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The gang here at ANN could not be more thrilled... the amazing Wally Funk will finally be heading to space in less than three weeks -- after waiting some 60 years for the chance. Fulfilling a lifelong mission to become an astronaut, Wally Funk will fly to space on New Shepard’s first human flight on July 20 as an honored guest. She will join Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark Bezos, and the auction winner on the flight. AirCar has reportedly fulfilled a key development milestone in a 35-minute flight from the international airport in Nitra to the internati

Germany Becomes The Eighth Customer Of The Multimission Maritime Surveillance P-8A

The German Ministry of Defense has signed a letter of offer and acceptance for five Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft under the U.S. government’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) process. With this order, Germany becomes the eighth customer of the multimission maritime surveillance aircraft, joining the United States, Australia, India, the United Kingdom, Norway, Korea and New Zealand.

LauncherOne Carried A Total Of 7 Satellites To Low Earth Orbit (LEO)

Virgin Orbit has confirmed that it successfully deployed into orbit all 7 customer satellites onboard its LauncherOne rocket during their recent Tubular Bells: Part One mission. Virgin Orbit’s 747 carrier aircraft Cosmic Girl took off from Mojave Air and Space Port Wednesday morning at approximately 6:50 A.M. PDT and flew out to a launch site over the Pacific Ocean, about 50 miles south of the Channel Islands. After a smooth release from the aircraft, the LauncherOne rocket ignited and propelled itself towards space, ultimately deploying its payload into a precise target orbit approximately 500km above the Earth’s surface.

From 2015 (YouTube Version): The Airframes Displayed At AUVSI 2015 Were Quite Innovative

It’s common to visualize a small vertical lift UAV as having 4 to 6 propellers, it’s very maneuverable, but it has a short range and limited load caring capabilities. Well, NASA says you can have your cake and eat it too with something they call “Greased Lightning.” ANN CEO and Editor-In-Chief, Jim Campbell, spent time at the Unmanned Systems 2015 Conference and met with aerospace engineer Bill Fredericks to talk about what’s different with their vehicle. Fredericks says they’re developing a vehicle that will have four times the

UPS Bringing 747-8 to Oshkosh

UPS is bringing one of its “Queens of the Skies” to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh this month when its new Boeing 747-8F arrives at Wittman Regional Airport on July 27. The 747-8F will touch down in Oshkosh mid-morning on Tuesday, July 27, and be open for viewing that afternoon, as well as all day on Wednesday, July 28, and Thursday morning, July 29. The aircraft will depart Oshkosh prior to the July 29 afternoon air show and the arrival of the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command aircraft.

Jury Finds Webster, TX, Aviation Biz Liable For Violating FARs

Ascent Aviation Solutions LLC and its owner have been ordered to pay nearly $240,000 in penalties for violating safety regulations, announced acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery. Michael King had been operating the Webster-based company as a direct air carrier without the necessary FAA certification. A direct air carrier is one who provides, or offers to provide, air transportation and who maintains control over the operational functions performed in providing the transportation. In order to operate as a direct air carrier, one must hold an FAA-issued certificate after demonstrating they meet the requisite requirements.

The Swiss Air Force Will Receive F-35A Variants

The Swiss Federal Council has selected the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II from its New Fighter Aircraft competition. Switzerland will become the 15th nation to join the F-35 program of record, joining several European nations. "We are honored to be selected by Switzerland and look forward to partnering with the Swiss government, public, air force and industry to deliver and sustain the F-35 aircraft," said Bridget Lauderdale, Lockheed Martin's vice president and general manager of the F-35 Program.

Will Be Flying In Support Of Paraguayan Air Force

Textron has delivered two multi-mission Cessna Grand Caravan EX aircraft to the Paraguayan Air Force. The turboprop aircraft are anticipated to enter Fuerza Aérea Paraguaya (FAP) service during the second half of 2021 and join three Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft currently in operation. “The Grand Caravan EX serves an enduring mission by providing humanitarian, transport and medical evacuation operations in Paraguay,” said Bob Gibbs, vice president, Special Mission Sales for Textron Aviation. “The aircraft is engineered for challenging missions, high payloads and short, rough runways while delivering single-engine economy and simplicity. It is a perfect match for this missio

Footage Revealed That The Airplane Made A Hard Right Bank, With The Wings Near Perpendicular

On June 07, 2021, about 1420, a Vans RV-6A experimental airplane, N94PJ, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident in Porterville, California. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight. The pilot departed from his home airport in Fresno, California about 1320 and landed at Porterville shortly thereafter. Numerous witnesses at the airport observed the pilot refuel and takeoff. They stated that the pilot refueled the airplane with about 17.5 gallons at the self-serve fuel tanks located mid-field. A witness observed the pilot, positioned in the right sea

Aero Linx: The Airport Minority Advisory Council (AMAC) The Airport Minority Advisory Council (AMAC) is the only national, non-profit trade association dedicated to advancing the full participation of minorities and women in employment and contracting opportunities throughout the aviation and aerospace industries. Since 1984, AMAC has been at the forefront of nearly every national policy initiative impacting the participation of disadvantaged businesses in airport contracting. AMAC also works consistently with Congress, the Federal Government, aviation trade associations and others as a resource for information, education and guidance on business and employment matters.

Special Activity Airspace (SAA) Any airspace with defined dimensions within the National Airspace System wherein limitations may be imposed upon aircraft operations. This airspace may be restricted areas, prohibited areas, military operations areas, air ATC assigned airspace, and any other designated airspace areas. The dimensions of this airspace are programmed into EDST and can be designated as either active or inactive by screen entry. Aircraft trajectories are constantly tested against the dimensions of active areas and alerts issued to the applicable sectors when violations are predicted.

“Two successful launches and two groups of happy customers in 5 months really speaks to our team’s abilities. They’re making air launch look easy — and I can tell you from experience that it’s not. We can now proudly say that 17 satellites launched by our system are up in space exactly in their target orbits. We’re looking forward to growing that number tremendously as we push to ramp up our flight cadence in the coming months.” Source: Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart, commenting on this past week's successful launch of the Tubular Bells: Part One mission.