No Fins, No Pilot, No Problems! X-47B First Flight (With Video)

(all photos: Northrop Grumman)

(click pic to enlarge)   Northrop Grumman X-47B UCAV first flight February 4, 2011

(3 pix and 1 video)

 You could pretty easily miss the rather massive significance of the first flight of Northrop Grumman's X-47B yesterday. On one hand it just looks like another flying-wing military aircraft. That much it certainly is... but it's a whole lot more than that. The X-47B is an unmanned aircraft, and while that's fairly common these days, this one is not like your regular Predator-style. The X-47B is actually autonomous, meaning that there isn't a ground-based pilot sitting in a room somewhere acting as pilot, it's actually the programming and the onboard computers that are in control. And then, to take it all up one more notch, the intended purpose for this aircraft is to operate autonomously off of real aircraft carriers with the U.S. Navy. Now there's a challenge for ya!

 It's also not like the Predator in that this is a turbofan powered machine that's capable of high-subsonic speeds. It also has a full size internal weapons bay, which technically makes it a UCAV, or Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle. Tho the actual role of this aircraft is still a little undefined, there's no doubt that it points to the day when we'll have completely unmanned aircraft operating from carriers at sea and fully capable of engaging in aerial combat. As seen in the video below, the first flight seems to have gone flawlessly, so it may be sooner rather than later that we see UCAV's on carriers.

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From Russia With Love - Sukhoi Superjet 100 Now Certified

(click pic for hi-res)  Sukhoi Superjet 100 is now certified for service (photo: Sukhoi)

 The Superjet 100 from Russia’s Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (25% owned by Italy’s Finmeccanica) has been experiencing the type of delays that seem to be the norm these days when developing a new airliner - and this one doesn’t even have an ‘8’ in the name! But the good news for Sukhoi is that on February 3, 2011, the airplane has been officially certified and is now approved for commercial service in Russia and the CIS (the Commonwealth of Independent States - a region comprised of many of the old Soviet countries). European and US certification will eventually follow. With about 170 orders currently on the books, the Superjet has a fighting chance of gaining the kind of traction needed to reach the 500 to 600 aircraft sold to attain profitability. You can get lots more certification details, including some info on the restrictions put on the airplane initially, by checking out this AW&ST article on the Superjet.

 Sukhoi claims the almost-100-seat airplane will be cheaper to operate than the Embraer 190/195, and with a relatively low acquisition price believed to be around $32 million, it might be very competitive alternative. However, an all new airplane from a company without years and years of experience trying to please airlines might make it all harder than it looks on paper. And speaking of looks, the Superjet is a pretty good looking ride as you can see in this sweet air-to-air promo video below. I like it. And while the reports so far say it’s a great flying machine, the only thing I’d complain about is the engines look like they need to be moved outboard about 2 feet each... just for good looks. But, as is common practice, no one asked for my opinion : )

'Name The Plane' - ID Make And Model For Free Bacon! (2.3.11)

Picture updated at 9:12 EST on 2.5.11 to try to make it easier!

(CORRECT answer was given at 9:22 on 2.5.11 - see comments)

Be the 1st to ID MAKE & MODEL to win a tasty bacon sandwich at OSH11

 The AirPigz meet-up at the Air Force Museum last weekend kinda got the Caption Contest off-schedule this week, so I'm thinking it's time to throw in another Name The Plane exercise to see who can fetch up a bacon sandwich at Oshkosh 2011 by using their sharp aircraft ID skills... all you gotta do is be the first person to ID both MAKE and MODEL of this aircraft.

 Your answers must go in the 'comments' area, 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 unlike the last few times we did this, I'm really hoping no one gets it right in the first hour!

Video: Fireflies Over Phoenix! (Time Lapse Night Arrivals At PHX)

Words (or music) not needed.

Air Force Museum: Ryan X-13 Vertijet CoolPix 2Fer (+ Video)

(click pic for hi-res)  Ryan X-13 Vertijet in the R&D Gallery at the Air Force Museum

 The Ryan X-13 Vertijet fascinates me. So you can image how much I enjoyed getting to see one of the only two X-13's ever built when I was at the Air Force Museum this last weekend. The other one has been on loan to the San Diego Air & Space Museum, but it appears to be headed back to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington DC where it technically calls home. The one I saw in Dayton Ohio is in excellent condition for an airplane built in the mid 50's, and like all the aircraft in the Research & Development Gallery at the AFM, you can walk right up to it with no barriers at all (BUT DON'T TOUCH!)

 Someday I'm gonna do a really extensive post on this tail sitting VTOL research aircraft, but for now I've got these two really big pix for you to check out and the video below. It's the same video I posted way back in December 2009 shortly after AirPigz was originally launched. It consistently draws a lot of attention, so I figure since it really helps put the Vertijet in perspective, it's worth posting again. So please, take a few minutes and get to know the Ryan X-13 Vertijet. 

(click pic for hi-res)  X-13 Vertijet pic turned sideways to show how it looked in flight

Celebrate The Snow With A 'Ski Plane' Video Triple Play

 With the snow storm in full swing across quite a bit of the country, I figured we could use a quick look at some airplanes-on-skis videos. Nothing incredible here, but still a lot of fun to watch. I flew a Champ on skis back in the day and I remember it really was a ton-o-fun... I'm looking forward to the day when I get to do some ski flying again : )

Onex Prototype Flies - Reveals V-Dub Paradise!

Previous Onex post:
Can the Onex (1X) From Sonex Save General Aviation In America? 

First flight of the Sonex Aircraft 'Onex' took place on January 27, 2011 (photos: Sonex)

(6 pix and 1 video)

 Looking and feeling like a sport fighter, the Onex single seat VW powered homebuilt prototype made its first flight out of Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin on January 27, 2011. The enthusiastic thumbs up from Sonex CEO, Onex designer, and first-flight test pilot Jeremy Monnett revealed that the initial impressions are already living up to the expectations of many, including me. The little all-aluminum LSA has the added benefit of wings that can be folded very easily to allow for a quick and simple way to store the aircraft in a really small space. In my opinion, the 80hp AeroVee Volkswagen powered Onex ushers in a new world of VW powered paradise for homebuilders. Never before has such a simple, clean and great performing airframe been mated to the simple and efficient VW based engine. I'm predicting a real V-dub paradise with this airplane! Watch the first flight video below and listen to how strong that AeroVee sounds!

  I also made a bold claim that the Onex just might be able to save General Aviation as we seem to be stumbling into an uncertain future for flying in America. Whether this affordable, easy-to-build, VW powered sportster that has great lines can really have a direct impact on the larger world of GA is uncertain, but I can say with a great deal of confidence that this airplane holds greater promise to draw more people into sport flying than anything we've seen a quite a while.

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The National Museum Of The U.S. Air Force

The excellent facilities of the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton Ohio

(11 pix)

 The first ever AirPigz Air Force Museum meet-up was a great success. A total of 9 people participated on one day or the other from Friday January 28th thru Sunday the 30th. The informal format of the gathering meant that everyone was free to do as they pleased, but gathering together for lunch and even dinner in the evening made for great hangar flying conversations. More AirPigz avgeek meet-ups will definitely be planned in the future.

 The following is just a quick glance at some of the aircraft seen over the weekend. A full post with more details on the meet-up will follow soon. I'll also continue to post thru the year from the extensive photos gathered during the time at the museum. The Air Force Museum is a first class facility with so many interesting, important, and historic aircraft that there's really no end to what can be shared or discussed. And of course, I highly recommend you work a trip to Dayton into your schedule as soon as you can... you won't be disappointed.

Overview map of the massive collection of aircraft at the Air Force Museum

 
A small portion of the Early Years exhibit area

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Caption Contest #49 Winner - Don't Text And Fly!

 I'm a little late getting the winner of Caption Contest #49 posted, but I have a good reason... I've been really busy this morning getting a boatload of pix at the Air Force Museum in Dayton Ohio! It's the first ever AirPigz AFM meet-up and it's going great. There are 7 of us today working our way thru this amazing collection of historic military aircraft. Even better, 'seerjfly', who came out on top with the caption above is here too!

 And you might remember that his wife won contest #48 last week. This avgeek team is beginning to take over! They're building a nice collection of OSH11 bacon sandwich winnings... good for them.

 Thanx again to all who participated, I appreciate you playing along and making this a fun way to play with airplanes. Watch for more of the same next week.

Sweet Sunset Approach To LAX: The Music Video

 Usually I'm pretty hardcore against having music in aviation videos, but this is one of those few examples where it actually works really well. I highly recommend you watch this... it's a unique perspective during a beautiful sunset over a very well lit up greater Los Angeles area. The turn westbound onto long final for runway 24R brings the awesome red sunset into full view. It's really, really nice.

 However, if you're the impatient type, I suggest you skip up to the 1:00 mark to get to the prettier part of the light show. Then sit back, relax, and enjoy the sights and sounds.