On Thursday, this picture appeared of the airplane in the Journal.
Showing posts with label Airplane. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Airplane. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Solar plane
On Thursday, this picture appeared of the airplane in the Journal.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
World War II's unsung women pilots
Unsung? I've never heard of them. Unsung: Not honored or praised; uncelebrated.
World War II's Unsung Women Pilots
The trailblazing Women Airforce Service Pilots will finally receive the honors due them on March 10, when they are awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
By AMY GOODPASTER STREBE
The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II will finally be given the recognition and honor they deserve on March 10. That's when they will receive the Congressional Gold Medal in a ceremony to be held at the United States Capitol. These pilots were trailbrazers, a group of 1,102 female civilians that flew military aircraft under the direction of the United States Army Air Forces. They flew more than 60 million miles in 78 different types of aircraft, from the smallest trainers to the fastest fighters and the largest bombers. They undertook every type of mission except combat. Thirty eight of them gave their lives in the service of their country.
From 1942 to 1944 the WASP ferried aircraft from factories to air bases throughout the United States. They were stationed at 120 Army air bases across America, and many also towed targets for antiaircraft gunnery training. The Army Air Forces trained the women to fly the fleet's largest bombers to prove to the men these planes were safe to fly. Despite their outward appearance as official members of the U.S. Army Air Forces, the WASP were actually considered civil servants during the war. In spite of a highly publicized attempt to militarize them in 1944, the women pilots were not granted veteran status until 1977.
When a WASP was killed the women pilots received no formal recognition, no honors, no gold star in the window, and no American flag on their coffin. Fellow pilots contributed money to help bring the body and belongings home—the United States Government refused to pay for the remains to be shipped to their families. When the WASP were unceremoniously deactivated in December 1944, five months before the end of the war, they never received the military status they were promised, even though many of them were sent to officers training school. Even today the WASP can only be buried at Arlington National Cemetery as enlisted members of the military, not with officers' honors. Finally these intrepid women will be honored for their heroic service.
The surviving members of the WASP, who are now grandmothers and great-grandmothers, will unite for the last time in Washington, D.C. They will proudly take their place in history among the unsung heroes of World War II. Fueled by patriotism and a love of flying, their example will continue to inspire future generations of women aviators.
Ms. Strebe is the author of "Flying for Her Country: The American and Soviet Women Military Pilots of World War II" (Potomac Books, 2009). She is on the board of directors of the National WASP World War II Museum, located in Sweetwater, Texas.
World War II's Unsung Women Pilots
The trailblazing Women Airforce Service Pilots will finally receive the honors due them on March 10, when they are awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
By AMY GOODPASTER STREBE
The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II will finally be given the recognition and honor they deserve on March 10. That's when they will receive the Congressional Gold Medal in a ceremony to be held at the United States Capitol. These pilots were trailbrazers, a group of 1,102 female civilians that flew military aircraft under the direction of the United States Army Air Forces. They flew more than 60 million miles in 78 different types of aircraft, from the smallest trainers to the fastest fighters and the largest bombers. They undertook every type of mission except combat. Thirty eight of them gave their lives in the service of their country.
From 1942 to 1944 the WASP ferried aircraft from factories to air bases throughout the United States. They were stationed at 120 Army air bases across America, and many also towed targets for antiaircraft gunnery training. The Army Air Forces trained the women to fly the fleet's largest bombers to prove to the men these planes were safe to fly. Despite their outward appearance as official members of the U.S. Army Air Forces, the WASP were actually considered civil servants during the war. In spite of a highly publicized attempt to militarize them in 1944, the women pilots were not granted veteran status until 1977.
When a WASP was killed the women pilots received no formal recognition, no honors, no gold star in the window, and no American flag on their coffin. Fellow pilots contributed money to help bring the body and belongings home—the United States Government refused to pay for the remains to be shipped to their families. When the WASP were unceremoniously deactivated in December 1944, five months before the end of the war, they never received the military status they were promised, even though many of them were sent to officers training school. Even today the WASP can only be buried at Arlington National Cemetery as enlisted members of the military, not with officers' honors. Finally these intrepid women will be honored for their heroic service.
The surviving members of the WASP, who are now grandmothers and great-grandmothers, will unite for the last time in Washington, D.C. They will proudly take their place in history among the unsung heroes of World War II. Fueled by patriotism and a love of flying, their example will continue to inspire future generations of women aviators.
Ms. Strebe is the author of "Flying for Her Country: The American and Soviet Women Military Pilots of World War II" (Potomac Books, 2009). She is on the board of directors of the National WASP World War II Museum, located in Sweetwater, Texas.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Easing Air-Traffic Congestion
Radar tracks of WestJet Airlines flights at Kelowna, British Columbia, before RNP procedures were put in place.
Radar tracks of WestJet Airlines after RNP procedures were activated show how the new system allows more-precise tracks for flights.
Radar tracks of WestJet Airlines after RNP procedures were activated show how the new system allows more-precise tracks for flights.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Stoopeed? Yup. Stupid.
Britain Finds Drugs on Plane; Crew Arrested
LONDON (Agence France-Presse) — The crew members of a South African Airways plane were arrested Tuesday after about $450,000 worth of cannabis and cocaine were found on a flight from Johannesburg to London, customs officials said.
Border agency officials found 110 pounds of cannabis, worth about $210,000, and 9 pounds of cocaine, worth about $240,000, in three suitcases, said a spokesman for Britain’s revenue and customs agency.
All 15 members of the plane’s flight and cabin crew — 10 women and five men — were arrested after the plane landed at Heathrow Airport at 8 a.m.
Customs agents found the cannabis in the suitcases when the crew members passed through a customs clearance point, said Bob Gaiger, the spokesman.
Additional searches revealed a white powder that tested positive for cocaine.
“Interviews will be taking place and will probably go into tomorrow, and then we will decide whether we are going to charge anyone,” Mr. Gaiger said. The pilot was among the crew members who were detained, he added.
Mr. Gaiger underlined how seriously British customs took such cases, saying that it was committed to playing “a vital role in the fight to prevent illegal drugs from entering the U.K. and in protecting our communities from the violence and corruption that always accompany this hideous trade.”
Friday, January 16, 2009
Oops!
This is pure Fox News logic:
The hero pilot who miraculously guided his crippled jet into a textbook landing in the icy Hudson River was a straight-A student as a schoolboy in Denison, Texas — but his school district gets an "F" for making his academic records public.
Oops!
Ace pilot Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III was in seclusion Friday, a day after he saved the lives of 155 passengers and crew aboard US Airways Flight 1549. But America was learning much about its newest hero — even his IQ scores.
• Click here for photos.Shame on 'em ... but, heu, as long as the stuff is out there ...
The hero pilot who miraculously guided his crippled jet into a textbook landing in the icy Hudson River was a straight-A student as a schoolboy in Denison, Texas — but his school district gets an "F" for making his academic records public.
Oops!
Ace pilot Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III was in seclusion Friday, a day after he saved the lives of 155 passengers and crew aboard US Airways Flight 1549. But America was learning much about its newest hero — even his IQ scores.
• Click here for photos.Shame on 'em ... but, heu, as long as the stuff is out there ...
Friday, September 26, 2008
Thursday, July 31, 2008
A new airplane
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