The new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner touched down in Auckland, New Zealand, today, marking the new aircraft’s international debut. The extended version of the fuel-efficient wide-body jet will enter service later this year with Air New Zealand. And ahead of this official launch, Boeing’s second test aircraft flew across the Pacific Ocean from Boeing’s factory in […]
Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame (CAHF) will induct four new members at its 41st annual gala dinner and ceremony to be held in Calgary, Alberta, in May. The new members are: Clive J. Beddoe, founder of Westjet Airlines; Lorna De Blicquy, flight instructor and trailblazing advocate for the role of women in aviation; Robert P. […]
Mark Marino of Duluth, Minn., and Kermit Weeks of Miami, Fla., can both attest that building an authentic replica of a more-than-a-century-old plane from scratch is no simple task. Today, Weeks had hoped to launch a replica of the Lark of Duluth — a quirky “flying boat” owned by Julius Barnes, a wealthy Duluth grain […]
By Steve Pace Photo courtesy of the Museum of the United States Air Force In the late 1940s and early 1950s, there were a number of turboprop engines in development. In the simplest terms, a propjet engine is gas turbine engine that uses its exhaust for thrust but also turns a propeller to provide high […]
Technology and Imagination Reign Supreme By Sergei I. Sikorsky The following comments on the future of the helicopter are personal opinions and are to be valued as such. The writer reserves the right to change them, if needed. Some time ago, the great Yogi Berra said, “Predictions are very tricky, especially if they’re about the […]
Valiant Air Command in Titusville, Fla., has added another military aircraft to its displays. And this one is a lot newer than the vintage aircraft it joins. A General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon has arrived and is being reassembled at the Warbird Museum. “It will be a great attraction for our customers because the only times we’ve […]
1896 – Birth of Stephen Potter, U.S. Navy officer and early naval aviator; he would become the first American naval aviator to shoot down a German plane. 1937 – Pan American World Airways Sikorsky S-42 flying boat “Samoan Clipper” inaugurates the first air mail and freight service between the U.S. and New Zealand. 1948 – […]
Wichita workers on Textron AirLand’s secret multi-mission tactical military jet, the Scorpion, never called the project by its real name until it became public in September. And they rarely used its code name – SCV12-1. “It was too much of a tongue twister,” said Dale Tutt, the Scorpion’s chief engineer. “Most of the time we just […]
On the west side of California’s Van Nuys Airport, it’s like World War II never ended. Vintage propeller planes once flown by U.S. Navy, Army Air Forces and Royal Air Force pilots are parked wingtip to wingtip along the taxiway. Nearby buildings are painted in camouflage. The sound of swing music sometimes drifts across the […]