Indy Transponder 04-MAR-2014 2345z

Airshow pilot, wing walker seek to inspire women - AOPA | Woman to woman, what’s it take to break into the aviation industry, either for a career or a hobby? Have a dream. Get an education. Be disciplined and persevere. It’s never too late. That’s the advice airshow performer Jacquie Warda, Flying Circus wing walker Jana Leigh McWhorter, and The Ninety-Nines member Carol Andrews offered for girls and women of all ages....

Women Of Aviation Week panel braves snowstorm · General Aviation News Staff | The night before Women Of Aviation Week opening day, the East Coast became covered in a thick blanket of snow. Despite snowy roads and flight cancellations, WOAW’s panel of guest speakers traveled to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association’s studio in Frederick, Md., for a Q&A session...

Flight Of The Hooman: Patriots Tight End Flies With Blue Angels - CBS Local | BOSTON (CBS) – Tight end Michael Hoomanawanui had the flight of a lifetime on Monday, hitting the California skies with the famous U.S. Navy Blue Angels. Along with St. Louis Rams punter Johnny Hekker, the Patriots tight end was a guest rider with the Blue Angels. Hoomanawanui and Hekker were nominated for the flights by the Blue Angels crew of the Navy due to their leadership, positivity, and impact in their respective communities...

Air Show Declared A Success | Centenary of Military Aviation Air Show 2014 (Australia) [video]

Fantasy of Flight, End of an Era · WarbirdsNews | In a surprise announcement today, Kermit Weeks announced that he will be closing his Fantasy of Flight museum as a public attraction on Sunday, April 6th. The facility will instead focus on its private event business and the design and development of a new future destination attraction. The press release also said that the...

Top acts commit to Oshkosh 2014 · General Aviation News Staff | EAA AVIATION CENTER, OSHKOSH, Wis. — Some of the world’s top air show performers have made their commitments to flying at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2014 fly-in as part of the afternoon and night air show lineups....

Slideshow: The Blades in flight - Northamptonshire Telegraph | The Blades Aerobatic team gave a glimpse of their latest routines while practising over Sywell. And former Telegraph chief photographer Glyn Dobbs was there to catch all the thrills and spills on camera. With over 30,000 hours of flying between them, The Blades are all are former Red Arrows pilots and perform at dozens of air shows and events every year...

Donations drives faces deadline to put on air show - WFMJ | VIENNA TWP., Ohio - The Air Force Thunderbirds are set to take the skies above the Youngstown Air Reserve Station this May, but enough private donations need to be raised in order for the show to officially take flight...

MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, air show portion of their Friendship Day cancelled - Rob Reider

Mojave Experimental Fly-in

• Mojave Speed Courses  
• Jon Parker and the Thunder Mustang to attend
• Phantom Champion Biplane to Attend

Legendary pilot Clay Lacy joins Endeavor Awards · General Aviation News Staff | Flying legend Clay Lacy has come aboard the Gala Host Committee of the Endeavor Awards celebrating Public Benefit Aviation. “Clay Lacy is a true pioneer in so many aspects of aviation, from air-to-air shooting of Hollywood action movies through helping to establish Public Benefit Aviation,” said Mark Wolper, President & Executive Producer of The Wolper Organization at Warner Bros. and Chair of the Endeavor Awards Host Committee...

World War II Aviator Shares His Story - DoD Live | Fascinated by the aerial shows of his youth, World War II veteran Leo Makelky turned his love of airplanes into a long, successful career as a B-17 ball-turret gunner flying 35 missions during the war. He recently sat down with Air Force Public Affairs to share his amazing story and preserve it for generations to come...

Margaret Ray Ringenberg - IASAR | In 1921, Margaret Ray Ringenberg, then 7, saw a plane land in a field near her family's Adams County home. The pilot offered her and her family a quick ride, and Ringenberg was hooked. With her father's encouragement she attended flight school and completed her first solo flight at the age of 19....

Pearl Carter Scott honored | The newest episode of Chickasaw Nation Television (CNTV) features a terrific segment about Pearl Carter Scott, including video and interviews from the recent portrait dedication ceremony at the Oklahoma State Capitol.

Night Witches | ...These young heroines, all volunteers and most in their teens and early 20s, became legends of World War II but are now largely forgotten. Flying only in the dark, they had no parachutes, guns, radios or radar, only maps and compasses. If hit by tracer bullets, their planes would burn like sheets of paper....

Artifacts for Women's History Month, March 15th - Carolinas Aviation Museum | The museum has a vast collection of items that are not on display in the main gallery. In celebration of Women's History Month we will showcase a few of these items that focus on women and their important role in aviation. As an additional bonus JoAnn Barber, flight engineer on the museum's newly acquired C-130, will be here to meet and talk with visitors from 11-2 pm.  JoAnn will be bringing items from her personal collection to put on display for the day.  It's all happening on March 15!

Rafale - Apron 6 | Time for a new album of the A2A Academy. Besides this beast there is also a T-33, Apache and pc-7 team involved!

A Short (Very Short) History of the F-19 - Air & Space Magazine | In 1986, as speculation about Lockheed’s Northrop built what it called the YF-17 technology demonstrator to compete with General Dynamics’ YF-16 in the lightweight fighter program. When the F-16 won, the U.S. Navy hired Northrop to base the Navy’s next fighter on the -17, with the result designated F-18.) Testors assumed that...

Blue Thunder II Crew Report - 8/4/2011

We had a very successful week at the Oshkosh AirVenture 2011. The crew did an outstanding job of answering all sorts of questions. The most repeated one was, “What kind of engine is in Blue?"

We made some initial contact with PPG Industries about possible sponsorship which I will be procuring in the next couple of months. They gave us some sample products and they have the best cleaner wax I have ever seen. It removes the exhaust stain very easily and leaves a brilliant shine to the finish. I will have more information on this product in the next report.

I might mention that my old friend Paul Poberezny dropped by for a photo opportunity.

The return trip to Reno went as smoothly as could be expected except for the start. I was in line for departure out of Oshkosh and when it was my turn, I hit the starter switch and nothing happened. How embarrassing. All dressed up but can’t go anywhere.

To make a long story short, Jim, Mike and Fred replaced the start relay and after a minimal two hour delay, I was on my way back to the Blue Thunder bunker on the Stead airport which took only 6hrs.and 46 minutes which included a fuel stop. Post examination of the faulty relay found that it was full of water from the Oshkosh rains.

We are now in a rush to prepare Blue Thunder II for the Reno Air Races next month. We will be competing in the Sport Class and hope we do well enough to keep the fast guys honest, put on a good show, and make our sponsors proud.

Speaking of the races, I would like to remind everyone that they are invited to attend "Thunderstorm 2011" which is the American Air Racing open house held during the Reno Air Races September 12th through the 18th. Those of you flying in with your Thunder Mustang, please leave the canopy closed and the tail wheel unlocked and the Blue Crew will supply all the ground support required. Call us at 775-677-4860 and let us know when you will arrive, or that you have arrived, and we will tow you in to our ramp from the no prop turn line.

Blue Thunder will be appearing at one more show, after the races, on October 5th at the "Gathering of Mustangs" in Vacaville, CA. Come out and enjoy the show.

I see I have run off the front page so I will close for now with the traditional thanks to all of Blue Thunder’s Fans and Sponsors for your continued support.

John Parker

“Blue Thunder II Crew Report” October and November, 2010

The Blue Thunder Air Racing Team is starting the planning of the air shows appearance schedule for the Thunder Mustang named Blue Thunder II. Sponsors desiring the appearance of Blue Thunder II at any specific event are invited to contact us through the Blue Thunder web page. www.bluethunderairracing.com

Due to other commits I have had lately, very little has been done with Blue Thunder II in the last two months; so, I am combining the October and November reports. First, the Team hopes everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving and we want to be one of the first to wish you a very Merry Christmas.

Blue Thunder II is going into the winter time refurbishing cycle where we want to update the exterior, the electronics as well as a through conditional inspection. I am taking the Reno engine down to RFI next week for disassembly, inspection and to salvage as many parts as possible. The remainder of the engine plan for Reno 2011 is still in negotiation.

Our tentative air show schedule for 2011 is as follows:

June 10-11: Golden West
June 16-18: Pylon School
July 6-10: Arlington Fly-In
July 25-31: EAA AirVenture
September 14-18: Reno Air Races
October 20-22: Copperstate

We will add additional or specific shows at a sponsor request.

A tradition started in the last Blue Report of highlighting one of our sponsors in each report; I wish to continue by show casing Odyssey Batteries.

Odyssey batteries are manufactured by EnerSys Corp., a global leader in stored energy solutions with sales and service locations throughout the world, and over 100 years of battery experience.

They are made with flat plate of 99.99% pure lead separated by absorbed glass mat (AGM). Pure lead plates can be made thinner which yields more surface area per unit volume. They are capable of providing engine cranking pulses in excess of 2250 amps for 5 seconds even at very low temperatures. They are rated for 400 charge-discharge cycles to 80% depth of discharge. This combination of power and deep cycle performance makes this battery suitable for special use aircraft that have electrical systems that are battery powered only, and why we use them.

In the next report, I will describe the progress on the conditional inspection and hopefully have some good news about an engine program for Reno 2011. Again, the Blue Crew along with Jan and I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and happy New Year.

Thanks for your support.

John Parker

.

“Blue Thunder II Crew Report” - Sep 2010

“Blue Thunder II Crew Report”
September, 2010

The highlight of the Blue Thunder II show season for 2010 was the Reno Air Races this month and the AAR open house commonly referred to as Thunderstorm.

We are all aware of the tragic loss of race number 75, Rapid Travel on Sunday during the Supper Sport Gold race. The subject is still too sensitive to me to discuss further at this time. The good news is George is just a little sore this week.

At the start of the races, the competition that could be faster than Blue Thunder II was Kevin Eldredge flying Relentless # 42, Mike Dacey in Bad Intentions # 71, George Giboney in Rapid Travel # 75 and Lynn Farnsworth in Miss Karen II # 44. I was fairly confident that Blue Thunder II could beat #44 and Blue II was definitely faster than Lee Behel in # 15 and Tom McReynolds in # 69.

Trouble started early for the Super Sport racers. On the first day of practice #69 had a governor failure that over sped the engine causing significant damage, and Blue II burned a piston and broke a rod that put some significant holes in the block.

On the first day of qualifying, Kevin Eldredge had a spectacular engine and propeller failure that put him out of the races and #15 was withdrawn due to engine problems.

If ever a racing crew deserved a Metal of Honor, the Blue Crew does. They removed the damaged engine from Blue II and installed the Oshkosh engine in about 23 hours. A major accomplishment in itself and made it possible for us to qualify on Tuesday at, of all numbers, 352 MPH.

The Oshkosh engine slugged it out for four days of racing, never missing a beat and, due to some attrition took home second place in the Super Gold race on Sunday.

The September report would not be complete without a recap of Thunderstorm 2010.

First of all, our dear friends Simon Gault and Chris Bromly of Tigers Blood crew from New Zealand were on hand and we thought we would pose for a Steinlager commercial during one of the daily debriefing sessions.

On Saturday the TBG had a meeting in my office and the big news from the meeting was that an agreement had been reached with Dean Holt Construction to buy the assets of the TBG and start production of Thunder Mustang kits.

Bill Pearce did his usual fine job stoking the fires on the BBQ; John McCartney was the gate keeper. The menu included smoked pork, Alaskan salmon, Diestel Farms turkey, New Zealand lamb and plenty of beer and wine.

I would like to introduce a new feature of this monthly report is to showcase one of our sponsors. This month I would like to introduce Jim Riley, owner and president of R & E Fasteners here in Reno, NV. Jim is one of our airport neighbors and runs very efficient and friendly business supplying quality commercial fasteners for the construction industry as well as a long line of cutting tools and industrial chemicals. Visit Jim’s store at http://randefasteners.com/ and I am sure you will find something you need there, like those 4-40 cap screws we need, and if you can’t find anything you need now, send him an Email thanking him for his support.

In October and November, I have several flight test program contracts to complete but the Blue Thunder II program will be establishing an air show schedule and engine program for 2011. Our job will be showing our sponsors the success we have had getting their names before their customers, and signing them for the 2011 season. Jan and I thank the TBG Lt. and our fans for their continued support and we will continue to support you.

Thanks again
Jan, John and the entire Blue Crew.
www.bluethunderairracing.com

.

Indy Transponder 28-AUG-10 0430z

Jets Practice For Air Show Over Portsmouth - WMUR Manchester
PORTSMOUTH, NH -- Excitement is in the air for this weekend's Boston-Portsmouth Air Show at Pease. On Friday, spectators got a preview of what's to come, ...

Aerobatic formations over New England - Boston Globe
It will feature the best of aerobatic pilots performing jaw-dropping tricks near the clouds. One of the pilots flying will be Rob Holland, a Norton native, ...

Blue Angels to fly at Dobbins in October - Atlanta Journal Constitution
AJC file photo It's been two years since the last military precision air show – in 2008 it was the Air Force's Thunderbirds – was staged at the Marietta ...

 Ethanol-Powered Stunt Plane to Amaze Air Show Crowd
Greg Poe is coming to the Defenders of Freedom Air Show at Offutt AFB this Saturday and Sunday. Greg is a former test pilot and aerobatic champion, and he flies a very unique aircraft....it's powered by US-made ethanol.

Airshow of the Cascaded Starts Tonight - KBND
Some aircraft have already arrived for the Airshow of the Cascades that is set to being today. Tracy Berg with the Airshow says the big fires in the Warm ...

Art & Air Fest soars this weekend in Albany - KVAL
The Art & Air Festival runs August 27-29, 2010, at Timber-Linn Memorial Park and Albany Municipal Airport. The weekend includes an art show and sale with ...

Wings Over Wine Country Air Show 2010 - Santa Rosa - 08/20/10 - FenceCheck Forums

Airshows and Aviation Photos - KBVP

Warbirds get wide berth - Waukegan News Sun
Clark said that another 2010 highlight will be participation by the Air Force Heritage Flight and the Navy Legacy Flight programs, which feature aircraft ...

Zagreb Air Show & Open Air Festival to occur on Sunday - Croatian Times
Among other things, visitors will be able to see the first flight of a Penkala airplane after 100 years, the first Air Race in Croatia and a race between ...

From EAA News Letter: John Parker, EAA 134198, recently claimed a speed record at the Golden West Fly-In with a speed of more than 363 mph in his Blue Thunder II. A few weeks later he flew the plane to Oshkosh and took a few minutes to tell us about his new Thunder Mustang. [video]

Pearl the movie - Facebook
One more free screening of "Pearl"! This time we're at Landmark's Greenwood Village Theater (near Denver, CO) at 7 p.m. on Sept. 16. Come see what all the buzz is about, meet Producer David Rennke and Lead Actress Angela Gair, and take home a free "Pearl" movie poster!

Boeing B-17G to be highlight of WWII center in New Orleans
Seattle Post Intelligencer
In addition to the B-17, the center is slated to include a B-25J Mitchell Bomber, TBM Avenger, North American P-51 Mustang and Douglas SBD Dauntless. ...

World War II-era bomber to land at MAPS  -Canton Repository
Call EAA at (800) 359-6217 or e-mail B17@eaa/org. Ground tours of the B-17 will be 2 to 5 pm Tour prices are $5 per person or $15 per family; children under ...

Aviation History is on Hand in Tulsa - KRMG Local News 
(Tulsa, OK) - A piece of aviation history is in Tulsa this weekend and you have a chance to experience it. A Ford Tri-Motor airliner is at Jones-Riverside Airport and flights are available. The Tri-Motor in question is one of only four ...

WWII pilot recounts dive-bombing missions
Dubuque Telegraph Herald
After a 21-year career as a naval aviator, Buell retired, earned master's and Ph.D. degrees at Florida State University and completed a second career in ...

Phase Two—The New Wing from AirSpace by The National Air and Space Museum
...This will all change with the completion of the new wing of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center—“Phase Two”—which will be dedicated to the behind-the-scenes care of the collection.  The new wing, which will be furnished with state-of-the-art equipment and provide roughly three and a half times more space than Garber, will greatly aid staff in their work to restore, process, store, and conserve the collection. Located south ...

World record bid: Larne man reaches Kuala Lumpur - UTV Lifestyle
Spectacular views have greeted Larneman Norman Surplus during his bid to become the first person to ever fly solo round the world in a gyrocopter, as he visited his 15th country. ...

Fly for MS: International flight for a cause that hits home from GlobalAir.com 
A pair of pilots and a photographer next week will begin a journey of thousands of miles, land in dozens of countries, and speak to hundreds of people — all to promote a single cause.
The trio represents Fly for MS, a startup non-profit that seeks to bring awareness, raise money and provide hours of flight to the many who suffer from multiple sclerosis.
Pilots Keith Siilats and Andrei Floriou (pictured above) will take off from New York with Florian Trojer, a volunteer photographer from Austria.  ...

For sale: Swedish supersonic fighter jet - Recordnet.com
At the beginning of the jet age, Sweden sought a high-altitude air defense interceptor.
Saab aviation engineers responded by building the J35 Draken, a single-seat, delta-wing fighter able to take on MiGs in supersonic dogfights.
After first entering service in 1960, the aircraft proved capable and durable, and it eventually was employed by the military in Denmark, Finland and Austria, as well as in Sweden, before being retired in the 1990s and as late as 2005. ...

August 27 from Cut and Paste Aviation 

Other Biplanes : How about a Sperry Messenger? from The Biplane Forum
... If you don't know the Messenger, it was designed by Alfred Verville for the U.S. Army Air Service in the early 1920s as the aerial equivalent of a motorcycle for military couriers.  It's short span (under 20') and overall small size and simplicity were intended to allow operation from small fields and country roads.  Unusually, it used struts, with neither flying nor landing wires, to simplify rigging and maintenance. ...

Space Race: Museums Fight for Soon to be Retired Space Shuttles - Gather.com
Twenty-one museums are vying for them, ranging from Chicago's Adler Planetarium, the San Diego Air & Space Museum, Seattle's Museum of Flight, and of course ...

“Girls Need Flight Plans, Not Fairy Tales.” An Interview With Lynda Meeks, Founder of Girls With Wings from Ask My Sky Mom 
... Equally surprising to Lynda was how many of her customers seemed to have a story. For some, the story was about dreams deferred or never realized. Many who wanted to fly hadn’t due to discouragement and roadblocks. For those who had, the story was often about overcoming adversity and having to reinvent the wheel. Why did so many of these women have to feel like the first or the only? Where was the sense of community that would have helped them as they worked their way through? And wouldn’t it be wonderful if, instead of having to move mountains, these women had been able to feel encouraged more often? Making flying a plausible option for girls when they’re young and showing them ...

Aviation scholarship takes off for area students
The Middletown Aviation Club was organized and incorporated in August 1940 to develop and promote interest in aviation while at the same time encouraging and assisting flying safety and proficiency in the Middletown area.

AOPA Aviation Summit: - AOPA Pilot
What will general aviation look like in 2020? Professional futurist, pilot, and former naval aviator John L. Petersen will take attendees on a tour of the ...

Uncontrolled Airspace:The General Aviation Podcast: "Never Boozled" UCAP #204
Amy Laboda joins the boys in the virtual hangar, and they all have just a little bit too much fun. All this and more on Uncontrolled Airspace #204 "Never Boozled"

“Blue Thunder II Crew Report”

“Blue Thunder II Crew Report”

August 15, 2010

The July 18 report was to remind everyone that we were preparing for the trip to Oshkosh for the AirVenture convention there. We are back now, and we had a great trip. “Blue Thunder II” was parked on the south east corner of AeroShell Square just off the pavement next to the Reno Air Races tent, one of the highest traffic areas of the show.
 
There could not have been a better spot on the planet for “Blue Thunder II” to be parked where it would have attracted more attention. There was always crowd around, many asking the same questions. Our answers were always the same, Falconer V-12 engine with thanks to Tempest filters, Odyssey batteries, ERC racing fuel and Air Graphics.

Many of the EAA executives and photographers dropped by for a visit with the Blue Crew. Paul Poberezny himself dropped by for a visit.

As we all know, the Reno Air Races are approaching fast and we are working on a few updates to insure we will be able to put on a good show and place well in the standings.

Again, American air Racing will be hosting the tenth annual Thunderstorm 2010 with the usual good food and drink in the usual family style on the ramp after the races each day. Everyone with a Thunder Mustang or an interest in it is welcome.

Blue Thunder fans planning to attend the Reno Air Races this year, the Grand Sierra Hotel is offering a discounted rate to Sport Class fans. Blue Thunder fans who have not already made arrangements for their accommodations might find the following information from the Sport Class helpful. The information sent to the Sport Class members, and available to Blue Thunder II fans, is as follows.
[Editor note: We got this via email after Aug 9, sorry]

Attendees should make their own reservation BEFORE/PRIOR TO Monday, August 9, 2010 by calling the Grand Sierra Hotel direct at 800-648-5080 please refer to the event name of Sports Class Racing Association. All rooms confirmed on Monday, August 9, 2010 will become the finalized room block. All reservations require a credit card guarantee for the first night’s room and tax as a deposit at the time the reservation is made. Individual cancellations received within forty-eight (48) hours of arrival will be charged first night’s rate and tax. Reservations received after the cut-off date will only be honored on a “space available” basis at the prevailing rate. The Hotel will assume no obligation to honor reservations booked over and above the existing room allotment.
 
I wish to thank everyone for their continued support. The next update will come when the Crew, Blue and I get back from Oshkosh. I will report on what happened on the trip and our plans for the Reno Races and Thunderstorm 2010.




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Indy Transponder 25-MAY-10 1030z

2010 Cherry Point Air Show a huge success – WNCT | Cherry Point, NC - The 2010 Cherry Point Air Show turned out to be a huge success. By Stephanie Moore | Nightside Producer Cherry Point, ...

Big Turnout For MCAS Cherry Point Air Show – WITN | Quite a few people were at Cherry Point over the weekend enjoying the high flying fun of the air show. Cherry Point estimates 156000 people attended the ...

WEEKEND IN REVIEW – ASB.tv - Mother Nature caused some issues over the weekend for US air shows. The USAF Thunderbirds wowed crowds at Thunder Over the Red River and the Madera Air Show had blue skies and double its anticipated attendance. However, MCAS Cherry Point narrowly avoided bad storms and most of Sunday's show at Warbirds Over the Beach was canceled due to weather. Share your thoughts and stories or see what you missed

Even on the ground -- airplanes draw aviation fans | zanesvilletimesrecorder.com | Zanesville Times Recorder from http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/ In addition to the 10 single-engine planes, live entertainment, remote- controlled planes, door prizes, demonstrations, free food and more were part of the celebration, said Frank Berlo, at-home services for The Home Depot. "It's to give back to the community. We're (the store) really doing well. We're hiring people so it's all about customer appreciation," Berlo said…

DC-3 Reunion Anchors Reflective Airline Arc from Jetwhine by Scott Spangler | Reflection is an unintended consequence of a wide interest in aviation, and connecting past with present is the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh reunion of the iconic airplane that earns its keep still, even as it approaches its 75th birthday. Some call it the DC-3, others know it as the C-47 or R4D, and it is remanufactured for 21st century service as the BT-67 at Basler Turbo Conversions, across the airport from the AirVenture Grounds…

From the Delta Museum: DC-3 Ship 41 Restoration Photos from Delta Air Lines Blog by Marie Force | The Delta Museum marks 15 years of preserving and sharing Delta history this May 23.  To celebrate, we just launched a slide show of over 80 photos showing the amazing, 5-year restoration of Delta's DC-3 Ship 41, from rusty freighter to 1940s passenger plane with modern flight capability.  Check out the slide show!...

Memorial Day Weekend Alabama Aviation Events from Alabama Aviator - Aviation News | Without a doubt, this month topped them all in both quantity and quality Alabama aviation events. Take a Memorial weekend break and catch the last but not least of outstanding May aviation activities. Remember to celebrate our patriots, men and women of the United States military, who gave their life for the freedom we cherish…

United States - California - Planes of Fame Airshow 2010 - Chino - 05/15/10 from FenceCheck Forums - What a treat to see the flying wing in the air!

PARKER AIMING TO BREAK RECORD AT GOLDEN WEST-FLY IN - ASB.tv (GANews)- John Parker, championship-pilot and builder of Reno Air Race contenders Blue Thunder and Blue Thunder II, will try to set a world record at the Golden West Fly-In in Marysville, CA, June 11-13. Parker's race-built Thunder Mustang will be shooting for the world 100-km speed record in class C1c, currently 339.51 mph. What will it take for Parker to set a new record?

Richard Branson Will Make Virgin Atlantic Feel Shiny and New - Jaunted
... the plans for Virgin Atlantic's new seats, meals and entertainment, and hopefully it won't be long before Branson takes another celebratory wing-walk. ...

RECORD SKYDIVE SET FOR NEW MEXICO from Spaceports by jack@jackkennedy.net (JackKennedy) Felix Baumgartner, an Austrian daredevil, hopes to to break a 50-year-old record this summer in New Mexico when he begins a sky dive from 120,000 feet, or almost 23 miles above the earth's surface jumping from a capsule and going nearly 700 mph down breaking the sound barrier, reports CNN…

Zeppelin Eureka To Attempt World Flight Distance Record from AvStop » Number One Online Resource For General Aviation News - Airship Ventures, owners and operators of The Farmers Airship, the Zeppelin Eureka, announced that today the world's largest airship will attempt to break the world distance record for a modern airship. Flying between Airship Ventures home base, the historic Airship Hangars at Moffett Field in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Brown Field in San Diego, the Farmers Airship will cover 459.3 miles, breaking the standing Federation Aéronautique International (FAI) record previously held by a Russian team by 70.2 miles…

'Joint Strike Fighter' Really 3 Different Jets, Pentagon Says from Wired: Danger Room by Noah Shachtman | The idea was to build a single jet that could take off from a runway, roar from an aircraft carrier — or just lift straight up into the sky. Sure, there'd be small differences in the three "variants" of the Joint Strike Fighter. But the common parts would far, far outweigh them — allowing the Defense Department to buy thousands of the planes at tag-sale prices…

Pictures of B-17 Flying Fortress over Seattle - Seattle Post Intelligencer | EAA Aviation Center's restored B-17G Flying Fortress "Aluminum Overcast" in flight over Seattle on Monday, May 24, 2010. (Jeremy Lindgren/NYCAviation.com) ...

Blue Angels Fleur de Lis Formation on Flickr - Photo Sharing! from "blue angels" - Google Blog Search by nobody@flickr.com (Kevin H.) At Andrews Air Force Base in the Washington, DC suburbs for the 2010 Joint Services Open House Air Show.

GV pilot flies his 500th 'Young Eagle' - The Union of Grass Valley | Brian Harms of Nevada City was Sommer's 500th passenger flown as part of the Young Eagles program, hosted by the Experimental Aircraft Association to ...

Teens got aerial view thanks to so many - Fergus Falls Daily Journal | I would like to thank The Daily Journal staff for the coverage of our Young Eagles Event on May 14. The numbers are in and between the Middle School, ...

Aviation Trivia of the Day by JP Santiago - From yesterday's Taylor Aerocar to today's Terrafugia, designers and engineers have always dreamed of ways to combining the speed and convenience of flight with the ease and familiarity of automobile travel. Nearly all of the designs that have reached flight hardware status have involved custom-built cars combined with custom-built wings and empennages for flight. But one aeronautical engineer in 1968 dared to think differently and went with an off-the-shelf solution for both components that he was sure would make the flying car practical…