Indy Transponder 14-FEB-2012 1715z

Thunder Over Louisville may set record for its most aircraft - Courier-Journal | Thunder Over Louisville may be bigger than ever this spring, with a record number of aircraft planned. The 23rd annual fireworks and aircraft show will have the theme “A Star-Spangled Blast,” with an increased emphasis on patriotism, Kentucky Derby Festival officials said Monday....

Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer's life has changed - ...He spends most of his days on the road, speaking at events.  He'll be this year's Thundernator at Thunder over Louisville, pressing the button that will start the fireworks.  He's also writing a book titled "Into the Fire."...

Love is in the air: Aerobatic display team creates giant heart in the sky using vapour trails - Mail Online | It's written in the sky - someone loves you. This amazing picture of a heart was created by jet plane vapour trails at an airshow in Russia. Onlookers were treated to the spectacular display by highly trained stunt pilots at the annual International Aviation and Space Salon event in Zhokovskiy, Moscow....

Thunderbird plans Fort Lauderdale beach flyover - Sun Sentinel | The roar of an F-16 will be heard over Fort Lauderdale beach about 11:30 a.m. Friday as a team from the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds conducts a site survey in advance of the 2012 Lauderdale Air Show in April...

EAA and HAI Renew Agreement for EAA AirVenture Oshkosh - Rotor.com | EAA and HAI Renew Agreement for EAA AirVenture Oshkosh | The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and the Helicopter Association International (HAI) have renewed an agreement that assures the return of the popular Heli-Center on the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh flightline in 2012 and includes other support for this year’s 60th annual EAA fly-in gathering, which will take place July 23-29....

Smokey Bandits Display MiG-29s at Singapore - AIN online | Making a welcome first appearance in Singapore skies, the Smokey Bandits display team is showcasing “Malaysia’s MiGs”–five MiG-29N fighters that are performing an eight-minute routine here at the show. The team name is derived from the characteristic emissions from the Russian fighter’s two Klimov RD-33-3 engines when operating in full military thrust. Leading the team is...

Formation flying team to take on New Zealand’s best - Mercury | A team of formation pilots from the Royal Newcastle Aero Club will take to the skies over New Zealand next week to compete at the Australian New Zealand international formation flying competition. The team was given the opportunity to represent Australia just six weeks ago after the Victorian team, which qualified for the event, could no longer compete....

Ann Gleszer: Pioneer Pilot, And A Military 'Secret' - You Fly Girl | From the Hartford Courant: 
Ann Gleszer was literally one of history's silent heroes — records of the essential work she and other women performed during World War II as Air Force test pilots were buried and stamped classified. She was a WASP, a member of the Women's Airforce Service Pilots, the first group of...

WWII fighter pilot gets one more taste of the thrill of flying  - Public Opinion | Former WWII Navy fighter pilot A. Arnold "Doc" Gruen took the controls of an aircraft for the last time at the York Airport in Thomasville Monday, fulfilling a "bucket list" sort of wish....

PBY-5A Catalina Super Cat Mod update - Travel for Aircraft | This big beautiful black Catalina sits at the Wings Over Miami Air Museum — and has been doing so for years as possession is resolved after the death of her latest owner. She is no ordinary Consolidated PBY 5-A Catalina but is a Super Cat modification making the aircraft much more powerful as well as capable. An earlier post describing the modifications involved were addressed previously — use the search window with “Super Cat” to find it as well as more photos...

Unique WWII Soviet fighter reassembled in Everett - Seattle PI | Paul Allen just added yet another rare World War II-era airplane to his Flying Heritage Collection, at Everett's Paine Field. The collection started final reassembly Friday of a Soviet Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik that it says is the only one of its kind still flying. A team of Russian mechanics is set to bring the airplane to full flying condition over coming months, with a public debut expected this summer...

Welcome to the Kid Correspondent - Flight Monkeys | ...Well the same thing goes for getting kids interested in aviation and all it has to offer. Rather than just talk about getting kids involved in aviation, we’re decided to do something about it. So we established the Kid Correspondent....

Project Pluto on Discovery Wings - The Original Rocket Dungeon | R2K ran across a set of videos on one of my favorite subjects, the Project Pluto nuclear ramjet cruise missile. I'll embed a YouTube video as a teaser, but he has the whole show.  As he points out, the following video is...

NASA Science Aircraft to Travel the Globe in 2012 - Space Daily | With missions scheduled throughout the year, 2012 is shaping up to be an extraordinary time for NASA's Airborne Science Program and Earth system science research. Multiple aircraft and specialized instruments will...

NASA Hosts Events to Celebrate 50 Years of Americans in Orbit - Alabama Aviator | In celebration of 50 years of Americans in orbit, NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida will host several events Feb. 17 and 18 that will air live on NASA Television. On Feb. 17 at 10 a.m. EST, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana will host an employee presentation on NASA TV with the first two Americans to orbit Earth, Mercury astronauts John Glenn and Scott Carpenter. On Feb. 20, 1962, Glenn piloted...