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Y-20: China Aviation Milestone Means New Power Projection

Escorted by a J-15 fighter and numbered “20001,” China’s domestically-produced Y-20 transport aircraft successfully completed its maiden flight on Jan. 26 at the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF)’s China Flight Test Establishment in Sha’anxi province, remaining airborne for an hour , according to state-run media reports. In an example of selective transparency to boost pride at home and credibility […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1886 – Birth of Dean Ivan Lamb, American pilot, hired as a mercenary during the Mexican Revolution who made what was quite possibly the first dogfight in history (pilots firing pistols at each other) against Phil Rader. He also helped to establish the Honduran Air Force. 1912 – Henry Harley “Hap” Arnold, future General of the U.S. […]

F-22: Too Much For Pilots To Handle?

Problems have plagued the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor since its inception. Flaking, toxic stealth coating with equally toxic glue. International dateline software glitches. Pilots nearly passing out from lack of oxygen and the feared “Raptor Cough.” So the jet went through a battery of extensive tests, over many years, only for one general to suggest something completely unrelated to the configuration […]

Chanute Museum Prepares for P-51H Debut

It’s almost back to its glory, the yellow-painted classic fighter modeled on ones a World War II ace used to fly. The North American P-51H Mustang, restored in honor of Louisiana’s Lt. Col. Claude Crenshaw, U.S.A.F., is “the belle of the ball” at the newly revived Chanute Air Museum in Rantoul, Ill., said curator Mark […]

Faithful Sabreliner Test Plane Retired by Rockwell Collins

The old gal sat stoically in the Rockwell Collins hangar as several dozen of her dearest friends ate a buffet lunch nearby. The white bulbous nosecone of the 1964 North American Sabreliner 50 test aircraft showed some wear, but the front edge of her wings still shined shiver. In a matter of minutes she’d be […]

Twin Otter Lost in Antarctica; 3 Missing

Severe winds and heavy snow continued to hamper the search for three Canadians aboard an airplane missing in Antarctica as rescue crews on standby braced for hours of more bad weather. No information was available on the fate of the three men aboard the ski-equipped Twin Otter, which is owned by Calgary-based Kenn Borek Air. While […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1909 – First flight of the Blériot XI, light and sleek monoplane constructed of oak and poplar. The flying surfaces were covered with cloth. One of the most successful monoplanes designed and built before WWI. 1929 – Clennell Haggerston “Punch” Dickins delivered the first airmail to Canada’s Northwest Territories on a flight into the high Arctic, travelling through […]

Families Still Await Closure of 1952 Alaska Glacier Crash

When news came last summer that old airplane wreckage discovered on Colony Glacier belonged to a massive C-124 Globemaster that crashed in 1952 with 52 members of the armed services aboard, it offered closure to some family members who had spent decades wondering about the fate of their lost loved ones. Now, six months after the […]

FAA: Military Plane, Not UFO, to Blame for Sightings

The Federal Aviation Administration says a military aircraft was flying over Amherst, Mass., Jan. 8 when residents reported seeing a mysterious object flying silently overhead. However, a spokesman for an area military base said descriptions from town residents don’t match what he knows of the aircraft. Residents in the Amherst and Pelham area reported that between […]

Greatest Generation Group to Host Charity Auction

Greatest Generation Aircraft, a Fort Worth, Texas-based foundation that operates a pair of World War II aircraft, will host a charity auction on Saturday, March 2, from 9 a.m. to noon, at the Vintage Flying Museum hangar at 505 NW 38th Street. Among the many unique items set to roll across the auction block is […]