Indy Transponder 24-JAN-2012 1015z

Robins air show 'mushrooming' into one of best in the nation by Gene Rector | A declining defense budget could turn out to be a boost to Robins Air Force Base this year ... at least for the base's April 28 and 29 air show and open house.  In an information session Monday afternoon for community members, base officials said so many air shows have been cancelled this year across the country that the local extravaganza is "mushrooming into one of the biggest events of the year."  The free local event is already featuring the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron, the Defense Department's oldest aerobatic unit....

‘Patriot Wing’ C-5 cargo jet grabs spotlight at Patriots-Ravens game - Military Times | When most people think of aircraft flyovers at sporting events, they think of swift jets. It’s the Blue Angels, maybe, or some other fighter squadron providing the thunder....

Wings of Freedom: The Planes Are at Winter Haven Airport Through Wednesday - The Ledger | Amam Parek, 11, crawls through the bomb bay of the B-17 Nine O Nine on Monday afternoon at Winter Haven Airport. By Ryan E. Little WINTER HAVEN | Charter planes usually aren't so bumpy — and they don't have .50-caliber guns sticking out of most...

Restored bomber gives Winter Haven veterans chance to fly - Tbo.com | His last time aboard a B-17 Flying Fortress was during WW II. Touchet, now 89 and living in Winter Haven, flew in B-17s over Germany as an Army Air Force photographer. On most of the missions, Touchet said, the Luftwaffe, or German air force, ...

B-17 Forced Landing - x planes | Click link to see what happened next

RED TAILS ACTORS FLY IN MUSTANGS - ASB Video | Description: More than three years ago, Ed Shipley drove Red Tails Director Anthony Hemingway to Chino, CA where he joined the newly selected actors for the Lucas Film on the Tuskegee airmen. It was day of dreams, brotherhood and the beginning of an adventure. For ASB, it was another remarkable step in the long movie-making process that started at the Gathering of Mustangs and Legends years earlier.

Acro Camp - FB Fan Page | Acro Camp IP Don Weaver demonstrated a two-turn spin for camper Jim Rodriguez on the way back in from the practice area. Great morning light and precise flying!
— with Jim Rodriguez and Don Weaver.

Historic DC-3 joins snowbirds for winter months in Stuart - TC Palm | STUART — If you have looked up in the sky recently or been out to Stuart Witham Airport, you may have seen a very unusual sight amid the countless light planes and sleek corporate jets that inhabit our local airport and airspace. Among the retirees, business moguls and celebrities that call Martin County home for the winter, there is one new resident that has appeared on film and TV and at airports all over the country that few have heard about. The oldest flying DC-3 in the world,...

F-35A JSF Night Flight - Defense Talk

Divers find WWII bomber off Swedish coast - The Local.se | Swedish divers have discovered what is believed to be the remains of a WWII Halifax bomber plane in the waters off the coast of southern Sweden. “When we got down there we expected it to be a rock, but as we pulled off the seaweed we saw that it was ...

The Hurricane Hunters - Air & Space Smithsonian | When Atlantic storms threaten, NOAA pilots answer the call. | Captain Randy TeBeest took command of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Aircraft Operations Center in Tampa, Florida in July 2011. The center, on MacDill Air Force Base, is home to most of NOAA’s 11 research aircraft, including the agency’s WP-3D Orion and Gulfstream IV “hurricane hunter” airplanes. A career aviator, TeBeest was interviewed in September by Executive Editor Paul Hoversten....

Controversy at the Northwest Florida Airport — but not its F-15 Eagle by travelforaircraft | From the 22 January 2012 edition of The Walton Sun I read the story of the recent settlement in a years long dispute regarding the upgrade construction of the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport. Fortunately, the F-15 Eagle (made by McDonnell-Douglas which has been absorbed by Boeing) is standing proud in front of the terminal there....

Stealth Star from Helikopter Hysterie - The Helicopter Blog | Below are the full frame photos I took of the Stealth Star "Penetrator" down at Torrance Airport / Zamperini Field a few months back. I finally had the time to read through the website (see links below). The owner of the Stealth Star is Robert Laura. If you read through the web presence, you can get a pretty good feel for the project. To summarize it, the Penetrator is a converted UH-1 Huey with a...

Literary Excellence from Flight Monkeys | Kevin Garrison is a visionary humorist who is just cranky enough to be taken seriously. He’s the alpha-male in an industry swarming in alpha-males. We have made it a policy to purchase and read every word he writes, partly because we really enjoy a good chuckle, and partly because he has a tendency to toss out so many random bits of insightful brilliance that are so profound we’ve almost covered the office refrigerator with his clippings....

A vision for a new frontier purpose for American spaceflight - The Space Review | ...One of the most important leadership roles for the United States is in the field of human space exploration, where the old way of doing things has nearly crippled our leadership there as well. Defining ourselves as a people, as a nation, with a purpose is the common ground we must reestablish right now in order to truly recover and restore the United States as the leader of the free world, on this planet and beyond....

Astronaut Application Deadline Approaching from Aero-News Network | Over 3,000 Potential Spacefarers Have Applied For The Next Class Individuals interested in becoming America's future space explorers have until Friday to submit their applications. The deadline to apply for NASA's next astronaut class is Jan. 27. The agency typically receives as many as 3,500 applicants for each astronaut class. Thus far, NASA says it has received more than 3,000 applications since November for this class.

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....

Indy Transponder 18-NOV-2011 1330z

Russian Yak 3 coming to Warbirds Over Wanaka - Voxy | When a rare Russian Yak 3 fighter plane performs at the upcoming Warbirds Over Wanaka International Airshow, the most appreciative of its many admirers are likely to be part-owner and pilot Graeme Frew, and his nephew Daniel.  Daniel (28) has been one of two full-time engineers working on a major overhaul of the Yak 3 at Omaka near Blenheim for more than three years, Mr Frew said. The machine suffered serious damage in an accident in the USA before it....

Rocket Racing League backs off Melbourne plan - Florida Today | The fledgling Rocket Racing League is no longer considering moving its headquarters from Orlando to Melbourne International Airport, said Mike D’Angelo, chief operating officer.  Someday, RRL pilots may zoom across 5-mile virtual racetracks in the sky. But the league, which was organized in 2005, has yet to debut because of financing, technological development and other factors....

The German Aces Speak — book review - Travel for Aircraft | ...The Aces Who Speak...Walter Krupinski, Adolf Galland, Eduard Neumann, Wolfgang Falck....

Members of the AC-119 Gunship Association Are Featured Speakers at MO Aviation Historical Society Meeting  - The Aero Experience | Members of the AC-119 Gunship Association (Vietnam War era) were the featured speakers at the November Missouri Aviation Historical Society Meeting held in the St. Louis area.  St. Louis native Everett Sprous, U.S. Air Force inflight weapons mechanic ("gunner") on AC-119K Stinger Gunship 1971-1972 and recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, assisted in organizing and hosting the meeting presentation.  Dr. Larry Fletcher, U.S. Air Force Captain and aircraft commander who flew 177 combat missions in AC-119G Shadow gunships and the recipient...

US Army Stealth Helicopter - Helikopter Hysterie | ...It has some familiar features that have been seen before, like the tail section and main rotor. But so did the highly modified US military stealth...

Aluminum Overcast - My San Antonio | This is another view from the bombadier's seat as the B-17 "Aluminum Overcast" flies over the Texas Hill Country Wednesday November 16, 2011.  / SA

Week in brief November 18 2011 - Australian Flying | The Historical Aircraft Restoration Society has this week welcomed two ex-RAAF Caribous to its collection. Using the aircraft for Anzac Day events, Vietnam Veterans’ events and other heritage activities like Wings over the Illawarra, HARS will maintain the Caribous in flying...

The USAF gets a new toy - Bayou Renaissance Man | The USAF has taken delivery of the first production versions of the new Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) GBU-57A/B bomb. The Los Angeles Times reports:...

GE YF120 part 1 - The Unwanted Blog | Sitting next to the YF-23 at the US Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH (or at least it was a few years ago) is an example of the General Electric YF120. The YF120 was in competition with the Pratt & Whitney YF119; both the YF-23 and the YF120 lost their respective competitions. The YF120 was an advanced engine, capable of....

Friday Fabulous Flyer - Flying for Success | Dipeet Mehta | Many young people have dreams and aspirations of greatness, but it takes someone with work ethics, energy, and ambition, to reach those dreams. Dipeet is that person. Depeet is originally from India...

Today in Aviation History – November 18 - CRUFC

Martin MB-2 - Planeshots | Martin MB-2. “An MB-2 hits its target, the obsolete battleship USS Alabama during tests. On Sep. 27, 1921, still operating....

EAA announces more details of adult version of their Young Eagles program - National General Aviation Examiner.com | On July 27, 2011, during the 2011 AirVenture, EAA's CEO and President, Rod Hightower announced that the organization would be expanding their Young Eagles program to include adults. Today, EAA finally announced the name of the adult program and some additional details. Beginning in the spring of 2012, adults will be able to take an....

Young Eagles - Olndy Daily Mail | East Richland Middle School eighth-graders took part Tuesday in the Young Eagles Program at Olney-Noble Airport. In addition to taking rides in airplanes, students used their school-issued iPad 2s to take pictures and video. They also used the devices to interview each other....

Indy Transponder 18-MAY-2011 1920z

Checking Out An Aerobatic Pilot's Bag Of Tricks - WAMU | When the annual Joint Service Open House and Air Show at Andrews Air Force Base rolls into town later this week, the lineup will feature one of this country's top aerobatic pilots, the Air National Guard's Lieutenant Colonel John Klatt. In 25 years of flying, Klatt has piloted commercial airliners, flown F-16s in combat, and supported missions for the space shuttle...

Teaser Video for Boston-Portsmouth Air Show - Mike Goulian | The folks at the Boston-Portsmouth Air Show caught up with us last week to discuss the upcoming air show in August at Pease airport. This year watch Michael fly along with the USAF Thunderbirds, Sean D. Tucker, and an amazing line up of performers. Michael’s interview shares his thoughts as the closest event to home this year.

Jones Beach Air Show on Memorial Day Weekend - Long Island | Memorial Day is fast approaching and it's time for the 2011 Bethpage Federal Credit Union New York Air Show at Jones Beach State Park. On Saturday, May 28 and Sunday, May 29, 2011, you can watch the United States Air Force F-22 Raptor and the A-10 Thunderbolt II soaring through the skies over Long Island as well as other high-flying entertainment...

BLADES AND THEIR FLYING MACHINES ARE HERE - Gibraltar Chronicle | SET FOR THE SKIES: (from left) The Blades pilots Mark Cutmore, Andy Offer, Myles Garland and Andy Evans. After 48 hours of serial leg flying from the UK, THE BLADES Aerobatic Display Team has landed in Gibraltar ready for their series of activities this weekend. Over the next few days you will see the four Blades aircraft manoeuvring around Gibraltar...

15th Annual Lyon County Fly-In this weekend - RGJ | SILVER SPRINGS-The 15th Annual Lyon County Fly-In is slated for this weekend at the Silver Springs Regional Airport, and the event will feature many activities for families and aviation fans. "This whole thing is about kids," said Fly-In Chairperson Ron Bell, adding, "There are many activities for families to enjoy."...

Air Force plane crashes in Victoria - ABC Melbourne | A plane used by the RAAF's Roulettes aerobatic team has crashed at the East Sale airbase in Victoria. The PC-9/A's two crew members ejected moments before the plane crashed after experiencing engine failure. The Defence Force said the crew were undertaking a routine training flight when the plane crashed about 1 kilometre from the runway...


The Stealth Chinook involved in the Osama Bin Laden raid and why the Stealth Black Hawk crashed in Abbottabad - Cencio4 | An interesting article published yesterday by the Associated Press and commented by Wired/Danger Room, provided some interesting details about the Osama Bin Laden raid. Indeed, anonymous government sources have told the story to the AP even if information they disclosed, raise more questions… Anyway, first of all, I can’t help but notice that my possible explaination of Operation Neptune’s Spear (OBL raid’s name), published on May 6, was not disproved by facts disclosed so far!...

Videos from AIRBOYD:
A-10 Thunderbolt Refueling
EA-6 Prowler Refueling
F-16 Fighting Falcon Refueling

May 18, 1953: Jackie Cochran, First Woman to Break Sound Barrier - Wired | 1953: Jackie Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier. Cochran was already famous (as an aviatrix and racing pilot) and wealthy (through marriage) when she broke the sound barrier over Rogers Dry Lake, California, flying a Royal Canadian Air Force F-86 Sabrejet. In moving from subsonic to supersonic speed, Cochran averaged 652 mph...

New York Guard Women Are At Home in The Sky - You Fly Girl | This is a press release from March 18...still worth reading! LATHAM, NY (03/18/2011)(readMedia)-- The women who keep the New York Army and Air National Guard flying found inspiration in the skies and on the ground...

Juliet Kuruwaa: "Why I Want To Fly" - Flight To Success | Another incredible essay from a talented and beautiful young lady from Ghana. Aviation has not only touched her life, but changed it. Juliet Kuruwaa is my name and I am a citizen of Ghana in West Africa. A student of Aviation Technology Academy, studying piloting and engineering. My ambition to become a pilot started from the very first day I saw a plane in the sky...

The First Woman to Fly in an Airplane Was When? - Ptak Science | I wondered about how long after the Wright's first powered flight (17 December 1903) that it took for a woman fly in an airplane, either as passenger or pilot.  I was a little surprised--when I found my answer, my glasses weren't quite up to seeing the date on the top of the page very clearly, and on closer inspection I was a little taken aback to see how wrong my assumption was...

Star Struck In California - Collings Foundation | The national Wings of Freedom tour is now bouncing around California. So far, we have visited La Verne, Long Beach, Carlsbad, Ramona, Santa Ana, Hawthorne, Camarillo, Burbank – and now in Bakersfield. The Wings of Freedom tour is making its way up the coast landing in eight cities in Northern California before heading to Oregon and Washington...

Super Guppy back in Amarillo -- Black Horizon | Photographed last night flying into Amarillo/Rick Husband International Airport. It is ferrying V-22 fuselages for assembly at the Bell/Textron Plant here.

Let’s Fly on Saturday! - AOPA Blog | This Saturday, May 21st,  is Learn-to-Fly day. It should come as no surprise by now that GA is in need of more pilots if our activity is to survive as we know it. There may be a better reason to go flying than to introduce a prospective pilot to our world but I’m not sure what it might be. Ditto for educating people who will never become pilots. The more “air-minded” people we can make, the fewer hassles there will be regarding airports...

New book celebrates Iowa’s aviation heritage - GA News | Eastern Iowa’s Aviation Heritage, a new book from Arcadia Publishing, captures Eastern Iowa’s long-time fascination with flight. From primitive air gliders and balloons to today’s modern airplanes (and everything in between), aviation enthusiasts in Eastern Iowa have had their heads in the clouds since the late 1800s...

Winners of the 2011 FAI Young Artists Contest - FAI | On the occasion of the recent FAI Aviation and Space Education Commission (CIEA) plenary meeting, the International Jury met to determine the winners of the 2011 FAI Young Artists Contest, whose theme was "50 Years of Human Space Flight". The theme of this year was tightly linked to the 50th anniversary of Gagarin's historic flight...

SS2 first feather flight video - Hobby Space | Here's a video from Virgin Galactic about the drop test of SpaceShipTwo on May 10th in which its feathering re-entry system was tested for the first time.

Secret Stealth Drone Spied on Osama, Dodged Pakistanis - Danger Room | Two years ago, pictures leaked of a previously unknown, bat-winged drone operating out of Afghanistan’s Kandahar airport. Speculation spiked about the mission of the mysterious aircraft, instantly nicknamed “the Beast of Kandahar” by secret plane-spotter extraordinaire Bill Sweetman...http://wamu.org/news/11/05/18/checking_out_an_aerobatic_pilots_bag_of_tricks.php

Indy Transponder 05-MAY-2011 1000z

2011 air show act has new angle - Shreveport Times | Special to The Times Who: Air Combat Command F-22 (below) Demo Team; Tora! Tora! Tora! re-creation of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor; the Skyhawks Canadian Parachute Demo Team; and aerial demonstration pilots Greg Poe ...

Stunt Plane Pilot Showcases New Bird For Defenders Of Liberty – KTBS | The 31st annual Defenders of Liberty Air Show gets underway this weekend and it will play host to some of the best in the United States Air Force, and Greg Poe of Greg Poe Air Shows will also be on hand. For Poe this will be his fifth visit to ...

Look to skies over Smyrna for Great Tennessee Air Show - The Daily News Journal | This weekend's signature aviation event will also include performances by air show legends Gene Soucy and Wing Walker Teresa Stokes; Michael Goulian, USA pilot in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship; Jason Newburg flying the Viper; Cheryl Stearns, ...

World Air Master competition held in Chongqing – Xinhua | Pilots and air fans gathered for dazzling aerobatic performances. Colored smoke trails emphasize the flight path, drawing gasps from onlookers. After three days of competing, South African Nigel Hopkins won the World Air Master title with a stunning ...

They're Here! And They're Huge. WWII Bombers Fly Into Ramona - Patch.com | B-17 and B-24 bombers and a P-51B Mustang stunned onlookers who were eagerly awaiting their arrival at Ramona Airport Wednesday. Pilot Jayson Owen of Kodiak, Alaska flew the massive World War II era B-24 bomber into Ramona Airport as part of the Wings ...

Story of audacious retrieval to be subject of museum presentation - The Warner Robins Patriot | The finished product – dubbed “Glacier Girl” – made its first flight in October of 2002, one of only a few flyable P-38s in the world. It is now owned by Rod Lewis and based in San Antonio. Epps said the Schoffner family sold “Glacier Girl” to a broker ...

90-year-old former pilot a part of aviation history - Pensacola News Journal | Former Marine enlisted pilot Burrel Sumner thumbs through one of his four flight logbooks after returning to Sherman Field at Pensacola Naval Air Station Wednesday morning May 4, 2011. The former Marine F4U Corsair pilot returned to the skies in a ...

Two Books We Recommend Highly  from Flight Monkeys | Neal Thompson is a former newspaper reporter who took a chance assignment and turned it into a career change. The request was to write a couple paragraphs for the obituary of a deceased astronaut, Alan Shepard. The career change came as the result of Neal’s realization that there was no serious biography of America’s first man in space...

Today in Aviation History – May 5  from Calgary Recreational and Ultralight Flying Club by bikeal

Navy SEAL Black Hawk was no ordinary chopper - abc7.com | Aviation analysts say the remnants of the aircraft reveal they were part of one of the US military's most closely-guarded secret: A stealth Black Hawk helicopter whose existence was only rumored. It had never been seen in public before. ...

Why yes, you may ask about the stealth helicopters  from Boing Boing by Rob Beschizza | The wreckage of a downed chopper, blown to smithereens by Navy Seals unwilling to leave it in foreign hands, was the last remnant of their mission left inside Osama Bin Laden's compound. It left under wraps, on the back of a truck laden with Pakistani soldiers. At Wired, David Axe offers a thorough guide to the high-tech mystery copter, and what aviation experts know about it…

Indy Transponder 05-MAY-2011 0429z

Flying for the Cure - GA News | A California father and his 12-year-old son are flying around the world in their homebuilt RV-8 to raise awareness about childhood cancers. After six years of building their own airplane, Julian, Calif., resident Stephan Armstrong and his son, Charlie, plan to fly their plane “SEE WORLD I” around the world to...

VIDEO: Blue Angels over Pensacola Bay - WALA | Blues and the Cenntenial of Naval Aviation.

Wide Bay Airshow – Top Gun Tickets - Aviation Advertiser | AUSTRALIA: The Wide Bay Australia International Airshow has now launched an exclusive ticket offering premium position and comfort for Airshow enthusiasts.  The Top Gun Chalet Ticket has been released today and is one of the hottest tickets available for the 2011 event...

Snowbirds to kick-off show season in Moose Jaw on Saturday - MJ Times | The Canadian Forces Snowbirds team will hold its annual acceptance show to kick off the 2011 show season at 15 Wing on Saturday. Citizens of Moose Jaw and the surrounding areas will be aware of more jet activity near the base from about 1 p.m. to 3 p.m...

Mission helo was secret stealth Black Hawk - Air Force Times | The helicopters that flew the Navy SEALs on the mission to kill Osama bin Laden were a radar-evading variant of the special operations MH-60 Black Hawk, according to a retired special operations aviator. The helicopter’s low-observable technology is similar to that of the F-117 Stealth Fighter the retired special operations aviator said. “It really didn’t look like a traditional Black Hawk,” he said. It had “hard edges, sort of like an … F-117, you know how they have those distinctive edges and angles — that’s what they had on this one.”...

DAV Flight Team's 2011 Airshow Season - DAV Flight Team | The 2011 DAV Airshow Public Outreach tour began in March, taking the Team to Keesler Air Force Base Angels Over the Bay, The Florida International Air Show, Sun 'n Fun and JB Charleston Air Expo. The fifteen-show tour will continue through the spring with visits to...

Marine aviator, 90, returns to the cockpit - PNJ | When Burrel Sumner was born, Naval aviation was only 10 years old. Today, as Pensacola Naval Air Station celebrated the Centennial of Naval Aviation, the 90-year-old former flier was getting reacquainted with an old friend...

Local veterans take flight to visit WWII Memorial in nation's capitol - Journal Standard | Freeport, Ill. — It was a day they will always remember. William Hills, 87 of Lena, and Dwight Bennett, 85 of Orangeville, each served their country during World War II. Hills was in the Army. Bennett served in the Navy. Each saw action in different theaters. Service for their country was not second-guessed back then. They served proudly...

Robins Museum of Aviation F-15 - Unwanted Blog | The Museum of Aviation near Robins Air Force Base in Georgia is a surpringinly well-stocked museum worthy of a visit… especially if, like me, you just happen to be going by, had no idea that the museum was there...

VIDEO: Golden Eagles Pioneers of Naval Aviation - WEAR | NAS PENSACOLA - One brotherhood celebrates Naval Aviation every year. They call themselves the Golden Eagles Pioneers of Naval Aviation. This week they're holding their reunion right here in Pensacola.
Among them are famous astronauts, including Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon...

B-1B in the pattern today - Black Horizon | A rare sight - a B-1B Lancer from Dyess AFB shot a few transitions at KAMA today.

Archaeology of Bombing, 1913 - Ptak Science | This is another in a longish series of posts on this blog on the archaeology of bombing, aerial bombing, and today's installment comes from its earliest period.  The first air assault belongs to the Italians, who used the weapons from the air in bombing Tripoli in 1911...

VIDEO: Young Eagles Update - EAA | Rod Hightower and YE Co-Chairman Jeff Skiles discusses the success and future of this important EAA program.

Indy Transponder 04-MAY-11 0900z

Blues kick off centennial bash - Pensacola News Journal | Aviation Week air show: The Blue Angels took to the sky for a special air show celebrating the centennial of Naval Aviation. Greg Walker points out the approaching Blue Angel F/A-18 jets to his three-year-old son, Nathan Walker, during the Centennial ...

More interesting developments about the bin Laden raid  from Bayou Renaissance Man by Peter | More and more information is coming to light following the mission to kill Osama bin Laden last weekend. I wrote about some areas yesterday. I've found four more points of interest today.  1. Most interesting to aviation enthusiasts is that the raid appears to have revealed the existence of a previously-unknown 'stealthy' variant of the Sikorsky MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. Ares reports…

Stealth Helo  from Neptunus Lex | Navy went downtown hi-tech in Abbottabad, no doubt courtesy of the Army’s 160th SOAR, according to Aviation Leak:  (The downed aircraft) was a secretly developed stealth helicopter, probably a highly modified version of an H-60 Blackhawk. Photos published in the Daily Mail and on the Secret Projects board show that the helicopter’s tail features stealth-configured shapes on the boom and tip fairings, swept stabilizers and a “dishpan” cover over a non-standard five-or-six-blade tail rotor. It has a silver-loaded infra-red suppression finish similar to that seen on some V-22s…

AirFest is just plane ol' fun for Abilene families - ReporterNews.com | Since Ethan Peacock likes to watch airplanes fly over his home in eastern Abilene, his parents brought him to the Dyess Big Country AirFest on Saturday morning to experience all the adventure a young aviation buff could handle. ...

Annual Dreams on Wings Event Cancelled Due to Severe Weather  from Alabama Aviator - Aviation News | BIRMINGHAM AL-   When a child is faced with a serious illness it affects the entire family. Dreams On Wings, an annual event, is designed to give those children and their families a day to forget about the issues they're dealing with and do something few people get to do-FLY!...

Pilot's daughter takes trip down memory lane at the Air Station - Montrose Today | In October, 1936, Captain Findlay and three of his crew took part in the Johannesburg Air Race flying a twin-engined Airspeed Envoy. Unfortunately a decision to fly in inclement weather was to cost him his life and he died when the plane crashed taking ...

Foundation, tourist center plans given hard look by Havelock commissioners - ENC Today | HAVELOCK — Havelock commissioners have taken a hard look at future plans for the Eastern Carolina Aviation Heritage Foundation and its plans for expansion at the Havelock Tourist and Event Center. In the end, they voted to provide most, but not all, ...

Astronaut Al Shepard, and Me  from Flight Monkeys | May 5, 2011 marks the 50th anniversary of sending the first American into space. Ask most people who were around during the golden age of American space flight, and they will tell you that the first American in space was none other than, John Glenn. While John Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth, he was not the first American to be shot out of our atmosphere. That honor goes to, Alan Shepard…

The second cruise missile — the Fieseler Fi 103 (V-1)  from Travel for Aircraft | As posted before* during WW I the Kettering aerial torpedo — nicknamed the “Kettering Bug” — was developed but not placed into use. As well all know the V-1 was placed into use during WW II. Both weapons are more accurately described as aerial torpedos since they followed a compass course upon launch and were gyroscopically stabilized to maintain horizontal flight…

Welcome Virgin Australia – Pictures from flight.org by Marty | Virgin Blue re-branded its domestic and narrow-body international operation (excluding the one Polynesian Blue operation that consists of just one aircraft) into Virgin Australia.  We have lots of information coming – including video of the Sydney press conference with Richard Branson and John Borghetti. In the meantime, here’s a few photos from today’s event. We’ll upload hundreds of photos to Facebook…

Today in Aviation History – May 4  from Calgary Recreational and Ultralight Flying Club by bikeal