TAYLOR AEROCAR I

Designed to combine the attributes of an airplane and an automobile in one vehicle, the Aerocar I was conceived in the fertile mind of Molt Taylor in the late 1940’s. The Aerocar was certified by the FAA as an airplane and also had the ability to meet all highway regulations of 1950. In the air, the Aerocar was powered by a Lycoming O-290 engine of 125 hp, and propelled by a pusher propeller. On the ground, the wings folded back to allow the front wheel drive car section to drive away.

I found a couple of great items for Sunday aircraft blogging today. Besides the cool plane, (I thought the only flying cars were on The Jetsons), I have a nice ten minute video of the Sun'n'Fun airshow. It seems very light jets are the wave of the future. They look pretty sweet but the "reasonable" cost at a mil and half puts those out of my price range. Some nice footage of the stunt planes though, at the end of the piece.

Meanwhile, we've all been on commercial flights where some obnoxious passenger ruined our napping time. I can usually counter the irritation with a stiff drink. Helps you see the humor but my worst flight was a two hour morning run. Too early to drink, the plane absolutely full and I'm stuck in a three seater with a couple and their screaming baby. I could handle that part actually. Babies cry but eventually they fall asleep, which this one did. However, not before it deposited a godawful skunky load of poop into its diaper.

I have a pretty high tolerance for baby poop too, but this was like being swallowed whole by a tidal wave of putrid stench, like being beaten repeatedly over the head with a stink stick. I wanted to reach for the barf bag. It was only about 15 minutes into the flight. You would think the mother would have changed the poor little tyke -- but no. For the entire rest of the flight, the fetid fumes wafted through the plane, permeating every barely breathable atom of air. It was a very quiet flight.

Quite a contrast from this one where an unruly passenger forced an unscheduled landing.

One flight attendant told an FBI agent that Yankovsky was drinking from a bottle of wine while the plane was taxiing at the Las Vegas airport, according to court documents.

After the flight attendant took away the bottle, Yankovsky allegedly demanded her "red water" back and began singing, chanting and touching other passengers.
The plane still was climbing after takeoff when two passengers asked flight attendants to "do something" about Yankovsky, court documents said. But when flight attendants tried to calm Yankovsky down, she allegedly told them, "Not good, plane crash, all die."

"Yankovsky continued her erratic behavior by 'hexing' the aircraft, the crew, and the other passengers," an FBI agent's affidavit said. "Yankovsky was singing and chanting in the aircraft and saying that everyone was going to die, their children would die, and their grandchildren would die."

It said the plane's four flight attendants gathered in the rear of the plane to discuss how to handle Yankovsky, and considered using the restraints that were on board and asking other passengers to help them subdue the woman. They got out the restraints, but were afraid to use them, the affidavit said.

When flight attendant Sandra McKibben approached Yankovsky and tried to quiet her, Yankovsky slapped her in the face, it said.

The pilot landed at the nearest available airport and the passenger was duly handed over to federal authorities in Denver.

A followup story on the local TV station reveals Ms. Yanlovsky is a famous Russian gypsy folk singer. However, future Delta passengers have no need to fear a repeat performance. Svetlana is not allowed on commercial airliners for a long while. You might want to avoid Greyhound though. She advised she was planning to take a bus home to New York.

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