We talk with the Long Beach Airport Public Affairs Officer. In the news, watching racy movies on the inflight entertainment system, a fatal crash at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in New York, the competition for the main operating base for a fleet of Boeing KC-46A Pegasus air refueling tankers, and the AeroSHARK film that reduces fuel burn.

Kate Kuykendall has been the Public Affairs Officer at the Long Beach Airport (LGB) for over five years. She previously worked for the National Park Service and the Peace Corps.

Our Main(e) Man Micah and Brian Coleman recorded a conversation with Kate covering various topics, including the airport’s history, noise complaints, the new plane spotting area on private leasehold, and Corporate tenants at the airport, such as JetZero. Also, community outreach programs and tours, sustainability, and leaded aviation fuel for piston-powered aircraft.

The airport’s annual Festival of Flight is scheduled for Oct 19, 2024.

The IFE system was broken and the crew had to make a movie selection that would be seen on every screen. They chose Daddio from 2023 starring Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn. One passenger said, “Qantas played an inappropriate movie to the whole plane, there was no way to turn it off.” Another said, “It featured graphic nudity and a lot of sexting – the kind where you could literally read the texts on screen without needing headphones.”

Brian Coughlin, 60, died in a crash during an Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome show. He was flying a replica of a World War I Fokker D-VIII that he had helped to rebuild. A preliminary look at the accident indicated an engine fire during the airshow. Coughlin was a volunteer, an experienced pilot, and a mechanic craftsman who rebuilt World War I aircraft as a hobby.

A competition is underway for the main operating base for a $1.3 billion fleet of Boeing KC-46A Pegasus air refueling tankers. The Bangor Air National Guard Base is one of the seven remaining finalists. The KC-46A tankers would replace the Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers operated by the Maine Air National Guard’s 101st Air Refueling Wing, also known as the MAINEiacs.

The Department of the Air Force has selected seven bases as candidate locations to host the KC-46A Pegasus Main Operating Base 7. The candidate locations are:

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. will become Lufthansa Technik AG’s first external customer in the Americas to equip its Boeing 777s with AeroSHARK film. Lufthansa Technik calls AeroSHARK “a durable bionic film that successfully mimics the skin of sharks and optimizes the airflow, thus enabling significant fuel savings.” The film was developed in conjunction with BASF. 

Lufthansa Cargo, SWISS, All Nippon Airways, and EVA Air have already adopted AeroSHARK, with promising results.

Northrop X-21

Operation Airdrop: Hurricane Helene

Volunteer pilots are flying supplies to trapped Hurricane Helene victims

Martin J. McNally – Part 1

Airways, Nov/Dec 2021, “Terror in the Air,” Clipper 93, September 6, 1970

Max Flight, our Main(e) Man Micah, David Vanderhoof, Rob Mark, and Max Trescott.