Just three of the many greatest jet fighter aircraft produced. Ian Black says of the top picture. “I’m probably being a bit critical but one of the few images I’ve taken of a BAE English Lightning I’m not keen on – just doesn’t seem to look right – perhaps it’sRead More →
An ejection seat or ejector seat is a system designed to rescue the pilot or other crew of an aircraft in an emergency. In most designs, the seat is propelled out of the aircraft by an explosive charge or rocket motor, carrying the pilot with it. Once clear of theRead More →
How’s this for a low pass? Hastings NZ5803 of No. 40 Squadron flying past the crowd with two propellers feathered during an open day air show at Whenuapai in February 1957. Handley Page Hastings Amid the latter years of WWII, the British Air Ministry formulated and released a specification for aRead More →
South African Air Force airshow at Ysterplaat AFB, Cape Town photographed back in 1969. The Lockheed Hercules C-130B shown here was operated by 28 Squadron SAAF. The public were allowed inside the aircraft. Notice the four military personnel on top of the ‘Hercules’. C130’s in SAAF service The SAAF C-130Read More →
Smirnykh, Sakhalinskaya Oblast’, Russia The original airfield was built in the early 20th century for the Imperial Japanese Army and was called Keton. It consisted of a 1200 m long concrete runway, gravel taxiways and about 20 equipped aircraft parking lots. ⠀After the Soviet Union regained control over Sakhalin inRead More →
Over a hundred years ago, Captain Carlo Piazza climbed onto his spindly Blériot XI and made military history. On October 23, 1911, Captain Carlo Piazza climbed onto his spindly Blériot XI and made military history by spying on the enemy below. At the start of the Italo-Turkish War, the ItalianRead More →
Boeing once studied turning the 747 into an Airborne Aircraft Carrier (AAC). In the 1970s, Boeing worked on a project that would have turned jumbo jets into flying aircraft carriers. The Airborne Aircraft Carrier project involved converting the Boeing 747, the largest passenger jet flying at the time, into a mothership capable ofRead More →
The world’s most famous Mirage III, number 159 attained its 13th kill on the first day of the 1973 Israel/Egyptian Yom Kippur War. The following day while taking off, it blew a tire and veered off the runway, trapping its pilot Israel Baharav in the cockpit. Baharav managed to escapeRead More →
The Denel Rooivalk AH-2 is an attack helicopter manufactured by Denel Aviation of South Africa. Rooivalk is Afrikaans for “Red Falcon”. Development of the type began in 1984 by the Atlas Aircraft Corporation (a predecessor of Denel Aviation). The first Rooivalk was officially handed over in April 2011, and are flown by 16 Squadron, AFB Bloemspruit (Bloemfontein). Development The South African Defence Force recognised theRead More →
The Ultimate Display of Ingenuity, Courage and Airmanship. “PARDO’S PUSH” BY S.W. FERGUSON On the 10th of March 1967, US Air Force Captain Bob Pardo and wingman, Captain Earl Aman, were each flying their McDonnell F-4C Phantoms on a mission to attack the Thai Nguyen steel mill, north of Hanoi, NorthRead More →
