Despite both aircraft attempting to avoid each other, with the Pan Am Boeing 747 veering sharply onto the grass and the KLM Boeing 747 pulling up, they were unable to…
Civil
According to Fiscal Year 2024 budget, John F. Kennedy’s (CVN-79), the next Ford-class aircraft carrier, will now deliver to the US Navy in 2025, one year later than the service’s…
Carriers
In a 1v1 fight a US Navy Nimitz-Class aircraft carrier would have no problem in defeating Russia’s Admiral Kuznetsov. Here’s why
Assuming a Nimitz aircraft carrier and the Admiral Kuznetsov are without escort what flattop would win in 1v1? Originally commissioned in the Soviet Navy, Admiral Kuznetsov was intended to be…
Cold War
How the Valkyrie crew overcame the failure of both hydraulic systems, which prevented both sets of main gear from fully lowering
There was trouble with both sets of main gear on the XB-70A Valkyrie. On the left side, the gear had not fully lowered. The right-side gear was in worse shape…
The SR-71 Blackbird’s tires could withstand about 15 full-stop landings, but after ten takeoffs, they were replaced The SR-71 Blackbird collected intelligence in some of the world’s most dangerous settings…
Carriers
Naval Flight Officer explains why despite their robustness (and cost) aircraft carriers can’t be kept in service longer than their programmed life
‘Some components simply can’t be replaced, while others it would be cost-prohibitive and inefficient,’ Andy Burns, Naval Flight Officer American aircraft carriers at their peak are the queens of the…
The first airliner to reach supersonic flight was not the Soviet-built Tupolev Tu-144 or the well-known Concorde, which wouldn’t break the sound barrier until a test flight in October 1969.…
Two Blackburn Buccaneer strike aircraft (XW544 and XX894) are featured in the excellent pictures in this post, which were captured at the former Royal Air Force (RAF) Kemble base (now…
Cold War
Tomcat RIO describes how he and his pilot shot down a supersonic target drone with an AIM-7 from their F-14
“Halfway through the turn, my “radar lock” lights went out. I had messed up the intercept! ‘Broke lock,’ I growled to Drifty. ‘Going to search.’ I didn’t have to include…
Furthermore, out of those five million flying hours, 1.3 million were spent in combat Five million flight hours have been completed by US Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, marking a…