Sacramento International Airport’s new Terminal B opened to the public on Sunday to give locals a preview of the $1.03 billion project before it opens for air traffic on Oct. 6. Airport spokeswoman Karen Doron said nearly 4,500 people made reservations to observe the terminal's new art and its elaborate design. “It’s beautiful,” said Merrilyn Hirsch, a 65-year-old retiree. “They really got their money’s worth.” Starting at 10 a.m., guests lined up to be the first to see the architectural feat. They were led onto the trains, called “people movers,” and brought from the terminal’s “land side” to the “air side.” The trains sped across the airport and went back and forth every two minutes, b

Art installations are largely complete as the Sacramento International Airport’s new Terminal B readies to open Oct. 6, and they include a range of pieces from technologically advanced works to traditional painting and mosaic pieces. While not the first thing arriving passengers will see, a giant red rabbit seemingly jumping from outside the building into a waiting suitcase opening up like a vortex on the floor is one of the most-talked-about of the 12 currently installed works. More than 1,600 aluminum triangles make up the rabbit’s exposed surface. The work, entitled “Leap,” is by Denver-based artist Lawrence Argent and is suspended above the ticket hall in the “land side” portion of t

Sam Bousfield, inventor of the Switchblade™ spoke to a crowd during a forum at the recent Golden West Regional Fly-In and Air Show in Yuba City with a scale model at his side.   What if you owned a vehicle that could take you "down the road" as well as up, up and away, into the friendly skies? Parked in your home garage, it would await your plans for a road and/or air trip. Just pack, load and go. Forget about long waiting lines at the airport terminal. No more boarding passes and passing through security. No sitting at the departure gate hoping your plane leaves on time. You can get above all of that without leaving the comfort of your own vehicle. The Switchblade™ Multi-mode Vehicl

Don Campbell, a pilot for more than 30-years, took several members of the press thousands of feet in the air Thursday morning. He pointed out different landmarks and roads where the Amgen Tour of California will be held Sunday. The roughly 30-minute flight passed over Auburn, Grass Valley and Nevada City. The number of pilots in the air has been free-falling in the last few years, he said. Campbell, Sierra Vista Aviation founder and flight instructor, said 70 percent of flight students worldwide don't finish their flight training. "It boils down to the economics," he said, adding that completing pilot training can cost up to $7,500. Add that to the cost of fuel at $4.95 per gallon and th

A high-speed rail connecting Sacramento with the Bay Area could take years, if not a decade. But on Sam Bousfield's flying motorcycle, you would be able to make it to the Bay in less than 45 minutes. Bousfield's Meadow Vista-based company Samson Motorworks is currently creating a prototype of the hybrid motorcycle/airplane. The Switchblade Multi-Mode Vehicle is a two-passenger three-wheeled motorcycle with fully retractable wings that turns it into a plane. Well, at least it will be, said Bousfield, who hasn't yet actually built a working model. This Saturday, he will bring a quarter-scale model of his imagined vehicle to the California Auto Museum's "Born To Ride" exhibit, which will b