Former Air Force A-7 fighter jet found at Virginia Museum of Transportation

The Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Va., welcomes guests from across the nation and around the world. The museum exists to preserve Virginia’s transportation history and to honor the workers whose talents created the transportation marvels in the collection. Although all modes of transportation are represented, the museum is mostly focused on telling the story of Roanoke’s rich rail heritage. Taking a walk outside the museum provides an outstanding display of old trains, buses and emergency vehicles. A deep walk into the collection will find yourself stumbling upon a vintage Vought A-7 Corsair II attack aircraft from the 1960's.

The A-7 Corsair II is a carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by American conglomerate Ling-Temco-Vought. The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as a replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Development was rapid, first flying on Sept. 26,1965 and entering squadron service with the United States Navy on Feb.1 1967.

The A-7 at the Virginia Museum of Transportation sits outside the museum and is hidden behind a row of retired public transportation buses. The wingless aircraft proudly displays “Virginia AF 70 996” on it's tail. A quick Internet search on the serial number “70-0966” shows this same jet was once assigned to the Virginia Air National Guard. Since its retirement the aircraft has been on display at Richmond International Airport, Virginia Aviation Museum and Shannon Air Museum in Fredericksburg, just to name a few.

What is the future for this retired military jet? Who knows. But it was a neat find on a beautiful summer day at the Virginia Museum of Transportation.

Virginia rocket launch may be visible in Chesapeake Bay region

Several space technologies will be put to the test with the launch of a suborbital rocket at 8 p.m. EDT on Thursday from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Called Suborbital Technology Experiment Carrier-8 or SubTec-8, the launch is designed to test new technologies to improve the capability of conducting suborbital science missions. Some of these technologies also may be applied to orbital spacecraft. The launch may be visible in the Chesapeake Bay region.

SubTec-8 will fly on a Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket and is predicted to reach an altitude of 128 miles before descending by parachute and landing in the Atlantic Ocean. The first SubTec launch occurred in 2005.

SubTec-8 technologies include distributed payload communications that will allow multipoint measurements for scientists to study multiple regions in space simultaneously; a low cost star tracker for assisting in pointing the rocket when taking astronomical observations; and a high data rate encoder that will provide the ability to transmit data from the rocket to the ground four times faster than currently available.

Camp Perry Landing Strip

A single-engine Pilatus PC-12 aircraft landed at Camp Peary Landing Strip, Va., on Monday after departing Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach. The turboprop plane (tail number N617EX) is registered to Cowen 1576 LLC in New York.

Rocket launch from Virginia will light up mid-Atlantic coast

The morning skies along the mid-Atlantic coast will light up with luminescent clouds as NASA tests a new system that supports science studies of the ionosphere and aurora with a sounding rocket launch June 29 from the Wallops Flight Facility on the eastern shore of Virginia.

During the flight of a two-stage Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket at 4:15 a.m. EDT, ten canisters about the size of a soft drink can will be deployed in the air.

The canisters will deploy between four and five minutes after launch. Blue-green and red vapor forming artificial clouds should be visible. These clouds or vapor tracers allow scientists on the ground to visually track particle motions in space.

The development of the multi-canister or ampule ejection system will allow scientists to gather information over a much larger area than previously allowed when deploying the vapor just from the main payload.

Ground cameras will be stationed at Wallops and in Duck, N.C., to view the vapor tracers. Clear skies are preferred, but not required, at both sites for the launch to occur.

The vapor tracers are formed through the interaction of barium, strontium and cupric-oxide. The tracers will be released at altitudes 96 to 124 miles high and pose absolutely no hazard to residents along the mid-Atlantic coast.

The vapor tracers could be visible from New York to North Carolina and westward to Charlottesville, Va.

The total flight time for the mission is expected to be about eight minutes. The payload will land in the Atlantic Ocean about 90 miles from Wallops Island and will not be recovered.

Video: New unmanned aircraft runway in Virginia

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe visited NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility May 18 for a ribbon-cutting on a new Unmanned Aerial Systems runway, a $5.8 million state-funded project officially known as the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Airfield.

Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, McAuliffe boarded an Aurora Centaur, an optionally piloted aircraft that can be operated remotely from a ground control station, and flew in the plane over Wallops Island, Va.

“This new facility at Wallops provides government and commercial users with a runway under restricted airspace on a secure federal facility – discreetness that is of high interest for research and development,” Virginia Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne said.

Additional details about the runway:

• The runway is 3,000 feet long and 75 feet wide.
• Its concrete pad measures 130 feet by 120 feet and is rated to 5,000 psi for Vertical Take Off and Landing operations.
• The airfield is surrounded by 75 square nautical miles of restricted airspace that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to unlimited altitude.
• The Virginia Department of Transportation managed construction of the $5.8 million, state-funded project.
• A 90-foot-by-50-foot hangar with a 70-foot-tall rollup door, lab space, communications and broadband connectivity will be under construction this summer.

Virginia is the most romantic state, according to Ibotta

Virginia really is for lovers. That's according to Ibotta, the mobile shopping app whose users have earned more than $170 million in cash-back rebates on everyday purchases. On Thursday, Ibotta released results from its first-ever Valentine's Day shopping data analysis, and found that Virginia is the most romantic state based on wine and chocolate sales. [Full story]

Virginia has the most romantic restaurants in America

Proving Virginia really is for lovers, the state boasts 13 winning restaurants, followed by Florida with 10 and Ohio with eight, according to a list of most romantic restaurants.

In celebration of the romantic dining experiences we have on and around Valentine's Day, OpenTable unveiled their 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in America for 2017.

2017 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in America

1. Alexander's – Roanoke, Virginia 
2. Antebellum – Flowery Branch, Georgia 
3. Arabellas Italian Ristorante – Winter Haven, Florida 
4. Arielle's Country Inn – Sellersville, Pennsylvania 
5. BakerStreet – Fort Wayne, Indiana 
6. Bertrand at Mister A's – San Diego, California 
7. The Bistro at Gervasi Vineyard – Canton, Ohio 
8. Bistro L'Hermitage – Woodbridge, Virginia 
9. Bistro San Martin – Arlington, Washington 
10. Boulevard Bistro – Elk Grove, California 
11. Byrd and Baldwin Bros. Steakhouse – Norfolk, Virginia 
12. Café Central – El Paso, Texas 
13. Café Matisse – Rutherford, New Jersey 
14. Cafe Renaissance – Vienna, Virginia 
15. Carlos' Bistro – Colorado Springs, Colorado 
16. Chef's Table at the Edgewater – Winter Garden, Florida 
17. Chez François – Vermilion, Ohio 
18. Chez Nous French Restaurant – Humble, Texas 
19. Chimney Park – Windsor, Colorado 
20. Christopher's World Grille – Bryan, Texas 
21. The Chop House – Multiple Locations 
22. Circa 1886 – Charleston, South Carolina 
23. Coldwater Cafe & Catering – Tipp City, Ohio 
24. Collage Restaurant – St. Augustine, Florida 
25. Cygnus 27 – Grand Rapids, Michigan 
26. Daniel's Restaurant – Hamburg, New York 
27. Del Alma – Corvallis, Oregon 
28. The Dining Room-Biltmore Estate – Asheville, North Carolina 
29. Don's Pomeroy House – Strongsville, Ohio 
30. Edgewood Restaurant – Stateline, Nevada 
31. El Gaucho – Tacoma, Washington 
32. The English Grill at Brown Hotel – Louisville, Kentucky 
33. Fearrington House Restaurant – Pittsboro, North Carolina 
34. Firefly – Panama City Beach, Florida 
35. Flagstaff House – Boulder, Colorado 
36. The Flatiron Cafe – Omaha, Nebraska 
37. Fleurie – Charlottesville, Virginia 
38. Four Winds Steakhouse – Wills Point, Texas 
39. Franklinville Inn – Franklinville, New Jersey 
40. Gabriel's Restaurant – Sedalia, Colorado 
41. Gardner's – Olympia, Washington 
42. Geja's Café – Chicago, Illinois 
43. The Goodstone Inn & Estate Restaurant – Middleburg, Virginia 
44. Gracie's – Providence, Rhode Island 
45. Harry's Restaurant – Manhattan, Kansas 
46. The Hobbit – Orange, California 
47. Hugo's Cellar-Four Queens – Las Vegas, Nevada 
48. Inn at Barley Sheaf Farm – Holicong, Pennsylvania 
49. The Inn at Little Washington – Washington, Virginia 
50. Jackson's Steakhouse – Pensacola, Florida 
51. Jillian's – Palm Desert, California 
52. Joshua Wilton House – Harrisonburg, Virginia 
53. Katherine's Steakhouse – Mesquite, Nevada 
54. L'Auberge Chez François – Great Falls, Virginia 
55. La Cocina International Restaurant – St. Augustine Beach, Florida 
56. La Cremaillere Restaurant – Bedford, New York 
57. Latitudes – Key West, Florida 
58. Le Cep – Fort Worth, Texas 
59. Le Vallauris – Palm Springs, California 
60. The Little Dipper – Wilmington, North Carolina 
61. Mahogany Prime Steakhouse – Tulsa, Oklahoma 
62. The Melting Pot – Multiple locations 
63. Michel's at the Colony Surf – Honolulu, Hawaii 
64. Monarch – Scottsdale, Arizona 
65. Montalcino Ristorante Italiano – Issaquah, Washington 
66. Mr. Lester's Steakhouse – Charenton, Louisiana 
67. Nick and Nino's Penthouse Steakhouse – Springfield, Illinois 
68. The Old Inn On The Green – New Marlborough, Massachusetts 
69. Orchids at Palm Court – Cincinnati, Ohio 
70. Over the Moon Cafe – Tacoma, Washington 
71. Penrose Room-The Broadmoor – Colorado Springs, Colorado 
72. Pepper Tree Restaurant – Colorado Springs, Colorado 
73. Perry Street Brasserie – Galena, Illinois 
74. Pier W – Cleveland, Ohio 
75. Primavista – Cincinnati, Ohio 
76. Quiessence at The Farm at South Mountain – Phoenix, Arizona 
77. The Refectory Restaurant & Bistro – Columbus, Ohio 
78. The Restaurant at Convict Lake – Mammoth Lakes, California 
79. The Restaurant at Gideon Ridge Inn – Blowing Rock, North Carolina 
80. Restaurant Iris – Memphis, Tennessee 
81. Rey's – Raleigh, North Carolina 
82. Ristorante Massimo – Portsmouth, New Hampshire 
83. Russell's Steaks, Chops, and More – Williamsville, New York 
84. Saint Jacques French Cuisine – Raleigh, North Carolina 
85. Second Empire Restaurant and Tavern – Raleigh, North Carolina 
86. Sedgley Place – Greene, Maine 
87. Ski Tip Lodge – Keystone, Colorado 
88. Sky's Restaurant – Grand Forks, North Dakota 
89. Sonoma – Princeton, Massachusetts 
90. St. Martin's Wine Bistro – Dallas, Texas 
91. Stables Steakhouse – Terre Haute, Indiana 
92. The Steakhouse at Harrah's-Harrah's Reno – Reno, Nevada 
93. The Studio, An Artistic Dining Experience – Hilton Head Island, South Carolina 
94. Tempo Dulu – Portland, Maine 
95. TS Steakhouse at Turning Stone – Verona, New York 
96. V.Mertz – Omaha, Nebraska 
97. Vernon's Speakeasy – Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico 
98. Vintage Tavern – Suffolk, Virginia 
99. Wally's Desert Turtle – Rancho Mirage, California 
100. Yono's Restaurant – Albany, New York

Coast Guard ends search for Cirrus pilot in Atlantic Ocean

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search at 11:30 a.m. EDT Sunday for the pilot of a plane that crashed Saturday approximately 51 miles southeast of Chincoteague Island.

A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules airplane crew searched until sunset Saturday and the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Beluga searched through the night until Sunday morning for wreckage or any sign of the pilot aboard the downed aircraft.

A fisherman in the vicinity of the crash recovered a wheel and an engine cowling thought to belong to the crashed plane and turned it over to the crew of Cutter Beluga. Both items are scheduled to be turned over to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Cirrus aircraft crashes off Virginia in Atlantic Ocean

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash of a Cirrus SR22 into the Atlantic Ocean about 50 miles from Wallops Island, Va., on Saturday.

The plane is a single-engine Cirrus (tail number N930RH) registered to Ronald Hutchinson of Brookfeld, Wis., according to Federal Aviation Administration records.

The popular flight tracking website Flightaware shows the aircraft departing Waukesha, Wis., headed for Manassas, Va. The website shows the flight path ends in the Atlantic Ocean.

The U.S. Coast Guard 5th District in Portsmouth received notification at approximately 2:40 p.m. that a single-engine aircraft with only the pilot aboard failed to land at Manassas Regional Airport as scheduled. Instead the plane remained at an altitude of approximately 13,000 feet and continued into restricted air space in the vicinity of Washington, D.C.

Two F-16 aircraft came alongside the Cirrus to investigate and observed the pilot to be unconscious in the cockpit.

The F-16 airmen escorted the plane on its course over the Eastern Shore of Virginia until it eventually ran out of fuel and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.

The Coast Guard launched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and an HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Air Station Elizabeth City in North Carolina and the crew of Cutter Beluga, homeported in Virignia Beach, to respond.

Pilot fatally injured in F-15 crash

Officials confirmed Thursday the pilot of a F-15C Eagle was fatally injured when his jet crashed near Deerfield Valley, Va., on Wednesday.

The pilot's name is being withheld pending notification of family members and will be released when appropriate.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and we are doing all we can to support them during this very difficult time," said Air Force Col. James Keefe, commander, 104th Fighter Wing. "We ask that everyone respect the privacy of the family and allow them the time they need to grieve.”

An official safety board is being convened and the investigation into the crash is ongoing.

Background

At approximately 9:05 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Washington Center Air Traffic Control in Washington, D.C. lost radio contact with the F-15C aircraft stationed at the 104th Fighter Wing, Mass., and at approximately 9:30 a.m. the 104th Fighter Wing learned that the aircraft had crashed in a remote site near Deerfield Valley, Va.

The single seat F-15C aircraft was en route to Naval Air Station New Orleans to receive a radar system upgrade. There were no munitions on the aircraft during this flight. The pilot was flying a solo mission when he reported an in-flight emergency prior to the loss of radio contact with Washington Center.

F-15 fighter jet goes down over Shenandoah Valley

At approximately 9:05 a.m. EDT Wednesday the 104th Fighter Wing lost radio contact with an F-15C aircraft during a cross country mission over the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, the Air National Guard said in a press statement.

The pilot flying the F-15C made a report of an inflight emergency prior to radio contact being lost. Subsequently there were reports of dark smoke being seen around the aircraft at its last known location. Local law enforcement arrived on scene and confirmed the aircraft crashed.

"Information on this incident is developing rapidly and we are not going to speculate on what occurred or the status of the pilot", said Air Force Col. James Keefe, 104th Fighter Wing Commander. "We are hopeful that the pilot is ok, and the pilot will be in our thoughts and prayers as the events of this incident unfold."

The F-15C aircraft was in route to receive a system upgrade, and there were no munitions on the aircraft during this cross-country trip.

At this point the status of the pilot is not confirmed.

NTSB investigating single-engine plane crash in Virginia

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the crash of a single-engine Cessna 150J aircraft Sunday in Topping, Va.

The aircraft impacted grass terrain southeast of Hummel Field Airport, sustaining substantial damage. The pilot was fatally injured and the sole passenger onboard the airplane received serious injuries.

The aircraft (tail number N50824) was built in 1968 and registered to Stephen Myers of Christiansburg, Va., according to Federal Aviation Administration records.

Purcellville 2014 annual 4th of July Parade

The Purcellville Volunteer Fire Department and the Town of Purcellville held their annual 4th of July Parade on Friday.







































The parade started at 12:30 p.m. EDT at Emerick Elementary (continued up Orchard Avenue, right onto Main Street, left onto Maple Avenue) and ended at Loudoun Valley High School.

Video: RockSat-X experiments launched aboard NASA rocket

A group of experiments developed by university students nationwide were successfully launched into space from Wallops Island, Va. at 6 a.m. EDT Tuesday aboard a NASA Terrier-Improved Malemute suborbital rocket.



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Student space experiments planned for launch from Virginia

A NASA Terrier-Improved Malemute suborbital sounding rocket carrying experiments developed by university students from across the nation is scheduled for launch Tuesday morning from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

The experiments were developed through the RockSat-X program conducted with the Colorado Space Grant Consortium. The goal of the RockSat-X program is to provide students a hands-on experience in developing experiments for space flight. This experience allows these students to apply what they have learned in the classroom to a real world hands-on activity. Approximately 40 students and instructors will be at Wallops to witness the launch.

The rocket is set for launch between 6 and 10 a.m. EDT.

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