Bush #1 Flew the Turkey Against Japan During World War II
December 7th 1941, “a date which will live in infamy”, was the start of the second world war for the United States and coincidently the public unveiling of the Grumman TBF Avenger. The Avenger, aptly named given the timing of it’s release, is known as the standard torpedo bomber of World War II.
Up until 1939, the Douglas Devastator had been the Navy’s standard torpedo bomber. However, with the quick development of new aircraft capabilities, the Devastator was already outdated by the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor. To better defend the Pacific, the Navy needed a new aircraft with a top speed of 300 mph, a range of 1,000 miles (fully loaded), an internal weapons bay, 2,000 lbs. payload, and a ceiling of 30,000 feet.
The American Grumman TBF Avenger first entered service in the U.S. Navy at the Battle of Midway. It was not a promising start for the aircraft. Five out of the six in service were easily shot down during the battle by the Mitsubishi Zero fighters. Throughout the war the slow-flying torpedo bombers were used in a variety of other roles like: air support glide bombing, light transport, cargo transport, reconnaissance, and anti-submarine support.
Perhaps the most famous man to fly an Avenger in WWII is the late former President of the United States George H.W. Bush. He was the youngest naval aviator in the war and flew thousands of combat hours in the Avenger. September 2nd 1944 he was shot down when performing a dive bombing mission over Chichi Jima. He narrowly survived the event, while his two crewmen were never found.
Navy Lt. j.g. George H.W. Bush in the cockpit of his TBM Avenger, ca. 1944. (National Archives)
Because it could hold such a heavy payload, after the war the Avenger was converted into a fire bomber. The military equipment and guns were replaced with a large tank in the weapons bay that could hold water or flame retardant.
Bush Was Just a Teenager But Already Had the Heart of a Warrior
With the passing of one of our nation’s most esteemed presidents, we remember the young man that joined the Navy to serve –– duty, honor, country. George Bush was attending Phillips Academy in Andover Mass. when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. At school he was very active with school councils and sports, and was the senior class president. With a bright future ahead – he had already been accepted to Yale – he was advised to let the draft do its job and not enlist.
Bush Portrait via us navy
To War in a Turkey
Forever a servant of this nation, George ignored the wishes of his father and enlisted on his 18th birthday in 1942. His passion to serve was emboldened with a desire to “hold his own” apart from his family name. George worked hard and became the youngest Navy pilot of World War II. He was deployed with Torpedo Squadron FIVE ONE (VT-51) aboard the USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) in the Pacific flying TBM Avenger torpedo bombers at age 19 years and two days- the youngest Naval Aviator ever (at that time).
image via national archives
Fateful Mission
September 2, 1944, LTJG Bush had orders to fly a mission to take out a Japanese radio tower on the island of Chichi Jima. He and a two man crew consisting of LTJG William G. White, USNR, an intelligence specialist flying in the gunner’s position, and regular radio operator ARM 2nd Class John Lawson Delaney, USNR flew a TBM-1C Avenger torpedo bomber into anti-aircraft fire and the plane was hit at 8,000 feet. The aircraft caught fire. He bravely completed the bombing run before heading back to sea, the Avenger still smoking and flaming. Afraid the aircraft might explode at any moment, he decided a water landing was not an option.
Bush in Avenger Cockpit
Bailing Out
Other U.S. Avengers in the area reported hearing Bush’s order to his crewmen to “hit the silk”. George heard no response from his crew but made a steep right bank to lessen the pressure on the rear door, thereby assisting his crew with escaping the stricken aircraft. At least one crew member made it out of the stricken TBM but neither crew member survived. Then George bailed out. He hit his head on the tail of the aircraft. After landing in the ocean he was able to free himself from his chute and swim to his life raft.
TBM Avenger
Rescue From Under Japanese Guns
George’s head was dizzy and bleeding and he was vomiting from taking in seawater. The young George’s fight wasn’t done yet. Japanese gunboats were coming for him now. He desperately started paddling, with his hands, away from his enemies. Fellow airmen, flying TBM Avengers and the Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters, strafed the Japanese boats and returned to the San Jacinto. He floated in his life raft for hours before he was hauled aboard the American Gato-class fleet submarine USS Finback (SS-230).
George H. W. Bush Was a Hero Way Before He Became a President 9
Reflecting on the Loss of His Crew
The following day George wrote this letter to his mother:
“Yesterday was a day which will long stand in my memory….I will have to skip the details of the attack as they would not pass the censorship, but the fact remains that we got hit….There was no sign of Del or Ted anywhere around. I looked as I floated down and afterwards kept my eye open from the raft, but to no avail….I’m afraid I was pretty much a sissy about it cause I sat in my raft and sobbed for awhile….I feel so terribly responsible for their fate, Oh so much right now. Perhaps as the days go by it will all change and I will be able to look upon it in a different light….Last night I rolled and tossed. I kept reliving the whole experience. My heart aches for the families of those two boys with me.”
Bush with his regular crew of radioman john delaney and gunner leo nadeau
Getting Back in the Saddle
After a month aboard the Finback, he got back to his crew on the San Jacinto and continued flying bombing runs through more enemy fire. Throughout Bush’s entire service in the Navy he completed 58 combat missions and flew 1,228 combat hours. He came home a hero and was later awarded the Navy’s Distinguished Flying Cross.
George H. W. Bush Was a Hero Way Before He Became a President 10
Bush Tells His Own Story
Here is an interview with G.H.W Bush uploaded to YouTube by US Naval Institute.
Out of all the risks that pilots can face in the cockpit, one of the oddest challenges can be avoiding wildlife on departure or landing. Collisions with birds are a well known risks. Many airfields have risk mitigation programs in place to reduce the risk. In some cases, aircraft alter their departure times and routes to avoid migrating activities. Yet as we saw with US Airways 1549, the risk is real. Aircraft continue to hit birds and sometimes even larger animals. Between 1990 and 2018, the FAA reports that there have been more than 179,000 wildlife strikes with the vast majority being birds. Over 97% of strikes are birds but the FAA reports that snakes, bunnies, deer, a fish (!!!) and even alligators have collided with aircraft.
A 2017 article by The Atlantic cites that there have been over 1,000 collisions with deer. While aircraft are much larger than deer, the collision can still be deadly as aircraft attempt to avoid the collision at high speeds. Most major airports limit this problem with extensive fencing (with its primary purpose for security) and the constant roar of loud jet noise. But even then, that is not a guarantee that wildlife won’t encroach near the runway. Last October, an American Eagle CRJ200 hit a deer at a regional airport in Pennsylvania. And in 2017, another American Eagle jet hit a deer on takeoff causing significant damage and resulting in an emergency landing. The ATC video is seen below.
As a passenger, should you be worried? Probably not. The odds of any strike is still really low. But as a pilot, you should always be prepared. And that includes thinking ahead to anticipate what you would do if you encounter wildlife on takeoff, departure, approach, and landing.
A man from Florida – enjoying his first day of vacation in Switzerland – was forced to ‘hang on’ to the Hang glider, after the pilot reportedly forgot to attach him to the aircraft. The incident took place during Chris Gursky’s recent trip to Interlaken, a beautiful city in Switzerland.
When the pilot of the Hang glider took off from a mountainside with Chris on his left side, it became clear that the poor passenger wasn’t attached at all, compelling him to clutch onto the glider with his bare hands for more than 2 minutes. He accomplished this feat at 4,000 feet and at 45 mph+ in order to avoid a certain fatal fall. The pilot made a critical error in the pre-flight setup by not attaching Chris to the glider. The pilot did all he could to get Chris down asap, while flying the glider with one hand and grabbing on to Chris’ harness. Even after the mistake, you have to give credit to the pilot for saving Chris’ life by staying calm and putting all his skills to the test.
Chris himself created a video of the scary incident and shared it on Youtube on November 26. He titled the video “Swiss Mishap” and it has since gone viral with over 7 million views. “My first time Hang gliding had an unexpected twist when I left the ground unattached from the glider,” Gursky captioned the clip of his “near death experience.”
“I just glanced down, and said this is it: I am going to fall to my death,” he said on Fox News’ “Sheperd Smith Reporting”. “It wasn’t my time, I was going to hold on as long as I possibly could.” He was confused as to what was going on initially with the takeoff: “Holding on for my life …Losing grip the whole way down.” “For 2 minutes and 14 seconds I had to hang on for my life!” he says about the scary scene, in which he hangs onto the glider as the aircraft soars at top speeds over a picturesque Swiss valley, before the pilot managed to make an emergency landing.
Because of the accident Chris Gursky tore his left bicep tendon in the crash, and had to have surgery on his wrist. Chris is planning to go Hang gliding again though as he did not get to enjoy his first flight. What a hero.
Christian Boppart, director of the Swiss Hang Gliding Association, said he knew who the pilot was but wanted to respect his privacy as the matter is taken up by authorities. “The pilot knew he made a terrible mistake, but afterward he made a good save,” Boppart said. “The first lesson is that you check before starting that everything is good, and that everybody is attached.” Boppart said serious injuries from Hand gliding in Switzerland are rare.
When we see a Hang glider fly in the sky, many people will probably think of flying paperclips with a man attached to it, right? Not quite. Hang gliding is an air sport in which trained pilots fly a glider using only the wind and thermals to stay in the sky. There is no motor involved, not even to get into the air. The glider is fully controllable. Pilots can land where and when they want and travel big distances. Actually, the world record for straight distance – held by Dustin Martin and Jonny Durand – reached an amazing distance of around 473 miles (761 km). The flight reportedly took 11 hours with an average speed of 43 mph (69 km/h) and it took place on July 3, 2012 from Zapata to Lubbock, Texas. It’s probably the closest experience for man to have, to be flying like a bird.
In the very early days of the sport – the early 1970s – pilots would literally hang by their arms onto the base bar of the glider during very short flights from small hills. But the gliders and the sport developed, where the pilots are suspended securely in a harness, although during Chris’ incident this was not the case at all.
Thank God Chris survived to tell his story. Let’s hope this won’t ever happen again. His video shows us once more why a good pre-flight check is so important in the world of aviation.
Air France has done it again with another fantastic air to air video. A few years back they produced an amazing “Au revoir” video to the Boeing 747 as they retired the fleet. The video showed the Queen of the Skies flying over Paris with the national performance team in tow. This time, Air France is back with a stunning video of the their new Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
Air France’s Dreamliner fleet currently consists of 6 aircraft. Three leased and three owned aircraft. The -9 seats 276 people in three classes. Each 787-9 is outfitted with 30 Business Class seats, 21 premium Economy seats, and 225 Economy seats.
In the video, the 787 flies over the French countryside with some fantastic cloud surfing footage. It truly is some stellar camera work. Check it out for yourself below:
Behind the scenes footage is even more impressive
Making a movie that stunning isn’t easy. It was quite a complex endeavor. The air to air footage was filmed in Ultra 8k by Airborne Films. The team utilized a customized Socata TBM single engine turbo aircraft. Underneath the right wing they added a Shotover F1 gyro stabilized system with a $20k RED Helium camera attached to it. Prior to filming, the crew conducted a series of required test flights to ensure that the unique camera mount wouldn’t interfere with aircraft operations in any phase of flight.
Planning for a shoot like this is much more involved than you might think. Although the final product looks effortless, significant planning was required. In the behind the scenes footage, pay particular attention to the amount of aerial choreography that took place. Every turn and camera position was preplanned. The photo shoot was even modeled virtually on custom software to ensure that the final product was perfect. The video is 13 minutes long, but if you are like us, you’ll watch the entire video a few times just to notice all of the unique details of a complex video shoot like this one. Kudos to the Airborne Films team!
After a busy holiday travel season, Allegiant Air is ready to retire the last of its McDonnell Douglas MD-80 fleet. The last Allegiant MD-80 took off from Fresno, California to Las Vegas on the evening of November 28th.
It landed at Las Vegas with a flyover of Las Vegas and a water cannon salute after landing. The Allegiant MD-80 fleet has connected small cities with world-class destinations around the United States for 16 years, but the low-cost carrier is ready to simplify and move forward with their fleet of Airbus 319s and A320s. The final flight was scheduled for November 28th to fly to Fresno and then back to their main hub in Las Vegas; a route they’ve done since Allegiant’s beginning in 1999.
An Allegiant Airlines MD-80
Allegiant Air’s Opportunistic Background
With the domestic proliferation of the Airbus A320 in the early 2000s, we started to see major airlines announce retirement plans for their McDonnell Douglas aircraft and begin selling their used MD-80s.
Allegiant used this time to purchase the MD-80 at a better price and continued to operate short to medium distance nonstop routes across the United States at a lower cost for their customers.
Allegiant Used To Only Fly The MD-80
In 2002 Allegiant was operating a fleet primarily of MD-80s bringing passengers from smaller cities to world-class leisure destinations like Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach, and Southern California. Drew Wells, Vice-President of Revenue and Planning for Allegiant, said that they’ve done the same with the Airbus A320 by staying, “true to our core values and being opportunistic and bringing in the right fleet and aircraft when the right price point is there.”
In 2012 Allegiant put into action a 10 year transition plan. Now Allegiant is ready to retire it’s fleet of MD-80s in favor of the Airbus A320, ahead of schedule.
Photo by redlegsfan21. Post on Flickr.
Allegiant Transitioned from the MD-80 Faster Than Expected
The successful purchase of several used Airbuses accelerated the retirement of Allegiant’s MD-80s to this year instead of their planned retirement in 2019.
This caused some challenges for the carrier:
– Technicians were taking on the new aircraft at a rate never before seen by Allegiant Air. Great deals and a surprising order for brand new A320s from Airbus expedited the process. Allegiant’s crews took about 35-40 days to process each new aircraft. – Ensuring they have enough pilots trained and ready to safely man their new fleet has also put them under pressure. They anticipate being fully manned by March of 2019. – There was also a delay in receiving some of their new aircraft from Airbus which forced Allegiant to operate with 6 fewer aircraft.
How Does the A320 Change Allegiant Air?
As technology progresses, oil and fuel costs fluctuate, and the economy changes, Allegiant is always looking to maintain a cost effective means for air travel. The new Airbus fleet is significantly younger than the MD-80 and Allegiant is already seeing improvement in the fleet’s reliability, network possibilities, and revenue.
The MD-80 was designed and brought into production in the 1970s and today the approach to maintaining these aircraft is still very much prognostic.
Upgrading to the Airbus A320 comes with a modern maintenance platform, Skywise, that will ensure a more proactive approach to the maintenance of the aircraft. They’ll be able to better anticipate the maintenance needs of the aircraft, which means less downtime and more airtime for the fleet.
The A320 aircraft family is also more fuel efficient by about 30% and it has a better maximum takeoff weight than the MD-80. This opens the doors for new routes for Allegiant and a little more room for passengers. Now only Delta and American fly the MD-80 aircraft. American is scheduled to retire their MD-80 fleet in 2019 with Delta following by 2020.
Allegiant Air’s New Routes
This November Allegiant Air launched four new routes exclusively operated by their fleet. You can now fly between Phoenix, Mesa, and Saint George, Utah. They’ve also connected Punta Gorda with Omaha, Syracuse, and Appleton.
Streamlining the Fleet
Operating and maintaining two different aircraft types has been a logistical and financial headache. After a year of hard work bringing in the A320s and retiring the MD-80s Allegiant is looking forward to an updated, efficient and simplified fleet to bring them into 2019 and beyond.
Editors note: The original article incorrectly stated that the final flight was between Flint, Michigan and Las Vegas. We corrected the error.
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian recently took a ride on an ultra rare Boeing 747SP, owned by the Sands Corporation. Their trip has attracted some scrutiny mainly due to the perceived environmental waste of flying a nearly empty jumbo jet. Twitter lit up with comments about how wasteful their trip was while other comments focused on the fact that they’d love an exclusive 747 ride too.
boarding a fkng 747 big ass plane for just themselves is a disgrace! They’re wasteful twats ruining the environment all so they can brag on the internet about how rich they are. Guess what, we all know! I hope the apocalypse reaps their asses FIRST! @kanyewest@KimKardashian
We at Avgeekery were more excited by the fact that West and Kardashian posted video of the inside of the classic VIP aircraft. To our knowledge, no other videos of the interior of this particular jumbo jet are available online. In the Instagram video, Kim highlights the many bedrooms inside the jet along with a section of the jet configured with mid-2000s style first class seats. In addition to the tour of the main cabin and the seating area on the second deck, she also shows Kanye sitting at one of the many lounge areas behind a large desk. While the jet appears far from new, it looks like it is incredible shape for being a nearly 40 year old aircraft. The interior configuration resembles another VIP configuration, Air Force One. That modified Boeing 747-200 is the President of the United States personal aircraft.
Tail number VP-BLK is one of the few remaining airworthy Boeing 747SP aircraft in the world. It is configured in a VVIP (that’s very VIP) configuration that is estimated to very comfortably sit around 60 people. The jet was originally designed for a three-cabin configuration with around 330 people. The Boeing 747SP has the characteristic features of a Boeing 747 but is significantly shorter, features a taller tail for stability purposes and has a modified wing with a simpler flap design to save weight. The jet was designed in the early 1970s as a way to offer jumbo jet amenities on routes that were too distant for the early Boeing 747-100s and -200s. Only 45 of the Special Performance version of the 747 were ever built, far below the expectations of Boeing. Today, there are less than 10 still in service, primarily serving as VIP aircraft for government officials.
Below is a video by YouTube user Speedbird of tail VP-BLK arriving a departing from Las Vegas, Nevada where the aircraft is based.
Meet Brittany, a successful flight attendant who doesn’t let diabetes Type 1 get in her way.
Many young people dream of a career in aviation. A booming aviation industry, great pay, unique benefits, and plenty of time off can make it an attractive career. Becoming a pilot or flight attendant isn’t easy though. In the case of a pilot, it takes years of slugging through expensive lessons, then gaining experience by acting as an instructor or taking lower-paying jobs before finally getting the chance to fly an airliner. While the path to become a flight attendant isn’t as lengthy, it still requires tremendous dedication and significant training. Dedication isn’t the only thing you need to make it in aviation though. You also need to be healthy. Certain disabilities and conditions can disqualify you. Diabetes (both Type 1 and Type 2) is a challenging condition for anyone interested in a career in aviation.
Type 1 (insulin dependent) diabetes is a limiting condition, but it doesn’t have to end your dream of a career in the skies. Currently, a person with Type 1 cannot be an airline pilot. If the condition is well controlled, they can only qualify for a Class 2 or 3 medical certificate. That qualifies someone to fly as an instructor or fly recreationally. A more-strict class 1 medical is required to pilot an airliner. A person with type 1 diabetes cannot currently gain a Class 1 medical certificate.
Fortunately, other career options exist in aviation for someone with Type 1 diabetes. Flight attendants are allowed to fly with diabetes as long as the condition is well controlled. We recently had the opportunity to chat with Britany Tomlinson, a flight attendant for a major airline who also has Type 1 diabetes.
Hi Brittany! Thanks for taking the time to chat with Avgeekery and share your story. We’d love to hear about your journey in aviation and how you became a flight attendant.
What aircraft do you fly on?
Hi! Thank you for the opportunity to share my story. I’m qualified to fly on the Airbus A319 and A320 as well as Boeing 737, 757, 767, 777, and 787 aircrafts.
How long have you been flying?
I’ve been flying for 2.5 years.
What made you fall in love with aviation?
The love for aviation was cultivated from a young age for me. I grew up hearing wonder-filled stories from my grandparents who met while working at Pan Am. My grandma was a stewardess and my Pappy ran the special services operations for Pan Am out of LAX so I was brought up in awe of aviation and the opportunities it brought to them.
On top of that, my mom and dad own and operate a WWII museum and Brewseum in Honolulu, so growing up and spending so much time in the museum, I was constantly being told incredible stories of aviation during WWII.
Tell us about your favorite aviation story in your career.
My favorite memories are always the interesting people I’ve met over the years in the skies. I really believe the people are what make this job so wonderful. I’ve met celebrities, people flying for the first time, children in love with aviation, people from other cultures, and my fellow flight attendants who go the extra mile to make sure everyone is safe and happy. I was even lucky enough to meet my boyfriend on a flight which is a memory that always makes me smile.
Being a Type 1 diabetic and a flight attendant makes you pretty unique and bad ass. How do you deal with this challenge?
Thank you! I wear an Insulin pump, which is about the size of a beeper and gives me a continual flow of insulin, and every time I leave for a trip I double and triple check I have all of my supplies just in case I’m gone for days at a time.
I used to have to check my blood sugar constantly by pricking my fingers but recently I was fortunate to start using the DexCom CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) which is a sensor I wear on the back of my arm that reads my blood sugar every three minutes and alerts me on my phone if I’m trending high or low. It’s been a life changer especially in this industry where I’m in different time zones and sleeping at odd times.
Are there any special requirements or briefings that you have to give to other crew members because of your condition?
Yes, I tell my crew members I’m diabetic before each flight because it’s information pertinent to the safety of our flight. We need all of the necessary information available in order to be prepared to get passengers safely from point A to B. Fortunately, I’ve never had an issue with my diabetes in my 2.5 years of flying. I always keep glucose tabs in my pockets however, just to make sure I have them readily available if I experience low blood sugar while I’m in the aisle. Every flight attendant is medically trained so I’m thankful we all know what symptoms to watch out for.
What advice do you have for men and women who have diabetes and still want a career in aviation?
I would tell those men and women with diabetes to not let society or this disease hold you back from fulfilling your dreams. However, you must be prepared for a complete lifestyle change, erratic sleep schedules, time zone changes, and long shifts. Despite all of this, I wouldn’t change it for the world. If you’re truly dedicated, there will be so many wonderful experiences that can and WILL make up for the hectic lifestyle this career brings. This career is not for the faint of heart by any means, but if you’re ready to put your health before anything else, it can be possible.
Thanks for joining us! We thank you for sharing your story and showing others how they can overcome challenges to achieve their dream of a career in aviation.
To learn more about diabetes and a career in aviation, check out sites like this:
We’ve heard of NASCAR using jet engines to dry the track after rain, but this is a new one.
Facebook user Jay Jacks posted an incredible video of two helicopters drying the field before today’s game against Auburn. Before the game, Birmingham received about .4 inches of rain. Not a huge amount but enough to make the field wet and potentially sloppy. Something had to be done to dry the field. After all, Alabama is 11-0 and haven’t lost in over a year.
Rain wasn’t going to get in their way of a pursuit of their second National Championship in as many years. Number one ranked Alabama wasted no expense to ensure that they would play on a crisp, dry field. They brought in two helicopters to dry the field. It made for a pretty incredible site. See the full, original video embedded below:
A former PanAm Clipper, one of the last flying Boeing 747 classic jets retired recently. Tail number N747GE which flew as GE’s flying testbed for its engine programs was the 25th Boeing 747 built. It first flew in 1969 and was later delivered to PanAm. The jumbo jet was sold to GE in 1992, shortly after the demise of PanAm World Airways.
Over the course of its 26 year career as a flying testbed, the jet flew nearly every engine that GE developed and maintained during the same period. The 747 most notably carried the now iconic GE-90 engine that would power a whole generation of long-range Boeing 777 aircraft. The jet also flew the GEnx engine which now powers the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
According to GE, “The transformation from passenger aircraft to a flying testbed required significant modifications, including removing seats, strengthening the left wing and tail for flight testing and installing data systems. The aircraft provided critical flight data on more than 11 distinct engine models and 39 engine builds, including widebody engines like the GE90, GEnx and the Engine Alliance GP7200, CF34 engines for regional jets, narrow body engines like CFM56 and LEAP, and the Passport for business aviation.”
GE’s Boeing 747 Testbed is taxied across a road to the Pima Air and Space Museum. Photo by GE
On November 15, 2018, the Boeing 747 lifted off one more time for its final flight from Victorville, California to Tucson, Arizona. It will be displayed at Pima Air And Space Museum. After landing at Tucson, the aircraft was towed to the museum. It will be on display at the museum yard, which now hosts a number of other historical aircraft including the YC-15, SR-71 Blackbird, and a number of rare World War II aircraft.
Being towed to her new home. Original Flight Test Operations pilot Gary Possert long hoped that the Queen of the Skies would be retired to a cushy museum gig, versus being scrapped. His wishes came true. Photo by GE
The last flight was a bit of a bonus flight for the elderly Queen of the Skies. The trip to Pima wasn’t a guarantee. GE even produced a video of its expected last flight that took place earlier in January of 2018. It’s great to see that the Queen of the Skies–one of the last non-military derivative ‘classic’ Boeing 747s–will have a long retirement ahead of her.
One of the most common questions we get asked by passengers is how fast we’re going. Usually it is asked about takeoff or landing as it is easy to find out how fast we’re going at cruise. For that, simply look at the inflight entertainment system which gives a readout from the onboard GPS system. When I give an answer to the takeoff or landing speed, I’ll say it depends. On what you may ask? It depends on many factors, to include the weight of the aircraft, the wind, the airport elevation, the runway conditions (wet or dry) and even the terrain surrounding the airport.
Even after explaining all that, I have to give an approximate answer because our airspeed up front is given to us in knots and not the more familiar miles or kilometers per hour. A “knot” is a nautical measure of speed which means nautical miles per hour. A nautical mile is 6076 feet as opposed to a statute or “normal” mile which is 5280 feet. In ancient days, sailors would feed a rope over the side of their ship for a specified amount of time and then measure the number of knots (which had been tied into the rope at regular intervals) that had been pulled overboard. The number of knots pulled over was proportional to the speed of the ship.
Later on, a nautical mile was defined as one minute of arc along a meridian (north-south line) on a nautical chart. This made chart reading easier and was picked up by aviation as a standard navigation protocol since early overwater aviators would have to use the same charts as used for surface navigation.
That all sounds very interesting, but are we really using the GPS readout to determine our takeoff and landing speeds? No. We are not. Airplanes stay in the air by virtue of the wind moving over the wings. Not enough wind, the wing stalls and it drops like a rock. The question is how do we know how much wind is moving over the wing?
Bill Larkins [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsWind Over the Wings
To determine how much wind is flowing over the wings we use an airspeed indicator which is simply a sensor connected by plastic tubing to those odd shaped pointy things you see attached to the fuselage near the front of any airliner. Those are called pitot tubes. The tip of a pitot tube has a small opening which is connected by tubing to a pressure sensor. A measure of the air pressure from the pitot tube when compared to the ambient pressure is proportional to the speed of the aircraft through the air.
Pitot tubes, in combination with static ports (which measure ambient pressure) and their related indicators, are collectively known as the pitot-static system, and constitute one of the most vital systems on any airplane. This is why you usually see so many pitot tubes on the front of airliners. They provide redundancy.
At this point you may be raising an objection: But isn’t air a compressible fluid, and wouldn’t this compressibility skew the results as, say, temperature changed or other conditions changed? Why yes, yes they would Poindexter. Move to the front row and give yourself a star.
Notice the pilot tubes on this now retired Boeing 737-500. Photo by Bill Abbott. (Flikr)
ICE-T (Not a drink from Long Island)
Pilots of a certain age will remember the torture inflicted by their instructors by being required to perform the dreaded “ICE-T” problem using the E6B government issue “whizz wheel” circular slide rule. This usually occurred as they were struggling to realize their dream of being a jet pilot while attempting to not throw up in the flying sterno can known as the T-37 in the west Texas summer heat. ICE-T was not an exotic drink from Long Island, but rather an acronym which stood for Indicated Calibrated Equivalent True airspeed. These terms referred to an airspeed conversion from the indicated speed shown on your panel to your actual velocity through the air known as “true” airspeed.
Performing this calculation was a drawn out process using inputs such as your pressure altitude and temperature deviation (from a standard day). It was necessary because your “true” airspeed was used in navigation calculations such as time-distance-fuel determinations.
Today, of course, those calculations are all automated by an onboard computer known as the air data inertial reference unit or ADIRU. This system takes all the pitot static input data and combines it with attitude and position data from the inertial reference units (IRUs) to provide one stop shopping data supply to the pilots’ displays, the autopilot, and even the engines which use the data to optimize things like fuel burn.
DOD photo/Senior Airman Sheila deVera
Do We Have Enough Gas?
Once you know your “true” airspeed or actual velocity through the air, you need to apply your known wind correction to determine your actual velocity across the ground. This is important, because if the headwind is, say, 30 knots stronger than what you planned for, you might not have enough fuel to reach your destination. This can ruin your day on a long overwater leg.
In years gone by, flight plans would be “winded” with the latest forecast from aviation meteorologists. The plan was only as good as the forecast, and fuel needed to be closely monitored to determine if actual headwinds were greater than forecast. INS (inertial navigation) and GPS systems have greatly increased the accuracy of fuel planning as they give real time wind readouts. You instantly know if your plan was accurate.
Wind correction data input, as you might imagine, is also automated on modern transport aircraft and fed into the aircraft’s flight management system (FMS) through an automatic data upload. This system will give you a helpful INSUFFICIENT FUEL warning if it thinks you’re not going to make it. Usually this warning means that you fat-fingered your flight plan input and told the airplane that you’re going back to your origination as your destination or some similar easily rectified mistake.
In Conclusion
Airspeed is important for reasons beyond satisfying the curiosity of aviation fans. In the immediate short term, it keeps airplanes aloft by informing pilots when they are getting slow, which is an unforgivable sin in aviation. In the long term, knowing ground speed, which is derived from airspeed plus wind inputs, lets pilots know that they will arrive at their destination with enough fuel.
Our Profound Respect and Sincere Thanks Go Out to Every Veteran and Every Vet Family
Happy Veterans Day! From the grunts to the wing wipers, boomers and gas passers, brown shoes and black shoes; wearers of desert boots, jungle boots, LPCs, boondockers, jump boots, flight boots or deck boots; MOPPs, brain buckets, ACHs, MICHs, SPHs, HGUs, berets, boonie hats, pith helmets, leather helmets, dixie cups, 50-mission crush hats, M1 steel pots, flak helmets, or Kevlar PASGTs; scrambled eggs or plain visors on your combination cap; campaign hats or pisscutters; red, purple, yellow, brown, green, blue, or white flight deck jerseys with cranials and goggles (always on of course)- thank you.
Image via USAF
More Than the Suit
Whether you turned out in OD green, BDUs, ACUs, fatigues, dress blues, pinks, Class As, or whites; tiger-stripe, chocolate chip, woodland, coffee stain, MARPAT, or NWU camo; khakis or cracker jacks; heated suits, space suits, flak suits, poopie suits, or blue suits; khaki, dayglow orange, sage green, or desert tan cotton or Nomex zoombags and speed jeans; were a grunt at the front, tip of the spear, or in the rear with the gear; ground pounders, lifers, or newbies; built, fused, or uploaded JDAMs, MOABs, ASRAAMs, Paveways, GPs, Snakeyes, Rockeyes, Walleyes, SRAMs, or Zunis; with facepaint or flash cream- thank you.
Whether you’re a proud member of the Betio Bastards, Old Ironsides, Hell on Wheels, Red Bull, Gunslingers, Diamondbacks, Mad Foxes, Spearhead, Americal, Railsplitters, Dirty Dozen, Blue Foxes, Debden Eagles, Zemke’s Wolfpack, Bloody 100th, Soaring Stallions, Green Bats, Ghostriders, Buzzards, Old Buzzards, Blue Diamonds, Black Sheep, Stingers, Tacos, Green Mountain Boys, Happy Hooligans, Red Tails, Spikes, Black Cats, Vampires, Bomber Barons, Red Devils, Beeliners, Pegasus, Green Mountain Boys, Flying Tigers, Ugly Angels, Death Jesters, Black Knights, Warlords, Zappers, Garudas, Wallbangers, Jolly Rogers, Red Rippers, Swordsmen, Black Aces, Kestrels, Pukin’ Dogs, Arabs, Sundowners, Sunday Punchers, Skinny Dragons, Thunderchickens, Totems, Tomcats, World Watchers, Wizards, Conquistadors, Providers, Warbucks, Sabrehawks, Sea Dragons, Fleet Angels, Dragon Slayers, Grandmasters, or thousands of others- thank you.
Image via US Navy
Code for Jobs Well Done
To the graduates of Canoe U or the Blue Zoo, Quantico, USMA, or USCGA; AOCS, NACCS, or ENJJPT; who went to boot camp, a recruit depot, or basic training; COs, XOs, JOs, CAGs, butter bars, full bulls, NFOs, GIBs, RIOs, FNGs, PCs, or OODs; wing kings, PJs, dot chasers, BB stackers, EWOs, DSOs, crowd pleasers, or one stripers; served in TFWs, TRSs, BSs, ARWs, AACSs, ACCSs, TEGs, ARSs, FTWs, RQWs, SRWs, SBWs, SOSs, TAC, SAC, MAC, ACC, AMC, ARRS; were PPCs, FAWs, TACCOs, SENSOs, or R2D2s; were bus drivers, flat hatters, trash haulers, crew chiefs, loadmasters, ravens, snipes, bubbleheads, rotorheads, squids, spooks, sparks, commos, intel pukes, swabbies, Coasties, pingers, ordies, checkers, shooters, tweakers, or nukes (glowing just a little in the dark)- thank you.
Image via USAF
Doing Their Duty
Whether you ate C rations, K rations, MREs (three lies for the price of one), gray veggies, green eggs, sliders, rollers, SOS, or mystery meat in a chow hall, mess deck, or from a roach coach/gut truck; drank lifer’s juice, bug juice, or “potable” water; climbed mountains, stairs or ladders; slept in a bunk under a ceiling, in a rack stacked four high under a low pipe-festooned overhead in a berthing compartment, under the stars out in the open, or well below zero in a bag; closed doors, hatches, or panels; stormed beaches, assaulted atolls, fought in trenches, slogged the paddies, called in artillery, flew CAS, prayed for CAS, flew CSAR, guarded arsenals, swabbed decks or mopped floors, deployed almost anywhere on earth from the bottom of the deepest ocean to the edge of space and beyond, came home, and deployed again far too soon- thank you.
Image via USAF
Jobs That Needed Doing on All the Ships at Sea and More
To all of you active duty, reserve, guard, and retired jarheads, dogfaces, tunnel rats, desert rats, G.I.s or leathernecks wearing MOLLE or ALICE; chest plates or shemaghs; working in sick bays or field hospitals; sweating the gas or passing it; 11Bs, 13Ts, 14Zs, 15Rs, 19Ks or 25Ls; 0211s, 0331s, 0317s, 0481s, 0521s, 0681s, 0844s, 0911s, 4212s, 8026s, FiSTers, or 7556s; ABs, AEs, ATs, BMs, CTs, EODs, GMs, NSs or PRs; ‘gators, wizzos, airdales, cones, jocks, scope dopes or shellbacks; CHENGs, COBs, CWOs PFCs, SWCCs with the SBTs, or just haze-gray-and-underway sailors crewing AKs, AEs, DDs, DEs, DDGs, AGERs, BBs, CAs, CGNs, FFGs, FFs, AOEs, LHDs, LSDs, LCSs, MSOs, SSs, CVEs, CVLs, CVAs, CVNs, PCs, SSNs SSBNs, SSGNs, AGOSs, ATFs, LCACs, APDs, PBRs, RCBs, SOC-Rs, or CCBs- thank you.
Whether your battle was Kasserine Pass, Gela, Centuripe, Anzio, Monte Cassino, Overlord, Cobra, Arnhem, Bastogne, Remagen, Bataan, Coral Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal, Tassafaronga, Buna, Bougainville, Kolombangara, Bismarck Sea, Tarawa, Eniwetok, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, Matterhorn, Bloody Ridge, Chosin Reservoir, Pork Chop Hill, Inchon, Old Baldy, the Pusan Perimeter, Hamburger Hill, Ia Drang, Khe Sanh, Dong Ha, Arc Light, Linebacker, Dak To, Flaming Dart, Market Time, Tet, Bolo, DeSoto, Iron Hand, Kham Duc, Steel Tiger, Cambodia, Laos, Nickel Grass, Frequent Wind, Lebanon, the Dominican, Gulf of Sidra, Grenada, Just Cause, Earnest Will, Praying Mantis, Eagle Claw, El Dorado Canyon, Khafji, 73 Easting, Mogadishu, Rhino, Kabul, Tora Bora, Al Faw, Kandahar, Karbala, Basra, Deny Flight, Desert Strike, Desert Fox, New Dawn, Allied Force, Fallujah, Mountain Thrust, Medusa, Kamdesh, any of thousands of other clashes, or any period of the Cold War, and indeed any battle or war, anywhere- thank you for running toward the gunfire. Or for doing what it took to prevent it.
Image by Joe Rosenthal via US National Archives
They Also Served. And Well
Man or woman, dead of night to death by noon; if you were Delta, Ranger, SEAL, Force Recon, Night Stalker, DEVGRU or AFSOW; snake eaters, frogs, operators, weekend warriors, brown hats, crunchies, MPs, SPs, or hurricane hunters; docs, jaw breakers, techies, nurses, weather guessers, medics, tops, gunnies or chiefs; whether your slogan was IYAOYAS or YARFO or FM- from someone who was one once upon a time to all the rest- past, present, and future- thank you and your families for your sacrifice, service, and devotion to these United States of America.
