Military Archives - Page 176 of 180

Too Tired to Fly?

Did Ambien kill four U.S. Air Force special operators returning from a classified five-hour spy-plane mission in February? The four – two special-ops pilots and two sensor operators – were aboard a perfectly-functioning Air Force aircraft, a military version of the venerable Pilatus PC-12, as it prepared for a night-time landing at Ambouli International Airport […]

Legendary WWII Pilot Defeated German, Japanese Foes

Dean “Diz” Laird is a legend, the only known U.S. Navy ace to shoot down both German and Japanese planes during World War II. Despite close calls — once, his shot-up plane skidded across an aircraft carrier’s flight deck — Diz possessed a fighter pilot’s essential attribute: Supreme self-confidence. “It never entered my mind that […]

New Zealand Aviation Museum Rebooted

Classic Flyers NZ and Legacy Trust will celebrate the launch of its Legacy Jet Centre in Tauranga, New Zealand, today and the arrival of the museum’s Royal NZ Air Force Aermacchi MB-339 military trainer with a special launch event. Classic Flyers CEO Andrew Gormlie says the launch offers a chance to get up close to the […]

Youngest B-52 Achieves 50 Years of Service

Today marks 50 years since Boeing delivered its last B-52 Stratofortress to the U.S. Air Force. The H-model bomber, 61-040, was assigned to Minot Air Force Base, N.D., where it remains in active service. Boeing built 744 B-52s, in eight different models, from 1952 to 1962. The Air Force fleet today comprises 76 H-models — […]

Museum of Flight Gets Historic ScanEagle Drone

In April 2009, a ScanEagle unmanned aircraft made by Boeing subsidiary Insitu helped in the rescue of sailors taken prisoner by Somali Pirates. Last Friday, Insitu donated the drone to Seattle’s Museum of Flight. “ScanEagle fills a special place in the museum’s collection of reconnaissance aircraft,” museum Chief Curator Dan Hagedorn said in a news release. “The fact that this […]

Photo: Two Generations of Naval Aviation

The future of fixed-wing naval aviation flies with the U.S. Navy’s oldest aircraft. Marine Corps Maj. C. R. Clift performs a short takeoff in a Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II assigned to the F-35 Integrated Test Facility while Jerry Gallagher and Lt. Cmdr. Jason Saglimbene wait in a de Havilland NU-1B Otter from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot […]

U.S. Air Force to Fly Last X-51A Vehicle

The U.S. Air Force says it now plans to fly the last in a series of four Boeing-built experimental hypersonic vehicles in late spring or early summer under a troubled testing program that the service weighed canceling following an Aug. 14 failure. During that flight, the third X-51A Waverider vehicle veered off course soon after […]

Oldest Battle of Britain Pilot Dies at 99

William Walker, whose poem is part of a national monument to his comrades in the Battle of Britain, has died at age 99. The Battle of Britain Trust said Walker died Sunday at home in London. Walker, a Spitfire fighter pilot, was shot down and took a bullet in his right ankle on August 26, 1940, […]

Marines Get Ready For F-35 Ops At Yuma

The U.S. Marine Corps is preparing to begin operations for the first operational F-35 Lightning II squadron next month at MCAS Yuma, Ariz., and officials are optimistic for a mid-month standup despite some challenges ahead. Key to starting up squadron operations will be a small but growing cadre of maintainers, pilots and aircraft, says Col. […]

U.S., ROK Showcase Skills During 2012 Air Power Day

Osan Air Base hosted 65,000 visitors to reinforce the enduring partnership between the U.S. and the Republic of Korea during an Air Power Day celebration held Oct. 20 and 21. More than 22 Pacific Air Forces aircraft were on display while the ROK’s premiere demonstration team, the Black Eagles, took to the skies to demonstrate their […]