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Ace Maker: Lockheed’s T-33 Trainer Produced Top-Notch Aviators

Bill Walton
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Ace Maker: Lockheed’s T-33 Trainer Produced Top-Notch Aviators

This Remarkable Jet Trainer Has Withstood the Test of Time

When Lockheed developed the T-33A Shooting Star jet trainer from their P-80 fighter it was first referred to as the TP-80C. Lockheed stretched the P-80’s fuselage more than three feet in order to fit a second seat and the other equipment necessary to create a two-place version of the company’s first jet-powered fighter. First flown in 1948 by famed Lockheed test pilot Tony LeVier, the “T-Bird” served with the United States Air Force (USAF) as an advanced trainer and later as a proficiency trainer, threat simulator, and target drone for nearly 50 years. Here’s a nice HD video of a T-33 warbird showing off uploaded by our friends at AirshowStuffVideos

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Official US Air Force Photograph

Making Pilots and Memories

In United States Air Force (USAF) service the “Ace Maker” was used primarily as an advanced trainer until it began to be replaced by the Cessna T-37 Tweet and the Northrop T-38 Talon. The last T-33A used in advanced training was replaced during February of 1967 at Craig Air Force Base (AFB) in Alabama. USAF T-33As trained thousands of the jet fighter pilots who fought in the skies over Vietnam during the 1960s and 1970s. Their memories of the T-Bird are fond indeed.

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Official US Air Force Photograph

Service Awards and Versatility

Still able to earn their keep as drone controllers and target tugs, USAF T-33As kept right on serving after they were replaced as trainers. Assigned to Air Defense Command (ADC), Tactical Air Command (TAC), and National Guard squadrons then flying jets such as the McDonnell F-101 Voodoo, Convair F-102 Delta Dagger and Convair F-106 Delta Dart and later the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, the Ace Makers just wouldn’t go away. The last operational USAF T-Bird was an NT-33 variant used for flight control research and retired in April of 1997.

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Official US Air Force Photograph

In the Navy

In United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) use the T-33 was first designated TO-2 (The P-80 was the TO-1/TV-1), then as TV-2, and finally as T-33B. The USN and USMC T-Bird trainers were common sights along the Gulf Coast near the Naval Air Stations (NASs) like NAS Kingsville and NAS Corpus Christi during the 1950s and early 1960s. The Navy also procured 150 of the T2V-1 (later designated  T-1A) Seastar, a highly-modified version of the T-33 equipped and strengthened for use aboard aircraft carriers.

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Official US Navy Photograph

Ever Wonder Where Those Rescue Arrows Came From?

Navy TV-2s were some of the first aircraft to wear the large RESCUE arrow markings to assist crash crews with extrication of crew members from wrecked aircraft, the life-saving markings having been pioneered by Navy Advanced Training Squadrons TWO ZERO ZERO (ATU-200) and ATU-202 at NAS Kingsville during the late 1950s. TV-2s served as Navy and Marine Corps Station proficiency training aircraft even after Naval Air Training Command (NATC) replaced them with Rockwell T-2 Buckeyes and Douglas TA-4J Skyhawks.

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Photo From Author’s Collection

To Combat in a Trainer

T-33As were also developed for foreign allies under the Military Assistance Program (MAP). Variants were created such as the AT-33A (equipped with underwing pylons and hardpoints for carrying ordnance) and RT-33A (with nose-mounted cameras and one seat occupied by reconnaissance equipment). These joined the DT-33A (drone controllers), NT-33A (test aircraft), QT-33A (drones), and even more specialized variants used by the USAF. T-33s often retained two .50 caliber machine guns for gunnery training but could mount six .50s. Cuba actually used them in combat- the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias scored kills with them during the Bay of Pigs Invasion.

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Official US Air Force Photograph

Service in the Great White North

First designated as T-33AN, the Canadair CT-133 Silver Star differed primarily from the T-33 in the propulsion department. T-33As were powered by the Allison J33 turbojet engine. CT-133s utilized the Rolls-Royce Nene 10 turbojet engine. The Canuck CT-133s too were modified to enable particular capabilities. The CE-133 was and upgraded electronic warfare training aircraft variant. CX-133s served as ejection seat testbeds. The ET-133 was a dedicated aerial threat simulator variant, while the TE-133 simulated anti-ship threats.

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Official US Air Force Photograph

Worldwide Popularity

There were 6.557 T-33s (all variants) built, including the 656 built under license by Canadair in Canada and 210 built by Kawasaki in Japan. Foreign operators of the T-33 (all variants) include Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, Canada, Republic of China (Taiwan), Colombia, Cuba, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany,  Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Libya, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay, and Yugoslavia.

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Photo From Author’s Collection

Popular Jet Warbirds

Today there are no longer any operational military T-33s. Canada retired the last of their CT-133s in 2005 and many were sold off in 2008. Bolivia retired their last examples in July of 2017. Boeing operates two smartly-painted and pristine examples of the mark as chase aircraft out of their facility at Renton near Seattle in Washington. T-33s are more popular as warbirds than ever before, with several of the recently retired and nicely updated and equipped CT-133s having been acquired by private owners. There are about 65 T-33s (all variants) flying in private hands today.

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Official US Air Force Photograph

Watch Gary Sinise Fly a Growler to Visit the USS Theodore Roosevelt

Mike Killian
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Watch Gary Sinise Fly a Growler to Visit the USS Theodore Roosevelt

“One of the coolest experiences ever.”

That’s how actor Gary Sinise, one of the biggest advocates of America’s servicemen and women, described his ride in an E/A-18G Growler earlier this year, which took him from MCAS Miramar to the deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, somewhere off the coast of CA.

Sinise may be most famous for his Academy Award-nominated role as “Lt. Dan” in the landmark film Forrest Gump with Tom Hanks, but his work supporting those who serve the U.S. military (past and present) may be his ultimate legacy.

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Sinise with some of the crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Credit: The Gary Sinise Foundation

Sinise isn’t just a vocal spokesperson and supporter of the military’s men and women, he does a lot to show his support and gratitude by giving back through various outreach programs too. He’s the spokesperson for many veterans organizations and serves on executive councils for the Medal of Honor Foundation, the USO and serves as an advisory board member for Hope for the Warriors.

He founded The Gary Sinise Foundation in 2011, which (among other things) builds custom Smart Homes for severely wounded veterans, and also performs nearly 50 shows a year around the world in support of servicemen and women as part of the “Lt. Dan Band”, which he formed in 2003. The foundation also hosts day-long festivals at military medical bases, and serves meals to deploying troops.

Above, watch as Sinise flies an E/A-18G Growler from Electronic Attack Squadron VAQ-129 to visit the USS Theodore Roosevelt in February 2017.

For his efforts over some 30 years, Sinise has received several awards including the Bob Hope Award for Excellence in Entertainment; the Spirit of the USO Award; the Dwight D. Eisenhower Award; and the Spirit of Hope Award.

He’s also a recipient of the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second-highest civilian honor awarded for exemplary deeds performed in service of the nation. He’s also been named an Honorary Marine, an honorary Chief Petty Officer by the Navy and was awarded the Outstanding Civilian Service Award.

This week, Sinise released some photos and videos on his Facebook page about his experience onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, something he described as a “special opportunity” and “a trip I will never forget.”

More recently, Sinise and Lt. Dan Band performed two free concerts for airmen and their families who are based at Patrick Air Force Base and Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, as a way of thanking them for their tireless efforts providing relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

Many of the rescue crews who flew weeklong relief efforts in Texas to rescue stranded victims trapped by flooding from Hurricane Harvey are also stationed at Patrick and Egin AFB as well.

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920th Rescue Wing, based out of Patrick AFB, in action rescuing flood victims in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Credit: USAF

The Gary Sinise Foundation launched a 2017 Hurricane Relief Fund to help veteran and first responder communities affected by the horrific storms, many of whom are still in the Gulf region helping those whose lives were devastated by this season’s hurricanes.

Matter of fact, many service members lost everything, and still went out to rescue others, putting others first as they always have.

“We will be raising funds to help the veterans, active duty, firefighters, police, and EMTs who have experienced loss due to these storms,” says the Foundation’s Hurricane Relief page. “We will offer grants to assist with anything from basic necessities to home repairs as well as helping our first responders who need damaged equipment replaced.”

ABOVE: Video from Gary Sinise flying onboard a VAQ-129 Growler (horizontal picture next time please Gary, ha).

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– Follow Mike Killian on Instagram and Facebook, @MikeKillianPhotography 

 

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F-18s Help Develop Flight Control System for New Deep Space Rocket

Mike Killian
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F-18s Help Develop Flight Control System for New Deep Space Rocket

For the last several years work has been underway to develop NASA’s replacement launch vehicle for the agency’s retired space shuttle fleet, the Space Launch System (SLS for short). The mammoth rocket will be the most powerful and capable heavy-lift launch vehicle ever designed, and NASA F/A-18 Hornet research jets have played a critical role in testing and evaluating the rocket’s autonomous flight control system at Armstrong Flight Research Center in southern California, located at Edwards AFB.

“By flying a high-performance F/A-18 jet in a manner similar to our rocket, we’re able to simulate SLS’s flight conditions and improve our software,” said Tannen VanZwieten in a press release, SLS flight controls working group lead. “The innovative system that we are testing is advancing flight control technology by adding an adaptive element which is new for launch vehicles. We’re using this technology to expand the capabilities of the SLS a bit more than what is possible with a traditional design.”

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Illustration of NASA’s SLS rocket, expected to make its maiden voyage in early 2019. Credit: NASA

The  Launch Vehicle Adaptive Control (LVAC) experiment was conducted in five flights by the F/A-18 Hornet to test the Adaptive Augmenting Controller, which will allow SLS to respond to various conditions—such as winds and vehicle flexing—during the launch/ascent phase of the mission.

In those tests, the jet took to the skies over Edwards Air Force Base to simulate those launch conditions SLS might encounter as it thunders away from Earth. The flight tests are crucial in evaluating the SLS’s flight control system and help engineers to design a system capable of autonomous adjustments to unexpected conditions as SLS pushes toward space.

“We have 20 test cases, each simulating some abnormal conditions, like higher thrust than anticipated or the presence of wind gusts, to see if the algorithm responds as we designed it to do,” said Eric Gilligan, an engineer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center helping to develop the “brain” for the SLS. “The tests might reveal something we hadn’t thought about in our algorithm, which we can go back and modify as necessary.”

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“Our software that’s running on the F/A-18 doesn’t know that it’s flying an F/A-18. It thinks it’s flying SLS”

No previous NASA launch vehicle has had the capability to adjust autonomously during actual flight, and the SLS Adaptive Augmenting Controller’s ability to make real-time adjustments to the autopilot should make for enhanced performance and a safer flight.

SLS will launch astronauts on the agency’s Orion spacecraft.

The NASA F/A-18 simulated both normal and abnormal flight conditions which the SLS might encounter after liftoff, such as sloshing propellant, and “identified key aircraft vibrational characteristics,” according to NASA. Over 40 tests were conducted, flying trajectories similar to what SLS will perform, and the Adaptive Augmenting Controller system was evaluated in different scenarios for up to 70 seconds at a time, matching the rocket’s dynamics from liftoff to solid rocket booster separation.

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Photo: NASA

“This is an example of how advanced rocket technology can be checked out in flight without having to be launched into space,” said John Carter, project manager for the flight tests at Dryden. “Doing this work on the F/A-18 test bed allows for low-cost, quick-schedule tests that can be repeated many times in order to gain confidence in the advanced controls technology, providing some unique testing advantages for this type of control system validation.”

The data collected during the flight tests of the Adaptive Augmenting Controller system were used to refine software for the SLS and plans for following F/A-18 flight tests in support of SLS. The autonomous flight control system, according to NASA, will be ready for the first test flight of the SLS, which is currently scheduled to launch an unmanned Orion spacecraft in 2019.

Launching from former shuttle launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, the SLS will send Orion to the moon and back to test the entire integrated system (launcher and spacecraft) as a whole, before NASA puts astronauts on top of the mammoth rocket for the next flight in the early 2020s.

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Orion crew recovery practice in NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. Credit: NASA

“The rocket has a set of equations that describe its motion,” said Jeb Orr, an engineer at Marshall’s Spacecraft and Vehicle Systems Department helping to develop the complex step-by-step equations that make an F/A-18 Hornet fly like the SLS. “It’s all just a math operation. When applied to the model of the rocket, it helps us predict the intended performance.”

“We’re expanding the capabilities of SLS a little bit beyond what we’d normally be able to achieve through a traditional analysis process,” Orr said. “With an adaptive algorithm, we can be a little more responsive to anomalies in flight, like unpredictable winds, to ensure the vehicle stays on its trajectory. Our software that’s running on the F/A-18 doesn’t know that it’s flying an F/A-18. It thinks it’s flying SLS.”

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– Follow Mike Killian on Instagram and Facebook, @MikeKillianPhotography 

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Eagle And Bunny Strike Forces Virgin Australia Emergency Landing in Melbourne

Kim Clark
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Eagle And Bunny Strike Forces Virgin Australia Emergency Landing in Melbourne

A Virgin Australia flight headed for Brisbane, Australia had to make an emergency landing Friday after hitting an eagle. The eagle was carrying a rabbit in its talons and collided with the plane’s landing gear, shorting after the passenger plane took off from Tullamarine.

The pilot of flight VA319 radioed the control tower with reports of engine problems. Virgin Australia said in a statement, “upon suspecting a bird strike, the pilot decided to return to Melbourne and the aircraft landed safely.” Melbourne Airport crews inspected the plane for damage and debris, temporarily shutting down the east-west runway. The Transport Safety Bureau is conducting an investigation. No one was hurt. All passengers safely deplaned after the emergency landing.

Bird is the Word: How Often Do Birds and Planes Collide?

While rabbit strikes are pretty rare, there have been other odd incidents including a US Air Force Gulfstream that hit a fish back in 2014. Bird strikes, though are more common than you might think. There were a whopping 16,069 bird strikes reported between 2006 and 2015 in Australia alone, according to the Transport Safety Bureau and in most cases, a high capacity domestic aircraft is involved. Significant damage to the aircraft only occurs in a fraction of cases, fortunately. Of the more than 16, 069 bird strikes, only 11 did real damage to the plane.

In one such instance, birds were actually sucked into the engine. AirAsia X Flight D7207 bound for Kuala Lumpur from the Gold Coast made an emergency landing in Brisbane this summer because the plane started uncontrollably shaking after taking off. Some passengers said they saw sparks coming from the engine mounts. Not surprisingly, upon landing, crews found two dead birds near where the plane had landed on the runway.

British Airline Pilots Association flight safety specialist Stephen Landells assures air passengers that bird strikes are usually not that dangerous and more often than not, damage is done to only one engine. Passenger aircraft can operate safely with just one engine so hitting a bird rarely leads to a crash. Landells points out that aircraft are “designed to withstand” these strikes and pilots undergo hours of training in preparation for eventualities such as bird strikes.

One of the most infamous examples of a near-crash was US Airways Flight 1549 in 2009. The pilot, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger safely landed the plane on the Hudson River in Manhattan, a feat called the “Miracle on the Hudson” since in this case, both engines were damaged after the plane collided with a flock of Canadian geese.

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US Airways 1549 successfully ditched in the Hudson River. Photo by Greg L. (Wikipedia Commons)

Captain Sullenberger was credited with saving the lives of 155 passengers and the ordeal was made into a Hollywood movie. The renowned pilot retired from US Airways after a 30 year career in 2010 and took a position as an Aviation and Safety Expert with CBS News.

 

Watch: Leatherneck Close Air Support In Korea Drops The Hammer

Bill Walton
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Watch: Leatherneck Close Air Support In Korea Drops The Hammer

When the film “The Marine Corps and Close Air Support” was produced the United States and the United Nations were still embroiled in the Korean War. But the subject matter was well understood by the Marines. Having undertaken and then mastered close air support (CAS) during World War II in the Pacific, Marine aviation in Korea wasn’t that different from its zenith only five years before. Some of the aircraft were new, but many of the personnel were the same. This film, uploaded by YouTuber PeriscopeFilm, takes a look at the Marines delivering ordnance for CAS.

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Official US Navy Photograph

By the time the Korean War began the Marines were still flying later variants of Vought’s F-4U Corsair. As seen in the film, Leatherneck Corsairs played a large role in Marine CAS efforts in Korea. New to the Marine Corps arsenal for Korea were the Douglas AD Skyraider (also known as the Able Dog) and the Grumman F9F Panther jet-powered fighter-bomber. These three aircraft flew the majority of Marine CAS sorties. VMA-223 Bulldogs F9Fs are featured in the film. A couple of major-league baseball players served in Korea with the Marines. Both Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) Captain Gerald F. “Gerry” Coleman of the New York Yankees and USMCR Captain Theodore S. “Ted” Williams of the Boston Red Sox flew CAS missions in Korea. Coleman flew Corsairs with VMA-323 Death Rattlers and Williams piloted Panthers with VMF-311 Tomcats.

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Official US Marine Corps Photograph

VIDEO: Come Onboard For The Last Power-Up of a Space Shuttle

Mike Killian
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VIDEO: Come Onboard For The Last Power-Up of a Space Shuttle

In 2011, NASA put America’s space shuttle fleet to rest. With the International Space Station completed, and two crews on two shuttles lost over the course of the 30-year program, the time had come to close the shuttle chapter and look ahead at the dawn of a new era.

Each of NASA’s three remaining orbiters Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour went to different museums across the nation, but a solid year of work was needed to prepare the fleet for their public displays.

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The final launch of the space shuttle Endeavour, mission STS-134. Photo” Mike Killian

Nearly a year after launching on her last mission, STS-134, Endeavour was on the brink of reaching a “point-of-no-return” in her retirement transition. Once a shuttle’s cooling systems are drained of all their fluids, they can never again be capable of powering on.

But to complete these tasks, the orbiters had to be powered up. Discovery and Atlantis had already been powered down for their last times, the only one left was Enderavour, and when the time came NASA invited me onboard to document it in a way few could ever dream.

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Before boarding the shuttle you entered a white room, a staging area with walls full of signatures from Presidents to astronauts to even Margaret Thatcher. NASA invited me to sign it as well. I graciously accepted, and prepared to board, wearing special slippers to prevent scuffing up the interior of the shuttle.

In the video above, come onboard the flight deck of space shuttle Endeavour, powered up, with Rene Arriens – one of the many unsung heroes of the shuttle program. Rene spent 30 years working on the Shuttle program in various capacities; spacecraft operator, pad technician, and was even a member of the close-out crew who helped board the astronauts on the shuttle before their historic flights.

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The white room leading onboard space shuttle Endeavour in Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 2 at KSC, 2012. Photo: Mike Killian

All three of NASA’s orbiters had to be powered up throughout their retirement transitions in order to allow technicians to open and close vents and other access points to remove various hazards and toxins such as hypergols, fuels, oxidizers, and ammonia (among others) from the orbiters before they could safely be put on display.

Technicians had to “de-service” various systems, sometimes even removing systems and hardware all together, in an effort to ensure that there be no chance of any leaks or out-gassing that could be hazardous to the public while the orbiters are on display.

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Installing a replica engine for the shuttle’s new public displays, NASA kept the actual engines for future use. Photo: Mike Killian

The Orbital Maneuvering System or “OMS” pods were removed, as well the reusable RS-25 Space Shuttle Main Engines, or SSMEs, which have now been modified to launch NASA’s future heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS).

On display, the shuttles have replica engines instead.

Endeavour was built as a replacement for space shuttle Challenger, and flew her first flight, STS-49, on May 7, 1992.  The last of NASA’s shuttles to be built, Endeavour would go on to fly 25 missions from 1992 – 2011, closing out her career with 4,671 orbits of the Earth, 296 days in space, and over 122 million miles travelled.

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Last launch of the Endeavour, mission STS-134. Photo: Mike Killian

Designated as OV-105 by NASA, or Orbiter Vehicle 105, nearly half of all Endeavour’s missions were ISS construction flights.  OV-105 was also the first to service the Hubble Telescope in 1993 and flew various scientific missions such as the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, which generated the most complete high-resolution digital topographic database of Earth up until 2009.

The displays, controls, and switches of mankind’s most sophisticated vehicle went dark, permanently, on May 11, 2012.

Endeavour made her final flight atop a NASA modified 747 shuttle carrier aircraft in the fall of 2012; a one-way trip from KSC to the California Science Center (CSC) in Los Angeles, with flybys of various landmarks and cities along the way to give millions of people one final chance to see a shuttle in flight.

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Endeavour headed to her final resting place in CA. Photo: Mike Killian

The CSC was awarded Endeavour in April of 2011 after a nationwide competition was held by NASA to display their three retired orbiters. Shuttle Discovery was awarded to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, and Atlantis was awarded to the KSC Visitor Complex in Florida.

Below, take a tour of shuttle Endeavour during her transition and retirement processing at KSC, led by Kevin Hoshstrasser – former Shuttle Program Manager for Boeing and (at the time) Site Director of Florida Space Shuttle Operations:

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– Follow Mike Killian on Instagram and Facebook, @MikeKillianPhotography

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Blue Angels, airshow pilots arrive for Wings Over North Georgia

Charles Atkeison
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Blue Angels, airshow pilots arrive for Wings Over North Georgia

ROME, Ga. — The thrust of the Navy’s Blue Angels broke the silence of autumn across north Georgia on Thursday as the squadron of six jets arrived for this weekend’s sixth annual Wings Over North Georgia Airshow.

The squadron’s blue and gold jets pierced the late morning blue sky at 400 m.p.h. as they arrived above the Richard Russell Regional Airport. As if to say hello to airshow officials and media on the ground, the six F/A-18 Hornets went smoke-on as their popular delta formation soared over the airfield.

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Following the overhead pass, each aircraft pealed off one after another to follow their Boss, Blue Angel 1 Captain Ryan Bernacchi, in to land one at a time. This will be the Blues Angels first performance at Wings Over North Georgia.

Lead by Capt. Bernacchi, Angels 2 thru 6 pilots include LT Damon Kroes, LCDR Nate Scott, LCDR Lance Bass, CDR Frank Weisser, and LT Tyler Davies, who make up the delta formation. The Blue Angels airshow narrator, LT Brandon Hempler, arrived on Wednesday, and it will be his job to explain the many flight formations on Saturday and Sunday.

CDR Weisser and LT Davies — both natives of metro Atlanta — are the two solos, and will push the F/A-18 to near Mach 1 during their demonstrations this weekend. Each pilot will also give the airshow crowds several moments of heart-stopping exhilaration during their demo.

“I’m excited — this is the airshow I’ve been looking forward to all year,” Angel 5 pilot Commander Weisser told this aerospace journalist minutes following the teams arrival into Rome. “It will be nice to catch up with old friends and to let them see what we do; and to let our family come in and be apart of this show, and to share it with north Georgia. The minute we landed it feels like home.”

In one month, CDR Weisser will depart the Blues to return to fleet after serving the last 15 months in place of a fallen Blue Angels pilot, Capt. Jeff “Kooch” Kuss. A Blues pilot in 2008 to 2010, CDR Weisser reflected on what his second tour of service with the Blues has meant to him.

“I feel like this squadron is better than when I left it in 2010,” he began. “This tour for me has never been about me, it’s been about Kooch the whole time. I am here flying his jet, flying his show, and doing the best I can to honor him, so, it’s been a rewarding year for me to be here.”

As the pilots prepare to fly this weekend, it will be the sole job of the Blue Angels maintenance team to prepare the jets for flight each morning. One maintainer who stays involved with the F/A-18’s the entire day also grew up in north Atlanta.

 

“When we come out and we open this jets and get them ready to fly, our number one thing is to have a awesome aircraft ready for the pilot when he gets in,” said AM2 Demaude Prescott, who maintains the jet’s air frames and hydraulics. “We have a great relationship with our pilots. We talk to them and we know where they’re from. We shake hands every time we go up and every time they come back down. That — right there — is what gets me up every day.”baatl22

Performers also attending the Rome airshow will include the Smoke-n-Thunder Jet Car and Jet Truck team; Scott Yoak and his Quicksilver P-51D Mustang, Jim Tobul piloting his F4U Corsair aircraft, AeroShell Aerobatic Team, and seven-time aerobatic champion Rob Holland.

Remote parking lots will open at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and the airshow’s main gates will open to guests at 9:00 a.m. on both show days.

Single tickets remain available online for the Wings Over North Georgia Airshow, and will be available at the gate this weekend. Airshow management confirms that the special ticket packages have sold out.

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

United Airlines Earnings Call Put CEO in the Hot Seat

Kim Clark
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United Airlines Earnings Call Put CEO in the Hot Seat

United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz was put squarely in the hot seat today, as analysts aggressively questioned him about management’s failure to get the company on a positive trajectory and deliver on results laid out in the 2016 Investor Day. At the time, Munoz painted a cautiously optimistic picture saying that in 2017 and 2018, United would slash capital expenditures by $1 billion and see an improvement in earnings of $4.8 billion by the year 2020. At the time, the Chief Executive enumerated plans to generate earnings growth by keeping a tighter reign on revenue and expanding different types of fare classes (called segmentation) to compete with discount carriers.

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United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz (Photo: United)

United Airlines has been trying to limit the activity of ultra-low-cost airlines like Spirit out of its major hubs. Over summer, analysts expressed concern that United could not absorb the impact of low fare matching with Spirit without severely eroding earnings and potentially sucking the whole industry into a fare war. More recently, the Street had been growing more optimistic about fare discounting. That is, until today.

United’s management fielded question after question from frustrated Wall Street analysts. Munoz and his team forecasted expanding capacity, an increase in unit cost and weaker Q4 unit revenue. Unit revenue is an important metric. It is the average revenue received per unit of available capacity; in layman’s terms, is used as a measure of how effectively management balances price and volume to generate revenue.

Unit costs are expected to increase in the fourth quarter between 2.5% to 3.5%, while capacity is expected to grow 3.5%. Pretax margin projections for Q4 are coming in below consensus at 3% to 5%. All of this is a major letdown for investors.

Yesterday, United put out a press release forecasting flat unit revenue projections for October and November and even a decline in December which typically sees an uptick because of holiday travel. UAL President Scott Kirby was quick to defend the December decline, saying that the slip is due to “vagaries of the calendar” since a lot of the holiday return traffic is pushed into January, Q1 2018. The grim projections prompted doubts about United’s ability to deliver bottom line results and resulted in the frenetic sell-off.

Amid the turmoil, Stifel analyst Joseph DeNardi posted a research note that stated, “Is This a Catalyst for Management Change?” In response, CEO Oscar Munoz urged investors to be patient and give the fairly new United management team a chance to recover losses. Munoz’ request apparently fell on deaf ears, as United shares tumbled 11% ending at 60.48 in afternoon trading while Spirit Airlines stocks also took a beating, retreating 3.8%. Other major carriers stayed relatively stable with Delta down 1%, Southwest Airlines 0.7% and American 1.6%.

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A Feast For Hornet Fans: Here’s Your 2017 West Coast Strike Fighter Ball Video

Bill Walton
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A Feast For Hornet Fans: Here’s Your 2017 West Coast Strike Fighter Ball Video

The 2017 version of the West Coast Strike Fighter Ball video is presented in gorgeous hi-def video with a twist or two- exactly what you’d expect from the squadrons assigned to Strike Fighter Wing Pacific and based at Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore south of Fresno in California. From day and night carrier ops to light-speed runs through The Jedi Transition and candid ready-room hijinks, this video carries on the traditions set by the previous version of the always-entertaining series. This year’s SFB was uploaded by YouTuber C-Rock. Enjoy!

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Official US Navy Photograph

Strike Fighter Wing Pacific (STRKFIGHTWINGPAC) consists of 20 squadrons flying the Boeing single-seat F/A-18E or twin-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet.  These squadrons are structured within five Carrier Air Wings (CVWs)- CVW-2, CVW-5, CVW-9, CVW-11, and CVW-17. CVW-5 is forward-deployed in Japan and operates from Naval Air Facility (NAF) Atsugi or from the deck of the carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) based at Yokosuka in Japan. CVW-5 includes VFA-27 Royal Maces flying F/A-18Es, VFA-102 Diamondbacks flying F/A-18Fs, VFA-115 Eagles flying F/A-18Es, and VFA-195 Dambusters flying F/A-18Es.

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Official US Navy Photograph

The other Hornet squadrons assigned to STRKFIGHTWINGPAC are VFA-2 Bounty Hunters flying the F/A-18F, VFA-14 Tophatters flying the F/A-18E, VFA-22 Fighting Redcocks flying the F/A-18F, VFA-25 Fist of the Fleet flying the F/A-18E, VFA-41 Black Aces flying the F/A-18F, VFA-86 Sidewinders flying the F/A-18E, VFA-97 Warhawks flying the F/A-18E, VFA-113 Stingers flying the F/A-18E, and VFA-122 Flying Eagles who are the West Coast replacement training squadron (or RAG) flying both F/A-18Es and F/A-18Fs.

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Official US Navy Photograph

The other squadrons calling Lemoore home are VFA-137 Kestrels flying the F/A-18E and a single example of the F/A-18F, VFA-147 Argonauts flying the F/A-18E, VFA-151 Vigilantes flying the F/A-18E, VFA-154 Black Knights flying the F/A-18F, VFA-192 Golden Dragons flying the F/A-18E, VFA-146 Blue Diamonds flying the F/A-18E, and VFA-94 Mighty Shrikes flying the F/A-18F. STRKFIGHTWINGPAC will soon begin transitioning some Hornet squadrons to the new Lockheed-Martin F-35B Lightning II.

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Official US Navy Photograph

That Time Two Concordes Landed Simultaneously in Orlando

Mike Killian
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That Time Two Concordes Landed Simultaneously in Orlando

On Oct 18, 1982, some aviation history was made in Central Florida when two Concordes, one from Air France, and the other from British Airways, made a dual simultaneous landing at Orlando International Airport (MCO).

It was the first time the famous droop-nosed supersonic passenger jets landed side by side on parallel runways.

But the simultaneous landing was no coincidence, it was a publicity stunt organized by Walt Disney World to hype the arrival of the sponsors of exhibits at Disney’s newly opened Epcot Center’s British and French pavilions.

Both Concordes approached MCO’s 12,000 foot long parallel runways from the south, and touched down 2 seconds apart, to the cheers of 35,000 spectators in attendance.

Such a stunt was attempted before in Washington D.C. in 1976, but heavy air traffic over Dulles International Airport ruined it; both planes landed over a minute apart.

No known video of the dual Concorde landing exists on the web. We won’t leave avgeeks looking for a Concorde video hanging though. We’ll leave you with this sweet 1991 video posted by Saúl Pérez Díaz showing how pilots flew the Concorde.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h9i7rGLE4A]

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– Follow Mike Killian on Instagram and Facebook, @MikeKillianPhotography 

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Vought’s Kingfisher Sure Was Slow But it Saved Plenty of Aviators

Bill Walton
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3
Vought’s Kingfisher Sure Was Slow But it Saved Plenty of Aviators

World War I Ace Eddie Rickenbacker Was Just One of the Many Saved by the Mighty OS2U.

Vought’s OS2U Kingfisher first took flight on March 1st 1938. This observation floatplane, conceived as a replacement for the Curtiss SOC Seagull biplane floatplane, operated from American Navy battleships, cruisers, and even a few destroyers via catapult and from shore bases around the world during World War II. In so doing the slow but steady Kingfisher earned the sobriquet “Eyes of the Fleet.” While the every single one of the 1,519 OS2Us Vought and the Naval Aircraft Factory built was so slow it had trouble getting out of its own way, some elements of its design and the methods used to build them were radically advanced and would be seen on tens of thousands of subsequent aircraft.

OS2U
Official US Navy Photograph

Slower Than Molasses in January

The Kingfisher was designed by Vought engineers, and together with the Naval Aircraft Factory methods were devised to build the floatplane using spot welding- a first for production aircraft. This resulted in a stronger and more rigid structure with lower drag. The Vought engineers also added high-lift devices such as spoilers, deflector plate flaps, and variable geometry ailerons which together increased the camber of the wings. The added lift produced was appreciated because Kingfishers were underpowered by a Pratt & Whitney R-985-4 Wasp Junior radial engine which produced only 450 horsepower. All those horses pulled the advanced (for its day) airframe around at somewhere between 70 and a brisk 100 miles per hour with a “top” speed of 164 miles per hour.

Os2u planes in echelon formation 1943
Official US Navy Photograph

Operating Floatplanes From Capital Ships

The OS2U’s wings were mid-mounted with a single large float under the fuselage and smaller stabilizing floats mounted outboard on each wing. When launched by catapult Kingfishers on floats were brought back aboard after landing on a relatively flat surface produced when the recovering ship made a wide sweeping turn. The OS2U would then taxi onto a “sea sled” towed just below the surface. A small hook on the bottom of the float would engage the sled. This procedure allowed the OS2U to be craned aboard the ship from close aboard. The Kingfisher was armed with a pilot-fired .30 caliber machine gun mounted and firing forward in the nose as well as a defensive ring mount for either a single or dual .30 caliber setup aft for the gunner/radio operator/observer. Capable also of carrying a pair of 100 pound bombs or two 325 pound depth charges, the warload of the Kingfisher was modest. However, this seemingly innocuous floatplane could call in all sorts of ordnance when its crew observed targets or spotted for naval gunfire.

OS2U Kingfisher returns to USS Quincy CA 71 c1944
Official US Navy Photograph

Service Entry and the International Floatplane

Kingfishers began flying with the United States Navy (USN) in 1940. Several were sitting on Battleship Row catapults on December 7th 1941. Many of the initial batches of OS2Us were utilized either for flight training (both wheeled and float-equipped) or for inshore antisubmarine patrols along the Florida coastline. Kingfishers built by the Naval Aircraft Factory equipped several of these squadrons. Beaching gear allowed float-equipped OS2Us to operate from ramps. Early in the war Kingfishers were employed only by the US Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, but Australia, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, the Soviet Union, The United Kingdom’s Fleet Air Arm, and Uruguay also flew OS2Us. After the war ended the Netherlands operated Kingfishers as well.

OS2U is hoisted aboard USS Missouri BB 53 in 1944
Official US Navy Photograph

Rescuing Rickenbacker

When used as the scout planes they designed to be, Kingfishers flew long boring flights that were spiced with moments of sheer terror as they spotted for naval gunfire or flew rescue missions. Meat on the table for just about any marauding Japanese aircraft (including their float-equipped Nakajima-built A6M2-N Rufes– or Zeroes with floats), options available to Kingfisher crews were thin if forced to fight it out. But the exploits of the OS2U included two very high-profile rescues. The first was the rescue of World War I ace Eddie Rickenbacker in November of 1942. Rickenbacker was aboard a Boeing B-17D Flying Fortress that ditched in  the Pacific within sight of nowhere but a Kingfisher on patrol found him and facilitated his rescue.

Official US Navy Photograph

Improvise Adapt and Overcome

The other high-profile rescue involved one Kingfisher, on heroic Kingfisher crew flying from the battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55), the Balao-class submarine USS Tang (SS-306), and the Navy’s Operation Hailstone– the raids on the Japanese stronghold of Truk in April of 1944. Several Navy pilots had been shot down during their attacks on Truk but were in positions the lifeguard submarines, like the Tang, could not reach- Truk Lagoon. OS2U pilot Lieutenant John Burns and his crew landed in the lagoon and picked up one after another downed pilot- including another Kingfisher crew whose floatplane had capsized while attempting similar rescues. Of course Burns’ OS2U couldn’t take off with more than a single additional passenger. By the time the Kingfisher had ten soggy pilots and crew members inside and draped all over its wings it was barely afloat. But Burns taxied his nearly-swamped OS2U all the way to the Tang and rescue for all of them. Burns was decorated with the Navy Cross for his exploits that April day.

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Lieutenant Burns’ OS2U in Truk Lagoon. Official US Navy Photograph

Serving Right Up Until the End

By the time the war advanced into late 1944 Curtiss’s own replacement for the SOC Seagull, the SC Seahawk, began to replace the Kingfishers in service. Other less-successful designs, notably the Curtiss SO3C Seamew, failed to adequately replace either the SOC or the OS2U. Kingfishers continued in service through the end of the war and were instrumental in the efforts to wrest the Japanese bastions so deeply entrenched in places like Saipan, Peleliu, and Iwo Jima. Several foreign nations operated their OS2Us well into the 1950s, Cuba was the last nation to retire operational Kingfishers in 1959. While no flyable Kingfishers exist today, several fine examples of these utilitarian aircraft can be viewed in museums.

USS Missouri recovers its Vought OS2U Kingfisher aircraft
Official US Navy Photograph

WATCH: F-35s, The Last C-5B, And A Host Of The Military’s Finest In This September Rewind Video

Bill Walton
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WATCH: F-35s, The Last C-5B, And A Host Of The Military’s Finest In This September Rewind Video

Our friends at AirshowStuffVideos have just released their most recent compilation of the best of their military aviation footage shot during September of 2017. The video begins with footage of VFA-101 Grim Reapers Lockheed F-35B Lightning IIs operating from the deck of the new carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) Note the lack of catapult steam during the launches. Next United State Marine Corps (USMC) VMFAT-501 Warlords F-35C Lightning IIs and VMAT-203 Hawks AV-8B Harriers are seen refueling from USMC KC-130J Hercules tankers.

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

During the remainder of this video we see 163rd Fighter Squadron (FS) Blacksnakes of  the 122nd Fighter Wing (FW) operating their Fairchild Republic A-10C Warthogs. Marine Corps Boeing MV-22B Ospreys and Bell UH-1Y Venom helicopters are seen operating from the assault carrier USS Kearsarge (LHD-3). Then HSM-74 Swamp Foxes Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawks and HSC-7 Dusty Dogs MH-60S Knighthawks operate from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72).

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Official US Navy Photograph

20th Bomb Squadron (BS) Buccaneers and 96th BS Red Devils of the 2nd Operations Group (OG) are seen operating their Boeing B-52H Stratofortresses from the runways at RAF Fairford in the UK. Then a Lockheed C-5B Galaxy, perhaps the last one powered by those screaming General Electric TF-39 engines, takes off from Westover Air Reserve Base (ARB) in Massachusetts. We see Navy Test and Evaluation Squadron TWO THREE (VX-23) Salty Dogs crews flying Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets from the carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78).

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Official US Air Force Photograph

More B-52 action then takes place as B-52Hs from the Louisiana-based 2nd OG refuel from 100th Air Refueling Wing (ARW) KC-135R and French C-135FR tankers. Then from a dark and sandy place we see a 204th Airlift Squadron (AS) of the 154th Wing Hawaii Air National Guard (ANG) Boeing C-17 Globemaster III take off, followed by a Northrop Grumman/Boeing E-8C J-STARS with the 116th Air Control Wing (ACW) of the Georgia ANG launch, followed by a 203rd Refueling Squadron (AS) Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker of the 154th Wing Hawaii ANG take to the skies. Unidentified flying BUFFs (B-52Hs) round out the action in the sandbox.

E 8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System
Photograph Courtesy of Northrop Grumman

Also included in the video is footage of 104th FS of the 175th FW, Maryland ANG A-10C Thunderbolt IIs and Marine Corps VMFA-121 Green Knights F-35B Lightning IIs operating from Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni in Japan during the South Korean “show  of force” missions during September 2017.

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Official US Navy Photograph

Air Berlin Ceases Longhaul Flying With Wing Wave, Low Tower Flyby, and Water Cannon Salute

Avgeekery
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Air Berlin Ceases Longhaul Flying With Wing Wave, Low Tower Flyby, and Water Cannon Salute

Air Berlin long-haul pilots were determined to commemorate the last long-haul flights for the beleaguered airline.  In a series of questionable sendoffs, Air Berlin pilots commenced a wing-wave departure from Düsseldorf and another flight buzzed the tower upon return. It was an odd sendoff for an airline bankruptcy that is anything but normal.

In this first video, you can see the last AirBelin departure receiving a water-cannon salute by the airport rescue crew at Dusseldorf earlier in the day. This is a traditional salute to commemorate the last flight. Not a big deal and a nice sign of respect to Europe’s 11th largest airline.

But then on departure, the AirBerlin’s A330 pilots decided to do a wing wave with passengers onboard. It’s not exactly an unsafe maneuver but its not exactly typical for an airliner either.

 

And this flyover now under investigation…

On arrival back in Düsseldorf, the last AirBerlin A330 flight-ever coordinated with tower for a low approach and flyby of the tower and terminal. Video shot from both the tower and the tarmac show that the jet was only 150-200 feet above the ground as it commenced the non-standard ‘missed approach’.  The flyby appears to have been coordinated with tower as footage of the event was actually filmed from the tower. The jet later returned for an uneventful landing. According to an AirBerlin spokesperson, the investigation is under investigation. Both views of the flyby available on Youtube are shown below:

AirBerlin is an unusual bankruptcy

AirBerlin might be the most interesting and odd bankruptcy ever. In most airline bankruptcies, the airline either continues to fly with infused cash as it undergoes reorganization or folds immediately due to a lack of available cash.  That was the case when Monarch shuttered earlier this month as thousands of travelers were left stranded.

In AirBerlin’s case, the airline filed for insolvency on August 15th but continued to fly. After AirBerlin was unable to secure additional funding, the airline announced that it would cease all services by October 28th. Tickets purchased for service after October 28th could be refunded if they were purchased after August 15th.  If a customer purchased a ticket before August 15th, they were out of luck.  A few weeks after the initial insolvency announcement, the airline announced that Lufthansa Group had reached a deal with the airline to purchase much of the short-haul assets from the bankrupt airline. The airline announced that long-haul services would cease on October 17th.  Short haul flying will continue for the next week and a half.  Flying by their subsidiary Niki is unaffected by the bankruptcy.

 

J-E-T-S: The 707 and DC-8 Were The Pride Of The Fleet

Bill Walton
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J-E-T-S: The 707 and DC-8 Were The Pride Of The Fleet

When Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) commissioned the film “The Wonderful Jet World of Pan American” in during the early 1960s, the airline had already been a world leader and airline pioneer for more than 30 years. Pan Am took delivery of their first Boeing 707 airliner for their fleet as the launch customer for the new jet. When that 707 made its first scheduled revenue flight in October of 1958, the airline world would never be the same again. Enjoy this in-living-color look back at the beginnings of the Jet Age, uploaded by YouTube by PeriscopeFilm.

[youtube id=”0VUng8yMtco” width=”800″ height=”454″ position=”left”]

One of the Pan American jets banking right.
Boeing 707-320 Photograph Courtesy Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Boeing 707 and DC-8 Were Pride of PanAm’s Fleet

Pan Am had only been flying the big new jets for a couple of years when the film came out, making this a classic promotional film for jet airliner travel as well as for Pan Am. The airline also began flying the new turbofan-powered Douglas DC-8-30 series airliners in 1960, which along with the new turbofan-powered 707-320 series enabled the airline to fly transatlantic routes nonstop while making a profit. Pan Am retired the last of their Boeing 707s in 1981 after operating more than 130 of them. The DC-8 fleet by comparison numbered only 19 airframes which Pan Am flew for ten years ending in 1970.

One of the Pan American jets.
Douglas DC-8-31 Photo Courtesy Douglas-Boeing

BREAKING: Spanish Air Force Pilot Perishes In F/A-18 Hornet Crash At Torrejon Air Base

Bill Walton
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0
BREAKING: Spanish Air Force Pilot Perishes In F/A-18 Hornet Crash At Torrejon Air Base

On Tuesday October 17th at approximately 1100 local time a Ejército del Aire (Spanish Air Force) McDonnell Douglas EF-18A Hornet (C.15 in Spanish service) crashed immediately after takeoff from the military airbase at Torrejon near Madrid in Spain. The pilot, identified as 26 year-old Lieutenant Fernando Perez Serrano of Murcia in southeastern Spain, perished in the crash. The cause of the mishap is under investigation by Spanish authorities. This is the second very recent Ejército del Aire mishap resulting in the death of a pilot. A Eurofighter EF2000 Typhoon crashed near Albacete just five days ago.

Flickr DVIDSHUB Coalition Forces Fly from Naval Air Station Sigonella Sicily Italy Image 7 of 8
Official Ejército del Aire (Spanish Air Force) Photograph

Spain took delivery of 60 EF-18A of C.15 (single seat) and 12 EF-18B or CE.15 (two seat) Hornets beginning in 1985. Deliveries were complete by July of 1990. These first Hornets were later upgraded to F/A-18A+ and F/A-18B+ specifications, which essentially include the same computers, data buses, and data storage technology as those found in the F/A-18C and F/A-18D Hornets flown by the US Navy and Marine Corps as well as the ability to employ the AN/AAS-38B NITE Hawk targeting and FLIR pods.

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Official Ejército del Aire (Spanish Air Force) Photograph

In the first sale of surplus US Navy F/A-18 Hornets to a foreign nation, Spain obtained 24 more former US Navy F/A-18A Hornets and options for an additional six airframes during 1995. These aircraft were brought up to F/A-18A+ standard prior to delivery, which occurred between December of 1995 and December of 1998. There has as yet been no confirmation from the Ejército del Aire about the exact model (C.15 or CE.15) of the jet involved in the mishap. Avgeekery.com will update this story as events warrant.

Boeing Calls Foul As Airbus Acquires Majority Stake in Bombardier’s C-Series Jetliner Program

Kim Clark
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0
Boeing Calls Foul As Airbus Acquires Majority Stake in Bombardier’s C-Series Jetliner Program

Airbus has struck a deal with Bombardier to acquire a majority stake in the struggling C Series airliner program, in a move that redefines the competitive landscape between Bombardier and rival Boeing. The announcement comes on the heels of attacks earlier this year from Boeing who accused Montreal, Quebec-based Bombardier of selling the C-Series jets to Delta Airlines at suspiciously low prices.

A hefty 300% tariff imposed on C-Series imports into the U.S. by the Department of Commerce has been creating friction between Canadian and U.S. plane manufacturers. Is Bombardier trying to circumvent high tariffs by striking up a deal with Airbus? Publicly, the answer to that question is no. However the fact remains that the C-Series jets will now technically be American-made and, therefore, not be subject to any tariff at all.

Airbus has offered to shift final assembly of the C-Series jets to Mobile, Alabama. Currently, Airbus is already using the Alabama facility to manufacture single-aisle jets for U.S.-based airlines and has plans for expansion to accommodate the C-Series assembly lines.

Meantime, the International Trade Commission is about to announce a final ruling on claims of harm made by Boeing in February. Airbus Group CEO Tom Enders denies that the new partnership has anything to do with Boeing’s pending lawsuit, stating that the pair have been in the negotiation phase since August. But a Boeing spokesperson stated to Reuters that “this looks like a questionable deal between two heavily state-subsidized competitors to skirt the recent findings of the U.S. government. Our position remains that everyone should play by the same rules for free and fair trade to work.”

CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement last week that Delta had no intention of paying the 300% tariff and has tended to side with Bombardier on the matter. Speaking about Delta, Bombardier CEO Alain Bellemare said, “We feel confident they’ll be waiting for the right solution” and has discussed various options with the carrier, including waiting until the Alabama factory is up and running to take jets, which could be years from now. Today Delta declined to comment on the matter.

Under the terms of the new deal, Airbus will own a 50.01% majority stake in the airliner program; Bombadier will retain 31%, with the remaining 19% minority share being held by Investissement Québec. Airbus is not expected to make any additional investment in the C-Series jet program but Bombadier still gains plenty, including access to Airbus’ manufacturing, sales, customer service, and marketing networks. The deal is slated to close sometime during the second half of 2018.

Bombadier jet
Photo: Bombardier CSeries CS100 FTV-1 Fly-By the 06 runway at Mirabel Airport, before landing. Photo: Alexandre Gouger (wikimedia commons)

Boeing 747 Supertanker Joins Wildfire Battle in Northern California

Kim Clark
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0
Boeing 747 Supertanker Joins Wildfire Battle in Northern California

Raging wildfires in Northern California are responsible for the largest loss of life since the Cloquet Fire in 1918. According to CNN, some progress is finally being made fighting these fires that have left at least 40 people dead and burned approximately 5,700 structures since they first broke out October 8. Aerial firefighters are an integral part of the effort.

The fires broke out during severely dry conditions in Napa, Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma, Butt and Solano counties, encompassing large land areas that include vineyards and wineries. Multiple fires engulfed parcels of land ranging in size from 1,000 to 20,000 acres. Many different kinds of aircraft are used in aerial firefighting including helitankers like the Erickson AirCrane or Bell 204, as well as fixed-wing aircraft such as Single Engine Air Tankers (SEATs) like the AT-802F.

aerial firefighting jet
Water bombers are fixed wing aircraft used in aerial firefighting. Photo Thomas Hays, Stillwater, US (wikimedia commons)

Bringing Out the Big Guns

Today a converted Boeing 747-400 Supertanker has been re-purposed to join the California firefighting effort. Engadget.com reports the behemouth jumbo passenger plane has amazing capacity and can dump up to 19,200 gallons of flame retardant or water from as low as 200 feet AGL in six seconds, then can climb away at 6,000 feet per minute when empty. The plane is the largest jumbo Boeing passenger plane and is somewhat of a dinosaur, this particular aircraft first being put into service by Japan Airlines back in 1991.

Piloting a low-flying jumbo jet above lashing flames requires aviators that are experts at the top of their field, who have the expertise to navigate the hilly terrain around the vineyards. The process is exacting and precise: it requires firstly, assessment by the lead pilot who flies into the belly of the beast in the heart of the fire and chooses the heading, altitude and escape route for the mighty 747 Supertanker. When ready to go, the smaller lead plane flies the route first, then moves out of the way so the 747 can make its run. Once complete, the tanker goes back to be refilled by ground operators. The operators have the ability to refill the tanker with foam or gel and water in less than half an hour, so the aircraft can fly the route again.

Using the 747 Supertanker in aerial firefighting is surprisingly economical, reportedly with the lowest cost-per-gallon-dropped of any fire tanker aircraft. Seeing this huge jumbo jet flying only 200 feet above ground at low speed is enough to make any experienced pilot bristle uncomfortably in his or her seat but the aircraft has better forward and peripheral visibility than almost any other jet and pilots say it is remarkably easy to maneuver.

The California National Guard says it is cautiously optimistic about getting the fires under control in the coming week. They have deployed an estimated 2,200 soldiers and airmen. The Nevada National Guard and Cal Guard have also deployed resources, including 25 aircraft for fire mapping, firefighting, transportation and damage assessment.

Video posted by CBS SF Bay Area.

Blue Angels, Top Aerobatic Aircraft to highlight Wings Over North Georgia

Charles Atkeison
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Blue Angels, Top Aerobatic Aircraft to highlight Wings Over North Georgia

ROME, Ga. — The U.S. Navy Blue Angels will join top military and civilian performers this weekend as they headline the Wings Over North Georgia Airshow at the Richard Russell Regional Airport.

Great weather is forecast over Rome for this sixth annual airshow which is expected to become the largest airshow in the middle south this year. With the strong sale of ticket packages combined with the publicity of the Blue Angels, airshow management expects nearly 40,000 guests to attend on Saturday and over 30,000 on Sunday.

The family fun weekend will have great food, live music, and will assist the comunity as they support the Toys for Tots drive. The hallmark of the weekend will include a Parade of Veterans as the airshow pauses the flying performances to focus on those who served in America’s military — both past and present.

A Homecoming for three Blue Angels Pilots 

The Navy’s premiere Flight Demonstration Squadron will turn up the thrust as the pilots of the six blue and gold jets display the handling characteristics and precision flight of the F/A-18 Hornet. The Blues are scheduled to perform at 3:05 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

At one point during the Blue Angels 40-minute performance, the Diamond Team of four jets will soar in front of the crowd at nearly 400 m.p.h., each flying only inches apart. They will then move behind the crowd to set up for their next maneuver while the two solo jets line up for a high speed maneuver in which they make a close fly by of one another from opposite sides of the airfield.

baatl
Photo by: Charles A. Atkeison

The Rome airshow will be a special one for three of its pilots, and a few of the team’s maintenance personnel, as they prepare to close out the 2017 season in three weeks.

Blue Angel 5 pilot and lead solo Commander Frank Weisser, and Angel 6 pilot and opposing solo LT Tyler Davies hail from Atlanta and Kennesaw, respectively. The Blues C-130 transport aircraft pilot Major Mark Montgomery is a native of nearby Cartersville.

This special homecoming will also include two metro Atlanta natives who maintain the airframes and hydraulics of the Blue’s Hornets, Chief Petty Officers Daniel Yater and Demaude Prescott, and AD1 Shane Miller, of nearby Woodbine, who works of the jets power plants will be in Rome.
The Rome show will be flight demonstrations no. 55 and 56 of the Blue Angels 62 airshow season.

Civilian Aircraft to Highlight the Airshow

The sounds of World War II will echo across the Rome airfield as four historic AT-6 Texans perform not just aerobatic flight, but the actual maneuvers flown by the pilots of the Greatest Generation.

The aircraft of the AeroShell Aerobatic Team will demonstrate many of the flight profiles flown by the pilots as they trained during the war.

baatl3
Photo by Charles A. Atkeison

“People don’t understand that these airplanes are all veterans of the military — they served their country and trained our pilots to fly,” AeroShell pilot Steve Gustafson explained on Monday. “The instructor sat in the back seat and the student in the front. They had machine guns and rocketry and you taught them. They left their training in these aircraft and graduated up to the fighters, and then went straight into battle.”

Gustafson’s admiration for these advance trainers continue as he passes 31 years with AeroShell, and having passed over 5,050 hours of flight time in his AeroShell aircraft.

The USSOCOM Para-Commandos parachute demonstration team will skydive from 12,000-feet above the crowd in a heart-felt patriotic moment to deliver the American flag. Civilian performers will take to the sky to pump up the aviation fans as Jim Tobul’s F4U Corsair and Scott Yoak’s P-51D Mustang “Quicksilver” fly back-to-back performances.

Rob Holland, a champion aerobatic pilot who performed at EAA Oshkosh 2017, will perform aboard his MXS-RH aircraft. Buck Roetman will entertain the crowds as he pilots his yellow Christen Eagle bi-plane.

Also, arriving into Rome will be the New York Air National Guard’s massive C-17 Globemaster III, which will perform one flight demonstration each afternoon. The C-17 is a heavy lift air refueling aircraft, and can ferrying 170,500 pounds of cargo or up to 100 service personnel over long distances.

North Georgia’s Top Family Event

A massive Kids Zone play area will allow children of all ages to play and jump on aviation-themed bounce houses, educational activities, swings, and a climbing wall. Located inside the main gate, wristbands will be available for purchase for unlimited fun all day.

In the spirit of the upcoming holidays, Wings Over North Georgia will support the Toys For Tots program. Guests arriving on both show dates are asked to bring one unwrapped toy to support the local Rome area.

“Toys collected will be provided to children within Chattooga, Floyd, and Polk Counties that would otherwise have a bleak Christmas,” Greater Rome Area Toys for Tots Coordinator Hal Gosnell said on Monday. “Ninty-seven percent of all donations to Toys for Tots goes towards providing toys for the program as no salaries or personnel costs are paid from donations.”

Airport and remote parking lots will open each day at 7:30 a.m., with buses taking guests from the satellite lots to the airshow gates. Gates will open at 9:00 a.m., and the opening ceremonies will kick-off each day at 11:15 a.m. followed by the first flying performances at noon.

Tickets for the Wings Over North Georgia remain available on-line at WingsOverNorthGeorgia.com. Several of the VIP ticket packages have sold out, with only general admission, family four-packs, and airport reserved parking available as of Tuesday.

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

You’ve Seen The Viral A380 Video, Now See The Passenger’s View

Avgeekery
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You’ve Seen The Viral A380 Video, Now See The Passenger’s View

We recently shared a very viral video of an Emirates Airbus A380 landing in crosswinds at Dusseldorf. To be kind, the landing was less than stellar. In the video, you see the pilot touch down harshly on the mains. He or she then kicks in too much rudder, then overcorrects in the opposite direction, leading to dangerous swerving on the runway that was finally dampened as the aircraft slowed.

Video has now been posted by T4ig4 on Youtube of landing from the passenger’s perspective.  In the video, you can sense that the landing was pretty rough.  You get a sense of the firm touchdown. Then, pan your eyes to the runway edge markings, you’ll notice that it almost disappears (indicating that the aircraft is swerving to the right) followed by a correction back to centerline.

It’s an interesting perspective of a rough landing.

The original video is below. It has now been seen over 11M times on Youtube.

1980s Flight on an Eastern 727: A Window Seat To A Different Era

Avgeekery
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1980s Flight on an Eastern 727: A Window Seat To A Different Era

Aviation sure has changed.  Back in the 1980s, airports were filled with DC-10s, 727s, DC-9s, and a number of L-1011s sprinkled in for good measure.  Airline seats were roomy and cabins were filled with smoke.  Back then, the Airbus A320 wasn’t even flying yet. Passengers complained about bad airline food, but those that flew would get three square meals, not just peanuts. It was a different era.  Some things were better, some weren’t.

A Boeing 727 Window Seat To A Different Era

This video posted by VideofromGeorge is a rare insight into a flight from Chicago O’Hare to Orlando, Florida. Filming a flight back in the ’80s wasn’t an easy task.  The person that filmed this video probably had a large TV-style video camera with a Betamax or VHS tape. He captured a very different era of commercial aviation than what exists today. He captured the safety announcements and even the announcement right after departure that made every non-smoker cringe, “Cigarette Smoking Is Now Permitted At Your Seat.”

Check out the video, you’ll be treated to a host of Eastern aircraft along with  United and Continental DC-10s and 727-200s.  Those Saul Bass colors were beautiful!

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