Search Results for: Lockheed

“Cessna 48X, traffic 12 o’clock, 2 miles, 6,500, UAV maneuvering.” The ATC call was both surprising and ironic, since I was on my way from Los Angeles to Arizona to research an article about drones. I never saw the UAV, and the sound of the drone pilot’s response was not audible because communications from UAVs […]

(function(d, s, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) return; var js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = ‘//cdn4.wibbitz.com/static.js’; d.getElementsByTagName(‘body’)[0].appendChild(js); }(document, ‘script’, ‘wibbitz-static-embed’)); While we can name hundreds of really smart, powerful, utilitarian or awesome airplanes, there are far, far fewer of them that we would call truly “beautiful.” What is it that makes an airplane an […]

Why can one airplane take off and land on short runways while another requires significantly longer takeoff and landing distances?

Capping one of the most contentious and hardest fought competitions for government aircraft ever, Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin secured a $1.24 billion contract to begin building a new presidential helicopter based on Sikorsky’s S-92. The winning team was the only bidder in the latest phase of a decade-long effort to start replacing Marine One, the […]

Even though it’s likely only a temporary reprieve, it’s still good news for supporters of the A-10 Thunderbolt II as backers seek to head off the iconic tank buster’s imminent retirement. A House Armed Services Committee panel has voted to delay deactivation of the A-10, affectionately known as the Warthog, meaning the full House will […]

The mysterious disappearance of Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan continues to fascinate people as the search goes on to find the remains of the Lockheed Electra that took them on their final journey in 1937. There has never been a credible artifact recovered from the flight, though it hasn’t been for lack of […]

With two iconic military aircraft on the line this year, the Lockheed U-2 and the A-10 Warthog, fans have been showing their support in various ways. One particular agency, Hangar 30, which specializes in video production, has created a heart-pounding tribute to the A-10 Warthog showcasing the upcoming budget battle. And it asks the question: […]

Returning from a year of sequestration, the Blue Angels squadron will take to the skies at the inaugural Los Angeles County Air Show, set to take place this weekend at the General William J. Fox Airfield in the outskirts of Lancaster, California. The team of six F/A-18 Hornets will perform their nail-biting formation show, which […]

We pilots love engines and with good reason. We rely on their continued trouble-free operation to keep us flying safely. Perhaps more to the point, without engines, flight would never have gone far, and it can be argued that every noteworthy advance in aircraft performance was preceded by a noteworthy advance in power-plant design. There […]

Unless you’re someone we’d really like to get to know better, it’s likely you’re not flying around in your own personal jet. Which means you probably are flying behind, between, below or in front of at least one propeller. They’re marvelous devices, often subjected to substantial forces as they unceasingly (we hope) spin thousands of times per minute. They also can be a bit mysterious, even the fixed-pitch variety.