The Associated Press is reporting that Col. Robert Morgan, USAF
(Ret), 85, Commander of Memphis Belle, the famous B-17 bomber which
flew combact missions in WWII, died late Saturday night from
complications of a fall.
America's much-touted ballistic missile shield is supposed to be
up and running by September 30th. But an independent group of
scientists say it's not going to work.
A 61-year old pilot from Sylvania (OH) is okay after his P-51
Mustang replica (file photo of type, below) made a forced landing
while trying to set down at the Fulton County Airport near Wauseon
(OH) Thursday.
Not only is America's space agency beleaguered by the ongoing
revamp of its shuttle program and a new, underfunded vision
for space exploration as put forth by President Bush, but now it's
in financial hot water. Its former auditing firm,
PriceWaterhouseCoopers, reports $565 billion posted to NASA
accounts has been riddled with significant errors and poor
documentation.
British Newspaper Says It's Too Heavy For UK Carriers
Like many Americans, the Joint Strike Fighter has a weight
problem. So says the London Sunday Telegraph, which reports the new
VTOL stealth warplane is 3,300 pounds too heavy to land on two new
British aircraft carriers.
As Boeing fights a war of philosophy with its chief commercial
aircraft rival, Airbus, it appears the Chicago-based airplane maker
may be hedging its bets a little. Once again, there's talk that
Boeing may build another updated version of the 747 jumbo jet.
Airline Wants To Extend Special Financing To End Of Year
The world's second-biggest airline says it needs more time to
pay back $1 billion in special financing obtained since it declared
bankruptcy almost 18 months ago.
Says Government "Back-Tracked" On Previous Interpretation
The head of the union that represents most of the nation's
airline pilots has condemned an FAA action to back-track on a
previous interpretation that would have required airlines to
maintain a "do not call" list for pilots who do not want to be
wakened during required rest periods.
Raytheon figures it this way: If it's good enough for the US Air
Force and Navy, it's good enough to market overseas. That's why the
company is taking it's T-6B Texan II to the Farnborough Air Show in
July.
Two crew members aboard a Canadian CT-155 Hawk military trainer
are reportedly safe after they were forced to eject Friday near the
military base in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
After a few disappointments in upgrading our editorial profile,
ANN is settling into a solid schedule thansk to a few of our
veterans. ANN owes a lot to the great work done by Juan Jimenez --
even if it has almost killed him once or twice... and now he's been
drafted to take over Weekend Editor duties as former Weekender Pete
Combs gets the workweek hot seat.
As analysis of the landing incident that damaged EAA's B-17
Aluminum Overcast continues at Van Nuys Airport in California, EAA
officials are beginning to get a clearer picture as to exactly what
occurred after the airplane touched down safely on Wednesday, May
5. EAA reported earlier this week that recently obtained video
footage shows the entire incident from approach to touchdown, roll
out, and gear collapse.
"All indications are that it would not work. And the
administration's statements that it will be highly effective are
irresponsible nonsense."
Source: Physicist Lisbeth Gronlund, co-director of
the global security program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
The non-partisan group has issued a 76-page report detailing its
argument that the missile defense program, scheduled to go online
September 30th, just won't work.
An F-14 Tomcat from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8's Fighter Squadron
(VF) 213 Black Lions, homeported out of Naval Air Station Oceana,
Va., launched from USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), May 10, in what was
(probably) the final Tomcat to leave the deck of the ship.
Arizona-based technicians saved the military $620,000 when they
recently rebuilt a QF-4 Phantom II full-scale aerial target drone.
The drone had suffered extensive missile damage to its aft section
during a warfare exercise over the Atlantic Ocean near Florida's
Tyndall Air Force Base.
Airports around the world have focused their security attentions
on keeping potential weapons and the people who would wield them
out of passenger terminals.
But what if those potential weapons were available to the people
who would wield them AFTER they cleared security?
That's the question they're asking today in Australia, where sports
commentator Rex Hunt decided to show them all.
NASA formally announced the next 50 schools chosen to
participate in the NASA Explorer Schools Program. The schools were
named at the conclusion of the 2004 Leadership Institute/2003 NASA
Explorer Schools Student Symposium May 12 in Cocoa Beach (FL). NASA
Administrator Sean O’Keefe, Associate Administrator for
Education Dr. Adena Loston, astronauts, Agency officials, students
and teachers were on hand for the announcement.
International Space Station Commander Gennady Padalka and NASA
Science Officer and Flight Engineer Mike Fincke eased into a
regular schedule of operations in orbit last week, preparing
spacesuits for checkouts next week and loading trash aboard a
Progress vehicle that will soon depart.