Today, August 19th, is the U.S. National Aviation Day and what better way to celebrate than with a video of first night time vertical landing of F-35B on a carrier deck. The video shows a U.S. Marine Corps test pilot performing the first night-time vertical landing aboard the USS WASP on August 14 and it looks equal parts scary and awesome seen in the neon green glow of the night-vision camera. It is safe to say that it adds a new dimension and immense depth to the strike capability of a carrier group with this new feature added.
* Note: According to Wikipedia that National Aviation Day is observed to celebrate the development of aviation. It was established in 1939 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who issued a presidential proclamation which designated the anniversary of Orville Wright‘s birthday to be National Aviation Day (Mr. Wright, born in 1871, was still alive when the proclamation was first issued, and would live another nine years). The proclamation was codified (USC 36:I:A:1:118), and it allows the sitting US President to proclaim August 19 as National Aviation Day each year, if desired. His/her proclamation may direct all federal buildings and installations to fly the US flag on that day, and may encourage citizens to observe the day with activities that promote interest in aviation.
A Learjet Model 60 was tagged by graffiti artists, in a picture posted to Twitter/KCBS/The Aviation Writer. (via News.com.au)
Wow.. A gang snuck into Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles undetected in the early morning hours and tagged a learjet parked in the tarmac with words “flame” and R.I.P. It is estimated that the cost of fixing the plane is going to be around $110,000.. That’s some good chunk of change for the jet’s owner to undo this creative expression. The biggest question is – How secure is the airport complex to permit something like this, which should have taken at least a couple of hours to get done? Click here to learn more.
Pointing a laser beam on an aircraft can land you in the jail if you were in the US. But that is not the case if you happen to be in the middle of in Egypt’s Tahrir Square this past weekend.. And you might even get a lot of support for doing so if that said aircraft is hovering and monitoring the swell of protesters gathered at the public square.. Here is a shot of the awesome laser-on-helicopter show via The Atlantic’s In Focus
Laser Painted Helicopter in Cairo’s Tahrir Square (image courtesy: Reuters via The Atlantic)
Another view of the laser shots from the ground (Image Courtesy: AP Photo via The Atlantic)
Ground to air perspective of the laser shots at the helicopter (image courtesy: AFP via The Atlantic)
Here is a video of the June 30, 2013 incident showing the military helicopter illuminated by green laser lights from below, as it flies above Tahrir Square while a huge crowd of protesters opposing Egyptian President Morsi shout slogans against him and Brotherhood members, in Cairo.
A photo series that walks you through the story of a memorial built in a remote corner of the globe. It is beautiful and moving tribute to the victims of UTA Flight 772, a scheduled flight operating from Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo to Paris CDG airport in France. On Tuesday, September 19th, 1989 the aircraft exploded over Niger in the Tenere region of the Sahara Desert. French investigators determined a suitcase bomb planted by Libyan terrorists to be the cause. All 170 people on board died. You will appreciate the efforts that went into building this memorial for the perished..
Just as the nation watches nervously about the impacts of sequestration (while the political blame game rages unabated), the satirists at The Onion have profiled one of the biggest critics of this manufactured crisis – U.S. Department of Transportation’s Secretary Ray LaHood – and how he is dealing with the sequestration. Quite a funny one.
Here is something new.. Attendants on a subway train serving snacks and beverages? Yeah.. That’s what happened in Toronto’s subway.. This past Sunday, Improv Toronto decided to put a fun twist in an otherwise mundane ride on the city’s subway ride to make it memorable for the riders. As they said on the website, “Our mission was simple, transform the old every day nature of riding the subway into a luxury flight experience, making it more a comfortable, enjoyable, and eventful ride.” So, off they went, equipped with snacks, drinks and blankets, our sharp looking flight subway attendants and captain tended to the riders on a Eastbound train on the Bloor Line.
Looking at the warm welcoming smiles on the riders’ faces, I wouldn’t be surprised if this stunt gets emulated globally much like the No Pants Subway Ride , another popular Improv stunt. BTW, worn out Washington, DC Metro riders like me can sure get used to some TLC like this..
It should be maddening for any tax payer in the country to see how the public dollars are spent wastefully on projects that are not really benefiting the community. Today’s Washington Post story on one such wasteful spending measure shows how badly the lawmakers manage the money, despite the pressure to not do so from the administrations (incl. current and the previous administration ). It explores an obscure federal program established by Congress in 2000 allows tiny airports to draw $150,000 in federal funds every year. The article uses Oklahoma’s Lake Murray State Park Airport as a case study. This issue of wasteful spending takes added importance as the public are nervously watching what’s going to happen with the looming sequestration (scheduled to kick in on March 1) as the country is embroiled in a tough political battle to avoid further slide. Brilliant reporting.
88 shown airports, as reported, have no paying customers and no planes are based there. (check the interactive map that shows the airports and the number of flights each one received)
The airports receive $150,000/year, as the result of a grant program established 13 years ago ~2000, which the post appropriately calls Congress’s golden age of pork)
The looming sequester crisis would not touch the airport program. FAA allotted Lake Murray about $1,500 for each of its takeoffs and landings.
In this particular case Lake Murray State Park Airport there is no control tower, no runway lights and also staff to monitor it. So what makes people visit? Mostly for using the rest room facilities and occasionally for golf.
According to local TV affiliate KOKH Fox 25, the Oklahoma Department of Tourism has tried to shut down Lake Murray State Park Airport for years, but Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission (OAC) officials say closing the airport would cost Oklahoma taxpayers $184,000. Under FAA guidelines, the airport must stay open for 20 years after the OAC spends money on an improvement project.
Despite pressures from all corners, the program has remained strikingly difficult for anyone. If it is any surprise, even
Pres. Bush opposed continuing the program but the Tea Party dominated congress decided to continue with it.
Oh man.. Angry customers reacting to terrible service from a transportation provider is nothing new, esp. with airline companies, but what you are going to see below takes it to a new level. Interestingly, this customer who lost his cool is reported as a Chinese government official, which only means the airlines staff have no way of handling this as usual.. His poor spouse (lady standing adjacent to him) seems clueless about how to bring this raging bull of a man under control..
Amidst all the exhaustive and bitter political battles that rage day after day over the weak fiscal health of the nation, there are so many little things that slip away from the attention of tax paying public. And here is one such that I happened upon via twitter.
Guess what?
Just by eliminating a tax loophole that gives special treatment to corporate jets, for example—at a cost to taxpayers of $3.2 billion over 10 years – Congress could avert cuts that would cost thousands of jobs, hurt millions of disadvantaged students, and force hundreds of thousands of vulnerable families to lose critical nutrition and housing supports this year.
Information nuggets such as this make me wonder why our Politicians find it so difficult to act to avert painful cuts (in $$ that eventually affect middle and lower-income families) by taking a more balanced approach to deficit reduction. Corporations are people too? Not really (but the highest court in this land says otherwise). As CAP notes, “Unless Congress acts, on March 1 automatic and indiscriminate spending cuts will hit key programs, costing our economy more than 1 million jobs and cutting essential services for millions of low- and middle-income families.” That leaves me with this question: Will the politicians be rational for a change and do the right thing for the country? Or, will they continue to squabble and be addicted to doing their habitual partisan battles? Time will tell. Sigh!
Though it looks like a set-up, it doesn’t hurt to have something fun shared on a Friday. Spotted this video posted by Nicholas deMoura, show how the dancers who perform with teen heartthrob Justin Bieber killing time at the Atlanta airport after their flight got cancelled .. Why don’t these things happen when I’m at an airport? I only get to see those tight lipped TSA staff staring at me all the time..
