On December 20, 1989, Lockheed Skunk Works head Ben... Rich arranged a final farewell flight of the SR-71 Blackbird (#972) over the Burbank and Palmdale facilities as a tribute to employees and the legendary designer Kelly Johnson. Rich secretly arranged for Johnson to watch the flyby from a limousine. The flyby was designed as a touching, morale-boosting salute for the Lockheed Advanced Development Projects team as Congress debated the impending retirement of the iconic spy plane. Piloted by Lt. Col. Ed Yielding and Tom Fuhrman, the aircraft flew from Beale Air Force Base to execute low-level passes over the Skunk Works headquarters in Burbank and Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, giving the workforce a chance to see the magnificent machine roar overhead. Ben Rich famously took Johnson—who was in declining health at the time—in a chauffeur-driven limousine from the hospital so he could witness his creation one last time. As the SR-71 thundered in, Johnson looked up, and Rich noted a single tear of joy and happiness running down the aviation pioneer’s cheek. Kelly Johnson died almost one year later December 21, 1991 he said that he did not believe anyone would ever break the SR 71‘s record. So far no one has..#blackbirdshow more

NASA's 'quiet' supersonic jet completes first flight in potential... breakthrough for commercial air travel | Morgan Phillips, Fox News X-59 aircraft designed to reduce sonic boom to a 'thump' could revolutionize commercial aviation A new "quiet" supersonic X-59 jet designed to revolutionize air travel successfully completed its first test flight, Lockheed Martin announced this week. The sleek, needle-point aircraft built for NASA is designed to break the sound barrier while reducing the sonic boom to a "thump," according to the aerospace contractor. The aircraft aims to overcome one of the major hurdles to supersonic travel, which is noise restrictions over land. The plane took off from Palmdale, Calif., at Skunk Works' facility at U.S. Air Force Plant 42, accompanied by a NASA chase plane. It landed safely about an hour later at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center. The plane’s unique shape is designed to greatly lower the volume of the sonic boom typically produced when a plane breaks the sound barrier. The long, pointed nose prevents adequate forward-facing visibility, so the pilot flies relying on a monitor in the cockpit. NASA has paid Lockheed over $500 million since 2018 to develop the plane. The plane, which measures just under 100 feet nose to tail, flew at subsonic speeds on its first flight, around 230 mph and reached 12,000 feet. The plane is built to eventually reach a cruising speed of 925 mph, or Mach 1.4, and fly at an altitude of 55,000 feet. "This aircraft is a testament to the innovation and expertise of our joint team, and we are proud to be at the forefront of quiet supersonic technology development," OJ Sanchez, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, said in a statement. "X-59 is a symbol of American ingenuity. The American spirit knows no bounds. It's part of our DNA – the desire to go farther, faster, and even quieter than anyone has ever gone before. This work sustains America's place as the leader in aviation and has the potential to change the way the public flies," said Sean Duffy, acting NASA administrator. The supersonic Concorde aircraft, developed by France and the U.K., began transatlantic flights in 1976, reached max speeds of over 1,300 mph and flew passengers from New York to London in just 3.5 hours. But high operating costs meant ticket costs were about four times higher than a standard first-class ticket, and the supersonic boom meant the plane could only fly at such high speeds over water. A crash in 2000 deeply affected public confidence in the plane, and it was retired in 2003. NASA plans to fly the X-59 over several U.S. cities in the coming years, gathering public feedback that could help regulators update decades-old bans on supersonic flight over land. If successful, the data could open the door for a new generation of commercial jets capable of cutting cross-country flight times in half — bringing back supersonic travel for the first time in more than two decades, but this time with far less noise.show more

This is real gun camera footage from a P-51... Mustang, chasing a German Bf 109 down to the treetops until it goes down in flames. The American pilot flying it, Lt John Kirla, shot down five enemy planes in a single day, becoming an ace in one mission. This footage captures one of his victories over a Bf 109. This is his story.. From Trainee to the Yoxford Boys John Kirla was not a born fighter ace. He was an ordinary young American who had come up through flight training in Texas, graduating at the start of 1944. He learned his trade on trainers, moved up to fighters, and got just 15 hours in the P-51 Mustang before being sent to England as a replacement pilot. He joined the 362nd Fighter Squadron of the 357th Fighter Group, a unit based at Leiston that was already becoming a legend. The 357th was the first group in the Eighth Air Force fully equipped with the Mustang, and it would go on to produce more aces than any other fighter group in the Eighth, including Chuck Yeager and Bud Anderson. Kirla was the newest pilot in a squadron already filled with experienced aces. His job was to escort American bombers deep into Germany and protect them from the Luftwaffe. On November 27 1944, he got the day that would define him. Five Victories in One Mission That morning the 357th ran headlong into a massive swarm of German fighters trying to get at the bombers. Kirla's flight dropped their fuel tanks and dived straight into the middle of it. Almost immediately, the fight became a swirling, low-level brawl of Mustangs, Messerschmitts, and Focke-Wulfs twisting across the sky. Kirla picked out his first target and opened fire, and from that moment he did not stop hunting. In his own account, he spotted a Bf 109 that was attacking an American bomber. He went after it, closed to just 30 yards, and when the German threw his fighter into a tight barrel roll straight down toward the ground, Kirla stayed glued to his tail and, in his words, clobbered him all over until he went down. An Ace in a Day He kept finding more. Again and again through that wild, sprawling fight, Kirla latched onto an enemy aircraft and did not let go. At one point he watched a German fighter shoot down one of his fellow Mustang pilots right in front of him, and closed in for revenge. As he described it afterward, he opened fire, saw pieces start to fly off the enemy aircraft, and watched it fall out of the sky like a leaf drifting to the ground. Rather than breaking away and climbing back to safety, Kirla chased his targets down low, following them almost to the ground, the fighters weaving over villages and treetops until the enemy aircraft finally went down. By the time the fight was over, John Kirla had shot down five German aircraft in a single mission. He had become an ace in a day, one of the relatively few American fighter pilots to achieve that in a single mission. The Mustang That Changed the Air War The Mustang was the aircraft that made days like Kirla's possible. The P-51 combined long range, high speed, and deadly firepower, and it could follow the bombers all the way to their targets and fight the German fighters on equal or better terms. By the end of the war, P-51 groups had claimed close to 5,000 enemy aircraft shot down, about half of all American air-to-air kills in the European theater. Kirla's own group, the 357th, became the top-scoring Mustang group in the Eighth Air Force. Flying one of the finest escort fighters of the war, men like Kirla helped turn the tide of the air war over Germany. The gun-camera film rolling every time he pressed the trigger captured it all, including the footage you are watching. John Kirla's Legacy John Kirla flew on to the end of his combat tour and finished the war as a double ace, credited with 11 and a half enemy aircraft destroyed in the air. He was awarded the Silver Star and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his courage in the skies over Europe. He had gone from a trainee with a handful of hours in a Mustang to one of the deadliest fighter pilots in one of the deadliest fighter groups of the war, in the span of a single year. The footage of his Mustang chasing a Bf 109 down to the trees is only a few seconds long. But behind those few seconds is a young American who climbed into a fighter, dove into a swarm of the enemy, and shot down five of them before the day was out. This was the story of John Kirla. I post a story like this every single day. Most people never see them. Follow so you don't miss the next one.show more

✈️ 🇷🇸 Novak Djokovic took an Air Serbia flight... from New York to Belgrade, and the airline decided to surprise him As he was boarding the plane, he took a photo with the cabin crew working on that flight, and once he was inside, a big surprise awaited him. All over the plane, there were pillows with the number ‘24,’ which is the number of Grand Slam titles Novak Djokovic has won so far in his career. The Serbian airline made a great effort to host the best athlete on the planet, and he reciprocated with gratitude and a big smile. (Tanjug)show more

Yaxel cuts down the nets, in the defining moment... of his basketball career. He opted out of the NBA, took a chance on Michigan, and led it to a title. He was in Ann Arbor just one year, but will be remembered as a pillar of the program for the rest of time.show more

NEW: Beloved Michigan patriot, Christian father, and GOP affiliate... was shot dead by his ‘neighbor from hell’ during a weekend stroll near his home ‘34 years, quiet neighborhood, never [an] episode like this - ever’ one neighbor said Nathan Morris, 35, was walking with his family in his usually quiet Canton neighborhood when he was confronted by Deveraux Christopher Johnson, 47, and the two argued Johnson was allegedly upset because Morris' daughter 'touched the mulch' on his property 'The neighbor took a gun out and started threatening the family,' the post on X read 'Nathan sent his family home and said that he would try to [defuse] the situation, but instead was shot and killed.' Johnson is now charged with first-degree murder, felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of felony firearm Johnson has lived in the neighborhood for 12 years with multiple incidents involving assaults on neighbors and police He also has criminal s*xual conduct charges dating back to the 1990sshow more

Unfortunately, I noticed that CENTCOM released footage of the... destruction of a historic fighter jet at the 3rd Tactical Fighter Base of the Iranian Air Force in Dezful. It was a decommissioned MiG-23BN of the Iraqi Air Force that had defected to Iran in 1991 and I was trying to have it transferred to the Iranian Air Force Museum in Tehran in 2012. However, the aircraft remained in Hamedan following to my arrest by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, and unfortunately this historic aircraft was destroyed today. This MiG-23BN defected to Iran in January 1991 during Operation Desert Storm, and it was one of the over ten MiG-23s that defected to Iran. Unfortunately, almost all of them were scrapped in Dezful and Hamedan and their wreckage were moved to Tehran, and the last one, which was supposed to be displayed in the museum, was finally destroyed by a U.S. Air Force MQ-9A drone in Hamedan. I also noticed that all F-4s of Shahrokhi Air Base had already been evacuated from the base to protect them from the threat of U.S. airstrikes. Therefore, what remained there was this historic MiG-23BN of the Iraqi Air Force, which was parked in one of the hardened aircraft shelters. I never managed to photograph it myself but I have a photo of this in my archive and I will release it. #OperationLionsRoar #OperationEpicFuryshow more

Security footage from January 10, 2013, captures the last... known movements of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson. In the video, he is seen walking inside the gym of his high school. The following day, his body was found rolled up in a gym mat. Following an initial inquiry and autopsy determining Johnson's death as accidental, his family sought further examination by a private pathologist, revealing blunt force trauma as the cause. The family of Johnson initiated a $100 million civil lawsuit against 38 individuals, alleging murder and asserting that the defendants were involved in a conspiracy to conceal the homicide, supposedly implicating two sons of an FBI agent. The lawsuit was later withdrawn. Lt. Stryde Jones, who headed up the investigation for the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office, stated: "We never had credible information that indicated this was anything other than an accident." The Department of Justice declared on June 20, 2016, that it would not pursue criminal charges in connection to Johnson's death.show more

Yesterday, Lue Elizondo did a Q&A on X, and... when he was asked about the connection between the phenomenon, the ancient Nephilim, and giants, he said that he was well aware of the stories, as he himself served in Afghanistan and the Middle East. This means that the story about the encounter with the red-haired giant in the desert in Kandahar really circulated among the soldiers and is not a made-up story by the media. The story goes that the red-haired giant emerged from a cave and neutralized one of the soldiers with his spear before he was taken down with heavy gunfire. The giant was clothed as if he were from the Bronze Age. Funny enough, the last time a giant was mentioned in the Bible was during the battle of David and Goliath in the Bronze Age.show more

❗ The helicopter that crashed in Dagestan was carrying... not tourists, but employees of a sanctioned factory — a company serving the occupying forces In 2024, the Kizlyar Electromechanical Plant was included in the EU’s 14th package of sanctions for developing and producing aircraft control systems, as well as external and onboard equipment. 🔹According to Russian media, four employees of the plant died today while traveling from Kizlyar to Izberbash. The helicopter crashed into a residential building, but there were no people inside at the time of the crash. Reports say the cause of the accident was a “technical malfunction.”show more

Kapaun takes down #4 in 6A Wichita Heights 56-53... off this buzzer beater from senior Corbin Johnson. Johnson scored the Crusaders’ final 10 points for the win. Kapaun is ranked #3 in 5A now at 16-3 on the year and have won their last 11 games and avenged their most recent loss on 1/14 to Heights 59-54. Johnson averaged 19 points per game shooting an impressive 62% from the field and 44% from the three point line. He was a SIK All State pick last season as a junior when he led Kapaun to a 5A state championship. #sportsinkansas Video: @jscheuflicksshow more

During the crustal displacement described in the censored book... The Adam and Eve Story: A History of Cataclysms by Chan Thomas, who worked for a company contracted by the Air Force in 1963, being aboard a doomsday plane could actually be one of the safest places, assuming the low magnetic field would not affect the aircraft. The spilling of the oceans would cause tsunamis up to 2 miles high, reaching even high-altitude mountain doomsday bunkers. This is also one of the reasons for developing reusable rockets: so that a number of elites could remain in space for a period of time until everything settles down again.show more

The story of Atlantis comes from the ancient Greek... philosopher Plato, who wrote about it in his works Timaeus and Critias. He described Atlantis as a large and powerful island civilization that existed far out in the Atlantic Ocean. According to the story, Atlantis was highly advanced, with great buildings, canals, and a well organized society. The city itself was said to be built in rings, with land and water laid out in a careful pattern. At first, the people of Atlantis lived in balance and followed higher principles, but over time they became greedy, corrupt, and focused on power. Plato’s account says that as the people changed, their society began to fall apart. The gods, seeing this decline, decided to punish Atlantis. In a single day and night of disaster, the island was struck by massive earthquakes and floods. The land broke apart, and the entire civilization sank into the sea, disappearing beneath the water. The story was passed down as a warning about what can happen when a society loses its values and becomes consumed by control and excess.show more

The War was cold, but accidents happened... May 25... 1968: a Soviet Air Force Tu-16 "Badger" [Reg. Unknown] crashes 150 mi West of Norway, all 6 aboard die. Jet made a low pass near US Navy aircraft carrier USS Essex (CV-9), flying just 50 ft above the sea, when the wingtip hit a wave that sent the bomber into a cartwheel. The accident was captured in camera by a US film crew that was aboard the ship. More info below ⬇️ 🧵 ‘I was there and watched the entire thing while working on the flight deck. I was a helicopter mechanic in HS-9 at the time. When it overflew the flight deck you could feel the heat and smell at jet exhaust. After the flight deck overfly (starboard to port) he continued to fly away from the ship at low level. He gained a little altitude and started to make a left turn, leveled back out, lost altitude and just when it looked like he was going to make a controlled ditching his left wing dipped and hit the water and then he cartwheeled in a ball of flame.. Our helicopters were in the air already and made a beeline for the crash, hovered in the smoke but no one survived.’ Extra info with statements by an eyewitness are from an article from "The Aviation Geek Club" (will add link to their full article latershow more

🎄✈️ Swedish and Danish fighter jets carried out a... festive flyover in the shape of a Christmas tree Such flyovers are held by the Swedish Air Force every December. Aircraft from different units line up in a Christmas tree formation and fly over various parts of the region. “This is useful for pilots in terms of their skills, and at the same time a long-standing tradition — a way to greet people for the New Year,” explained Fighter Aviation Commander Marcus Dreystam.show more

A woman in distress onboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH2574... last Saturday met ‘a knight in shining armour’, in the form of Dr Chung Ghi Waie, a paediatric specialist at the Selesa Pacific Hospital. During the flight, Dr Chung was supposed to be winding down from a getaway to Japan, but a female passenger suddenly struggled to breathe, clutching her chest in pain. Dr Chung rose without hesitation in response to the call by the cabin crew – far from operating rooms and medical equipment, he helped stabilise the passenger and by the time the plane touched down in Miri, she was stable and able to breathe normally. Her mother and brother later flooded social media with gratitude, and netizens hailed Dr Chung as a ‘hero physician’.show more

WATCH: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson responds to critics of... his push for more debt at Chicago Public Schools, the largest municipal junk bond issuer in the country. “You put a Black man in charge of a city and all of a sudden everybody wants to be an accountant.” Yesterday a majority of City Council members signed a letter opposing Johnson’s push for more borrowing, including 10 members of Chicago’s Aldermanic Black Caucus. The SEIU is also opposed, as higher borrowing costs will likely lead to layoffs for their members. The school board is scheduled to vote later today on the CPS budget. Johnson wants that budget to include a $200M high-interest loan in order to fund a one-time pension payment from the schools to the city. The district’s chief budget officer said that borrowing would trigger a “downward spiral” of credit downgrades, higher borrowing costs, and cuts to the classroom. The reckless borrowing of the past is not a justification for reckless borrowing today.show more

My brother Mohammed has become an expert at starting... fires, as if a flame inside him refuses to die out. He was supposed to be happy now, busy preparing for the start of a new school year, filled with dreams and ambitions for the future. But how could he, when there are no schools and no education in Gaza? The ongoing war, lasting for two whole years, has stolen two years of his childhood, two years of his life lost in destruction and fear. In that time, he has witnessed what no child on this planet should ever see… he has seen the very worst humanity could endure, all while being so young. And yet, what’s both astonishing and heartbreaking at the same time is that his smile still shines… It’s as if it’s a silent scream of defiance in the face of war, as if it’s saying: "You will not break us… we will keep dreaming, despite the pain." Mohammed is not alone; he is the face of an entire generation in Gaza, a generation forced to grow up before its time, a generation that has learned how to live on the edge of survival and plant joy in the desert of fear. Despite the fire, the siege, and the loss, his heart is still alive… and he still dares to dream.show more

A shocking incident was reported from #Bengaluru on Friday... after #CJRoy, a well-known businessman and founder of the #ConfidentGroup, allegedly attempted suicide by shooting himself in the head with a revolver. The incident took place on #LangfordRoad near #RichmondCircle. CJ Roy was seriously injured and was immediately shifted to a local hospital. On the same day, officials from the Income Tax Department carried out raids on offices linked to the Confident Group. Police sources said it is suspected that CJ Roy took the extreme step due to fear and stress related to the #ITRaids. However, officials have clarified that the exact reason behind the suicide attempt is still under investigation and no final conclusion has been reached. After receiving information about the incident, police rushed to the spot and secured the area. CJ Roy was found in a critical condition and was shifted to hospital without delay. Doctors earlier said that his injuries were serious, and he was put under close medical observation. Dr Roy Chiriankandath Joseph, popularly known as CJ Roy, was the founder and chairman of the Confident Group, a major real estate, hospitality, and entertainment company. He built a large business empire in Bengaluru and expanded operations to several states across India. The group also has a strong presence abroad, including in Dubai and the Middle East. CJ Roy was known for developing over 65 projects and following a zero-debt business model. He also served as the Honorary Consul of the Slovak Republic and was known for his interest in luxury cars and social welfare activities. Apart from real estate, the Confident Group is involved in hospitality and entertainment ventures. CJ Roy was often seen at business and social events and was regarded as a prominent figure in Bengaluru’s business circles. The news of his suicide attempt has come as a shock to employees, associates, and the wider business community. Police said further investigation is underway to understand the full sequence of events. Officials are also looking into the circumstances surrounding the IT raids and the incident.show more

I told you all Speaker Mike Johnson was full... of Shit! And I was attacked for not supporting him as Speaker of the House! On July 20th he said that Joe Biden and his family are “hopelessly corrupt”. Today, Johnson said “There is insufficient evidence at the moment to initiate formal impeachment proceedings.” Remember when I told you all that the House Republicans was never going to Impeach Biden? And to think that Mike Johnson had the audacity to go on Sean Hannity 🇺🇸 and gaslight the American people into thinking that he actually cared about accountability and truth, because we live in a Constitutional Republic. MIKE JOHNSON IS A RINO CONMAN! I was right! I am always right… One of these days people will admit that.show more