© Matt Finley



The Red Bull Air Race World Series left over 100,000 San Diegans with a crick in their neck and plenty to talk about for weeks to come. Paul Bonhomme from England took his second San Diego win in as many years. Defending champion Mike Mangold from the United States gave Paul a run for his money up until the very end, when he beat Mangold by nearly 2 seconds.

Bonhomme was ecstatic. "I'm very pleased to take the win" said Bonhomme, "you have to be consistent in every session all the time" he added later. Another American, kirby Chambliss.

Next up is Detroit in a few weeks. Should be a great time for those who have never been.

The Red Bull Air Race World Series is coming to San Diego this weekend. These guys got big brass ones, but they better not take them to Florida. If you've never seen them fly, you will be in awe. The planes they fly are the fastest, lightest and most agile planes made, and the pilots run them upwards of 250 miles per hour as the pull close to 10 Gs as they navigate them around a course of air-filled pylons.

It promises to be a lot of fun, if you have the opportunity, you should take it.

© Tim Pritlove



It's getting more expensive to fly. With the cost of oil well over $100.00 a barrel with no sign of going down, you can expect to (continue to) pay out the back-side to keep your bird in the air. While prices of aviation fuel around (or just over) $5.00 a gallon already, we can expect a pricey increase over the next couple of years as predictions are being made of $200.00 a barrel for oil. That will effectively double the price of aviation fuel.

I wonder of anyone is developing a hybrid airplane. Wouldn't that be scary. At least I can be thankful I don't have to run aviation fuel in my ATV! It's already hard enough to get out for a weekend!

I'm Batman

A new form of air-based combat support is about to hit the ground running, so to speak. The Gryphon Attack Glider, at only 30 pounds, can carry up to 100 pounds of munitions, and can zoom out of the sky into battle fields at a blistering 135 MPH. That's pretty fast considering YOU are the fuselage. Its helmet has a heads-up display and provides on-board oxygen for jumps as high as 35,000 feet.

Currently, planes and pilots are put at risk because soldiers need to jump close to combat areas. Typical high altitude, high-opening, or HAHO, jumps from around 27,000 feet allow soldiers to travel only about 30 miles after exiting the aircraft.

The Gryphon could increase that range fourfold, creating an attack corridor of nearly 125 miles. Unaffected by headwinds or crosswinds because of its favorable lift-to-drag ratio, the glider would allow elite units to reach targets with increased speed, precision and stealth.

Who knows, there might be a commercial application some time in the near future.

Que Twilight Zone theme...

There was a huge sighting of "mysterious" lights over Phoenix, Arizona Monday night. It was largely publicized with no real explanation as to what it really was. The FAA was never called to investigate because nothing ever showed up on radar. That could mean one of two things... a) either they weren't big objects, or they had some real good stealth technology.

As it turns out, a guy lit flares that were tied to Helium balloons and let them sail from his back porch.

© Bludgeoner86



Michael Lamar Holland, 46 years old from Montooursville couldn't keep his hands to himself on an air plane last year, and faces up to a $250,000.00 fine and up to 2 years in prison. He apparently grabbed someone's fanny. Seems the grabbee wasn't as appreciative as the grabber seemed to think they would be.

Who'd have thought the FBI AND the US Air Marshals would have to be called in to investigate this incident. Must be some pretty serious stuff.