Monthly Archives: February 2016

Crossing the Rockies and the Sierras at 30,000 Feet

These are some photos from a flight across the USA from the Midwest to California.

In the first few the Earths shadow is still visible. The wind on this morning is so strong the snow is being blown off the mountain tops and that is clearly visible in the first few shots. You may recognize several central Colorado Ski mountains along the I-70 corridor. The last few are a series of Pictures over Lake Tahoe as the flight crossed the Nevada/California border.

Leave a comment if you recognize any of the spots. Some will be easier than others!

DSCN5620DSCN5621DSCN5622DSCN5625DSCN5626DSCN5628DSCN5629DSCN5630DSCN5636DSCN5638DSCN5639DSCN5643DSCN5646DSCN5649

Hopefully somebody else enjoyed those!

Much Aloha

Next-Generation 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter

I could have waited a day or two with that last post updating the 737-800 freighter.

Just today, Boeing is officially announcing production of the 737-800BCF with confirmed order up to 55 airframes so far. Some nice new high quality images are available as well!

image

Boeings new fuel saving extended range narrow body freighter is here to replace the aged 727 (1960’s-1970s) 737-2/3/4 (1970s-1980s) also the 757 (1980s-1990s) freighters.

The press release is available from several sources. ADS out of the U.K. is also providing some details which are a little more revealing that what we knew yesterday.

Boeing has won a total of 30 firm orders and 25 commitments for the 737-800BCF:
•    YTO Airlines, based in Hangzhou, China, has ordered 10 conversions with commitments for 10 additional conversions
•    China Postal Airlines, based in Beijing, has ordered 10 conversions
•    GE Capital Aviation (GECAS), which will provide the initial airplane for conversion, has ordered five conversions
•    An unannounced customer has ordered five conversions with two commitments

In addition, Boeing has secured 13 commitments for conversions from:
•    SF Airlines, based in Shenzhen, China
•    Cargo Air, based in Sofia, Bulgaria
•    An unannounced customer

Thats about it for now. This won’t change things much in the long haul freight market but shorter domestic runs can expect to see the 738 sooner now, rather than later.

If anything new comes up or any new customers are announced I’ll put out another update then.

Much Aloha

737-800 Freighter Update

Several developments over the past few months have prompted me to do an update post on the 737-800 Freighter. See my original post from 2014 here 737 Freighter Conversions.

Boeing 737 Passenger to Freighter Conversions

Boeing 737 Passenger to Freighter Conversions

Since the writing of that article, several STCs have been launched, Aeronautical Engineers Inc (AEI), IAI Bedek, Pemco and Boeing will all be producing 737-800 P2F conversions.

Best I can tell, AEI is leading the pack with 15 orders from Aviation Capital Group and 20 more orders from GECAS.

Boeing’s version of the 737-800 Freighter has two firm customers at this point. China Postal Airways has ordered ten, another Chinese start up YTO Express is buying the Boeing version but I can’t find any published numbers.

IAI Bedek has also applied for a license for the 737-700/800 however they have yet to announce any orders.

PEMCO has not announced any orders either but I do like that PEMCO may be offering a QC which have been very popular in the past with both scheduled and charter operators.

I will keep this site updated as any more orders are announced and especially when deliveries actually begin. I really like the 737-800 for several reasons such as ETOPS out of the box, and superior range and efficiency. The 737-800 Freighter is the ideal replacement for the 737-2/3/4 and 727-200’s currently doing the majority of the narrow body cargo work all around the world.

In Hawaii for example, Asia Pacific’s intended “upgrade” was to be a pair of 20+ year old Boeing 757s but FAA certification still eludes the operator eight months after delivery of the first bird. The 757 is not by any definition a “new” airplane and to be fair, some 737-800 P2F conversions will be only slightly younger, in the 15 to 18 year old age range. The 757 is overall a remarkably capable airplane, but they are not true next generation aircraft. The 738F will carry comparable loads to the 757 while using tons less fuel.

Sometimes a picture is worth 1000 words and instead of me going on and on and on, Boeing has produced some high quality images on their 737-800BCF page. I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

737BCF02

The 3700km max payload is roughly 2300 miles.

737BCF03

737-800BCF range rings are at max revenue payload.

GCmap is a great place to make your own range rings using any variety of parameters such as payload or locations such as KCVG or PHNL.

I suspect more announcements to be forthcoming in this arena. I know it is kind of a niche interest but if anyone else shares my enthusiasm for it, feel free to leave a comment and check back here often for any more updates.

Much Aloha

 

 

 

 

Religion and Politics

So either I must have missed something or all the worlds Catholics are being taken for complete imbeciles today.

Earlier today, Pope Francis, apparently picking a fight with US Presidential Candidate Donald Trump, pontificated, “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian, this is not in the gospel.”

oh-really

Someone just woke up the Oh Really? baby

The entire Vatican is a Citadel (or Castle) surrounded on every side by immense walls!

vatican

The Vatican’s walls were built more than 1,000 years ago at the behest of Pope Leo IV to protect the sovereign state against Muslim pirates.

The Vatican is a Castle with walls everywhere

The Vatican is a Castle with lots of walls

MORE PICTURES OF THE VATICAN WITH ITS HUGE WALLS

I would have to agree it seems the Roman Vatican is meddling in American politics in favor of Catholic Marco Rubio on the eve of the South Carolina primary. Whatever! This should be highly offensive to Catholics everywhere!

Just for the record, I agree Trump is probably not a Christian. He appears to be completely unfamiliar with the bible (two Corinthians? ugh) and I find him extremely annoying and I just don’t like him. That being said, I myself obey the Bible and do not cast judgement on Trump or even Obama or any politician. We are ordered in our Bibles to pray for our nations leaders.

1 Timothy Chapter 2 (that’s first Timothy Mr Trump) breaks it down. Pray for our Kings and all that are in authority,… Then… when it comes to all people being saved, we are taught that is not a political problem. Click and read it for yourselves. It seems pretty clear to me.

Mixing politics and religion is NEVER a good idea because our religion will always become diluted and take a back seat to our politics. Believe, and have faith in God. That is a good thing. Then go vote for the strong man. This planet is a dangerous place. Our faith in God is ultimately MORE important than our politics but political answers will never solve today’s problems. Vote for the strong man. The world is a dangerous place. Saving people from their sins is not in the job description or the office of the politician. Keep them separate!

Much Aloha

Amazon Is Making a Big Play to Bypass UPS and FedEx

Several news sites have ran this story over the past two days. Spencer Soaper from Bloomberg has leaked documents showing Amazon Is Making a Big Play to Bypass UPS and FedEx. The story was also on Bloomberg TV here is a link to the video.

Anyway this news is in dramatic contrast to statements made by Amazon at the end of January saying basically the opposite that Amazon not looking to replace the likes of UPS and FedEx

Okay that was a dramatic contrast to the rumors going around in November and December of 2015 saying things like…

A Secretive Air Cargo Operation is Running in Ohio and Amazon Seeks Cargo Planes for Air Freight Operation and Is Amazon Plotting an Air War on FedEx? It just wouldn’t be a rumor without Amazon talking directly to Boeing which is what the Seattle Times reported here Amazon in talks to lease Boeing jets to launch its own air-cargo business.

We have all seen this before. I have been suspicious for a while that what we are witnessing here is a winner take all game in play here. I have not had any evidence to support my theory and Amazon straight out denied it in their January 29th statement but now here we have some hard evidence. I suspect the actual airlines involved are taking this very seriously.

The Public has a short to medium term amount of time to enjoy dramatically lower air freight costs. (free shipping!!) This might not turn out how anyone thinks. Air wars have a way into turning into scorched earths. Anyway I am watching this intently as I have a direct interest. I hope everyone stays safe and calm as our entire industry may be getting tossed into the fray here soon. For now,

Much Aloha!

 

Swell of the year about to go off in Hawaii

This Wednesday a very large swell is expected to arrive and last all day, at heights above 20 ft. This means the Waimea Bay in memory of Eddie Aikau contest is on. Not much can be said that hasn’t already been said but I did want to post a image of the storm that is sending us these waves.

big fetch aimed right at Hawaii

big fetch aimed right at Hawaii

The purple colors are hurricane force winds and the arrows show the direction of the energy. As you can see, Hawaii is in the the perfect location. Hawaii is far enough away to miss the actual storm and all it’s wind, but close enough to get ALL the energy.

If you are interested more in how weather and swell work, a fantastic explanation is already available at surfline.com THE MECHANICS OF WAIMEA BAY is a 26 page graphic explanation of everything you ever wanted to know about how big waves work.

Much Aloha

Northrop Grumman Super Bowl Ad 2016

The Northrop Grumman YouTube channel just uploaded this years Super Bowl advertisement.

At 8 seconds into the ad, they tell us they are now “invisible”. At 14 seconds they tell us this is “not the future it’s the present”. At 20 seconds they say “our dream has become reality” and we should “just wait” to see it. That is also what they name the video, “Just Wait”.

This isn’t the first time Northrop Grumman has advertised during the Super Bowl. This is a similar commercial they ran last year. It appears they are only updating us. It is my opinion prototypes of these next generation stealth aircraft are already flying. Here is last years Super Bowl Ad. Notice they use the word “invisible” again.

I am a regular visitor to Tyler Rogoways “Foxtrot Alpha” blog and he posts here that this is the “6th Generation fighter” Northrop Grumman wants the Pentagon to buy. It is speculated by Foxtrot Alpha and many others that this aircraft has next generation stealth, laser targeting, defensive bubbles, offensive turrets and other sci-fi like technology.

Oddly enough Chris Carter and gang are back at the X-files as of a week ago. Episode 1 of the new 2016 X-files features their version, albeit a bit more fantastic version of how companies like Northrop Grumman could have a cloaking technology and other futuristic weapons systems ready to go. If you are one of the “hidden in plain sight” conspiracy type then you might think we have had this technology since the 1940s. Chris Carter has nailed a few things before, and Science Fiction as a genre has always been predictive. I just thought I would throw this in with the timing and all. That being said, I don’t believe in Aliens or the X-files / Chris Carters version of his-story. Personally, I think it’s just really fun television.

Of course the Nazi’s had the carbon skinned, incredibly stealth, batwing shaped Horton 229 flying already towards the end of WWII. You can watch this last video and decide for yourself which of the “modern” stealth aircraft or demonstrators the Horton 229 most looked like. It’s difficult to conceptualize that the Nazis figured out stealth on their own with pencils and slide rulers but the evidence is clear, that exactly what happened.

That’s about all I have, enjoy your Super Bowl and keep an eye out for these really revealing commercials and show them to your friends.

Much Aloha

The Emerging Laodicean Church, False Teachers, Hillsong United, and Celebrity Evangelism

Recently there has been a bit of what I could call an epiphany in how I see Christianity today. I have always had an sensitive personality when it comes to scams and deception, in and out of the church. Sometimes I know when I’m being lied to right away, sometimes i’m also a little more gullible and it takes 25 years for me to figure it out.

As students of the Bible, we have always been aware of the prophecy to the 7 churches in the Book of Revelation mirroring the history of the church. Hal Lindsey, Tim Lahaye and many others often want to claim that “we” are the church of Philadephia and the Laodecian church are all those future sinners in the Tribulation period. We are taught that “we” aren’t those lukewarm Laodecians, right? Were all going up in the rapture right? We are the good guys? right? right?

Well lets take a fresh look at the evidence again. Start with the actual text of the Book of Revelation. The Lord tells us he willanoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see“. (say a quick prayer here, ask the Lord to give us holy wisdom, annoint our eyes, and show us the truth, according to His promised Word, Amen)

And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. [Rev 3:14-22 KJV]

For most of my Christian walk I was probably 75-80% certain that prophetically speaking, I was in a “Church of Philadelphia” and the Laodecian church was something yet future. Maybe it is, maybe I was right, but at this time I am becoming more and more convinced that the Laodecian church is here right now. This post will explore that possibility and present evidence to support this assertion. It is not meant to be an exhaustive study, but I will provide outside links at certain points and enough hard evidence along the way to make my case. It is my intent to open this topic up for discussion. Light is always clarifying. Secrecy and hiding things from the membership or congregation suggests darkness is at work. if you are reading this and your salary is paid for by a church you should be doubly concerned. What does the Bible teach?

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove [them]. [Eph 5:11 KJV]

FALSE TEACHERS

The last few years, I was attracted to the teaching of Jonathan Cahn, author of the “Harbinger” book and video series. I first heard about him through advertisements that would pop on my news feeds coming from “World Net Daily”, (WND) a somewhat sensationalist book selling website. I knew WND primarily sold books and my antennas should have been up, but I fell for it. The entire Isaiah 9:10 prophecy, and how it was repeating itself in the USA after September 11, 2001 was very creepy. Jonathan would describe it as a “mystery”, it was kind of like a “Christian X-file”. I would not buy any of his books but I watched and shared his videos.

I-am-not-sayingJonathan Cahn was always very careful in his books and videos to say he is not setting any specific dates or times and that none of us could “put God in a box” but then just like Giorgio Tsoukalos the False History Channel’s “Ancient Aliens” guy, Jonathan Cahn would say, “i’m not setting any dates, but the crash will begin on September 15th 2015”.

That sounded to me like he was setting a date but maybe not. So on September 16th, 2015 when nothing tangible happened, Jonathan Cahn fans were able to say “meh, he never set any dates” and go along following his videos.

I remained subscribed to Jonathan Cahn’s YouTube feeds but my alert level went up a notch. I kept kept watching but now purely from a watchman perspective, I stopped sharing his videos but confess I was one of the people who thought “meh he didn’t set any dates”. I didn’t rush to judge him or label him a “cahn man” right away like others but I had a genuine curiosity now as to how he would handle himself now that the 2015 “Shemiteh” dates had passed. I still gave him the benefit of the doubt at that time, regardless of the September date passing.

bakkersdozenntitledIt was around a month later, sometime in November 2015 when Jonathan Cahn was back on the Jim Bakker show (yes, the same disgraced 1980’s televangelist Jim Bakker formerly married to and now divorced from Tammy Faye Bakker). Jim Bakker and Cahn were having a “Bakers dozen” sale of Cahn’s book.

Now, November was barely a month after the no show “Mystery Shemiteh” in September, I thought to myself, can the people in the audience be any more gullible than this? So, when any remaining stocks of the book should be tossed into the recycle bin, now, instead of selling just one book at a time, Jim Bakker is telling everyone to order 13 of them at a time? Are you kidding me? My alert meter pegs out now and needless to say, I am very disappointed with Cahn. He is nothing more than a book peddler to me now more than a true preacher at this point.

So here I am, I STILL did not want to toss the Cahn man baby out with the Bakkers dozen bath water. I held back any judgement, but I have now lost interest as a viewer completely. I didn’t unsubscribe to his YouTube feed but I wasn’t watching him at all anymore. That was until a few days ago when a new video came across his feed which would be the final straw for me.

I can’t say I was surprised this past week when I saw the new video come up. Jonathan Cahn was right there sharing the table with the known apostate and arch heretic word faith con artist Kenneth Copeland. Kenneth Copeland has long been blaspheming God. Since the 1980’s this FALSE TEACHER has been saying that we are God ourselves and Jesus was born again in hell (…for the record, Jesus DID NOT go to Hell for 3 days when he died, He went to Paradise) and other heresies that only gullible Americans would buy into such as speaking into existence whatever we want from cash and groceries to lear jets and stretch limos. I wouldn’t be seen in the parking lot of a Kenneth Copeland show let alone be in the audience or share his pulpit!

A lot of Christians are asking themselves today what in the world is Jonathan Cahn thinking?

I think the answer is obvious. Did Jonathan Cahn not self proclaim himself as “The Harbinger man”? Has he not himself BECOME the Harbinger?

This is where the light went off for me the last week. This is where I had my epiphany, “The Laodecian church is here”. I thought.

HILLSONG UNITED

We now must take a long hard look at “Christian Music” these days and be honest with ourselves. Let’s start with the internationally renown Hillsong United, whose songs are played in churches world wide. Is this really worship glorifying to God? Is the congregation being directed to praise and worship God in heaven or are we looking at the stage and only being entertained, are we possibly even being seduced into something other than Biblical Christianity? Why does Hillsong United’s stage sets appear no differently than those of Lady Gaga, Beyonce, etc? One does not need to go far for multiple examples of this but here are a few to begin with.

Why are some Hillsong concerts nothing short or erotic idolatry and why do many otherwise solid churches (including Calvary Chapels) tolerate this infiltration? Here is another video exposing Hillsong United’s occultic imagery imbedded within their music.

Why is Hillsong NYC pastor Carl Lentz hanging out with rapper and Allister Crowley follower Jay-Z and saying he is having an illuminati meeting? “Kinda Wierd” is putting it lightly.

Karl Lentz is not alone in the Hillsong United / Emerging Church movement. Hillsong’s very leader Brian Houston has also crossed the line by openly promoting “Chrislam” and claiming Muslims actually serve the same god as us.

Hillsong Church Leader Brian Houston Teaches Chrislam from Now The End Begins on Vimeo.

A day later Brian Houston quickly denied saying it but watch the video yourself. Decide for yourself if he said it or not, what he means, and if you think he is sincere or not. Everyone has their own free choice and ultimately I really don’t care what people around me believe but we all have the same evidence. Do not be so naive to believe these false teachers telling us we all serve the same God.

This is what is referred to as the “emerging church”. It is non confrontational, purpose driven, easy believe-ism and a lie from the pit of Hell.

One by one, churches all around us are falling for it.

I am genuinely and sincerely alarmed that the church as a whole is already in the latter process of being infiltrated and is now diving headlong into the “emerging church” ecumenical one world movement and am ready to rethink everything I know.

CELEBRITY EVANGELISM

These are just a few brief examples of what I am talking about when I say “celebrity evangelism”. Jonathan Cahn, Jim Bakker, Kenneth Copeland, Rick Warren, all of Hillsong United, Carl Lentz, Brian Houston etc all fall into the jet setting, limousine riding, private security, lovers of self celebrity crowd. They are just the tip of the iceberg. but this never happens at any of the good churches, right? right?

A quick way to determine if your favorite preacher (or one of their kids) is a celebrity evangelist, just take a look at their Facebook feed. And if by some chance your pastor is NOT on Facebook, you just might be in a good church! Give that man a hug this Sunday! I assure you he needs it.

So… For now, this is just a test post to see if anyone is reading. If you have come this far please leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Much Aloha   …to be continued