M2

Seventy-five years ago today yesterday, on 14 Oct 1949, the Chase Aircraft Company’s prototype XC-123 (or “Avitruc”) completed its first flight above Trenton, New Jersey. The XC-123 was essentially a derivative of a World War II “assault glider” with a pair of engines added to it in order to transport troops and supplies to small unprepared fields in forward combat areas. Its 110-foot wingspan was described in papers at the time as being “only 10 feet shorter than the Wright Brothers’ first flight.” Robert W. Wheatley was the pilot for this first flight. The XC-123 developed into the production model Fairchild C-123 Provider, a rugged short-range assault transport that saw heavy use during the Vietnam War. (Photo: NMUSAF)

I worked for the 390 ECS at MHAFB during my enlisted days. The EF was a great jet and mission!

Tomorow (9 Oct 2024) marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of when the SR-71 (unofficially nicknamed the “Blackbird” on account of its eye-catching—and high-emissivity—black paint scheme) flew its very last flight during an Edwards AFB Open House and Air Show on 9 Oct 1999. Designed by the Lockheed Corporation (today Lockheed Martin) from their earlier A-12 and YF-12A aircraft, the SR-71 was a long-range strategic reconnaissance aircraft—that also ranked as the world’s fastest and highest-flying production aircraft. First flying in December 1964, the SR-71 entered service with the Air Force in 1966. It was retired from the operational Air Force inventory on 26 Jan 1990, largely due to its high cost of operation, but continued to fly for NASA through the ’90s. The SR-71’s last flight was performed by NASA 844 (an SR-71 A-model, s/n 61-7980) and it was flown by NASA pilot Rogers E. Smith (pictured here with a NASA SR-71 in 1992). Smith flew the SR-71 up to 80,100 feet on this sortie, and achieved speeds of Mach 3.21. The aircraft was actually supposed to fly one more day, with its final flight originally planned for 10 Oct 1999—but a fuel leak grounded it after its flight on the 9th. (Photo: NASA)

This Saturday marks the 60th anniversary of the XB-70 exceeding Mach I for the first time! In 1954, the US Air Force issued a General Operational Requirement calling for a strategic bomber to replace the Boeing B52—which had not yet even become operational. After further studies and refinement over the ensuing months, Weapons System 110A emerged, specifying a large payload, intercontinental range, subsonic cruise, “maximum possible” speed during a lengthy “penetration dash,” and an operational date of 1963. Only Boeing and North American Aviation elected to take on this considerable challenge. It was just seven years after the tiny, rocket-powered X1 first “broke the sound barrier,” but now the Air Force wanted to fly a massive bomber across the world, at a minimum of 60,000 feet, going two or three times as fast as Chuck Yeager did. Even current fighters could not hit these performance requirements, regardless of range. To further complicate the design, the contract also called for a reconnaissance version of the plane to be developed simultaneously. The radical specifications resulted in initially radical designs from Boeing and North American. Both concepts used disposable fuel tanks and weighed threequarters of a million pounds (for comparison, a B52 is less than 200,000 pounds). Realizing the folly of this approach, the Air Force permitted more technology/performance tradeoffs and, in 1957, selected North American’s new design, dubbed the XB70, as the winner. It featured a massive delta wing, six engines that propelled it beyond Mach 3, and an extended “swan neck” front fuselage that was graced by canards (small control wings) on either side. But from the fall of 1957 into 1958, global events outpaced the program. The Soviets had launched Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, and the US had drastically accelerated its Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) programs. The ICBMs topped with nuclear warheads could hit the Soviet Union faster (and more cheaply), were nearly invulnerable to interception, and would be ready sooner than massive and expensive bombers like the XB70. The resulting debate was heavily swayed by the ICBM, the potential vulnerability of even highspeed aircraft to interception or surface to air missiles, and by the cancellation of a related fighter program that used many of the same systems, thereby sharing development costs. After several fits and starts, the XB70 program was reduced to just two airframes as prototype/research demonstrators. The first XB70 Valkyrie rolled out of the North American plant at Palmdale, California, on 11 May 1964, and made its first flight on 21 September, concluding at the adjacent Edwards AFB for the rest of the test program. The pilots had planned to take the Valkyrie past Mach 1 on that maiden voyage, but its landing gear got stuck in the lowered position. A second attempt had a hydraulic failure and saw a “large amount” of paint peel from the aircraft (below). Finally, on 12 October 1964, the XB70 exceeded the speed of sound for the first time. The remaining test program experienced a fair share of difficulties, culminating in a midair collision that destroyed the second prototype. NASA briefly flew the remaining airplane for further research, until it made its final journey—to Wright-Patterson AFB for display at the National Museum of the USAF. (Photos: NMUSAF) B-58 Hustler: Length: 96 ft 9.4 in, Wingspan: 56 ft 9.9 in XB-70 Valkyrie: Length: 186 ft, Wingspan: 105 ft

The Army figured it out before the Air Force! Army's Top Enlisted Leader Removed Diversity Consideration for Top Enlisted Roles The Army's top enlisted leader has removed key guidance that required diversity to be considered when selecting individuals to serve in upper-level noncommissioned officer positions, according to a memo reviewed by Military.com. Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer, the top enlisted leader of the force, recently issued new guidance on selecting command sergeants major that was essentially copy-and-pasted from his predecessor -- with one exception. It removes a line directing that a command sergeant major candidate's diversity be considered... (full article at title link)

On 24 Sep 1919, McCook Field chief test pilot Maj Rudolph W. “Shorty” Schroeder set an altitude record of 30,900 feet for an airplane carrying a passenger—besting his own record made earlier that month by 1,900 feet in the same Packard-LePere LUSAC-11 biplane, equipped with an experimental turbocharger developed at McCook with General Electric (the LUSAC-11 is shown here during one of the two-man altitude record attempts—note the flight crew’s special flying gear and the turbo on the front of the engine). However, Schroeder was so unimpressed with beating his previous record by “only” 1,900 feet that he suggested they not even bother calibrating the figures, because he would just do better next time. Indeed, on 4 Oct, Maj Schroeder and Lt George Elsey smashed that record by reaching 33,450 feet. Schroeder’s Army career ended a few months later during a solo altitude record flight when his protective gear failed, nearly killing him and leaving him temporarily blind. (Photos: AFLCMC/HO)

Electronic Warfare Spooks Airlines, Pilots and Air-Safety Officials If you don't have access to the WSJ, log onto the USAF MWR library website using your DoD Identification Number and DOB, then go under 'Find A Resource' and search for it... https://daf.dodmwrlibraries.org/ By the way, I already checked...there are no gun magazines listed! 🤬🤬🤬

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-army/2024/09/19/oops-army-training-mislabeled-nonprofits-as-terror-groups-for-years/

55 years ago today, 19 Sep 1969, the first air-launched test of an AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missile took place at Edwards AFB, California. The missile was launched from an F-4E Phantom II (shown here carrying two orange-and-white Mavericks during testing), flown by McDonnell Douglas test pilot F. H. “Buck” Rogers. Although the original operational Maverick was television guided, the missile tested on this date was unguided and was primarily fired to demonstrate safe separation and launching from an aircraft. The Hughes Aircraft Company had been developing the missile since about 1966, and the first production version of the AGM-65A was delivered to the Air Force in August 1972. The Maverick remains in use today, though it is now produced by Raytheon, which bought the Hughes Aircraft Company in a 1997 merger. (Photo: NMUSAF)

Who did you order your suppressor from, and what model did you get?

What a great story and video!! 🤣🤣🤣 Pager explosions kill Hezbollah fighters, wound thousands in Lebanon | Reuters Unclassified sources say it was a supply-chain attack by the Israelis. I can't wait to read the intel on this!

Billy had better be done!

And to show I do have a sense of humor (and was at UF during this time!)... 1.7M views · 8.4K reactions Posted @withregram • @collegesportsonly 👉 Follow @collegesportsonly for more! 🏈🏀⚾️ This spoof Florida football entrance exam wi.mp4

Like it? I lived it! 😎😎😎

1.2M views · 20K reactions Famous Owens Justin Nunley Justin Nunley · Original audio.mp4

On 12 Sep 1947, an experimental new autopilot (or “mechanical brain,” as it was reported by the press) developed over the past two years at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio, was used to fly a C-54 Skymaster from the All-Weather Test Center in Wilmington, Ohio, (an adjunct of Wright Field) to Bangor, Maine, to Miami, Florida, and then back again to Ohio. It was the second of three tests of the autopilot that year, with an earlier test conducted cross-country from Long Beach, California, to Dayton in June. The third test, occurring on 21 September, saw a crew of 11 fliers and observers flying across the Atlantic from Newfoundland to England. That third flight made national headlines, and won its commander—Col James M. Gillespie—the Thurman H. Bane Award (named for the McCook Field commander from 1918-1922) for 1947. (Photo: NMUSAF)

Today in 1953, the Air Intercept Missile (AIM)-9A prototype Sidewinder missile had its first successful fire and kill above China Lake, California, at the Naval Ordnance Test Station (today called the Naval Air Weapons Station—about an hour’s drive north of Edwards AFB). The experimental heat-seeking air-to-air missile was fired by Lieutenant Commander Albert S. Yesensky (USN) from an AD-4 (A-1) Skyraider at a radio-controlled F6F-5K Hellcat “drone.” As the location of the testing and the affiliation of the pilot firing it suggests, this missile was originally developed for the Navy; but it was later adapted by the Air Force for fighter aircraft use and entered the Air Force inventory in 1956. It saw heavy use during the Vietnam War—and its latest versions remain in use today as advanced short-range air-to-air missiles. (Photo: NMUSAF)

80 years ago today, 10 Sep 1944, the C-82 Packet’s prototype made its first flight above the Fairchild plant in Hagerstown, Maryland. Incorporating notable design features that would become the standard for cargo aircraft, such as its tricycle landing gear and high wings and tail (which allowed vehicles to approach it from any angle without fear of a collision), it was the first aircraft designed specifically for cargo transfer during WWII. Indeed, even its name, the “Packet,” harkened to the packet ships that hauled cargo up and down the coasts between seaports. But although it was designed for cargo, it did also see use as a troop transport, and could carry up to 41 paratroopers or 34 medical stretchers. In the photo, from Oct 1944, the aircraft’s clamshell rear doors are opened to show-off how efficient its cargo and vehicle loading operations could be. (Photo: NMUSAF) Note: 223 aircraft were built, and the C-82 was retired from the USAF inventory in 1954. Small numbers were sold to civilian operators in Brazil, Chile, Mexico and the US and were utilized for many years as rugged freight aircraft, capable of carrying bulky items of cargo. The last example was retired in the late 1980s. Static displays: 44-23006 – Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. 45-57814 – Hagerstown Aviation Museum in Hagerstown, Maryland. The aircraft was flown to the airport on 15 October 2006, marking the world's last flight of a C-82. 48-0574 – McChord Air Museum at McChord Field in Tacoma, Washington. 48-0581 – National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio

In 1954, the Air Force purchased the first 29 of its future 700+/- strong KC-135 Stratotanker fleet; and on 9 Sep in 1954, Tinker AFB sent its representatives to an Air Materiel Command phasing group meeting to discuss the anticipated delivery of its initial KC-135As, which would begin arriving in August 1956. These earliest Stratotankers were sometimes called “steam jets” or “water wagons” on account of their heavy takeoff procedures: injecting demineralized water into their engines’ air inlet and diffuser sections. This technique added about 2,000 pounds of takeoff thrust for each engine by increasing air density, but it was incredibly noisy and produced a signature dark “storm cloud” behind the aircraft, as pictured here in this 92nd Bombardment Wing photo of a KC-135A’s “wet takeoff.” (Photo: USAF)

I get regurgitating the doctrinal brainwashing everyone gets in PME, but the truth is there is nothing agile "agile" in the USAF's ability to "outpace adversary action through movement and maneuver to achieve commander’s intent." And the ACE concept is not as strategic as you think, its goals are fairly operational and in some cases even tactical in nature... "When applied correctly, ACE complicates the enemy’s targeting process, creates political and operational dilemmas for the enemy, and creates flexibility for friendly forces. To effectively accomplish joint force commander objectives, ACE requires reexamining a wide variety of enabling systems, to include: command and control (C2), logistics under attack, counter-small unmanned aircraft systems, air and missile defense, and offensive and defensive space and cyber capabilities" For the most part the Air Force has always been more reactive than proactive, and I don't expect that to change in the future no matter how many think tank reports it adopts. Creating buzzwords (e.g., MCA) and renaming units to "sound more expeditionary" is lipstick on a pig, until Big Blue truly works through the problem and invests in its ability to move quickly and effectively to counter a threat, the results will remain the same (i.e., predictive)...

Locally known as "Edgars" who typically hang out at the Ingram Park Mall off Marbach Road! Usually seen driving hoopty Honda Civics, Dodge Neons or clapped out Lexus with obnoxiously loud fart cans and cut springs which make the car bounce like a kangaroo whenever it hits one of the endless potholes that adorn our great city! Luckily, you can hear the stereo bass rattling the windows and vibrating every body panel loose from over a mile away! I suspect these types were the culprits!

Just learned Cruiser graduated from UF eight months before I arrived! I was late getting there due to a necessary enlistment in the USAF, otherwise we would have graduated and commissioned at the same time...

Seemed like the most appropriate place to post this... Accidental shooting at child’s birthday party leads to two arrests in JBSA-Lackland shootings https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2024/09/04/arrests-made-in-connection-with-shootings-near-jbsa-lackland-in-august/ SAN ANTONO – An accidental shooting at a child’s birthday party led to the arrests of two teenagers in connection with a pair of shootings near the gates of JBSA-Lackland in August. Joseph Jimenez, 19, and Ricardo Samaniego,18, were arrested on deadly conduct with a firearm charge, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus and Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said at a news conference Wednesday at Public Safety Headquarters. Salazar said that on the evening of Aug. 17, several people were playing with a gun at a party in the 1500 block of Marbach Oaks that Jimenez and Samaniego attended. At some point the gun went off, wounding Samaniego, who was holding a baby. Evidence at the scene of the party matched those found at the scene of the shootings at the military installation, Salazar said. “We were able to positively link a shell casing from that shooting to a hit on the case that SAPD is now handling for their shooting at JBSA,” Salazar said. Jimenez and another teen fled the scene with the gun, which had an illegal switch that converts the firearm from a semiautomatic to an automatic weapon. Salazar said the gun is what Jimenez used to fire “negligently” at a field near JBSA-Lackland. “Video evidence was found indicating Jimenez and Samaniego acted together to drive the stolen car around and fire multiple rounds into the direction of multiple houses in a field by JBSA,” McManus said. Jimenez later admitted to the shooting and faces three counts of deadly conduct with a firearm. Samaniego faces two counts of the same charge, which is a third-degree felony that is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Federal charges are also possible due to the illegal switch found on the gun officials said was used in the shooting. In addition to SAPD and BCSO, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the FBI and the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case.