Civilian Archives - Page 3 of 175

World’s Largest All Composite Aircraft Takes off

MOJAVE, CA – April 13, 2019 – Stratolaunch Systems Corporation, founded by Paul G. Allen, today successfully completed the first flight of the world’s largest all-composite aircraft, the Stratolaunch. With a dual fuselage design and wingspan greater than the length of an American football field, the Stratolaunch aircraft took flight at 0658 PDT from the Mojave Air & Space Port. Achieving a maximum speed of 189 miles per hour, the plane flew for 2.5 hours over the Mojave Desert at altitudes up to 17,000 feet. As […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1938 – First flight of the Bell P-39 Airacobra, a principal American fighter in service at the start of World War II. It is the first fighter in history with a tricycle undercarriage and the first to have the engine installed in the center fuselage, behind the pilot. 1962 – The Royal Canadian Air Force […]

Forgotten DC-3 Caught on Camera

Lying on a black sandy beach in the south of Iceland, the wreckage of a crashed U.S. Navy aircraft looks like something from a post-apocalyptic movie. Amazingly, the crew all survived the impact, when the Douglas Super DC-3 was forced to crash land on Sólheimasandur beach on Nov. 24, 1973. But the plane was abandoned rather than recovered, […]

Honoring the ‘Flying Minute Men’

Flying Piper Cubs and Stinson biplanes, aircraft sometimes borrowed for the mission, the Civil Air Patrol guarded the American coast and helped turn back the U-boat onslaught that might otherwise have turned the tide of World War II. Men and women answered the call to serve as the nation went to war, joining the volunteer […]

Italian Flight Demo Team Shows Skills

Italy’s national acrobatics flying team entertained Americans and Italians during a brief demonstration over Aviano Air Base in northeastern Italy Friday. Frecce Tricolori is based at nearby Rivolto Air Base and performs at air shows around the world. It’s become a tradition for the team to provide a brief demonstration of its abilities over Aviano. […]

On this Day in Aviation History — Japan Fighters Intercept Chinese Plane

Japan scrambled fighter jets after a Chinese plane was seen Thursday near small islands in the East China Sea that are claimed by both countries. This is the first time that the dispute over the islands — which Japan calls Senkaku and China refers to as Diaoyu — has involved aircraft, introducing a new sphere of […]

Photo by Chief Warrant Officer 4 Daniel McClinton, 1st ACB
October 15, 2007

An AH-64D Apache from Company B, 1st "Attack" Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, flies over a residential area in the Multi-National Division-Baghdad area Oct. 12. The Apache crew was conducting a reconnaissance mission to keep an eye out for enemy mortar and anti-aircraft systems.

On This Day in Aviation History

1918 – Death of Cecil Vernon Gardner, British World War I flying ace, from wounds received in actions three days before. 1932 – The only RWD-7, a Polish high-wing, single-engine sports plane, is flown by its designer Jerzy Drzewiecki and Antoni Kocjan, to a record height of 19,755 feet. 1964 – Birth of Stephen Nathaniel […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1906 – Robert Albert Charles Esnault-Pelterie makes a towed flight of more than 1,600 feet in a glider he equipped with ailerons. 1925 – Birth of Masajiro “Mike” Kawato, Japanese World War II fighter ace. 1945 – The No. 273 Squadron of the Royal Air Force, equipped with Supermarine Spitfire IXs, is deployed to Tan […]

MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho -- Capt. Christopher Stricklin ejects from the USAF Thunderbirds number six aircraft less than a second before it impacted the ground at an air show at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, Sept. 14. Stricklin, who was not injured, ejected after both guiding the jet away from the crowd of more than 60,000 people and ensuring he couldn't save the aircraft. This was only the second crash since the Air Force began using F-16 Falcons for its demonstration team in 1982. The ACES II ejection seat performed flawlessly. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III)

On This Day in Aviation History

1886 – Birth of Walter Carl Simon, American World War I flying ace and the first American “ace in a day” (5 scores in a single day). He also becomes the vice-director of the Peruvian Naval Flying School at Ancon, and a senior U.S. Army Air Forces officer in World War II. 1910 – The […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1886 – Amelie Beese, the first female German aviator and sculptor, is born. 1931 – The U.K. wins the Schneider Trophy when Lt. John Boothman completes the course at Calshot Spit in a Supermarine S.6B at 340.1 mph. 1940 – The Imperial Japanese Navy’s Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter scores its first aerial victories when a […]