Airspeed

Flight with the USAF 9th Reconnaissance Wing in a Northrop T-38A Talon.

As many of you know, I attended the Civil Air Patrol’s National Emergency Services Academy (“NESA”) this summer at Camp Atterbury in Indiana. I did the Mission Pilot track in the Mission Aircrew School portion of the academy. But there’s a lot more than that to NESA that the aircrew training.I'm working on an epic NESA episode that distills my own thoughts about the experience, but I wanted to be sure to get the full 30,000-foot view as well. To that end, I invited CAP Lt Col John Desmarais, CAP’s interim national Director of Operations, to talk about NESA.There’s more information about NESA at http://www.nesa.cap.gov/ and more information about CAP (including a unit locator that can help you find a unit to visit and maybe join) at http://gocivilairpatrol.com/.

Here's the first trailer for Airspeed's upcoming independent documentary feature film: Acro Camp.

Four pilots. Two men and two women. None has a tailwheel endorsement. None has ever flown aerobatics. But, last May, they came together in southeast Michigan, took over a Part 61 flight school, and flew aerobatics for the first time. This is the story of their experience. Captured in glorious HD and digital audio by an irregular team of pilots, aviation enthusiasts, and new-media producers.

At some point, you quit wondering, climb over the fence, and go find out.

Airspeed launches its LPA (Lieutenant Protection Association") series about military aviation customs, history, and insider information! We begin with Jordan Haines, the commander-in-chief of CoinForce.com, a premier provider of military challenge coins (including, happily enough, the Airspeed challenge coin).

As Airspeed completes its fifth year online, here's a peek behind the scenes at the philosophy of the show.

I got together with myTransponder.com founder Rod Rakic to talk about accelerated flight training. Rod has done accelerated programs as a part of both his commercial and instrument training. I did my AMEL, ASES, and DC-3 (SIC) training in accelerated programs. And Rod and I are both graduates of the CAP National Emergency Services Academy’s Mission Aircrew School.

We talked about the benefits and drawbacks of accelerated and/or concentrated training and how best to take advantage of it.

Here's the keynote at the morning session of ICAS 2010 by Congressman Sam Johnson of Texas. A retired Air Force colonel, Johnson flew the F-86 Sabre in the Korean War, the F-4 Phantom in the Vietnam War, and the F-100 Super Sabre as a member of the U.S.A.F. Thunderbirds.

An update from the 2010 ICAS Convention.

Here's a full account of my 11 October 2010 recurrent CAP Form 5 checkride with Capt Tim Kramer. I demystify the CAP Form 5 process and give you some tips about how to put your best foot forward. And, even if you don't plan on flying for CAP, you ost of the material here is useful for any checkride.

For more information about CAP or to find a unit near you, visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com.

Interview with the author of Stiff, Bonk, and now Packing For Mars - a riff on the trials, tribulations, and science behind the next step. www.maryroach.net.