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Pentagon Makes Fighting Extremism Top Priority Seven years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Pentagon on Thursday officially named "the long war" against global extremism as its top priority and pledged to avert any conventional military threat from China or Russia through dialogue. The Defense Department, in a new national defense strategy, also emphasized the need to subordinate military operations to "soft power" initiatives to undermine Islamist militancy by promoting economic, political and social development in vulnerable corners of the world. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he hoped the change would help establish permanent institutional support for counterinsurgency skills...

You KNEW This Was Coming... In an announcement likely to surprise absolutely no one, pilots for United Airlines are against the carrier's latest, desperate move to raise cash. In a statement issued Wednesday, the pilots say they "strongly oppose" the airline's plans to drastically change its onboard meal service by raising prices for food and drink on most flights and by discontinuing complimentary meal service on many flights to and from Europe, affecting both economy and business class passengers. As ANN reported, United claims rising fuel costs require these changes... but the pilots say the real reason may be to...

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...

I’m a Cessna Driver. I learned to fly when I was 16. I love the way most Pilots think! Sorry for the Caps. I felt like I should cut and paste as it was. My Tom is a former Chief Pilot for a Major Airline One of his Pilots sent this to him. "DO I HAVE THIS STRAIGHT? HIS FATHER WAS A BLACK AFRICAN MUSLIM FROM KENYA. WE HAVE SEEN PICTURES OF HIS AFRICAN FAMILY. HIS MOTHER WAS A WHITE AMERICAN ATHEIST FROM KANSAS. WHERE ARE THE PICTURES OF HIS AMERICAN FAMILY? HIS FATHER DESERTED HIS MOTHER WHEN HE WAS...

MUMBAI: An Air India Jaipur-Mumbai flight flew well past its destination with both its pilots fatigued and fast asleep in the cockpit. When the pilots were finally woken up by anxious Mumbai air traffic controllers, the plane was about half way to Goa. ( Watch ) This nap in the sky took place about a fortnight ago on the domestic leg of a Dubai-Jaipur-Mumbai flight — IC 612 — which had about 100 passengers on board. "The plane took off from Dubai at 1.35am IST and then from Jaipur at 7am. After operating an overnight flight, fatigue levels peak, and...

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Two New Zealand pilots whose plane ran out of fuel landed on a wing and a prayer, literally, local media reported on Wednesday. Grant Stubbs and Owen Wilson from Blenheim, at the top of the South Island about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Wellington, were in a microlight plane when the engine cut out. "When you're in a microlight if you crash, you usually die. I turned to O B (Wilson) and he said we had no fuel," Stubbs told the Marlborough Express newspaper. "I asked what we should do. He said: 'You just pray Grant.'"...

Airlines in the U.S. have ordered their pilots to slow down to reduce fuel consumption. They say the move will add minutes to journey times yet save millions in fuel costs. The tactic will not be adopted by British airlines, however, although the price of jet fuel has risen by more than 70 per cent in the past year. British Airways and Virgin said they have already introduced fuel-saving measures which they believe are more efficient than those adopted by the Americans. Scroll down for more ... U.S. airlines are introducing slower cruising speeds on both domestic flights and long-haul...

BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq, May 2, 2008 – An Air Force Reserve pilot deployed here broke his own world record for hours spent flying the F-16 Fighting Falcon when he surpassed the 6,000-hour milestone today. Air Force Reserve Lt. Col. Michael Brill, a 421st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron pilot, prepares to don his helmet at Balad Air Base, Iraq, before flying a combat mission May 2, 2008. Brill broke the world record he previously set for F-16 flying hours when he surpassed the 6,000-hour milestone. Brill is deployed from Hill Air Force Base, Utah. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior...

Over ten per cent of airline crewmembers in the US are authorised to carry guns onboard, according to a budget document released by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The Federal Air Marshal Service runs a programme for armed pilots as a TSA agency and estimates that 85,000 to 90,000 pilots and crew are eligible to carry a gun on domestic passenger and cargo flights. Although the exact number remains confidential the TSA has forecasted the level of eligible pilots will increase to 16.5 per cent by 2011. The TSA reports it found 16 firearms and four concealed prohibited items at...

A US Airways pilot accidentally discharged his gun in the cockpit during a flight from Denver to Charlotte, N.C., according to the Transportation Safety Administration. The Airbus A319 landed safely after the incident Saturday and without any injuries to the 124 passengers on board, a spokesperson for the TSA told ABCNEWS.com today. The TSA said the passengers were unaware that a gun had been fired in the cockpit. The pilot, who both the TSA and US Airways declined to identify, was a member of the Federal Flight Deck Officer program, an initiative put in place after the Sept. 11, 2001,...

SAN DIEGO, March 19, 2008 – In the months since her last flight in the No. 3 jet for the Air Force’s Thunderbirds, Maj. Nicole Malachowski has had a hard time attaching perspective to being the first woman to fly on a service-level U.S. military flight demonstration team. Air Force Maj. Nicole Malachowski holds her plaque after being inducted into the Women in Aviation International's Pioneer Hall of Fame on March 15, 2008, in San Diego. The major, who piloted the Thunderbirds No. 3 jet, was recognized for being the first woman pilot to be part of a service-level...

At least 33 pilots in Canada, including some flying large commercial airliners, have complained about being flashed in the eyes by bright lights that could be lasers, officials said on Thursday. Canada's transport ministry said it is probing the complaints, which started in 2005, and had handed most of them over to the police. "All we know is that a bright light was shone into the cockpit. We don't know if it is in fact a laser and that's why when these reports happen, an investigation is started," said ministry spokeswoman Kirsten Goodnough.

Iraqi pilots of the Iraqi Air Force's 3rd Squadron take off from the runway here during the first Iraqi flown sortie in the King Air 350I aircraft. The King Air is currently the most advanced aircraft in Iraq’s arsenal and enhances the abilities of this re-born Air Force. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman SerMae Lampkin. KIRKUK — The Iraqi Air Force’s 3rd Squadron took another step on the path to establishing a fully functioning airpower capability here as Iraqi pilots recently took the controls of a King Air 350 for the first time. The King Air is the...

MIAMI (CBS News) ― The Air Force says both pilots from two missing fighter jets have been rescued in the Gulf of Mexico. Eglin Air Force Base spokeswoman Shirley Pigott confirmed the pilots' rescue. Their single-seat F-15C Eagles disappeared about 2 p.m. CST Wednesday off the Florida Panhandle, about 35 miles south of Tyndall Air Force Base. More than 60 Coast Guard personnel had been involved in the search using multiple helicopters, cutters and jets, said Coast Guard Petty Officer James Harless. Air Force officials are investigating. Coast guard officials in New Orleans told CBS News affiliate WWL-TV that they...

Two fighter jets crashed into the Gulf of Mexico during a training mission Wednesday, but the pilots ejected and were later rescued, the Air Force said. Eglin Air Force Base spokeswoman Shirley Pigott said the pilots were rescued after their single-seat F-15C Eagles disappeared Wednesday afternoon off the Florida Panhandle, about 35 miles south of Tyndall Air Force Base. The Air Force has not determined if the planes collided. Weather in the area was clear. Coast Guard Petty Officer James Harless said a Coast Guard rescue jet located one pilot and radioed the location to a fishing vessel, which picked...

It might harm their reputation, but Israel's air force is considering giving its combat pilots Viagra to improve their performance -- in the air. A recent study conducted by Israeli doctors among mountain climbers in Africa found a link between erectile dysfunction drugs and improved performance in high altitudes, the mass-selling Yediot Aharonot reported on Thursday...

Thousands waited outside the Flour Bluff entrance to Naval Air Station-Corpus Christie, expecting a confrontation with the members of the Westboro Baptist Church members, but they never came. The crowd instead showed support for U. S. Soldiers.

Source is link only.Story.

THE pilot of the British Airways aircraft that crash-landed at Heathrow said he feared the flight would end in “catastrophe” as he struggled to cope with a double engine failure just two miles from touchdown. First Officer John Coward, 41, said both engines lost power simultaneously, leaving him with just seconds to bring the aircraft down. -- snip -- Investigators examining the wreckage of flight BA038 are now focusing on the theory that the crash was caused by a failure in the avionics and electronics systems that control the plane’s engines. . . . A senior industry source said: “....

The real hero of the Heathrow crash landing was revealed yesterday as a man named Coward. Straight after the drama Captain Peter Burkill was praised for safely bringing down his stricken Boeing 777 with 136 passengers on board. But Captain Burkill admitted yesterday that Senior First Officer John Coward was at the controls when the plane suffered a catastrophic power failure in both engines 40 seconds from landing. The initial investigation report confirmed both engines had failed two miles from the airport. "Flying is about teamwork - and we had an outstanding team on board yesterday," said the 43-year-old father...

KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 14, 2008 – The Afghan National Army Air Corps here has opened a new school to teach English to Afghan pilots and other Afghan military professionals. Penni Shanahan, English Language Training Team leader, talks with instructor Glen Driggars (center) and student Lt. Jamal Udin, of the Afghan National Army Air Corps, in the hall of the language training facility at Kabul Air Base, Afghanistan. Shanahan and Driggars work for International Logistics Solutions, which is under contract to teach English to soldiers of the Afghan National Army Air Corps on behalf of the Combined Air Power Transition...

St. Mary's County Regional Airport is home to a fleet of single-engine Cessnas, many of them owned by amateur pilots and parked in tidy rows just off the runway. But in a hangar at the edge of the grounds sits a Harrier, a hulking jet that takes off and lands vertically, cruises at speeds in excess of 600 mph and is similar to the Marines' primary attack aircraft. That is Art Nalls's plane. Nalls, a 53-year-old former Marine test pilot who made a fortune in real estate, has turned flying into an extraordinarily expensive hobby. He believes that his newest...

Increasing the mandatory retirement age of airline pilots is now in the President's hands, after the Senate voted late Dec. 12 to pass a measure increasing the age from 60 to 65. "Forcing our nation's pilots to retire at 60 is out-of-date and only succeeds in removing our most experienced pilots from our skies," said Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. The law would change Federal Aviation Administration regulations from the 1960s, and would be in line with mandatory retirement age requirements adopted by the Civil Aviation Organization in 2006. The FAA has indicated it...

The author talks about the current and future work environment for commercial/airline pilots. He notes that the voracious appetite of regional airlines (flying 10-60-seat airplanes) is (1) destroying the availability of experienced flight instructors (those with at least two years' instructing experience) and (2) creating a new industry standard of 19-year-old first officers with less than 500 hours of total flying time. In some cases, new first officers with just 225 hours total flying time. I don't want to give you the "veteran flier bit," but this has to be a big compromise in safety.

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of two U.S. servicemen, missing from the Vietnam War, have been identified. They are Maj. Robert F. Woods, of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Capt. Johnnie C. Cornelius, of Maricopa County, Ariz., both U.S. Air Force. Cornelius was buried with full military honors on Nov. 10 in Moore, Texas, and Woods’ burial is being set by his family. On June 26, 1968, Woods and Cornelius were flying a visual reconnaissance mission over Quang Binh Province, Vietnam, when their O-2A Skymaster aircraft crashed in a remote mountainous area....

If you've flown on a regional airline like American Eagle or Atlantic Southeast Airlines with any regularity, you may have noticed that the pilots seem a bit younger. It's not your imagination. Regional carriers, which operate flights for major airlines like American, Delta and United, have been slashing their minimum hiring requirements in recent years as they grapple with a growing shortage of pilots. The carriers have reduced required flight hours for job applicants by as much as two-thirds, and in a few cases have hired pilots with the minimum experience required by the Federal Aviation Administration for a pilot's...

SIERRA VISTA — Boys and girls are getting a higher perspective of the Upper San Pedro Valley. On Friday, the Imagine Charter and Our Lady of the Mountains elementary schools brought out 144 schoolchildren to participate in the first day of the annual Sierra Vista Municipal Airport Fly-In and open house, which is intended to introduce aviation to the children. Ryan Sheehan, a fourth-grader at Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic School, looks over the cockpit of a T34A Beechcraft on Friday at the Sierra Vista Municipal Airport. (Ed Honda-Herald/Review) The fly-in, which is sponsored by Sierra Vista Experimental Aircraft...

Dropped the first atomic bomb used in anger.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2007 – Highly experienced Afghan pilots soon will take to the skies in newly acquired aircraft as part of a concerted effort to accelerate progress of Afghanistan’s nascent air corps, a coalition commander said today. Air Force mentor Master Sgt. Michael Stoller (second from right) works with members of the Afghan National Army Air Corps at the Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan. Stoller is a vehicle maintenance craftsman and is deployed from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. Photo by Master Sgt. Jim Varhegyi, USAF  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “When you look at the country...

Left to right, Chief Warrant Officer Terry Eldridge, Capt. Thomas Loux, Chief Warrant Officer Cole Moughon and Chief Warrant Officer Kyle Kittleson pose in front of an AH-64D Apache. The four pilots from 1st “Attack” Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, reacted quickly when they came upon four anti-aircraft gun trucks and 20 heavily armed insurgents, Sept. 29. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Rick Emert, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs. CAMP TAJI — For the past year, Apache pilots from the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade have conducted countless reconnaissance missions in...

ORONO, Maine -- Charles Frank Burlingame III was the pilot flying American Airlines Flight 77 on Sept. 11. Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon with 64 people onboard. It is believed Burlingame helped divert the plane from its original destination -- the White House -- by literally fighting off the terrorists in the cockpit. In an FBI report released after the crash, it was revealed that the pilot died of injuries sustained before the plane hit the ground. Burlingame's family has requested that he be buried in Arlington Cemetery in Virginia, an honor bestowed only on soldiers and their families. ...

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Sept. 17, 2007 — Two lieutenant colonels with the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing bring the words "once a wingman, always a wingman" to life, showing how Air Force ties transcend barriers of time and distance. "The relationships you develop while deployed will help you later in your Air Force journey. Building these bonds helps us get the mission accomplished and is what makes us the best Air Force in the world. We have a history. This is what it's all about -- and that's how we roll." Lt. Col. Kelly Goggin Proving the Air Force is getting smaller,...

Business is a dogfight. Your job as a leader: Outmaneuver the competition, respond decisively to fast-changing conditions, and defeat your rivals. That's why the OODA loop, the brainchild of "40 Second" Boyd, an unconventional fighter pilot, is one of today's most important ideas in battle or in business. The F-16 fighter jet is, as supersonic military aircraft go, a modest machine. It measures just 49 feet long and 31 feet wide from wingtip to missile-capped wingtip, and it weighs about half as much as its U.S. Air Force predecessor, the F-15. With a top speed of 1,350 MPH, it lags...

WEBBERS FALLS (OK) — Paul Gould is a pilot in a career that could be flying into the sunset. His dad was a crop duster; he didn't want the same for his son. Paul loved the work too much. Still does, but worries at 49 who will take over when his heart gets weak or eyesight fuzzy. With the culture of the American family farm changing, and the next generation of crop dusters reluctant to stay in a profession their fathers inherited from their grandfathers, the industry is at a crossroads. Crop dusting, a job that is so much a...

Sixty-four pilots with 31 airplanes arrived at Harriet Alexander Field Saturday for a mountain flying seminar by pilot and author Sparky Imeson of Jackson, Wyo. Pilots were from throughout the country including Colorado, Alaska, Florida, Virginia, and Texas. Imeson, author of "The Mountain Flying Bible," spoke about the difference between mountain flying and flatland flying during a four-part overhead presentation. Topics were mountain flying techniques, the mountain wave, visual illusions and backcountry airstrip operation. Imeson spoke about what to do flying through canyons, including those with updrafts and staying close to the terrain, avoiding the middle of a canyon. He...

BAGHDAD, July 29, 2007 – The top U.S. general in Iraq presented awards to four Apache pilots for their part in the July 2 rescue of two other pilots downed by enemy fire during a July 27 ceremony in the Victory Base Complex here. Gen. David Petraeus, commander of Multi-National Forces Iraq, honored the four pilots of the 1st Cavalry Division’s 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, and eight others who helped rescue the pilots. Chief Warrant Officer Allan Davison and Chief Warrant Officer Micah Johnson, both AH-64D Apache attack helicopter pilots for Company A, 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, received Distinguished...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/07/03/iraq.pilots.rescued/index.html he story A two-person Apache helicopter crew staged a dramatic rescue Monday, ferrying two of their comrades out of a combat zone south of Baghdad, military officials said Tuesday. The four of them flew away in a two-person Apache, with two in the cockpit and two others clinging to the outside of the chopper. Here is the account from the military, which provided some video of the rescue

Pilots Shot Down in Iraq Tell of Dramatic Escape Comrades Rescue Ambushed Officers By Ann Scott Tyson Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, July 4, 2007; Page A01 "We're taking fire!" Chief Warrant Officer 2 Steven Cianfrini, 27, yelled to his co-pilot as he looked out the helicopter door and saw tracer rounds flying his way. It was the first ominous sign Monday morning as their OH-58D Kiowa attack helicopter banked over palm groves, fields and canals on a reconnaissance mission to flush out Sunni insurgents in rural areas south of Baghdad. (snip) The Apache has only two seats. Cianfrini took...

In a dramatic rescue worthy of any action movie, two Army helicopter pilots shot down south of Baghdad Monday evaded capture by their attackers and then flew to safety, one of them strapped to the side of an Apache helicopter not designed to take additional passengers.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- A federal judge indicted two Long Island pilots and four Brazilian air traffic controllers on manslaughter-related charges Friday in Brazil's worst air disaster, court officials said. Judge Murilo Mendes accepted the charges filed by a prosecutor last week in a federal court in Sinop, a small city near the Amazon jungle site where a Boeing jetliner last year plunged into the rain forest after a collision with an executive jet. All 154 people aboard the jetliner died, while the executive jet landed safely. "Now the criminal process begins," court spokesman Fabio Paz said by...

To finance the nation's aviation system through 2017, the FAA is proposing swooping changes in its funding structure, including more than tripling taxes on fuel for small planes. The uproar among the general aviation community -- which includes all planes outside commercial and military use -- has been loud and constant, according to the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association, which represents more than 411,000 pilots. "We surveyed our members before the FAA's proposal came out," said Chris Dancy, spokesman. "At the level the FAA is proposing, 88 percent said they would dramatically reduce or even cease flying." General aviation, which...

London - British fighter pilots were asked by a military chief to consider flying suicide missions as a last resort to stop terrorists, the defence ministry acknowledged on Tuesday. Air Vice-Marshal David Walker told crews to consider the scenario at a training conference, Britain's The Sun tabloid newspaper reported. Walker asked pilots what they would do if they suffered weapons failure as they pursued terrorists attempting to fly an aircraft into a British city, or as they chased ground vehicles carrying militants to a target. "Would you think it unreasonable if I ordered you to fly your aircraft into the...

It is not often that servicemen have to fight a double war - one on the home front and one overseas. Training at the Tuskegee Airfield in Alabama was segregated But this is exactly what America's legendary Tuskegee Airmen did, more than 60 years ago. While they were fighting the Nazis abroad, they were battling racism at home. Their double victory has been honoured by Congress, which has presented the survivors of America's first black air squadron with the Congressional Gold Medal. The medal, which is the highest civilian award bestowed by Congress, can also be awarded to military...

The Colorado Army National Guard will maintain its annual high-altitude helicopter training on Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service lands in Eagle and Garfield counties at 3,000 hours. The Guard also has agreed to additional stipulations in order to protect wilderness areas, wildlife and livestock, the White River National Forest and BLM announced today. The military believes high-altitude combat training is vital for the protection of pilots and aircrews. In combat, aircrews trained in high-altitude aviation have a higher mission success rate as well as fewer accidents. As such, the Army had asked for 6,000 hours that could...

As the number of armed pilots aboard U.S. jetliners has steadily expanded in recent years, the program is showing signs of growing pains. Pilots and their labor groups complain about a lack of supervision and the difficulty in finding time to participate in training courses. Worried that pilots' handgun skills may be eroding, federal security officials are launching a refresher training program next month. Armed pilots must attend a two-day mandatory course at a training facility near Atlantic City three to five years after getting their guns. Some pilots have already taken prototype refresher courses that are being evaluated by...

Though I Fly Through the Valley of Death ..I Shall Fear No Evil. For I am at 80,000 Feet and Climbing! (Sign over the entrance to the old SR-71 operating base Kadena, Japan). ________________________________________ You've never been lost until you've been lost at Mach 3.(Paul F. Crickmore -test pilot) ________________________________________ The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire. ________________________________________ Blue water Navy truism: There are more planes in the ocean than submarines in the sky. (From an old carrier sailor) ________________________________________ If the wings are traveling faster than the fuselage, it's probably a helicopter --...

1/4/2007 - FIGHTER WING SKRYDSTRUP, Denmark (AFPN) -- It's not often an American four-star general has the opportunity to present prestigious war medals to coalition partners, but Jan. 2 was a special occasion. Gen. William T. Hobbins, U.S. Air Forces in Europe commander, flew to Fighter Wing Skrydstrup, Denmark, to present U.S. Air Medals to 35 Danish F-16 pilots who flew in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from October 2002 to October 2003. "I am truly honored to present these 35 medals to the heroes standing before us," General Hobbins said in the awards speech. "Denmark continues to be an...

SUTTON, England, December 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Plans to let pilots fly commercial airliners without having ever flown solo are overwhelmingly opposed by the public, a new poll suggests. More than 1,000 people voted in the poll, run by leading aviation media portal http://www.flightglobal.com, and exactly 90% agreed that "all airline pilots should fly solo at least once". Only 10% said it didn't matter if airline pilots had gone solo. The poll was run to gauge public attitudes to the worldwide introduction of the new Multi-Crew Pilot Licence (MPL) which will let pilots fly as co-pilots on passenger airliners after a...

A Brazilian court has ordered police to seize the passports of two American pilots whose private jet is believed to have clipped a commercial plane that crashed last week, killing all 155 people on board.Joseph Lepore, the pilot, and Jan Paladino, his co-pilot, were at the controls of a newly-built Embraer Legacy 600 jet when it collided with a Boeing 737 at 11,200m (37,000ft) on Friday, allegedly sending the larger plane spiralling to the floor of the Amazon rainforest, resulting in the deaths of all 155 passengers and crew on board. Miraculously, the seven passengers on board the Legacy jet...

Pilots prepare for hardball Pilots are demanding raises now that U.S. airlines are making money again. Airline workers suffered deep pay cuts in recent years as the biggest carriers struggled to trim losses. But the nation's 10 biggest airlines bounced back and made nearly $2.6 billion in operating profit in the second quarter of 2006. Union leaders discussing contracts with American, Southwest (LUV), and U.S. Airways say pilots deserve a share of the wealth. A U.S. Airways executive said the company couldn't give too much and stay "cost competitive."