1950 Aircraft Radio Technician

Lex Anteinternet: Wednesday, May 25, 1910. Wilbur Wright and Orvill...

Lex Anteinternet: Wednesday, May 25, 1910. Wilbur Wright and Orvill...: 

Wednesday, May 25, 1910. Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright flew on the same plane for the only time, Wilbur made his last flight as a pilot.

Last edition:

Tuesday, May 10, 1910. Powell incorporated.

Labels: 1910, 1910s, Wyoming (Powell)

Lex Anteinternet: Lex Anteinternet: The Aerodrome: Air Force One.

Lex Anteinternet: Lex Anteinternet: The Aerodrome: Air Force One.:

Lex Anteinternet: The Aerodrome: Air Force One.

Lex Anteinternet: The Aerodrome: Air Force One.: The Aerodrome: Air Force One. :  Air Force One. Air Force One has been in the news a lot recently, and it  started before the Qatari proposa...

So the US has in fact accepted the Qatari 747. 

Simply embarrassing.

Air Force One.

Air Force One has been in the news a lot recently, and it  started before the Qatari proposal to give the United States, or Donald Trump (it isn't clear which) a luxury outfitted Boeing 747.

Technically "Air Force One" is a call sign, and merely denotes an airplane the Chief Executive is a passenger in.  If a President rode in an Air Force Cessna, that would be Air Force One.  But everyone knows that it refers to one of two Boeing VC-25s, militarized 747s, that are designated for the Presidents use.

RD-2

Interestingly, the first aircraft designated for Presidential use was a Navy airplane, an amphibious Douglas Dolphin RD-2 that was luxury outfitted for use by President Roosevelt.  It was used from 1933 to 1939, and obviously not for transglobal flight.  The President didn't really do extensive travel until World War Two.

Roosevelt's once used VC-54C.

In spite of concerns over commercial aviation being used to carry the President during the war, it was in fact used and it wasn 't until 1945 that a new designated Presidential aircraft was acquired, that being a  Secret Service reconfigured a Douglas C-54 Skymaster (VC-54C) which was named the Sacred Cow.  It contained a sleeping area, radiotelephone, and retractable battery-powered elevator to lift Roosevelt in his wheelchair. It's only use by Roosevelt was to fly the then dying President to Yalta.  Truman used it thereafter, but it was replaced by military DC-6 (VC-118) thereafter.

Truman's VC-118.

President Eisenhower, who of course knew planes well, to Lockheed C-121 Constellations, Columbine II and Columbine III. The Constellation was a very popular airplane at the time, and Douglas MacArthur also had one, that one spending many years after its service at the Natrona County International Airport on an abandoned runway.

Columbine II was the first Presidential aircraft to receive the designation Air Force One.

At the end of Eisenhower's Presidency Boeing 707s came in, in part because the Soviets were using a jet to transport their Premier.  707s remained through the Nixon era, giving good service in this role.

747s, as VC-25s, entered specialized manufacture for use as Air Force One during Reagan's administration, although the first one would enter service after that.  They've been used ever since.

These aren't normal 747s.  They are packed with communications and electronic warfare equipment in order to have combat survivability.  

Replacing the current two aircraft that are used as Air Force One is a topic that the Air Force started looking at quite a few years ago.  The 747 variant which the VC-25 isn't made anymore.  Production of 747s stopped in 2023 in favor of more modern aircraft.  Still, the airframe remains useful in this role, and after the Air Force started to look into options, updating a 747-8 appeared to be the best option.  Only Boeing was interested in the project anyway, and it will take a massive financial loss to do it.  

The aircraft that are being retrofitted for this role was built, originally, as a commercial airliner. The projected is a massive one, and the delivery date will be in 2027.

What the new Air Force Ones will look like.

Enter Qatar.

Qatar has offered to give the US (I guess) a luxury Boeing 747-8 for use as Air Force One until the other 747-8s are complete.  But here's the thing.  Boeing has been working on the complicated task fo converting the two existing 747-8s for this use for several years. After all, it's basically a combat aircraft.  All accepting the plane would do is give Boeing a third one to convert, which wouldn't be ready for years.

Trump is being childish about this, as he is about a lot of things.  He doesn't seem to grasp the nature of the aircraft, and likely a lot of other people don't as well.  In his case, this is inexcusable.  It's a combat airplane.

Frankly, it's a Cold War combat airplane.

Which gets to this.

The 747 was a big massive airliner in an era in which it was the queen of the sky. That era is over and airlines have moved on to more modern aircraft.  The world in which Ronald Reagan ordered 747s is gone as well.  It's still useful to have an aircraft that can be used in a global thermonuclear war, which is what it is, but that's not going to happen and it makes no sense to use it to go on weekend golfing trips to Florida.

But that's what Trump tends to use it for.

That raises an entire series of other questions, many of which have little to do with aircraft, but some of which do.  It's notable that other Presidents have used lighter aircraft for more mundane trips.  In November 1999, President Bill Clinton flew from Ankara, Turkey, to Cengiz Topel Naval Air Station outside Izmit, Turkey, aboard a marked C-20C.  In 2000, President Clinton flew to Pakistan aboard an unmarked Gulfstream III.  In 2003, President George W. Bush flew in the co-pilot seat of a Sea Control Squadron Thirty-Five (VS-35) S-3B Viking from Naval Air Station North Island, California to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, with that latter obviously being an exception. Barack Obama used a Gulfstream C-37 variant on a personal trip in 2009.

Trump can use something else than a 747 for what he uses Air Force One for in almost every single instance.

Indeed, the entire topic brings up a lot of things about the risks of having an airplane like this, a luxury airliner inside, which is really a combat aircraft.  It makes it easy to forget what it really is, and it makes a President feel like an Emperor, which he is not.

Real ID at the NCIA

The Natrona County International Airport joined the US in ID paranoia by starting the Read ID requirements recently imposed nationally yesterday.

This Day In Aviation, May 2, 1925. The Douglas C-1

This Day In Aviation, May 2, 1925.

Lex Anteinternet: Tuesday, April 17, 1945. Flak Bait.

Lex Anteinternet: Tuesday, April 17, 1945. Flak Bait.:   The B-26 Marauder Flak Bait, which completed 200 missions on this day. Winston Churchill eulogized the late Franklin Roosevelt in Parliame...

 

Tuesday, April 17, 1945. Flak Bait.

 

The B-26 Marauder Flak Bait, which completed 200 missions on this day.

Blog Mirror: Laying Telephone Wire by Air, 1945

 

Laying Telephone Wire by Air, 1945

M'eh.

 

‘Trump Force One’ Parked At Cheyenne Airport A Magnet For Photos And Selfies

Lex Anteinternet: Tuesday, March 8, 1910. First pilot's license issued to a woman.

Lex Anteinternet: Tuesday, March 8, 1910. First pilot's license iss...: 

Tuesday, March 8, 1910. First pilot's license issued to a woman.

Lex Anteinternet: Monday, March 2, 1925. Delta Air Lines. . .

Lex Anteinternet: Monday, March 2, 1925. Delta Air Lines. . .: 

Monday, March 2, 1925. Delta Air Lines. . .

Huff Daland Dusters Inc., a crop dusting company, which would ultimately become Delta Airlines, was founded.

The United States and Estonia signed an agreement for mutual most-favored-nation treatment in customs.

Last edition:

Monday, March 1, 1915. Locusts.

Labels: 1910s, 1915, Aircraft, Dardanelles, Imperial Russian Navy, Ottoman Empire, Palestine

And now the FAA

The FAA is being subject to the Musk/Trump employee cuts.  The agency was already understaffed.

Interestingly, the one person I sort of know of who works for the FAA was a rabid Trump supporter.

I wonder if he is now?

Shameful.

Absolutely shameful

January 31, 2025

This one is shameful beyond all measure:

This is, frankly, shameful in the extreme:

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

SUBJECT:       Immediate Assessment of Aviation Safety

On January 29, 2025, a commercial aircraft and a military helicopter horrifically collided near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.  American families today woke up without their loved ones after what should have been a routine trip, and the entire Nation mourns the loss of the victims.

This shocking event follows problematic and likely illegal decisions during the Obama and Biden Administrations that minimized merit and competence in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  The Obama Administration implemented a biographical questionnaire at the FAA to shift the hiring focus away from objective aptitude.  During my first term, my Administration raised standards to achieve the highest standards of safety and excellence.  But the Biden Administration egregiously rejected merit-based hiring, requiring all executive departments and agencies to implement dangerous “diversity equity and inclusion” tactics, and specifically recruiting individuals with “severe intellectual” disabilities in the FAA.   

On my second day in office, I ordered an immediate return to merit-based recruitment, hiring, and promotion, elevating safety and ability as the paramount standard.  Yesterday’s devastating accident tragically underscores the need to elevate safety and competence as the priority of the FAA. 

Consistent with the Presidential Memorandum of January 21, 2025 (Keeping Americans Safe in Aviation), I am further ordering the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) and the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (Administrator) to review all hiring decisions and changes to safety protocols made during the prior 4 years, and to take such corrective action as necessary to achieve uncompromised aviation safety, including the replacement of any individuals who do not meet qualification standards.  This review shall include a systematic assessment of any deterioration in hiring standards and aviation safety standards and protocols during the Biden Administration.

Consistent with the Presidential Memorandum of January 21, 2025, the Secretary and the Administrator shall take all actions necessary to reverse concerning safety and personnel trends during the prior 4 years, instill an unwavering commitment to aviation safety, and ensure that all Americans fly with peace of mind.

Shameful.

Trump is pitting people against each other on racist grounds.  He's an embarrassment to the country.

Midair Collision over the Potomac.

I don't usually deal with national politics here, but here's this: Lex Anteinternet: The Madness of King Donald. The 25th Amendment Wa...: 

January 30, 2024

A helicopter/aircraft collision occurred last night near Washington D.C.  The helicopter was a Blackhawk, and therefore a military helicopter.

Trump took to social media:

Let's face it.  Trump is simply stupid.  The nation has elected a wealthy, dimwitted, vengeful, ignoramus.

WTF is wrong with Donald Trump?  The question is serious.

He has no business commenting on an air disaster in this fashion.

"[L]ooks like it should have been prevented".  D'uh.  It was under your watch, even though I'm not saying its your fault, Don.  Are you saying that your administration should have prevented it?

The relative speed of aircraft taking off and helicopters in flight doesn't lead to a "gosh, why couldn't people see this?

Shameful.

Lex Anteinternet: Equipment of the Vietnam War, National Museum of Museum of Military Vehicles. UH-1.

Lex Anteinternet: Equipment of the Vietnam War, National Museum of M...: 

Equipment of the Vietnam War, National Museum of Military Vehicles, Dubois Wyoming.

UH-1 "Huey", a helicopter synonymous with the Vietnam War.

Hueys came into use in a major way during the war, and remained in use for many years thereafter. They were still the predominant helicopter when I was a National Guardsmen in the 1980s, and even now I'll occasionally see an Air Force example in Cheyenne in operation.