Alaska Airlines: 'Creative Marketing' Done Right

See hi-res image of the winning design by 11th grade student Hannah Hamberg

 In my opinion, Southwest Airlines and their recent Sports Illustrated ‘creative marketing' campaign of slapping women, errr, I mean slapping a woman in a bikini on the side of one of their 737's was nothing more than cheap and tawdry. (Yeah, I know, no one uses the word tawdry anymore, but maybe we should?)

 What we need in the profitable and exciting world of ‘creative marketing' is, well, creative marketing! Enter Alaska Airlines and an act of pure genius. Their recently completed 'Paint The Plane' contest challenged Alaskan students (grades K-12) to design a paint scheme that would best express 'The Spirit of Alaska'.

 There were so many great entries for the judges to chose from, it's really quite impressive. Be sure to check out the gallery of entries to see that all of theses designs from these young students are absolutely fantastic. The winner was chosen on January 3, 2009... the 50th anniversary since Alaska became a state!

 The 'Grand Prize' winning design came from Hannah Hamberg, an 11th grade student at Sitka High School.  Her design is not only beautiful, but it also carries the great message of "We're All Pulling Together".

 Hanna's biggest prize is that her design will be flying around on an Alaska Airlines 737 for about 4 years. Millions of people will see her beautiful and creative artwork. She also got a vacation to the Disneyland Resort for four.

 To thank and encourage the other excellent entrants, a 'First Prize' winner from each grade from K-12 (excluding the Grand Prize grade) was chosen and also received Disneyland Resort vacations.

 What a great contest where everyone comes out a winner. Two thumbs up for Alaska Airlines and their excellent, and very respectable ‘creative marketing' campaign!  I like 'The Spirit of Alaska'!...  And shame on Southwest Airlines for just not having a clue.

'Caption Contest' #8 - Reaching For A Winner!

 We had our first tie in the voting process, so I called my wife in to straighten things out.  When the dust settled, twitter veteran @ryankeough fetched up yet another win (and $20 AirPigz funny money).  Good job Ryan!   

 As always, thanx to everyone for playing, both by submitting captions, and by voting.  Next game starts Monday morning, which just happens to give you just enough time to let all your friends know about the AirPigz 'Caption Contest' : )

'Caption Contest' #8 Reaches Higher - Ends 9PM Tuesday 2-17-09

 You've only got until 9pm EST on Tuesday 2-17-09 to come up with a clever caption for this here photo. I don't think this one should be to hard to get funny with!  Then, as has been our custom of late, we'll have open voting to pick the winner from late Tuesday night til 9pm Wednesday night.

 And remember that the winner will get $20 in AirPigz funny money. And I really am gonna get a post pulled together with the 'funny money' details (my complex plan to test your patience is almost over!)
                
 Here are the rules:

1) Max of 2 submissions per person 

2) Submissions go in 'comments' 

3) Game ends Tuesday at 9pm EST 

4) Keep it clean!

 Then, anyone who wants to cast their vote will be able to right after the 9pm Tuesday deadline. The voting will be open for 24 hours, til 9pm EST Wednesday. The winner will then be posted within an hour of the end of the voting : )  I think this is gonna be a good game to 'stretch' on

H2O Boy! JetLev Water Propelled Jet Pack!

 After about 6 seconds of watching the JetLev water propelled jet pack, you're probably gonna be like me and want one really bad! This German engineered design is a truly unique concept that seems to work extremely well. The 4-stroke engine, either 155hp or 215hp (and the fuel) stay down on the water so it only has to lift you and the nozzle pack. Top speed is around 50 mph.        

 And sure, you can only go to a max altitude of about 50', but when you think it thru, isn't 50 feet high with a pile of semi-soft water under you a pretty good idea when flying a jet pack, hmmm? It looks like way more fun than a jet ski to me! Price is about $128,000 or $153,000 depending on model, and it goes on sale April 2009 with first deliveries expected in June.

Podcast #2 Including Southwest Airlines And Exploitation Illustrated

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 A fresh podcast with a brand new Samson G-Track mic, and it sounds nice!  

 In this episode... DC-3's To 747's, Who Could Ask For More - continued tribute to my dad's life in aviation.  

 Quest Kodiak: Call It Anything You Want, But Please Don't Call It A Caravan! - a little comparo of the Kodiak and Caravan.  

 Have You Pull-Started Your 'Me 262' Lately? - some details on the unique starting system of the first jet in service during WWII.                 

 And lastly, my in-depth look at why the Southwest Airlines tie-in with Sports illustrated is a really bad idea all around.  If you don't know what's it's all about, you can learn about it at BlogSouthwest.com  No ranting and raving here from me, just some common sense ideas that are worthy of your time and consideration.  And feel free to comment on the Southwest issue.  I'm curious to see how you think, and I'd like to hear your thoughts.

'Caption Contest' #7 Tankfully Has A Winner!

 Twitter follower @Captain_Ron thought he would never win a Caption Contest, but now he has!  Congrats for being voted the winner in a race that went right down to the wire. And of course, tanks for playing : )              

 He's earned $20 in AirPigz funny money.  BTW, I'll finally make a post this week that tells everyone what AirPigz funny money will get ya.  I think we all need to know (especially me!)  Next CC game on 2-16-09. 

Have You Pull-Started Your 'Me 262' Lately?

Screenshot from 'Flight Check Fighters' video

 Maybe this pic doesn't strike you the way it does me... but a guy pulling a handle on a rope that's attached to something inside the engine on an Me 262 definitely makes me go, hmmm (out loud). 

 Let's back up a minute here. Since my dad passed away recently, I've been going thru boxes of stuff he'd accumulated over the years.  In a recent box, I found a 2 DVD set from 2007 titled ‘Flight Check Fighters' - ‘The How-To-Fly Series' that's available from TimelessVideo.com.  These 2 DVD's have tons of actual footage from military training films that show you about everything you need to know to properly fly the P-38, P-39, P-40, P-47, P-61, and the Me 262.  It's a great set that you should seriously consider adding to your collection.

 It was the Me 262 that caught my eye on the package right away.  So I tossed the DVD in the computer and start watching an actual German training film on the first jet aircraft to go into service in WWII. Cool stuff.

 I'm just watching away thinking this is pretty amazing to see (and I'm thinking, wow, the crazy mechanical nightmare that were the aircraft from that era!).  After a bit, an instructor is showing a student about the throttles and engine controls when a third guy walks up and grabs a handle on a rope located right at the hole in the bullet in the middle of the nacelle. Then, he starts yankin' on it!  I'm thinking, what the heck?!  Is this some kind of crazy pull-start pre-rotator for the compressor? What in the world is he doing?

Delaware Valley Historical Aviation Association Museum - Horsham, PA. Photo: http://www.williammaloney.com/

  <Air Victory Museum - Lumberton, NJ
Photo:  http://www.williammaloney.com/

 Well, my friend ‘Mr. Google' helped me out... and I found out something very interesting.  Seems the Germans engineered a small 10hp 2-stroke 2-cylinder gas engine into the nacelle to use as the starter for the turbine when a ‘cart' wasn't available!

 So, the guy is actually pull-starting that little gas engine, which then spins the compressor enough to fire up the turbine engine.  I think that's just cool, crazy, and topped off with more cool! I never knew the Me 262 was really a 4 engine, turbine/2-stroke hybrid!  Also very interesting to note that these early turbines had a TBO of only about 25 to 50 hours!  Ouch! 

 The upper picture above shows a 2-place version of the Me 262 from the Delaware Valley Historical Aviation Association Museum in Horsham, PA.  This beautifully restored aircraft makes it easy to see the pull ring in the center of the nacelle, and the 2-stroke is nestled inside the 'bullet'.   

 The lower pic is from the Air Victory Museum in Lumberton, NJ and shows the little Riedel 2-stroke engine on the front end of a Junkers Jumo 004 engine (with the center ‘bullet' removed).  Apparently this 2-stroker could be started from the cockpit via electrics, and the pull start option was for back-up. The large 'pull' ring is clearly visible here.  Looking close at the 2-stroke engine design, and the compressor blades behind it, it's fascinating to see how little has changed in 65 years.  Materials and details have improved greatly, but the basic concepts are very similar. 

 Pretty stinkin' cool stuff all the way around. Just goes to show that you never know what you don't know! Keep this in mind the next time you're at a sweet aviation museum.  Dig a little deeper into the displays cuz you just don't know what cool tidbit is just waiting for you to discover : )

'Caption Contest' #7 Under Way Til Tuesday Evening 2-10-09

 Another $20 in AirPigz funny money will go to the winner of ‘Caption Contest' #7, now under way. I think we're falling into a nice groove with the game now... no changes this time around, kinda like Groundhog Day.

 All that's needed now is for you to get creative and funny and then put a nice short caption for this weird pic in the ‘comments' area. After we get all the submissions in by Tuesday evening at 9pm, we'll then have open voting til Wednesday evening at 9pm when the winner will be crowned!                

 Here’s da rules:

1) Max of 2 submissions per person  

2) Submissions go in 'comments'    

3) Game ends Tuesday at 9pm EST  

4) Keep it clean!

 Then, anyone who wants to cast their vote will be able to right after the 9pm Tuesday deadline.  The voting will be open for 24 hours, til 9pm EST Wednesday.  The winner will then be posted within an hour of the end of the voting : )

 Be creative and funny… the world is watching you!

Take A Listen To The AirplaneGeeks Podcast

 Episode #33 was just released over at AirplaneGeeks.com, and I'm as sure as I can be that you NEED to give it a listen.  I had a great time with Court and Max as we talked about current aviation issues in the news, and also about AirPigz stuff. 

 So c'mon, take a little time and head over to check it out.  It's a great way to find out more of what AirPigz is all about.  Plus, if you listen to the very end, you'll here me lose my train of thought!  Here's the episode #33 mp3 if you wanna go straight there. 

Caption Contest #6 Has A Winner!

 We made it thru Caption Contest #6 with what I admit is probably the funniest caption we've had yet.  I've also gotta say tho, that this here entry was right up to the line of where I'm trying to see this game go...  but, my wife agreed that it didn't 'cross' the line!

 So, congrats to twitter follower @isuhawkeye for coming up with the winning caption.  A fresh, crisp $20 in AirPigz money will be on its way before long.  Thanx to everyone for playing once again, and for helping to pick the winner with the online poll.  Next game: next Monday : )