Our friends at Boneyard Safari have been very busy over the past year rebuilding the first Air Force One. The Lockheed VC-121 Constellation had fallen into disrepair. A group of men and women came together to reclaim a part of history. Not only did they restore the famed aircraft, they made it airworthy again. And they are putting together a beautiful documentary to tell their story. Our friend, Ramon had this to say about their upcoming film:
We are very excited to be filming the return to flight of Columbine II. She is America’s Airplane, having served President Eisenhower from January 1953 to November 1954. Columbine II is a Lockheed VC-121A-LO Constellation. The Presidential call sign Air Force One was established, due to an incident in 1953. An Eastern Airlines flight 8610 was in the same airspace as President Eisenhower on Air Force flight 8610. Prompting the adoption of the unique call sign Air Force One, whenever the President of the United States of America was on board any Air Force aircraft. It is an honor to document a part of American aviation history.
We have been intensively researching Columbine II’s history. We are traveling the country to obtain the stories of a wide variety of individuals that have had a part in Columbine II’s history. Our goal is to share this story with future generations, so that the memories of the men and woman involved in Columbine II’s history are preserved for all time. We are looking for anyone that served with Columbine II. The overwhelming interest in Columbine II’s return to flight has been inspirational, Boneyard Safari’s role is more than just filming the documentary it is assisting in preserving a piece of America’s heritage.
We’re excited to see the full video unveiled and congratulate the fine folks at Boneyard Safari on their accomplishment.
Emirates unveils a Dodgers themed A380. San Francisco Giants fans are not impressed.
Looking larger than life, Emirates unveiled a special themed A380 to commemorate the start of their second daily service between Los Angeles and Dubai. The themed A380 also highlights Emirates sponsorship of the storied baseball team. Emirates became the official airline of the Dodgers prior to the 2016 season.
Discussing the added service, Emirates posted on their Facebook page:
The new Emirates flight EK217, departs Dubai daily at 3:00 p.m. and arrives in Los Angeles at 8:00 p.m. The return flight EK218, departs Los Angeles daily at 10:30 p.m. and arrives in Dubai approximately 16 hours later at 1:30 a.m. This new service supplements the current EK215 Airbus A380-800 flight which departs Dubai at 8:55 a.m. and lands in Los Angeles at 1:55 p.m. The existing return flight, EK216, departs LAX 4:45 p.m. and arrives in Dubai 7:35 p.m. the following day.
The A380 is configured to seat 490 passengers with 14 first class seats, 76 business class seats and 400 seats in economy.
Earlier this year, we highlighted Jason Hamm, an aviation photographer who lives in Arkansas and works at Little Rock Airport. Jason is well known on Instagram for his amazing tarmac photos that feature plastic comic book and Star Wars figures. From time to time, Jason shares his amazing photography with us. These photos were too great not to share to the whole Avgeekery community. Here’s his story about the photos. His avgeek passion definitely shines through as he describes the unique features of this particular Airbus.
I was SO happy to get this shot of Allegiant’s A319 after pushback. The conditions were perfect! If you look closely you’ll notice there are two overwing exit doors. Almost every other airline that operates A319s have the single overwing exit doors. There are a few exceptions and Great Britain’s EasyJet was one of those exceptions. All of Allegiant’s A319s have come from EasyJet (with the exception of one, I believe). Any airline that flew A319s with more than 150 (correct me if I’m wrong) passengers were required to have two overwing exit doors per side. These airlines were usually the low cost carriers of Europe. N324NV was first flown on February 15, 2006 and delivered to EasyJet on March 15 as G-EZAE. She got a new registration in 2010 with EazyJet Switzerland as HB-JZV before being sent to Allegiant exactly ten years after entering airline service on March 15, 2016.
New Footage of Singapore Fire Shows Flight Attendants Telling Passengers To Remain Seated While Massive Engine and Wing Fire Rages Outside.
Earlier this week, a Singapore Airlines flight 368 returned to Singapore Changi International Airport with a suspected engine problem and oil leak. Upon landing, a massive fire broke out that engulfed the entire right wing. Initial footage that was posted to social media showed that the wing was actually glowing with fire shooting out of the engine as well as the leading and trailing edges of the wing. Surprisingly, the captain made the decision NOT to evacuate even though there was most likely a significant amount of fuel remaining in the wings.
Many on social media and the aviation forums have questioned the decision of the captain to not order an evacuation. Now, additional cell phone video has emerged showing that the flight attendants were ordering passengers to remain seated and keep their seat belt fastened. They made the request to go back to their seats all while the cabin was pitch black with no cabin lighting and a massive fire raged outside.
Determining whether to evacuate an airplane is a very serious decision that is typically ordered by the captain in only the most serious of circumstances. It is a well known fact that there will most likely be injuries anytime an evacuation is ordered. Bumps, bruises and broken bones are common. In the case of the Asiana crash at SFO in 2013, a passenger was actually killed by an emergency vehicle that was responding to the accident.
Even though an evacuation can be very dangerous, there are clear cases where the risks of not evacuating the airplane in a timely manner can be even more severe. An uncontrolled engine, wing or fuselage fire are conditions that call for a ground evacuation. While we are all grateful that everyone onboard Singapore Airlines flight 368 escaped unharmed, a fire of that magnitude could have easily penetrated the cabin and turned deadly. All aboard flight SQ368 were extremely lucky.
Many people have questioned the decisions of the crew of SQ368 to not order an evacuation. We’ll have to wait for the report to learn the real reasons why the crew didn’t order an evacuation. At the very least, their decision was unusual. There are so many examples in aviation history though that highlight the importance of evacuating an airliner in an expedient manner when fire is present.
China Airlines Flight 120 (Boeing 737-800)
Burned remains of China Airlines 737-800 registration number B-18616. Airliner caught fire and exploded after landing at Naha Airport, Okinawa, Japan on August 20, 2007. None of the passengers or crewmembers were injured, although one ground crew was injured. Photo by: Thomas Mitchell
In 2007, China Airlines flight 120 caught fire while taxiing to the gate after landing. As soon as the captain was informed of a fire on the aircraft, he ordered an evacuation of his jet. All 157 people onboard safely evacuated just seconds before a massive explosion and fire engulfed the aircraft. It was later determined that a bolt on the slat had punctured the right fuel tank. A split-second decision to order an evacuation saved lives.
Another case was British Airtours Flight 28M. In this case, a Boeing 737-200 rejected a takeoff due to an engine fire and fuel leak. As the aircraft cleared the runway, the fire intensified. In a matter of seconds after stopping, the intense fire had penetrated the cabin. An evacuation was ordered. Taking the time to turn off the active runway before evacuating turned out to be a decision that wasted precious seconds. Even though emergency responders arrived quickly to put out the fire, 53 passenger and two crew lost their lives in the incident.
One final case was Air Canada flight 797 flying from DFW airport to Montreal via Toronto. In this case, electrical arcing caused a smoldering fire near the rear lavatory of a DC-9-32. The fire continued to smolder and damaged the electrical systems on the aircraft including pitch trim. The captain elected to make an emergency landing in Cincinnati. Upon landing, the captain ordered an evacuation. Upon opening the doors, a flash fire erupted killing 23 out of the 46 passengers and crew onboard. In this case, the decision to evacuate the aircraft was the right one. However, the fire had spread significantly since the time it was first detected.
The C-17 is a massive cargo aircraft capable of landing on semi-prepared runways as short as 3,500 feet. The Globemaster III is a unique aircraft that can fly intercontinental and then land on dirt. Not only can it stop in short distances but it also is able to offload cargo without external support.
The Secret behind the Globemaster’s Power
What makes the Globemaster unique is that it has massive flaps that allow the airplane to fly at much slower approach speeds than what would be typical for an aircraft of that size. This allows for shorter landing and takeoff distances.
Drop the AH-64 Off, Get Back Home Before Dinner…That’s Airpower
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=”hJjbaofaISo
In the video above, you’ll see the mighty C-17 doing what it does best: Precisely landing on dirt, then offloading it’s precious cargo. The C-17 is the mainstay of the US Air Force’s airlift fleet. There are 223 aircraft in the fleet.
Can a World War II-era training aircraft water ski? Just watch and you’ll find out.
At first glance, the assignment labeled “T-6 Texan (WWII plane) water skiing caused this writer to think, “Hmmmm, guess someone took the fuselage of a T-6 and converted it to be pulled behind a boat as a skiing craft for a dozen or so people.”
Wrong … again.
The North American T-6 Texan has been around since World War II when it was developed as a single-engine training aircraft. It was used by the U.S. Army Air Corps, the Navy and was used in England where it was called the Harvard. It remains a popular warbird that is used for airshows and static displays.
Air & Space Magazine calls the T-6 “the best-build airplane there ever was.” Those who have flown it agree. The aircraft has a cult following.
It’s understandable why the T-6 was mass-produced as a training plane during WWII. It’s a great plane to fly, with plenty of power but it demands that its pilot understand “how” to fly and control the plane (especially on the ground, where it will ground loop quicker than a hiccup).
But the water skiing? Check out this video. With gear down, this squadron was cleared for a “wet” landing. Skimming this calm lake waters with the gear down, they appear to be skiing. Precision flying at its best. And credit the the Eqstra Flying Lions, a formation aerobatic team in South Africa, for perfecting this water-skiing trick.
This won’t be on the test … but you can tutor yourself on what it’s like to sit in the pilot’s seat and use the HUD in the modern 737-800.
We’ve written about HUD or heads up display technology and how that helps pilots – particularly in military aircraft – with information that is digitally displayed/projected on the windshield of the cockpit.
Providing the key information to a pilot so that he doesn’t have to move his eyes down to the static cockpit display information obviously can be a crucial edge in combat.
The HUD is also used on commercial aircraft. Those pilots in the know will see this – B738 ILS HUD[AIII] – and translate it. For those who don’t but geek out on this sort of thing, this video is the basic guide/tutorial for the heads up display on a Boeing 737-800 for an ILS (instrument landing system) approach.
It’s not 1/1 scale, but this radio-controlled “model” aircraft is large enough to require a loadmaster and ground crew.
Those of us who glued together model aircraft growing up were probably working on a 1/200 or 1/72 scale. And radio controlled planes are smaller replicas of the real-life aircraft, scaled down so that they can fit in the back of a compact car and carried by hand … by one person.
But there are some fanatics who are flying RC aircraft on steroids. These folks have built flying versions of a Virgin Atlantic 747 and a World War II B-17 that are best measured in feet and not inches. What’s more incredible is that they can also fly. (Which must scare the doo doo out of any birds near the flight path.)
The version of the C-17 seen in this video is, as a current presidential candidate would say, huuuuge. Take a look.
The UnDucted Fan developed by General Electric should have been more than a great trivia question.
(Welcome to Avgeekery Jeopardy.)
“Alex, I’ll take Dismissed Aircraft Technology for one hundred.”
Answer: “This fuel-efficient engine type was developed for the proposed Boeing 7J7.”
“What is the UnDucted Fan?”
Correct.
In 1985 at the Paris Airshow Boeing was spreading the news about a General Electric UnDucted Fan prop-fan engine that would power its new 7J7. The 150-seat aircraft, equipped with the two ground-breaking engines, would use half the fuel that the Airbus 320, which was close to coming on line.
Three years later, the first plane equipped with a UDF flew but by then both the 7J7 and the UnDucted Fan were scrapped projects.
After the 1973 Yom Kippur War an oil embargo was put in place impacting the United States, Europe and Japan. Long gas lines for automobiles was one pressing issue while higher fuel prices were wrecking airlines’ bottom lines.
NASA’s Lewis Research Center in Cleveland conducted research to find the sweet spot between a propeller driven engine that would be fuel efficient but still deliver speeds so that a New York to Los Angeles flight wouldn’t take eight hours.
Originally called a “turboprop” that term had to be changed to “prop-fan.” A survey of potential passengers rejected the first term because apparently it referenced propeller driven aircraft but half of those surveyed were OK with the “prop-fan” term. Go figure.
GE started developing the technology in the late 1970s when there were rumors that its CFM56 turbofan was about to be surpassed by a competitor. The UDF engine nacelle was egg-shaped. At the narrow end was two rows of propeller blades made from carbon fiber composite materials 12-feet in diameter. It was larger and more powerful than the engine that NASA had developed.
The GE engine’s twin propellers spun in opposite directions to reduce losses due to “swirl” – energy wasted in imparting spin to the air behind the airplane. The UDF blades were powered directly and gearlessly by a turbine, driven by hot gas from the engine. The two rows of propeller blades were each anchored to multiple rows of turbine blades.
For the 7J7, the engines would be mounted near the tail to allow clearance for the propellers and to reduce cabin noise.
But what sparked the interest in developing a fuel efficient engine and aircraft became the demise of the UDF and the 7J7. The end of the oil embargo led to cheaper fuel prices. The 737 continued to be a workhorse for short to mid-range flights and the Airbus 320 offered even better performance. Developing and selling another 150-seat with radically different engines didn’t prove financially feasible in the late 80’s. Plus, the radical engine design – those darn propellers – led to scrapping both the 7J7 and the UDF for commercial use. People loved jet engines and the UDF design along with some noise issues led to a postponement and eventually cancellation of any follow-on test program or adoption.
If the YF-23 Black Widow II was the superior prototype, did Northrup and McDonnell Douglas get robbed in the selection process?
The mission was to make the world’s fastest, smartest fighter plane and also make it invisible via stealth technology. All that makes it sound like the YF-23 woulda shoulda coulda become the world’s most lethal fighter jet.
So, what happened?
The YF-23 was in competition with the YF-22 that eventually became the F-22 Raptor. Northrop teamed with McDonnell Douglas to develop the YF-23 while Lockheed Martin was developing the competing prototype that eventually was chosen for production.
The Department of Defense was seeking next-generation fighters that could compete with the Soviets’ Su-27 and MiG-29 fighter prototypes that reconnaissance satellites had spotted in the late 1970s.
The U.S. Air Force wanted an Advanced Tactical Fighter that had the requirements of survivability, super cruise (prolonged supersonic flight without afterburners), stealth, and ease of maintenance.
The YF-23 is one of the more uniquely designed planes with a distinctive look. Diamond-shaped wings and a V-tail gave it angles rarely scene. It had incredible climbing and vertical speed and its stealth capabilities made it nearly undetectable.
The YF-23 never reached the weapons-testing stage but it was designed to carry at least a 20mm Vulcan cannon, four AMRAAM medium-range air-to-air missiles, and a pair of Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missiles.
After nearly a decade of development, the YF-23 and YF-22 went head to head in 1990. In April of 1991 – with the Cold War finished and the threat of Soviet fighter development lessened – Secretary of the Air Force Donald Rice announced that the YF-22 had won the competition. It was more agile than the YF-23 and that became the determining factor.
The engineers who worked on the YF-23, who were free to discuss the project after it was declassified, are convinced that their aircraft was the better choice. And considering the ongoing issues faced by the F-22 Raptor, their arguments would appear valid.
The two YF-23s had nicknames based on their paint schemes. One was charcoal gray and nicknamed “Black Widow II.” The other was painted in two shades of gray and called “Gray Ghost.” Both were transferred to NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base.
A question with no answer: Would Boeing’s X-32 have been the better choice for the Joint Strike Fighter program?
As the Joint Strike Fighter concept developed over a decade ago, Lockheed and Boeing each developed their own prototype. Lockheed’s X-35 won the competition but the Lightning has faced and continues to face technical issues that has delayed development and forced massive cost overruns.
Considering the challenges that has hexed the F-35, perhaps Boeing was better off finishing second. The program to develop a do-it-all fifth-generation aircraft can be considered for a “bridge too far” designation.
It’s entrant in the competition was designated as the X-32 – “x” is the typical designation for experimental but in this case “x” also stood for x’ed-out.
In October of 2001, the Department of Defense awarded the $200 billion contract to Lockheed Martin and hindsight makes one wonder if the right choice was made.
What was wrong with the X-32? Would it have been a better choice?
Like hindsight on the F-35, predicting that the X-32 would have ultimately been the better choice is mostly guess work. And considering the F-35’s issues, it’s easier to say the wrong choice was made.
The marching orders from the Defense Department for the JSF program were idealistic. The goal was to produce a jack-of-all-trades aircraft, a Swiss Army knife. Putting all the prerequisites in one plane led to what one would expect by a project designed by a committee.
Boeing’s approach was to produce two prototypes – the X32A for conventional takeoff and supersonic demonstration and X-32B for VTOL. Boeing’s plan was to then turn two prototypes into one.
That promise was a tough sell for the Department of Defense to believe.
Performance wise, the X-32 fell short of the promised X-35 performance, particularly in its ability to hover.
While from functional and airworthiness aspects the X-32 might have met the requirements, putting all of the systems into one plane produced an ugly duckling. If it were a beauty contest, the X-32 would have finished a distant third in a competition of two. The high-set the carbon fiber delta wing along with the bulky air-intake system required that its landing gear be exceptionally long. So during takeoffs and landings and even when airborne, the X-32 looked more awkward than sleek.
With the Department of Defense making its choice, Boeing’s two test aircraft became museum relics. The X-32A is at the National Museum of the United States Air Force while the X-32B is at the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum.
Snowbirds open performance with missing man formation in honor of Capt Jeff Kuss.
This week was a bad week for the US Military. In addition to 9 soldiers who died in a ground training accident, the Air Force Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels both lost aircraft in separate accidents all on a single day. The Air Force Thunderbird pilot successfully ejected. Tragically though, the Blue Angels pilot did not eject before impact. Capt Jeff Kuss, the pilot of Blue Angels #6, left behind a wife and two children. The loss hit Blue Angels fans especially hard. Thoughts and prayers poured in from all over the world. Many Facebook pages and profiles showed the Blue Angels graphic with a bar placed over the crest. A GoFundMe page for the family raised over $100,000 in just one day.
The famed Canadian Forces Snowbirds dedicated their show on Saturday to Capt Kuss and the Blue Angels. Our neighbors to the north demonstrated their show of support with a very touching flyover. The demo team opened the performance at the Manitoba Air Show with a very emotional missing man formation.
The Snowbirds and Blue Angels share a long friendship. They are a staple of the air circuit across North America. They even flew together last summer at an airshow in Evansville, Indiana. In a statement posted on Facebook on June 2nd, the Snowbirds said:
Our hearts go out to the men and women of the United States Air Force Thunderbirds and United States Navy Blue Angels. We offer our support and solidarity during this difficult time. We, the men and women of the Snowbirds grieve with you.
The US is blessed to have such great neighbors who are steadfast allies and friends in tough times.
Delta becomes the only US airline to offer completely free inflight entertainment.
The past 15 years of commercial aviation have been enormously frustrating for passengers. Airlines have focused on unbundling–adding fees to services that were previously included in the cost of a ticket. The flying experience has become noticeably more frustrating as airlines crammed more seats into planes, piles on fees and charged for luggage and food.
The tide towards crappier experiences with increasing fees might be changing though. This week, Delta Air Lines announced that all of their in-flight entertainment (known as Delta Studio) would be free by Jul 1, 2016. This means that watching live TV, movies and episodes will now be available to all passengers free of charge. Delta Studio offers up to 300 movies, 750 TV shows, 100 foreign film titles, 2,400 songs, 18 channels of live satellite TV on select aircraft and a selection of games on aircraft with seat-back entertainment systems. While all media will now be gratis on Delta, the company will still charge for wifi onboard its aircraft.
In a statement, Tim Maples, Delta’s Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, said,“the only thing better than operating the world’s largest in-flight entertainment-equipped fleet is providing it free to all our guests. Our commitment is to provide Delta customers with the industry’s best on-board services – period.”
Will other airlines follow suit and offer free entertainment? No word yet from United or American Airlines. Southwest and JetBlue offer free live TV but charge for on-demand content and wifi.
Boeing has a plan and a vision to upgrade the F-15 Eagle that will keep it lethal and operating for the next two decades.
Time waits for no man nor for any aircraft. That’s true even for the F-15 Eagle, whose track record as a fighter is stellar. Clocks tick and calendars flip and there are always defense contractors trying to re-invent the wheel.
Boeing though is looking to the future with the F-15C and recently unveiled an “up-gunned” version of the Eagle which is designed to make it lethal and operational at least through 2040 – and that’s the reason for the “2040C” designation for the new version of the Eagle.
In the accompanying promotional video, the modernized F-15 has the appearance of something Bruce Wayne would climb into after turning into Batman.
But this is no CGI fantasy. The 2040C features:
“Quad pack” munitions racks that will double the air-to-air missing payload to 16.
Conformal fuel tanks for extended range.
A communications system that will link the Eagle to Lockheed Martin’s F-22 Raptor.
Improved survivability with the latest radar and infrared tracking sensors that give the 2040C “first sight, first shot, first kill” air-to-air combat capabilities.
With the Pentagon capping F-22 production at 187 aircraft, the need for improved F-15C has increased. Boeing envisions that there will be demand for 200 of improved Eagle versions. The upgrades would be part of a service-life-extension program (SLEP).
Boeing’s upgrade plan is crucial. With F-22 production ended and the F-35 struggling, the possibility of a “fighter gap” increases. The 2040C program for the F-15C would not only ensure that gap doesn’t grow but it would link the Eagle and the Raptor as aerial teammates.
A “you-are-there” view of a low-level canyon run by an F-15 Eagle features a spooky image reflected in the canopy.
In our most recent post on Avgeekery.com we wrote about the F-15 Eagle and directed you to a National Geographic documentary about the aircraft’s background, development and success.
This video puts you in the cockpit of an F-15 as it makes a low-level run through an unidentified canyon. And if the “being-there” view wasn’t enough, notice the image reflected in the glass of the cockpit provided by the forward-viewing camera.
As Dana Carvey’s Church Lady character might ask, “Hmmmm … could it be … satan?”
Jet Blast is dangerous. You shouldn’t walk or drive a car behind a powered up jet.
Jet engines are really powerful. Hurricane force winds can extend up to 600 feet behind the jet. The blast behind the engines can be so powerful that it can lift cars, buses, and definitely people. NASA put together a great safety guide on how to operate in congested ground areas with jet aircraft. If you are too lazy to read it, here’s the short version: stay away from the ass end of a jet engine.
A couple of years ago, the boys at Top Gear decided to see just how dangerous jet blast actually is. They proved that driving behind a jet engine might kill you. It’s not a smart idea!
This Turkish F-16 decided to give some #avgeek spotters a show. For him, the glide slope was just a recommendation.
Most fighter pilots love their job. They also love to show off their capabilities. Turkish Air Force Captain Yusuf Kurt decided to showboat as he approached the field after a sortie. He dropped below the typical approach glide slope and buzzed above them less than 20 feet above the assembled crowd.
Was it dangerous? Or was he just trying to utilize the most runway possible? What do you think?
“Oh, My Lord!” The combination of a relatively short runway, isolated location, and warm temps make for impressive takeoffs in front wide eyed tourists.
St. Maarten is an incredible airport for Avgeeks. Situated in the Caribbean, the island features beautiful beaches and a great climate all year round. It is a popular tourist destinations for Europeans and folks from North America.
Because of the island’s popularity and distance from Europe, Air France and KLM both utilize heavy aircraft on their routes. From time to time, the combination of heavy aircraft operating weights, high temperature, and relatively short runway make for impressive (and sometimes scary) departures.
Before takeoff, pilots compute TOLD data to ensure that they have the required distance for takeoffs. On long haul flights, the calculations can be pretty tight. This KLM 747-400 utilized the entire runway for a departure. The guy filming the video says “Oh my Lord!” as an 800,000+ lb heavy Boeing barrels towards him at over 150 kts.
Incidents between the U.S. and Russian forces – the Americans are typically involved in air-to-air close encounters – have been plentiful over the last 70 years. Most have been harmless. The vast majority of Americans never even know about lots of them.
WATCH: That Time a Russian Badger Augered In After Buzzing a US Navy Carrier 26
Bad Day for a Badger in the Med
But on May 25, 1968, a Russian Tupolev Tu-16 Badger reconnaissance plane crashed in the Mediterranean about five miles off the port bow of the USS Essex (CVS-9- a World War II era aircraft carrier converted for use as an anti-submarine carrier, pictured above). The plane had made several low-level passes over the Essex before augering in within sight of the carrier and the personnel on the carrier’s “roof.” Here’s the video (the audio is in Russian. Comrade.)
A Truly Dangerous Game
Russian pilots apparently loved to prove their testosterone edge with these figurative middle finger passes. But during the height of the Cold War – this incident was just five years after the Cuban Missile Crisis – it’s unfathomable that this kind of brinksmanship was being practiced. Imagine if whatever caused this Tu-16 to crash – a mechanical failure, perhaps – had occurred when it buzzed the carrier. Even if unintentional, a “kamikaze” crash of a Russian plane into a U.S. aircraft carrier could have led to war.
image via national archives
Smile Yankees- You’re on Comrade Camera
In the 1970s and into the early 1980s, the Soviets challenged the presence of the U.S. Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. The Russians often dispatched two aircraft – one to make 100-feet-off-the-deck passes while the other took photographs that could be displayed in military HQs in Mother Russia.
image via national archives
Brushes and Bumps
A Soviet reconnaissance jet and an American F-4 Phantom collided over the Mediterranean in March of 1970. It was a mid-air fender bender – the Phantom suffered some scraped paint while the Russian plane came away with a bent wingtip.
image via national naval aviation museum
The Russians Still Play Their Games
While the Russians like to display their machismo by buzzing warships, aerial encounters with U.S. pilots tend to be more mutual respect and jovial. One U.S. pilot displayed the latest Playboy Playmate of the Month during a close encounter with a Russian pilot while on another occasion a Soviet pilot saluted his American counterpart and held up what appeared to be a bottle of vodka.
image via national naval aviation museum
What typically happens after such an incident is that the U.S. military attaché in Moscow visits his Russian counterpart to “express a level of concern.” Once that is done, case closed.
A volunteer, non-profit organization – the Commemorative Air Force – works to restore World War II aircraft to flying shape in order to keep history alive.
The Commemorative Air Force started nearly 60 years ago with one aircraft. A group of ex-service pilots pooled their resources to purchase a P-51 Mustang. From there, the organization has grown to more than 165 aircraft and has members in all 50 states and 28 foreign countries. There are CAF “wings” in 28 states and four foreign countries.
Why? The non-profit organization has grown over the years and continues to raise funds to restore historic aircraft because of this mission statement: “Education, such that generations of Americans will value and support the contributions of military aviation in assuring our nation’s freedom.”
We at Avgeekery.com salute the CAF and as our Flashback Friday feature offer this story written by Pia Bergqvist and appeared in FlyingMag.com.
Drivers, motorcyclists, bikers and pedestrians craned their heads to the skies as military trainers, combat fighters, bombers and reconnaissance aircraft made their way over the city in a series of formations, commemorating the 70th anniversary of V-E Day (victory in Europe).
Tora! Tora! Tora! Gang flying a Zero, Val, and Kate, break over wall of fire created by the Tora Bomb Squad. (Ebdon – Own work)
World War II was a special era in the history of aviation, the likes of which we will probably never see again. People from all walks of life got their hands dirty building, flying and maintaining airplanes to support the war effort. With the help of the masses, aircraft manufacturers were cranking out warbirds by the thousands, and engineers were busy maximizing the speed and agility of the airplanes.
When the war ended, the government swiftly canceled its pending orders, and thousands of airplanes that today would be considered rare and beautiful treasures were destroyed for scrap metal. Were it not for organizations such as the Commemorative Air Force, many of these historical machines would be confined to the ash heap of history. CAF alone has taken more than 165 of these historic airplanes of more than 60 different types under its wing.
Unlike many warbird museums, CAF’s main mission is to restore and maintain warbirds in flying condition. It all began with the one airplane that still to this day has been hailed as one of the most victorious and stunning ever to roll out of an aircraft factory — the North American P-51 Mustang.
A man by the name of Lloyd Nolen brought a group of former service pilots together to purchase one of these beautiful performers in 1957 in Rio Grande Valley, Texas. The group ponied up a total of $2,500, bought a Mustang and named it Old Red Nose — the airplane was recently restored to pristine condition and is actively flying. Soon after its P-51 purchase, the group added two Grumman F8F Bearcats to its fleet.
Out of around 300,000 warbirds built in the United States during World War II, only a small number remained by 1960. Concerned that these historic treasures would eventually be destroyed, the group worked swiftly with the ultimate goal of saving at least one of each warbird model from that era. In 1961, CAF, then named the Confederate Air Force, was formed as a nonprofit organization, and by the end of that year, the number of airplanes had grown to nine. “The membership voted to change the name in 2001 due to the fact that it did not accurately reflect our mission and was becoming a distraction to this mission,” explains Steve Brown, CAF’s president and CEO.
The first official CAF museum was opened at Rebel Field in Mercedes, Texas, in 1965, with one 26,000-square-foot building. Three years later, the organization had outgrown that facility and moved, taking the airport name with it to a new location in Harlingen, Texas, where CAF occupied three large buildings. Later, for many years, the organization was housed in Midland, Texas. But in 2015, its headquarters were moved to the Dallas Executive Airport right smack in the Dallas metropolitan area to be closer to a larger population of people, Brown says.
CAF has big plans for its new location, which will become the CAF National Airbase. “We’re going to build an aviation attraction unlike any other in the world,” Brown says. “What gives us that ability is that our airplanes fly. You may see an airplane inside on display, and later that day, you may see that same airplane outside of the building, loading up passengers to fly.”
“‘Everyone flies’ will be the mantra when you come to visit the National Airbase, whether it is a kid in a pedal plane, a teenager in a flight simulator or an adult loading up to take flight in the only flyable B-29 Superfortress in the world,” Brown says. The new location will also be accessible to faraway travelers, with Dallas serving as a top international and domestic airline hub.
But the headquarters is just one of many locations where you can experience CAF warbirds. The organization has what it calls “units” — wings, squadrons, detachments and airbases. There are currently 79 units in 25 states, each one started by local CAF members.
There are times when an airplane has already been donated directly to the new unit. If not, the CAF headquarters does its best to find an airplane for the unit. In most cases it may be something fairly simple, such as a North American T-6 Texan or SNJ. But the Southern California Wing, which formed 35 years ago and is based at the Camarillo Airport, was offered a Curtiss C-46F Commando — a heavy transport airplane — named China Doll.
The SoCal Wing was both dedicated and fortunate, says Pat Brown, one of the wing’s founding members who, today, serves as its public information officer. A member who was qualified to fly the massive airplane donated the funding required to get its two engines running. A team of mechanics went to Texas every weekend until the C-46 was ready to fly to California. China Doll became a huge draw at airshows, and the SoCal Wing had no trouble fundraising to keep the C-46F flying and growing its fleet.
Today, the SoCal Wing’s three hangars house 12 aircraft, including a P-51, Fairchild P-19A Cornell and Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat, as well as non-U.S. WWII examples, like its Supermarine Spitfire MK XIV and an original Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero. There is also a North American PBJ-1J B-25 Mitchell bomber that has been in restoration since 1993 and recently made its first flight in 23 years. With an extensive museum and gift shop, a brand-new 33,000-square-foot hangar and big plans for the future, the SoCal Wing is on its way to becoming an airbase, a status attained by only one other unit — CAF Airbase Arizona located at Falcon Field Airport in Mesa, Arizona.
So how did all of the airplanes and memorabilia at the SoCal Wing arrive? “It all just came to us,” Pat Brown says. “We had no idea. We thought we would support one airplane.” And once word spread of the bustling museum, donations and offers to take over the collections from other museums rolled in.
Airplanes maintained at the remote units belong mostly to CAF, with the exception of a few that are on loan. In cases where warbird owners or surviving family members can no longer fly and maintain their airplanes, CAF is there to help. In many cases, the airplanes are eventually donated to CAF.
Steve Brown’s goal with CAF is to allow these historic airplanes to impact all Americans, not just the aviation crowd. In addition to CAF units and the airplanes’ attendance at airshows, CAF’s Airpower History Tour flies the famous B-29 bomber FIFI along with five or six other warbirds around the country to teach people about World War II history and allow them to interact with the airplanes. “It’s like a traveling circus,” he says. “We take the airshow out on the road to places that may not have the wherewithal or the size to create an actual airshow.”
Airpower History Tour visitors can also experience warbirds in flight. Anyone can book a ride through airpowersquadron.org, with costs ranging from $75 to $1,795 depending on the platform.
Another educational program is the Rise Above Traveling Exhibit. The current exhibit is a fully contained movie theater that uses the example of the Tuskegee Airmen to educate visitors and inspire children to rise above any challenge to achieve their dreams, Brown says. More Rise Above exhibits are planned for the future.
Today, CAF supports about 13,000 members through several levels of membership ranging from $45 per year for students to $300 for a full supporting member.
However, membership dues only put a slight dent in the cost of restoring, maintaining and flying these historic airplanes, so fundraising is a major component of CAF’s operations. The units fundraise by bringing their airplanes to local airshows, charging admission for museum displays, hosting events and more.
CAF took to a new fundraising effort with its latest large restoration That’s All,Brother — a Douglas C-47 (known in the civilian world as the DC-3). A hugely successful Kickstarter campaign brought in $328,736 to date, and the project is currently going through a heavy engineering phase, removing corrosion and restoring the airframe — a project expected to take 3,000 man-hours to complete. CAF hopes to bring the C-47 to Europe for a celebration of the 75th anniversary of D-Day in 2019.
If it is your dream to take the controls of a warbird, you can. All you need to do is become a CAF Colonel (a $200 annual commitment), join a local unit and put in some volunteer hours. The return on investment — the ability to literally experience history — is well worth it.
“Many memberships will give you discounts on rental cars and all kinds of stuff,” Brown says. “But if you join us, your membership gets you the opportunity to give more of your time, effort and money to keep these airplanes flying.”
If you love warbirds and want to see them continue flying for the benefit of future generations, it’s a priceless investment.
