DayJet Air Taxi is now available!

So when American Airline is in trouble and Oasis Airline closing down, we should be thankful that there’s still an option of viable air-taxi service by a new company called DayJet. The Atlantic Monthly’s James Fallows asserts that, by using its fleet of tiny Eclipse 500 Jets to shuttle passengers back and forth to wherever they want to go and whenever they want to get there, DayJet is one of the first companies to offer such service to United States.

The problem with taxis, whether on ground or in sky, is that it can be costly. Wired.com states that DayJet’s service may cost about twice as much as a standard flight. On top of that, it is currently limited to the southeast corner of the country of United States.

Tourist space travel, not that far away?

Xcor Aerospace announced plans for a two-seater commercial spacecraft called the Lynx on Wednesday. It was also announced that Lynx could probably take its first test flight by 2010. The spacecraft would allow passengers to take a 25-minute spaceflight. “Our company’s goal has always been to build rocket-powered vehicles that can be flown like regular aircraft,” said company president Jeffrey Greason, who claims that the Lynx is relatively environmentally friendly: “They are fully reusable, burn cleanly, and release fewer particulates than solid-fuel or hybrid rocket motors,” he says.

 

To Tibet: flight or train?

 

It’s been a while ever since travellers can reach Tibet by sky-train, but it’s about time for feed backs on how to get there. In the past seven years, the Chinese government has laid 710 miles of track across western China and the Tibetan plateau, creating the highest elevated railway ever built. At its tallest point, the Tanggula Pass near the China-Tibet border, the Sky Train climbs to 16,640 feet.

The lowest level of accommodations is simply an uncushioned seat. The most luxurious option, soft-sleeper class, has flat-screen TVs and four soft bunk beds (with down comforters) in each cabin. In the hard-sleeper class, which is less private, consists of compartments with no doors. Three wooden bunks are stacked on both sides of the cabin, so the person at the top has to sleep nose-to-ceiling.

Unless you’re really into the scenery from Beijing to Tibet, I recommend flight. It’s quicker and more comfortable (or at least, the period of discomfort is reduced.) That’s how my mom and brother travel to Tibet every year anyway.

No matter which way you choose though, you would feel it’s all worth it once you reach Tibet. That’s a fact.

Fly for five years: almost there

Flight Global just announced in this article that DARPA is close to awarding a contract to build an unmanned aircraft that can stay in the air for up to 5 years. But again, the main issue is how are they going to power the aircraft for such period. The design of the aircraft is aimed at being able to hover over a single area, narcing, communicating, or surveying for years at a time. Oops, did I forgot to mention it will have to do it while carrying a 1000 pound payload in the fearsome winds at a 60,000—90,000 feet? No brainer right? Now I wonder if I’m going to be able to see the aircraft built before I turn 80.