This Day in Aviation: First Flight of the RQ-4 Global Hawk

I haven't done a "This Day in Aviation" post in a few days, so here's one!


On February 28th, 1998, the RQ-4 "Global Hawk" made its first flight. 
The Global Hawk is the main UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) of the armed forces, utilized by both the Navy and Air Force. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NASA_Dryden_Global_Hawk.jpg

Some of the stats from the Global Hawk:

• Length: 44 ft 5 in (13.54 m)
• Wingspan: 116 ft 2 in (35.41 m)
• Height: 15 ft 2 in (4.62 m)
• Empty weight: 8,490 lb (3,851 kg)
• Gross weight: 22,900 lb (10,387 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Allison Rolls-Royce AE3007H turbofan engine, 7,050 lbf (31.4 kN) thrust

Performance

• Maximum speed: 497.1 mph (800.0 km/h; 432.0 kn)
• Cruise speed: 404 mph (351 kn; 650 km/h)
• Range: 15,525 mi (13,491 nmi; 24,985 km)
• Endurance: 36 hours
• Service ceiling: 65,000 ft (19,812 m)

So, what is so impressive (and perhaps disturbing) about the Global Hawk?

It is approved by the FAA to file its own flight plans!

This calls into question the role of pilots in the cockpit. 

Will we ever see an end to the pilot era? 

I address (well, speculate on) this question in another post. 

This Day in Aviation: Eastern Air Lines Flight 304

On this day in aviation, February 25th, 1964 Eastern Air Lines Flight 304 crashed into Lake Pontchartrain, resulting in 58 fatalities. The crash was a result of aircraft instability in turbulence, due to improper/abnormal longitudinal trim positions. 


The aircraft, a Douglas DC-8 was flying enroute from New Orleans International Airport (KMSY) to Washington Dulles International Airport (KIAD) when it encountered turbulence and crashed approximately nine minutes into the flight. 

The relative locations of KMSY and Pontchatrain

The following is the NTSB report: 

NTSB Identification: Unknown
14 CFR Part 121 Scheduled operation of EASTERN AIR LINES INC
Event occurred Tuesday, February 25, 1964 in NEW ORLEANS, LA
Aircraft: DOUGLAS DC-8, registration: N8607

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 FILE    DATE          LOCATION          AIRCRAFT DATA       INJURIES       FLIGHT                        PILOT DATA
                                                               F  S M/N     PURPOSE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-0006  64/2/25  NR.NEW ORLEANS LA     DOUGLAS DC-8        CR-  7  0  0  SCHED INTERNATL PASSG SRV AIRLINE TRANSPORT, AGE
        TIME - 0206                    N8607               PX- 51  0  0                            47, 19160 TOTAL HOURS,
                                       DAMAGE-DESTROYED    OT-  0  0  0                            916 IN TYPE, INSTRUMENT
                                                                                                   RATED.
        OPERATOR - EASTERN AIR LINES,INC.
        TYPE OF ACCIDENT                                         PHASE OF OPERATION
           COLLISION WITH GROUND/WATER: UNCONTROLLED                IN FLIGHT: UNCONTROLLED DESCENT
        PROBABLE CAUSE(S)
           SYSTEMS - FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEMS: HORIZONTAL STABILIZER DRIVE SYSTEM
           MISCELLANEOUS ACTS,CONDITIONS - MATERIAL FAILURE
           WEATHER - TURBULENCE, ASSOCIATED W/CLOUDS AND/OR THUNDERSTORMS
        FACTOR(S)
           MISCELLANEOUS ACTS,CONDITIONS - AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST IN WATER
        WEATHER BRIEFING - COMPANY DISPATCH
        WEATHER FORECAST - FORECAST SUBSTANTIALLY CORRECT
        SKY CONDITION                                            CEILING AT ACCIDENT SITE
          OVERCAST                                                  1000
        VISIBILITY AT ACCIDENT SITE                              PRECIPITATION AT ACCIDENT SITE
          5 OR OVER(UNLIMITED)                                     NONE
        OBSTRUCTIONS TO VISION AT ACCIDENT SITE                  TEMPERATURE-F
          NONE                                                      46
        WIND DIRECTION-DEGREES                                   WIND VELOCITY-KNOTS
           20                                                       12
        TYPE OF WEATHER CONDITIONS                               TYPE OF FLIGHT PLAN
          VFR                                                      IFR
        REMARKS- AIRCRAFT CRASHED IN LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN WITH DISINTEGRATING FORCE.

Although it is difficult to see from the data, the pilot had 19,160 hours of flight time at the time of the incident. The incident serves as a valuable reminder that even the best, most experienced pilots are not invincible. 

This Day in Aviation: The AEA Silver Dart

On this day in aviation, the Aerial Experiment Association Silver Dart flew off of the Baddeck Bay in Nova Scotia on February 23rd, 1909. The flight marked the first controlled powered flight in the British Empire.

Canada Aviation and Space Museum

The plane was piloted by John McCurdy and powered by a Curtiss V-8, 35 horsepower engine. The wings of the aircraft were covered in silver Japanese silk, giving it the name the "Silver Dart." Interestingly enough, Alexander Graham Bell assisted in the design of the aircraft.

The Silver Dart achieved the honor of making the first passenger flight in Canada.

Unfortunately, the aircraft was later destroyed on its fifth flight in August of 1909 after a landing mishap.

Source: AEA Silver Dart

This Day in Aviation

On February 22nd, 1935 the White House was first deemed a "no-fly" zone.

This fact of the day is particularly interesting in that it marked one of the first (if not the first) restricted areas of flight.

The institution of the restricted area over the White House was likely a delayed reaction to the so-called "Business Plot," a conspiracy to overthrow FDR in 1933 and '34. In addition, the presence of the FAA was growing under FDR's funding for various civil service programs. These two factors, combined with numerous extraneous factors, led to the restriction of White House airspace.

The change in airspace can be seen in the images below:

In this sectional image, notice there is no restriction over the capital, Washington Monument, and White House in the upper-right hand corner.

The sectional is from 1935 (prior to the February 22nd implication of restrictions).



Sourced from "Abandoned & Little Known Airfields: Virginia"

The following sectional image is from 1940, and does indeed display the restricted area over the capital and associated areas (the White House area may not be visible in this sectional image):



Sourced from "Abandoned & Little Known Airfields: Virginia"

A recent sectional chart of the D.C. area shows the expansion of the restricted area to where it is today:

This Day in Aviation: Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114

On this day in aviation, Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 (a Boeing 727-224, call sign 5A-DAH) was shot-down after entering Israeli-controlled airspace on February 21st, 1973.

The pilot was forced to rely on instruments after overflying a sandstorm and losing reference to the ground and an air traffic beacon. After entering Israeli airspace over the Sinai desert, the Boeing 727-224 was shot down by two Israeli Air Force F-4s. 108 of the 113 people on board were killed in the incident.

The incident resulted in censorship of Israel by the ICAO. The circumstances surrounding the incident further complicated the matter, in that Israel was with war with Egypt at the time.

Source: Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114

This Day in Aviation: The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow

I've been having this idea to do a "This Day in Aviation" post, similar to a "This Day in History" type of thing.

On February 20th, 1959, the Canadian government Prime Minister decided to cancel the Avro Arrow project, indirectly putting 30,000 people out of work. The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was a "delta-winged" interceptor aircraft, designed in the early 1950s for use in the RCAF.

Wikipedia has an excellent description of the design and testing of the aircraft, along with a description of the ending of the project in 1959, which I have linked to above.