Featured News Archives - Page 165 of 286

Brother Details Bombardier’s Story

Bill Heath was barely 21 back in the fall of 1943 when he arrived at Thorpe Abbots airfield in southeastern England, a second lieutenant reporting for duty as a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombardier. It was the early days of the U.S. Army’s controversial daylight bombing campaign over Nazi-occupied Europe. The Newport, Wash., kid was […]

T-6 Pilots: Caretakers of History

John Ockenfels sits poised in the cockpit of his vibrant yellow North American T-6 Texan airplane, the eyes of three fellow pilots glued to him. As he raises his hand, the engine of his slumbering 1940s warbird kicks to life. The other pilots follow suit. A soft hiccup and a plume of white smoke flow […]

Doolittle Raiders Honored at Ceremony

By Air Force News Service The remaining Doolittle Raiders gathered at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Saturday to partake in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Doolittle Raider memorial in Memorial Park here, followed by a flyover of North American B-25 Mitchell aircraft. The speakers of the memorial tribute include retired Lt. Col. […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1907 – Birth of Ernesto “Gamba di Ferro” Botto, Spanish War and World War II Italian flying ace. 1916 – U.S. Navy Lt. Clarence K. Bronson and Lt. Luther Welsh, on an experimental bomb test flight at Naval Proving Ground, Indian Head, Maryland, are instantly killed by the premature explosion of a bomb in their […]

Iraq Takes Delivery of Mi-35 Gunships

Iraq took collection Thursday night of the first four Russian-made Mil Mi-35 helicopter gunships sold to the Middle Eastern nation as part of a multibillion dollar weapons deal. Iraqi leader Nouri al-Maliki posted pictures of the aircraft on his official Facebook page. Abbas al-Bayati, a lawmaker with al-Maliki’s ruling faction in parliament, told RIA Novosti that […]

Warbirds, Aerobatics Headline NC Show

A variety of warbirds, from trainers to fighters, plus aerobatic teams and solo acts, will be flying high this weekend at the Warbirds Over Monroe Air Show in Monroe, N.C. Held at the Charlotte-Monroe Executive Airport southeast of Charlotte on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the event is slated to host a […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1889 – Birth of Andrew Cameron Kiddie, South African World War I fighter ace. 1910 – The first flight for the purpose of delivering commercial freight occurs in the U.S. between the Ohio cities of Dayton and Columbus; the trip, which takes just over an hour, is flown by Wright Co. pilot Philip Parmalee. 1945 – […]

Snowbirds Still Flying Despite Trainer Woes

The Royal Canadian Air Force plans to keep the Snowbirds’ Tutor jets flying while it figures out how to train pilots in the future, Canada’s top general says. Gen. Tom Lawson, chief of the defense staff, said replacing the team’s Canadair CT-114A jets, which were delivered in the mid-1960s as trainers, is tied to how […]

Indian Navy Inducts Hawk 132 Trainer

The Indian Navy inducted the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) Hawk 132, a fourth-generation advanced jet trainer aircraft, on Wednesday at an impressive ceremony held at Naval Air Station INS Dega. Admiral DK Joshi, chief of the naval staff, who was the chief guest at the event, inducted the aircraft in the presence of Vice Admiral Anil […]

Former U-2 Pilot Recounts Flights

Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Art Saboski participated in the Civil Air Patrol as a youth growing up in a small town in North Carolina, never imaging he would be among the first Lockheed U-2 pilots and ending up commander of the 17th Reconnaissance Wing (England), operating a fleet of U-2s providing reconnaissance and battlefield […]