Britain, let’s say the UK , is a great country for aviation. I would add, this is the greatest country in the world for aviation. They have given the world the Battle of Britain, therefore the Spitfire, and then so many great aircrafts and jet fighters. One can only be thankful for Britain and aviation. They mix together so well. Now a new company will probably set up in the UK within the next months offering a great experience : jet rides and trials for pilots and would be pilots. And the jet is to be the L-39 Albatros, a jet trainer extensiveley used in the East Block and countries. The structure is being set up in accordance with the CAA and we are all looking forward to new operations of fighters to be live soon.
Because i think this is the great miss of our institutions and civil enforcement agencies. They lack the desire, the will to make it happen and more than ever, they lack the skills, culture and history of where we come from. I met recently with a chap from France, and figures in hand, demonstrated that less than 5% of the people working in the aviation ruling body were actually pilots. I thinks this is scary when you consider the job and dollar market of aviation in France. And it seems to go for more countries in the world. The percentage is a bit higher in the US, but we are still far from whereit should be. That’s the problem, people making rules who don’t know shit about what they are doing.
OK, let’s get positive… We wish all the very best to this new crew nd we hope to be able to report on them very soon. We met in France in the past and they are awsome. I am sure they will be greater in the UK as the Brits are just crazy about aviation.
The Air Force used to test their latest aircrafts at night. Especially the F-117, F-22 and other bombers. They would be dark painted and people nearby would claim the area was filled with extra terrestrials. That was Area 51. Now, it seems they are doing this in broad daylight. And of course, by chance, you can spot the aircraft. A group of aviation enthusiasts just spotted the latest UFO – jet fighter – bomber – Air Force aircraft by simply looking up in the sky. The group was gathered at a Amarillo International Airport, a local and well known plane spotter favourite. Steven Douglass was there mostly to try to catch a glimpse of the F-22 Raptor. On that day, however, the group spotted something new and different. “We looked southwest and there they were,” Steve Douglass, a journalist and member of the group, told FoxNews.com. “We thought they were B-2s, but when we studied our pictures, we ruled that out.” The group saw three planes flying about 20 miles from their location and took pictures with 300mm zoom cameras. Douglass said after looking at the photos he realized the trailing edge on one of the planes is not the same as a B-2 bomber and soon realized he may have spotted a new military plane. The photos tell us more about what the mysterious stranger isn’t than what it is. The size is very hard to determine, for example, although the image size at contrailing height suggests that it is bigger than an X-47B. However, the basic shape - while it resembles Boeing’s Blended Wing Body studies or the Swift Killer Bee/Northrop Grumman Bat unmanned air system - is different from anything known to have flown at full size, lacking the notched trailing edge of Northrop Grumman’s full-size designs. The aircraft seen here was accompanied by two others.
This and the fact that Steve picked up some apparently related voice traffic suggests that the aircraft is piloted: I doubt that you’d dispatch three large, classified unmanned aircraft anywhere in formation. The risk of a midair would be present, and such an event would be non-career-optimal. What is very surprising is that the air Force is now having fun, demonstrating and training in full view. I guess the aircraft will be revealed soon. But therefore I am highly excited at guessing what they have in store, testing in black programs and that will surface within the next 10 years.
Here comes the new breed of fighters: the OPV. This stands for the Optionally Piloted Vehicle. It’s a mix between an aircraft and a drone. It is a hybrid between a conventional aircraft and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Able to fly with or without a human crew on board the aircraft, OPVs are a low-cost alternative to UAVs in research, experimentation, and concept exploration, but may also become used in mainstream operations as familiarity with them increases. Unimpeded by a human’s physiological limitations, an OPV is able to operate under more adverse conditions and/or for greater endurance times. Retaining on-board controls, the OPV can operate as a conventional aircraft during missions for which direct human control is preferred or desired as an immediate option. We are getting more info about these OPVs as they get in the news, with more countries purchasing this type of “aircraft”. Indeed, Qatar’s armed forces have signed a memorandum of understanding with Thales linked to the development of an optionally-piloted aircraft to be used during intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) tasks. “The airframe selected by the Qatar armed forces will be integrated with a mission systems capability to enable the optionally-piloted capability,” says Thales, following a signing ceremony conducted during the DIMDEX exhibition in Doha on 27 March. “Unimpeded by a human’s physiological limitations, an OPV [optionally-piloted vehicle] is able to operate under more adverse conditions and/or for greater endurance times,” the French company says. Under the terms of the agreement, the company will also be responsible for providing “a full, end-to-end training solution” to the Gulf state. Further details about the arrangement – including potential candidate airframe types – have not been revealed. Thales’s experience in the unmanned systems sector includes its UK operating unit’s role as prime contractor for the British Army’s Watchkeeper tactical ISTAR system. It also produces sensors suitable for carriage by such aircraft, including the I-Master synthetic aperture radar and ground moving target indication payload. The company is also part of a Dassault-led team which is offering the Rafale multirole fighter to meet the Qatar Emiri air force’s future requirements. The French bid faces competition from types including the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and F-15, the Eurofighter Typhoon and Lockheed Martin’s F-16.
Where is MH370 ? This is the craziest story. This is actually the first time that a 777 disappears in such a way, without being able to locate the aircraft 10 days after it vanished. There are many speculations about what happened, as well as many theories as to where the aircraft would be. Some are pure fantasies, bit others may well be realistic. Given all the details about this flight, anyone could try to make a movie about it. And meanwhile, relatives of the disappeared remain without any news or update. Here are some of the weird facts about this flight:
Some passengers were flying with fake passports
The pilot received a mysterious phone call two minutes before it vanished – and that call has not been traceable.
The aircraft kept flying for 7 hours after vanishing
All contact equipments have been turned off or neutralized
Some passengers were hi tech engineers subcontracted by the defense, working on a technology enabling a plane to “disappear” from radars
No country, officially, has been able to trace the aircraft
Data from the pilot’s flight simulator have been voluntarily deleted from the computer
The aircraft went really high – up to 45000 feet – and then flew at low altitude.
It’s hard to put everything into pieces to actually create a good story, or one that could give hope to the relatives. One could imagine that the plane has been hijacked by the pilot or co pilot and flown to some place where terrorists would be able to trade the passengers against dollars, as well as the plane, or transform it into a weapon of some sort. Another more plausible story would be that there was a fire in the plane and the pilot has been able to turn around but all became incapacitated with the smoke, hence continued to fly until the aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed. We can then assume that the pilot gained altitude to try to extinguish the fire – lower oxygen at high altitude.
We can speculate for hours, and chances are we will not find the black box in the time, before it stops sending a signal. But the extraordinary story of the flight MH370 also demonstrates that – unless some countries are lying about their capacities – countries are unable to track aircrafts. That seems a bit odd in today’s world. The NSA can spy on virtually anything, anywhere in the world, but they would be unable to track back a plane ?
Give us your ideas about this flight on our Facebook page.
It is amazing how any situation can become catastrophic within hours. We were just watching the Olympics and within minutes, we are now on the verge of war. Ukraine is between a rock and a hard place, and although tempted to go west to Europe, half of the country would rather go east to mother Russia. We thoughts the events would manage themselves as they have in the Arab spring revolutions, but that was without Vladimir. As a result, tension has grown with Russia playing the bad boy, Europe trying to remain vocal, and now, the USA are going forward too. The Pentagon says six U.S. F-15 fighter jets have arrived in Lithuania to bolster air patrols over the Baltics as the stand-off over Russia’s military incursion into Ukraine continues. A U.S. warship is also now in the Black Sea to participate in long-planned exercises. The fighter jets and 60 U.S. military personnel landed at Siauliai Air Base in Lithuania, adding to the four F-15s and 150 troops already there to do the air patrol mission. The additional fighters came from RAF Lakenheath in England. The Navy destroyer USS Truxtun is participating in exercises with Romania and Bulgaria and is expected to be in the Black Sea for several days. The U.S. and other Western nations are preparing sanctions against Russia for its recent move to send military troops into Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. Meanwhile, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed the sudden inspection of 150,000 or so troops across western Russia were not related to the events in the Ukraine, even though some were undertaken just beyond the Ukrainian border. So are we going to war or is it just a matter of showing who’s got the biggest ?
You want to fly a jet fighter? Great… Now, why not flying in formation, in a jet fighter ! That’s even better. This is a once in a lifetime experience to share whilst flying a jet fighter. Enjoy the incredible sensations and views of the other aircraft while flying upside down or at low altitude. More than a jet fighter ride, you get to share with a friend or loved one, making it the best experience possible. The jet fighter ride is done in France. Formation flying requires precision and action. Fighter pilots are masters of precision and this experience will get you under the skin of such pilots. You will have to manage your own emotions as you get to enjoy a jet fighter ride, fly the jet for a moment, and experience formation flying, with the wings of the aircrafts very close, and doing evolutions together.
We have 2 different flight times to allow you to benefit from 2 experiences depending on your budget. But in all flights, you will get the full sensations of a fighter pilot, the difference being the distance and landscapes we can reach as we fly for a longer period of time.
The first flight is 30mn long. This is a discovery flight of what fighter pilots experience every day. Flying north from Rennes, the flight is composed of 3 phases: discovery and flight – your pilot sees how you react to some evolutions and then gives you the controls of the aircraft. Second phase is aerobatics, with various evolutions with zero-g, loops, barrels… and then low altitude flying which gives you the sense of speed of flying a jet fighter close to the ground. The second jet fighter ride is 45mn. This is a discovery flight + flying up to Mont St Michel. This a great experience, with the chance to admire the beauty of this French icon, whether at low or high tide.
The Fouga Magister is one of the best designed fighter planes ever. Easy to fly, it brings security with its twin engines, and offers a great view thanks to its wide cockpit glass. Built in the 1950s, the Fouga Magister was conceived as a jet trainer. The plane was worked so well that it was quickly adopted by various air forces around the world, such as the Israeli air Force who used the plane extensively during the six days war in 1967. The Fouga Magister is one of the most agile fighter planes ever built. So much that it has been the favourite plane of the French national display team, The Patrouille de France, from 1964 to 1980, when it was replaced by Alphajets.
If you want to know more see the “fly a jet fighter” section of this website.
The Swiss are pushing democracy to a certain point which is quite amazing. They have recently being asked if they wanted more mosques to be built, if they wanted more foreigners to settle in, and now, politicians are saying the Swiss will have a say on their defense. Yes, a referendum will be held in May to ask the Swiss if they want to purchase 22 jet fighters from Sweden. It will cost 3.5Billion USD, so guess what the outcome will be ? This is a very peculiar way to administer a country, and especially, to administer defense, an area where usually citizens do not know the value of their protection. 3 billion dollars is a lot of money, so easy shortcut is simply to say no and lower taxes so they can live better. Not that they are living in dire conditions…
Approved by the government in 2011 and backed by parliament last September, the military deal cannot be blocked as such. But under Switzerland’s rules, opponents can contest the law on funding the purchase by tapping an annual 300 million Swiss francs from the military’s budget over 10 years.
The coalition campaigning against the deal is steered by the left-leaning Socialists and Greens, plus anti-militarists who last year lost in a referendum in which voters bucked a European trend and kept their conscription army. But the Gripen’s adversaries also include economic liberals opposed to the price tag. The opponents also say the chosen Gripen model exists on paper, as its maker, Sweden’s Saab, is still developing it. The Gripen fighters, however, are meant to replace Switzerland’s 54 F-5 Tigers, built by US group Northrop. “More than three decades old, they do not meet current operational requirements,” according to the air force.
So we will see in May what good comes out of this referendum, but it is fair to say that when politicians abandon guidance to make sure they can remain in place, these sorts of things happen. We can understand the price tag is expensive but surely, politicians are elected to deal with these sorts of matters. That’s democracy the Swiss way, pushed to the limits.
Ever wanted to experience something truly unique ? We love this experience so much: a real dogfight, in the air, with two aircrafts equipped with laser guns and smoke systems. The result is a day of great fun! Check out the video:
You can get more information by following this link: air combat
It is well known that rain is a pain, especially when driving. Windscreen wipers are not always that efficient. But now, cars will get the latest technology from jet fighters to wipe the rain out. Indeed, Jet fighter technology that fires ultrasonic soundwaves over windscreens to keep off rain could end the car wiper blade’s 100-year reign. Supercar maker McLaren is said to have a system that is due to arrive after 2015. And it would be cheap as It could cost as little as £10. Prof Paul Wilcox of Bristol University said the vibration would not be visible as it is at “nanometer level”. McLaren called the wiper, created in 1903, “archaic”. Its system may improve fuel efficiency without the weight of wipe motors. McLaren’s chief designer Frank Stephenson said: “It took a lot of effort to get this out of a source in the military. “I asked why you don’t see wipers on some aircraft when they are coming in at very low speeds for landing. “I was told that it’s not a coating on the surface but a high frequency electronic system that never fails and is constantly active. “Nothing will attach to the windscreen.” The pioneering system is similar to technology used by dentists to remove plaque from teeth and doctors scanning unborn babies. Removing wipers could improve cars’ fuel economy without the weight of wiper motors.
Jet Fighter Rides wishes to be a reference for all fighter jet flights around the world. Flying a fighter jet is a once in a lifetime experience, a truly amazing experience.
