Thursday, April 23, 2015

Is this three-deck, zero-emissions super jumbo plane the future of flight?

A vision of Aviation's Future...
Designer and aviation enthusiast Oscar Vinals is slightly addicted to crafting concept planes.
Last year, he came up with the design for the AWWA Sky Whale, a futuristic aircraft that he said would revolutionize green air travel and carry an astonishing 755 passengers. Now, he's bested himself.
With his newest design, the AWWA-QG Progress Eagle, he imagines the future of travel as a triple-decker aircraft with zero carbon emissions.
Rather than relying on traditional fossil fuels, the plane (which he envisions taking to the skies in 2030) would rely on six hydrogen engines to lift the plane off the ground. The aircraft would also be fitted with a rear engine that would double as a wind turbine, and solar panels on the roof and wings.
"The best aspect of the Progress Eagle would be its capacity to generate its own energy," says Vinals. He adds that the flight would also be "noiseless."
Vinals also envisions the plane, which would carry up to 800 passengers (275 more passengers than the largest aircraft today could handle), would have a new passenger class in the front of the plane.

    The "pilot class" would have panoramic views. There would even be the potential for private rooms, shops and restaurants.
    "Twelve hours in an airplane could feel more like a select hotel," says Vials. "It would reduce the stress of a long flight."
    At the moment, the concept is little more than, well, a concept. Vinals acknowledges that the technology needed to implement his design is still a ways off.

    Friday, April 3, 2015

    Phlipppine chess whiz kid, 7, youngest Fide master

    Manila Philippines - Meet Alekhine Nouri. At 7 years old, he is the Philippines’ youngest chess master, having won a key World Chess Federation-sanctioned competition for his age group last month in Thailand.

    “I’d like to play Sergey Karjakin,” Alekhine told The Wall Street Journal, referring to the world’s youngest child to win a “Grandmaster” title at 12 years and seven months old. “I want to be a super [Grandmaster],” added Alekhine, who was named in honor of Alexander Alekhine, one of the world’s greatest chess players who became the fourth World Chess Champion in 1927.
    Alekhine’s father, Hamed, and mother, Roda, decided in December to move their family–Alekhine has an older brother–from Escalante City in the central Philippine province of Negros Occidental to metropolitan Manila to give the 1st grader a better chance at developing his potential. Within six months, Alekhine became a FIDE Master—the highest norm Alekhine can earn in age group competitions–and was granted an athletic scholarship by the Far Eastern University FEU.PH -2.00% in Manila as a member of the school’s elementary chess team.