The Go-Around: Aviation’s Most Dangerous Safe Decision
Quick Facts What It IsAborting an approach and climbing away instead of landing When It’s RequiredUnstable approach, runway not in sight at minimums, traffic on runway, wind shear, ATC instruction Accident Factor~83% of approach-and-landing accidents involve a...
Pentagon Orders 85 F-35s and a $6.6 Billion Engine Deal
Quick Facts AircraftLockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II 2027 Budget Request85 F-35s total — 38 for the Air Force, remainder for Navy, Marines, and allies Engine Contract$6.6 billion for Pratt & Whitney F135 engines (Lots 18 and 19) Contract Breakdown$3.8 billion...
B-52s Now Dropping JDAMs Directly Over Iran
Quick Facts AircraftBoeing B-52H Stratofortress Deployment BaseRAF Fairford, England (8 B-52s and 15 B-1s forward-deployed) Primary WeaponGBU-31 JDAM (2,000-lb GPS-guided bomb, ~$80,000 each) Payload CapacityUp to 20 x 2,000-lb JDAMs or 30 x 1,000-lb JDAMs per sortie...
CIA Deception Saved the Downed F-15E Weapons Officer
Related: F-15E Down Over Iran — Crew Fate Unknown Quick Facts EventRescue of F-15E Weapons Systems Officer (WSO) shot down over Iran DateApril 5, 2026 — approximately 36 hours after shootdown on April 3 Aircraft LostF-15E Strike Eagle (494th Fighter Squadron, 48th...
World’s Only Airworthy Yak-7B Takes Flight at Wanaka
Quick Facts AircraftYakovlev Yak-7B (Flugwerk reproduction, ZK-YKB) StatusOnly airworthy Yak-7B in the world First FlightMarch 26, 2026 — Omaka Aerodrome, Blenheim, NZ OwnerMike O’Rourke (New Zealand) Restored ByJEM Aviation, Blenheim (Jay McIntyre)...
How to Read the Sky Like a Pilot
Quick Facts Cloud FamiliesHigh (cirrus), Middle (alto), Low (stratus), Vertical development (cumulus/cumulonimbus) Key Warning SignsAnvil-shaped cumulonimbus (thunderstorms), lenticular clouds (mountain wave turbulence), rapidly building cumulus (convection) Wind...
471 Pages to Reinvent How America Trains Pilots
Quick Facts ReportComprehensive Modernization of Part 141 Training Organizations Length471 pages Prepared ByNational Flight Training Alliance ReleasedApril 1, 2026 Comment DeadlineApril 10, 2026 (10 days) Key ProposalsCentral Management Office, SMS for all schools,...
Artemis II: Fighter Pilots Fly to the Moon
Quick Facts MissionArtemis II — first crewed lunar flyby since Apollo 17 (1972) Launch DateApril 1, 2026, Kennedy Space Center, Florida CrewCDR Reid Wiseman, PLT Victor Glover, MS Christina Koch (NASA), MS Jeremy Hansen (CSA) SpacecraftOrion MPCV atop Space Launch...
Delta Picks Amazon Over Starlink for In-Flight Wi-Fi
Quick Facts AirlineDelta Air Lines Provider SelectedAmazon Leo (Project Kuiper LEO satellite constellation) RejectedSpaceX Starlink Aviation Aircraft Equipped500 (approximately 40% of fleet) SpeedsUp to 1 Gbps download, 400 Mbps upload per aircraft Installation...
Spy Plane Caught Naked Over Texas
Quick Facts AircraftBoeing RC-135V/W Rivet Joint RoleSignals intelligence (SIGINT) and electronic surveillance SpottedOver Greenville, Texas — photographed with paint completely stripped FacilityL3Harris maintenance depot, Greenville–Majors Airport Fleet Size17...
English
Recent Comments