The F-102 Delta Dagger The F-102 Delta Dagger was designed primarily to intercept and kill hostile aircraft. It was the first operational delta-wing aircraft in the USAF’s history as well…
The KC-135 Stratotanker The KC-135 Stratotanker was the first offspring of the Dash 80. It was the only tanker employed by the Strategic Air Command for fifteen years, and it…
The A-12 Oxcart at Area 51 Area 51, a top-secret military installation hidden in the desert northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, has been the testing ground for the United States’…
The Barricade landing Navy carrier operations are a furious ballet that flogs the senses, even in the calmest circumstances. This is taken a step further when the choice is made…
The P-3 Orion Ten men focus on instrument panels, scopes, and detection devices as their P-3 Orion flies an ASW search pattern, far from land, skimming over rough seas whose…
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…
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…
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…
The KC-135Q It’s impossible to overemphasize the essential role played by the KC-135Q tanker crews, without whom successful prosecution of the SR-71 Blackbird mission would have been impossible. As told…