America’s top-of-the-line air superiority fighter aircraft is about to have some company in the “5th Generation Fighter” category. Yesterday, Russia’s PM Vladmir Putin announced the introduction of their latest design, the Sukhoi T-50. She’s a pretty ship, that’s for sure. Knowing the success of Sukhoi’s other designs I have no doubt she’s a capable bird, [...]
Boeing’s X-51a Waverider test aircraft flew its 1st test flight yesterday morning, May 25, off the coast of California. The Waverider is an engine-test platform housing a scramjet, a type of engine that produces massive thrust. On this flight, the Waverider hit a top speed of Mach 6 and flew on its own for 200 [...]
Interesting concept: A Russian company announced its intention to build a next-generation helicopter capable of taking on fighter jets, soaring at up to 370 mph — and remaining invisible thanks to its ability to cloak itself from radar. Vertolety Rossii (or “Russian Helicopter,” one of the country’s biggest helicopter manufactures) told the Russian press that [...]
On May 6, 1937 the German airship Hindenburg was completing another transatlantic crossing and was coming in to dock at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey. Although the actual cause of the ignition might never be truly known, that an ignition occurred onboard is certainly not in doubt. With over 7 million cubic feet [...]
As you might have heard on the news this week, a volcano in Iceland has been erupting and it’s having some effects much further afield than most people tend to think. This volcano happens to be located under a glacial ice cap (the Eyjafjallajökull glacier, to be precise). That turns out to be a real [...]
The man who was at the controls of US Airways 1549 when both engines failed due to damage from a bird strike, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, has brought his commercial pilot career in for a final landing. Sullenberger flew his final leg yesterday, bringing a 30-year career to a close. It was a routine flight [...]
Remember those high-tech body scanners that were developed and deployed so as to catch the next group of terrorists trying to turn passenger aircraft into missiles or trying to light their shoes or underwear on fire? You know, that group that through bizarre coincidence just happens to consist of completely of Islamic/Muslim extremists? They’d rather [...]
On January 4th a power outage at Washington’s Reagan National Airport caused the cancellation and delay of several flights. The problem was traced to a nearby substation but, so far as I can tell, the actual cause was either never discovered or never announced. Now comes this story about Cleveland Hopkins Airport in Ohio where [...]
The Christmas holiday visit to Grandma’s house is done and we’re winding down to a close. At the moment we’re in the airport terminal awaiting our flight. So far, the enhanced security measures haven’t done anything to inconvenience us at all. (The day is, however, young.) More to come. Update: Made it. Our trip via [...]
It’s been almost a year since Captain Sullenberger and First Officer Skiles brought their stricken Airbus, USAir flight 1549, to a controlled ditch in the Hudson River. I remain amazed at the skill these 2 men showed at the controls of their ship, not only bringing it to a landing intact but in doing so [...]
