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Flying around Pat Bay and YYJ today - The McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet (official military designation CF-188) is a Royal Canadian Air Force.
Lucky timing, to be at Hickam for the arrival of two brand new F-35Bs, destined for the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force. The AGILE81 Flight arrived in great weather, with sun and blue skies.
I couldn't wait anymore either
I just thought about all those hotshot fighterpilots coming in... Better safe than sorry :)
This is an anonymously published postcard showing the view in Piccadilly Circus looking east towards Coventry Street. There is a double bill playing at the London Pavilion, “Mysterious Island” is a science fiction adventure loosely based on the Jules Verne novel “The Mysterious Island” in which Captain Nemo and the Nautilus make an appearance. It starred Michael Craig, Joan Greenwood and stop go animated characters by Ray Harryhausen, the film is regularly repeated on British Television as is “The Pirates of Blood River”, a British made film starring the American actor Kerwin Mathews and a cast of British actors including Christopher Lee, Oliver Reed and Peter Arne; the double bill ran from 14th July until 19th July 1962. I was aware of Peter Arne long before he was bludgeoned to death in his Knightsbridge flat in August 1983. I had read that he was a Battle of Britain fighter pilot and that he was born in Kuala Lumpur of a French-Swiss mother and an American father and became an actor in the early 1950s playing small parts in low budget British films. He was also a promiscuous homosexual who picked up young men at among other places, Victoria Embankment Gardens where he met an Italian school teacher who later murdered him at his flat just behind Harrods. The school teacher committed suicide several days after the murder by throwing himself into the Thames. On the right next to the Criterion Theatre is a branch of “Dolcis Shoes”, the company can trace its origins back to 1863 and a stall in Woolwich Market where John Upson later opened a shop called “The Great Boot Provider”. The Company became “Dolcis” in 1920 and it is believed the name was acquired from a brand of Swiss socks. At their height, “Dolcis” had 65 shops and 150 concessions in other stores, the company is now owned by the Jacobson Group. The advertisement underneath the Wrigley advert is for “Youngers Scotch Ales”, not to be confused with Scottish Ales which tended to be more like a Pale Ale. Scotch Ales were a traditionally heavy beer which William Younger & Company had been brewing a form of in Edinburgh since 1778. At the time of the advertisement the Company was owned by Scottish and Newcastle.
The sun sets behind an Australian Lockheed Martin F-35A "Lighting II" at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., June 27, 2018. The first Australian F-35 arrived at Luke AFB in December, 2014. Currently, six Australian F-35's are assigned to the 61st Fighter Squadron where their pilots train alongside U.S. Air Force pilots. *Editor’s Note: The reflection in this photo was manufactured by the photographer using a specific technique outside of the lens before capturing the image.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Lockheed Martin F-35 "Lightning II" is a family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather, stealth, fifth-generation, multirole combat aircraft, designed for ground-attack and air-superiority missions. It is built by Lockheed Martin and many subcontractors, including Northrop Grumman, Pratt & Whitney, and BAE Systems.
The F-35 has three main models: the conventional takeoff and landing F-35A (CTOL), the short take-off and vertical-landing F-35B (STOVL), and the catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery, carrier-based F-35C (CATOBAR). The F-35 descends from the Lockheed Martin X-35, the design that was awarded the "Joint Strike Fighter" (JSF) program over the competing Boeing X-32. The official "Lightning II" name has proven deeply unpopular and USAF pilots have nicknamed it Panther, instead.
The United States principally funds F-35 development, with additional funding from other NATO members and close U.S. allies, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Canada, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and formerly Turkey. These funders generally receive subcontracts to manufacture components for the aircraft; for example, Turkey was the sole supplier of several F-35 parts until its removal from the program in July 2019. Several other countries have ordered, or are considering ordering, the aircraft.
As the largest and most expensive military program ever, the F-35 became the subject of much scrutiny and criticism in the U.S. and in other countries. In 2013 and 2014, critics argued that the plane was "plagued with design flaws", with many blaming the procurement process in which Lockheed was allowed "to design, test, and produce the F-35 all at the same time," instead of identifying and fixing "defects before firing up its production line". By 2014, the program was "$163 billion over budget [and] seven years behind schedule". Critics also contend that the program's high sunk costs and political momentum make it "too big to kill".
The F-35 first flew on 15 December 2006. In July 2015, the United States Marines declared its first squadron of F-35B fighters ready for deployment. However, the DOD-based durability testing indicated the service life of early-production F-35B aircraft is well under the expected 8,000 flight hours, and may be as low as 2,100 flight hours. Lot 9 and later aircraft include design changes but service life testing has yet to occur. The U.S. Air Force declared its first squadron of F-35As ready for deployment in August 2016. The U.S. Navy declared its first F-35Cs ready in February 2019. In 2018, the F-35 made its combat debut with the Israeli Air Force.
The U.S. stated plan is to buy 2,663 F-35s, which will provide the bulk of the crewed tactical airpower of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps in coming decades. Deliveries of the F-35 for the U.S. military are scheduled until 2037 with a projected service life up to 2070.
Development
F-35 development started in 1992 with the origins of the "Joint Strike Fighter" (JSF) program and was to culminate in full production by 2018. The X-35 first flew on 24 October 2000 and the F-35A on 15 December 2006.
The F-35 was developed to replace most US fighter jets with the variants of a single design that would be common to all branches of the military. It was developed in co-operation with a number of foreign partners, and, unlike the F-22 "Raptor", intended to be available for export. Three variants were designed: the F-35A (CTOL), the F-35B (STOVL), and the F-35C (CATOBAR). Despite being intended to share most of their parts to reduce costs and improve maintenance logistics, by 2017, the effective commonality was only 20%. The program received considerable criticism for cost overruns during development and for the total projected cost of the program over the lifetime of the jets.
By 2017, the program was expected to cost $406.5 billion over its lifetime (i.e. until 2070) for acquisition of the jets, and an additional $1.1 trillion for operations and maintenance. A number of design deficiencies were alleged, such as: carrying a small internal payload; performance inferior to the aircraft being replaced, particularly the F-16; lack of safety in relying on a single engine; and flaws such as the vulnerability of the fuel tank to fire and the propensity for transonic roll-off (wing drop). The possible obsolescence of stealth technology was also criticized.
Design
Overview
Although several experimental designs have been developed since the 1960s, such as the unsuccessful Rockwell XFV-12, the F-35B is to be the first operational supersonic STOVL stealth fighter. The single-engine F-35 resembles the larger twin-engined Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, drawing design elements from it. The exhaust duct design was inspired by the General Dynamics Model 200, proposed for a 1972 supersonic VTOL fighter requirement for the Sea Control Ship.
Lockheed Martin has suggested that the F-35 could replace the USAF's F-15C/D fighters in the air-superiority role and the F-15E "Strike Eagle" in the ground-attack role. It has also stated the F-35 is intended to have close- and long-range air-to-air capability second only to that of the F-22 "Raptor", and that the F-35 has an advantage over the F-22 in basing flexibility and possesses "advanced sensors and information fusion".
Testifying before the House Appropriations Committee on 25 March 2009, acquisition deputy to the assistant secretary of the Air Force, Lt. Gen. Mark D. "Shack" Shackelford, stated that the F-35 is designed to be America's "premier surface-to-air missile killer, and is uniquely equipped for this mission with cutting-edge processing power, synthetic aperture radar integration techniques, and advanced target recognition".
Improvements
Ostensible improvements over past-generation fighter aircraft include:
Durable, low-maintenance stealth technology, using structural fiber mat instead of the high-maintenance coatings of legacy stealth platforms
Integrated avionics and sensor fusion that combine information from off- and on-board sensors to increase the pilot's situational awareness and improve target identification and weapon delivery, and to relay information quickly to other command and control (C2) nodes
High-speed data networking including IEEE 1394b and Fibre Channel (Fibre Channel is also used on Boeing's "Super Hornet".
The Autonomic Logistics Global Sustainment, Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS), and Computerized maintenance management system to help ensure the aircraft can remain operational with minimal maintenance manpower The Pentagon has moved to open up the competitive bidding by other companies. This was after Lockheed Martin stated that instead of costing 20% less than the F-16 per flight hour, the F-35 would actually cost 12% more. Though the ALGS is intended to reduce maintenance costs, the company disagrees with including the cost of this system in the aircraft ownership calculations. The USMC has implemented a workaround for a cyber vulnerability in the system. The ALIS system currently requires a shipping-container load of servers to run, but Lockheed is working on a more portable version to support the Marines' expeditionary operations.
Electro-hydrostatic actuators run by a power-by-wire flight-control system
A modern and updated flight simulator, which may be used for a greater fraction of pilot training to reduce the costly flight hours of the actual aircraft
Lightweight, powerful lithium-ion batteries to provide power to run the control surfaces in an emergency
Structural composites in the F-35 are 35% of the airframe weight (up from 25% in the F-22). The majority of these are bismaleimide and composite epoxy materials. The F-35 will be the first mass-produced aircraft to include structural nanocomposites, namely carbon nanotube-reinforced epoxy. Experience of the F-22's problems with corrosion led to the F-35 using a gap filler that causes less galvanic corrosion to the airframe's skin, designed with fewer gaps requiring filler and implementing better drainage. The relatively short 35-foot wingspan of the A and B variants is set by the F-35B's requirement to fit inside the Navy's current amphibious assault ship parking area and elevators; the F-35C's longer wing is considered to be more fuel efficient.
Costs
A U.S. Navy study found that the F-35 will cost 30 to 40% more to maintain than current jet fighters, not accounting for inflation over the F-35's operational lifetime. A Pentagon study concluded a $1 trillion maintenance cost for the entire fleet over its lifespan, not accounting for inflation. The F-35 program office found that as of January 2014, costs for the F-35 fleet over a 53-year lifecycle was $857 billion. Costs for the fighter have been dropping and accounted for the 22 percent life cycle drop since 2010. Lockheed stated that by 2019, pricing for the fifth-generation aircraft will be less than fourth-generation fighters. An F-35A in 2019 is expected to cost $85 million per unit complete with engines and full mission systems, inflation adjusted from $75 million in December 2013.
Star Wars and the Power of Costume explores the challenges in dressing the Star Wars universe from the Galactic Senate and royalty to the Jedi, Sith, and Droids. Featuring over 60 hand-crafted costumes from the first seven Star Wars films, the exhibition (located at the Cincinnati Museum Center in Cincinnati, Ohio) reveals the artists’ creative process – and uncovers the connection between character and costume.
Features of the Power of Costume exhibit include short films that provide a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process and include interviews with the designers and actors/actresses. The experience in enhanced by interactive flip books featuring sketches, photographs, and notes that capture the creative team’s inspiration and vision.
Featured costumes include:
•Monk-like robes of Jedi Masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker
•Intimidating suit and complex breathing apparatus of Darth Vader
•Yak hair and mohair costume of Chewbacca
•Fierce armor of mercenary bounty hunters Jango Fett, Boba Fett, and Sam Wesell
•Elaborately detailed gowns of Princess Leia, Queen Amidala, Queen Jamillia, and their handmaidens
•Intricately designed costumes of astromech’s R2-D2, C-3P0, and BB-8
This photo is just one of the many costumes seen in the Star Wars and the Power of Costume exhibit that allowed myself and my family to get up close to these historic and awe-inspiring films in ways that we’ve never seen them before. The next time I watch one of these movies, I will have the perspective of how the costume was designed & created and what inspired the look & feel. Thank you to the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, and Lucasfilm, Ltd. for developing this exhibit to give Star Wars fans such as myself this opportunity.
Waving to the Crowd
This F-35 pilot acknowledges the photogs and family members, out on the approach at Luke AFB.
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. - A McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 "Hornet" with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314 takes off en route to a simulated dog fight against the Air Force’s F-16 "Fighting Falcon's" with the 310th Fighter Squadron at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., March 16. The two squadrons are training their pilots in basic fighting maneuvers from March 16 to March 24 at MCAS Miramar.
Callsign "Arrow 2" - a single seater (Box 1 of 3 aircraft RB001 BS001 RB004) on it's way to AF Station Ambala,India where they will join No 17 Sqn - 'The Golden Arrows' (RB designated aircraft are twin seaters/trainers and the BS designated aircraft are the single seaters)
RIGHT STUFF: Photo of the Mercury astronauts standing beside a Convair F-106B aircraft. They are, left to right, M. Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper Jr., John H. Glenn Jr., Virgil I. Grissom, Walter M. Schirra Jr., Alan B. Shepard Jr., and Donald K. Slayton.
Gone, but NOT forgotten.
QRA / Alert Bird / Permanence operationelle (PO) of the SPA 91 Squadron which belongs to the 2/30 Normandie Niemen Fighter Wing from AFB 118 Mont de Marsan performs a low pass at Blagnac-Toulouse Airport yesterday. On the right side of the tail are the coat of arms of the Normandie Niemen and on the left side is an eagle carrying a skull. This time only two MICA RF missiles on the pylons. In November the configuration was 4 missiles
Jacqui flanked either side by two airmen, (Paul Watson and Shaun Carter), at Tutbury Castle's 1940's event, 2022.
Flying around Pat Bay and YYJ today - The McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet (official military designation CF-188) is a Royal Canadian Air Force.
Once a Knight...
Black Knight boss bird taxiing for takeoff at March AFRB, on a foggy morning. It sports WWII heritage tail art, "Bob's Cats".
www.starnow.co.uk/christopherw33618
2017 Reel www.starnow.com/media/778224
2016 Reel www.starnow.co.uk/media/623368
2015 Reel www.starnow.co.uk/media/500618
Crew CV <a crew.mandy.com/uk/crew/profile/chris-christopher-wilson
Synopsis
HURRICANE tells the story of the Polish fliers who found themselves fighting for the freedom of their own country in foreign skies. Seen through the eyes of Jan Zumbach (Rheon), fighter ace and adventurer, it tells how the Poles, driven across Europe by the German war machine, finally made their last stand. Flying Hurricanes for the RAF over Britain, they became a key component in the legend of ‘The Few’. Up against the might of the Luftwaffe they hoped that, by saving Great Britain from Nazi invasion, they were keeping the dream of a free Poland alive.
In the lethal melee above England in that summer of 1940, they fought with a tenacity and skill that earned them the admiration of the whole British nation. The dogfights against superior planes cost some of the men their lives. The constant strain of gladiatorial combat took away the sanity of others. But, as Zumbach discovers as the war stutters to a close, becoming the best in the RAF is a hollow victory for the Poles.
This powerful and gripping WWII RAF story is directed by David Blair (The Messenger, Away, Accused) and includes an impressive ensemble cast including Iwan Rheon (Game of Thrones, Marvel’s Inhumans), Milo Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge), Stefanie Martini (Crooked House, Prime Suspect 1973), Krystof Hadek (Under the Skin, Dark Blue World) and Marcin Dorocinski (Pitbull Anthropoid).
Palmer, Alfred T.,, photographer.
Marine lieutenant, glider pilot in training, ready for take-off, at Page Field, Parris Island, S.C.
1942 May
1 transparency : color.
Notes:
Title from FSA or OWI agency caption.
Transfer from U.S. Office of War Information, 1944.
Subjects:
United States.--Marine Corps
World War, 1939-1945
Flight training
Air pilots
Air bases
Gliders
United States--South Carolina--Parris Island
Format: Transparencies--Color
Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.
Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
Part Of: Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Collection 12002-32 (DLC) 93845501
General information about the FSA/OWI Color Photographs is available at hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.fsac
Higher resolution image is available (Persistent URL): hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsac.1a35122
Call Number: LC-USW36-993