Search Results for: Lockheed

A group of NASA satellites was successfully launched this morning in a rocket deployed from the belly of a modified airliner. The Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket carrying the satellites, which NASA will use to study hurricanes from space, was deployed over the Atlantic at about 39,000 feet from its carrier aircraft, the L-1011 Stargazer. […]

At an event hosted at Clay Lacy Aviation’s brand new facility at the Van Nuys Airport in Van Nuys, California, a crowd of hundreds of aviation enthusiasts gathered to celebrate the life of famed military, test and airshow pilot R. A. Bob Hoover. Masters of ceremonies Sean D. Tucker and Danny Clisham encouraged the crowd […]

To assume that an aircraft automation system has a will of its own and will try to kill us would be anthropomorphic. Autopilots and other automation systems have not reached that stage of sophistication. Not yet. What can-and too often does-happen, however, is that flight crews turn the flying duties over to the autopilot and relax. With frightening repetition, this ends in disaster.

Most people know the term hypersonic, but few can probably define it. Hypersonic flight occurs when an object travels at speeds in excess of five times the speed of sound, or about 3,800 mph in dry air at sea level. At last month’s Forum on American Aeronautics held at the Mojave Air and Space Port, […]

AOPA’s final Fly-In for the year in Prescott, Arizona, became a huge success. Five hundred sixty-five aircraft flew in for the event, and a record number of attendees, right around 6,300, walked the flight line to attend seminars on a variety of topics, visit exhibitors and watch a miniature airshow featuring Melissa Andrzejewski, Skip Stewart […]

Weve previously reported on the FAAs plans to eliminate its very familiar flight plan form with one aligned with the Internal Civila Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards. The ICAO form is and has been required for international flights. Beginning in early 2017, it will be necessary for filing domestic flight plans, too, both IFR and VFR, as well as DVFR and for the Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA) surrounding Washington, D.C. The switchover was to occur earlier this year, then it was to go into effect on October 1.

One of the pioneers of the preservation of vintage airplanes, Edward T. Maloney, has died at the age of 88. Maloney has been credited with saving more than 200 WWII warbirds from destruction and founding the Planes of Fame Museum, which is home to more than 150 historic airplanes and replicas, many of which continue […]

Even after almost 32 years with my airline, I am not one to reminisce. That being said, I sometimes reflect on life events by referencing my career at a particular snapshot in time. For instance, when I contemplate the age of the adviser that ably manages my finances, I realize he probably wet his first […]

Simulator maker Redbird introduced a number of new products and training enhancements this week at Oshkosh, including flight control for home simulator users and a new version of its Parrot automated ATC tools. The new Alloy line of flight controls for home simulator users encompasses the TH1 single-engine throttle, TH2 multi-engine throttle and YK1 yoke […]

In the age of satellite navigation, electronic instrumentation and multi-function displays with moving maps, each aircraft is different. Just because you can fly an Avidyne Integra-equipped Cirrus doesnt mean you can jump into a Perspective (a.k.a. Garmin G1000) Cirrus. Or, for that matter, even an old steam-gauge Piper. Now we need proficiency not just on an instrument scan and IFR procedures, but on the installed devices as well.