A&E #20: Apollo 11 50th. Anniversary

At this time 50 years ago the crew of Apollo 11 were racing toward the moon in the CSM-LM configuration. For those that have not heard about it, over at  https://apolloinrealtime.org/11/ you can listen and follow along with the entire mission in real time as it happened. Included are thousands of hours of audio and video recordings, and through this site you can listen in individually to each major Flight Controller. You can listen to CAPCOM (Capsule Communicator) channel during the moon landing, or follow along the fast-paced yet well organized BOOSTER communications before the launch of the mighty Saturn V. I encourage everyone to check out the site, it is free, and through this resource you can relive the mission as it happened fifty years to the date.

To celebrate the technological achievement that was the Apollo lunar program I decided to dress as an Apollo era NASA mission control engineer. I designed identification badges from era pictures. *Note: The pins are from the S-II booster program (I will have an in-depth story on them later).

I also used a pair of headphones, some wiring knowledge, and 3D printing to make a replica of the Apollo era mission control headset.

Make sure to check in and follow along all nine days of the mission on Apollo 11 in Real Time. If you missed the launch this morning do not feel bad, many large milestones are still yet to come. Of greatest interest will be the lunar landing attempt on July 20th. at 3:18 pm. Though we already know how it ends, the excitement surrounding the greatest achievement in the history of humankind is yet again inspiring us to want to achieve more, and (hopefully sooner than later) return man to the stars, the place of which he has dreamed of traveling to for the span of human existence.

 

A&E #19: First Flights with Host Neil Armstrong

If watching a TV series about airplanes isn’t interesting enough, how about one hosted by the first man to walk on the moon? Recently I was searching the internet for a show produced by A&E, and found a list of all shows they had ever published. I immediately noticed a series that I had never heard of, because I know I would have checked it out sooner if I had of. It is called First Flights with Neil Armstrong as its host. The series ran on A&E from 1991-1993, and consisted of 39 episodes. Each show is usually twenty-five minutes long, and covers first flights, achievements, and breakthroughs in early aviation.

So far my family and I have watched the first three episodes, and have loved them. If you have Amazon Prime you get Amazon Video included, and the entire series is available for viewing. I have had Prime for about a year and never really messed with Amazon Video, but now I wish I had of sooner. The link to this amazing series is listed here:

https://www.amazon.com/Seat-Their-Pants/dp/B01GF73M9C/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1515812532&sr=1-1&keywords=first+flights

I hope that each of you enjoy the series as much as I am, and we would love to hear your thoughts on the show. If you saw the series when it aired or are watching on Amazon as I am, please email us your opinion and thoughts to sadieandbuddyaviation@gmail.com

In conclusion, on Monday the 15th. the second episode of Hangar Talk will be released. We hope you’ll enjoy it, fly safe and have fun!

Hangar Talk Episode 1

A&E #18: Hangar Talk Premiere

Hello aviation enthusiasts! Come Monday our first episode of Hangar Talk will be uploaded. Hangar Talk will cover many aviation and aerospace stories, including industry news and aviation content. Also, we will from time to time have guests on the show, as well as subscriber suggested segments.

We are excited for our new weekly show, and hope you are as well. Periodically Sadie and Buddy will make appearances on the show, along with guest star Mr. Raccoon (if Sadie wants him to). From all of us here at S&B Aviation, fly safe and have fun!

A&E #17: 2018 Plans and Projects

Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year break. Sadie and Buddy enjoyed opening their treat stuffed stockings, and loved the ham for Christmas dinner!

I look forward to the upcoming year, and am excited for the upcoming content for S&B Aviation. These next two weeks I will be able to finish the AvTims Reflection kit, and publish the build video. I have been looking forward to finishing this model, and now that I have some time off of college I can focus on more projects. As far as college, it was more cost-effective to finish my prerequisite classes closer to home, and then resume Aerospace Engineering at Mississippi State. Unfortunately, the only class that I have to have before moving on to the rest of the aerospace classes, Intro to Aerospace, is only offered in the fall. For this spring I will be taking a few more classes at USM, as well as working in order to pay for flying lessons. This past semester the blog and page have been rather dormant, and I want to correct that for this year. I will be trying to uphold a bi-weekly minimum publish schedule, and there will be non-scheduled specials and exclusives. Our main publish days may be changed later due to schedule changes with school and work, but will for now be on Mondays and Fridays.

Sadie, Buddy, and I want to wish you and your loved ones a blessed New Year.  As always, fly safe and have fun!

S&B Badger Works #3: AvTims Reflection

Recently AvTims, an aviation group from New Jersey, was kind enough to send us a pre-production kit for their Reflection design. This foam board aircraft is based on 1940’s free flight models, of which modern model aviation hails from. I have began putting the model together, but recently classes have had me ‘tied up.’ I plan on putting together a build video, and in the meantime you can check out my unboxing and first thoughts on the design here at our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy-fFSDnokk

I encourage you to check out AvTims’ website, as well as their step by step build videos. Below I have linked their build video for the Reflection. All of their build videos and aircraft showcases are also on their Facebook page, which you can find here: https://www.facebook.com/AvTims/

Reflection Build Video: https://www.facebook.com/AvTims/videos/736151033236049/

The plans for all of the AvTims designs are available for free at their website (linked below). They have some cool plans, and I encourage you to check it out. Among their current plans are EDF models of F-15s and F-16s, as well as propeller driven models ranging from a high aspect ratio glider to a model of a Bonanza. All of their prop models are built around the Flite Test designed swappable power pod, so that means you can now have multiple models from different groups and head out to the field with only one or two power pods, keeping overall model prices down and potential losses low.

AvTims Website: http://www.avtims.com/

In the next few weeks our build video should be complete and we can head out to the field for a maiden. After the maiden flight (and if it survives) we will then proceed with a custom S&B Aviation paint scheme. I have great expectations for this plane, and I must say that so far I have been very impressed.

Fly safe and have fun!

S&B Aviation to Stay and Flying with a Friend

After going through everything to transfer the blog over to our new domain, I have decided that it will be easier to leave the blog where it is, and to link each new blog on the new website. While all of the old blogs would be transferred over, all of the blog styles and media would of had to be redone, so we’re staying where we are!

Thursday afternoon I went flying with my best friend. The sky had looked hazy all day, and we arrived at the airport around 4 o’clock. About the time we arrived most of the lower clouds had dissipated, and after our pre-flight the weather read clear up to 6,500 feet.

Once we took off the weather turned out beautifully, and made for a great flight. My friend recently got his private, and soon I should be able to begin working on my license, and more than likely in this same aircraft. His instructor is highly recommended, and several of my friends have trained under him. Once I begin taking lessons I will begin a blog series on my journey to being a private pilot. As you can tell from the photo below, this time of year is beautiful, and I recommend if you have an opportunity to check out your local area from the sky to take it, because it will give you an entirely different view on where you live.

Fly safe and have fun!

Dogfights: KSP Episode 1 Coming Friday!

If you or a loved one has suffered from the shear excitement and intrigue of watching Dogfights on the History Channel years ago then you may be qualified for compensation on your withdrawals from this programming. Yes, that’s right folks we are remaking some of the old Dogfights videos with a look at them through Kerbal Space Program, and also want to continue the series by recreating yet to be covered aerial battles. I am sure the History Channel would not mind us recreating the episodes in KSP because we do not profit from it, it is educational, as well as for the fact that more people could become interested in the series and buy the original episodes from History (I will post a link if I find one). Here are a few pictures from our episode one, recreating the episode Hell Over Hanoi, where Air Force F-4 Phantoms came head to head with North Vietnamese Mig 21’s.

 

Mig 21’s high above the jungles of Vietnam

F-4 Phantom thundering toward Hanoi

A dogfight ensues right at dusk

Hell Over Hanoi (Episode 1) will be posted here on the blog on Friday evening. Fly safe and have fun!

 

A&E #16: Update on Look at Aircraft Through KSP

Hey guys, short one this week. I just wanted to give a quick update on the Look at Aircraft Through KSP, and show the progress so far.

New episodes will look at the B-52 as well as Operation Rolling Thunder, E-3 AWACS, the KC-10 and KC-135 aerial refuelers, the A-10, and the F-16 Viper and thoughts on the book Viper Pilot by Dan Hampton. I hope that you will join us as we strive to learn more about aircraft through Kerbal Space Program.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fly safe and have fun!

A&E #15: A New Branch of the Military?

I read an article a few days ago surrounding the possibility for a new branch of the military being founded. This new branch would be a part of the Air Force, just like the Marines fall under the Navy Department. What would this new branch focus around you ask? Space defense. Yes, you read that correctly, space defense. If this new branch is given the go-ahead by lawmakers it would begin in 2019, giving current Aerospace Engineering students such as myself and others a big opportunity to be a part of the next golden age of space exploration.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/news/a27030/lawmakers-lay-groundwork-for-space-corps-a-new-branch-of-the-military/

What do you think of this idea? Let us know your opinion in the comments below or email us at sadieandbuddyaviation@gmail.com Fly safe and have fun!