Free Republic

Bell Helicopter engineers have resolved a performance anomaly that test pilots had discovered when flying the hybrid aircraft in conventional flight mode, also known as the zero-degree position of the nacelles. The BA609 is a six- to nine-passenger corporate aviation tiltrotor, a product the companies expect to begin delivering in 2011. According to Roy Hopkins, Bell's chief test pilot for the BA609, both prototype aircraft had been exhibiting a differential torque between the two prop-rotors in flight tests, causing a left-turning tendency at cruise speeds. The companies are flight testing one aircraft at Bell in the USA and the other...

Turkey shortlists Rooivalk attack chopper Cape Town – It is an awe-inspiring sight, watching a nine-ton attack helicopter perform a loop and barrel rolls – the aeronautical equivalent of Luciano Pavarotti performing a perfect pike on the diving board. But this is exactly what Denel Aviation‘s CSH-2 Rooivalk attack helicopter can do – although that is not part of its operational flying capabilities. The Rooivalk was designed to fly in all weather conditions day or night at extremely low level, sometimes at an altitude of 10m, to avoid being detected. Developed in the 1990s, the Rooivalk (“Red Hawk”) is used...

Let's go!

<p>When the leader of an American institution looks out his window and sees Martha Burk of the National Council of Women's Organizations, the New York Times and the Rev. Jesse Jackson all blowing their horns, like Jericho the walls soon come tumbling down. At least in most cases.</p>

Ediors of the New York Times killed a column by Pulitzer Prize winner Dave Anderson that disagreed with an editorial about Tiger Woods and Augusta National's refusal to admit women as members.A column by sportswriter Harvey Araton was also zapped, sources said, because it differed with the papers editorial opinion about the golf club standoff.The moves came amid extensive coverage of the exclusive Georgia club under former editorial page editor Howell Raines, who has called for high impact stories since becoming executive editor last year.