Canada to Buy Mothballed Danish Drones – Airplanes

Canada’s Department of National Defense (DND) is interested in purchasing ten aerial drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), from Denmark that never worked for that country. This will be the latest in a series of highly publicized investments in used, faulty military equipment that the Canadian government has purchased in recent years.

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World War II Airmen’s Remains Brought Home – Airplanes

The Department of Defense announced that military investigators have found and identified the remains of nine airmen who went missing in action during World War II. After the remains were identified using DNA and dental records, they were returned to the United States. Several of the airmen were to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery along with human remains from the site that could not be identified. Five of the crash victims were to be buried at another location.

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Flying High in a P51 Mustang

Chances are pretty good that I’ll never get to fly a P51 Mustang, but I recently had the chance to pretend. The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. offers visitors a ride in a P51 Mustang simulator. I gladly handed over $7.50 for a mere five minutes of sim time.

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Cleared for Landing Interstate 80 – Airplanes

One of the things that my flight instructor stressed repeatedly was, “Land on the centerline!” and whenever I was even slightly off, she let me hear about it. I understand why – bad things can happen when an aircraft goes off the runway. Okay, but how about when you land an airplane on the Interstate? Does it make everything okay if you land on the centerline?

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Shape Changing Airplane Under Development for US Military

The United States military has contracted Northrop Grumman to deliver a specialized unpiloted aircraft by 2020. The first blueprint is due in late 2007, and the aircraft manufacturer is to complete an operable test model by 2011. The plane will be capable of achieving Mach speed as well as fly slowly for extended periods.

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Air Traffic Control in Your Own Home

If you enjoy listening to pilots speaking with the tower when you’re on a commercial flight, the Internet now allows you to do the same thing from home. In any search engine, enter Air Traffic Control Live Feed and you’ll find sites from which you can download live audio feeds. You’ll need Real Player to listen but you can download it free from these websites. Some also provide maps of the airports. Tune into Sydney, Calgary, Hong Kong, or other locales and follow along as pilots land and takeoff in airplanes of all types.

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