The events around British Airways Boeing 747 flight BA 009 reveal the potential dangers of volcanic ash Plumes of volcanic ash near active volcanoes are a flight safety hazard, especially…
Alan E. Magee, the belly gunner from a damaged Flying Fortress who survived a 20,000-foot fall without a parachute
B-17 belly gunner Alan E. Magee On January 3, 1943, 360th Bomber Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group, aboard the B-17F Flying Fortress 41-24620 “Snap! Crackle! Pop!”, with Sergeant Alan E. Magee…
The USMC aircrew of AH-1W and UH-1Y, who managed to take off amid the Taliban attack on Camp Bastion, provided the airfield defenders CAS
Taliban attack on Camp Bastion In response to the 9/11 attacks by Al Qaida, US and British forces invaded Afghanistan in late 2001, supported by air power. Ten years later,…
Jefferson DeBlanc shot down five Japanese aircraft before abandoning his downed Wildcat due to fuel shortage
The F4F Wildcat When the US Navy and US Marine Corps (USMC) went to war in December 1941, their primary carrier fighter was the tubby Wildcat, the first of Grumman’s…
Boeing 757 pilot recalls when he and his captain did an unrestricted climb to 10,000 feet (with no passengers aboard)
Unrestricted climb A zoom climb is a climb where the rate of climb is greater than the maximum climb rate using only the thrust of the aircraft’s engines. According to…
The eight Time-to-Climb World Records that the F-15 Streak Eagle broke
The F-15 Streak Eagle was designed to break the time-to-climb records held by the F-4 and MiG-25 by setting new ones The F-15 proved to be a highly useful testbed…
Visit Aboard USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78): all you need to know about US Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier
“This ship and crew are actively reshaping the face of our Navy’s capabilities and strengthening the future of Naval Aviation,” Capt. Rick Burgess, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) commanding…
An SR-71 pilot denied an F-15 pilot an easy simulated kill during a training sortie
‘The next pass was different. I said to Jim that our F-15 jockeys are the best in the world, let’s give them a challenge,’ Former SR-71 Blackbird pilot, Capt. Steve…
USA could have achieved the same defense level with 170 F-14s as with 290 F-15s, but went with the latter
The Eagle’s AIM-7 Sparrow missile was significantly less powerful than the Phoenix missile system. Research revealed that 170 F-14 Tomcats could equal 290 F-15 Eagles in terms of defense The…
US Navy selects Commercial Dismantlement plan to dismantle and dispose USS Enterprise (CVN-65), the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier
The US Navy has opted for “Alternative 3,” which involves dismantling and disposing of USS Enterprise (CVN-65) using commercial industry expertise The US Navy has made a significant decision regarding…