There is a story about a British glider pilot, who created an exact replica of (I believe) a Percy Pilcher glider, to fly on the 100th anniversary of his death.
In order to make the replica realistic, the materials, and construction method used were closely modelled on those available at the time, and the first flight took place from exactly the same spot that Pilcher had taken off a hundred years previously.
The subsequent accident was an exact replica of Pilchers', except that the pilot was rushed to hospital by ambulance, and consequently survived his injuries.
There are a couple of things I don't understand here. Firstly I believe Airbus Industries are 20% owned by British Aerospace, where as as far as I know there is no British interest in Boeing, so I don't understand the motives of commercial espionage by the British against Airbus. The other thing is that it amused me to read the following article on Risks Digest last week. I guess everyone spies on everyone else!
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There is a story about a British glider pilot, who created an exact replica of (I believe) a Percy Pilcher glider, to fly on the 100th anniversary of his death.
In order to make the replica realistic, the materials, and construction method used were closely modelled on those available at the time, and the first flight took place from exactly the same spot that Pilcher had taken off a hundred years previously.
The subsequent accident was an exact replica of Pilchers', except that the pilot was rushed to hospital by ambulance, and consequently survived his injuries.
There are a couple of things I don't understand here. Firstly I believe Airbus Industries are 20% owned by British Aerospace, where as as far as I know there is no British interest in Boeing, so I don't understand the motives of commercial espionage by the British against Airbus.
The other thing is that it amused me to read the following article on Risks Digest last week. I guess everyone spies on everyone else!