Lower Operating Costs, Plenty Of Firepower Make For Significant Savings

ANN April 1st Special Edition The Pentagon on April 1st announced that it has initiated a program to buy up vintage warbirds as part of its effort to comply with mandatory budget cuts imposed by the Obama administration. The military has set aside an undisclosed sum for the purchase of as many P-51 Mustangs, P-38 Lightnings, and F4-U Corsairs as it can find, and bring them back to military standards. "Even with the cost of purchasing and upgrading the aircraft, the cost is significantly lower than the development of a new airplane," said Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. "We can operate squadrons of these airplanes for the cost of a single F-35. In most places in the world, they stil

Letter Sent To ANN Reveals 'Black' Program ANN April 1st Special Edition A plan formulated by a group of former NASA employees who live near the Kennedy Space Center to make space shuttle Atlantis flyable again has been revealed in a letter received by ANN. In the letter, the group, which calls its self "Occupy Atlantis", says displaced workers on the shuttle program have been able to gain access to the shuttle processing facility and reverse the decommissioning of the orbiter. "We're getting the band back together again," the letter states. "We have the technology, we can rebuild her, and make her faster, stronger, and better than she was before."

Withdraws Bid After Admitting To Typo In The RFP

ANN April 1st Special Edition Officials at Cessna withdrew the company's bid recommending the Skycatcher for the U.S. Air Force LAS program on April 1st, admitting it thought the RFP contained a typo. The bid came to light through Wikileaks. Cessna had placed the bid thinking that the Air Force was looking for a new Primary Trainer for the Academy. "We thought the Air Force was going to give us a chance to place some airplanes at the Pueblo Gateway with all those Diamond DA20s," said a high-ranking official at Cessna who requested anonymity. "It's certainly plausible that someone at the Pentagon was a wee bit dyslexic, and just transposed the "SA" in the RFP."

'Ardent Sentry' Drill Held Each Year For Storm Preparadness

Members of Civil Air Patrol’s Texas and Louisiana wings will participate May 2-9 in a training scenario involving a hurricane striking Texas from the Gulf of Mexico – one stage of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command's Ardent Sentry 12 homeland security and disaster response exercise.

Pharmaceutical Company Produces 'No-Doz'

ANN April 1st Special Edition The FAA said April 1st that it has signed a multi-million dollar contact with Novartis Pharmaceuticals to supply the nation's air traffic control centers with No-Doz. The move comes after numerous reports of controllers having difficulty staying awake during long overnight shifts. "While we don't advocate drug use, this is a safe, over the counter product that we think will help controllers stay alert and focused during long periods of low activity," said acting FAA administrator Michael Huerta. "The safety of the traveling public and the aviation community is our primary concern, and an alert controller is key to that safety."