787 First Flight and Mob Mentality
I know I'm about a week behind on this post as far as coverage of the first flight of The Boeing Company's 787, but I'm sure everyone has read enough and seen enough pictures of it already. I want to talk about the crowd and the fun of going to see the first flight. I had some what of a vested interest in seeing this plane fly because I have been working on parts for it for the better part of the last four years. I had fun watching it fly. My wife, Sherri, also came with me and she had fun, too, despite not being into aerospace. So what is it that can make watching an empty airplane take off in the cold drizzle so much fun? For me, it could easily have been that I am an aerospace nerd and had a vested interested in seeing it fly, but that doesn't explain why Sherri had a good time. It could have also been the incredible spot we got to watch it from. But, I think it really was the same reason people gather torches and storm the castle: good ol' fashioned mob mentality.
Do Animals Get Oxygen?
Here is an interesting company, Pet Airways, that is starting in these questionable economic times. If they succeed, they could prove out two economic principles: 1) people will pay for a service that they desire, and 2) the rich are never affected by down economic times. Though, on this second one, I have a feeling the rich that are unaffected by the down economy fly on private jets and bring their pets on their planes. But that wasn't actually my interest in this company; my question is, do they provide the animals protection in the event of loss of cabin pressure, i.e., do the pets get oxygen? And so I asked them.
