Total Vickers Wellington bomber production totaled 11,461 aircraft, built between June 1936-when the prototype first flew- and the end of the World War II in 1945. Just a handful survive and none of these are in airworthy condition. A medium bomber and a reconnaissance aircraft with two 1,585-horsepower Bristol Hercules VI radial engines, the Wellington [...]
You need a sense of humor to survive these days, a fact that hasn’t escaped Italian aircraft designer and builder Ottone Baggio-his recently completed Rooster flow for the first time on December 26th, 2011. “The Rooster has flown!” crowed the crowd at Nervesa della Battaglia airfield, near Treviso in northeast Italy that day. Ottone’s Rooster [...]
THE GHOST OF WW II RAF Halifax bombers may echo around the hangars at Breighton in east Yorkshire, UK, but today, the noises on this revitalized WW II aerodrome are more likely to be of a Kinner R-540, de Havilland Gipsy Major or Gipsy Six, Pobjoy R or Hirth 504. This is now home of the Real Aeroplane Company (RAC) and the largest collection of [...]
IN JANUARY, the Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 became the fi rst fixed-wing aircraft to launch a laser-guided rocket during test fl ights at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. The weapons testing is part of an ongoing congressionally funded operational evaluation of the AT-6, executed by the Air National Guard and Air Reserve Command Test Center (AATC). The 2.75-inch laser-guided [...]
The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) continues to be a good news, bad news saga. Just when the program appears to be overcoming scheduling delays and technical glitches, the Obama administration says it will purchase 179 fewer aircraft than once planned during the years immediately ahead. The Pentagon will seek 13 fewer airframes in its fiscal year 2013 budget [...]
In this 15-minute video, Malcom Gladwell shares the interesting history of the Norden bombsight and its effect on the outcome of WW II.
Time: Thursday, April 5, 2012 – 5:00pm – 9:00pm Event Type: Special Event Location: Museum of Flight During the April 5 “Free First Thursday” from 5 to 9 p.m., the Museum will celebrate NASA Climate Day with activities and presentations exploring the science of climate change and what we can do about it. The event’s [...]
The “wonderland” that is the Imperial War Museum (IWM) at Duxford, Cambridge, UK, is world renown. Duxford’s Norman Foster-designed American Air Museum (AAM) celebrates the vital part the U.S. played and the lives lost in the progress towards the Allies victory in Europe during World War II. One of the largest exhibits in the glass-fronted [...]
Photographs of the International Space Station (ISS) are taken from a space shuttle, and photographs of a space shuttle are taken from the ISS. So how was this extraordinary photograph taken? This photo of the Space Shuttle Endeavour was taken by astronaut Paolo Nespoli on-board the Russian supply ship Soyuz TMA-20 after it undocked for [...]
This is not your grandpa’s Firebird Northrop Grumman recently unveiled its newest intelligence gathering aircraft system, whereby military users will be able to acquire real-time high-definition video, view infrared imagery, use radar and even listen in on communications signals—all at the same time—using this aircraft called Firebird. Moreover, it has been designed to either be [...]
This USA Today story has more information on the legislatation that pass the House and Senate and would require the FAA to ensure ways for drones to safely share airspace with piloted aircraft. This, of course, also affects RC airplanes and helicopters. Within a few years, that flying object overhead might not be a bird [...]
Do you remember the 1950s and ’60s and those exotic, full-service meals aboard Douglas DC-6s plying their airborne way from the cold of Chicago to the tropical heat of Florida? These aerial dining experiences are a distant memory, except for the elite few now able to afford first-class intercontinental airline tickets. Unless, that is, you [...]
Picture this: a nano quadcopter that’s fast and agile. Then multiply it by 20, and imagine this tiny squadron flying in formation, performing tasks and doing aerobatic maneuvers–together. In a video from the GRASP Lab of the University of Pennsylvania, air vehicles developed by KMel Robotics put on an amazing show. I promise that this [...]
The last jet fighter to be operated by the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), the McDonnell Douglas A4K Skyhawk, is set to become a museum piece. After a decade of repeated failed attempts to sell the mothballed fleet of 17 fighters, which were withdrawn from service in 2001, up to nine of the aircraft [...]
