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The United States acknowledged Friday it was flying drones out of Ethiopia under a counter-terrorism campaign in the Horn of Africa but said the aircraft were unarmed and not carrying out raids. "The US has unarmed and unmanned aircraft at a facility there to be used only for surveillance as part of a broad, sustained integrated campaign to counter terrorism," Pentagon spokesman Captain John Kirby told AFP. "These unmanned aircraft are being used only for surveillance and not conducting strike missions." The Pentagon, the White House and the State Department confirmed the drone flights out of the airfield in Arba...

The high-tech researchers at the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) say they're reviewing two "feasible" designs for a flying Humvee vehicle called the "Transformer." The tank-like machine is supposed to be able to take off and land vertically. The plan is for it to be operated by a person without flight training--or by no one at all, Aviation Week reports. AAI and Lockheed Martin have each submitted potential designs, in tandem with Piasecki Aircraft. AAI's prototype would weigh 7,500 pounds and combine traditional plane wings with a helicopter rotor on top. Lockheed Martin's design, above, is 500 pounds...

"Both general aviation and commercial aircraft use the public airspace and air traffic control facilities, and the public has a right to information about their activities." Oh, please. We all use public streets and sidewalks, which doesn't mean the police have a right to monitor our movements and let the world know where we go.

CHICAGO (AP) — Myrtle Rose was taking a short flight over suburban Chicago when the 75-year-old aviation enthusiast looked out her cockpit window to see two F-16 fighter jets. She assumed the military pilots were just slowing down to get a closer look at her antique plane. It wasn't until she landed her 1941 Piper J-3 Cub that friends and the police told her the attention was much more serious — for straying into restricted airspace during a visit by President Barack Obama. Rose . . . normally uses her computer to check for airspace restrictions, but it wasn't working...

Bandera County Sheriff's Office Issues Domestic Terrorism Warning Law Enforcement Agency Concerned Radical Anti-Government Groups May Be Moving Into Area Tim Gerber, KSAT 12 News Reporter POSTED: Thursday, June 9, 2011 BANDERA, Texas -- The Bandera County Sheriff's Office issued a warning Thursday to citizens about an anti-government movement known for acts of domestic terrorism. The law enforcement agency said followers of The Sovereign Citizens Movement have been known to carry out violent acts, including killing law enforcement officers and other public servants. The sheriff's office told KSAT-12 News the warning was prompted by the recent shooting death of Bexar...

Close to 200 International Learn to Fly Day Events Planned Take someone flying this weekend! Sporty's Fly-In Between 300 and 400 aircraft and an estimated 2,000 people attended Sporty’s Fly-In and International Learn to Fly Day last year. May 19, 2011 — This Saturday, May 21, nearly 200 events will turn dreams of flight into reality for tens of thousands of people during the second annual International Learn to Fly Day, an aviation community-wide effort helping people of all ages take that first step to discover the fun and freedom of flight. Events are being held throughout the United States,...

Electric airplanes are getting more numerous, with the latest making its initial flight in Augsburg, Germany. The Elektra One, developed by Calin Gologan of PC-Aero, was flown by test pilot Jon Karkow. Since that flight, the aircraft has completed an additional three flights for up to 30 minutes. It will next be upgraded with a variable pitch prop and retractable landing gear. Karkow was the project leader and test pilot for the around-the-world Virgin Global Flyer, and more recently served as technical program manager for the Virgin Galactic commercial space program at Scaled Composites in California. The single-seat Elektra One...

Jeppesen today announced that Executive Jet Management has received authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration to use the Jeppesen Mobile TC App for iPad as an alternative to paper aeronautical charts. The authorization allows Executive Jet Management to use iPad and the Jeppesen Mobile TC App as the sole reference for electronic charts, even during taxi, takeoff and landing. Executive Jet Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of NetJets Inc., is a leading provider of worldwide jet charter and aircraft management services.This announcement is a result of a three-month extensive in-flight evaluation managed by Executive Jet Management and Jeppesen with...

'Flying Wild Alaska' hits the airwaves Van Williams | Arctic Sounder | Dec 29, 2010 For years, the Tweto family of Unalakleet took Alaskans to the air as owners of Era Aviation. Now, their story is hitting the TV airwaves, thanks to the Discovery Channel. Meet the unconventional family that rules Alaska's most dangerous skies in a new 10-part reality series, 'Flying Wild Alaska,' which premieres Friday, Jan. 14. Watch how their airline is a lifeline to the Bush by delivering key goods that otherwise wouldn't arrive. Where the road ends, the Tweto family's adventure begins. And it's all caught...

When TSA chief John "Grab, Grip, & Grope" Pistole was asked how he was able to calculate that massaging people's pertinents made air travel immune from terrorist attack, how, that is, he was able to muster the insight necessary to discern that at least three, and not less than three, fingers must trace the contours of each man's two balls and a strike and each woman's home run before he or she was safe to fly, he replied that he relied on "Experts." This answer was accepted. But nobody thought to ask who these experts were or how they gained...

In a significant victory for federal employee unions, the Federal Labor Relations Authority decided Friday that Transportation Security Administration staffers will be allowed to vote on union representation. The decision clears the way for a campaign by the government's two largest labor organizations, the American Federation of Government Employees and the National Treasury Employees Union, to represent some 50,000 transportation security officers.

Instead of boycotting the airlines, holiday travelers should suck it up and stop whining about X-rated body scans and groping pat-downs, according to terrorism experts and passengers at Logan International Airport who say deep frisk searches are just a fact of flying life during the war on terror. “You just have to bite the bullet,” said Andrew Thomas, a University of Akron professor and an airline security expert. “The bad guys are just watching this unfold.”

CAIR said Muslims who object to full-body scans for religious reasons should know their rights if they are required to undergo a pat-down, including asking for the procedure to be done in a private place. In addition, CAIR offered a “special recommendation” for Muslim women who wear a hijab, telling them they should tell the TSA officer that they may be searched only around the head and neck.

It is about time man flew among the birds – alone. We may not have the homes on the moon, or the flying cars that our totally reasonable childhood imaginations ensured us would be waiting for us when we grew up, but with a little luck and a lot of money, we might soon be able to scratch “jetpack” off of our bucket lists. Imagine one day soon, you kiss the spouse good bye, walk the kids off to the school bus, then you prepare for the commute to work. But rather than sitting in traffic and squeezing your steering...

See-through planes of Airbus on anvil European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has come up with the idea to build a passenger flight with a completely transparent fuselage. The central body of the aircraft will allow passengers to the see the stars above and city lights below The planes of the future will offer an unparalleled, unobstructed view of the wonders of the five continents – where you will be able see the pyramids or the Eiffel Tower through the transparent floor of the aircraft,” Airbus said while unveiling the concept “The Future By Airbus” earlier this year. The company talks of...

Cowboys on airplanes No doubt channeling Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood, the Italian design firm Aviointeriors Group has created a new airline seat dubbed the “saddle.” Ride them skies! What makes this seat interesting is that an airline can fit more of them into a plane than they can ordinary seats. Even on budget flights, the average legroom is about 30 inches. But the saddle seat allows only 23. I just measured from the backside of my sculpted self to my knee and it’s just under 26 inches. It’s true that I am a taller specimen than most, but I’m...

A Michigan pilot says while presidential flight restrictions are nothing new, they have recently expanded. And while intended to thwart security breaches, the restrictions instead thwart his ability to make a living.

A Toluca Lake woman was recently kicked off a Delta Airlines flight after reporting that she thought she had smelled alcohol on the captain's breath. Cynthia Angel said the incident occurred on July 19 as she was trying to travel home to Southern California from Georgia. She had just spent two weeks visiting her son, an actor, who was shooting a movie near Atlanta. Angel, 51, said the trouble occurred after she and three other passengers had a brief conversation with one of the pilots of Delta Airlines Flight 2355. She learned later that the pilot was actually the captain...

Pentagon researchers are attempting to develop a military vehicle which can travel underwater like a submarine before bursting out of the waves and flying like an aeroplane. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the US military science and technology department, has set about creating an aircraft that can fly low over the water until near its target before disappearing under the sea to avoid detection. It would then creep closer in submarine form before attacking its target, probably a ship or coastal installation, and fly home.

CAIRO — A Virginia man, stuck in Egypt for the last six weeks living in a cheap hotel and surviving on fast food, said Wednesday his name was placed on a U.S. no-fly list because of a trip to Yemen. Yahya Wehelie, 26, who was born in Fairfax, Virginia, to Somali parents was returning with his brother Yusuf from 18 months studying in Yemen, when Egyptian authorities stopped him from boarding his flight to New York saying the FBI wanted to speak with him. Wehelie said he was then told by FBI agents in Egypt that his name was on...

Local balloon pilot Jonathan Trappe landed safely this morning after an overnight flight of about 70 miles from the Sanford-Lee County Regional Airport. Trappe, who sat in a chair while about 40 giant helium-filled balloons took him aloft, flew mostly at altitudes between 3,000 feet and 4,000 feet, said Paul Wilder, spokesman for the Wings of Carolina Flying Club. Trappe did go as high as 7,000 feet, Wilder said. He landed south of Wilson, near Fremont, shortly after 7 a.m., Wilder said. Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/04/11/432828/balloonist-flies-safely-in-chair.html#ixzz0kqgoOdZo

Two women placed their dead relative in a wheelchair and dressed him in sunglasses as they tried to check in at Liverpool airport for a flight to Germany. They later claimed the man was asleep. The women had already convinced a taxi driver that 91-year-old Curt Willi Jarant was well enough for the 45-minute drive to the airport from Oldham, a suburb of Manchester. Staff at John Lennon Airport in Liverpool noticed something was wrong. Andrew Millea, a worker who greeted the group with a wheelchair, said one of the women asked for help lifting her elderly father from the...

I'm considering taking up recreational flying. I've done it before - about 4 years ago, I took a couple hours' worth of training before the snow fell, but at the time, I was working a traveling job where I could only take lessons on weekends, and winter approached. I believe there are many pilots here on FR, both commercial and recreational. What experiences did you have in becoming what you are today? Was it harder than you expected? Did it take longer than you expected? Did it cost more than you wished it did, or was it affordable? What do...

They were supposed to be taking a direct flight from LAX to JFK -- but wound up on a 16-hour nightmare tour by air and bus of New York state. ... "One guy said he had a question, and the flight attendant started shouting at this guy, 'You are really getting on my freaking nerves! You need to shut the hell up!' " Martin said. He added, "Carrie Anne and I tried to bring cookies on the plane to the mothers with babies, and the flight attendants started snapping at us." ...

Emus and ostriches became fat, flightless birds after dinosaurs died out and were no longer around to chase them, scientists believe.An abundance of food and lack of predators following the mass extinction 65 million years saw previously flighted birds put on so much weight that they had to walk instead, according to research by Australian National University. A molecular dating study revealed that the African ostrich, Australasian emu, South American rhea and New Zealand moa became flightless independently following the disappearance of dinosaurs.

From March 10, 2005: FLYING: Everybody's favorite. On my first flight to Europe, everyone dressed for success. Now everyone dresses for Gold's Gym. And I'm sure the next step in TOTAL SECURITY will be to require everyone who is not of Arab descent to arrive with a note from their doctor attesting that they had a high colonic an hour before the airport to make the body cavity searches a bit more pleasant for the staff.

It happened again on Wednesday, December 9, 2009, less than a month after the incident aboard AirTran Flight 297. United Airlines Flight 227, scheduled to depart Denver International Airport at 1:50 pm Wednesday for Los Angeles was disrupted when several passengers who were described as Middle Eastern in appearance, confirmed by this investigator to be a group of Muslims traveling together, were removed from that aircraft due to suspicious behavior that originated in the terminal and continued to the airplane.

There's been much debate about how to handle overweight passengers on flights. While some airlines may charge for an extra seat, not all do — and now a flight attendant allegedly snapped a photo on an American Airlines flight (destination and take-off point unknown), which of course has been leaked to the press. A Flight Global blog got a hold of the photo, which they say the attendant took to "show her manager what was happening on the aircraft and why she was unhappy about it. Seems the guy paid for only one seat and the gate staff let him...

Col. Sami Saeed (right), commander of the Iraqi Air Force’s 70th Squadron, conducts preflight checks on a CH2000 surveillance plane during training on Contingency Operating Base Basrah, Nov. 19. Photo by Spc. Samuel Soza, 367th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment. COB BASRAH — Reaching a critical training milestone, the Iraqi Air Force’s (IqAF) 70th Squadron is now conducting its own training from beginning to end, ushering in an era of independence it has worked toward so diligently. The goal has always been to create a sustainable training squadron that can effectively transition new recruits into operational missions and put the protection...

She said she just heard on the radio that a 6 year old child had accidentally taken off in some kind of experimental aircraft in Larimer County, CO. Cannot find news article on this. Do you know anything?

A group of rabbis and Jewish mystics has taken to the skies over Israel, praying and blowing ceremonial horns in a plane to ward off swine flu. About 50 religious leaders circled over the country on Monday, chanting prayers and blowing horns, called shofars. The flight's aim was "to stop the pandemic so people will stop dying from it", Rabbi Yitzhak Batzri was quoted as saying in Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. The flu is often called simply "H1N1" in Israel, as pigs are seen as unclean. SWINE FLU Swine flu is a respiratory disease thought to spread through coughing and sneezing...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon may want to consider scaling back Lockheed Martin Corp's multinational F-35 fighter program, the costliest-ever U.S. arms-purchase plan, as part of stepped-up budget belt-tightening, an analysis by an influential research group said. The private Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, several of whose one-time experts are now serving in senior Obama administration jobs, cited the F-35 as just one example of programs ripe for review by the Department of Defense during its once-every-four-year, top-to-bottom re-assessment now under way.

U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery cleared the way for their lawsuit to go to August trial. They claim their rights were violated when they were removed from their flight in the Twin Cities.

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, July 22, 2009 – American volunteers flying shark-faced P-40 Tomahawks protected China during World War II, and their legacy has become a fixture in the war in Afghanistan. Air Staff Sgt. James Irvin performs an air-cycle machine inspection on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, to ensure the A-10 Thunderbolt functions properly, July 20, 2009. Irvin is deployed from the 23rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Moody Air Force Base, Ga. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Felicia Juenke  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. In homage to the storied airmen of the past, the 74th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, deployed from...

‘The Cause of My Life’ Inside the fight for universal health care. By Edward M. Kennedy July 18, 2009 From the magazine issue dated Jul 27, 2009 In 1964, I was flying with several companions to the Massachusetts Democratic Convention when our small plane crashed and burned short of the runway. My friend and colleague in the Senate, Birch Bayh, risked his life to pull me from the wreckage. Our pilot, Edwin Zimny, and my administrative assistant, Ed Moss, didn't survive. With crushed vertebrae, broken ribs, and a collapsed lung, I spent months in New England Baptist Hospital in Boston....

According to a Marine Pilot… In addition to communicating with the local Air Traffic Control facility, all aircraft in the Persian Gulf AOR are required to give the Iranian Air Defense Radar (military) a ten minute “heads up” if they will be transiting Iranian airspace. This conversation was recorded on the VHF Guard (emergency) frequency 121.5 MHz, while flying from Europe to Dubai ..

I think this is cool

Cesar Ceja's mother won't let him drive, but she'll let him fly. In fact, his mother says airplanes are one of the best things to happen to her almost 16-year-old. Three months ago, Ceja started coming to Young Eagles rallies, recommended by a friend of a friend. The group offers free flights for children 8 to 17 at Hayward Executive Airport. Experienced pilots, who hang around the small airport's hangars like chatty neighbors on a garage sale weekend, take up one or two passengers at a time. After one ride, Ceja was hooked. "I always wanted to be a pilot,"...

WIMAUMA — In the middle of a grassy 40-acre airfield bordered by a cow pasture, an orange grove and a two-lane road in rural Hillsborough County, Steve Hall was steward recently to three small airplanes that will soon be delivered to airports in the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. With a roster of a dozen pilots who have an unusual knack for navigating pint-sized, single-engine planes across the Atlantic Ocean, Hall's aircraft delivery business is booming these days. Customers around the world are snapping up small airplanes from the United States, thanks to the weak American dollar. And...

7/15/2008 - KIRKUK REGIONAL AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- The Iraqi air force reached 2,000 flying training hours here July 13, with the help of Airmen from the 52nd Expeditionary Flying Training Squadron. The milestone comes 11 months after Lt. Col. Mark Bennett, the 52nd EFTS commander, arrived at Kirkuk. "This is very significant across the entire operation, from maintenance, life support, intelligence and base support," said Colonel Bennett." To go from zero to 2,000 hours in under nine months is an epic accomplishment. I am absolutely amazed we have been able to accomplish what we have. "The risk associated...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Flying saucers may soon be more fact than mere science fiction. University of Florida mechanical and aerospace engineering associate professor Subrata Roy has submitted a patent application for a circular, spinning aircraft design reminiscent of the spaceships seen in countless Hollywood films. Roy, however, calls his design a “wingless electromagnetic air vehicle,” or WEAV. The proposed prototype is small – the aircraft will measure less than six inches across – and will be efficient enough to be powered by on-board batteries. Roy said the design can be scaled up and theoretically should work in a much larger...

Killer flying video

<p>June 17, 2008 (Computerworld) An aerospace company has built a prototype of a driverless aircraft designed to shuttle hundreds of pounds of supplies to soldiers in war zones.</p> <p>Dubbed a flying Humvee by Ryan Wood, CEO of Broomfield Colo.-based Frontline Aerospace, Inc., the robotic vehicle can fly 600 to 1,000 miles carrying a full cargo of 400 pounds. Code named V-STAR, the autonomous aircraft, which can execute vertical take-offs and landings, is about the size of a large SUV, weighing in at 2,400 pounds and measuring 21 feet long and up to 26 feet wide.</p>

Those of us who've been dreaming of cheap personal air travel in the Buck Rogers, sci-fi jet-pack mode should turn their eyes towards Vinci, Italy on May 25. That's when Gennai Yanagisawa, inventor of the tiny GEN H-4 personal helicopter, will be taking his lightweight 165-pound whirly-gig on a demonstration flight. Why Vinci? According to the 75-year-old Yanagisawa, "Since the concept of our helicopter came from Italy, I always wanted to take a flight in the birthplace of da Vinci." Indeed, Leonardo's famous notebook drawings from 1493 show an "ornithopter" with a screw-like rotor. Like da Vinci's pioneering design,...

Technologia Aeroespacial Mexicana (TAM) has designed a strap-on helicopter. Tiny rockets on the tips of the propellers eliminate the need for a tail rotor, making it possible for the device to be worn on a human body. Credit: TAM. Ever since the first human saw a bird soaring through the clouds, our species has harbored a great envy for the freedom that flying gives. Now a company from Mexico is trying to capitalize on this desire with their design for a strap-on helicopter, which is intended to be worn on the back of an individual and lift them into...

Flying penguins found by BBC programme By Neil Midgley, TV & Radio Editor Last Updated: 1:45am BST 01/04/2008 The BBC will today screen remarkable footage of penguins flying as part of its new natural history series, Miracles of Evolution. Camera crews discovered a colony of Adélie penguins while filming on King George Island, some 750 miles south of the Falkland Islands. The programme is being presented by ex-Monty Python star Terry Jones, who said: "We'd been watching the penguins and filming them for days, without a hint of what was to come. "But then the weather took a turn for...

ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq (March 18, 2008) -- As dawn approached the Anbar province of Iraq on Tuesday, two MV-22 Ospreys soared over the desert. Not an uncommon site here, but what was uncommon was who was on board. The Ospreys weren’t filled with Marines, but with Iraqi Army soldiers from the 27th Iraqi Infantry Brigade, 7th Iraqi Infantry Division. For the 22 IA soldiers on board the Ospreys, this was their first helo-borne operation. While helo-borne operations are common for Marines, the Iraqi Army is still learning to get its wings. To assist the IA, Marines with Military in Transition...

The US government is demanding the right to ban British air passengers from flying over America en route to other countries – even when the flights will not land in the United States. Under anti-terrorism measures due to come into force within two years, the US authorities insist they need to do background checks on all UK air passengers travelling to Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico and South America. Direct flights to popular holiday destinations such as the Bahamas, Barbados, Toronto and Mexico City would all be covered by stringent US security checks examining people's passport details, travel plans and even...

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, Iraq, Dec. 19, 2007 – In today’s world of technologically advanced aviation, Army pilots alone cannot keep AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters operational without ground crews. An AH-64 Apache Longbow crew chief conducts final pre-flight checks as he prepares a 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, helicopter gunship for a night mission Nov. 24, 2007. The 1-1 ARB Gunfighter air and ground crews work around the clock sustaining air operations, and are part of the Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, from Fort Riley, Kan., flying in support of Task Force Iron, 1st Armored Division,...

Jeb Corliss wants to fly — not the way the Wright brothers wanted to fly, but the way we do in our dreams. He wants to jump from a helicopter and land without using a parachute. And his dream, strange as it sounds, is not unique. Around the globe, Mr. Corliss said, at least a half-dozen groups — in France, South Africa, New Zealand, Russia and the United States — have the same goal in mind. Although nobody is waving a flag, the quest has evoked the spirit of nations’ pursuits of Everest and the North and South Poles. “All...