-Those Fantastic Flying Machines-


NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Man must rise above the Earth—to the top of the atmosphere and beyond—for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives.— Socrates



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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

American Airlines

American Airlines plane slides off runway at Montreal airport; all passengers safe - NBC News


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Fw: BreakingNews: Finnish airlines say flights cancelled

Breaking News: Finnish airlines say dozens of flights to be canceled as crews begin strike - AP http://bit.ly/f4Xnm2
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Monday, November 29, 2010

Fw: Breaking News: Small plane crashes...

Breaking News: Small plane crashes in bad weather in Mobile County, Ala., - AL.com http://bit.ly/g8Ja6S
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Boeing 737-2E1

Fw: NASA: [Image of the Day] Dark Dune...

NASA: [Image of the Day] Dark Dune Fields of Proctor Crater, Mars: The dark rippled dunes of Mars' Proctor Crater... http://go.nasa.gov/dHYyxq
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Fw: Breaking News: British Airways...

Breaking News: British Airways shareholders back 5.7 billion pound ($8.9 billion) merger with Spain's Iberia; will be Europe's 3rd-largest airline - AP
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Friday, November 26, 2010

Fw: Breaking News: Qantas: A380 returns...

Breaking News: Qantas: A380 returns to sky with Sydney-to-London via Singapore flight Saturday http://bit.ly/eJJvCF
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Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Fw: Breaking News: Update from Mexico:...

BreakingNews: Update from Mexico: 5 reported killed in cargo crash - El Porvenir
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Boeing 767-316F/ER

Fw: NASA: NASA managers have targeted...

NASA managers have targeted space shuttle Discovery's STS-133 launch for no earlier than Dec. 17. http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

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Fw: Breaking News: Large cargo plane...

Breaking News: Large cargo plane crashes in northern Mexico - BNO News http://bit.ly/g0vskl
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Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Fw: BreakingNews: US Airways Flight...

BreakingNews: US Airways Flight 1525 searched in Denver, 2 men taken off plane - AP http://bit.ly/dOKDFZ
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Video: Largest Rocket Lifts Largest Satellite Ever Into Space, Where It Will Spy on US Enemies



Delta IV Launch United Launch Alliance
A behemoth spy satellite blasted into space Sunday night aboard the country’s biggest heavy-lift rocket, the second satellite launched by by the National Reconnaissance Office in the past three months. Stats on the megasat are classified, but the NRO boasted this fall that it would be the biggest satellite in the world.
Government officials won’t confirm what the satellite is for, but NROL-32’s huge antenna would make it possible to eavesdrop on enemy communications, as the BBC says. Satellite watchers believe it hosts sensitive radio receivers and an antenna spanning 328 feet across, nearly five times the size of the largest commercial antenna ever launched.
“This mission helps to ensure that vital NRO resources will continue to bolster our national defense,” said Air Force Brig. Gen. Ed Wilson, commander 45th Space Wing, after the launch. It had been delayed two days because of a temperature sensor glitch.
United Launch Alliance, a partnership between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, launched the satellite aboard a Delta IV Heavy rocket. It was only the fourth launch for the Heavy since its 2004 debut, which launched a small demonstration satellite. It involves three boosters that provide 2 million pounds of thrust to send 13-ton payloads to geostationary orbit. The other two satellites were also secret spy payloads. Last week, Boeing announced the successful launch of SkyTerra 1, which has a 72-foot-wide antenna reflector, the largest on a commercial satellite. The previous record was TerraStar-1’s 60-foot antenna.
Specs on the country's military and spy satellites are classified, but NRO director Bruce Carlson, a retired Air Force general, said at a conference in September that NROL-32 would be the biggest satellite in the world.
He added that the current plan for NRO satellite missions “is the most aggressive launch campaign that the National Reconnaissance Office has had in 20 years, almost a quarter of a century,” according to Space.com.
Satellite watchers told SpaceFlightNow and NASAspaceflight blogs they believe the payload is an electronic signals intelligence satellite; there are four already in orbit. ELINT satellites known as Mentor or Advanced Orion have been in service since 1995.

Grounded NASA Space Plane Poised for Comeback?

X-34
A decade after they were unceremoniously sidelined, two experimental NASA space planes could be on the cusp of a dramatic comeback. Last week, NASA contractors moved the two, 59-foot-long X-34s from open storage to a test pilot school in California’s Mojave Desert. There, workers from Orbital Sciences, the X-34’s original builder, will inspect the two robotic rocketships with an eye to flying them again. If the X-34s have held up since their 2001 parking, they could help boost America’s tiny-but-growing arsenal of super-fast, inexpensive, reusable spacecraft.
The X-34 program was a product of a mid-1990s space-plane craze (a revival of a movement from the ’60s) that aimed to reduce the number of rocket stages needed to get into orbit. Over roughly a decade, NASA and the Air Force experimented with a number of single-stage vehicles. Some of those programs hit insurmountable technical obstacles. Others proved too expensive. By the early 2000s, almost all of them had gone defunct. After spending $200 million, NASA shut down the X-34 program before the first flight, citing “technical risk” mostly related to the craft’s engines. Moreover, the space agency had lost faith in the whole concept of cheap, single-stage spaceflight.
Then, in 2004, famed aviation designer Burt Rutan and aerospace firm Scaled Composites launched their rubber-fueled Space Ship One rocketship into near-orbit, snagging a $10-million prize and proving that low-cost space access actually was possible. That seemed to reinvigorate government space-plane efforts. Embattled tech reformer Franz Gayl got busy arguing on behalf of a plan to build space transports for the Marine Corps. The Air Force quietly readied its mysterious X-37B “mini-Space Shuttle,” which today prowls orbit on secret errands. Now NASA could get back into the space-plane game in short order, provided the X-34s are still flyable.

Any fresh X-34 test program would likely mirror the abortive efforts a decade ago. A modified airliner would launch the X-34 from high altitude, much like the White Knight motherships launch Rutan’s space planes. The X-34’s own engine would boost it into orbit. After testing, the craft would land like an airplane, ready to be refueled, refurbished and launched right back into space.
Art: NASA
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Sunday, November 21, 2010

Thursday, November 18, 2010

  • Analyst: First Dreamliner delivery could be pushed into 2012
    Airlines may not take initial deliveries of Boeing's long-awaited Dreamliner until sometime in 2012, according to a Morgan Stanley analyst. In a research note, Heidi Wood says several of the test planes have been brought back to Seattle, indicating that Boeing sees no quick fix for the unexplained fire that broke out during a test flight. "Redesign may be necessary, and it looks like this affects at a minimum the test-flight airplanes, potentially the 28-odd planes already built," Wood wrote. A Boeing spokeswoman says no further test flights will be scheduled until the company completes its investigation into the fire. Bloomberg (11/18) LinkedInFacebookTwitterEmail this Story

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Air Force Pilot and F-22 Fighter Missing

November 17, 2010 - 1:18 PM | by: Justin Fishel
An Air Force pilot and his stealth fighter assigned to Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska went missing Tuesday evening. The F-22 Raptor was on a routine training mission when it lost contact with air traffic control at 7:40 p.m. Alaska time.
A search and rescue mission is underway.
The pilot and his $143 million dollar aircraft fly out of the the 3rd Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
The F-22 is the military's newest and most technologically advanced fighter. It's a one-man, stealth supercruiser designed for air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. The Air Force has 137 of them in its fleet.


Read more: http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/11/17/air-force-pilot-and-f-22-fighter-missing/#ixzz15ZgniJnR

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Hobby Lobby RC F/A 18E Super Hornet 90mm ARF Electric Jet (OVERSIZE)

RC F/A 18E Super Hornet 90mm ARF Jet (OVERSIZE)
Status: In Stock
Product#: ERC1800
Price:$389.99
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eRC F/A 18E Super Hornet 90mm ARF Jet (OVERSIZE) - ERC1800

eRC F/A 18E Super Hornet 90mm ARF Jet (OVERSIZE) - ERC1800

Boeing confirms new B737-800NG


Boeing confirms new B737-800NG in United Airlines livery successfully completed its first test flight, signifying start of certification for package of 737 performance improvements set to continue through April 2011. Aerodynamic and engine changes included in package to reduce fuel consumption by 2 percent, and to be phased into production mid-2011 through early 2012. Source_1

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Airplane maintenance



Airplane maintenance

"Squawks" are problem listings that pilots generally leave for maintenance crews to fix before the next flight. Here are some squawks submitted by US Air Force pilots and the replies from the maintenance crews.

(P) = Problem (S) = Solution



(P) Left inside main tire almost needs replacement

(S) Almost replaced left inside main tire



(P) Test flight OK, except autoland very rough

(S) Autoland not installed on this aircraft



(P) #2 Propeller seeping prop fluid

(S) #2 Propeller seepage normal - #1 #3 and #4 propellers lack normal seepage



(P) Something loose in cockpit

(S) Something tightened in cockpit



(P) Evidence of leak on right main landing gear

(S) Evidence removed



(P) DME volume unbelievably loud

(S) Volume set to more believable level



(P) Dead bugs on windshield

(S) Live bugs on order



(P) Autopilot in altitude hold mode produces a 200 fpm descent

(S) Cannot reproduce problem on ground



(P) IFF inoperative

(S) IFF always inoperative in OFF mode (IFF-Identification Friend or Foe)



(P) Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick

(S) That's what they're there for



(P) Number three engine missing

(S) Engine found on right wing after brief search



(P) Aircraft handles funny

(S) Aircraft warned to straighten up, "fly right" and be serious



(P) Target Radar hums

(S) Reprogrammed Target Radar with the lyrics