On the afternoon of August 9, 1896, Otto Lilienthal took off from a hillside near Stölln, Germany, in his standard monoplane glider — the same machine he had flown hundreds of times before. A sudden gust caught him wrong. The glider stalled. He fell from about 15...
Share this story Quick Facts Pilot Sub-Lieutenant Ian “Soapy” Watson, Royal Navy Aircraft British Aerospace Sea Harrier FRS.1 (serial ZA176) Date June 1, 1983 Ship MV Alraigo — a Spanish container vessel Location Atlantic Ocean, approximately 50 miles...
Share this story Quick Facts Operation Black Buck 1 (first of seven missions, April 30 – May 1, 1982) Aircraft Avro Vulcan B.2 (XM607, 101 Squadron RAF) Crew Captain Flight Lieutenant Martin Withers Distance ~8,000 miles round trip (Ascension Island to Port Stanley...
Share this story Quick Facts Aircraft Mikoyan MiG-29 (NATO: Fulcrum) First Flight October 6, 1977 Operators 30+ nations across four continents — one of the most widely exported fighters in history Role Air superiority fighter with secondary ground attack capability...
Share this story In 1799, a 26-year-old Yorkshire baronet engraved a small silver disc with two drawings — one on each side. On one face: a diagram of the forces acting on a wing in flight, showing lift, drag, and thrust as separate vectors. On the other: a sketch of...
Share this story Quick FactsPilot1st Lt. Gail Seymour Halvorsen, USAF (later Colonel)Nickname”Onkel Wackelflügel” (Uncle Wiggly Wings) — for wiggling his wings before each candy dropOperationOperation Little Vittles (September 1948 – May 1949)Candy...
Share this story Quick FactsOfficial NameUnited States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor (SFTI) programFoundedMarch 3, 1969, NAS Miramar, CaliforniaFounderLt. Cdr. Dan “Yank” Pedersen — the “Godfather of TOPGUN”Why It Was CreatedThe Ault Report revealed Navy kill...
Share this story Quick FactsConcorde’s SpeedMach 2.04 (2,180 km/h) — London to New York in 3.5 hoursConcorde Service1976–2003 (27 years, British Airways and Air France)Modern Cruise SpeedMach 0.78–0.85 — slower than the Boeing 707 cruised in 1958Why We Slowed...
Share this story Quick FactsFirst Claimed Jet-vs-Jet KillNovember 8, 1950 — 1st Lt. Russell J. Brown (F-80C) vs. MiG-15 (disputed by Soviet records)First Confirmed KillNovember 9, 1950 — Lt. Cdr. William T. Amen (F9F Panther) vs. Captain Mikhail Grachev...
Share this story Quick FactsAircraftMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 Foxbat — high-altitude interceptorMaximum SpeedMach 2.83 (operational limit); Mach 3.2 observedAltitude Record37,650 m (123,524 ft) — still stands as the FAI absolute record for jet aircraftConstruction80%...
Recent Comments