Big Apple

A few thoughts about my favourite destination, not surprisingly New York. One of the great things (and free of charge!) is to take the Staten Island Ferry to the island and back. Wonderful views in and out of Manhattan.

 Subway network takes you almost anywhere, the busses are nice too, but there's no better way to wander all around Manhattan than bicycle, weather allowing. There are lots of rental shops available, and one-day cost should be less than 88 dollars.

New York is full of everything. One of the coolest music stores can be found right next to the Times Square. Jon Baltimore is worth visiting for anyone!
















It's not every day you see double-headed saxophone! There are even smaller number of double-headed sax players out there, substantially less than 88, I think.

For another Atlantic crossing you had better fuel up your reserves. The night flight back to east is equally exciting as it is exhausting.


"And the two will become one.." One World Trade Center, totalling 1776 ft and 541 meters, makes you pause for a moment, and pay respect to all concerned building up this mega-scraper. There's nothing modern architecture and engineering cannot achieve.

Borta bra men Buda bäst

Position: Budapest, Hungary
Elevation: 151 m
Temperature: Close to zero
Containers on-board: Zero

Malev containers are all gone for good, while a low-cost competitor lurks on the apron to take over the business. The picture above quite well summarizes not only the situation at LHBP, but also what's up in the civil aviation business as a whole nowadays.

The story of Malev sadly ended in February 2012. The Hungarian national carrier was founded after the World War II, in March 1946. Sympathies go out to all the Hungarians who lost their jobs, they surely did their best throughout the journey. As a sidenote, Malev also had Boeing 73's pictured above, the first of which was bought in November 1988.

French design at its best

Location: Terminal 2, LFPG
Altitude: 392 ft
Ground speed: 0 kts

This is one of my all-time favourites. An ugly, yet ingenious three-wheel container forklift, that can be mounted in the rear-end of truck (see below). Probably only the luckiest ramp handlers will be given type rating for this wonderful example of heavy-duty engineering evolution. Needless to say, baggage handling in Paris is always swift and accurate.

http://www.fr.manitou.com/cms/lang/en

Polished Polish colours

Location: EPWA
Altitude: 362 ft
Ground speed: stationary

Look at that - the pinker the better! A pair of ground chocks waiting for the next turn-arounder. In the gray world of concrete aprons, this masculine vehicle is a real refresher, giving you one strong WAW-feeling. Looking forward to the next visit in Poland.

http://was-handling.pl/en

From Russia with love

Location: Russia

Altitude: 0 ft

Ground speed: 15 kts

Heavy construction work needs heavy duty machines.

Look at this yellow beast: four-wheel drive, scoops and hydraulic lines - an irresistible piece of engineering work, you just gotta love it!

http://www.jcb.com/

Welcome up to FL88!

You are warmly (ISA+15) welcome to the FL88. We are eagerly constructing our blog to be - humble-heartedly - the most exciting and interesting ever made.

Please stay tuned, and in the meanwhile, maintain FL88!

Styrman Sam