Archive for February 17, 2009
The Veternarian In That “Flying Machine”
By Bob Steiner
Living just South of the Airpark in East Edgewood for the last eleven years I have become accustomed to aircraft coming and going from the park’s landing strip. I have also gotten used to people asking me if I, too, had seen some of the weird aircraft that fly in this area. At times I almost had the impression that some of the pilots were trying to land on the roof of my double-wide. While most of the aircraft are of the small fixed wing single engine variety and belong to park residents, now and then military “Black Hawk” helicopters from Kirtland Air Base descend and pass slowly over the strip at low altitude, as if they were studying the site for future landings.
Recently, even the odd-looking Air Force “Osprey” has been venturing into our air space. This is an aircraft that has wings which enable it to fly like a fixed wing airplane but also has two large helicopter rotors which allow it to take off and land like a helicopter. Having spent some years with military aviation units, courtesy of the U.S. Army, I thought that I had seen about everything that could fly. Then some three years ago a really weird “machine” made its presence known.
Trains, Planes, and Automobiles
by John Weckerle
We join you today “from the road.” Well, trains, planes and automobiles are, in fact, something we spent some time with yesterday, at the Northlandz, Home of the Great American Railway in Flemington, New Jersey. Billed as the largest model train layout in the world, Northlandz may be just that. With about a 1-mile tour and 8 miles of track, the museum boasts hills of up to 30 feet. The level of detail is, in some cases, truly impressive, and there is both a sense of history and a sense of humor embodied in the presentation. We recommend stopping by if you are in the neighborhood.
