One giant loss for mankind

The world has lost yet another hero today.

In 1958, he was selected to be a part of NASA's ultra-elite Astronaut Corps, the original space cowboys. He spent a total of 8 days, 14 hours, 12 minutes and 31 seconds in space on two separate missions, Gemini 8 and Apollo 11, in which he became the first man to ever set foot on an extraterrestrial body, the moon.

Fair winds and following seas LTJG Armstrong.

The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden regarding the death of former test pilot and NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong. He was 82.

"On behalf of the entire NASA family, I would like to express my deepest condolences

 to Carol and the rest of Armstrong family on the passing of Neil Armstrong. As long as there are history books, Neil Armstrong will be included in them, remembered for taking humankind's first small step on a world beyond our own.

"Besides being one of America's greatest explorers, Neil carried himself with a grace and humility that was an example to us all. When President Kennedy challenged the nation to send a human to the moon, Neil Armstrong accepted without reservation.

"As we enter this next era of space exploration, we do so standing on the shoulders of Neil Armstrong. We mourn the passing of a friend, fellow astronaut and true American hero."

Ice Pilots NWT

I don't know why I haven't posted about this earlier, considering it's been on the channels since 2009... ICE PILOTS!

Following the day-to-day business of Buffalo Airways, an airline running cargo and passenger ops in the Canadian north, The show takes you into gritty, down and dirty details of life in the airline business, and you get to see a TON of WWII-era aircraft flying, being serviced, etc. The members of Buffalo give you, the viewer (and possibly future career pilot?), a hell of a lot of good advice, based on experience in the field.

One of my current favorite TV shows out there!

Be advised, there is a bit of mild language, but it's censored out. You can catch the show on History, National Geographic or Discovery.

Iceman out.

Rant time?

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand it's time for me to ramble on about something that's been poking at me like a thorn in my side for a while now.

Dreams.

I find it a weird combination of hilarious and pathetic at the same time, when people dream about doing one thing, but are too lazy and unmotivated to put themselves of the path to get there.

Take for example, the aviator.

I once heard that the vast majority of pilots today dreamed of flying when they were younger. True enough, right? Flying isn't exactly something that pops into your head all of a sudden. It isn't the kind of thought that gives you that spur-of-the-moment motivation, cementing itself firmly in your mind. Well, these pilots dreamed. And they DID.
What do I mean by that? I mean, they put their heart and soul into becoming pilot material. They put their nose in the books, figured out that awful flight computer (for some reason, I still have trouble with that stupid piece of plastic to this day, though I've had 4 years worth of practice. I guess I'm a slow learner in that respect haha), and disciplined themselves. These kind of men (and women) are DOERS.

They set their mind to something, then go about getting it done.

Then, you have the other extreme. The DREAMERS.

Don't get me wrong, dreaming is never a bad thing, just as long as you have your feet set firmly on the ground. Be realistic. Fantasies never got anyone far in life. The problem occurs when you just keep dreaming and you don't start doing.

Yeah, I know this all sounds like one of those self-help speeches that those motivational speakers give, but hell, I'm no Tony Robbins. I'm just speaking from logic and from the heart.

Dream. Dream about flying fighter jets for the military, while you slack off in school, don't maintain your grades, aren't physically fit, and consistently make excuses to "allow" you to continue in you patterns of laziness, negligence and indiscipline.

Do. Do the work, get active, stay at the top of your class, build a discipline that'll last you a lifetime, turn yourself into the ideal candidate.

Dreamers or Doers. Which one are you?

Iceman out.

"The journeys of a young pilot"

What's your passion in life? How dedicated are you to your goals? Today, I want to share with you one of my favorite blogs, created by a fellow pilot, who I'm very, very proud to call a friend.

18 going 1800 feet is the story of Waverly, a teenage pilot from the United States, who is forging ahead on the long, hard path to becoming a career pilot. Let me tell you, from experience, becoming a certified private pilot is not an easy task at all, whether you're in the US or Canada, or wherever. It involves A LOT of study, concentration and dedication. Most people get licensed in their mid to late 20s or 30s. Waverly, has done so much more than the average recreational pilot, and she's only 18! Her accomplishments speak volumes of her skill and prowess as a pilot, at such a young age!

Her blog has a ton of inspiration for future, and current pilots, a whole lot of wisdom that can only be gained through experience and excellence. I highly recommend it to all aviators, young and old!

Check it out!

18 going 1800 feet

Call the Ball

Awesome footage of the air wing landing aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) for its last cruise! You also get to see a few cat-shots, and some of the flight deck operations.

RIP

The US naval aviation community has lost another great pilot. Also known as "Lex", the founder of Neptunus Lex (a milblog), retired Captain Carroll LeFon, USN landed a civilian dream job flying former Israeli Kfirs at NAS Fallon (Kfirs are used to simulate MiGs as OPFOR aircraft at Navy Fighter Weapons School, aka TOPGUN). His Kfir crashed on the 6th.

Rest in peace, Lex.

 http://www.neptunuslex.com/

"That was sure a short day."

50 years ago, US Marine aviator turned NASA astronaut, John Glenn, squeezed his way into the Friendship 7 launch capsule, and a few nerve-wracking hours later, blasted off into space to become America's first astronaut to orbit the earth!

Mission Control

13 seconds into the launch, John Glenn thought it was "little bumpy along about here". This guy definitely had the right stuff!

The view from above!

The full radio transcripts can be found here: http://mercury6.spacelog.org/page/