Henley Benefit Air Show This Weekend from AVwebFlash Current Issue
The greatest lineup of the big names in air shows ever assembled will be at Cecil Airfield in Jacksonville, Fla. April 18-19 in a special benefit for Alan Henley, the leader of the Aeroshell team who was paralyzed in an accident at home almost a year ago. All of the almost 30 performers at the are donating their time and expenses to help the Henley family get through the transition to a new life. Admission prices are reasonable and the entertainment value can't be beat. AVweb will be there, and we hope you will be, too.Related Content:We spoke with organizer Bobbi Thompson in a podcast interview late last year.
RAF C-17 for Abingdon by Mark Broadbent
In a major coup, the Abingdon Air & Country Show in Oxfordshire on Sunday May 3rd has, subject to operational requirements, secured an appearance from the RAF’s largest aircraft – the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III.
No 99 Squadron at nearby RAF Brize Norton will be flying in one of its five C-17s to the show at Dalton Barracks, Abingdon Airfield, early on the morning of May 3rd. ...
from Red Bull Air Race News
When Australia’s Matt Hall got the “smoke on” command from the Red Bull Air Race tower on Thursday afternoon just before starting his final training run before the weekend’s 2009 season opener, current and former world champions -- and pretty much everyone else in the hangars at the temporary runway -- stopped what they were doing to get a closer look on their TV monitors at the hot new rookie who’s been causing a stir in Abu Dhabi.
Video: Ride in the cockpit with Red Bull Air Race pilot Paul Bonhomme from Flight International by Stuart
The 2009 Red Bull Air Race World Championships will soon be upon us again, with the mixture of skill and remarkable courage/stupidity beginning this year in Abu Dhabi.
To get you in the mood, Red Bull Air Race veteran Paul Bonhomme took to the skies to film this fascinating video, giving some indication on what it is like to pilot in such a race. ...
LAMB TOPS TIME SHEETS AHEAD OF QUALIFYING from Red Bull Air Race News
Nigel Lamb had another superb run and topped the time sheets in the final training session in Abu Dhabi on Thursday before Friday’s Qualifying for the Red Bull Air Race World Championship 2009 season opener on Saturday. The British ace underscored his aspirations for a strong start to the new season by clocking a time of 1:32.36 on a hot and windy afternoon.
IVANOFF STUNS RIVALS WITH FASTEST TRAINING TIME from Red Bull Air Race News
Nicolas Ivanoff surprised the field full of red-hot favourites with the fastest time in the penultimate training session at Abu Dhabi on Thursday morning ahead of Friday’s Qualifying for the 2009 season opener on Saturday. The friendly Frenchman clocked the fastest time of the day (1:26.41) even though he was assessed a two-second penalty. Defending champion Hannes Arch of Austria was second (1:27.21) while Britain’s Nigel Lamb was third (1:28.60).
TRAINING ABU DHABI SERGEY RAKHMANIN from Red Bull Air Race Photos
and today's entire photo gallery
Red Bull Air Race: Abu Dhabi Pilot Expectations from Mike Goulian Airshows by Karin
Watch this clip of each pilot's view on what's to come for the Red Bull Air Race Championship for the 2009 season.
Red Bull Air Race Coverage from Smoke-OnCorkey Fornof from Patty Wagstaff
Working with Corkey. [Picture] Corkey, who has been in the business longer than I have!, came up to St. Augustine to renew his low level card in the LoPresti Fury. He's doing a great job marketing this airplane for LoPresti through great marketing skills and beautiful flying. Corkey and I have a SPECIAL PLAN up our sleeves - something to do with the Antarctica....more to come:)
Hawk One Sabre Delays Arrival in Comox from Aviation.ca News
The much anticipated arrival of the Hawk One F-86 Sabre has been delayed due to severe weather conditions that have ceased flying operations at 15 Wing Moose Jaw, SK.
Classic Fighters 2009 #20: Fokker Dr.1 Dreidecher from Rodney's Aviation Ramblings
Being a Classic fighters airshow, it was very good to see a small number of World War One fighters being flown. These aircraft are reproductions of the original, not merely replicas - true to the originals in every respect possible.
I've seen this type at Masterton aerodrome before, notably during the 2008 Remembrance Day display [click here for the photos from that display] and it's always good to see these old birds up where they belong!
Classic Fighters 2009 #21: Royal Aircraft BE2F from Rodney's Aviation Ramblings
This is the first time I have seen the Royal Aircraft BE2F, ZK-BFR, so I don't have too much to say about it [a pilot with little to say? That's a miracle!] Perhaps the best information comes courtesy of The Vintage Aviator - these are the people who built this aircraft, and the certainly know their stuff. Check out their website for all the details of the rebuild.
Classic Fighters 2009 #22: Final Attack from Rodney's Aviation Ramblings
At the conclusion of the airshow was the customary mock attack, complete with pyrotechnics and aircraft that seem to be going everywhere! It was also my final chance to photograph a few of the aircraft that I had missed earlier in the day, such as the North American P51-D Mustang and Curtis P-40E Kittyhawk.
By this stage I was back at my own [rented] aircraft, ready to pre-flight and get away as soon as possible, to try and avoid fading light and then ECT.
Here are a few of the photos I got during that final attack. Obviously the Spitfire is one, then the P-40E, the P51, a couple of Harvards and a look across the crowd to final approach. I hope you have enjoyed this photographic series [almost] as much as I enjoyed taking them and posting them up for you :-)
It was, as they say, the perfect end to a perfect day.
Air Force, industry herald T-38 turning 50 from Air Force Link Top Stories
The test pilot who flew the T-38 Talon on its maiden flight 50 years ago said April 10 that during the historic sortie he felt he was on the safest mission of his career.
Then something dawned on him.
"I hadn't landed it yet!," said Lew Nelson, one of the speakers at a celebration held on the grounds of the Northrop Grumman facility here to commemorate the golden anniversary of the Talon's first flight.
Mr. Nelson did end that April 10, 1959, flight by landing the Talon safely for the first time. Thus began five decades of the venerable supersonic jet trainer's service in developing 75,000 pilots -- and still counting -- who would strap into it to earn their wings.
more...3 honored at WWII crash site memorial from Stars and Stripes
Only dirt still marks where a U.S. B-17 bomber crashed during World War II, killing three of its nine crewmembers. On Aug. 9, 1944, the plane slammed into a patch of woodland in Kusel. The subsequent conflagration scorched the nearby trees and shrubs. That fire left behind one of the few remnants of the crash almost 65 years ago.
Air Zoo program gives visitors chance learn about kites from airzoo.org by jmaclean
Since the beginning of time, humans have dreamed of bird-like flight. On Saturday, April 25, visitors to the Air Zoo will get a chance to make their own kites and learn how the design of the kite will determine its flight pattern. Guests will learn about this topic through hands-on activities at this month’s Super Science Saturday: Kites!
During each 30 minute presentation (at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.), the science of kites will be revealed. Though geared for children of all ages (and their parents), Super Science Saturdays are targeted specifically toward upper elementary to middle school students.
Super Science Saturdays are sponsored by AT&T and are held at the Air Zoo once a month and are included in the price of regular admission. For more information about these and other programs, please call 269.382.6555 or visit www.airzoo.org.
Longstanding Light Jet Speed Record Falls from www.ainonline.com
Twenty-six-year-old New Jersey businessman Jared Isaacman, along with copilot Doug Demko, yesterday shattered the world record for an eastbound global circumnavigation in a light business jet, with a time of 61 hours, 51 minutes and 15 seconds, lopping 21 hours off the previous record set in 1991 by a UK pilot in a Cessna Citation II. Last year, Isaacman made two unsuccessful attempts at the record in a Citation Mustang very light jet, both of which ended in bureaucratic snarls. He switched to a faster, longer-legged Cessna CJ2 for this year’s record-breaking flight, which departed on Sunday from Morristown (N.J.) Airport. After traveling 22,893 miles in 15 legs, Isaacman and Demko landed there again Wednesday morning. Along the way, the flight broke an additional 14 world records. Isaacman used the circumnavigation attempt as a platform to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Jersey, through his Web site.
Slower Economy Puts Drag on Rocket Races by al fin
The Rocket Racing League has been forced to delay the start of its racing season due to a slower economy and early design flaws in the rockets themselves. But plans are still on for a two-rocket demo at this September's Reno Air Races. ...
Zeppelin Startup Struggles As Economy Sinks from AVwebFlash
The folks who launched the first tour-by-zeppelin business in the U.S. couldn't have had much worse luck with timing -- Airship Ventures launched last October, after two years of planning, just in time for the depths of economic doldrums. With seats selling for $500 each for an hour flight, business has been slow. Toss in the rain and wind of winter in the San Francisco Bay area, and it's even tougher. But Brian Hall, who runs the company with wife Alex, is not discouraged. "It comes with its stresses, there's no big pot of cash, and we're working seven days a week," he told CNN recently. "But if you can ride this out, you can last through anything." He added that he hopes to find sponsors who will pay to paint their logos on the zeppelin, and he may add winery tour weekends, or move to sunny southern California for the winters. The CNN/Money reporter who took a demo flight found the business plan dubious but the view mesmerizing: "We fly over the Golden Gate Bridge just as the sun dips below the horizon. A massive container ship has run aground on the rocks just west of the bridge, and we watch in awe as a Coast Guard boat tows it out to the Pacific," he wrote. "Then we turn and drift back over the Bay as the city lights up and the bright sliver of a new moon rises above it." But will the project prove to be economically viable?
CAP: ‘Don’t trash the beacon’ from www.ainonline.com : Latest News
In an effort to cut down on the more than 2,000 false distress signals it receives each year from emergency locator transmitters (ELT) and emergency position indicating radio beacons, the Civil Air Patrol has launched its “Don’t Trash the Beacon” public awareness campaign. “The false-alarm rate is between 90- and 95-percent now,” said John Demarais, CAP’s deputy director for operations.
The problem stems mainly from improper handling of the units, which are now being rendered obsolete, as users upgrade from 121.5-MHz analog beacons to the more powerful, more reliable 406-MHz digital transmitters.
If beacon owners fail to remove batteries or otherwise deactivate the units, the beacons could later begin emitting distress signals, spurring authorities to mount a search. “I have been on several [searches] where folks were shipping a beacon back to the manufacturer, because they thought it was not working. They put it in a box with live batteries and we tracked it to a UPS or FedEx warehouse,” Demarais said.
While the International Cospas-Sarsat Program, which uses a satellite constellation to relay distress alerts to search-and-rescue authorities, ended satellite processing of distress signals from 121.5- /243-MHz emergency beacons at the be-ginning of February, CAP and others will continue to monitor the frequencies for the near future.
2009 International Space Development Conference from RLV and Space Transport News
An announcement from the National Space Society about their upcoming conference:
National Space Society’s 2009 International Space Development Conference to be held in Orlando, Florida from May 27-31
Orlando, FL – Thursday April 16, 2009 – The National Space Society (NSS) today announced that the 28th Annual International Space Development Conference (ISDC) will take place from Wednesday May 27 to Sunday May 31 at the Omni Hotel at Champions Gate in Orlando, FL. The conference will engage the public and decision-makers in an open and positive discussion about the role that space exploration, research and development will play in ushering in a new era of hope in a climate of uncertain change.
To register for the 28th Annual International Space Development Conference please visit http://www.isdc2009.org or call (202) 429-1600.
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Caption Contest #15 Has A Winner! from Airpigz Blog by Martt Clupper
Feel the heat! from FenceCheck Forums
Chambers Field NAS Norfolk from FenceCheck Forums
MCAS Yuma Report from FenceCheck Forums
Beale AFB Open House 2009 - 04/18/09 from FenceCheck Forums
Biggest flyover of jet fighters over Tehran - Iran from Military Photos
F-35 (AA-1) flies with open weapons bay doors from Air-Attack.com - Latest Images
Indiana Guard sustains its work force from National Guard - Top News
With more than 13,000 Soldiers and Airmen from Indiana who’ve deployed since Sept. 11, the Indiana National Guard partners with many organizations who stand ready to assist servicemembers in finding and maintaining quality jobs in today job market...
Institution's National Air & Space Museum. The uncertainty of future flights concerns the Centennial students. ... 
