The Worst Beach in the World
Thursday, July 29, 2010What a comfort! Jump out of airplane in a few meters from the ground, namely jump right into the sea… and annual leave already starting! WOW! It’s very practical! Bags leave in the plane. However, they may have to wait at the airport. It is so close. It is important to take good ransom and enjoy the benefits of summer vacation. Albeit a little loud holiday. But who cares. :)
We found this beach on wikipedia, and here is what wikipedia have to say about this very noisy beach:
Maho Beach is a beach situated in St Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles, on the Dutch side of the island. The location is known worldwide because of the Princess Juliana International Airport that is situated immediately adjacent to the beach.
Incoming air traffic is known to have to touch down as close as possible to the beginning of runway 10 due to the short runway length of 2,180 metres/7,152 ft, resulting in low-flying aircraft on their final approach over the beach. Due to these low flying airplanes (including large passenger airliners such as the Boeing 747), the location is very popular with plane spotters.
People standing on the beach may also be blown into the water because of the jet blast from aircraft taking off from runway 10. The beach can also experience large waves which makes it popular with windsurfers and skimboarders. The local government warns that closely approaching and departing aircraft can “result in serious injury and/or death.” An additional fence has been added recently behind runway 10 to prevent irresponsible tourists from hanging on to the main fence surrounding the runway to be “blasted” by the aircraft engines’ flow.
As of 2008, it is one of the few places in the world where one can view aircraft in their flightpath virtually just outside the end of the runway. Watching airplanes over the beach is such a popular activity that daily arrivals and departures airline timetables are displayed on a board in most bars and restaurants on the beach, and the Sunset Beach Bar and Grill has a speaker on its outside deck that broadcasts the radio transmissions between pilots and the airport’s control tower. Sign warning passers-by about the risks of jet blast.
The beach itself is white sand and has little to no vegetation because of the jet blast erosion. The Caravanserai Resort, the popular Sunset Beach Bar and other restaurants/night clubs such as Bamboo Bernies and Bliss are located nearby.
On October 16, 2008, the Maho area of St. Maarten suffered a direct hit from Hurricane Omar and destroyed the Sunset Bar and Grill while also destroying Bamboo Bernies and Bliss. As of November 2009, Sunset Beach Bar and Grill and Bliss have both re-opened. Omar reduced the beach to boulders, and damaged the nearby Royal Islander Club La Plage which re-opened February 14, 2009.
Runway 10/28 was originally runway 09/27 which was changed as a result of geomagnetic alterations since the original construction. This change occurred on November 1, 2008.
The Humble Humbrol Hunter
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Image by Shajee Ul Haq
(Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic)
Modellers across the world (of plastic kits, not catwalks) instinctively know of Airfix, a brand that has become so synonymous with the hobby that even kits made by other manufacturers are routinely referred to as “Airfix kits”. But when owner Humbrol’s plant was abandoned in 2006, the company’s Hawker Hunter mascot was left out in the cold.
Image by Shajee Ul Haq
(Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic)
Humbrol Limited was founded as the Humber Oil Company in 1919, but by the 1950s had begun to diversify into the production of scale plastic model kits and the archetypal 14 ml tins of enamel paint. With its signature brand Airfix cornering the scale model market for generations, the placement of a retired Hawker Hunter F.6 aircraft on a plinth outside the factory was extremely appropriate.
Image by Shajee Ul Haq
But Humbrol went into administration when parent company Heller collapsed in August 2006 and the famous factory in Kingston-upon-Hull was closed. And as is often the case, the boarded windows, unkempt verges and general abandonment beckoned the local vandals to bring forth the factory’s arson with impugnity.
Image by Shajee Ul Haq
(Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)
The top two images show the extent of the onslaught levelled against the 1957 fighter aircraft, with the ubiquitous graffiti, panels stolen and canopy smashed open to access the cockpit which, assuming it had a compliment of instruments, has probably since been stripped. But the story had a happy ending thanks to a group of enthusiasts who saved the Hunter by moving it to Fort Paull, Yorkshire’s only remaining Napoleonic fortress. Their fine efforts and the robust airframe have once again proved this Hunter to be a true fighter, and rescued it before it was turned into this.
Image by Shajee Ul Haq
(Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic)
This article would not have been complete without a model version, so here it is! Admittedly this Hunter is built from an Academy kit rather than an Airfix, but there’s every chance that it was painted using Humbrol! Humbrol, incidentally, was acquired by Hornby Railways in November 2006, which has since re-launched the brand. So despite the turmoil of the last few years, it’s good news for the name and its vintage fighter mascot.
Modern Day
Image by Shajee Ul Haq
(Images 1 and 2 above released into public domain)
Advances in aviation technology have leaped forward since the Hunter’s tenure in the 1950s and ’60s. It is seen above next to its modern day equivalent, the Eurofighter Typhoon, which now presides over the air defence role in the UK. But there’s still one thing you can do with a Hunter that you can’t do with a Typhoon – buy one and fly it! Many retired military fighter planes are available for public purchase, albeit as stripped out shells. Few are permitted to be flown, but the twin seat training version of the Hunter shown above is one of those exceptions to the rule. All you need is a pilot license and the appropriate qualifications…