Every day, pilots — lots of pilots — go online to check weather and file flight plans through the two FAA-approved DUAT providers. In fact, in one month alone, CSC DUAT provides 2.5 million weather briefings. “We run giant numbers,” says Leon Thomas, DUAT program manager at Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC). And those numbers have gone […]
News
Newest Murphy aircraft to be unveiled at Oshkosh
The Murphy Yukon is expected to make its debut at this year’s AirVenture in Oshkosh. Developed by Darryl Murphy and Richard Hiscocks, the Yukon is the original concept design behind two of Murphy Aircraft’s popular high-wing tail-draggers – The Super Rebel and the Moose. “We started this aircraft 10 years ago, but it grew into […]
Air Force pilots return to their training grounds: Texas Fly-In hosts a mini-reunion
Thousands of U.S. Air Force pilots earned their wings at Hondo Field in Texas when it was a major training base in the 1940s and 1950s. Any graduate of the rigorous program will tell you that the year spent learning to fly “the Air Force way” was a special time in their lives. Paul Kalisch […]
GAO says FAA has plenty of money
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the U.S. Department of Transportation have concluded that there is adequate money under the existing FAA funding scheme to support modernization. The FAA repeatedly claims that its funding mechanism needs to be overhauled to modernize the air traffic control system, but the DOT Inspector General, the GAO and the […]
The promise of things to come… Engine makers report progress and innovation
In his delightful, often bitingly witty novel, “Tom Sawyer,” Mark Twain used the term “news of no news” to describe the kind of reporting that says, in effect, there’s nothing new to tell you but I’m compelled to tell you something. Although little of real substance has turned up among engine manufacturers so far this […]
‘New and improved’ B-24 unveiled
The Commemorative Air Force’s B-24 was recently unveiled during the Gathering of Twin Tails at the American Airpower Heritage Museum at CAF Headquarters in Midland, Texas. For the past six months, Crew Chief Gary Austin has been returning the airplane formerly known as “Diamond Lil” to its original B-24A configuration, complete with a new paint […]
Want to log some time in a B-29?
Want to fly “Fifi”? The B-29/B-24 Squadron of the Commemorative Air Force has launched the B-29 Endowment Program, where private pilots can obtain flight training in the world’s only flyable B-29, “Fifi.” This is a rare opportunity to obtain a type rating in this one-of-a-kind aircraft, best known for ending World War II with the […]
CAF’s 50th anniversary rally coming up
The Commemorative Air Force will celebrate its 50-year anniversary with a National Patriotic Rally, set for July 9-11, in Las Vegas. Registration for this once-in-a-lifetime event is open to the public, but space is limited. CAF officials expect 1,000 to 3,000 people to attend the rally. Keynote speakers are Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, a […]
University research shows where deposits clog jet engines
Maintenance savings, fuel efficiency could be significant Researchers at Ohio’s University of Dayton have developed a method to show where jet fuel deposits have the greatest potential for clogging engines. The findings, published in a recent issue of the journal “Energy & Fuels,” help jet engine designers to predict and work around such problem spots, […]