Search Results for: Lockheed

The general-aviation airport in Santa Monica, California, which has been in place since the 1920s, has long been in contention, as the surrounding area has become densely populated at the same time as the airports importance as a GA hub has intensified. In January, the FAA said it had agreed to end decades of legal wrangling over the airport and close it in 2028, citing safety and environmental concerns. The airport has about 270 resident aircraft and 450 landings and takeoffs a day. NBAA, AOPA, and EAA said they may challenge the agreement. The city plans to turn the 227 acres into a park.

Successfully placing a satellite in orbit is no small expense, often costing tens of millions of dollars. In addition to the cost of the satellite itself, there’s the cost of the launch vehicle and the ground control system to bring all the elements together. If the satellite is tiny, less than 12 pounds, often referred […]

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 […]