Also: Surf Air Defaults, Chicago Airports Chief Resigns, FAA Has Openings, AAL Executive Cuts

After more than 6 months of preparation pilot Bill Smith of Louisville, KY completed a flight to nearly 32,000 ft. on Saturday June 16.

According to a Balloon Federation of America Facebook post, Bill flew his brand new Lindstrand 105 named Phantom during a perfectly executed high altitude flight. The weather conditions were perfect, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and Bill actually covered more vertical distance (6 miles up, 6 miles down) than he did horizontally, landing less than 7 miles from where he took off. You know that freedom you enjoy? This is about one of the men that kept it safe for you... Maj. James Blair White went missing in Southeast Asia on Nov. 24, 1969. He was finally laid to rest at West Point alongside of his mother, father and brother, June 19, 2018. His wife, Sharon Cook, and daughter, Katherine White, were in attendance. Katherine was less than a year old when her father went missing. Air Force Global Strike Command resumed B-1B flight operations this week, following the directed safety stand-down June 7th. The stand-down allowed the command time to thoroughly evaluate the egress components and determine potential risks before returning to flight. “We have high confidence that the fleet’s egress systems are capable and the fleet is ready to return to normal flight operations,” said Maj. Gen. Thomas Bussiere, 8th Air Force commander, responsible for the Air Force bomber force. All this -- and MORE in today's episode of Airborne!!!

Airborne 06.22.18 is chock full of info in this Daily News Episode, Friday, June 22nd, 2018... Presented by Aero-TV veteran videographer and Airborne Hosts Brianne Cross, Christopher Odom, and Laura Hutson, and is supported by ANN CEO/Editor-In-Chief Jim Campbell, Chief Videographer Nathan Cremisino, and Aero-Journalist Tom Patton, this episode covers:

• Balloon Flies To Nearly 32,000 Feet Over Kentucky 
• Vietnam Fighter Pilot James White Finally Comes Home 
• B-1B Fleet Resumes Flight Operations
• Surf Air Defaults On Payments
• Chicago Airports Chief Resigns
• FAA Has Openings For Controllers At NY TRACON 
• American Airlines Eyes Executive Cuts

Get Comprehensive, Real-Time, 24/7 coverage of the latest aviation and aerospace stories anytime, at aero-news.net. And be sure to join us again for the next edition of "Airborne Unlimited" here on Aero-TV. Thanks for watching. See you, again, tomorrow!

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