On January 31, 1958, Explorer I (officially Satellite 1958 Alpha) became the first Earth satellite of the United States. It was launched at 10:48 pm EST from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 26 in Florida, onboard a Juno I rocket.

Following the successful launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik I on October 4, 1957 and the embarrassing failure in December 1957 of the first American attempt to launch a satellite, the US Army launched a scientific satellite using a rocket that had been developed to test guided missile components.

Explorer I carried an instrument package developed by a team at the State University of Iowa under the direction of Professor James A. Van Allen. Data returned by Explorer I and Explorer III (launched in March 1958) provided evidence that the Earth is surrounded by intense bands of radiation, now called the Van Allen radiation belts. This was the first major scientific discovery of the space age.

Over the course of years, many pilots have been puzzled with the vicious chain reaction of air disasters around the globe. A combat helicopter pilot and Philippine Air Force spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Restituto Padilla Jr. said,

“It’s a foreboding pattern we cannot explain.  The bizarre phenomenon has baffled us pilots.”

Padilla added, “In the Philippines, air mishaps usually happen in the month of May.”  Philippine aviation records show based on statistics that from March 5 to May 30, 2005, there were six plane crashes, four of them in May.  There were a total of 23 people killed.  May 2005 is listed in aviation history as the month with the highest number of plane crashes in the Philippines. 

On April 28, 2005, a PAF UH-1H helicopter crashed in the Sierra Madre Mountain ranges, killing all nine people on board, including the notable Filipino scientist Raymundo Punongbayan, former director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).  The plane crash was caused by engine trouble and also, the pilots weren’t familiar with the terrain.  Aviation experts thought the April 28 crash will not follow another crash, but they were mistaken.  On May 8, 2005, another Cessna plane, carrying a group of skydivers crashed shortly after its take-off at the Banandas airstrip in Tanauan, Batangas, 160 kilometers south of Manila.  The crash killed four persons and injured two others. 

The series of plane crashes didn’t end when a four-seater plane went down into the waters off Palid in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay province in the southern Philippines on May 16, 2005, killing the pilot and his co-pilot, a lady aviator.  On May 24, 2005, another PAF aircraft crashed in Atok Trail Village shortly after it took off from Loakan Airport on the mountain range resort of Baguio City, wherein it killed the instructor pilot and his three students. 

Aviators attempted to analyze why an air accident is repeated somewhere as if it was caused by a horrific, bizarre chain of events.  According to statistics, air travel is generally safe, since there are more accidents on the road here and abroad.  Accidents just happen unexpectedly; it could happen at any time due to mechanical or engine failure, unintentional pilot error and the most inhumane and horrifying terrorist attack.    

Summer is on its way and a fine way to enjoy the sun and sky is to stroll through it. Without a lot of burdensome expense and regulation, the FAA created a sport pilot license in 2004 for enthusiast and thrill seekers just like you. FAA’s companion Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) category offers affordable, safe, basic, aircraft for many people who are unable to fly.

One common example of the Light Sport Aircraft is the Gliders which is similar to the hang-gliders. Gliders remain one of the safest forms of flying. In order to be an LSA glider it must weigh 1320 pounds or less and can only carry two passengers. Minimum flight time requirements include at least eight hours of dual instruction plus at least two hours by ones self.

Although hang gliding and gliding started out as simply gliding down small hills on low performance hang gliders in earlier centuries, hang glider technology has evolved the ability to soar for hours at thousands of feet altitude in thermal updrafts, perform aerobatics and fly cross country over large distances.