Why does the problem always come down to CABLE?

Taken from today's papers, Airbus website, ChannelNewsAsia and various other sources:



TOULOUSE, France - The Airbus A380 starts a global journey Saturday which will take in the North and South Poles on the last of a series of test flights before it applies for its air safety certificate.

The plane, which is being tested under commercial conditions, is seeking to gain its airworthiness certificate by mid-December from European and United States aviation safety authorities.

It will fly from Toulouse, France, where it is assembled, over the two poles and is set to stop in Johannesburg, Sydney and Vancouver in Canada before returning to France on November 30.

It was due to leave at 9:00 pm (2000 GMT).

On Friday, the giant plane returned from 18 days of testing which took it to Asia, with stop-offs at major airports including Singapore, home of Singapore Airlines (SIA).

This airline which should take delivery of the first A380 next October -- deliveries are around two years behind schedule because of electrical cabling problems.

"During these three flights, the plane performed remarkably well.

"There were no major breakdowns, only some faults which we were already aware of.

"Each flight and each landing were on time," Fernando Alonso, vice-president of Airbus's flight testing division told AFP.

"Overall, at the moment, you could say 'move along, there's nothing to see,'" he added, indicating that, during tests, the plane was set to notch up 150 hours' flying time.

"We are a month ahead of the programme schedule," Gilles Robert, former director of testing at Airbus, added.

The plane's first flight took place in April 2005.

The Asian leg took the world's biggest plane, which can carry up to 840 passengers, to Seoul, Hong Kong and Tokyo as well as the Chinese cities of Guangzhou, Peking and Shanghai.

Those on board included pilots from the European regulatory authorities.

At all the destinations, "the welcome was enthusiastic", particularly from clients and members of the public who often "overran terminals to see the plane", Alonso said.

When asked about clients' concerns over late delivery, he simply said that "people were so happy to see the plane that they did not raise the subject with us members of the technical team".

Highlighting the plane's qualities, Claude Lelaie, an A380 test pilot, revealed that in Ireland 15 days ago, the plane took off and landed in 56 knot crosswinds.

Companies in Asia and the Pacific area represent around 30 percent of orders placed -- 44 out of a total 149.

At the end of this latest flight, the giant plane will have completed 17 days of tests in a normal operational environment.

Asked of its chances of gaining certification, Alonso replied that "until the ticket is delivered, you never know, but we are beginning to see the light very clearly".

- AFP /ls

With the grossly large amount of time that passes from the design phase to production, manufacturing and certification, how do designers ensure that the technical aspects of the design keeps up with the advancement made in other fields? Like the wiring/cabling mentioned in this case, vast improvments in optic fibres have led to the phasing out of old fashioned copper wires in view of the data transfer speeds and, more importantly, safety improvements in term of fire regulations. As they scramble now to "upgrade" this plane that isn't even operating commercially yet, the time scale and effort of coming up with a new aeroplane is just mind boggling.

Have You A Song?

You know, the kind of song that sticks by you throughout your life? This song, Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) by Baz Luhrmann is one such song for me. I think it came out in 1997, nearly 10 years now since it was first on the radio waves. It made such an impression on me as the words of whoever wrote the text sounded... felt even... so sincere. Yes, those aren't lyrics, but actual words dedicated to a graduating class. I suspect that this is one song that will stay by me for a lifetime. I may forget the title, I may forget the words, but I will never forget this "SONG" of mine. Which touched me in a very implicit way that I can't describe. This is the first time I've seen a video made for the song and, happily, it doesn't take away much of the original feel and effect of the song. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.... and still do.




Everyone Must See This! - video powered by Metacafe






Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99
Wear Sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be
it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by
scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
than my own meandering experience…
I will dispense this advice, now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth;
oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself, and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you really looked….
You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as
effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.
The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind;
the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you

Sing

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss

Don’t waste your time on jealousy;
sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind; the race is long,
and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults;
if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…
the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives,
some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t,
maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t,
maybe you’ll divorce at 40,
maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…
what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much
or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance,
so are everybody else’s.
Enjoy your body, use it every way you can,
don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it,
it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own..

Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings, their your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but with the precious few you should hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get,
the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard;
live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander,
you too will get old and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young
prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you.
Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse;
but you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal,
wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen…

I read too quickly for my own good

Just finished the book Eragon recently. Yes, the soon to screen fantasy movie of the same name. I just seem to gobble up the books. Ravenously taking in the words as they paint the world depicted by the author. Only acquired this book on saturday and today, Wednesday, I am left wanting to know how our hero progresses in his challenges and, more important, how he makes the choices he is faced with.

The book is a typical fantasy story with Urgals playing the role of Trolls/Monsters in this world. Elves, magicians, knights, swordsman, Kings and Queens fulfill their needed roles as always but somehow I never tire of this. Anyway, here's the book : Link to amazon. I prefer the original cover (which I got :P) than the one done for the movie tie-in

Things I need to get in Singapore

A reminder for myself:


1. A water-proof school bag that I can fit my laptop into.

2. A new set of headphones for my sony ericsson w800i

3. My IBM laptop serviced. The Hard Disk sounds like it's going to explode any moment.

4. 2 Water bottles. One big one small.


...will add to this list as they come to mind.

edited 19/11/06

Cos we all need to laugh from time to time

DONE!!!!

YYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's finally over. The monster project for Singsoc, ADnD. It's been a very very very very very very very bad time for me so far in school. Countless projects and coursework to do. Had to ensure that ADnD ran smoothly as well in the same time. At least this takes a load off of my mind. Pictures soon, if I am not dead yet by then :P