Aviation

The Last Dive Bomber

By John Bretschneider on April 1, 2014 Aviation, Carriers, Navy, The Pacific, Women in the Navy, World War II

A World-War II era Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver was unveiled at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. April 1. The Helldiver was the last purpose-built dive bomber to enter Naval service and was designed as a replacement for the smaller SBD Dauntless dive bomber. Poor lateral stability in the early Dash-1 versions led to its not-so-flattering fleet nicknames: Son-of-a-Bitch, Second-Class (for SB2C) or simply “The Beast.” By the end of WWII, guided bombs and rockets eliminated the need to point the entire airframe at the target in order to insure a successful bomb…

'Top Gun' stars voice fighter jets in Disney's 'Planes'

By Jacqueline Klimas on August 4, 2013 Aviation, Movies, Naval aviation, Navy

Navy heroes are making another appearance on the silver screen, but unlike the characters portrayed in “Act of Valor” or even “Zero Dark Thirty,” they’re a little less … well … real. Two animated Super Hornets, Bravo and Echo, star in Disney’s “Planes”, a “Cars” spinoff hitting theaters Aug. 9 that tells the story of a single-propeller crop-duster — named, naturally, Dusty. When Dusty enters a flying contest that takes him around the world, he gets into some trouble over the Pacific and the two Navy jets come to his rescue, USA Today reported. The jets are voiced by “Top…

Blue Angels grounded for rest of 2013

By Kevin Lilley on April 9, 2013 Aviation, Budget, Navy

The Blue Angels may be hiring, but for the rest of the year, they won’t be flying. All remaining performances on the 2013 schedule have been canceled, according to a release posted Tuesday on the Flight Demonstration Squadron’s website. And while the release says the unit “will continue to train to maintain flying proficiency until further notice,” a report from AL.com citing an email from the group’s events coordinator says public practices at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., also have been called off. Cuts to the team’s performance schedule have been part of the Navy’s budget-cut plans for months, triggering…

Sea-Air-Space notebook: New flight deck jerseys on display

By Jacqueline Klimas on April 8, 2013 Aviation, Navy, Sea Air Space, Uniforms

The new flight deck jerseys we wrote about last month are on display at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space symposium outside Washington, D.C. A mannequin is wearing the new jersey, as well as a float coat, gloves and the new trousers at the Office of Naval Research booth. The new trousers have more secure pockets, with stitching to prevent anything from falling out while working. The trousers also fit better and are less expensive to make, an ONR news release said. The new flight deck gloves are commercially available and feature better knuckle and finger protection, increased ventilation and improved fire…

Fox TV carrier project casts female lead, but falls off pilot schedule

By Kevin Lilley on March 22, 2013 Aviation, Entertainment

A few days after casting a familiar face for a key male role, the producers of “Wild Blue,” a TV drama in development for Fox that will be set on an aircraft carrier, found their female lead … then put their entire cast on ice. Gina Rodriguez, recently of “The Bold and the Beautiful,” will bring both those traits to the new project as Pilar “Maytag” Robles, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Three days later, THR reported the entire project would be pushed out of the traditional fall season pilot filming window, with producers failing to lure country singer and…

Navy-on-TV update: Female lead cast for Norfolk drama, Fox goes into the "Blue"

By Kevin Lilley on February 19, 2013 Aviation, Entertainment

If you’ve finally watched every “Last Resort” episode on your DVR and are going through Navy-themed TV withdrawal, cheer up — one aquaflage-filled drama just cast its female lead, while another has advanced to the production stage. Per the plugged-in folks at Deadline, Gage Golightly (who recently appeared in “Teen Wolf” — this one, not that one, and we can all pretend this one never happened) will play the wife of a Navy lieutenant in “Company Town,” a young-adult drama set in Norfolk, Va., against the background of a fictional Navy scandal. Golightly’s relationship with a longtime “townie” friend, and how…

'Top Gun' goes 3-D, and IMAX, in bittersweet return to theaters

By Kevin Lilley on February 5, 2013 Aviation, Carriers, Entertainment, Movies

Watch the trailer below, then read on to find out why you haven’t seen it until now: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZaRCEI4Hr0[/youtube] The good news for naval aviators, students of the 1980s and fans of Kenny Loggins — a remastered, 3-D version of “Top Gun” will hit IMAX screens nationwide later this week. The trailer says it’s a six-day engagement beginning Friday, but some theaters will have special Thursday screenings. Why only six days? And why not a mainstream marketing push? Why wasn’t a shirtless 3-D Tom Cruise playing volleyball during commercial breaks of the Super Bowl? Although Cruise’s cocky Maverick may be the…

Navy lieutenant aims high for Hornet Ball date, asks Katy Perry via YouTube

By Kevin Lilley on October 16, 2012 Aviation, Carriers, Entertainment, Marine Corps

In cases like this, it’s probably best to let the video speak for itself: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueWCnmyH9g8[/youtube] The guy sitting on the plane in the above screen grab (and, in the clip’s opening shot, fixing a fence with a rake while wearing a tuxedo and drinking a martini; we told you it’s best to let the video speak for itself) is F-18 pilot Lt. Clayton Heyward. His YouTube proposal to superstar recording artist Katy Perry — in the form of a parody song set to her hit “E.T.” — is a simple one: Make the trip from Hollywood to Fresno, Calif., and…

Remembering Johnny Pesky: Red Sox icon served as Navy officer in WWII

By Kevin Lilley on August 15, 2012 Aviation, Baseball, Navy, World War II

(cross-posted from Military Times’ After Action sports blog) Boston Red Sox shortstop, coach, manager and all-around legend Johnny Pesky died Monday at age 92. The Fenway fans’ seven-decade love affair with Pesky went well beyond his stat sheet, even though he hit .307 over 10 seasons and led the American League in hits three times — 1942, 1946 and 1947. What happened in 1943, 1944 and 1945? Like so many others, baseball icon or no, Pesky went to war. He began his naval aviator training in Massachusetts before the 1942 season ended, learning alongside Ted Williams at Amherst College. (Williams…

A public apology for barfing on the COD

By Joshua Stewart on January 30, 2012 Aviation, Carrier On-Board Delivery plane, Carriers, Chow, COMPTUEX, Enterprise, Life at Sea, Naval aviation, Navy

Dear VRC-40 “The Rawhides,” I’m just writing to apologize for getting airsick in your C-2A Greyhound. It was certainly unintentional. You handled the plane with steady hands as we flew from Naval Air Station Mayport, Fla., to the carrier Enterprise last week. We even had weather on our side, allowing for a particularly calm flight. If only my stomach was able to manage my breakfast as well as you flew the COD. Usually I handle flights pretty well, but the combination of the smell of aviation fuel, the lack of windows, the heat and the sheer grittiness of the Navy’s…

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