The 2007 hurricane season will be one of “above-average” activity, according to Dr. William Gray of Colorado State University, one of the best-known and most accurate forecasters. Gray’s “early season forecast,” issued Dec. 8, predicts 14 named storms, seven of which will become hurricanes. Three of those will be major hurricanes, meaning category 3, 4 […]
Tuskegee Airmen’s perfect record questioned
The Tuskegee Airmen never lost to enemy fighters a bomber they were escorting. That has been accepted as fact for 61 years, since the end of World War II. On Dec. 10, however, Tuskegee Airmen Historian William F. Holton told the Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser that Air Force records show at least a few bombers escorted […]
Making a list, checking it twice…
Making a list, checking it twice… The Practical Test Standards used for Santa’s check ride 1) Flight at various airspeeds 2) Chimney avoidance 3) Rooftop takeoffs and landings using low and high drag configurations. 4) Navigation using pilotage and dead reckoning 5) Use of checklists 6) Application of Naughty and Nice list 7) In-flight refueling […]
Lighting the way?
Lighting the way? Many years ago an aviation savvy dad with a sense of humor informed his child that the Christmas lights he put on the house every year were there because each roof was, in essence, a landing pad. This explanation satisfied the child until she learned the significance of colors in aviation. Once […]
LoPresti Fury selling furiously
“Who wouldn’t want a personal fighter?” asked Rj Siegel, vice president for operations at LoPresti Aviation. Everyone wants one, it would seem. The day the company started taking orders for the Roy LoPresti-designed Fury, with absolutely no fanfare and little publicity, it took 16 firm orders for the long-awaited plane. “We’ve been selling one aircraft […]
Eclipse resolves pre-production snags
As the first Eclipse 500 customer delivery drew near, the company issued three Customer Technical Communications revealing several problems and their solutions. Typically of Eclipse, the issues were presented in a straightforward manner. They are not expected to hamper initial deliveries by much, if at all, said Eclipse CEO Vern Raburn. Eclipse still expected to […]
“Preemptive Strike”: What if America had bombed Japan before Pearl Harbor?
If you think the United States of America never considered a preemptive strike until the current fights in Afghanistan and Iraq, “Preemptive Strike” is for you. Author Alan Armstrong practices aviation law in Atlanta. If he researches his cases as deeply as he researched this book, you want him on your side. Five appendices, extensive […]
‘A Legacy of Letters’: Book chronicles World War II hero’s hopes, dreams, fears
In 2002, Clinton Frederick returned to his grandparents’ house for a family wedding. Remembering from his childhood that the attic contained Japanese swords, a parachute and other World War II memorabilia, he decided to look around up there. In an old trunk he found more than 100 letters written by his father, Capt. George Frederick, […]
Gen. Jacob Smart dies at 97
Retired Air Force General Jacob E. Smart died Nov. 12 at his home in Ridgeland, S.C. He was 97. Smart planned the audacious low-level raid on Romania’s Ploesti oil fields and refineries during World War II. A third of Nazi Germany’s oil was produced and refined at the Ploesti fields. The legendary raid was flown […]