Along the Slow Road to Hypersonic Flight

Founded in 2011 by software mogul Paul Allen and aerospace engineering legend Burt Rutan, Mojave, California-based Stratolaunch LLC provides high-speed flight test and orbital launch services. Currently, Stratolaunch’s fleet comprises primarily a carrier aircraft dubbed Roc, after the mythical, giant bird of prey; and Talon-A, an autonomous, reusable, rocket-powered, hypersonic flight vehicle. On 13 January 2023 at 14:51 PST, Roc and Talon-A rose as one from the Mojave Air and Space Port, climbed to an altitude of 22,500-feet (6,858-meters), and remained aloft for six-hours—the giant aircraft’s longest sortie to date—before returning to Mojave and landing w

On the Road Again

For the first time in nearly four years, a Boeing 737 MAX narrow-body airliner has taken to Chinese skies. The milestone event occurred on Friday, 13 January 2023 and occasioned a victory in Boeing’s protracted battle to regain its footing in the world’s second-largest aviation market. The China Southern Airlines domestic flight departed Guangzhou at 04:45 GMT and proceeded without incident to Zhengzhou—a flight of some 745-nautical-miles.

Aero Linx: International Flying Farmers Of all private pilots, Flying Farmers are perhaps the only ones who will tell you their Cessnas and Beechcrafts and Pipers are no different from their combines, tractors, and pickup trucks. After all, airplanes are workhorses too, for hauling supplies, for checking irrigation systems, for compressing the time between the farm and parts store. Currently based in Mansfield, Illinois, the IFF got its start in 1944 in Stillwater, Oklahoma, when two men decided to visit some flying farmers. H.A. "Herb" Graham, director of Agricultural Extension at Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, and Ferdie Deering, farm editor of the Farmer-Stockman magazine, traveled

En Route Low Altitude Charts Provide aeronautical information for en route instrument navigation (IFR) in the low altitude stratum. Information includes the portrayal of airways, limits of controlled airspace, position identification and frequencies of radio aids, selected airports, minimum en route and minimum obstruction clearance altitudes, airway distances, reporting points, permanent SUA, and related data. Area charts, which are a part of this series, furnish terminal data at a larger scale in congested areas.

“Our amazing team is continuing to make progress on our test timeline, and it is through their hard work that we grow closer than ever to safe separation and our first hypersonic flight tests... The thorough evaluation of release conditions will provide data to reduce risks and ensure a clean and safe release of Talon-A during future tests. We are excited for what’s ahead this year as we bring our hypersonic flight test service online for our customers and the nation.” Source: Stratolaunch CEO and President Zachary Krevor commenting as their Roc and Talon-A rose as one from the Mojave Air and Space Port, climbed to an altitude of 22,500-feet (6,858-meters), and remained aloft for six-hours—the giant aircraft&rs