After months of struggle to get his family out of Cuba, Orestes Lorenzo got his response. Raúl Castro, then Minister of the Armed Forces, declared "If he had the balls to steal one my MiGs, then he can come back and get his family himself!" In hindsight, that was probably the wrong thing to say. [more inside]
posted by Cobalt on Sep 26, 2011 - 68 comments

Boeing are currently testing the latest version of their venerable Jumbo Jet, the 747-8. Yesterday, in one of the last test flights prior to certification the new 747 flew for 17 hours, a distance of over 11,000 miles. The flight path can be seen here. [more inside]
posted by jontyjago on Aug 3, 2011 - 27 comments

A newer, slightly more plausible flying car project. Some people take it more seriously than the king of vaporware skycars, whose designers are now working on a vaporware landspeeder(PDF). If you want something more available, keep your car and check out the Cessna SkyCatcher, no assembly required.
posted by StrikeTheViol on Nov 30, 2007 - 29 comments

The Last Flight of Scott Crossfield. Esquire imagines Scott Crossfield's last flight. (previous discussion; more inside)
posted by kirkaracha on Nov 22, 2006 - 11 comments

Remember the 15 year old that crashed a cessna into a Florida building? His suicide note is up at the smoking gun, and apparently "Al Qaeda and other organizations have met with me several times to discuss the option of me joining" and he thought "Osama bin Laden is absolutely justified" in a screed that blasts US involvement with Israel. Kids today.
posted by mathowie on Feb 7, 2002 - 33 comments

Cessna pilot sympathised with Bin Laden...
Does Americas enemy lie within?
posted by tomcosgrave on Jan 6, 2002 - 38 comments

Two men are flying a Cessna from South Africa to Alaska. "When I'm feeling romantic, I like to think of us as a modern-day Lewis and Clark (or maybe Huck and Jim), two guys on a once-in-a-lifetime aerial road trip. But there's more to it than that. Amid the mundane details and daily routine inside the Cessna cabin, I expect there to be unforeseen revelations and epiphanies – about the world seen this unique way and perhaps about ourselves." [check out the ultra-cool map]
posted by skallas on Dec 29, 2001 - 6 comments

Tape released on downed Cessna. I just heard the audio tape from the downing of the Missionary Cessna by the Peruvian jet - it is far worse than I had ever expected. This has to be one of the most disturbing things I have heard on NPR in a while. I wasn't able to find the audio online, but there are excepts in this article. It all boils down to poor communications, and IMO poor training - the US pilots should have known more Spanish, and the Peruvians should have known more English.
posted by hotdoughnutsnow on Aug 3, 2001 - 20 comments