Video of the Week

Two Air National Guard F-15s out of Portland International Airport went supersonic over the continental U.S. Tuesday, and the sonic booms were caught on local videos. The jets had been dispatched by NORAD. They had been granted permission to go supersonic to intercept an aircraft that was wandering near airspace that had been temporarily restricted during a presidential visit to the region. The first video was shot in Seattle by a local news crew; the second, apparently, by a local mother.

The FAA has confirmed it is investigating a midair collision between a biplane and what appears to be a large-scale radio-controlled model on Aug. 14. FAA spokesman Mike Fergus said the mishap occurred at an airport in Brighton, Colo. during what appeared to be a model aircraft event. The RC pilots were using an airport runway or taxiway for their activities, and the model involved in the collision was hovering on prop thrust above a paved surface when the biplane (type unknown) made a low-level pass with air show smoke on over the field, then struck the model.

A Rans S-9 Chaos piloted by 22-year-old Dino Moline lost its wing during an air show routine in Argentina Sunday. Because it was equipped with a Ballistic Recovery Systems (BRS) full-plane parachute system, the pilot survived uninjured.

Jonathan Trappe is a sort of super-hero to some children and a crazy man to some adults. We found him inspirational. Trappe is licensed to fly beneath a group of homemade helium-filled balloons. That means his aircraft is one of the most structurally redundant vehicles in the sky. But it's also challenging to fly. Trappe controls his direction by varying his altitude. He can drop water ballast or stab balloons with a knife to alter his buoyancy as he flies. Wind direction can vary with altitude, and Trappe uses that to his advantage, adjusting his present reality to the forecast conditions. To stay visible to controllers and aircraft, Trappe carries a radio and transponder, making him visible on radar. For visual avoidance, Trappe relies mainly on the 50-foot brightly colored canopy of balloons above his head. At night, he uses lights.

X-Air is trying to deliver on the promise of a low-cost LSA for affordable, fun flying. Just before he left Oshkosh at the end of EAA Airventure 2010, AVweb's Jeff Van West took the X-Air LS up for a flight.

Gene Soucy performs at AirVenture Oshkosh 2010, shot by AVweb intern Adam Cutler.

At AirVenture 2010, AVweb took a tour on the Goodyear Blimp. This video reveals some interesting stuff about an entirely different kind of flying machine.

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Jeff Skiles is co-chair of the Young Eagles program, along with Chesley Sullenberger. Check out the WACO cabin Skiles is using to introduce Young Eagles to the magic of flight.

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Once the place finally dried out, it filled up with airplanes - and here's a look at the campgrounds, AeroShell Square, and all the neat stuff you've been hearing about shot from pattern altitude.

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When some guys retire, they buy a sports car or maybe an LSA. Art Nalls bought a Harrier, and he flew it at AirVenture this week. AVweb sent a camera along.

This video is brought to you by Conoco-Phillips and Lightspeed Aviation.