The English Electric Lightning Designed as a Mach 2 interceptor with an unrivaled rate of climb, the English Electric Lightning was frequently referred to as “a pilot sitting on two…
The hottest ‘battlefield’ of the Cold War Germany was the most heated “battlefield” of the Cold War, remaining divided for decades between the late 1940s and the early 1990s. According…
Ejection seat An ejection seat is a mechanism installed in an aircraft that is intended to save the pilot or other crew members in the event of an emergency. Most…
Why the oxygen mask? Fighter pilots consistently wear a mask and helmet. Fighter jocks at high altitudes need oxygen masks in order to prevent hypoxia and maintain the brain’s oxygen…
TRANSPAC flight An aircraft traveling across the Pacific Ocean from Australasia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia to North America, Latin America, or vice versa is called a transpacific (TRANSPAC) flight.…
RAF Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp Angered by the UK’s decision to station cruise missiles, (guided nuclear missiles), a group of women planned a protest march in 1981 that started…
The U-2 The U-2 is still considered today to be one of the most technologically advanced aircraft ever built. Since its primary role was strategic reconnaissance, its development in 1954…
The RIO or Radar Intercept Officer Any fighter aircraft’s normal mission is to intercept an airborne target. Finding a target on the radar is the first step in intercepting it.…
The SR-71 Blackbird The most sophisticated spy plane in the Blackbird family, the SR-71, which also included the A-12 and YF-12, was created by a group of Lockheed personnel under…
Exercise: Red Flag In order to lessen pilots’ susceptibility and high loss rate in their first five combat missions, the US Air Force planned to offer realistic operational training within…