The Best Fighter Nobody Would Buy

The Best Fighter Nobody Would Buy

Share this story It could out-climb an F-16, scramble from cold to airborne in under half a minute, and fire a radar missile years before its rival could. It was cheap to run, brilliant to fly, and paid for entirely out of one company’s own pocket. And it sold exactly...
The Air Race That Built the Spitfire

The Air Race That Built the Spitfire

Share this story Before the Spitfire, before the Battle of Britain, there was a series of air races over water — gaudy, dangerous, and watched by hundreds of thousands. The Schneider Trophy looked like pure spectacle. In fact, it was quietly forging the engine...
The 1949 Jet Bomber Still Flying Today

The 1949 Jet Bomber Still Flying Today

Share this story In May 1949, a test pilot was reminded that the day chosen for his aircraft’s maiden flight — the 13th — fell on a Friday, and that no one would blame him for waiting. He was unmoved. The aeroplane he flew that day went on to serve...
The British Jet That Flew Faster Than the Sun

The British Jet That Flew Faster Than the Sun

Share this story On 10 March 1956, a slender British delta streaked down a measured course over the English south coast and did something no aircraft had ever done: it flew faster than 1,000 miles per hour in level flight. When the timekeepers finished their sums, the...
Starlux’s Flying Sculpture Lands in America

Starlux’s Flying Sculpture Lands in America

Share this story Most airlines paint their jets. Taiwan’s STARLUX hired one of the world’s most famous artists to turn an Airbus A350-1000 into a mirror-finished flying sculpture — and on 15 July, it flew the thing across the Pacific to Phoenix.Flight JX026...
Riyadh Air Cleared for Beijing and Shanghai

Riyadh Air Cleared for Beijing and Shanghai

Share this story Two and a half weeks after it flew its very first paying passengers, Saudi Arabia’s brand-new airline has been handed the keys to the world’s second-biggest aviation market. Riyadh Air is going to China.The Civil Aviation Administration of China has...
The Catalina Flying Boat Rises Again

The Catalina Flying Boat Rises Again

Share this story Eighty years ago, a fat-bellied flying boat called the PBY Catalina rescued downed airmen, sank submarines and crossed oceans on missions that lasted a full day and night. Its type certificate has quietly survived ever since. Now someone wants to...