The United States Air Force (USAF) produced the promotional film “Toward the Unexplored” in 1967. The film features the history of Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) from its beginnings as Muroc Dry Lake and World War II target range to the testing being performed at Edwards at the time the film was produced. Thanks to YouTuber Classic Airliners & Vintage Pop Culture for uploading this history lesson and time capsule of Air Force research and development at Edwards. Watch for an appearance by then-Colonel Chuck Yeager himself. Ad Inexplorata!
The film features America’s first jet fighter aircraft, the Bell XP-59. It then moves through programs such as the early X-planes, the Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing, the zero-launch North American F-100 Super Sabre, the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, Bell X-3 Stiletto, Convair’s B-58 Hustler, the General Dynamics F-111, Lockheed’s SR-71 Blackbird, the Ling Temco Vought XC-142 tilt-wing testbed, the North American X-15, and lots more. Rocket engine testing, range telemetry, and test administration is all included in this comprehensive look at Edwards AFB circa 1967.
United Airlines is in the midst of a farewell tour of sorts for its Boeing 747-400 fleet. As we have previously reported, United is retiring its ‘Queen of the Skies’ and replacing it with a combination of Boeing 777-300ERs and the forthcoming A350XWBs at the end of the decade. While the 747 is a majestic aircraft, time has caught up with the jumbo jet. It is not nearly as efficient as the newer large-twin jets and maintenance costs have risen as they have aged.
Still though, United recognizes the important role that the Boeing jumbo has played in the history of the airline. United has operated the type since 1971. They have flown the -400 model since 1989. In a blog post, they stated,
Since her induction into our fleet, the Boeing 747 aka the “Queen of the Skies” has been one of our most recognizable aircrafts with a unique upper deck, giving her an instantly recognizable hump silhouette. Over the years, she’s built up a considerable fanbase, winning the hearts of customers and employees alike. Before she flies into the sunset next month, join us as we pay homage to the Queen of the Skies after 47 years of service with United.
United’s last scheduled revenue flight of a Boeing 747 will be a flight from San Francisco International to Honolulu. It will commemorate United’s first flight in a 747. United also applied throwback titles on one 747 to commemorate the decades of service by the double-decker jet.
My first B-52 combat mission in Vietnam in 1973 left questions I still cannot answer—chief among them, whether I killed anyone. As part of a bomber crew flying out of Andersen AFB, we dropped thousands of pounds of ordnance over Cambodia’s Parrot’s Beak, but the true impact remains unknowable.
I only flew two live bombing runs in August 1973, before President Nixon’s final bombing halt prior to the negotiations that ended our involvement in the war a few months later. But the first mission captured all the terror, anticipation, wonder, and angst of flying into a war.
A B-52G departs Andersen AFB during the Vietnam War. Photo: Defense Media
Preparing for My First B-52 Combat Mission from Andersen AFB
The mission began after dark at Andersen AFB, Guam, in the western Pacific Ocean. The crew bus dropped us at the hot loading zone on a far corner of a field, a remote location that would provide some protection for the base if something went wrong while loading over fifty thousand pounds of bombs in the bomb bay and on wing pylons of our B-52D.
A full moon painted the bristling black warbird in a ghostly light, a formidable metal dragon that would righteously drop explosive mayhem onto America’s enemies, or so I thought at the time. I paused and slowly put down my flight bag to stare in awe. Was I really a part of this? What was I about to do?
The Approach to Parrot’s Beak
Six hours after takeoff, we approached the target area over Cambodia’s Parrot’s Beak region as one of a half-dozen three-ship bomber formations. Each cell was named for a tree. We were Oak Flight; others were Pine, Maple, and Birch.
As the lead aircraft copilot for my cell (for some unknown reason, I got to be lead on my first mission), I had to announce the impending bomb drop on “Guard,” the international radio frequency all-aircraft monitor. This would allow aircraft in the vicinity to vacate the area and avoid the “rain” of our falling bombs. (As an aside, this is the same rain referenced in the Creedence Clearwater Revival song “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”)
I had been warned to switch my radio toggle from the interplane frequency to the Guard channel before transmitting the warning. Being a raw rookie, however, I gave the entire two-minute spiel on interplane to the great amusement of the other copilots. “Hey, lead, want to try that on Guard?” they snickered on the interplane frequency.
Then, in the early morning darkness, the bomb run began over an Asian jungle. Our three-abreast, triangular-shaped formation banked steeply, ominously, onto the bomb run heading. The radar navigator, who would throw the switch to drop the bombs, informed the crew that we were approaching the IP, or Initial Point, to begin the run.
The Haunting Voice on the Radio
Just as we passed the IP, a male Asian voice began transmitting in Cambodian on our radios. He sounded as if he were babbling in an opium den, and his voice disturbed and frightened me. I feared he might be an apparition warning us off our task, a voice of doom giving a last opportunity to save ourselves, or a soon-to-be victim in the target zone making his last hopeless statement to his slayers.
He continued talking, as if relating a story to a fellow opium smoker, while our formation approached the target.
No matter what I did to my radio controls, I couldn’t make the voice stop.
In the near distance, 33,000 feet below us, the ground glowed red, eerily, from explosions from preceding bomber formations. A mist hung over the terrain, giving the area the look of a graveyard in a horror movie.
Bombs Away: Experiencing the B-52 Strike
The radar navigator began the countdown, “Ten . . . nine . . . eight,”—the apparitional voice continued his drunken soliloquy on the radio—“Three . . . two . . . one . . . bombs away!”
The aircraft shuddered lightly as the bombs unhooked from the wings and dropped from the bomb bays of our three aircraft in a ten-second release sequence that would obliterate an area equal to three football fields and unleash a shock wave that would kill any unshielded creature within half a mile.
North Vietnamese soldier and author Bao Ninh later wrote that the immediate aftermath of such a strike resulted in “a rain of arms and legs dropping before him on the grass.”
We waited as the radar navigator counted down to detonation, about fifty seconds for the bombs to fall 33,000 feet, “Three . . . two . . . one . . . impact!” The thin clouds around our aircraft reflected hundreds of small bursts of light from below. It was done. The radar navigator announced the closing of the bomb bay doors.
“We flew on in the darkness in silence as I pondered what we had done. I ponder it still.”
As you probably know by now, Southwest Airlines announced their intention to serve Hawaii this past Wednesday night. There has been speculation about if and when Southwest Airlines would begin service to Hawaii for years. Driving these rumors is the fact that they’ve been removing many of the obstacles holding them back from flying to the islands.
For instance, flying long distances over water requires specially equipped and maintained aircraft. Known as Extended Operations (ETOPS) certification, the aircraft and crew have to demonstrate an ability to lose an engine and to safely divert to an alternate airport. Southwest has been operating ETOPS compliant aircraft, and trained their crews in over water navigation procedures several years ago. So why did they wait so long to start service?
One reason to not serve the Hawaiian Islands is that it is a very difficult market in which to make money. This may seem counterintuitive as Hawaii is one of the premier vacation destinations in the world, but let me explain.
Leisure or Business?
Airlines rely on two types of passengers to make money: business and leisure. Business passengers are by far the more profitable customers as they are usually on a tight timeline, and are not generally flexible in their travel plans. Many times they have to travel at the last minute. These factors mean that airlines can charge business passengers a lot of money which ends up making them high margin customers.
Leisure passengers, on the other hand, often plan their vacations well in advance, and are more cost conscious as opposed to time sensitive. Add in that money used for vacations is discretionary, meaning that a small increase in cost may mean going to a cheaper destination or not going at all, and you can see that airlines are competing for these passengers on price. The leisure market ends up being a high volume, but low margin business. And Hawaii is the quintessential leisure market.
Another factor in the Hawaiian market is of the airlines’ own making. That factor is their loyalty programs. Decades ago, the airlines figured out that giving away free flights to loyal customers was a great way to keep those customers from jumping ship (so to speak) to another carrier which beat them by a few bucks on price. One of the premier destinations for loyalty program redemptions, however, was Hawaii. This meant that the airlines found themselves flying full airplanes to the islands with very few paying customers, a huge number of them being redeemed “miles” flights.
The type of aircraft being flown can also affect the profitability of a particular market. Wide-body aircraft carrying several hundred passengers enjoy an economy of scale which lowers costs. The fixed costs of maintaining gates and ticket counters are essentially the same for all airliners, so an airline flying wide-body aircraft can spread those costs over more customers. This is a disadvantage for airlines with only narrow-body aircraft such as Alaska and Southwest.
All of these reasons have made Hawaii a difficult market that up to now Southwest has elected to forego. But something made them change their mind, and that something was from outside their company.
It’s War!
In April of 2016, Alaska Airlines announced their intention to acquire Virgin America creating a west coast powerhouse airline with national aspirations. For decades, Alaska was content to serve their fiercely defended home turf of Alaska from their Seattle hub, along with west coast routes including Mexico, while only occasionally venturing east of the Mississippi.
The addition of the Virgin America network added a robust transcontinental capacity giving the new entity a significant east coast footprint. They also decided that the time was good to challenge Southwest for primacy in one of the largest markets in the country: California.
Southwest has long been the primary carrier for California intrastate travel having wrested the old PSA routes away from USAir back in the early ’90s. Flying California intrastate routes as many as six times daily, Southwest has more or less had that market sewn up until earlier this year. Starting in March, Alaska announced new service and frequency to cities such as Burbank and Sacramento, Southwest strongholds. A fare war has subsequently broken out with fares as low as $57 for intrastate travel.
No Holds Barred
Fare wars, while good for airline travellers while they last, can be brutal to the bottom line. Alaska did not start this fight without intending to either win, (unlikely) or at least to grab a good chunk of Southwest’s California market share. A war of attrition will batter both airlines’ financial results even though Southwest is somewhat better positioned to prevail as they have lower overall costs than Alaska.
Alaska, though, does have some tricks up their sleeve which will keep them in the fight. One is that they have codeshare agreements with 15 other airlines to include large international carriers like British Airways and Emirates. Southwest does not codeshare at all. Funneling passengers into a worldwide network brings in revenue and exposes their product to more potential customers.
The other feature that Alaska has is Hawaii. They’ve been flying there for years, even though it may not be a huge revenue generator. And this is an ace in the hole when you are fighting for California. As it turns out, over half of all Hawaii tourists originate from California.
The whole point of loyalty programs is to capture customers who will then fly one particular airline for both business and leisure travel. When you are trying to build brand loyalty, as Southwest is, not serving one of the largest nearby leisure destinations means that you are inviting your customers to fly on your biggest competitor. This is the real reason that Southwest has finally decided to fly to Hawaii.
In Conclusion
A fare war over California means that there are huge consequences at stake. Alaska is attempting to establish a larger presence on the west coast after their merger with Virgin America, while Southwest does not intend to let one of their largest markets be challenged. In order to compete against this new attack, Southwest has to offer their customers access to Hawaii unless they want to see their customers fly on the competition for both business and leisure.
When US Navy Fighter Squadron ELEVEN (VF-11) Red Rippers returned from their 2004 deployment with Carrier Air Wing SEVEN (CVW-7) aboard the carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73), an era came to an end for the Red Rippers. During that eventful Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment the Red Rippers flew repeated bombing sorties over Fallujah west of Bagdad in central Iraq for 48 hours. After the squadron returned from deployment to Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana in Virginia they began transitioning to the McDonnell Douglas (Boeing) F/A-18F Super Hornet. This video, produced by the Red Rippers and uploaded by YouTuber Triple Nickel, chronicles the last VF-11 Tomcat Cruise.
Carrier Air Wing SEVEN (CVW-7) deployed aboard the carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) from January 20th 2004 to July 26th 2004. During this deployment CVW-7 consisted of VF-143 Pukin’ Dogs and VF-11 Red Rippers flying the Grumman F-14B Tomcat, VFA-136 Knighthawks and VFA-131 Wildcats flying the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet, VAQ-140 Patriots flying the Grumman EA-6B Prowler, VAW-121 Bluetails flying the Grumman E-2C Hawkeye, VS-31 Topcats flying the Lockheed S-3B Viking, and HS-5 Nightdippers flying Sikorksy HH-60H Rescue Hawk and SH-60F Seahawk helicopters. On April 20th 2005 VF-11 delivered the last of their F-14B Tomcats to the AMARG “boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (AFB) near Tucson in Arizona, ending 24 years of Tomcat operations.
When the British Airways Film Unit produced the promotional film “Transatlantic Supersonic” in 1976, the Aérospatiale / BAC Concorde supersonic transport (SST) had only just entered scheduled service with British Airways. The Concorde was jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) under an Anglo-French treaty. A total of 20 Concordes were built including the first six airframes used for testing and development. Thanks to YouTuber PeriscopeFilm for uploading this look at the Concorde.
The Concorde was flown by only two airlines- Air France and British Airways. The Concorde was capable of flying at just over twice the speed of sound at Mach 2.04 (1,354 miles per hour or 2,180 kilometers per hour) at the aircraft’s cruising altitude of 60,000 feet. The aircraft could be configured to seat from 92 to 128 passengers. The Concorde flew for the first time in 1969 but took until 1976 to enter service. The last operational Concorde was retired in 2003. The world’s only other operational SST was the Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 Charger, 16 of which were built and operated by the Soviets for only six years.
The Bell X-1 was the rocket-powered aircraft that exceeded the speed of sound in level flight while piloted by legendary test pilot Chuck Yeager on October 14th 1947. The aircraft, developed largely during World War II by Bell Aircraft along with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) and later the US Air Force (USAF), subsequently flew at nearly 1,000 miles per hour (870 knots or 1,600 kilometers per hour) during continued testing in 1948. But did you know that the British might have been able to break the sound barrier first, or that they might have solved a sticky engineering wicket with the X-1?
Image via NASM
As early as 1942 the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Aviation (Air Ministry) was working with Miles Aircraft on a top-secret project to design and build the world’s first aircraft capable of breaking the sound barrier in level flight. The turbojet-powered Miles M.52 was designed to reach 1,000 miles per hour, which was more than twice the existing airspeed record at the time in level flight. The aircraft was also expected to be able to climb to an altitude of 36,000 feet (10,973 meters) in just 1 minute and 30 seconds.
Photo Credit: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
The design of the M.52 was 90 percent complete by 1944 and Miles was directed to build three prototypes. Also in 1944 The Air Ministry signed an agreement with the United States to exchange high-speed research and data. Supposedly the Brits provided drawings of the M.52 and research data to Bell Aircraft but Bell provided nothing in return. Bell was already working on a rocket-powered design similar to the M.52 but tail design issues were holding Bell’s development efforts up. Miles Aircraft believed a variable-incidence tail design would solve the problem.
Official US Air Force Photograph
The USAAF Flight Test Division and the NACA contracted with the Bell Aircraft Company on March 16th 1945 to build three XS-1 (for “Experimental, Supersonic”) aircraft to obtain flight data on conditions in the transonic speed range. The designation was changed to X-1 later. In simplest terms the X-1 was a bullet with wings. The shape of the fuselage resembled nothing as much as a .50 caliber bullet- a shape that was known to be stable while flying at supersonic speeds. This created design challenges for the cockpit of the aircraft, which had no room for an ejection seat.
Photo Credit: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
During early testing in 1947 the X-1 experienced in-flight compressibility problems. The tailplane was redesigned to incorporate variable-incidence or “flying” one-piece horizontal stabilizers. This resulted in some controversy about the potential British contribution to the X-1 design, but in the end Yeager’s flight tests confirmed the “flying” tail worked. If it had not, the design of the X-1 would have been radically altered to include delta wings. As it turned out every experimental “X plane” would be equipped with a flying tail or delta wings from then on.
Photo Credit: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
Reaction Motors Incorporated was one of the very first companies to build liquid-propellant rocket engines in the U.S. They provided the four-chamber rocket engine capable of 6,000 pounds of thrust for the X-1. This rocket engine burned ethyl alcohol diluted with water with a liquid oxygen oxidizer. Thrust could be incrementally increased by using additional chambers. The first two X-1 engines were equipped with fuel and oxygen tanks pressurized with nitrogen, but the remainder utilized gas-driven turbopumps- necessary to increase the chamber pressure and thrust while making the engine lighter.
Photo Credit: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
The first person to fly the X-1 was Bell Aircraft chief test pilot Jack Woolams. He made the first of ten unpowered glide-flights over Pinecastle Army Airfield in Florida (later McCoy Air Force Base (AFB) and now Orlando International Airport) on January 25th 1946. Powered flights were all flown at Muroc Army Airfield (now Edwards AFB), first by Bell test pilots Woolams and Chalmers “Slick” Goodlin. 26 successful powered flights were conducted between September 1946 and June 1947. But when the USAAF expressed concerns about the cautious pace of Bell flight testing and then Goodlin demanded $150,000 for a first supersonic flight, he was out. And Yeager stepped in. Broken ribs and all.
Official US Air Force Photograph
Just a month after the USAAF became the USAF, on October 14th 1947 Captain Chuck Yeager famously borrowed a stick of Beeman’s and then drop-launched out of the bomb bay of a specially modified Boeing B-29 Superfortress in Bell X-1 USAF serial number 46-062. The all-orange aircraft was named Glamorous Glennis after his wife as all of his USAAF-assigned aircraft had been. On this 50th X-1 flight the aircraft reached Mach 1.06 or 700 miles per hour (610 knots or 1,100 kilometers per hour) at 43,000 feet (13,106 meters). After “breaking the Mach meter” the rocket engines burned out and Yeager glided the now-famous Bell X-1 down to land on the dry lake bed.
Photo Credit: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
The 1947 National Aeronautics Association Collier Trophy went to the three primary participants in the X-1 Program for their supersonic flight. Honored at the White House by President Truman were Larry Bell of Bell Aircraft, pilot USAF Captain Charles “Chuck” Yeager, and John Stack of the NACA. The NACA would eventually become the core of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration- NASA. Although the Air Force tried their best to keep a lid on the story, Aviation Week magazine had it by their December 22nd 1947 issue. The supersonic flight was finally announced to the public on June 10th 1948 by Air Force Secretary Stuart Symington.
Photo Credit: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
Chuck Yeager used X-1 USAF serial number #46-062 to perform the only conventional (runway) launch of the X-1 program, reaching an altitude of 23,000 feet (7,000 meters) in only 90 seconds on January 5th 1949. Later variants of the X-1 were built to test different aspects of supersonic flight. While flying the modified X-1A Yeager experienced inertia coupling and nearly lost the aircraft. The research techniques used for the X-1 program became the pattern for all subsequent X-plane programs. The flight data collected by the NACA from the X-1 tests was used to develop many of the fighter designs designed and built throughout the latter half of the 20th century.
An Air France crew is preparing to fly their wounded double-decker A-380 home from Canada to France, nearly two weeks after the aircraft suffered a serious in-flight engine failure over the Atlantic Ocean, and they will make the 2,650 mile trip on only 3 engines.
Air France Flight 66 landed safely at Goose Bay International Airport in Newfoundland, Canada, following the incident, which occurred en route from Paris to Los Angeles on Sep 30, but they have yet to release many details.
In videos and photos posted online, the #4 engine was clearly inoperative after the fan and cowling blew off, chunks of which landed on the Greenland ice sheet over 35,000 feet below.
Nearly 500 souls were onboard, and while a scary situation, passengers kept their cool, and no injuries were reported. Although the hours following landing were quite stressful (you can read about one such experience HERE).
Now, according to Reuters, Air France is swapping the blown engine with a spare, to serve as a weight balance to help get the super jumbo airliner home.
An Air France A380. File Photo: Air France
The blown engine, meanwhile, is being sent back to the manufacturer, General Electric, for a thorough examination and hopeful determination of what caused the accident, described by some passengers as a “loud thud and a lot of vibration”.
So how DO you fly a A-380 on 3 engines, across the ocean?
British Airways A-380 Captain Dave Wallsworth (@DaveWallsworth on Twitter) offered some very interesting and detailed insight into conducting such a specialized flight, and the training necessary to make it happen.
The @airfrance#A380 which suffered an engine failure is to be flown back with only 3 operating engines. Some notes about how that is done.. pic.twitter.com/XGe9FQ9Waf
Meanwhile, the FAA has issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD) to all owners and operators of the engine (Engine Alliance Model GP7200 series turbofan engines) to prevent failure of the fan hub, which could lead to an uncontained release of the fan hub, damage to the engine, and damage to the airplane.
“We are issuing this AD because we evaluated all the relevant information and determined the unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or develop in other products of the same type design,” says the FAA.
The engine which blew apart in flight had 3,527 cycles since new. The AD orders fan hubs with 3,500 cycles since new or more, to be inspected within 2 weeks of the date of the AD. Fan hubs with less cycles have more time to conduct inspections.
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– Follow Mike Killian on Instagram and Facebook, @MikeKillianPhotography
This week’s Sukhoi Su-24 fighter jet crash at Hmeimim Airbase has brought world focus to the Russian military’s technological advancements. Russia has carried out at least 150 airstrikes against Islamic jihadists in Syria. They have lost three fighter jets since last year, a Mig-29, an Su-33 and most recently this past week, an Su-24. However despite these losses, Russia is touting the Syrian effort as an opportunity to battle test important military technology.
Showing Up or Showing Off? Technological Advancements of the Russian Military
Russia is using the Syrian conflict as a kind of proving ground, testing its new line up of missiles, warplanes and robots. For example, Kalibr missiles came into the picture in 2012 but Russia did not have an opportunity to test them in combat until the Syrian crisis. Warships have fired Kalibr missiles at least a dozen times, thus far.
The Kalibr is actually a family of missiles, one of which has an approximate range of 2,000 – 2,600 kilometers. These missile deployments allow Russia to showcase just how far they have come with this technology, putting the country in league with a handful of others that have successful long range missile programs. The Kalibr is said to be comparable to the U.S. Tomahawk.
Also of note is the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia’s only aircraft carrier. It was put into service after 30 years of being idle and was stationed off the Syrian coast in late 2016. For the most part, the military focuses on land missions, therefore the ability to test out Admiral Kuznetsov in a real combat situation provided valuable insight into its capabilities, or lack thereof. The carrier lost two aircraft reportedly because of arrestor gear failure, which caused the planes to roll over the deck when attempting to land.
Is Using Kh-101 Strategic Cruise Missiles Against Syrian Jihadists Overkill?
Kh-101 strategic cruise missiles were launched from Tu-95MS strategic bombers like this Photo Dmitry Terekhov from Odintsovo, Russian Federation (wikimedia commons)
Some observers call Russia’s recent display against Syria overkill since the rebels are often only armed with shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles. The situation further illustrates that, indeed, Russia is testing weapons’ capabilities in these live combat situations.
Russian military generals are beaming over the successful launch of Kh-101 strategic cruise missiles. These stealth missiles have nuclear capability and were launched from Tu-95MS strategic bombers. The move may have indeed been an unnecessary show of might but helped the military prove to the world that the missiles are viable.
Russia is also flexing its muscles with its supersonic Tu-160 bomber. It is a long-range fighter jet that has the ability to carry out a strategic mission and then, fly back to its home base. Missions can be launched from Iran with the Tu-160 which opens up a whole new chapter in political and military relations between the two countries.
Iconic Fighter Jets, Helicopters and Robots Join the Fight
Mig-29SMTN Photo Vitaly V. Kuzmin, Operator Russia – Air Force
One of the most recent additions to the Russian arsenal is an upgrade of an icon, the Mig-29SMT. It was recently deployed on a combat mission to Syria, along with combat helicopters. The Mi-28N Night Hunter helicopter flies night missions and has long range missile capability to boot.
Mi-28N (Photo Vitaly V. Kuzmin (wikimedia commons)
Robots and drones are also being used. The Uran-6 is a demining robot that was used in clearing the Aleppo site. The Uran-6 is controlled remotely and can detect and destroy explosive devices with up to a 60kg TNT yield. The explosives are smashed by the trawl or detonated.
ATLANTA — The thrust of America’s military jets and the dizzying aerobatics of civilian aircraft are poised to perform this weekend during an airshow first as it will be staged above the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Nearly 80,000 guests are likely to attend the two-day inaugural Atlanta Airshow which will feature the top jets from both the Navy and Air Force, and include several of the nation’s top aerobatic performers.
And, this will be the first true airshow to ever take place over a stadium.
“This is the first time an airshow has been held in a stadium setting,” said Atlanta Airshow president Bryan Lilley on Thursday. “There’s gonna be nothing like it in the industry. From comfort and convenience, the one thing we all want in an airshow is shade, non-portable restrooms, and there will hundred’s of video screens installed in the stadium.”
The aerial stadium will host one civilian aerobatic pilot who spent Thursday rehearsing and modifying his performance. Comedic stunt pilot Kent Pietsch is practicing to make airshow history as he performs a rare landing inside a stadium during an airshow.
Each second will count as Kent uses precision skill to perform a touch-and-go maneuver a top a speeding RV inside the stadium. He will then hold his position for a few seconds, and then take-off with only feet to spare.
“I think in that particular setting it’s a first,” Lilley remarked. “Kent’s been planning it and rehearsing it.”
Photo by: Charles A. Atkeison
The Navy’s F/A-18F Super Hornet will perform over the stadium twice on Saturday and Sunday as the Tactical Demonstration Team’s jet opens and closes the family friendly event. Based in Oceana, Virginia, these Super Hornets are multi-role fighters capable of air-to-air and air-to-ground combat of enemy targets.
Two of the team’s pilots are from Georgia, and one of their prime maintenance professionals is from nearby Griffin.
“I am very happy I got to come to my hometown, and we are super excited to be here at the Atlanta Airshow,” said AM2 Douglas Scheer, an aviation structural mechanic on the F/A-18 Super Hornet, who serves with the Tac Demo Team. “This is unique as I’ve never seen an airshow fly over a stadium. This is gonna be very unique and special to us this weekend.”
The Air Force’s fourth generation fighter will take to the skies each afternoon as the F-16 Viper Demo Team demonstrates the jet’s handling characteristics. Based at nearby Shaw, AFB, S.C., this Demo Team will also wow the guests on hand with incredible maneuvers.
Major John “Rain” Waters, a native of Peachtree City, will pilot the F-16 as he demonstrates the capabilities of the Viper, and will perform a joint flight with a P-51D Mustang as the duo executes the crowd favorite Air Force Heritage flight.
The Atlanta Motor Speedway, prime site of the Atlanta Airshow, is located 28 miles south of Downtown Atlanta, by following I-75 south to the Tara Blvd. exit and south to Speedway Blvd. Tickets remain available online and will also be sold at the gate each day.
As Bryan Lilley stood inside the stadium watching the aerial practice overhead, a grin of accomplishment and pride moved across his face and said, “I think this an achievement for the industry, and for all of us to be here, and be able to put this airshow together. This will be new and next-generation in the airshow industry.”
(Charles A. Atkeison reports on aerospace and technology. Follow his updates via social media @Military_Flight.)
WestJet Airlines took delivery of their first Boeing 737-8 MAX this week. The new Boeing compliments an existing fleet of Boeing 737NGs including the -600, -700 and -800 model aircraft.
WestJet is known for using amazing videos to highlight company events, April Fools jokes and holidays. In true WestJet style, they followed the ‘birth’ of their first Boeing 737-8 MAX. In the video you can see the mating of the -8’s fuselage to the wings and horizontal stabilizer, and advanced technology (AT) winglets. WestJet also provides a behind the scenes look at the painting process and final polish.
WestJet is the first Canadian Airline to receive the new -8MAX aircraft. They have a total of 65 new 737 MAXs on order including 30 of the -8 along with 10 -7 aircraft and 25 models of the larger -9 version. Additionally, WestJet has an order of 20 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft that will add additional capacity for domestic routes and will most likely open up new routes throughout Europe and the Pacific. WestJet also announced a new ‘airline within an airline’ ultra-low cost subsidiary called Swoop that will begin service out of Calgary in 2018.
On Thursday October 12th 2017, a Ejército del Aire (Spanish Air Force) Eurofighter EF2000 Typhoon fighter jet has crashed near Los Llanos Airbase at Albacete Airport, located about 200 miles (300 kilometers) southeast of Madrid in Spain. The jet was approaching Los Llanos for recovery after taking part in a National Parade Day flyover at Madrid as one of a flight of four aircraft. The pilot, whose name has not yet been released, was unable to eject before the aircraft impacted in a farmer’s field at about 1000 local time near the air base. The cause of the mishap is under investigation. Avgeekery will update this story as events warrant.
Official Ejército del Aire (Spanish Air Force) Photograph
Less than three weeks ago another EF2000 mishap took place in Italy. Los Llanos Airbase at Albacete Airport is the home base of the Ejército del Aire’s Eurofighter Typhoon C.16 jets from Ala (squadron) 14. The base also hosts the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Tactical Leadership Program. Spain has been flying a single squadron of the C.16 version of the EF2000 Typhoon fighter-bombers since October of 2003. Their Typhoons regularly participate in Exercises like Red Flag, hosted by the United States Air Force (USAF) at Nellis Air Force Base (AFB) near Las Vegas.
