I’m working to get my stuff together from the awesome training I did last week, but while you wait for that I thought I would share this awesome video my cousin sent me on Facebook. It is incredible to see the handiwork that some people create. I love the touch of having the flyable Bell X-1 under the wing that they actually fly.
So take a few minutes and enjoy this wonderful video. If the video doesn’t show up try clicking here.
I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.
“Air Force One over Mt. Rushmore” U.S. Air Force File Photo.
I know I am a little biased due to my preference for Boeing over Airbus, but the announcement that the latest variant of the 747 will be the new Air Force One really isn’t a surprise to anyone that followed the process at all. It honestly would not look good to a lot of people to have the American President flying in a French plane.
Just to be clear, the callsign Air Force One applies to any Air Force aircraft that is carrying the president. Which is why the S-3 Viking that carried President Bush onto the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln was Navy One, because he was on a Navy plane. The presidential helicopter bears the callsign Marine One when the president is on board.
Sorry for the lesson, I will get back to the story at hand.
Almost two years ago I wrote a piece about the 787 being a potential replacement for the presidential fleet of three aircraft. I doubt that it was ever really an option because of the requirements they have for these aircraft, but it was kind of fun to think about it.
The newest 747 variant is the perfect chariot for the American President. Photo: Boeing
The latest version of the queen of the skies is a fitting fixture for our President to strut around the world in. This plane is not just a means of transportation for a powerful leader, but a symbol of his office and the power that it bears. It was a clear decision to pick the most majestic aircraft that is manufactured in America.
The A380 would have been a perfectly acceptable choice as well, along with a few other options, but the symbolic nature of this aircraft really made this choice a no-brainer.
The new planes won’t join the 89th Airlift Wing (the presidential squadron) for about eight years, so we will have gone through at least one more president by the time it enters service. However, I’m sure I speak for all the other avgeeks out there when I say I hope we get to see some of the development, but I’m not naive enough to think we will see much of anything.
I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.
The first attempt to fly didn’t get much past the hangar, but even there she sure is pretty.
It is amazing how much life can change in only one short year. Last year at this time I was deployed to Afghanistan thousands of miles away from my family. While not the worst Christmas I have had, it was certainly not where I wanted to be.
A year later I am back in Arkansas enjoying a break with my beautiful wife and kids. On top of the much-needed family time, I was able to take part in an amazing experience this afternoon.
I have a friend that I work with that is the proud owner of both a Pitts and Piper Cub that he bought a couple of months ago. I was thrilled to find out he had gotten a plane with a second seat because all I want to do is fly anytime, anywhere. We tried to go flying a few weeks ago but it was just too dang windy to fly. This really sucked because he is scheduled to deploy soon.
Few things bring me more joy than walking out to a plane to fly.
On Christmas Eve we were two of the roughly 10 people who showed up to work for some strange reason and he suggested that Christmas should be a good day to fly, so we agreed to get together in the afternoon after the traditional festivities. Fortunately, the weatherman was right and it was a gorgeous day to fly.
By the time I got to the airport he was already up in the pattern getting a little work in and it got me super excited to actually get up in a small plane again. He pulled into parking and I hopped in to begin an amazing hour and a half.
The awesomeness began with takeoff as with a slight headwind we were able to takeoff in only 200 feet. While it was no zoom climb up thousands of feet, there is just something fun about taking off in less than the length of a football field with the wind blowing past the open door next to you.
While not really for those afraid of heights leaning out the side of a plane is just awesome.
That is one of the amazing things about the Cub, with the door open you gain a sense of freedom that really is like nothing else.
We casually flew our way down to the Arkansas river at about 1000 feet enjoying an extremely pleasant December day. There were a handful of other people out enjoying the amazing Christmas weather which was nice to see. Once we got to the river we followed it out to the West and my friend showed me some of his favorite spots to play around.
The first was a small island in the middle of the river with a nice open grassy area surrounded by leafless trees. We came in low and dropped below tree level until the end of the island and then popped back up over the top of the trees. With my weight added to the plane and the tail wind it just wasn’t a safe move to put it down there.
This is what freedom looks like from the air.
We then spent the next hour or so cruising up the river checking out sandbars, a small abandoned runway, and the newest airport in the area which just recently began IFR service. We never broke 1500 feet or 95 knots which may sound incredibly boring, but it was quite the opposite.
It was incredibly exhilarating to literally fly amongst the birds and enjoy the wind blowing through the plane. It is something that truly must be experienced to fully appreciate. I genuinely hope this is the first of many flights in not only the Cub but in any other old tail-dragger that reminds me of how much fun flying is supposed to be. Planes like this are what bring the wonder to aviation in this modern age of technological bells and whistles.
There are few better ways to spend an afternoon than VFR flying with a friend.
One of the incredibly cool things about this experience was the landing. At our local airport they have an agreement to keep the grass mowed down so those who want to can land on the grass next to the runway. Just one more example of the fun that can be had in a plane like the Cub.
I am incredibly grateful to my friend Harrison and wish him the best of luck and safety during his deployment. The world needs more true aviators like him that really understand what flying is all about. I have already learned a lot from him and I look forward to continued adventures once he returns.
I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.
If you are not familiar with MinutePhysics then I highly suggest you set aside an hour or two to enjoy some simplified science at its finest. He does a great job of taking incredibly complex things and simplifying them for those people who want to be a little more educated, but not Sheldon from The Big Band Theory.
In this edition, Henry Reich takes a look at the brand spanking new Airbus A350 which had its first delivery today. While five minutes is not near enough time to show everything I think he does a pretty fantastic job of describing the overall process. Personally I am just incredibly jealous of the tours that he got. I think most of us Avgeeks would give body parts to get the access he did.
Until that day comes enjoy the physics lesson. The second video was released by Airbus and shows more of the tours themselves.
I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.
The A-10 is one of the most applicably designed aircraft ever.
I just read an interesting article that compared the value of the A-10 against the complete waste of money that is the F-35. The general essence of the article was that the A-10 is the greatest plane ever designed and that the F-35 is the biggest waste of money in US military history. The writer makes enough good points that it is hard to disagree with that summary however extreme it may be.
I will admit that I jumped on the F-35 band wagon when it was first announced years ago. It was a beautiful looking plane that was advertised to have amazing capabilities. The technology involved was fascinating, and it sounded like it would be the most versatile and effective aircraft in the inventory.
Unfortunately, the reality has been almost completely the opposite.
The F-35 could be incredibly effective if it ever lives up to the hype.
The F-35 program has been one delay after another with unlimited amounts of controversy at every turn. On the other hand the A-10 has been a dream of a plane that for some unexplainable reason the Air Force has tried to get rid of on numerous occasions.
There are pictures and videos all over the internet of A-10s that are seriously damaged that finished their mission and returned the pilot home safely. On the other hand, the internet is flooded with stories about the problems the F-35 has had before ever flying an operational mission. The most recent issue being that the F-35 can’t operate with fuel that is too warm. This could be a bit of an issue considering the fact that most of the conflicts currently taking place are happening in areas that can be extremely hot.
The problem that I see with this debate is the general point that the aforementioned article makes. Who is considering the real benefits of the aircraft we are buying?
I do feel that there is value in stealth aircraft, not because it makes planes invisible, but because it does make it more difficult for enemies to detect our aircraft. But does the F-35 provide that much of a stealth advantage over the F-15 Silent Eagle proposal to justify that dramatically higher price tag?
The one thing I have never understood is why we are dropping so much money on completely new aircraft designs when we have amazing airframes that could continue to operate with new technologies applied to make them even better? I look at aircraft like the A-10, F-15E, and F-16 and wonder why we aren’t just continuing to upgrade these incredibly effective platforms.
I guess it comes back to the problem mentioned in the first article, the Air Force is generally run by fighter jocks that like shiny new toys and not necessarily the ones that will do the job the best.
The C-130 is one of the most effectively employed airframes in the Air Force as evidenced by its longevity.
The interesting aspect of that theory though is that the problem is not quite as evident when you look at the mobility side of the Air Force. The best example of course being my beloved C-130 Hercules. It has been in service with the Air Force for 60 years now and simply continues to receive upgrades. While I feel there are some deficiencies in the newest variant, the C-130J, it is still an incredibly versatile and effective airframe. Fortunately, the Air Force has not tried to force in a new airframe, but has realized the real value of this aircraft.
When you look at the mobility fleet of the Air Force it is currently made up of three planes the C-17 (~25 years of service), the C-5 (~45 years of service), and the C-130 (~60 years of service). I’m not really sure how the longevity of these planes is so completely overlooked when it comes to assembling the strike fleet on the other side of the Air Force.
I realize there are significant differences between mobility and strike aircraft, but I also don’t think the differences are so dramatically different that strike aircraft need to be completely replaced that much more often. Maybe I’m wrong?
In the end, it really feels like the original article is preaching some pretty serious truth about the Air Force. There really does seem to be a systemic problem when it comes to acquiring new aircraft. There seems to be a disconnect between the war-fighter and those tasked with supplying them.
But rather than just complaining about the situation I have to wonder how that problem can be fixed. The simple answer to me as a brand new Captain is to get more real feedback from the operators that are actually flying these planes everyday. That means getting feedback from Lieutenants, Captains, and Majors that are actively operating these airframes. Most importantly, that feedback must actually be implemented in the development and purchasing processes.
We shouldn’t be going to Colonels who are busy with a lot of things other than flying when it comes to understanding what our planes currently do, and how they can be improved to support the current environment. Obviously, we shouldn’t let Lieutenants and Captains make the actual purchases but if we aren’t allowing for input from the people who are actually using the product then we are completely missing the point.
Way too many of these decisions are being made by people who have biased agendas rather than by the people who are putting their lives in the cockpits of these planes. We need to reassess the process and make sure that we are making the right decisions to defend our country, and not the decisions that will line anyone’s pockets.
I realize this is much easier said than done, but the discussion has to start somewhere. I think there are enough people in the process that genuinely care about the situation to make a change if they will simply DO something about it. At the very least maybe they will do something to get others thinking that may ultimately lead to effective changes throughout the entire process.
For now we can only hope that the incredible operators that are tasked with employing these airframes will continue to be the best trained and most capable operators in the world to make sure that we continue to be the world’s finest Air Force.
I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.
If that title didn’t catch your eye as an Avgeek I don’t know what will. In all actuality I am just too busy with homework to write an insightful piece, but I wanted to share something. These are just some of the fun planes I have seen over the years. My apologies if some of the pictures aren’t perfect, but most of them were taken on the move. I hope you enjoy checking some of these out.
Just another great example of how much there is to learn in the world of aviation. So many planes and so many liveries.
I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.
Tail #2070 served her country well for over 40 years.
I had a bit of an interesting experience this week that I don’t think most people ever really get. I had the opportunity to be a part of the crew that took a plane on its very last flight. With the development of the C-130J it is quickly replacing the older, and better, C-130H. Yeah, I know, I’m biased.
Many of the older planes have gone to National Guard units around the country to finish out their service lives. However, there are a couple of planes that have finished their flying lives and need to be taken to their final resting place.
The disappointing part was that none of us knew this was the planes’ last flight, or fini flight, as we like to call them. Had we known I would have come prepared with my good camera and not left you with these weak images from my phone, but I did what I could.
It really was an honor for me to crew this plane on its last mission. That aircraft served for 40 years in all corners of the globe performing an incredible variety of missions. I don’t know any specifics, but it is reasonable to assume that it carried Soldiers and Marines to critical missions that brought freedom to people in all different countries. It likely carried young men and women that were injured in battle to a hospital that saved their lives.
In the case of those that weren’t so lucky, it likely performed that most sacred mission of returning them to their loved ones draped in the colors that they sacrificed everything for.
This tail flash will never fly through the air again, but her legacy will live on in the hearts of those who flew her.
It hurts my soul a little to think about these great pieces of machinery having their careers come to an end, but they served their country well, and in the case of this plane, tail #2070, it will continue to serve on the ground for another couple of years. You see, we passed it off to one of the Air Force’s test and evaluation squadrons where it will aid in developing various different products and processes that will make the planes still flying safer and more effective.
It really made me stop and think about how cool my job is. I fly a historic plane that has served our country, and many others, for 60 years now. I get paid to fly in the footsteps of real heroes. It is truly a privilege to try in some small way to carry on the heritage that they left us with.
While most people will never have the opportunity that I did, nor will I likely ever do it again, we all have the opportunity to keep their heritage alive by visiting aviation museums, and by listening to the stories of those who flew these amazing aircraft. Most of us have at least a little bit of aviation history in our own backyards if we only look.
I would encourage you to look around and see what you might find, and please share it with the rest of us because that is the only real way to keep aviation history alive.
I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.
I have loved the new livery from day one, but this was my first chance to actually fly in it on this brand new A321S.
There are lots of great sites out there that talk about passenger experience way better than I ever will. Sites like AirlineReporter, NYCAviation, and APEX (Airline Passenger Experience Association) will all provide much more in-depth and extensive analysis than I will because they get on amazing planes and experience those amazing trips, and most of my flying is done on a C-130 that is 40+ years old. Definitely no flight attendants on there.
With that being said I just had to share the most amazing In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) I have ever seen. I had to drop off a plane for testing purposes (more on that later in the week), and so we had to fly back home commercial. I got to fly on my favorite airline (American) coming home, and this experience just deepened my love.
The great trip started with using TSA PreCheck for the first time. It reminded me of what it was like to go through security before TSA, long long ago. It was smooth and fast. Don’t worry I still am not a fan of TSA.
The real joy started when I got to the gate and saw that we would be on a brand spanking new Airbus A321S that had the new American livery. I know it has been out forever, and that a ton of the planes have it, but like I said I don’t fly commercial often, and this was my first time. You never forget your first.
Final approach into DFW looks pretty cool digitally as it is actually flown.
The experience got even better when I got on the plane and saw what was on every seat-back in the plane. I honestly don’t know the name of the system, who provides it, or any of the system specs even after looking through American’s site to try to find it, but I can tell you that it was awesome.
Everything was handled on the touch screen to include turning on the overhead light, and even ordering your drinks and such which could be used on other flights, though it wasn’t on ours. There were tons of entertainment options to include music, movies, and TV shows with several different packages to choose from depending on what you are looking for. I’ll be honest, I’m a cheap skate so I didn’t buy any of it, but there was a free feature that kept me thoroughly entertained when I wasn’t enjoying the company next to me.
For as long as I can remember flying commercial I have always loved watching the digital portrayal of where my flight was headed. Even though the numbers really don’t change much in cruise I still love to see the altitude, airspeed, time to destination, and other aspects of the flight. I know all of you amazing Avgeeks get it.
While even a rudimentary map can keep me occupied for hours, this thing is a moving map on steroids. There were about ten different views that you could switch between including a cockpit view that was accentuated by a heads up display with the associated flight parameters displayed. You also have the ability to zoom in and out, rotate the map, and tilt the map in any number of ways to get the view you are looking for. It did take a minute to figure out how to do all of those things, but it was really similar to a lot of tablets.
The plane always looks huge no matter how tight you zoom, but at an airport this big it is fun to watch it taxi.
As you can see from a couple of the pictures that I took it can make for a pretty entertaining experience, especially in the terminal area around the airport. It was really fun watching a virtual simulation of our approach as it was actually happening. Even with the slight delay it was a lot of fun. My friend (a pilot) did point out that we landed a little long based on the moving map, but on those giant runways it really doesn’t matter much. It was also fun to switch to the overhead view and watch as we taxied to the terminal, though it wasn’t totally precise and it looked like we were taxiing in between taxiways at times.
I know this is far from your typical passenger experience article, but if you love planes and other avgeek stuff as much as I do I really hope that you get a chance to see this system. I really can’t convey how cool it was through words or pictures. You really need to get your hands on it and have some fun. If you have gotten the chance to see it I would love to hear what you thought about it in the comments below.
I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.
The star of the show is once again Dusty, but he has more great company in this movie.
With all of the negative press in aviation right now, it was really refreshing to take a step back and just enjoy a beautifully made movie about planes. Planes Fire and Rescue is the much-anticipated (at least for avgeeks) sequel to the Planes movie that was released last year during Osh13.
I was so excited to see it that I couldn’t wait to get back home to go with my kids, so I just went by myself. After I got past the creepy looks people were giving me as they walked in with their kids, I was able to sit back and just enjoy the show.
I’m not one to just recap a movie because you can get that on IMDb or a dozen other movie sites. I prefer to focus on the sights and sounds of the planes which is what we all love anyway.
One of the first things that really caught my attention in this movie was the excellent use of music to add to the story. The first occurrence was the playing of AC/DC’s Thunderstruck as the fire crews are preparing to fight a fire. It really added to the momentum that was building in the movie.
There were also a couple of great songs by Brad Paisley that I really enjoyed. One in particular is called All-in that is a great tribute to all firefighters, but particularly to those who fight wildfires. This song will never have the following of Let it Go from Frozen, but it deserves even more attention because of the message it shares.
To go a long with the great music, there was of course the great sound of airborne engines.
Cabbie is probably my favorite character, but I am biased.
My personal favorite of course was the old cargo plane “Cabbie”. They never say exactly what type of plane he is, but my best guess is that he is Fairchild C-119 better known as the Flying Boxcar. Sure I’m a little biased since my current squadron flew them back in the day, but it is a great plane that sounds even better.
I even enjoyed the helicopters that are an essential part of the firefighting effort.
There was also a lot of great little one liners from the various characters in the movie that even make grown-ups laugh. I actually enjoyed these characters a lot more than the supporting characters in the first movie. They did a much better job of translating real people into these characters, much the way that the Cars movies did.
The story had its typical unrealistic and cheesy parts just like any Disney movie, but I really enjoyed the overall message, and the real emphasis that was placed on the team in this movie. I can only hope that it will strike at the heart of more young people and get them excited about flying.
At the end of the day it was a highly entertaining movie with stunningly beautiful animation. It is the perfect movie to sit down and enjoy with your kids, or even by yourself.
I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.
I have been in a complete and utter rut recently, mostly because I feel a little overwhelmed with managing, work, school, family, and the things I want to do like talk about planes. As the country song goes, “sounds like life to me”, and it is.
Nothing has really changed today, but honestly it is hard to not say something about Opening Day, and in particular a picture I just saw on Twitter.
Unbelievable photo of Rangers opening day with Warbirds from Cavanaugh Flight Museum over the crowd. cc @techguy pic.twitter.com/M9cmPhEfNa
— Chad Johnson (@OchoTex) April 1, 2014
After planes, baseball is my next love and one of my favorite things at a baseball game, or really any event are the flyovers. Probably my most memorable I saw in person was a flight of F-16s at a BYU football game that seriously looked like they dipped into the stadium. It was nuts.
As cool as that one was, I think the above picture would have been even more memorable in person. It doesn’t hurt that it was at my favorite ballpark, The Ballpark in Arlington (I know they sold out to a sponsor, but it will always be the Ballpark to me).
I don’t really have much to add as the picture speaks for itself, but I will mention that the planes are from the Cavanaugh Flight Museum.
I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.
