B-29/X-1 Flying Model

This link will connect you to a video of an RC controlled B-29/X-1 model, and its flight.

I am not a fan of RC models - they sound obnoxious, like a flying weed whacker. Some people who fly them are OK, some of them are kind of like refugees from Big Bang Theory.

In any case, what this fellow built is astounding, and he should be applauded for his efforts.

http://users.skynet.be/fa926657/files/B29.wmv

TX ANG To Lose Its C-130s

A rather nasty bombshell has been dropped on Texas in the Pentagon budget cut mess. The 136th Airlift Wing is a Texas ANG C-130 unit, based at NAS Ft. Worth. Under Obama/Panetta's plan, the unit's 8 C-130H transport aircraft will be taken from them and given to the Montana ANG.

The Texas C-130s have served a critical need, being the only medium sized transport aircraft available to cover the Gulf Coast. The aircraft have been instumental in responding to multiple natural disasters - hurricanes, floods, fires, etc. The C-130's size is perfect for this type of work, giving the ability of transporting large numbers of people and supplies into small airfields. None of the other Gulf Coast states have this type of asset, and Texas has repeatedly helped its neighbor states by providing these aircraft to support their needs.

In addition, the 136th has been in the rotation, supplying aircraft and crew to support overseas USAF operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

However, its primary focus is supporting the people of the State of Texas and its neighbors in fighting natural disasters, under control of the Governor.

When these aircraft leave, the nearest available asset of this type will be in Arkansas.

The move is a political one. The Montana ANG has a single unit, serving as Air Defense at Great Falls IAP, with F-15 Eagles. The Eagles are due for retirement. Rather than kill off the unit or turn it into a drone support unit, someone has pushed to strip aircraft from somewhere else. Texas is on the Obama Administration's black list, so why not from there? What natural disasters are these C-130s going to be positioned to repond to in Montana?

If this plan is allowed to go through, the 136th will become a Recon wing, gaining a handful of MC-12W aircraft. These are used as passive video and signal intelligence platforms. These could potential be used along the Texas/Mexico border IF anyone in Washington gets serious about border control, but would be useless for anything else. Why not give those aircraft to Montana, and leave the C-130s here where they will actually do some good?

Photo - C-130H 85-1366, 181AS 136AW, TX ANG, NAS Ft. Worth. Photo by yours truly.

B-36 Flyby - Incredible!

Found a link over at WIX to this video. Back in the early 50s, B-36s were commonplace over at Carswell AFB in Ft. Worth. In addition to being built there by (then) Convair on the west side of the base, the east side ramps held two wings of the huge bombers. The B-36s were long gone before I had the chance to see one flying. From what I've heard from veterans and folks who lived near the base, having one go over on takeoff or landing shook the ground - the noise and vibration from the 6 props must have been incredible.

Which makes this buzz job even more spectacular. Sure wish there was surround sound with it!

I saw some comments that indicated the pilot was buzzing the house of a friend when he took off. Don't know if that's the case, but after that it may have been an ex-friend!

The Sweetest Sound In The World

There is absolutely nothing in the world that sounds as good as a Merlin powered Mustang. Yummy!

Final Flight of The Whale

Here is a video of the final takeoff of an A-3 Skywarrior. This was taken last June 30, at NAS Ft. Worth, as the aircraft made a refueling stop. It was being delivered from California to the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola. This was the last flight of an airworthy A-3.

My aviation photography started about the time when Navy Skywarrior operations were winding down. I did have occasion to see and shoot several of them, principally VAK-208, VAK-308, and VAQ-34 aircraft. I will never forget the peculiar whine of the engines, and the vast amount of black smoke they produced.

Kudos to Mark and Carl for arranging to cover this event - this is an historic piece of video!





Somewhat related, the Vintage Flying Museum, located at Meacham Field in Ft. Worth, is trying to save another A-3 from the scrap heap, to be displayed at Meacham. BuNo 146453 is an EA-3, last operated by VQ-2. The A-3 Association is trying to raise the funds necessary to transport the aircraft from desert storage at Tucson to Ft. Worth, and then restore it. This historic aircraft has a long service history, and flew missions during Desert Storm.

Here is some video of this specific aircraft while in Navy service.




http://www.vintageflyingmuseum.org/

Strike Fighter Ball 2011

Very cool video commemorating the Atlantic Fleet's Strike Fighter Ball 2011. Has a very nice Centennial of Naval Aviation flavor to it, paying homage to the lineage of the participating squadrons. It's a shame that there are dozens of attack and fighter squadrons that have been previously disestablished because of budget cuts, and their heritage doesn't appear here. Oh well, that's for another video ...

The good humored stab at the Reservists of VFC-12 is pretty funny, even if they are considered some of the most professional and best trained aviators in the Fleet.

Thanks to Outlaw13 for the heads up ...

We Remember

This is the song that plays during each and every USAF Heritage Flight.

F-35A First Flight - Fifth Anniversary

Five years ago today, the first F-35A Lightning II, designated AA-1, took to the air for the first time.

Photos credit Lockheed-Martin.

Navy Colors IX - Bugs and Superbugs

Navy did beat Army, by the way ...

VFA-113 Stinger's 164656, launching and then recovering on the USS John Stennis.



VFA-151 Vigilantes' NE-300, catching the wire on the USS Abraham Lincoln.



VFA-147 Argonauts CAG bird trapping on the USS Ronald Reagan.

VFA-27 Royal Maces' F-18E.

VFA-2 F-18F coming aboard.

VFA-115 F-18C celebrating 100 years of Naval Aviation.

VAQ-141 Shadowhawks' CAG EA-18G Growler.



VFA-195's latest 'Chippey Ho' CAG bird.


All photos credit US Navy.

Navy Colors VIII - More CAGs and such

MH-60S, HSC-8, USS John Stennis.


MH-60R 166536, HSM-70.


EA-6B 164402, VAQ-136, trapping aboard the USS George Washington.


EA-6B, VAQ-131.


E-2C 165649, VAW-116, USS Abraham Lincoln.


EA-6B 161245, VAQ-139. Preparing to launch from the USS Ronald Reagan.


All Photos Credit US Navy.

70 Years Ago

70 years ago today, World War II started for the United States.

My family visited Pearl Harbor several years ago. It was a moving event, and I highly suggest it for anyone who has not been. I was surprised by the large number of Japanese tourists who were there. Turns out the majority of people who visit the Visitor Center and the Arizona Memorial are Japanese. We were there on a weekday, and there were hundreds of them. When we visited the Missouri, not a single one was to be seen. We asked one of the Park personnel about it, and he said it was normal - while the Japanese will pay their respects to where they started the war, they will not acknowledge or honor the place where the war ended. I guess that's to be expected.

I saw a 'Dan Rather Remembers' program last night about Pearl Harbor. He interviewed some members of a Japanese high school group who were touring. The leader of the group said that he was shocked by the story and photos of the attack. Their history textbooks devote one line to the attack. ONE LINE. That's all the youth of Japan are being taught about how their country started the war - and its been that way for decades. (I wish they had provided a translation of that one line, would like to know what it says.) Shamefully, our own school children aren't taught much more than that - take a look at a high school or junior high history text, and you'd think the war never happened.


On the starboard weatherdeck of the USS Missouri, looking forward. The commemorative plate in the deck is the exact spot where the surrender agreement ending WWII was signed.


The Pearl Harbor Survivors Group is disbanding at the end of this year. The few remaining vets who survived the attack are for the most part too frail to make the yearly trip, and in a few years they will all be gone.

Take a moment today to remember what our nation went through on that day and the four years that followed.



Looking forward from the Missouri's bridge, over the twin 16" main turrets, towards the Arizona Memorial.

Iran Scores With Stealth UAV

Drones strike again!

The USAF lost what is reported to be a RQ-170 stealth recon drone over Iran. There is debate as to whether it just went rogue, or was shot down. In any case, US officials confirm that it is in Iran's hands. Us officials have also stated that the drone may have went 'out of contact' while operating over Afghanistan last week, and wandered over the Iranian border. While I have no way of knowing for certain, I'd call Bullshit on that one - the Taliban has no radar that would require the stealth qualities of the RQ-170, while Iran does. Iran says the drone went down 120 miles inside of Iraq, and appeared to be monitoring one of their nuclear facilities.

Controlled by the 30th Reconnaissance Squadron based at Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, the drone is thought to have been operated out of Kandahar, Afghanistan, where it has been glimpsed occasionally over the past couple of years.

You can bet that the Chinese and Russians are lining up access to the robot right now, and they will have comparable ones in about 6 months. Hooray for drones!!!!

Lockheed-Martin builds the aircraft, which is intended to replace the manned U-2 spy plane. Quoted costs are around $6,000,000 per plane, but that seems awfully low to me.

UPDATE - Iran released a video, now on youtube, supposedly showing the captured drone. US officials have been quoted as confirming it. I have looked at this video several times, along with photos of the aircraft, and I think it is a fake. There is no damage visible at all, which is impossible, given that this thing's operating altitude is in the neighborhood of 50,000 feet., You can't seen under the drone. The lines of the drone look wrong - they are close to the pictures, but don't seem to be exact to me, and there are features that are certainly not stealthy. Also look at the droop of the wings outboard of what looks like an external seam - there are no such seams visible on any photo I've seen.

To me, this looks like a fabrication. I could be, and am probably, wrong - but too many things just don't look right about this. This think looks like a fiberglass copy. Why would Iran do this? Propaganda - showing off something intact is a lot more impressive for them than a pile of wreckage.

They might indeed have an RQ-170 - but I just don't think this video shows it.



Update II - I saw some recent photos of this particular drone operating recently out of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Based on those shots, I revise my opinion on the above video. It appears the wings either broke off, or have been removed in order to move it - resulting in the droop, and the apparent tape job to cover it up. The color of the drone is actually a flat neutral grey - the yellowish tint in this video has got to be because of the light it is seen in.

News reports are indicating that the military knew when and exactly where it went down, and had contingency plans to either retrieve it or destroy it in place. It was in a remote area, and it took the Iranians quite some time to get to it. President Obama vetoed those plans, and decided to let the Iranians take possession of one of the most sensitive pieces of intelligence gear we currently have, and by default hand that technology not only to the Iranians but to China and Russia as well. Way to go, Appeaser-in-Chief!!!

You know, what would happen to anyone else in America who willfully handed over top secret technology to our enemies? They'd be rung up on espionage and treason charges. If you're Barack Obama, or Bill Clinton for that matter, you get to explain it away as diplomacy, and you're put on a pedestal for the left wing kooks to look up to.