Quote :

"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?"

Block B got retractable fuel probes. You most likely saw one that had been updated and one that had not.

7/5/2010 12:16:04 PM

Any thoughts on what attributed to the USCG 60 crash yesterday?
Combine 1 new avionics upgrade with realtively new pilots to the configuration flying in an unfamiliar area on a routine transfer of aircraft to me explains what happened... Sadly.
I knew one of the guys not sure if he is the one survivor but regardless it's a very very sad day in USCG aviation.
link for those that may have missed it:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/07/washington.helicopter.crash/index.html

7/8/2010 1:18:11 AM

One of the earlier articles mentioned there being downed power lines on the beach near the crash site....

Maybe too low over the coast and hit soe power lines?

7/8/2010 11:06:58 AM

that'd be the best guess.

7/8/2010 1:07:06 PM

Quote :

"Solar-powered plane completes 26-hour flight A solar-powered aircraft, which a team hopes will one day circle the globe, completed a 26-hour test flight in Switzerland at 9 a.m. (3 a.m. ET) Thursday. Solar Impulse took off shortly before 7 a.m. Wednesday from an airfield in Payerne, 80 miles northeast of Geneva. The plane was piloted by Andre Borschberg, who flew to a height of nearly 28,000 feet (8,500 meters). "I've been a pilot for 40 years now, but this flight has been the most incredible one of my flying career," Borschberg said, according to the New York Times. "Just sitting there and watching the battery charge level rise and rise thanks to the sun. I have just flown more than 26 hours without using a drop of fuel and without causing any pollution." During the evening, the plane slowly descended to an altitude of 4,500 feet (1,500 meters), where it remained for the rest of the night using battery power. An hour before dawn, the plane still had six hours of flying time left in its solar-fueled batteries. Solar Impulse has a wingspan of more than 206 feet (63 meters) -- the same as an Airbus A340 -- and is nearly 72 feet (22 meters) long. It weighs about 3,500 pounds (1,600 kilograms) and has nearly 12,000 solar cells attached to its wings and horizontal stabilizers. The plane is equipped with four electric engines and has a top speed of about 43 miles (70 kilometers) per hour. ...."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/07/08/solar.plane.test.flight/index.html?hpt=T2

7/8/2010 3:34:40 PM

Quote :

"Britain Rolls Out Own Unmanned Killer Jet It is the size of a light aircraft and has been equipped with advanced stealth technology making it virtually undetectable. Almost invisible to ground radar, it is designed to travel at high jet speeds and cover massive distances between continents. The plane is built to carry out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance on enemy territory using onboard sensors. And it has been designed to carry a cache of weapons - including bombs and missiles -, giving it a potential long-range strike capability. It can be controlled from anywhere in the world with satellite communications. [The Taranis has] been dubbed the ''pinnacle'' of British engineering and aeronautical design."

http://www.geekologie.com/2010/07/britain_rolls_out_own_unmanned.php

7/13/2010 12:06:34 PM

I forget the numbers but the number of hours flown by UAVs far surpassed manned flight last year. Pilots are already obsolete, it is only a matter of time and money before we're replaced.

7/13/2010 10:55:42 PM

Dem robots, dey tuk er jerbs!

7/14/2010 12:46:00 AM

Has anyone heard what the deal was with this one?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzbWya87gbo

7/26/2010 4:48:02 PM

Pretty obvious something happened to that right engine. Looking at the video you can see that the exhaust was closed, and he tried to power out of the low speed pass, and it just didn't work. Glad he made it out okay.

7/27/2010 6:06:16 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q35xHzjxB0&feature=related

Plane vs Concrete Wall (old but a good one)

[Edited on July 27, 2010 at 6:15 AM. Reason : .]

7/27/2010 6:15:18 AM

^^^ I say this without being familiar with the F-18 platform, but according to eye-witnesses there was a series of popping noises prior to the crash that aren't captured on video. My first thought was compressor stall, but I don't know how much power he is demanding on a high angle / low speed pass like that.

7/28/2010 5:40:03 PM

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/29/alaska.plane.crash/index.html?hpt=T2

7/29/2010 6:39:51 AM

I'm selling my 1/4 interest in a 74 Piper Arrow with freshly overhauled engine. Asking price is 15K. if anyone is seriously interested in it, shoot me a PM.

7/29/2010 3:31:07 PM

Any particular reason why?

7/29/2010 4:44:33 PM

Taking a break from aviation and shifting my priorities with where I spend my money.

7/29/2010 9:38:43 PM

Quote :

"A Hybrid High Speed Helicopter (H3) technology demonstrator developed by Eurocopter began flight testing on September 6, 2010 at the French flight test center at Istres. The new aircraft designated ‘X3' (X Cube) combines vertical takeoff, landing and hovering performance with high speed cruising capability at speeds exceeding 220 knots. The announcement came less than two weeks after United Technologies (UTX.N) unit Sikorsky claimed an unofficial speed record of 250 knots (460 km/hour) with its X2 prototype . Today’s helicopters typically cruise around 130-40 knots."

http://defense-update.com/wp/20100927_x3_hybrid_helicopter.html

Aside from similar speed, I'm curious as to how else the new hybrids compare with the performance of the V-22.

9/27/2010 9:39:49 PM

So, my current dilemma:

The Collings Foundation is bringing a B-17, a B-24 and a P-51 to an airport about an hour from me and is offering flights. It costs $425 for 1/2 hour to fly in either the 17 or the 24 and I can't completely decide which one. I'm leaning towards the B-17 simply because it is a classic, but the 24 is a bit under-appreciated . . . thoughts? (They're offering flights in the 51 as well, but they are $2,220 for 1/2 hour and $3,220 for 1 hour. Granted, it is a dual-control aircraft and they let you take the controls but still . . . )

9/29/2010 3:28:21 PM

Damn. I missed out on an opportunity to fly in a B-17 a few years back and am still kicking myself.

Will they let a petite gentleman like yourself get in the ball turret?

BTW, if anyone is ever on I-95 near Savannah you should stop by the 8th Air Force museum (the old B-47 parked next to the highway). I stopped by two months ago and they have a half restored B-17 in the hangar that you can walk around. It's a very cool museum for anyone interested in that.

9/29/2010 8:31:52 PM

Quote :

"Today only fourteen B-17s still fly. Nine-O-Nine is one of them."

Source:
http://telstarlogistics.typepad.com/telstarlogistics/2007/02/time_travel_in_.html

9one9 represent lol...

With that said, B-17 it man.


[Edited on September 29, 2010 at 8:46 PM. Reason : .]

9/29/2010 8:46:10 PM

^^ I went there years ago, it is indeed a fantastic museum.

And I don't know about the ball turret. One of the Colling's Foundation B-17s does have a functioning ball turret, so I'll have to ask and play the "Iraq Vet / Army Aviator" card to see where it goes. (No, I am not above playing it for something as fantastically awesome as riding in a B-17 ball turret).


Hopefully they'll let me just sit in the P-51 but I can't afford $2k to fly it for 30 minutes. I'm still sore over losing the chance at a free flight last year

9/30/2010 10:56:44 AM

Well, both flights were full by the time I showed up yesterday. I need some IFR time so I might take Tuesday off and go visit them in Warrenton, Va.

I did get some decent footage of the B-24 taxing while the B-17 takes off: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxfjtUsvVkY

10/10/2010 11:16:10 AM

cool video

10/10/2010 4:29:14 PM

No zoom on the video either, I was good and close

10/10/2010 5:50:47 PM

I know I've said this before, but I used to fly out of a small airport in Florida where 3 mustangs were hangared. Flying in the pattern with those guys was awesome, even if I was in a cessna 172.

10/10/2010 6:32:42 PM

Quote :

"Pilot injured in small plane crash in Moore County The pilot of a single-engine plane was hospitalized Sunday after a crash in Moore County, authorities there said. Frank Staples, safety officer of the Circle V Fire Department in Vass, said the pilot, whose name was not released, was alone in the plane when it went down off Morganton Road just before 2:30 p.m. FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the plane tail number was N838B, an experimental aircraft registered to Keith Cox of Hope Mills. investigators were on the scene of the crash trying to determine the cause of the crash."

http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/8467287/



Ani idea what kind of plane that is? Is it common practice for people to put military markings on random aircraft?

10/17/2010 7:30:57 PM

looks like a scaled-down P-51. There are various (usually about 3/4 scale) models on the market.

10/17/2010 8:55:59 PM

Good eye. I didn't catch that.

10/17/2010 10:51:21 PM

but yeah, you'll see military-style markings on RV-4s and all kinds of stuff. i think that's lame (on an RV, not a scaled-down Mustang), but whatever

10/17/2010 11:32:16 PM

Quote :

"FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the plan, with tail number N838B, was a Replica P51 Mustang Plane."

10/18/2010 11:31:17 AM

My attitude indicator went out yesterday on take-out roll. We were on a streak of a little over a year with no unexpected maintenance. Bummer.

10/18/2010 11:34:39 AM

that sucks. what'll that cost to get replaced? $1000 or something?

10/18/2010 6:45:57 PM

Yup. Pretty much spot on.

10/18/2010 7:08:49 PM

page 1 makes my head hurt

CFI, MEI, CFII 1200ish hours

anything in here worth reading?

10/18/2010 8:15:55 PM

not really. if you want any substancial discussion over anything other than military aviation, forums.aopa.org is where to go

10/18/2010 10:43:44 PM

How did it make your head hurt?

10/19/2010 12:11:30 AM

the colgan talk

10/19/2010 3:18:53 PM

Prowler just flew over my place at 2,000 - 3,000' AGL . . . screaming like it was doing everything it could just to stay in the air, as always.


Speaking of that generic airframe, I've been looking for this Intruder video for a while: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czvEDNdyFBU&feature=related

[Edited on October 19, 2010 at 6:45 PM. Reason : .]

10/19/2010 6:33:15 PM

I'm sure I knew someone in that jet

where do you live? fayetteville?

10/19/2010 7:04:14 PM

^How long does the USMC plan on keeping the EA-6B flying?

10/19/2010 7:22:24 PM

nm.

[Edited on October 19, 2010 at 7:36 PM. Reason : disssssssssssssssregard]

10/19/2010 7:34:00 PM

saw this on wral:
Pilot in fatal copter crash faces murder-for-hire charge
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/8477393/

which lead me to look up the NTSB report from the original crash from 2004:

Quote :

"A review of information on file with the Federal Aviation Administration Airman's Certification Division, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, revealed that the pilot did not have an airman's certificate indicating he was rated in helicopters nor could he provide evidence that he was trained in helicopters."

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20040519X00615&key=1

10/19/2010 10:35:39 PM

Saw this linked for the Eject! video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owwTn5KtRHg

10/19/2010 10:55:46 PM

^^^^ i think the latest plan is to sundown in 2019, but that could always slide right (again) between now and then.

10/19/2010 11:19:13 PM

^^ Jesus

Quote :

"where do you live? fayetteville?"

Alexandria, Va

Quote :

"pilot did not have an airman's certificate indicating he was rated in helicopters nor could he provide evidence that he was trained in helicopters"

helicopters generally aren't something you just figure out, so I suspect he was trained . . . he may not have been rated, but he was trained.

10/19/2010 11:36:08 PM

oh, that's VAQ-209, the reserve squadron out of Andrews. They deployed with us for a couple of months, so I know some of them, too.

10/19/2010 11:39:39 PM

^^^What are the plans for electronic warfare after that? I haven't heard of plans for the Marines to get any EA-18G's.

10/20/2010 7:20:59 PM

Navy gets EA-18Gs, USMC upgrades to ICAP III EA-6Bs, sundowns in 2019ish. After that, there will be modular EA on UAVs, maybe other aircraft, and ground based...no current plans for a dedicated EA bird like the Prowler/Growler, although there has been chatter about an EF-35, or a suite that could be carried by a regular F-35.

Another thing to consider from the USMC perspective is that (1) we are in the business of kicking the door in and winning battles--not large-scale strategic operations, and (2) If all of your strike aircraft are stealth, there is less of a need for AEA.

10/20/2010 7:33:12 PM

Anyone know anything about Air Wisconsin other than they fly out of RDU?

10/23/2010 10:16:04 AM

I know I have a few friends there.

10/23/2010 11:47:49 PM