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Not sure if this is really an “airshow,” but if you can’t afford to fly to anywhere this summer you might enjoy attending – or even competing in – the Red Bull Flugtag.

Taking its name from the German for “flying day,” and touching down riverside in various cities around the world since 1991, the goal of this “outrageous, human-powered flying competition,” is to launch wacky homemade aircraft from a 25-foot high flight deck and fly as a far as possible before landing in the water. Judges award points for distance, craft creativity and showmanship.

This year, Red Bull Flugtag events were scheduled for three US cities. More than 100,000 people showed up to watch 35 teams compete in Tampa Bay a few weeks back, and there are two more FREE events this summer: in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, Aug 2^nd and in Chicago on Saturday, Sept 6^th.

(Photo credit: Wright State University)

Categories: Events
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From now through the end of August, paintings by Cuban-born artist Viredo (just “Viredo”) are on display at John Wayne Airport (SNA) in the Thomas F. Riley Terminal.

Viredo’s paintings are inspired by the complex Afro-Cuban culture of his childhood in Regla, Cuba. Here’s a sample:

(Carmen 1998 - Courtesy Viredo and John Wayne Airport)

In the 1950’s, Viredo was one of the influential Cuban artists that became known as “The Group of Eleven” (Grupo de Los Once). He left Cuba for the United States in 1969 and is now an Orange County-based artist.

A colorful selection of Viredo’s paintings are on display on the departure (upper) level near the security screening areas and on the arrival (lower) level near baggage carousels 1 and 4.

Categories: Art
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Amelia Earhart, one of the world’s most famous aviators, was born on this day in Atchison, Kansas in 1898.

You can learn all about “the Golden Girl of Aviation,” or “Lady Lindy,” and see statues of her in various spots around the country, including the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum in Atchison and at the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California, where Earhart honed her skills before heading out to set and smash records:

In 1928, Earhart – flying as a passenger – was the first woman on a transatlantic flight

In 1932 she was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic;

In 1935 Earhart was the first pilot to fly from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland and;

In 1937, sadly and mysteriously, she and navigator Bill Noonan disappeared somewhere in the Pacific during an attempt to fly around the world.

Bonus: Here’s a link to a search that turned up a great photo of Ms. Earhart standing in front of her plane Lockheed Electra at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, back when it was called Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport.

Categories: Events, History
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Well, gang, we’ve made it to the mid-point of the summer travel season. For folks who’ve had to scale back or cancel summer plans due to rising gas prices, airline fare hikes, or the deeply dipping dollar, it’s already a miserable summer.

I’ve been there and it stinks. Rising gas prices, and comments such as “Let’s check your temperature, Missy,” have put my planned road trip to the nation’s airports on hold.

But for you glass-half-full folks eyeing the August calendar and still holding out hope for some sort of summer vacation, there’s still time to have fun. You may just need to be more flexible and a bit more creative than usual.

So get out that “souvenir” pen you took home from that last hotel stay. In my Well-Mannered Traveler column today on MSNBC.com – part of the “My Miserable Summer” series – there are some tips for salvaging a summer vacation.

(Column illustration by the very talented Duane Hoffman. Thanks!)

Categories: Well-Mannered Traveler
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If you’re passing through Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) anytime before October 1, take a few moments to check out the new exhibit installed in the pylon display cases between gates 7 and 12. They’re filled with treasures relating to writers, photographers and musicians, all on loan from The Wittliff Collections, which focuses on the cultural legacy of the Southwest’s literary and photographic arts.

Some cool items here, including:

Lonesome Dove set designs and memorabilia;

Manuscript pages from Cormac McCarthy’s 2005 novel, No Country for Old Men and from his 2006 novel, The Road, which won the Pulitzer Prize.

A rare 1555 edition of Cabeza de Vaca’s La relación y comentarios, the first written account of travels in the region that is now Texas and northern Mexico.

A vintage camera used by Great Depression documentarian Russell Lee;

And pages from a songbook made by Willie Nelson when he was eleven years old.

(Photo: Pages from Willie Nelson’s first handwritten song book circa 1944, he was eleven years old. Also one of his first vinyl LPs with the hit, Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain. )

(Photos courtesy Wittliffs Collection and ABIA)

Categories: Art
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