Author: Gareth

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Video: ‘Birth of the B-52’

Fly High English - Video

Here’s a video that describes the birth of the B-52 Stratofortress, a US bomber that’s now over 60 years old.

Try to answer the following questions about the video and come back on Monday for the answers.

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. Where did the original idea for the B-52 come from?
  2. What was the original idea for the plane?
  3. Why did that idea change?
  4. Where did this new idea take shape and how long did it take?
  5. What were the important characteristics that the Air Force wanted in this plane?

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Have a great weekend!!

Weekend Warriors: Birth of the B-52

A Boeing engineering team takes an idea born out of the darkest days of World War II and creates a whole new aircraft during a weekend cram session in a Dayton, Ohio, hotel room.

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Structure: ‘going to’ for future

Form: be + going to + infinitive verb.

It’s necessary to conjugate the verb ‘be’ in the present simple form (I am, you are etc…) and then use ‘going to + infinitive verb. The infinitive verb should be your main verb in this form.

Use 1: talk about future plans which you thought about before you speak.

eg 1: I’m going to meet a friend tomorrow.

Use 2: to talk about future predictions when you’re sure about the prediction.

eg 2: The company is going to hire some new pilots next year.

Take a look at the diagram below for more information, then practice some sentences yourself. It’s also useful to go back and check out using the future simple (will + infinitive verb) and try to clarify the differences for yourself.

Uses of ‘going to’ for the future

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Video answers: ‘A320neo certification update’

Here are the answers to last Friday’s video, enjoy!

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. The Europeasn Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in Europe and the FAA in the US.
  2. It’s a requirement for all new planes before they can go into commercial service.
  3. It’s 20% more fuel efficient.
  4. Testing was conducted in very hot conditions, in extreme crosswinds and with high vibrations.
  5. Airbus is testing that there is no regression in the other ‘old’ systems on the plane, to be sure they also perform as expected.
  6. The first delivery is expected by the end of 2015.

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Video: ‘A320neo certification update’

Fly High English - Video

Here’s a video that reports on the progress of the A320neo certification process.

Try to answer the following questions about the video and come back on Monday for the answers.

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. Which organisations have given the neo the ‘good to go’ approval?
  2. Why was this approval important?
  3. How much more efficient is this plane?
  4. What testing conditions for the neo are mentioned in the video?
  5. In addition to the new systems on the A320neo, what else is Airbus testing?
  6. When is the first delivery of the plane expected?

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Have a great weekend!!

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Structure: ‘whether vs if 2’

Fly High English - Structure

This time in our structure help we finish talking about ‘whether’ and ‘if’. To avoid making the explanation too complicated we will only mention one more difference between the two words, there are a couple more uses but we won’t discuss those today, so to keep it simple here’s the third and final difference between the two words.

Diagram showing the differences between 'whether' and 'if'.
The differences between ‘whether’ and ‘if’.

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Have a great day!

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Video answers: ‘Interview with Flydubai CEO’

Here are the answers to last Friday’s video, enjoy!

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. Flydubai was established to link closer destinations that hadn’t previously been well served.
  2. They have recently received their 50th aircraft.
  3. They have 75 firm orders for 737 MAXs and 25 options.
  4. They retire their aircraft at 8 years old.
  5. Traffic rights are their biggest challenge because they don’t have an ‘open skies’ agreement in the region.

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