Lt. Col. Benjamin Bishop completes preflight checks before his first sortie in an F-35A Lightning II, March 6, 2013, at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Bishop is among the first pilots to begin the official training that began in January. Bishop and other 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron pilots will begin operational testing of the joint strike fighter later this year at Nellis AFB, Nev. Bishop is the 422nd TES director of operations. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)
F-35 Lightning Parking
Apparently, this is the plane that bankrupted the US. Of course, that all depends on what, who and where you get your news from. Crew chiefs from the 57th Wing Lightning Aircraft Maintenance Unit marshal an F-35 Lighting II, March 6, 2013, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. The first two aircraft will be assigned to the 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Lawrence Crespo)
A United Express CRJ on approach to ABIA
I took these photos of this United Express CRJ on short final to ABIA on a fine Sunday afternoon recently. I was not able to get a clean shot of the N number, so I can’t say exactly what series of CRJ this plane is. If I had to venture a guess, I’d say it’s a 600 series, but I could be wrong. In fact, I’d say, that odds are I’m very wrong about what model CRJ this is. I’m really jealous of these pilots, but I’m sure they’re probably jealous of the amount of money that I owe [...]
Boeing 747 Crashes At Bagram Field In Afghanistan
This is a pretty graphic video, shot from a dash cam, that shows as a Boeing 747 crashes at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan. The video, is really quite spectacular. It shows the plane stalling on takeoff, then veering to the left, crashing and exploding. If I were to venture a guess, I’d say the center of gravity was out of whack. Yes, “out of whack” is an official aviation term. The plane practically stops on take off before it starts to try to gain airspeed again. This is a really vivid example of what happens when the nose goes [...]
Paratroopers jumping from a C-17 “knees in the breeze”
Knees in the breeze, a photo by The U.S. Army on Flickr. Via Flickr: Soldiers assigned to U.S. Army Alaska’s 425th Brigade Special Troops Battalion airdropped a Humvee on JBER’s Malamute Drop Zone, followed by approximately 60 paratroopers from a C-17 aircraft, Wednesday, April 17, 2013. The paratroopers of the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) 25th Infantry Division recently completed post-deployment RESET, and are transitioning the brigade to assuming part of the quick reaction force mission for the Pacific theater. (U.S. Air Force photo/Justin Connaher)