Tag Archives: Aircraft

The Army’s Unmanned Air Force

Popular Mechanics, as repeated at FoxNews, notes the US Army’s increasing reliance on and acquisition of UAVs.

Maj. Gen. James Barclay III, the commanding general in charge of Army aviation, today released the “Unmanned Aircraft Systems [UAS] Roadmap 2010–2035” at an Army aviation conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Its subtitle, “Eyes of the Army,” hints at the plan’s early focus on reconnaissance, but the scope of the roadmap expands…

The article describes a “rivalry” between the Air Force and the Army– Read more

Navy Set to Fly “Green Hornet”

Similar to the bio/synthetic fuel powered Air Force aircraft, the US Navy has embarked on an alternative fuels effort with its “Green Hornet.”  The Navy plans to fly the F/A-18 Super Hornet on Earth Day, April 22nd.

The “Green Hornet” was a backdrop to President Obama’s remarks at Andrews AFB (now Joint Base Andrews) on his energy policy.  During his remarks, Obama also recognized the Air Force’s efforts and the recent flight of the A-10 on biofuel.

Because the Navy operates different engines and has slightly Read more

Fighter Pilot Speak: Saved by the Wedge

The Wedge principle is a time-honored military mantra; while it may be present in a wide variety of career fields in the military, the high-visibility nature of the fighter pilot profession has made the Wedge principle a strong and lasting tradition.

The Wedge principle has nothing to do with lever arms, inclined planes, or any other form of engineering.  It is also not to be confused with the callsign “Wedge,” which is given to those who resemble the “simplest tool” ever invented.  Instead, it is a time-honored, unwritten principle that basically says  Read more

Fighter Pilots Grounded after Flyby

Two F/A-18E Super Hornet pilots were grounded–permanently–after a board decided that their flyby of a college football game was intentionally too low and thus “unsafe.”  A Military Times article states that the pilots performed a flyby of the November 7, 2009 Georgia Tech v Wake Forest game below the 1,000 foot minimum set by Navy rules…and then reported the incident after landing.  (The flyby in question is on YouTube, which also lists the names of the pilots and indicates they were both 96 grads of Georgia Tech.  The flyby was low-speed, gear down, and high power.)

The pilots went before a Naval Aviator Evaluation Board, which is likely Read more

Navy Advised to Abandon F-35

A recent article at the Military Times suggests its “time to bail” on the Navy version of the JSF (the F-35C).  (The online article is a lead-in to a longer story in the print version of the Military Times.)  The proposal instead is that the Navy purchase more F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.

This would not be the first time the Navy “bailed” on a joint program.  The F-111 was also supposed to be a joint program; the Navy bailed on the F-111 “B” and later acquired the F-14 instead.  In the 1970s, the YF-16 and YF-17 had a “fly-off” won by the YF-16.  The Navy, which was part of the program, didn’t like the single engine F-16 and instead Read more

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