At the Edwards AFB Open House Airshow on October 9, 1999, an SR-71 Blackbird made its final flight The brief video in this post, which was recorded on Saturday, October…
Antonov Conducts Damage Assessment Of An-225 Mriya badly damaged during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
If the An-225 has been as badly damaged as some pictures suggest, repairing the aircraft may not even be possible Representatives of Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer Antonov have conducted a damage…
Boeing 767 pilot explains how he was able to safely land his fully loaded airliner with a 5 by 6-foot hole all the way through a wing caused by a tire blowout
‘When I went to the seats over the wing to look at the hole I could see the landing gear through the hole,’ Paul DeBusschere, Boeing 767 pilot The Boeing…
The Imperial Japanese Navy’s H6K Mavis pilot recalls how B-17 bombers attacked and almost brought down his flying boat
‘The only chance we had was the relatively small turning radius of our slow plane compared to that of the fast B-17, said Lt. Hitsuji, H6K ‘Mavis’ flying boat pilot…
Adolf Galland, a German ace, tells the incident in which his Messerschmitt Bf 109 was seriously damaged by a Spitfire
On June 21, 1941, Galland had blasted a Spitfire out of a formation northeast of Boulogne. He watched the flaming Spit spiraling down and began following to accurately register the…
A first-hand account of F-14 aircrew operations during a critical special ops mission in western Iraq All three Tomcat units in the NAG (VF-154 having arrived with CVW-5, embarked aboard…
Airline pilot explains why the co-pilot is more important than the captain on a plane and why he would rather have a good co-pilot than a good #2 engine any day
‘Co-pilots are absolutely essential to airline safety. I would rather have a good co-pilot than a good #2 engine any day,’ Randy Duncan, airline pilot In aviation, the first officer…
50 years after being struck by a 57mm bullet over Vietnam, the crew of an AC-130A reunited with the “Spectre 17” Gunship
Chandler was falling through a three-foot hole that the 57 mm bullet had made in the weapons control booth of the AC-130A “Spectre 17” in addition to causing structural damage…
US Navy Could Extend the service lives of USS Nimitz and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Oldest Nimitz-class Carriers
The US Navy is currently studying extending the service lives of the oldest Nimitz-class aircraft carriers The US Navy is currently studying extending the service lives of the oldest Nimitz-class…
The 80th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid commemorated unveiling B-1B Lancer tail decoration
On the nose of the B-1B Lancer, a quotation was added, “In remembrance of the Doolittle Raiders.” Many base events were held to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Doolittle…