A Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon F2 based at RAF Conningsby has made what appears to have been a gear-up landing during training at China Lake Naval Weapons Air Station in California, Western United States.

The accident happened last week and the aircraft is reported to have come to rest with only ‘minor’ damage. While most sources suggest no mechanical issue was to blame, it amazes me that you could land the Typhoon gear up at a controlled airbase. Surely the usually breathy female voice of the aircraft’s automatic announcer would have risen to a scream of “TOO LOW! - GEAR!” just before the metal-rending moment? Aside from that, you’d think the air traffic controller might have ordered the Typhoon to go around when it became apparent that it wasn’t going to make contact with the asphalt in the customary fashion.

Wing Commander Andrew McGill commented:

“The damage to the aircraft is still to be fully assessed and until a board of inquiry has been convened it would not be appropriate to comment further until the investigation is complete.”

Now, allegedly, the damage is not such that the aircraft has become un-airworthy but it’s hard to imagine how putting an 11-15 ton aircraft on the ground at 130 knots without the benefit of wheels could only scratch the paintwork.

I presume they’ll be fixing the aircraft in situ at China Lake, quite what resources that will need is anyone’s guess.

Note: Image is example of Type, not actual aircraft.

BBC is carrying a video which shows a Georgian UAV being shot down by what appears to be a Russian Fighter aircraft, probably a Mig 29.

The video shows the UAV on a reconnaissance mission which, according to an official, is over Georgian territory. The UAV is reportedly unarmed and looks like a low-speed, probably piston-engined type.

The Georgian UAV operator was apparently warned by Georgian ground-based radar that the UAV was about to be intercepted and commanded the UAV’s camera toward the oncoming aircraft. We see the intercepting aircraft lining-up on the rear of the UAV, rolling wings-level and then firing an air-to-air missile which hits the UAV terminating the feed. An English “Master Caution” message is then presented on screen by the UAV command software.

Video here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7359514.stm

The Georgia seem to be rather upset with the Russia about this.

On Saturday we took a trip over to Sywell Aerodrome in Northamptonshire for the 2008 Sywell microlight fly-in. Unfortunately, only a few aircraft attended, probably due to the nasty weather which included sporadic hail and a stiff breeze. Almost all of the attending microlights were 3-axis affairs with just one two-person flexwing in attendance.

Sywell is an all-grass runway airstrip but has just been granted planning permission for a hard-surface runway to allow for winter operations. Inevitably, this runway surfacing has attracted a group of NIMBYs with too much time on their hands who have been protesting the change of surface. I have very little sympathy with such NIMBYs, especially when the aerodrome has existed since the 1920s and used to handle far, far larger (and noisier) aircraft than it does today.