Civilian Archives - Page 79 of 175

On This Day in Aviation History

1894 – Birth of Bernard Henri Barny de Romanet, French World War I fighter ace and successful sporting pilot. 1917 – First flight of the Junkers J.I (shown), a German low-level ground attack and observation aircraft; it is the first all-metal aircraft to enter mass production. 1941 – Final air battle of the French-Thai War. Royal Thai Air […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1888 – Birth of Jan Nagórski (Ivan Nagurski), Polish engineer and pioneer of aviation; he became the first person to fly an airplane in the Arctic and the first aviator to perform a loop with a flying boat. 1928 – The first rigid airship-to-aircraft carrier mooring is achieved when the U.S. Navy dirigible Los Angeles […]

P-40 Warhawk on Display in New Orleans

New Orleans will get a flavor of one of the most heralded episodes of World War II when a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, restored in the shark-nosed markings of the famed Flying Tigers, goes on display at the National World War II Museum. The aircraft, a P-40E model, is the kind flown by the 1st American […]

Swiss Demo Team Set for Air Tattoo

The Swiss Air Force has ensured the Red Arrows won’t be the only aerobatic display team celebrating an aviation landmark at this summer’s Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford on July 11-13. It has announced plans to send their aerobatic display team, the Patrouille Suisse, in their 50th anniversary year, along with a Boeing […]

Kiwi DC-3 Makes Final Flight

One of the New Zealand’s last operational Douglas DC-3 aircraft has made its final flight across the Canterbury Plains. The Southern DC-3 Trust can no longer afford to maintain ZK-AMY, so the 70-year-old plane is retiring. For the past nine years Amy’s been taking passengers on scenic flights, but the trust that runs it says it’s […]

Vets Offered Free Rides on B-17 ‘Yankee Lady’

The Yankee Air Museum (YAM)’s Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress “Yankee Lady,” based in Detroit, Mich., will once again visit Naval Air Station Wildwood (NASW) Aviation Museum on June 9-11. The museum partnership will honor World War II Veterans by offering free rides on the B-17 when a paid rider accompanies them. “All of us feel the […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1888 – Birth of Dr. Ernst Heinkel, German aircraft designer and manufacturer. 1920 – First aircraft flight across the Sahara Desert is flown by French Joseph Vuillemin of the Aéronautique Militaire. 1966 – Air India Flight 101, a Boeing 707-437, crashes into the south west face of Mont Blanc in France; all 106 passengers and 11 crew are killed. Sixteen years earlier, Air India […]

Georgia Air Force Museum Downsizing

A game of musical airplanes is in progress at the Museum of Aviation near Warner Robins, Ga. As a result of downsizing that began last year, some of the remaining aircraft have moved to more prominent locations, and others that were outside are now in hangars. New exhibits also have been added, and others are […]

Sarasota-Bradenton to Host Vintage Planes

A trio of historic World War II airplanes, plus another that predates American combat in the war by more than a decade, will wing it to Florida’s Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport for a stopover next week and aviation buffs couldn’t be happier. First up is a visit Monday through Wednesday by two heavy bombers from the […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1899 – Birth of George Pearson Glen Kidston, British record-breaking aviator and motor racing driver. 1909 – First flight of the Blériot XI (Thulin A variant shown), a light and sleek monoplane constructed of oak and poplar and cloth-covered flying surfaces; it becomes one of the most successful monoplanes designed and built before World War I. 1944 – Off […]