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Employee Frustration Causes United CEO to Rethink Lottery Bonus Program

Kim Clark
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Employee Frustration Causes United CEO to Rethink Lottery Bonus Program

In the United Airlines’ corporate offices on West Wacker Drive in Chicago, President and CEO Scott Kirby says he is “pressing the pause button” on a recently introduced lottery bonus program for employees that unleashed a firestorm of criticism on the internet. Employees posted comment after comment denouncing the program, after realizing it was a sneaky way for United to avoid shelling out tens of millions of dollars in bonuses.

Under the new plan, only a handful of employees would have been rewarded with prizes such as $100,000 in cash and a Mercedes-Benz. Sounds good, except for the fact that most employees would be left out. The new plan would have replaced modest monthly bonuses for a large number of employees with big prizes for a lucky few.

Outraged employees rallied by signing an online petition on internal forum, Flying Together. The petition was signed by over 1,700 workers. Some commented that corporate executives are out of touch, saying, “This is NOT a way to boost morale! It does quite the opposite. I wonder what kind of bonus was given to those in the big tower who came up with this nonsense. They obviously don’t realize how this can affect some workers. Upper management is extremely out of touch with the average worker.”

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77 West Wacker Drive, the headquarters of United Airlines, where CEO Scott Kirby is being forced to consider employee bonus program after online rebellion. Photo Kelvin Kang from Richmond Hill, Canada (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Other employees accuse United of pulling the wool over employees eyes in a move right out of American Airlines’ playbook, “When my friends at American Airlines warned me about things that would be coming out way with our leadership, I didn’t believe them. I do now. Whoever thought this would be a good plan, should be ashamed of themselves.”

Paying performance-related bonuses to workers cost United about $87 million for the full year 2017, while the lottery system would have cost only about $18 million. Simple math proves that, indeed, if the lottery would have remained in place, the airline would have paid out much less and a lot of employees would get way less.

After the much-publicized (and dare we say unexpected) backlash, United’s CEO informed employees Monday that the company is reconsidering the lottery bonus program, stating “Our intention was to introduce a better, more exciting program, but we misjudged how these changes would be received by many of you,” he wrote. “So, we are pressing the pause button on these changes to review your feedback and consider the right way to move ahead.”

So it appears as if it is pause, and possibly, rewind and delete for this hugely unpopular lottery-based bonus program to the relief of thousands of United employees. Score one for the online petitioners!

No Joke! Lottery Replaces Some Bonuses As United Shakes Up Employee Incentive Program

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No Joke! Lottery Replaces Some Bonuses As United Shakes Up Employee Incentive Program

Bingo, and other lottery-like games of chance, are usually enjoyed by people in their leisure time who want to bet a few dollars on the off-chance of nabbing that elusive big win. Buy a lottery ticket or attend a local bingo hall and take your chances …. or fly to Las Vegas, perhaps?

But betting your savings or bonus does not require a flight to Vegas anymore, at least if you are a United Airlines employee. UA workers are now being asked to gamble with their employee incentive programs.

United tries to be different, but is it better?

Corporate giant United Airlines has a new plan in place to incentivize employees using a drawing that will award employees with cash, travel perks and even cars. And yet, cash incentive programs based on merit are being ushered out in a plan that might sound good on paper, but is reportedly not very well-received by actual United employees.

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Photo by: Raimond Spekking (Wikipedia)

While the program is allegedly intended to reward top perfomers, it at least initially appears to randomly award incentives. According to the details of the new plan, one employee will be awarded a $100,000 prize each quarter that will be determined by a drawing. Sounds good, right? Not if you are the majority of other employees who will lose their quarterly bonuses to finance the prize for the ‘grand prize winner.’ Those lost employee bonuses are estimated to be between $63 and $7,589  per quarter, according to Inc.

The Chicago Business Journal interviewed United Airlines’ President Scott Kirby who said, “As we look to continue improving, we took a step back and decided to replace the quarterly operational bonus and perfect attendance programs with an exciting new rewards program called core4 Score Rewards.”

Not everyone is happy about this new giveaway

Hmmm . . . . instead of showing up for work every day, perhaps United employees could just go to the local Quickie Mart and buy a lottery ticket. That seems to be the sentiment among workers who are not embracing the new program designed to “build excitement and a sense of accomplishment.” Apparently, the employees are anything but excited. In fact, the Chicago Business Journal reports that employees are rather angry and that the new plan has met with a “firestorm” of disapproval.

The disapproval is ironic since the new plan was expected to be well-received by employees and bolster customer service efforts. After a disastrous incident in which a passenger was dragged violently from a plane, the new incentive plan was meant to encourage United crews to pay more attention to passengers’ needs and improve customer service efforts, but it seems to be having the opposite effect.

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Did somebody call bingo? The new non-merit-based United employee incentive program. Photo Edwin Torres Photography via Flickr. Photo Ken Iwelumo (GNU Free Documentation License)

Inc. published United employee’s reactions on their Flying Together internal website. Here are a couple of more notable viewpoints listed here only by job title (names omitted):

“Awful idea. [Current] bonus program has everyone pulling in the same direction with a common goal. This is scratching a lottery ticket…” –Captain – B-737

“I would be embarrassed and mortified to win this lottery. If it was possible I wouldn’t allow my name to be released and I would give my ‘winnings’ to the Flight Attendant AFA Cause Charity. I win at the expense of tens of thousands of fellow employees? No thanks.” –Flight Attendant

“If I wanted to play in a lottery, I would just go my local 7/11. I recommend United management reconsider this morale killing program.” –Captain – A-320

The response was less than United’s leadership had probably hoped. The good news for United employees is that this change will not affect their other bonus programs like profit sharing. But for some employees who relied on the program to receive a little extra spending cash for perfect attendance, this change will be a big disappointment.  That is unless those magical lottery balls roll in their favor. If luck shines their way, one lucky employee might be able to buy a new Tesla and a cruise.

Ben & Jerry’s Co-Founder Arrested for Blasting Sound of F-35 From Giant Speakers in Protest

Kim Clark
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Ben & Jerry’s Co-Founder Arrested for Blasting Sound of F-35 From Giant Speakers in Protest

Burlington, Vermont-based Ben & Jerry’s is well-known for Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake Truffle and Cherry Garcia ice cream, among other awesome flavors. The popular ice cream company founders are also known for supporting various causes including racial justice, marriage equality and fair trade, so it is no surprise that co-founder Ben Cohen has strong opinions. Unfortunately, Ben’s latest public stunt resulted in his arrest.

Over the weekend, the infamous ice cream entrepreneur demonstrated against plans in the works that would put F-35 jets in the air at the Vermont Air National Guard base near his home. Cohen was cited for violating the local sound ordinance after he strapped amplifiers to a rig behind his vehicle and repeatedly played the sound of an F-35 jet blast. How loud is an F-35 jet?

Saveourskiesvt.org says the F-35 is four times louder than the F-16, both when taking off and landing. Considering that Lmax is the maximum sound level, this is how the F-35 compares to the F-16:

When landing, the Lmax for the F-16 is 73dBA compared to 95dBA for the F-35. When taking off, the Lmax for the F-16 is 94dBA compared to the F-35 at 115dBA, roughly equivalent to a chain saw, depending on who you ask.

That means Cohen subjected Burlington residents to noise that is equivalent to the sound of chain saws/F-35 jet blasts repeatedly Saturday between 11am and 3:30pm. (I hope you weren’t trying to sleep in!) We can assume that Mr. Cohen was likely very successful in his efforts to raise awareness about the issue. I mean, how could you NOT hear this very loud protest? BOOM Chocolatta! (this writer’s favorite Ben & Jerry’s flavor).

After being given several citations for noise violations from police, Ben Cohen went on Twitter and asked supporters to go to City Hall to show their support. He was taken into custody late Saturday afternoon.

The loud demonstration was staged to bring awareness to an upcoming ballot vote that will decide if F-35s are going to be housed in Burlington. It is expected that the Vermont National Guard will not be affected by Ben’s antics, since $83 million dollars has already been invested into the F-35 project.

This NAVAR Safety Film Still Serves As A Great Retrospective Of Cold War Airpower

Bill Walton
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This NAVAR Safety Film Still Serves As A Great Retrospective Of Cold War Airpower

The film “Aircraft Accident Prevention- Ground Accidents” was produced during the early 1960s and shot primarily at Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville in Florida. The Navy created the film in an attempt to control the kind of preventable accidents caused primarily by human error. Accidents were on the rise and with the sophisticated jet aircraft in use by then and with more in the pipeline, the effort to reduce accidents was absolutely necessary. The upshot for the viewer today is the variety of historical Navy aircraft appearing in the piece. The film, shot in black and white, was uploaded to YouTube by PeriscopeFilm.

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Official US Navy photograph

The film features the squadrons and aircraft of Carrier Air Wing ONE (CVW-1). At the time the film was produced, CVW-1 consisted of VF-14 Tophatters flying the McDonnell F3H Demon, VF-11 Red Rippers flying the Vought F-8E Crusader, VA-172 Blue Bolts and VA-12 Flying Ubangis both both equipped with the Douglas A-4C Skyhawk, VA-15 Valions flying the Douglas A-1H Skyraider, VAH-11 Checkertails flying the Douglas A-3B Skywarrior, a detachment from VAW-12 Bats flying the Grumman E-1B Tracer, a detachment from VFP-62 Fighting Photos flying the Vought RF-8A Crusader, and a detachment from HU-2 Fleet Angels flying the Kaman UH-2A Seasprite.

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Official US Navy photograph

Also featured in the film are single-seat Grumman F9F-6 Cougars assigned to VF-101 Grim Reapers as well as twin-seat F9F-8T Cougars assigned to Fleet All Weather Training Unit Atlantic (FAWTULANT). Also appearing in the film are Lockheed TO-2/T-33B Shooting Star trainers from FAWTULANT, Douglas A-1E Skyraiders from Air Task Group 202 (ATG-202), McDonnell F2H-4 Banshees from VF-101, North American AJ-2P Savage reconnaissance platforms from VAP-62 Tigers, North American FJ-3 Furies from VF-173 Jesters, and Lockheed P-2 Neptune maritime patrol aircraft from VP-18 Flying Phantoms.

The Air Commandos Were the Genesis of USAF Special Operations Command

Bill Walton
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The Air Commandos Were the Genesis of USAF Special Operations Command

The United States Air Force (USAF) produced the film “Special Air Warfare Forces 1965” to depict the formation and deployment of the 1st Air Commando Group to Southeast Asia at the time. Formed to train UAF pilots on older propeller driven aircraft like the Curtiss C-46 Commando and Douglas C-47 Skytrain airlifters, Douglas B-26K Invader bombers, and North American T-28D Trojan counter insurgency (COIN) aircraft, the group is still operational as the 1st Special Operations Wing (SOW). The film was uploaded to YouTube by PeriscopeFilm.

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The 4400th Combat Crew Training Squadron (CCTS) went to work at Hurlburt Field near Mary Esther in the Florida panhandle in 1961 with precious few aircraft and only about 360 personnel. Equipped initially with only B-26Ks, T-28Ds, and C-47s, after expansion in 1964 the Air Commandos also flew Douglas A-1E Skyraider attack aircraft, Fairchild C-123 Provider airlifters and single engine Helio U-10 Courier utility aircraft among others. Training of foreign military pilots and crews (alongside the American COIN crews) was the primary mission of the group.

A 1E with HH 3C over Vietnam 1966
Official US Air Force photograph

Four USAF Air National Guard (ANG) units augmented the Air Commandos during the Vietnam War. The 143rd Airlift Wing, Rhode Island ANG traded in their C-46s for U-10As and U-10Ds. They later flew single engine DeHavilland U-6A Beavers in place of the Couriers and fly Lockheed C-130J Hercules airlifters today. The 135th Airlift Wing, Maryland ANG flew C-46s along with Grumman SA-16 Albatross amphibians and was tasked with the covert insertion, resupply, and extraction of Special Forces personnel. The 135th last flew Alenia C-27J Spartan airlifters.

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Official US Air Force photograph

The 130th Airlift Wing, West Virginia ANG also flew the C-46 and SA-16 and was tasked with missions similar to those assigned to the 135th Wing. Today the 130th flies some of the few remaining Lockheed C-130H Hercules airlifters in the inventory. The 129th Airlift Wing, California ANG was flying C-46s before becoming a part of the Air Commandos and traded them for U-10As and U-10Ds before flying U-6As. The 129th eventually flew Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars before becoming the 129th Rescue Squadron flying the MC-130P Combat Shadow variant of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules and the HH-60G Pave Hawk variant of the Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk.

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Official US Air Force photograph

Watch: The Air Force Wages Slow-Motion War From The Air Over Vietnam

Bill Walton
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Watch: The Air Force Wages Slow-Motion War From The Air Over Vietnam

These USAF Film Reports Were Originally Classified Because They Were Too Awesome!

The United States Air Force (USAF) produced films reporting the results of air strikes flown over North and South Vietnam. This film, produced by the 1532nd Photo Group using footage shot by the USAF 600th Photo Squadron and reporting on air airstrikes that took place during early 1968, features both familiar and unfamiliar strike camera footage. North American F-100 Super Sabre, Republic F-105 Thunderchief, and McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter bombers, along with Douglas A-1 Skyraider and Cessna A-37 Dragonfly attack aircraft, are seen delivering ordnance. The film was uploaded to YouTube by PeriscopeFilm. Spoiler Alert:  A bonus video lurks below the rest of the story.

[youtube id=”IdB7f6KSeX4″ width=”800″ height=”454″ position=”left”]

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Official US Air Force photograph

Lots of Variety in This Footage

Air Force units mentioned in the film include the 612th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) Screaming Eagles of the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW), the 355th TFW Fighting Falcons of the 37th TFW, the 14th Air Commando Wing, the 309th TFS Wild Ducks of the 31st TFW, 308th TFS Emerald Knights of the 31st TFW, the 604th Air Commando Squadron (ACS) Mattel Marauders, the 389th TFS Thunderbolts of the 366th TFW, the 559th TFS Billy Goats of the 12th TFW, the 557th TFS of the 12th TFW, and last but certainly not least the 8th TFW Wolfpack.

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Official US Air Force photograph

Dropping Everything But the Kitchen Sink

Interestingly the air strike footage is a mix of gun camera and strike camera pod footage. The narrator refers to napalm as “incindigel.” Several types of gravity bombs and munitions are seen in the film, among them M117 750 pound general purpose (GP) bombs, Mark 82, Mark 83, and Mark 84 high-drag bombs, CBU-25 cluster bombs, BLU-23 and BLU-27 napalm canisters, and 2.75 inch folding-fin aerial rockets (FFARs) launched from LAU-3 rocket pods.

F-4 Phantom dropping napalm in Vietnam.
Official US Air Force photograph

Bonus Video:  A similar US Air Force summary film reporting on airstrikes in Vietnam from early 1966 uploaded by PersicopeFilm

[youtube id=”QOENuYqjH74″ width=”800″ height=”454″ position=”left”]

B-52 dropping heavy ordinance in Vietnam.
Official US Air Force photograph

Blue Angels Greg Wooldridge Launches Campaign for Governor

Charles Atkeison
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Blue Angels Greg Wooldridge Launches Campaign for Governor

PENSACOLA, Fla. — Retired Naval aviator and three-time Blue Angels Boss Greg C. Wooldridge has tossed his flight helmet into the ring for governor of Oregon.

Wooldridge, who earned his wings of gold as a naval pilot in 1971, wants to take an active position in helping his adoptive state advance in becoming a better state, and adds he wants Oregonians to be able to trust government again.

A Portland resident and conservative, Wooldridge has entered into his first ever political campaign, a race which has him gaining ground on the current Republican front runner Rep. Knute Bueh­ler. The Republican Primary is May 15, and its winner will challenge current governor Kate Brown (D-OR) in the gubernatorial election on November 6.

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Capt. Greg Wooldridge receives a salute in honor of the Blue Angels 50th anniversary in 1996. (US Navy)

“I am running because I want to save the state,” Wooldridge began during our exclusive interview on Thursday. “We are sinking, and I want to replace the captain of the ship. The ship is up on the rocks and we need to get it into smoother water.”

Under his pilot call sign “Wizard”, Capt. Wooldridge first led the F/A-18 Hornets stationed aboard the U.S.S. Midway during the late-1980s. Today, Wooldridge parallels his run for governor much like the calling he received from the U.S. Navy each time they needed a squadron leader.

“I don’t run from challengers, that’s not been my life — instead I run to challenges,” the former naval aviator continued. “I am a servant leader. I listen then I go into action and I get my team together and we start solving problems and making things better so that Oregonians can realize that exceptionalism exists in this great state.”

Greg Wooldridge, now 70, earned the distinction during the 1990s as the only person to command the Blue Angels for three separate tours. He first lead the flight squadron from 1990 to 1992 during a typical Boss’ two-year tour.

One of Wooldridge’s solo pilots during his first tour was then LCDR John “Gucci” Foley. Today, Foley and his former Boss continue to work together to provide motivational and uplifting discussions to companies and organizations.

“Having flown inches away from Boss as his wing man both in the Blue Angels and business, I know the steady confidence his leadership brings,” Foley confirmed to this aerospace reporter on Thursday. “He unites others in a way that brings out the best in those around him. Greg is exactly what we all need as a Governor.”

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The 1992 Blue Angels pilots pose for their official photograph. Wooldridge is fifth from left. (US Navy)

In September 1992, Boss Wooldridge led his blue and gold F/A-18 Hornet team over to visit and perform in Russia and seven Euro-Asia countries on the first flight demonstration tour by a western squadron in that region. The tour came one year following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and became a proud moment for the Blue Angels. The Boss spoke highly of their visit to Moscow.

“Flying in Moscow was unbelievable,” he said with big grin. “They welcomed us with open arms and it was a tremendous experience. I got to fly a (Russian Air Force) SU-27 Sukhoi jet, and I took their flight leader up with me in my Hornet, and we got to experience some things that neither one of us never thought we’d do seeing each other countries.”

Wooldridge added that he brought back quite a few memories from that experience, among them was “a clarity that we are more similar than we are different; and that despite what you might hear, we are widely respected throughout the world and we are thought of as quite a great country.”

Commander Wooldridge was called back to serve as Boss the next year for a five month stint after CDR Robert Stumpf was removed from flight duty during the Navy’s investigation of Stumpf’s involvement in the Tailhook scandal of 1991. He was later cleared.

Wooldridge was asked a third time to helm the Blue Angels in 1996 during the squadron’s 50th anniversary season. Then Boss Donnie Cochran resigned in May as he feared his flying was below average and could endanger the team.

“I knew the culture of excellence of the Blue Angels — their team work and the trust — and it made that call back a pleasure to accept,” he explained. “The third time I came back I had not flown in over two years, and I said ‘I may not be able to do this’, and they said for me to give it a try and I did. Because the team pulled together so tightly around me we got it done… we had quite a great season that year.”

Since 1986, Oregon has been a blue state as voters have elected a democrat for governor each time. This year, Wooldridge hopes voters will keep him in mind as a candidate with stronger leadership skills.

“I bring a conservative agenda to take care of small business, and I definitely want families to feel that they can make it here,” he adds. “My leadership is what I bring and my desire to get things done, my passion for doing things, so that’s what I bring to the table.”

When the former Boss was asked if he still attends Blue Angels air shows, he grinned and said, “I do when they are in the area, and I still get a big charge out of it… it is terrific to see them operate and see that level of trust that we had when I was on the team.”

(Charles A. Atkeison reports on aerospace and science. Follow his updates on social media via @Military_Flight.)

How Navy Pilots Get Carrier Qualified

Bill Walton
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How Navy Pilots Get Carrier Qualified

It’s a long road for a Navy pilot to become carrier qualified.

Before a Student Naval Aviator (SNA) earns those coveted Wings of Gold, he or she will fly Beechcraft T-6B Texan II (JPATS) trainers with Training Air Wing FOUR (TRAWING 4) at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi or with TRAWING 5 at NAS Whiting Field near Pensacola. The next step determines whether they will become carrier qualified.

If the SNA is destined to fly either strike fighters in the Navy or the Marine Corps or the Grumman E-2 Hawkeye or C-2 Greyhound in the Navy, the SNA will be required to complete carrier qualification (CQ) flying the McDonnell Douglas (Boeing) T-45C Goshawk jet trainer.

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Official US Navy photograph

At NAS Corpus Christi, Training Squadron TWO SEVEN (VT-27) Boomers and VT-28 Rangers provide primary flight training for TRAWING 4. At NAS Whiting Field, VT-2 Doerbirds, VT-3 Red Knights, and VT-6 Shooters handle primary for TRAWING 5. In the video clip T-45Cs from both NAS Meridian-based TRAWING 1 (tail code A) and NAS Kingsville-based TRAWING 2 (tail code B) can be seen bagging their first traps aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69).

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Official US Navy photograph

TRAWING 1 consists of VT-7 Eagles and VT-9 Tigers. VT-21 Red Hawks and VT-22 Golden Eagles are assigned to TRAWING 2. Both TRAWING 1 and TRAWING 2 count about 250 SNAs, 75 instructor pilots, 80 civilian contract personnel, and 100 T-45Cs on their books. Student jet pilots from France, Italy, Spain, India, and Great Britain have all graduated from the advanced training syllabus.

Of course after SNAs become Naval Aviators they still have to train in the specific aircraft type they have chosen, usually accomplished at the Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS)- informally known as the RAG (for Replacement Air Group).

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Official US Navy photograph

Watch Blue Angel 6 Pull An Incredible Low-Transition Takeoff Over Spectators at El Centro!

Mike Killian
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Watch Blue Angel 6 Pull An Incredible Low-Transition Takeoff Over Spectators at El Centro!

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels are currently busy training at their winter home in El Centro, California, getting ready for their upcoming 2018 air shown season. And while spectators and photographers are a common sight around the base during this time of year, those in attendance Feb 24 were treated to an incredibly close experience which literally knocked the hats off some of them.

Below, watch Navy Lt. Brandon Hempler, Blue Angel 6, take his iconic blue and gold F/A-18 Hornet into an extremely close low-transition takeoff directly over a crowd of folks gathered just outside the base perimeter.

One person was even blown off their viewing ladder, breaking their camera, while others got mouthfuls of dirt kicked up by the jet’s raw power as Lt. Hempler accelerated into a steep climb with his afterburners blazing.

Below, check out another great angle on the low-transition close encounter from Spencer Hughes.

The elite world-famous team arrived in Imperial Valley at Naval Air Facility, El Centro on Jan 3, kicking off an intense ten-week training session with the pilots flying two practice missions per day, six days a week, in order to meet the 120 training missions required to perform their upcoming public air show demonstrations safely.

Their first show is scheduled for March 10, at NAF El Centro for the base’s 48th annual air show, followed by the “Luke Days 2018” air show at Luke AFB, Arizona on March 17-18.

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Lt. Brandon Hempler, 2018 Blue Angel 6, giving spectators at winter training in El Centro an incredible low-transition takeoff on Feb 24, 2018. Photo Courtesy: Tim Guzman / www.TimGuzmanPhotography.com

The team will then fly back to Pensacola, Florida on March 19, before heading to NAS Kingsville, Texas for the “Wings Over South Texas” air show March 24-25.

The team is slated to fly 59 demonstrations at 31 locations this year, ending the year back at home in Pensacola, Florida on Nov 3 for their annual “Homecoming Air Show“. They’ve showcased the pride and professionalism of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps for nearly 500 million people since 1946, and aim to inspire a culture of excellence and service to the country through their performances and various community outreach efforts throughout the year.

Blue Angels Flight Surgeon, LCDR Juan Guerra, produces some fantastic aerial photography when he takes to the skies with them for their practices, and shares them on his Instagram account. Check out some of his views from their practicing at El Centro this year below:

During training at El Centro, the four Diamond and two Solo pilots each fly a morning and afternoon training flight. In addition, “three days per week, a fifth, additional, training flight is conducted to integrate the Diamond and Solos to perfect the timing of the demonstration,” says Guerra.

The flights are conducted over a Naval Bombing Range known as ShadeTree Range.

Check out the team’s 2018 schedule HERE to see if they will be performing at an air show near you this year.

 – Special thanks to Tim Guzman for his photos in this story.

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– Follow Mike Killian on Instagram and Facebook, @MikeKillianPhotography.

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NASA InSight Lander to Explore the Inner Space of Mars

Charles Atkeison
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NASA InSight Lander to Explore the Inner Space of Mars

NASA’s newest discovery mission InSight will launch this spring to begin the first extensive exploration of the Red Planet’s internal structure.

The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport, or InSight, is scheduled to lift-off for the Red Planet and into a predawn sky on May 5 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, and land six months later upon the Martian plains of Elysium Planitia.

Launch officials will have only 35 days to launch the spacecraft during a period in which the Earth and Mars are perfrctly aligned. This mission will mark the first interplanetary mission to launch from the West Coast.

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NASA’s InSight Mars lander in a Lockheed Martin clean room recently near Denver. (LMSS)

Taking the Temperature and Pulse of Mars

NASA hopes the spacecraft will provide new insight into several key questions such as does Mars have a liquid or solid core, and learn about the planet’s internal motions including the Sun’s effect on the fourth planet from our closest star.

“We will be landing a static lander and the main purpose is to deploy a seismometer instrument to see if there are any quakes on Mars,” Dr. Charles Elachi, former director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at CalTech explained to this aerospace reporter. “More importantly to use that signal from the quake to look at the internal structure of Mars, it’s core and how does it compare to Earth.”

The geophysical lander and it’s instruments were built by both American and international aerospace companies. Lockheed Martin Space Systems constructed and tested the lander, and the German Aerospace Center is responsible for building the HP3 heat probe. France’s space agency built the spacecraft’s seismometer known as SEIS which will measure seismic waves inside the Red Planet.

NASA’s JPL will instruct the lander to drill down into Mars to take the first internal temperature readings of another planet.

“Think of InSight as Mars’ first health checkup in more than 4.5 billion years,” said InSight Principal Investigator Dr. Bruce Banerdt from JPL. “We’ll study its pulse by ‘listening’ for marsquakes with a seismometer. We’ll take its temperature with a heat probe. And we’ll check its reflexes with a radio experiment.”

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InSight will drill deep into the interior of Mars, and will record the planet’s pulse and temperature. (NASA)

InSight to Deploy Ground Breaking Science Experiments

InSight’s 2.4 meter long robotic arm will place three science payloads onto the surface during the first 60 days. The first, a heat flow probe, will drill straight down to about five meters to learn how much heat is moving up toward the surface. These observations will offer a deeper understanding if Earth and Mars have a similar internal structure. The first drill motion into the surface is planned for late March 2019.

Later, the robotic arm will place two seismometers onto the surface in which one will look for and record any Marsquakes occurring from within in the crust, or caused by meteorite impacts on the surface. A second seisometer will record the planet’s surface wind.

The new lander will feature two engineering color cameras. One camera is mounted on the robotic arm between the elbow and the wrist, and will provide a 45-degree field of view, and record a panoramic view of the Martian surface. The second camera is mounted on the front of the lander and will provide a 120-degree fisheye view of the two deployed science payloads.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqTR0mrIIEc?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

Spacecraft’s Voyage will Cover 485 million kilometers

The launch window for the United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 is May 5 thru June 8, and will have a two-hour opportunity each day. After orbit insertion and InSight’s seperation from the Centaur upper stage, two briefcase-sized CubeSats will seperate from the rocket’s upper stage and begin to trail InSight.

The objective of Mars Cube One will be to transmit data on InSight during its entery into the Martian atmosphere and landing. This will be a first test of sending two CubeSats to another planet, and will become a test bed for future missions.

Following a six month, 485 million km voyage to the Red Planet, the spacecraft will enter the Martian atmosphere at a speed of 14,100 miles per hour. Based on the exact launch date inside its window, InSight is expected to touchdown upon the flat plain at Elysium Planitia (4.5° N, 135.9° E), located just north of the Martian equator, on Nov. 26. JPL assures that even a launch delay of one to three weeks will still have InSight land the Monday after Thanksgiving at about 3:00 p.m. EST.

InSight is expected to operate for at least two Earth years (728 days) or one Martian year (708 sols). Dr. Banerdt acknowledged that InSight is part of a legacy of robotic exploration which will lay the groundwork for sending humans to Mars in the 2030s.

(Charles Atkeison reports on aerospace and technology. Follow his updates via social media @Military_Flight.)

 

The Rockwell B-1A Lancer Was Way Ahead of Its Time, But Brought Down By Politics

Bill Walton
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The Rockwell B-1A Lancer Was Way Ahead of Its Time, But Brought Down By Politics

When Rockwell and the United States Air Force (USAF) produced the film “B-1 On the Move – Supersonic” the Bone was still in test. Although the B-1A was a truly impressive and very capable bomber, political considerations did the aircraft in. President Jimmy Carter killed the program. President Ronal Reagan brought a modified version of the aircraft back to life a few years later in 1981. Bone fans will appreciate the footage of a young aircraft going through the testing program. The video was uploaded to YouTube by PeriscopeFilm.

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Official US Air Force photograph

Today the Rockwell (Boeing) B-1B Lancer forms a significant part of the Air Force Global Strike command along with the stealthy Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit and the venerable Boeing B-52H Stratofortress. First envisioned during the 1960s as a replacement for both the Convair B-58 Hustler and the B-52, things didn’t quite go according to that plan. The B-1A program was chopped in part because of the capabilities of the Boeing AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM).

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Official US Air Force photograph

The B-1B in service today differs from the B-1A in several ways. The B-1B boasts a lower top speed at high altitude ( Mach 1.25) but is faster at low altitude (Mach 0.96). The B-1B is also equipped with vastly improved avionics and defensive countermeasures. The B-1Bs airframe is also strengthened to allow a higher maximum takeoff weight leading to improved payloads. The B-1B entered service first with Strategic Air Command (SAC) in 1986, became a part of Air Combat Command when SAC was disbanded, and though 100 total airframes were delivered, 67 of them serve today with Global Strike Command.

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Official US Air Force photograph

Watch the Freshest BUFF in the Fleet Wow the Crowds at Last Year’s EAA AirVenture

Bill Walton
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Watch the Freshest BUFF in the Fleet Wow the Crowds at Last Year’s EAA AirVenture

From our good friends at Airshow Stuff comes this clip of the Boeing B-52H Stratofortress Air Force serial number 61-0007 (CN 464434) performing flybys for the huge crowd of avgeeks at EAA AirVenture 2017. This particular BUFF, Ghost Rider, was the first B-52H to be regenerated from long-term storage with the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (AFB) near Tucson in Arizona and returned to fully-operational flying status. Thanks to AirshowStuffVideos for uploading the clip to YouTube. Spoiler alert:  There’s a bonus video down below…

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The 76th Aircraft Maintenance Group based at Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex at Tinker AFB spent 45,000 man-hours over 19 months transforming the mothballed 56-year-old strategic bomber into the 76th operational B-52H for Air Force Global Strike Command. Previously assigned to the 23rd Bomb Squadron (BS) Bomber Barons of the 5th Bomb Wing (BW) at Minot AFB before spending 8 years at AMARG in Type 1000 storage, the freshest BUFF in the fleet is now assigned to the 69th BS Knighthawks of the same 5th BW at Minot once again.

BUFF Ghost Rider at EAA AirVenture.
Official US Air Force photograph

Bonus Video:  Bomber Day at EAA AirVenture 2017 featuring both airworthy Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers and a host of other warbirds as well as a Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit and a Rockwell (Boeing) B-1B Bone flying with Ghost Rider!

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