Fly by night

Easy to get bugged during the summer.

Swat away, but still things bite.

One net result of all the recent rains locally are mosquitoes and flying insects.

Bound to be a few of those uninvited guests at the ceremony at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base today as the National Guard commemorates and retires the Army’s last AH-64A Apache Helicopter.

This big bird has been the primary vehicle of the 1-149th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion since 1991 with over 3.5 million flight hours for combat and rescue missions.

So best wishes and job well done AH-64A Apache helicopter!

Up in the sky: it’s a bird. It’s a bumblebee. It’s a Boeing AH-64A Apache Helicopter!
(image. http://www.military-today.com)

Enjoy your well-earned retirement and some quiet time in the sun.

Now, where is your final pad?

A flight museum somewhere?

Is there a bidding war like the Space Shuttle’s for your presence? Who are the eager suitors?

Can’t wait to stretch out those rotors and rest?

Oh? No time for that?

Already scheduled to fly straight to Mesa, Arizona?

Hey, Arizona is a great place for a retiree! Warm sunny weather…

Scenic Mesa Arizona.
(Image: Gary Johnson.www.visitmesa.com)

Oh? What? Headed to Boeing facility there?

Well, not so uncommon.

Lots of retirees take part-time jobs.

Uncertain financial future. Cost of everything going up.

Social interaction is always good for maintaining productivity as you age.

And new experiences – something to do – keeps things from getting rusty.

Really? Going for a transformation? 

Time to reinvent oneself?
(Image: movie poster/www.amazon.com)

Sort of a face lift that will turn back the pages of time?

Looking younger to compete?

Updating the look and accessories?

Important to keep up with that technology these days.

Simply a retooling overhaul – as a brash woman on the way to the plastic surgeon might say.

Choosing to go under the knife for that get-you-noticed “D” model? 

 Obviously not the shy type.

Bold and determined, this last “A” model Apache is scheduled for an upgrade into a AH-64D Apache model featuring:

• A millimeter-wave fire control radar. (Lookout for this hottie!)
• Digitized target acquisition system. (Saves time and effort at the mall – and elsewhere!)
• A more powerful engine. (Who couldn’t use a little extra kick when Starbucks isn’t enough?)
• A fully integrated cockpit (No comment.)
• Improved survivability, communications, and navigation capabilities

Sounds like a new divorcee’s dream package.

If you’ve got it flaunt it?

Arizona Sunset. (Image: http://www.visitmesa.com)

So, guess not retiring at all.

More of a farewell to the past and bon voyage for the future?

Celebrating not an end, but a new beginning.

Not death. A resurrection!

Wait.

Resurrection might not be the best choice of words….an instrument of conflict and war after all.

Backtracking.

Recalculating.

Recalculating.

It just flies in the face of logic and common sense.

Brute force flying. (Image: Richard Bomphrey/www.sciencedaily.com)

Helicopters.

The bumblebees of the aviation world.

How do they manage to stay in the air?

That’s always bugged me.

Salute to the hardworking bulky flyers,

Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.

Read more:

Science News. “The Flight of the Bumble Bee is Based More on Brute Force Than Aerodynamic Efficiency” - Bumblebees aren’t designed to fly, but do?

Math Association of America. “Flight of the Bumblebee” Lots of research on bumblebees and flying. (How the myth got started)

Military-today.com. “Boeing AH-64A Apache” VIDEO.

Army-technology.com. “AH-64A/D Apache Attack Helicopter, United States of America” (Development. History. Performance. weapons)

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