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.
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 17
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.
The purr leading up to the whine of jet engines preparing to takeoff is evident as this F-22 Raptor gets ready to perform at an air show.
Preparing to fly a $150 million state-of-the-art fighter is not like jumping in the family SUV to head to the grocery store. You don’t just jump in, start it and drive/fly.
During an air show in 2008, Major “Max” Moga was about to pilot an F-22 Raptor on a demonstration flight. The pre-flight check list continued after Moga fired up the twin Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 pitch thrust vectoring turbofan engines.
Making sure that the control services are in working order and letting both engines get completely warmed up is just a bit of the common sense and preparation that goes into making sure that an aircraft like the Raptor is ready to roar down the runway. The observant ground crew watches for anything the pilot can’t see.
The F-22 is an amazing plane. It’s a shame that only 187 were ever produced. Unfortunately, cost overruns and overseas contingency operations (OIF/OEF) cut in to the budget. Still, the Raptor roars just not in as big of numbers as originally planned. Enjoy.
Max out your credit card – well, OK, a few credit cards – and buy yourself a 747-400 air frame.
If you’ve got an extra $900,000 of disposable cash, you can buy Lady Penelope.
Now, before the human trafficking police start an investigation, here’s the deal: There’s an offer on E-bay to purchase a retired Virgin Atlantic 747-400 air frame for $900,000 (the starting bid is $299,000).
During its 25 years of service in the Virgin Atlantic fleet, the plane was known as “Lady Penelope.”
The engines have been removed and the seller is ready to accept an offer and move the air frame to the buyer. The air frame is also offered in sections – fuselage, cockpit – and the remaining parts are also available for sale. Shipping or engines to power this Queen of the Skies is not included.
A rare view of one of the last Space Shuttle launches and a look back at the history of the most unique aerospace program.
We’re approaching the five-year anniversary of the completion of the final Space Shuttle mission. The video that accompanies this story was shot from the window of Southwest Flight 0921 on May 14, 2010, captures the launch from Cape Canaveral, FL., of one of the final missions.
For two decades, NASA’s Space Shuttle program once again proved that the United States could be a leader in space exploration. The first mission was launched on April 21, 1981 and the last flight touched down at Kennedy Space Center on July 21, 2011.
The first flight was a bit of a gamble and has been called “the boldest test flight in history.”
“On a long list of firsts one stunning fact stands out,” a NASA official said at the time. “It was the first time in history a new spacecraft was launched on its maiden voyage with a crew aboard.”
And John Young, who commanded that first flight that included only pilot Robert Crippen, summed it up this way: “Anyone who sits on top of the largest hydrogen-oxygen fueled system in the world; knowing they’re going to light the bottom and doesn’t get a little worried does not fully understand the situation.”
Some facts and figures of the Space Shuttle program:
The Shuttle fleet’s total mission time was 1322 days, 19 hours, 21 minutes and 23 seconds.
Shuttles participated in 135 missions, launching satellites, interplanetary probes, the Hubble Space Telescope and helped construct and service the International Space Station.
The total cost of the program was an estimated $209 billion.
The cost of each launch/mission ranged from $405 million to $1.5 billion.
Five Shuttles were built and sent into orbit around the Earth: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour.
Tragically, two of those shuttles were lost before they could complete missions.
On Jan. 28, 1986, Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch due to the failure of the right SRB. The incident was particularly tragic because one of the seven astronauts who died, Christa McAuliffe, was to be the first teacher in space. Hundreds of classrooms around the country witnessed the disaster on television via live coverage of the loss.
Columbia disintegrated during re-entry on Feb. 1, 2003 and all seven crew members perished. An investigation concluded that the leading edge of a wing had been punctured during launch. The heat of re-entry penetrated the wing and led to Columbia breaking up over the Southwestern United States.
Endeavour, which was built to replace Challenger, will be on display at the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, which is in its construction phase. Recently, folks in Los Angeles were treated to the only remaining flight-qualified external tank from the Space Shuttle program being ground-transported to join Endeavour and be part of the eventual display. The fuel tank was donated by NASA.
The transporting of that fuel tank will likely be one of the last times that a part of a Space Shuttle moves more than a few feet.
Discovery is displayed at the Udvar-Hazy Smithsonian Museum at Dulles. Atlantis is on display at the Kennedy Space Center
Lift off from 13R at Dallas Love Field. Note all the Southwest employees in the parking lot and open deck of the airline’s headquarters building.
I went out to Dallas Love Field last week on 17 May 2016 to catch Lone Star One, N352SW, departing on her last flight out to the desert.
She retired the evening prior from passenger service with the last revenue flight from Houston Hobby (HOU) to Dallas Love Field (DAL). She was the oldest active factory-delivered 737-300 in the Southwest fleet and the airline’s first state-themed plane, unveiled in 1990 for Southwest’s 20th anniversary in 1991. Lone Star One was always my favorite of the Southwest fleet to see and photograph. A reporter with a major Texas newspaper (I think it was the Houston Chronicle) once said “You don’t move to Texas, it moves into you.” There is a lot of affection for Lone Star One both within the Southwest family and with aviation enthusiasts across the state- many considered her the flagship of the Southwest fleet and as the first of the state planes, she was definitely the matriarch of the state plane fleet. Southwest was born an underdog in 1971 flying the “Texas Triangle” between Dallas Love Field, Houston Hobby, and San Antonio, so for many folks, the plane is a symbol of the airline’s Texas roots and humble beginnings.
Southwest’s long time advertising agency GSD&M in Austin has a relationship with the airline that goes back to its earliest days and the state themed planes were one of the results of that long fruitful relationship between the airline and the ad agency. During its nascent years when Southwest was trying to eke out its existence in an intrastate market that was dominated by Braniff International, American Airlines and Texas International, the airline quite unusually spent over 10% of its working capital on a style of advertising that was a departure from what was the norm from airlines of the day. Southwest set the tone early on with ad campaigns that projected an unconventional approach that made them unique in their early days and laid the roots for their internal culture. Lone Star One was introduced on 7 November 1990, the day after her delivery from Boeing. GSD&M hired songwriters and musicians for years to do jingles for Southwest’s TV commercials and the introduction of Lone Star One was no different with songs composed just for the Lone Star One ad campaign. There’s no questioning the song’s mushiness, but the song worked well in Texas and as anyone knows, we Texans from all persuasions get sentimental and mushy when we talk about our home state!
*Trivia: GSD&M’s main office in Austin, Texas, has long been a no-smoking facility. However, Southwest chairman emeritus Herb Kelleher is allowed to smoke to his heart’s content when visiting.
Lone Star One’s unveiling back in 1990 at Dallas Love Field. (Southwest Airlines photo)
“We staked our claim in Texas. We’ve grown together, flown together, Danced among the clouds. We owe it all to Texas Together now for 20 years. It sure does make us proud.”
“(Narrator) On this our 20th anniversary, Southwest Airlines proudly unfurls Lone Star One, a high-flying tribute to the indomitable spirit that makes Texas a true state of mind.”
“And the Lone Star is flying high! Proud and undefeated, Right where it belongs, shining in the Texas sky, The Lone Star is flying high.”
Waving the Texas flag one last time for all of us here in North Texas.
She was headed to Tucson as Southwest Flight 8500 for scrapping, so this was not just Lone Star One’s last departure but last takeoff, ever. Her first flight was 17 October 1990, delivered to Southwest on 6 November 1990. She was really lightly loaded, only needing fuel to get the crew to Tucson, and shot off 13R like a homesick angel using only half the runway of a regular passenger -300.
You can see 13R reflected on the blue part of the under fuselage. In some ways still pristine, but you see chipped paint, staining and patch doublers befitting N352SW’s age and career of intensive flying.
This was the first time I’ve had the chance to photograph an airliner heading out to its scrapping. There’s something different to see an airliner takeoff for the very last time and for that to be an aircraft as iconic as Lone Star One, it’s bittersweet. Someone once joked to me that “Texas only exists at full volume!” It’s a feeling of home that transcends the cesspool of politics in this state. I have friends who span the political spectrum and we all have a love of Texas. I started flying Southwest regularly when I was in college. Used to do the Southwest shuffle even before there was through ticketing and baggage check in. I still remember when the Rapid Rewards frequent flyer program was called the Company Club, it was based on legs flown. With the Wright Amendment in full force, I’d rack up free flights easily which was as good as gold as a student. In the early 1990s when I was in college at the University of Dallas, there was no such thing as online booking. You called up the airline and booked a flight over the phone- but if you told the agent on the other end of the line you want to fly from Dallas to anywhere else outside of the Wright Amendment perimeter state, they’d apologize and tell you that they don’t fly that route.
However, if you called the reservations number and wanted to get around the Wright Amendment, the conversation would go something like this:
“Yeah, hi, I’d like to book a flight on Southwest from Dallas Love Field to Baltimore-Washington and I already know about the Wright Amendment restrictions.”
“Oh, okay, you must be one of our regulars out of Love Field! So you know already I’ll have to set you up for two separate flights with a change over in an adjacent state then, right?”
“I always do the Southwest Shuffle with a smile, ma’am.”
And that’s how it was back in those days and they’d mail me two tickets. One from Dallas Love Field to an adjacent state (usually Oklahoma City, Little Rock, New Orleans or Houston Hobby was the most common when I was heading to the East Coast) where I’d deplane, go get my bags, and then check back in for my final destination, hence the name “Southwest Shuffle”. Thankfully in those days the security hassles we have today weren’t present. The reservations agents always tried to make sure you had enough time at the intermediate stop to pick up your luggage and check it back in again.
“Southwest 8500, contact Departure…….”
Back in 2011, a new FAA rule became effective that required setting of limits of an aircraft’s operational viability called an LOV, limits of validity. In order to prevent problems with fatigue, any aircraft past its LOV can’t fly within the FAA’s jurisdiction. That means aircraft now have an “expiration date”. Older aircraft have LOVs sooner than later, obviously. For N352SW, the mandated LOV is 75,000 cycles/100,000 hours. Late build -300s have LOVs of 85,000 cycles. (For reference, the last -300 rolled out December 1999 and went to Air New Zealand) The most recent data I can find for Lone Star One is from the end of March when it had 68317 cycles/80473 hours. For any commercial jetliner these days to get close to 70,000 cycles is impressive. If anyone knows what its final cycles/hours was when it landed in Tucson, let me know, I’d love that information. Lone Star One was the oldest factory delivered -300 at Southwest, that honor now falls to N354SW. From what I have been told, the 737-300s should all be gone by the end of 2017, I’m guessing they’re all coming up close on their LOV numbers.
Photo of the dispatch release with the very apropos George Strait quote. Southwest dispatcher Jake Zelman added the message in the remarks (photo courtesy of Mahala Ahearn)
I’ve never worked for Southwest, but they always got me going places when I had a tight budget and they did it with fun and style in my book, even if it meant picking up my bags and checking them in again in a Wright Amendment perimeter state. Lone Star One always encapsulated all that in a single symbol. Childhood memories, my college and beyond years, what home means to me, trips with my wife in my younger days on tight budget, family vacations now and memories to come. They have long been my preferred airline to fly and are still the airline we try to fly when we go on family trips. I have seen them go the extra mile for passengers and they’ve done that for us on several occasions as well. Lone Star One was unveiled just a year after I moved here to Texas, so its service to the airline covers a time of my life going from a young cocky college student to a middle aged guy with a family with four kids and a wonderful career in medicine.
Multiple exposure photo I did to show the flight crew rocking Lone Star One’s wings on her final departure.
On the final climb out from Dallas Love Field, the flight crew capped off the departure by rocking Lone Star One’s wings. It was a fitting farewell for the matriarch and flagship of the Southwest fleet leaving home for the last time. But Lone Star One will return- this July, the Boeing 737-700 N931WN will be repainted as the new Lone Star One.
