Niagara Falls Fun - Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls Canada

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Air show attracts astronaut, Lt.-Gov.
Plus an estimated 10,000 aviation buffs to weekend display
Posted By BY JENNIFER PELLEGRINI REVIEW STAFF WRITER

Bjarni Tryggvason can recall the first time he wanted to go into space.

“Oct. 4, 1957,” he said, asking who could remember the memorable event of the day.

The answer “Sputnik” is met with a grin.

“I was a little kid,” Tryggvason said.

“Sputnik was launched and that was so amazing to me.”

From that day, until July 20, 1969, when Apollo 11 mission commander Neil Armstrong and fellow astronaut Buzz Aldren stepped foot on the moon, Tryggvason kept his eyes on the skies, dreaming of getting there himself one day.

Then reality set in. Born in Iceland and raised in Canada, it seemed all but impossible to a then 23-year-old science student that a Canadian would even float weightless in space.

“Right up until (then) I was figuring out how to run away from home, move to the United States and become an astronaut,” said Tryggvason.

“Then I stopped. I said, ‘You’re never going to do it. Get on with what you’re going to do.’” (more…)

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High flyer at air show
NASA astronaut checks out Silver Dart replica he plans to fly
Posted By BY ALISON LANGLEY REVIEW STAFF WRITER

Among the thousands of people who will be looking skyward this weekend during the annual Friendly Foes Above the Falls air show will be a man who has already conquered the stratosphere.

Bjarni Tryggvason, a professor of flight dynamics at the University of Western Ontario, flew aboard the shuttle Discovery in 1997. Now, the former NASA astronaut has set his sights on being the first pilot to test fly a replica of Canada’s first flying machine.

Niagara-based aircraft enthusiasts have been working on the full-scale replica of the Silver Dart since 2004.

The replica is expected to make its inaugural flight in February 2009, in Baddeck Bay, N. S., the same site the Silver Dart first took to the skies in 1909.

The plane is being assembled at the Russell Aviation Group airfield. Tryggvason was at the Sodom Road airfield recently and liked what he saw.

“I’m pleased to see that we are getting to the final stages of assembly,” he said. (more…)

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Air show above Niagara this weekend
Posted By ALISON LANGLEY

Among the thousands of people who will be looking skyward this weekend during the annual Friendly Foes Above the Falls air show will be a man who already conquered the stratosphere.

Bjarni Tryggvason, a professor of flight dynamics at the University of Western Ontario, flew aboard the shuttle Discovery in 1997.

Now the former NASA astronaut has set in sights on being the first pilot to test fly a replica of Canada’s first flying machine.

Niagara-based aircraft enthusiasts have been working on the full-scale replica of the Silver Dart since 2004. (more…)

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Audi takes cars for spin on airport ice rink
Posted By MATTHEW VAN DONGEN

The yellow rally car bursts through a snowdrift, sending snow and orange pylons flying.

The Audi Quattro almost flies, too, as it skids and spins nearly 180 degrees around a sharp, icy curve.

It is at an airport, after all.

“It’s a fabulous place for a test drive,” said automotive writer Joe Tralongo, who grinned after a wild ride around an icy airstrip at Niagara District Airport Wednesday morning.

“Try finding another airport that will let you zoom around on its runway without (security) agents chasing you around. (more…)

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No Region funding for airport
Posted By MATTHEW VAN DONGEN

Regional taxpayers won’t fund the Niagara District Airport this year, despite a $500,000-a-year request from the facility’s commission.

Instead, regional councillors asked staff Wednesday to review what role, if any, the Region should have in supporting any Niagara airport.

Airport commission vice-chairman Ruedi Suter called Niagara District “an integral part of Niagara’s transportation system” – and one deserving full support – the Region. (more…)

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Niagara airport could be space base
Rocket builder eyes southern Ontario launch area
Posted By MATTHEW VAN DONGEN

A Shaw Festival play, a wine tasting and a $50,000 ticket to sub-orbital space.

Is this the final frontier for Niagara-on-the-Lake tourism? The notion isn’t as spacey as it sounds.

Brian Feeney, a competitor in the Ansari X Prize space race, is scouting southern Ontario hangars for room to build a base to manufacture and launch spacecraft. One site on his radar: Niagara District Airport.

A peninsula space base looks good to Feeney – especially from 140 kilometres above sea level.

“From there, you can see all the Great Lakes, and that’s a little bit of magic,” said the space tourism entrepreneur. “The lakes are quite distinctive (from space). I’d say they’re top 10 in terms of viewing points of interest.” (more…)