Texas Aircraft Maintenance

Texas Aircraft Maintenance - When buying an aircraft in Texas, you will pay between 6.25 percent and 8.25 percent sales and use tax on the aircraft's sales price, less the value of any trade-in. In most cases, the total tax paid is based on the rate in effect at the seller's place of business.

We maintain a professional maintenance staff and facility to help you get the most from your flying experience. While the largest segment of our business addresses maintenance, warranty repairs, and parts support for Part 23 single and twin-engine airplanes, we are also a leading service center for light sport and experimental aircraft, as well as a Certified Rotax Maintenance Center.

Texas Aircraft Maintenance

Tailwheel pilots take note, we are an Authorized Service Center for American Champion Aircraft and we maintain a wide variety of tube and fabric airplanes. We are also a Service Center for the world-class Stemme Gliders.

Purchase From An Occasional Seller

If you fly an out-of-production airplane such as Beech, Bellanca, Cessna, Piper, etc., give us a call to talk to you about your maintenance needs. If you purchase an aircraft for agricultural use and use it in a taxable manner more than 5 percent of the time, you lose the sales tax exemption and must pay sales and use tax based on the purchase price of the aircraft.

If you do not have a Texas Sales and Use Tax Permit and are not required to have one, you can buy an aircraft tax free from someone who is not in the business of selling, leasing or renting taxable items or services.

A student cannot buy an aircraft tax free for flight instruction, but can rent an aircraft on an hourly basis tax free for exclusive use in FAA-approved flight instruction, including solo flights. The student must give the seller a Form 01-339, Texas Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate (PDF), which includes the flight school or flight instructor's contact information.

You can buy an aircraft that is an identifiable segment of a business tax free. Before you buy the aircraft, the income and expenses attributable to it must be separately established in the seller's records. Both you and the seller must keep records to document the exemption.

Identifiable Business Segments

To claim the fly-away exemption, you must give the seller a Form 01-907, Texas Aircraft Exemption Certificate Out-of-State Registration and Use (PDF). Both you and the seller must sign the certificate. The seller must send a copy of the certificate to the Comptroller's office within 30 days of the sale.

Chartering an aircraft with a pilot or crew is a nontaxable transportation service. You do not have to collect tax on your charges for chartered flights as long as the pilot and crew remain under your supervision and control during the flights.

You owe tax on an aircraft you buy with a valid exemption certificate (PDF) when it is used in a taxable manner. The tax due is based on the value of the aircraft for the period of time used.

You can pay the tax due on your divergent use on your Texas Sales and Use Tax Return. If you do not have a permit, you can pay the tax due to the Comptroller's office using Form 01-156, Texas Use Tax Return (PDF).

Divergent Use

If you buy an aircraft from a seller who has a Texas Sales and Use Tax Permit, the seller will collect any sales tax due and remit it to the Comptroller's office. The seller will give you a receipt that either shows the amount of tax paid or includes a statement that tax is included in the purchase price.

Southwest Texas Aviation has been serving pilots and aircraft owners for over 30 years. We specialize in Mooney aircraft, but we also maintain Cessna, Beechcraft, Cirrus, Piper, and other small aircraft. Services include general aviation maintenance, repair, and inspections.

If your purchase was exempt from tax as an occasional sale, you may still lease the aircraft tax free to a related party if the related party could have claimed the occasional sale exemption on the aircraft if they were the purchaser.

Sales tax is not due on the sale or lease of an aircraft you use and register in another state or country before using it in Texas. An aircraft purchased under the fly-away exemption can be used in Texas within the first year, as long as it is predominantly used outside of Texas for that first year.

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Thermal Anti Icing System Aircraft

Thermal Anti Icing System Aircraft - Since ice protection systems are mission-critical systems, their design, development, verification and certification fit into the Siemens Xcelerator product design and engineering, model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and verification management digital threads, where Simcenter performance engineering skill tools provide required

engineering data to support aircraft programs and processes. Not only do Simcenter solutions enable the sizing and optimization of the detailed design, but they also provide the elements for the proof of compliance based on virtual and physical test data.

Thermal Anti Icing System Aircraft

This effectively contributes to aircraft program execution excellence by enabling you to stay on time and budget. The temperature is controlled from the flight deck, although many aircraft have the ability to alter the temperature from inside the cabin.

Aircraft Ice Protection Systems Engineering

The temperature selector changes the amount of cool air allowed through the air ducts until a desired temperature is reached. As a critical aspect for the safe operation of an aircraft, wing anti-icing systems must pass a qualification test.

The standard prescribes several dynamic tests, including random, shock and sine excitation tests, to be carried out to study their effect on the parts composing the anti-icing system. Multiple-output, multiple-input (MIMO) technology can help you make sure each excitation point is simultaneously excited with the appropriate loading.

Using this state-of-the-art technique enables test engineers to increase efficiency in the entire vibration qualification process. 'Suck, squeeze, bang, blow': this is the phrase that most people use to describe how an engine works. Known as the Otto cycle, this summarizes the stages of a four-stroke engine that is typically used in a car or a plane.

The engine sucks air through the intake, squeezes it through a series of compressors to raise the temperature and pressure before igniting it and producing energy. As well as eroding compressor blades, oil blockages and internal sump fires, the intake of huge amounts of dust will eventually lead to the cockpit, contaminating the air and causing avionics failures.

Wing Anti-Ice System Testing

This can cause considerable problems in sand-abundant locations, such as Egypt, Hawaii and even Texas. Once both engines are started, the APU can then be switched off as it is no longer needed as a source of bleed air.

But if the APU is unserviceable, the air must be provided externally from a unit on the ground. Possibly the most important use of bleed air is cabin pressurization. As discussed on one of our other blog posts, pressurizing the air within the cabin allows us to breathe at high altitudes without oxygen masks.

So the pressurized air from the engine is a readily available source of pressurized air. Bleed air is used abundantly throughout airliners and helicopters today as it is a readily available source of energy; as long as the engines work, bleed air will be available.

Its useful qualities are heat and pressure. Heat is often used for anti-ice and de-icing systems whereas pressure is used for things like cabin air. When the start sequence is initiated, bleed air is sent from the APU to the accessory gear box which rotates the various shafts within the engine.

Pressurization Air Conditioning

This is when the 'suck-squeeze-bag-blow' sequence begins. Once the combustion stage (Bang) within the engine becomes self-sustaining the igniters are switched off and engine start is complete. This is the most common method of ice protection on big jets.

The Boeing 787 is one exception to this. The Dreamliner uses electro-thermal anti-icing for the leading edge of the wings. This is an ice protection system typically seen on lighter aircraft. These safety-critical systems are part of the certification process and must be considered during the aircraft program development and testing.

An integrated simulation and testing approach enables you to evaluate the performance of ice protection components and systems under ideal and worst-case scenarios. Pneumatic boots haven't changed all that much since their invention over 80 years ago and are fairly lightweight.

Unfortunately they do require regular maintenance. They can crack when exposed to ozone (which is a gas that exists in normal air, but at generally low quantities) and can be subject to punctures if damaged by debris or a bird strike.

What Is Bleed Air?

Lightning may also pose a threat to their integrity. Bleed air is the name given to the air that is 'bled' from the compressor stage of an engine. At this stage the air is around 200-250⁰C and at a medium-high pressure so its energy can be used to power a number of systems, including but not limited to the air conditioning.

After the system type is chosen and the component sizing is completed using system simulation, the components require a more detailed 3D CFD simulation for their individual performance and optimization. The component performance can then be fed back into or coupled with a system simulation model with more accurate parameters to increase system simulation accuracy.

These aircraft use what is known as 'pneumatic boots' to keep their surfaces ice-free. A 'boot' is a layer of rubber placed on the leading edge of the wing that is inflated with bleed air to temporarily change the shape of the wing and break off any unwanted ice.

Our lightweight and highly-efficient air management solutions monitor and control cabin temperature and air flow in the cockpit, passenger, and cargo areas and also provide secondary cooling for avionics simultaneously. These solutions also manage the aircraft's engine bleed air and provide ice protection for flight control surfaces.

Anti-Icing Component Analysis With Cfd Simulation

Foreign Object Damage or FOD is a very real threat to aircraft of all kinds, but particularly to helicopters. Over time tiny particles such as dirt or sand can accumulate within the engine. This increases the wear on the engine, degrading its performance and ultimately causing the component to fail.

To prevent FOD entering the engine, bleed air is used to move the air radially, introducing a centrifugal force to the intake air and pushing the heavier particles such as sand, dirt and even ice outwards, away from the engine.

They might sound cute, but bubbles in the hydraulic systems are very serious and can cause major failures of pumps and motors. Due to low pressure, the bubbles formed can boil and implode eroding and causing damage to nearby surfaces.

Ice protection systems and components play a crucial role in safe aircraft operation under icing conditions. Icing can damage the aerodynamic shape, increase aircraft drag and reduce its controllability. This impacts flight performance and safety. Such systems are usually installed in wings, nacelle intakes, pitot tubes, stabilizers and propellers and helicopter rotor blades.

Aircraft Ice Protection Systems Simulation And Testing

One pitfall of the bleed air/cabin air system is that any contaminants could potentially be circulated around the cabin. For instance, occasionally hot oil may leak from inside the engine. This 'pyrolized' oil can then mix with the air being fed to the cabin, leading to a burning smell or toxic smoke entering the cabin if the seals have deteriorated.

The auxiliary power unit (APU) is more commonly used however, as external bleed air is not always available. Located at the rear of the aircraft, the APU is essentially a small engine and works in the same way as the larger engines, creating its own bleed air.

With the engines switched off this is the source of the air conditioning. Air is provided to the aircraft via the 'non-starting' engine. This allows pressurized air into the system to begin the necessary rotation for engine start.

Once this first engine is running, the aircraft once again has an onboard source of bleed air which can be used to start the second engine. This is known as a 'cross-bleed' start. Weather insights and forecasts to provide you with the operational intelligence you need to reduce your risk of outage and to prepare ahead of time when an outage cannot be avoided.

System Simulation For Aircraft Ice Protection

Learn more about our Utilities products. EAPS helps to limit FOD ingestion and extends the life of the engine, allowing helicopters to operate in sandy and dusty areas which had previously caused rapid degradation of components.

By installing EAPS they were able to get 6x the lifespan from the engines Additionally if the engines have been washed incorrectly, residue from the toxic cleaner used can cause similar events. As always, crews are trained to deal with these scenarios appropriately to ensure the safety of the crew and passengers but fumes events such as these have raised concerns about the quality of cabin air and the long-term effects it might have on the health of aircrew

. System simulation allows you to define the optimal system sizing earlier in the design cycle. It enables a smooth integration of the resulting aircraft ice protection system with other pneumatic consumers and their coupling with the engine bleed air system.

Moreover, you can perform what-if analyzes like air leaking from a bleed pipe and the impact on the overall system. Without a system to prevent FOD, engine replacements were needed with alarming regularity. In Texas the US Army recorded the average flight time between major overhauls of helicopter engines was 262 hours versus the intended 1200 hours.

Hydraulic System Reservoir Pressurization

That's 2% of the flight time they were expected to reach! Failures of the bleed air system can lead to cabin depressurization such as on one A319 flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg on 7th September 2008. The crew received a failure warning of the engine 1 bleed system and took the appropriate corrective actions.

Nevertheless the cabin altitude began to increase. Bleed air is also useful in conjunction with the hydraulic system. By pressurizing the hydraulic reservoirs, manufacturers are able to prevent cavitation and the damage it causes. Cavitation occurs when the fluid volume demand is greater than the amount of fluid being supplied, leading to bubbles.

Thankfully these incidents are much less frequent on newer aircraft due to new technology such as HEPA filters. These filters use layers of glass and activated carbon-based material to remove 99.7% of particles within the air, including harmful microbes such as COVID-19.

But as already mentioned, bleed air is over 250⁰C when it leaves the engine so it must be cooled via an air-to-air heat exchanger before it can be circulated. This uses cold air from outside the plane and passes it over the hot bleed air until the desired temperature is reached.

Engine Start

Developing anti-icing and de-icing systems from component level to systems integration should be considered early in the design stage to stay on budget and schedule. Simulation and testing play a major role in the development and certification process to ensure flight safety under icing conditions.

The crew then had to make an emergency descent according to their standard procedures until they reached a safe altitude. At this lower altitude they were then able to start the APU and use it as a source of bleed air to restore cabin pressurization, allowing them to continue to their destination.

Both engines are used to supply conditioned air, although other sources of bleed are available at various stages of flight. On the ground, many airports in hot locations provide bleed air through a big yellow pipe when parked on a stand.

This provides the aircraft with air conditioning without the need for us to use the noisy APU.

– Anti Ice Via Air Tubes

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Tigercat Aircraft

Tigercat Aircraft - When Bombardier introduced the Global Express in 1999, it went up against industry behemoths like Gulfstream, Boeing, and Airbus. Fast forward a decade and Bombardier's Global series is now a force to be reckoned with, outperforming the competition and racking up sales at an astonishing pace, and it's no secret why.

The latest additions to… The Embraer 170 and 175 are the two smallest members of the E-Jet family. Since their introduction in 2004, the E-Jets have dominated the regional market, displacing the equally popular Embraer RJ series that preceded them.

Tigercat Aircraft

Most pilots I have spoken to with E-Jet experience fall into two categories: those who love flying E-Jets, and … I was a combat aircrewman with vpb-116 on Iwo Jima. On August 7 1945 a squadron of F7's landed on Moto 3 airstrip, ready to "beat the Japs".

Not Exactly A Huge Victory Tally

Hostilities had ended. I never saw such a bunch of dejected guys. On 9 /29 /12 I saw "bad kitty" fly at Paine field. What a thrill' World War II and postwar Grumman fighter aircraft were always named for cats.

Wildcat, Hellcat, Bearcat, Panther, Cougar, Tiger, Tomcat…you get the idea. One of the lesser known but perhaps the most impressive of the Grumman cats was the F7F Tigercat. Developed during World War II as an escort or convoy fighter, the Tigercat was produced in small numbers but was one of the most aesthetically pleasing designs ever to come off the drafting tables at Grumman.

When the Embraer 175 entered the scene, the aviation industry expected a complementary model to the E170. The new variant eclipsed the original model in sales and quickly became the most popular E-Jet. Embraer has sold 848 units of the E175, and it is the only member of the original family to not have been …

Operationally the Tigercat saw combat during the Korean War with Marine Corps Night Fighter Squadron VMF(N)-513 Flying Nightmares. Their F7F-3N Tigercats flew night interdiction, night interceptor, and day fighter missions early in the war. The Flying Nightmares shot down a pair of North Korean Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes during their combat in Korea.

Not The Best Damned Fighter For Carriers

However, these were the only aircraft shot down by VMF(N)-513 and they were the only squadron to see combat in Korea. The F7F-4N Tigercat is a two-seat night fighter version equipped with a tail hook and other naval equipment.

A total of thirteen F7F-4Ns were built. It has an external length of 13.82 meters, an external height of 3.3 meters, and a fuselage diameter of 1 meter. It has a tail height of 5.05 meters and a wheelbase of 4.6 meters.

The wingspan is 15.70 meters and the wing area is 42.3 square meters. It has an empty weight of 7,380 kg, a maximum take-off weight of 11,666 kg, a maximum payload of 2,000 kg, and a fuel tank capacity of 726 US gal.

XF7F-1 engineering design began in late spring 1942, with mockup inspection in September. By summer 1943, production was being negotiated and a major engine change-from Wright's R-2600 to the Pratt and Whitney R-2800-eliminated supporting an engine model unique to the F7F, but resulted in a loss in high-altitude performance.

Bill Walton

The Army and Navy were contracting for a common design twin-engine, high-performance fighter. the Navy sought a high-altitude carrier fighter with increased speed, range and weapons. Grumman's competition winner was a twin-engine, tricycle landing gear design.

Both the Army and Navy planned to use Wright R-2600 engines with advanced supercharging. On June 30, 1941, the contract for the aircraft prototype designated as XF7F-1 was initiated. The manufacturing company Grumman aimed to build a fighter that will outclass and outgun all other fighter aircraft during its time.

On November 2, 1943, the aircraft conducted its first flight. Even though the F7F was heavy and fast on approach, it failed carrier suitability testing because of poor single engine directional stability and tailhook design issues.

Many production F7F-1Ns and F7F-2Ns were fitted with the Sperry APS-6 intercept radar and utilized by the Marine Corps from land bases. F7F-2Ns also carried a dedicated radar operator. The F7F-3 variant was powered by uprated R-2800-34W engines and modified to correct the initial carrier suitability issues but also failed due to wing structure and loading problems.

Improvements Came Too Late

But F7F-3s were built and used as F7F-3 single-seat day fighter-bombers, F7F-3N two-seat night fighters, F7F-3P photographic reconnaissance aircraft, and F7F-3E electronic warfare variants. The prototype XF7F-1, which flew for the first time in December 1943, had been designed for a close-support role.

To provide high performance and the capability to carry a heavy weapon load, it was powered by two 1,565kW radial engines mounted in underwing nacelles. Deliveries of single-seat land-based production F7F-ls to the US Marine Corps began in April 1944, but only small numbers entered service before production of a two-seat night fighter was initiated - this having the designation F7F-2N Tigercat.

Other variants included F7F-3 single-seat day fighters, similar to the -1, and -3N and -4N two-seat night fighters. Tigercats were developed too late for operational deployment in World War II, and while small numbers served post-war with the Marine Corps, these were soon displaced by first-generation jet-powered fighters/fighter-bombers.

As a very young man maybe 11 years old my mom and I would visit Washington to spend time with her brother and her family. I would get bored and ride my cousins ​​bicycle and somehow found myself at one end of the runway at Anacostia.

“The Best Damned Fighter”

There was a tree outside the fence and between the fence and the bridge. I would spend the afternoon up in that tree watching the F7's take off until all activity ceased. I am 75 now and that time is one of the greatest memories of my life.

The sound of the F7 is imbedded in my memory. A new use for surfaced Tigercats. The -2Ns had been used for drone control, and all remaining -2Ns were redesignated -2Ds, modified with an F8F-type canopy over the rear cockpit for the drone control pilot.

Marine land-based squadrons continued to operate Tigercats in diminishing numbers, with VMF(N)s 513 and 542 flying night interdiction and fighter missions in the early months of the Korean conflict. As they were withdrawn from the war, Tigercats were gradually phased out, with the -2Ds serving into the mid-1950s.

@media only screen and (min-device-width : 320px) and (max-device-width : 480px) { #ga-ad {display: none;} } By the end of the year, production of the last 110 was scheduled at Grumman as F7F-3Ns. In February 1946, VMF(N)-534 took its -3Ns aboard Shangri-La for carrier qualifications.

The First Tomcat

After repeated landings, an inner wing panel of one plane failed on touchdown, bringing an end to carquals. Bill Walton is a lifelong aviation historian, enthusiast, and aircraft recognition expert. As a teenager Bill helped his engineer father build an award-winning T-18 homebuilt airplane in their up-the-road from Oshkosh Wisconsin basement.

Bill is a freelance writer, screenwriter, and humorist, an avid sailor, fledgling aviator, engineer, father, uncle, mentor, teacher, coach, and Navy veteran. Bill lives north of Houston TX under the approach path to KDWH runway 17R, which means he gets to look up at a lot of airplanes.

A very good thing. I must alter some of my last post. The Wasp Major was certainly powerful, especially injected to 3,500 hp potential. A twin could thus develop 7,000 hp! But it did disappoint those expecting 500mph+.

Some put thin F2G at a climb rate of 4,400 fpm, not bad but the F4U-5 and F8F beat it. The F2G did about 431mph. No much better than the other 2 mentioned. It was a gas hog so it carried more to maintain endurance.

Xp- / Ff Tigercat

That and the engine plus the added strengthening necessary and you sacrifice firepower and ordnance capacity. But 4 .50s are OK against the kamakaze. Produced as a single-seat fighter, a two-seat night-fighter and a photoreconnaissance aircraft, the Tigercat saw combat in Korea until replaced by the F3D Skyknight.

Two Marine Corps squadrons used F3F-3N variants as ground support and night fighters in Korea from September 1951 through November 1952. Marine squadrons began combat training in mid-1944 with F7F-1s. An F7F-2N equipped Marine squadron was transported to Guam in summer 1945, flying on as Marine Night Fighter Squadron [VMF(N)] 531 to

reach Okinawa just as the war ended. By the time the F7F-4N two seat night fighter model came along it was beefed up enough to pass carrier suitability trials but by then Grumman was focused on their next generation of fighters – jets like the F9F Panther.

The F7F-4N was the final variant of the Tigercat and a carrier-based two seat night fighter. But of the 364 Tigercats completed when production ended in 1946, only 13 of them were F7F-4N models. Many of the remaining F7Fs were used as drone control aircraft and several flew as fire-bombers primarily during the 1960s and 1970s.

Today there are seven Tigercats flying in civilian hands. Initial -3s were produced as single-seat fighters, with some having photo installations added as -3Ps, and others a more effective radar as two-place -3Ns. The Naval Aircraft Modification

Unit, Johnsville, Pa., prototyped the -3P; Grumman prototyped the two-place -3N with nose guns removed and a larger "drooped nose" for the radar. It served in WW2 (barely) like the F2G. So it could have had the wasp major power, 6,000 hp combined!

And no torque! What fighter of the war, or even 1946 could have kept up? Even the 2 place model could have more than held it's own. What ground support fighter could have beaten it for survivability?

Even with the Double Wasps it did have standard, the Tigercat was very good for a short while. Too short in my book. The big problem with the Wasp Major was torque and a twin design is the best solution.

It could have even put early jets to shame! Who knows? OK that may have made this hefty plane heavier, but power to weight would've still been under 5 lb per hp vs 6+ lb for the R-2800 powered F7Fs.

I'm just sayin' what if. Supported by successful test operations of an F7F-1 on board Shangri-La (CV 38) in November 1944, -2 production would end at 100 with subsequent F7F-3s having a strengthened airframe and an updated R-2800-

34W engine. By this time, the -1s and -2s had been redesignated -1Ns and -2Ns as night fighters. Navy ace Test pilot Captain Fred Trapnell, who flew the F7F for the first time on November 2nd 1943, remarked that it was the “best damned fighter” he had ever flown.

The 4,200 available horsepower was said to provide excellent acceleration and short takeoff rolls on standard days. Even today the performance of the Tigercat makes it a coveted warbird, competitive racer, and a thrilling airshow performer.

But the twin engines, heavy armament, and inherent flexibility of the design brought drawbacks too. The Cirrus SR20 is a four or five-seat monoplane, built in 1999 by Duluth Aircraft of Minnesota. It is best known for being the first general aviation aircraft to be equipped with a parachute, which was designed to lower the aircraft and occupants safely to the ground in the event of an accident or structural …

The first XF7F-1 made its initial flight in November. After changes, including increased vertical tail height and rudder chord, it went to NAS Patuxent River, Md., in December for flight test evaluation. While noting concern over directional control with one engine out during carrier launch or waveoff conditions, Flight Test's opinion was that "in addition to its potentialities as a night fighter, this airplane is the best medium-altitude day fighter, Army, Navy or foreign, yet evaluated."

In spite of its large size, its design provided increased speed while carrying four .50 nose guns and four 20 mm wing cannons. Heavy weight, high approach and landing speeds…not conducive to carrier operations- even from the envisioned Midway-class super carriers.

Although the Tigercat was 71 miles per hour faster at sea level than the gold standard of the day- the Grumman F6F Hellcat, it would be a challenge to operate them from flat-tops. Fairly early during development the name of the aircraft was changed to Tigercat.

The Tomcat moniker would be used for the Grumman F-14- the next twin-engine Grumman Naval fighter aircraft. Deliveries of F7Fs began in mid-1944 but the aircraft did not see combat before the end of the war.

We are a collective group of airline instructors, and pilots dedicated to all things aviation. When we're not in the air, we're here helping others how to join us here at Aviator Insider. Come join us!

Find more About Us here! The first of 500 planned F7F-1s flew in April 1944. Initial production would be night fighters with APS-6 radar in the nose and Pratt and Whitney 2,100 hp R-2800-22 engines. The third was modified to the two-place XF7F-2 with a radar operator's cockpit behind the pilot.

Deemed a more effective night fighter configuration, all airplanes after the first 34 would be F7F-2s. An unacceptable tailhook design and other problems found during XF7F-1 flight testing indicated needed changes, and Tigercats went to shore-based Marine squadrons.

Embraer describes the ERJ 135 and its siblings as “The Runway Legend”, and it is easy to see why the company feels so confident about this aircraft. The Embraer 135 is the smallest jetliner in the Embraer portfolio, with only 37 seats.

Very little changed between the ERJ 135 and the original ERJ 145, a … when I was stationed at Quantico in the late 60's there was one of these in a quonset hut near the air strip...I used to go over there and peek at it at least once a week and have always wondered what happened to it.

In the 1970's would ride my bike over to the Santa Barbara airport and one or two of the tanker F7F's would be sitting there ready to go during fire season. I was a very lucky youngster,I think I saw every one of the World War II,immediate post war and Korean vintage types being used as firefighting aircraft with the exception of the Martin Mars,the Savage and the Guardian.

Even saw the TBMs. To think of it now, it was amazing. As a reply to "Bogus" above, (Kd4cee=bellsouth.net) I too was stationed at NATTC Norman, OK. I arrived the day after Thanksgiving in 1955 and was transferred to Memphis, TN about the second week of March 1956. My memory of that F7F is very vivid but very sad.

After finishing school about a week was spent doing service work before transferring. One day I watched a man stand on the starboard horizontal stabilizer and with a fire ax chop into the vertical to get to the rudder cables.

The plane was being scrapped. A better memory was how surprisingly narrow the fuselage was. Anything other than head on views always make the plane look much bulkier than it was. I agree! I am working on an article about this beautiful fighter-bomber for an aviation website, and always wish it could have been used during actual combat- other than the shooting down of 2 North Korea bi-planes during the Korean War...

Similarly, a Marine photo squadron started training in March 1945, also reaching Okinawa by V-J Day. During the rest of 1945, production continued at a lower rate toward a planned total of 400 F7Fs, and Marine Tigercatsquadrons were cut back.

Two squadrons operated in China -- Marine Photographic Squadron 254 on coast photo mapping with -3Ps, and VMF(N)-533 with -3Ns replacing -2Ns.

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Tiktok Aircraft

Tiktok Aircraft - Teenage TikTok users will be able to turn off this new default setting, which will roll out in the coming weeks. But the feature change could bolster the digital well-being of younger users by requiring them to opt out of stricter screen time limits rather than clearing the higher bar of opting in to them.

The 737 MAX has been the big story for Boeing (BA 2.69%) for the past several years, first focusing on its potential to become the centerpiece of airline fleets, and then its design problems following two fatal crashes in late 2018 and early 2019.

Tiktok Aircraft

The COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated this headache, by disrupting airlines' demand for new passenger jets. That's why even with the rebound in sales that began in October, Boeing shares are still priced at less than half of their all-time peak reached in early 2019.

European Union

The European Parliament, European Commission and the EU Council, three top EU bodies, have imposed bans on TikTok on staff devices. The European Parliament's ban, announced Tuesday, takes effect March 20. It has recommended that lawmakers and staff remove the app from their personal devices.

Take a look at the graphic below, which shows all the different sources of sales feeding into the company's total top line for the final quarter of last year. While commercial aircraft are Boeing's single-biggest business, this segment made up less than half of total sales.

Space and defense accounted for roughly one-third of its revenue, while services made up about one-fourth. Keenan added that if a teen decides to turn off this new default limit and spends more than 100 minutes on TikTok a day, they will be prompted to set a daily screen time limit for themselves.

"In our first month of testing, this approach increased the use of our screen time management tools by 234%," Keenan wrote. Better still, in its most recent Commercial Market Outlook the passenger jet maker predicts the world will need 41,000 new commercial jet aircraft by 2041 to meet the ever-growing demand for air travel, which aircraft leasing outfit Avalon as well as the UN's International Civil Aviation

United States

Organization (ICAO) Council predict could reach 2019's pre-COVID levels by the middle of this year. You're reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fool's Premium Investing Services. Become a Motley Fool member today to get instant access to our top analyst recommendations, in-depth research, investing resources, and more.

Learn More It would be easy to presume Boeing's biggest revenue driver is also its biggest profit producer. And, broadly speaking, that is the case. However, the commercial aircraft segment is also this company's least consistent and most unreliable source of net income.

While some of its recent losses are attributable to the pandemic-prompted upending of air travel and then the fallout from problems with the ballyhooed 737 MAX, this business's bottom line was a bit unpredictable even before those headaches took shape.

This makes sense. All aircraft require maintenance regardless of when they're purchased. In a similar vein, the world's military air forces are typically funded by governments willing and able to borrow money regardless of the global economy's condition.

The same cannot be said of commercial airlines. First, don't be so distracted by matters that solely impact the sale of new passenger jets that you forget Boeing operates other ventures. While commercial aircraft are its single-biggest business, there are plenty of sales and earnings taking shape on other, more consistent fronts.

The bulk of this weakness, however, may be rooted in a bit of misunderstanding of what Boeing really is. While commercial aircraft are a key part of its business, they're hardly the only profit center the company operates.

TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company Bytedance, has long maintained that it does not share data with the Chinese government and that its data is not held in China. It also disputes accusations that it collects more user data than other social media companies and insists that it is run independently by its own management.

The move comes after TikTok and other social media platforms have faced years of scrutiny over their impact on young users, including their potential to lead teens down harmful rabbit holes. TikTok is also facing mounting pressure from Washington over security concerns from its ties to China through parent company Bytedance, including renewed discussion of a possible US ban of the short-form video app.

This week, the U.S. said that government agencies have 30 days to delete TikTok from federal devices and systems over data security concerns. The ban applies only to government devices, although some U.S. lawmakers are advocating an outright ban.

China lashed out at the U.S. for banning TikTok, describing the ban as an abuse of state power and suppression of firms from other countries. More than half of U.S. states also have banned the app from government devices.

And that's apt to remain the case into the distant future. Last quarter's 94% year-over-year improvement in commercial airplane sales still doesn't come close to reclaiming the revenue trajectory in place prior to the wave of disruption that materialized back in 2019. That leaves a ton more growth upside ahead.

After the U.S. announcement, Canada on Monday announced that government-issued devices must not use TikTok, saying that it presents an "unacceptable" risk to privacy and security. Employees will also be blocked from downloading the application in the future.

India imposed a ban on TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps, including the messaging app WeChat, in 2020 over privacy and security concerns. The ban came shortly after a clash between Indian and Chinese troops at a disputed Himalayan border killed 20 Indian soldiers and injured dozens.

Let's connect the dots. Boeing can survive even when its commercial aircraft business is under pressure. It can outright thrive when its commercial aircraft business is humming (which isn't even happening in earnest yet). Holding onto it just requires a great deal of patience to let these slow-moving factors do their thing.

In December 2022, Taiwan imposed a public sector ban on TikTok after the FBI warned that TikTok posed a national security risk. Government devices, including mobile phones, tablets and desktop computers, are not allowed to use software made in mainland China, which includes apps like TikTok;

its Chinese equivalent, Douyin; or Xiaohongshu, a Chinese lifestyle content app. The video shows Sugue, who's been working as a ramp agent for four years, packing the bags together as if it were a game of Tetris.

He told Insider that he has a system of putting the hard shell or heavy bags on the bottom and the lighter or soft shell ones on top. Keenan also announced some updates to the app's Family Pairing feature, which allows a parent or caregiver to link their TikTok account to their teen's and set controls.

Parents will be able to filter videos with words or hashtags they don't want to appear in their teen's feed, set a custom daily screen time limit for their teen, and set a custom schedule to mute TikTok notifications sent to their teen.

TikTok announced Wednesday that every user under 18 will soon have their accounts default to a one-hour daily screen time limit, in one of the most aggressive moves yet by a social media company to prevent teens from endlessly scrolling.

"While there's no collectively-endorsed position on how much screen time is 'too much', or even the impact of screen time more broadly, we recognize that teens typically require extra support as they start to explore the online world independently," Keenan wrote

in a blog post.

Thrush Aircraft Albany Ga

Thrush Aircraft Albany Ga - ALBANY, GA — Thrush Aircraft, LLC, a leading aerial application aircraft manufacturing company, recently announced it has launched four certification programs for two engine and airframe configurations. These programs will combine their best 500-gallon airframe with additional engine options from Pratt and Whitney (PT6-34AG and PT6-140AG) to create their new 510P2 and 510P2+ aircraft.

Both engines are integrated with single and dual cockpit versions of the airframe, historically used for their 510G model. The first of four configurations has been granted its Type Certificate from the FAA. The other configurations are planned for certification later this summer.

Thrush Aircraft Albany Ga

Currently, Thrush has orders in place for 510P2 and 510P2+ models to be delivered to eight different countries. Performance data will be published on both models in June and July. You have reached SBA.com®. SBA.com® is not SBA.gov.

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We have no affiliation with the U.S. Small Business Administration or any other government agency. We are a private business providing resources for small businesses, including resources for PPP loans. See our Advertiser Disclosure. Thrush has already established its new production line.

By the time the first two type certificates are awarded, Thrush expects to have 12 aircraft completed and ready for delivery (about half -140 powered, half -34 powered). Thrush will hire more than 125 people over the next 12 months to grow its production capacity to meet the increased market demand.

Thrush will continue to build and deliver the 710P aircraft, as that production line is not affected by the certification program. "Heritage Health Career Center has benefited greatly from participating at Chamber events. We've made some good connections since we joined the Chamber and I look forward to making more!"

-Tonya Taylor, CEO, Heritage Health Career Center, Inc. This company profile was generated from publicly available data provided by the U.S. Treasury, last updated July 1, 2021. Is this your business? If you believe the information from the U.S.

Treasury is incorrect, you can request to delete this listing from SBA.com® Thrush Aircraft is preferred by more than 2,200 aircraft owners hard at work in more than 80 countries—trusted by individual owner-operators, large corporate fleet operators, as well as many governments around the world.

To learn more about Thrush Aircraft, visit: www.thrushaircraft.com, or follow the Company on social media at: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or YouTube. Small Business Advice (or "SBA®" or SBA.com®") offers business advice, information and other services related to the formation, financing, operation and management of businesses. See our Advertiser Disclosure for more information on how we try to connect

you with a small business lender. This website is not a lender and does not accept loan applications, assist with loan applications, broker loans, make loans or make any credit decisions. Nothing on this website is an offer or a solicitation for a loan.

This website is not an agent, representative or broker of any lender and does not endorse or charge you for any service or product. None of the information on this site constitutes legal advice. THRUSH AIRCRAFT, LLC is in the Aircraft Manufacturing industry, has a $1,000,000 - $2,000,000 PPP loan from AB&T, and has potentially retained 94 jobs.

This information is published by the U.S. Treasury and not SBA.com®. Any disputes on the accuracy should be directed to the U.S. Treasury or U.S. Small business Administration. SBA.com® is an independently owned and operated website and has no government affiliation.

We offer information and services related to small businesses. At Thrush Aircraft, you can build something truly great—from industry-leading agricultural aircraft to the skills and experience that will help your career take off. Based in Albany, Georgia, you'll find a welcoming place to live combined with a rewarding place to work.

Check out our current openings to see if there's an opportunity for you to climb aboard with us. Mark McDonald, Thrush Aircraft's CEO, commented, “The new P2 and P2+ deliver increased performance, productivity and reliability to our customers.

We are continuing to invest in our production capacity to meet the growing demand for our products and services, and we are grateful for the positive initial feedback and the significant preorders from the marketplace.”

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The Future Of Aircraft

The Future Of Aircraft - When I think about 2050 and the types of technologies that might be brought to bear in transportation, I think we're going to see iterations of things we're already seeing today, like electrification. And I do think we'll start to see other new technologies starting to make their way in.

But what's critical is that they find an opportunity that's aligned with a business need. But there is a significant problem here. Most of our hydrogen supplies today are derived from methane - a fossil fuel - which is mixed with steam at high pressures.

The Future Of Aircraft

It is an energy-intensive process that creates significant quantities of carbon dioxide. On the other hand, Boeing may choose to concentrate its efforts towards the shorter-range end of the spectrum. Currently, the single-aisle short to medium-haul market is dominated by two of the world's best-selling commercial aircraft families.

What About A Future Small Airplane?

These are the Boeing 737, which has sold just over 10,000 units, and the Airbus A320, which comes in just below this mark. Like Maveric, it abandons the idea of ​​a conventional fuselage. But in this case the shape is more like an arrowhead, with two wings stretching out behind the cockpit in a V. Passengers and cargo would be carried within the wings themselves.

It's these inventions of the past that could help inform the future, leading the way for new scalable and accessible modes of transit - ones that will look very different from what began rolling off Ford's assembly lines more than a century ago.

Its various options going forward also represent an interesting change in its relationship with Airbus. The European manufacturer previously developed aircraft such as the A350 and A380 as a response to Boeing products. However, in looking to compete with aircraft such as the A321XLR, this dynamic appears to have shifted somewhat.

In any case, Boeing has several paths to consider when it comes to developing its future aircraft. So where is Boeing at with the NMA as it stands? Simple Flying reported last month that the company may be considering a three-aircraft family for the NMA.

Renewed Hope For The Nma?

The smallest variant of these will be able to compete with the Airbus A321XLR, which many are touting as a potentially game-changing aircraft. But what if Boeing was to produce a direct single-aisle competitor instead? Aircraft equipped with the wing would look relatively conventional, with a central fuselage.

But the wing itself would be much longer and thinner, and would be braced by a support, or truss, angled up from beneath the fuselage. The wing would fold to make accessing conventional airport gates easier.

Malek: As I think about 2050 and how we'll get around, the thing that gets me most excited is really the variety of options that we'll have at that time. People will still be biking, people will still take buses - but really, it's about the ability to choose the best option for the trip that they need to take.

Building a new type of aircraft would also present a challenge to the aerospace industry. Airbus, for example, makes sections and components of existing aircraft all over Europe, before bringing them for final assembly in Hamburg and Toulouse.

Where Is Boeing At Right Now?

It is a tried and tested supply chain, using the specific expertise present in each region. By 2017, Boeing had generated a reasonable amount of interest from airlines in its proposed NMA. However, it soon had a larger problem on its hands that demanded a faster resolution, namely the 737 MAX crisis.

As such, even before COVID-19 brought the industry to a halt, Boeing shelved its NMA plans and sent the project back to the drawing board. This is because, in a post-COVID market with potentially less demand, its lower capacity will make it a more efficient choice for longer routes with fewer passengers than there would have been before the virus struck.

The new aircraft would also provide welcome relief for carriers looking to replace their aging 757s and 767s without investing in the larger 787. Researchers there are working on a design known as the "Flying-V". It is a new concept for a long-haul aircraft, which they claim would be up to 20% more efficient than a state-of-the-art modern plane such as the Airbus A350.

Malek: Some of the key pillars that are really critical for that to be successful are accessibility. How easy are the mobility solutions to get to? How often are the services running? What areas are covered?

A Direct Axlr Competitor?

Can people really get to where they need to go or have their goods brought to them easily? It's really making sure that everyone has a couple of options. And as we look towards the future, we also need to think about sustainable transportation.

A Boeing concept that has been in the pipeline for several years now is its so-called 'NMA.' This designation stands for 'New Midsize Airplane,' and, in terms of Boeing's numbering system, it would likely be designated as the 797. Boeing initially proposed this seven-abreast, twin-aisle plane as a solution to fill the market between existing widebody

and narrowbody planes. But current research is not only focused on aerodynamics. There's also the question of how future aircraft are powered. For short-range flights, with a limited number of passengers, battery power might be viable.

Projects such as the Eviation Alice - shown off at the 2019 Paris Airshow - are based on proving that concept. US aircraft manufacturer Boeing is often credited for having catalyzed the 'Jet Age' by launching its popular 707 series in the late 1950s.

Since then, it has become an industry juggernaut. Today, it forms one half of the powerful Airbus-Boeing manufacturing duopoly. These two companies have a dominant share in various different airliner markets. To date, each has produced numerous successful aircraft families, but what should we expect from Boeing going forward?

There is also the question of passenger comfort. Those sitting close to the side of the aircraft - and effectively close to the edge of the "wing" - would experience much greater movement when the aircraft is banking, while take-off and landing would have to be at steeper angles than normal.

Malek: A lot of what we hear about in the news today in terms of autonomous cars is a system that's mostly able to drive itself. It uses sensors to see around the vehicle and then it has special computers on board to be able to take in basic map information and figure out how it should get from point A to point B. Those technologies are in testing and development, and I think

it's very exciting to see the progress. For longer distances, batteries are currently impractical, because they are simply too heavy and do not contain enough energy to compensate for that weight. The industry has explored other options, such as hybridization - in which part of the thrust needed to fly is provided by electric power.

In order to be truly zero emission, aircraft would need to be powered by hydrogen produced in a much more environmentally friendly way - and large quantities would be needed. But according to Glenn Llewellyn, Airbus vice president for zero-emission aircraft, society itself will eventually provide the solution.

Thankfully, 2021 has gotten off to a better start for the company. With aviation safety agencies worldwide now recertifying the 737 MAX, a flurry of deliveries has followed. Elsewhere in Boeing's portfolio, yesterday also saw its first 787 'Dreamliner' delivery since October.

However, while working through its delivery backlog is one thing, the company will also have its mind on the longer-term future. Let's take a look at what some of its next aircraft might be. Malek: Hyperloop as a technology is very interesting.

The idea is that you're cutting down on things like drag and friction to move efficiently. When you think about bringing hyperloop into reality, you have to start thinking about how to build out that infrastructure, how to make it accessible, how to match it with a business case and how to make sure that it's resilient to changes.

And so as we look at the future opportunity for hyperloop, it's not, 'is the technology ready?' I'd say it's there. It's really about if the infrastructure is ready and how we adopt and deploy it.

Researchers said the machine performed well, although it suffered from a kind of aerodynamic wobbling, known as "Dutch roll". This made it difficult to keep the wings level, and resulted in what they described as "a somewhat rough landing" that damaged the front landing gear.

Transportation is among the largest contributors of carbon production, responsible for about 37% of global greenhouse gas emissions. As urban planners look to the future, many are focused on sustainability, including a shift away from traditional gas-fueled vehicles.

"We think we can keep the manufacturing costs relatively low, compared to concepts that would have more unique components," says Roelof Vos, the project lead for the Flying-V and an assistant professor at Delft University of Technology.

However, a year into the pandemic, it is beginning to seem as if all is not lost for the NMA. As Simple Flying explored earlier this month, the aircraft may yet prove to be the perfect post-pandemic plane for its market.

But with the basic layout of commercial aircraft having gone unchanged for decades, there are other practical issues to consider - some of which avionics expert Steve Wright of the University of the West of England describes as "showstoppers".

"There is a really big challenge there. And there is a big expectation from society which we think it is our duty to find answers to," says Sandra Bour-Schaeffer, the chief executive of Airbus UpNext, which evaluates new technologies for the European

aerospace giant. The design was originally the brainchild of a graduate student, and formed part of his thesis. It is being developed with support from the Dutch airline KLM and Airbus - and in July a scale model took to the skies for the first time, from an airbase in Germany.

Boeing will be hoping that 2021 represents a more successful year that allows it to put the difficulties of 2020 to the back of its mind. Of course, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic heavily impacted almost every facet of the airline industry, and Boeing was not the only company to suffer.

However, the timing of the global crisis was also far from ideal for the manufacturer. This could result in there being a market for Boeing to produce a Future Small Airplane (FSA). This may be a natural replacement for the 737 MAX.

Alternatively, based on changing trends in passenger demands, perhaps it could compete more directly with the Airbus A220. Either way, while a short-haul workhorse that isn't a 737 or A320 variant could prove to be something of a culture shock for the industry, it may also represent an exciting change.

But as we look towards 2050, I think where we're really going to see this technology take off is in the commercial space, where you have shorter trips. When we think about being able to drive in every city, every dirt road, every country highway – that's a lot to try to validate for.

And so when we think about where these options can scale first, it's going to be in these simpler areas. In some cities it might look like transportation from an airport to a downtown, so your next taxi or Lyft ride could be autonomous.

Malek: When I think about my hopes and dreams for the future of transportation, it's really that we focus on the broadest sense of what we, as people, need from our transportation systems, and start with that as our organizing principle.

Historically, we've started with 'what do cars need, what do planes need?' But planes and cars are here just for us. Before the pandemic, Boeing had already been struggling with the fallout of the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX.

This came about in March 2019 after two similar fatal accidents involving the type within months of each other. The difficulties that arose from this situation were then compounded by the pandemic, resulting in a $12 billion loss for the company in 2020. Last year was also Boeing's worst on record in terms of order cancellations.

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Top Secret Military Aircraft

Top Secret Military Aircraft - “At the conclusion of the review and based on the current negotiations with our customer, it was determined that the total costs to complete the current phase of the program are expected to exceed the contract price,” according to Lockheed's quarterly filings.

On a normal day it would be buried under a swarm of workers, but today, the shell of the aircraft's fuselage sits quietly behind a chain-link fence. A steel, ceiling-height wall runs the length of the factory floor, blocking out other top-secret aircraft being born on the other side.

Top Secret Military Aircraft

For just a few hours last month, Lockheed invited a select group of reporters to tour the massive facility, lifting the veil behind its magic workshop for the first time in eight years. Skunk Works produced the U-2 spy plane that could — and still does — collect images from 70,000 feet;

Skunk's Den

the SR-71 Blackbird, an aircraft that could fly at speeds greater than Mach 3; and the F-117 Nighthawk, the first stealth fighter. The new facility makes up a small portion of Skunk Works' footprint in the desert.

Sitting on a table-flat square of land surrounded by sun-bleached highways, where the temperature soared to 105 degrees during the visit, Skunk Works is actually a collection of 58 buildings spread out over 2.4 million square feet.

More recently, longtime company-man and acting Chief Financial Officer Kenneth Possenriede abruptly retired in August citing personal reasons, and his announcement coincided with Lockheed Martin 's disclosure of a $ 225 million loss on a classified aeronautics program.

In September 2020, Skunk Works disclosed another subproject, Speed ​​Racer. For the first time, a program will go from initial concept to flight test to certification using digital engineering. The flight vehicle configuration appears to be a winged air-launched cruise missile or unmanned aircraft system.

The Skunks' Den is the only unclassified room at headquarters. The modern space looks like any ordinary conference room. There's a large conference table and extra seating. But this is also stuffed with some 60 toaster-sized models on display stands lining the walls encased in glass.

Skunk Works, meanwhile, is also making big bets on hypersonic weapons development, such as the AGM-183 Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon that failed a flight test in July. And it's also chasing the Next Generation Air Dominance program for the Air Force and Navy to replace F/A-18s and F-22s.

Guests entered a lobby before walking into the new factory while Dua Lipa's “Levitating” pulsed through the sound system. The lobby's left wall held a plaque honoring Michele Evans, former head of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, who died of cancer on Jan.

1. Leaving the lobby and entering the factory under the bright lights, a new car smell lingers as guests mill about various stations with drawings depicting how the space is designed with a fluid future in mind.

The new factory is Skunk Works' first since the 1980s. Instead of being designed to assemble a specific aircraft, the building has no fixed machines or tooling, which means it can be easily reconfigured to host new projects, Babione said.

It's also the first Skunk Works facility to host secure classified wireless communications, which means employees can digitally transmit information. Previously, everything was done manually on paper. Over the next five years, Lockheed Martin will invest over $2 billion on digital transformation.

So Kelly's team rented a circus tent to work on the project and delivered the fighter in just 143 days. According to lore, the tent had a pungent smell because it was sitting adjacent to a plastics factory in Burbank.

The name Skunk Works was born. ©News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited.

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For other inquiries, Contact Us. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organization (IPSO) The X-59, a supersonic transport jet, is designed to reduce the noise signature of sonic booms over land, notes Atherton Carty, vice president of strategy and business development.

“It'll sound like a car door closing,” Carty said. Because of noise regulations, the Concorde was only permitted to reach supersonic speed over the ocean, which ultimately tanked its viability in the consumer travel space. Plane and Pilot builds on more than 50 years of serving pilots and owners of aircraft with the goal of empowering our readers to improve their knowledge and enthusiasm for aviation.

Plane and Pilot expands upon the vast base of knowledge and experience from aviation's most reputable influencers to inspire, educate, entertain and inform. A photographer in California got this photograph of the jet a couple of weeks ago as it was flying near Edwards Air Force Base.

Aviation Week, which reported on the existence of the jet, published this same shot and presumably used it to estimate the jet's altitude in the photograph as 20,000 feet. This is all presuming that the plane in the shot is the new jet in question, which it might or might not be.

Remember that the Air Force has only confirmed the existence of the program and no details, so it could well be another secret program. The new factory comes as the U.S. faces increasing competition from China.

Lockheed — like other companies — must rethink how it does business to remain relevant as Beijing continues to develop advanced capabilities, such as hypersonic weapons and fifth generation aircraft, supporting its position as a regional power.

Back on the ground, at the corner of Sierra Highway and Avenue N, sits an empty lot with a flagpole in the center. Jet spotters and spies from all over the world gather here to catch a glimpse, clicking away as the newest, most top-secret aircraft soar above Skunk Works, Lockheed Martin's research and development facility.

It's their only chance to see them; there's no view of the runway or the planes sitting on the tarmac. Byron Callan, managing director at Capital Alpha Partners, said Lockheed has plenty of reasons to show off its facilities.

For example, Skunk Works is investing big in digital engineering, and wants to one-up competitors Boeing and Northrop Grumman, all of which are jockeying for a role in the Air Force's next fighter jet program, known as Next Generation Air Dominance.

It doesn't exist officially. It uses highly pressured mercury accelerated by nuclear energy to produce a plasma that creates a field of anti-gravity around the ship. Conventional thrusters located at the tips of the craft allow it to perform all manner of rapid high speed maneuvers along all three axes.

Interestingly, the plasma generated also reduces radar signature significantly. So it'll be almost invisible on radar & remain undetected. This literally means that it can go to any country it likes without being detected by air traffic control & air defense systems.

Read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TR-3_Black_Manta Walking through an underground tunnel to one of the dozens of buildings on campus, guests surface in another facility. This is where NASA's X-59 supersonic flight demonstrator is being assembled. It's one of the few unclassified programs at Skunk Works.

After arriving at the visitor's center, guests are escorted — sometimes by van, often through underground tunnels, always under close watch — throughout the campus to avoid seeing too much. Roughly 85 percent of the work done here is classified.

Officially — wink-wink — the reason for the visit was a ribbon-cutting for a new state-of-the-art factory on the 539-acre campus. But unofficially, Lockheed Martin is in the same boat as other contractors: trying to kick up support for more Pentagon business amid flat defense budgets.

Skunk Works has been a legend since its birth in 1943 after the Army's Air Tactical Service Command asked Lockheed Aircraft Corporation to design and manufacture the nation's first fighter jet in the midst of World War II.

Yet despite all the achievements on display, Lockheed has seen its share of problems and criticism in recent years. Lawmakers continue to raise alarms about costs and performance associated with the tri-service F-35, an aircraft born in Skunk Works that became the most expensive program in the Pentagon's history.

Skunk Works is reusing pieces of previous projects to build the 100-foot long, 30-foot-wide X-59. For example, the program is using the T-38 canopy, F-16 landing gear, and F/A-18 engine, which will lower cost, Atherton said.

Lockheed Martin won the $247.5 million contract in 2018 from NASA. It's routine to spot a U-2 spy plane or a Janet 737, a highly classified fleet of aircraft used to shuttle military and contractors between Palmdale and places such as Area 51, the storied Nevada base.

So what is it? The fact is, nobody outside of those with top secret clearances really knows, and with the diversity of opinion having tripled in recent days, all we can say is, we can't wait to find out, if indeed we ever do.

Nearly 80 years later, it's a lot more high-tech than high-top. Skunk Works has just completed a 215,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing facility that can crank out aircraft for the U.S. and its allies as they look to future conflicts.

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