Once in a while we all need some humor in our lives. Let’s have a laugh at ourselves and others in the aviation profession. Be careful not to view these at work, the laughter may be contagious.

Humans are in a constant march to push back the boundaries of the unknown, including their fascination with speed. Commercial supersonic transport (SST) began in 1976 when the Concorde entered service, and remained for the next 27 years.

Airport Madness 2 is an improvement over the first version, with more runways, levels and features. Knowledge of air traffic control is not required. Manage takeoffs and landings to avoid collisions and minimize delays. There are two airports to choose from, with the choice of playing a levels-based game, or a continuous-play game.

The FAA has cleared the way for cars to fly with their approval of the Terrafugia flying car. The Massachusetts Company has revealed that it will launch its flying cars to customers by late 2011.

Solar storms emit energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation that interfere with the Earth’s magnetic field. A once-a-century super solar storm is expected in 2012 and threatens to knock out major technological infrastructure, including electricity grids, radio communications and navigation satellites.

The danger of flying inside highly convective clouds is well documented, but flying outside and near these clouds poses another danger from unseen ice crystals.

When Space Shuttle Atlantis touched down at the Kennedy Space Centre on May 26, 2010, it marked the end of 25 years of service for the space vehicle, traveling more than 120 million miles in it’s lifetime.

Despite the loss of lives and damage to property following aviation accidents, air transport remains one of the safest modes of transportation. The catastrophic Air India crash on May 22, 2010 was the worst aviation accident in the last decade for India. Was this the result of human error?

In his autobiography, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger writes about US Air Flight 1549 landing in the Hudson River and what prepared him for that moment. According to Sully, his journey to the Hudson River on January 15th 2009 began decades ago in rural Texas where he first learned to fly at the age of sixteen.

As Air Safety Support International (ASSI) conducts Safety Culture Workshops in the Turks and Caicos Islands, I’m eager to learn from the experiences of others, share my own stories and get a great insight into how we behave as humans. The air traffic volume into the islands has grown and so is the propensity for things to go wrong, unless, a proactive approach to managing safety is adopted.