TRAVEL TIPS: The next time you  are sitting next to someone irritating on a 
                                plane,  especially the type  that wants to know all of your business:

 1. Quietly and calmly  open up your laptop case.
 2. Remove your laptop.
 3. Turn it on.
 4. Make sure the guy who won't leave you alone  can see the screen.
 5. Close your eyes and tilt your head up to the sky and quitely mumble something.
 6. Then hit this  link:   
https://www.thecleverest.com/countdown.swf
                         Just hope you are not sitting next to the Sky Marshall!

 
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Airbus A380 makes 1st flight to America END HEADLINE -->

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By MATT MOORE, AP Business Writer Mon Mar 19, 4:45 AM ET

FRANKFURT, Germany - It may trail the historic impact of Charles Lindbergh's 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic, but the Spirit of St. Louis did not have a wingspan wider than a football field or space for more than 500 passengers.

For plane builder Airbus and German airline Lufthansa AG, the A380's first flight to North America, which took off on time at 9 a.m. (0800GMT) Monday, is a chance to show off the superjumbo to potential U.S. buyers and to the airports they hope will be flight bases for the double-decker jet.

"We're talking about an airplane that is representing aviation in the 21st century in terms of efficiency," said Jens Bischoff, Lufthansa's vice president for the Americas.

For Airbus, which has been beset by management and financial crises — including a two-year delay to the A380 that wiped more than euro5 billion (US$6.61 billion) off profit forecasts — the flight is a chance to prove that the plane will be ready when the first deliveries are made in October to Singapore airlines.

Lufthansa Chief Pilot Juergen Raps, who has flown the A380 before, said that despite the superjumbo's size, it was nimble and responsive.

"If I were to compare it to driving, you would think this would be like driving a truck or a bus," he said inside the plane's cockpit. "It's like driving a Ferrari."

The air show began early Monday at Frankfurt International Airport when the more than 239 foot-long plane took off as Lufthansa Flight 8940 for the eight-hour flight to New York's JFK Airport, scheduled to land at 12:30 p.m. (1630GMT). Some 550 people, including four pilots, four Airbus crew members, 23 Lufthansa cabin crew and 519 passengers, mostly Airbus and Lufthansa employees along with some reporters, were to be onboard.

The flight will operate just as if it were a commercial one with full dining and entertainment services.

As a test on Sunday, organizers boarded more than 500 people onto the aircraft using two jetways with an impressive time of less than 20 minutes. A second test was held shortly after to see if the Lufthansa workers could board it faster.

Airbus pilot Wolfgang Absmeier said the boarding process on Monday would take longer.

"People are going to be curious and looking around as they get on," he said, standing at the base of a staircase leading to the plane's second level.

After the inaugural run, Lufthansa and Airbus will operate a demonstration flight to Chicago O'Hare Airport on Tuesday, before returning to New York and then Frankfurt. The plane then heads to Hong Kong and back, before continuing its journey to Washington Dulles International Airport on March 25, with a final stop at Lufthansa's Munich hub on March 28 to complete the series of optimization flights.

Using the performance results from this circuit — flying the plane as it would be done so if it were in service — Lufthansa's goal is to match the A380's turnaround time from landing to takeoff with that of much smaller long-haul jets already in operation.

The A380, which burns about four liters (one gallon) of gas per passenger every 80 miles and can fly some 8,000 nautical miles, can seat as many as 550 passengers. Airbus has 166 orders from 15 airlines for the new plane, which has already made tests flights in Europe and to Asia.

"We are proud that ... we are now able to present the A380 to the American people," said Mario Heinen, the head of Airbus' A380 program. "Both JFK and LAX, as well as Chicago O'Hare International and Washington Dulles International Airport are key future destinations for the A380."

The Frankfurt-New York flight is one of two A380 flights to the United States. The other is an A380 operated by Australian airline Qantas that is flying to Los Angeles International Monday but devoid of passengers and crew, save for those in the cockpit.

Toulouse, France-based Airbus said that plane will perform tests at the California airport, including airfield maneuvers, docking at the terminal gate and ground and gate handling exercises. The Los Angeles airport, the fifth-busiest worldwide, is expected to be the first U.S. destination for the A380 when it enters commercial service.

"The airports seeing the A380 this week and next are among the key future destinations for the A380 and following these flights, these hubs will prove themselves ready, willing and able to welcome the A380 for service," said top Airbus salesman John Leahy.

Lufthansa, which has orders for 15 A380s and an option for five more, expects to use the planes on its international routes, mainly to Asia and North America. It expects the first one to be delivered in mid-2009, pushed back from 2008 by the manufacturing delays.

The problems at Airbus led Louis Gallois, co-chief executive of parent company European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., to call 2006 "the worst year for Airbus in its life." Airbus is seeking to recoup its losses by cutting 10,000 jobs and spinning off or closing six of its European manufacturing plants. 

Airbus: https://www.airbus.com

Lufthansa: https://www.lufthansa.com



The Tirol's Winter Keeps Swinging

INNSBRUCK, Austria, Februaury23/ -- Despite a lack of snow in all European winter sports centers, the Tirol - number 1 winter sports region in the Alps - still provides good to very good conditions for skiing and boarding fans from Austria and abroad. The 5 Tyrolean glaciers feature white pistes and sunshine galore and the leading Tyrolean winter sports centers attract skiers with excellently groomed runs.

This winter clearly shows the value of the enormous investments made by Tyrolean
 skiing areas in state-of-the-art snow-making installations. Even if some skiers can't believe it, thousands of winter sports fans are at present enjoying magnificent winter days, emphasizes Josef Margreiter, director of the Tirol Tourist Board. A current survey by the Tirol Tourist Board shows that the leading Tyrolean winter sports regions at present have the majority of their runs open. There might be some restrictions on runs down to the valley or exposed south-facing slopes. More than 60% of the total skiing area can be artificially snowed, a top European figure, enabling good skiing conditions even this January. In view of the exceptional weather at present the Tirol still stands out as a very high-quality winter sports destination.

Ski tours and off-piste runs are greatly restricted or closed on account of the considerable danger of avalanches in a few areas of the Tirol. This will not affect the majority of skiers, however. A current survey shows that some 90% of all winter sports fans in the Tirol prefer groomed pistes. The booking situation is very good in the big Tyrolean winter sports centers - particularly for the strong winter holiday months of February and March up to Easter. As in past years, there are still some vacancies for January, but information from the regions shows that there are only few cancellations due to the weather. www.tirol.at

Cell phone guns 
Most see airport security as a pain. Some deal better than others. 

If you get asked to test your cell phone at the airport, this is the reason; because cell phone guns have arrived. They are real. The attached video clip shows how cell phone guns operate. Beneath the digital phone face is a .22 caliber handgun capable of firing four rounds in rapid succession using the standard telephone keypad. 
 
German law enforcement officials are stunned by the discovery of these deadly decoys. They say phone guns are changing the rules of engagement in Europe . "Only when you have one in your hand do you realize that they are heavier than a regular cell phone." Be patient  if 
security asks to look at your cell phone or turn it on to show that  it works. They have a good reason!  Welcome to our world....  
Operations Section Chief 
USAFX Hawk Mtn. Ranger School