The US Air Force has removed Lt. Col. Jason Heard as the commander of the Thunderbirds demonstration team. Heard was dismissed on November 20th, but the official announcement came Wednesday.
Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, commander of the service’s 57th Wing, cited a lost of confidence in Lt. Col. Heard's “leadership and risk management style." Leavitt said that the decision was incredibly difficult, "but one that is ultimately in the best interests of the Thunderbird team. I am personally grateful for Jason's dedication to the 2017 season.” It took more than 100 test flights, but the Soul Flyers finally achieved the seemingly impossible. In one of the most spectacular ways to ever catch a flight, Fred Fugen and Vince Reffet succeeded in flying into the open door of a small light aircraft in mid-air after freefalling from a summit in the Swiss Alps. The French duo have already wowed millions around the world with their outlandish Soul Flyers wingsuit stunts over Mont Blanc and the Dolomites. LSA manufacturer Aeroprakt has produced and registered its 1,000th aircraft, a significant milestone for any small manufacturer in this aviation climate. According to the Foxbat Pilot blog,
the 1,000th aircraft is a yellow A22LS, which is now in service at Aeroprakt’s flying club/school based at Naliwaikowka Airfield near Kiev. The Aeroprakt A-22 Foxbat is a Ukrainian two-seat, high-wing, tricycle gear ultralight aircraft that was designed by Yuri Yakovlev. All this -- and MORE in today's episode of Airborne!!!
Airborne 12.01.17 is chock full of info in this Daily News Episode, Friday, December 1st, 2017... 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:
- USAF Removes Lt. Col. Heard As Thunderbirds Commander
- Wingsuit Duo Flies Into Plane In Flight
- Aeroprakt Reaches Production Milestone
- Russia Loses 19 Satellites In A Single Launch
- Pilot Faults Power Company In 2015 Colorado Incident
- U.S. CBP To Hire Student Pilots Exclusively From UND
- Quinte International Airshow Canceled For 2018
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 tomorrow, for the next edition of "Airborne Unlimited" here on Aero-TV. Thanks for watching. See you, again, tomorrow!
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