Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 10:04PM If you've had a frustrating day like I have, then the gorgeous sights and sounds of fabulous vintage aeroplanes flying at Shuttleworth (as captured by FlyingMachinesTV) is almost sure to make you feel better. A lot better. Such an amazing collection of stunning flying machines : )
Monday, June 20, 2011 at 06:17AM 
After several weeks of no Caption Contest, I figure it's time we get a few more in so we can find a couple more winners of a bacon sandwich at Oshkosh 2011! So hop on and whip a caption (or three) for this wacky pic from the past. (I sure hope the insurance company never saw this!)
You've got til Wednesday evening at 9pm EDT to submit your clever/funny/cool captions. Then, I’ll pick the best 5 and put ’em in a poll for everyone to vote on for all day Thursday and Friday so we can find the winner.
The Rules:
1) Max of 3 submissions per person
2) Submissions go in the 'comments' area
3) Game ends Wednesday at 9pm EDT
4) Keep it clean!
Then, anyone can cast their vote starting Thursday morning and running thru til 9pm EDT Friday. The winner will be posted Saturday morning 6-25-11. Thanx for playin', and please watch your step when you disembark!
Saturday, June 18, 2011 at 08:55PM A 787 is heading to Japan in early July to begin service testing with ANA. These non passenger trials with just one aircraft on actual ANA routes will test the readiness of the design, and the support systems and operations, to verify that the Dreamliner is ready to smoothly enter revenue-generating service. The actual first delivery of a fully service-ready aircraft is now projected for the third quarter of 2011, over 3 years behind the original schedule.
And while a delay of that length is pretty sad, I'm inclined to believe that the global economic downturn has had an impact on it being so far behind the original goal of first deliveries in May of 2008. Tho it would also seem that both Airbus and Boeing have suffered from a bad case of airframer pride and egos on the verge of flutter in these last two large-scale commercial aircraft projects.
I'm quick to forgive them both, and I'm getting really excited for the 787 to be making money and pleasing passengers. Dream. On.
Boeing 787 test aircraft ZA002 in launch customer ANA livery (photo: Boeing)
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:19PM This Name The Plane game has ended - see details below
Here's the full picture that the cropped pic below came from: Cessna 195 at Reno 2009
It took a lot longer than I expected, but a winner finally emerged in this Name The Plane game... it was the airpigz lurker finally coming thru with the correct answer. It's a beautiful Cessna 195 that I got a pic of at Reno in 2009.
Be sure to follow @NameThePlane on twitter for a notification of when the next game starts. And thanx to all who played along : )
This Name The Plane challenge may be too easy, but you just never know. All you gotta do is ID both MAKE and MODEL to win a bacon sandwhich prize at OSH11. So, if you've got sharp aircraft ID skills, be the first person to ID both MAKE and MODEL of this aircraft to be the winner!
Your answers must go in the 'comments' area in this post, and as always, please don't use the shotgun approach to answers - only put up truly educated guesses that you've arrived at via really thinking it thru.
And I'm not sure if I mentioned, that to win, you have to give me both the MAKE and MODEL! : )
NTP Email Article Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 09:44PM Here's another groovy indoor electric RC video from the crazy guys in Texas! Who knew an overhead door rail could be such a useful tool for advanced akro? Maybe you're not as kooky as I am, but I literally laughed out loud (three times!) on this one. Pure. Fun.
more: youtube.com/user/sr71afan
Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 07:20PM 
Liberty Belle B-17 shortly after forced landing on Monday June 13, 2010
My post from Monday on the fire that essentially destroyed the Liberty Belle B-17 shares the details on how I was scheduled to be on the very next flight out of Indianapolis Regional Airport.
This post is a lengthy and very informative explanation of the incident from the Chief Pilot for the Liberty Foundation, Ray Fowler. Fortunately everyone onboard was unharmed, and it's always great to get the details from people who really know what happened...
Statement from Liberty Foundation Chief Pilot:
June 14, 2011 - First, let me start off by sincerely thanking everyone for the outpouring of support that we are receiving. I am sorry that I have not yet had the opportunity to return the many phone calls, text or e-mails that I am receiving offering to help. Again, thank you for all of the kind words that we are receiving and for incredible offers to help emotionally, financially and/or with the recovery process. I hope this statement will help fill in a few details that everyone is wondering about that led to the loss of our “Liberty Belle”.
Yesterday (June 13, 2011) morning, both our P-40 and B-17 were scheduled to fly from Aurora, Illinois to Indianapolis, Indiana. We were in Aurora for the weekend as a part of our scheduled tour. Over the course of the previous week, we completed a scheduled 25-hour inspection on the B-17 which was completed by Saturday. On Saturday, the weather stayed below the required ceiling to give any passenger flights, however the B-17 flew in the morning on a routine training proficiency flight, performing several patterns. Following the flight, other maintenance issues arose that required us to cancel our Sunday flying schedule for repairs. The maintenance performed has not been, in any way, associated to the chain of events that led to Monday’s fateful flight, but is being considered in the preliminary investigation. However, due to the media’s sensational (mis)reporting, there is a large amount of misinformation that continues to lead the news.
Here is what we do know…
Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 10:55AM 
(click pic to enlarge) Not sure which one, but a 787 will be coming to OSH11! (Boeing)
You might know that I put out a rather passionate plea to Boeing to bring the 787 to Oshkosh 2010, and I even drew up the sweet EAA paint scheme version below just to show how much it meant to me. Well, no surprise, but my desire for the world's most advanced airliner to be on display at Oshkosh last year was apparently overridden by some perceived need to run a commercial aircraft business effectively. Whatever. But as you know, good things come to those who wait... and the EAA has just announced that Boeing will be bring a 787 to Oshkosh 2011. I must say I am very pleased.
Here are some of the details straight from the EAA press release:
EAA AVIATION CENTER, OSHKOSH, Wis. — (June 15, 2011) — EAA and AirVenture chairman Tom Poberezny confirmed today that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is scheduled to make a landmark appearance at EAA AirVenture 2011 on Friday, July 29, giving aviation enthusiasts a glimpse into the next generation of commercial airliners.
“We’re proud and excited that Boeing recognizes the significance of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in the global aviation community,” Poberezny said. “This represents two significant firsts – the first time anywhere that aviation enthusiasts can tour the 787 and the first public showcase of the 787 in North America.”
For one day only, attendees can tour the Boeing 787 Dreamliner while it is on static display on ConocoPhillips Plaza and witness it in flight during its arrival and departure. It is scheduled to arrive at 9:30 a.m. on July 29 and depart following that day’s afternoon air show, at approximately 6 p.m.
No word yet on whether Boeing will spring for the cool EAA paint that I've so graciously put on display here once again. I'm guessing that would just be too much to ask for, especially since it's part of my retro EAA logo initiative. Ultimately, I do feel compelled to say: Thank you Boeing and thank you EAA for bringing the 787 to the people : )
(click pic to enlarge) My retro EAA paint scheme concept for the Boeing 787 from 2010
Tuesday, June 14, 2011 at 07:44PM 
Amazing 1943 B-24 factory photograph from over at Shorpy.com (click pic for hi-res)
I stumbled onto an interesting WWII image in color earlier today and the link for it led me to its source: Shorpy.com, a very cool website that has a simple and seemingly highly accurate tagline: always something interesting. Here's the official description for Shorpy, from Shorpy: Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.
So, after clicking that color WWII image and seeing it in super-size, I decided to hit the search box and see what else in the way of extra large history on classic film I could find. I sensed that Shorpy was about all aspects of the history of life, but I also felt that if I searched 'aircraft', some good stuff would have to appear. The first image in the search results was this awesome photograph from inside one of the B-24 factories. When you see it in the large size, you get an amazing opportunity to see details of the people at work, and you get drawn even deeper into those unbelievable lines of B-24's that seem to go on forever. What a fascinating way to experience and acknowledge the hard work and dedication that the American people put into the war effort. And this is just a tiny sliver of that effort.
I highly recommend that you go spend some time at Shorpy.com and experience life in a way that, honestly, we seem to be missing in this high tech world. I posted this on twitter earlier today: I think I miss the days of Kodachrome. That statement really has more to do with the days of the past than it does with Kodak's fabulous color film... but it also points to a certain magic that film seems to have. Digital imagery is really cool, but film, wow, film is just so awesome. And even more, seeing life on film from the last 100 years from so many unique perspectives makes so much of the lives we live today seem disturbingly meaningless.
Yeah, I really do I miss the days of Kodachrome.
Monday, June 13, 2011 at 03:34PM 
Liberty Belle B-17 Monday morning in field near Aurora, IL airport (photo: Daily Herald)
Daily Herald report
Examiner.com report
LiveATC.net tower recording (MUST login or register to hear)
Liberty Belle 360 panorama interactive image (requires flash)
I was scheduled to ride in Liberty Belle on her very next flight.
The Liberty Foundation B-17 known as Liberty Belle caught fire inflight and was forced to land this morning shortly after takeoff from the Aurora, Illinois airport. Fortunately, all seven people on board escaped without serious injury, but the aircraft sustained a tremendous amount of damage.
Normally I don't make an effort to post about serious aircraft accidents as there is never a shortage of sources to learn of such events. However, if the situation has some vitally important lessons to learn, or if it hits close to home, I'll definitely say something about it. This time, it hits pretty close to home.
In an unusual set of circumstances, I found out early this morning that a Liberty Belle flight scheduled to take place in Indianapolis at 1pm today did indeed have a seat set aside for me. I knew of the flight for a couple weeks, but some mis-communication kept me from knowing I was all set. I'd given up on having an amazing second opportunity to ride in a B-17. (see my first ride in Yankee Lady here) But here I was heading out the door at about 10:00am for a two hour drive to Indianapolis Regional Airport (formerly Mount Comfort) for a ride in Liberty Belle to help promote the upcoming Father's Day rides being made available next weekend.
Shortly after I left the house, the B-17 departed Aurora Airport in Illinois headed for Indianapolis. Right after takeoff a fire appears to have broken out in one of the engines. Fortunately the pilots had some open fields under them and it seems they did a great job getting the aircraft on the ground. However, the fire spread rapidly and wound up consuming almost all of the fuselage. Fortunately there was enough time for everyone to get out essentially unharmed.
This whole situation is even more interesting to me in that I went to high school in Aurora, Illinois and did some of my flying out of the Aurora Airport. We lived in a condo just two miles from the end of the runway. Most of my flying tho was done out a little further west at Hinkley where my dad had both a Citabria and a Schweizer 1-35 sailplane. Anyway, it's a pretty unusual set of circumstances to have this B-17 nearly destroyed so close to where I lived for four years, especially when I was supposed to be inside it on the very next flight. Interesting day to say the least.
Ultimately I'm really only concerned for the safety of those who where on board, and it looks like they are all ok. The airplane can always be rebuilt... and I certainly hope it is.
WWII, military, video Email Article Sunday, June 12, 2011 at 08:14PM Fun video about the making of a creative commercial for Emirates Airlines and their A380 service. The thumbnail doesn't tell you what the video is really about... I say watch it, I think you'll like it.
