If you are a frequent reader of Avgeekery, you know that we have a soft spot in our hearts for the MD-80. Over the years, we’ve covered this tank of an airliner. It was loud, a little cramped inside, but the ride in first class was like a dream with near silence up front as the engines were over 100 feet behind you.
The MD-80 was also way overbuilt and sturdy. This was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that the plane was robust enough to crash into trees on approach and still keep its passengers safe. All that structure and age eventually caught up to it as the jets have largely faced retirement over the past few years. Most of the old ‘coal-powered’ MD-80 jets now rest in the boneyard with just a few still flying passengers at niche charter outfits. There was an attempt back in 2008 to extend the life of the MD-80 fleet through a creative modified thrust reverser design.
Dugan Kinetics Attempted to Make The MD-80 Like New
Back in 2008, Dugan Kinetics saw a market opportunity. At the time, over 400 MD-80s were flying daily in the United States. Delta had declared bankruptcy a few years earlier. American was staving off bankruptcy through intense cost cutting and delaying of fleet renewal. Ultra-low cost carrier Allegiant also operated a sizable fleet of MD-80s.
The plan was to market to airlines as a way to extend the operation of their fleet and delay purchase of a new fleet well into the 2020s. With most airlines either struggling financially or recently emerging from bankruptcy, it was a potentially strong play. News articles at the time states that American, Allegiant, and Delta were considering the proposal.
What the MD-80 Mod looked like
Dugan Kinetic proposed a modified ejector and thrust reverser on the MD-80 JT-8D200. The modifications would provide a number of improvements for operators who selected the upgrade. The mod worked by increasing the mass flow exhausted, and reducing the total average velocity of the final exhaust flow. This unique halo-like design allows engine power reduction for equivalent thrust. A Dugan kit would extend the range of the jet, improving fuel efficiency a promised 9 to 12% and improve takeoff performance for hot and high airfields. The modification would have also made the MD-80 stage 4 noise compliant, making the notoriously noisy jet noticeably quieter. Airlines that purchased the modification would show positive financial returns within 2 years of installation.
It wasn’t just a paper proposal. Dugan actual modified a single MD-80 for testing and FAA approval of a supplemental type certificate (STC). Tail number N789AV, a former BWIA aircraft, received the full kit and underwent two rounds of testing.
It wasn’t meant to be.
The improved ejector eventually did receive approval but it never made it to market. Just 18 months after American Airlines kicked the tires on an EP-80 MD-80 upgrade, the airline made a massive announcement for the largest fleet renewal in airline history. Unfortunately for Dugan, it was for a brand new Boeing and Airbus financed mixed fleet of 737s and Airbus 320s, including a large cache of MAX and NEOs.
An American Airlines MD-80 taxis as it departs one final time for Rosewell, NM. (Photo: Boneyard Safari)
The company never successfully sold the EP-80 modification to any airline. As we extensively profiled, American, Delta, and Allegiant all retired their fleet by 2020.
“It’s the oldest form of human flight, going back to the 18th century, and yet there are all these places in the world where people have still never flown,” said Allie Dunnington. She was smiling against a Zoom background of five hot air balloons rising above Bristol, in the northwest United Kingdom. “It’s funny, when people ask, ‘What’s your profession?’ and I say, ‘Balloon pilot.’ They always ask me, ‘What?’”
Few people know more about globe-trotting and hot air balloons than Allie. A German native now based in Bristol, she holds the women’s world record for the most countries flown in a hot air balloon: 105. Her late husband, Phil Dunnington, still holds the world record for men at 127. In terms of aviation power couples, few rank higher, especially in the world of balloons.
“When I look in my logbook, I started off having the most exotic countries as my first countries, like Fiji, Libya, and Senegal, because Phil had already done Europe,” she said. “Places like France and Spain came as late as entry number 90.”
Around the World in 6,000 Days
Allie and Phil started ballooning together in 2003. At the time, Phil had almost a three-decade head start on the country count. While Allie was brand-new to aviation, he had been flying since his early twenties, ever since he started working as an operations manager at British Airways. Over the next twenty years, Allie and Phil would pilot countless tourists across the United Kingdom, shoot films in sub-Saharan Africa, organize balloon tours around Georgia and Armenia, soar over Mongolian deserts and Sri Lankan jungles, and consult for tourist agencies around the world. Riding with the wind, they never left a moment for standing still.
“Expeditions are always a challenge,” Allie said, “Whatever else happens, it’s either weather or bureaucracy or logistics. How do you get your balloon into the country if there isn’t a balloon already there? How can you link up with local people?”
Allie’s last country in Europe was Malta, a bucket-list item she has had in mind for years and only just completed last fall. “I worked for two years writing official emails to the CAA [Civil Aviation Authority,” Allie said, “begging for permission to do a little hop.” The red tape was a nightmare, but in the end, Allie got clearance for a five-minute flight at 05:00 from Gozo, a four-mile-wide island just northwest of Malta. “In some countries, you just look at the maps and make sure you are flying outside controlled airspace,” Allie laughed. “Sometimes you just find a nice farmer who lets you to take off from his field.”
Taking Flight–on the Third Career
For all her accomplishments, Allie discovered ballooning surprisingly late in life, with no prior background in aviation. “I never ever thought I would get a pilot’s license,” she said, “I grew up in a family with two feet on the ground. In fact, I even hated flying. I always got sick on my scheduled flights.”
Allie studied languages in university at Markgröningen, near Stuttgart, Germany, where she earned her M.A. in Asian Studies and later her PhD in Anthropology. Fluent in Chinese and Japanese, she led tours around Asia and guided hiking trips in Scotland and Cornwall. After twenty years as a tour guide, she decided to get a “proper job” and earned a nursing degree. She had no plans to start what she now calls her “third career” in ballooning until 16 November 2002, when she met a man named Phil Dunnington at the poolside in Bagan, Burma.
“I was actually quite sick,” Allie remembered, “I was guiding a trip in Burma, and had lost my voice, which is obviously the worst as a tour guide. But only because of that, I was at a swimming pool, resting and drinking ginger tea, when I bumped into Phil, who was just starting the balloon business in Burma as a consultant and pilot himself.” Phil and Allie got to chatting.
Allie soon found out that Phil was a balloon pilot and happened to be taking a flight later that afternoon. Three people from her tour signed up, but there was one space left. Phil extended the invitation, and Allie said yes.
“To be honest, it was one of the most magical things that I’ve ever done in my life,” Allie remembered with a smile. “We floated towards the sunset over these 2,000 temples of Bagan and finally landed in a small village. All the children and villagers came running out to the balloon. And then they pulled out the champagne!” Allie laughed. “You do this for a living?” she asked Phil. “This is just amazing. Wow.” After that flight, Allie fell in love with both ballooning and the pilot who introduced her to it.
Up and Away– A Marriage Forged in Flight
“Phil and I didn’t meet up again for a few months,” she said, “but after we did, we were married within the year. It was just a blink!” If they had wasted no time launching a new life together, neither would Allie and Phil have wasted time getting back into the air. Phil was one of the first balloon pilots in the UK and owned a couple of balloons. He gave Allie a go at the burner. “I thought, why not? I can try this,” Allie recalled, “Let’s go!”
Through Phil’s encouragement, Allie earned her private balloon license within the year. She soon followed with her commercial rating and later became an instructor, examiner, and Part 66 inspector. “Ballooning has changed my life, literally,” she said. Allie and Phil started working as commercial pilots in India, Ethiopia, Burma (Myanmar), and across the UK.
In their time off, they chased the last countries in Europe missing from their logbooks. Light-weight two-person balloon packed in the back of the van, they set out across the far east and north of the continent: Moldova, Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, Estonia, Norway, and Ukraine. In 2007, they decided to take their globe-trotting to new heights and target a country that had been on both of their bucket lists for years.
“It was both of our dreams to visit Cuba, but there aren’t any balloons there,” Allie said, “It’s not like you drive to Cuba. You can’t even go by ship, really. So the crazy idea was to buy the Beech.” Allie and Phil outfitted a 1954 vintage twin-engine tailwheel Beech 18 (G-BKGM), a classic multi-use aircraft in World War II-era military and civil aviation. They modified their balloon to fit inside. The renovations took almost three years.
At the end of it, Allie, Phil, and their crew flew from the UK to Greenland, with a layover in Iceland, where Allie became the first female pilot in history to do a balloon flight over the country. After a close shave with an iceberg in Greenland, they soared through Canada, down the Eastern Coast of the United States, and then through the Bermudas into Cuba.
“We got the reception of our life,” Allie said, “the whole of the [Cuban] Aero Club, with little kids dressed up with flags, were there when we arrived.” The couple did four breathtaking flights over the limestone Viñales Mountains in western Cuba, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. “It definitely was worth all the money, all the efforts,” Allie reflected, “It was extraordinary.”
Inside the Basket–and the Best Flight
But even the long trek to Cuba takes just a few seconds in Allie and Phil’s two-decade-long highlight reel. “People often ask me, ‘What’s your best flight?’” Allie said, “I mean, it’s so hard to say, isn’t it? Because each flight is so different. Even when I went out this morning, I said to my passengers, ‘Look, I’ve never landed in this field before.’ Because with ballooning, coming even from the same take-off site, you never know where you’re going to end up. Every flight is new and exciting.”
Mechanically, flying a balloon is more like riding an inner tube down a river than jet skiing through a lake. The balloon goes with the flow, literally. But that doesn’t mean pilots are simply along for the ride. “Obviously, we’re a bit more like helicopters than fixed-wing aircraft, since we can land in small, unusual spaces and don’t need a runway or an airport,” Allie explained. “But despite what most people think, we actually can control where we fly and land! It depends on the wind speed and direction at various altitudes. That means choosing a good launch site prior to flight is absolutely essential.”
Controlling the balloon was pivotal the day Allie and Phil took a flight across the Bristol Channel. Low winds forced them to a landing earlier than planned, and Allie, a newly minted pilot at the time, maneuvered the balloon over a motorway and set it down in front of a massive coal heap just in time. The heat from the coals risked deflating the balloon, so Phil and Allie had to pack up quickly. A posh Range Rover cruised over and interrupted the teardown.
“Oh my God, they’re going to put us in prison!” Allie thought. The posh ranger turned out to be the manager of the coal mine. He had never seen a balloon before and was so excited by the story, he wrote an article about Allie and Phil for the coal miners’ magazine.
“It can also be very frustrating because we’re so weather-dependent,” Allie continued, “If there’s no wind, we just can’t move. Especially in the UK, no wind can mean fog, and of course, it’s not safe to fly in poor visibility. We also can’t fly if the wind’s blowing in certain directions, since it could carry you into restricted airspace or out over the sea.” Allie paused, thoughtful. “We have a lot of limitations, so that can be quite frustrating.”
But as in her career, she’s learned to make the most of where the wind takes her. “On the other hand, I always say that as a balloonist, you also become quite philosophical,” she finished, “and good at going down to the pub!”
The Floating Philosopher
Ballooning has been around for over 200 years, ever since Joseph and Étienne Montgolfier launched the first “aerostatic” flight from Versailles Palace in 1783. But even though it’s the oldest form of human flight, most pilots today forget to think about balloons as a mainstay aircraft. The industry now trades almost exclusively in tourism and promotional advertising, highly concentrated in one of the most challenging places on the planet to fly: the United Kingdom.
“People book flights mainly for the adventure and the visual experience,” Allie said. “Like earlier today, when we took a group flying over Bristol, every one of them was saying, ‘Oh my God, I didn’t know this was there!’” The breezy insouciance that makes balloons ill-suited for jet-age transport, it seems, makes them perfect for appreciating the world below.
“And because, of course, we don’t have a screen or an engine, balloons are fantastic for filming and for photography,” Allie continued, “You also can hear the sounds on the ground because we fly really low. You can talk to people, hear the birds, and even smell the grass.”
When asked what fixed-wing pilots could learn from ballooning, Allie waxed both practical and philosophical. “It’s all about the weather and making good, safe decisions,” she said. “Because we’re so affected by weather, we really have to stand back and think: ‘I’m just a small person here.’
Sometimes you have to shrug your shoulders and say, ‘You know, there’s another day, you can’t force nature.” What else? “I think everybody should try other forms of flight,” Allie continued, “It makes you appreciate what other kinds of aircraft have to deal with. Once you’ve got your PPL, you’ve just started to learn, haven’t you? Ballooning relies so much on personal experience that even with your 1000 hours, you’re still learning.”
What’s next for the world-famous balloonist?
What’s left for the world-record balloonist to learn? “I’ve got 105 countries,” Allie said, “So I’m way behind Phil, who sadly passed away last November, but still has the world record at 127.” She’s wasting no time narrowing the lead. Later this year, Allie plans to take another trip down to South America, where she hopes to log flights in Brazil, Paraguay, and Chile, her last countries in the New World.
After that, she’s planning to travel through Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. In between treks, she’ll continue giving talks for the European Balloon Federation, the British Women Pilots’ Association, and various flight schools, inspiring the next generation of pilots. Like the wind, Allie and her balloon never stop moving.
“Phil was twenty years my senior, so yeah, hopefully there’s some time left for me to catch up with him,” Allie said with a twinkle in her eye. “22 countries? The pressure’s on.”
In 1984, Eastern Airlines released a TV commercial touting that it saw the future and it looked bleak showing images of an airline boneyard and stating that “an airline that doesn’t plan for the future, may not have one.” The ad then went on to tout their new Boeing 757 airliner that was more fuel efficient and had greater passenger comfort than their 727 ‘whisperjet’. It was as if their new 757 alone would power them high above the threats of the industry.
Eastern Airlines Commercial predicted the future.
The irony of the ad is that just 7 years later, Eastern Airlines went belly up. While their 757s were pretty amazing for the time, the combination of a softening economy brought on by a recession, high oil prices caused by Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, and tumultuous labor relations at Eastern (we’ve profiled some of the reasons that Eastern failed in an article that highlighted the very challenging labor and leadership situation) all combined to doom the once high flying airline. A shiny jet wasn’t enough to save an airline that helped define air travel in the US for over a half century.
Not the first ironic airline commercial
Maybe the greater irony is that this is far from the first ironic airline commercial. AirTran criticized Southwest’s boarding policy, only to be gobbled up by Southwest Airlines a few years later. American once touted their greater legroom. Today they have some of the tightest seats in the industry. You can see our original article below. Just click on the link next to the “AirTran cows” below:
Eastern might have disappeared but the 757 still soldiers on
The Boeing 757 really was amazing for the time and a jewel in Eastern’s fleet. Even though the design is now over 40 years old, it still is a unique aircraft and used by a number of airlines. It’s overpowered, has beefy landing gear, and range that makes short hops, cross-country, and cross-Atlantic travel possible.
It’s why airlines like Delta and United still fly their 757 fleet even though the youngest jet is now approaching 20 years old. The design was so successful that there is even a new airline that will utilize the 757 for their startup when they commence service later this year.
Call This the Armchair Fighter Jock’s Review of Tom Cruise’s Blockbuster Film
The record-setting debut of Top Gun: Maverick over Memorial Day weekend 2022 comes as no surprise to this Avgeek. Neither do the reviews, which are (almost) universally excellent. Let’s get this out of the way at the outset. Go see the movie. In a theater. With the biggest screen possible and the best sound system to go with it. I saw the movie with my son in a theater with “enhanced audio experience”, which included Dolby Atmos surround sound, about 100 speakers, and probably about that many subwoofers. The overall visual and aural experience was absolutely awesome. The two medium popcorns and two bottles of water we consumed cost considerably more than our tickets did.
image via paramount
It’ll Make You Stand Up and Cheer
But the theater experience really was outstanding. The audience ranged from pre-teen kids to seniors- lots of families too. They cheered several times and gave the movie a standing O at the end. We both muttered “wow” dozens of times both during and after the film. Oh sure- I’ll buy the 4K Blu-Ray when it comes out (along with a 4K Blu Ray player and a 4K TV to watch it on- it’s good to have goals), and it’ll be one of those films I’ll watch (and enjoy) many more times at home with my somewhat anemic home theater sound setup. And just like the original, it’ll be programming I seldom surf past when it appears in the channel guide. So without spoilers, here are some Top Gun: Maverick takeaways.
The opening sequence. Similar but better than the original. When you see (and hear) it you’ll know what I mean. One word: Goosebumps!
The closing sequence. Also similar but better than the original. And when you see (and hear) it you’ll know what I mean. The same one word: Goosebumps!
image via paramount
The soundtrack. IMHO better than the original Top Gun. Not much more I can say without spoilers here. Only a couple of new songs made for the film. The film is about flying, and the soundtrack supported that, never really becoming the focus of the experience. Except for a couple of times that is. Just go see (and hear) it!
Suspension of disbelief. Not really necessary (very often). Sure- some of the maneuvers and a lot of the plot is, in varying degrees, a bit out there, but in the end this movie is, for me at least, more believable than the original Top Gun. Actually putting the actors in the back seat of an F/A-18F Super Hornet and filming them reacting to actual Gs on the jet has a lot to do with this.
image via paramount
Simply the Best
Flying scenes. The best ever filmed. Period. Full stop. The filmmakers clearly strived to make this the hallmark of the film, and they succeeded. There’s more flying in this film than the original too. Even when liberal use of CGI was employed, the movie’s flying scenes were absolutely captivating. And for the most part, completely believable, if not well outside NAVAIR safety parameters. But don’t just take my word for it. Former Naval Aviator Loree ‘Rowdy’ Draude thought so too!
Maverick’s career. Some clarity about how Mav has remained a Captain over all the years since his first three victories over MiG-28s with Merlin in the back seat is provided. But just enough to allow the audience to buy into the idea that Captain is the rank Mav should hold.
Technical accuracy. Observers and critics (people who know) have been calling out technical errors in the film since the first trailer came out years ago. Sure, the ‘salad bars’ on the characters’ chests might not be quite completely cricket. Yes, the radio comms might not be completely accurately portrayed. Switchology and displays in the cockpits are off a bit (there’s an Easter Egg in there). While the movie is certainly not completely accurate from a technical standpoint, the movie is definitely believable. Much of this due to excellent editing. There are very few continuity errors in TG: M. At least Mav doesn’t throttle back to idle and initiate a climb (instead of throttling up) when he goes to help Cougar. Let’s put it this way: This movie didn’t tax the basic tenets of Naval Aviation reality anywhere near as hard as the original Top Gun did.
image via paramount
Yanking and Banking, Twisting and Turning
Twists. Can’t get into too many of them here (without spoilers) but suffice it to say I was surprised by exactly how the aftermath of the strike mission played out. I was expecting the opposite.
Nods to the original film. Obviously the opening and closing sequences, but there are also others. Such terms as hard deck, flyby, discussions with stern (and bald) superior officers, Penny Benjamin, Maverick’s hangar, motorcycles in places they shouldn’t/couldn’t be, and Great Balls of Fire come to mind. The entire film is, in many ways, a nod to the original- but it stands on its own merit.
Wishlist for the Blu-Ray release. Deleted/extended scenes. Interviews with the Navy pilots who flew the actors in the F/A-18Fs. Interviews with the Navy technical consultants to the film. Technical review of how the camera systems in the jets were developed/employed. Shooting site review. And, of course, outtakes and/or gag reel.
image via paramount
Laughs. The film has some genuinely funny moments, and some of them are completely unexpected- IMHO the best kind. The audience laughed out loud several times. Subtle humor also contributes to the enjoyment of the film.
Spoilers? Sorry Charlie. We’ll have to wait a while to do a piece that includes spoilers. We’re not going to pick apart the technical inaccuracies here. Yet anyway. In the final summation, Top Gun: Maverick is a great film. While it helps to have seen the original film to understand all the references to Maverick’s previous experiences, it’s absolutely not required. This film stands on its own as a great film- not just a great sequel. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll cheer for the good guys. We give it 5 stars, a must-see grade, and highly recommend seeing it in a well-equipped theater. You’ll know why the first time an afterburner kicks in!
When you think of airplanes and aviation, accessories like a headset, a classy flight bag, and flashlight are a must. Even though every pilot wants to look sharp in the cockpit, a comb isn’t usually the first accessory in a pilot’s bag. But maybe it should be.
Image: MetalCombworks.com
We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Jeff Grant from Metal Comb Works. His factory primarily coats parts for large aerospace companies for major companies like SpaceX. The nature of the business is that they execute large orders but then experience times where they have some spare capacity to do other work. So they decided to kick off a side project making aviation-inspired, high-quality metal combs that last forever.
How This Side Project Got Started
In 2013, Jeff was looking for a birthday gift for his son. His son’s hair was pretty long and the combs he used would frequently break. When he did a search on the internet, Jeff said “there were guys making combs out of vintage vinyl records, all types of wood, metal combs as well some carbon fiber combs. When he bought one on the internet, he looked at it and thought, “well, I can do better. So I decided to make my own for him. I made a comb for him as a birthday gift.” He liked it so much that his buddies started asking for his dad to make them one too. A kickstarter campaign led to raising over $15,000. The goal was to make a comb that would last forever, maybe even one that his son could pass on to his kids one day.
A New Idea: Aviation Inspired Combs
All 4 aviation themed designs. Image: Metal CoMB Works.
For the next few years, Jeff and his team continued to sell the combs they designed. They started with Art Deco styling and then branched out to camping themes that had a built in bottle opener on it. That sold really well. Next, he had the idea of incorporating an aviation theme.
His dad was a Delta Air Lines pilot and flew F-8s in the Navy. Growing up around jets in the San Diego area with Mirimar just down the road, he’s always had a passion for aviation and enjoys watching the many fighters and helos roar past. In college, he studied aerospace engineering too. So he decided to make a comb out of aviation grade titanium with 4 styles that reflect the classic age of jet aviation.
An Aviation-Themed Kickstarter That Took Off
These Aviation-Inspired Combs Were a Kickstarter Success and Perfect Avgeek Gift 24
In late 2021, Jeff and his team released a second Kickstarter campaign featuring 4 styles of combs. The campaign took-off! Jeff said that the enthusiasm was tremendous. They originally set a goal of $500 but the campaign finished with over $6,900 in commitments.
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The combs are pretty unique. The most popular is a play on the classic Pan Am comb that the airline used to give away in their first class amenity kits. The style is ‘inspired’ by the classic. Instead of plastic though, the Metal Comb Works comb is aviation-grade titanium.
The Airliner by MetalCombWorks.com
Another style they offer is called the “Clark-y”. The comb has an airfoil profile like the famous design developed by Colonel Virginius E. Clark. The Clark-Y Aero~Comb is a similar shape to a rib of an airplane wing with a rounded leading edge that tapers to a smaller profile at the trailing edge. Along the spine of the comb solid rivets have been installed as a decorative and functional feature.
The Clark-y By Metal Comb Works featuring Decorative Rivets.
Their third design is called ‘lightening’. It refers to the fact that aircraft often have hollowed out sections within their wings (like spars) to save weight. The comb has hollowed out spaces as a nod to the technique first utilized in the early days of aviation and perfected in the early jet age for modern airliners.
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My favorite of their bunch is called the “Delta”. It’s inspired by the B-2 bomber with sharp, stealth-like edges as a nod to the flying Delta wings that proceeded it. This one is available in both the stainless-steel look and the blacked out ‘stealthy’ version with a dark B-2-like finish.
The DelTA in Stealthy Black Finish.
Great Gift For Father’s Day or for any other reason
Image: MetalCombworkS.com
The combs are all made in the USA by American craftsmen and designed by American engineers. Each aviation-inspired comb comes with sharp packaging and a leather case. You can purchase them on Metal Comb Works website at MetalCombWorks.com.
Bombardier’s Global 8000 Breaks the Sound Barrier in Testing- With a YouTube Video to Prove It!
Bombardier’s Global 8000 program went supersonic during a recent test flight. It’s not the first time a transport subsonic jet has accomplished the feat. It is though the first time that a manufacturer posted a YouTube video of it happening.
The Latest and Greatest
The Global 8000 program is Bombardier’s new flagship private jet program built on the success of the 7500 which itself was an outgrowth of the highly successful Global 6000. The 8000 is intended to be faster and have longer range than the 7500. It features upgraded and more efficient GE Passport engines and a host of internal upgrades to make the already luxurious cabin even better. Most notably, the jet is designed to be the fastest business jet out there with a cruise speed of Mach .94, just under the speed of sound.
Long Legs
At a slightly slower speed, the jet has an 8,000 NM range, allowing non-stop service to almost any major destination on Earth. Only the fabled London to Sydney non-stop flight (which Qantas is tackling with Project Sunrise) is out of range of this new jet. The Global 8000 is expected to enter service in 2025. It will hold the title as the fastest passenger jet since the Concorde retired back in 2003.
If Normal Cruise is M.94, You Better Know What Mach 1.015 Feels Like!
The Global 8000 is designed for a top cruise speed of Mach .94 at 41,000 feet with up to 19 passengers. That’s just six-one hundredths below Mach one. While it would be unusual to exceed that speed, it is possible in an emergency descent to accidentally approach or exceed the speed of sound. The full flight test program accounts for this possibility.
Hitting Mach 1 by Accident…Sort of
On a recent flight test in a 7500 (serving as a test vehicle for the 8000 program), the crew intentionally put the test aircraft into a shallow dive. This provides insights into the aircraft’s behavior in the event that the placarded never exceed speed is surpassed. In the video below, you can see the test pilots gently push the nose forward. A small ‘burble’ of the wings are visible in the video as the jet slips into a full supersonic flight regime with a chase aircraft in the background. The jet accelerated to Mach 1.015 before the test pilots then recovered to a subsonic speed with seemingly little affair.
Other Larger Passenger Jets Went Faster Than Mach 1.0
While the Concorde’s Mach 2+ speed is well known, other airliners like the Boeing 747 and the DC-8 have also passed the once forbidden sound barrier with the pilots living to tell about it. Two commonly known stories of larger airliners are known to have accomplished the both prestigious and somewhat dubious feat.
Hitting Mach 1 by Accident…For Real!
An Evergreen International 747 did it by accident during an unusual attitude caused by faulty equipment back in 1991. That Boeing was thought to have gone well over Mach 1 in the dive and subsequent recovery. A DC-8 also flew faster than the speed of sound during testing over Edwards AFB back in 1961. Smithsonian did a great interview with one of the engineers from that flight.
Loree “Rowdy” Draude, Who Was One of the First Women to Fly Combat Jets for the US Navy, Got an Early Look at the Epic Sequel
As a former naval aviator who flew the F/A-18 Hornet in an aggressor squadron, I have a love/hate relationship with the original Top Gun movie. It’s technically horrific for many aviation-related reasons, primarily because actual aerial combat and missile shots are not cinematically compelling. The flying sequences in the movie were cringe-worthy for naval aviators to watch, but dang it, they were exciting for a movie audience. The dialogue is cheesy and quote-worthy and it’s backed up by a spectacular soundtrack. What Gen X-er doesn’t recognize the first five notes of Kenny Loggin’s “Danger Zone?”
Maverick is back in Top Gun: Maverick. Image: Paramount Pictures
Expectations Abound
Going in to see Top Gun: Maverick, I expected the same formula that made the original Top Gun a success: young, hot, male aviators who all look similar trying to out-stud one another, a plot full of holes that we’re willing to overlook in the name of entertainment, a great soundtrack, and exciting (but forbidden IRL) aerial sequences.
Top Gun: Maverick is in theaters May 27, 2022. Image: Paramount Pictures
Expectations Are Meant to Be Exceeded
I was pleasantly surprised by Top Gun: Maverick’s ability to evolve the formula to better represent 2020 (when the movie was supposed to be released). I was happy to see not just one, but three female aviators: two Top Gun graduates, and one E-2C NFO. Of the six Top Gun graduates who have speaking parts in the movie, half are white men and the other three are a woman, a Black pilot and a Hispanic WSO (Weapons Systems Operator).
Top Gun: Maverick Review From A Naval Aviator's Perspective 39
Times Are Changing
I’m grateful Top Gun Maverick got the Bridgerton treatment and shows a more diverse representation of a world that is still underrepresented by women and people of color. As a midshipmen in NROTC, 30+ years ago, I had no female aviators to admire in the original Top Gun movie. I hope this more diverse representation will inspire underrepresented minorities to consider naval aviation as a viable career.
All That You Like About The Original- and Then Some
We still have the posturing and verbal swordfights among the younger aviators, like in the first movie, but I love how the relationship between Maverick and his nemesis, Iceman, evolves in Top Gun: Maverick. He even refers to him with the diminutive “Ice” in text exchanges. Overall, I appreciated Maverick’s emotional maturity throughout the film and the greater depth that Tom Cruise brings to the character, who is pushing 60 years old. The requisite shirtless sports event scene takes place playing football on a beach, rather than a sand volleyball court, and Cruise has no problem keeping up with the younger generation. In this movie, Maverick’s romantic interest is Penny Benjamin, played by Jennifer Connelly, a 51-year-old actress, who is age-appropriate except for her neck. As a 54-year-old woman, I can tell you, hers is the neck of a 30 year old, not someone in her 50s.
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The Plot Thickens
The plot is slightly different, in that instead of competing for who is the best of the best at Navy Fighter Weapons School (aka Top Gun), the aviators are competing to see who is the best of the best of the best, meaning, which of these Top Gun graduates will be chosen to fly the impossible mission? And speaking of the mission, I wondered why the target couldn’t be taken out by the same missiles that were sent to destroy the enemy airfield, but then I realized this would be a 2-minute, boring movie instead of a 2+ hour thrill ride. I had to remind myself that this is not a documentary, and no one cares. We came to see Tom Cruise doing his pilot sh*t, so relax your expectations of a realistic plot and enjoy the ride.
Top Gun: Maverick. Image: Paramount Pictures
A Winning Soundtrack
I loved the soundtrack to the original Top Gun movie and was disappointed that this movie only has two original songs, by Lady Gaga and One Republic. The rest are classics, including “Let’s Dance” by David Bowie, “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by the Who and “Danger Zone” from the original movie. I imagine Kenny Loggins swimming in royalty checks and lighting cigars with burning Benjamins (Franklin, not Penny).
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The F-14 Tomcat Makes a Cameo
The venerable F-14 Tomcat makes a guest appearance and I felt my heart sigh. I never got to fly in a Tomcat, but they were my favorite jet to watch around the aircraft carrier. Seeing this beast of a jet fly again–even in 2-D on a movie screen–felt like magic.
Actual Top Gun pilots would only get the opportunity to do this once. They would get fired for such flying theatrics. Image: Paramount Pictures
Spectacular Flying Scenes
Speaking of magic, the flying sequences are spectacular. Once again, they are unrealistic and overly dramatic. For example, no naval aviator would ever fly through a section of jets like Maverick does, and if they did, it would be their last flight in the Navy. But in a movie, it looks super freaking cool!
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Better Cameras = Better Visuals
The original movie used long external shots of the jets flying against each other, along with shots of the actors in a cockpit set with bland blue backgrounds. Not this time. Camera technology has improved (and downsized) to a point where the actors were able to film themselves as they flew in the back seat of two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornets.
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An Immersive Experience
The result is a more visceral experience of flying high-performance aircraft, especially if you see this in a theater with a high-quality sound system. The seats in our theater must have had subwoofers because I didn’t merely hear the jet engines, I felt them, as I had when I was flying.
Image: Paramount Pictures
Flashback Inducing Film
As a naval aviator watching this movie, I was frequently transported to my past. There were several times during the adrenaline-fueled flying sequences where I caught myself gripping my stomach and thigh muscles in a sympathetic anti-G-LOC (G-induced loss of consciousness) maneuver.
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Call the Ball!
There is a shot behind the aircraft carrier, setting up for a landing, that was so clear that I felt I was back at ¾ of a mile, ready to call the ball. I literally sat up in my seat and leaned forward because the visual was so striking and real to me. This movie might be the closest that non-aviators come to flying in a fighter jet.
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My Verdict: Top Gun is Worth the 36 Year Wait!
Top Gun: Maverick is a joy ride that honors the original juggernaut and surpasses it in quality, both visually and emotionally. The producers made the right call to wait two more years for theaters to be open again before releasing it- it really needs to be seen on a big screen. After seeing Top Gun Maverick, I can confirm it’s worth the 36-year wait.
A spur-of-the-moment day trip for some JFK planespotting may seem like a crazy thing to do. But, with some planning, it can become a perfect day of avgeek fun!
Planespotting in the New York area provides enthusiasts a unique opportunity to see planes from almost all corners of the earth. Within approximately a 20-mile radius, there are three major airports (New York [JFK], New York LaGuardia [LGA], and Newark Liberty [EWR]) that can provide endless hours of spotting.
major airports in the NEW York Area
The iconic John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) is one of the most well-known and diverse airports on earth, serving over 90 different airlines from around the globe. So, I decided to pack up my gear and go spotting for the day. I flew JetBlue (nonstop) from Austin-Bergstrom (AUS) to JFK (1,500 miles—3½ hours) and arrived just before lunchtime.
Upon arriving at Terminal 5, I spent a little time in the terminal before moving on to my main event for the day. Terminal 5, though mainly dedicated to JetBlue, also serves regional carrier Cape Air. One nice (free) T5 attraction is the Wooftop (located across from gate 28) outdoor dog park. This area has a place for dogs to run around and tables for you to enjoy food or a beverage. This location has limited spotting views, but you can still see some action while enjoying some fresh air.
The T5 Rooftop & Wooftop Lounge is a great place for JFK planespotting | IMAGE: JetBlue
TWA Hotel is a Can’t-Miss Part of Your Visit to JFK
After checking out the T5 “Wooftop,” I left the terminal and headed to my main attraction, the TWA Hotel and, more notably, the TWA Rooftop Pool area. I had seen photos from this location and knew I wanted to spend my day here. Before I departed Austin, I checked to see if they were offering day passes to the rooftop, and to my excitement, they were!
Another convenient aspect is that the TWA Hotel is located just outside T5, so I took a quick 10-minute walk and I was there. Upon arriving at the TWA Hotel, I walked around the lobby, taking in the sights while being transformed back to the 1960s.
Replica of Howard Hughes’ desk
Other Great JFK Planespotting Locations
A Boeing 747 departs from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) | IMAGE: JFK Airport via Facebook
After walking around the lobby and hotel area, I headed to the TWA Hotel Gift Shop and purchased a few small items (TWA socks and pencils) to remind me of the trip.
I then proceeded to the elevator that took me up to the pool area, where a friendly employee was there to escort me to the bar area and charge me the $12.95 entrance fee. However, be advised that everything I read mentioned that the pool entrance charge varies by time and season, so be sure to check before heading there. Even hotel guests can be required to pay a fee for a reservation to the pool, but for me, it was worth every penny to have 3+ hours of access to the roof before I needed to start thinking about my return trip home.
The rooftop infinity pool is heated (95ºF) for those who want to go swimming, but I just wanted to enjoy The Pool Bar and airplanes.
There are many recommended spotting locations around JFK, but I chose to spend my entire time on the rooftop and am glad I did. From the rooftop, you will have great views of taxiing, landing, and departing aircraft.
Since JFK has four runways, there is a chance that traffic is flowing in a non-optimal direction, but on the day I was there, I was fortunate and able to see both active runways (31R/31L). During my short time there, I saw 115 planes from 18 different countries. Between my time spotting, I had time to enjoy the selection of snacks and drinks from the rooftop bar (see menu). The Pool Bar offers aviation-themed cocktails with names like Jet Fuel, 4 Left, 22 Right, and Terminal 5, and food choices such as hummus, flatbread pizzas, sandwiches, salads, and more. While I was there, no one was swimming, but others were spotting, eating lunch, and chatting.
JFP planespotting view from the TWA Hotel POOL DECK
You can see planes parked or moving around the airport from the rooftop deck.
Kuwait Airlines 777-369ER (9K-AOL) – JFK planespotting from TWA Hotel Pool Deck
AirTrain Gets You There Quickly…Just Be Sure to Take the Right One!
A welcome sign at the entrance to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) | IMAGE: JFK Airport via Facebook
After my time at the TWA Hotel, I had to hustle to Terminal 8 for my American Airlines flight back to Austin. The terminals at JFK are mostly separate, except for some bus connectors for specific airline arrangements, such as American Airlines and JetBlue. So, I got a chance to take the AirTrain.
The AirTrain is free for travel between terminals at JFK. But be careful not to get on a train to Jamaica or Howard Beach, since there is a charge for this, which takes you away from the airport. The train got me to Terminal 8 quickly, where I was able to breeze through security, grab dinner, and catch my flight back home.
Overall, this was the perfect avgeek day trip, and I recommend JFK planespotting to anyone who likes spotting or photographing airplanes.
The composition of America’s flight attendant corps began to change after World War II. While many airlines (most notably Eastern and Pan American) had relied on men to serve in the cabins of aircraft, the majority of carriers instead began to hire young women to work aboard their airliners.
Ruth Carol Taylor, posing for a magazine photo with a model of an Air Force jet.
Psychologically, it was a stroke of brilliance. In the 1950s, most people had yet to fly, and many were still afraid to. The airline industry’s largest customer base was men traveling for business. By hiring women to work aboard their aircraft, airlines were indirectly challenging the masculinity of the businessmen who still refused to fly. Airline companies were subliminally suggesting that these guys were afraid to travel by air while petite young ladies took to the skies every day of the week.
The women who worked aboard America’s airliners had to be single and young (they were forced to quit when they reached age 32) – and, for lack of a better term, Caucasian. It was a racist, sexist, and ageist employment system that would be challenged and finally dismantled, piece by piece.
Capital Airlines, one of the trunk air carriers, used this ad to appeal “to the man who’s never flown”.
Bob Peach and Mohawk Airlines
The two major classifications of domestic air carriers certificated by America’s Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) in the postwar era were trunks and locals. The trunks were the big airlines that connected major cities (American, Continental, Delta, United, etc.), while the locals connected big city airports with smaller cities. Mohawk Airlines, headquartered in Utica, New York, was one of those local service carriers.
Robert (Bob) Peach was Mohawk’s president, and he had a flair for generating positive press coverage for his airline. Mohawk had chalked up several ‘firsts’: it was the first local airline to dispatch pressurized equipment (Convair 240s); the first local to be awarded a route in direct competition with a trunk carrier (Syracuse – New York City); and the first to start retiring its unpressurized Douglas DC-3s, the standard aircraft used by the local service carriers. In 1954, Mohawk had inaugurated an innovative non-stop scheduled helicopter service between Newark Airport and the Jennie Grossinger Resort in New York State’s Catskill Mountain tourist area. The helicopter service was not profitable and lasted only one summer, but it gave Mohawk good publicity.
ROBERT (BOB) Peach, President of Mohawk Airlines
Breaking the Color Barrier
Bob Peach obviously took pleasure in running an innovative airline. But perhaps his biggest news-making coup was one with very human repercussions: he broke the color barrier in hiring practices when Mohawk became the first airline in the United States to employ an African-American flight attendant.
Ruth Carol Taylor was a registered nurse who lived in Manhattan and worked for the New York Transit Authority. She wanted to be a stewardess and open the profession up to women of color, challenging the discriminatory hiring practices that were in existence at the time. In 1957, Ms. Taylor was refused employment by TWA – one of the big trunk carriers – and she filed a complaint with the New York State Commission on Discrimination.
A Mohawk Airlines Convair 240 at Newark Airport. Mel Lawrence photo via George Hamlin.
Making the Most of an Opportunity
Bob Peach saw an opportunity and actively pursued a course of action. He announced that Mohawk was seeking minority applicants for flight attendant positions. Several hundred women applied, and Ruth Carol Taylor was hired by Mohawk in December 1957.
After successfully completing training, she became the first African-American cabin attendant to crew a flight in the United States. On February 11, 1958, Ms. Taylor worked her first segment between Ithaca and Newark. Mohawk received publicity for ‘opening the door’ and the trunk carriers soon followed suit. TWA hired Margaret Grant to become that company’s first African-American flight attendant in 1958.
Ruth Carol Taylor’s tenure with Mohawk was short-lived, as many flight attendant careers were back then. It ended when she married later in the year and, thus, was forced to resign. The requirement that flight attendants remain single during the duration of their employment was yet another discriminatory policy that would be eradicated years later.
Mohawk’s route system at the time that Ruth Carol Taylor worked for the airline.
The Times They Kept on Changing
In the 1960s, the U.S. government’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) overturned airline flight attendant hiring practices by ruling that women could not be terminated when they turned 32, simply because of their age. The EEOC also decided that women could not be fired for getting married or for having a child. And, if a man could perform the same cabin duties as his female counterparts, he could not be discriminated against on the basis of gender.
The airlines could point the finger of blame at the EEOC when sexist customers complained of the new practices that put men and older women in aircraft cabins as flight attendants – a term that was coming into greater use in order to encompass both stewards and stewardesses. But, in actuality, airline management teams breathed a sigh of relief. Wide-body aircraft were being purchased by trunk carriers and the locals were acquiring jets. Many more flight attendants would be required to staff these larger aircraft types, and now the airlines had an excuse for keeping women in their careers longer and for hiring men: the EEOC made them do it.
She Broke the Color Barrier When She Became the First African-American Flight Attendant 61
Today’s Flight Attendants
Today, the career of flight attendant is open to applicants without regard to race, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, or age. Those fortunate enough to be hired and to complete training will find themselves traveling to places around the country and around the globe, meeting people from all walks of life and from all parts of the world. It is the greatest educational experience and, because of rulings made by a government agency years ago, men and women in their forties and fifties can now begin a late-in-life career working in the sky.
But long before the EEOC forced airlines to change their rules regarding age and gender, one airline president – Bob Peach – had opened the door for one woman – Ruth Carol Taylor – and thanks to that interaction the color barrier was demolished, never to be put in place again.
Just two weeks after Spirit Airlines board rejected JetBlue’s inital buy out offer, the airline is back with a new offer and a website to explain the airline’s shareholders should reject Frontier’s ‘inferrior’ offer.
On Monday, JetBlue rolled out a revised offer that includes a $30 per share offer (with room for up to $33 a share) in an all cash transaction. Their website listed a number of reasons why the offer is superior to Frontier’s previous offer.
In a statement to Spirit’s shareholders, JetBlue’s CEO says, “JetBlue offers more value – a significant premium in cash – more certainty, and more benefits for all stakeholders. Frontier offers less value, more risk, no divestiture commitments, and no reverse break-up fee, despite more overlap on non-stop routes and their own regulatory challenges.”
“Yet the Spirit Board failed to provide us the necessary diligence information it had provided Frontier and then summarily rejected our proposal, which addressed its regulatory concerns, without asking us even a single question about it. The Spirit Board based its rejection on unsupportable claims that are easily refuted.”
“Ask yourself a simple question: why won’t the Spirit Board engage with us constructively? The interests of Bill Franke’s Indigo Partners and the long-standing relationships between the two companies is the obvious answer.”
Image: JetBLueOffersMore.com
With this offer, JetBlue is asking shareholders to vote no on the Frontier Merger offer. The full website is available here for our readers to view.
Why the merger opportunity is so important to JetBlue
JetBlue sees Spirit as one of the last major opportunities to quickly create a larger carrier. Back in 2016, the airline lost a competition to merge with Virgin America. The missed opportunity meant that other competitors like Southwest, Alaska, American and Delta all grew larger through mergers. Now with a potential tie up between Frontier and Spirit, they would be forced to compete against an ultra-low cost carrier that rivals the size of a major airline.
We’ll update this story if Spirit or Frontier Airlines post a response.
This Pilot Was as Cool as a Cucumber After His Cessna 205’s Engine Seized While Flying Cross Country
The loss of any engine in flight is a big deal. When you are flying in a small, single-engine aircraft, the loss of an engine is a nerve-wracking and critical event. Instructors teach you to keep calm, continue to fly the airplane, take critical action, set pitch for maximum glide, then analyze the situation, determine next steps then communicate the plan.
You Can’t Pick Your Time for an Inflight Emergency!
Kevin Mayes was flying from Seattle to Sacramento earlier this year when he suffered a catastrophic engine loss at 9,000 feet while enroute. In the video below, you’ll see how the combination of skill, calmness, and preparedness brought what could have been a really dangerous situation to a safe conclusion. With a bit of luck, he was flying near a nice sized airfield near Hillsboro, Oregon. Kevin guided his stricken plane to a hi-key position over an airfield, then spiraled down to a textbook power-off landing. When he landed, he saw that the engine was toast with significant internal damage below the cowling.
An even more amazing fact is that he later found out his insurance company would not pay for the damage. According to a Gofundme set up for his situation, Kevin said, “Upon calling my insurance, I learned that mechanical failures, including engine failures, are not a covered event. Had I crashed the airplane, hit something on the way down, or had any other following event, then insurance would have stepped in.”
Photo showing Damage to the stricken engine. Source: Kevin Mayes GoFundMe
An Excellent Lesson, Safely Learned and Shared
“Because of the successful outcome, I am left with a large bill to repair the aircraft and return to flying. I am sharing my story and video in hopes that other pilots can learn from the experience and see that airplanes really do glide without an engine. Unfortunately, the extensive damage caused during engine failure has left most components unusable. I am searching for a replacement/new engine that will come at substantial costs. Any help will go towards the cost lost on the core value of the engine due to the extensive damage and any support from you is greatly appreciated. “
You Can Help Kevin
You can donate to his cause by clicking on the link here. Either way, this video is a great instructional video for any pilot of how to react in an emergency.
Southwest Airlines has long been known for dependable service, low fares, and friendly service. They’ve long lacked in one passenger amenity though that has long put them at a disadvantage for business travelers. No, they aren’t adding business class service or assigned seating. They are adding one thing though that will make modern travelers rejoice. Drum roll please…
Southwest is adding in-seat power outlets to their fleet. In an announcement on Wednesday, Southwest announced that they will retrofit their fleet with in-seat power. The airline is taking a different approach than other airlines. Instead of a typical power plug, Southwest is adding both a USB power port and a USB-C power plug.
This addition will allow every passenger to have power available to them without having to compromise legroom with bulky power equipment underneath the seat. The airline will begin rolling out this enhancement in 2023. In a statement, the airline said the change will take time as they retrofit the fleet.
This change makes a lot of sense. Southwest used to be known for short point to point flights. Over the past 20 years though, Southwest has added coast-to-coast service with flights that rival the other major carriers. The airline already offered movies, live TV, and shows as long as you bring your own device. With longer stage lengths like Las Vegas to Hawaii, that means that all but the most capable phone and laptop would likely die inflight. This addresses a major shortcoming in their service offering.
Image by Tomás Del Coro via Wikipedia
Southwest Airlines also announced a number of other service enhancements to include retrofitting overhead bins to accommodate additional carry-on luggage, faster wifi service, more movies and TV shows on their entertainment page, an upgraded inflight tracker, and additional beverage options (Rose, anyone?). The movies, TV and beverage options will rollout this summer. Other upgrades will rollout over time.
Two other minor but appreciated updates include the ability to upgrade your boarding number via the app and website and the ability to add a lap child via the website. The full announcement is here. We also posted a video from their Vice President of Marketing explaining the changes.
