News and Stories Archives - Flight Journal

Stearman PT-17/N2S: The Biplane With So Many Lives

The PT-17 Stearman is literally the airplane that has always seemed to just be “there.” Although, it is most often thought of as the school marm that taught a generation of airmen the skills necessary to win a war, she has actually lived three distinct lives and is entering a fourth, from military trainer to […]

Sun ‘n Fun: April 5-10

Pilots worldwide are planning their flights and revving their engines. Their course is set with one destination in mind: SUN ‘n FUN at Lakeland Linder International Airport located in sunny Lakeland, Florida! As the aviation community comes together April 5th through the 10th, we encourage you to join them, pack your pilot bag, and for […]

The amazing rescue of Fango 45

On 8 April 1982, the following crew conversation takes place inside Fango 43, an Idaho ANG RF-4C flying a twilight low-level radar mission over eastern Oregon: PILOT: “Ground speed set at 480.” WSO: “Okay, turn right to heading two-zero-three.” PILOT: “Steady two-zero-three.” WSO: “Okay, come one-half degree left and hold that.” PILOT: “Rawj.” WSO: “Clear […]

WW II’s Submarine-Sinking Fairey Swordfish

It’s impossible to look at the Fairey Swordfish, affectionately known as the “Stringbag,” and not say, “You have to be kidding! This was one of the Royal Navy’s most effective weapons of WW II?” A gigantic, bi-winged personification of the word “anachronistic,” as the saying goes, the Swordfish may have been ugly, but it was […]

Travelair Mystery Ship: Model “R” for Racing

Dawn of a New Era It was September 2nd, 1929 and before the day was over, the world of military airplanes had been changed forever.As Doug Davis roared across the finish line and took the checkered flag at Cleveland that afternoon, he had done more than win a race. He and the red and black […]

P-38 Lightning: A country boy way out of his element

When I flew a P-38 for the first time, I had to admit that I had a hard time hearing the engines over the noise of my knees knocking. What was a grassroots pilot like me doing strapped into such a huge piece of iron? That was simple: I wanted a type-rating in the airplay […]

Thunderbolt II Tuesday

The A-10 isn’t an airplane. It’s a terrifyingly effective ball peen hammer designed from the onset to do one job and one job only: support the guys on the ground. At the beginning that meant it was to blunt the tank attacks cold war planners knew the Russians would send rolling across Europe in waves. […]

Doolittle Raiders: a first-person account

My name is Edgar McElroy. My friends call me “Mac”. I was born and raised in Ennis , Texas the youngest of five children, son of Harry and Jennie McElroy. Folks say that I was the quiet one. We lived at 609 North Dallas Street and attended the Presbyterian Church. My dad had an auto […]

Super Stearman Saturday

What do you get when you take any airplane and more than double its horsepower? For one thing you get much bigger grins every time you move the throttle forward for takeoff. The 450 Stearman, the so-called “Super Stearman,” is a classic case in point. Originally born with a puny 220 hp, W-670 Continental radial […]

DeHavilland Comet: Wooden Artistry

In 1934 the public still viewed aviation as something special. In fact, air racing had become a worldwide obsession, which, like NASCAR many years later, offered great publicity opportunities for the sponsors and the participants. Australian millionaire Sir MacPherson Robertson, recognized the public relations value of air racing and announced he was sponsoring a race […]