October 31, 2017

Schiphol Airport to get 3D printed floors

Filed under: Aviation,Design by Orangemaster @ 9:53 am

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In November, Dutch company Aectual will unveil a 3D printed floor for at Schiphol Airport, which they call an ‘on demand floor’. The technology behind this 3D printing was developed in-house by Aectual and will be used to 3D print a design by Amsterdam firm DUS Architects.

3D printing is used to create the initial frame of the design, then a secondary process fills the gaps with a material called terrazzo, a composite material made from chips of marble, quartz, granite and glass. Once mixed with a binder and cured, the terrazzo can be polished to give a smooth surface.

“We make it possible to create your own design for spectacular floors in, for example, a hotel lobby, or for a striking retail brand, giving designers complete design freedom” explains Hans Vermeulen, CEO of Aectual.

I’m getting a 1960 Italian feel and that works for me.

(Link and image: 3dprintingindustry.com)

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September 5, 2017

KLM world premiere: flight info on WhatsApp

Filed under: Aviation,Dutch first,Technology by Orangemaster @ 10:06 pm

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If you’re booking a flight with KLM, you can ask to be kept up to date on WhatsApp. KLM is the first airline in the world and one of the first companies in the world with a verified WhatsApp business account, something businesses usally have on a Twitter account.

On your WhatsApp account you can get a confirmation of your booking, info about checking in, your boarding pass and updates about your flight. KLM can even answer your questions in 10 languages and promises proper encryption of their messages. KLM also promises not to use WhatsApp for advertising.

(Link: parool.nl)

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May 19, 2017

The logic of Schiphol’s gates

Filed under: Architecture,Aviation by Orangemaster @ 7:56 pm
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According to Wikipedia, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, aka Schiphol, shifted some 63,625,664 passengers in 2016 and is a major European hub. The question is, have you ever wondered why the gates are lettered B, C, D, E, F, G, H and M?

Now I’ll call the gates ‘piers’. According to Wikipedia, a pier design uses a small, narrow building with aircraft parked on both sides: one end connects to a ticketing and baggage claim area.

There’s a simple explanation for why Schiphol has no Pier A. In English, the pronunciation of A sounds too much like the pronunciation of E in Dutch, which could confuse communication between Schiphol staff and passengers. ‘Access’ and ‘excess’ are both pronounced like ‘excess’ by many Dutch speakers. To avoid any confusion, Schiphol decided a long time ago to forego a Pier A.

And then it goes from H to M, so no I, J, K or L.The I and the J sounds the same in Dutch, but they also look too similar from far away to many people around the world. The sound of ‘I’ in Dutch sounds too much like ‘E’ in English and that could easily go wrong as well. K and L are being saved, but for now, if you fly EasyJet, you’ll have to take a nice, long constitutional to gate M.

In 2019 Schiphol will have a new pier next to Pier B, but what are they going to call it? Stay tuned.

(Link: news.schiphol.com)

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April 19, 2017

Steampunk fantasy cardboard airships a gogo

Filed under: Art,Aviation by Orangemaster @ 9:54 am

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Over the last year, Dutch artist Jeroen van Kesteren has been toiling away at these sculptural airships as part of a series entitled ‘Orphanage for Lost Adventures’. Made primarily from cardboard, aluminum foil, adhesives, and an assortment of papers used for sails and propellers, the whimsical flying machines have a distinct steampunk feel. The pieces range from 40 to 50 centimetres tall and take about a month to make. Jeroen shares additional images of the airships and several additional sculptures on Pinterest.

(Link and photo: thisiscolossal.com)

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March 18, 2017

Dutchman proposes circular runway systems for airports

Filed under: Aviation by Orangemaster @ 10:07 am
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Aviation expert Henk Hesselink of the Netherlands Aerospace Centre believes that one day airports could be using circular runways instead of today’s straight runways. He claims his 3.5 kilometre wide runway systems would be safer, more efficient, and less noisy, with planes experiencing only headwind and no crosswind.

Crosswind is indeed the stuff that fuels scary YouTube videos, where planes experience lots of yaw, which is going side to side, given them that goose landing on water quality. I typed in ‘crosswind’ and picked the first video – have a look.

As planes could be able to fly from any direction, noise pollution could be reduced. As well, up to three planes could take off at the same time, while nowadays they taxi to the runway and then queue up to take off. Finally, part of me would love to roller skate on one of those runways and I’m sure some cyclists would love to join in as well.

(Links: bbc.com, fastcompany.com)

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February 25, 2017

3D landscape images using tandem satellites

Filed under: Aviation,Dutch first,Science by Orangemaster @ 12:11 pm

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Dutch company MetaSensing has developed a way of taking images using two satellites in tandem to view the Earth’s surface from slightly different angles. Rather than using radar satellites with single instruments, their novel way apparently offers a unique 3D view of the landscape. This airborne experiment using radar satellites orbiting in tandem was carried out for the first time above the flat landscpe of the Netherlands.

The process involved two aircraft flying in very close proximity to each carrying a radar instrument, something that will be replicated in Belgium next month. “While flying two aircraft sounds relatively straightforward, in practice it is a technical tour-de-force calling for well-trained pilots with strong nerves to fly with very little space between each plane”. Christian Barbier of the Centre Spatial de Liège in Belgium explained that by using this tandem method, they could map the movement of glaciers in 3D, improve crop mapping and even create 3D maps of the world’s forests.

(Link: phys.org, Photo of Radar by Pete Favelle, some rights reserved)

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December 9, 2016

Memorial for flight MH17 in Eindhoven

Filed under: Art,Aviation by Orangemaster @ 3:35 pm

The foundation Walk-for-298 wants to commemorate flight MH17 by having a bronze artwork called ‘Verbinding’ (‘Connection’) placed near Eindhoven Airport, which was made by artist Toon Heijmans of Nijmegen. MH17 was an international flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down on 17 July 2014, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew members, hence the 298 in the name of the foundation.

Ronald Rutten from Beuningen who runs Walk-for-298 is also the regional manager of the funeral company that greeted the many victims at Eindhoven Airport in the summer of 2014. He thought that having something commemorative made for them could help make the circle a bit more round.

The artwork costs 10,000 euro and the foundation only needs another 2,500 for the supporting base. The idea is that family and friends, rescuers and victims can gather there to remember their loved ones. The work symbolises a world event, with an emptiness inside it like the vacuum all those deaths created.

The commemorative artwork will probably be unveiled around 21 March 2017.

(Link: omroepbrabant)

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September 26, 2016

Twente gets European drone testing area

Filed under: Aviation by Orangemaster @ 10:21 pm

Enschede Airport Twente, close to the German border and little flight activity, now has a test location called Space53 for drones and UAVs. It’s apparently the first airport in Europe that allows drones to be tested in ‘complex environments and situations’. Nokia already plans to test Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Traffic Management systems (UTM) there.

Space53 is a collaboration between businesses and the public sector in the region of Twente. Besides an airport and various spaces for research, development and testing UAVs, schools and universities have joined in. They’ve already had some swarming tests where a bunch of drones fly together and collaborate in the event of a calamity.

Fun fact: When the notary public wrote up the transfer deed for the airbase after WWII, he apparently had had one too many and it accidentally wrote ‘Twenthe’ instead of Twente, which is still written this way today by the local flying club.

(Link: bright.nl, Photo of Drone by Karen Axelrad, some rights reserved)

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July 2, 2016

KLM to serve Heineken draught beer on flights

Filed under: Aviation,Dutch first,Food & Drink by Orangemaster @ 8:42 pm

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Two years ago Heineken developed the Brewlock tap system, which addresses the issue of delivering draught beer at the right level of carbonation. And if KLM is to serve beer high up in the air, it needs to be tapped properly and not spray out of the keg due to a lack of carbonation.

The system will be fitted onto a trolley for serving and will be pre-cooled before takeoff and then kept cool for a maximum of eight hours with insulating material. KLM plans to serve beer on tap on a few selected flights and then eventually roll it out.

Roll out the barrel, and we’ll have a barrel of fun – in the air.

(Link: www.telegraaf.nl, photo by Steven Straiton, some rights reserved)

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May 23, 2016

Plane spotters rush to Leeuwarden for European JSF debut

Filed under: Aviation,Dutch first by Orangemaster @ 3:29 pm
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In about four hours, the city of Leeuwarden, Friesland will be welcoming two F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, which will stay in the Netherlands for three weeks. The JSF is the successor to the F-16 (shown here), which has been flying in the country since 1979.

The Ministry of Defense says it’s time for the residents near the airfields of Leeuwarden and Volkel, Noord-Brabant to experience what they sound like because in 2019 the first bunch of F-35 will be coming to stay. According to the Ministry, it is the first time this type of aircraft has been flown from the United States to Europe, which is why Leeuwarden expects one or two thousand plane spotters from around Europe to come and watch the show.

For all of you who can’t make it, watch it live thanks to this handy stream brought to you by the Ministry of Defense:

(Links: www.lc.nl, www.defensie.nl)

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