Also: NATA Leadership, Navy Presents DFC, Wright Brothers Memorial, Orion Parachute Tests

We rarely get jealous of our fellow aviators but a recent announcement has definitely inspired us to be  green with envy.

Seriously... just say the name, SPITFIRE, and you have nearly any pilot’s immediate attention as they consider the iconic airplane that so many have admired and so few have actually flown. And as exciting as the aircraft and its warrior history may be, there is one thing that this infamous aircraft has never done... fly around the world. BUT... two adventurous aviators seem intent on changing all that. The two British flyers, Matt Jones and Steve Brooks, intend to leave Southern England on a trans-global journey by next fall in a brightly polished silver Spitfire Mark IX, returning the following Christmas after an adventure that should require some 150 stops in over 30 countries. The most recent edition of the Reno Air Races had a little unplanned excitement this weekend as two L39s tangled during a Friday morning race, damaging both aircraft but no so much that both aircraft weren’t able to return both pilots safely... though the same probably can’t be said of their checkbooks. The two pilots involved in the midair were Race 37 pilot Alexandre Eckmann of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, piloting, and Race 13 pilot Nathan Harnagel of Friendswood, Texas, piloting Reality Czech. The incident took place about 1000 local time during the Jet Heat 2B, not far from Pylon 4 along the 7.9 mile course. Alphabet's Loon has reached what it is calling a major milestone after successfully relaying data across some 540 nautical miles between a network of seven balloons. For the experiment, the connection originated from the launch site in Navata to a balloon floating at about 65,000 feet. All this -- and MORE in today's episode of Airborne!!!

Airborne 09.17.18 is chock full of info in this Daily News Episode, Monday, September 17th, 2018... Presented by Aero-TV veteran videographer and Airborne Hosts Laura Hutson, Brianne Cross, and Christopher Odom, and is supported by ANN CEO/Editor-In-Chief Jim Campbell, Chief Videographer Nathan Cremisino, and Aero-Journalist Tom Patton, this episode covers:

• Round The World Spitfire!
• Narrow Escape: Reno MidAir
• Loon Program Marks 'Major Milestone'
• NATA Announces Leadership Transition 
• U.S. Navy Presents DFC To Fighter Pilot 
• NBAA Board Chair Wins 2018 Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy 
• NASA Completes Orion Parachute Tests For Missions With Astronauts 

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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