Soldiers walked along the parade route handing out Army souvenirs while two Army-branded Humvees started and ended the Army column in the parade.

Marching Soldiers were from the Glenview Recruiting Company and two Reserve units: the 85th Support Command and the 416th Theater Engineer Command. WLS News Talk Radio (890 AM and 94.7 FM) also drove two wounded warriors in their “WLScalde,” to show their support to the Army.

Irish-American Soldier Capt. Peter Gillen, company commander for the Glenview Recruiting Company, led the group of Soldiers for the parade in downtown Chicago.

The event attracted many high-profile personalities, including Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen, who marched in the parade with Mayor Richard Daley and Governor Patrick Quinn.

Die-hard Chicagolanders showed their loyalty to the Irish-American celebration with about 250,000 attendees turning up for the 55th Annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, despite the cold rain. Last year’s attendance was more than 400,000.

The U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron “Thunderbirds” flew their acceptance show March 11 and were approved by Gen. William M. Fraser III, commander of Air Combat Command, to start their 2010 show season.

“The acceptance show is the culmination of the hard work and dedication by our entire team throughout the training season, from November to March,” said Lt. Col. Case Cunningham, who is beginning his first year as the Thunderbirds commander and leader. “It is an opportunity for us to demonstrate a safe air show for General Fraser as we prepare for the 2010 air show season.”

The ground and air show lasted one hour. Immediately after, General Fraser greeted the Thunderbird officers on the flightline and later addressed the entire Thunderbirds squadron in the unit’s auditorium.

“The Thunderbirds are absolutely looking forward to the 2010 season and the opportunity to represent nearly 700,000 Airmen,” said Capt. Jason McCree, Thunderbirds public affairs officer.

The Thunderbirds are scheduled to fly 73 shows throughout the United States and Canada and will be on the road approximately 250 days from March to November. Their season ends with the homecoming show at Nellis AFB open house in November.

The Thunderbirds’ 2010 schedule is as follows:

March
20 and 21: Davis Monthan AFB, Ariz.
27 and 28: Maxwell AFB, Ala.

April
10 and 11: Eglin AFB, Fla.
17 and 18: Lakeland, Fla.
24 and 25: Barksdale AFB, La.

May
1: Dyess AFB, Texas
2: Altus AFB, Okla.
8 and 9: Shaw AFB, S.C.
15 and 16: Columbus AFB, Miss.
22: Grand Forks AFB, N.D.
26: U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.
29 and 30: Janesville, Wis.

June
5 and 6: Ocean City, Md.
12 and 13: Quebec City, Canada
19 and 20: Tinker AFB, Okla.
26 and 27: North Kingstown, R.I.

July
10 and 11: Gary, Ind.
17 and 18: Duluth, Minn.
24 and 25: Fairchild AFB, Wash.
28: Cheyenne, Wyo.
Jul 31 and Aug 1: Rockford, Ill.

August
7 and 8: TBD
14 and 15: Abbotsford, Canada
21 and 22: Westfield, Mass.
25: Atlantic City, N.J.
28 and 29: Brooklyn (Coney Island), N.Y.

September
4 and 5: Martinsburg, W.V.
11 and 12: Coraopolis (Pittsburgh), Pa.
18 and 19: Whiteman AFB, Mo.
25 and 26: McConnell AFB, Kan.

October
2 and 3: Salinas, Calif.
9 and 10: Little Rock AFB, Ark.
16 and 17: El Paso, Texas
23 and 24: Houston
30 and 31: Cocoa Beach, Fla.

November
6 and 7: Lackland AFB, Texas
13 and 14: Nellis AFB, Nev.

Boeing and the Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) celebrated Qatar’s deployment of C-17 Globemaster III airlifters during an Air Force Day ceremony held March 10 at Doha International Airport.

“When the Qatar Emiri Air Force acquired two C-17s last year, we did so with every intention of supporting international disaster-relief and humanitarian missions around the world,” said Brig. Gen. Ahmed Al-Malki, head of Qatar’s airlift selection committee. “We take great pride in being among the first of many nations to respond to Haiti and Chile, delivering several thousand tons of food, water and medical supplies.”

Just days after Haiti was struck by an earthquake on Jan. 12, a Qatar C-17 delivered aid to the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince. On March 4, Qatar sent a C-17 filled with humanitarian aid to Chile in response to that country’s Feb. 27 earthquake.

“It is with great appreciation that on Air Force Day we salute the Qatar Emiri Air Force and its leadership for the many important contributions they are making right now in Chile and Haiti,” said Chris Chadwick, president, Boeing Military Aircraft. “Boeing employees everywhere were extremely moved to see Qatar’s C-17s bringing hope to those in need, and joining so many other nations on lifesaving missions. We’re proud that the C-17, with its reputation for reliability and maintainability, is serving your nation, and the people of Chile and Haiti, so well.”

Boeing delivered Qatar’s first C-17 on Aug. 11 and the second on Sept. 10. Qatar, the first Middle East nation to order the C-17, signed an agreement with Boeing on July 21, 2008, for the two advanced airlifters and associated equipment and services, as well as an option for two additional aircraft. The company provides Qatar’s C-17s with operational support, including material management and depot maintenance support, under the C-17 Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership at Al Udeid Air Base, where the QEAF’s C-17s are based.

At approximately 18:30EST on 10 March, a Continental Airlines B777-200 departing New York’s Newark airport for Hong Kong hit a flock of birds shortly after take off from Runway 22. Continental flight 99, with 301 passengers and crew, returned to the airport for a safe landing about 90min later after entering holding pattern at 14,000ft (4,267m) to the southwest of the airport to burn fuel.

A US FAA spokesman says the aircraft hit the birds as it climbed through 300ft. After landing, the crew taxied to the gate, where maintenance crews determined that the aircraft’s left engine had ingested birds. The aircraft returned to service on 11 March after required borescope inspections revealed no damage to the engine, says a Continental spokeswoman. The airline offered hotel accommodations to the passengers and crew overnight and completed the route with a different aircraft this morning.

Also on 10 March, a Chautauqua Airlines Embraer ERJ-135 hit a flock of birds after departing Runway 23 at the Norfolk airport en route to Washington National airport. According to the FAA, Chautauqua Flight 2034 continued its flight after the incident, safely landing in Washington with fire and rescue services awaiting the arrival. The FAA says damage was limited to “a couple of bent fan blades” in the left engine and minor damage to the left wing.

Early on 11 March, a US Airways A319 with 124 passengers and crew hit a flock of birds on departure from Runway 22 at the Greater Rochester International airport and immediately returned for landing. The pilots of flight 1101, en route to Charlotte, reported hitting “a whole flock” of birds after departure, telling controllers that the engines continued to perform normally, though the right engine was indicating high exhaust gas temperatures. The aircraft landed safely.

Taj, which showcased the two aircraft at Indian Aviation 2010 earlier this month in Hyderabad, says the new additions to its fleet will “enhance its offering of efficient and highly personalised travel experience”.

The charter operator is owned by hotel group Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, which is part of India’s Tata Group. It has operated to more than 150 airports in 56 countries, says the company.

Taj’s Avanti II is able to carry six passengers, and has a range of 2,720km (1,470nm). The Falcon 2000LX is equipped to fly up to nine passengers to any destination within a radius of nine flying hours without refuelling, says Taj.

Both aircraft are equipped with a satellite telephone system and fax system for its business passengers.

Taj also performs maintenance on its Falcon jets and Avanti II from its $2.5 million maintenance facility in Mumbai.

“It has a very powerful engine for its size,” said Lt. Col. Charles Westbrook, the 52nd Expeditionary Flying Training Squadron commander deployed from Hurlburt Field, Fla.

The first class will consist of more than 20 current Iraqi air force pilots, some who will continue in training to be the first group of instructors at the college.

The T-6 is the second “step” of an 18-month pilot training program. Aspiring pilots must first complete 20 training hours in a Cessna 172 Skymaster learning basic flight fundamentals.

“The difference, obviously, is in the United States they go from a T-6 into either a T-38 Talon or T-1 Jayhawk,” Colonel Westbrook said. “Iraqi students will spend their entire year in the T-6 and move on to operational platforms.”

The more than 20 Airmen in the 52nd EFTS — in careers ranging from maintenance to life support — are preparing the school for the incoming class.

The faculty is also coordinating operational requirements such as air-traffic procedures with the Army aviation unit at Contingency Operating Base Speicher to maintain airspace for T-6 training flights, as well as standing up maintenance and refueling operations to keep the aircraft in the air and train Iraqi ground crews.

NEWTOWN, Conn: Boeing announced plans to offer the KC-767 in the competition to supply the U.S. Air Force with a new tanker under the long-delayed KC-X tanker program. The selection of the KC-767 for the job over a potential entry based on the larger Boeing 777 was expected after the Air Force released its final KC-X Request for Proposals on February 24, because the final RFP favors a smaller aircraft than the notional KC-777.

Boeing’s KC-767 offering is based on the Boeing 767 widebody airliner. The new tanker variant will feature a new digital flight deck taken directly from Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner and a new fly-by-wire boom system. Boeing also claims that its tanker program “will support substantially more jobs in the United States than an Airbus A330 tanker that is designed and largely manufactured in Europe.”

Boeing had initially selected Pratt & Whitney PW4062 engines for its KC-X entrant, but has reportedly considered General Electric’s GEnx engine developed for the 787 and 747-8.

The company has built KC-767 tankers for Italy and Japan, but these aircraft do not feature the 787’s cockpit and use mission systems that are substantially different from those to be used in the KC-X aircraft, due to the U.S. Air Force’s different requirements.

The Army’s new high-tech UH-60 Black Hawk M-model helicopter – equipped with a stronger engine, a digital cockpit and composite rotor blades – performed exceptionally well in Afghanistan during its first major combat deployment, according to a recently completed After Action Review at Fort Campbell, Ky., service officials said.

“The M-model Black Hawks were in Afghanistan for 12 months. The aircraft performed exceptionally well,” said Lt. Col. Jerry Davis, product manager for UH-60 Modernization. “We got great reaction from pilots. They experienced a higher than average operational readiness rate with those aircraft in theater and they loved the technologies on-board.”

The year-long deployment was the first for the M-model Black Hawks, which entered full-rate production in June, 2007. So far, 154 M-models have been delivered, Davis said.

The M-model Black Hawk’s digital cockpit display made a large difference with pilots, the AAR found.

Lt. Col. Todd Venema, director of the Hypersonic Combined Test Force explained just how the test team plans to do that. “We’re going to take the WaveRider and launch it from a B-52 at 50,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean and the vehicle is going to drop away.”

Testing hypersonic technology at Edwards is not new. The concept began in 1959 with the X-15 program, which Mr. Armstrong was also involved in. Work on the program pretty much stopped until recently, but as a result of advancements in technology, interest in the program has rekindled and has allowed testers to go forward.

Colonel Venema said the upcoming first flight is a fairly complicated test. He said the altitude is at the top of the B-52 capability and said testing will call for flight test chase planes. “Telemetry has to be relayed to the Naval Air Station at Pt. Magu to a control room with about 35 people, all watching the various telemetry. So there will be a lot of team work aspects to the whole project,” he said.

Dawn Waldman, chief of broadcast for the 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs, explained in a recent newscast that testers say the purpose behind the X-51A program is to demonstrate the ability to use air-breathing, hydro-carbon propulsion in the hypersonic flight regime, which is flight more than five times the speed off sound.

Charlie Brink, X-51 program manager at the Air Force Research Laboratory says what makes that a challenge for the test team is that conventional turbine engines are physically limited to about 2.5 Mach or 2 ½ times the speed of sound.

“The scramjet in the X-51 will be able to take in the air flight speeds over Mach 4 and up to Mach 6,” Brink said, explaining, as Armstrong did, that the engine achieves its speed by taking in air from the atmosphere, burns it and uses it for thrust, a capability, he said, that will be able to be applied to many other flight applications that the Air Force might use.

Calling the X-51 program the highlight of his career, Mr. Armstrong said, “For me personally, this is a real reward toward the end of a career where I’ve worked hypersonics and now all of a sudden this program is here and after 32 years since the X-15 last flew, I’m able to go back into a control room and experience a hypersonic flight test program.”

The X-51 program is a consortium between Boeing and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. The customers are the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, with support from NASA.

The government of Tunisia has signed a contract with Lockheed Martin for the purchase of two C-130J Super Hercules airlifters with an initial 3 years of logistics support. Tunisia’s new C130Js, scheduled to be delivered in 2013 and 2014, will be the longer fuselage or “stretched” variant of the C-130J.

A contract signing ceremony took place at the Tunisian Ministry of National Defense (MND) in Tunis last month. During the ceremony, Abdellatif Chebbi, Tunisia MND chief of Cabinet, conveyed his appreciation for the successful conclusion of the negotiations and praised the capabilities and flexibility of the C-130J-30 aircraft. In addition, Dennys Plessas, Lockheed Martin regional vice president of Business Development, welcomed the Tunisian Air Force to the growing worldwide Super Hercules family.

“Tunisia is the 12th country to select the C-130J Super Hercules,” said Jim Grant, Lockheed Martin vice president of business development for Air Mobility. “More and more, as countries recognize and appreciate the proven qualities of this tremendously flexible platform, we are seeing it become the preferred airlift option.”

Tunisia currently operates a fleet of C-130Hs and C-130Bs, first purchased in the mid-1980s. The new C-130Js will support Tunisian operations across the mission spectrum, including relief efforts around the world, firefighting and traditional airlift sorties.

Other nations which are operating, or have ordered, the C-130J include Australia, Canada, Denmark, India, Iraq, Italy, Norway, Oman, Qatar, the United Kingdom and the United States.