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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...

(BEIJING) -- Fly on a Chinese airline and you will be pampered by flight attendants who look eerily alike. They are young, beautiful and practically the same height. This is not a coffee-tea-or-me stereotype, but the result of a rigorous selection process that is more beauty pageant than equal-opportunity job interview. If you're older than 24, don't bother applying. If you aren't taller than the average Chinese woman, go home. And if your legs are similar to tree trunks, don't call. Sound like a throwback to the dark ages of workplace discrimination? Here, in the world's fastest-growing aviation market, entry...

Letter to the FAA Gentlemen: I was asked to make a written statement concerning certain events that occurred yesterday. First of all, I would like to thank that very nice FAA man who took my student pilot's license and told me I wouldn't need it any more. I guess that means that you're giving me my full-fledged pilot's license. You should watch that fellow though, after I told him all of this he seemed quite nervous and his hand was shaking. Anyway, here is what happened. The weather had been kind of bad since last week, when I soloed. But...

The Following is a Public Service Announcement!!! Because of all the fuss being made about the upcoming holiday travel season, I thought it would be a good idea to revive and revisit a post I did last year after the whole “Flying Imam” Scandal. I believe my experience with the Airport Dog and Pony show known as the TSA makes me sort of an expert on the subject. Thanks to the fact that over 100 million Muslims who would like to see the destruction of Western Civilization, Jews, and the Jewish State of Israel, a long forgotten form of intelligence...

As my taxi pulled up at Changi airport, I knew this was going to be a special day - the day of the first A380 commercial flight was finally here. The airport had long been adorned with banners and posters declaring Singapore "A380 ready" and anticipating the flight.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- With one in four domestic flights arriving late this year, the airline industry is hearing from passengers and the government that patience is wearing thin. Aviation officials are considering forcing carriers to shrink their flight schedules or to pay more to fly during peak travel periods, though the traveling public could end up with higher fares as a result.

Congress fails to adopt lawsuit guards WASHINGTON, July 20 (UPI) -- Protection from lawsuits for wrongly reporting suspicious behavior has failed to pass the U.S. Congress. The legislation was inspired by a suit brought by a group of Muslim imams who were removed from a U.S. Airways flight to Phoenix before it left Minneapolis last November, The Washington Times reported. Some passengers on the plane said they had seen the imams, behaving suspiciously by praying together before boarding. The imams, who were allowed to leave after several hours of FBI questioning, sued the airline, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission...

Testimony from dozens of persons and police officers depict seeing what appear to be witches flying through the skies of remote Mexican towns. Several people videotaped the strange phenomenon. The creatures appear to infest the skies over an old cemetery.

If you travel enough, you've seen it all -- and possibly some of the awful things that can happen while traveling will have actually happened to you. But nothing I've read about or experienced comes close to what Monica Emmerson experienced while at Reagan National Airport on June 11th while traveling with her 19-month-old toddler. This isn't one of those Catch-22 bureaucratic snafus; this isn't about rules being applied to the letter. This story is mostly about what can happen simply because the authorities in charge decide that they're going to exercise their authority because they can, regardless of whether...

The number of student pilots is down by about a third since 1990, from 129,000 to 88,000. The number of private pilots is down from 299,000 to 236,000, according to statistics kept by the Federal Aviation Administration. And they are aging. Some longtime private pilots fear that an industry is withering, and a bit of Americana is slipping away, along with a bit of freedom and joy. And it is happening in part because of lack of interest; Walter Mitty doesn’t want to fly anymore.

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...

During a terror raid in Manchester, England, British police officers searched an Al Qaeda member's home and discovered a manual outlining terrorists' tactics for jihad. The manual, available through the Department of Justice's Archive, is particularly interesting in its behind-the-scenes revelations about how terrorists gather intelligence about their enemy and conduct espionage in the enemy's camp. The manual offers by-example reconnaissance tactics, citing spies doing fieldwork in such diverse situations as the Tel Aviv airport in the 1970's and a British post office during World War I. My favorite is the episode involving ancient Roman spies who got the better...

Air Security: We've urged Congress to pass a law that protects airlines that kick suspicious passengers off planes from being sued. The House of Representatives has passed legislation that's about halfway there. By a 304-121 vote on Tuesday, the House passed the Rail and Public Transportation Security Act of 2007 with added language that protects passengers who report suspicious activity from lawsuits. The one-sided vote was something of a surprise. We expected more resistance in a House controlled by Democrats who are normally so observant of political correctness and solicitous of the trial bar. Which is not to say that...

SkyWest Airlines has apologized to a passenger barred from a plane's restroom by a flight attendant. James Whipple says that after repeated pleas to empty his beer-filled bladder on a recent flight, he finally found relief - with an air sickness bag. Now, the Sandy man says SkyWest has issued him an apology for his distress.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2007 – Air travel is still the safest way to transport troops and supplies in Iraq, despite the recent rash of downed helicopter incidents, a top official there said yesterday. Six helicopters have either been shot down or crashed since Jan. 20, Army Maj. Gen. James E. Simmons, deputy commanding general for support for Multinational Corps Iraq, said. In the past three weeks, two Army UH-60 Black Hawks and two AH-64 Apaches have been shot down, killing 16 soldiers, he said. A Marine CH-46 Sea Knight went down outside Baghdad on Feb. 7, killing all seven...

Anyone who knows me can tell you I'm nothing if not punctual. Ask my wife. She'll tell you I always insist on getting to the airport two hours early. It's an obsession, she'll say. My commitment to being on time is bizarre, she'll say. So, to make a very long story short, the day before yesterday, I was running a little bit late – by my standards. But I still got to the airport more than an hour before my flight to Jacksonville, Fla. This would be the time my wife, and most non-obsessed people, would plan to get to...

Dubai, Jan. 12 (PTI): Keeping in line with the reforms sweeping Saudi Arabia, the kingdom will soon see its first woman pilot taking over the skies. Capt. Hanadi Zakariya Hindi will begin her flying stint with one of the jets belonging to Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed ibn Talal, founder and chairman of Kingdom Holding Company, later this year as soon as she completes her advance pilot proficiency training programme. Though this is a path-breaking achievement for the 26-year-old first accredited female Saudi pilot, she will still need to be driven by a male chauffeur to the airport, the Arab News...

Did the air belong to mammals first? 13 December 2006 From New Scientist Print Edition. Time for some mammalian bragging. It appears, following the discovery of a unique fossil in Inner Mongolia, China, that mammals might have taken to the air before birds. The fossil contains the remains of a small, squirrel-like mammal that was able to glide with the help of a fur-covered membrane like those of modern-day flying squirrels (pictured). At 125 million years old, the fossil is 70 million years older than the most ancient existing fossil of a flying mammal, and roughly the same age as...

With airlines squeezing more seats onto planes and flights more crowded than ever, some nasty battles are brewing, pitting passengers who recline their seats against the squished travelers sitting behind them... Most U.S. airlines still allow seats to tip as far back as four or five inches....But now Southwest Airlines is doing something to reduce the threat of bruised knees and spilled drinks. The carrier is reducing the maximum recline in many of its seats so that customers can use laptop computers, for example, when the person in front of them wants to lean back. ...The airline decided to standardize...

Spokesman for 6 Muslim clerics barred from US Airways flight One of six Muslim imams pulled from a US Airways flight in Minneapolis last night by federal authorities is affiliated with a Hamas-linked organization and acknowledged a connection to Osama bin Laden in the 1990s. Omar Shahin, who served as a spokesman for the clerics, is a representative of the Kind Hearts Organization, which had its assets frozen by the U.S. Treasury pending an investigation, notes Islam scholar Robert Spencer on his weblog JihadWatch Treasury spokesman Stuart Levey in February said KindHearts "is the progeny of Holy Land Foundation and...

Visitor puts Pacific nation on terrorism alert Nick Squires in Sydney Last Updated: 1:40am GMT 16/11/2006 An unlikely new front has opened up on the war on terrorism — the scattered South Pacific archipelago of Kiribati, one of the world's smallest nations. United States authorities are alarmed over a plan by a German citizen, linked to the September 11 terrorist attacks, to build a flying school on one of the former British colony's outlying islands. Wolfgang Bohringer has been linked to Mohammed Atta, the mastermind of the attacks on America in 2001. Mr Bohringer arrived in Kiribati (pronounced "Kiribas") a...

"A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what's left of your unit." - Army's magazine of preventive maintenance ------------------------------------------------------ "Aim towards the Enemy." - Instruction printed on U.S. Rocket Launcher ------------------------------------------------------ "When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend." - U.S. Marine Corps ------------------------------------------------------ "Cluster bombing from B-52s is very, very accurate. The bombs are guaranteed always to hit the ground." - USAF Ammo Troop ------------------------------------------------------ "If the enemy is in range, so are you." - Infantry Journal ----------------------------------------------------- "It is generally...

"The only modern way to describe a World War I dogfight is to imagine a knife fight in a phone booth," says Tony Bill, who directed "Flyboys," which MGM is releasing today. The film tells the tale of the Lafayette Escadrille, a squadron of American pilots who volunteered to fight for France in the early days of World War I.

Some restrictions on hand luggage on planes are to be relaxed next week after government talks with the airline operators. The changes are likely to mean bulky items, including musical instruments, will be allowed as carry-on baggage. Orchestras complained that they were being badly affected by draconian rules that effectively prevented musicians taking large instruments on planes. The Department for Transport has been working "to see if there are any practical steps that can be taken to lessen the burden while not compromising on security".

See for example this thread first. While on a flight out of Shanghai A Muslim raised a hue and cry: "I'm not defraudin-- I know bin Laden!" (Got handcuffed, 'fore more stuff, he could try!)

Iraqi Soldiers wait to board a C-130 heading to Baghdad. Department of Defense photo by Army Sgt. Jeff Lowry. “Here we go into the wild blue yonder” is a familiar U.S. Air Force refrain. Now with the help of U.S instructor pilots, Iraqi Air Force pilots are also taking to the skies. “Flying is universal,” said U.S Air Force Capt. Mike Joluton, Coalition Air Force Transition Team, an instructor pilot for the C-130 cargo plane. The instruments are basically the same, he said.Language barriers aren’t really a problem since most pilots speak English, he said, although in some instances the...

This is a compilation reference thread with links to all stories and topics posted on FRee Republic since Wednesday night, 8/9/2006, through today, Saturday, 8/12/2006 concerning the failed bomb plot discovered and quashed by authorities in London, directed towards airline flights from the UK to the US.

SOUTHWEST ASIA, July 19, 2006 – A U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter, providing nontraditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support to coalition ground forces, killed a member of an improvised explosive device cell and identified an IED emplacement yesterday near Baqubah, Iraq, U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials reported today. The F-16 identified three possible IED emplacers and passed the information to ground forces. Ground unit personnel positively identified the terrorists and requested the F-16 engage the hostile forces. The F-16 strafed the terrorists, killing one and ending the engagement. Coalition aircraft, operationally controlled by U.S. Central Command Air Forces from...