Aviation Megathread

Raptor

 

Been spending some time in this G1000 equipped T206. It's gonna take a bit to be able to blaze thru the chapters and pages with ease. But overall it's a nice flying bird. I need to figure out how much the King 140 auto pilot can do..for flying ILS and RNAV approaches. More reading to do....

 

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Sub'd
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Love those Tomcat shots, and they reminded me of a cool coincidence. I ran across a profile print of an F-14 online and thought it seemed familiar. Had to go waaay back in my pics to 2004 IIRC, which is when I took the Tomcat photo at NAS New Orleans in Belle Chasse, LA.



I also love the heritage flights. This break is the last of a flyby image burst at Wings Over Marietta (GA) in 2009. I liked it the best. Wish I had used a slower shutter speed to get the Mustang’s prop to blur but oh well.




And finally , in what was a true bucket list box checker, in 2015 I rode the Experimental Aircraft Association’s 1929 Ford Tri-Motor, AKA the Tin Goose.




My video, which also includes some of this aircraft type’s pivotal role in aviation history:

 

Fantastic shots. Love the Tomcat!

 

Muse Air, later renamed TranStar, was my first airline job. Before my time there, they briefly leased “Spike” - officially N502MD, a DC-9-30
- while awaiting new deliveries. The maintenance director nicknamed it after his dog, and that was no coincidence. The plane was safe, but well-worn shall we say from 15 years of tooling around Europe before being traded back to McDonnell Douglas.

Employees grew fond of Spike, perhaps because she represented a hectic but fun era of growth for the airline.

Spike got the last laugh on any detractors; long after most of Muse Air’s fleet had been scrapped, she was looking spiffy carrying cargo in Alaska as recently as a few years ago. (Evert reregistered the jet as N930CE.)

 

Thanks.
I am a Grummanite and the Cat is in my blood. Love that bird.

Here is Felix 100 returning "home" to Bethpage.
100 and 101 flew into KFRG. Bittersweet day.

 

Gunfighter 163...outstanding livery on that bird!
Airshows are just not the same without them.....
I used to head to Oceana every year. Went once after sunset and that was the last time.
A-6's...Gone
EA-6's...Gone
Tomcats....Gone
Nothing but Hornets now and the same three aerobatic performers flying all day.
Yup...I am old LOL.

 

The Tomcat is a magnificent airplane!

I read somewhere that the Soviets were terrified by that airplane.

 

Highly recommend the Sullenberger Flight Museum in Charlotte, which I visited a couple of months ago. Seeing the actual airplane that landed in the Hudson was pretty special.



They have one of the culprits strung up there too. Probably so people have an idea of how big those geese are.



Did someone say Tomcat?



And finally, they have one of the C-130s involved in the failed 1980 hostage rescue mission in Iran. The plane is cool; the message from the British commandos to their American counterparts is epic.

 

Good looking D model Cat!

 

T-33

 

I first saw the B-17 Liberty Belle at a 2009 air show. Took a tour and lots of pics. Fast-forward to Feb. 2011 when I happened to be passing Cherokee County (GA) Airport, which is 15 minutes from my house and there she was, parked there over the winter for maintenance. Sadly, Liberty Belle was lost in a fire following a forced landing in Illinois in June 2011. Thankfully though, all 7 people on board escaped without injury.

 

Hanging out in a BE-36 in some IMC today. Nice flying bird.

 

A flight from KBJC to KSBS....Rocky Mountain Metro to Steamboat Springs. The T206 is a good airframe for the trip, but mountain flying always comes with some extra risk. 38 knot winds was significantly more than forecast. But the ride was only choppy crossing the continental divide.

 

The B-17 Liberty Belle is presently being rebuilt, to flying status, using as many salvaged parts as possible from the damaged bird. So we will be getting back one B-17.

The Texas Raiders B-17 crash in Dallas a couple years ago was tragic, and, inexcusable.

 

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the SR-71 and this particular story:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILop3Kn3JO8

 

The DCA midair is very heavy on my heart, for the obvious reasons and more. I responded to 4 fatal accidents as part of the American Airlines CARE Team, who are now deployed for this one. I also directed the team for 4 years.

If anyone is interested in who does what in supporting survivors and families, it’s all in here.

 

Very informative, thanks for sharing.

 

random pics over the last few years from my camera roll

 

Spent 8 hours ferrying this T206 from just north of Fresno to the front range of Colorado. We had to depart IFR to get the trip started, made a quick fuel stop in Page AZ, and landed right at sunset in Colorado. The weather gods were nice to us luckily.

 

I was once the twenty-something described in the blurb below, and for decades, I dreamed of turning that experience into a novel. Well, I finally did it!

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If this sounds interesting, I’d be honored for you guys to read it. There’s a 20% discount through 2/22. The paperback and eBook are available by scanning the QR code or clicking here:

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I'll bite...sounds interesting. Looking forward to my copy.

 

Thanks. I truly appreciate it.

 

The airshow season starts soon. Ride on this beauty if you have the chance. My pics at Cleveland, TN, on 18Sep21.

 

Just watched the latest NTSB press briefing on the DCA midair collision. Nothing much shocks me anymore, but this did.

The NTSB reviewed pilot safety reports and found that in 3 years’ time at DCA - Oct 2021 to Dec 2024 - there were 15,214 instances where helicopters and commercial airliners came within 1500 feet (~1/3 mile) laterally and 400 feet vertically. Of those, 85 instances involved lateral separation of under 1500 feet and vertical separation of less than 200 feet. And between 2011 and 2024, there was at least 1 instance a month where the airliner's collision avoidance system issued a "Resolution Advisory" or RA, which gives the pilots commands for evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision (such as "Climb" or "Descend").

The only surprising thing about this disaster is that it didn’t happen sooner.

All disasters are tragic, but none more so than those where the risk seems so blindingly obvious in hindsight. Unbelievable that this went unnoticed.

 

That's the "Military's" air-space. And they are not going to budge one bit of it. They're going to shut fown Reagan airport, Its OK we still got Dulles.

 

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