92-year-old WWII fighter pilot, Bob Jorgenson, pinned some very special wings on his grandson, Nick Atkins, when he graduated at the top of his class in Academics from Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio, Texas. They were his own. Captain Jorgensen flew 35 missions into the European heartland during his active duty tour in Great Britain.
Watch this family pair go back up into the “wild blue yonder.” This short video (3 minute) is courtesy of USA TODAY.
Thanks to our friends at FIGHTER SWEEP for this short (1:15) video (immediately under the static photo of the plane parked on the ramp) of the new USAF & Navy T-6A Texan II Jet-prop trainer at work plying the clouds. The Raytheon Aircraft-built Texan II is a single-turbo prop engined, two-seat primary trainer, used to teach basic flying skills to Air Force and Navy pilots.
The aircraft is fully aerobatic and features a pressurized cockpit with an anti-G system, ejection seat and an advanced avionics package with sunlight-readable liquid crystal displays, or as they are more commonly known, a full “Glass Panel.” It is the military trainer version of Raytheon’s Beech/Pilatus PC-9 Mk II.This trainer was first featured on our site some four (4) years ago. One of its early test pilots was none other than our own FASF Advisor, Patty Wagstaff of Florida, Air Show and International Aerobatic competition fame.
Texan II on Ramp at Vance AFB.
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And, immediately below, is another (4:15 long) video of the Texan II in action – Practicing formation and aerobatic work. The lead female pilot using the cockpit GoPro camcorder is Air Force pilot, Courtney McCallan.
And, below, another T6-Texan II training clip, 3:10 in length.
Below is another video, but this time of the original WWII – Korean Conflict Basic Air Force and Navy Trainer, the North American T6, which was designated the SNJ by the Navy. The Canadians and British called it the “Harvard.” The Basic Trainer was conventionally powered. This video is 5:26 in length. This is the airplane in which your Editor did his basic training in the USAF.
Below is a 3:29 long video using another HD Go-Pro camcorder taking the cockpit view during airshow maneuvers in Germany. Notice the control stick is the British type with a small ring at the top of the stick. This is the kind of stick, called a “Spade Stick” found in both the Super-marine Spitfires and Hurricanes fighters that successfully fought the Germans during the Battle of Britain in WWII.
Below is the 3rd phase of flight training at Vance AFB – the class’ final video summary of their year training to be USAF Pilots. The full video was class (student) produced. Show is 5:30 long. Gives a good insight to what lies in store for USAF Pilot students in their first year of Pilot Training. Includes typical student off hours recreation activities and finally the step up to flight training in the T-38 “Talon” aircraft.
T6 Texan in action.
Time to fly! Row of Texans at the ready.
Virg Hemphill
Here, thanks to FASF Aviation News Scout, Virg Hemphill (L), are two fun to watch video clips of the Czech Red Bull pilots showing off their dare-devil spirit in hair-raising stunts using their newest high powered Zivko Edge 540 aerobatic planes. These first two videos will show you the views from both inside and outside the aircraft. The third and last video will show you the Edge doing competitive maneuvers.
L to R above: Jan Rudzinskyj (left wing); Stanislav Cejka (leader), Miroslav Krejci (right wing); and Jan Tvrdik (slot).
Maximum discipline, focus, confidence and teamwork skills are the very essence of the success of the Flying Bull’s Aerobatic Team. The pilots are often referred to as “aerial acrobats” and they cavort across the sky as though acting as a single entity, showing off routines that no other group in the world has yet proven capable of matching. The below video is 2:32 long.
Below, is another exciting video clip of one of the Czech team members, Peter Besenyei, flying through a narrow canyon and under a number of bridges that span it.
Hungarian pilot Peter Besenyei gets an amazing opportunity to do some flying in the Corinth Canal in Greece and he takes full advantage of it. We’re not sure how the Red Bull Air Racing team managed to get permission to fly the canal but it makes for an awesome flying video that any pilot, or anyone, for that matter, should enjoy watching. This clip is 2:13 long.
The below video demonstrates competitive aerobatics by the Zivko Edge 540 and is 5:17 long.
Virg Hemphill
Thanks again to our number one Aviation News Scout, Virg Hemphill (L), we are once again able to bring you another fascinating video (14:23 long) about the First Aero’s famous spy plane: the SR-71 Blackbird.
Buz Carpenter
Smithsonian Air & Space Museum Docent, Col. Buz Carpenter (R), a former SR-71 Pilot himself, gives a us an intriguing tour of his favorite plane, the world’s fastest jet. Since 1976, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird has held the world record for the fastest ‘air-breathing manned aircraft’ with a recorded speed of 1,905.81 knots (2,193.2 mph; 3,529.6 km/h). That works out to a staggering 36.55 miles/58.83 km per minute.
And here below is a 4:25 long video about the Blackbird, with one of our FASF Advisors, and former First Aero Squadron Commander, Major General Patrick Halloran (see his photo below both videos), describing some of his own experiences as a member of the small elite group of pilots priviliged to fly the world’s fastest jet. General Halloran is the second Blackbird pilot you see being interviewed.
And, below is a 20:00 long video of a SR-71 Cockpit Checkout by former pilot, Richard Graham.
Gen. Patrick Halloran
Sit tight and watch your knuckles turn white as you hang on for this 3:19 wild ride, right on the deck, with this Croatian Air Force Pilot, as he steeply banks his jet-prop fighter right and left over roads, rivers, farm fields and, yes under bridges. Steep banks, such as this video displays, are more than dangerous this close to the terrain. And, take a deep breath, as he flies right under the Mirna Bridge in Western Croatia.
One of Croatian Air Force Emblems
This looks dangerous: and it is. But it also shows you what a high degree of piloting skill can help you accomplish. It mayh also give you a hint of how adventurous and downright fun it can be to fly your own plane. Courtesy of ICONIC.
Croatian Air Force Exhibition Team
Croatian AF PC-9’s in Formation
CAF PC-9’s Exhibiting Formation maneuvers
CAF Pilatus PC-9 Taxis out for takeoff.
CAF PC-9 Takes off and raises gear.
Croatian Air Force MIG-21
Once again, from our ever alert Aviation News Scout, Virg Hemphill, comes another great video post regarding Naval Aviator in training – – – when they are ready for their first attempts to land a fast moving jet on the mother ship – and Aircraft Carrier.
Virg and I were USAF jet pilots, so we didn’t have to endure this experience, in fact we not so jokingly used to refer to all Navy landings aboard ship as either good or bad “controlled crashes.” That’s because, as you can see, there’s simply no such thing on an Aircraft Carrier as a “smooth” landing.
The arresting gear that so suddenly jerks your hurling machine to a sudden stop, simply cannot provide a “smooth” end of flight experience. In fact, when you stop to think about the Navy shipboard landing process, if the pilots were not tightly constrained by a strong shoulder and seat harness, they’d likely be gravely injured or even killed by the sudden stop – as would they be had their plane hit a brick wall. Of course the jets are purposely designed to be exceptionally strong, enough to safely take the sudden stops involved with every Carrier landing.
Without further ado, here’s “The Day of the Tests.” It is 6:52 long.
When Air Force model aircraft are re-designed for Navy Carrier Service, they must be especially reinforced to be able to withstand the extreme landing forces they’ll have to endure. The result is, of course, that the USN version of the jet will be considerably heavier because of the extra weight of the reinforcement metals involved.
As you can see in this video, there’s a tendency for understandably nervous new pilots to come in too high – – – and to thereby miss the arresting cable altogether. One pilot even forgets to put his tail hook down.
One of the most difficult parts of the new carrier landing technique is for the fledgling pilots to remember to immediately put on full power the instant they touch the deck.
This must be done to be sure that, should the pilot not snag the arresting cable, they’ll have sufficient power to “go around” or make another attempt to land. Missing the arresting cable is called a “bolter.” Doing this sudden application of power upon touching down is an unnatural or non-instinctive procedure, yet critically necesary. If it’s not done with precise timing, they risk rolling straight off the Carrier’s deck and into the ocean.
Your editor spent three years in the Navy before switching to the Air Force and found this videos’ pilots’ reference to the “Boat” as startling. When I served in the Navy, one never used the term “boat” for a large ship, such as an aircraft carrier, so the acceptable language has certainly changed in the past fifty years! We were literally scolded, if we referred to our ship as a boat!
Let it not be claimed that one’s daily flying of a fixed wing (contrasted to rotary winged) aircraft in the USAF is precisely the same as that when one is flying in the Navy. Without a doubt, the most significant difference between the two experiences is when it comes to landing and taking off.
The Navy (and some USMC) pilots don’t take their machines into the air the same way at all: The Naval aviator is literally – and violently – shot into the air – which is done by a huge steam driven catapult* apparatus aboard the Aircraft Carrier; while, on the other hand, the USAF pilot uses (unless flying a vertical take-off aircraft) a very stable or fixed-in-space long runway for the procedure. When it comes to landing, the difference experienced is even more dramatic – and without a doubt, the Naval Aviator’s experience is far more dangerous – – – and demanding.
The following two video clips were first made public by the Public Broadcasting System in cooperation with the Department of the Navy. They are laced with white-knuckled attempts at landing – one failed attempt after another – on the severely pitching Nimitz’ s seemingly minuscule landing platform or deck.
Everyone on board, from the Captain on the Bridge to the non-flying pilots down below at their live TV screens along with other crew members, all had their eyes fixed to their repeater screens as the airborne pilots struggled to safely land their racing jets back on board the mother ship. Would they all make is safely down – or not? And all their missed approaches were gobbling up their fuel, requiring them to be refueled by Carrier borne tankers, since the ship was more than 700 miles from the nearest safe shoreline.
So, let’s go aboard the USS Nimitz at sea – and not a typical day at sea – but a day with rough seas and a PITCHING DECK. Remember, you can take these videos to full screen mode and keep your sound turned up to get the most meaningful experience from these two cliff-hanger videos.
This first video is 10 thrilling minutes long – as is the second one, too.
* The newest USN Aircraft Carrier (the USS Ford) to join the fleet has a radically new launching catapult system, one that is magnetically, rather than steam driven:
EMALS. The Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) is designed to replace the steam catapult systems currently used on the U.S. Navy aircraft carriers. USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is the first carrier to use EMALS.
The two videos above are courtesy of the United States Navy.
Thanks to “Fighter Sweep” we have this following news story about the two U.S. military aviation demonstration teams’ exhibition over NAS Pensacola, Florida, home of the Navy’s principal Flight Training Station. See the below 1:11 long video. You may ask, “what’s it mean to swap paint?” The video explains.
And why were the Thunderbirds joining up with the Blue Angels? It was the 71st Birthday for the Blue Angels, and the USAF Team crashed their party. They hadn’t done this since 2002. But it was a friendly exchange of not just greetings and airborne teamwork, but also of ideas and mutually similar experiences in the crowd thrilling exhibition business. For the “younger” Thunderbirds, it was their 70th birthday. This video is 1:53 long.
Air Force and Navy Flight Demonstration Teams join for group portrait at Pensacola, FL in celebration of the Blue Angels’ 71st Birthday.
Earlier, here below, is a USAF KC-135 Tanker refueling the Navy’s Blue Angels exhibition team in mid-flight. This clip is 1:01 long, and shows some beautiful footage of the refueling action as it takes place. One of our more active FASF members, Col. Alan Fisher, accumulated many hours flying this same tanker during his USAF career.
Don’t know what they are?
Well, as you’d expect, they’re a far cry from the early Curtiss OX-5 reciprocating engines that powered the First Aero’s famous Jennies, but since they might otherwise be unknown to you, we’re here to help you learn what these engines are. We’re here to help bring you all up to speed about aviation, since American Civil as well as Military Aviation (Air Power) both got their true launching – and re-launching – right here in Columbus.
And, is it not true that the airplane has done more to shrink the effective size of the world than any other invention?
Enjoy this excellent 10 minute video, featuring Australian Professor, David Mee, about the ultimate jet – – – the SCRAMJET power plant for hypersonic flight.
SCRAMJETS are NOT rocket engines, such as those we see pushing our space craft into orbits and beyond.
These advanced SCRAMJET engines are not only unimaginably powerful, but they can push aircraft well beyond MACH 6, which is six (6) times the speed of sound, for those of you not familiar with the meaning of MACH.
The finest jet engines cannot drive their aircraft beyond about MACH 3.5, at which speed limit the Ramjet is required. Then we can move the craft beyond MACH 3.5 to about MACH 6, – – – and that’s the speed at which the SCRAMJET takes over . . .
QUESTION: What class of the above described jet engines were used to power the famous SR-71 flown by the First Aero Squadron?
Many of you most likely heard the news two days ago, on Tuesday, when it was reported by all the major domestic TV networks, that the Albuquerque Air Traffic Control Center had just dealt with a report from two commercial aircraft and their professional pilots, both traveling towards the West over New Mexico and Arizona, that they had seen an object (UFO?) above them moving towards the East.
The FAA chose, in an unusual move, to release the actual recorded conversations between the Air Traffic Controller and the pilots involved in the incident. None of the pilots could accurately identify what the strange vehicle was, and the made some humorous remarks that it might have been a UFO, or a “weather balloon” – – – which was likely a sarcastic reference to the famous Roswell incident of 71 years ago, in which the USAF quickly altered their first public information release describing a UFO wreck to one of a wrecked “weather balloon.”
It would appear that the old government policy of secrecy regarding such incidents has finally been abandoned.
Here, below, is the actual Air Traffic Controller’s communications with the pilots flying over Arizona and New Mexico. The official recording soundtrack has been spliced with a separate stock royalty-free view from an airliner for special effect. Therefor the video portion is not of either of the reporting aircraft, but the the audio is that of the actual conversation. Note that the Air Traffic Controller did not “see” the UFO on his radar screens.
It is interesting to note that the UFOs are often picked up by radar, but others in the vicinity cannot see them with their naked eyes, and vice versa is also regularly the case.
There had been a great deal of activity in this field of trying to identify these strange vehicles ever since the mysterious news about our first official sighting of an unidentified flying object that ostensibly crashed near Roswell, NM in 1947, shortly after the end of WWII. It was either on or close to July 4, 1947 when this famous incident occurred. Here is the official New Mexico government description of that event.
For the most part, ever since the Roswell Incident, there has been a growing group of people interested in the entire subject, and these UFO enthusiasts, if one can call them that, can now be found in every corner of the globe. Some of these self-described UFO experts have even pointed out that there are pieces of art dating back thousands of years in which UFO and modern type air vehicles were depicted – and those ancient artifacts look astoundingly similar to both modern UFO (flying saucer varieties) shapes as well as those of modern day helicopters.
However, during the years following Roswell, the official policy of the U.S. Government and its agencies has been to keep the matter quiet and to issue no news releases, or any kind of overt official commentary, for that matter. This old secretive posture now appears to a changing policy. It is now well established that the Air Force established a special secret project entitled “Project Blue Book” in the year 1947, but the secret USAF enterprise was not discontinued until 1969. For those 27 intervening years, a massive amount of data was accumulated, material resulting from both civilian and military reports of UFO phenomena. Sometimes such UFO incidents are simultaneously seen be so many civilians, both here and abroad, that the press could not ignore the witnesses, and, accordingly some fairly recent mass sightings of UFO’s have made international headlines. Six years ago, in 2012, the National Geographic Society actually published its list of “Ten Mass Sightings of UFOs.” But, while this article drew attention to some major incidents with large masses of witnesses, they neglected to mention the huge sighting in Mexico City by hundreds of thousands of Mexicans, who witnessed a large group of fighter type UFO vehicles above and South of Mexico City in 1997,
Just recently, the news media also released recordings of several Navy pilots flying off an aircraft carrier near San Diego, similar to this Tuesday’s incident with the American Airlines pilots, in which the Navy F-18 pilots were alerted by their shipboard (USS Nimitz) radar operator that there was a mysterious “target” near them – – – and the pilots were requested to investigate. As the pilots observed (in the recorded radio transmissions), the “object” could not be identified. But it did not behave as do modern day aircraft, but rather did things normal earth designed airplanes cannot accomplish in terms of speed and sudden changes of direction and altitude. Here, below, is the formerly classified incident, as seen by the fighter’s own gunnery camera. And the audio is that of the pilots’ communication with the Nimitz.
Just recently, one of the former Navy fighter pilots, David Fravor, who took part in the short UFO chase back in 2004, told his story on national TV.
So, the question, “are we alone,” may now be taking on another dimension.