CONCORDE - Life in the cabin @ Mach 2 & 60,000 feet 12 miles high

A glimpse into activities aboard a Concorde during an around the world tour.

This Model Aircraft flies at twice the speed of sound (Mach 2), which is around 1350 mph (depending on the temperature of the surrounding air). Take-off and landing speeds are considerably higher than for traditional subsonic aircraft.

The range of the aircraft, with 100 passengers and 9 crew, under the correct conditions is about 4,500 miles. The maximum height Concorde can fly to is 60,000 ft (over 11 miles high). With some restrictions on load, the aircraft easily flies the 4250 mile trip to Barbados.

The outside temperature on the tip of Concorde's nose can reach 127 degrees Celcius (260 degrees Fahrenheit) due to the friction of the air at high speed.

Emirates A380 Birmingham

Emirates Airbus A380 inaugural visit to Birmingham Airport.

The Emirates A380 is scheduled to start daily services between Dubai and Manchester Airport from 1 September 2010. Manchester Airport will become the first regional airport anywhere in the world to serve the A380.

A320 Airplane Models

The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus. The family includes the A318, A319, A320 and A321 Airplane Models, as well as the ACJ business jet.

The first member of the A320 family – the A320 – was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was first delivered in 1988. The family was soon extended to include the A321 (first delivered 1994), the A319 (1996), and the A318 (2003). The A320 family pioneered the use of digital fly-by-wire flight control systems in commercial aircraft. Although there has been a continuous improvement process since introduction, currently the A320 Enhanced programme includes greater improvements.

As of 31 October 2010, a total of 4453 Airbus A320 family Aircraft Models have been delivered, of which 4370 are in active service. In addition, another 2292 aircraft are on firm order. According to Airbus, it ranked as the world's fastest-selling jet airliner family according to records from 2005 to 2007, and as the best-selling single generation aircraft programme.

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Space Shuttle Atlantis

These Airplane Model are finely handcrafted, and hand painted by our artists – to scale and museum quality. 18 inches in length with custom models available.

Space Shuttle Atlantis (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-104) is one of the three currently operational orbiters in the Space Shuttle fleet of NASA, the space agency of the United States. Atlantis last mission was STS-132 in May 2010.

When first flown in 1985, Atlantis became the forth operational orbiter. The final reading on Atlantis' "odometer" after its 32nd flight (STS-132) is approximately the same distance as 505 flights from the Earth to the Moon and back. Atlantis has performed both research and International Space Station (ISS) assembly missions.

Atlantis was the shuttle that deployed the planetary probes Magellan to Venus (on STS-30) and Galileo to Jupiter (STS034). Shuttle Atlantis has also delivered several vital components for the construction of the International Space Station (ISS).

Making An A380 Model From a Piece of Wood

Building wooden Airplane Models is a challenging and engrossing hobby for our artists. It can take up to a week to craft each airplane. The process requires attention to detail and a steady hand, but the results are amazing and are now in museums, airlines, travel agents and hobby collectors homes across the globe. Our artists have created over 35,000 Aircraft Model over the years, and now with the introduction of the A380 onto the Global network, we will show you how the A380 is made from a piece of wood.

So how is it done?

Starting with actual airplane blueprints, a template is cut. The templates are sized according to the ratio of the actual real life airplane and the model. In most cases, our model airplanes range from 16 to 18 inches in length.

The template is placed onto a piece of kiln dried Mahogany Wood and traced using a pencil. Then, using a saw, the pieces of each aircraft are cut. In the below picture, you can see how the piece of wood has been cut for the main wings and horizontal stabilizer.

The same is completed for the other parts of the A380. In the below example, the body of an A380 is cut from the side. Other details are traced onto the piece of wood, such as where the wings are assembled, to ensure correct carving is completed.

The pieces of wood are now chiseled, scraped, planed and sanded until the airplane resembles the actual aircraft. This part of the process is quite time consuming, as one mistake will mean that this piece of wood will be considered damaged, and the process will start again with a new piece of wood. The nose, cockpit, and inserts are placed onto the body. As the A380 takes shape, you can start to see the double level on the fuselage and also where the wings will be attached to the center wing box, and the vertical and horizontal stabilizers to the fuselage.

As the wings are sanded to a thin piece of wood, they are then ready for the addition of the flaps and handcrafted engines. In the case of the A380, it has 4 engines, and also a wing tip. The wing tip is attached to the wing in this stage and is made of a small piece of metal.

Read more at http://www.articlealley.com/article_1614825_15.html?ktrack=kcplink

The B777 Models

The Boeing 777 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet and is commonly referred to as the "Triple Seven".The Model aircraft has seating for over 300 passengers and has a range from 5,235 to 9,380 nautical miles (9,695 to 17,370 km) depending on model. Its distinguishing features include the largest diameter turbofan engines of any aircraft, six wheels on each main landing gear, a circular fuselage cross-section, and blade-shaped tail cone.Developed in consultation with eight major airlines, the 777 was designed to replace older wide-body airliners and bridge the capacity difference between the 767 and 747. As Boeing's first fly-by-wire airliner, it has computer mediated controls; it is also the first entirely computer-designed commercial aircraft.

The Boeing 777 is produced in two fuselage lengths. The original 777-200 model first entered service in 1995, followed by the extended range 777-200ER in 1997; the stretched 777-300, which is 33.3 ft (10.1 m) longer, began service in 1998. The longer-range 777-300ER and 777-200LR variants entered service in 2004 and 2006, respectively, while a freighter version, the 777F, debuted in 2008. Both longer-range versions and the freighter feature General Electric GE90 engines, as well as extended and raked wingtips. Other Airplane models are equipped with either the GE90, Pratt & Whitney PW4000, or Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines. The 777-200LR ranks as the world's longest-range airliner and holds the record for longest distance flown by an unrefueled commercial aircraft,with the demonstrated capability to fly more than halfway around the world.

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B747 The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft

The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) are two extensively modified Boeing 747 airliners that NASA uses to transport Space Shuttle Orbiter. One is a Boeing 747-100 model, while the other is a short range 747-100SR.

The first Model Aircraft, a Boeing 747-100 registered N905NA, was originally manufactured for American Airlines and still carried visible American side stripes while testing Enterprise in the 1970s. It was acquired in 1974 and initially used for trailing wake vortex research as part of a broader study by NASA Dryden as well as Shuttle tests involving an F-104 flying in close formation and simulating a “release” from the 747.

The Model Aircraft was extensively modified by Boeing in 1976 Its cabin was stripped, mounting struts added, and the fuselage strengthened; vertical stabilizers were added to the tail to aid stability when the Orbiter was being carried. The avionics and engines were also upgraded, and an escape tunnel system similar to that used on Boeing’s first 747 test flights was added.