Military Archives - Page 26 of 180

UK to Receive Final Test F-35B

The United Kingdom is shortly to receive its final testbed Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), after a senior UK Royal Air Force (RAF) officer Tweeted an image of the completed aircraft at the Fort Worth production facility in Texas. The UK currently has two operational test and evaluation (BK-1 and BK-2) […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1898 – Birth of John Carbery Preston, British World War I flying ace. 1930 – San Francisco’s first air ferry service begins and cuts travel time across the San Francisco Bay to 6 minutes. The ferry flies from San Francisco to Alameda, as well as from Oakland to Vallejo. 1945 – First flight of the Kawasaki Ki-100 (shown), one […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1887 – Birth of August Haefeli, early Swiss aircraft designer. 1908 – The Imperial All-Russia Aero Club is founded and raises money through public subscription by imperial decree. 1924 – Raoul Pateras Pescara flies an experimental helicopter in Paris; the machine flies 2,640 feet in just over 10 minutes. 1938 – Death of Gerard “Jerry” Freebairn […]

Restored Zero Makes First Flight

One of Mitsubishi’s legendary Zero fighters took to the skies over Japan on Wednesday for the first time since World War II. The restored plane made a brief flight from a naval base in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture. Decorated former U.S. Air Force pilot Skip Holm flew the aircraft. Zero fighters were considered one of the most […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1891 – Birth of David Luther Burgess, Canadian World War I flying ace and politician. 1917 – First flight of the Junkers J.I (modern unrestored model shown), a German armored low-level ground attack and observation sesquiplane; it is the first all-metal aircraft to enter mass production. 1942 – Piloting a Lockheed PBO-1 Hudson patrol bomber over the North Atlantic, U. […]

Ukraine Liquidates Builder Antonov

The world famous Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer Antonov, renowned for producing the world’s biggest airliners in the An-124 Ruslan and An-225 Mriya, will cease to exist, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade reported on Wednesday. According to the Ukrainian government’s decision, Antonov will be liquidated while enterprises integrated into the aircraft manufacturer will be assigned […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1894 – British Army Capt. B. F. S. Baden-Powell makes a kite ascent from Pirbright Army Camp, England, in what appears to be the first use of man-carrying kites, called Levitors, outside China. 1919 – A permanent flight of aircraft is stationed in San Diego, Calif., to serve as a forest fire patrol. The machines are war-surplus Curtiss JN-4s. […]

Udvar-Hazy Center Opens House Saturday

Visitors will have a chance to see what goes into restoring, preserving and displaying America’s aviation and space treasures at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Open House on Saturday in Chantilly, Va. For one day only, visitors can tour areas usually off-limits to the public, including the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar and the Emil […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1895 – Birth of Cesare Magistrini, Italian World War I flying ace, commercial pilot and Italian SAS pilot during World War II. He also served as the pilot for the King of Yemen after WWII. 1934 – French aviatrix Maryse Hilsz takes off from Paris with a Breguet 27 S christened “Joe III” for a […]

New Boeing Tanker Makes First Transfer

The Boeing KC-46A Pegasus aerial tanker, derived from the 767-200 wide-body airliner, successfully completed its first refueling flight Sunday in the skies above Washington state. Following takeoff from Boeing Field in Seattle, the KC-46A test team worked through a series of test points before smoothly offloading 1,600 pounds of fuel to a Boeing F-16 Flying Falcon at […]