U.S. corral lineup announced for Paris Air Show

Preparations are well-underway for the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, and the U.S. corral is taking shape. The U.S. corral will be adjacent to the AIA chalet, #SI-400.

Eleven aircraft are scheduled to appear this year. As of May 6, the corral lineup includes:

Sights to See

Public days at Aero India are a huge deal. The American air crew was inudated with picture and autograph request any time they walked through the crowd. Day passes for the show were requested at every resturant, shop, and hotel we stepped foot  in. People that couldn't get into the show watched from outside. Traffic was nightmarish because people just parked on the road and stood in the meadian to watch the show. Check out  the people that climbed this billboard for a better view:

Hurricane Hunters

The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, the Hurricane Hunters, of the U.S. Airforce have been flying into tropical storms and hurricanes since 1944. The Hurricane Hunters are based out of the Biloxi, Mississippi, fly ten WC-130Js built by Lockheed Martin. The Hurricane Hunters came to India to show off t he WC-130J and I got to fly with them!

On the media flight that I got to go on we flew between 6,000 and 10,000 feet:

On a typical mission these guys fly at about 10,000 feet over any incoming Hurricane or Tropical storm. Any lower than 10,000 feet the flight becomes too turbulent and any higher the wings of the plane could collect ice.

Missions for the Hurricane Hunters include collecting data for the National Hurricane Center; decisions for evacuations are based on data from the Hurricane Hunters. Data is gathered using dropsondes:

Typically about three dropsondes will be dropped into the eye of the storm: at the eye wall, the center of the eye, and the opposite eye wall. All three of these drops will occur in a five minute window.

The  official weather seat:

The data they gather is 30% more accurate than the data National Hurricane Center could produce without the information they gather. Look at how much of a difference that makes:

So next time you see a report on a Hurricane know that they Hurricane Hunters from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron have probably flown right through it.

Flight of Luxury

I will take one of these home! The Gulfstream 550 is a beautiful business jet that I was lucky enough to get invited to see today.

The Gulfstream 550 has a range of over 6,000 nautical miles. From Bangalore, India you could fly anywhere in Africa or Europe with no problems.

The sleek exterior is only a hint of what lies inside: leather seats, beautiful wood, and an overall feeling of luxury:
 

Even the cockpit looks cushy!
 

I want one.
 

Want to Fight?

Let’s talk fighters. India is looking to purchase some new fighter jets to the tune of 11 billion dollars. The U.S. has two planes in the competition, the F-16 made by Lockheed Martin and the F-18 made by Boeing. Other competitors include the Typhoon, Gripen, Rafale, and Su-35.

Lockheed Martin’s F-16:

Boeing’s F-18, Super Hornet::

The EuroFighter, Typhoon:

The Gripen, made by Saab (I really like their billboard):

Rafale is made by Dassault Aviation:

The Su-35 by Sukhoi, a Russian company, is also in the competition but is not at the show.

With 11 billion is on the line the competition is fierce and I think it is safe to say that everyone is eagerly awaiting a decision from India.