Share this story He never built it. The notebooks where he sketched it weren’t even published until 1797 — nearly three centuries after his death. But the flying machines Leonardo da Vinci drew in the late 1400s show a mind that grasped the fundamental problem...
Share this story Quick Facts The WWII Pass Multiple Allied pilots flew under the Eiffel Tower during the Liberation of Paris (August 1944) Most Famous WWII Pilot William Overstreet Jr., P-51C Mustang “Berlin Express,” chasing a Bf 109 (1944) The 1991 Pass Serge...
Share this story Quick Facts Aircraft Supermarine Type 300 (prototype K5054) First Flight March 5, 1936, Eastleigh Aerodrome (now Southampton Airport) Test Pilot Captain Joseph “Mutt” Summers Designer R.J. Mitchell, Supermarine Aviation Works Engine Rolls-Royce Merlin...
Share this story Quick Facts Aircraft Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird (tail number 61-7972) Record Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. in 64 minutes 20 seconds Date March 6, 1990 (final operational flight) Distance 2,299 miles (3,701 km) Average Speed 2,145 mph (Mach 3.2+) Crew...
Share this story Quick Facts Unit 588th Night Bomber Regiment, Soviet Air Forces Nickname Nachthexen (“Night Witches”) — given by terrified German soldiers Aircraft Polikarpov Po-2 biplane (1920s design, wood and canvas) Personnel All-female — pilots, navigators,...
Share this story Quick FactsFilmTop Gun (Paramount Pictures, 1986)DirectorTony ScottLead ActorTom Cruise as Lt. Pete “Maverick” MitchellAircraft FeaturedF-14A Tomcat (US Navy), MiG-28 (played by F-5E Tiger II)Box Officeabout $357 million worldwide in its...
Share this story Quick FactsPilotCaptain Charles “Chuck” Yeager, United States Air ForceDateOctober 14, 1947AircraftBell X-1 (serial 46-062), nicknamed “Glamorous Glennis”Speed AchievedMach 1.06 (700 mph / 1,127 km/h) at 43,000 feetLaunch...
Share this story Quick FactsAircraftAérospatiale/BAC ConcordeManufacturersAérospatiale (France) and British Aircraft Corporation (UK)First FlightMarch 2, 1969Service EntryJanuary 21, 1976 (Air France and British Airways)RetiredNovember 26, 2003SpeedMach 2.04 (2,180...
Share this story Quick FactsUnit1st American Volunteer Group (AVG) — “The Flying Tigers”CommanderClaire Lee Chennault, retired US Army Air Corps officerActiveDecember 20, 1941 – July 4, 1942 (less than seven months)AircraftCurtiss P-40B/C Warhawk (Tomahawk...
Share this story Quick FactsAircraftFocke-Wulf Fw 190A-8/N (Flugwerk reproduction, serial 1134)OwnerMSÖ Air & Space Museum, Türkiye (founder Ali İsmet Öztürk)EngineShvetsov ASh-82 radial — overhauled and runningMarkingsTurkish Air Force “Kare-Fors”...
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