BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

CBC has confirmed that Julie Payette will be Canada's next Governor General .   First of all, this is INCREDIBLE news.  The Queen's official representative in Canada is going to be freaking astronaut!  How cool is that? Aside from her career as an astronaut, Payette is also a pilot, engineer, able to speak six languages, and has served as a board member of Drug Free Kids Canada.  It is clear that Payette is not some mere patronage appointee. Oddly enough, Payette does have a connection to Canada's CF-18 replacement.  Her husband is none other than Lockheed Martin test pilot (and PR persona) Billie Flynn . Billie Flynn Congratulations to Julie Payette on her upcoming appointment!

Still not ready for primetime... Fans of the F-35 have had to put up with a deluge of good news and bad news stories the last few months. First, the good news: After a troubled development, the JSF has now considered to be in operational service with the USAF declaring its initial operating capability (IOC) in August of last year .  The F-35 can no longer be in "development hell"...   Sort of.  Costs have gone down as well, with the latest batch of F-35s bringing the unit cost of the CTOL F-35A down to a reasonable $95 million *.   (More on the "*" later.) As if to perform a mic drop on all this, an aerobatic performance at the Paris air show put to rest any criticisms that the F-35 cannot maneuver, accelerate, or climb.  Piloted by Lockheed Martin test pilot (and former RCAF CF-18 pilot) Billie Flynn, the JSF performed a flawless routine.  It even attracted the attention of zee Germans , who have thus far declined any participation in the JSF p...

Best selfie after getting hit by car on my bike and having surgery for fractured hip. No F-35 flying for a while. pic.twitter.com/UapUW0qiV3 — billie flynn (@billieflynn) June 18, 2015 I have not always agreed with Lockheed Martin test pilot (and former CF-18 pilot) Billie Flynn, but I hope you will join me in wishing him a speedy recovery so he can get back to doing the thing he obviously loves. Get well soon, Billie!

Captain Buster was never one to say know to a free lunch, especially lately.  As his financial planner was fond of telling him, Captain Buster was much better at flying a CF-18 than managing his debt.  While he was not exactly starving, his bank statements were not exactly heartwarming. Besides, Captain Buster was looking forward to catching up with his old buddy, who had left the RCAF to join the private sector.  Vought-Republic, one of the biggest defense contractors around, was picking up the lunch bill today.  What Buster did not realize was that his friend would be bringing a co-worker... "Thanks for meeting with us today, Buster.  It's great seeing you again." "Yeah, it really is good to have a chance to catch up.  How has civvy life treating you?" "Really good!  I've just made junior vice-president.  You should see my office, it's got a great view of the city." "Wow." "Let me introduce you to the man res...

Best performance ever from a non-Alec Baldwin brother. Do a Google (or even Bing )  search for news about various fighter jets, especially the F-35, and you will see that certain names pop up fairly often.  Sometimes you know exactly what the article is going to be like just by examining the names involved.  Certain authors will wax poetic about a subject, while another will scream that the emperor's naughty bits are showing. As much as writers (or anybody else) would hate to admit it, we all have biases.  Nobody is truly objective.  One way or another, we are all swayed by our experiences, and by what resources we have at hand.    This is nothing to be ashamed of, it is simply a part of the human condition.  What is important, however, is that those biases be freely examined. So let's look at some familiar faces and names involved in Canada's fighter jet procurement, shall we? Billie Flynn Lockheed Martin's Canadian poster boy. ...

December 12, 2012:  Peter MacKay gets a headache. One year ago today , Canada's plan to buy 65 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jets was "reset" under concerns of costs and suitability.  The federal government promised a "National Fighter Jet Procurement Secretariat" that would do a in depth look at all the options available and come up with a plan to purchase the  best fighter for Canada. So, what has happened in the last year to bring Canada closer to a proper CF-18 replacement? Okay.  Maybe a  little more  than that.  But not much. FEBRUARY 22nd The  entire F-35 fleet was grounded  over concerns about crack found in the engine.  This was determined to be a "minor" issue, and the fleet was eventually cleared for flight again. FEBRUARY 25th Time magazine publishes an in depth look at the " Most Expensive Weapon Ever Built ".  While the article doesn't focus on Canada's involvement with the JSF pro...

Pay to play? [WARNING:  THIS IS A RANT.  STRONG LANGUAGE TO FOLLOW.] One of the most predominant people in the Canadian F-35 saga is Lockheed Martin test pilot William (Billie) Flynn .   Flynn's resume certainly is impressive.  Before working for Lockheed Martin he was a CF-18 pilot and commanding officer for 441 Squadron at CFB Cold Lake.  He's flown combat missions over Kosovo, and has seat time with some of today's most impressive fighter jets, including the F-18, F-16, Typhoon, Tornado, and of course, the F-35.  He's even married to real-life astronaut . Without a doubt, Billie Flynn knows much more about the fighter jet business than I do. But why does he say so many stupid and ridiculous things? Flynn claimed that the F-35's kinematics were better than a Super Hornet or a Typhoon .  He was immediately called out by a fellow test pilot .  The F-35 has nowhere near the thrust-to-weight, nor the wing-loading of a Typhoon.   Do...