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AMERICAN BEAUTY : DECEMBER 2023

P-40 KIWI WARRIOR : OCTOBER 2023

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

B-21 Design Details

A newly released Northrop Grumman B-21 picture published March 7 offers the first clear view of both of the bomber’s unique air inlets, which are shaped like sideways teardrops. The image appeared in a presentation by Gen. C.Q. Brown, the Air Force chief of staff, who addressed the Warfare Symposium in Aurora, Colorado. The designers […]

The Fall of the Luftwaffe in Colour: Battle of Britain, 1940

Meticulously researched by Clive Ellis over the course of 20 years, this color rendition of the Luftwaffe’s Eagles in defeat accurately portrays the stark reality of the desperate days in 1940 when Britain stood alone. Using an extraordinary combination of stunning colorized images and extensively researched text, this book gives a new and different perspective […]

BELL Invictus

The Invictus has a low-drag tandem cockpit that optimizes pilot field of view with full pilot functionality from either seat. The lift-sharing wing relieves rotor-lift demand, suppressing retreating blade stall, for increased speed. The Invictus features retractable weapons and the helicopter control system includes fly-by-wire options. The high-performance rotor blades are designed for high speed, […]

China’s Latest Fighter Concept

The People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has revealed a rendering of a concept design for China’s next fighter. The tailless design appeared in a 31 January video released by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, Ltd (AVIC)’s WeChat channel, and shows a somewhat puzzling configuration with mixed-and-matched features. The tailless delta planform appears to […]

The Last Boeing 747 Leaves the Factory

More than a half-century ago, Boeing unveiled the 747, a massive aircraft that brought air travel to the masses. Nicknamed the “Queen of the Skies,” it may be the most widely recognized commercial airplane in the world. “It’s one of the great ones,” said Shea Oakley, who runs an aviation history consulting firm and is […]

The new generation of warbird pilots, restorers & mechanics

Science-fiction writer and aeronautical engineer Robert Heinlein famously said, “A generation which ignores history has no past—and no future.” Warbird aircraft have been a part of American life since airplanes were adapted for warfare during World War I. Almost immediately afterward, the newly-surplus “war birds” that a few years before had served as fighters, bombers […]

Flying for “Devotion”

Arctic cold invaded Jesse Brown’s cockpit as he desperately looked for a place to land his F4U-4 Corsair in the snow-covered mountains of North Korea, near the Chosin Reservoir. It was early December 1950. More than 120,000 Chinese troops had crossed into North Korea and encircled 30,000 troops from the U.S. Marine Corps’ 1st Division, […]

10 Facts about the B-21 Raider

Named in honor of the Doolittle Raid of World War II, Northrop Grumman’s B-21 Raider was unveiled December 2, 2022 in Palmdale, Calif., marking the first time the world’s first sixth-generation aircraft was seen by the public. When delivered to the Air Force, the B-21 will join the nation’s strategic triad as a visible and […]

Craig Hutain, Gifted Warbird Pilot

We at Flight Journal were saddened to hear the news about Craig Hutain, who lost his life in the Wings Over Dallas airshow crash. A pilot for “Tora, Tora, Tora!” air shows, Hutain was an icon in the WW II warbird community and had more than 34,000 flight hours in over 100 aircraft types. Hutain […]