The French town of Saint Omer in the Pas-de-Calais, is marking its role in the 100th Anniversary of the formation of the RAF, with a guided tour of the local sites linked to the famous WW2 fighter ace and double-amputee, Group Captain Douglas Bader. The name Douglas...
The Royal Air Force (RAF) may be British, but the French consider it a dual-citizen since it was born during World War One in the Pas-de-Calais, and they too are celebrating its 100th Anniversary with special exhibitions and a Douglas Bader trail. The RAF was formed in...
The National Park Service (NPS) in Hawaii has announced the immediate closure of one of America’s most famous memorials – the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. The closure is due to a “critical structural and safety issue impacting the USS Arizona Memorial dock and visitor loading...
Zurich public transport operator, Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ), have unveiled a mock-up of their new FLEXITY tram, made by Bombardier. The FLEXITY trams are designed to be a cost-effective solution to improve capacity, accessibility, efficiency, and passenger comfort for Zurich commuters. The FLEXITY tram’s design features include a...
AmaWaterways have unveiled designs for the first of a new generation of river cruise ships that are almost twice the width of traditional river cruise ships. When she is launched in May 2019, MV AmaMagna will have space for a wider choice of facilites including four restaurants...
The Vulcan to the Sky Trust is inviting the public to add their names to Avro Vulcan XH558 – the longest serving Royal Air Force Vulcan bomber, and the last to fly. It’s a time-limited opportunity for anyone to place their chosen name on a set of...
European aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, is planning to fit sleeping berth modules inside the cargo compartments on its airliners. Airbus and Zodiac Aerospace have partnered to develop and market lower-deck modules with passenger sleeping berths. The modules, which would fit inside the aircraft’s cargo compartments, offer new opportunities...
Efteling – the fairytale* theme park in the south of Holland – has launched a new virtual experience on one of the park’s main attractions, the dark ride Droomvlucht, making the ride accessible to disabled visitors. To be honest, Droomvlucht (“DreamFlight”) is a little bit dated these...
Private railway carriages are not new, but these days the ability to rent one and attach it to a train is rare outside the USA, where they are known as “Private Varnishes”*. Now, Golden Eagle Luxury Trains has introduced the Romanov Suite to its (already) private Golden...
Virgin Galactic has just successfully tested its new spaceship, Unity. Yesterday’s flight was the first powered flight for a Virgin Galactic spaceship since the fatal accident on a test flight in 2014. VSS Unity took off from their base in the Mojave desert at 8:02am with...
Bristol’s latest attraction, ‘Being Brunel’, a new museum dedicated to the genius of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, was opened to the public this weekend. The £7.2m museum sits on the dockside next to his marine masterpiece, SS Great Britain on Bristol’s Harbourside, and incorporates his Dock Office from...
This year is the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, and that moment finally came with the signing of the Armistice in a railway carriage in the middle of a wood 80 kilometres north east of Paris on 11th November 1918. Yesterday, after...
The long-awaited reopening of The Museum of War and Peace took place in Novion-Porcien in the French Ardennes at the end of last month, in this 100th anniversary year of the conclusion of The First World War. The French Ardennes has been at the heart of European...
When it opened to the public on Thursday (1st Feb), the Jebel Jais Flight zip line in Ras al Khaimah leapt into the record books as the World’s Longest. Who is now second? Well, the zip line business is full of superlatives – Fastest, Biggest drop, Highest...
This is a niche blog about technically-minded travel. It reflects my own interests in the mechanical, technical, historical, engineering, transport and military world.
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