Gadling

China's very first fully homegrown aircraft has hit the skies at last, bringing China's aviation industry another step closer to competition in the global market. The ARJ-21, a regional aircraft built at the Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Factory, flew its maiden flight last Friday, after delays from suppliers held up the jet for about eight months.

With its new jets, the Aviation Industry Corp of China, or AVIC, expects to compete with Canada's Bombadier Inc and Embraer SA of Brazil. AVIC officials expect the ARJ-21 to be certified airworthy by early 2009, and the company will start delivering planes to customers by the second half of next year if all goes according to plan.

According to the Chinese government, airlines have ordered 206 of the jets so far, and demand is expected to increase. Experts estimate that China's growing domestic airline industry will require about 900 new mid-sized regional jets over the next twenty years, and the ARJ-21 should control most of that market.

The jets are designed to carry 70-110 passengers and have a flight range of 3,680 kilometers, or 2,286 miles.

Russian architect Alexander Asadov is fighting global warming with innovative building designs. His latest concept is a floating Aerohotel, pictured above. This floating island features a 200-meter hub containing hotel rooms or residences, cafes, winter gardens, and restaurants.

The Aerohotel is held aloft by a system of supports and three main legs anchored to the bottom of the site, and unlike man-made islands with tons of gravel fill, this design preserves the aquatic ecosystem below. Asadov's studio states that the construction costs and environmental impact of his design are significantly lower than gravel works projects.

This design can be installed in any body of water, and the plan includes docks for boats and a landing strip for zeppelins. Because if you're cool enough to live in a floating island, you're cool enough to travel by zeppelin.

The design is certainly interesting and futuristic, but is it aesthetically pleasing, or is it an eyesore? The idea is very appealing, but I'm not yet sold on the look. What do you think?

We've noticed a sharp drop in the cost of traveling to Utah -- could it be because the state is trying to hedge against a tourism boycott for its role in the recent elections? It wasn't Utah's doing, exactly, but the Mormon Church, which makes up over 60% of Utah's population, poured millions of dollars and hours of grassroots campaigning into passing California's Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in the state.

Activist and blogger John Aravosis of americablog.com blames Utah Mormons for taking away rights, and suggests that a boycott of Utah tourism is a good way to show dissatisfaction for the LDS church's role in passing Proposition 8. He's calling for skiers to choose anywhere but Utah this winter, and he's even urging Hollywood to back out of the annual Sundance Film Festival, which makes up a huge part of Utah's $6 billion annual tourism income.

While gay rights groups have not yet weighed in on the idea of a boycott, other individuals and websites are latching onto the cause, and the backlash against the Mormon Church and the state of Utah by extension has been intense. Aravosis and his supporters can't reasonably expect to change the church's view on gay marriage, but he says he intends to go after the "Utah brand," calling it a "hate state." He does not call for a boycott of California, saying "the Californians are the victims and the Mormons are the persecutors." A boycott may not get Utah Mormons to change their minds about gay rights, but Aravosis hopes it will at least get them to stop trying to impose their religious beliefs on the rest of the world.

Looking to invest in some real estate while interest rates are low? How about your own cave?

Steve Rush, owner of Mystic Caverns in northern Arkansas, is looking to unload this tourist attraction. He's put the set of two caves, which draw approximately 15,000 visitors per year, up for sale on eBay. He's asking just shy of $900,000 for what he calls a business investment.

Rush has been hosting visitors to Mystic Cave and Crystal Dome since 1992, but attendance has trailed off since a nearby amusement park closed in the late 90's, and Rush wants to devote more of his own time to Christian ministry. He says the buyer of the caverns should have a flair for entertainment, as visitors want more than just information.

The caverns are tourist-ready, with rock walkways, lighting, and a gift shop all included in your purchase. So far, nearly 20,000 visitors have viewed the listing, but it's still up for grabs as of this post. How many times do you get the opportunity to buy your own caverns? What would you do with Mystic Caverns if you could buy it?

When the nights are long and the weather is icky, you can make like a bear and tuck in until spring, or you can make the most of it and have fun with the cold weather. Maybe you've outgrown your sledding and snowman days, but you can still live it up in a real winter wonderland at Québec's Hôtel de Glace.

Open every year from January through March, this ice hotel is newly rebuilt every year with a new design, featuring sculpted archways and enchanting ice sculptures. There are 36 rooms and theme suites for overnight visitors, all featuring ice beds with heavy duty sleeping bags. Temperatures inside the hotel are steady between -3°C and -5°C, no matter what the weather is like outdoors. The hotel's information guide tells you everything you need to know about dressing for a trip like this.

You can tour the hotel without spending the night, or you can take advantage of the special packages the Hôtel de Glace offers -- they have special couples packages, a dogsledding adventure, and even several wedding packages.

Visit the Hôtel de Glace website between now and November 26th, and you can enter to win a free stay at the ice hotel.



All photos courtesy Hôtel de Glace and used by permission.

Acrophobia is described as an uncontrollable, irrational, and often crippling fear of heights. I'm not sure if this concept has an opposite -- acrophilia, maybe? Love of heights? -- but that's how I'd describe anyone brave (crazy?) enough to go for a dip at the Devil's Pool.

The Devil's Pool is a natural swimming hole surrounded by just-below-the-surface rocks at the top of Africa's Victoria Falls, right at the edge of the 108-meter falls on the Zambezi River. When I say right at the edge, I don't mean near the edge, or sort of close to the falls, or in the grass next to the falls -- I mean it is on the edge of the falls.

Just looking at pictures of the tourists who've gone there makes me a bit light headed. I know myself well enough to know that I could never, ever get in that water -- but the photos from those braver than I are absolutely stunning. No, these aren't photoshopped. It's allegedly very safe, but I can't help but think that those who scoot out over the edge for a once-in-a-lifetime photograph are really pushing their luck.

Are you brave enough to dive in?

A 20-year legal battle between Philippine Airlines and flight steward Armanda Yrasuegi has finally ended with a Supreme Court ruling that grounds Yrasuegi for good. The airline dismissed Yrasuegi in 1989, because the 5'8 217-pound man had failed to lose weight, as required in his contract.

Yrasuegi cried discrimination, stating that his weight was a "sickness and physical abnormality" beyond his control, but this argument carried little weight when the flight attendant refused repeated offers of medical weight loss assistance. The Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling in favor of the airline, stating that Yrasuegi's weight "indicates absence of willpower rather than an illness."

The ruling went on to say that Yrasuegi's weight would likely keep him from performing his job efficiently, especially in the case of an emergency. According to Gadling's own flight attendant, Heather Poole, flight attendants must be able to fit through the exit door and buckle up in the jump seat, which may be difficult for a man nearly 60 pounds overweight.

The airline industry is one of the few where weight requirements aren't discrimination, but rather simply necessary. We don't know what Yrasuegi's contract with Philippine Airlines specifically required in terms of weight, but it doesn't seem that any airlines are asking their employees to have unrealistic Hollywood bodies. It also sounds like Philippine Airlines was willing to pay for its employee's weight loss program -- how many other companies would do that?

Here at Gadling we'll be highlighting some of our favorite sounds from the road and giving you a sample of each -- maybe you'll find the same inspiration that we did, but at the very least, hopefully you'll think that they're good songs. Got a favorite of your own? Leave it in the comments below and we'll post it at the end of the series.

Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer -- "The Mountain"




The first time I ever heard a live performance of "The Mountain," I was sitting on the hillside at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in the Berkshires of New York. Tracy Grammer was singing the song written by her late partner, Dave Carter, and the melody and poetry put me in a trance. What mountain is she talking about, I wondered. For a while, I believed the song must be about the very mountain I was on at the time.

To me, it felt like the song was about finding peace, and there is no place I'd ever felt more at peace than at Falcon Ridge, surrounded by gentle spirits, people who love the world well. Dave Carter wrote a lot of music about wandering the earth, going places and seeing things, and listening to Dave & Tracy's albums always fills me with a desire to hit the road, but "The Mountain" always takes me to specific destinations.

First it was Falcon Ridge, and sometimes it still is, but then I visited Portland, Oregon. Dave had lived there when he wrote the song, and seeing Mount Hood for the first time, it dawned on me that this was probably the mountain in the song. While traveling in Oregon, I felt constantly drawn to the mountains, and so much at peace when I could just sit and stare at them. I felt like I really got the song this time. I wrote to Tracy Grammer to confirm my theory. She wrote back and told me this: "'The Mountain' isn't about any particular mountain, far as I know. The song was inspired by a dream Dave had, where he stood on a mountain and watched the wind move through the long grass in waves ... a place he felt the power of grace as if for the first time."

Perfect. That's exactly the way I felt sitting on that hill at Falcon Ridge for the first time, thinking This! This is where I need to be. This is where I need to keep coming back. And I do return for the festival every year (so does Tracy Grammer). It's also how I felt when I saw Mount Hood for the first time, like I would always feel happy as long as I had a clear view of the Cascade Range. Mount Hood became my Utopia, and I know I'll keep returning to it for the rest of my life.

"The Mountain" is closely associated with my two favorite places in the world, and whenever I hear the song, I feel at peace the way I imagine Dave Carter felt when he wrote it. I think the underlying theme of the song is not necessarily about going to the mountains but rather being exactly where you want to be. This song takes me there.

Click here for previous Sounds of Travel

Who knows what kind of publicity John McCain expected to drum up when he selected little-known Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate -- but he probably wasn't counting on anything like this.

Club Paradise in Las Vegas recently held a risque Sarah Palin lookalike contest. Contestants had to compete in a debate and strut in a swimsuit while guests voted on who looked most like the vice presidential candidate. The winner received over $10,000 in cash and prizes, including a trip for two to the January 2009 inauguration in Washington, DC. Will there be one or two Sarah Palins there in January, though?

This may be the first time that sex appeal has played such a prominent role in a major US election. But will Palin be able to draw voters to the polls the way she brings people to the stripper poles? We'll find out in a few days. If her ticket falls to Obama/Biden, at least Palin knows she can find work in Nevada.

You can watch a video of the contest here, but it's almost certainly not safe for work.

Sarah Palin has already come and gone to New York City, but you can still take a picture with her at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition if you visit by the end of this weekend.

Artist Dawn Robyn Petrlik created "Photo Op with Sarah Palin" after she saw a newspaper photograph of the vice presidential candidate posing with her daughter and a dead caribou. Now visitors to the display can suit up in a faux fur vest, grab a prop rifle, and pose with the Palins.

The piece has drawn visitors from both the left and the right. While Palin supporters happily pose with the display, many of her critics pose with their rifle pointed at her. Petrlik put a price tag of $12,500 on the piece. She says that way if it pisses someone off and they want to take it down, they can buy it from her.

"Photo Op with Sarah Palin" has been on display since September 13th, but it's coming down this Sunday, so your opportunity for the photo op won't last long. If you get a good shot, feel free to share it with us in the Gadling Flickr Pool.