Powered Parachute
A powered parachute, often abbreviated PPC, and also called a motorized parachute or paraplane, is a type of aircraft that consists of a parafoil with a motor and wheels. The FAA defines a powered parachute as ''a powered aircraft a flexible or semi-rigid wing connected to a fuselage so that the wing is not in position for flight until the aircraft is in motion. The fuselage of a powered parachute contains the aircraft engine, a seat for each occupant and is attached to the aircraft's landing gear.'' While in flight, and due to the design of the parafoil, PPCs effectively travel at a fixed airspeed, typically about . PPCs operate safely at heights ranging from a few feet off the ground (e.g., skimming, fly-bys) to altitudes as high as 10,000+ ft (3+ km), but typical operating heights are between above ground level (Height above ground level, AGL). Equipped with a 5-15 gallon fuel tank (depending on the engine and weight limitations), PPCs can typically be flown for about three h ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Agriculture
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to live in the cities. While humans started gathering grains at least 105,000 years ago, nascent farmers only began planting them around 11,500 years ago. Sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle were domesticated around 10,000 years ago. Plants were independently cultivated in at least 11 regions of the world. In the 20th century, industrial agriculture based on large-scale monocultures came to dominate agricultural output. , small farms produce about one-third of the world's food, but large farms are prevalent. The largest 1% of farms in the world are greater than and operate more than 70% of the world's farmland. Nearly 40% of agricultural land is found on farms larger than . However, five of every six farm ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hang Glider
Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised, fixed-wing heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered with synthetic sailcloth to form a wing. Typically the pilot is in a harness suspended from the airframe, and controls the aircraft by shifting body weight in opposition to a control frame. Early hang gliders had a low lift-to-drag ratio, so pilots were restricted to gliding down small hills. By the 1980s this ratio significantly improved, and since then pilots have been able to soar for hours, gain thousands of meters of altitude in thermal updrafts, perform aerobatics, and glide cross-country for hundreds of kilometers. The Federation Aeronautique Internationale and national airspace governing organisations control some regulatory aspects of hang gliding. Obtaining the safety benefits of being instructed is highly recommended and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Foil Kite
Foil kites are soft kites based on the design of the parafoil. They consist of a number of cells running fore to aft, some or all of which are open at the front to allow air to inflate the kite so it takes on an aerofoil section. Due to the amount of power that these kites can generate, they can be used for a variety of different activities including kitesurfing, kite landboarding, snowkiting, kite buggying, kite-energy systems or airborne wind energy, and recreational kiting. Foil kites are flown with various line set-ups that includes 2-, 3- and 4-line systems; 2-line systems consisting of rings, wrist bands or bar compared to depowerable 4-line systems using a bar or handles. (See also: kite control systems) In order to make them suitable for use on water some foils have limited air inlets in the centre of the leading edge, with valves to keep the air in and (hopefully) the water out. Internal holes in the cell sides allow the whole kite to inflate. These kites are natura ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Domina Jalbert
Domina Cleophas Jalbert (1904–1991) invented the ram-air inflated flexible wing, often called the "Jalbert parafoil". Personal life Domina Jalbert was born in 1904 in Saint-Michel-des-Saints, Quebec, Canada; his father was Onesime Jalbert (1856–1938) and his mother was Celestine Gouger (1861–1939). He was one of 17 children. Early in his life he moved to Woonsocket, Rhode Island, where he lived and worked for many years before moving to Boca Raton, Florida, in his older years. While living in Woonsocket, Jalbert graduated from Woonsocket High School, and later worked as a track coach and administrator for Mount St. Charles Academy. Jalbert received a U.S. pilots' license in 1927. In the 1930s he was active in kiting, using large kites for advertising purposes. He was hired to help protect the coastline of the western United States during war with the design and making of barrage balloons; he worked for the United States Rubber Company in Naugatuck, Connecticut, US. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Modern Mechanix
''Mechanix Illustrated'' is an American printed magazine that was originally published by Fawcett Publications. Its title was founded in 1928 to compete against the older ''Popular Science'' and ''Popular Mechanics''. Billed as "The How-To-Do Magazine," ''Mechanix Illustrated'' (''MI'') aimed to guide readers through various projects from home improvements and advice on repairs to "build-your-own (sports car, telescope, helicopter, etc)." It was headquartered in New York City. History and profile From its debut in 1928, it went through a number of permutations over the years, being called at various points in its life, ''Modern Mechanics and Inventions'', ''Modern Mechanix and Inventions'', ''Modern Mechanix'', ''Mechanix Illustrated'', ''Home Mechanix'', and, in its final incarnation, ''Today's Homeowner''. Although it featured many how-to articles, the most eagerly awaited and read features were Tom McCahill's monthly automobile tests which ran from the late 1940s to the ea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contains the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific, about west of the mainland. The country's Capital city, capital is Quito and its largest city is Guayaquil. The land that comprises modern-day Ecuador was once home to several groups of Indigenous peoples in Ecuador, indigenous peoples that were gradually incorporated into the Inca Empire during the 15th century. The territory was Spanish colonization of the Americas, colonized by the Spanish Empire during the 16th century, achieving independence in 1820 as part of Gran Colombia, from which it emerged as a sovereign state in 1830. The legacy of both empires is reflected in Ecuador's ethnically diverse population, with most of its million people being mestizos, followed by large minorities of Europe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon rainforest, also called the Amazon jungle or Amazonia, is a Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin encompasses , of which are covered by the rainforest. This region includes territory belonging to nine nations and 3,344 Indigenous territory (Brazil), indigenous territories. The majority of the forest, 60%, is in Amazônia Legal, Brazil, followed by Peruvian Amazonia, Peru with 13%, Amazon natural region, Colombia with 10%, and with minor amounts in Bolivia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. Four nations have "Amazonas (other), Amazonas" as the name of one of their first-level administrative regions, and France uses the name "Guiana Amazonian Park" for French Guiana's protected rainforest area. The Amazon represents over half of the total area of remaining rainforests on Earth, and comprises the largest a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Huaorani
The Waorani, Waodani, or Huaorani, also known as the Waos, are an Indigenous people from the Amazonian Region of Ecuador (Napo Province, Napo, Orellana Province, Ecuador, Orellana, and Pastaza Provinces) who have marked differences from other ethnic groups from Ecuador. The alternate name ''Auca'' is a pejorative exonym used by the neighboring Quechua people, Quechua natives, and commonly adopted by Spanish-speakers as well. (' in Quechua languages, Quechua) means 'savage'. They comprise almost 4,000 inhabitants and speak the Waorani language, also known as ''Huoarani'', ''Wao'', ''Sapela'' and ''Auca'', a linguistic language isolate, isolate that is not known to be related to any other language. Their ancestral lands are located between the Curaray River, Curaray and Napo River, Napo rivers, about 50 miles (80 km) south of El Coca. These homelands—approximately 120 miles (190 km) wide and 75 to 100 miles (120 to 160 km) from north to south—are thr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Police Aviation
Police aviation is the use of aircraft in police operations. Police services commonly use aircraft for traffic control, ground support, search and rescue, high-speed car pursuits, observation, air patrol and control of large-scale public events and/or public order incidents. They may employ Rotorcraft, rotary-wing aircraft, fixed-wing aircraft, Parafoil, nonrigid-wing aircraft or Aerostat, lighter-than-air aircraft. In some major cities, police rotary-wing aircraft are also used as air transportation for personnel belonging to police tactical units. In large, sparsely populated areas, fixed-wing aircraft are sometimes used to transport personnel and equipment. History The first police aviation department was established in New York City. Fixed-wing aircraft have generally been replaced by more versatile rotary-wing aircraft since the late 1940s. However, fixed-wing aircraft are still used in some missions, such as border guard, border patrol, as their higher speed and greater ope ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Private Pilot
A private pilot licence (PPL) or private pilot certificate is a type of pilot licence that allows the holder to act as pilot in command of an aircraft privately (not for remuneration). The basic licence requirements are determined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), but implementation varies from country to country. According to ICAO, an applicant must be at least 17 years old, demonstrate appropriate knowledge and skill, and hold at least a Class 3 medical certificate. Different PPLs are available for different categories of aircraft, such as aeroplane, helicopter, airship, etc., and are not interchangeable, although experience from a PPL in one category may be credited towards the issue of another. Issuing authorities Private pilot licences are issued by the civil aviation authority of each country. Standards vary, and PPLs are not automatically recognised by other countries, but in some countries the holder of a foreign PPL may obtain permission to fl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sport Pilot
In the United States, pilots must be certified to fly most aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), regulates certification to ensure safety and standardization. Pilots can earn certification under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) Part 61 or, if attending an approved school, under 14 CFR Part 141. Those operating commercial drones must obtain certification under 14 CFR Part 107. An FAA-issued ''pilot certificate'' grants official authorization to operate an aircraft. However, it is just one of several kinds of ''airman certificates'' issued by the FAA to aviation professionals. The FAA also certifies flight engineers, flight instructors, ground instructors, flight dispatchers, aircraft maintenance technicians, parachute riggers, air traffic controllers, flight navigators, and flight attendants. General structure of certification A pilot is certificated to fly aircraft at one or more named ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |