The Young Chronicle: For Grade 3 March 20th, 2015 | Page 3

YOUNG CHRONICLE I Believe I Can Fly Rambo and Pranks, our two mascots are pretty amazed at the Aeromobil. Being Batman Fans, they have always dreamt of owning the Batmobile, but the Aeromobil one is clearly much cooler. Their mom and dad, who have been Jetsons fans, are finally looking forward to a car that can actually fly; and their dream seems to be finally taking off with a new twist, as a Slovak prototype of a flying car spreads its wings. The car, inspired by the books about flying by French authors Jules Verne and Antoine de Saint Exupery is finally taking off. The Slovak designer and engineer Stefan Klein says he got this idea of working on a flying car, in the 1990s, when he was in university. That said, who hasn’t dreamt of a flying car, while being stuck in traffic. We all have, haven’t we? Stefan has been flying for quite a while. In fact, he says he got his pilot's license before he was old enough to drive a car. He probably is one of the best people who has autodesign skills and is a pilot. In fact, he has designed cars for BMW, Volkswagen and Audi, and also teaches at the Bratislava-based Academy of Fine Arts and Design. The Sky’s Gold-and-Indigo Lightshow, But Where Did the Sun Go?! A total solar eclipse occurred on Friday March 20, 2015. A major portion of the Earth's surface was plunged into darkness as the Moon came between us and the Sun. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's diameter (as seen from Earth) is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. One more feature of a total eclipse is Baily’s Beads, spots of light that appear to encircle the moon, resembling a string of luminous beads, visible immediately before and after a total eclipse caused by the sun's light shining between the mountains on the moon's surface. When the eclipse is at its height, a halo of gold, called a corona, flares around the darkened lunar disc, while the sky turns a unique shade of dark blue. The solar eclipse, on the 20th of March, was most visible from the North Atlant ic and Arctic Oceans, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, United Kingdom, Faroe Islands, northern Norway and Murmansk. The Aeromobil is undoubtedly one of the most elegantly designed airborne vehicles. It seats two, and is merely 20 ft. long. Its compact size makes it fit into a regular garage, and tank up at a regular fuel station. Did You Know: Slovakia, the world's largest per-capita car producer. Q&A: Where is Slovakia? Send your answer to [email protected]. The Aeromobil can fly at a speed of 200km/h (124 mph) and travel as far as 700 km (430 miles), consuming 15 liters (4 gallons) of petrol per hour. Klein and his team are currently working on the next generation of Aeromobil that will go into production in a few months and hopefully receive Slovak Ultra-Light Aircraft Certification (SFUL). Would-be users would have to follow the laws already in place for ultralight aircraft, and Pilot/drivers will need to have both a driver's and pilot's license with at least 25 flying hours. So essentially, no your daddy cannot get the Aeromobil home, right away. However, the Aeromobil would certainly be very useful for countries with vast areas lacking infrastructure and connectivity, like Russia, China or Australia. 3 The March 20 Celestial Coincidence In addition to the solar eclipse, 20 March 2015 was also the day of the March equinox (also known as the spring or vernal equinox) and a supermoon. A supermoon refers to the moment the moon orbits at its closest to the Earth, making it look bigger than it normally does. The spring equinox is the time of the year when night and day are of equal length, mid-way between the longest and shortest days of the year.