Well, supercruise is now a reality, and that would bring the operating costs WAY down. As far as the sonic booms, I don't know. I think that was another issue with the Concorde besides the hellacious cost--it was really only useful for transoceanic work.

3/10/2010 10:56:03 PM

I usually like to bring good news

but

Looks like the F-35 Lightning II is approaching a breach of the Nunn-McCurdy limits. Doesn't look good. This usually brings about a very thorough and intense evaluation, that many programs don't survive. I'm not sure the reason for the over runs...

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/03/defense_jsf_breach_031110w/


that's a bad ass aircraft though

3/11/2010 5:33:54 PM

My first thought was that airlines run on such tight margins these days that investing in SST would be almost out of the question. After some googling it turns out that the 14 concordes in service actually made a decent amount of money for BA. This was mainly due to the inflated ticket prices that allowed the flight to break even around half capacity.

However, if you were going to drop several thousand dollars to fly somewhere post-9/11 with a few others the quickest way to travel would be to pool your money and charter a plane so that you shave off the hours spent going through security and waiting on your bags.

3/12/2010 1:31:29 AM

First hover and STOVL landing of the F-35 happened yesterday.

It looked a lot cooler in Die Hard 4.

http://www.geekologie.com/2010/03/vertical_takeoff_hoverable_sup.php

3/18/2010 7:22:05 PM

3/18/2010 7:25:00 PM

http://www.raptoraviation.com/aircraft%20spec%20pages/TS-ll%20Ian.html

Someday...Maybe a 40th birthday present to myself or something.


The buy-in isn't bad...the operating costs would suck.

3/18/2010 10:23:19 PM

I don't know about those. I was bored one day and read a bunch of NTSB reports on L-39 crashes and was appalled. A surprising number were from mechanical failure of components during flight. Two that stick out in my memory are an aborted takeoff due to an oil line rupturing and spraying onto the engine and the resulting fire and another where the cargo hatch popped open during flight. Another was a former marine F-18 pilot with several thousand hours who ejected after engine failure and the parachute failed to deploy.

I'd be supremely cautious of trusting your life to an aged eastern bloc aircraft after decades of poor maintenance that was likely exported by a shady third party in eastern europe trying to make a quick buck. For all you know that sat in an aircraft graveyard on a former Soviet airbase for 25 years before some enterprising Polack bought it as scrap then exported it.

3/19/2010 12:46:43 AM

I read some the other day, I believe on L-29s...The only mech failure I remember was a fire on deck. Pilot shut down and egressed. The rest of the ones I read were pilot error.

3/19/2010 3:17:26 PM

FWIW, the NTSB only had one TS-11 crash and it was a stall during approach.
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001206X02551&key=1

3/22/2010 3:59:01 PM

Yeah, they aren't THAT high performance, but they're hot enough to get you in trouble if you don't know what you're doing. The accident reports I read on TS-11s/L-29s/L-39s had a common theme of "too much airplane, not enough pilot".


Moot point for a good while...I guess I could buy the airplane, but I wouldn't be able to afford to fly it enough to come anywhere near justifying it. I'm just kinda thinking ahead...I won't be flying jets in the USMC forever. Maybe by the time I'm out of the business for a little while and start to miss it, I'll be able to buy one of these and at least get the thrill of flying a tactical-ish jet again, even if there's no combat or training for combat.

[Edited on March 23, 2010 at 10:55 PM. Reason : ]

3/23/2010 10:53:05 PM

Good news for zxappeal. The feds are finally fixing their policy on anti-depressants.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63120A20100402

I never understood why these antiquated regulations were still in existence for those interested in general aviation. Shit, professional pilots have a lot of shit to be depressed about. The salaries at the regionals, the paycuts/loss of pensions/benefits at the majors, the thousands and thousands of pilots on furlough.

4/3/2010 5:44:48 AM

^^ The only issues I see would be upkeep and fuel costs compared to a piston engine aircraft. The initial investment seems very reasonable though.

I'd still prefer an Extra 300, Extra 300L or Extra 200 personally. It's not a jet obviously, but it's the best flying aircraft I've ever had the privilege of operating. Nothing else really compares to it in terms of maneuverability, roll rate, etc. The controls are so well balanced and light, so responsive. It easily climbs out at 3500fpm, which is obviously plenty for private use. Plus, you can safely do ANY maneuver in existence that piston engine aircraft are capable of. Flat spins, lomcevaks, torque rolls, etc. It's awesome to roll at near 400 degrees a second and shit. If you haven't flown one before, I suggest doing so at least once so you can see what I mean.

I've flown a Pitts S2-C and I really wasn't that impressed coming from the Extra 300L and even the Extra 200. I mean, it's an awesome aircraft, but for a similar price you'd do far better to buy an Extra. The controls on Extras are so light and the visibility is so good that they make a perfect "maneuvering pilot's" aircraft. Obviously if you're into straight and level it's not the right choice, but if you like doing lots of aerobatics it's the best choice you could make. The Pitts' airframe has a lot more drag and you can really feel it too btw. The Extra is such a clean aircraft with so much power for its weight (Even the Extra 200 does extremely well because of how clean it is, I still prefer it to a 260hp Pitts). I just can't stress enough how worthwhile owning one of those would be for a pilot interested in aerobatic, sporty flight. Another nice thing is that you'll overstress yourself before you overstress that airframe (Certified to +/- 10g's, while even the S2-C is only certified to +6g/-3g). I'm telling you, not much compares to flat spins, torque rolls and lomcevaks in an Extra. Speed has never really been that interesting to me because, as you know, at altitude it doesn't really feel all that different to be going 500mph or 200mph. Sure, you can go low at high speed but it's generally illegal, so it seems like an unlimited class aerobatic airplane would be more fun in a legal way. I think it would be more enjoyable as a privately owned, just for fun, kind of aircraft. I guess if you actually plan to fly hundreds of miles with the aircraft then the Jet would be worthwhile, but if you're just owning it for sport flying I'd go aerobatic piston engine son! There's a coolness factor to a jet like that, I can certainly give you that. But there's a pretty massive coolness factor to an Extra 300 though too.


ALSO, POST IN SAABTURBO AVIATION AND KNIFE THREAD IN CHIT CHAT SONS.

4/3/2010 11:13:03 AM

^ Jesus, the sleep deprivation really shows in that post.

Point being, fly Extra 300L, then buy Extra 300L.

4/4/2010 10:31:05 AM

Always wanted to fly an Extra 300. Someday...after an aerobatic endorsement...and a tail wheel endorsement...and some money

4/4/2010 9:13:48 PM

there's no aerobatic endorsement, although getting some aero training wouldn't be a bad idea. there are a few FARs to comply with.

4/5/2010 5:45:03 PM

Hmm, I figured there'd be something. But yeah, might be a good idea before you start flat spinning all over the place.

4/5/2010 7:13:01 PM

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/03/31/US-Navy-E-2C-crashes-in-N-Arabian-Sea/UPI-10611270049786/

Quote :

"MANAMA, Bahrain, March 31 (UPI) -- Searchers report they have picked up three of the four crew members who bailed out of a crippled U.S. Navy plane over the North Arabian Sea Wednesday. The E-2C Hawkeye suffered a mechanical problem while returning to the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower after a mission over Afghanistan, a Navy spokesman in Bahrain told the Navy Times. The fourth crew member was still missing about four hours after the crash. The plane and its crew were attached to Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 121 in Norfolk, Va. "

Please keep your thoughts and prayers with the missing crew member and those with the VAW-121 Bluetails.

[Edited on April 6, 2010 at 7:13 AM. Reason : :]

4/6/2010 7:13:21 AM

I'll think about him, but prayers aren't going to help.

I feel bad for the crew and their families. It always sucks to hear about this kind of thing.

4/6/2010 9:13:54 AM

I'll cross post this here, as it might be of interest.

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog:27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post:c7d2574d-f2ea-4ee8-9a81-c4bda261a7f1

Looks like LM is going to partner with Sikorsky on a new bid for the presidential helo. program.

4/19/2010 6:47:50 PM

4/28/2010 10:43:30 PM

That is a totally different situation than from what I remember reading in the news/watching on TV. Interesting.

4/29/2010 7:35:59 PM

4/29/2010 8:47:41 PM

haha damn that's cool

4/29/2010 9:24:52 PM

Are there are any aerobatic-rated 4-seaters out there besides the Yak-18T and Beech Musketeer/Sundowner?

For that matter, a 2-seater with the ability to mount an auxiliary child seat and have enough space and useful load to fly 3-up with a full bag of gas would be fine, too.

Bonus points if it has a stick instead of a stupid yoke...but I guess you probably can't have it all.

5/9/2010 3:00:04 PM

bump

5/17/2010 2:08:20 PM

Fuji FA200 is one example (It also seems to be EXTREMELY rare from what I can tell). Four seat aerobatic aircraft aren't particularly easy to find obviously, for a number of reasons I assume. I'm pretty sure that with all of them you won't actually be able to do aerobatics with four people though, since the wing loading would be so high during maneuvers. That Fuji FA200, for example, is limited to two seats for the aerobatic category and three seats for the utility category.

But if you wanted an aircraft that was capable of carrying more than two people on cross country flights and still doing solo and two seat aerobatic flights then it wouldn't be a bad idea. Obviously there's a trade off with everything so you probably end up with an aircraft that isn't that great at aerobatics. Obviously side by side seating is also less desirable for aerobatics as well, because it makes it more difficult to judge the position of the nose on the horizon during some maneuvers when compared to inline seating (But obviously this is a compromise you'd simply have to accept with a four seat aerobatic aircraft).


Extra has supposedly come out with a prototype of an aerobatic touring aircraft called the Extra 300LT. This aircraft will be fucking awesome if they make it. I think it would be an excellent choice if you have $385,000 to drop on a bad ass aircraft (And considering the performance, that is a very good price in my opinion). Just look at the specs man, holy fucking shit!

Quote :

"Extra Aircraft unveiled a new proof-of-concept high-wing four-seater at the AERO show, along with a new aerobatic touring airplane called the 300LT. The proof-of-concept airplane is the TR230 Traveler, and it’s been designed with the help of computational fluid dynamics for optimal short takeoff and landing performance, high payloads, and interior comfort. Though the airplane has yet to fly, the flight test program anticipates a late-summer 2010 first flight of the TR230, with European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification and production start at the end of 2012. The Extra 300LT is a two-seat aerobatic touring airplane that closely resembles other Extra aerobatic designs. Though it’s capable of advanced aerobatic maneuvers (it’s rated up to +/- 10 Gs), it has limited inverted-flight capability and is aimed at those who want to add cross-country touring comfort to Extra’s traditional aerobatic strengths. The 300LT has a 315-hp Lycoming AEIO-580-B1A engine, a 55-gallon fuel capacity, a 205-knot cruise speed, and a smoke system. A two-screen Aspen Avonics PFD and MFD are in the cockpit, along with a Garmin GNS 430 GPS/COM, and an Electronics International MVP-50 engine monitoring system. The LT’s price is set at €255,000/US$384,550 at current exchange rates. The airplane will be on display at this year’s EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis."

5/20/2010 9:25:02 AM

yeah, I've read about that one. Seems to be just about impossible to find one in CONUS. The Yak-18T might be a little easier to find, but the aerobatics-certified Musketeer/Sundowner might be better.

...and yeah, obviously it would be a compromise, big time. I'd just like to be at least able to do "gentleman's" aerobatics, but also able to load up with my daughter and any future girlfriend/wife and take a trip somewhere (I'm sure no GA airplane can do aerobatics with 4 people, but that's fine...that's not the point).

5/20/2010 12:32:25 PM

Anybody go to the Cherry Point Air Show today? I had a good time at it, although leaving the parking area absolutely BLEW. We sat in the exact same spot for an hour and a half without moving. It took 30 minutes to get out once we started moving, but they had little or no direction for people to exit. Gotta give props to Langley for always knocking this outta the park.

5/22/2010 10:11:09 PM

yeah, parking at Cherry Point is a shitshow even on your average, normal workday.

5/23/2010 3:06:41 AM

Yea, it was a real bitch. But the rest of the show was great. I'll post some pics later. The MAGTF was fucking awesome. I had seen it before, but never with so much action. This time they had CH-53s that brought in Hummer's and then dropped troops, and then the V-22 Osprey's showed up. I have never seen one flying up close, so that was awesome! They flew in fast, transitioned, dropped soldiers, and rolled out fast. I was amazed how quiet they are compared to traditional helicopters. They circled the field and then came back to simulate a Medevac. Good shit!

5/23/2010 8:41:05 AM

did a Prowler make a low flyby at the speed of heat? They did that last time...couple of my friends were in it.

5/23/2010 8:50:15 AM

Yea I shot him a few times. That time he came in so quick I couldn't even get the camera to focus on him before he was out of there.

5/23/2010 9:11:55 AM

Quote :

" BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — Several Marines assigned to the Corps’ Afghanistan-based EA-6B Prowler squadron were among the nine U.S. service members wounded Wednesday during a deadly five-hour attack at Bagram Airfield, officials said. The Marines, assigned to Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 2 out of Cherry Point, N.C., used M16 service rifles to ward off insurgents trying to access the base, said Maj. Adam Musoff, the aviation electronic warfare systems coordinator at the Pentagon. It’s unclear how many were wounded and what type of injuries they sustained, he said. Their names and ranks have not been released. One U.S. contractor and 16 insurgents were killed in the attack, said Maj. Virginia McCabe, spokeswoman for Combined Joint Task Force 82, which is headquartered here. “This is probably the most extensive fighting that most aviation squadrons have seen from their main forward operating base,” Musoff said. “It just goes to show that no matter what your military occupational specialty is, you are always a rifleman first and foremost.”"

Know any of those guys Duke?

5/23/2010 10:28:01 AM

Yep, that's my squadron.

I was just waiting until it's more clear what can be released before I posted anything on here.

5/23/2010 10:42:52 AM

Yea its a damn good thing Marines are trained on all the weapons systems, even if you are a fighter or desk jockey. The most ground combat you would expect to see as a pilot would be if you crashed behind enemy lines and had to evade enemy detection. Not grabbing an M-16 and playing defense.

5/23/2010 11:21:20 AM

Yep, I can't imagine what would've happened if those Taliban fighters hadn't been unfortunate enough to breach the perimeter right into the Marines' camp. I'll be the first one to say that things have gone horribly wrong when a USMC Prowler squadron is in a gunfight with the enemy. It could've been a lot worse, though--that could've really been a disaster.

5/23/2010 11:31:33 AM

Question Duke. I was going through my pictures and was looking at the V-22s. They had two present and I noticed one had what appeared to be a refueling probe on the front. The other one does not. Was that an upgrade and later units got it? Since they are so new, relatively, I would have thought all of them would have mid-air refueling capability. Do you know anything about that?

5/23/2010 1:56:41 PM

I'm not sure, to be honest.

5/23/2010 1:58:45 PM

5/23/2010 2:58:18 PM

Those are some sweet pictures...I like that last one, especially.

5/23/2010 3:00:29 PM

Yeah awesome pics, I like the first F-15 one.

5/23/2010 3:30:54 PM

Thanks guys. I'm really let down that this is half of my airshow experience for the year. Gotta wait for Oceana in September before I got another one.

Also heard that Cherry Point is going bi-annual now. Booo. At least they will be alternating years with SJ, so in the years they don't do Cherry Point they will do Wings over Wayne. That's fine with me because the shows were usually very similar (both had the Blues and similar supporting acts. But looking at the Blues 2011 schedule, they aren't scheduled at Wayne or any other shows in NC next year. Would be a damn shame if one of the biggest military states in the country had no airshows next year.

5/23/2010 4:58:20 PM

Check the Thunderbirds show schedule to see if they're at SJ for the show.

I just saw the Thunderbirds at Shaw AFB, SC, this year, the show was good!

5/23/2010 10:34:36 PM

^They don't have the 2011 season posted yet.

5/24/2010 7:03:54 AM

The Polish government released some info on the crash transcript:

Quote :

"Chilling New Snippets from Polish Crash Tape About 14 and a half minutes before the April crash of the Polish presidential plane that killed much of Poland’s government, pilot Arkadiusz Protasiuk delivered bad news to the president’s chief of diplomatic protocol: The fog was so thick that they could not safely land. Then he offered to try landing once, though he warned “most likely, nothing will come of it.” The chief of protocol retreated to the cabin and returned four minutes later. “At the moment there is no decision from the president about what to do next,” he said. Mr. Protasiuk then attempted to land, descending into a wooded area with apparent confidence despite 12 warnings from an on-board alarm system. The recording suggests the cockpit was calm up until the moment the plane collided with a tree. The last words on the recording are screamed obscenities. The Polish government released the 40-page transcript on Tuesday, hoping to quiet persistent speculation about what led to the disastrous landing attempt at the airport in Smolensk, Russia. The document offers no clear evidence that President Lech Kaczynski forced the pilot to land, a theory that had circulated widely after the disaster. It also leaves no question that the pilot was aware of the hazardous conditions, a subject which dominated conversation in the cockpit for the 20 minutes before the crash. “It’s going to be dreadful, we won’t be able to see anything,” a crew member said at one point. Mr. Protasiuk was more hopeful, remarking six minutes later that the ground was visible and reassuring his crew that “maybe there won’t be a tragedy.” The transcript shows that Mr. Protasiuk continued to descend from a safe altitude of 200 meters for more than a minute while the onboard warning system — known as the “terrain awareness and warning system” — repeatedly went off, delivering the English commands “pull up, pull up” and “terrain ahead.” The crew in the cockpit did not remark on the alarm, and gave no indication that they knew they were over a forest rather than the runway. As the transcript circulated on Tuesday, a Polish pilot, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza that the Smolensk airport is not registered with warning system’s database, meaning the pilots may have had reason to ignore the alerts.The Tupolev Tu-154’s left wing snagged on a birch tree, flipping the aircraft upside down and sending it hurtling into the ground, aviation authorities announced last month. All 96 people aboard died, among them Poland’s top military commanders, its first lady, the head of its central bank and dozens of other top officials. The delegation was already 90 minutes behind schedule to attend a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre, in which the Soviets killed more than 20,000 Polish officers and others, according to the Interstate Aviation Committee. The investigators said the four-person crew had been assembled days earlier and had received little training. Russia handed over copies of the recording to Poland’s interior minister on Monday, and will keep the original recordings in Russia until the investigation is complete. The transcript is peppered with unidentified speakers and incomprehensible words, including one crew member who, three minutes before the crash, remarked that someone “will be irritated if any...again...”"

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/02/world/europe/02poland.html

[Edited on June 1, 2010 at 5:03 PM. Reason : /]

6/1/2010 5:00:25 PM

^ WTF? Mission fixation I guess.



Found this gem from an ATC bloopers website:

Tower: Cessna N1234, be advised wake turbulence - UA 737. [pause]
Cessna: San Jose tower be advised the Cessna is ahead of the 737. [longer pause]
Tower: UA 737, be advised wake turbulence Cessna 172.
Someone: Giggles and laughter in background.

6/2/2010 7:05:16 AM

Ignoring TAWS generally doesn't fare well unless it's clear and a million. I bet there was pressure from the president or possibly the crew didn't want to be the ones to call it off with their head of state on board.

6/2/2010 5:57:39 PM

RAAF playing around with their new super hornets:

A few more cool pictures (including hi-res):
http://www.defence.gov.au/media/download/2010/Jun/20100607/index.htm

6/14/2010 6:53:23 PM

This makes me facepalm extremely hard:

6/23/2010 4:18:17 PM

Well, after years of moderate neglect, it was bound to happen . . .


www.fbo-hotties.com is down

7/5/2010 8:53:43 AM