Magazine

Lockheed L-10 Electra, photo: CTK
0:00
/
0:00

Two unfortunate cops get a lesson in law from a man on a scooter; richest Czech businessman buys a new jet to fly in style; an historic plane which Jan Antonín Baťa flew around the world will return to the Czech Republic; and US actor Tom Cruise strips to the waist during the filming of Mission Impossible 4 in Prague.

Scooter driver shames cops

Illustrative photo
Two Prague municipal police officers must have felt like shamefaced schoolboys in front of the blackboard last Tuesday when they stopped a man on a scooter on the suspicion of drunk driving but failed to read him his rights. Unfortunately for them, the man proved to have better understanding of the law than they did, and refused to cooperate and take a breathalyzer test after they confiscated his license. In a 16-minute video now posted on you.tube the motorcyclist schools the hapless cops on the law, at one point offering to explain it to them, to which - funnily enough - they agree.

Only he doesn’t, so after long deliberation the duo have little choice but to call in colleagues from the state police for help. Their superior, who couldn’t have been happy over the incident, was quoted later as saying he rarely saw such a well-prepared motorist. As for the breathalyzer? In the end the scooter driver took it and surprise, surprise, passed!

Richest Czech businessman to fly in style

Boeing 737 BBJ
When nothing else will do, buy yourself a new plane: that’s what the Czech Republic’s most successful businessman Petr Kellner did, the Czech tabloid Blesk has reported. According to the daily, Mr Kellner acquired a new model Boeing 737, registered in Aruba, which plane.cz says is the only jet of its type in the Czech Republic. The price comes to around a billion crowns and Blesk writes there are only 200 of the models in operation around the world. The jet comes equipped with a luxury bedroom and lounge, and can fly more than 11,000 kilometres without a stop-over. Talk about travelling in style!

Remarkable Bata plane to return to Czech Republic

Lockheed L-10 Electra,  photo: CTK
That’s not the only plane story making headlines in the Czech Republic this week: a remarkable machine, a Lockheed L-10 Electra once flown around the world by Czech businessman Jan Antonín Baťa, is due to return to the Czech Republic next year as part of a permanent museum exhibit. The plane, serial no. 1055, was reportedly originally for Amelia Earhart – the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic but was bought by Baťa instead. Czech experts say it is the only remaining Electra still capable of flight. The plane is currently being restored in the US by a private investor and is expected to return to the Czech Republic next year. Understandably, the machine will likely be registered as a national treasure.

Minister in hot water for taking helicopter

Radek John
And, one more story about flying: at a time when the government is trying to save just about everywhere, the country’s interior minister had to explain why he flew to Moravia last week by helicopter. Minister Radek John was on his way to a ceremony honouring police officers for bravery (in a recent incident with a robber in which a grenade accidentally went off, killing the suspect and injuring four officers and two bystanders). Apparently Mr John should have gone by car or by some other means. The prime minister himself demanded an explanation of the minister as well as the police president afterwards; TV Nova reported that using the helicopter costs around 80,000 crowns per hour.

Cruise strips to waist as filming of Mission Impossible 4 continues

Tom Cruise,  photo: CTK
If anyone thinks that at 48 Tom Cruise is getting up there or losing shape, they can think again after Wednesday when filming of Mission Impossible 4 continued in Prague’s Pštrossova street. The actor showed he’s in great shape, stripping to his waist in an action scene in just 12 degrees Celsius. The scene took roughly an hour to shoot, with the US actor putting on a warm jacket between takes. It featured Cruise – who is known for doing his own stunts - suspended in the air by a building window. Well, hanging from ropes and wires has kind of become a staple of the revived action series, hasn’t it? MI2 had Cruise scampering along a sheer rock face, and MI of course had that famous scene with the actor lowered into a highly-guarded room by the muscled Ving Rhames. The premiere of the new Cruise film is planned for December next year.