MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida is home to the 6th Air Mobility Wing of the USAF. The wing comprises the 6th Operations Group, 6th Maintenance Group, 6th Mission Support Group and the 6th Medical Group. The base is also home to other units including the United States Central Command, United States Special Operations Command and teams… Read More MacDill Stratotankers
The Lockheed XFV-1 was an experimental VTOL aircraft prototype designed to demonstrate that a fighter could be deployed on convoy ships to provide them with air cover. It would take off and land from a tail sitting position. It was certainly a unique concept! The US Navy ordered the aircraft in 1951 and 2 prototypes were built… Read More Lockheed XFV-1 a failed experiment in VTOL
“Texas Raiders” operated by the Commemorative Air Force – Gulf Coast Wing is regarded as one of the best restored Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress bombers still flying today. Restored to World War Two configuration this 1945 era bomber is a magnificent machine and I was lucky enough to see her take to the sky recently at the 2014 Sun… Read More “Texas Raiders” B-17G Flying Fortress
The core mission of the USAF Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk is recovery of military personnel under stressful conditions such as being under direct fire and includes search and rescue. The pilots and crews of these choppers are true heroes. They go into “hot” situations in hell holes like the battlefields of Afghanistan and bring downed pilots… Read More Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk – Aerial Savior
A fifth generation fighter with super maneuverability, stealth technology, high-speed and advanced weaponry. The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor air superiority fighter truly is a thing of deadly beauty.
2011 marked the Centennial of US Naval Aviation, a service that started very humbly with only 2 Curtiss Pusher Biplanes in 1911. The first take off from a warship was completed by Eugene Ely on November 14th, 1910 in Virginia from the cruiser USS Birmingham which had a temporary platform erected over the bow. A few months later he completed… Read More The Centennial of US Naval Aviation – Pensacola, Florida 2011
