We’ve seen people position a GoPro at the end of the runway before but this is a first. A guy stood on the end of an assault runway to film the departure of a C-130. It’s gutsy, rare footage, and a sight to behold as the massive Herk departs over the videographer’s head.
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Engines are extremely reliable pieces of machinery. This reliability isn’t just luck though. It is a result of a robust testing and maintenance program. Prior to service entry, a jet engine undergoes an extensive testing to prove reliability. After service entry, an engine is sometimes tested to diagnose a fault, test an upgraded feature, or ensure proper function after an overhaul. Because of the raw power of a jet engine, great care in normally taken to secure the engine before a test.
Today, our focus is on the J-85 engine built by General Electric. The J-85 is a small but powerful engine with proven reliability. With up to 6,000lbs of thrust, the engine powers the T-38, F-5 and a non-afterburner powered version powered the A-37 Firefly. It can power jet aircraft to supersonic speeds. The jet engine is still tested on a regular basis. This is what a J-85 test is supposed to look like.
Unfortunately, mistakes occasionally occur. It appears someone forgot to bolt down the J-85 to the test rig properly in this video. Just 10 seconds into the testing, the engine is detached from its rig. Woosh! 6,000 lbs of thrust hurtle forward in an uncontrolled manner. That’ll leave a mark.
The amazing video shows a near collision between an airliner and a small twin aircraft. Back in the 1970s, Ansett Airways (Australia) did an air-to-air photo shoot with one of their F-27 Friendship turboprop aircraft. The formation photoshoot was flown with a Piper Navajo aircraft.
Details are really sketchy about this video. A few forums call it a fake video. Others say the plane and the photo shoot really happened. The prevailing theory is that the Piper was too close and was sucked into the Fokker’s vortices. I’m not sure I believe the reasoning but the video does look real. Regardless of the cause, it’s a very unique video showing how VH-FND’s tail almost lopped off by the wing of the smaller plane.
This video is a good reminder that formation flight is inherently dangerous. Don’t try it if you’ve never been trained on how to do it. If you have been trained, prebrief all pilots, don’t cut corners or showoff. And don’t lose focus, even for a split second.
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This F/A-18 pilot sure knows how to yank and bank. It’s not unusual for fighter pilots to perform low levels. They are an essential part of training and a skill that is necessary for combat. What is impressive in this clip is how aggressive the pilot actually flies the route. He’s either a really good pilot or crazy…or a little of both. You decide.
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Back in late 2014, American Airlines announced that they would be painting new liveries on three 737-800s in the colors of TWA, RenoAir, and AirCal. Avgeeks everywhere rejoiced that the famous tails from three departed airlines would soon return to the skies.
Throughout 2015, American Airlines actually unveiled four unique heritage liveries honoring the four major acquisitions by the company over the years. This included 737-800s from TWA, RenoAir, and AirCal. A fourth Airbus A321 was painted in factory fresh US Airways colors with American titles to represent the heritage plane of US Airways for the ‘new’ American Airlines.
The TWA, RenoAir, and AirCal airplanes were met with excitement but also some criticism. All three aircraft had a primary gray (mica) color instead of the white background seen on the schemes they were meant to represent. The color of the jets were a disappointment to many avgeek purists who had hoped for completely accurate paint schemes.
Avgeekery reached out to American Airlines for comment. We asked the question, “why were the heritage liveries gray instead of white?” American responded to us with the following comments.
The base color for the TWA, Reno Air and AirCal aircraft sometimes have a grayer look because the current American Airlines mica system was used instead of the white used in some liveries in the past. The mica flecks within the three-coat system can look slightly grayer under overcast skies, but in sunlight it puts off a brilliant reflection that can appear white.
There was an important, practical consideration for this. Using the same paint means it will still match when we do repairs and body panel swaps. Some items that are replaced frequently, such as radomes and cargo doors, would be mismatched if the plane were a base white, and the spare was the same color as the rest of the American Airlines livery. Our heritage planes would then look patchy due to the different colors, or they would have to come out of service more often for re-painting. Using the same base color system means these heritage planes will spend more time where they belong – out flying, where everyone can see them.
The logic behind this move makes sense. There is nothing uglier than a mismatched nose or panel on a beautiful aircraft. As a follow up, we wanted to find out if the previous Heritage Liveries of Piedmont, PSA, Allegheny, and America West Airlines would be painted in mica as well as American finished repainting the US Airways fleet to the ‘new’ American scheme. American responded with:
Not at this time.
Based on the logic of American’s response, we wouldn’t be surprised if American’s other heritage aircraft eventually are painted in a mica scheme one day.
It was a plane that ‘converted jet fuel to noise’. Some nicknamed it the ‘quarter-million dollar dog whistle.’ If you ask any Air Force pilot who flew the T-37 Tweet to describe why they loved the jet trainer, their first response to your question will probably be, “huh? Say again?” But if you ask a little louder and/or tell them to turn up their hearing aid, you’ll inevitably get a heartfelt reply describing how special the plane was to them. They’ll talk about how the airplane flew formation like a dream, was built like a tank, and how it turned them into a real pilot.
The Tweet was loved but it was far from perfect. The plane was so loud that just listening to a Tweet video on YouTube still requires two forms of hearing protection. Most jets were bent from years of abuse and needed a little (or alot of) trim to attempt to center the aircraft. Engines were notoriously frustrating to start. I once needed a 300lb crew chief named Hector to bounce on the wing while I jiggled in my seat just to get the left engine started. The plane also had a spin recovery procedure so complicated that most student pilots could barely remember the boldface verbatim while sitting at the briefing table–let alone in an actual jet while you were hurtling towards your death in a spin with an instructor screaming at you just one foot from your face.
Even with all its faults, the T-37 Tweet was still a magnificent airplane though. It was a real airplane: no fly by wire, no auto-throttles, no autopilot either. I’m pretty sure the calculator in my flight suit pocket had more computing power than the Tweet. And that was why most people loved the airplane, myself included. It was the first and only jet airplane I ever soloed. I remember taking to the skies on one crystal-clear fall morning for a pattern solo flight where every landing I made for a solid hour was like a gentle good morning kiss to the runway. It was followed by repeated ‘double-clicks’ on the radio from the RSU as applause for not killing myself. I’m pretty sure that runway 13R at Laughlin AFB was made of butter that morning. It was a feat of professional flying that I haven’t replicated since.
So when I stumbled upon a T-37 video the other day, I knew I had to post it on Avgeekery. The video was shot way back in 1992. The particular Tweet in the video was probably flown by a MAC pilot who was part of the ACE program. It was a program that allowed ‘banked’ pilots to continue to fly something (a Tweet) while the Air Force absorbed excess pilots during the cutbacks after the Gulf War ended. Even 24 years later, the tweet sound from the video clip is so distinctive, so loud, but somehow soothing. The sound is as special to a Tweet pilot’s ears as it would be to anyone if they heard a beloved relative’s voice on an old VHS home video.
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Riding high from that nostalgia, the next freakin’ clip that loaded on my screen absolutely broke my heart. Damn you, YouTube and your video suggestions! Now I’m not naive, I knew that T-37s died long ago. The last class flew them out of Sheppard AFB’s ENJJPT program in 2009. But there was a part of me that wanted to remember the good ‘ole days and not think about the sad fate that would unfortunately face most of the retired Tweets at Davis Monthan Air Base. Bad news doesn’t get better with time… Watch the clip yourself:
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In reflection, the end is tragic but the journey was fantastic. Great memories and permanent hearing loss are all that remains. Cheers to you T-37! May you rest in peace.
The F-104 Starfighter was a century jet with a big engine and a very thin, stubby wing. The jet sacrificed maneuverability for speed and power. Built by Lockheed, the aircraft was originally built to battle the Mig-15, but its thin wing was notoriously finicky at low speeds, unforgiving at higher speeds and featured high takeoff and landing speeds of at 170+kts.
Flying a touch and roll in any plane is a very difficult and dangerous stunt. It requires a pilot to perform a role very close to the ground with landing gear extended, all while remaining at a speed low enough to descend and enter a landing flare just seconds later. Belgian fighter pilot Bill Ongena performed a touch and roll maneuver in the F-104 Starfighter. The maneuver highlighted in this video was made even more impressive by the fact that the maneuver was thought to be so dangerous that not even experienced Lockheed test pilots would attempt such a stunt.
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Although the F-104 had its shortcomings, Lockheed still enjoyed a successful run of Starfighter production. The F-104 was built by the Lockheed and licensed partners for over 30 years. The key to the model’s longevity was its incremental approach to improvements and the success of its export in western allied air forces. The F-104 started out as a very limited daytime supersonic fighter that evolved over time with upgraded engines, radar, armament and techniques.
While the first F-104 was built in 1956, the final F-104 in the Italian Air Force was only retired in 2004. Nearly fifty years of operational flight for a century series fighter jet is unmatched by any other model of the era. If you are interested in learning more about the F-104, check out this video that originally appeared on the Discovery Channel back when they actually featured programming about aviation.
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Back in 1966, the United States was deeply embroiled in a Cold War with the Soviet Union. The United States operated secret missions named “Chrome Dome” from the United States to Europe and back with live nuclear weapons that could be launched on short notice. These missions were draining. They required the crews to hand fly multiple air refuelings, many times while fatigued and often during poor weather.
An unlucky B-52 crew proved how dangerous this mission was while refueling with a KC-135 over Spain on January 17th, 1966. The closure by one of the copilots was too quick. No breakaway was called. The boom smashed into the aircraft with enough force to damage the receiver. The B-52 and KC-135 both lost control. The hull of the B-52 aircraft spun down to the ground with 4 hydrogen bombs still in the flaming hull. Fortunately, none of the nuclear weapons exploded. Three bombs fell on land and one fell in the sea. Cleanup is still ongoing 50 years later. Only 4 aircrew members from the B-52 survived. All aboard the KC-135 perished.
This accident is a lesson in crew resource management and operational safety. Four air refuelings in a large aircraft is difficult under any condition. Poor weather and fatigue undoubtedly contributed to the accident. The accident report notes that there were many other boom/aircraft collisions and operational errors during previous refuelings on similar missions. The report does not indicate if any operational changes were made in an attempt to avoid a repeat of the same mistakes prior to this tragic accident. You can read the full accident report here.
Below is a link to an interview with one of the co-pilots from that doomed B-52 bomber:
1966 Palomares B-52 crash by toqtaqiya
We must never forget those who perished. We must also give thanks that this incident did not end much worse. Today, hundreds of military air crews air refuel with nearly identical technology. Air refueling, especially between large aircraft, is one of the most difficult maneuvers that aircrew must perform. It is a testament to the skill and training that there are so few incidents today.
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Who would have ever thought a drone display could be beautiful? While they have many important uses for agriculture and photography, there have been few attempts to create an drone airshow that is actually worth watching. Last November, 100 drones were flown in unison using sophisticated software built by Intel. The drones each had LED lights that were synchronized to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. The event occurred at Flugplatz Ahrenlohe, Tornesch, Germany.
Drones are becoming more common everyday. As they become more numerous, they have also become more regulated. Recently, the FAA announced that all drones must be registered and follow strict regulations to avoid fines and potential legal ramifications.
The above footage was released by Intel as part of their CEO’s presentation at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week. You can read more about the event here.
With singing employees and multiple music selections from “Top Gun” it’s very clear they don’t make airline or airplane promos like they used to! As the sun set on Delta’s L-1011 in 2001, Delta closed the chapter the right way with this video. Watching this video, you can really feel how many employees and passengers alike loved the L-1011.
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Delta began L-1011 service in December 1973, and ultimately acquired 70 of the type. In an age dominated by four-engined aircraft, the L-1011 tri-jet offered a fuel efficient solution to the energy crisis the nation faced in the 1970s. The aircraft further lead the way in Delta’s fleet with innovations such as the capability to land with less than 700 RVR (runway visual range), a wider cabin for comfort on long journeys, and in-flight radio stations and movies for passengers.
The L-1011 served Delta loyally until July 2001 when it flew one last round-trip between Atlanta and Orlando. Just as it had replaced four-engined airplanes, the twin engine era pushed tri-jets into the bone yard. While the airlines had no place for them anymore, the L-1011 (especially Delta ones in that classic widget scheme), will always have a special place in the heart of Avgeeks! Enjoy!
All good things come to an end. In this case, Pratt & Whitney’s F117 engine program just wrapped up a successful run. In a ceremony, Pratt and Whitney handed over the final production jet engine. Over the course of the program, they delivered 1,313 engines to the USAF and it’s allied partners. All engines fly on the Boeing C-17 aircraft. The engine is a derivative of the PW2040 model that powered the commercial 757 aircraft. The F117 engine is a derated version of the PW2040.
As part of the commemoration of the event, Pratt and Whitney produced this video and shared it on their Facebook page.
Pratt & Whitney's F117: The Last Engine
The F117-powered C-17 always goes where it is supposed to go, when it is supposed to go, and the pilots and crew know they can do their job without ever having to worry about the engine. #FinalF117 #C17
Posted by Pratt & Whitney on Tuesday, January 12, 2016
In the modern day military, senior leaders travel in specially equipped 737’s, Gulfstream G-Vs and Learjets. Every once in a while, they’ll travel in a specially equipped C-17 or C-130 to visit the troops downrange. Military leaders rarely need to risk their safety to make strategic decisions. Back in World War II though, things were different. Generals like Eisenhower had to get creative. They hopped in a P-51 Mustang.
There weren’t satellites or drones to get a bird’s eye view of the battlespace. Imaging, even from fighter aircraft, wasn’t that great either. The only way to truly see the battlefield would be to secretly fly over it.
On July 4th 1944, General Eisenhower decided that he wanted to see the site of the future Battle of the Bulge for himself. General Eisenhower hopped in the back of a brand new P-51 flown by Maj General Pete Quesada.
The P-51 had it’s fuel tank removed and a small seat was placed behind the pilot. The space was so small that General Eisenhower didn’t even have room to wear a parachute. Escorted by three fighters, the P-51 snuck 50 miles behind German lines to get a first hand perspective to where the first battle would take place.
While the flight was intended to remain a secret, Quesada landed in front of an “entourage” of media. His flight made the front page of the New York Times. According to the book Eisenhower: A Soldier’s Life, Eisenhower endured admonishment from Marshall after the flight.
Here’s video proof of the flight:
Special thanks to Boneyard Safari for uncovering video proof of the flight!
