Model Airplanes

Oct. 07–A ceremony Friday at Tinker Air Force Base will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the KC-135 tanker. This isn’t a remembrance of a plane used back “in the good old days,” but instead a salute to an aircraft that remains — six decades after the first one came into service — an integral part of the Air Force’s mission.

The KC-135 is not alone. Lt. Gen. Lee K. Levy II, commander of the sustainment center at Tinker, points out that the average fleet age of the Air Force’s airplanes is 27 years. Every B-52 bomber at the base was built before he was born (1962). “The newest B-52 in your United States Air Force was built in 1961,” he said during a meeting with The Oklahoman’s editorial board. Even the B-1, which many may consider a “modern bomber,” is about 30 years old.

This is a concern, understandably so. While on the one hand the excellent reconditioning and sustainment work done at Tinker keeps these planes (and others) air-worthy, there is no ignoring the costs and concerns associated with such an aging fleet.

Levy uses classic automobiles as an illustration. Many car buffs own 1957-era vehicles. But he’ll ask those people, “Do you drive it every day? Do you drive it on the beltway in D.C. to work? Would you drive it if your spouse was getting ready to have a baby and you had to get her to the hospital to deliver?

“They all say ‘No, it’s my weekend car. It’s

Article source: http://www.aviationpros.com/news/12267162/editorial-tinker-afb-event-highlights-the-need-to-update-air-force-fleet

An unfortunate accident highlights the shortage of helicopters.

Eric Holdeman | October 6, 2016

A few years back we had a fatal crash in Seattle that involved one of the news helicopters, see NTSB issues final report on fatal KOMO-TV news helicopter crash.

While news people are used to covering crashes, fires, shootings and deaths, this was two of their own. It has remained a significant emotional event for them. 

There are two things I’d point out. One is that even in this modern age of technology and after two years of investigating the crash, there is no final determination of the cause. I’ve only been indirectly involved with one aircraft crash. It was an almost brand-new A7 jet fighter that flamed out on a pilot who ejected and landed safely. The aircraft buried into earth and the only recognizable part I could see was the engine itself. The investigating team of an officer and one noncommissioned officer assured me that they could determine what had happened. I don’t see then or now how they could do that.

Then there is the issue of helicopters and the Puget Sound region. When I talk to people around the nation they can’t believe that the city of Seattle does not own and operate a helicopter. But then, the city is also hundreds of police officers short of what some East Coast cities have. And, almost every year, like this year — the King County Aviation section is on the cutting block. The initial cost of the aircraft is

Article source: http://www.emergencymgmt.com/emergency-blogs/disaster-zone/helicopters-are-critical-to-our-mission.html

For many people, air travel has become routine. How many times have you boarded an airplane without a second thought while traveling for business or pleasure, perhaps still irritated by crowds or the long lines for the screening process in the airport? It seems as though air travel has been around forever – but it really hasn’t been that long. It’s been less than 100 years since the first international passenger flight took place – a brief flight from London to Paris in 1919. Coincidentally, 1919 was also the year the first all-metal passenger airplane was built.

The Junkers F13 took its first flight in June of 1919 and would set records for altitude and flight length, while also attracting passengers as the first airplane to offer a heated cabin. I can’t imagine what the airplane’s first passengers must have felt as they took off in the history-making craft, but I’m willing to bet they felt quite differently from today’s blasé air travelers. Exhilaration, fear, awe at being the first to travel in such a revolutionary manner – those feelings are enviable, but thanks to a luggage company, a select group of people can now experience flight in the first metal passenger plane once again.

Luggage manufacturer RIMOWA has been around for even longer than the Junkers F13. Known for their signature grooved metal, lightweight suitcases, the company has a strong connection to the F13, even owing some of their success to it.

Article source: https://3dprint.com/151448/rimowa-3d-scanning-airplane/