Weird News

[Carruthers]

Originally Posted by Sundae

If East Midlands is the airport I think it is (just outside Cov) then the plane is larger than the actual airport
When I went there it was little more than a shack in a field. The lady in the catering "building" aka shed - left me in charge while she went to get change for my bacon cob! I only had a £20 note as I had my holiday money with me, drawn out that morning.

The Bureau de Change was a machine...

It was strangely charming, especially for someone who has only flown from London airports previously (and I thought Stansted was provincial!)

East Mids is about two thirds of the way from Leicester to Derby. Quite a big freight hub plus 'bucket and spade' flights to the usual holiday destinations around the Med.

I think that Coventry Airport has made efforts to take trade from Brum and East Mids but hasn't been too successful. I doubt if you'd be able to get a holiday flight from there anymore, let alone a scheduled service. If memory serves, all the overseas mail coming into the country arrives at Coventry to be processed at the Royal Mail centre there and I believe that a number of parcels companies also have operations at the airport. Not entirely without success, but still not a bustling international hub.

[xoxoxoBruce]

You were lucky to see that bird, can't get any rarer than that.
The Wright Brothers could have staged their first flight inside that thing.

The paper was impressed it was coming.

[Gravdigr]

Re: Antonov An-225

...Largest aeroplane ever built...

It's got the Spruce Goose built by Howard Hughes beat in the serious categories for "large", but the Spruce Goose (Hercules H-4) has a wingspan of 320 ft 11 inches, compared to just 290 ft for the An-225. The An-225 is 275 ft 7 in long, the Goose is just 218 ft 8 in. The Goose is 79 ft 4 in high, compared to 59 ft 5 in for the An-225.

And now the tale gets told:

Empty weight for the Spruce Goose is listed as 250,000 lbs.. Empty weight for the An-225? 628,317 lbs.!

Loaded weight for the Goose - 400,000 lbs..

Loaded weight for the An-225 - 1,410,958 lbs..

[Gravdigr]

Dateline: Lake Whitney, Austin, Texas

Problem: My house is falling down a cliff.

Solution: Set it on fire.



Because the only thing cooler than watching a house fall down a cliff, is watching a house fall down a cliff while it's on fire!

[Undertoad]

Originally Posted by Carruthers

East Mids is about two thirds of the way from Leicester to Derby.

It's not a destination airport on the travel sites.

(I'm visiting Derby soon and will travel through Heathrow, underground to St Pancras, and East Midlands train north.)

[Carruthers]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

It's not a destination airport on the travel sites.

(I'm visiting Derby soon and will travel through Heathrow, underground to St Pancras, and East Midlands train north.)

It's mostly used by package holiday airlines such as Jet2 and Monarch. The low cost carrier Ryanair serves many European destinations and there are substantial operations by DHL and UPS and other freight operators.
I don't think that there are any long haul scheduled services.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Midlands_Airport


Written in the still watches of the night