During World War II, the Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina flying boat became famous for its long-endurance missions over the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean against enemy ships and submarines. Only very few aircraft are still left today in flying condition. One is located not far away from its former wartime base Norfolk, Virgina, at the Military Aviation Museum just South of Virgina Beach. It represents one of the museum's collection jewels, and stands out not only due to its fully documented history.
The Junkers Ju-52 is an aviation legend, and "F-AZJU" is a true piece of jewelry for the French Amicale Jean Baptiste Salis. The aircraft is based at the Amicale’s homebase La Ferté-Alais in the South of Paris. This ‚Tante Ju‘ is the biggest aircraft in the collection of the AJBS, and currently also Europe’s sole airworthy Junkers Ju-52.
The 75th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy also brought some highlights for the aviation enthusiast. Nearly two dozen Dakotas made their way from Duxford in England over the English Channel to the Caen region to drop parachutists over Northern France just as in the morning hours of 6 June 1944, and numerous L-Birds gathered at St. André de l’Eure, close to Evreux.
Swiss Tigers are facing their extinction! 110 have originally been ordered by the Swiss Air Force. Nowadays their number is down to only 27. Apart from the F/A-18 Hornets, the F-5s are the Swiss Air Forces only other jet type, and are today only flown by reserve pilots. With the referendum for a future jet fighter on the horizon, their near future is becoming even more uncertain. They are indeed a rare breed - time to go to stunning Meiringen airbase and catch them!
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II had a remarkable 50 year long lasting career in Japan. This is a personal review of Phantom encounters in the Land of the Rising Sun. It covers the final 16 years of JASDF F-4EJ operations and stretches from Chitose in Japan’s cold North down to the tropical Naha on Okinawa.
One week of aviation photography can be easily spend around central Honshu, Japan‘s main island. This article focuses on a selection of major military airfields around Tokyo that are within the reach of a one-day drive.
The thundering noise of a Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18C fighter jet astonished the visitors of the 2019 airshow at Omaka. That is no wonder, as fighter jets are a rare view in New Zealand since 2001, when the RNZAF disbanded its last A-4 Skyhawks. The secret star of the show, which focuses on propeller-driven aircraft, was however once again the FlugWerk FW190. It celebrated a new maiden flight after its landing accident four years ago. This warbird dominated a highly diverse flying program.
With thundering afterburners four F-35A Lightning II soar into the clear blue sky of the Negev desert. They are followed by another four F-15 "Baz" of the Israeli Air Force. The jets are the vanguard of the "Blue Force" and have to protect the territory of the "Falcon State". With a fight over water and other natural resources, it is threatened by the aggressive neighboring country "Nowhereland". This can become a realistic scenario in this part of the world and was certainly not chosen by chance as a theme for the high-value exercise "Blue Flag 2019" at Ovda Air Force Base in southern Israel.
The CIAF (Czech International Air Fest) celebrated ist 15th anniversary in 2008. After having started at the then still military airfield Hradec Kralove it moved in 2003 to the civil airport of Brno, around 200km…Read More
After the first edition of the American Air Day in Duxford in 2007 the event was celebrated once again this year to remember the historic links between the US Air Force and Duxford.It was supported…Read More
2008 will be the last operational year of the unique F-117A Nighthawk. Last year 25 years in service of this remarkable Lockheed construction and an accumulated 250.000 flight hours were celebrated at Holloman AFB, NM…Read More
Shuttleworth’s Evening Display is one of the many possibilities during the year to experience their extensive collection of historic aircraft. The event took place at their homebase, the Old Warden Aerodrome that can easily be…Read More
The Hispano Aviacion HA-200 "Saeta" ("Arrow") is one of the last designs fully developed by Willy Messerschmitt. It had its first flight on August, 12th 1955 in Sevilla.50 years later I have been invited to…Read More
The DG Flugzeugbau DG-800S is a high performance single-seat glider with an impressive wingspan of 18m and a maximum glide ratio of 51,5 with winglets installed. As for comparable gliders it becomes obvious from a…Read More
The big news on the German Warbird scene in 2009 was the arrival on one of the rare airworthy Polikarpov I-16 "Ishak". It reflects the pleasant trend to operate an ever growing number of historic…Read More
10.000ft above Belgium the howling sound of the Lockheed Martin’s F-16AM Fighting Falcon F100 jet engine could clearly be heard. No wonder, as the Demo Pilot for the Belgian Air Force, Sr. Cpt Darte, callsign…Read More
