Video: No Pilot, No Problem: X-47B Makes First Unmanned Carrier Launch!

 Today is a big day for unmanned aircraft as Northrop Grumman's X-47B made the first ever carrier launch without an onboard pilot at 11:18 am EDT off the coast of Virginia from the deck of the USS George H.W. Bush. The catapult launch appears to have been a tremendous success! And while the X-47B can be operated autonomously (with no active human input) this launch was done with humans controlling the aircraft's actions.

 The launch is a follow up to the arrested landing test done back on May 4, 2013 on a shore-based runway (video below) where the aircraft showed no trouble catching the wire. The biggest test of all will come in the next few weeks or months as the X-47B will eventually attempt to land on the carrier deck at sea. It would seem that this will be a significant challenge compared to the tests completed thus far, but it would also appear that the aircraft is up to the task as it has looked rock solid at every turn since its first flight in February 2011.

 This aircraft certainly moves the military much closer to combat aircraft capable of operating in the tight and tense carrier environment, tho it's important to not that the X-47B is not itself intended for combat operations. It's also moving the military closer to the day when we will have aircraft of every capability being unmanned... and while many pilots see this as a huge negative, it does make sense to use the technology to protect human lives if it is able to function at a high level of safety.

 Maybe the brave new world will have a lot fewer jet jockeys but more hardcore aerobatic competition and airshow pilots! (these guys gotta get their vitamin G somewhere : )

(click pic to enlarge) Cropped screenshot of the first ever unmanned carrier launch: X-47B

Caption Contest #82 Winner - Safety First! (With Videos)

 As is often the case, a short and sweet caption wins the bacon! Congrats to 'JD' for coming up with the most popular caption as voted by fellow avgeeks. I hope JD has OSH13 plans so I can cook 'em up a tasty bacon sandwich : )

 And if you didn't know, this pic came from a video shoot for a "Don't Mess With Texas' anti-littering campaign back in the 90's. The videos below show the actual ad first and then you can watch a behind-the-scenes video of multiple passes over the film crew with the B-17 and a few with a P-51 and F4F. Great ad concept and looks like it was fun for everyone... sure wish I had been there for it!

CoolPix: Convair Ad Circa 1953 With B-36 (Orange Paint!)

(click pic for hi-res)  Awesome aerospace-diversity Convair ad circa 1953

 Fear not, AirPigz HAS NOT gone 'orange paint' for every post already... I just knew that today I'd be posting this sweet Convair ad from back in the day, and I figured preceding it yesterday with some extra Convair-related orange paint was gonna be a great lead-in. Be sure to open this CoolPix artwork up big and take it all in, and take note of the line drawing of the P5Y in the blue area at the top. That's an amazing airplane that I will tell you I knew nothing about. Never even heard of it before seeing this ad - I have sooo much to learn! I'll have a detailed post on the P5Y (aka R3Y Tradewind) before long with some amazing images.

 This fabulous ad from around 1953 definitely put Convair's extremely robust aerospace diversity on display! Wow, those post WWII years were pretty incredible! But it's not just the swanky retro graphics of amazing flying machines that make this image so retro to me, it's also the fact that the photoshop restoration of this image was done by a guy that I actually went to private school with in California back in the late 60's for 1st thru 3rd grades. It was my work on AirPigz that got us back in contact after not seeing each other since I left that school in the 3rd grade!

 Chris Bryan and I not only went to the same school, but we both had dad's who flew for United and we were both pretty hardcore avgeeks at a very young age. Chris runs the really cool website BoxArtDen that has an incredible collection of box art from old-school plastic models that have been digitally restored. So much of that old art is off-the-scale cool to look at... and Chris loves to focus on the avgeek aspect of it. Be sure to take some time and go check it all out.

 I also found out a few years back when Chris and I got back in contact that he has a younger brother Hal, who I had never met when we were kids. Turns out that Hal and I had been emailing each other right at that time concerning issues related to AirPigz and the EAA... Hal is the online community manager at the EAA! (wow, it really is a small world! But, as a comedian once said, "I'd hate to have to paint it!" : )

 Thanx Chris for sharing this sweet old Convair ad that includes some orange paint! 

Start Your Week With A Hot B-58 Hustler (Orange Paint!)

(click pic to enlarge)  1950's era B-58 Hustler.. one of the hottest aircraft ever built!

 I figured this pic was a great way to get your week going... a B-58 Hustler from way back in the day shortly after takeoff with a positive rate of climb (probably VERY positive!) and with some swanky orange paint too. In fact, this is the first in a new sub-series of posts with the tag 'orange paint'.

 Maybe it doesn't affect you the way that it does me, but those military paint schemes from the 50's and 60's that included orange accents just drive me wild - i love it! So I thought I'd find some great pix from the past over the next couple months and occasionally post 'em up. 

 And if you're in the mood for some additional Hustler info, be sure to check out the rather extensive collection of posts I've put up in the AirPigz B-58 category which includes and extensive set of posts from 2010 when I did a 'B-58 Week'. Lastly, if you haven't voted in the supersonic bomber poll, you might wanna go do that now. Over 500 votes are in and the B-58 has proven very popular!

 So I hope you week (and mine) will be just like that B-58 taking off... fast, beautiful, a little scary and very goal-oriented : )  #mach2withyourhaironfire

Video: FIFI B-29 Ride Over Southern California - Wow!

 Youtuber octane130 has posted a fabulous collection of warbird videos over the last several years and this one of a recent ride in the B-29 FIFI over southern California is extra special. The views from inside looking out are fantastic! And while it's amazing to realize that you can ride in FIFI in 2013, I can't help but hope that people today somehow have a better understanding of the extraordinary people that fought in World War II when they see this B-29 fly.

 The generation of Americans that rose up to support the war effort and to directly participate in it are nearly gone now, and they take with them an American spirit that sadly seems will never be seen again. Our continued freedom was bought by their blood, sweat, and tears... and by the lives they sacrificed. How I wish that we as a nation were living up to their incredible accomplishments from 70 years ago.

 

Poll: Which Triplane Trips Your Trigger? (Sopwith, Fokker, Or The Armstrong Whitworth Quadruplane)

Replica 1916 Sopwith Triplane in flight  (photo: davy59.deviantart)

 I think I already know the answer to the question but I still felt I should ask : )

Replica 1917 Fokker Triplane in flight  (photo: wiki)

1916 Armstrong Whitworth F.K.10 Quadruplane!

Video: This Is The Way To Start Your Day! (F-18 Cat Launch From Cockpit!)

 Seriously, if I had it to do all over again, I'd be chasing Navy jets... no doubt about it.

 

CoolPix: Closer Than You've Ever Been To The B-17 Yankee Lady!

(click pic for hi-res) Prop hub on #1 engine of the B-17 Yankee Lady at Oshkosh 2012

 I woke up to about 3 inches of snow in northern Indiana this Monday morning! Isn't it actually Spring now?? Hmm, global warming just isn't what it used to be (hehe) - no worries tho, I've got a couple unique CoolPix images from a warm and sunny day at Oshkosh 2012 for ya here. I admit that this ultra-close view is a little odd, but I thought being pulled in really close on the prop hub of the B-17 Yankee Lady (which I also got an amazing ride in back in 2010) was a nifty view of both the head on that bolt and the other aircraft parked on what we used to call AeroShell Square at Oshkosh. I think we call it ConocoPhillips Plaza, or Conoco Plaza, or Phillips Plaza, or something like that now. Anyway, in the reflection you can see the B-17, the Orbis DC-10, a C-5 Galaxy, the colorful stripes of a Southwest 737, and there's even a DC-3 in there but it's a little hard to make out.

 The image below is the one that I cropped from and it gives a little better perspective on the prop hub. This was a very happy moment for me when I captured this pic... I was both re-living my ride experience in Yankee Lady and I was on the best place on Earth, Oshkosh during Oshkosh. Wow : ) 

(click pic for hi-res)  The wider view of Yankee Lady's #1 engine prop hub

Video: Can You Say Aerodynamic Braking? (Vulcan Bomber Farnborough 2012)

 I'm constantly amazed at how easy it is to miss really cool avgeek stuff on the internet, like this fabulous Vulcan Bomber landing video from Farnborough 2012 that now has over 1,300,000 views. I had missed it til this morning... but maybe you've already seen it. Even if you have tho, it's definitely worth seeing again. This is some serious aerodynamic braking on display!

 The Avro Vulcan served as a bomber in the British RAF from 1956 until 1984. The airplane is nearly square in its dimensions with both a length and wingspan either a little under 100 feet or a little over 100 feet depending on the version. Max takeoff weight for the later version was just a tick over 200,000 pounds and the max cruise speed was .93 Mach. The Vulcan was an outgrowth of the much smaller Avro 707 that was used to test the viability of a the delta wing platform.

 The Vulcan burned itself into my memory back in my teen years when it was touring US airshows back in 1976. It was truly glorious to see and hear this amazing beauty fly. The example in this video, known as Vulcan XH558, is the only flying of the 136 built. It was restored by Vulcan to the Sky Trust thru charitable donations and had been flying on and off since 2008. It's scheduled to attend several European aviation events this summer, including the 2013 RIAT. Long live the Vulcan!

#vulcanlove

Video screenshot showing the massive Vulcan wing being used for braking on landing

My Take On The 'Sequestration' Blues (And Thunderbirds Too)

(click pic to enlarge)  US Navy Blue Angels in tight formation at Reno in 2009

 I'm certainly no expert on the issue of sequestration, and since I've actually worked the last 15 days straight (with my day-job of ceramic tile installing) I also haven't had the time to do any deep research on the subject. However, it's my understanding that the $85 billion in cuts are actually only a reduction in the planned rate of GROWTH in the budget. So we're saying that we not only have ALL the money from the last budget but also a few percentage points MORE, but the news media and campaigner-in-chief have been telling us that all hell is about to break loose. I'm not buying it. I'm not buying any of it.

 And with reports that the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds have been cancelling their attendance at many 2013 air shows, strong opinions and passionate responses have been popping up all over. Especially since many of these air shows, like the Indy Air Show scheduled for June 15-16, have been cancelled as well since these elite military demonstration teams are by far the biggest draw for these events.

(click pic to enlarge)  Two USAF Thunderbirds back-to-back at Reno in 2011

 
 My opinion might be different than most. I'm 100% for budget cuts... not reductions in rate-of-growth, but real CUTS. And if we had real cuts and they truly meant that the Blues and Thunderbirds had to stop flying, then I'm actually ok with that. This nation MUST get its financial condition in order as soon as possible, tho technically I've given up all hope that we will ever do that. A financially responsible government is the only way we can have hope that these two elite aerobatic teams to will continue flying in the future. Far more important, we need to be fiscally strong to have any hope of having a positive impact on the global landscape in the next 20 years.

 But to pull the plug on these aerobatic demonstration teams when we have such a small actual budget adjustment makes me think that the government is using the impact that this will have on the American people as a dirty little trick. Even worse, this means many large communities won't have the benefit of the positive economic impact that is a direct result of a Blue Angels or Thunderbirds air show. Add to that the fact that these two teams are a very important part of both recruiting and bolstering a sense of pride in the American people, and I come to the conclusion that it's all being used as a weapon against we the people. But then that seems to fit all the more with the idea that the ultimate goal of this administration is to weaken every aspect of the United States of America.

 The more common opinion I'm seeing is one that says we must find a way to stop these cuts and make sure that all the services we need and want so desperately (from the Blue Angels to air traffic controllers to border patrol agents) are able to be funded. So, rather than identify and cut massive waste in poor government administration, or eliminate entire departments that simply are not part of a sensible government mission, they've convinced us that essential services are at risk. Hmm, so it appears that the government has figured out a way for the American people to DEMAND that we spend beyond our means. Well isn't that just precious.

 I don't have any big answers here, but I am fully prepared to say that I just don't buy any of this. And while there are some of you out there who are gonna want to beat me up for my opinion that the United States government is actually against America and the American people, I'm telling you now that I don't have the time or energy to have an online battle about it. This is what I believe from years of observing the actions of our so-called leaders, whether they have a D by their name or an R. My bottom line is simple: get our financial affairs in this country in order NOW, and do everything we can to keep the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds in the sky showing the American people, and the rest of the world, what freedom looks and sounds like.