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Valiant Air Command Debuts A-4C Skyhawk

Another historic plane is now on display at Brevard County’s Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum in Florida after more than seven years of restoration. Windy conditions kept the Douglas A-4C Skyhawk from taking to the skies over Titusville Thursday for a training flight. The Vietnam-era Navy attack jet was hit during the war and the pilot was able […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1894 – Birth of Jacques Michael Swaab, American World War I flying ace; he later worked in the Hollywood film industry and was the technical advisor on “The Dawn Patrol.” 1928 – Sir (George) Hubert Wilkins and his pilot Carl Ben Eielson complete the first ever crossing of the Arctic by airplane from Point Barrow, […]

Helicopters Conduct Autonomous Landings

Autonomy for umanned (and manned) rotorcraft has taken a big step forward with recent demonstrations of the ability of testbed helicopters to autonomously select safe landing zones. The development is key to enabling anyone on the ground to request an unmanned resupply flight or casualty evacuation without having to know anything about how the helicopter […]

C-130 Fire Tanker Moves to Reno

Airport officials welcomed the inaugural flight of the Coulson C-130, a firefighting airtanker to Reno, Nev. The Coulson Group, an aviation business with operations in California, is relocating to Reno and Friday, airport officials greeted the first arriving flight of the white and red Coulson C-130 to the Atlantic Aviation Hangar on Rock Blvd. The […]

Royal Navy Wildcat Passes Wargames Tests

The newest helicopter in the Royal Navy’s arsenal came through its toughest test yet as it spent a fortnight taking part in Europe’s biggest naval war games. The AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat – which will provide the aerial eyes and punch of the Royal Navy’s frigates and destroyers for the next quarter of a century – […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1895 – Birth of Spencer Bertram Horn, British World War I flying ace. 1917 – William E. Boeing’s Pacific Aero Products Co. is renamed the Boeing Airplane Co. 1944 – First flight of the Ilyushin Il-10 (shown), a Soviet single-engine ground attack aircraft. 1956 – Death of James Floyd Smith, early American aviator, aircraft designer […]

RAF Squadron Celebrates 100 Years

RAF Leuchars’ Number 6 Squadron has marked its 100th anniversary with a parade and a special flypast featuring Typhoon and Hurricane aircraft. Celebrating a century of noble history, the squadron, reviewed by Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford, paraded its Standard in front of serving and former squadron personnel. Formed as […]

F-15s to Launch Small Satellites

And you thought space launches couldn’t get any cooler: The next generation of small satellites may blast into orbit from the belly of a fighter jet. The U.S. military’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) gave Boeing a $30.6 million contract last month to develop a 24-foot launch vehicle that would attach to the bottom of the company’s F-15E Strike […]

WWI Albatros Replica to Fly Again

In remembrance of the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum in upstate New York is reintroducing a very special airplane — a replica of a 1917 Albatros D.Va., built in the 1970s by the Aerodrome’s founder, Cole Palen. Palen created the replica from measurements taken from an […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1890 – Birth of Victor S. Chapman, French-American World War I pilot and the first American pilot to die in that conflict. 1920 – Death of Walter Alfred Southey, British World War I fighter ace. 1942 – Twelve Avro Lancaster bombers – six each from No. 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron and No. 97 Squadron – carry […]