How Many Aircraft Are There in the World?

How Many Aircraft Are There in the World?

Ask most people to picture “the world’s aircraft” and they imagine airliners — rows of jets at a busy airport. Yet airliners are a tiny slice of the real total. Add up everything with wings and an engine, from a two-seat trainer at a grass strip to a...
The Friendly Jet Trainer That Went to War

The Friendly Jet Trainer That Went to War

Most fast jets seat their crew one behind the other, the passenger staring at the back of the pilot’s helmet. The BAC Jet Provost and its armed cousin, the BAC Strikemaster, do it differently. In these aircraft you sit shoulder to shoulder with the pilot, close...
Why Almost Every Airliner Is White

Why Almost Every Airliner Is White

Stand at any airport window and count the aircraft. Almost all of them are white, with a tail and a bit of branding to tell them apart. Airlines spend fortunes on brand identity, and then paint their single most visible asset the same colour as everybody...