WEDNESDAY 4 MARCH 2015 • [email protected] • www.thepeninsulaqatar.com • 4455 7741 inside Focus isn’t CAMPUS great, but it • Qatar Academy Doha holds works Sports Day P | 4 P | 8-9 WHEELS • Optimism roars back as Geneva Motor Show opens Augusto Cicare has been building aircraft ever since 1958, building P | 6 boutique ultra-light helicopter business that still operates from the FOOD Argentine flatlands but has drawn • Ad lib your way to French clients from all over the world. shepherd’s pie P | 7 HEALTH • Peanuts may lower risk of death from heart disease P | 11 TECHNOLOGY • Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge: 13 things to know P | 12 BUILDING COPTERS LEARN ARABIC • Learn commonly used Arabic words IN ARGENTINA and their meanings P | 13 2 PLUS | WEDNESDAY 4 MARCH 2015 COVER STORY Cicare CH-7T and CH-7B helicopters parked in front of the Cicare helicopter factory. Argentine whiz kid to homemade helicopter guru By Daniel Merolla rowing up in a small town on the Argentine plains, Augusto Cicare was so fascinated by flight that he took apart his mother’s old bedframe and turned it into the fuselage of a helicopter. That first flying machine, which Cicare built with a small motor when he was 18, hovered just a few centimeters above the ground. But he kept tinkering, adding a more powerful motor and better Gscraps until three years later he had made the Cicare CH-1, the first helicopter built in Latin America. That was 1958. Cicare has been building aircraft ever since, turning his pas- sion into a boutique ultra-light helicopter business that still operates from the Argentine flatlands but has drawn clients from all over the world. Today, Cicare is 77 years old and builds about 20 customised helicopters a year Augusto Cicare with two of his sons and a team of around 30 builders and engineers at a factory in Saladillo, a farming town surrounded by soy fields. PLUS | WEDNESDAY 4 MARCH 2015 3 Engineers from Eurocopter, US his machines to Europe, the Middle firms Robinson and Sikorsky, and East, Asia and Australia. Italy’s Finmeccanica have all visited his factory, intrigued by his do-it-yourself ‘Motorcycle in the air’ ingenuity. Like a deafening dragonfly, a single- He even had a visit from former seat helicopter buzzes the surrounding Formula One champion Juan Manuel fields and comes in for a landing near Fangio, who rang his doorbell one day one of the factory’s hangars. and asked him to build him a custom Test pilot Arturo Hernandez, a four-cylinder engine — a project that 44-year-old Spaniard, hops out with ultimately fell through when the back- a grin. ers, German automakers DKW, were “Nobody makes anything like this in bought by Fiat. Spain. It’s like driving a motorcycle in It all started in the family garage, the air,” he said. where Cicare’s father and uncle The firm’s clients include executives repaired local farmers’ tractors. who want to escape traffic jams, farm- “I’ve fulfilled the golden dream I’ve ers who need to fumigate their fields had since I was four years old,” said and emergency services that use the Cicare, a compact man with white hair, machines in rescue operations. black eyebrows and a big smile. Cicare’s oldest son, Alfonso, said “They tell me that when I was little financial constraints mean the com- I used to crawl outside when I heard pany can only produce 18 to 24 an aeroplane so I could look at it fly- machines a year, far less than demand. ing overhead. It was a premonition,” Cicare’s helicopters sell for between he said. $75,000 and $180,000. The company As a boy Cicare disliked school and also makes a line of popular flight would ditch classes to hang out in simulators. the family garage and read Popular As he approaches his 80s, Cicare Mechanics. says he is not ready to retire. He built his first motor at 11 and His sons are ready to take over the dropped out of school at 12 to spend his business, they say. But he keeps show- days working on gearboxes and four- ing up at the factory every day, tweak- speed engines. ing, tinkering and dreaming of his next Decades on, he has racked up prizes flying machine. at international air shows and exports AFP 4 PLUS | WEDNESDAY 4 MARCH 2015 CAMPUS Students taking part in various competitions. Qatar Academy Doha holds Sports Day atar Academy Doha’s Primary School Sports mechanics for the day. They actively participated to showcase their strengths and simultaneously work Day continues to be a community -building and worked with their team members in relay sta- on their areas of improvement. Qand –strengthening opportunity valued by tions like the snow cone obstacle race, team trans- The lessons provided in their physical education the teachers and consistently enjoyed by the stu- port and space hopper relay and demonstrated classes came in handy as they displayed how to be dents. At stake this year were two prizes: one for athletics skills in sport stops such as target throw adept at running, jumping or catching. The out- the house that scores the most points during the and football shootout. come is that good runners aim to win the sack race day and the equally coveted award for the house At each new station, students work with a differ- while expert kickers try to place first in the football that demonstrates fair play, good sportsmanship and ent group from their own house. By ensuring that shootout. encouragement for teammates. there will be students from different grade levels in In all of the stations and throughout the day, Grouped according to their respective primary every house color, organisers believe that students emphasis is given in the continuous development houses of Al Maha, Al Hesan, Al Ghazelle and Al will get to cooperate and help each other. This in turn of core athletic abilities and sportsmanship of every Shaheen, students go around ten stations set up helps bring out a better sense of community across child so that sports and physical education for them with activities that require teamwork and coopera- the primary school. becomes a lifelong learning endeavor, grounded in tion. As one of the highly anticipated school event More importantly, the varieties of activities on sharing activities, achievements and experiences with every year, students have grown familiar with the hand allow students with different levels of skill sets classmates and friends. The Peninsula Prize Distribution at KG-NIS Noble International Kindergarten division organised a prize giving ceremony recently to honour the winners of various competitions. Management members Moideen and Mustafa distributed the prizes to the students. The Principal, teaching staff and students were present on the occasion. The little stars presented many cultural programmes to mark the occasion. COMMUNITY / MARKETPLACE PLUS | WEDNESDAY 4 MARCH 2015 5 Home Centre ‘sale’ kicks off Home Centre has made shopping for your home Malabar Gold more exciting with great prices on offer this month. Customers can benefit from the ‘Sale’ available at unveils Studs & all Home Centre on selection of home furnishing. Home Centre stores are located at City Centre, near Drops Festival Jaidah Flyover and Al Asmakh Mall. Home Centre sale started on February 22 and will last till March 14. From alabar Gold & Diamonds has bedroom, dining and living room sets to linen, bath unveiled a new campaign — accessories and striking décor pieces, the offerings M‘Studs & Drops Festival’ — in are packed with something for every taste. “Through GCC and Singapore showcasing an exten- accessible price-points, the range is perfect for the sive collection of earrings, giving custom- value driven and cost conscious buyer,” a company ers a chance press release said. to see and own studs and drops from over 20 coun- tries in gold, diamond and platinum. This one month long festival runs till March 31. “This exclusive festival gives their cus- tomers a unique chance to choose from a stunning collection of earrings designed and handcrafted by skilled artisans around the world, ranging from lightweight daily wear to heavy party wear in traditional as well as international designs to suit every occasion,” a company press release said. Their branded jewellery collections, Era - uncut diamond jewellery, Ethnix - hand crafted designer jewellery, Mine - diamonds unlimited, Divine - heritage jewellery, Precia - precious gem jewellery and Starlet - kids jewellery, will also be on Regional abaya display during the festival. The group also offers ‘Zero Deduction fashion show Exchange’ facility through which any 22 ct old gold ornaments can be exchanged Models at an exclusive with the latest designs by paying only mak- trunk show of designer ing charges. Abayas featuring eight The collection of studs and drops are abaya designers from GCC available at their outlets in UAE, Bahrain, at the Jo Lamode Boutique Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and at the Royal Plaza, Al Sadd, Singapore. The jewellery chain also offers in Doha recently. lifetime free repair and maintenance serv- ice for all its products. The Peninsula Six Senses Spa at Sharq Village & Spa organises charity run ix Senses Spa at Sharq Village & SSpa, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel, held a charity run to contribute towards the development of two waterholes in Bangladesh and Indonesia. The ‘Run for a Cause’ event was organised under the Volunteaming programme of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, which aims to raise awareness about environmental issues and encourages individuals to actively initiate change in societies around the globe. Guests were invited to walk or run for five to 10km from Sharq Village & Spa to the cycling and walking track at Ras Abu Abboud Street.