Indy Transponder 19-NOV-2011 0200z

Military plane crashes in Dubai - The National | DUBAI // A military training aircraft returning to Italy after the Dubai Airshow crashed in the sea near Deira about midday yesterday, less than half an hour after take-off.  The two pilots from the Italian-made trainer M-346 ejected from the aircraft just before it went down in the Gulf near the Palm Deira, which is under construction.  Dubai Police said the Italian crew were rescued from the sea and taken to Rashid Hospital, one suffering a broken leg and one suffering minor injuries. There were no other reported casualties when the plane hit the water....

Thunderbirds thrill thousands at Aviation Nation, wrapping up 2011 show season - Air Combat Command |  NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- As the Thunderbirds demonstration pilots landed their F-16s and rendered a synchronized salute to tens of thousands of spectators on the flightline atNellis Air Force Base, Nev., it signaled the finale of a busy and historic 2011 show season.  The team traditionally concludes each eight-month season as the headlining performance at "Aviation Nation," the annual Nellis Open House and largest free public event in Nevada....

Blue Angels Visit Tuscaloosa in Advance of 2012 Air Show from Alabama Aviator - Aviation News | US Navy Blues Angels advance planning team landed at Tuscaloosa late yesterday to check on details for the upcoming air show.  The visit, which will last less than 24 hours, is to ensure proper logistics and show plans are in place during a series of meetings with air show officials in anticipation of the event scheduled for March 31 and April 1, according to the Tuscaloosa News.....

The acts the producer of Thunder Over Louisville has planned this year - WDRB | Thunder Over Louisville is set for April 21st, 2012 on WDRB. Wayne Hettinger tells us about his recent trip to Las Vegas and which military aircraft he's already locked down for Thunder's Air Show.  Rated as one of the top 100 events in North America, the Derby Festival's Opening Ceremonies is truly a sight to behold. And each year, more than 500,000 eager thrill-seekers do just that.  The day-long event kicks off the two exciting weeks of events that are part of the annual Kentucky Derby Festival. The Thunder Air Show dazzles the crowd with more than 100 planes, aerobatics teams, daring sky diving teams and breathtaking stunts....

Operational pause lifted on Hawks at 15 Wing - Moose Jaw Times Herald | An operational pause put in place last week on the CT-155 Hawk fleet used at 15 Wing Moose Jaw has been lifted.  The pause was activated after a Royal Air Force pilot was killed in the U.K. after being ejected from his plane while still on the runway....

Sikorsky X2 makes Fort Worth appearance - Sky Talk | Sikorsky X2 in Fort Worth 11-18-2011 1 of 2One of our sharp eyed readers and an aviation buff spied the world's fastest helicopter (or something like that), the Sikorsky X2 on display this morning outside the company's south Fort Worth office (4800 Overton Plaza). And our citizen journalist snapped some cell phone pics we'll drop in here....

Airventure Photos - Northwest Flying Photography Blog | ...Just to catch all three of you up on the last year and a half, I did fly to Oshkosh and back, I took a bunch of pictures, I posted them on the social network, but never wrote up my stuff here....

Battle Scars - Vintage Wings of Canada | The Disappointing Battle in Battle | The Fairey Battle was a British single-engine light bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company in the late 1930s for the Royal Air Force. The Battle was powered by the same Rolls-Royce Merlin piston engine that gave contemporary British fighters high performance; however, the Battle was weighed down with a three-man crew and a bomb load. Despite being a great improvement on the aircraft that preceded it, by the time it saw action it was slow, limited in range and highly vulnerable to both anti-aircraft fire and fighters with its single defensive .303 machine gun.  During the "Phoney War" which took place prior to the Battle of France, the Fairey Battle recorded the first RAF aerial victory of the...

The Blitz - CAF Red Tail Squadron | As this fall’s “Occupy Wall Street” movement expanded from the U.S. to Europe and beyond, protesters in the London, England offshoot camped out in front of St. Paul’s cathedral.  The protesters were left alone for awhile, but eventually the church’s staff members shut the doors to the cathedral, citing a concern about potential health and safety hazards. A newspaper article about the closure mentioned that “it was the first time since the German Luftwaffe blitzed London during World War II that St. Paul’s was closed to worshipers.”  The word “blitz” – which is German for “lightning” - is not typically capitalized.  However, in describing the pounding that England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland endured for eight months, courtesy of the Luftwaffe, the word...

Updated: Mysterious Stealth Helicopter photographed in California is a retrofitted obsolete chopper turned into gunship - The Aviationist | Helikopter Hysterie blog’s editor Axel M. Vollmer, who posted my Stealth Black Hawk digital mock up in May,  has recently taken the following pictures of a mysterious Stealth Helicopter sitting out in the open at Torrance Airport / Zamperini field, home of Robinson Helicopters, in California....

LOOP Aviation Magazine Now Available on the iPad - PR Web | LOOP Digital Media has launched LOOP magazine as a bespoke iPad app available from the Apple App store. It follows on from the succesful launch of the FLIGHTTEST and P1 Apps | A new iPad app brings you the very best in flying, and celebrates what it takes to fly for fun, to fly for a career, or simply to fly better. It can be downloaded by clicking here.  LOOP for iPad is a new addition to the App Store, celebrating every aspect of just what it takes to be a pilot and shining a light on the best of leisure flying – the place where every person who made the decision to chase the dream of being a pilot can marvel at the sublime pleasure of flight....

SpaceX Searches for New Commercial Launch Site - Hobby Space | Hawthorne, CA – Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is searching for a new launch site to meet increasing demand from commercial customers.  SpaceX already has an active launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and is currently developing a new launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The company also operates a rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas....