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April 2, On this Day in Aviation History

1942: After loading sixteen North American Aviation B-25B Mitchell medium bombers and their crews of the 17th Bombardment Group (Medium) at NAS Alameda, the recently commissioned United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) departed San Francisco Bay with her escorts and headed for a secret rendezvous with Vice Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr., and […]

March 27 On this Day in Aviation History

1994 The first flight of the Eurofighter Typhoon. Beginning with the first jet fighters of WWII, fighter development has been broken down into generations, with each generation seeing successive improvements in speed and capability, as well as refinements to basic aircraft design and improved aerodynamics. The most technologically advanced fighters in service today belong to […]

The F-15 Still going 50 Years Later

Believe it or not,the Pentagon’s new 2020 budget includes a request for eight F-15 Eagle fighters! A real testament to the fighter’s versatility nearly five decades after first its flight. The F-15 is still relevant on the modern battlefield, proving the value of continuously upgrading platforms with the latest technologies. The jet, which observers believed […]

In Theater: Chariots of the Vanquished

By Stan Piet By mid-August 1945, the Japanese Empire was near collapse. Months of sustained bombing and two atomic attacks had devastated its prime cities and a widening blockade was strangling its faltering war industry and starving citizens. But Tokyo’s ingrained militaristic “fight to the death culture” still held sway, and an all out invasion […]

SPACE COAST WARBIRD AIRSHOW March 15, 16 & 17

For the past 42 years, the Valiant Air Command Inc. has hosted the “Tico” Warbird Airshow, now called the “Space Coast Warbird Airshow.” The 2019 air show will feature an exceptional fast-paced flying program with a mix of historic warbirds, modern combat jets, and aerobatic teams. Friday March 15th will be our afternoon and evening show […]

March 11, On this Day in Aviation History

1957: The Boeing jet airliner prototype, Model 367-80, N70700, (destined to become the Boeing 707 and KC-135 Stratotanker), made a transcontinental demonstration flight from Seattle’s Boeing Field (BFI) to Friendship National Airport (BWI), Baltimore, Maryland. The aircraft commander was Boeing’s Chief of Flight Test, Alvin Melvin (“Tex”) Johnston. Test pilots James Russell (“Jim”) Gannett and […]

NASA’s First All-Female Spacewalk

According to NASA’s website: “The International Space Station spacewalk, part of Expedition 59, scheduled for March 29, will include astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch, as well as Jackie Kagey as the lead EVA, or spacewalk flight controller,” reports the outlet. “The spacewalk will last around seven hours, NASA spokeswoman Kathryn Hambleton confirmed in a […]

Fairchild AT-21 Gunner

The USAAF laid out a specification for a specialized bomber trainer, ordering two prototypes from Fairchild Aircraft. The XAT-13 powered by two 450 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN-1 radial engines, emerged as a scaled down bomber with a single machine gun in the glazed nose and a top turret with twin machine guns and fitted […]

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Docks with ISS

In a historic moment of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, the company’s Crew Dragon craft successfully docked at the International Space Station on Sunday. The unmanned capsule arrived right on schedule just before 6 a.m. (ET) on March 3, 2019, following its early morning launch on Saturday from Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA broke the news in a […]

Silent Nightwitches of Russia

The Nightwitches of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, were known later as the 46th “Taman” Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, of the Soviet Air Forces. Though women were initially barred from combat, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin issued an order on October 8, 1941 to deploy three women’s air force units, including the 588th regiment. The regiment, formed by Major […]