Tushino Airfield

Tushino airfield () was a former general aviation airfield located in Tushino, northwest Moscow, Russia. During the Cold War, this was the site of military exercises showcasing the latest in Soviet innovation. These exercises were held on Soviet Air Fleet Day. Nowadays, the grounds are the site of the Otkritie Arena, the home of FC Spartak Moscow, one of Russia's leading football clubs.
Dates.
Soviet Air Fleet Day.
The most frequent date of air shows was the Soviet Air Fleet Day (). It was also known as the Soviet Air Forces Day (), or Soviet Aviation Day. It was established in 1933. In the period from 1933 to 1940 it was held on August 18, a free day in the calendar of that time. Later it was most usually held on the third Sunday of August, if only weather permitted. The initial exhibition on August 18, 1933, was a result of Yakov Alksnis initiative, and was held in Khodynka (the Central Moscow Aerodrome), but since the next year the show became located on Tushino airfield near Moscow, where it remained for decades. In 1937, the parade was attended by nearly a million people, observing the masses of aircraft spelling in the sky "LENIN", "STALIN" and "SSSR". The celebrations repeated until the fall of Soviet Union, and continue in Russia (the location is now Zhukovsky International Airport, see MAKS airshow).
May Day.
The 1st of May was dedicated to a multitude of parades throughout the Soviet Union. They often included large-scale flypasts.
Other.
The Soviet Air Fleet Day became primarily associated with Soviet Air Forces (VVS), so a separate day has been established for Soviet Air Defense Forces (PVO) a second arm of Soviet military that employed numerous fighter squadrons. It was called Soviet Air Defense Forces Day (), occurred on the second Sunday of April, and was celebrated with air parades of lesser scale.
In 1991, at the behest of Mikhail Gorbachev, Tushino Airfield was used to host the free Monsters of Rock concert featuring AC/DC, Metallica, the Black Crowes and Pantera. Official estimates placed the crowd at between 800,000 and 1,000,000 people. The crowd was unofficially estimated to number at least 1.5 million people. Furthermore, 200,000 people attended the "Inside Bram" backdoor tour. The "Bram" backstage tour was planned to tour through Germany, France and Spain, but was cancelled due to health issues.
The stadium of Spartak Moscow was built on the site of the Tushino Airport. Otkrytie Arena (or Spartak Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Moscow, the construction of which started in October 2010. It's used mostly for football matches and host the home matches of FC Spartak Moscow. The stadium was designed with a capacity of 35,000 people, but later this was changed to a 42,000 people. The stadium hosted 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2018 FIFA World Cup games.


List of Iraqi Airways destinations

Iraqi Airways Company, operating as Iraqi Airways is the national carrier of Iraq, headquartered in Baghdad One of the oldest airlines in the Middle East, Iraqi Airways operates 5 domestic and 10 international routes in Africa, Asia and Europe since having resumed operations in 2003, 7 others were suspended in between. The airline was said to have ceased operations on 26 May 2010, partly due to claims for compensation from Kuwait arising out of the Gulf War, but continues to operate domestic and regional routes till today.
Iraqi Airways was founded in 1945 and is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization. They operated the first flight on 29 January 1946, ever since they expanded into a global airline covering a wide network of destinations in Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America prior to the 1980–88 Iran–Iraq War as well as the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, ensuing sanctions brought the airline's services to a halt, random charters for Hajj were operated in defiance during the 90s.
The destination list shows airports that are served by Iraqi Airways as part of its regular scheduled passenger services. The list includes the city and country name; the airport codes of the International Air Transport Association (IATA airport code) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO airport code); the airport name; additionally, there are labels for airports that are the airline's base and terminated stations
List.
Note - Iraqi Airways also served Lydda in British Mandate Palestine up until early May 1948.


Arthur H. Lefebvre

Arthur Henry Lefebvre (14 March 1923 – 24 November 2003) was a British scientist and an innovative leader in the science and engineering of fuel sprays and combustion in gas turbines.
Career.
During his career he developed several innovative atomizers, including prefilming (in the 1960s) and effervescent (in the 1990s) designs for aircraft engines. Improvements in atomization greatly reduced the emissions of soot (particulate combustion product) and were instrumental in increasing the reliability of the combustor that was critical to improve the engine robustness. Lefebvre was a pioneer in the development of the jet engine, and arguably one who contributed more as a researcher, designer and educator than any other, except the original inventors – Sir Frank Whittle and Hans von Ohain. He shared his expertise with an annual week-long gas turbine combustion short course from 1962 to 2003.
His memory is honored at each International Conference on Liquid Atomization and Spray Systems (ICLASS) with a Lecture named in his honor.
Biography.
Education.
Long Eaton Grammar School, Nottingham, University of London BSc in Engineering in 1946 from University College. He received PhD from Imperial College in 1952 and a Doctor of Science (DSc) from Imperial College in 1975.
Cranfield University (Britain) : Professor and Head of the Department of Aircraft Propulsion and Chief Research Engineer at Rolls-Royce Limited, Derby. 1961–1976.
Purdue University (USA) 1976–1993 Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University and Reilly Professor of Combustion Engineering in 1980
After retiring, Lefebvre was concurrently made Emeritus Professor by Purdue and Cranfield Universities.
He co-authored over 160 archival publications, 13 patents and 3 books (Gas Turbine Combustion, Gas Turbine Combustor Design Problems, and Atomization and Sprays). His book Atomization and Sprays is a guide to a generation of researchers and engineers on the development and use of spray science and technology.
Lefebvre invented and introduced the concept of air-blast atomization, which transformed fuel injection in combustors. He initiated some of the earliest research on atomization and spray structure. As a founding member and regular participant at conferences of the Institute of Liquid Atomization and Spray Systems Americas (ILASS) he taught a generation of scientists.
Quotes.
Tools are not a substitute for innovation, 2000
Recognition.
ASME Gas Turbine Award (1984)
ASME R. Tom Sawyer Award (1984)
AIAA Propellants and Combustion Award (inaugural recipient in 1990)
Marshal Award from the Institute of Liquid Atomization and Spray Systems, ILASS, (1993)
IGTI Scholar Award (1995)
IGTI Aircraft Engine Technology Award (1996)
ASME George Westinghouse Gold Medal (2002)
Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering in the U.K.
Personal life.
He married Elizabeth Marcella Betts in 1952. They had two sons and one daughter.


EcoRodovias

EcoRodovias is a Brazilian transportation company mainly focused on highway concessions and associated services. It is one of the largest transportation Company in Latin America.
History.
In December 2015, Gruppo Gavio bought 41% of EcoRodovias from the Almeida family for US$541 million.
Description.
Currently the company has six highway concessions, 14 logistics units and a port terminal. It is Brazil's second-largest operator of toll roads.
The company's major shareholder is the Brazilian conglomerate CR Almeida. The EcoRodovias main competitors are CCR and Arteris.


Greater Toronto Airways


6th Air Refueling Squadron

The 6th Air Refueling Squadron is part of the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis Air Force Base, California. It operates the McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender aircraft conducting mobility, and air refueling missions.
The 6th Air Refueling Squadron was awarded the SMSGT Albert L. Evans Trophy for Outstanding Air Refueling Section of the Year in 2017. This distinction has been awarded to the 6th Air Refueling Squadron a record number of 6 times since 1989 -twice that of the 9th Air Refueling Squadron, the next most awarded unit.
History.
World War II.
Antisubmarine Warfare and Heavy Bomber Training.
The squadron was first activated at Langley Field, Virginia, as the 6th Bombardment Squadron in January 1940, one of the original squadrons of the 29th Bombardment Group. Its organization was part of the pre-World War II buildup of the United States Army Air Corps after the breakout of war in Europe. In May, it moved to MacDill Field, Florida, where it was equipped with a mix of pre-production YB-17s and early model Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Douglas B-18 Bolos. The squadron was still at MacDill when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and it began to fly antisubmarine patrol missions in the Gulf of Mexico from January 1942. By the summer of 1942, the U-boat threat in the Gulf began to diminish, with all German submarines being withdrawn from the area by September.
No longer needed in the Gulf, the squadron moved to Gowen Field, Idaho, where it became an Operational Training Unit (OTU) The OTU program involved the use of an oversized parent unit to provide cadres to "satellite groups". The 96th, 381st, 384th and 388th Bombardment Groups were all formed at Gowen in the second half of 1942.
In 1943, the squadron exchanged its B-17s for Consolidated B-24 Liberators. The squadron mission also changed as the Army Air Forces' (AAF) need for new units diminished and its need for replacements increased. The squadron became a Replacement Training Unit (RTU). Like OTUs, RTUs were oversized units, but their mission was to train individual pilots and aircrews. However, standard military units, like the 6th Squadron, were based on relatively inflexible tables of organization, and were not proving well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, a more functional system was adopted in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit. The 29th Bombardment Group and its squadrons (including the 6th) were inactivated. Its personnel and equipment, along with that of supporting units at Gowen Field were combined into the 212th AAF Base Unit (Combat Crew Training School, Heavy) on 1 April 1944.
Bombing Runs in the Pacific.
The AAF was organizing new Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bombardment units, and the squadron was activated the same day at Pratt Army Air Field, Kansas. It briefly returned to flying B-17s until B-29s became available for training. It continued training with the Superfortress until December 1944. Training included long range overwater flights to Borinquen Field, Puerto Rico.
It deployed to North Field, Guam, where it became a component of the 314th Bombardment Wing of XXI Bomber Command. Its first combat mission was an attack of Tokyo on 25 February 1945. Until March 1945, it engaged primarily in daytime high altitude attacks on strategic targets, such as refineries and factories. The campaign against Japan switched that month and the squadron began to conduct low altitude night raids, using incendiaries against area targets. The squadron received a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for a 31 March attack against an airfield at Omura, Japan. The squadron earned a second DUC in June for an attack on an industrial area of Shizuoka Prefecture, which included an aircraft factory operated by Mitsubishi and the Chigusa Arsenal.
During Operation Iceberg, the invasion of Okinawa, the squadron was diverted from the strategic campaign against Japanese industry and attacked airfields from which kamikaze attacks were being launched against the landing force. Following VJ Day, the squadron dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners of war and participated in several show of force missions over Japan. It also conducted reconnaissance flights over Japanese cities. The squadron remained on Guam until it was inactivated in March 1946.
Post-World War II Drawdown.
In June 1947, the squadron was activated in the reserve at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. Although nominally a bomber unit, the squadron used training aircraft to maintain proficiency under the supervision of the 174th AAF Base Unit (later the 2509th Air Force Reserve Training Center), and it is unclear whether it was fully manned. In September, the squadron was assigned to the 482d Bombardment Group, which was located at New Orleans Municipal Airport, Louisiana. President Truman's 1949 defense budget required reductions in the number of units in the Air Force. At the same time, Continental Air Command was converting its reserve units to the wing-base organization system. As a result, the squadron was inactivated in June 1949, as the 392d Bombardment Group absorbed the remaining reservists at Barksdale.
Air Refueling in the Cold War.
The 6th Air Refueling Squadron was activated at Walker Air Force Base, New Mexico in April 1951 and began to train with the KB-29 tanker version of the Superfortress. The bombardment squadrons of the 6th's parent 6th Bombardment Group were flying B-29s as well, but plans were underway by late summer to convert the group to Convair B-36 Peacemaker bombers, which lacked an air refueling capability. The squadron was inactivated on 1 August and its crews and airplanes were transferred to the 307th Air Refueling Squadron, which moved to Walker on paper from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.
By 1957, the 6th Bombardment Wing had transitioned to the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress and, therefore, once again had a need for air refueling aircraft. Meanwhile, at Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas, Strategic Air Command (SAC) had transferred the fighters of its 27th Strategic Fighter Wing to Tactical Air Command in July 1957, but retained the 27th Wing's 27th Air Refueling Squadron. On 1 November, the 6th Squadron was again activated at Bergstrom, where it absorbed the remaining personnel of the 27th Squadron.
In January 1958, the squadron returned to Walker AFB and the 6th Wing, where it began to fly the new Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. Until 1962, when tanker training was concentrated at Castle Air Force Base, California, the squadron acted as a combat crew training unit for crews on the KC-135. Once its training mission was transferred, the squadron maintained half its aircraft on alert status. The squadron continued to maintain this alert commitment until shortly before its inactivation. The squadron also flew worldwide air refueling missions, including support of tactical aircraft flying in Southeast Asia.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, SAC placed 2 additional B-52s from each of its wings on ground alert and placed 1/8 of its B-52 force on airborne alert. To support the expanded bomber alert force, additional KC-135 tankers had to be placed on alert. On 24 October 1962, SAC went to DEFCON 2, placing all the squadron's remaining aircraft on alert.
In December 1965, the first B-52Bs started leaving the operational inventory. This reduction resulted in the end of 6th Wing activities at Walker including the inactivation of the squadron, and the closure of Walker Air Force Base in 1967.
On 19 September 1985 the 6th Air Refueling Squadron was consolidated with the 6th Bombardment Squadron.
The consolidated squadron was activated in 1989 at March Air Force Base, California as a McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender unit and assigned to the 22d Air Refueling Wing. The squadron again flew worldwide air refueling missions, including support of deployments to Southwest Asia from 1990 through 1991. In June 1992, the Air Force reorganized its major commands. This reorganization involved the transfer of the 22d Wing to the new Air Mobility Command, which combined air refueling and airlift elements of the Air Force into a single command. Under the new command, the squadron provided humanitarian airlift to Somalia from 1992 to 1993.
The 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended that March be transferred to Air Force Reserve Command. As a result of the turnover to the reserves, the 22d Wing moved to McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas in January 1994. The squadron remained at March until August 1995, when it moved to Travis Air Force Base, California and became part of the 60th Air Mobility Wing. In the interim, it was assigned to the 722d Operations Group, which controlled regular flying units at March until the base was fully converted to a reserve base. Since 2001, the squadron has provided air refueling support for the Global War on Terrorism
Keeping the Peace in the Middle East.
The Gulf War.
In the Summer of 1990, following the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq Dictator Saddam Hussein, 43 KC-10 Extenders were deployed to the Persian Gulf. Members of the 6th ARS conducted round the clock flying operations supporting all aspects of air operations via their versatile refueling capability. Unlike the aging KC-135, which could only be configured to refuel using a Boom, or Drogue, the KC-10 supports both methods simultaneously. This proved immensely valuable in both the Gulf War, and later conflicts which involved a large variety of receiver aircraft from different branches, and coalition partners. The KC-10's versatility in Air Refueling wasn't its only advantage. In a conflict where the Military Airlift Command's cargo transport capability was all but saturated, the KC-10's widebody design allowed for the organic movement of critical cargo loads to support other aircraft in the Air War -including B-52, KC-135, RC-135, and U-2. According to a report by the Government Accountability Office, by the end of the war, U.S. tankers flew 14,000 sorties, offloading 725 million pounds of fuel to roughly 50,000 receiver aircraft throughout the conflict.


List of Philippine Airlines destinations

This is a list of destinations that Philippine Airlines and its regional subsidiary PAL Express have served , which consist of destinations across Asia, North America, Oceania, and Europe.
References.


CFB Shearwater

Royal Canadian Air Force Base Shearwater , commonly referred to as RCAF Shearwater, was a Canadian Forces base located east southeast of Shearwater, Nova Scotia, on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Following a base rationalization program in the mid-1990s, the Canadian Forces closed CFB Shearwater as a separate formation and realigned the property's various facilities into CFB Halifax. These include:
History.
1918-1939.
Shearwater is the second-oldest military aerodrome in Canada. In August 1918 the US Navy established Naval Air Station Halifax on the shores of Eastern Passage to support flying boat patrol aircraft. The seaplane station was taken over by the Air Board in 1920 for civil flying operations, and later developed by the Canadian Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force.
World War II.
The station was known as RCAF Station Dartmouth through the Second World War.
Aerodrome.
In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed as RCAF Aerodrome - Dartmouth, Nova Scotia at with a variation of 23 degrees west and elevation of . The field was listed as "All hard surfaced" and had four runways but only the first is readable as follows:
By Jan 1943 the runway information had been updated and the four runways were listed as follows:
Post-war.
In 1948, the Royal Canadian Navy took over the facility, naming it HMCS "Shearwater", also known as Royal Canadian Naval Air Station Shearwater (RCNAS Shearwater).
The combined land and sea-based aerodromes were used to station carrier-based maritime patrol and fighter aircraft. Shearwater was also the home to early experiments with ship-borne helicopters—something which was copied by navies around the world. During the 1960s, the aerodrome at the former RCAF Station Debert was attached to HMCS "Shearwater" as a training location for carrier landings.
The February 1, 1968 unification of the three service branches into the Canadian Forces saw HMCS "Shearwater" change its name to Canadian Forces Base Shearwater (CFB Shearwater).
Base rationalization and defence budget cutbacks for the Canadian Forces during the mid-1990s saw a largely administrative move when the formation CFB Shearwater stood down and the facilities transferred to the formation CFB Halifax and aircraft operations becoming the responsibility of newly formed 12 Wing. 12 Wing is headquartered at Shearwater and reports to 1 Canadian Air Division.
Heliport conversion project.
During the late 1990s and early 2000s the Shearwater airfield was scaled back significantly as the facility transitioned to a heliport with surplus lands identified and transferred to Canada Lands Company. Prior to 2002, Shearwater had two asphalt runways:
By 2002 only runway 10/28 remained open. As part of the Department of National Defence's Shearwater Heliport Conversion Project, runway 10H/28H was reduced in length to the east end only in July 2007. At the same time, runway 16H/34H was reopened, however for helicopter operations only.
These changes allowed for heliport operations including instrument approaches and were accompanied with the construction of other non-airfield facilities in support of the Maritime Helicopter Project. Shearwater Heliport opened July 31, 2008, consisting of a new 16H/34H and various helipads for helicopter operations only.
As part of the heliport conversion project, the old runway 16/34 was permanently closed and placed outside (east) of a new fence for the Shearwater Heliport, as shown in the Canada Flight Supplement effective 31 July 2008. This land for the old runway 16/34 was then transferred by the Department of National Defence to the Canada Lands Company for sale. On 3 April 2009 the land for the old runway 16/34 was re-transferred from Canada Lands Company back to DND, however its future use is unknown.
Shearwater Heliport's primary mission remains as a heliport in support of the Royal Canadian Navy's Maritime Forces Atlantic warships with shipborne helicopters operated by 12 Wing, a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
12 Wing's squadrons at Shearwater Heliport in Nova Scotia and at Patricia Bay in British Columbia operate the Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone. There are numerous construction projects ongoing at Shearwater Heliport in support of the Maritime Helicopter Project, including the Maritime Helicopter Training Centre where No. 406 Squadron will be located, as well as a new No.423 (MH) Squadron hangar facility, a new 12 Air Maintenance Squadron facility with 6 repair bays, and a new Operational Support Facility where the Helicopter Operational Test and Evaluation Facility (HOTEF) and various 12 Wing headquarter functions will be located.
Current operations.
Current operations at Shearwater are administratively and operationally part of CFB Halifax and revolve around two functionally separate facilities:
12 Wing.
The Shearwater Heliport is the location of the headquarters of 12 Wing, whose sole purpose is to support and operate shipborne helicopters for the Royal Canadian Navy. 12 Wing is a RCAF unit and reports to 1 Canadian Air Division.
12 Wing operates out of two locations with four squadrons:
Air shows.
Beginning in the 1970s, CFB Shearwater began hosting an Armed Forces Day every fall, typically on the weekend following Labour Day, and included an air show where the long and wide runways at Shearwater hosted some of the largest aircraft in the world, including the U.S. Air Force's C-5 Galaxy transport planes and B-52 Stratofortress bombers.
By the 1980s this air show came to be named the "Shearwater International Air Show" and was a popular event for military aviation enthusiasts in Eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States as the location of CFB Shearwater, coupled with the popularity of the Halifax area among military aircrew, resulted in heavy international participation from the RCAF, as well as the USAF, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, Royal Air Force and numerous other NATO air forces in Europe.
Defence cutbacks and unit and facility realignments from 1994 to 1996 saw CFB Shearwater stand down as a separate formation and the facility merged as an airfield attached to CFB Halifax. At this time, the military-organized "Shearwater International Air Show" was transferred to a civilian organization that saw the event renamed to the "Nova Scotia International Air Show."
Organizers of the "Nova Scotia International Air Show" continued to make use the Shearwater airfield for both ground displays and the air show component until 2002. Modifications to the airfield from 2002 onward as part of the Shearwater Heliport Conversion Project saw runways closed, eliminating the ability of fixed-wing aircraft to land at Shearwater, forcing the airshow to remove the static (ground) display component of the event, with the air show component continuing to be staged in the skies over Shearwater (using the nearby Halifax Stanfield International Airport as the fixed-wing airfield).
The inconvenience of not having a ground component for the "Nova Scotia International Air Show" as a result of the Shearwater Heliport Conversion Project saw the entire event moved to Halifax Stanfield International Airport beginning in 2004. From 2004 to 2008 the show was held at Halifax Stanfield International Airport which allowed for both static (ground) display and air show at the same venue, however the airport was deemed unsuitable due to numerous interruptions in the air show component by civilian air traffic movements.
The air show moved to Yarmouth Airport in 2009 but returned to Shearwater in 2010, the first time since 2003 that an air show was held at the historic airfield (but again with no ground component). In 2011 the air show was renamed the "Atlantic Canada International Airshow" and was held at the Summerside Airport, formerly CFB Summerside, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of that base. Organizers have stated that the "Atlantic Canada International Air Show" will likely rotate through the Shearwater airfield every second year.
References.
Milberry, Larry, ed. "Sixty Years—The RCAF and CF Air Command 1924–1984". Toronto: Canav Books, 1984. .


Hellion (video game)

Hellion is an immersive space survival simulation game developed by Serbian studio Zero Gravity Games. It was released into the Steam Early Access program in February, 2017. The game allows players to maneuver through environments and open space in the absence of gravity as well as move about the interiors of spaceships or stations with or without artificial gravity. As a first-person game, players must manage their resources in the interest of their survival, discover other resources and space station modules which can be salvaged and assembled into larger more complex stations.
On October 15, 2019, development on Hellion was suspended, on Oct 21, 2019, the game was officially released, and on April 1, 2020 it was removed from Steam.
Gameplay.
Broadly set in a zero-gravity environment, player and spacecraft movement in the game follows the traditional Newtonian physical vectors while stations adhere to orbital mechanics. Players may define and travel into orbits around planetary bodies and other large naturally occurring astronomical phenomena. The player begins the game equipped with only a bottle of oxygen and a jet pack for maneuvering.
As a multiplayer game, Hellion challenges players to collect and safeguard resources and assets from destruction and potential capture by other players since players may attack and claim their assets. The single-player aspect of the game focuses the player on the in-game story and space station expansion. In both modes, the player must perform ship or station repairs which involve resources which must be discovered and accumulated from within the fictional universe. As non-upgraded equipment deteriorates significantly faster than upgraded elements, this becomes a repeating process with progressive sustainability. Ultimately the player is free to explore and discover the fate of Hellion or achieve a notion of champion status among other players.
Decommissioning.
During the final 3 days of its presence on Steam, ZeroGravity made the game available to own by Steam users for free. For a brief period on March 31, the price returned to its previous usual price and then was removed from the online Steam Store at midnight, GMT.
Owners of licensed copies of Hellion will continue to be able to play the game via Steam, as well as operate their own community servers for the foreseeable future. However, the community anticipates the official servers will be shut off sometime in the future.


List of aviation shootdowns and accidents during the Syrian civil war

During the course of the Syrian Civil War aviation shootdowns, incidents and accidents have taken place between different state and non-state actors. According to the website Strategy Page, by mid 2013, nearly a hundred fixed-wing and over a hundred helicopters were lost. Some 400 aircrew have been killed, captured, or missing.
Public observation via Google Earth of Syrian airfields shows a decreasing number of airframes parked in the open in contrast to the increasing number of recorded air sorties. The hubs of Syrian Air Force basing activity prior to and during the Syrian Civil War have been the airfields at Aleppo, Damascus, Latakia and Hama.
However, most of the losses can actually be attributed to paper write-offs: usually when an armed confrontation starts, the paper numbers about the national armed forces circulating before the war account for several vehicles which were actually abandoned or not serviced or in a general poor maintenance status. In the Syrian example, MiG-23MS, older MiG-21 versions, Su-20 (which is an older variant of the active Su-22), nearly all the MiG-25 and several other air-frames were already in disrepair before the war started.
Due to external support by Iran and Russia, the combat readiness of the Syrian Arab Air Force actually increased over the years of the civil war, with the resources being rationalized towards useful assets and wider availability of service and parts for the remaining air-frames.
As usual during an armed confrontation, it is impossible to determine the cause of every single crash, because opposing parties may claim the aircraft was shot down by their forces, while the side flying the aircraft claims it was accidental. In some instances, even the presence of a video does not clarify what happened, since a flash may be due to an antiaircraft shell or an engine explosion.
The list below includes both manned and unmanned aircraft.


Palmer Skiway


JB-4

The JB-4, also known as MX-607, was an early American air-to-surface missile developed by the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Using television/radio-command guidance, the JB-4 reached the flight-testing stage before being cancelled at the end of the war.
Design and development.
Developed under the project code MX-607 at Wright Field in Ohio, the JB-4 was a modification of the GB-4 glide bomb, which had entered service with the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1944. Powered by a Ford PJ31 pulsejet engine, the JB-4 was intended to give an improved standoff range as opposed to its unpowered predecessor. In addition, the addition of an engine made the missile capable of being ground-launched as well. However the requirement to carry fuel for the engine meant that the size of the JB-4's warhead was limited to , compared to the bomb that formed the core of the GB-4.
Utilising primarily plywood construction, the JB-4 utilised television/radio-command guidance, with an AN/AXT-2 transmitter broadcasting a television signal from a camera in the missile's nose to a remote operator. The operator, viewing the transmitted picture, would then transmit commands to the missile via radio, correcting the missile's course to ensure striking the target.
Operational history.
The JB-4 entered the flight testing stage in January 1945. The missile demonstrated the ability to cruise at over ; however, the television-guidance concept suffered from the limitations of the technology of the time, the pictures being difficult to make out in anything except completely clear weather. The missile also suffered from reliability issues; these, combined with the end of World War II in August 1945, resulted in the termination of the project, with none of the JB-4s built seeing operational service.


Westsound/WSX Seaplane Base

Westsound Seaplane Base (SPB) is a seaplane base located adjacent to West Sound on Orcas Island in San Juan County, Washington, United States. It is owned by the Westsound Marina.
Facilities.
Westsound Seaplane Base has two seaplane landing areas: 10/28 is 4,000 by 500 feet (1,219 x 152 m) and 18/36 is 5,000 by 500 feet (1,524 x 152 m).


List of defunct airlines of Jordan

This is a list of defunct airlines of Jordan.


HMS Bittern (L07)

HMS "Bittern" was a sloop of the Royal Navy. Although the last to be completed she was the name ship of her class, replacing an earlier "Bittern" which had been re-named before launch. "Bittern" was laid down on 27 August 1936 by J. Samuel White, of Cowes, Isle of Wight, launched on 14 July 1937 and completed on 15 March 1938.
She served in Home waters and off the coast of Norway during the Second World War. She took part in the ill-fated Namsos Campaign of 1940, where she was used to defend allied troop ships entering and leaving Namsos harbour from submarine attacks. The harbour came under regular air attack by the Luftwaffe, and on 30 April, "Bittern" was spotted by a squadron of Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers. "Bittern" came under repeated attack from 0700 hours onwards. She was hit and severely damaged, being set on fire by a bomb dropped from Oberleutnant Elmo Schäfer's aircraft belonging to I./StG 1. Nearby allied ships came alongside and took the survivors off. When this had been completed, "Bittern" was sunk by a torpedo from the destroyer .
In 2011 it was reported that the ship has started to leak oil and contained roughly of oil.


Gum Air

Gum Air is a Surinamese airline based at Zorg en Hoop Airport in Paramaribo, Suriname. Gum Air cooperates with Trans Guyana Airways to provide daily flights between Zorg en Hoop Airport (ORG) in Paramaribo, Suriname and Ogle Airport (OGL) in Georgetown, Guyana).
History.
Gum Air was founded in 1971 by six brothers of the Gummels family. The company they started was named Sky Farmers and focused on national flights.
Gum Air also owns dedicated Heliport, Gummels Heliport Paramaribo, built in Suriname at the Gummelsweg in the neighborhood of Kwatta near the city of Paramaribo, Suriname. Privately owned by the Gummels family the heliport is mainly used for helicopter charters and primarily for offshore development activities within the country.
Gum Air has flown various unique types of STOL Short Take Off & Landing aircraft from Suriname in the past such as Dornier DO 28D-1 Skyservant, GAF Nomad, Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander and also helicopter types such as Agusta-Bell 204B & Bell 206B Jet Ranger II
Fleet.
Gum Air today owns a fleet of 9 aircraft plus a helicopter, consisting of four types of aircraft varying from 5 seats to 19 seats.


Sherman L. Fleek

Sherman L. Fleek is an American military historian. He was born at Hill Air Force Base and raised in Layton, Utah. His work specializes on Mormon military history, particularly the history of the Mormon Battalion during the Mexican–American War. He has also written on topics related to Latter-day Saint (LDS) history that are not always military in nature.
Career.
Fleek rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army, serving as an aviator, Special Forces officer, and historian in several command and staff positions. His last duty in the Army was chief historian for the National Guard Bureau in Washington D.C., before retiring in 2002. In 2005, during his service as a historian for a Civil War non-profit preservation foundation in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, the Army approached Fleek to enter federal civil service and become the official command historian for the United States Army reconstruction effort in Iraq. Fleek deployed to Iraq for four months in 2006, and followed that by serving as command historian of Walter Reed Army Medical Center from 2007 to 2009. In May 2009, he assumed the position as historian for the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Fleek received a bachelor's degree in English from Brigham Young University in 1982, and a master's degree in history from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs while serving in the Army at Fort Carson. He is a Latter-day Saint and served an LDS mission in the Idaho Pocatello Mission from 1977 to 1979, after completing four years in Germany as an enlisted soldier with the Army from 1973 to 1977.
Works.
Books by Fleek include "History May Be Searched in Vain: A Military History of the Mormon Battalion" (414 pages, Arthur H. Clark Company) which won the Utah State History Society Amy Price Military History Award for 2007. He also wrote, "Place the Headstones Where They Belong : Thomas Neibaur, WWI Soldier" (Logan: Utah State University Press). Fleek has contributed many articles to "Military History", "America's Civil War", "Wild West", "Army", and "Mormon Heritage Magazine".
Fleek has also recently published two historical fiction novels that focus on the Mormon Battalion and General Stephen Kearny's Army of the West during the Mexican War. The first is "Called to War: Dawn of the Mormon Battalion" (2010) and a sequel "War in the Far West: the March of the Mormon Battalion", (2011).
In November 2011, publisher Greg Kofford Books released "Saints of Valor: Mormon Medal of Honor Recipients" that details the stories of Latter-day Saints who have received the Medal of Honor.
Valor Award.
Sherman Fleek was awarded the U.S. Army's highest civilian decoration for bravery on May 25, 2016, by Secretary of the Army Eric K. Fanning. On May 31, 2015, while on vacation in California, Fleek was waiting to be seated at an IHOP restaurant when an armed robber entered and demanded all the money from the cashier. In a few seconds Sherman Fleek decided to rush the gunman from behind from his position in the waiting area. With no weapon, Fleek struck the armed man and knocked him across the cashier counter, then a struggle for the pistol ensued. At one point the assailant pointed the pistol at Fleek's chest. Struggling to gain control of the weapon the gunman eventually broke free and escaped with the pistol. Months later army officials at the U.S. Military Academy nominated Fleek for the Secretary of the Army Award for Valor, which was approved in the spring of 2016 and presented to him at The Pentagon in a special ceremony.
The Award Citation.
"For heroic achievement on 31 May 2015 Mr. Sherman L. Fleek was on leave visiting a restaurant when he witnessed an armed robbery in progress. Without hesitation, he tackled and fought a man robbing the cashier at gunpoint and forced the robber to flee. His actions, which saved the lives of countless patrons and employees, exemplify the Army values of duty, selfless service, and personal courage".
Bibliography.
Non-fiction:
Novels:


Naval Air Station Quonset Point


Shanghai Airport Authority

Shanghai Airport Authority (SAA) is the state-owned enterprise under Shanghai Municipal Government and operates both Pudong and Hongqiao airports.
SAA was established in 1998 and aims to manage Shanghai airports to be the core air hub in the Asia-Pacific region.


List of airlines of Morocco

This is a list of airlines currently operating in Morocco.


List of Aeromar destinations

Destinations served by Aeromar as of May 2021:


Thiel Skiway


List of United States Air Force air refueling squadrons

This is a list of United States Air Force air refueling squadrons.


Nunasi-Northland Airlines


Newfoundland Aero Sales and Services


USS Alabama (BB-8)

USS "Alabama" (BB-8) was an pre-dreadnought battleship built for the United States Navy. She was the second ship of her class, and the second to carry her name. Her keel was laid down in December 1896 at the William Cramp & Sons shipyard, and she was launched in May 1898. She was commissioned into the fleet in October 1900. The ship was armed with a main battery of four guns and she had a top speed of .
"Alabama" spent the first seven years of her career in the North Atlantic Fleet conducting peacetime training. In 1904, she made a visit to Europe and toured the Mediterranean. She took part in the cruise of the Great White Fleet until damage to her machinery forced her to leave the cruise in San Francisco. She instead completed a shorter circumnavigation in company with the battleship . The ship received an extensive modernization from 1909 to 1912, after which she was used as a training ship in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She continued in this role during World War I. After the war, "Alabama" was stricken from the naval register and allocated to bombing tests that were conducted in September 1921. She was sunk in the tests by US Army Air Service bombers and later sold for scrap in March 1924.
Description.
Design work on the of pre-dreadnought battleships began in 1896, at which time the United States Navy had few modern battleships in service. Initial debate over whether to build a new low-freeboard design like the s in service or a higher-freeboard vessel like (then under construction) led to a decision to adopt the latter type. The mixed secondary armament of guns of previous classes was standardized to just 6-inch weapons to save weight and simplify ammunition supplies. Another major change was the introduction of modern, balanced turrets with sloped faces instead of the older "Monitor"-style turrets of earlier American battleships.
"Alabama" was long overall and had a beam of and a draft of . She displaced as designed and up to at full load. The ship was powered by two-shaft triple-expansion steam engines rated at , driving two screw propellers. Steam was provided by eight coal-fired fire-tube boilers, which were ducted into a pair of funnels placed side by side. The propulsion system generated a top speed of . As built, she was fitted with heavy military masts, but these were replaced by cage masts in 1909. She had a crew of 536 officers and enlisted men, which increased to 690–713.
The ship was armed with a main battery of four /35 caliber guns in two twin-gun turrets on the centerline, one forward and aft. The secondary battery consisted of fourteen /40 caliber Mark IV guns, which were placed in casemates in the hull. For close-range defense against torpedo boats, she carried sixteen 6-pounder guns mounted in casemates along the side of the hull and six 1-pounder guns. As was standard for capital ships of the period, "Alabama" carried four torpedo tubes in deck mounted launchers.
"Alabama"s main armored belt was thick over the magazines and the propulsion machinery spaces and elsewhere. The main battery gun turrets had thick faces, and the supporting barbettes had of armor plating on their exposed sides. Armor that was 6 in thick protected the secondary battery. The conning tower had thick sides.
Service history.
Construction – 1911.
"Alabama" was laid down at the William Cramp & Sons shipyard in Philadelphia on 2 December 1896 and was launched on 18 May 1898. She was commissioned on 16 October 1900, the first member of her class to enter service. The ship's first commander was Captain Willard H. Brownson. "Alabama" was assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron, though she remained at Philadelphia until 13 December, when she made a visit to New York, where she remained through January 1901. On the 27th, "Alabama" steamed south for the Gulf of Mexico, where she joined the rest of the North Atlantic Squadron for training exercises off Pensacola, Florida.
For the next six years, she followed a pattern of fleet training in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean during the winter, followed by repairs and then operations off the east coast of the United States from the middle of the year onward. The only interruption came in 1904, when she, the battleships , , and "Iowa", and the protected cruisers , , and made a visit to southern Europe. During the trip, they stopped in Lisbon, Portugal, before touring the Mediterranean until mid-August. They then recrossed the Atlantic, stopping in the Azores while en route, and arrived in Newport, Rhode Island on 29 August. Toward the end of September, "Alabama" went into dry dock at the League Island Navy Yard for repairs, which were completed by early December. On 31 July 1906, the ship was involved in a collision with her sister .
"Alabama"s next significant action was the cruise of the Great White Fleet around the world, which started with a naval review for President Theodore Roosevelt in Hampton Roads. The cruise of the Great White Fleet was conceived as a way to demonstrate American military power, particularly to Japan. Tensions had begun to rise between the United States and Japan after the latter's victory in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, particularly over racist opposition to Japanese immigration to the United States. The press in both countries began to call for war, and Roosevelt hoped to use the demonstration of naval might to deter Japanese aggression.
On 17 December, the fleet steamed out of Hampton Roads and cruised south to the Caribbean and then to South America, making stops in Port of Spain, Rio de Janeiro, Punta Arenas, and Valparaíso, among other cities. After arriving in Mexico in March 1908, the fleet spent three weeks conducting gunnery practice. The fleet then resumed its voyage up the Pacific coast of the Americas, stopping in San Francisco, where "Alabama" was detached from the rest of the fleet. The ship could not keep up with the fleet due to a cracked cylinder head, which necessitated repairs at the Mare Island Navy Yard. The battleship "Maine" also left the fleet, as her boilers had proved to be badly inefficient, requiring excessive amounts of coal.
On 8 June, "Alabama" and "Maine" began their crossing of the Pacific independently, via Honolulu, Hawaii, Guam, and Manila in the Philippines. They then cruised south to Singapore in August and crossed the Indian Ocean, stopping in Colombo, Ceylon, and Aden on the Arabian peninsula on the way. The ships then steamed through the Mediterranean, stopping only in Naples, Italy, before calling at Gibraltar and then proceeding across the Atlantic in early October. They stopped in the Azores before arriving off the east coast of the United States on 19 October; the two ships then parted company, with "Alabama" steaming to New York, while "Maine" went to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Both ships arrived the following day. Following her arrival, "Alabama" was reduced to reserve status on 3 November. She remained in New York, and on 17 August 1909, she was decommissioned for a major overhaul that lasted until early 1912.
1912–1919.
"Alabama" returned to service on 17 April 1912 in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, under Commander Charles F. Preston. The ships of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet—which included eight other battleships and three cruisers—were kept in service with reduced crews that could be fleshed out with naval militiamen and volunteers in the event of an emergency. There were enough officers and men in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet to fully man two or three ships, which allowed them to take them to sea in rotating groups to ensure that the ships were in good condition. On 25 July, "Alabama" was temporarily placed in full commission for service with the Atlantic Fleet during the summer training exercises, before returning to reserve status on 10 September. In mid-1913, the Navy began to use the Atlantic Reserve Fleet to train naval militia units. "Alabama" operated off the east coast of the United States and made two training cruises to Bermuda that summer to train men from the naval militias of several states. These operations ended on 2 September, and on 31 October she was again laid up.
The ship remained largely inactive in Philadelphia for the next three years. On 22 January 1917, she became a receiving ship for naval recruits. "Alabama" was transferred to the southern Chesapeake to begin training recruits in the middle of March. Shortly thereafter, on 6 April, the United States declared war on Germany. Two days later, "Alabama" became the flagship of the 1st Division, Atlantic Fleet, and for the rest of the war she continued her training mission of the east coast of the United States. During this period, she made one cruise to the Gulf of Mexico from late June to early July 1918. On 11 November, Germany signed the Armistice that ended the fighting in Europe; "Alabama" continued training naval recruits, though at a reduced level of intensity. She took part in fleet maneuvers in February and March 1919 in the West Indies before returning to Philadelphia in April for repairs. A summer training cruise for midshipmen from the US Naval Academy followed; "Alabama" departed Philadelphia on 28 May bound for Annapolis, where she arrived the next day. After taking on a contingent of 184 midshipmen, she steamed out of Annapolis on 9 June. The cruise went to the West Indies and passed through the Panama Canal and back. By mid-July, the ship was cruising off the coast of New England. She returned south in August for maneuvers, and at the end of the month she returned the midshipmen to Annapolis before docking in Philadelphia.
Bombing tests.
"Alabama" was decommissioned for the final time on 7 May 1920, having spent the previous nine months inactive at Philadelphia. The ship was transferred to the War Department for use as a target ship on 15 September 1921, and she was stricken from the naval register. She was allocated to bombing tests conducted by the US Army Air Service on 27 September 1921, under the supervision of General Billy Mitchell. In addition to "Alabama", the old battleships and were to be sunk in the tests. The first phase of the testing began on 23 September, and included tests with chemical bombs, including tear gas and white phosphorus, to demonstrate how such weapons could be used to disable command and control systems and kill exposed personnel. That night, another test with 300 lb (136 kg) demolition bombs took place, the purpose of which was to determine whether flares could sufficiently illuminate a target for precise bombing. The second phase took place the next morning, and it was a much larger operation. The 1st Provisional Air Brigade took part in the tests, which were to simulate a combat scenario. A group of eight Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s, armed with 25 lb (11 kg) bombs attacked first; their bombs and machine gun fire were intended to simulate clearing the decks of anti-aircraft gunners in preparation for the heavy bombers. Four Martin NBS-1 bombers attacked next, with 300 lb (136 kg) bombs at an altitude of 1500 ft (457 m). Two of the bombs hit the deck toward the bow. Three more NBS-1s followed with 1100 lb (499 kg) armor-piercing bombs, though none of these hit.
On 25 September 1921, the last round of tests took place. Seven more NBS-1s attacked the ship; three carried 1,100 lb (499 kg) bombs, while the other four carried one bomb each. One of the 2,000 lb (907 kg) bombs landed close to the ship on the port side; the mining effect caused considerable damage, and "Alabama" began listing to port. The bombers scored two more near-misses with the 2,000 lb (907 kg) bombs, followed by a direct hit and two near misses with the 1,100 lb (499 kg) bombs. The last bomb, a 2,000 lb (907 kg) weapon, struck the ship at her stern. The blast broke her anchor chains, and the battered ship began to drift toward the wrecks of "San Marcos" and , the latter having been sunk in bombing tests earlier that year. The ship remained afloat for another two days before finally sinking in shallow water on 27 September 1921. Mitchell attempted to use the sinking as evidence of the predominance of the bomber in his efforts to secure an independent air force, though the Navy pointed out that the ship was stationary, undefended, unmanned, and was not protected with the latest "all or nothing" armor scheme. The sunken wreck was sold for scrap on 19 March 1924.


Joane Mathews

Joane K. Mathews is a brigadier general in the Wisconsin Army National Guard.
Career and education.
Mathews received her commission in the United States Army through the Reserve Officers' Training Corps in 1986 and was assigned to the United States Army Aviation School. She later flew in several missions during Operation Provide Comfort.
In 1997, Mathews transferred to the Wisconsin Army National Guard. She was named Chief of Staff in 2013. In 2016, Mathews was promoted to brigadier general by Governor Scott Walker and was appointed Assistant Adjutant General for Readiness and Training. In 2020, Mathews was nominated for promotion to major general.
Decorations Mathews has received include the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Master Army Aviator Badge.
Mathews is a graduate of Lakeland Union High School in Minocqua, Wisconsin. Other schools she attended include the University of North Dakota, the United States Army War College and the United States Army Command and General Staff College.


Bank Norwegian

Bank Norwegian AS is a Norwegian internet bank which provides loans, credit cards and savings accounts to consumers. The company was founded in November 2007 and is headquartered at Fornebu, Norway and is co-located with Norwegian in the Diamanten ('The Diamond') office building. On 19 August 2019, Bank Norwegian's parent company Norwegian Finans Holding ASA announced that Norwegian Air Shuttle had sold its entire shareholding in the company to Cidron Xingu Limited.
History.
In May 2007, Norwegian announced that they planned to enter the banking sector, with Erik Jensen as CEO of the new company, Bank Norwegian. Mr. Jensen was previously CEO of yA Bank og Forsikring AS (yA Bank and Insurance). In September 2007, Bank Norwegian received a commercial bank operating license from the Norwegian Ministry of Finance. In October 2007 Norwegian announced that they planned to start a combined credit and bonus card program (Norwegian Reward) with up to 20% bonus for international flights and 1% of the purchase price on all credit purchases. The earlier anticipated synergy between the bank and the airline was a reality. The bank began providing services in Sweden in May 2013 and in Denmark and Finland in December 2015. On 5 April 2016, Bank Norwegian announced plans to list the company on the Oslo Stock Exchange during the second quarter of 2016.


AirSprint

AirSprint is a Canadian company that offers fractional ownership and management of private business jet aircraft. AirSprint was founded in 2000 as the first Fractional Aircraft Ownership company in Canada by current Chairman, Judson Macor. Today, AirSprint operates the youngest fleet of fractional aircraft in North America and is the largest provider of fractional aircraft in Canada. In 2017, AirSprint was the fastest growing fractional aviation company globally.
Fleet.
The AirSprint fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of January 2021):


Air engagements of the Gulf War

During the Gulf War of 1990–1991, Coalition air forces faced the Iraqi Air Force, the fourth largest air force in the world at the time. In the opening days of the war, many air-air engagements occurred, between Iraqi interceptors and a variety of different Coalition aircraft.
Persian Gulf War.
17 January 1991.
The first air-air kills of the war occurred when two USAF F-15Cs shot down two Iraqi MiG-29s.
Later on the same night, an F-15C scored a double-kill against two Mirages with AIM-7 Sparrow missile. His wingman scored another kill on a third Mirage F1, for a total of three kills in the dogfight.
On the first night of the war, two F/A-18s from the carrier were flying outside of Baghdad when two Iraqi MiG-25PDs interceptors from the 96th Squadron engaged them. In the beyond-visual-range (BVR), one of the Iraqi MiGs, piloted by Lieutenant Colonel Zuhair Dawood, fired an R-40 missile, shooting down one of the F/A-18's as it was travelling Mach 0.92. The pilot, Lieutenant Commander Scott Speicher, was killed. It is widely believed he died upon the impact of the missile.
Two F/A-18s from VFA-81 shot down two Iraqi MiG-21s, one with an AIM-7 Sparrow missile and one with an AIM-9 Sidewinder missile, in a brief dogfight with their bombs still latched on.
On the opening night of the war two Iraqi MiG-29s attempted to engage a flight of USAF F-15Es. One of the MiGs crashed while flying at low altitude but the other MiG pressed on. One of the F-15Es fired an AIM-9 Sidewinder when the MiG locked him up but missed. Several other F-15Es simultaneously tried to engage the lone MiG-29 but were unable to get the kill. One F-15E was actually flying past the Iraqi jet and maneuvered in for the kill but the pilot hesitated to take the shot because he was unsure of his wingmen's location and because he did not get a good tone with the Sidewinder missile.
On the first night of the war a USAF EF-111A Raven "Spark Vark", flown by pilot Captain James Denton and Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO) Captain Brent Brandon, was on an electronic warfare mission ahead of a group of jets on a bombing run. Several IRAF Dassault Mirage F1s came in and engaged the flight. One of them went after the unarmed EF-111. Denton executed a tight turn while Brandon launched chaff to avoid missiles fired by the Mirage. An F-15C on the same flight, piloted by Robert Graeter, went after the Mirage to protect the EF-111. The Mirage launched a missile, spotted by Brandon, which the Raven avoided by turning and launching chaff. Denton decided to head for the deck to try to evade his pursuer. As he went down he pulled up to avoid the ground, the Mirage followed him through, but did not pull up in time and crashed. An unarmed EF-111 had thus scored an air-air victory against a Dassault Mirage F1, although Graeter was credited with a kill. The EF-111A crew were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. However this perception is under suspension because Al-Jabbouri,the pilot of Mirage F1 stated he forced the F-111 to abort its mission,and was confirmed to be alive just before Iraq War 2003.
Two IRAF MiG-25s fired missiles at a group of F-15Cs escorting a bombing run in Iraq (which were evaded by the F-15s). The F-15Cs gave chase, but were forced to give up when the MiGs outran them. A total of 10 missiles were fired at the MiGs.
An Iraqi MiG-23 fired a R-24T missile at an F-111 on a bombing run and scored a hit, although the bomber made it safely back to base. Another similar incident occurred with the same Iraqi interceptor several minutes later, this F-111 also made it back to base despite the severe damage to the aircraft. This is Iraq's only success of the Gulf War using MiG-23s.
An Iraqi MiG-29 struck an F-111 aircraft with an R60 missile, though the sturdy F-111 stayed airworthy. Several minutes later the same pilot fired a R27 missile at a B-52G on a bombing run, severely damaging it.
19 January 1991.
In a brief dogfight, two F-15Cs engaged and shot down two Iraqi MiG-25s attempting to engage them, both using AIM-7 missiles. One was destroyed by Captain Rick Tuleni and the second by Captain Larry Pitts.
Two F-15Cs, piloted by Captains Craig Underhill and Cesar Rodriguez gave chase to a pair of MiG-29s detected by AWACS. The Iraqi aircraft, one piloted by Captain Jameel Sayhood, promptly turned and engaged the two American fighters, and one of the most dramatic dogfights of the Gulf War ensued. The two MiGs and F-15s flew straight at each other, each attempting to visually identify the other. Underhill was facing Sayhood's wingman, while Sayhood himself was facing Rodriguez. Underhill fired an AIM-7 at Sayhood's wingman, scoring a head-on hit and killing the opposing pilot instantly. Simultaneously, Sayhood gained a lock on Rodriguez, throwing him onto the defensive. Rodriguez dove to low altitude in order to clutter Sayhood's radar and break the lock-on, and dropped flares to counter his adversary's infrared search-and-track. However, after seeing his wingman shot down, Sayhood disengaged and fled to the north. Considering the engagement over, Rodriguez and Underhill turned south to rendezvous with a KC-135 tanker in order to refuel, but Sayhood reversed course and set off after them, prompting them to reengage. With the now lone MiG-29 closing head-on with the pair of F-15s, Underhill gained radar lock-on, but did not fire due to a glitch in his IFF interrogator system keeping him from being certain he wasn't about to shoot down a Coalition aircraft. Underhill initially thought he shot down an allied aircraft. Sayhood sliced into the American formation, causing a classic merge. Underhill kept Sayhood locked-on and climbed, while Rodriguez committed to the merge in order to visually identify the opposing aircraft as hostile. As they passed head-on, Rodriguez identified it as an Iraqi, and each pilot turned left to engage the other. Sayhood believed in his MiG's better turning radius and tried to get into a firing position on Rodriguez' tail but failed. Rodriguez outmaneuvered the Mig, managed to get firing position on him and successfully acquired a missile lock. Both aircraft lost altitude through the sustained hard turning, bringing them perilously close to the ground. Fearing that Rodriguez would obtain infrared lock-on and shoot him down with an AIM-9, Sayhood attempted to disengage using a split-s. Rodriguez didn't follow Sayhood's manoeuver, and observed him eject just prior to his MiG impacting the ground - he'd commenced his escape maneuver too low. It was reported years later by Iraqi sources that the Captain was rescued by some farmers after he broke his leg and evacuated to a local hospital.
It has been claimed by some sources that an RAF Tornado ("ZA467") crewed by Squadron Leader Gary Lennox and Squadron Leader Adrian Weeks was shot down on 19 January by an R-60MK (NATO reporting name: AA-8 Aphid) missile fired from an Iraqi MiG-29 piloted by Jameel Sayhood, however this aircraft is officially recorded as having crashed on 22 January on a mission to Ar Rutbah.
Two F-15Cs destroyed two Mirage F1s with AIM-7 missiles.
24 January 1991.
RSAF F-15C vs. IRAF Mirage F1s.
See: Attack on Ras Tanura
26 January 1991.
USAF F-15Cs vs. IRAF MiG-23s.
In what is considered a textbook "beyond visual range" or BVR kill, four MiG-23s took off from an Iraqi airbase. One of them turned back with mechanical problems, however the other three pressed on. Four F-15Cs were flying when AWACS reported the MiGs. The four F-15s lined up, were assigned targets and fired AIM-7 missiles at all of them, destroying all three MiGs within seconds of each other. Only three of the F-15C pilots were granted kills, as the fourth missile didn't reach the MiG until after it had already been brought down. One of these kills was Cesar Rodriguez's, his second of the conflict.
27 January 1991.
USAF F-15Cs vs. IRAF MiG-23s and Mirage F1.
Two F-15Cs managed to get kills on three MiG-23s and one Mirage F1, after they caught them trying to flee to Iran. They were brought down with AIM-9 and AIM-7 missiles after a brief dogfight DAB.
29 January 1991.
USAF F-15C vs. IRAF MiG-23.
An American F-15C shot down a MiG-23 fleeing to Iran with an AIM-7 missile.
USAF F-15C vs. IRAF MiG-23.
A USAF F-15C eliminates an Iraqi MiG-23 in a short-lived dogfight with an AIM-7 missile.
30 January 1991.
Two MiG-25s engaged four F-15C in Samurra Air Battle. Capt. Qassim Ar Sammarai piloting one MiG-25 fired R-40 (missile) which according to USAF damaged the left engine of a F-15c . According to IQAF this aircraft crashed in Saudi Arabia after bedouin smuggler reportedly found the wreckage near the site where Iraqi radars lost the track of the damaged F-15C,but USAF debunks these claims.
2 February 1991.
USAF F-15C vs. IRAF IL-76.
An F-15C kills an Iraqi transport, an IL-76, that was parked by strafing it with 20mm bullets.
6 February 1991.
USAF F-15C vs. IRAF MiG-21s.
A lone F-15C takes down two Iraqi MiG-21s with AIM-7 missiles after they both engage him. These MiGs were escorting the Su-25s mentioned below.
USAF F-15C vs. IRAF Su-25s.
An F-15C spots two Iraqi Su-25s and gives chase, locking on, and shooting down both planes with AIM-9 missiles.
USAF A-10A vs. IRAF Bo-105.
A USAF A-10 ground attack aircraft, piloted by Captain Robert Swain shoots down an Iraqi Bo-105 helicopter using its GAU-8 30mm cannon. Swain fired approximately 75 rounds with his cannon on his first pass. He then fired approximately 300 rounds on his second pass, causing the helicopter to explode. It is the first air to air victory recorded by an A-10. It earned Swain and his aircraft the nickname "Chopper Popper." The aircraft is now on display at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO.
7 February 1991.
USN F-14 vs. IRAF Mi-8.
A USN F-14 shoots down an IRAF Mi-8 helicopter with an AIM-9 missile. It is the last USN F-14 air-to-air kill.
USAF F-15Cs vs. IRAF Su-22s and Su-7.
Two USAF F-15Cs shoot down two IRAF Su-22s and one Su-7 as they attempt to flee Iraq. All with AIM-7 missiles.
USAF F-15C vs. IRAF Mil-24.
An F-15C shoots down an IRAF Mi-24 with an AIM-7 missile.
11 February 1991.
USAF F-15Cs vs. IRAF helicopters.
Two F-15Cs shoot down two unidentified Iraqi helicopters by using AIM-7 missiles for both.
13 February 1991.
IRAF Dassault Mirage F1 vs. EF-111.
An Iraqi Dassault Mirage F1 piloted by Capt. Nafie Al-Jubouri engages a USAF EF-111 piloted by Capt. Douglas Bradt with his electronic warfare officer Capt. Paul Eichenlaub. The EF-111 crashes into the ground while executing maneuvers to avoid a missile fired at them by Al-Jubouri, thus the Mirage F1 scored a maneuvering kill.
14 February 1991.
USAF F-15E vs. IRAF MI-24 Hind.
An F-15E Strike Eagle fighter/bomber dropped a laser-guided bomb onto a MI-24 Hind Helicopter in the air. The helicopter was on the ground initially loading up commandos, though it took off. Even with it taking off they left the laser on it and the bomb hit it when it was "200 or so" feet in the air. A special forces team on the ground witnessed the event.
15 February 1991.
USAF A-10A vs. IRAF Mi-8.
An A-10A ground attack aircraft shoots down an Iraqi Mi-8 helicopter with its GAU-8 30mm cannon.
Post Persian Gulf War.
20 March 1991.
In accordance with the ceasefire, an F-15C shoots down an Iraqi Su-22 bomber with an AIM-9 missile.
27 December 1992.
A MiG-25 crossed the no-fly zone and an F-16D shot it down with an AIM-120 AMRAAM missile. It is the first kill with an AIM-120, and also the first USAF F-16 kill.
17 January 1993.
A USAF F-16C shoots down a MiG-23 when the MiG locks the F-16 up.
Two IRAF Su-22 "Fitters" open fire on two USAF F-16s in protest of the no-fly zones. No aircraft are damaged in the encounter.
Late 1990s and 2002.
McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
Following Desert Storm, two no-fly zones over Iraq were set up, and enforced typically by US and UK aircraft. In one incident, an attack on up to 600 Kurdish refugees by Iraqi helicopters at Chamchamal, northern Iraq, was observed by a flight of F-15Es. As they were not allowed to open fire, the F-15Es instead conducted several high speed passes as close as possible to the Iraqi helicopters to create severe wake-turbulence, while aiming lasers at the helicopter's cockpits to attempt to blind their crews; this caused the crash of one Hind. Afterwards, USAF leadership ordered F-15Es not to fly below 10,000 feet (3,000 m) to deter a repetition.
5 January 1999.
A group of four Iraqi MiG-25s crossed the no-fly zones and sparked a dogfight with two patrolling F-15Cs and two patrolling F-14Ds. A total of six missiles were fired at the MiGs, none of which hit them. The MiGs then bugged out.
9 September 1999.
A lone MiG-23 crossed the no-fly zone heading towards a flight of F-14s. One F-14 fired an AIM-54 Phoenix at the MiG but missed and the MiG headed back north.
23 December 2002.
In what was the last aerial victory for the Iraqi Air Force before Operation Iraqi Freedom, an Iraqi MiG-25 destroyed an American UAV RQ-1 Predator after the drone opened fire on the Iraqi aircraft with a Stinger missile.


Harry Yates (RAF officer)

Harry Alexander Yates, AFC (1 August 1896 – April 1968) was a Canadian pilot and chiropractor. He was best known for flying Lawrence of Arabia and Harry St. John Philby to Cairo, breaking a speed record for that flight.
Early life.
Yates was born on 1 August 1896 in London, Ontario. As a young boy he and his family moved to Toronto when his father George was offered a job with the "Toronto Globe". They later moved to Ottawa, where George became private secretary to Prime Minister Robert Borden. Harry attended Ottawa Collegiate Institute and joined cadets, learning telegraphy and automobile repair. He was nicknamed "Steamboat" because of his size: he was and .
Wartime service.
During the First World War, Yates volunteered for the Canadian Army Service Corps in 1916 but switched to the Royal Naval Air Service after learning he was to be posted to a supply depot. He arrived in Liverpool on a troop convoy on 6 February 1917 and began basic training as a flying officer. He was among the 10 best candidates from the 65 in his training course and was sent for "phase-one" training at Vendôme. After a replacement instructor confused him with another H. Yates, he was allowed to fly solo after just over two hours of dual flight – a centre record. He underwent seven forced landings without causing any significant damage to his aircraft, which he compared to the other trainees who "had crashed up to five machines each". However, just two hours of flight time short of qualification for phase-two training, he was hospitalized for two weeks with ptomaine poisoning.
Upon being released from hospital Yates completed his phase-one training and returned to England, where he was recommended for the top pilot rating. But he was again hospitalized, this time for eight weeks at Chatham Royal Naval Hospital, ten days before graduating from training. Doctors surgically removed half of his stomach, but still gave him only six months to live and forbade him from flying. His father appealed to Prime Minister Borden on his behalf, and the flight restriction was amended to allow him to fly bombers.
Yates served as a bomber pilot with the Royal Air Force, where he achieved the rank of flight lieutenant and was assigned to No. 1 Communications Squadron. He was the second pilot chosen to fly the newly designed Handley Page (HP) bomber, and also flew thirty other types of aircraft for over 400 total hours during his career. After the armistice, he was chosen to convey delegates, government ministers, and members of the royal family from London to the Paris Peace Conference. He set a record for multi-engine flight from London to Paris in early June 1919.
Cairo flight.
On 20 June 1919, Yates was selected by the British Foreign Office to transport Harry St. John Philby, a Foreign Office agent and father of double agent Kim Philby, to Cairo, Egypt. Philby had been commissioned to end the increasing Arab unrest in Egypt resulting from the failure of Britain to uphold the promises it had made at the Paris Peace Conferences to support Arab independence throughout much of the Middle East. Because of the danger of long-distance flying at the time (25 of 51 planes dispatched to the Middle East six months previously had never arrived, and 11 airmen had been killed en route), the use of a torpedo boat to transport Philby was considered, but it was decided that increased speed of the Handley Page (HP) bomber was worth the risk of flight. Yates and Philby took off from Lympne on 21 June, along with co-pilot Lieutenant Jimmy Vance and airmen mechanics Hand and Steadman. They were promised British ground support en route.
The plane stopped first in Paris to be refuelled by British Air Ministry ground staff, but at the next stop in Lyons (and later stops), these staff did not appear, forcing Yates and the other airmen to refuel alone. The airfield at Marseilles was covered with boulders, blowing two of the plane's tires on landing, and during lunch the crew's map was stolen. They next went to Pisa, where Yates was forced to navigate based on the Leaning Tower due to the heavy cloud cover. The crew stayed up all night to overhaul the plane's engine. Cloud cover also complicated landings at Rome and Taranto, and on several occasions en route the plane nearly struck Italian mountain ranges.
The next day Yates intended to fly directly to Suda Bay, Crete, but a fuel pump malfunction forced an emergency landing in a riverbed east of Aigion. Locals provided food and assistance (including lifting the huge aircraft on their shoulders) to repair damage to the plane, which took six hours, after which Yates flew to Athens to refuel. An engine failed shortly after taking off from Athens, requiring the crew to return and spend 10 hours siphoning and straining all of the fuel from the plane. On their second attempt, a propeller cracked in-flight and the plane's wing clipped the edge of the volcanic crater in which the crew landed at Suda Bay.
Yates was able to convince another stranded RAF pilot to relinquish a propeller for the plane. He also gained a new passenger: Colonel T.E. Lawrence, later known as Lawrence of Arabia. Lawrence had been en route to Cairo in April when his plane crashed in Rome, killing his pilots and breaking his collarbone. He had left a Roman hospital and boarded a bomber to continue his journey, but his plane too had become stranded in Crete.
Taking off three times from Suda Bay because of a maladjusted carburetor, in a process Yates described as "riding a motorcycle around the inside of a barrel", the crew headed across the Mediterranean Sea towards Sollum, on the border of Egypt and Libya. The fuel pump failed again, but rather than land and requisition a new part, Yates ordered Hand and Steadman to hand-pump the fuel for the next . An Air Ministry flying boat sent to accompany the plane tried to redirect Yates to a new course, but he was convinced that the pilot had "a monkey on his shoulder" and was misreading his compass, so he simply thumbed his nose at the flying boat and continued on his course. He was correct: the flying boat was not found until over two days later after becoming lost.
Despite the poor condition of the aircraft, Yates opted to take off for Cairo immediately after refuelling, ordering the airmen to resume hand-pumping the fuel. He was unable to fly higher than or faster than per hour. On approach to Cairo on 26 June, Yates could not locate the airport, reportedly because circus lights blinded him; Lawrence walked out onto the wing of the plane to be able to see the landing strip.
Yates set a record time of five days total and 36 hours in the air for the London–Cairo route. The previous record of 15.5 days had been held by British pilot Major A.S.C. MacLaren, who had been trained to fly HPs by Yates himself.
Aftermath.
Yates and his crew were forbidden to speak to journalists in Cairo because of the "political sensitivity of their mission", but all four were nominated for the Air Force Cross by Brigadier-General Salmon. Yates and Vance returned to their base in England, where their squadron leader had mistakenly listed them as having been killed in a crash in Marseilles; this error had also been published by the "Daily Mail" and was later included in "The Letters of T.E. Lawrence" by David Garnett. Philby also wrote a book discussing the journey, in which he erroneously named the pilot "Grey". The London–Cairo flight record stood for seven years before being broken by Kingsford Smith. Because of their status as "colonials", Yates and Vance were not officially recognized for their flight and returned to Canada in late 1919.
George Yates again intervened on his son's behalf with Prime Minister Borden, arguing that Harry's treatment, and that of other Canadian airmen, by RAF authorities was unjust. Borden appealed to the Canadian High Commissioner, George Perley, suggesting that in future wars Canada should have its own air force. Both Yates and Vance were eventually granted the Air Force Cross.
Later life.
After retiring from the RAF, Yates continued to experience stomach pain, although he credited chiropractic with giving him partial relief. He became a chiropractor in Ontario and was made the president of the Ontario chiropractic association. He also served as head of a chiropractic licensing authority and as a member of the board of governors of the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College. He continued to hold a civilian pilot's license until 1951.
Flying to a Warbirds Association reunion in Vancouver, Yates had a heart attack between Toronto and Winnipeg. He died in a hospital in Winnipeg.
Canadian musician Tim Lawson released a song honouring Harry Yates, "Dawn's First Light (The Story of Harry Yates)", in February 2002.


2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School

2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School (2CFFTS; ) is one of the Royal Canadian Air Force's training centres for pilots and also one of the facilities of the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) program.
History.
The school is located at CFB Moose Jaw. Prior to operating the CT-155 and CT-156, 2CFFTS flew the CT-114 Tutor from 1964 until 1999.
Pilots at the school are in the Advanced Training section of the CF program with focus on:


Helicopter manufacturer

Helicopter manufacturers belong to the broader category of aerospace manufacturers. It is useful to think of helicopter manufacturers as falling into two categories, those that can design, certify and manufacture new helicopter designs from scratch and those that can only manufacture extant designs under license. Boeing Vertol is an example of the first type and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, who license-produced Boeing Vertol designs for much of its recent history, is an example of the second type.
The peace dividend at the end of the Cold War and the increased cost of developing new helicopters has seen a consolidation of arms manufacturers, and helicopter manufacturers are no exception, with even great names such as Aérospatiale disappearing. With too many manufacturers chasing the same contracts, and the removal of government subsidies, it was impossible for individual manufacturers to absorb the costs of bringing a design to maturity that subsequently failed commercially. For example, the AgustaWestland EH101, which will be a mainstay of the newly merged AgustaWestland company for the foreseeable future, had, and to an extent still has, the ability to break its parents. Although sales of the design are growing, there is still the danger that not enough helicopters will be sold to be able to maintain the teams needed for the continuous development of the design to keep it competitive over the next twenty to thirty years, and to eventually develop its replacement. The sporadic nature of defense procurement is also unattractive to companies wishing to maintain a constant income stream. While the upkeep of a work force and industrial infrastructure is expensive without a full work load, companies that have reduced capacity have lost work for fear that they would not be able to meet production targets.
Consolidation is seen as a way of both limiting the number of competing designs and increasing the financial strength of companies. However, helicopter manufacturing is seen as a strategic industry, and some governments have sought to protect their national champions from the marketplace. Even when consolidation is inevitable, governments and politicians have sought to play matchmaker, as seen in the Westland affair. In the United States, in addition to the concern of maintaining national champions, there is also the fear of a loss of competition in the domestic market, creating a situation where designs and prices become uncompetitive. Increasing competition by considering foreign designs is something the US government is especially loath to do. The selection of a foreign helicopter for the new Presidential helicopter being seen by some as unpatriotic. This is a problem facing the US defense industry as a whole. There is the very real possibility that defense contractors with failing bids will leave segments of the industry for good, leaving an ever smaller pool of qualified contractors. One possible solution would be to use a system similar to the OKBs of the Soviet Union, where bidding companies whose designs were not chosen would be allowed to bid as subcontractors on the winning design.
In 2018, the civil or parapublic market over five seats was dominated by Airbus Helicopters with 356 deliveries, a 54% share, ahead of Leonardo Helicopters (21%), Bell Helicopters (12%), Russian Helicopters (10%), Sikorsky Aircraft (1%) and others (2%).
Argentina.
In Argentina the only manufacturer of helicopters is Cicaré.
European Union.
The major Western European helicopter manufacturers are Leonardo S.p.A. (AgustaWestland) and Airbus (Airbus Helicopters).
United States.
In the United States, the large remaining companies are Boeing (Boeing Defense, Space & Security: Boeing Rotorcraft Systems), Textron (Bell Helicopter), Lockheed Martin (Sikorsky Aircraft), MD Helicopters, Robinson Helicopter Company and Kaman Aircraft.
Japan.
In Japan the three main manufacturers of helicopters are the aviation arms of the Japanese conglomerates Mitsubishi, Kawasaki and Fuji Heavy Industries. These companies initially followed a business model based on forming strategic partnerships with foreign, usually American, companies with the licensed production of those companies products, whilst building up their own ability to design and manufacture helicopters through a process of workshare and technology transfer. Though initially loose these partnerships settled down to the pairing of Mitsubishi with Sikorsky, Kawasaki with Boeing, and Fuji with Bell. With the experience they have built up as licensees and sub-contractors the Japanese companies are beginning to produce and offer their own products.
India.
In India, the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is the main helicopter manufacturer for the Indian Armed Forces. It is the only major manufacturer in South Asia that designs and manufactures both military utility and attack helicopters and also their civilian models.
Russia.
A 2006 re-organisation of the helicopter industry in Russia created Oboronprom (Russian Helicopters) a holding company to bring together Mil and manufacturing plants. In the Soviet-planned economic system, the Mil and Kamov OKBs were responsible only for the design of helicopters. After a winning design had been chosen it was assigned to large manufacturing complexes responsible only for production. For example, both the Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant and the Kazan Helicopter Plant were responsible for the production of helicopters derived from the Mil Mi-8 family. The products of these factories were then exported through state export corporations, the predecessors of the present Rosoboronexport. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the breakup of the Soviet Empire, the helicopter industry in Russia became fragmented. For example, PZL, in the former Soviet satellite state of Poland, was tasked with the production of light helicopters. As a result, there was no production of light helicopters in Russia and the Mil Mi-8 family of helicopters was used for tasks which in the West would have been carried out by much smaller OH-58 Kiowa-sized helicopters. Although light helicopter designs had been produced by Mil and Kamov, there was no longer a system by which the manufacturing complexes could be forced to retool to produce these designs. There was also a damaging conflict of interest between the manufacturing complexes and Rosoboronexport, with both Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant and Kazan Helicopter Plant competing to undercut official Rosoboronexport prices, by exporting helicopters destined for military users as civilian in purpose.


903d Air Refueling Squadron

The 903d Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 100th Bombardment Wing, stationed at Beale Air Force Base, California. For much of its existence, the squadron focused on refueling SR-71 Blackbird aircraft, which were stationed at Beale after 1965. It was inactivated on 30 September 1976.
History.
The 903d Air Refueling Squadron was organized on 1 April 1959 by Strategic Air Command (SAC) at Beale Air Force Base, California It was assigned to the 4126th Strategic Wing and equipped with KC-135 Stratotankers. The 4126th wing was established by SAC in a program to disperse its Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike. The squadron initially provided air refueling primarily to the B-52s of the 4126th wing. Half of the wing's aircraft were maintained on fifteen-minute alert, fully fueled, armed, and ready for combat until the squadron's deployment missions superseded alert requirements. It also deployed tankers to Alaska to support Operation Chrome Dome.
The 903d transferred to 456th Strategic Aerospace Wing in 1963 when SAC replaced its Major Command controlled (MAJCON) strategic wings with wings carrying the honors of World War II organizations. Later that year, the squadron supported Operation Greased Lightning, a speed record flight by B-58 Hustlers from Japan to England.
From the mid 1960s, the squadron concentrated on refueling SR-71 Blackbirds of the 4200th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, and later, the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing. Its tankers were modified to carry the PF-1 (later JP-7) fuel used by the SR-71s. The modified aircraft were later designated KC-135Qs. The squadron frequently deployed its aircraft and aircrews and often had its entire resources deployed at various locations. Its deployments included support for Operation Arc Light from Kadena Air Base, Okinawa and deployments to Torrejon Air Base, Spain. In 1963 and in 1967 the squadron won the Frank Ellis Trophy from Fifteenth Air Force for outstanding refueling performance.
The squadron was reassigned to the 17th Bombardment Wing in 1975 when the 17th replaced the 456th at Beale. The squadron inactivated in 1976 when the 100th Air Refueling Wing replaced the 17th and its mission, personnel and equipment were transferred to the 349th Air Refueling Squadron, which moved to Beale without personnel or equipment from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, where it had been a reconnaissance unit.


List of airlines of Bangladesh

This is a list of airlines which have an Air Operator Certificate issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh.


Jerry Grayson

Jerry Grayson, AFC is a British naval helicopter pilot who served with the Royal Navy from 1972 to 1980. He is known for being the youngest pilot to ever serve in the Royal Navy. As he flew for the Royal Navy, he was part of the Fleet Air Arm which operates naval military aircraft. Jerry took part in the Fastnet 1979 race which earned him the Air Force Cross during the three day operation.
Career.
On-board HMS "Ark Royal" (R09).
After completing his training to become an Aircrew Officer Pilot at Britannica Royal Naval College at age 17, he was assigned to anti-submarine operations on-board HMS "Ark Royal" with 824 NAS. He flew Westland Sea Kings on operations.
Search and Rescue (SAR).
Following his transfer from anti-submarine warfare operations onboard HMS "Ark Royal", he flew with 771 NAS which operated out of RNAS Culdrose. He served in the SAR role for his last three years in the navy, 1977-1980 which is when he decided to leave the navy. During his time in the search and rescue role, he flew multiple variants of Wessex helicopters.
Jerry Grayson had multiple successes while serving as a pilot with 771 NAS. He actively took part with his crew in the hectic Fastnet Race of 1979 when he earned himself the Air Force Cross for his successes in the three day operation. His success in this field made him the most decorated peacetime search and rescue pilot in the Royal Navy. Not only was he the most decorated, he was the youngest ever to be a pilot. At 17, he graduated Britannia Royal Naval Academy in 1972 to become the youngest Royal Navy pilot ever.
M/V "Skopelos Sky".
M/V "Skopelos Sky" was a Greek bulk carrier vessel built in 1961. The vessel was abandoned 15 December 1979 after which it ran aground on the Cornish coast of southwest England. The incident happened during a time which is known for its bad weather conditions in and around the coast of Cornwall. The vessel was carrying lubricant oil en route from Garston to Algiers in Libya.
Jerry Grayson and his crew in a Wessex helicopter were scrambled from RNAS Culdrose to a distress call from the M/V "Skopelos Sky". The crew were persistent that they could still salvage the ship so they sat on a clifftop watching the situation unfold. Grayson was assisted by an RAF Search and Rescue crew but they returned to base after Grayson and his crew relieved them of their watch. Grayson told the captain of the vessel that time was running out and decided to bluff them by climbing out of sight until the captain called for them to return and get them off the doomed ship. All 15 crew members were hoisted off of the ship. No casualties were suffered from either party.
Awards and honours.
Jerry Grayson has been awarded the Air Force Cross in March 1980 for his actions in the Fastnet 1979 Race.
Not only has he been awarded the Air Force Cross, he was given a foreign medal from the Hellenic Navy due to his efforts for rescuing the crew of the M/V "Skopelos Sky" on 15 December 1979. He was given special disposition for unrestricted wear of the medal by Her Majesty the Queen.