Word: takeoff
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...First, to be clear, the Pope was responding to a reporter's question during the brief press conference that regularly takes place aboard his Alitalia jet just before takeoff (there have been 11 trips abroad). But he could hardly have been taken by surprise, as the questions are submitted ahead of time. Benedict might easily have opted for a pat response along the lines of, "Church teaching is clear on contraception. We must instead focus on education, abstinence and caring for those already infected...
...choppers were slated to make their first takeoff from the White House lawn in 2012. But their cost has soared from an estimated $6.1 billion in 2005 to $13.4 billion today. "We're not going to pay $500 million for one helicopter. Period," Representative John Murtha, the Pennsylvania Democrat who chairs the House Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee, declared recently. At $480 million a piece - roughly the price of the 747s fitted as Air Force One - the choppers, part of Lockheed Martin's VH-71 program are "in deep trouble," Pentagon officials said on Tuesday. (See pictures of the Army...
Bombardier and ATR figured out how to quiet the beast, although the Q400's 15-second drone on takeoff caused a recent flyer to initially doubt the improved 76-seater. Once the plane is cruising, though, Bombardier's noise-and-vibration-reduction system (cousin to technology used in submarines) monitors sound levels through microphones inside the plane walls. A computer initiates vibrations through special absorbers to counter those from the propellers, reducing the resonance of the airframe and hushing the cabin about 4 db quieter than many jets. ATR upgraded its four-blade propeller to a six-blade fiber-composite...
...think there's anyone in Russia who doesn't know what a drunk person looks like.' KATYA KUSHNER, one of 100 airline passengers who signed a petition claiming that an Aeroflot pilot was intoxicated before takeoff; the Russian airline claims the pilot's blood tested negative for alcohol...
...just a civilian concern, either. In 1995, the U.S. military began re-evaluating its Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard (BASH) program after a $270 million U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry struck a flock of 31 Canada geese during takeoff, causing a fiery crash that killed 24 service members. Solutions to the problem currently in use include habitat modification (planting specific types of grass that are distasteful to birds), aversion tactics (using dispersal teams, a.k.a. "goose guys," to scare them away) and lethal control (killing a specific number to reduce populations...