#C-17 Globemaster Stunt

[nasa]

“It’s Summer Camp for Aviation Geeks”: NASA Returns to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh

As a child fascinated with aviation, Michael Jorgensen, Public Affairs Specialist for the Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration project, attended EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (“Oshkosh” for short) multiple times. Now, he represents us there, sharing what we’ve been working on. Read on to see what going to Oshkosh is like as Michael takes us on a tour—and join us next time!

MICHAEL:

Every year, Wittman Regional Airport in the town of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, swells from 67,000 to 600,000 people, becoming a hotspot for aviation in the United States. The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) began AirVenture in 1953 and is a ‘Must Do’ for any aviation geek.

My story with EAA AirVenture began in the late 1990s. As a fan of everything aviation, and having grown up near Chicago, Oshkosh was always on my radar – and I attended several times while I was growing up.

Michael recreates a childhood image from EAA AirVenture 1998 at EAA AirVenture 2022. Credit: Michael Jorgensen

Coming back to the airport grounds this week, all my childhood memories came flooding back: the noises, the planes, the smells, and the pure excitement. As a kid, I could only dream of working for NASA, never imagining it would come true almost 25 years later.

The airport traffic control tower at Wittman Regional Airport at EAA AirVenture 2022 in Oshkosh, WI. Credit: Michael Jorgensen

When driving in, you first see a lot of air traffic – ranging from hang gliders, to old warbirds, to stunt planes, to the newest military jets rumbling skyward. During the last full week in July, the airport control tower becomes the busiest one in the world, coordinating approximately 116 takeoffs/landings per hour throughout each day – almost 2 every minute! Last year saw more than 10,000 aircraft arrive at the airport. The excitement grows as you pull off the highway and are greeted by rows and rows of general aviation aircraft as far as the eye can see.

The airport field at Wittman Regional Airport, featuring general aviation aircraft and camping tents, at EAA AirVenture 2022 in Oshkosh, WI. Credit: Michael Jorgensen

The constant propeller buzz in the background and crackling of fighter jets overhead is noticeable as you walk through the airport grounds. What makes this sight even more unique is camping tents under the wings of each aircraft, stretching along the entire grounds of the airport. AirVenture truly is a summer camp for #AvGeeks.

Boeing Plaza, the central display area at AirVenture, featuring a C-5 Galaxy transport with its nose open, and a C-17 Globemaster III, at EAA AirVenture 2022 in Oshkosh, WI. Credit: Michael Jorgensen

The main tarmac at the airport is converted into Boeing Plaza, the central display area featuring the biggest and most exciting aircraft: C-17 Globetrotter III, SR-71 Blackbird, F-117 Nighthawk, DC-3, and many, many more. One year, I even got to see the Concorde fly into and out of this teeny regional airport in the middle of Wisconsin.

There are countless opportunities to interact with the pilots and other aviation enthusiasts including sitting in cockpits, checking out the interiors and exteriors of various airplanes, and chances to fly in vintage aircraft including an original 1929 Ford Trimotor and a B-17 Flying Fortress from 1945. And, of course, no matter my age, I posed with anything and everything I found interesting, including a T-38 Talon stationed in front of the NASA pavilion and the inside of an ecoDemonstrator.

Michael sitting in the cockpit of Boeing’s 777-200ER ecoDemonstrator at EAA AirVenture 2022 in Oshkosh, WI. Credit: Michael Jorgensen

Inside the various hangars are hundreds of aviation vendors, exhibitors, and storefronts, ranging from avionics manufacturers to social clubs/societies, wooden model companies, and all the pilot accessories imaginable.

Michael standing in front of NASA’s SR22 aircraft at the NASA pavilion at EAA AirVenture 2022 in Oshkosh, WI. Credit: Michael Jorgensen

This year’s theme for the NASA pavilion was “Faces of Flight”. Throughout the week, we had meet-and-greets with leaders, researchers, engineers, and even an astronaut or two, hands-on educational experiences for guests of all ages, giveaways, and models of our aircraft, spacecraft, and more, including a model of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter and the Space Launch System rocket.

Aside from the events in the NASA pavilion, we participated in a number of panels like Women@NASA, where women leaders from the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate talked about NASA’s aviation research portfolio, activities taking places at NASA centers, and their personal experiences as leaders.

If you’re interested in the future of aviation—supersonic flight, advanced air mobility, and so much more—come see us at Oshkosh!

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[trivialbob]

I had a fun Fathers Day. Matt and I went to the Mankato air show. I’ve been to some low key air shows in the past. They generally involve mostly static displays and a few low speed flybys of vintage warbirds.

Today’s show was much better. There were stunt planes making crazy maneuvers. A B-2 bomber made several low passes, though it did not land. A C-17 Globemaster cargo plane did land. The announcer told us that C-17 was the largest plane to ever land at the Mankato airport.

SOCOM para-commandos parachuted out of a C-130. They make it look so easy. When a WWII P-51 Mustang passed by very low, there were explosions and flames on the runway. That got my attention.

The final act was the US Air Force Thunderbirds. Six F-16s flying in formation and doing stunts. It was cool. There was one pass in particular that got everyone’s attention. The announcer said, “Coming in from your left you will see four Thunderbirds, in a diamond formation.” The planes were low, then banked right in front of us. It was dramatic.

All eyes followed the four jets as they exited to the right. Suddenly a fifth F-16 came in from the left, where no one was watching. This jet was faster, louder, and lower than the ones the originally hooked our attention. The air vibrated and there was a collective “oh shit, hahaha” from the crowd.

My other son, Jack, lives in Mankato. Due to his work schedule and my time constraints, we weren’t able to meet him for dinner. But I did talk to him for a while.

Overflow airport parking had been in a grass field. It was somewhat muddy. Instead of using my little SUV, I had driven my wife’s sporty car. It ise is way more fun to drive long distances, though I risk a ticket every time I get behind the wheel. The car was clean this morning. Now mud and grass cover the wheel wells and rocker panels. The windshield has a layer of bug guts on it as well. I really should wash it before she gets home from Ohio tomorrow.

A full day in the sun, followed by a 75 minute drive home, left us pretty tired. I ate a small pizza at the airport. The pizza was terrible. When Matt and I got home I grabbed a take-n-bake pizza. It was so good it made up for that earlier botched pizza. While the pizza cooked I had a nice phone call with my dad.

[blogloverluminary]

Australia's Finale to a 3 week long Air Show weaving through High Rises in a C-17 over Brisbane !

[jslaird-blog-blog]

Welcome Back to Bad Ghosts

If it wasn’t for Google sending me a “Happy Birthday to this account you never use!” and my therapist telling me that I should start a blog, I think this page would have been long forgotten. I dusted off my password, and ta-da, here I am. If you’re looking for something deep and meaningful, I’m not sure what I have to offer, but if an unfiltered view of my world is entertaining, read ahead. There really isn’t a start or stopping point, and I’m not OCD enough to put this in any kind of sequential order, so please excuse the mess...

In December of 2010, I deployed to Balad Air Base in Iraq with 8 other younger troops from the base I was stationed at in Texas. That’s me chilling with a buddy of mine during one of the stretches of time when mortar rounds weren’t being randomly lobbed at our base. All things considered, it shouldn’t have been a ‘bad’ deployment. Major operations were drawing down, troops levels were too, and our base had fast food, a movie theater, and a pool. There is a trade-off when you’re in a war zone with no war to fight though. When people aren’t actively engaged in combat operations in a deployed location, they start to get bored, do stupid shit, or get stuck too deep inside their own heads. I wasn’t above it either. Back home, I had a marriage that wasn’t going well and our 16 month-old son had just been diagnosed with autism. Dealing with that kind of bullshit would be hard enough all by itself, but dealing with it from the other side of the globe was even more so. In short, my nerves were fried most days. But I put on my game face every day and did what needed to be done for the sake of the larger mission, because that’s what you’re expected to do. It’s what the military expects, right, wrong, or indifferent. One of the younger guys on my team wasn’t able to maintain focus though.

About a month or so into the deployment, probably 8pm or so in the evening, the Flight Superintendent started beating on the door to the little plywood trailer that I was calling home. He told me I had 30 minutes to throw on my uniform, pack a go-bag for 48 hours, and meet him in front of the base hospital. He left and I figured he’d fill me on the details when I met back up with him, so I got dressed, threw some extra uniforms in a backpack and hauled ass over to the hospital. The Sup’ was already waiting for me in the hospital parking lot when I got there and as we walked into the building, he let me know in a lowered voice that a guy from my team had intentionally lit his fucking face on fire. When we walked in to the ward, the guy was sitting on the side of a hospital bed with a shiny red face where the med techs had wiped burn salve over his nose, cheeks and forehead. The burns were superficial, but between my unit leadership and the recommendation of the medical team, it had been decided that the guy needed a mental health evaluation outside the combat zone immediately, and I was chosen to escort him to the Landstuhl medical facility in Germany. 

We stayed put at the hospital until it was time to get bussed over to the flightline with a handful of other injured personnel that were being medevac’ed out of the country. Most were walking wounded, but there were a few on stretchers that I watched the Flight Medicine folks load on the C-17 Globemaster. Sometime around 2am, we were finally ‘wheels up’ and making our way to Germany. It was early February, so when we touched down at Ramstein Air Base it was maybe 30 degrees and snowing. I didn’t really need cold weather gear back in Iraq, but I was glad I thought to bring some with me. A “Blue Bird” school bus was waiting for us on on the tarmac and we loaded up for the short drive to the hospital. I wasn’t sure what I thought I would see on arrival, but as we pulled up to the entrance to hospital, there were dozens of medical personnel standing on either side of the bus, ready to move the most seriously wounded off the bus first. They moved quickly and efficiently, talking to their patients as they escorted them into the building. For the less severely injured and walking wounded, we were directed to different treatment clinics in the hospital for check-in, and any escorts were shuffled over to an old dormitory building where we could check into a temporary room, drop our bags, get a briefing on the do’s and don’ts, and then get back to the patients we were escorting. The whole process was so routine to these folks that the speed of it all kind of surprised me. They were good at what they did, and it showed.

After an hour or so, I was allowed to meet back up with the guy from my team. He’d gotten another exam of his facial burns and the docs decided that he decided he was still a risk to himself, so I was ordered not to let him out of my sight or leave him unattended unless he was being treated by the staff. The next 24 hours was a blur of dragging my guy from one appointment to the next, walking though the wintry German weather from one building to another, as the medics and mental health team decided what to do with him. As we did all this, everywhere I looked I saw dozens and dozens of injured military members in various stages of recovery and rehabilitation. Crutches, patched eyes, missing limbs, large bandages stanching wounds of indiscriminate size, shape, and origin. As weird as it sounds, a lot of the guys I bumped into were actually really upbeat about their injuries. Maybe they were just glad to be alive, but they were generally pretty positive. By the end of our second day, the docs had decided that my guy wasn’t in any kind of mental state to be in a combat zone, so they were going to house him in a separate holding facility until he could be flown back stateside. This was good news to me, because I (maybe selfishly) had felt like I was babysitting a grown adult who just pulled a stupid-ass stunt for a ticket home. Regardless of his medical and mental condition, he wasn’t my responsibility anymore and that left me with enough downtime to go back to main base Ramstein for some shopping and a proper meal before I hopped a flight back to Iraq the next day. It was still early in the afternoon when I got back though, so I thought I’d walk over to the USO and see what else they had to offer before I called it a night. They had hot coffee, cold soda, sandwiches, and every kind if snack food and toiletry item a transient troop could want. Hanging out there beat sitting in an empty dorm room, so I decided to kick back in a comfy chair and watch a movie or two before calling it a night. Every so often, I’d go top off my coffee and step outside for a cigarette, and I’d end up shooting the breeze with the other smokers. 

Most of us at the ‘smoke pit’ were medical escorts but we were next door to the main hospital, so we also had the occasional patient huddled with us underneath the roof of what was essentially a plexiglass bus stop. We smoked one cigarette after another in the gently falling snow, swapping stories about where we’d been, how we ended up in Germany, and where we were headed next. If there was a wounded guy in the pit with us, we’d ask him how he was doing and maybe catch a war story or two. I eventually went back inside, finished watching Big Trouble in Little China, and figured my cinematic experience had peaked so it was time to go to bed. I stopped by the smoke pit one last time and saw a kid who couldn’t have been older than 20, sitting in a wheelchair with both of his legs sticking straight out, casted up in plaster, draped with a hospital blanket, and supported by the chair. This was a little more severe than some of the other guys I’d seen out here, but he’d obviously made it outside on his own, so I thought I could offer a little friendly chat while we smoked. I started off simple, because in spite of the courteous nod we gave each other, the expression on the kid’s face didn’t look like he was in a mood to talk much.

“Where’d you come in from?” I asked.

“Afghanistan.”

“Damn, man. I was there in ‘06-’07. Guess it’s still hot over there...”

“Yeah.”

“You gonna be okay?” I asked, not really knowing what else to say at that point.

“I was the lucky one.” the kid said, tears welling up in his eyes. I was completely lost for words at this point, not sure if I should apologize or hear the kid out, or what. I was definitely going to leave the kid alone and try not to bother him any further, but he just kept talking.

“Propane tank IED took our our vehicle. I got blown out of the turret, but the door hydraulics were fucked and my Sergeant and my friend were stuck inside. They burned up and got hit when the ammo starting cooking off.”

I could see the cigarette tremble between his lips as he spoke and his eyes looked like they would overflow in a river of tears at any second, but the kid choked them all back. Not a single drop rolled down his cheek as we both sat in in the remaining silence. I finished my own cigarette and asked if he needed anything. He said “Nah” and stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets, pulling out a pair of gloves. I asked “You sure man? I can’t give you a lift someplace...?”

“I’m good.” he said as he put his gloves on and started wheeling himself back towards the side door of the main hospital building.

I cannot begin to explain to you what I felt as I walked away from the smoke pit and the kid, back to my own room that night. Seeing the pain in that kids’ eyes as he told his story ripped my fucking heart out and left it in the snow. I’d never met him before, and would never see him again. I didn’t even think to ask his name or offer some pitiful words of encouragement. His story just fucking floored me. Everything I had been dealing with in my own life up until that point just sounded pathetic and I was hit with a overwhelming emotional reaction I’d never known before. It was like someone filled the vastness of space with agony and anger, and it swallowed the kid whole as I watched in despair. 

As I sit here and type this, I don’t want you to think that I could fathom what this kid was feeling, or that my own sorrow for him was greater than what he was going through. My own life is relatively tame and despite some of the shitty things I’ve seen, I keep going. Really, the only reason I’m telling this story is because my therapist said it might be good to write my experiences down. I won’t lecture you on the horrors of war, or tell you how much I loathe the powers-that-be sending our youth off to get killed in some far-flung country for some cause that means next to nothing in the grand scheme of things. If there was a point to any of this writing, I suppose it would be for me to let you know that this is what I carry around with me. Behind every smile, behind every sarcastic quip, every silly post on social media, there’s the memory of this blown-up kid with broken legs, choking back tears in the snow. 

[bigyack-com]

New weapons, women bikers, choppers dazzle during Republic Day parade - india news

India marked its 71st Republic Day with many firsts as it displayed its military might and cultural diversity during the 90-minute parade at Rajpath, in the heart of New Delhi, with multi-layered security in place. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was attendance as the guest of honour with President Ram Nath Kovind, vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and defence minister Rajnath Singh among others watching the parade and tableaus on Rajpath.Prime Minister Modi greeted the nation early in the morning before the Republic Day ceremony started.“Wishing everyone a happy #RepublicDay,” PM Modi wrote on Twitter.The Prime Minister in a saffron turban, breaking from tradition, visited the National War Memorial instead of the Amar Jawan Jyoti, where he lead the nation in paying tributes to the martyrs by laying a wreath.The National War Memorial was built in the memory of the soldiers killed in action since Independence near India Gate. Amidst the celebrations, several low-intensity blasts suspected to be carried out by the banned United Liberation Front of Assam-Independent (ULFA-I) using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) rocked parts of upper Assam. Militant outfits in Assam and rest of the northeast routinely call for a boycott on Republic Day and Independence Day and carry out minor blasts to register their presence and create panic.The firstsIndia’s armed forces took centre-stage at the grand parade as they displayed the army’s battle tank Bhishma, Infantry Combat Vehicle Ballway Machine Pikate and the air force’s brand new Rafale fighter jet and the newly inducted Chinook and Apache helicopters. The long-range artillery gun Dhanush, commanded by Indian Army Captain Mrigank Bharadwaj, was a part of the Republic Day celebrations at Rajpath for the first time. The 155mm/45 Caliber Dhanush gun system is a towed Howitzer designed indigenously by the Ordnance Factory Board. The gun with a maximum range of 36.5km has the capability of automatic gun alignment and positioning.An all-woman bikers contingent of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) also made its debut at the 71st Republic Day. Inspector Seema Nag, who is posted with the Rapid Action Force (RAF), commanded the contingent and was seen saluting while standing on top of a moving motorcycle.The women bikers wowed the audience with several daredevil stunts and concluded by forming a human pyramid of 21 personnel on five motorcycles.Another highlight was the marching contingent of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) that showcased the anti-satellite weapons (ASAT) - Mission Shakti.Mission Shakti, India’s first anti-satellite mission, was a major breakthrough in demonstrating the nation’s capability to bring down hostile satellites.The newly-inducted Chinook heavy lift and Apache attack choppers were also displayed for the first time during the parade at the majestic Rajpath.The marching contingent of the Corps of Army Air Defence, led by Capt Vikas Kumar Sahu of Army Air Defence Centre, also made its debut on Rajpath during the Republic Day parade.Marching contingentsThe Republic Day parade was commanded by parade commander Lt General Asit Mistry, General Officer Commanding, Delhi Area. Major General Alok Kacker, Chief of Staff of Delhi Area, will be the second-in-command.The first contingent in the uniform of the erstwhile Gwalior Lancers was 61 Cavalry – the only active serving horse cavalry regiment in the world. It was raised on August 1, 1953, with the amalgamation of six state forces’ cavalry units.The Indian Army was represented by a mounted column of 61 Cavalry, eight mechanised columns, six marching contingents and fly-past by Rudra and Dhruv Advanced Light helicopters of its aviation wing.The other marching contingents of the army included the Parachute regiment, the Grenadiers Regiment, the Sikh Light Infantry Regiment, the Kumaon Regiment and the Corps of Signals.Indigenously-developed Main Battle Tank of the Indian Army, T-90 Bhishma tank, infantry combat vehicle Ballway Machine Pikate, K-9 Vajra and Dhanush guns, transportable satellite terminal and Akash weapon system were the main attractions in the mechanised columns.The Indian Navy contingent comprised 144 sailors led by Lieutenant Jitin Malkat. It was followed by the naval tableau – ‘Indian Navy - Silent, Strong, and Swift’.The IAF contingent, comprising 144 air warriors, will be led by Flight Lt Shrikant Sharma. The air force tableau will showcase scaled-down models of the Rafale and Tejas aircraft, the Light Combat Helicopter, the Akash missiles system and the Astra missiles.Tableaux and fly-pastsSixteen tableaux from various states and Union territories, including from the newly-created Jammu and Kashmir, depicted rich cultural diversity of the country.Several reforms of the government, including Start-up India and Jal Jeevan Mission, were also showcased in six tableaux from different ministries and departments.School children from Delhi performed yoga and several dances, including on a song by Rabindranath Tagore, during the parade. The recipients of Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puruskar 2020 also participated in the Republic Day parade. There were 49 children, including 18 girls and 31 boys, who received the award in the fields of bravery, innovation, scholastic, sports, arts, culture, social service and music.The fly-past – the grand finale and the most keenly awaited segment of the parade – comprised the ‘Trishul’ formation by three advanced light helicopters.This Republic Day parade also had a “tri-service formation” for the first time. It was followed by the ‘Vic’ formation of Chinook helicopters, used for airlifting diverse loads to remote locations.Apache helicopters, Dornier aircraft, C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, an Airborne Early Warning and Control System aircraft and the “globe formation” comprising three C-17 Globemasters also enthralled the audience.Five Jaguar Deep penetration strike aircraft and five MiG-29 upgrade air superiority fighters in ‘Arrowhead’ formation displayed their aerial manoeuvre.A fleet of Sukhoi-30 MKI jets splitting the sky with a breathtaking ‘Vertical Charlie’ aerobatic manoeuvre was last attraction of the Republic Day parade. Read the full article

[visionmpbpl-blog]

New Post has been published on http://www.visionmp.com/indias-highest-peacetime-military-decoration-ashok-chakra-was-given-to-indian-air-force-garud-commando-corporal-jyoti-prakash-nirala/

10 world leaders watch air show, women daredevils on Republic Day at Rajpath

New Delhi: India celebrated its 69th Republic Day on Friday with a record 10 heads of state, from ASEAN or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, watching the grand parade with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rajpath, the ceremonial road in the heart of Delhi. The leaders, sporting crimson Indian scarves, sat on a 100-foot stage enclosed by bullet-proof glass, their presence demonstrating India’s stress on upgrading its ‘Look East’ policy to ‘Act East’. At the start of the ceremony, the Prime Minister, in a saffron, red and green safa or traditional headgear, paid homage to soldiers who died in the line of duty.

Meanwhile, India’s highest peacetime military decoration Ashok Chakra was given to Indian Air Force Garud commando Corporal Jyoti Prakash Nirala, who died fighting terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir last year, on the occasion. The soldier’s wife and mother received the award from President Ram Nath Kovind.

Tableaux showcasing India’s deep historical, cultural and religious ties with the ASEAN nations were among the first of the floats gliding down Rajpath. These were followed by floats from 14 states and Union Territories, nine ministries, departments and paramilitary forces.

An all-women contingent of the Border Security Force or BSF performing daring bike stunts was among the most stunning spectacles at the parade. Stunts like “fish riding, side riding, faulaad, peacock and Saptarishi”, with the women constables in incredible formations, were cheered wildly by the crowds.

The Army’s T-90 tank, Brahmos Missile System and Akash Weapon System were the main draw in the military contingent. The Air Force tableau displayed models of the home-made Tejas Multirole Fighter Aircraft, Rudra Helicopter, Arudhra Radar and Akash missile system.

The show stopper was the Indian Air Force’s air display starring C-130J Super Hercules, C-17 Globemaster, Su-30 MKIs and LCA Tejas.