From the Flightstory Archives: Best of – Part 3 My Dad And Those Wonderful Flying Machines By Earlaiman October 2, 2002 It was back in the early thirties; I couldn’t have been more than four or five years old. I remember I was still small enough for my dad to carry me on his shoulders when we went to see the airplanes. Barnstormers used to fly in and use the pastures along the road north of our home in Southeastern Michigan on summer weekends. They would line their airplanes tail by tail along the barbed wire fences that lined the drainage ditches along the road. This was rural country then, and there were a number of fields, flat and green pastures, perfectly suitable for cows and red, green, blue and yellow biplanes with their shining doped skins, lacquered laminated wood props and leather trimmed cockpits. We didn’t have much money ...

Tim Feeny from Limelight Studios made this nice video as he had the chance to check out behind-the-scenes of the History Channel docu-series “Ice Pilots NWT“. Some Buffalo Airways Canadair CL-215 Firebombers were filmed as the pilots practiced for waterbombing. Buffalo Airways based in Hay River, Northwest Territories, Canada currently operates 6 Canadair CL-215. The CL-215 is a twin-engine, high-wing amphibious firefighting aircraft designed to operate well at low speed and in gust-loading circumstances, as are found over forest fires. It is also able to land and take off from short, unpaved airstrips. The aircraft has a 1400 US gal (5,300 Liters) water tank, and can refill its tank in ten seconds at 75–80 knots. The CL-215 is also capable of several other configurations such as maritime patrol and search and rescue. Between 1969 and 1990, 125 aircraft have been built. Video

On Thursday 21 April 2011 a Sukhoi Superjet 100-95 (SN 95007) conducted its first commercial flight. The plane (tail number EK 95015), operated by Armenian airline Armavia was named after Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. The new Russian airliner took off from Zvartnots International Airport, Yerevan with destination Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow. The flight carrying 90 passengers took about 2 hours and 55 minutes. The Sukhoi Superjet 100 replaces an Airbus A319 that was previously used on this route. More photos at russianplanes.net The Sukhoi Superjet 100 is a modern, fly-by-wire regional jet with 75 to 95 seats. The plane is designed by the civil aircraft division of Sukhoi in cooperation with Western partners. Its maiden flight was conducted on 19 May 2008, and the plane received its Interstate Aviation Committee certification in January 2011 with European Aviation Safety Agency certification expected in mid-2011. Designed to compete internationally with its Embraer ...

Sikorsky announced that the Turkish Government has selected Sikorsky for a contract involving 109 derivative Black Hawk helicopters for multi-mission use. The aircraft will be assembled in Turkey by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) as the prime contractor and will include components supplied by Sikorsky and other American and Turkish companies. The industrialization proposal will allow Turkish industry access to the Sikorsky global supply chain including sale of Turkish assembled aircraft to future Sikorsky international customers. The export potential coupled with future Turkish indigenous requirements could reach 600 helicopters. The baseline configuration of the Turkish T-70 helicopter will be based on the S-70i Black Hawk. The contract is settled for 10 years. Photo: US Navy Source: Sikorsky

China’s fifth generation stealth fighter, Chengdu J-20, has successfully conducted its second test flight on Tuesday at the Chengdu airfield. “The aircraft made several passes and waggled its wings to salute the crowd near the airfield,” the Chinese Global Times Newspaper quoted a witness. The prototype took off at 4:25 pm and landed at about 5:50 pm. China’s Defence Ministry did not comment on the issue. According to Reuters the successful second test flight for the advanced fighter follow China’s warning in late March that it faced an increasingly volatile Asian region where the United States has expanded its strategic footprint. Some analysts have said that the first few photos of the J-20 suggest that China may be making faster-than-expected progress in developing a rival to Lockheed Martin’s F-22 Raptor. The J-20 made its first flight (video) on 11 January 2011. Photo credits: China Defense Blog More Photos: http:/china-defense.blogspot.com ...

Eurocopter today announced that the 1000th Dauphin helicopter was delivered to India’s Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited, the world’s largest civilian operator of this twin-engine, medium weight helicopter. The operator’s newest helicopter is an AS365 N3 version, configured for offshore oil and gas drilling missions, and it brings the Indian operator’s fleet to a total of 35 Dauphins. The aircraft will be used to transport personnel to offshore platforms, in shuttle flights between drill barges, for the airlift of state officials and VIPs, along with tourism charter services. Since the 1970s, Dauphins have been in service with some 300 customers in 69 countries, accumulating a combined total of more than 5.1 million flight hours. These helicopters, which originally have been designed and built by French Aérospatiale, are used in a full range of operations on land and at sea, earning a reputation for mission capability, cost-effectiveness, ease of operation and flight ...

This video released by Airbus Military shows air-to-air refuelling trials for its A400M airlifter in February 2011. The tests consists of series of dry contacts performed by a UK Royal Air Force VC10 tanker. The Airbus A400M is a multi-national four-engine turboprop tactical airlifter with strategic capabilities developed by Airbus Military. First delivery is currently expected between 2012 and 2014. Eight nations have ordered a total of 174 aircraft.

This awesome video that I found on Youtube features an F/A-18 during flight display. The cockpit video shows very nicely to what intense G-forces the pilots are exposed to during such challenging maneuvers. The F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets. It was introduction in 1983 and about 1,400 units have been built so far. The jet fighter can reach a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 (1,190 mph, 1,915 km/h) at 40,000 ft (12,190 m).

After several incidents involving air traffic controllers found sleeping on duty during the last weeks, FAA now urgently was in need to change ATC scheduling practices to ensure safety. Federal Aviation Administration today announced changes that will allow controllers more time for rest between shifts. “We expect controllers to come to work rested and ready to work and take personal responsibility for safety in the control towers. We have zero tolerance for sleeping on the job,” said Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. “Safety is our top priority and we will continue to make whatever changes are necessary.” “Research shows us that giving people the chance for even an additional one hour of rest during critical periods in a schedule can improve work performance and reduce the potential for fatigue,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “Taking advantage of the time you have to rest is also a professional responsibility.” The new ...

US Navy released this video of a F/A-18C Hornet experiencing an engine fire following a touch-and-go landing aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) on April 11 2011. The pilot was able to execute a single-engine approach and successfully land on the aircraft carrier. After landing, the plane that is assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 113, became engulfed in flames. The fire was quickly extinguished by flight deck emergency team that responded immediately. No one was injured in the mishap.

Last night Air France flight AF007, an Airbus A380-861 (F-HPDJ) struck Comair (Delta Connection) flight 553, a Bombardier CRJ 700 (N641CA) at New York JFK International Airport. During taxi the French Airbus A380′s left wing struck the tail of the Comair Bombardier and spun it nearly 90-degrees. Fortunately nobody was injured. The Comair plane with 62 passengers has been immediately evacuated. The collision ripped off the wingtip fence of the Air France A380, damage to the Comair Bombardier CRJ tail section needs to be determined. According to early reports it seems like the Comair plane was hanging over the taxiway. Video of Air France A380 colliding with Delta Connection (Comair) Bombardier Regional Jet ATC Recording Released by AP Full ATC conversation of AFR 7 Super vs. Comair 553 at KJFK at Liveatc.net: http://www.liveatc.net/recordings.php

Virgin founder and one of the most brilliant entrepreneurs of our time, Sir Richard Branson recently gave an interview to British magazine T3. Besides the talk about Virgin Galactic and that manned space flights with SpaceShipTwo might be just a few months away he mentioned another very interesting topic. As a next step after Virgin Galactic was successfully launched, it seems like Virgin has big plans to change the face of commercial aviation like we know it today. According to Branson, Virgin engineers are very keen to see if they can create an aircraft that enables very fast transcontinental travel using technology used in Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo/WhiteKnightTwo. He hates to see that great technology like the supersonic Concorde just disappeared, has been scraped and probably will never come back. A new Virgin intercontinental rocket plane will allow to “send people from London to Australia in a fraction of the ...

United Airlines celebrates its 85th anniversary with a special retro livery. The Airbus A320 (N475UA) is painted in the airline’s 1970s-era “Friend Ship” livery. “We are proud to celebrate United’s 85th anniversary with the more than 85,000 co-workers and thousands of retirees who have built the world’s leading airline,” said Jeff Smisek, United’s president and chief executive officer. Employee celebrations continue throughout the week as the Friend Ship visits different United and Continental hub airports, including Denver International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, and Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport, the airline’s largest hub. Last fall, United employees selected the Friend Ship, which features stripes of deep red and sky blue and a regal star pattern, from United’s historical liveries. Photos Source & Photos: United Airlines

The first Airbus A330 to be operated by Virgin Atlantic has been delivered recently. The inaugural passenger flight between Manchester and Orlando is part of Virgin Atlantic’s commitment to strengthen services from the UK to the US East Coast, East and West Africa, the Middle East and India. The aircraft is the first to be delivered from the ten A330-300s ordered in December 2009. Virgin Atlantic, has for the first time in its history deployed a twin engine jet to serve on its transatlantic routes. Virgin Atlantic’s first two A330-300 aircraft will operate on leisure routes and will have a two class configuration of 59 Premium Economy seats and 255 in Economy featuring the airline’s award winning cabin and service and a revolutionary new in-flight entertainment system. The new cutting edge system uses the latest touchscreen technology allowing passengers to scroll and swipe through over 300 hours of content quickly ...

The wreckage of Air France flight AF447 has finally been found on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. The Airbus A330-203, registered F-GZCP, crashed en route to Paris from Rio de Janeiro in June 2009, killing all 228 passengers and crew on board, after hitting a thunderstorm. The submarine that located the wreckage in a depth of 3800m also found bodies. They will be recovered and identified, a spokesman said. Investigators now hope to find the aircraft’s black boxes as well. Photos Images: Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses

I just found this great video about Buffalo Airways. The Canadian family-run airline, based in Yellowknife, is famous for operating vintage WWII planes on a daily passenger and cargo service all over the Northwest Territories. The airline is featured in the TV documentary series Ice Pilots NWT (History Televison) and instantly got international recognition, not only in the aviation community. If you haven’t heard of it yet, you definitly have to check it out. Amongst others their amazing fleet consists of 2 Consolidated PBY Catalina, 1 Convair CV-240, 3 Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando, 14 Douglas C-54 Skymaster, 2 Douglas C-47 Skytrain, 9 Douglas DC-3, 2 Douglas DC-4 and 3 Lockheed L-188 Electra. Video

A Bombardier CRJ200ER operated by Atlantic Southeast (Delta Connection) struck a flock of large birds, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing at Little Rock National Airport. Flight 5087 was bound from Atlanta to Little Rock when pilots reported the bird strike at 3:38 p.m. Friday, about 20 miles southeast of the airport. The nose cone and left engine cowling has been damaged. More at http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/ Photos: AP

Gulfstream today confirmed that one of their G650 (N652GD) test planes crashed Saturday morning during takeoff-performance tests in Roswell, N.M. Two Gulfstream pilots and two Gulfstream flight-test engineers died in the crash. According to a FAA spokesperson, on takeoff the right wingtip struck the ground. The pilot tried to recover but it’s landing gear collapsed causing the airplane to skid on the runway and bursting into flames. The Gulfstream G650 is a twin-engine business jet under development. The G650 program started in 2005 and was revealed it to the public in 2008. The G650 is the company’s largest, and fastest business jet. First delivery is scheduled for 2012.

After an in-flight fuselage rupture on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 (N632SW) on Friday, Southwest announced that they grounded 79 affected Boeing 737-300 until important aircraft skin fatigue inspection is completed. Because of the grounding about 300 flights have been canceled on Saturday. Southwest Airlines Flight 812, bound from Phoenix to Sacramento, conducted an emergency landing in Yuma, Ariz. Preliminary reports indicated the aircraft lost pressure and oxygen masks were deployed shortly after takeoff from Phoenix. Upon safely landing, the flight crew discovered a 3- to 4-foot hole in the top of the aircraft. One flight attendant was treated at the scene for a minor injury, as was at least one passenger. No injuries required transport to the hospital. Southwest currently operates 173 Boeing 737-300, 25 Boeing 737-500 and 349 Boeing 737-700. This is not the first time a Boeing 737 fuselage ruptured in-flight. In 2009 Southwest Airlines Flight 2294, ...