Aircraft

AVG shark mouth P-40Bs

The P-40 Warhawk Looked Great, But Fell Just Short of Greatness Built and flown throughout the war, the P-40 held its own against an often more modern and more numerous enemy

Featured Post

The P-40 Warhawk was among the most widely seen and used fighters of World War II, yet it’s often overshadowed in modern-day literature by readily recognized names like Lightning, Thunderbolt …

Read Story »

Advertisement
Ar 234 V9

Arado Ar 234 Blitz Came Too Late to Be a “Wonder Weapon” in World War II

Featured Post

At high altitude east of the Rhine bridgehead at Remagen on March 13, 1945, American fighter pilot 1st Lt. Ed Lopez looked down from his P-47 Thunderbolt at a sight …

Read Story »

Japanese F-35

Japan F-35 Buy Is No Surprise Since the 1950s they’ve sold us Toyotas, and we’ve sold them fighters

Featured Post

As the 1980s German synthpop band Alphaville proclaimed in their hit single, “Things are easy when you’re big in Japan.”

American fighter aircraft are just that. On Dec. 20, 2011 …

Read Story »

FAM T-6C+

T-6C+ Texan II Sale to Mexico a Welcome Boost for Planemaker

Featured Post

On Jan. 9, 2012, Wichita-based Hawker Beechcraft announced its first sale of T-6C+ Texan II primary trainers to the Mexican air force. Mexico has ordered six of the aircraft, but …

Read Story »

F-107A color in flight

North American’s F-107 Was the “Ultra Sabre” and Perhaps the “Ultra Might-Have-Been”

Featured Post

On Sept. 10, 1956, test pilot Bob Baker took off from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to complete the maiden flight of the knife-like YF-107A. Baker reached Mach 1.03. The …

Read Story »

XF-103 over American city

Republic XF-103 What Might Have Been

Featured Post

The Republic XF-103 was a beautiful concept for a combat aircraft and a terrific example of a “might have been” that never was.

It was designed, developed and subsidized in …

Read Story »

Schwartz testimony

Air Force Chief Acknowledges Coming Cuts, and Cites the C-27J Spartan

Featured Post

The C-27J Spartan tactical transport could fall under the budget axe, Air Force chief of staff Gen. Norton Schwartz acknowledged in Capitol Hill testimony on Nov. 2.

Schwartz was speculating …

Read Story »

Raptor OBOGS

F-22 Raptors Grounded at Langley Air Force Base Raptor fleet returns to flight while pilots scratch their heads – but then ...

Featured Post

The U.S. Air Force’s on-again, off-again saga with the grounding of its F-22 Raptor superfighter fleet took a new twist on October 21 when Raptors at one base were grounded …

Read Story »

Super Hornet turns and burns

And the Fighter of the Future is … the Super Hornet?

With the world’s air forces scrambling to fill anticipated gaps in their fighter inventories, is it possible that the fighter of the future may be the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet?

Responding …

Read Story »

VC-9C Arrives at Dover 8/18/11

Ex-”Air Force Two” VC-9C to Be Displayed at Dover Air Force Base

Featured Post

It carried presidents, cabinet members and even a king. Now, a military VIP transport version of the familiar DC-9 airliner will go on display at the Air Mobility Command Museum …

Read Story »