The A 10 Warthog Thunderbolt II
Learn more about airplane commonly called the Warthog or Hog. The airplane is called the A-10 Thunderbolt II and its airplane you don’t want to mess with. The A-10 Warthog was designed to do one thing and one thing alone, and that is to destroy anything and everything in its path. The A-10 Warthog is nothing more that a super powerful and super aerodynamic flying tank buster gun. Officially the airplane was designed for close air support. Meaning, it will attack and totally destroy tanks, heavily armored vehicles and buildings. The A-10 Warthog started rolling out in 1977 as an attempt to be used towards thwarting the increased number of ground attacks on airplanes during the Vietnam War. However, the original concept of the airplanes was released for pre production to multiple aircraft manufacturing companies in 1967. The goal was to produce an affordable, simple and effective attack aircraft. And ten years later, production of the 9.8 Million dollar airplane started. A total of 715 were built. That may sound like a lot of money, but 9.8 million dollars is nothing compared to the prices of Boeing Jets.
So what’s all the hype about this Flying Gun?
What’s the big deal.. its just an airplane with a gun… right?
WRONG! This airplane is equipped with a 30 mm GAU-8/A Avenger Gatling gun. This sucker shoots off 4200 rounds per minute! This gun and the massive shells being fired are so powerful it can destroy a heavily armored tank. Within seconds, the tank that was there is no longer… it only takes just a few direct hits but the A-10 makes absolutely sure and can fire off 50 rounds in one second and 70 rounds per second there after. As mentioned above… the A-10 Warthog is not an airplane you want to mess with!
Here is a Video of the A-10 Warthog
Learn More About The A-10 Warthog
Here are some great references that will allow you to learn even more about the A-10 Warthog. These are all worth your time to read. Enjoy.
The A-10 Warthog is one of my favorite airplanes. If you want to learn even more about the A-10 Warthog, I would suggest reading the article written on Wikipedia, the article on FAS (Military Analysis Network) and be sure to Google it. The A-10 Warthog is a very impressive airplane. Drop me a comment and tell me what is one of your favorite airplanes.
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How Strong Is Jet Blast
Just in case you have been wondering how strong jet blast is and what kind of damage it could cause to you or random objects such as a truck, take a look at this video.
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Cessna Model 162 Skycatcher Unveiled
On July 22nd 2007, Cessna announced the release of their new Cessna Model 162 Skycatcher.
File Photo of the Cessna 162 Skycatcher.
The announcement took place at the annual Experimental Aircraft Association convention during a press conference. $109,500 dollars is the introductory price and orders were made at Oshkosh with a $10,000 dollar deposit. This introductory price is valid for the first 1000 orders, the price then increases to $111,500.
“For the past year, we have been soliciting feedback from the market on our proof-of-concept aircraft, and the result is an airplane that we believe is the most advanced and innovative in its class,” said Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack J. Pelton.
Source: Cessna.com
From what people describe this airplane, it appears to be a very nice aircraft. It’s has a slick and trendy new style and an excellent price to boot! Robert Mark at JetWhine published an excellent review of the Cessna 162 Skycatcher. Robert Mark was there when the new Cessna was unveiled. He speaks highly of the new aircraft and provides a few great pictures too.
The cabin is wide, as wide as a Cessna 206, according to Cessna CEO Jack Pelton. I didn’t do the math, but I can tell you the 162 was much more comfortable than either of the Cessna 152s I’ve owned.
Overall, I would say this airplane looks to be another winner along with the many other successful airplanes Cessna produces. More information to follow as additional news surfaces on this beautiful new Cessna 162.
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Airbus A320 Reverse Thrust Trend
What’s the deal with the Airbus A320 Reverse Thrust? I am not a pilot, nor am I very educated with the specifications or history of the Airbus A320. However, as a columnist, when I write an article about the Toncontin International Airport and soon discover a little history about the airport, it doesn’t take me long to put 2 + 2 together.
In the published article, I ventured out to find more sources so that I could add to it. I wanted to find out more information about the hill was bulldozed during the early 1990’s to help aid in landing larger commercial jet liners at the Toncontin International Airport. Upon finding an excellent article for me to use in adding more substance to my newly written article, I discovered one paragraph that caught my eye in relation to the new tragic Airbus A320 crash in Brazil. Below is a quote from the archived article written which I believe to have been published on July of 2006.
“The most recent accident occurred on February 3, 2001. Fortunately no one on board was injured or killed. The TACA Airbus A320, N465(PA/TA), suffered from a reverse thrust malfunction once on the ground. The pilots are to be considered the heroes. Had they not turned the airplane onto the closest taxiway to the end of the runway, they may have gone over the cliff, which is found only 100 ft (30 m) from the end of the runway. The runway here in TGU is very short compared with many runways in other countries. It is the second smallest international airport in the world. The actual length of the runway is 6,132 feet (1869 m).”
What strikes me as a little odd is the potential similarity in the situation with the February 3rd, 2001 Airbus A320 incident at Toncontin International Airport with the July 17th, 2007 Airbus A320 incident in Sao Paulo at the Congonhas airport. With the new July 17th 2007 incident it is reported that the Airbus A320 did not have full function of the reverse thrusters. Only one engine was capable while the other was not.
While I am not holding the reverse thrust failure as the only contributing factor to the tragic event that took place on July 17th, 2007… because there are many other elements that I believe played an active roll in the “Big Picture” of events; I am actually more focused on this failure itself and discovering if there are previous trends in this particular failure in the airplane itself. Furthermore, I can’t understand why an airline or the manufacture would allow an acceptance or an approval on operating an airplane, such as the Airbus A320 with such a failure. Regarding the Sao Paulo Airbus A320, the reverse thrust failure was actually known and documented prior to the crash. The airline knew about the failure before hand. So to me, I don’t understand why this problem wasn’t correct prior?
Is there a trend with reverse thrust failure in the Airbus A320? I don’t know. I know that there are many elements that each contribute towards the accident. One thing I would like to know more about is the break system in relation to the wet runway. If you look back on Lufthansa Flight #2904 on Sept. 14th, 1993 where sensors prevented the breaking systems from being activated where Airbus discovered that the accident could have been prevented and the A320 got equipped with new sensors.
Lufthansa Flight #2904
The main cause of this accident is the delayed effectiveness of the braking system. It turned out to be caused by a failure in the landing-logic of the aircraft’s software. Airbus discovered that the accident could have been prevented, if the logic had been reworked. But instead of modifying the logic, Airbus only exchanged the chassis sensors. Therefore the A320 got a new chassis, with a sensor that triggered at a pressure of 2 tons instead of 12 tons.
I am interested to see what the final reports are on TAM Linhas Aéreas Flight 3054. As it stands the report is that the aircraft was flying with a fault. The plane’s right thrust reverser, a mechanical device to help slow it down on landing, was jammed, but TAM said in a statement that a fault in a reverser “does not jeopardize landings”. In the same statement TAM also said “no mechanical problem had been recorded on July 16″ (the day before the accident).” However, it has been reported that the plane had difficulty braking on the same runway only one day prior to the fatal accident .
What is your take on the crash? Could it have been prevented? If so, how? Do you think the pilots were in error, or do you think preventing the accident was out of their control?
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Landing at Toncontin International Airport
I spend quite a bit of time on YouTube. What can I say… the videos are great. Granted, there are many stupid videos on YouTube; however, when you stumble upon videos such as one of an American Airlines Boeing 757 landing at Toncontin International Airport, it kind of makes the process of searching and sifting through the garbage of trashy videos worth the effort.
Photo by William L.B.J Dekker.
The Toncontin International Airport is a crazy airport. According to Wikipedia, Ryan Bert who wrote an article about the airport in 2001 on Airliners.net and photographer named William L.B.J Dekker, the Toncontin International Airport has one of the smallest runways in the world. To make matters worse, the airport is located on a plateau within the city of Comayaguela which is orientated between tall mountains. But wait, it gets even better! The runway itself is only 6132 feet long; however, it has a “displaced threshold” leaving only 5,436 feet of actual useable landing length. Oh but wait… it gets even better! In addition to the extremely short length, it also has a slight downhill slope making it even more difficult to land and stop. Could things possibly get any worse? Yes! Here is the final stab in the heart! 100 feet past the end of the runway is a cliff. If an airplane can’t stop in time, it will plummet down the dreadful cliff and crash. That is of course, if the planes doesn’t crash into traffic traveling on a street that is separated by a rickety and old 4 foot fence.
Over the years, several airplanes have crashed or have had major problems landing at Toncontin International Airport such as the TAN Boeing 727-200 (N88705) that crashed into the Cerro De Hule mountain in 1989. The mountain is commonly called “Rubber Hill”. The crash was fatal, killing 123 of the 138 passengers on board and killing 4 of the crew members.
TAN Boeing 727-200 Crashes Killing 123 In 1989
“The Boeing 727 had drifted from its VOR/DME to Runway 01. It crashed into Cerro de Hule (Translated into “rubber hill”) some 5,000 ft (1524 m) from the runway. This crashed killed 123 of the 138 passengers on board and half of the 8-member crew.”
- Ryan Bert
Passengers experience a lot of fear of landing at the Toncontin International Airport. Traffic lights have been installed and stop traffic when a commercial jet liner lands or takes off. There have been incidents in the past where an airplane made contact with the fence that separates the road from the runway as well as an airplane that hit a passenger bus.
“I am Honduran, and I gotta say that landing at Toncontin is almost suicidal. I’ve witnessed horrible landings even from major airlines. Some planes have tried even twice to land. That’s why they are building the one in Comayaguela. I love Honduras though!
Landing an airplane at the Toncontin International Airport is definitely a challenge. As challenging this may be for pilots, such as American Airlines Boeing 757 pilots, it may very well be more astonishing to watch from the ground. The Toncontin International Airport seems to have gained the interest of many aviation enthusiasts, spotters and photographers. Below is an amazing video I found on YouTube of an American Airlines Boeing 757 on final approach and landing at the Toncontin International Airport.
American Airlines Boeing 757 At Toncontin Airport
“Even though Honduras “FAA”(aeronautical civil and the government)had blasted some of the hillside nearby the approach stills a steep one and pilots of large planes “must” touch down the “zona de impacto” white lines or simply putting it, or else, it’s like landing onto an aircraft carrier…remember it is the shortest international runway around…but it’s fun landing in it……”
Have you ever landed at Toncontin International Airport as either the pilot or passenger? All around the world, which airport do you think is the most challenging to land? I would love to hear from you.
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The Aviation Blogroll Link Exchange
My name is Garry Conn. I am the owner and author of The Airplane Blog. My family has had involvement in the aviation industry for over 50 years. I have been around airplanes most all of my life as my father was a pilot and sold airplanes for a living. I am not a pilot but have a strong passion for aviation and I absolutely love airplanes. One day I will get my pilot’s license, more likely it will be in the upcoming years when my kids are grown and out of college. Flying would be just a hobby for me as it is something I know that I would enjoy a lot.
The Airplane Blog is always looking to link up with other blogs, web sites and sources of information that provide excellent and high quality content for the readers and viewers of this site. If you have an aviation related blog or web site and would like to exchange links with The Airplane Blog, simply post a comment below. I will be happy to visit your site and review it for inclusion into the site’s Aviation Blogroll section.
Please note that The Airplane Blog does not accept requests for the purpose of tweaking or enhancing your search engine rankings. The major search engines such as Google, work incredibly hard towards creating and maintaining systems that deliver a very accurate and effective experience for the end user. Abusing, or attempting to abuse these systems do only harm to yourself, your site and the readers and viewers of your site.
If you blog or web site hosts a wealth of rich and high quality information and is creative and unique; The Airplane Blog will consider it for inclusion in our Aviation Blogroll. Careful consideration is taken on any content added or published on the site.
If you feel that your blog or web site is something that you would like to share with the readers and visitors here on this site, please accept my invitation to exchange links with The Airplane Blog and submit your request using the comment form below.
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Amazing Citabria 7GCAA Airplane Video
The Internet’s growth is amazing. With the continuous growth of the Internet and the expanding growth of aviation, The Airplane Blog is a huge medium that puts the two elements together. Yesterday I published a wonderful article that shows a pilot named Catherine Cavagnaro, who was piloting a Cessna 152 into 60 turn spins with a flawless recovery. As it turns out, I believe the video was recorded in a flight simulator. My brother pointed that out to me this afternoon. I don’t want to take away from Catherine Cavagnaro’s skills; its a very impressive video, but I want to find some actual footage of a pilot performing the same maneuver not in a simulator. I want to find the “Real Deal”.
Amazingly, I found an awesome video of a pilot performing the same maneuver as Catherine did in her simulated Cessna 152 Aerobat. Only difference is that this video is of a Citabria 7GCAA airplane and not of a Cessna 152 Aerobat and the pilot does half the number of turn spins performed in Catherine’s simulator. However, this video is the real deal. It is not a simulation. This is a very impressive video. The Citabria is a two-seat fixed conventional gear general aviation airplane which entered production in the United States in 1964. It is mainly designed for flight training and recreational aviation use. However, the Citabria is very capable of sustaining hard aerobatic stresses, thus if you spell Citabria backwards you have AIRBATIC.
The Citabria was designed and initially produced by Champion Aircraft Corporation, and was a derivative of designs the company had been building since acquiring the 7-series Champ from Aeronca in 1954. The model 7ECA Citabria entered production at Champion in 1964. The 7GCAA and 7GCBC variants, added in 1965, were joined by the 7KCAB in 1968.
Check out this wonderful video of the Citabria 7GCCA airplane performing 28 turn spins with a quick and flawless recovery. This video is truly awesome.
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Cessna 152 Does 60 Turn Spins
I found an incredible video on YouTube of a pilot named Catherine Cavagnaro. She is a flight trainer and operator from the Ace Aerobatic School. In this video, she performs 60 turn spins in her Cessna 152 Aerobat. As you watch the video you can hear her sound off the number of spins. At times it almost seems like you can hear a little bit of anxiousness in her voice. I would be a little anxious too! As she counts the total numbers of spins, her altitude gets lower and lower. By the time she hits 60 turns, her plane was really low. Her skills were really illustrated when she demonstrated how quickly she recovered from the maneuver. Check out the video, this girl can fly!
The video is actually used as a demonstration for Ace Aerobatic School’s Spin Course Training.
The spin course covers spin theory, efficient recovery and typical flight situations that lead to inadvertent spins. Recoveries by instruments, emergency spin recovery procedures and a twenty turn spin may be included. The course may serve as a spin sign-off for the aspiring flight instructor as required by 14 CFR 61.183. With approximately three hours of ground school and two flights, this is normally a one-day course for one or two people. The Cessna Aerobat provides a solid and safe trainer for spins. - Aerobatic Spin Training
Ace Aerobatic School is operated by flight instructor Catherine Cavagnaro who holds CFI-I certificates in both single- and multi engine land airplanes. She is also a Professor of Mathematics at the University of the South and chairs the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. Catherine has served as a spin demonstration pilot at the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI) as well as on research and flight testing teams for the aircraft icing project using the UTSI variable-stability Navion. Not only is Catherine Cavagnaro a CFI-I single engine and multi engine certified flight instructor, but she is also the operator of the Ace Aerobatic School. In addition to flying, Catherine Cavagnaro is also a Professor of Mathematics at the University of the South where she also chairs the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. It’s no doubt that I would find her videos on YouTube. She is a person well ahead of the times. At the University of Tennessee Space Institute, she has served as a demonstrator in turn spinning. The Aircraft Owner’s and Pilot’s Association featured Ace Aerobatic School in its August 2006 issue and published two associated multimedia presentations.
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Boeing Makes A Ton of Money!
Boeing is a very busy aircraft manufacturing company. As of July 10th, 2007 they have sold a grand total of 580 airplanes. 229 of these airplanes sold are the brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. This company is making a lot money! The numbers will blow you away! I can tell you this, Boeing is a company to be reckoned with. In the near future, I may write an article on Airbus to see some comparisons in their numbers as Airbus does manufacture some really amazing aircraft as well. All in all, Boeing has some amazing number this year.
So far this year, Boeing has sold 580 airplanes…Here is the breakdown:
- 239 Boeing 737’s
(price range is $50 to 85 million dollars per plane)- 6 Boeing 747’s
(price range is $228 to $297 million dollars per plane)- 36 Boeing 767’s
(price range is $124 to $169 million dollars per plane)- 70 Boeing 777’s
(price range is $200 to $254 million dollars per plane)- 229 Boeing 787’s
(price range is $146 to $200 million dollars per plane)
Oh good grief, these numbers are difficult to even total. My cheap pocket Casio calculator doesn’t have enough digits to calculate these numbers. Well here goes, these number will blow your mind:
- Boeing 737 Sales:
($11,950,000,000 to $20,315,000,000 billion dollars)- Boeing 747 Sales:
($1,368,000,000 to $1,782,000,000 billion dollars)- Boeing 767 Sales:
($4,464,000,000 to $6,084,000,000 billion dollars)- Boeing 777 Sales:
($14,000,000,000 to $17,780,000,000 billion dollars)- Boeing 787 Sales:
($33,434,000,000 to $47,800,000,000 billion dollars)
That is a lot of money man! So far this year, Boeing has made anywhere between $65,216,000,000 billion dollars to $93,761,000,000 billion dollars selling airplanes!
This leads to one question I want to ask you:
… how would you like to do their taxes? Do you think the good old copy of Turbo Tax at Wal-mart could do the job? 
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Why Does Boeing Have A Blog?
For major corporations such as Boeing, blogging is a very powerful way to engage and interact with the general public. It doesn’t surprise me one bit to see that Boeing has an official blog site. Boeing is a very intelligent company and they do many things right. And to be honest, building beautiful and state of the art jet liners isn’t the only thing they do right. Any company that manufactures something so astonishing such as the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner and also has an official blog to address the general public is totally doing right in my eyes.
Look at it this way… you can’t go a single day without fighting automated phone systems or dealing with customer representatives from foreign countries. Doing business or getting answers on the phone is very difficult and at times near impossible. So, what do you want to know about Boeing and their fleet of aircraft? Would you rather attempt to call Boeing, and fight through an automated phone systems and voicemail boxes, or would you rather visit their official blog and read high quality information about their company, aircraft, financials and more. Even more, instead of speaking on the phone to an operator (assuming you can actually get one) and crossing your fingers and hoping that your call can get transferred correctly without getting disconnected, how you would like to get answers straight from the horses mouth?
How would you like to ask a question or leave a comment on an article written and published by Boeing’s Vice President in Marketing? That sounds much better than the latter. And it’s true. Randy Tinseth is the official blogger of Boeing. He has been with the company for more than 25 years. Over the last 25 years with Boeing, Randy Tinseth has worked in engineering, sales, and marketing. Today he holds the title of vice president in marketing and official blogger for Boeing. And what more could you ask for in a spokesperson for Boeing. Tinseth is experienced, skilled and has been apart of the Boeing successes for almost three decades. If you have a question about Boeing, who would you rather talk to, an operator or Randy Tinseth?
Being named “Randy” isn’t the only qualification necessary to be a Boeing blogger – but it doesn’t hurt! Randy Tinseth has been with the company for more than 25 years - in a number of areas, including engineering, sales, and marketing. - Randy Tinseth.
Randy T. began his career at Boeing in June 1981, as a flight test engineer on the certification of the Boeing 757 and 767. At that time little did he know at that time, there would be the invention of the Internet and he would eventually be the official blogger of Boeing.
You should check out Randy’s Journal. He is an excellent writer and publisher as well as an excellent vice president in marketing.
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