Heretofore, only about 200 of nearly 11,000 South Carolina National Guardsmen have been based in Greenville County.
Going forward, however, the state's most populous county will have many more of the men and women in uniform.
Earlier this month, Guard pilots began flying from a new helicopter station at the South Carolina Aviation and Technology Center in southern Greenville County.
The $27.5 million Army Aviation Support Facility is home base for 10 helicopters — six Chinooks and four Lakotas — and 75 full-time soldiers.
Another 200 part-time Guardsmen will work at the 110,000-square-foot facility, where helicopters will soon be lifting off 30 times a week from a giant concrete pad, according to Lt. Col. Charles Lewis, the commanding officer.
The helicopters were moved from McEntire Joint National Guard Base, which is in Eastover near Columbia and remains home for the Guard's Blackhawk and Apache helicopters and its F-16 fighter jets.
The new helicopter station is Greenville's first military presence of any size since Donaldson Air Force Base closed in the early 1960s, according to local historian Judy Bainbridge.
And more is coming.
In January, the Guard is scheduled to break ground on two other buildings next to the helicopter station, creating a military complex that will perform a variety of functions.
Up to 70 full-time Guardsmen will use one of the buildings to maintain and repair hundreds of military vehicles such as Humvees and trucks for carrying cargo or troops, officers said.
The other building will house an armory for soldiers working with the helicopters as well as a school for training aircraft maintenance mechanics.
The Guard will operate the school in conjunction with Greenville Tech, which will move its existing aircraft maintenance program into the new building.
Graduates will be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration for airframe and power plant work.
Guard units in South Carolina and other states need that kind of mechanic to work on Lakota helicopters, officers said.
Skills taught at the school are also sought by private-sector aviation companies such as Lockheed Martin Corp., which refurbishes military planes on a 282-acre campus within sight of the new helicopter base, and The Boeing Co., which builds its 787 Dreamliner in North Charleston.
Lewis said the helicopters were moved to Greenville because they'd outgrown their space at the McEntire base near Columbia.
In addition, he said, the Guard sees strategic benefit in spreading air assets around the state and an opportunity for recruiting in the Greenville market.
The Guard needs manpower with technical skills and has "kind of tapped out the Columbia market," Lewis said.
The helicopter crews will fly to landing zones in South Carolina's Sumter National Forest and North Carolina's DuPont State Recreational Forest as a way to practice low-level flying in both flat and mountainous terrain, according to an environmental analysis prepared by the Guard to satisfy federal requirements.
The pilots will also simulate carrying Humvees by lifting concrete blocks weighing up to 25,000 pounds and flying them to public airports in Anderson, Greenwood, Pickens or Oconee counties.
Lewis said the number of flights per week could rise to 40 during peak training cycles.
Greenville Tech's aircraft maintenance department is currently housed in an older building next to the new helicopter station.
The building doesn't have enough room for all of the nine airplanes and one helicopter that Tech uses for teaching, so some of the aircraft are kept outside and moved inside as needed, said Carl Washburn, head of the college's aircraft maintenance department.
In the new building, he said, Tech will be able to put all of its aircraft inside a hangar shared with the Guard.
"So rather than wasting the time moving airplanes around we're focused on teaching these technicians and making them better," he said.
Once the school moves into the new building, Washburn said, it will be in a position to ask the FAA for permission to expand enrollment from 120 students to 150 and possibly more over time.
He said Stevens Aviation, which refurbishes military and civilian aircraft in a hangar behind the new helicopter base, and a Honeywell plant in Greer that makes helicopter engines are two other local employers that hire the kind of mechanics produced by the school.
Washburn said he wouldn't be surprised if other aviation companies set up shop at SCTAC to be near the school.
Jacqui DiMaggio, Tech's vice president for finance, said the college will spend $6 million on the armory building to satisfy a federal requirement for a 20 percent local match.
About 80 soldiers who were stationed at an existing Guard armory at SCTAC were re-assigned to Spartanburg, said Lt. Col. Andrew Batten, the officer in charge of Guard construction in South Carolina.
National training center
The Guard could expand even more in Greenville if plans for a national training center are approved by the National Guard Bureau in Arlington, Virginia.
The proposed training center would teach military units and civilian first responders such as police and fire departments how best to work together in the event of a national emergency such as a hurricane, said Les Eisner, a recently retired major general who came up with the idea of developing the Greenville complex more than 15 years ago.
He said the center could use virtual reality technology as well as real-life exercises to simulate disaster scenarios.
Eisner, a two-star general when he retired from the state Guard in March, said he sees a need for military units and civilian first responders to train together.
"In a combat zone, the military's in charge. Domestically, we're not in charge. We're in a support role," he said. "So the people in charge have to understand our capabilities, our limitations, our strengths in order to better serve them."
Eisner said decision-makers in the National Guard Bureau have expressed support for the training center concept but it remains a "work in progress."
Noise concerns
The Guard says it will operate the helicopters as quietly as they can and stay out of designated "no fly" zones that are the most noise-sensitive areas.
But that hasn't stopped some residents near SCTAC from complaining already.
Ed Paxton, who lives about two miles from the helicopter station, scoffed at the Guard's conclusion in its environmental analysis that the training flights would have no significant adverse impact, given the mitigating measures.
"As far as I'm concerned, the only people there will be no significant impact to are those people who are deaf," Paxton said.
Carl Stoner, a retired IBM field engineer and former Cessna pilot, said he knew his house was in the path of SCTAC air traffic when he bought it in 1998.
Noise became a problem, he said, when huge transport planes changed their approaches to the Lockheed Martin campus. Now he's concerned about the addition of helicopter noise.
"If they go west of me I don't care," Stoner said. "If they go east, my way, I do care. I will be extremely ticked off."
Paxton and Stoner also said they think hauling huge concrete blocks suspended from helicopters by cable in a populated area raises safety concerns.
Greenville County Councilman Willis Meadows said he thinks the concerns are legitimate, and he will ask the Guard to conduct the training with concrete blocks somewhere besides SCTAC and stick to a set schedule.
"If you're going to lift 25,000 pounds, it's going to make a lot of noise when it lifts off," Meadows said, referring to the double-rotor Chinook helicopters.
County Councilman Butch Kirven, however, said the helicopter base shouldn't create much more aircraft noise than SCTAC has been producing for a long time.
The 2,600-acre industrial park with an 8,000-foot runway used to be Donaldson Air Force Base.
"I think the worries about the noise have been greatly overblown," said Kirven, a former brigadier general in the South Carolina National Guard.
Source: http://www.greenvilleonline.com
Showing posts with label Military. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Military. Show all posts
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Friday, May 09, 2014
Travis Air Force Base Home Of Upgraded, Fuel-Efficient C-5 Super Galaxy Plane
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE (CBS13) — The Air Force is rolling out an old plane with new technology as part of a plan it says will save you money.
The $90 million upgrade to the jet’s engines makes the plane one of the most fuel-efficient airplanes of its size in the world. And it’s stationed at Travis Air Force Base.
In a grey sky, the C-5 Super Galaxy made its first flight over Travis Air Force Base on Thursday.
The cargo plan that spans nearly the length of a football field is touching down for the first time since it was given a $90 million upgrade.
“Words that come to mind are phenomenal and incredible,” said Lt. Gen Brooks Bash.
He was at the controls for the first flight to Fairfield. The plane that can house six Greyhound buses in its belly is now more powerful and able to climb to higher elevations much quicker. But the real gains come in fuel savings.
“Capabilities of this plane to fly direct from here to New Zealand, or from here all the way to Afghanistan with well over 200,000 pounds of cargo,” Bash said.
The new engines and over 100 miles of wiring didn’t come cheap. The Air Force claims it will help pilots, but we asked how does it help taxpayers?
“Over time the modification on this airplane will definitely pay for itself,” said Lt. Col. Jacqueline Breeden.
But she couldn’t say how quickly those savings would come. With cargo loads and flight times different for each mission, she says it’s difficult to calculate.
“It’s a matter of balancing fuel load with cargo load, how heavy we are, how fast we climb, how quickly we get to that altitude is where that fuel savings is built in,” Breeden said.
With the upgrades, the Air Force hopes this plane that was originally build in 1987 will have another 30 to 40 years in teh air.
Travis Air Force Base is set to house 18 of the modified cargo planes.
Story and video: http://sacramento.cbslocal.com
The $90 million upgrade to the jet’s engines makes the plane one of the most fuel-efficient airplanes of its size in the world. And it’s stationed at Travis Air Force Base.
In a grey sky, the C-5 Super Galaxy made its first flight over Travis Air Force Base on Thursday.
The cargo plan that spans nearly the length of a football field is touching down for the first time since it was given a $90 million upgrade.
“Words that come to mind are phenomenal and incredible,” said Lt. Gen Brooks Bash.
He was at the controls for the first flight to Fairfield. The plane that can house six Greyhound buses in its belly is now more powerful and able to climb to higher elevations much quicker. But the real gains come in fuel savings.
“Capabilities of this plane to fly direct from here to New Zealand, or from here all the way to Afghanistan with well over 200,000 pounds of cargo,” Bash said.
The new engines and over 100 miles of wiring didn’t come cheap. The Air Force claims it will help pilots, but we asked how does it help taxpayers?
“Over time the modification on this airplane will definitely pay for itself,” said Lt. Col. Jacqueline Breeden.
But she couldn’t say how quickly those savings would come. With cargo loads and flight times different for each mission, she says it’s difficult to calculate.
“It’s a matter of balancing fuel load with cargo load, how heavy we are, how fast we climb, how quickly we get to that altitude is where that fuel savings is built in,” Breeden said.
With the upgrades, the Air Force hopes this plane that was originally build in 1987 will have another 30 to 40 years in teh air.
Travis Air Force Base is set to house 18 of the modified cargo planes.
Story and video: http://sacramento.cbslocal.com
Thursday, May 08, 2014
Presidential security buzzes the skies of the Santa Clarita Valley
The thunderous noise of fighter jets “buzzing” some Santa Clarita Valley homes Wednesday night turns out to be the byproduct of presidential protection during Barack Obama’s visit to Los Angeles.
“It sounded like lawn mowers on my roof,” said a Canyon Country resident who identified herself only as Cathy. She first heard the jets about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, she said.
“There were aerial motorized noises over my house,” she said. “(I thought,) what are these objects flying overhead? They were very loud.”
Jim Nicol of Newhall wrote to The Signal Thursday morning questioning what he thought were “Air Force jet fighter maneuvers over SCV.”
“What was that AF fighter jet doing yesterday afternoon doing mock air-to-air combat maneuvers over the SCV?” he asked.
Short answer: national security.
Fighter jets intercepted two aircraft that wandered into a no-fly area imposed because of Obama’s visit, The Associated Press reported Thursday.
Air Force Master Sgt. Chuck Marsh, a spokesman for North American Aerospace Defense Command, says a small private plane and a private helicopter were spotted in the no-fly zone Wednesday, and authorities couldn’t immediately make contact with the pilots, AP said.
California Air National Guard F-15s eventually escorted the aircraft out of the restricted area.
One landed at Agua Dulce Airpark, the other at McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad.
Cathy in Canyon Country said the same jet sounds were heard twice Thursday morning, but authorities say no planes violated restrictions during the president’s Thursday visit.
President Obama left Los Angeles for San Diego at 2:10 p.m., according to his itinerary posted on the White House website.
Source: http://www.signalscv.com
If you wondered why two F-15s were buzzing the Santa Clarita Valley early Wednesday evening when President Barack Obama was in Los Angeles, here’s why.
NORAD fighters intercept two general aviation aircraft over Los Angeles
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. – F-15 fighters under the direction of North American Aerospace Defense Command intercepted two general aviation aircraft that were out of communications in the Temporary Flight Restriction Zone over Los Angeles, Calif, at approximately 6:30 p.m. PDT yesterday evening.
Once the aircraft were intercepted and had departed the Temporary Flight Restricted Zone, they landed at regional airports and were investigated by local law enforcement.
Read more and comments/reaction: http://scvnews.com
Related: http://www.norad.mil
“It sounded like lawn mowers on my roof,” said a Canyon Country resident who identified herself only as Cathy. She first heard the jets about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, she said.
“There were aerial motorized noises over my house,” she said. “(I thought,) what are these objects flying overhead? They were very loud.”
Jim Nicol of Newhall wrote to The Signal Thursday morning questioning what he thought were “Air Force jet fighter maneuvers over SCV.”
“What was that AF fighter jet doing yesterday afternoon doing mock air-to-air combat maneuvers over the SCV?” he asked.
Short answer: national security.
Fighter jets intercepted two aircraft that wandered into a no-fly area imposed because of Obama’s visit, The Associated Press reported Thursday.
Air Force Master Sgt. Chuck Marsh, a spokesman for North American Aerospace Defense Command, says a small private plane and a private helicopter were spotted in the no-fly zone Wednesday, and authorities couldn’t immediately make contact with the pilots, AP said.
California Air National Guard F-15s eventually escorted the aircraft out of the restricted area.
One landed at Agua Dulce Airpark, the other at McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad.
Cathy in Canyon Country said the same jet sounds were heard twice Thursday morning, but authorities say no planes violated restrictions during the president’s Thursday visit.
President Obama left Los Angeles for San Diego at 2:10 p.m., according to his itinerary posted on the White House website.
Source: http://www.signalscv.com
If you wondered why two F-15s were buzzing the Santa Clarita Valley early Wednesday evening when President Barack Obama was in Los Angeles, here’s why.
NORAD fighters intercept two general aviation aircraft over Los Angeles
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. – F-15 fighters under the direction of North American Aerospace Defense Command intercepted two general aviation aircraft that were out of communications in the Temporary Flight Restriction Zone over Los Angeles, Calif, at approximately 6:30 p.m. PDT yesterday evening.
Once the aircraft were intercepted and had departed the Temporary Flight Restricted Zone, they landed at regional airports and were investigated by local law enforcement.
Read more and comments/reaction: http://scvnews.com
Related: http://www.norad.mil
Dover Air Force Base lockdown lifted
A lockdown at Dover Air Force Base was lifted at 2:40 p.m. Thursday, base officials say.
Just before 3 p.m., Airman First Class William R. Johnson, a base spokesman, said more information would be released soon.
Base officials said the military premises were on lockdown since 11 a.m. due to a report of a suspicious person, but a school director whose students were touring a museum there said they were told there was a possible active shooter on the base.
"The base went into lockdown and our students were secured in a protected area," said Edward Emmett, director of Positive Outcomes Charter School in Camden. The students are safe and have been returned to the school, said Emmett, who was not at the museum at the time of the incident.
Johnson dismissed the claims.
"At this time we have no information that would lead us to believe that there is an active shooter on the base," Johnson said.
Traffic was moving normally on nearby routes, such as Del. 1 and Bay Road.
Outside the main gate, Sgt. First Class Thomas Myers was waiting to enter the base. He said he had heard from others still inside the base that a "suspicious character" had been apprehended.
Uniformed security servicemen and women could be seen wearing yellow vests or belts at base gates Thursday afternoon. They were flagging people to turn around at the main gate.
While there were short backups to get in at most gates, there appeared to be a backup inside the base waiting to get out at the south commercial gate.
There is significant retiree traffic on and off the base, for commissary and exchange trips. It was clear from U-turning traffic that a number of retirees were having their plans changed.
Johnson did not have details on the suspicious person, but said the person was seen about 11 a.m. near Building 706, where several arrival ceremonies have taken place.
As a precautionary measure, base officials implemented base lockdown procedures and instructed all personnel to shelter in place. he said.
"The safety of our people is our top priority," Col. Randy Huiss, 436th Airlift Wing vice wing commander said in a news release. "We take this report very seriously and are taking the necessary precautions to investigate this matter."
According to sources, students at Maj. George S. Welch Elementary School on the base are also on lockdown. Classes continue, but students are not allowed in the hallways.
Mike Leister, director of the Air Mobility Command Museum, said that facility was on lockdown for about 30 minutes before being allowed to reopen.
"We were given permission to reopen because we are in a separate enclave," Leister said, adding they continued routine operations, including an army change of command ceremony. "We locked the place down, we gathered everybody up and passed the information out and when we got permission to open back up everybody went about their business."
Leister said he heard someone mention there was a "possible active shooter," but he did not know where that came from.
"It wasn't from any official source that I saw," Leister said, adding he was told the lockdown was due to a report of a suspicious person. "That's all we really had."
Story and video: http://www.delawareonline.com
Friday, March 07, 2014
Base to conduct joint exercise in Treasure Valley March 10-14
Military aircraft and personnel from the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps and Great Britain will operate out of Mountain Home Air Force Base for the Gunfighter Flag military exercise March 10-14.
Residents of Boise and Mountain Home will see and hear an increase in aircraft flying in their vicinity from 1-4 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. March 10-13, and from 1-4 p.m. March 14.
The exercise is designed to prepare multiple joint and coalition terminal attack controller teams for upcoming deployments as well as provide proficiency training for aircrews.
"This exercise epitomizes what we do at Mountain Home Air Force Base," said Col. Byron Anderson, 366th Fighter Wing vice commander. "We train combat-ready Airmen to deploy anywhere at any time and provide precision air power to our joint and coalition partners."
All training has been coordinated with the appropriate authorities.
For more information, contact the Mountain Home Air Force Base Public Affairs office at (208) 828-6800, or by email at 366FW/PA.Public.Affairs@us.af.mil.
Source: http://www.mountainhomenews.com
Residents of Boise and Mountain Home will see and hear an increase in aircraft flying in their vicinity from 1-4 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. March 10-13, and from 1-4 p.m. March 14.
The exercise is designed to prepare multiple joint and coalition terminal attack controller teams for upcoming deployments as well as provide proficiency training for aircrews.
"This exercise epitomizes what we do at Mountain Home Air Force Base," said Col. Byron Anderson, 366th Fighter Wing vice commander. "We train combat-ready Airmen to deploy anywhere at any time and provide precision air power to our joint and coalition partners."
All training has been coordinated with the appropriate authorities.
For more information, contact the Mountain Home Air Force Base Public Affairs office at (208) 828-6800, or by email at 366FW/PA.Public.Affairs@us.af.mil.
Source: http://www.mountainhomenews.com
Thursday, March 06, 2014
An exercise in public safety
MacDill Air Force Base personal took part in an exercise on Thursday morning, simulating that a jet had clipped a helicopter at the upcoming AirFest with people being injured. In advance of "MacDill AFB presents Tampa Bay AirFest," the 6th Air Mobility Wing air show exercise to practice in case of an emergency at the show.
The exercise is to prepare first responders in case of an actual emergency during the air show on Mar. 22 and 23.
The air show typically brings in more than 150,000 attendees from the entire central Florida region, and this year base officials expect even more.
"With our outstanding community partners, we feel prepared for any emergency, and will validate our preparedness while sharpening our skills," said Col. Scott DeThomas, 6th Air Mobility Wing commander. "It is important for our attendees to have a great time and feel safe. This exercise is just one more way to ensure the public safety."
Source: http://www.tampabay.com
The exercise is to prepare first responders in case of an actual emergency during the air show on Mar. 22 and 23.
The air show typically brings in more than 150,000 attendees from the entire central Florida region, and this year base officials expect even more.
"With our outstanding community partners, we feel prepared for any emergency, and will validate our preparedness while sharpening our skills," said Col. Scott DeThomas, 6th Air Mobility Wing commander. "It is important for our attendees to have a great time and feel safe. This exercise is just one more way to ensure the public safety."
Source: http://www.tampabay.com
Tuesday, March 04, 2014
Fantasy of Flight to Close as Public Attraction, Will Focus on Private Event Business: Attraction has world's largest private collection of vintage aircraft
AUBURNDALE | Troubled by waning attendance and image problems, Fantasy of Flight, an aviation-themed attraction boasting the world’s largest private collection of vintage aircraft, closes to the public April 6.
Kermit Weeks, the charismatic former aerobatics champion and aircraft designer who built Fantasy of Flight in part to house his collection, said he delivered the somber news Tuesday morning to staff inside the attraction and airfield just off Interstate 4 near Polk City.
“I turned 60 last year and the clock is ticking; it’s time to move on,” Weeks said. “So the bottom line is, instead of focusing on a business that quite honestly is not sustainable, I can focus my energy and resources toward a dream that will sustain.
“I have great employees, a great product,” he said, “but people think we’re (little more than) a dusty old airplane museum.”
Weeks said he failed to change that misperception over the 18 years Fantasy of Flight has operated, despite adding elements such as aerial demonstrations of rare, vintage aircraft, tram tours that give visitors a glimpse of ongoing restoration efforts and a zip line.
Over the next few years, Weeks said, he’ll continue to build on his private event business while working on plans to create a new destination attraction, one where aircraft take a back seat to character-driven entertainment and opportunities for self-discovery.
“I’m going to get some of the best minds in the design business,” he said. “We’re going to look like the big boys up the street,” meaning major theme parks, “but with a completely different product.”
Fantasy of Flight was a good fit in a county where aviation continues to be a thriving business, said Mark Jackson, director of Central Florida Tourism and Sports Marketing.
He expressed optimism over Weeks’ assurance of a new venture.
“Kermit has always been a visionary and someone who has a unique ability to make the necessary changes to his products and offerings, which ultimately will put the business in a more competitive position,” Jackson said in an email.
“Fantasy of Flight has played an important role in the message we convey to potential visitors. I’m looking forward to what Kermit’s creativity and perseverance will come up with next. We’ll certainly be there to help him market his next great idea.”
Bobby Green, city manager of Auburndale, which annexed the Fantasy of Flight property in 2008, said growth along the I-4 corridor bodes well for Weeks’ future plans.
“If there’s anyone that can reinvent Fantasy of Flight and the opportunities of that property, Kermit Weeks is quite capable of doing that,” he said.
“I think with Florida Poly, and the things happening with light rail, I think he realizes he’s in the center of the universe ... Let’s remember that Legoland (Florida) used to be Cypress Gardens. Whatever happens there will be good for Auburndale but will also be good for Polk County.”
Without mentioning specifics, Weeks said the closing will result in a reduction of his workforce. At one time the attraction employed as many as 70 people.
It’s the second reduction since May 6, when Fantasy of Flight cut operating hours from seven days a week to four, entertaining guests Thursday through Sunday, only. A general admission ticket was most recently priced at $29.95 for ages 13 and over.
Weeks said he intends to concentrate on restoration of rare, vintage aircraft, which is the reason he developed the property following the destruction of his Miami air museum by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
Weeks has said he bankrolled Fantasy of Flight with royalties from the work of his grandfather, a geologist involved in the oil industry. A part of his collection of aircraft, some of which dates to the dawn of aviation, is scattered around the globe.
Despite efforts to fuse the museum aspects with interactive, immersion experiences, putting visitors into the belly of a B-17 Flying Fortress to witness aerial battle at an altitude of 25,000 feet, Fantasy of Flight never quite earned its keep.
“In its current form it is not a sustainable operation based on attendance numbers,” said Kandice Stephens, the attraction’s operations manager, adding that Weeks’ long-range plans call for a “main attraction” for which people will travel out of their way.
“His (Weeks) vision is to use quality entertainment to help people discover themselves, pushing their boundaries, facing their fears,” she said.
For those who enjoy aviation history, plans are to open an aspect of the present aircraft collection in a reduced capacity and admission price later this year, Stephens said.
“We’ll be reduced to just one (hangar) with a select number of aircraft with historic value, no tram tours, no back lot (tour),” she said.
Meanwhile, the events staff will be retained and the facility will continue to host weddings, meetings and corporate events, including team building and birthday parties.
Groups booked for admittance to the attraction after April 6 will be issued refunds, the release said. Groups currently contracted only for private events will not be affected by these changes.
Annual passholders will receive a pro-rated refund based on the date of purchase. Questions may be sent to: btaylor@fantasyofflight.com.
Story, photo and comments/reaction: http://www.theledger.com
Kermit Weeks, the charismatic former aerobatics champion and aircraft designer who built Fantasy of Flight in part to house his collection, said he delivered the somber news Tuesday morning to staff inside the attraction and airfield just off Interstate 4 near Polk City.
“I turned 60 last year and the clock is ticking; it’s time to move on,” Weeks said. “So the bottom line is, instead of focusing on a business that quite honestly is not sustainable, I can focus my energy and resources toward a dream that will sustain.
“I have great employees, a great product,” he said, “but people think we’re (little more than) a dusty old airplane museum.”
Weeks said he failed to change that misperception over the 18 years Fantasy of Flight has operated, despite adding elements such as aerial demonstrations of rare, vintage aircraft, tram tours that give visitors a glimpse of ongoing restoration efforts and a zip line.
Over the next few years, Weeks said, he’ll continue to build on his private event business while working on plans to create a new destination attraction, one where aircraft take a back seat to character-driven entertainment and opportunities for self-discovery.
“I’m going to get some of the best minds in the design business,” he said. “We’re going to look like the big boys up the street,” meaning major theme parks, “but with a completely different product.”
Fantasy of Flight was a good fit in a county where aviation continues to be a thriving business, said Mark Jackson, director of Central Florida Tourism and Sports Marketing.
He expressed optimism over Weeks’ assurance of a new venture.
“Kermit has always been a visionary and someone who has a unique ability to make the necessary changes to his products and offerings, which ultimately will put the business in a more competitive position,” Jackson said in an email.
“Fantasy of Flight has played an important role in the message we convey to potential visitors. I’m looking forward to what Kermit’s creativity and perseverance will come up with next. We’ll certainly be there to help him market his next great idea.”
Bobby Green, city manager of Auburndale, which annexed the Fantasy of Flight property in 2008, said growth along the I-4 corridor bodes well for Weeks’ future plans.
“If there’s anyone that can reinvent Fantasy of Flight and the opportunities of that property, Kermit Weeks is quite capable of doing that,” he said.
“I think with Florida Poly, and the things happening with light rail, I think he realizes he’s in the center of the universe ... Let’s remember that Legoland (Florida) used to be Cypress Gardens. Whatever happens there will be good for Auburndale but will also be good for Polk County.”
Without mentioning specifics, Weeks said the closing will result in a reduction of his workforce. At one time the attraction employed as many as 70 people.
It’s the second reduction since May 6, when Fantasy of Flight cut operating hours from seven days a week to four, entertaining guests Thursday through Sunday, only. A general admission ticket was most recently priced at $29.95 for ages 13 and over.
Weeks said he intends to concentrate on restoration of rare, vintage aircraft, which is the reason he developed the property following the destruction of his Miami air museum by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
Weeks has said he bankrolled Fantasy of Flight with royalties from the work of his grandfather, a geologist involved in the oil industry. A part of his collection of aircraft, some of which dates to the dawn of aviation, is scattered around the globe.
Despite efforts to fuse the museum aspects with interactive, immersion experiences, putting visitors into the belly of a B-17 Flying Fortress to witness aerial battle at an altitude of 25,000 feet, Fantasy of Flight never quite earned its keep.
“In its current form it is not a sustainable operation based on attendance numbers,” said Kandice Stephens, the attraction’s operations manager, adding that Weeks’ long-range plans call for a “main attraction” for which people will travel out of their way.
“His (Weeks) vision is to use quality entertainment to help people discover themselves, pushing their boundaries, facing their fears,” she said.
For those who enjoy aviation history, plans are to open an aspect of the present aircraft collection in a reduced capacity and admission price later this year, Stephens said.
“We’ll be reduced to just one (hangar) with a select number of aircraft with historic value, no tram tours, no back lot (tour),” she said.
Meanwhile, the events staff will be retained and the facility will continue to host weddings, meetings and corporate events, including team building and birthday parties.
Groups booked for admittance to the attraction after April 6 will be issued refunds, the release said. Groups currently contracted only for private events will not be affected by these changes.
Annual passholders will receive a pro-rated refund based on the date of purchase. Questions may be sent to: btaylor@fantasyofflight.com.
Story, photo and comments/reaction: http://www.theledger.com
Restored Ball Turret back on WWII-era Aircraft
The National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force B-17 Restoration Team has installed a restored ball turret onto a World War II-era aircraft. The ball turret was revealed during a ceremony on Tuesday.
The ball turret was purchased from the set of the movie "Memphis Belle" and has been under restoration for the last 11 months to transform it from a movie prop into a functioning turret.
The installation was overseen by two groups of the B-17 Restoration Team, an all-volunteer force that has given over 35,000 hours to restore the aircraft.
The Museum's B-17G Flying Fortress arrived in 2009. A donation from the National Air and Space Museum, the Flying Fortress is undergoing a complete restoration to return it to its original combat configuration. When complete, it is anticipated that it will be the only static restoration of a B-17 Flying Fortress in the world with three fully-functioning power turrets.
Story and photos: http://www.wsav.com
The ball turret was purchased from the set of the movie "Memphis Belle" and has been under restoration for the last 11 months to transform it from a movie prop into a functioning turret.
The installation was overseen by two groups of the B-17 Restoration Team, an all-volunteer force that has given over 35,000 hours to restore the aircraft.
The Museum's B-17G Flying Fortress arrived in 2009. A donation from the National Air and Space Museum, the Flying Fortress is undergoing a complete restoration to return it to its original combat configuration. When complete, it is anticipated that it will be the only static restoration of a B-17 Flying Fortress in the world with three fully-functioning power turrets.
Story and photos: http://www.wsav.com
Saturday, March 01, 2014
Hill Aerospace Museum to cut 18 aircraft, 3 missiles from collection
HILL AIR FORCE BASE — The Hill Aerospace Museum will be cutting 18 aircraft, three missiles and other support vehicles from its collection.
The museum is located at Hill Air Force Base and has been open to the public for almost 30 years. It has more than 2,000 artifacts on 34 acres of land.
"We have a lot of aircraft in that museum and as the government continues to reduce resources, we won't have the manpower, funding or means necessary to give those aircraft the attention they need over time," said Acting Museum Director Aaron Clark. "With that being the case, the most responsible thing would be to give other museums the opportunity to have these aircraft and to take care of them."
The museum's aircraft require periodic restoration and repairs to maintain appearance, which can be costly. Clark said an outdoor plane needs to be painted every five or six years, which can run from $15,000 to $100,000 depending on the size of the plane.
The mission of the museum is to portray the history of the Hill Air Force Base and aviation in the state of Utah. Clark said museum officials are using the cuts as an opportunity to refocus on the mission while becoming more fiscally responsible.
"These aircraft have little to do, or sometimes nothing to do, with that mission," he said. "So we put that into consideration when we chose the aircraft that we were going to put on the excess list."
Most of the aircraft being excessed are located outside, which makes them more expensive to maintain, but some of the current indoor displays will also be finding a new home. Clark said the planes people are most likely to notice missing are the A-7, B-47 and F-106.
However, removing the planes from the collection will allow the museum to focus more on artifacts with local ties. It has plans to restore a C-47 that was used in the middle of the century and bring it indoors.
"If we eliminate those (aircraft) and they actually go away, then we'll have space to bring more aircraft that have more to do with Hill Air Force Base inside and protect them from the elements," Clark said.
After downsizing, the museum will still have more than 50 aircraft.
The excess artifacts will not disappear from the museum overnight. The excess list has been sent to the National Museum of the Air Force in Ohio, which will work with organizations that would like to obtain the artifacts.
The aircraft will be offered to field museums, base air parks, certified civilian museums and service museums. They could also find a future home with veteran's organizations, hospitals and cities.
"If they have a desire or a need for that aircraft in their collection, they can work with the national museum to see if they can obtain it," Clark said.
Museum officials said they don't expect the streamlining of aircraft to affect attendance. More than 138,000 people visited the museum last year.
Museum Excess List:
Aircraft: F-4C (RF), F-4E, F-86L, T-39A (CT), C-131D, C-130E (trainer), H-21C, F-4E (GF), A-7F (YA), C-45H, F-106A (QF), U-3A, H-13T, T-28B (BUNO), F/A-18A, B-47E (WB), C-119F (RCAF), C-7B
Missles: CIM-10C Missle, LGM-118 Peacekeeper Missle, LGM-30 Minuteman III Missle
Support Vehicles: BGM-109A Trailer, SSCBM Minuteman ICBM Storage, Peacekeeper Air Elevator Support Trailer, Peacekeeper Support Truck
Story, photo gallery and comments/reaction: http://www.ksl.com
The museum is located at Hill Air Force Base and has been open to the public for almost 30 years. It has more than 2,000 artifacts on 34 acres of land.
"We have a lot of aircraft in that museum and as the government continues to reduce resources, we won't have the manpower, funding or means necessary to give those aircraft the attention they need over time," said Acting Museum Director Aaron Clark. "With that being the case, the most responsible thing would be to give other museums the opportunity to have these aircraft and to take care of them."
The museum's aircraft require periodic restoration and repairs to maintain appearance, which can be costly. Clark said an outdoor plane needs to be painted every five or six years, which can run from $15,000 to $100,000 depending on the size of the plane.
The mission of the museum is to portray the history of the Hill Air Force Base and aviation in the state of Utah. Clark said museum officials are using the cuts as an opportunity to refocus on the mission while becoming more fiscally responsible.
"These aircraft have little to do, or sometimes nothing to do, with that mission," he said. "So we put that into consideration when we chose the aircraft that we were going to put on the excess list."
Most of the aircraft being excessed are located outside, which makes them more expensive to maintain, but some of the current indoor displays will also be finding a new home. Clark said the planes people are most likely to notice missing are the A-7, B-47 and F-106.
However, removing the planes from the collection will allow the museum to focus more on artifacts with local ties. It has plans to restore a C-47 that was used in the middle of the century and bring it indoors.
"If we eliminate those (aircraft) and they actually go away, then we'll have space to bring more aircraft that have more to do with Hill Air Force Base inside and protect them from the elements," Clark said.
After downsizing, the museum will still have more than 50 aircraft.
The excess artifacts will not disappear from the museum overnight. The excess list has been sent to the National Museum of the Air Force in Ohio, which will work with organizations that would like to obtain the artifacts.
The aircraft will be offered to field museums, base air parks, certified civilian museums and service museums. They could also find a future home with veteran's organizations, hospitals and cities.
"If they have a desire or a need for that aircraft in their collection, they can work with the national museum to see if they can obtain it," Clark said.
Museum officials said they don't expect the streamlining of aircraft to affect attendance. More than 138,000 people visited the museum last year.
Museum Excess List:
Aircraft: F-4C (RF), F-4E, F-86L, T-39A (CT), C-131D, C-130E (trainer), H-21C, F-4E (GF), A-7F (YA), C-45H, F-106A (QF), U-3A, H-13T, T-28B (BUNO), F/A-18A, B-47E (WB), C-119F (RCAF), C-7B
Missles: CIM-10C Missle, LGM-118 Peacekeeper Missle, LGM-30 Minuteman III Missle
Support Vehicles: BGM-109A Trailer, SSCBM Minuteman ICBM Storage, Peacekeeper Air Elevator Support Trailer, Peacekeeper Support Truck
Story, photo gallery and comments/reaction: http://www.ksl.com
Friday, February 28, 2014
“Miss Pauline”: Work progresses on museum's WW II aircraft
Working on “Miss Pauline” is like working on a giant puzzle with thousands of pieces in two different locations.
“Miss Pauline” is an AT-6 that is being built from an assortment of parts, nuts and bolts.
Sam Dodson, who joined the project in January, fabricated a dolly that is going to take a section of the plane mounted with wheels from a hangar at Terrell Municipal Airport to the No. 1 British Flying Training School on Saturday.
Dodson, who is an airframe and power plant mechanic with Southwest Airlines, along with many other people, is helping rebuild a part of Terrell’s and the No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum’s history.
The plane has been named “Miss Pauline” in honor of Pauline Bond Baxter who was an instructor at the flying school during WW II.
The AT-6 is being stripped, cleaned, refinished part-by-part, section-by-section from several planes.
The goal is simple: put together an AT-6 similar to what was used to train cadets from The Royal Air Force, Canada and the United States during World War II and use it as the main display at the No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum on Silent Wings Boulevard.
Dodson said the main landing gear has been installed on the center wing section.
“In the meantime, we still need to finish stripping paint and prepare the top skin of the CWS for primer application this week .... before fuselage attachment,” he said in an email on Monday. “If anyone is available to help during the week for this critical task, please let me know.”
Jim Evans, a BFTS board member and the “Miss Pauline” project manager, said he will need all hands on deck Saturday to help mount the wing center section to the fuselage.
“Sam has designed and constructed a dolly which will wheel the wing from the hanger to the museum where we will lift up the fuselage to accommodate the assembly,” Evans said. “This is a major step in our restoration …. You will be a part of important local history in action.”
Cliff Taylor, who is chairman and treasurer of the No. 1 BFTS Museum, said the project still could use about 10 more volunteers, especially people with good mechanic skills.
“We believe we will have a pretty complete plane by Sept. 20, but it will be fully complete by the end of the year,” Taylor said.
Once the plane is completed, the next challenge will be where to put it on display.
Taylor said they will have to make space in the back of the museum, at least initially, to display it.
A committee, he said, is working on where to build a new museum that would accommodate it.
As of late January, Taylor said $38,000 had been spent on the “Miss Pauline” project and there was $9,500 in the bank. He estimates another $3,000 to $5,000 is needed.
People interested in volunteering their skills and time should contact Taylor at 972-551-1333.
To make donation, send a check to No. 1 BFTS, Box 6, Silent Wings Boulevard, Terrell, Texas 75160.
Story and photo: http://www.terrelltribune.com
“Miss Pauline” is an AT-6 that is being built from an assortment of parts, nuts and bolts.
Sam Dodson, who joined the project in January, fabricated a dolly that is going to take a section of the plane mounted with wheels from a hangar at Terrell Municipal Airport to the No. 1 British Flying Training School on Saturday.
Dodson, who is an airframe and power plant mechanic with Southwest Airlines, along with many other people, is helping rebuild a part of Terrell’s and the No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum’s history.
The plane has been named “Miss Pauline” in honor of Pauline Bond Baxter who was an instructor at the flying school during WW II.
The AT-6 is being stripped, cleaned, refinished part-by-part, section-by-section from several planes.
The goal is simple: put together an AT-6 similar to what was used to train cadets from The Royal Air Force, Canada and the United States during World War II and use it as the main display at the No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum on Silent Wings Boulevard.
Dodson said the main landing gear has been installed on the center wing section.
“In the meantime, we still need to finish stripping paint and prepare the top skin of the CWS for primer application this week .... before fuselage attachment,” he said in an email on Monday. “If anyone is available to help during the week for this critical task, please let me know.”
Jim Evans, a BFTS board member and the “Miss Pauline” project manager, said he will need all hands on deck Saturday to help mount the wing center section to the fuselage.
“Sam has designed and constructed a dolly which will wheel the wing from the hanger to the museum where we will lift up the fuselage to accommodate the assembly,” Evans said. “This is a major step in our restoration …. You will be a part of important local history in action.”
Cliff Taylor, who is chairman and treasurer of the No. 1 BFTS Museum, said the project still could use about 10 more volunteers, especially people with good mechanic skills.
“We believe we will have a pretty complete plane by Sept. 20, but it will be fully complete by the end of the year,” Taylor said.
Once the plane is completed, the next challenge will be where to put it on display.
Taylor said they will have to make space in the back of the museum, at least initially, to display it.
A committee, he said, is working on where to build a new museum that would accommodate it.
As of late January, Taylor said $38,000 had been spent on the “Miss Pauline” project and there was $9,500 in the bank. He estimates another $3,000 to $5,000 is needed.
People interested in volunteering their skills and time should contact Taylor at 972-551-1333.
To make donation, send a check to No. 1 BFTS, Box 6, Silent Wings Boulevard, Terrell, Texas 75160.
Story and photo: http://www.terrelltribune.com
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
U.S. Navy Orders More of Boeing's Poseidon Jets: Additional Order Marks Move to Full-Rate Production
The Wall Street Journal
By Doug Cameron
Feb. 25, 2014 9:21 p.m. ET
The U.S.Navy agreed to buy 16 more Boeing Co. P-8A Poseidon jets as part of a $2.1 billion deal that marks a move to full-rate production for the surveillance and anti-submarine aircraft.
The deal announced by the Pentagon Tuesday increases the Navy's order to 53 jets as it exercised options as part of a broader agreement that would see the service take up to 117 of the aircraft, a heavily-modified version of its best-selling 737-800 passenger plane.
Boeing's development of military versions of its commercial aircraft has proved successful at stimulating sales at a time when orders for its specialized fighters are drying up. In addition to the P-8A, the company won a multibillion-dollar contract to make the new KC-46 aerial refueling tankers—recently renamed the Pegasus—for the U.S. Air Force, based on its 767 twin-aisle jet.
The switch in U.S. military strategy toward the Pacific from central Asia has fueled demand for the Poseidon and other equipment that has offered the Navy with more protection from budget cuts than other branches of the military. The latest P-8 buy comes from the Navy's fiscal 2014 budget.
The move to full-rate output marks a milestone for the P-8 program after four sets of initial production that has seen 13 planes delivered so far to the Navy, though their capabilities have attracted criticism from the Pentagon's chief weapons tester, notably over its ability to provide surveillance over large areas
The defense department's acquisition chief countered a report last month from the tester, and said the P-8 was meant to develop in stages, with its full capabilities emerging in later models.
Boeing has also won orders from Australia and India for the P-8.
Source: http://online.wsj.com
By Doug Cameron
Feb. 25, 2014 9:21 p.m. ET
The U.S.Navy agreed to buy 16 more Boeing Co. P-8A Poseidon jets as part of a $2.1 billion deal that marks a move to full-rate production for the surveillance and anti-submarine aircraft.
The deal announced by the Pentagon Tuesday increases the Navy's order to 53 jets as it exercised options as part of a broader agreement that would see the service take up to 117 of the aircraft, a heavily-modified version of its best-selling 737-800 passenger plane.
Boeing's development of military versions of its commercial aircraft has proved successful at stimulating sales at a time when orders for its specialized fighters are drying up. In addition to the P-8A, the company won a multibillion-dollar contract to make the new KC-46 aerial refueling tankers—recently renamed the Pegasus—for the U.S. Air Force, based on its 767 twin-aisle jet.
The switch in U.S. military strategy toward the Pacific from central Asia has fueled demand for the Poseidon and other equipment that has offered the Navy with more protection from budget cuts than other branches of the military. The latest P-8 buy comes from the Navy's fiscal 2014 budget.
The move to full-rate output marks a milestone for the P-8 program after four sets of initial production that has seen 13 planes delivered so far to the Navy, though their capabilities have attracted criticism from the Pentagon's chief weapons tester, notably over its ability to provide surveillance over large areas
The defense department's acquisition chief countered a report last month from the tester, and said the P-8 was meant to develop in stages, with its full capabilities emerging in later models.
Boeing has also won orders from Australia and India for the P-8.
Source: http://online.wsj.com
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Congress throws Boeing a lifeline for Super Hornet
WASHINGTON • Congress has given Boeing's Super Hornet fighter jet a lifeline, at least for now.
The omnibus federal spending measure contains a down payment of $75 million for 22 of the fighters that the Navy didn't request.
The funding, signed into law on Jan. 17, will prod Navy officials to decide this year whether to spend as much as $2 billion for the unplanned planes as a hedge against delays of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
At stake is Boeing's staying power as a producer of fighter jets alongside Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin Corp., which builds the F-35 for the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. Any additional orders from the Navy could serve as a buffer as Boeing works to attract new customers in Europe, the Middle East and Canada.
"With some of the bumps in the road with the Joint Strike Fighter this is a very important line to keep open," Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J. and chairman of the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee, said in an interview.
The additional $75 million is "a great sign from Congress that they understand the importance of the line," Mike Gibbons, Boeing's vice president for the program, said in a telephone interview. He said the Super Hornet is "very important" for continued competition and industrial base expertise.
The money could give Chicago-based Boeing a fighting chance to keep its St. Louis, Mo.-based production line open beyond 2016. The plant is where the F-18 E/F Super Hornets and an electronics-jamming version of the aircraft called the E/A-18 Growler are built.
Missouri's senators, Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt, make the case for the Super Hornet on lower cost, more options for the Navy's fleet of tactical aircraft and employment in their state.
"What's really important is, if you look at the squeezing of the budget, that we have a blend since it's half the price" of the F-35, McCaskill, a Democrat, said in an interview.
Blunt, a Republican, warned against fighter shortfalls on Navy carriers if the Pentagon doesn't order more planes.
He wrote in an Oct. 31, 2013 editorial in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the shortfall would leave "many American aircraft carriers without combat aircraft - like a bow without arrows."
The Super Hornet program supports about 90,000 direct and indirect jobs and has 1,900 suppliers across the U.S., according to Boeing. The company estimates the program contributes about $6 billion to the U.S. economy. Suppliers include Northrop Grumman, which makes the aft and center fuselage; General Electric, which produces the engines; and Raytheon, which supplies the radar.
The Navy's decision to buy more Boeing aircraft depends on the wear and tear of its older fighter jets, and whether it projects an unmanageable shortfall of tactical aircraft on its aircraft carriers a decade from now. As a result of the Navy scaling back flight hours in 2012 and 2013, its most up-to-date analysis shows a shortfall of fewer than 30 aircraft.
Boeing builds two Super Hornet versions - the single-seat E model and the two-seat F model. F-18s have been in service with the Navy since November 1999. The Navy's first operational squadron of Super Hornets was formed in 2001.
The Navy plans to retire older versions of the F/A-18 and shift to a combination of Super Hornets and carrier-based F-35s. The Marines envision a strike-fighter fleet solely comprising its F-35 version — designed for short takeoffs and vertical landings — and carrier-based jets once it can no longer extend the life of its Hornets and Harrier aircraft.
Boeing plans to scale back production from four aircraft to three aircraft a month, which would take production through the end of 2016, Gibbons said. Under current plans, Boeing will have delivered 135 Growlers and 563 Super Hornets to the Navy by the end of 2016. Australia also plans to buy 12 Growlers. Boeing has delivered 24 Super Hornets to that country.
Keeping the production line open by trickling domestic orders may become even more important for Boeing after it lost a $4.5 billion Brazilian fighter jet competition to Sweden's Saab AB in December. Boeing now is looking at potential new fighter contracts in Denmark, Canada and Kuwait. Other countries also could buy Super Hornets as they plan to replace their Lockheed F-16 aircraft with newer jets, Gibbons said.
Story and comments/reaction: http://www.stltoday.com
The omnibus federal spending measure contains a down payment of $75 million for 22 of the fighters that the Navy didn't request.
The funding, signed into law on Jan. 17, will prod Navy officials to decide this year whether to spend as much as $2 billion for the unplanned planes as a hedge against delays of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
At stake is Boeing's staying power as a producer of fighter jets alongside Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin Corp., which builds the F-35 for the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. Any additional orders from the Navy could serve as a buffer as Boeing works to attract new customers in Europe, the Middle East and Canada.
"With some of the bumps in the road with the Joint Strike Fighter this is a very important line to keep open," Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J. and chairman of the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee, said in an interview.
The additional $75 million is "a great sign from Congress that they understand the importance of the line," Mike Gibbons, Boeing's vice president for the program, said in a telephone interview. He said the Super Hornet is "very important" for continued competition and industrial base expertise.
The money could give Chicago-based Boeing a fighting chance to keep its St. Louis, Mo.-based production line open beyond 2016. The plant is where the F-18 E/F Super Hornets and an electronics-jamming version of the aircraft called the E/A-18 Growler are built.
Missouri's senators, Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt, make the case for the Super Hornet on lower cost, more options for the Navy's fleet of tactical aircraft and employment in their state.
"What's really important is, if you look at the squeezing of the budget, that we have a blend since it's half the price" of the F-35, McCaskill, a Democrat, said in an interview.
Blunt, a Republican, warned against fighter shortfalls on Navy carriers if the Pentagon doesn't order more planes.
He wrote in an Oct. 31, 2013 editorial in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the shortfall would leave "many American aircraft carriers without combat aircraft - like a bow without arrows."
The Super Hornet program supports about 90,000 direct and indirect jobs and has 1,900 suppliers across the U.S., according to Boeing. The company estimates the program contributes about $6 billion to the U.S. economy. Suppliers include Northrop Grumman, which makes the aft and center fuselage; General Electric, which produces the engines; and Raytheon, which supplies the radar.
The Navy's decision to buy more Boeing aircraft depends on the wear and tear of its older fighter jets, and whether it projects an unmanageable shortfall of tactical aircraft on its aircraft carriers a decade from now. As a result of the Navy scaling back flight hours in 2012 and 2013, its most up-to-date analysis shows a shortfall of fewer than 30 aircraft.
Boeing builds two Super Hornet versions - the single-seat E model and the two-seat F model. F-18s have been in service with the Navy since November 1999. The Navy's first operational squadron of Super Hornets was formed in 2001.
The Navy plans to retire older versions of the F/A-18 and shift to a combination of Super Hornets and carrier-based F-35s. The Marines envision a strike-fighter fleet solely comprising its F-35 version — designed for short takeoffs and vertical landings — and carrier-based jets once it can no longer extend the life of its Hornets and Harrier aircraft.
Boeing plans to scale back production from four aircraft to three aircraft a month, which would take production through the end of 2016, Gibbons said. Under current plans, Boeing will have delivered 135 Growlers and 563 Super Hornets to the Navy by the end of 2016. Australia also plans to buy 12 Growlers. Boeing has delivered 24 Super Hornets to that country.
Keeping the production line open by trickling domestic orders may become even more important for Boeing after it lost a $4.5 billion Brazilian fighter jet competition to Sweden's Saab AB in December. Boeing now is looking at potential new fighter contracts in Denmark, Canada and Kuwait. Other countries also could buy Super Hornets as they plan to replace their Lockheed F-16 aircraft with newer jets, Gibbons said.
Story and comments/reaction: http://www.stltoday.com
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Admirers Join Forces to Save ‘Warthog’ Jet: Battle to Save Plane Show Difficulties in Paring Defense Budget
The Wall Street Journal
By Dion Nissenbaum
Jan. 14, 2014 7:33 p.m. ET
The Air Force's budget-cutting plan to retire hundreds of jets that have provided invaluable protection for U.S. troops is creating strange bedfellows, as influential lawmakers and longtime critics of Pentagon bloat rally to save the A-10 "Warthog."
For more than two decades, the A-10 Thunderbolt II has provided aerial protection to ground troops, a task it has performed from Iraq's "Highway of Death" in the first Gulf War to the Taliban strongholds of eastern Afghanistan. Few people at the Pentagon challenge the plane's reputation for providing forces with the best support possible.
Eliminating the Warthog—so named because of its ugly, snub-nosed design—is one way the Air Force is looking to deal with its need to trim more than $50 billion from its budget over the next five years as part of a broader congressional mandate that the Pentagon cut $500 billion over the next decade. Air Force officials say retiring the entire fleet of about 300 A-10s by 2020 would save a total of $3.7 billion.
The Air Force's plans for the A-10 have brought together an unusual alliance of interests looking to protect the planes from Pentagon budget cutters. Opposition to the Air Force proposal is being led by Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R., N.H.), whose husband was an A-10 pilot who flew combat missions in Iraq. Joining Ms. Ayotte and more than two dozen other lawmakers is the Project on Government Oversight, a Washington-based nonprofit group that typically is a forceful advocate for defense cuts.
Ms. Ayotte temporarily blocked confirmation hearings for the administration's nominee to be Air Force secretary late last year until the Pentagon addressed some of her questions. She also ensured that the recently enacted National Defense Authorization Act, the bill that outlines defense policies, contained language preventing the Air Force from severely paring the A-10 fleet this year.
The emerging battle over the proposal to begin a five-year plan to phase out the A-10s in 2015 is a reminder of how difficult it is for the Pentagon to slash billions in spending as required by Congress and President Barack Obama. Virtually every proposed defense spending cut—from trimming benefits for veterans and closing bases to phasing out armored vehicles and eliminating aging surveillance drones— faces stiff opposition.
Effective resistance in Washington to substantive cuts restricts Pentagon options as defense officials search for ways to trim their budget as the U.S. tries to shift its focus from costly ground wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to emerging challenges across the globe.
In the case of the A-10, the usual opponents of defense cuts are joined by military reformers who argue the Air Force is sacrificing a proven plane to save money for expensive but more exciting fighter jets. Critics of the plan say the Air Force has never fully embraced the A-10 or its mission of providing air support for ground troops, and that mandatory budget cuts known as sequestration are merely providing the Pentagon was a convenient way to get rid of the plane.
"The Air Force is simply using sequestration and sensible budget constraints as an excuse to kill a system it never wanted in favor of the overpriced, behind-schedule, less-capable boondoggle that is the F-35" fighter jet, said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight. The F-35, the most expensive Pentagon weapons program in history, has faced cost-overruns and questions about its role for the military. The Pentagon is investing hundreds of billions in developing the F-35 to be its most advanced jet fighter. Opponents of the F-35 say the Pentagon's focus on protecting the expensive jet comes at the expense of more reliable existing Pentagon programs, like the A-10.
Top Air Force officials say they don't want to get rid of the A-10s, whose unique asset is a tank-stopping cannon in its nose that can fire nearly 4,000 rounds a minute. But, officials argue, there are few alternatives to come up with the necessary savings.
"Is the A-10 the best airplane to perform close air support? Absolutely," said Maj. Gen. Paul T. Johnson, the Air Force director of Operational Capability Requirements who has flown more hours in the A-10—about 3,000—than many other pilots working at the Pentagon. "Do we want to get rid of the A-10 performing close air support? No. But it's a measure of where we are fiscally."
The A-10 may be the best at what it does, he argued, but "in the age of austerity we can't afford that." Other planes and helicopters are still able to provide the same kind of protection as the A-10, he said, even if they aren't as effective. Warthog pilots are the only ones in the Air Force specifically tasked to provide air support for troops on the ground.
Air Force officials acknowledge that getting rid of the A-10 could lead to higher deaths, longer battles and even defeat on the battlefield. "There's a risk that attrition will be higher than it should be—that's a clever way of saying more people will get hurt and die—and extreme risk is that you might not win," Gen. Johnson said.
That is an intolerable option for the Warthog's supporters. "If they kill the A-10, the Air Force should be able to explain to families of fallen troops why they died," said Winslow Wheeler, director of the Project on Government Oversight's Straus Military Reform Project.
Source: http://online.wsj.com
By Dion Nissenbaum
Jan. 14, 2014 7:33 p.m. ET
The Air Force's budget-cutting plan to retire hundreds of jets that have provided invaluable protection for U.S. troops is creating strange bedfellows, as influential lawmakers and longtime critics of Pentagon bloat rally to save the A-10 "Warthog."
For more than two decades, the A-10 Thunderbolt II has provided aerial protection to ground troops, a task it has performed from Iraq's "Highway of Death" in the first Gulf War to the Taliban strongholds of eastern Afghanistan. Few people at the Pentagon challenge the plane's reputation for providing forces with the best support possible.
Eliminating the Warthog—so named because of its ugly, snub-nosed design—is one way the Air Force is looking to deal with its need to trim more than $50 billion from its budget over the next five years as part of a broader congressional mandate that the Pentagon cut $500 billion over the next decade. Air Force officials say retiring the entire fleet of about 300 A-10s by 2020 would save a total of $3.7 billion.
The Air Force's plans for the A-10 have brought together an unusual alliance of interests looking to protect the planes from Pentagon budget cutters. Opposition to the Air Force proposal is being led by Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R., N.H.), whose husband was an A-10 pilot who flew combat missions in Iraq. Joining Ms. Ayotte and more than two dozen other lawmakers is the Project on Government Oversight, a Washington-based nonprofit group that typically is a forceful advocate for defense cuts.
Ms. Ayotte temporarily blocked confirmation hearings for the administration's nominee to be Air Force secretary late last year until the Pentagon addressed some of her questions. She also ensured that the recently enacted National Defense Authorization Act, the bill that outlines defense policies, contained language preventing the Air Force from severely paring the A-10 fleet this year.
The emerging battle over the proposal to begin a five-year plan to phase out the A-10s in 2015 is a reminder of how difficult it is for the Pentagon to slash billions in spending as required by Congress and President Barack Obama. Virtually every proposed defense spending cut—from trimming benefits for veterans and closing bases to phasing out armored vehicles and eliminating aging surveillance drones— faces stiff opposition.
Effective resistance in Washington to substantive cuts restricts Pentagon options as defense officials search for ways to trim their budget as the U.S. tries to shift its focus from costly ground wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to emerging challenges across the globe.
In the case of the A-10, the usual opponents of defense cuts are joined by military reformers who argue the Air Force is sacrificing a proven plane to save money for expensive but more exciting fighter jets. Critics of the plan say the Air Force has never fully embraced the A-10 or its mission of providing air support for ground troops, and that mandatory budget cuts known as sequestration are merely providing the Pentagon was a convenient way to get rid of the plane.
"The Air Force is simply using sequestration and sensible budget constraints as an excuse to kill a system it never wanted in favor of the overpriced, behind-schedule, less-capable boondoggle that is the F-35" fighter jet, said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight. The F-35, the most expensive Pentagon weapons program in history, has faced cost-overruns and questions about its role for the military. The Pentagon is investing hundreds of billions in developing the F-35 to be its most advanced jet fighter. Opponents of the F-35 say the Pentagon's focus on protecting the expensive jet comes at the expense of more reliable existing Pentagon programs, like the A-10.
Top Air Force officials say they don't want to get rid of the A-10s, whose unique asset is a tank-stopping cannon in its nose that can fire nearly 4,000 rounds a minute. But, officials argue, there are few alternatives to come up with the necessary savings.
"Is the A-10 the best airplane to perform close air support? Absolutely," said Maj. Gen. Paul T. Johnson, the Air Force director of Operational Capability Requirements who has flown more hours in the A-10—about 3,000—than many other pilots working at the Pentagon. "Do we want to get rid of the A-10 performing close air support? No. But it's a measure of where we are fiscally."
The A-10 may be the best at what it does, he argued, but "in the age of austerity we can't afford that." Other planes and helicopters are still able to provide the same kind of protection as the A-10, he said, even if they aren't as effective. Warthog pilots are the only ones in the Air Force specifically tasked to provide air support for troops on the ground.
Air Force officials acknowledge that getting rid of the A-10 could lead to higher deaths, longer battles and even defeat on the battlefield. "There's a risk that attrition will be higher than it should be—that's a clever way of saying more people will get hurt and die—and extreme risk is that you might not win," Gen. Johnson said.
That is an intolerable option for the Warthog's supporters. "If they kill the A-10, the Air Force should be able to explain to families of fallen troops why they died," said Winslow Wheeler, director of the Project on Government Oversight's Straus Military Reform Project.
Source: http://online.wsj.com
Monday, January 13, 2014
Ex-Pratt Worker Allegedly Tried To Ship F-35 Files To Iran: Company Says It Is Cooperating With Authorities
Pratt & Whitney said
Monday it is cooperating with authorities after federal agents arrested a
former employee for trying to ship documents to Iran related to the
U.S. military's Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.
The East Hartford defense contractor, the sole manufacturer of the aircraft's engine, declined to comment on how Mozaffar Khazaee, 59, slipped thousands of pages of documents, diagrams, blueprints and technical manuals out the door before he was laid off in August along with hundreds of other employees.
Federal authorities arrested Khazaee at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on Thursday before he could board a plane bound for Frankfurt, Germany, to meet a connecting flight to Tehran, Iran, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Connecticut.
Pratt and the Pentagon are highly sensitive about compliance and security issues after the company paid $75 million to settle charges that it violated arms control laws and made false statements about exporting software to China for military helicopters.
Company spokesman Ray Hernandez said in an emailed statement that the company "has been fully cooperating with the government on this matter and will continue to do so."
The evidence against Khazaee — filed in an affidavit that was unsealed by a federal judge in Bridgeport after the arrest was made — shows how authorities learned of his plan to ship dozens of boxes, labeled as household goods, to western Iran on a large container ship. Documents filed by federal agents do not address a motive.
In October, Khazaee hired a company to ship the boxes from his apartment on Oakland Street in Manchester to the port in Long Beach, Calif., where they were to be loaded onto the NYK Libra, according to court documents.
In late November, customs agents at the port inspected the shipment and found the documents, and days later identified them as belonging to three separate companies. Documents obtained by federal authorities indicated that the ultimate recipient of the shipment would be Khazaee's brother-in-law, Mohammad Payendah in Hamadan, Iran, the affidavit said.
Khazaee became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1991, according to the affidavit. He holds U.S. and Iranian passports and has traveled to Iran five times in the past seven years.
The shipment mainly contained documents related to military aircraft engines, including the F-35 Lightning II built by Lockheed Martin and what federal agents referred to as the J136 engine, which could refer to the F136 engine designed, though ultimately not built, by General Electric and Rolls-Royce for the F-35.
The shipment also included cookware, dishes, an English-Persian dictionary, medicine bottles, college documents, printed emails, an expired Iranian passport and credit card bills addressed to Khazaee's Manchester residence, according to the affidavit.
The bills and medicine bottles identified Khazaee, but so did his fingerprints found on the packaging tape on three of the boxes, according to authorities.
Khazaee worked on a team at Pratt, a division of United Technologies Corp., which conducted strength and durability evaluations for components in all of the company's engines, the F119 engine for the military's F-22 Raptor engine, the affidavit said. He was laid off in August, when Pratt cut about 400 positions throughout the company.
Months later Khazaee left his Manchester apartment and moved to Indianapolis.
Khazaee lived in Indianapolis in 2005, when he filed for bankruptcy after amassing tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt. According to court documents, he had $69 in cash and owed $53,681.46 when he filed for bankruptcy.
At the time, he was a contractor for Volt Services, a large, technical staffing and job placement company. He listed his place of employment as Rolls-Royce Avenue in Indianapolis.
Source: http://www.courant.com
The East Hartford defense contractor, the sole manufacturer of the aircraft's engine, declined to comment on how Mozaffar Khazaee, 59, slipped thousands of pages of documents, diagrams, blueprints and technical manuals out the door before he was laid off in August along with hundreds of other employees.
Federal authorities arrested Khazaee at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on Thursday before he could board a plane bound for Frankfurt, Germany, to meet a connecting flight to Tehran, Iran, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Connecticut.
Pratt and the Pentagon are highly sensitive about compliance and security issues after the company paid $75 million to settle charges that it violated arms control laws and made false statements about exporting software to China for military helicopters.
Company spokesman Ray Hernandez said in an emailed statement that the company "has been fully cooperating with the government on this matter and will continue to do so."
The evidence against Khazaee — filed in an affidavit that was unsealed by a federal judge in Bridgeport after the arrest was made — shows how authorities learned of his plan to ship dozens of boxes, labeled as household goods, to western Iran on a large container ship. Documents filed by federal agents do not address a motive.
In October, Khazaee hired a company to ship the boxes from his apartment on Oakland Street in Manchester to the port in Long Beach, Calif., where they were to be loaded onto the NYK Libra, according to court documents.
In late November, customs agents at the port inspected the shipment and found the documents, and days later identified them as belonging to three separate companies. Documents obtained by federal authorities indicated that the ultimate recipient of the shipment would be Khazaee's brother-in-law, Mohammad Payendah in Hamadan, Iran, the affidavit said.
Khazaee became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1991, according to the affidavit. He holds U.S. and Iranian passports and has traveled to Iran five times in the past seven years.
The shipment mainly contained documents related to military aircraft engines, including the F-35 Lightning II built by Lockheed Martin and what federal agents referred to as the J136 engine, which could refer to the F136 engine designed, though ultimately not built, by General Electric and Rolls-Royce for the F-35.
The shipment also included cookware, dishes, an English-Persian dictionary, medicine bottles, college documents, printed emails, an expired Iranian passport and credit card bills addressed to Khazaee's Manchester residence, according to the affidavit.
The bills and medicine bottles identified Khazaee, but so did his fingerprints found on the packaging tape on three of the boxes, according to authorities.
Khazaee worked on a team at Pratt, a division of United Technologies Corp., which conducted strength and durability evaluations for components in all of the company's engines, the F119 engine for the military's F-22 Raptor engine, the affidavit said. He was laid off in August, when Pratt cut about 400 positions throughout the company.
Months later Khazaee left his Manchester apartment and moved to Indianapolis.
Khazaee lived in Indianapolis in 2005, when he filed for bankruptcy after amassing tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt. According to court documents, he had $69 in cash and owed $53,681.46 when he filed for bankruptcy.
At the time, he was a contractor for Volt Services, a large, technical staffing and job placement company. He listed his place of employment as Rolls-Royce Avenue in Indianapolis.
Source: http://www.courant.com
Federal authorities arrested Mozaffar Khazaee at Newark Liberty
International Airport in New Jersey on Thursday before he could board a
plane bound for Frankfurt, Germany, to meet a connecting flight to
Tehran, Iran, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Connecticut.
(Reuters)
(January 13, 2014)
Friday, January 03, 2014
World War II aircraft wreckage recovered in Manipur, North-East India
Residents living in an interior village of North-east Indian state of Manipur recovered wreckage of an almost century-old aircraft that was built during the Second World War.
Members of the youth club of Senjam Chiran village thought they hit a jackpot when ruins of the main engine of the WW II aircraft were found at Konu hill in Senapati district on 30 December.
The craft weighs nearly 300 kg, which was recovered with 14 pistols of the time amid the wreckage, officials told PTI on Friday.
They had been on their way to a temple of deity Konu Lairenbi when they discovered the remains of the WW II aircraft, which is believed to belong to the Allied Forces while they had engaged in a battle with the Japanese forces in Manipur. The remains were fully retrieved by the officials.
In January 2012, fragments of a US military aircraft, used during the same period, had been recovered in northern Tripura by a team of 34th Battalion of the Assam Rifles. After careful study of the remnants, it was discovered to be a C-47B, which had crashed during World War II.
"The majority of Allied crashes were caused by inhospitable weather, mechanical failure or navigational errors. The American Joint Prisoners of War and Missing in Action Accounting Command (JPAC) had identified 16 known crash sites in northeast India where Allied forces aircraft had crashed during World War II," an official had said then.
http://www.ibtimes.co.in
Douglas C-47B used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line service with various military operators through the 1950s.
Members of the youth club of Senjam Chiran village thought they hit a jackpot when ruins of the main engine of the WW II aircraft were found at Konu hill in Senapati district on 30 December.
The craft weighs nearly 300 kg, which was recovered with 14 pistols of the time amid the wreckage, officials told PTI on Friday.
They had been on their way to a temple of deity Konu Lairenbi when they discovered the remains of the WW II aircraft, which is believed to belong to the Allied Forces while they had engaged in a battle with the Japanese forces in Manipur. The remains were fully retrieved by the officials.
In January 2012, fragments of a US military aircraft, used during the same period, had been recovered in northern Tripura by a team of 34th Battalion of the Assam Rifles. After careful study of the remnants, it was discovered to be a C-47B, which had crashed during World War II.
"The majority of Allied crashes were caused by inhospitable weather, mechanical failure or navigational errors. The American Joint Prisoners of War and Missing in Action Accounting Command (JPAC) had identified 16 known crash sites in northeast India where Allied forces aircraft had crashed during World War II," an official had said then.
http://www.ibtimes.co.in
Douglas C-47B used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line service with various military operators through the 1950s.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Planes Parked in Weeds in Kabul After $486 Million Spent
 |
| The failed transport planes add to billions of dollars of wasted U.S. tax dollars documented by the inspector general’s office since American troops went into Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks. Photographer: Gopal Ratnam/Bloomberg |
Sixteen broken-down transport planes that cost U.S. taxpayers at least $486 million are languishing among the weeds, wooden cargo boxes and old tires at Kabul International Airport, waiting to be destroyed without ever being delivered to the Afghan Air Force.
The special inspector general for Afghanistan is investigating why the refurbished G222 turboprop aircraft from Finmeccanica SpA’s Alenia Aermacchi North America unit no longer can be flown after logging only 200 of 4,500 hours of U.S.-led training flights and missions required from January to September 2012 under a U.S Air Force contract because of persistent maintenance issues.
The unused transport planes are in addition to the billions of dollars in wasted U.S. funds documented by the inspector general’s office since American troops entered Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. They also compound the doubts about the Afghan Air Force’s capability to operate independently after U.S. forces withdraw by the end of next year.
“We need answers to this huge waste of U.S. taxpayer money,” John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, said in an e-mailed statement. “Who made the decision to purchase these planes, and why? We need to get to the bottom of this, and that’s why we’re opening this inquiry.”
Asked about the planes after they were photographed at the airport in Afghanistan by a Bloomberg News reporter, Sopko said he also saw them “sitting in the weeds” during a recent visit.
The G222 transports refurbished by the unit of Rome-based Finmeccanica were supposed to make up about 15 percent of the 105-aircraft Afghan Air Force, flying top Afghan civilian officials and combat troops and conducting medical evacuations.
Alenia ‘Struggled’
Instead, six of the planes already have been cannibalized for spare parts, a separate audit by the Pentagon inspector general found. In addition to the 16 planes in Kabul, there are four in Germany.
The U.S. Air Force didn’t renew Alenia Aermacchi’s maintenance contract in March because it “struggled to consistently meet contractual requirements,” Ed Gulick, a spokesman for the service, said in an e-mailed statement.
“Faced with long-standing and well-known issues with the program, Alenia did take action to improve their performance in some areas, but the Air Force was not convinced Alenia could meet and sustain all contractual obligations,” Gulick said.
Alenia spokesman Dan Hill said the company “is proud of its work” on the transports.
“At the time that the U.S. Air Force chose not to renew the contract,” the aircraft “were successfully performing missions in Afghanistan and exceeding the program objectives. While disappointed, we respect their decision not to continue,” he said in an e-mailed statement.
Averting a Repeat
Sopko’s investigation will review the decision to select the Alenia aircraft, determine the total spent to buy, sustain, and dispose of them and evaluate what procedures are in place to prevent similar failures with other purchases for the Afghan Air Force.
The inquiry was prompted by “the need to ensure that the U.S. government does not repeat the mistakes made throughout this nearly half-billion dollar program,” Sopko said in a Dec. 5 letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.
Navy Commander Elissa Smith, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said in an e-mail that the G222 aircraft’s failings have “had no impact on the readiness of the Afghan Air Force” because it has been operating 26 Cessna Aircraft Co. 208 Caravan planes “exceedingly well during the last several years and
‘Hotter, Dustier’
The G222s eventually are to be replaced by C-130H transports from Lockheed Martin Corp.that the Pentagon says won’t begin operating until 2016. The C-130H “will provide better range, as well as passenger and cargo movement” than the G222, Smith said.
U.S. training for the Afghan Air Force to fly the new planes may be affected by the fate of an agreement for some U.S. and allied forces to remain after 2014. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has balked at U.S. calls for him to sign that accord quickly.
The U.S. Air Force views the G222 as a “lesson-learned” case, said Lieutenant General Charles Davis, the service’s top military acquisition official,
“Just about everything you can think of was wrong for it other than the airplane was built for the size of cargo and mission they needed,” Davis said in an interview. “Other than that, it didn’t really meet any of the requirements.”
Once the planes were in Afghanistan it became clear that they were flying in a “hotter, dustier” environment than they could handle, he said.
No Buyers
“It was contractor performance,” it was difficulty finding capable pilots, “it was a very unsustainable airframe,” he said. “It was about everything you could think of that went into this.”
By the time President Barack Obama started to draw down forces in Afghanistan, training officials with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization decided that “these airplanes are never going to meet the needs of the Afghan Air Force, so we need to get rid of them,” Davis said.
“We looked for buyers, people to accept those, and nobody was interested in trying to maintain an airplane that was no longer sustainable, so that’s why” these aircraft “are sitting on the ramp and not going to fly,” Davis said.
Davis said he expected that at some point the G222s will be stripped of military gear “and destroyed and moved out of the country.”
In its Jan. 31 report marked “For Official Use Only,” the Pentagon inspector general said the NATO and U.S. training commands “have not effectively managed the program.”
In biannual reports to Congress on the status of the Afghan military, the Pentagon initially highlighted the aircraft as key to building the Afghan Air Force and then minimized its troubles.
A report in July said without elaboration that the G222 transport “has been removed from service.”
Source: http://www.businessweek.com
Saturday, December 07, 2013
Air Guard denied request to fly over Pearl Harbor
 |
| UNDATED: This photo courtesy of the Collings Foundation, shows a Buffalo, N.Y.-built American fighter that’s one of the few remaining still-airworthy planes to survive the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. (AP) |
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -
The missing man flyover at Pearl Harbor is a tradition USS Arizona and National Park Service historian Daniel Martinez has witnessed every December 7 since 1985.
"When you see that aircraft apart in that missing man formation, every one of us individualize what that means," he said.
But that emotion won't be there this year. The F-22 Raptors piloted by the Hawaii Air National Guard are under orders not to perform.
"There have been restrictions on all kinds of flyovers across the country. We were not able to get an exception of policy to do this one," Hawaii National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Chuck Anthony said.
Pearl Harbor survivors are understandably upset.
"I'm totally disgusted. The one day of the year when we're honoring our military from World War II," said retired U.S. Army Sgt. Allen Bodenlos.
"Every year I watch for the flight. I have those flights on the camera. To not see a flyover, I can't imagine," said Delton Walling, who was aboard the USS Pennsylvania when Japan attacked in 1941.
Anthony had hoped the Secretary of the Air Force would let the Guard do the flyover since the F-22's will already be in the air flying a $70,000 training exercise. Adding the flyover would have added some cost.
"There's so much money being spent for other things. I think this is very important. I don't see the reason why we can't spend the money for it," Ohio resident Nancy Wolverton said.
In place of the fighter jets, two vintage training aircraft from World War II will soar above Pearl Harbor in a fly by. Veterans agree at least it's something.
"They're honoring the vets and that'll be great," Walling said.
"That I'll enjoy," said Bodenlos.
"We recognize that at this point it doesn't look like this is going to change anytime soon, and these vets deserve better than what we're giving them right now. So we're going to do a better job, hopefully for you next year," vintage aircraft pilot Harry Greene said.
The Air Guard hopes it will have the honor back next December 7. Right now it doesn't look good.
"My understanding is that the Air Force has not approved any exceptions to policy since sequestration kicked in," Anthony said.
Until Washington gives the thumbs up, missing man flyovers over Hawaii skies will be a thing of the past.
Story, Video, Photo Gallery and Comments/Reaction: http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com
Monday, November 25, 2013
New York Air National Guard 174th Attack Wing to resume training flight operations 2 weeks after drone crash
FORT DRUM -- Nearly two weeks after a military reaper drone crashed into Lake Ontario, the New York Air National Guard's 174th Attack Wing will resume local area training flight operations from its base at Fort Drum.
Operations were suspended after a MQ-9 drone, which took off from the Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield at Fort Drum Tuesday, November 12, crashed in a routine training mission into Lake Ontario that afternoon.
The Air Force Accident Investigation Board (AIB) continues to investigate the cause and circumstances leading up to the crash, which happened about 20 miles northeast of the Port of Oswego.
Last week, members of the Sandy Creek Fire Department helped the Coast Guard, U.S. Navy divers and Air Force search for remaining debris along the shoreline, in the area of Jefferson and Lewis Counties. The search was halted on Friday.
The Air National Guard says the debris is not hazardous, but should be handled with caution. If you come across what you think could be wreckage, you're asked to call the Emergency Operations Center at (315) 233-2257, or 233-2258.
Colonel Greg Semmel, 174th Attack Wing Commander thanks military personnel and civilians for their efforts in the search and response to the crash.
"From local first responders in the Sandy Creek Fire Department to the assistance of the Coast Guard and U.S. Navy and Air Force efforts to determine the cause of this mishap and prevent future issues. Our decision to return to training flights is based on a careful review all facets of our MQ-9 flying program over the past two weeks, along with consultations with our training and technical experts and those from the Air National Guard and Air Combat Command," Col. Semmel said in a release to CNY Central.
The 174th Attack Wing is home to an Air Force formal training site for MQ-9 pilots, sensor operators and maintainers.
The investigation is expected to take about a month; Results will not be made public.
Story and Comments/Reaction: http://www.cnycentral.com
Operations were suspended after a MQ-9 drone, which took off from the Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield at Fort Drum Tuesday, November 12, crashed in a routine training mission into Lake Ontario that afternoon.
The Air Force Accident Investigation Board (AIB) continues to investigate the cause and circumstances leading up to the crash, which happened about 20 miles northeast of the Port of Oswego.
Last week, members of the Sandy Creek Fire Department helped the Coast Guard, U.S. Navy divers and Air Force search for remaining debris along the shoreline, in the area of Jefferson and Lewis Counties. The search was halted on Friday.
The Air National Guard says the debris is not hazardous, but should be handled with caution. If you come across what you think could be wreckage, you're asked to call the Emergency Operations Center at (315) 233-2257, or 233-2258.
Colonel Greg Semmel, 174th Attack Wing Commander thanks military personnel and civilians for their efforts in the search and response to the crash.
"From local first responders in the Sandy Creek Fire Department to the assistance of the Coast Guard and U.S. Navy and Air Force efforts to determine the cause of this mishap and prevent future issues. Our decision to return to training flights is based on a careful review all facets of our MQ-9 flying program over the past two weeks, along with consultations with our training and technical experts and those from the Air National Guard and Air Combat Command," Col. Semmel said in a release to CNY Central.
The 174th Attack Wing is home to an Air Force formal training site for MQ-9 pilots, sensor operators and maintainers.
The investigation is expected to take about a month; Results will not be made public.
Story and Comments/Reaction: http://www.cnycentral.com
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Getting a buzz from United States plane
A low-flying American military aircraft spooked animals and excited plane spotters as it buzzed the Nelson region over the weekend, and two more flights are scheduled over the next two days.
Woodstock farmer Fay Baker said she saw a large khaki-colored aircraft following the course of the Motueka River about 10.30am yesterday.
She estimated that the plane was flying at 500 feet, and said she had heard reports that it passed low over the Stanley Brook area on Saturday morning and yesterday evening.
"It's scaring the snot out of all the farmers and their animals."
She said her animals were scared and were in danger of running into electric fences.
The Royal New Zealand Air Force's senior media and communications adviser, Squadron Leader Lyn Coromandel, said the flights were "tactical low-level training flights" by a United States C-17 Globemaster as part of Operation Southern Katipo.
Although the operation was based near Timaru, the flights over the Nelson region were part of a related operation called Kiwi Flag, he said, and were likely to have originated at RNZAF Base Ohakea in Manawatu.
The first flight was about 8pm on Saturday, and the second about 10.30am yesterday.
Mr Coromandel said the C-17 was flying at about 500 feet. The minimum allowable level for such flights was 300 feet.
He said that because that the aircraft was so large, it could appear to be lower than it was, and its turbofan engines were "very quiet".
The flights allowed the crews to practice navigation skills such as reaching a set destination at an exact time, to simulate combat situations such as delivering troops within a tight time frame, he said.
Pilots reported seeing the Globemaster making a low pass over Nelson on Saturday evening. They said it came in from the south, flew low over the airport and city, waggled its wings and flew off to the north.
On the Nelson Mail's Facebook page, readers reported a military aircraft flying "very low around Pakawau then out towards Anatori" from Thursday to Saturday, as well as over Rabbit Island.
Mr Coromandel described Operation Southern Katipo as the largest joint military exercise in New Zealand in more than 25 years. It involves 2200 people from nine other countries - Australia, Canada, France, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Tonga, Britain and the US.
He said the remaining two flights, today and tomorrow, were scheduled to be near Farewell Spit, weather permitting.
Story and Comments/Reaction: http://www.stuff.co.nz
Woodstock farmer Fay Baker said she saw a large khaki-colored aircraft following the course of the Motueka River about 10.30am yesterday.
She estimated that the plane was flying at 500 feet, and said she had heard reports that it passed low over the Stanley Brook area on Saturday morning and yesterday evening.
"It's scaring the snot out of all the farmers and their animals."
She said her animals were scared and were in danger of running into electric fences.
The Royal New Zealand Air Force's senior media and communications adviser, Squadron Leader Lyn Coromandel, said the flights were "tactical low-level training flights" by a United States C-17 Globemaster as part of Operation Southern Katipo.
Although the operation was based near Timaru, the flights over the Nelson region were part of a related operation called Kiwi Flag, he said, and were likely to have originated at RNZAF Base Ohakea in Manawatu.
The first flight was about 8pm on Saturday, and the second about 10.30am yesterday.
Mr Coromandel said the C-17 was flying at about 500 feet. The minimum allowable level for such flights was 300 feet.
He said that because that the aircraft was so large, it could appear to be lower than it was, and its turbofan engines were "very quiet".
The flights allowed the crews to practice navigation skills such as reaching a set destination at an exact time, to simulate combat situations such as delivering troops within a tight time frame, he said.
Pilots reported seeing the Globemaster making a low pass over Nelson on Saturday evening. They said it came in from the south, flew low over the airport and city, waggled its wings and flew off to the north.
On the Nelson Mail's Facebook page, readers reported a military aircraft flying "very low around Pakawau then out towards Anatori" from Thursday to Saturday, as well as over Rabbit Island.
Mr Coromandel described Operation Southern Katipo as the largest joint military exercise in New Zealand in more than 25 years. It involves 2200 people from nine other countries - Australia, Canada, France, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Tonga, Britain and the US.
He said the remaining two flights, today and tomorrow, were scheduled to be near Farewell Spit, weather permitting.
Story and Comments/Reaction: http://www.stuff.co.nz
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Reader-submitted: 'They're trying to figure out what happened' - Malfunctioning drone hits Navy ship
A small fire erupted and two sailors were injured after an aerial target drone malfunctioned and struck a guided missile cruiser during training off Southern California on Saturday.
The drone struck the USS Chancellorsville on the side, leaving a 2- to 3-foot hole, said Lt. Lenaya Rotklein of the U.S. Third Fleet.
"They're trying to figure out what happened," she said, adding, "It's certainly rare."
The accident happened Saturday afternoon while the ship was testing its combat weapons system off Point Mugu. The drone was being used to test the ship's radar, Rotklein said.
The two sailors are being treated for minor burns, Rotklein said. The ship was heading back to Naval Base San Diego so officials can assess the damage.
The Navy was investigating the cause of the drone malfunction.
An estimated 300 sailors were aboard the missile cruiser at the time of the incident.
This is the second military drone crash in a week. On Tuesday, a drone from Fort Drum in upstate New York crashed into Lake Ontario during a training flight. The Air Force is investigating that incident.
Story and Comments/Reaction: http://usnews.nbcnews.com
The drone struck the USS Chancellorsville on the side, leaving a 2- to 3-foot hole, said Lt. Lenaya Rotklein of the U.S. Third Fleet.
"They're trying to figure out what happened," she said, adding, "It's certainly rare."
The accident happened Saturday afternoon while the ship was testing its combat weapons system off Point Mugu. The drone was being used to test the ship's radar, Rotklein said.
The two sailors are being treated for minor burns, Rotklein said. The ship was heading back to Naval Base San Diego so officials can assess the damage.
The Navy was investigating the cause of the drone malfunction.
An estimated 300 sailors were aboard the missile cruiser at the time of the incident.
This is the second military drone crash in a week. On Tuesday, a drone from Fort Drum in upstate New York crashed into Lake Ontario during a training flight. The Air Force is investigating that incident.
Story and Comments/Reaction: http://usnews.nbcnews.com
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