The NTSB released initial findings (full NTSB report here) regarding the July 7th midair between a US Air Force F-16 and a civilian Cessna 150.
The F-16 pilot was apparently on a single ship instrument sortie, practicing approaches first at Myrtle Beach, then at Charleston AFB. The Cessna took off from a local field and was not in contact with Air Traffic Control, and he was not required to be. ATC called out the (unknown) Cessna Read more
A chaplain preaches a sermon during the Great War, using an aircraft cockpit as a pulpit.
Can you identify the aircraft? Hint: This picture comes from the National Library of Scotland.
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Capt William DuBois of Shaw AFB died in December when he crashed near a classified base. According to the recently released accident report, DuBois was apparently unaware he was descending to the ground until the last minute, when it was too late to recover. Read more
Winston Groom
National Geographic, 2013.
The Aviators: Eddie Rickenbacker, Jimmy Doolittle, Charles Lindbergh, and the Epic Age of Flight is a combined overview-biography of three of the most famous and influential aviators of the early 20th century. The book essentially follows each man chronologically through his life, but it does so by intertwining their periods of life so that, in some cases, they almost seem to grow up together — which, as contemporaries, they essentially did. This somewhat unique style can be slightly confusing to some readers, as the famous aviator might change from one chapter to the next, but it also provides a very enlightening and important context to what each of those famous pilots did.
There is an interesting contrast, for example, between Lindbergh’s cross-Atlantic voyage, accomplished solely by visual lookout in 1927, with Doolittle’s experimentation with flight instruments and totally “blind flight” two years later in 1929. The varying political views of each aviator through the interwar period and World War II are also interesting when viewed essentially side-by-side and understanding that they came about in the same cultural context.
The Aviators is not a minutely-detailed Read more
A US Air Force T-6A Texan II experienced an engine failure in April, and solo instructor pilot Capt Eric Clements safely recovered it to Vance AFB in Enid, Oklahoma. The incident was reportedly in the local press (and then picked up at the Stars and Stripes and Military.com), and Clements was quoted being somewhat effusive in praise about his own performance:
“It was beautiful,” he said with a smile. “It was really one of my better ELPs (emergency landing patterns) I had ever done.”
Since he teaches students to handle emergencies such as the one he faced, Clements was asked what grade he would give himself for his work that day.
“I would have graded myself an excellent,” he said. “I want to be humble Read more
Update: An Associated Press article adds additional information, indicating the F-16 was single-ship, operating under ATC control practicing instrument approaches:
At the time of the collision, Maj. Johnson was flying solo, practicing instrument approaches to a military base and was communicating with Charleston air traffic controllers, according to Col. Stephen Jost, commander of the 20th Fighter Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base.
Jost said he thought it was overcast at the time of the collision, but he was not aware of any weather-related problems.
A Shaw AFB-based F-16 collided with a civilian Cessna in South Carolina, resulting in the ejection of the F-16 pilot and the deaths of the two people on board the General Aviation aircraft. Using their Facebook page, the base announced: Read more
David Axe at the blog War is Boring reportedly obtained an Official Use Only report from an Edwards AFB Test Pilot decrying the inability of his F-35 to best the older F-16 it is supposedly intended to replace:
“The evaluation focused on the overall effectiveness of the aircraft in performing various specified maneuvers in a dynamic environment,” the F-35 tester wrote. “This consisted of traditional Basic Fighter Maneuvers in offensive, defensive and neutral setups at altitudes ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 feet…”
“Even with the limited F-16 target configuration, the F-35A remained at a distinct energy disadvantage for every engagement,” the pilot reported.
One potentially saving grace not explicitly described in the blog is the precise type of BFM the two were flying. The blog reported: Read more
Unlike many other professions, members of the military are not paid differently based on their specific job or even service. An enlisted E-3 is paid the same amount of money regardless if he is an Air Force aircraft mechanic or a Navy dental assistant. Pilots in the military, if they are the same rank, earn the same base pay regardless of whether they are in the Air Force, Navy, or Marines.
The pay tables for military members are public information, though they may be difficult to read if you don’t know what they say. As of 2015, a lieutenant just starting out in pilot training (as an O-1) would make about $2900 a month in basic pay. Housing allowances or other pays would vary by location, but would not be specifically related to his status as a pilot. On average, Air Force captains (O-3) have four to nine years of service ($5200-$5700 a month); Majors (O-4) may have nine to 20 ($6200a month or more). Navy promotion times are similar but not identical to those of the Air Force.
As pilots are officers, a pilot lieutenant makes the same amount of money as a non-pilot lieutenant–almost. Besides basic pay, there is “flight pay,” just as there are other special pays like “sea pay” in the Navy. This flight pay (see page 4 of the pay tables) varies based on how long a pilot has been flying; it is as low as $125 a month with less than 2 years, and tops out at $840 a month with greater than 14 years of aviation service. At that point, it actually decreases with longer service.
For those that aren’t familiar with government payroll practices, government employees (which all members of the Air Force, Navy, Army, and Marine are) receive their monthly pay in two separate allotments–one on the first day of the month, the second on the fifteenth. If either of those days falls on a weekend or holiday, then the deposit into the member’s bank account is made on the last banking day prior to the holiday.