Thor’s Hall

Have you ever dreamed about what flying with the Blue Angels would be like…

Make sure you notice the control surface deflections…. amazing stuff.

Full disclosure:

1.  I am a Boeing Shareholder

2.  I have extended relatives that work for Boeing

3.  I have been enamored of Boeing aircraft since I was 6.

A proven airframe and a new mission.  Very cool video.

They cannot arrive soon enough.  The P-3 Orion that they are replacing are deep into their lifecycle.

An air-to-air left side view of two F-101 Voodoo aircraft in flight. The aircraft are assigned to the 107th Fighter Interceptor Group, New York Air National Guard, North American Air Defense Command (NORAD). Location: NIAGARA FALLS AIR BASE Date Shot: 1/1/1978

One of my earliest memories growing up is that of watching aircraft fly out of Portland International.  In the 60’s we would drive north on 122nd and as you crossed Halsey you would be in just the right spot to see planes either on final, or on their initial climb out.  I was hooked.

Later as I grew older and understood more about what aviation is, and that those are machines (not birds) and they all have different shapes and purposes and people rode inside or operated them I become completly addicted to everything aviation.  I was 8.

Anyway, the F-101 is one of the earliest aircraft I can remember.  They use to fly these out of the ANG base at PDX and we would see them all over the sky.   Even hear them doing supersonic transition.  Ah, the old days.  Before I left Portland, the ANG had transitioned to F-4 Phantoms and eventually moved on to the F15.  But that Voodoo holds a special place in my memory.

The cleaverness of the human never ceases to amaze me…

Neil Armstrong is being hailed today on the anniversary of the moon landing. He is from Ohio.
The first man to orbit, John Glenn, was from Ohio.
The first man to fly, Orville Wright, was also from Ohio.
It shows that no challenge is too great when a man is trying to get out of Ohio.

Mercury, Gemini, Apollo. The classical space program. Yet at the same time we have the U2 program being developed and executed. Amazing stuff.

This is incredible footage. It condenses the build cycle of an aircraft (Hornet) and gives you an idea of just how complicated the assembly of this fighter is.

The next time you jump on a commercial aircraft, think about this video.

Today was the day, 40 years ago, that Apollo 11 was launched on it’s journey to the moon.  I remember the major events of the Apollo program as if it were yesterday.  Just for the record, I was still just a wee lad when the launch took place but I was already fixated on being the first man to land on Mars.  I might be over the hill (and the age limits) but seeing as how we have not yet made the trip I guess I still have a shot at that goal.

Hey NASA – where is that astronaut application package again??  I may need that.

Stay tuned, I will be posting on Apollo 11 more as we come up to the anniversary of the moon landing.

Have you ever dreamed about what flying with the Blue Angels would be like…

Make sure you notice the control surface deflections…. amazing stuff.

Atlantis is in place, fueled and ready to go.  Crew is boarding.  Weather looks good.  There won’t be too many more of these space shuttle flights as the platform ages, and the budgets continue to shrink.  Take the time to be an active spectator in these historic flights.

Follow today’s events at  http://spaceflightnow.com

A little low flying action for your day.