Aviation 
Navy’s First Unmanned Stealth Bomber Completes 29-Minute Test Flight
Posted in Aviation by: TimothyT on: 02/07/2011 06:09 PM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
The X-47B is the Navy’s first unmanned stealth bomber drone, and on Fridy it completed a 29-minute test flight. How does it differ from, say, a Predator drone? The X-47B can be operated entirely by a computer, removing the need for a human to operatete the controls. And it’s also the first drone capable of taking off and landing on an aircraft carrier.
“Today we got a glimpse towards the future as the Navy’s first-ever tailless, jet-powered unmanned aircraft took to the skies,” Capt. Jaime Engdahl, the program manager for the plane, said in a statement after the milestone light.
Source: Navy’s First Unmanned Stealth Bomber Completes 29-Minute Test Flight
25 years later, Challenger tragedy maintains a powerful hold on the nation's memory
Posted in Aviation by: TimothyT on: 01/28/2011 08:40 AM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
The explosion spread itself across the sky, pinned against the Earth's atmosphere like a giant butterfly. A moment earlier, the Challenger shuttle had been a white streak propelled upon a tongue of flame, building to its ferocious full-throttle speed of 17,000 mph, and then, suddenly, frozen in time. Forever.Read more
Plane Crazy: Ventura sues over body scans, pat-downs
Posted in Aviation by: TimothyT on: 01/25/2011 10:42 AM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura sued the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration on Monday, alleging full-body scans and pat-downs at airport checkpoints violate his right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.Quote from the article:
The lawsuit, which also names Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and TSA Administrator John Pistole as defendants, argues the searches are "unwarranted and unreasonable intrusions on Governor Ventura's personal privacy and dignity and are a justifiable cause for him to be concerned for his personal health and well-being." |
This photo would disagree....
Source: Plane Crazy: Ventura sues over body scans, pat-downs
NASA's Ares rocket dead, but Congress lets you pay $500 million more for it
Posted in Aviation by: TimothyT on: 12/31/2010 09:09 AM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
Thanks to congressional inaction, NASA must continue to fund its defunct Ares I rocket program until March — a requirement that will cost the agency nearly $500 million at a time when NASA is struggling with the expensive task of replacing the space shuttle.Read more
Plane Crazy: More body scanners are coming to an airport near you
Posted in Aviation, Weird by: TimothyT on: 12/26/2010 12:03 PM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
The full-body scanners in use at 78 U.S. airports can detect small amounts of contraband and hidden weapons, all while producing controversial images of travelers.Based partly on early successes, federal officials are planning to continue an unprecedented roll-out of the technology over the next year. By New Year's Day, about 500 machines will be in use across the country, including at the Washington area's three major airports. By the end of next year, 1,000 X-ray machines will be operational, accounting for roughly half of the nation's 2,000 lanes of security checkpoints.
Source: Plane Crazy: More body scanners are coming to an airport near you
Navy official: Facebook photos motivated Tahoe helicopter dip [Video]
Posted in Aviation by: TimothyT on: 12/24/2010 08:27 AM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
The crew of two naval helicopters that dipped into Lake Tahoe in September were hovering close to the water at Emerald Bay to get photos for their command's Facebook page, according to a Navy official.Read more
Plane Crazy: Sacramento-area pilot punished for YouTube video
Posted in Aviation by: TimothyT on: 12/23/2010 09:10 AM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
An airline pilot is being disciplined by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for posting video on YouTube pointing out what he believes are serious flaws in airport security.The 50-year-old pilot, who lives outside Sacramento, asked that neither he nor his airline be identified. He has worked for the airline for more than a decade and was deputized by the TSA to carry a gun in the cockpit.
Plane Crazy: American Airlines starts a trend: Higher airfares
Posted in Aviation by: TimothyT on: 12/16/2010 02:05 PM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
American Airlines raised domestic airfares at the first of the week by $5 one way for flights over 500 miles ($10 round trip) and $3 one way for shorter flights ($6 round trip) across the bulk of its route system, according to FareCompare.com, which monitors prices.Most of its competitors — including Continental, Delta, United, US Airways, Virgin America, Alaska, Frontier and Southwest — have matched it.
The match "virtually guarantee(s) this to be one of the few successful hike attempts this year," says Rick Seaney, CEO of FareCompare.com.
Source: Plane Crazy: American Airlines starts a trend: Higher airfares
Plane Crazy: TSA choir has holiday spirit down pat at LAX [Video]
Posted in Aviation by: TimothyT on: 12/16/2010 11:52 AM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
Travelers passing through Los Angeles International Airport are finding that security officers have more than a scan or pat-down for them this holiday season. They're offering musical entertainment, too.The LAX TSA Choir, a group of 17 singers and musicians, all of them officers of the Transportation Security Administration, have been surprising passengers with performances of holiday music and other tunes in the midst of one of the nation's busiest airports.
"Wow, it's crazy," said Miriam Kositchek of Santa Monica, Calif., who was clutching her ticket and passport for a flight to London when the LAX TSA Choir broke into song at the Bradley International Terminal of Los Angeles International Airport Wednesday afternoon.
First Flight in the World of a Privately Owned MiG-29 Fulcrum by Air USA in Quincy, Illinois
Posted in Aviation by: TimothyT on: 12/14/2010 10:21 AM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
Air USA made aviation history December 10th when they successfully flew the world's first flights of a MiG-29 Fulcrum in private hands. Don Kirlin, Naval Aviator and commercial airline pilot, is President and Founder of Air USA. Although Air USA deploys aircraft around the world, Air USA's headquarters are located at Quincy Regional Airport in Illinois. The flight marked the culmination of several years of effort by Air USA. "Believe it or not, it's not easy getting a MiG-29 into the United States and flying. 'Natasha' may be the first but we have three more," Kirlin smiles.Read more
Plane Crazy: FAA loses track of 119,000 aircraft
Posted in Aviation by: TimothyT on: 12/11/2010 09:32 AM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
The Federal Aviation Administration is missing key information on who owns one-third of the 357,000 private and commercial aircraft in the U.S. — a gap the agency fears could be exploited by terrorists and drug traffickers.Read more
NASA's Bolden Congratulates SpaceX on Successful Launch [Video]
Posted in Aviation, Video by: TimothyT on: 12/09/2010 07:45 AM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden offers his congratulations to SpaceX on the company's successful launch of its Falcon 9 vehicle and subsequent re-entry by the Dragon capsule it sent into Earth's orbit. This was first in a series of three demonstration flights for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program to ferry cargo to the International Space Station.Read more
NASA Administrator Bolden's Statement on Falcon 9 Launch
Posted in Aviation by: TimothyT on: 12/08/2010 03:41 PM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden issued the following statement about SpaceX's launch of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule:"While rocket launches from the Cape are considered a common occurrence, the historic significance of today's achievement by SpaceX should not be lost.
"This is the first in a new generation of commercial launch systems that will help provide vital support to the International Space Station and may one day carry astronauts into orbit. This successful demonstration flight is an important milestone in meeting the objectives outlined by President Obama and Congress, and shows how government and industry can leverage expertise and resources to foster a new and vibrant space economy.
"These new explorers are to spaceflight what Lindbergh was to commercial aviation."
Source: NASA Administrator Bolden's Statement on Falcon 9 Launch
Plane Crazy: Airline Wi-Fi sparks security concerns
Posted in Aviation by: TimothyT on: 12/07/2010 10:39 AM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
Even as airline passengers struggle with whether they should have the full-body security scan or go for the "enhanced" pat-down, another potential safety issue has arisen: Does the coming of Wi-Fi service to passengers pose any sort of danger aboard the plane?Read more
Plane Crazy: First airline in the world to carry out same-sex wedding in the air
Posted in Aviation by: TimothyT on: 12/07/2010 10:35 AM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
German gay couple Aleksandar Mijatovic and Shantu Bhattacherjee won the competition with an impressive 81,640 votes, which was achieved through effective social media campaigning all over the world. Aleks and Shantu thereby became the first same-sex couple to get married in the air, which took place 7,000 meters above Borlänge in Sweden, about 15 minutes into the flight. Minutes later, the Polish couple Ewa Tomaszewicz and Gosia Rawińska became the first lesbian couple to get wed in the air.
Source: Plane Crazy: First airline in the world to carry out same-sex wedding in the air
U.S. Hot Air Balloonists' Remains Found at Sea
Posted in Aviation by: TimothyT on: 12/06/2010 05:23 PM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
An Italian fishing boat on Monday pulled the remains of two American balloonists from the Adriatic Sea, ending a two-month hunt for the pair's bodies in one of ballooning's darkest chapters.The boat hauled in the balloon and its gondola with the bodies of the Americans still inside while fishing 11 miles north of Vieste before dawn, said Cmdr. Guido Limongelli of the Vieste port. Viete is on Italy's eastern Adriatic coast in the southern Puglia region, which makes up the "heel" of boot-shaped Italy.
He said documents found in the gondola confirmed the identities of Richard Abruzzo, 47, of Albuquerque, and Carol Rymer Davis, 65, of Denver.
Source: U.S. Hot Air Balloonists' Remains Found at Sea
S-76D Helicopter Enters Final Assembly
Posted in Aviation by: TimothyT on: 12/06/2010 11:48 AM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
Aero Vodochody in the Czech Republic, which has produced more than 250 S-76 airframes for Sikorsky, is manufacturing the S-76D fuselages. On Nov. 19, Aero Vodochody delivered the first production fuselage to Sikorsky Global Helicopters for final assembly operations. The fully assembled fuselage arrived with all electrical and cockpit systems having passed acceptance tests.
Read more
NASA Targets Shuttle Discovery's Launch for No Earlier than Feb. 3
Posted in Aviation by: TimothyT on: 12/03/2010 01:54 PM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
NASA managers have targeted space shuttle Discovery's launch for no earlier than Feb. 3 at 1:34 a.m. EST. Shuttle managers determined more tests and analysis are needed before proceeding with the launch of the STS-133 mission to the International Space Station.Read more
Plane Crazy: Kurtis Blow Busted for Weed After LAX Body Scan
Posted in Aviation by: TimothyT on: 12/03/2010 08:44 AM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
TMZ has learned that legendary rapper Kurtis Blow was busted at LAX this morning after a TSA body scanner detected an item in his pocket ... a stash of weed. TMZ reports that he received a ticket for the weed and was sent on his way. Good thing it wasn’t breast milk or something dangerous, although that would have been funny too.Why do you think they call it dope?
Source: Plane Crazy: Kurtis Blow Busted for Weed After LAX Body Scan
Plane Crazy: TSA Breast Milk Screening. When will it end? [Video]
Posted in Aviation, Video by: TimothyT on: 11/29/2010 03:35 PM [ Print | 1 comment(s) ]
Stacey Armato is the brunette in black getting items ready for screening (you will see her about 45 seconds into the first video). She travels every week and brings home breast milk through Phoenix Sky Harbor. From here the story is repeated with her own words for accuracy as it is a long story:TSA rules allow for alternate screening (no x-ray) for breast milk and I almost never had a problem…until the week before this screening. I was held for 30 minutes that week while the TSA manager called to find out the rules. I was told to “pump and dump,” and asked why the milk wasn’t clear, also asked where my baby was and if it was really milk (uh traveling, working mom pumping doesn’t usually have the baby with her).
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