Transportation Research Centre, East Liberty Ohio.
As we were flying en route from New Orleans to Toronto the other day I noticed this large race track.
The TRC track at East Liberty Ohio.
This is the Transportation Research Centre in East Liberty Ohio (population 967 in 2000 -- see the map below for its location). They do some pretty neat things with regards to automotive safety, durability, fuel efficiency and more. Their website is worth a look http://www.trcpg.com/index.asp .
Also in East Liberty is the Honda plant that manufactures the Element, CR-V and Crosstour. Just down the road in Marysville Ohio is the site of the first North American Honda plant which opened in 1982 and now produces the Accord, Acura RDX and TL. Check out http://www.ohio.honda.com/index.cfm for more.
Also in East Liberty is the Honda plant that manufactures the Element, CR-V and Crosstour. Just down the road in Marysville Ohio is the site of the first North American Honda plant which opened in 1982 and now produces the Accord, Acura RDX and TL. Check out http://www.ohio.honda.com/index.cfm for more.
Vestergaard Elephant De-Ice truck
A Vestergaard Elephant de-ice truck sprays type IV fluid on an Air Canada 773 at the Toronto CDF.
The Vestergaard Elephant de-ice truck. The Beta 15 model, which cost $1.2million each, has a nozzle that can reach as high as 23m which is sufficient to de-ice the tail of the Airbus A380. It has a tank cpacity of 12,000 litres of de-ice/anti-ice fluid and can be operated by one person. From the de-icing cab the operator can de-ice the aircraft as well as drive the truck.
Due to the critical nature of de-icing an aircraft, many companies use de-icing simulators to train their operators.
In this picture the truck is spraying this Boeing 777 wing with green type IV anti-icing fluid. Type I fluid (applied prior to Type IV) is a de-icing fluid, orange in colour, and is used to remove frozen contamination such as ice or snow from the aircraft. Type I fluid is heated so you will often see steam as it is sprayed into the cold air. Type IV is only used when there is active precipitation and is designed to flow off the wing as the aircraft reaches it's takeoff speed. Type IV fluid costs about $5 per litre!
Fun Facts Subject Southwest Airlines (SW) vs WestJet (WJ)
WestJet's business model was loosely based on Southwest Airlines so here are some comparisons.
First flight SW: June 18th 1971
First flight WJ: February 29th 1996
Number of aircraft SW: 544 Boeing 737s (346 -700 series; 25 -500 series; 173 -300 series)
Number of aircraft WJ: 93 Boeing 737s (68 -700 series; 13 -600 series; 12 -800 series)
Flights per day SW: 3,200
Flights per day WJ: 420
Number of employees SW: 35,000
Number of employees WJ: 7,800
Number of Cities served SW: 69
Number of Cities served WJ: 71
Number of arrival and departures to/from Las Vegas (LAS) SW: 448 flights per day*
Number of arrival and departures to/from Las Vegas (LAS) WJ: 20 flights per day (avg)**
Number of passengers flown in/out of LAS Sept 2010 SW: 1,262,861
Number of passengers flown in/out of LAS Sept 2010 WJ: 52,161
*SW operates more flights in/out of LAS than any other of their destinations
**WJ operates more international flights to/from LAS than any other carrier
sources www.westjet.com and www.southwest.com
First flight WJ: February 29th 1996
Number of aircraft SW: 544 Boeing 737s (346 -700 series; 25 -500 series; 173 -300 series)
Number of aircraft WJ: 93 Boeing 737s (68 -700 series; 13 -600 series; 12 -800 series)
Flights per day SW: 3,200
Flights per day WJ: 420
Number of employees SW: 35,000
Number of employees WJ: 7,800
Number of Cities served SW: 69
Number of Cities served WJ: 71
Number of arrival and departures to/from Las Vegas (LAS) SW: 448 flights per day*
Number of arrival and departures to/from Las Vegas (LAS) WJ: 20 flights per day (avg)**
Number of passengers flown in/out of LAS Sept 2010 SW: 1,262,861
Number of passengers flown in/out of LAS Sept 2010 WJ: 52,161
*SW operates more flights in/out of LAS than any other of their destinations
**WJ operates more international flights to/from LAS than any other carrier
sources www.westjet.com and www.southwest.com
