6 Peeks Into the Bizarre Underbelly of Aviation

Things Are Getting Weird!

As a professional pilot, whether you're flying fixed-wing or flying helicopters, you're learning new things in your aircraft every day. From figuring out more efficient workflows to new routes, the types of mundane discoveries that a pilot makes, it must be said, are often only interesting to pilots. The really exciting stuff, for passengers at least, is happening right outside the windows of the aircraft.

But there's all kinds of stuff that even pilots don't know about what goes on with aircraft, just waiting to be discovered. There's certainly nothing in the training about anything you'll see covered in this post. All of this is really just an excuse to post some pretty cool material.

So while we're touching on the more eccentric end of things in this post, always remember that if you're considering becoming a professional helicopter or fixed-wing pilot, you should consider how the training at Upper Limit Aviation could get you started in one of the most exciting careers in an industry that is filled with opportunities for growth.

The AMARG, (Aerospace Maintenance And Regeneration Group) Davis-Monthan Air Base, outside Tucson, Arizona

Where do airplanes go to retire? Well, they go to what's called an aircraft boneyard. 

What you're looking at is a small portion of the airplanes housed at a facility that holds more than 4,200 retired aircraft. Actually, not all of the aircraft at AMARG are retired, some of them are being repared. But boneyard has a nicer ring to it. And in fact, that is why this facility is nicknamed The Boneyard.

It makes you kind of sad to see all those planes with nobody to fly them.

Uh Oh. This Airspace is Getting a Little Crowded!

Ok, maybe this one is cheating a bit. This is the work of video artist Cy Kuckenbaker who has created composite videos of dozens of planes taking off culled from several hours of footage captured near San Diego International Airport.

Who's to Say that Airplanes Have to Be Shaped Like Airplanes?

German designer Luigi Colani is well known for creating all kinds of forward looking industrial design concepts. His designs are typically sleek looking, with just a little bit of an 'are you sure that's an airplane sort of a feeling. This aircraft was designed as a concept for Japan Airlines. To be honest, it's unclear whether the designer ever intended for it to actually be flown, because as yet an engineer has yet to take a good whack at how the thing would work. But if you look at it from an aerodynamic point of view, I believe it could fly.

NASA released this concept along with other potential future flight solutions envisioned as being ready for the year 2025. That's not as far away as you might think.

We're guessing the plant-like plane (the designer calls it 'biodynamic') is supersonic. That makes us super-excited about it.

The Ideal Vacation Spot for a Professional Pilot

You know, it's pretty amazing what a pilot's spouse has to put up with (more on that later). I mean, pilots try to spend every single possible moment in the cockpit. Sometimes day to day life can feel like it takes a backseat to an all consuming obsession with all things flight. That's why sometimes it's healthy for the committed aviator and his or her spouse to go get away from it all on vacation... unless that vacation means staying in the Costa Verde Resort in Costa Rica, in this suite, which was built into the cabin of a converted 727.

Talk about separation anxiety!

There's No Other Way to Say It, These People Are Just Crazy

Ok, we're going to let the photo do most of the speaking here. I can't even really imagine how one person suggested this to the other person. I mean they have to both be pilots, right? Because who else would be crazy enough to do something like this? And the minister? Give me a break. Well, it's probably the most romantic, viscerally intense experience that anyone of them will ever have. So cheers to them, we guess.

Ok... The last one is a helicopter stunt that we'll let close out this post. It's another in a long line of

cool aviation events and stunts put on by Red Bull.

All we can say is that we prefer to stay in the helicopter. But that's just us, we love to fly.

Let's Just Call This What It Is: Helicopter Dive

If you'd like to get involved with helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft in a much more traditional way (as in flying them, just like god intended!), call Upper Limit Aviation at 1-855-HELIEDU.