After more than six years of development, the Evektor EV-55M Outback twin turboprop made its first flight June 24 from the Czech Republic town of Kunovice. The 30-minute test signaled the beginning of a new direction for Evektor, maker of the EuroStar and SportStar sport planes, into the commercial utility market. The high-wing Outback, which [...]
On 8 April 1982, the following crew conversation takes place inside Fango 43, an Idaho ANG RF-4C flying a twilight low-level radar mission over eastern Oregon. PILOT: “Ground speed set at 480.” WSO: “Okay, turn right to two-zero-three.” PILOT: “Steady two-zero-three.” WSO: “Okay, come one-half left and hold that.” PILOT: “Rawj.” WSO: “Clear [...]
On December 3, 2010, another great aircraft was retired from service, and this time it was in Australia. The F-111 was one of the most controversial aircraft ever flown by the USAF. It was battle-tested in the Vietnam War and proved to be one of the most effective attack aircraft in the Gulf War. The [...]
Space flight history was recently enjoyed by the SpaceX Company, when its Falcon 9 launch system successfully carried its Dragon spacecraft into low orbit and returned it safely to a predetermined splashdown point some 500 miles (804 kilometers) off the coast of southern California. This was the first time a commercial company had successfully recovered [...]
Europe has two potentially airworthy Boeing B-17s, one in France (currently not airworthy), and the best known, the Duxford-based Sally B (pictured earlier in 2010). 2010 is the 75th anniversary of the first flight of Boeing’s legendary B-17 Fortress, and it is also the 65th anniversary of B-17G Sally B (ex 44-85784 and N17TE, F-BGSR, [...]
A huge production number characterized both of Russia’s well-known biplanes. More than 20,000 examples of the large, postwar Antonov An-2 have been built, but eclipsing this is massive production of an estimated 40,000+ examples of the Polikarpov PO-2. The PO-2 is a smaller biplane than the An-2 and much older in concept, the prototype first [...]
As the world’s fleet of aging Boeing 727 and DC-8 freighters needs replacement, up steps Miami-based Aeronautical Engineers, Inc. (AEI). AEI has been converting out-of-time passenger airliners at Miami since 1958, and to date has converted more than 350 different aircraft to carry the world’s air freight. Conversions of older Boeing 737-200s, 300s and 400s [...]
The AeroVironment (AV) Global Observer unmanned air vehicle has flown successfully at Edwards Air Force Base in California. This is a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft system that is touted by AV “to combine the best attributes of satellites and both manned and unmanned aircraft.” Its revolutionary liquid hydrogen-fueled propulsive system, an LH2 internal combustion powerplant [...]
