Civilian Archives - Page 80 of 175

787 Woes Continue for Norwegian

Another week, another problem for Norwegian Air Shuttle‘s Boeing 787 Dreamliners. In what is becoming routine for the Scandinavian discount airline, passengers sat through a lengthy delay after one of its 787s suffered a fuel leak in Bangkok on Sunday. A passenger’s photo of the plane spewing jet fuel while taxiing circulated widely online. The airplane has returned to […]

NASA Global Hawk to Visit Australia

U.S. space agency NASA is preparing to launch drone missions high in Australian skies during the next six weeks. NASA is operating an ex-U.S. Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) – the largest, most sophisticated drone in operational service today. With the wingspan of a Boeing 737 airliner and a flight endurance exceeding […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1889 – Birth of Harry George Hawker (shown), Australian aviation pioneer and co-founder of Hawker Aircraft. 1918 – Canadian World War I fighter ace George Robert Howsam scores four victories with his Sopwith Camel. 1931 – First flight of the Bristol Type 118, a British two-seat biplane prototype for overseas markets. 1933 – Jean Mermoz lands his Couzinet 70 “Arc […]

Flying Eye Hospital Helps Blind

From the outside, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 jet parked on the airport runway looks like any ordinary plane. But if you step inside, you’ll notice something is not quite right. Instead of rows of seats, you’ll find a fully equipped operating theater; rather than uniform-clad flight attendants, you’ll see a group of doctors in […]

Air & Space Museum Hosts Open House

The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the companion facility to the National Air & Space Museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a free open house on Saturday. The center, with its two huge hangars — the Boeing Aviation Hangar and the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar — display thousands of […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1900 – Birth of Anselm Franz, pioneering Austrian jet engine engineer known for the development of the Jumo 004, the world’s first mass-produced turbojet engine. 1920 – Ten de havilland DH.9s (shown) are dispatched to form “Z Force” and are used for bombing, strafing and as air ambulances during the Royal Air Force’s first “Little […]

King Air Turns 50

Beechcraft Corp. celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first flight of its King Air Model 90 with a flight of three King Air models flying over Beech Field. “It’s a great day for Beechcraft,” Beechcraft CEO Bill Boisture said. The first flight of the King Air on Jan. 20, 1964, was a milestone for the […]

Museum: Iconic Spruce Goose is Safe

Bob Lyon remembers the day he met Howard Hughes. He also recalls when Hughes nearly crashed a plane into his boyhood home. Nearly 40 years after Hughes died, Lyon’s life still crosses paths with the eccentric billionaire. Lyon has found himself in the center of a dispute over Hughes’ gigantic, bizarre wooden seaplane nicknamed the […]

Stallion 51, Mercy Flight Offer Raffle

If you’d like to fly a North American P-51 Mustang, then Stallion 51 has a deal for you. For only $20 per ticket, the Florida-based company is sponsoring a raffle, benefitting Mercy Flight Southeast, that will award the lucky winner a half-day P-51 orientation experience at Kissimmee Gateway Airport plus round-trip airfare to Orlando up […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1886 – Birth of Glenn Luther Martin, American aviation pioneer; he would later found the Glenn L. Martin Co. His legacy survives today as part of Lockheed Martin Corp. 1902 – Gustave Whitehead flies his Whitehead Aeroplane No. 22 flying boat on a 7-mile flight over Long Island Sound in New York and lands safely. […]