Feature image: US Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Mallory S. VanderSchans This is an article about the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Kind of. And from a somewhat different angle… Oh, and I can’t promise you’ll like it. Rose coloured plexiglasses So have you made up your mind about the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter yet? Because if you’re still sitting on the fence, I suspect you’re … Continue reading Rose coloured plexiglasses
Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 disappeared in perplexing circumstances just over one year ago now, on March 8th, 2014. Plenty has been published about that tragic anniversary already, but it brings to mind the equally shocking and mysterious disappearance of an Australian airliner many years before… An aviation mystery that would only be solved by the sheerest chance – and only after almost thirty years. Operating successfully March 21st, 1931 was … Continue reading Missing
. . Rule for Life #4: Keep your eyes open (because it’s amazing what you’ll find when you’re looking for something else) I was hunting for photos of Spitfire production when I happened across this incredible photo of Spitfire destruction. It came from a 1942 newspaper file and carried the slug ‘AUSTRALIAN PILOT WINS COMBAT WITH HALF DESTROYED RUDDER’. Needless to say, my curiosity was aroused, … Continue reading Tail chase
Feature image (above) © Robbie Schubert | Dreamstime.com Following my recent post from the dawn of modern commercial aviation (see Constellation Crossing) I thought it would be interesting to compare the state of air transport today – 69 years later. So, in my incessant web trawling, I came across the website of the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), a non-profit dedicated to giving the global … Continue reading On the numbers
Feature image © Thomas Kirn G-AHEM (cn 1978) ‘Balmoral II’, sister to our story’s aircraft G-AHEL ‘Bangor II’. It’s not widely known that BOAC, forerunner of British Airways, continued to fly global services throughout World War 2 – and by 1945 no airline had more experience crossing the Atlantic. At war’s end, the airline was swift to acquire five Lockheed C-69 transports, completed as L-49 Constellations, … Continue reading Constellation crossing
This is a truly awesome photo – and not just for the split-second timing of a successfully trapped wire whipping out behind its captive Goshawk. This is an image for everyone who dreams of flying, and for every pilot who aims to fly better… What it actually shows is a moment of triumph – for one pilot who’s got the grades, grown the moustache, and gone to the … Continue reading Bird On A Wire
This post is a sort of addenda to my last article, Red Baron Down, to show another side of life for Manfred von Richthofen – the precious relationship he enjoyed with his Danish hound Moritz. Apart from the footnote, it comes directly from von Richthofen’s The Red Battle Flyer. My little lap-dog March 1917 The most beautiful being in all creation is the … Continue reading A friend indeed
Who shot down the Red Baron? Not who you’re thinking. And not when or where you’re thinking either. So park what you know about Canadian fliers and Australian gunners on the Somme for a moment, and put April 21st, 1918 aside too. Manfred von Richthofen was actually shot down on March 6th, 1917, over Lens in Belgium. As he attacked a Sopwith 1-1/2 Strutter, von Richthofen found … Continue reading Red Baron down
Feature photo (above) by Ron Kroetz | Flickr.com CC-BY-SD 2.0 The views of aircraft arrivals over (or should that be across?) Maho Beach, Sint Maarten are hardly a revelation anymore. Although they don’t get any less spectacular with time. What is news (for me at least) is this video, which details the arrival of a KLM 747-406M from the cockpit side of things… More … Continue reading Take a closer look
When it comes to hot arrivals, fighter types have the run and break. But when you fly without an engine, nothing comes close to gliding’s Competition Finish. The concept is straightforward (and slightly downward). Gliders have a known best glide angle, so there’s a reciprocal approach slope that rises out from the designated finish point. Once you intercept this slope you can forget about slow … Continue reading Wormburners 101
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