Flight Journal - Page 56 of 286 - Aviation History | History of Flight | Aviation History Articles, Warbirds, Bombers, Trainers, Pilots

D-DAY INVASION: JUNE 2024

1930'S FIGHTER FLIES AGAIN: APRIL 2024

The Legend of Maj. Paul "Pappy" Gunn

Their Finest Hour

Butcher Bird Hellcat & Corsair: A test pilot recalls

Stinson’s Big-Guy L-Bird

Stalin’s Flying Hammer

LATEST

Perlan II Glider Prepares for Records

Airbus Group chief executive Tom Enders took the controls of the two-seat Perlan II glider during a 10-minute test flight Friday rom the windswept, high-desert airport in Minden, Nev., raising the public profile of a volunteer team of aviation adventurers hoping to make history in about four months. Afterwards, Enders – a licensed helicopter pilot and […]

“Doc” Making Progress Toward First Flight

Doc’s Friends reported on Friday that their restoration team working to return the Boeing B-29 Superfortress known as “Doc” to flying condition is making the final push to get the aircraft ready for the FAA inspection. They recently collaborated with Pedron Aircraft Works of Denton, Texas, to run the dynamic propeller balance on each of the World War […]

Flight test trials of a RAAF KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport refuelling a RAAF C-17A Globemaster III during the first air-to-air refuel near Brisbane Queensland. *** Local Caption *** A flight test team from the Aircraft Research and Development Unit successfully conducted the first air-to-air refuelling trials between a RAAF KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport and a RAAF C-17A Globemaster III on 27 April 2016 off the Queensland coast.

Pilots and aerial refuelling operators from No 33 Squadron and No 36 Squadron, both based at RAAF Base Amberley, as well as members of the United States Air Force were also involved in the trials.

These trials are part of the clearance program for air-to-air refuelling from the KC-30A's Aerial Refuelling Boom System (ARBS), which is also compatible with refuelling the F-35A Lightning II, as well as the E-7A Wedgetail, P-8A Posideon, and other KC-30As. Air-to-air refuelling increases the operating range of RAAF aircraft, and is a critical capability in establishing the RAAF as a modern and fully integrated combat force.

The Aircraft Research and Development Unit is located at RAAF Base Edinburgh and is part of the RAAF Air Warfare Centre, which is responsible for driving innovation and integration across the Air Force.

Aussies Refuel C-17 from A330

The Royal Australian Air Force has conducted air-to-air refuelling trials between its two largerst aircraft types: the Airbus Military A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft and Boeing C-17A strategic airlifter. The work took place off the coast of Queensland and involved several contacts between the A330 MRTT’s boom and the C-17A’s refuelling receptacle. This marks […]

Work Begins on Japanese ‘Kate’

The Nakajima B5N torpedo bomber was the pride of the Imperial Japanese Navy and was considered the most effective aircraft of its kind at the beginning of World War II. She caused most of the battleship damage during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Dec. 7, 1941. Seventy-five years later, the Type 97 Carrier Torpedo […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1893 – Birth of Maurice Joseph Emile Robert, French World War I flying ace. 1916 – The first Zeppelin raid on the UK takes place by the German Navy. The towns of Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn are bombed; more than 20 die in what becomes the first major aerial bombardment of a civilian target. 1945 – […]

California Man to Help Boeing Restos

Sergio Fierro started cleaning and restoring automobiles in Oxnard, Calif., about 10 years ago, something that would eventually lead to his participation in a project to help preserve aviation history. The 41-year-old Oxnard man is one of a handful of people who were invited to Seattle this month to help restore numerous important aircraft, including […]

Dutch F-35 First to Make Overseas Debut

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter will fly across the Atlantic Ocean this summer to make its international debut — but the United Kingdom won’t be the JSF’s first stop. At least one Dutch F-35A will appear at the Leeuwarden Air Show in the Netherlands in June, according to Lt. Col. Sidney Plankman, chief […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1932 – Birth of Corrado Gex, Italian aviator and politician; he was the first pilot authorized to land on a glacier. 1937 – Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft at the British Thomson-Houston factory in Rugby, England. 1939 – First flight of the IAR 80 (shown), Romanian World […]

NMUSAF Begins New Hangar Move

Snow and a biting windchill didn’t deter Sidney C. Palomino and her 5-year-old son, Mauricio, from standing at the edge of a rope line Saturday to see one of the most famous planes in history emerge out of a Wright-Patterson Air Force Base hangar on an Ohio morning more like January than April. She and her son […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1900 – Birth of Wilmer Lower Stultz, American military aviator and test pilot; he made the first non-stop flight between New York City and Havana, Cuba. 1937 – First flight of the Junkers Ju 89, a German heavy bomber prototype. 1940 – A trio of Vickers Wellingtons of No.115 Squadron and two Bristol Blenheims of No.254 Squadron attack Stavanger-Sola airfield […]