(Not Safe for Work... but a hell of a lot of fun!)

Didn't you always secretly "hope" that one day you would have a flight attendant ask you this question while flying on a big jet?

Tucson, Ariz. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s air operations spotted and interdicted an ultra-light aircraft Tuesday that illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexican border carrying approximately 223 pounds of marijuana. The smuggled drugs have an approximate street value of $180,000.

CBP’s Air & Marine Operations Center in Riverside, Calif. Tuesday morning detected an unidentified northbound, low-flying aircraft 12 miles west of Nogales, Ariz. and just north of the border. A CBP surveillance helicopter from Tucson was launched and identified the airplane as an ultra-light aircraft. The ultra-light landed three miles southwest of Marana Regional Airport, Marana, Ariz. Once on the ground, the pilot attempted to abscond on foot. The CBP helicopter landed at the scene and apprehended the pilot, a Mexican national.

A search of the aircraft revealed 10 bundles of marijuana with an estimated weight of 223 pounds. A 2006 Kawasaki ATV was also found. The pilot, the aircraft, the marijuana and the ATV were turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for further investigation with the assistance from CBP Air and Marine.

The Air & Marine Operations Center is a state-of-the-art, law enforcement radar surveillance facility that tracks and seeks to identify general aviation aircraft that are inbound to the United States, looking for drug smuggling or terrorist activity.

CBP’s Office of Air and Marine protects the American people and critical infrastructure by using an integrated and coordinated air and marine force to detect, interdict and prevent acts of terrorism arising from unlawful movement of people, illegal drugs and other contraband moving toward or crossing the borders of the United States.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

FULL STORY:

Hope I did the link right!

Enjoy,

Mark

This one is quite fun and different... basically a video aggregator that takes content from other video sites, but with a great display and preview with thumbnails.

Here's a quick search link to get you started

http://www.videosurf.com/videos/trike+flying/

A very cool concept in multi-purpose machinery. This is a powered parchute / ground vehicle from Russia. Wonder whether it would be possible to get something similar going with a trike wing now that P&M has their new QuikR coming online for sale?

See more details HERE:

I am leaving Monday for Asotin, WA for my WSC-L training with Scott Johnson. Hoping to get in my first 10-12 hours of flying, as well as the ground school in between. I have waited along time for this time to come and I have been studying the written test like I have never studied before.

Just curious, are there any other people on here that are also starting or started their trike training recently or going to soon? Would love to communicate with another student!

Hope to have pix and stories when I return.

Mark

MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif. — A day after discovering the wreckage of the plane flown by the millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett when he disappeared 13 months ago, investigators said Thursday that they had found remains at the crash site, a rugged and lonely mountainside in the Sierra Nevada of east-central California.

LINK to full story

Funny to watch just for the reaction of the controller!

Swiss man flies over Channel on jet wing
This photo taken on May 14, 2008 above Bex, Switzerland, shows Swiss professional pilot Yves Rossy, the world's first man to fly with fitted jet fuel powered wings strapped to his back, flying during his first official demonstration. (Fabrice Coffrini / AFP/Getty Images)

Big Congratulations to Gary Taylor for his hard-earned SOLO yesterday! Check out his video as well...

Way to go GT!