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On This Day in Aviation History

1919 – Six Zeppelins (LZ 46, LZ 79, LZ 91, LZ103, LZ 110 and LZ 111) are destroyed at Nordholz, Germany, by their own crews to prevent them from falling into Allied hands. 1931 – Wiley Post and his navigator, Harold Gatty, leave Roosevelt Field on Long Island, N.Y., in the Lockheed Vega “Winnie Mae” […]

Historic Hill AFB Squadron Being Revived

If you ask U.S. Air Force Maj. Eric Fiederer, he’ll tell you he knew the Rude Rams of the 34th Fighter Squadron couldn’t be kept down for too long. And now, four years after Fiederer’s beloved squadron was put to bed indefinitely, the Air Force has validated his intuition — confirming last week that the currently […]

Scooter Memories

Flying the A-4 Skyhawk in Vietnam Although the Phantoms, Spads, and Thuds of the Vietnam War seem to get all the glory, the venerable little Scooter, the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, carried more than its share of the fight to the enemy. It was an airplane that packed more fight per pound into its diminutive airframe […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1897 – Percy Sinclair Pilcher is towed about 750 feet in the “Hawk,” the fourth of his hang gliders. 1937 – Valery Chkalov, G.F.Baidukov and A.V.Belyakov land their Tupolev ANT-25 in Vancouver, Wash., coming from Moscow via the north pole. A non-stop distance of 8,811 kilometers (5,475 mi). The flight pioneered the polar air route […]

RAF Typhoons Continue Move From Leuchars

The first of two fast jet squadrons will formally leave RAF Leuchars and arrive at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland. The Courier revealed last week that the first four Eurofighter Typhoon fast jets moved from Leuchars to their new home in Moray last Tuesday. The remainder of 6 Squadron will be formally welcomed at Lossiemouth on Friday. The […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1896 – Birth of William Otway Boger, Canadian World War I flying ace. 1931 – The first cross-English Channel flight in a glider is made by Canadian opera singer Lissant Beardmore. 1937 – First flight of the Airspeed AS.10 Oxford, a twin-engine aircraft used for training British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombing and gunnery […]

France Retires Last Mirage F1s

The French air force has retired its last squadron of Dassault Mirage F1s from operational use, with the type due to make its final appearance during Bastille day celebrations next month. Mont-de-Marsan-based reconnaissance unit 2/33 “Savoie” staged a farewell event on 13 June, with four of its 14 aircraft appearing with retrospective colour schemes or special tail […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1925 – Birth of Benjamin Robert Rich, the second director of Lockheed’s Skunk Works from 1975 to 1991; he would succeed its founder, Kelly Johnson, and becomes regarded as the “father of stealth.” 1928 – A French twin-engine flying boat, piloted by René Cyprien Guilbaud carrying Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen and five others on […]

Delta Air Lines Reopens Museum

With a newly renovated museum at its Atlanta headquarters, Delta Air Lines hopes to lure tourists to the company’s original aircraft maintenance hangars on the north edge of the world’s busiest airport. The 68,000-square-foot museum, housed in hangers that date to the 1940s, traces Delta’s history from crop-dusting and air mail service to its first […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1923 – Birth of Stuart Row Childs, American World War II and military test pilot; he flew the Bell X1-B and the Hiller X-18. 1940 – RMS Lancastria is sunk by Luftwaffe Junkers 88 near Saint-Nazaire, France, while taking part in Operation Ariel — the evacuation of British nationals and troops from France — two […]