Free Republic

Interesting war documentary video on YouTube about the 1,200 WWII Soviet female Bomber Regiment nicknamed, "The Night Witches", by the Germans. The all-female 588th Bomber Regiment dropped more than 23,000 tons of bombs on Nazi targets. And in doing so, they became crucial to the Soviets winning their portion of the war against Germany. Their job was to harass the Germans at night so they could not rest from the war. While the Russians fighters rested, the women would fly all night dropping bombs and forcing the germans to be alert 24/7. Germans nicknamed them the Nachthexen, or “Night...

With the U.S. military announcing plans to mandate the COVID vaccine for all personnel, possibly by Sept. 1, many service members already enduring coercive restrictions for failing to take the “voluntary” vaccine, are concerned about their careers. To date, 23% to 42% of military members, depending on the branch of service, have not taken the vaccine. The clinical trials for the three COVID vaccines being administered in the U.S. — Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson — are not scheduled to be completed until 2022 or 2023, when they would then be eligible for review and full licensing by the...

According to Red Voice Media and the Stew Peters Show, United Air Lines and the Air Line Pilots Association have hatched a scheme to incentivize pilots to accept one of the controversial COVID-19 vaccines: Get vaccinated, or be permanently grounded and unable to work.“United Airlines and the Air Line Pilots Association have openly released a monetary ‘bonus’ for those that decide in favor of the jab, offering 13.5 hours of flight pay bonus, which ends up being anywhere between $2,500 and $4,800 depending on what seat the pilot occupies, and the level of their seniority,” Stew Peters reports. “The truth...

There’s an easy way to know when a narrative is being fabricated. One needs only look closely at the wording of statements and oftentimes the subsequent fact-checks to see when a coverup is in process. Such is the case with British Airways and their claims that four pilots who have died in one week are not “linked.”Reuters quickly came to their rescue and did a “fact-check” on the claims that are circulating across social media. They, of course, determined that it was “false” but just like the British Airways statement, Reuters conspicuously avoided the topic of vaccines. First, let’s look...

Fatal accident happened when the jet's ejector seats malfunctioned, activatedTook place at the Dezful Vahdati Air Force Base, 444km south of capital TehranIranian State TV identified the F-5 pilots as Kianoush Basati and Hossein Nami

Iranian state-affiliated media has reported the death of two fighter pilots at Dezful Air Base, with claims a “technical defect” caused their ejector seats to engage, firing the pilots into the hangar roof.

Mr. Pendley, a Wyoming attorney, led the Bureau of Land Management for the Trump administration. A few years ago in Casper, I sat in the memento-filled office of the late Mick McMurry, Vietnam Veteran, Midas-touch entrepreneur, and magnanimous philanthropist. As everyone in the “oil patch” knows, Mick discovered the Jonah Field—one of the largest gas province in the country—near Pinedale when he applied the decades old but not fully in its prime technology—hydraulic fracturing or fracking. He took some Bureau of Land Management (BLM) leases that had been worked over without promising results, hired the “best men I could find...

“Our flight deck should reflect the diverse group of peo­ple on board our planes every day. That’s why we plan for 50% of the 5,000 pilots we train in the next decade to be women or peo­ple of col­or,” Unit­ed announced on Tuesday.Today, Unit­ed has one of the most diverse pilot pop­u­la­tions of any U.S. car­ri­er with near­ly 20% of our pilot group made up of women and peo­ple of col­or. We are work­ing toward rais­ing that num­ber even high­er by part­ner­ing with diver­si­ty-led orga­ni­za­tions and con­tin­u­ing to remove gen­der and racial bar­ri­ers. And we’re going one step fur­ther with...

Three military pilots died on Christmas Eve and were met by Saint Peter at the pearly gates. Saint Peter said, 'In honor of this holy season, you must each possess something that symbolizes Christmas to get into heaven.' The Navy pilot thumbed through his pockets and pulled out a lighter. He flicked it on. 'It's a candle,’ he said. Saint Peter said, 'It did make light; you may pass through the pearly gates.' The Air Force pilot reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He shook them and said, 'They're bells.' Saint Peter said, 'They had...

Holy hovering aliens, Batman! An image that was snapped on the personal cellphone of the backseat weapons systems operator of what appears to be an F/A-18 fighter jet has leaked and it shows a straight up UFO hovering motionlessly over the ocean. The image has apparently been circulating among the intelligence community since it was taken in 2018 and nobody knows what the heck this thing is. While details are difficult to make out, the image appears to depict an inverted bell-shaped object, which is not readily identifiable given the photo's context. The object appears to possess ridges or other...

The tragic death of George Floyd and recent events have fueled widespread protests and a renewed call for racial equality nationwide. Amid this, our country has been compelled to reflect on issues that are often uncomfortable, and leaders have been driven to examine their organizations in ways like never before. The Air Force, in many ways, is no different. But as a war-fighting organization we cannot afford to squander this moment, because our future — and national security — depends on it. Pursuing equality means we must be sure that we are attracting the most capable members of our society,...

I like to stay abreast of prices. Looking at the Aircraft Sales Online website, I saw an asking price for a 2003 Cessna 172S of over $175,000 and only 16 172s for sale, usually there are dozens. On trade-a-plane, I see newer 172s going for over $400,000! Does anyone know why the vast and sudden increase in price and drop in the number of used GA aircraft for sale?

Many privately-owned aircraft at Colorado Air and Space Port (CASP) are owned and operated by individuals, businesses, and organizations that fall into the category of "critical business," as defined by the Executive Order signed by Gov. Polis on March 25, 2020. These include medical, medevac, food services, small cargo, fire prevention, law enforcement, public safety, and others. General aviation has always been a critical part of helping communities, especially during times of emergency and disaster, and CASP remains open to support these important missions. However, for the safety of our employees and you, we ask, in this very unusual time...

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have subpoenaed Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime personal pilots, according to people familiar with the matter, as investigators seek to question the financier’s employees in the wake of his indictment on sex-trafficking charges. The grand jury subpoenas were served on the pilots earlier this month after Mr. Epstein’s arrest on July 6, some of the people said. Mr. Epstein was arrested at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey after he had returned from Paris on a private jet.

DUBLIN, June 24, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — Female pilots in Ireland are being told by their employers to “terminate” their pregnancies or their employment. According to Capt. Evan Cullen, who leads the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association, approximately half of all pilots serving airlines registered in Ireland are self-employed contractors, thus making them reluctant to complain about work conditions. Some of the female pilots, Cullen said, have been told they should not become pregnant. Female pilots, he said, are being told “you have a choice, you terminate your employment or you terminate your pregnancy. You can’t have both. So that is...

Video at link (0.26) I really only posted this to see if anyone can tell me where to find video of the 21 jet flyover at the Bush funeral? He is deserving of such a tribute, and I expect it to be awesome!

Even as the U.S. Air Force faces a long-term pilot shortage, there are no plans to grow the ranks of enlisted pilots, a top official said recently. "We'll certainly see what the study says, but at this point, we have no intention to expand enlisted pilot positions beyond the Global Hawk" community, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson told Military.com on May 4. Wilson was referring to a Rand Corp. study exploring the feasibility of bringing back a warrant officer corps as the service faces shortfalls in its pilot billets. "The Rand study is complete, and we are now reviewing, analyzing...

For white-knuckle flyers like me, this week's tragic accident aboard a Southwest Airlines flight from New York to Texas reinforces our worst fears but also reassures us that flying remains the safest means of travel within the United States. I fly 100,000 miles a year, despite my phobias, and have encountered everything but an actual crash or loss of life aboard the many flights I've taken -- last-minute aborted landings, engine failure, lightning strikes, fires in the galley, loss of the hydraulic system, geese sucked into the engine during takeoff. Some of these incidents required emergency landings with runways foamed...

Two pilots on different aircraft reported having close encounters with a mysterious object flying high above Arizona last month, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The sightings occurred within minutes of each other on the afternoon of Feb. 24, some 40,000 feet above southern Arizona near the New Mexico border. ABC News obtained the audio recording of the conversation between the pilots and the Albuquerque Air Route Traffic Control Center, released by the FAA.

Greetings and Salutations to everyone on this fine Valentine's day and I hope this stupid little Vanity I spit out finds it's way to your eyeballs. I'm moving my family across the country, but I'm not sure where yet. Luckily, this thread isn't about that. What it is about is my simmering desire to take to the air. When I move across the country, I really want to se my next goal to be a private airplane owner. But I know nothing on the topic. I mean I read a lot on it, but I'm itching to talk to someone...