Sat, Dec 04, 2021
Madison, Wisconsin Sees Regional Airport Closure After Hydraulic Issue Forces Return
One of the United States Navy Blue Angels touched down at Dane County Regional Airport earlier this week when the pilot reported hydraulic issues with the aircraft, resulting in the temporary closure of two runways.
The aircraft landed uneventfully and was quickly tugged off the active runway 36. The story made the rounds, as any aerial demonstration team rumor does, with some exaggeration, possibly due to a layman's interpretation of "emergency" in an aviation context.
Few details have come to light regarding the exact details of the hydraulic problem, likely pointing to a relative non-issue. The Blue Angels completed the transition from the Legacy F/A-18A to -18D's to the more modern F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The changeover was completed in November of 2020, with the intention of switching to 18 early-block aircraft specially overhauled for the Blue Angel's mission. The change resulted in a series of routine changes and updates, owing to the slightly different performance margins of the model. While new to the Angels, their aircraft are hand-me-downs from prior Navy service: Older, downright vintage Super Hornets, low-rate initial production units formerly used as trainers, testers, or mothballed aircraft out of frontline service.
Their modifications for showtime-spec resulted in the addition of smoke trail dispensers, additional joystick spring pressure, and improved avionics to help reduce aerial workload while flying routines. The updates from the legacy hornet inherent to the Super should theoretically reduce airframe fatigue and boost mission readiness overall, perhaps something that didn't quite work out in Madison.
Most pilots are familiar with small issues or resurgent gremlins in their favorite plane, so for the time being, the emergency landing can be written off with a shrug until further issues develop.
More News
Also: B-29 Superfortress Reunion, FAA Wants Controllers, Spirit Airlines Pulls Back, Gogo Galileo Van's Aircraft posted a short video recapping the goings-on around their reorganiz>[...]
Light Gun A handheld directional light signaling device which emits a brilliant narrow beam of white, green, or red light as selected by the tower controller. The color and type of>[...]
"The journey to this achievement started nearly a decade ago when a freshly commissioned Gentry, driven by a fascination with new technologies and a desire to contribute significan>[...]
"Our driven and innovative team of military and civilian Airmen delivers combat power daily, ensuring our nation is ready today and tomorrow." Source: General Duke Richardson, AFMC>[...]
Aircraft Conflict Predicted conflict, within EDST of two aircraft, or between aircraft and airspace. A Red alert is used for conflicts when the predicted minimum separation is 5 na>[...]