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James A. Bretney Presents, Tucson, AZ (2026)

06/08/2019

Martin B-57E Canberra serial number 53-3975 wears the markings of the NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Earth Survey 3 circa 1982. Her registration reads NASA 925.

Gerard Helmer photographed her when she was on display at Pima Air and Space Museum on October 11, 1986, she is now at the restoration yard in pieces. He wrote: “What a wingspan! This is former USAF WB-57F 63-13501, which in turn was remanufactured by General Dynamics from RB-57D 53-3975. It was transferred to MASDC storage on 15 Sep 1982.” She had her engines and radome back them. Her canopy did not have SprayLat on it either. As late as August 27, 2008, Alastair T. Gardi photographed her weathered in tact but with radome and engines removed. According to Ottosen Photography on January 18, 2009, “Aircraft is currently undergoing restoration of all fiberglass components.”

NASA assigned WB-57F Canberra 63-13503 to Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC), Ellington Field, TX for the NASA WB-57 High Altitude Research Program. NASA currently has 3 other WB-57F Canberras flying in its fleet, NASA 926, 927 and NASA 928. These aircraft can fly in excess of 60,000 feet with payloads up to 6,000 pounds. Payloads can be carried in the aircraft's belly, aft fuselage, tail cone, wing pods, wing hatches and or the nose cone

Apart of the Airborne Science Program (ASP) provides aircraft systems that further science and advance the use of satellite data. All three aircraft have recently completed a set of upgrades which include a new autopilot system, updated ejection seat system, new data acquisition system, satellite communications, and upgraded communications system.

For more information:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2764466796959425&set=gm.10157239427909028&type=3&theater&ifg=1

04/15/2019

The Douglas DC-6 flew a regularly scheduled around-the-world route - in many respects a first in commercial aviation. A natural evolution of the DC-4, the DC-6 offered higher performance, increased accommodation, greater payload and pressurized cabin. The DC-6 had the same wingspan as the DC-4. Its engines helped it fly 90 mph faster than the DC-4, carry 3,000 pounds more payload and fly 850 miles farther. The DC-6 maintained the cabin pressure of 5,000 feet while flying at 20,000 feet. American Airlines and United Airlines ordered the commercial DC-6 in 1946. Pan American Airways used the DC-6 to start tourist-class service across the North Atlantic.

The larger, all-cargo DC-6A first flew Sept. 29, 1949. The larger capacity DC-6B sat up 102 people. It first flew Feb. 10, 1951. After the Korean War broke out, the military ordered DC-6As modified. The military designated military variants as C-118A Liftmaster personnel carriers. The Navy designated its variants as R6D transports or as MC-118As for aeromedical evacuation. Between 1947 and 1959, Douglas built a total of 704 DC-6s, 167 of them military versions.

The U.S. Air Force ordered the 29th DC-6 presidential transport. Designated the VC-118, Douglas delivered “the Independence” on July 1, 1947 named after President Harry Truman’s hometown.

In 1962, Jackie Kennedy hired Franco–American industrial designer Raymond Loewy to update the rather gaudy paint scheme of the propeller driven Presidential transport. She selected two hues of blue along with all-caps Caslon reading “United States of America,” the presidential seal on the sides and the American flag on the tail. Loewy said, “I felt that the new aircraft could become an image of the American government and that its appearance should be impeccable in every way.” Loewy donated his services.

04/14/2019

This is the Allison J71 jet engine that served the Douglas Destroyer B-66. The Allison Engine company began work on this engine in 1949. Allison developed the T38 and T40 turboprops and upgraded the J33 and J35 turbojets to make the J71.

Using circa 1955 technology, this Turbojet weighs 4,476 lb stretches over 16 feet (201.5 inches) long and has a diameter over 3 feet (39.5 inches). The J71’s 3-stage axial turbine receives air flow from a 16-stage axial compressor. Then the compressed air goes through a single ring like or annular combustor to generate 13,000 lbs of thrust at 6,100 rpm.

Allison intended the J71 for various customers applications: the initial version of Northrop's S-62 intercontinental missile, early versions of Martin's XP6M-1 flying boat, McDonnell F3H-2N “the Demon” fighter, and Douglas B-66 “the Destroyer” bomber. The J71 only saw service with the Demon and the Destroyer.

The more technically advanced GE J79 and P&W J57 turbojets blocked the J71 from penetrating the high-performance combat aircraft marketplace. J71 was heavier and used more fuel than its competition. After producing 1,707 engines, Allison dropped the J71.

04/13/2019

This is a Boeing 727-200 parked at the Pima Community College - Aviation Technology Center on 211 S Park Ave, Tucson, AZ 85756.

From 1962–1984, the Boeing Commercial Airplane corporation produced 1,832 Narrow-body jet airliners where today she flies in limited cargo service. The Trijet first flew on February 9, 1963. On February 1, 1964, Eastern Air Lines purchased the first 727-200 at an initial per unit cost $4.25 million. By 1982, she cost $22 million.

This aircraft wears the markings of Ecuatoriana. Founded in May 1957, Empresa Ecuatoriana de Aviación was the national airline of Ecuador. From its headquarters in Quito, Ecuador, Ecuatoriana had at one time serviced over 30 destinations such as Buenos Aires, Nassau, Manaus, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Santiago, Bogotá, Cali, San José (Costa Rica), Guayaquil, Quito, Mexico City, Panama City, Lima, Caracas, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and New York City. The Boeing 727-200 joined the Ecuatoriana in 1991 after the first attempt at privatization. Ecuatoriana had an operational hiatus in September 1993, but was reactivated in August 1995. On June 23, 1996, Viação Aérea São Paulo S/A (São Paulo Airways), better known as VASP became the controlling shareholder of Ecuatoriana before both airlines filed in 2006.

The 727 replaced earlier jet airliners such as the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8. The 727 also replaced aging propeller airliners such as the DC-4, DC-6, DC-7, and the Lockheed Constellations on short- and medium-haul routes. For over a decade, more 727s were built per year than any other jet airliner until the early 1990s, when the 737 surpassed it.

Since the first flight of the prototype in February 1963, a total of 119 (6.5%) of the 1,832 Boeing 727s built have been lost due to crashes, terrorist acts and other causes as of February 2019.

04/10/2019

Does God have a sense of humor? Have you ever laughed at one of God’s jokes? God certainly speaks to us through humor. Often times what we find funny reveals much about who we are. My comedy teacher, Greg Dean said that “Comedy is about telling the truth. It’s about speaking about about what is wrong with the world and you.” Comedians aren't supposed to be be funny. They are supposed to tell the truth. Comedians surprise their audience through language. Greg Dean said that comedy is a word game where you tell two stories. The set up is one story (what everyone expects) and the punch is the second story (what you think).

In Luke 9:49-56, brothers John and James sons of Zebedee ask Jesus if He wanted them to call down thunder and kill a stranger who was healing people in the name of Jesus. They did not recognize him, they said. John was a disciple of John the Baptist. He and his brother witnessed the Transfiguration. John placed his head on the heart of Jesus. Their mother, Salome, asked Jesus if her sons could sit at his right and his left in Heaven. To the other Apostles, that request went over like the aroma of a wet fart. To their credit, they did ask permission. But Jesus said no, the Sons of Thunder were not allowed to kill a man they didn't recognize.

Another comedy writer teacher of mine, Yves Martin said that comedic characters always lack perspective and we connect to them through our shared myopia. God, Jesus Christ speaks to us through our folly and shame. He is here to redeem us from all that. If that means being called Sons of Thunder, there are worse names that start with “son of . . . “

Epilogue: in this church, San Xavier del Bac, Saints James and John are at Jesus's right and left – testimony to the power of prayer and the sanctity of mothers.

católica

04/09/2019

On August 20, 1952, Vickers-Armstrong Ltd. of Great Britain introduced the Viscount, world's first propeller-turbine (turbo-prop) airliner. British European Airways bought the first Viscount. Orders from Capital Airlines, Trans-Canada Air Lines and Air Canada would follow. From 1948–1963, Vickers delivered 445 airplanes at a unit cost of £235,000 (1953). The Viscount will fly until 2009. But it was too late. Two years later, Boeing introduced the 707, the first commercially successful jet airliner outselling the Viscount two to one.

A turboprop engine is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. The intake draws the air into the compressor. The compressor compresses the air. Fuel mixes with the compressed air in the combustion chamber. The hot gases expand through the turbine. The turbine generates some power to drive the compressor. The rest reduces the gearing to the propeller. Further expansion of the gases occurs in the propelling nozzle. The gases exhaust into atmospheric pressure. The propelling nozzle provides a small proportion of the thrust. In contrast to a turbojet, the engine's exhaust gases do not generally contain enough energy to create significant thrust. Almost all of the engine's power drives the propeller.

Hungarian mechanical engineer György Jendrassik designed and manufactured the world's first turboprop in 1938. It generated 100 horse power compared to the 1946 Rolls-Royce Dart Mk 525 turboprop of the Viscount which generates 1,990 horsepower.

04/08/2019

For 30 years, I have been going to this church, confirmed in the faith in this church by the Bishop AND I DON’T KNOW THE NAMES OF THE SAINTS in the church. That information is not readily available. So I am going to have to do some deeper research. Here I am Lord.

On the western part of the Nave is who I think is Saint James of Zebedee. His brother is Saint John, the Apostle who Jesus loved the most. Like Peter, the brothers Zebedee, left their nets to become fishers of men. Peter, James and John witnessed the Transfiguration. Known as the sons of Thunder, the two brothers asked Jesus to call thunder from Heaven to kill a man casting out demons in the Name of Jesus Christ merely because they didn't recognize him. Jesus said, no. His mother, Salome was the daughter of a priest and asked Jesus in Matthew 2:21 that her sons sit to Jesus's Right and His Left. The question stirred up drama among the other apostles and Jesus conceded to make such a command usurped His Father's authority but did prophesy that those who aspired to such ambitions would share the scandal of the Cross.

James like ten of the eleven apostles abandoned Jesus during His Hour. James evangelized in Spain. He returned to Jerusalem.Seeking favor of the Jews, false king Herod Agrippa, friend to Emperor Claudius arrested James. Herod had a problem. During the “trial,” James' accuser went over to the Christians. Herod martyred both men then he got killed himself. Acts 12:20-23 speaks Herod's ex*****on.

Salome got her wish. In this church, as you approach the sanctuary that holds the Blood of Our Lord, John stands at His Left and James to His Right – testimony to the power of prayers and the sanctity of mothers.

católica

04/07/2019

Historians call the period beginning from FDR’s demise on April 12, 1945 to August 22, 1991 the day after the 1991 Soviet coup d’etat attempt as the Cold War. It is an indisputable fact that the western democracies transferred much of their leading edge military technologies to their stated adversary the Soviet Union. Historians only debate the intentions, the scale¸ and the circumstances of each transfer but the transfers nonetheless happened.

A single pilot crews the F-15 and the Mig 29. Both air superiority fighters are in service. As of 1998, an F-15C or D cost $29.9 million where as a MiG-29 cost $22 million in 2013. McDonnell Douglas delivered 1,198 aircraft whereas the MiG has delivered 1,600 airframes. McDonnell Douglas distributes the F-15 to six operators: Israel, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United States. MiG-29 has 23 current operators, 12 former operators and 2 potential operators. Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cuba, Eritrea, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Peru, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Sudan, Syria, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United States, Uzbekistan and Yemen. Former operators include the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Iraq, Israel, Malaysia, Moldova and Romania and the defunct states of Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Soviet Union and Yugoslavia.

The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle first flew July 27, 1972. The Air Force introduced her on January 9, 1976. Mikoyan MiG-29 NATO reporting name Fulcrum first flew October 6, 1977 and introduced her to her Air Force in July 1982. The F-15 is seven feet longer than the MiG-29. The F-15 fuselage is 63 feet 9 inches long where as the MiG-29 is 56 feet 10 inches long. The F-15’s wingspan is over 5 feet longer than the MiG-29. The F-15’s height is three feet taller than the MiG-29.

04/06/2019

Now comes the San Xavier del Bac Mission in Tucson, Arizona on the Papago Indian Reservation. The Franciscan Order administers the sacraments here at the white dove of the desert - the oldest European structure in Arizona. Construction of the Spanish Colonial Mission began in 1783 under the leadership of Father Juan Bautista Velderrain, a Basque skilled in the overseeing large architectural projects. Father Velderrain borrowed $7,000 pesos from rancher Don Antonio Herreros.

Father Velderrain commissioned 26 year old Ignacio Gaona to serve as architect for San Xavier del Bac. Native Tucson, Gordiano Escalante served as master painter. Spanish, Indian and Mexican artisans crafted many of the statues that came to inhabit what would become the finest example of Spanish architecture within what is now the United States.

This small community which numbered at most a 1,000 people created an ethereal beauty of Moorish architecture. When many of the missions of the time took in the neoclassicism of the time, San Xavier del Bac stands in stark contrast harkening back to an older baroque tradition of unreality and mystery.

Father Velderrain created a cruciform (cross shaped) church like the first Byzantine churches that Constantine’s mother built. Velderrain’s vision, his love for Christ, necessitated the introduction of lime mortar, kiln-fired brick, masonry vaults, and detail to rival any church far into today's Mexico. Bac's villagers from start to finish gathered the sand, lime, clay, rock and wood, built kilns, and excavated trenches. Roman legionnaires would have recognized the thirty-three-inch walls. All labored at double wages under the constant threat of the Apache raids.

Father Velderrain died before construction stopped in 1797.

católica

03/07/2019

1944–1952, Retired in 1978

United States Air Force
Israeli Air Force

James A. Bretney Presents

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