Also: Wanna Buy A Control Tower?, SAC 7-35 Airdata Computer, Remembering Frank Beagle, Exp 35 Astros Drop In, 777X Team Named, AF Academy Grads Will Get Their Flyover!

The X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System demonstrator (UCAS-D) completed its first ever carrier-based catapult launch from USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) off the coast of Virginia Tuesday. The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) has announced plans to establish the CAF National Airbase at a major metropolitan area and its intent to launch a nationwide search immediately. ISS Commander Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian to command the station has performed a rendition of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" while aboard the orbiting outpost. Released Monday, May 13, the video quickly went viral with several million hits in its first day online and was well past 12 million when last we checked. All this... and MORE in today's episode of Airborne!!!

Klyde Does 'Drone' On... 

FMI: www.klydemorris.com

RV-8 Was Being Built By Service Member Fatally Injured In KC-135 Accident In Kyrgyzstan

A special project is occurring at the EAA Chapter 79 hangar on Spokane, Washington's Felts Field. About a dozen chapter members are working to complete panel work on the RV-8 owned by a fellow member, United States Air Force Capt. Tyler Voss, who was tragically killed along with two other airmen when their KC-135 Stratotanker crashed on May 3 in Kyrgyzstan.

ANN/Aero-TV Marketing Department Needs Part or Full Time Personnel Since ANN started, we have enjoyed the amazing support of a group of sponsors who have, by and large, been generous and visionary. As a matter of fact, most of the sponsors you see on ANN called us first -- leaving us little to do but to finish some paperwork, and get them started. You have no idea how wonderful that has been for us... leaving us (mostly) to work on the editorial end of ANN and build it into what is generally recognized as the Aviation World's Most Widely Read Daily News Service.

Previous Record Held By Lunar Rover Driven By Gene Cernan And Harrison Schmitt

While Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt visited Earth's moon for three days in December 1972, they drove their mission's Lunar Roving Vehicle 19.3 nautical miles. That was the farthest total distance for any NASA vehicle driving on a world other than Earth ... until Thursday.

Door To The Front Office Jammed While Pilot Took A Bio-Break

It's one of those things you might think about as the front door to your house or a hotel room door closes and locks ... can I get back in? But it's probably not the first thing that the captain of an airliner should have to be concerned about. There's somebody else in the cockpit.

Some $625,000 In Gold Had Been Shipped On American Airlines

A shipment of gold worth $625,000 being transported from Guayaquil, Ecuador, to Miami International Airport aboard an American Airlines flight Tuesday vanished after the plane was unloaded at the south Florida airport.

Privately-Owned WWII Aircraft Will Sub For Grounded Thunderbirds

The 2013 graduating class from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO, won't get the traditional flyover from the Thunderbirds, thanks to the team's grounding by sequestration. But that doesn't mean there will be no flyover for the class.

Landed On A Road He Mistook For A Runway

A pilot who landed on a road in Cottonwood, AZ, has been cited for flying without a proper airman certificate in an airplane that was not airworthy, according to local authorities.

Historical Fiction Set Against Invasion Of Kuwait In 1990

In order to succeed in his invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussein needed weapons. Weapons lead to questions: who supplied them? Were multiple countries involved in getting weapons to Iraq? And to what extent was the U.S. government involved?