RichC | August 2, 2023
Not my photo, but I’m not sure how comfortable the average passenger flying this “budget” airline (???) are when seeing the tape on the wing? Also while sitting on the back porch a little Praying Mantis came to visit (video below).
RichC | April 20, 2023
When it comes to fast aircraft, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is the one most of us know about. In a social media Twitter mention last week, Massimo posted this photo and link. The SR-71 Blackbird was so fast that, if attacked by surface-to-air missiles, it simply flew higher, faster, and in a slightly different direction […]
RichC | October 4, 2022
The Lockheed F-117 was one of the most specialized and sophisticated aircraft to ever enter USAF service. Purpose built to defeat radars, it was all square and flat, a fact, reflected in the aircraft’s boxy cockpit. (@realairpower1)
RichC | April 18, 2020
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is one of the most celebrated Allied fighter planes of WW II. It continues to have wide-spread aviation enthusiasm to this day … and one look (and listen – volume up!) will have you understanding why it is so admired.
RichC | April 7, 2019
The Antonov An-225 is one big aircraft … a strategic airlifter built in the Soviet Union in 1985 with a first flight in 1988 with the designed purpose of airlifting Energia rocket’s boosters and the Buran orbiter for the Soviet space program in the 1980s.
RichC | October 1, 2018
Air Force One is parked at Joint Base Andrews in Prince George’s County. Want to board? Run for the highest office in the land or join the White House press corps. Or, for a slightly easier route, visit National Harbor as of Oct. 19, when what’s billed as an “identical model of the president’s aircraft” […]
RichC | September 22, 2012
The Apple iPhone 5 camera makes for a substantial improvement over my previous smartphone’s camera and so I was anxious to experiment with image quality and play with a few of the hyped features. Since I’m upgrading from the nearly “extinct” Palm Pre, running a rooted webOS install, any modern smartphone camera would have been an […]
RichC | July 31, 2012
Unmanned, but then who’s looking out the “faux” window? Remember the ‘UFO’ that motorists spotted along D.C. highways back in June? The saucer-shaped object caused a stir in the area prompting many to call 911 and to post photos on Twitter. We later learned the mysterious object was an experimental, unmanned aircraft called an X-47B. […]
RichC | July 18, 2012
Do you ever wonder what aircraft of the future will look like? Well according to a CNET post from Edwards Airforce Base and the Dryden Flight Research Center, the X-48 “flying wing” inspired prototype could look something like the next generation aircraft … or are we closing in on spaceplanes? (click images for slightly […]
RichC | August 10, 2011
Perhaps China adding their first aircraft carrier is just a sign of the times, but I see the modernization of China’s military as an unsettling long term move; call me distrustful considering their original statements and China’s questionable authoritarian government’s history. A Chinese company purchased the empty hull of a carrier called the Varyag from […]
RichC | October 23, 2010
DiscoveryNews had an article in MSNBC highlighting an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) call the DEMON which has fewer moving parts and uses “bursts of air” rather than traditional hinged control surfaces in order to control the aircraft. According to engineers and those working on the project, fewer moving parts will make it easier to maintain […]
RichC | October 20, 2010
I got sidetracked yesterday while talking on the phone to a fellow aviation enthusiast as he shared with me his impressions of the Pima Air and Space Museum. He knew that the National Museum of the Air Force was in my backyard and remembering me talk about the Martin B-26 Marauder on display that had […]
RichC | July 28, 2010
In chatting with an EAA buddy camping for the week up at Airventure 2010 I had the chance to talk to him about a few ideas for our local EAA Chapter 284, and he has some excellent ones. I’ve also been paying attention to the “goings-on” this week online through the variety of feeds, links […]
RichC | June 24, 2010
Compliance dilemma for pilots and aircraft owners … stay tuned. On June 15 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released for publication a change to 47 CFR Part 87 that will “prohibit the certification, manufacture, importation, sale, or continued use of 121.5 MHz emergency locator transmitters (ELTs) other than the Breitling Emergency Watch ELT.” Meanwhile, the […]
RichC | February 2, 2010
According to an Experimental Aviation Association bulletin, the long awaited revisions on the docket in the Federal Register support the 22 FAA proposed changes affecting sport pilots. Changes include allowing Sport Pilots to fly higher and safer in mountainous regions and permit weight-shift control aircraft and powered parachute to gain experience in towered airport airspace. […]
RichC | January 23, 2010
NASA’s Puffin electric-powered, super-quiet personal VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft concept is ideal for those wanting a quick commute to work on a traffic congested morning … particularly if you’ve got a charging station on your buildings helipad … and who doesn’t? The USMC V-22 Osprey looking aircraft could offer a bit more promise […]
RichC | June 15, 2009
Here’s an excellent video from the World Air Games in Turin, Italy showing a test flight flown by Space Shuttle astronaut (STS-75) Maurizo Cheli in the electrically powered SkySpark Single “Motor” Land aircraft (a lame attempt at aviation humor on py part). What makes this flight unique is that it has achieved an airspeed record […]
RichC | March 21, 2009
As mentioned before, the Terrafugia Transition car-based airplane is being developed on the east coast this year and the above is a bit of video from the first runway based test flight on March 5th. Retired USAF test pilot Col. Phil Meteer comments that the test was “remarkable for being unremarkable.” Performance Cruise: 100 kts […]
RichC | January 23, 2009
The Transition is another one of those flying car “dream” ideas (or as Terrafugia calls it, “a roadable aircraft”) which seems to be really moving closer in bringing driving and flying together. According to a the company’s website, this concept car/plane was founded in 2006 by a group of MIT students. They have work diligently […]
RichC | May 10, 2005
Next month I’ll have a chance to personally check out the AMV Aircraft. (well not ‘be’ checked out. 🙂 ) Actually it has been seen as the personal aircraft of the future by some and just another prototype design by others. No matter … I like it. What is unique is that this small two […]