The Supercar that I can never spell

The Koenigsegg CCX is the brand new model that just arrived here in the U.S. This car has been around for a while but mostly in Europe. The first concept car debut back in 1996. This brand was started by only a few people. Now they managed to create one of the fastest cars in the world. They always had this unique look so they were worried about having to change their appearance in order to bring the CCX here to the United States. The reason being because there are differences to the regulations for street legal cars here in the U.S. This car was developed in Sweden. It was all started started by Christian von Koenigsegg in 1993. His goal was to create a super car based on Formula 1 technology. After working on and deciding a design for about 3 years, they started testing some prototypes. The went into production in 2000 and the first car was delivered to his owner in 2002. As everything was going well until a tragedy occurred. In February of 2003 the Koenigsegg production facilities caught on fire and burned to the ground. The cars that were left were taken to a nearby Swedish Air force base where they stayed and eventually rose from the ashes.

In 2005 the Koenigsegg CCR broke McLaren F1's speed record. McLaren's record held the record of 242 mph until the CCR reached 243 mph. But only a couple of months later this record was beat by the Bugatti Veyron, when it reached 253 mph. But this record was then beat by SSC Ultimate Aero that reached 256 mph. But the Koenigsegg did stay with one record. During a Miami Gumball 3000, the first CCR in the United States got the fastest speeding ticket. The car was going at an amazing 242 mph in a 75 mph zone somewhere in Texas!


Now to the specifications of this monster of a machine. The CCX has a 4.7L twin-supercharged V8 engine. Now this thing makes a total of 806 horses, going from 0 to 60 in 3.2 seconds. The top speed is over 245 mph. Apart from having all this power, this car is extremely light since that body is 100% carbon fibre. The chassis is also very unique. It is semi monocoque made of pre-impregnated carbon fibre and honeycomb. What that basically equals to more stiffness which gives better stability. The only controversy of this car is that many people, including Top Gear, say that this car needs a rear spoiler in order to keep traction, but Koenigsegg states that it is only necessary of a rear spoiler when going speed of over 200 mph. In my opinion I do think it needs a rear spoiler since it can reach speeds of about 250 mph. Yet another characteristic that attracts me to this car is how the door open. These look like Lambo doors but they open completely vertically. This car is simply awesome, too bad it cost $600,000. If you really want to go all out, Koenigsegg just developed the version that runs on Ethanol fuel. That will cost you an extra $100,000 but guess how much horse power...This version has 1,016!! That is the second most powerful production car right after the SCC Ultimate Aero which has 1,180hp! I honestly did not expect the automotive industry to be releasing cars with over 1,000 hp. Sooner or later it was going to happen, I just thank God that it is during my lifetime! I strongly suggest that you take a look at this Top Gear video, you will certainly not regret it.

The Excitment of a Motorcycle on 4 Wheels

Well a couple of days back a was surfing around in youtube. I started watching Top Gear videos until I came across this one. I have to tell you that the minute they first showed a glimpse of the car I knew I had to have to one. Its simply amazing and all the car really is, is a supercharged engine with two seats. What more could you want in a car? The good news is that it is finally here in the U.S. The Ariel Atom, promises to go so fast that your face will never look the same. Others say that if you need face-lift, just take a ride in one of these bad boys. This car will provide you with more excitement and more performance than a motorcycle. The horsepower to weight ratio is more than a Ferrari! If you really don't believe me than do the math.

At first you look at this car and you would say that there is no design. You might be right, but you take a second look, you will notice the exoskeleton and all the mechanics of the car are also completely visible. That is what I love about this piece of machinery. It is only the essentials, no add-ons whats so ever. I'll give you my list of what I need in a car: seats, steering wheel, huge engine, and maybe some seat belts. That is exactly what this car is, extremely lightweight (since it only weighs 500 kilograms) and powerful.

This car can reach 0 to 60 in 2.7 seconds, and that's if you are an experienced driver that can switch the gears quickly. That is a sweet time, but if you like the Ford GT get ready to be disappointed. The Ford GT can go from 0 to 100 mph in 13.17 seconds, not bad, but the Atom will get there in only 10.88 seconds! Now about the drive train of this car. The atom has a 4-in line 2.0L supercharged engine. This engine will give you 300hp. There is also a non-supercharged version that has 220hp, but honestly if you were going to buy this car why would you even bother looking at that one, supercharged is the way to go! This car has perfect handling, not only because it is really lightweight but because it is very small so there is so way the wind or anything can stop you from making a perfect corner every time. If this blog still did not convince you to buy this car, then that means that you did not watch the Top Gear video that put a link to above. Now I suggest you take a look anyways, trust me it will not let you down.

Lamborghini Reventón!

The Lamborghini Reventón just made it first debut at this year in the Frankfurt Auto Show. This car will be the most powerful and most aggressive car that Lamborghini car ever developed. Rumor state that only 20 of these cars were going to be produced but that number has recently been changed to 100. It would be a shame if Lamborghini were only to make 20 of the insane machines. It sucks that these things are going to be priced at around one million Euros which is almost about 1.5 million US dollars!


As you car see the outside of the car has been completely remodeled. The extremely aggressive lines and styling of the exterior of this car were inspired by the F-22 Raptor. Even though the exterior of this car is brand new, the mechanics are almost all taken from the Lamborghini LP640. One extremely awesome feature to this car is the G-meter in the gauges. You can actually measure your g-force when accelerating and cornering. Obviously there is not much information on this car. As soon as I find out more I'll let you all know.

The Street-Legal Race Car

The Maserati MC12 is one of the greatest cars ever built. It was based of Ferrari Enzo's chassis. At the end the car ended up becoming a little bigger. This increase in the body went towards every direction. The Maserati is longer, wider, and even taller than the Enzo. This was a great impact on the performance of the car since the Enzo has a higher acceleration and higher top speed. While the Enzo can reach speeds of 217 mph the Maserati can "only" reach 205 mph. Unfortunately only 50 of theses extreme machines were built throughout 2004 and 2005, too bad there weren't any left when I was going to buy one (yeah right!),oh and by the way you had to be selected by Maserati to purchase one (just like the Enzo Ferrari). This car was priced at $600,000 Euros which is about $870,000 US dollars.

As stated in the name "MC12" this car has a V12 engine. With its huge 6L cylinders this has a total of 632 lb-ft of torque and 621 horses. The red line of this engine is indicated at 7,500 rpm even though it is still safe to get up to 7,700 rpm; while the Enzo can go all the way up to 8,200 rpm. The MC12 is designed after many of Maserati's race cars. Maserati has a big history in racing. They took part of the FIA GT which is a series of races. Most of these races take place in Europe but throughout the years other continents were also visited. What this race is all about is that the race car has to be a replica of a road car. But the it can be completely modified to certain limits. There are now three different types of championships GT1, GT2, and newest class GT3. Each class corresponds to how "stock" the race car is, GT3 being almost completely stock. But Every single car in the FIA races has to be street legal with certain exceptions that can be adapted to closed circuit races. If you want tot know more about the MC12 and see some funny along the way click here. If you watch Top-Gear, take a look how fast this car went around the lap driven by the Stig of coarse.

SAFECON Region VIII

This week college students from six different schools assembled for one major competition to see which school demonstrates the greatest skill in aviation. Starting October 31, The National Intercollegiate Flying Association held the Region VIII SAFECON at Murfreesboro Municipal Airport in Tennessee. Middle Tennessee State hosted regional’s this year and the competing schools that traveled to the event included Purdue University, Indiana State, Southern Illinois, University of Illinois, and Lewis University. Region VIII has a reputation of being one of the most difficult regions in the United States and only three teams out of the six make it to the SAFECON National Competition in the spring.

The competing teams usually arrive about two days before the competition to get used to their surroundings and get a solid day of practice in before the events start Wednesday evening. The official beginning of the event started at 6:00 Wednesday night with an overall briefing of the competition to all the teams in one assembly. No time was spared after the briefing and the first event, aircraft recognition, began. Only a few selected students from each team were chosen to put their skills to the test and win points for their team. Study times for every event were strenuous and an exuberant amount of effort was focused on each team member’s event.

The following day, students assembled at the airport early in the morning to begin the navigation event. Weather involving low lying clouds caused a two hour delay of the event until the pilot and navigator were allowed to leave and finish their route. Following the heats of navigation immediately came the message drop event. Barrels were positioned on the left side of the runway allowing airplanes to make their one low pass and get their drop as close as they could to the target. Back at the campus, students tested their abilities in the flight simulators and flew an entire route by memory alone of altitude, time, airspeed, and heading. When nightfall hit more ground events started including SCAN and computer accuracy.

Friday was the last chance for students to score a significant amount of points for their team with only two events remaining. The most challenging and pressuring event came first thing in the morning with power-off landings coming first, followed by power-on landings. There were a total of six heats in each type and judges lining the entire runway looking for any reason to deduct points from the pilots. Afterwards the judges met to tally their score and decide how many points to give each pilot. The preflight competition occurred after the landings on an airplane bugged with a wide variety of errors. The winner of the competition will be announced on Saturday and individual trophies will be awarded to the contestants placing in each event. Overall it was a very enjoyable and learning experience being at Regional’s this week and may the best team win!

The Art of Formation Flying

Every air show around the globe shares one common aspect to the stunning performances that are performed in competition. By this I am talking about formation flying. When you look up at the sky and see the perfectly symmetrical shapes the airplanes are in, it almost looks too easy. In fact, formation flight is one of the more difficult and hazardous parts of airshows, and if not done correctly it can result in disaster.

The basic formation flight begins with a briefing on the ground including verifying who is the lead, #2, #3, and #4 of the flight. Also the altitude, route, multicom frequency (usually 122.75), and weather are all important factors to be aware of before takeoff. Tail left or right echlon, staggered left or right echlon, finger tip, and diamond are all popular methods of formation flight that pilots regularly use. In flight, the lead always squawks 1200 (VFR) on the transponder and keeps his landing light on, while the rest leave their transponders and landing lights off.

Takeoff and climb usually result in flights of two with a lead and a wingman. The wingman always keeps the lead in sight diagonally in front of him, while both planes climb out at a slow speed to allow other airplanes to catch up. During cruise all airplanes are extremely close so caution must be exercised at all times. All turns should be made at 20 degrees or less and airspeed, altitude, and heading must be maintained constantly. When it comes time for the aircraft to break apart for landing each wingman slows down and turns 45 degrees from the lead in front of him. This is done until there is only the main lead in front of all the other airplanes in a tail formation. Landing is completed similar to takeoff when the planes approach in flights of two on a normal wide runway, with the lead two aircraft landing by touching down long, followed by the next flight of two aircraft landing short. These basic principles, along with plenty of practice and experienced pilots, can lead to an impressive and professional formation.

Safety First

Every year California seems to always have an issue with wildfires occurring in the late fall. However, this year has been one of the worst fire disasters California has seen in decades. The causes for these fires are still unknown with investigators hearing stories concerning theories from arson to global warming. This year over a billion dollars in damage has been inflicted in southern California and has destroyed many homes belonging to popular celebrities. Now there have been recent accusations that acres of property could have been saved from the fires if more airplanes would have been utilized.

People are expressing their outrage that almost twelve water dropping helicopters and two C-130 mass transport jets were grounded and not used to help stop the wildfires from wiping out everything in their path. The main culprit for this mistake was poor planning before the fires even started. The C-130’s were not equipped with the tanks necessary to carry thousands of gallons of liquid used to stop wildfire. The helicopters were also grounded because there were no fire stoppers needed to accompany the National Guard to coordinate the drops.

With 500,000 acres of land burned, there is little excuse for allowing firefighting aircraft to remain on the ground. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger stood up for the government’s decision and also added that the winds prevented any possible air raid that could have stopped the fires in time. However, during the same day, four state helicopters and two Navy planes were able to takeoff, despite the 100mph winds. Safety is of course a huge issue in aviation but decisions need to be made on what can be sacrificed when life depends on aircraft support.

Thomas Eversole, executive director of the American Helicopter Services & Aerial Firefighting Association, made a statement saying “valuable time was lost and if you don’t get there in time you run the risk of these fires getting out of control.” The investigation also revealed that the spotters didn’t report for duty until almost 24 hours after they were summoned and by then the winds made it unsafe to fly. This event is only a small example of why safety and planning should be utilized as much as possible during any flight, especially when lives are at stake.