The Tupolev Tu-144 The Tupolev Tu-144 (Russian: Tyполев Ту-144; NATO reporting name: Charger) is a retired jet airliner and commercial supersonic transport aircraft (SST). It is one of only two…
Civil
The SR-71 Blackbird The US Air Force (USAF) created the SR-71 Blackbird in the 1960s; it was a plane that could move at a speed that exceeded three times the…
Civil
Here’s how a British Airways Boeing 747 that lost all four engines due to volcanic ash was able to land safely
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…
History
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…
History
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,…
History
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…
Civil
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 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…
Carriers
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…
‘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…