Features Ruth Fleisher, WASP and Longtime IWASM Member

The International Women’s Air & Space Museum (IWASM) has a new exhibit on Ruth Fleisher, a pilot, longtime member of IWASM, and member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). Fleisher joined the WASP in 1943. Although 25,000 women applied to join the WASP during World War II, Fleisher was one of only 1,102 pilots accepted. The WASP worked as test pilots for aircraft, ferried aircraft, and transported equipment, among other duties, until they were disbanded in December 1944, without recognition as military veterans until 1977.

Four USAF Demo Teams, Three Aerobatic Shows, Tora! Tora! Tora! -- and Now, The F-35!

ANN Real-Time Update, 1955ET, 09.28.20: We just got the word... the F-35 is coming! The F-35A Lightning II Demo has now been added to the CAF Wings Over Houston Airshow lineup - for the first time, ALL of U.S. Air Force demonstration teams will be flying in the same show in the United States! The F-35A Lightening II, the U.S. Air Force's latest fifth-generation fighter, features incredible aerodynamic performance and next-generation stealth capabilities. Last year, Wings Over Houston was one of only 19 shows hosting the demo in its premier season.

The USAF Recently Launched Agility Prime

AirMap was awarded a contract to provide unmanned aircraft system (UAS) traffic management (UTM) services to the United States Air Force (USAF)’s Agility Prime program. The USAF will use AirMap’s UTM platform to support testing of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in preparation for scaling of advanced air mobility operations. The USAF recently launched Agility Prime, a non-traditional program seeking to accelerate the commercial market for advanced air mobility vehicles (i.e., “flying cars“). Leveraging unique testing resources and government use cases for distributed logistics and disaster response, the USAF plans to mitigate current commercial market and regulatory risks.

Training Of Royal Thai Air Force Pilots/Maintenance Professionals To Begin In 2022

The Royal Thai Air Force has contracted with Textron/Beedchcraft for an Integrated Training System in support of operations at the Royal Thai Air Force Flying Training School at Kamphaeng Saen air base. The contract is for 12 Beechcraft T-6C Texan II advanced military training aircraft, ground-based training systems for pilots and maintenance professionals, a mission planning and debrief system, spare parts and ground support equipment. The work will take place at the company's Wichita, Kansas facilities. "The Royal Thai Air Force operates one of the most advanced air forces in Asia Pacific and is a key U.S. security ally," said Thomas Webster, regional director of Textron Aviation Defense Asia Pacific Sales.

Coast Guard Crew Rescues 2 From Bodega Bay Cliffside

It's been a busy weekend for the US Coast Guard... but then again, that's not that unusual. The Coast Guard rescued two men who were stranded on the side of a cliff near Bodega Bay Friday evening. Coast Guard Sector San Francisco watchstanders received notification from Coast Guard Station Bodega Bay who received a report from a friend of one of the men at 4:45 p.m. reporting that his friend’s vessel had capsized near Bodega Bay. Watchstanders launched a Coast Guard Station Bodega Bay 47-foot Motor Life Boat crew and a Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew.

From 2009: From China to Wittman Field, Singer Introduces the Nanchang CJ-6A

From 1954 until 1958, the Nanchang Aircraft Factory build the Soviet Yak-18 under license as the CJ-5; however, with increasing advancements in jet pilot training, Chinese engineers quickly realized that improvements to the performance and design would be necessary in order to meet the needs of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force. Starting in 1957, two aeronautical engineers, Bushi Cheng and Lin Jiahua, began intensive revisions to the basic Yak-18 in order to develop a better-suited trainer aircraft. 

No Alternate Flights To Take Place... DC Airspace Authorization Has Expired

Mother Nature was a bit of hassle this week... Due to weather conditions, the aircraft participating in the Arsenal of Democracy Flyover, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, were unable to safely take flight Saturday. There will be no other attempts to fly... The authorization to fly through the Washington D.C. restricted airspace will expire (Saturday) and rescheduling the flying portion of the program is unfortunately not an option.

The New Fleet Will Be Called Kingfisher

The Government of Canada is equipping the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) with the modern and effective aircraft it needs to continue its critical life-saving search and rescue missions across Canada’s vast and challenging territory. The RCAF has marked the arrival of the first aircraft of its future fixed-wing search and rescue fleet. The new fleet will be called Kingfisher. Within the First Nations of the Northwest, the kingfisher has long been recognized for its speed and agility, as well as its keen searching and hunting skills. Found all across Canada, the kingfisher well represents the abilities of our own search and rescue crews to accomplish their lifesaving role.

Oregon and Washington Wings Provide Support For FEMA and OEM

As smoke clears from western Oregon, Civil Air Patrol pilots and specially trained aircrews are flying over areas damaged by devastating wildfires to photograph the conflagrations' impact. Two aircraft from the Oregon Wing and one from the Washington Wing joined the effort in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Oregon Emergency Management on Sept. 20, marking the fifth day of CAP participation.