Vacations are to unwind and relax; nothing can relax me more than being in the company of great people and historic aircraft. This is why I always perform an online search for any museums and airfields in the area I will be visiting. With a family vacation to Florida planned for the last week of June 2011. I started my search and soon found the Valiant Air Command in ... Read More

When one thinks of the great aviation photographers of our generation, names like Bowen, Carlson, Dibbs and Hildebrandt come to mind. For years photographers of this caliber have brought the world some of the most riveting aviation photos to ever grace the pages of books and magazines. Once again world-class aviation author and photographer Erik Hildebrandt,the author of 7 wonderful Coffee table books and numerous published works, has struck gold again. ... Read More

The 2011 Sentry Eagle hosted at Kingsley Field located in Klamath Falls Oregon was very much a success as it was the first year the event has been held since 2007 and the 14th time overall. Sentry Eagle was created back in 1986 to be used as a training tool intended for the Air National Guard (ANG) to help prepare pilots for possible air to air combat, very similar to ... Read More

Genesseo bills it’s self as the “Greatest Show on Turf” and is located in upstate New  York just south of Rochester.  I’ve made enough trips to the show to say it’s a good one.  When you talk to the locals, they simply don’t understand that their airshow is one of the biggest and oldest warbird shows in the country.  This show is the annual fundraiser for the 1941 Historical ... Read More

Dr.Sky was given the high honor of being a part of the last space shuttle launch (STS-135), attending as part of the media. This was the first time that I have seen a live launch and memory of the event, will last a lifetime! I had arrived in Florida on July 7th, with poor weather prospects predicted for the Friday morning launch; (11:26AM EDT). Heavy rain was all around us for a good portion of Thursday, July 7th,

When Patty Wagstaff rolls the OV-10A Bronco into a smooth right turn to look at the white smoke below her, she is not above a runway. There are no cheering spectators, no crowd lines, and no ribbon cutting poles. Instead, there are tall trees, rocky hills, and flames. Often, she and her backseater, an air tactical group supervisor, who acts as an air controller, are the first people at a wildfire. Wagstaff will circle well above so her air controller can

Genesseo 2011 had two accidents in which fortunately nobody was seriously injured.  As we arrived at the field on Saturday morning about 8:40AM, emergency crews were rolling on a S-35 Bonanza.  According to the Sheriffs Department, Leon Rousselle of Tonwanda, NY, had stalled about 20’ above the runway, impacted hard, collapsing the gear and bending a wing as well as other damage.  Leon and his wife Karen were not ... Read More

At precisely 0830 hours I was ushered into the office of the Commanding General of the Third Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW), Tom “Stash” Conant. Major General Conant, dressed in a tan flight suit, took a minute to finish up some last minute business with his aide (Captain Aaron Bohl). I took this time to stand in awe of his office that was a wealth of USMC aviation memorabilia and ... Read More

STS-135 MISSION OVERVIEW - Dawn approaches after space shuttle Atlantis completed its historic final journey to Launch Pad 39A from NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building. Atlantis was secured, or “hard down,” at its seaside launch pad at 3:29 a.m. (EDT) on June 1, 2011.The milestone move, known as “rollout,” paves the way for the launch of the STS-135 mission to the International Space Station,targeted for July 8. STS-135 ... Read More

Rhode Island's Famous Air Show - Although officially known as the "Rhode Island National Guard Open House Air Show",  local enthusiasts call it by another name - the "Quonset Air Show".  Sponsored by the National Guard Association of Rhode Island, and steeped in history,  "Quonset" is an eagerly awaited and well attended air show for aviation-starved New Englanders (and beyond) each year.  Popular for a number of reasons, it boasts ... Read More

When I visited Tucson's Aircraft Maintenance and Regeneration Center  (AMARC) in early 1993, it was filled to the brim.  Hundreds of Boeing B-52 Stratofortress heavy bombers, some intact, others looking like the skeletons of deceased animals in the desert,  sat in storage at the sprawling site awaiting their disposition.  The first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START)  had been signed a year and a half earlier by the United States ... Read More

On June1st - June 9th the USAF Fighter Weapons School at Nellis AFB held its bi-annual graduation exercise, M.E. (Mission Employment) Phase  for Weapons School Class 11A. Students prepare over the first 5 months of the course with hundreds of hrs graduate level academics and advanced flight/mission time. 480 individual sorties and over 1400 flight hrs, 93 students are set to finish the USAFWS course and graduate after M.E.. ... Read More

U.S. Air Force officials have identified the pilot involved in an aircraft mishap near Caliente, Nev., June 28 as Capt. Eric Ziegler, an operational test and evaluation instructor pilot with the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base. Capt. Eric Ziegler, aged 30, is a 1999 graduate of West Fargo High School in North Dakota. Ziegler leaves behind a 9-month-old daughter and his ... Read More