INFORMATION MIKE

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Do you like movies about gladiators? How about movies about airplanes? Well, if you're a fan of everyone's favorite airplane disaster spoof, you may already know what I just learned from my co-worker Rick Hudson: Airplane! is a remake of the 1957 film Zero Hour!

"So what?" you ask. Well, if you're an Airplane! fan and you haven't seen Zero Hour!, you should. While Airplane! certainly parodied the Airport series of 1970s disaster films, it was largely based on Zero Hour! Who knew?! Not me.

Well now I do, and soon I'll be watching Zero Hour! on DVD. Need a copy of Airplane! too? Good news: there's a deluxe "Don't call me Shirley" edition that's a must have for any true aviation comedy fan. Order one film, order them both. Whatever you do though, don't order the fish!

Read more about Zero Hour! (and see a clip) on New York radio station WFMU's Web site.

It's been a while since I posted, so I thought I'd start things off with some old news.

Apparently Barrington's not the only one using aviation to inspire people. On April 30th, British adventurer Miles Hilton-Barber touched down in Sydney, Australia finishing a 13,500-mile flight by microlight aircraft from London. That's impressive. But what's inspiring is that he's blind.

Hilton-Barber dedicated his world record flight to raising at least £1 million towards restoration of sight to blind people in the developing world. "I may never see again” he said, "but if, through this flight, thousands of blind people in developing countries can have this gift of sight restored to them again, it will be so incredibly worth it!"

Although Hilton-Barber is a fully-qualified microlight pilot, he was joined on the trip by two of the world's most experienced and decorated microlight pilots.

"I think there is a big difference between being adventurous and being foolhardy," he wrote on his blog before the adventure. "I need Brian or Richard on board on the flights, but we plan to have a lot of fun together flying to Australia, encouraging people along the way to focus on the opportunities in their life, not their limitations. When I first went blind I thought it was the worst thing that could happen to me- now I think it is probably the most exciting thing that has happened to me."

You can read more about Hilton-Barber, his flight, and how he did it (using speech-output technology to access his flight instruments and navigate the microlight) on MSNBC and on his own Web site and blog.

I spent a good part of Saturday night watching Barrington make his way from Asahikawa, Japan (RJEC) across the Pacific to Shemya, Alaska (PASY) on our Virtual Earth-based Flight Tracker.

As Barrington explains on his blog:

"I finally made it safely to Shemya, Alaska after crossing the North Pacific. What an experience it was, with shifting winds, different layers and types of clouds, and the possibility of icing on the wings. It was critical to avoid the visible precipitation that can cause icing, which forms rapidly at near-freezing temperatures and high aircraft speed. There is no real way to describe the experience of that flight; I'm simply grateful to be on U.S. soil again."

The reported weather at Eareckson Air Force Base was:

SPECI PASY 100722Z 19008KT 10SM OVC030 06/03 A2993 RMK.

Not too shabby. I kept refreshing the weather report with an eye on the ceiling since the Aleutians are known for nasty weather. At one point, I saw Barrington climb to about 20,000 feet.

During the crossing, Barrington was in touch with his team at Universal Weather, friends, and family via satellite phone. His videographer Juan Rivera (who's already in Seattle) told me that Barrington was also in radio contact with airline pilots making the crossing at higher altitudes. Times have certainly changed since the first around-the-world flights!

In case you missed it, below are some screenshots from the Flight Tracker. Note that the aircraft symbol does not reflect the aircraft's heading.

 
Almost there....

 
Land ho!

 
Descending toward the Aleutians.

 
Approaching Agattu Island.

Maneuvering for the approach.

 
On final for runway 28.

 
Safely on the ground!

 
The "Arrival" report.

Next up: weather permitting, Barrington plans to depart Shemya on Wednesday and fly to Cold Bay, then Anchorage. From there it's on to Juneau, Seattle, Denver, Houston, Mobile, and back finally home to Miami for the big gala!

Barrington Irving is slowly winging his way around the world, and in his latest blog post on Saturday, he had this to say:

"I’m glad to say that after being delayed by monsoons and a tropical storm, I made it safely to Hong Kong. Flying into the city was exactly how it is replicated on the Microsoft Flight Simulator--with 4,000 foot mountains below, you fly over the magnificent buildings of this extraordinary city.  As I came in for landing, I decided to do a missed approach and fly one more time into Hong Kong through the haze. What an experience!  After landing, I felt exhausted and couldn’t wait to get some rest. I think being 12 hours ahead of Eastern time has finally caught up with me and I must be careful now to get as much rest as possible. I am literally on the other side of the world and day and night have traded places."

Great to hear! "As Real As It Gets," indeed! (And particularly appropriate since Barrington credits Flight Simulator with a playing big role during his flight training!) If you haven't been following Barrington's flight, check it out. And I highly encourage you to follow along in his propwash and fly some legs for yourself in Flight Simulator X! (It's a long trip, but it'll be a little faster now that SP1 is out!)