USS Fort Worth Joins USS Sampson In AirAsia QZ8501 Search Efforts

USS Fort Worth joins USS Sampson (DDG 102), which has been on station since Dec. 29. Fort Worth is the littoral combat ship (LCS) on a rotational deployment to the U.S. 7th Fleet and brings maneuverability, speed and a shallow draft, which allows her to conduct expeditious visual and radar searches in a congested, shallow water environment. Fort Worth is also outfitted with a MH-60R helicopter as well as two 11-meter rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIB) to further maximize efforts.

Aero Linx: International Flying Farmers Of all private pilots, Flying Farmers are perhaps the only ones who will tell you their Cessnas and Beechcrafts and Pipers are no different from their combines, tractors, and pickup trucks. After all, airplanes are workhorses too, for hauling supplies, for checking irrigation systems, for compressing the time between the farm and parts store. Currently based in Mansfield, Illinois, the IFF got its start in 1944 in Stillwater, Oklahoma, when two men decided to visit some flying farmers. H.A. "Herb" Graham, director of Agricultural Extension at Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, and Ferdie Deering, farm editor of the Farmer-Stockman magazine, traveled across the state, meeti

Rotary-Wing Aircraft A broad category of any aircraft with a moving wing, including helicopters and autogyros. This is to distinguish from fixed-wing aircraft. A third type, tilt-wing (or tilt-rotor) aircraft, are a mix of the two, as the lift surfaces in vertical flight are rotary, but stationary in forward flight.

"We offer our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of those affected by this terrible tragedy... Having just left Jakarta, Indonesia last week, the USS Fort Worth will assist the Indonesian government in any way possible." Source: Cmdr. Kendall Bridgewater, USS Fort Worth Crew 104 commanding officer, as the Navy sent another ship to assist in the search for remains and wreckage of AirAsia QZ8501.