by Lufthansa Flyer | Mar 17, 2012 | Trip Reports |
Thanks to every one who shared their most embarrassing moments as a tourist! All of the stories were excellent and very entertaining.
Based on a random number selection generated by random.org the winning post was #13:
Congratulations to Mark A. who happened to be the 13th post for the contest!
Here is his winning entry:
Mark A. says:
March 16, 2012 at 8:04 am (Edit)
Much like yourself, I assumed two places with the same name were in the same place. I visited London years ago, and stayed in an economy hotel across from Regents Park. Naturally, I assumed I needed to get off The Tube at the Regents Park station, because it would stop at Regents Park. I should have continued to the Baker stop, which by itself isn’t a big deal. However, I’d just arrived from my TATL flight, and had a cheap carry-on any my checked luggage and my bulky camera bag with me. And it was after midnight, so they were closing the stations, and, true to form, it was raining and I had no clue where to go. The first person I stopped to ask was the most beautiful woman I’d seen, and she was from Texas, of all places! Fortunately, she knew where I was going and walked me about half way and had a good laugh as she sent me on my way.
Mark, I’ll be in touch in the coming days and get the $25 Itunes Gift Card on it’s way to you!
by Lufthansa Flyer | Mar 17, 2012 | Airlines |
On March 17,1960 Lufthansa launched its first transatlantic non-stop service from Germany when Lufthansa’s First Boeing 707, named Hamburg (D-ABOB) took off from Hamburg, arrived at Frankfurt then proceeded non-stop to New York’s Idlewild Airport (Renamed to John F. Kennedy in 1963). Previously, Lufthansa’s transatlantic flights required a fueling stop in England or Ireland. This was also Lufthansa’s first Jet Aircraft to enter service.
Even though service did not start until 1960, Lufthansa had begun daily simulations of operating the Frankfurt-New York route in 1956. Known as “Operation Paper Jet”, Lufthansa’s flight operations department would simulate flights between Frankfurt and New York (and return) everyday for 4 years between 1956 and 1960. They would take into account real time weather data each day, as well as simulated load factors to perfect the route years before the route would go “live”. From 1956-1958, while the 707 was still in design phase and had no accurate data, Lufthansa would assume data from Boeing’s Dash 80 for its simulations. Beginning in 1958, enough data was in place for the future 707 which allowed Lufthansa to fine tune their strategies. Leave it to the Germans to be meticulous and thorough in their preparations!
This moment in Lufthansa’s history would change the airline forever. As the 707 fleet grew, Lufthansa was able to expand their timetable to include jet service to the West Coast of the US, Asia and to South America.
Lufthansa would ultimately operate 23 707 jetliners. 5 were the 707-430 versions delivered between 1960 and 1961 and the remaining 18 were 707-300B or 330C variants that were delivered between 1963 and 1970. The last Lufthansa 707 , known as Hannover (D-ABUF) was retired from the fleet on May 7, 1984.
Images Of Lufthansa’s First 707-430 (D-ABOB):
source: Lufthansa Archives
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by Lufthansa Flyer | Mar 16, 2012 | Uncategorized |
Soon after dinner this evening, I settled in to catch up on e-mail, work, client portfolio reviews, etc. etc…. All of a sudden, literally out of the clear blue, A HUGE CLAP of thunder shook our home and distracted me from my friday night to-do list. I figured that it was probably a typical thunderstorm that we’re known for in Michigan, especially when the last few days have reached into the high 70’s and low 80’s and it feels more like June than March. I’ve even gotten rounds of golf in, which is unheard of for the Michigan tundra during March!
I went outside to see if there was in fact a storm blowing in and also because I enjoy the breeze right before a GOOD Thunderstorm kicks off it’s light show. Tonight was a little different. The storm didn’t blow in, instead it took shape right over our home and provided a great show for at least 30 minutes before moving on. The way the clouds began to build and rotate, along with the cast of setting sunlight, it certainly looked as if the skies were going to open and an ancient Mayan spacecraft would swoop in and deliver on their promise that some feel is spelled out in their calendar. Fortunately or not, that was not the case this evening. However I had a front row seat to the most spectacular skies that I have ever experienced. With trusty DSLR in hand, I was able to take about 500 pictures with the hope a few would turn out well. Below are some of my favorites that I have filtered out.
One note, none of these are retouched. I imported them, resized them and converted them to .jpeg files. It’s amazing what happens when you find a perfect confluence of clouds, sky and sunlight!!
