Aviation Today

I will let you guys decide for yourselves but I think this evacuation is not realistic enough. If there were 873 soldiers aboard I can imagine them being that organized to evacuate but can you imagine children, freaked-out drunks, pregnant women and the elderly in that mix?

The first airplane model I have ever put together, glued, painted, etc. was a Boeing B-17G. The “Flying Fortress,” as it became known (labeled by the media after it is amazing array of onboard defensive armament), is one of the most famous airplanes ever built. Those of you not familiar with this aircraft are likely to remember it from the movie “Memphis Belle” or Steven Spielberg’s TV Series “Amazing Stories” - Episode 5: “The Mission“.

The B-17 prototype first flew on July 28, 1935. Few B-17s were in service on Dec. 7, 1941, (the day of the attack on Pearl Harbour) but production quickly accelerated.
The aircraft served in every World War II combat zone but is best known for daylight strategic bombing of German industrial targets. Production ended in May 1945 and totaled 12,726.

SPECIFICATIONS:
Span: 103 ft. 10 in.
Length: 74 ft. 4 in.
Height: 19 ft. 1 in.
Weight: 55,000 lbs. loaded
Armament: 13 .50-cal. machine guns with normal bomb load of 6,000 lbs.
Engines: Four Wright Cyclone R-1820s of 1,200 hp each
Cost: $276,000 (back in the late 30s/early 40s)

PERFORMANCE:
Maximum speed: 300 mph
Cruising speed: 170 mph
Range: 1,850 miles
Service ceiling: 35,000 ft.

Aeroflot is making a smart move here in my opinion. They have recently purchase 5% of EADS (which stands for European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company) which happens to be the company that owns, among others, Airbus. They make a lot of stuff, but most interestingly, Galileo which is the non-military (sort of) version of the GPS network. Why? Well, because if the US sees fit, they can turn GPS access to parts of the world off. See where we are getting at?

If they buy ten Boeing aircraft they only make Boeing stock go higher and their stockholders happier. Now if they buy Airbus aircraft they make EADS stock go higher, pay less in civilian aircraft, save on maintenance and fuel, help fund an “independent” GPS network and partially pay for that 5% purchase, which in the long run will have been free. Don’t these Russians know how to get more bang for their buck?

Source: AFX News via Sharewatch

It all started when I was very little. The very first plane I remember having was actually not given to me but found while playing in a park with my mom. There it was, all lonely laying on the grass for apparently a few days: a plastic model of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. My passion hasn’t stopped growing since then.

Here is an overview of the plane:

The Starfighter was originally designed as an interceptor aircraft by the American Lockheed works, the prototype flying in early 1954. The plane however fell short of it’s designer’s expectations in this intended role and thus only around 277 planes were built for use in this capacity (including trainers).

Like many aircraft before it that fell short of original expectations, the F-104 Starfighter found a new job for itself as a multi-role fighter. In this form, the F-104G multi-mission Starfighter was used as a tactical support aircraft and reconnaissance machine.

The F-104 Starfighter has always been a striking aircraft to look at. This being mainly due to the very short wingspan of less than 22 feet (length nearly 55 feet). This earned the aircraft the nickname ‘the missile with a man in it‘.

Due to a series of accidents with the plane it also had the unfortunate moniker of ‘flying coffin‘. A speedy machine for it’s era, the top speed was around Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound) at altitude with an operational ceiling of 55,000ft. This just shortly after the Korean War where F86 Sabres were flying sub-sonic. Powering the aircraft to these velocities was a single General Electric J79-GE-11A afterburning turbojet producing 15,800 lbs thrust on re-heat. That’s about twice the power a regional jet engine (capable of carrying 50 people) has today!

The plane found many buyers around the world including Germany, Japan, Jordan, Pakistan, Taiwan, Holland, Belgium, Italy, Denmark, Greece and Norway amongst others. Many of these F-104s were built by the countries under license.

Curiosities: The F-104 was the first aircraft to hold simultaneous official world records for speed, altitude and time-to-climb.

I am starting this blog because of a suggestion of a friend of mine. He thought someone could use the knowledge I have on aviation even though I am not a professional writer or pilot. I professionally love aircraft and aviation as a whole though

Anyway, I hope y’all enjoy it, and stick around. Your thoughts are most certainly welcome, even those that disagree with me

See ya in the sky!