have cooler colors?” By the time I am on the plane, I have made my decision who to fly, paid for my ticket and am ready to get to my destination.

I see the airline industry in line with the retail banking industry, where they change names, rebrand, throw big parties, but what really changes?  Is service improved, both in quality and cost of delivery? Can I get personalized service and have a personal relationship with either?  How will a new logo on a sign in an airport and a new coat of paint on a plane make a difference to me, the consumer?

Being in total agreement on this last point, let's let that be the final word.

RELATED LINKS:

Delta Airlines New Brand Factsheet (PDF download)

Delta Logo Timeline

PREVIOUSLY: After and Before: How to Paint a Virgin America A320

Shanghai Maglev Train Trip Report

After Kevin Kelly, Telstar Logistics Director of Eclectic Operations, read our recent post on Japan's plan to deploy magnetic-levitation trains by 2025, he sent along the photo above, which was taken during a recent adventure in Shanghai, China. Shanghai, of course, is home to the world's only high speed maglev train in commercial service, with a line that connects the Pudong Airport to the city itself. The Shanghai Maglev Train (or, as the locals like to say, 上海磁浮示范运营线) was opened in 2004, and at a cruising speed of 431 kilometers (268 miles) per hour, it takes less than 8 minutes to complete the 30 km (19 mile) journey.

How's the ride? Kevin sent along this report:

We took the Shanghai mag-lev train to the airport the other week on the way back from China. Here is a snapshot of its top speed: 431 kmph. It was very shaky, despite the magnetic levitation. The train was going so fast that it is constantly bobbing horizontally as it seriously banks from side to side. The rolling/weaving makes it hard to walk around when it reaches top speed; indeed they don't want you to even stand up then. The tracks parallel the highway so cars look like they are going backwards. The entire train rides lasts less than 8 minutes. On  the way in to Shanghai it took us 1.5 hours to travel the same distance in a taxi late at night.

PREVIOUSLY: Maglev Trains to Zip Across Japan by 2025

A Large Ship is Not (Repeat: NOT!) Sinking in New York

Residents of New York, do not be alarmed.  The large ship some of you spotted in the waters around the Verazzano Narrows bridge on Monday was not -- Repeat: NOT! -- sinking. The vessel's partially-submerged, SOS appearance turns out to be a feature, not a bug. Indeed, the ship was doing just was it was supposed to do: dropping off a load of dredging equipment that will be used as part of a $2.5 billion project to deepen the shipping channels that lead into metro-area ports. Jen Chung at Gothamist tracked down all the details, so we don't have to:

There are some very observant drivers on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and BQE.  WCBS 2 reports that a number of drivers called 911 to report that a freighter ship was sinking in the New York Harbor. But it turns out the freighter, Dockwise Swan, is actually supposed to sink a little bit!

The ship is a "semi-submersible," and can submerge to allow cargo to be taken on or off using the "float-on/float-off," "roll-on/roll-off," "skid-on/skid-off, or "lift-on/lift-off" procedures. And the freighter can submerge because there are 50 ballast tanks.

See video here.  And you can really nerd out on semi-submersibles and other Dockwise ships with this PDF.

Nerd on!

(SIGINT courtesy of coifmo66)

UPDATE: Courtesty of gCaptain, our colleague on the high seas, comes this link to a lavish set of photos showing Dockwise float on-float-off vessels carrying all sorts of large and improbable cargo, such as this: