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Dutch F-16s Intercept Russian Bombers

Dutch fighter jets scrambled Wednesday to intercept a pair of Russian military aircraft that entered their airspace, a fairly routine action that comes amid heightened tensions between Russia and NATO, a Dutch official said. Maj. Wilko Ter Horst said that the military learned around 3:50 p.m. (9:50 a.m. ET) that two Russian Tupolev TU-95 bombers, […]

Pilots React to Flying the F-35B

Ever since the F-35B short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) version of the Joint Strike Fighter first flew in the hands of BAE Systems’ test pilot Graham Tomlinson in June 2008 we have heard plenty about the easy and precise nature of the jet’s controllability. Commenting about STOVL operations in particular, pilots tend to focus […]

Dutch Air Force Scraps DC-10

By Flightglobal A Royal Netherlands Air Force-owned McDonnell Douglas DC-10 transport freighter has been flown to the UK for scrapping, less than three years after entering use with the service. Aircraft T-255 departed Eindhoven air base for the last time on April 11, and was flown to Newquay airport in the UK for dismantling. Originally operated by United Airlines, the DC-10-30 […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1894 – Birth of Frederick Joseph Cunninghame, British World War I flying ace. 1911 – Yoshitoshi Tokugawa sets a Japanese record with a Blériot, flying 48 miles in less than 70 minutes. 1918 – Lt. Paul Baer of the U.S. Army Air Service shoots down his fifth aircraft, becoming the first ace of the American […]

Egypt Set to Receive AH-64 Apaches

The U.S. said on Tuesday it will deliver 10 Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters to Egypt, relaxing a partial suspension of aid imposed after Egypt’s military ousted President Mohamed Mursi last year and cracked down violently on protesters. U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel informed his Egyptian counterpart of the decision, which will help Egypt’s counter-terrorism operations in […]

Pilot-Optional Black Hawk Makes First Flight

Sikorsky conducted the first flight demonstration of an “optionally piloted” UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter last month, at its development flight test center near West Palm Beach, Fla. During the March 11 flight, the aircraft hovered and conducted flight operations under the control of an operator using a “man-portable” ground control station, the company announced on Tuesday. The flight […]

Nieuport 11 Replica Shines at Iowa Museum

When people get ready to retire, it’s not unusual for some of them to pick up a new hobby. Some golf, some fish, but few build an actual airplane. Bob Heath of Whiting, Iowa, decided to build a replica airplane, and the idea for it all came from a conversation with his friend. “Hank Bater […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1897 – Birth of Cyril William Gladman, British World War I flying ace. 1912 – Denys Corbett Wilson makes a 100-minute flight from Goodwick, England, to Enniscorthy, Ireland. 1939 – First flight of the Lockheed Vega Starliner, a low-wing light plane with retractable landing gear and a pair of inline engines turning a single propeller. […]

Nigerian C-130 Finally Takes Flight

On Apr. 16, Nigerian Air Force C-130H-30, registration NAF918, conducted a test flight from Cambridge airport. The air test came slightly less than three years after the aircraft had arrived on Aug. 28, 2011, from Lagos, Nigeria, where it had been dumped, out of use, for a period of 7-10 years. When the U.S. financed the restoration program, […]

Boeing X-37B Nearing 500 Days in Space

The U.S. Air Force’s mysterious robotic Boeing X-37B space plane is sailing toward the 500-day mark in Earth orbit on a secret military mission. The X-37B space plane presently in orbit is carrying out the Orbital Test Vehicle 3 (OTV-3) mission, a classified spaceflight that marks the third long-duration flight for the unmanned Air Force space flight program. […]