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Solar Impulse: Big Apple Bound

The Solar Impulse team of Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg are now preparing for the final flight of their HB-SIA zero-fuel airplane in the Across America 2013 campaign. Borschberg will take control of the solar-powered airplane for this final leg of the journey from Washington, D.C., to New York. Borschberg is scheduled to take off from Washington Dulles International […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1914 – Birth of Marmaduke Thomas St. John “Pat” Pattle, South African World War II fighter ace. 1941 – Luftwaffe Maj. Wilhelm Balthasar, a World War II fighter ace and winner of the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, is killed in action when his Messerschmitt Bf 109F-4 suffers wing failure and crashes in France, […]

AirVenture 2013 to Open with ‘Jetman,’ Movie

The Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture 2013 will kick off with a concert by Chicago and include an appearance by the YouTube sensation Yves “Jetman” Rossy and a special preview screening of Disney-Pixar’s “Planes,” the EAA said Tuesday. The event, which runs from July 29 to Aug. 4, will host the rock concert on its opening night in Oshkosh, Wis. […]

Michigan Air Show Begins Today

The Field of Flight Air Show & Balloon Festival in Battle Creek, Mich., will feature so much more than just airborne entertainment this year, event organizers said. While no military aircraft will be on site, the first-ever Michigan Mile, magic shows, musical guests including Matt Giraud, the Great Lakes Timber Show and the Funland Amusement Park and carnival […]

Aviation Buffs Hope Tri-Motor Rides Help Air Show

Area aviation enthusiasts are working to spark more of an interest here, and they hope scheduled attractions over the patriotic holiday can help the dream take off. The Mississippi Headwaters Flyers of Bemidji, Minn., is offering the public a chance to get up close and personal with a number of different aircraft this week, including a […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1859 – Two American balloonists, John Wise and John La Mountain, fly in their balloon from St. Louis, Mo., to Henderson, N.Y. The 809-mile trip takes 20 hours. 1916 – Birth of Hans-Ulrich Rudel, successful German dive-bomber pilot and the most highly decorated German serviceman of World War II; he flew 2,530 combat missions and claimed a total of 2,000 targets destroyed. 1937 – Amelia Earhart (shown […]

A ‘Sentimental Journey’ Aboard a B-17

It sputtered like a seasoned smoker as the propellers started whipping around at full speed. I was on board the “Sentimental Journey,” the Second World War Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress — owned by the Arizona Airbase of the Commemorative Air Force — on display this week at the Canadian Warplane Heritage museum, and was seriously […]

Indian C-17 Makes First Deployment

The big bird has taken to the skies. In its first operational deployment since it landed in India on June 18, the Indian Air Force’s gigantic Boeing C-17 Globemaster III strategic airlift aircraft transported an Army infantry battalion to the country’s last military outpost in the Andman and Nicobar Islands on Sunday. “Operating from the […]

Reporter Takes Bumpy Ride in B-17

A little bit of World War II history flew into St. Louis Downtown Airport in Cahokia on Monday. The Experimental Aircraft Association’s Boeing B-17G-VE Flying Fortress “Aluminum Overcast” touched down to spend a couple of days on display and give rides to paying customers. Despite my affinity for air sickness, I rode along on a media flight. […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1872 – Louis Blériot (shown above), the pioneer aviator who made the world’s first airplane flight across the English Channel, is born in Cambrai, France. 1915 – German Air Service Leutnant Kurt Wintgens achieves the first aerial victory by a true fighter plane in history when he downs a Morane-Saulnier two-seat observation aircraft with his Fokker M.5 K/MG production prototype of the Eindecker. He later becomes […]