Collectors > Collector's Newsletter > Volume 4 Number 1 - Archive
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Volume 4 Number 1 |
January - March 2005 |
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Space Tourism Are You Ready?
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| The space age is entering a new era driven by a new concept -- space tourism. What brought us to this point -- was it NASA or some other government space program? No, commercial space travel for leisure is coming about due, in large part, to an initiative called the Ansari X-Prize, which we featured in our last issue (October-December 2004). This contest set a challenge to create a reusable launch vehicle capable of taking passengers into space and back. |
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Four days after we posted the article, the X-Prize was claimed by SpaceShipOne, the entry of Mojave Aerospace Ventures, which is a new company formed by Scaled Composites (Burt Rutan's engineering company) with the financial sponsorship of Paul Allen (of Microsoft software company).
Officially, in 2001 and 2002 the first two space tourists each paid US$20 million to defy earth's gravity in a Russian Soyuz capsule. The success of SpaceShipOne, however, has opened space travel to commercial enterprise, and space tourism will become a viable leisure activity to more than just the seriously wealthy. To get a picture what the future may hold for space tourism, we'll look at one of the leading companies that is taking on the challenge of commercial space flight and see their plan for getting us into space and back. |
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SpaceShipOne firmly cradled under mothership Knight Rider, on the history-making flight to win the Ansari X-Prize.
(Photo by Jim Campbell/Aero-News Network; courtesy of Scaled Comosites, LLC.) |
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| Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group has had an interest in space tourism for some time and registered the name Virgin Galactic back in the mid 1990s but, until 2004, did not have a viable vehicle to utilize. On June 21 SpaceShipOne proved to be the leading technology for this emerging industry and, by the end of September, the technology used for this aircraft had been licensed to the Virgin Group, launching Virgin Galactic as the first commercial spaceline. After winning the X-Prize on October 4, 2004, the Mojave Aerospace Ventures team started on the Virgin Galactic project to build a larger version of SpaceShipOne capable of carrying five passengers. This new spacecraft will be called Virgin SpaceShip (VSS). The final design for the first ship, VSS Enterprise, will be completed in 2005 (we wonder if Captain Kirk will be along for the first mission), and the first flights are expected to begin in about 3 years. The cost for a flight is estimated to start out at around $200,000, but is expected to go down as the space tourism industry matures. |
Since the entire space tourism industry is still in infancy, we can only imagine what you will experience following this scenario laid out by Virgin Galactic. First, you are flown to the nearest spaceport facility, where you undergo six days of orientation, training, and medical exams. This might include flying the simulator, G-Tolerance training, riding in the mothership (from which your spaceship will be launched), rides in fast jets, and parabolic flights that allow you to experience zero gravity. When you are adequately prepared, you board your spaceship. The mothership carries your spaceship (with you in it, along with the other passengers and your astronaut-pilot) to an altitude of about 10 miles above sea level, and releases it. Once clear of the mothership, the rocket in your spaceship ignites, and you experience the thrill of a 4G acceleration that hurtles you through the edge of the atmosphere! Then the rocket shuts down, everything is quiet, you notice the weightlessness, and you realize you are in space! |
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 Photo taken from SpaceShipOne by pilot Brian Binnie. (Courtesy of Scaled Composites, LLC.) |
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| Looking out the windows at earth, your view spans over a thousand miles -- you see entire continents and regional climate patterns -- and looking away, you see the solar system as never before. Your stay in space is brief, three to five minutes, but it is unforgettable. All too soon, you begin your descent. The pilot sets the reentry configuration, which keeps the spaceship from falling too fast. At first it is unnerving, but you expect the noise and the bumpiness from the training, so you're not too worried. Then at about 50,000 feet (9.5 miles up), the pilot sets the glider configuration and then smoothly guides the spaceship right back to the spaceport. |
Alighting the spaceship, your legs feel a little shaky back on firm ground, but you know you have just experienced the ride of your life! Providing the Virgin SpaceShip program proceeds smoothly and government regulations over commercial space travel are in place, in about three years we will see how close this scenario is to the real thing. Beyond this, the next step for space tourism would be orbital flights around the earth, then orbital hotels, and we have only begun to imagine what will happen after that. |
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A Century of Innovation
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| With the announcement that the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine has been chosen by Airbus for their new A380 to be launched in 2006, and the Trent 1000 by Boeing for their new 7E7 to be launched in 2008, we couldn't let pass the chance to recall that 2004 was an important milestone for Rolls-Royce. |
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| 2004 marked the centenary of the historic first meeting between the Honorable Charles Rolls and Henry Royce at the Midland Hotel in Manchester, England, and their agreement that cars manufactured by Royce Limited (Henry Royce had just built his first motor car) would be sold exclusively by CS Rolls and Co, under the brand name Rolls-Royce. The venture was so successful that in 1906 it led to the formation of the Rolls-Royce company, and the Rolls-Royce brand name would eventually become one of the greatest, most respected, and best-known in the world, especially in the field of engineering.
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Founding fathers of one of best-known brand names in the world, Charles Rolls (left) and Henry Royce.
(Photo courtesy of www.rolls-royce.com.) |
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| The company ventured into aeronautics with their first Eagle engine at the beginning of World War I. By the end of World War II, their Merlin engine, powering the Hurricanes and Spitfires in the Battle of Britain, had propelled the company as a major player in aero propulsion. Rolls-Royce further developed its engineering capabilities to include engines for air and marine propulsion, as well as for energy applications. Since its inception, the Rolls-Royce name has been synonymous with integrity, reliability and innovation. The company's farsighted memorandum of association in 1906 referred to its aim to provide engines and vehicles “for use on land, or water, or in the air.” One hundred years on, the company has achieved the dream of the founding fathers, its future firmly built on the foundation of a century of innovation. Today, Rolls-Royce is a global company with brand presence in 120 countries, providing engines and services for more than 500 airlines, 4,000 corporate and utility aircraft and helicopter operators, 160 armed forces and over 2,000 marine customers, including 50 navies. The company has a total of 54,000 gas turbines in service worldwide. Employees number over 35,000 in 48 countries, with 21,000 in the U.K. and the other 40% mainly in Europe and the U.S. Annual sales total nearly £6 billion, of which 50 percent are services revenues. With over £18 billion in orders, which taken together with projected demand for services, the future looks promising for the company. “It's important to look forward as well as to reflect on the past,” said Sir John Rose, Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce. “Rolls-Royce will continue to break new ground and has gained strong positions on a new generation of programs in each of our four businesses, which we know will shape the future of the company for at least the next 50 years.” For any company, this is an auspicious way to start a new century. Find out more fascinating facts about Rolls-Royce at www.rolls-royce.com. For the latest news from Airbus and Boeing visit www.airbus.com and www.boeing.com. Content and images courtesy of © Rolls-Royce plc 2004. |
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 The Trent 900, which is the lead engine for the Airbus A380 super-jumbo, will be launched by Singapore Airlines in 2006. (Photo courtesy of www.rolls-royce.com.) |
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Air France-KLM Merger
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| 2004 marked a first for European airline history and the European Union -- the merger of two national airlines from different countries. Back in October 2003 it was announced that Air France and the Dutch airline KLM would merge. After passing an antitrust review by the European Union (E.U.) and U.S. authorities early in 2004, the merger was completed in May. This makes Air France-KLM one of the world's largest airlines, currently the fourth largest by traffic volume and first in revenues. The airline industry has always been a difficult industry to survive in, not only in the U.S. but the rest of the world as well. European airlines have been struggling with many of the same issues as U.S. carriers: competition from low-cost carriers, higher fuel prices, repercussions from 9/11, and the loss of government funding. For some time, KLM had been actively seeking to become part of a larger group. It held talks with several European airlines -- British Airlines, SAS, Swissair, Austrian Airlines, and Alitalia -- but nothing came about until the deal with Air France. |
One of the first questions that a collector would want answered is -- does this mean we will be seeing a new livery soon? The answer to that is -- not likely.The two airlines have merged but will continue to operate as separate companies, so they will continue to use separate liveries.
The reason for maintaining separate operations rather than integrating as a single airline is to safeguard KLM's considerable international traffic rights as a national carrier. Under current rules governing routes and landing rights for national carriers, ownership and control must be the same nationality as the aircraft's flag or registration. So until regulations change, chances are Air France and KLM will continue to operate as separate entities. This merger also allows for growth of the SkyTeam alliance, for by merging with Air France, KLM joined the alliance. In turn, KLM's U.S. partners Northwest and Continental were also able to become members of the SkyTeam alliance. Flight Miniatures offers 3 models in the Air France colors and 7 models in the KLM colors. |
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 Air France (79-cur) Boeing 777-200 • Scale 1:200 BO-77720H-018 |
 KLM (03-cur) Boeing 747-400 • Scale 1:200 BO-74740H-012 |
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The Antonov AN-124:
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| Sleek America Cup racing yachts; Safari Rally racecars; heavy railway engines and carriages; unwieldy construction loaders and crane trucks; menacing Puma helicopters; 135-ton electric generators; 68-ft patrol boats; $18 million worth of bottled fine wines; aircraft engines and fuselages; and live giraffes. |
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| Unlikely as it seems, these disparate items have something in common -- they all traveled as cargo in an Antonov aircraft. In fact, as the only major players in the heavy cargo market, Antonov aircraft have transported all kinds of unique cargo, ranging from the largest payload to the heaviest to the most in a single shipment. The Antonov Design Bureau (or Antonov ASTC, Aeronautical Scientific/Technical Complex) was founded in 1946 in Kiev, Ukraine. Since then, from the first multipurpose AN-2 to the latest heavylift freighter AN-225, the company has worked through 100 types and modifications of aircraft of various classes for various purposes, including commercial aviation, military, agriculture, fire-fighting, rescue, patrol, aerial photography and AEW (airborne early warning or radar planes). Common underlying characteristics of Antonov designs include structural reliability, economic efficiency, flexibility of transport operations, ability to use unpaved airfields, and easy maintenance. The member of the Antonov aircraft family that has enjoyed the most design and commercial success by far, however, has been the Antonov AN-124 Ruslan heavylift freighter. |
 
Loading the Antonov AN-124 is an operation
that is always a fascinating sight! (Photos courtesy of www.antonov.com.) |
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The AN-124 is a unique aircraft in a class of its own, capable of airlifting the most awkward, sensitive, and fragile shipments in a controlled environment. Development of the heavy long-range transport began in 1971, and the AN-124 flew its maiden flight in 1982. The civil aircraft version certified for commercial cargo was the AN-124-100. Since 1982, 56 of the aircraft have been manufactured, and half of these are used in commercial operations.
With the strength, power, and physique backed by a 150-metric ton maximum payload and 1,160-cubic meter volume, the AN-124 Ruslan was an instant commercial success and became undisputed champion of the global outsize and heavyweight air cargo market. The cargo compartment itself is 36.5 m long (120 ft), 6.4 m (21 ft) wide and 4.4 m (14.5 ft) high. With four D-18T turbofan engines, two under each wing, the flight range varies from 4,750 km (2,950 miles) with a 120-ton cargo to 15,000 km (9320 miles) without cargo. The flight speed is 800-850 km/h (497-528 mph); flight altitude is 9,100-11,600 meters (29,855 - 38,058 feet) |
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Cavernous interior cargo area of the Antonov AN-124.
(Photo courtesy of www.antonov.com) |
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| The success of the AN-124 prompted Antonov Design Bureau to start design of a multipurpose “superheavy” transport with a maximum 250-ton payload, the AN-225 Mriya. With its maiden flight in 1988, the AN-225 superseded the AN-124 as the company's flagship. Nevertheless, the AN-124 still continues as the most hardworking aircraft of heavylift cargo industry. We have the Antonov AN-124 in the following liveries: |
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Volga-Dnepr
Antonov AN-124-100 Scale 1:250 AN-12400I-001 |
Volga-Dnepr "Heavylift"
Antonov AN-124-100 Scale 1:250 AN-12400I-002 |
Polet Cargo
Antonov AN-124-100 Scale 1:250 AN-12400I-004 |
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Fourth Quarter 2004 Arrivals
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| Adria Airways, Slovenia's national carrier, began in 1961 as a charter airline. In the 1980s the airline started offering scheduled route service and became a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The Adria Airways fleet comprises eight aircraft -- three Airbus A320s and five Canadair Regional Jet CRJ 200s. |
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 Adria Airways (99-cur) Airbus A320 o 1:200 scale AB-32020H-058 |
 Adria Airways (99-cur) Canadair CRJ-200 o 1:200 scale CA-20000C-011 |
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Air France by Regional (77-cur) Regional was created in 1992 from two regional airlines, Air Vendée and Airlec. The airline also merged with Flandre Air and Proteus Airlines. In January 2000, Regional joined the Air France group.  |
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Croatia Airlines (04-cur) Croatia Airlines operates four Airbus A319s in their fleet. The first of these was delivered to the airline in 1998. |
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US Airways Express MidAtlantic Airways, US Airways' new regional jet division, began operations April 4, 2004, using the three new 72-seat Embraer 170 regional jets. US Airways is the U.S. launch customer of the Embraer 170 regional jet. |
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Southwest (01-cur) with winglets We now have the Southwest Airlines 737-700 with performance-enhancing Blended Winglets™ in the 2001 livery. |
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| Jetstar is an Australian low-fare airline. It is wholly owned by Qantas, but it is managed separately and operated independently. |
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Jetstar (04-cur) - Australia Jetstar began operating May 25th, 2004, with a fleet of 14 Boeing 717-200 aircraft from the previous low-cost airline Impulse. After Qantas purchased Impulse, the airline remained a separate entity flying under the QantasLink brand. The Impulse brand has now been replaced by Jetstar. |
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Jetstar (04-cur) - Australia In June 2004, Jetstar received its first A320-200 aircraft from Airbus, by 2006 the airline will progressively take delivery of an additional 22 Airbus A320s. The A320s will replace all Boeing 717s in their fleet. |
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Hapag-Lloyd (01-cur) - Germany Hapag-Lloyd was acquired by TUI AG, a tourism conglomerate, in 1998 and became its fully-owned subsidiary in 2002. With this acquisition came a livery change for Hapag-Lloyd to the standard TUI group livery -- blue fuselage with Hapag-Lloyd titles and TUI logo on the tail. |
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Austrian Arrows Austrian Arrows is operated by Tyrolean Airways on Austrian domestic routes and in Europe's high-growth regional flight segment. |
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DutchBird (00-cur) - Netherlands DutchBird is a Dutch charter airline which began operations in November 2000, using a small fleet of Boeing 757-200s. In 2003 the airline added two Airbus A320s to its fleet. |
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KLM Cargo (03-cur) - Netherlands Founded in 1919, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has the distinction of being the world's oldest international airline, and it's also the longest continually operating airline. |
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Thomson (03-cur) - U.K. Thomson are also owners of Britannia and announced in late 2003 that the Britannia name would be dropped and their airline would be named Thomson. |
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Northwest (03-cur) In April 2003, Northwest Airlines introduced its first new livery since 1989, to be phased into the entire Northwest fleet over a 5-year period during regularly scheduled repainting. |
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Northwest Airlink Northwest Airlink, operated by Pinnacle Airlines, formerly Express Airlines I, provides regional jet service for Northwest Airlines. Express I was the launch operator of the Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) for Northwest. The first Northwest Airlink CRJ entered service June 1, 2002. |
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Flybe (02-cur) - U.K. Flybe is one of Europe's largest independent regional airline carriers, operating throughout the U.K., Ireland and Europe. This U.K. based regional airline began in 1979 as Jersey European, when Intra Airways and Express Air services merged. In the late 1990s Jersey European was renamed British European, then on July 18, 2002, the airline changed its name to Flybe. |
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Click to purchase new models. |
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How Many Models Does It Take…
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| We usually feature collectors who've accumulated a fairly decent range of models over a number of years. Well, let's introduce Mark McCoy, who has only just started his collection and owns just 3 models, but he rivals any seasoned collector with his enthusiasm for his new-found hobby! |
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| Mark's burgeoning collecting passion is for commercial airlines, especially Southwest Airlines. Living near Burbank in Southern California meant Mark usually flew out on Southwest's retro-looking 737s when he was a child. He says,“I suppose I just fell in love with the way they operated their airline.” “I think the first memories I've ever had of aviation," Mark fondly recalls, "were those wonderful summer months when my father would take my younger brother and me to see the air shows in the nearby counties. It was at one of these shows on March AFB, sometime in the mid-1980s, when I fell in love with the Boeing B-17, and the rest is history. |
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The collection may be tiny, but we're looking at the beginnings of a new passion here.
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| “While my early interests in aviation were usually centered on WWII-circa aircraft, I now have cultivated a pure passion for commercial flight. Last year I visited my first airline collectibles show at the Hacienda Hotel near LAX, and suddenly found myself caught up with the idea that I could start my own collection of airliner favorites, and I did! “ATA was the airline that shuttled me back and forth across the Pacific between California and Japan during my time in the Air Force (one of the few treasured times I was privy enough to hitch a ride on Lockheed's old L-1011-500s). Beyond that, I tend to prefer the low cost carriers and the airlines that operate older aircraft.” |
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Mark McCoy proudly poses with his Delta MD-11 model.
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Even though he's a new collector with a modest collection, Mark proudly notes that he has a 737-300 in old Southwest livery, a Delta MD-11 and a Lockheed L-1011 in the old British Airways livery. “The MD-11 and the L-1011, I enjoy because of the actual airframe, nothing specific with the airline…. I love SWA and ATA so much, I've got a few circled on my Christmas 'wish list'.” His collection of three may well have grown on Christmas morning!
He discovered Flight Miniatures models at the Airliners International 2004 show in LAX last July. After browsing the models and selecting a few, he drove home and started sifting through his new treasures. Somewhere in the bulletin for the show was an advertisement for Flight Miniatures models and, at that moment, he realized he had purchased two Flight Miniatures models. Mark prefers 1:200 scale most because it allows for a consistent size ratio amongst the other models, while still giving enough space for the extra details to be noticed from across the room. Mark enjoys plane spotting at Burbank Airport or LAX with his scanner and binoculars. He is usually very busy, so considers himself lucky if he manages to hit one airport each month for a few hours. He also enjoys dabbling in “virtual aviation” with virtual airlines on the Internet using Microsoft's Flight Simulator. “It's quite an amazing and fulfilling hobby," Mark enthuses. "In fact, I've recently embarked (with permission from the airline) on designing a “virtual airline” to emulate the real world ATA Airlines, Inc. Drop by www.atavirtual.com sometime in the next month or so after opening day. It's free, fun, and allows us to pretend to be pilots by day and night!” |
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Mark's most memorable moment -- “I suppose I've had lots, but the most interesting to date involved my spotting hobby and took place about a month ago at LAX. After spending 2 or 3 hours on Imperial Hill watching the South complex, I decided to hop in my car and take my first look at the north complex, and parked my car at the In-and-Out restaurant near the new “Parking Spot” garage. I had just arrived and was watching the departing traffic on the 24s, when suddenly an Airbus 340 blasted over my head about 300 feet up on a very low approach and scared the life out of me. I had been watching commercial aircraft for a while, but nothing had ever come that close.”
Of course we're always interested to know what our collectors think of Flight Miniatures -- “I think that Flight Miniatures offers a very high quality product, and I have no recommendations for making it better It already is! The ONLY suggestion I think I could have (and it's purely driven by selfish reasons) is the addition of a Southwest 737-200 series in the older Southwest colors. Nobody makes them, and that would put Flight Miniatures as the sole provider for such an aircraft. “I think you've got these bases covered pretty well. How about adding some aircraft with some of the “sample” liveries that were briefly flown by a few airlines in their past? For example, I know Southwest had experimented with a Red and White paint scheme once, and a few others as well.” Plenty of advice for Flight Miniatures, and for all those folks out there that have toyed with the idea of starting a collection - we hope Mark has been an inspiration…see how easy it is to get started! |
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