Latest news with #wingman
The Citizen
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
I am beyond heartbroken, says wife of missing pilot
Kyla Blackwood-Murray, the wife of the pilot who went missing after his aircraft crashed into the ocean near Durban on Thursday, has published a moving tribute to her husband, Andrew (61). The accident happened on Thursday afternoon when the pilot showcased sky displays near Suncoast Beach. He was part of the sky festivities that wrapped up an international aviation expo for learners, Berea Mail reports. Kyla wrote on Facebook: 'Yesterday I said goodbye to my most favourite boy in the whole wide world. It was the call I had been dreading my whole life. But I always said I would rather he go doing the things he loves the most. I just didn't realise he would have left so soon. He was my world. We did everything together and we had so many plans. We were going to grow old and be the most awesome geriatrics together. 'He has taken away the biggest piece of my soul and I don't know how I am going to live without my wingman.' She writes that her husband brought her more joy than she imagined possible. 'I am beyond heartbroken. Just to have one more day with him. If only.' The pilot remains missing while the search for his body continues. The Witness reports Blackwood-Murray, an aerobatic pilot from Johannesburg, had been performing his last display at an airshow during the Next Generation of Aviation Professionals Global Summit 2025 that took place at the Virginia airport. Videos circulating on social media depict his spiral formation before suddenly crashing into the sea. Multiple search and rescue personnel have been scouring the area since Thursday afternoon, bringing fractured pieces of the ZS-AEC Extra 300 to the shore, while scuba divers searched the water for Blackwood-Murray's body. On hearing the news, friends and family have flooded his Facebook with tributes and condolences. A decades-old friend, John Walland, shared a personal post. 'Andrew was not only a world-class pilot, but a true gentleman whose warmth, passion, and skill touched so many lives. Despite a massive search and rescue effort, the aviation world has lost one of its very best. Condolences to his lovely wife Kyla and family. Rest in peace, Andrew, your spirit will forever soar in the skies you loved,' it read. Others shared tributes under a recent post by Blackwood-Murray, from a few days ago during the Virgina Airshow, where he was participating in a 'Missing Man Formation as a tribute to another fallen pilot, Captain Lorrie Raath. Paul Sabatier wrote: 'Fly high on Silver Wings. Cleared due West at own speed and altitude. Venessa Richardson commented on his character, stating he was 'always willing to chat, no matter how busy he was' and that he was a gentleman, a common word used to describe Blackwood-Murray. Vuyo Wakaba wrote: 'You were a friend and mentor and I am honoured to have known you. Thank you and rest easy. You lived life to the full and touched many lives.' Cheneyke Brandao-Coles described his his passion for aviation. 'Andrew's passion for aviation was clear to all who knew him. He lived his dream at full throttle, and he died doing what he loved most. His dedication is a reminder that aviation is not just a profession — it's a bond between human courage and the vast, open sky,' Brandao-Coles said. Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal. Read original story on
Time of India
30-06-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Happy to be his wingman, says Papa, Shux's backup astronaut
'Papa' (Below right) Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, known fondly as Papa, may not be aboard the International Space Station (ISS) this time, but he's soaring with pride. As the designated backup to Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla (Shux), who is currently making history as the first Indian to fly to the ISS, Papa says he's happy to be his wingman. The camaraderie runs deep between the two IAF pilots, both trained test pilots, who were selected for India's human spaceflight programme under Gaganyaan. Their journey together over the last ten months has not only forged a powerful professional bond but will also shape India's future human spaceflight. 'Shux is a fantastic guy,' Papa said ahead of Shux's docking, in a video shared by Axiom Space. 'We met a few years ago through our work as fighter and test pilots. I'm actually nine years older than him… Over the last ten months of training, it's been deeply satisfying for me to be his wingman — if I may use a bit of fighter pilot lingo.' Papa speaks of Shukla with admiration, highlighting his razor-sharp focus. 'Once he decides on a goal — like becoming the first Indian to reach the ISS — he clears out all distractions and gives it his all. And that's exactly what's got him there.' Yet, Papa's own path has been no less significant. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo As Shukla's backup, he trained alongside him every step of the way. That training, Papa believes, has not only prepared both of them for individual missions but has also laid a broader foundation for the future of Indian spaceflight. 'It never felt like work. It was more like one big, exciting picnic, though a professional one,' he says, describing the extensive, rigorous training that involved collaboration with Axiom Space, Nasa, ESA, SpaceX, and other international partners. 'To train with legends like Peggy Whitson was just marvellous.' He recalls the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) training experience in the US with particular fondness. 'We kayaked through rough weather, survived with limited resources, and what we learnt was this: your real strength in space is your teammate.' That, he says, is the very essence of space missions. 'It's not just about knowing someone's strengths, but also their limitations so that you're ready to step in, support and cover. That's what makes a crew solid.' Among his favourite parts of training? The food. 'An army marches on its stomach, and astronauts too fly on theirs,' he jokes. 'The space food training was a highlight for me.' While Shukla currently has the nation's gaze, Papa is quick to acknowledge the collective spirit behind their journey. 'I want to give a big shout-out to my Prime Minister, Isro chairman, my wife Leena, daughter Nandini, and my parents. And of course, to all my fellow Indians.' Though grounded for now, Papa's eyes remain on the skies. While Papa is happy to play wingman on this mission, one has to wait and see if may be in the pilot's seat when India launches Gaganyaan.
The Guardian
08-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Donald Trump is a bully, not a strongman. And Australia will pay for his destruction as he panders to the mega-rich
For six weeks we watched as Donald Trump – primped with golden hair, bronzer, fat pens and a zigzag signature – played the lead role in his new series, The Strongman. It was solid, not great, television, driven by an unspoken, looming threat – what will he do next? This makes sense if you understand that on the way to creating a new world order of unfettered, red-blooded, male-dominated American capitalism, there is also a cultural revolution. As Stephen Marche writes in the Atlantic: 'Washington today can be understood only as a product of show business, not of law or policy.' True to the norms of show business, performance is all. There can only be one hero, everyone else must genuflect or cheer. So for weeks, other leaders, men who recognised that their power was not God-given or made in a TV studio, used the best tools their cultures bequeathed when dealing with erratic old men. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, charmingly patted The Strongman on the knee and quietly corrected him, the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, came bearing an invitation from a real king. Lower-order Australians raised on a diet of neoliberalism offered lower-order Americans squillions of dollars – for defence and industry. Unlike President Teddy Roosevelt, who in 1902 invited Vida Goldstein to advise on how America might copy Australia and give women the vote, few women of substance crossed the portal to this Oval Office. And then The Strongman momentarily dropped his guard, overreached and became his true self, The Bully, while his wingman, JD Vance, sat itching to lay a killer punch on the war-weary president of Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy sat quietly, the loss of his people and country heavy on his shoulders, until he was goaded into trying to set the record straight. Trump must have loved being able to land his line: 'This is going to be great television.' No wonder some commentators thought it was planned. Close watchers thought it was one of those stoushes that got out of hand when the wingman's ignorance was challenged. Any woman who has ever been treated as though they were from another, lower, species recognised the tactics. Belittle, gaslight, talk over, threaten, demand gratitude and dismiss. It has long been clear that women were to be Trump's first target. He has made no secret of his contempt for women for decades, choosing to believe his mythic self-creation: 'When you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab 'em by the pussy. You can do anything.' He quickly turned to attacking diversity, equity and inclusion policies, suggesting that the fatal collision between the Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines plane was the result of DEI. He began outlawing such policies, not just in government departments funded directly by the state, but every organisation that received grants, and every business that had a connection with the government. That included all the big ones of the old and new economy; public money is the lifeblood of many American enterprises. The speed with which corporations fell into line was astonishing. The values that had been trumpeted for decades – of inclusion, opportunity, reflecting the diversity of society and tapping the best talent even if they weren't white men – evaporated. Forget the triple bottom line, sustainability and equity. The Australian branches of American companies followed the directives from head office – scaling back policies that had begun to change the face of their workforces. The Australian Stock Exchange appeared to embrace the opportunity and abandoned new diversity reporting plans for listed companies. Australian legislation to impose stronger gender and equity requirements on companies with government contracts still awaits Senate approval but it has started to change the nature of work and the opportunities available to women, as the income inequality data this week showed. It has been slower for other under-represented groups. The opposition, which has never managed to ensure appropriate representation of women in its own party, grasped the prospect of abolishing rules that ensured the public sector workforce reflected society. The DEI attack was the first telltale sign of the sort of society Trump wants to create, one dreamt of for years by global libertarian thinktanks. The destruction of USAid underlined this single-mindedness, along with removal from the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization, and undermining the National Institutes of Health. These institutions are not window dressing. They did real good, gathered useful information, saved lives and enabled societies to function with a degree of humanity and safety. They softened the blows of unfettered capitalism and recognised the power of interconnectedness. I write this waiting for Cyclone Alfred to cross the coast a kilometre from my house – ferocious winds and rain are threatening the worst. This is not random but a cyclone propelled too far south by tropical water temperatures, supercharged by the global heating that capitalism has refused to constrain. American power is unprecedented. Its military bases dot the globe, its companies drive national economies, its popular culture shapes minds. But sticking to his script, the alacrity of The Strongman's determination to go it alone and create opportunities for the mega rich is astonishing. Fifty years of effort to save capitalism from itself, to be inclusive, to respect the environment and rule of law, to use unprecedented knowledge to ameliorate likely impacts, has been jettisoned. Instead, the tech revolution, embraced by The Strongman and powered by the worst imperial notions, will leave a trail of extraordinary destruction and missed opportunities for a better, fairer world. And in the wake of another International Women's Day, it is worth stating the obvious: women and the poor will suffer most. Julianne Schultz is the author of The Idea of Australia
