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Heartbreaking Look at Tripoli Airport Attack

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Heartbreaking Look at Tripoli Airport Attack

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Tripoli Attack destroys much of nation’s fleet.

Photographs have recently emerged of the fallout of fighting that has engulfed Tripoli Airport over the past month.  We’ve already seen video of the Airbus A-330 that was destroyed in the fighting.  Just last night, photos of other damaged and destroyed aircraft began to surface on the internet.  The damage is extensive. An Airbus A-320 that was only 3 1/2 years old looks to be a write off. The control tower also looks to be rendered completely useless by RPGs and rocket fire.   It appears that Tripoli is open again though.  The latest NOTAMS show that the field is operating albeit with some equipment out of service.

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This Plane Lost An Engine With Cameras in the Cockpit

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This Plane Lost An Engine With Cameras in the Cockpit

It doesn’t matter what airplane you fly or how many engines you have, losing an engine as a pilot or a passenger is always a harrowing ordeal.  Fortunately, losing an engine in flight is a fairly rare occurrence.  The Airbus A-340 is powered by four Trent 500 engines providing 56,000 lbs of thrust each.  When one fails, there are three other ones to take up the slack.  

However, certain systems are degraded.  In the video, you’ll see that certain galley electrical loads are shed.  With the loss of a generator, the aircraft prioritizes the available power in order to ensure that critical systems are powered.  In this case, coffee makers are less important than flight instruments and other systems.

The video is a great example of Crew Resource Management or CRM.  CRM is how crew members interact with each other and use available resources to fly safely.  In this case, you’ll see the first officer being proactive, offering advice while still deferring to the captain to make the final decision.

Spoiler:  In the end, the plane lands safely.  What is amazing though is knowing that for the pilots, it’s just another day in the office.

Trump’s 757 Flies 12 Minute Joy Ride Over NYC

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Trump’s 757 Flies 12 Minute Joy Ride Over NYC

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Trump took a joyride around New York City in a 757 yesterday.

Donald Trump’s private 757 flew a 12 minute flight from New York LaGuardia to JFK airport yesterday.   Even though it was an IFR flight, the distance between the two locations was so small that no intermediate points were filed on the flight plan.  The flight plan was filed direct  to JFK with only 11 statute miles separating between the two airfields.  Vectors from air traffic control added some time and distance to the route.  While it was most likely just a positioning flight for later travels, it must have been a beautiful sightseeing tour of lower Manhattan…probably even beats a ride in a Trump helicopter!

Airbus A-330 Burns after RPG attack in Tripoli

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Airbus A-330 Burns after RPG attack in Tripoli

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Militants attacked the capitol airport in Tripoli on Sunday July 20, 2014.  Up to 12 planes were damaged in the attack.  The attack also included a direct hit of the control tower where casualties were reported.

Some Twitter users posted pictures of the attacks.  One photo showed an Airbus A-330 that was appearantly damaged by an RPG.  The attack also destroyed a Bombardier CRJ-900 Next Gen and a private jet. Later, photos were posted of another relatively new Airbus A-330 destroyed by rocket fire.   A video of this same attack was released just hours ago on You Tube under the account Good Morning Libya.  The Airbus A330-200s aircraft were delivered to new Afriquiyah in 2012 as part of an effort for Libya to begin a path to economic normalcy after the fall of the Gadaffi regime.

New KC-46 Tanker is Taking Shape

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New KC-46 Tanker is Taking Shape

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The KC-46 program is beginning to take shape.  Underway after many false starts, contract disputes and lawsuits, the first aircraft recently rolled off the production line.  Engines haven’t been added yet, nor has the boom.  The aircraft will enter ground and electronics testing soon with its first flight expected later this year.  The first delivery of the low-rate production models will be delivered to the Air Force next year.  Initial operational capability is not expected until 2017.

Recently, an Avgeekery.com contributor had the opportunity to visit the Boeing plant.  There he took a short video of the KC-46 Pegasus planes on the 767 production line.  Check out the video below.  If you’d like to see more of Sagar’s amazing work, check out Horizontal Rain photography.

Boeing is banned from Touch And Goes at Airshow After Risky Maneuvering

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Boeing is banned from Touch And Goes at Airshow After Risky Maneuvering

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Boeing’s 787-9 airshow profile might have been a little too aggressive.

Earlier this week, Boeing put on quite an impressive show with their new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft at the the Farnborough Air Show.  The plane did a number of bold maneuvers not normally seen by a plane that size outside of airshow performances.  The videos of both the practice flight and the actual performance have been trending quite strongly online to rave reviews.

Today, the Seattle Times aviation blog writer Dominic Gates is reporting that air show officials banned touch and goes by large performance aircraft after Boeing’s performance earlier in the week.  An Airbus official commented that the wings of the new stretched 787 came within 15 feet of the ground as the plane maneuvered just after rotating.  Boeing has denied the claim.

Check out the videos below and voice your opinion.  Was the maneuvering too aggressive?

 

Airplane Almost Hits Whale on Landing

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Airplane Almost Hits Whale on Landing

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A seaplane nearly hit a whale in Alaska last week.  Yep, a WHALE!  Pilots have dealt with elk and other wildlife on the runway before.   Alaskan bush pilots are used to flying in challenging weather and austere conditions.  Yet landing on smooth water in an quiet bay is not where they would expect such a challenging approach.  The pilot’s quick reaction by applying power at the last second avoided a potential mishap. The incident occurred in Angoon, about 55 miles southwest of Juneau.

Click here to read the entire story by Laurel Andrews of the Alaska Dispatch.

 

Lockheed Martin Confirms Order For Civilian Version of C-130J

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Lockheed Martin Confirms Order For Civilian Version of C-130J

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Lockheed Martin announced today at the Farborough Air Show that they have signed a letter of Intent with ASL Aviation Group for up to 10 LM-100J commercial freighters.  The LM-100J is the commercial equivalent to the C-130J Super Hercules aircraft flown by the US Air Force and allied nations.

In today’s press release by Lockheed Martin, Hugh Flynn, the chief executive of ASL Aviation Group said:

“We’ve long relied on our L-100s to deliver results that no other aircraft can produce. From flying humanitarian relief supplies over rugged African terrain to transporting key cargo within Europe and around the world, no other plane can do what a Hercules can do.”

The upgraded Hercules aircraft will enhance ASL Aviation’s ability to provide cargo and humanitarian transport to austere locations throughout the world but primarily in Europe and Africa.  No date has been set for delivery.  Certification of the LM-100J by the FAA for civilian use is still pending.  This is the first sale of the civilian version of the C-130J since Lockheed Martin announced its intention to certify the aircraft for civilian use earlier this year.

Deployed Air Force Aircrew Rocks Out to Worst Song Ever

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Deployed Air Force Aircrew Rocks Out to Worst Song Ever

Really, guys?  A video recently surfaced of a deployed Charleston AFB crew rocking out to Nickleback for one of their unit’s morale videos from a couple of years back.  It’s pretty funny.  In aviation, it’s an unwritten rule that in order to be aircrew you have to acknowledge that Nickleback, Daughtry and Creed all suck.  The only think that would ever suck worse than those bands would be if all 3 bands got together for a power ballad.  Ears would bleed and kittens all over the earth would die.

 It’s also a well known secret that if you ever want a jet to stop working properly, all you have to do is play a little Scott Stapp or Chad Kroeger on a Jambox in the crew rest area. (That’s why songs from those bands are banned in Air Force airplanes all across the world.) A slew of faults will instantly appear on the overhead panel of the jet.  Even jets hate the screeching noise that passed for mid-2000s butt rock.  We’re guessing that this video may actually account for why so many Charleston AFB jets were always broken in the desert. 

Rock on warriors…thanks for doing what you do, but stick to your day job!

This Man Got Stuck in an Airport Overnight. What He Did ‘All by Himself’ Will Amaze You.

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This Man Got Stuck in an Airport Overnight. What He Did ‘All by Himself’ Will Amaze You.

A middle aged man recently was stuck in Las Vegas after he missed his flight.  Instead of just sleeping on an uncomfortable chair in the boarding lounge, he put together an epic music video just using his iPhone and the cheesy 1970s “All By Myself” power ballad. His only mistake was not using the original Eric Carmen recording of the song.

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This Man Got Stuck in an Airport Overnight. What He Did 'All by Himself' Will Amaze You. 9

This Man Lives in an Old Abandoned Airplane

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This Man Lives in an Old Abandoned Airplane

Sixty-four year old Bruce Campbell is living every avgeek’s dream.  He owns an old retired 727 and has turned it into his private abode.  The plane isn’t exactly first class.  Only one bathroom works and the kitchen is rather spartan.  Nonetheless, it’s an avgeek’s dream. For more info, check out The Blaze article by Oliver Dorcey.

This is NOT How You Should Talk to Air Traffic Control

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This is NOT How You Should Talk to Air Traffic Control

This video makes any professional pilot cringe. It’s kind of like watching Michael Scott on an old episode of The Office.  From the first “roger” to the “precautionary landing on the beach” near JFK, the entire audio clip is infuriating.   You can read the full story as recorded by the New York Times in 2011.

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