Model Airplanes

The Coast Guard’s 11 missions keep the service up to its neck in operations. Things are under control, the service’s top officer said Thursday, but there are a few key areas where they’re stretched thin.

Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft made his case for more ships, airplanes and resources, though the service already has a long acquisition list to tackle.

“We’re a small service, but as always, we do punch above our weight class,” Zukunft said In his Thursday speech before the annual Surface Navy Association symposium in Arlington, Virginia.

Some highlights from Zukunft’s speech and QA before hundreds of sailors, Coast Guardsmen and contractors:

Drug interdiction

Stopping the flow of drugs from South America is one of the Coast Guard’s top priorities, but as it stands, there aren’t enough cutters to do the job.

Intelligence teams have eyes on 80 percent of the drugs coming into the country by sea, Zukunft said, but only enough platforms to stop 20 percent.

“So 60 percent get a free ride,” he said. “It’s a $750 billion enterprise and I’ve got a $10 billion slingshot.”

The Coast Guard has a squadron of patrol boats in Bahrain to do capacity building among allies and provide offshore presence, and he’d like to see that system expand to

Article source: http://www.navytimes.com/story/military/2015/01/15/zukunft-coast-guard-arctic-drugs-immigration/21815303/

Where I dined: Herbie’s Café, 2007 E. Laketon Ave., Muskegon

When I dined: Monday, Jan. 12, at around 10:30 a.m.

What they serve: Herbie’s Café is a breakfast and lunch restaurant on the east side of Muskegon. The menu is divided into two main sections — a breakfast menu and a lunch menu. The breakfast menu consists of all the early-morning favorites, including omelets, pancakes, French toast and breakfast wraps.

Omelets offered include Southern (sausage, cheese, potatoes, onion, sausage gravy), Farmers (ham, cheese, potatoes, onion, green peppers, mushrooms), Western (ham, cheese, green peppers, onions, mushrooms), veggie (cheese, potatoes, green peppers, onions, mushrooms) and Irish (corned beef hash, Swiss cheese).

The breakfast wraps include ham and cheese, Western, Tex-Mex and Sausage. All the traditional breakfast sides are also offered. Everything on the breakfast menu can be had for under $10 and there are specials until 11 a.m. each day that are offered for under $4.

The lunch and dinner menu is also pretty traditional — all the classics, including burgers, wraps, sandwiches, fish, steak, soup and salad are offered. Prices are extremely reasonable with the most expensive item being a 6-ounce sizzler steak for $9.75. Most items are priced under $7.

The atmosphere: Herbie’s Café is housed in a small, square building which features several tables with chairs scattered throughout the space. There is also a small bar at which to eat, which is perfect for parties of one. Herbie’s Café is owned by Jay and Janis Moore and has an airplane theme. The logo of the

Article source: http://www.mlive.com/dining/index.ssf/2015/01/restaurant_review_top-notch_br.html

Stepping Out

Published: Wednesday, January 14, 2015

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Children can enjoy a visit to the New England Air Museum’s open cockpit day on Sunday, Jan. 18.

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WINDSOR LOCKS The New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Conn. will hold its next Open Cockpit Day on Sunday, Jan. 18.

On that day, visitors will be permitted to climb into the cockpits of up to 10 vintage aircraft, a full-motion flight simulator and two static flight simulators. These include the Vietnam era “Huey” helicopter; the North American F-100 Super Sabre jet fighter; the Coast Guard HH-52 rescue helicopter; the Coast Guard HU-25 Falcon; the Lockheed F-104C Starfighter and more.

As an added feature, the Wings Wheels Modelers Club will present a plastic scale model show featuring hundreds of model airplanes, military vehicles, figures, ship and cars. There will be ongoing demonstrations by modelers who will be working on and building models throughout the day.

Museum educators will provide hands-on activities for younger visitors and the Museum’s Flight Sim

Article source: http://www.westhartfordnews.com/articles/2015/01/14/entertainment/doc54b6bacbe6c78931058620.txt

Have you ever wanted a birds-eye view? Wouldn’t it be great to have a viewpoint from up high, to enable us to see over a fence or in the middle of a field? Today we’ll meet an amazing company which is using robotic aircraft to provide that aerial view. The results are helping this remarkable company to grow in rural Kansas.

Bret Chilcott is the owner and founder of AgEagle LLC, a pioneering company in robotic aircraft. Bret grew up in rural Kansas, on a Cowley County farm near Udall, population 786 people. Now, that’s rural.

“Growing up, I got paid by my dad and our neighbors for working on the farm,” Bret said. “But I blew all my money on flying lessons and model airplanes.” Maybe that was a sign of things to come.

Bret went to Cowley College and then to a career in the business world in Wisconsin. Eventually he wanted to get back to Kansas, so he came to Wichita and bought a hobby shop which sold and serviced radio controlled devices. He later went to work for Cessna and was then recruited to Cobalt Boats in Neodesha where he worked for 12 years.

While doing engineering at Cobalt Boats, he worked with composite materials. Then he started his own company in Neodesha, manufacturing composite parts for trucks and wind turbines.

One day one of his employees was reading the High Plains Journal. The employee saw an article about the work that Kansas State University was doing in unmanned aviation systems

Article source: http://www.gardneredge.com/news/2015/01/14/9055-kansas-profile-now-that-s-rural-bret-chilcott-ageagle-part-1

With the 2014 Airbus and Boeing final sales and delivery tallies now in, the U.S. manufacturer retains its title as the world’s No. 1 airplane maker.