The Go-Around: Aviation’s Most Dangerous Safe Decision
Quick Facts What It IsAborting an approach and climbing away instead of landing When It’s RequiredUnstable approach, runway not in sight at minimums, traffic on runway, wind shear, ATC instruction Accident Factor~83% of approach-and-landing accidents involve a...
Pentagon Orders 85 F-35s and a $6.6 Billion Engine Deal
Quick Facts AircraftLockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II 2027 Budget Request85 F-35s total — 38 for the Air Force, remainder for Navy, Marines, and allies Engine Contract$6.6 billion for Pratt & Whitney F135 engines (Lots 18 and 19) Contract Breakdown$3.8 billion...
B-52s Now Dropping JDAMs Directly Over Iran
Quick Facts AircraftBoeing B-52H Stratofortress Deployment BaseRAF Fairford, England (8 B-52s and 15 B-1s forward-deployed) Primary WeaponGBU-31 JDAM (2,000-lb GPS-guided bomb, ~$80,000 each) Payload CapacityUp to 20 x 2,000-lb JDAMs or 30 x 1,000-lb JDAMs per sortie...
CIA Deception Saved the Downed F-15E Weapons Officer
Related: F-15E Down Over Iran — Crew Fate Unknown Quick Facts EventRescue of F-15E Weapons Systems Officer (WSO) shot down over Iran DateApril 5, 2026 — approximately 36 hours after shootdown on April 3 Aircraft LostF-15E Strike Eagle (494th Fighter Squadron, 48th...
Albert Ball: The Boy Hero Who Hated Killing — And Couldn’t Stop
Quick FactsNationalityBritish 🇬🇧Aerial Victories44Aircraft FlownNieuport 17, SE.5, Bristol ScoutWarsWorld War IBorn / Died14 Aug 1896 – 7 May 1917 (age 20)UnitNo. 11 Sqn RFC, No. 56 Sqn RFC St. Louis Post-Dispatch of St. Louis, Missouri on August 2, 1943 — via...
Supercruise: The F-22 Outruns Everything Without Afterburner
Quick Facts: SupercruiseDefinitionSustained supersonic flight without afterburnerFirst Operational FighterF-22 Raptor (2005)Supercruise SpeedMach 1.5+ (approx. 1,000 mph / 1,600 km/h)Engine2x Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100Thrust (each, dry)~26,000 lb (est.)Fuel...
Flight 961: The Hijacking That Ended in the Ocean
Quick Facts FlightEthiopian Airlines Flight 961 DateNovember 23, 1996 AircraftBoeing 767-260ER (ET-AIZ) RouteAddis Ababa to Nairobi (diverted by hijackers) CaptainLeul Abate (Ethiopian Airlines) Passengers/Crew175 total (163 passengers, 12 crew) Survivors50 of 175...
The Ejection Seat: 12,000 Lives Saved by Controlled Violence
Quick Facts InventionThe rocket-powered ejection seat Lives SavedOver 12,000 worldwide (all manufacturers combined) First Use (Combat)January 1945 — Luftwaffe pilot in a Heinkel He 162 Leading ManufacturerMartin-Baker (UK) — 7,700+ lives saved, seats in 93 air forces...
World’s Only Airworthy Yak-7B Takes Flight at Wanaka
Quick Facts AircraftYakovlev Yak-7B (Flugwerk reproduction, ZK-YKB) StatusOnly airworthy Yak-7B in the world First FlightMarch 26, 2026 — Omaka Aerodrome, Blenheim, NZ OwnerMike O’Rourke (New Zealand) Restored ByJEM Aviation, Blenheim (Jay McIntyre)...
How to Read the Sky Like a Pilot
Quick Facts Cloud FamiliesHigh (cirrus), Middle (alto), Low (stratus), Vertical development (cumulus/cumulonimbus) Key Warning SignsAnvil-shaped cumulonimbus (thunderstorms), lenticular clouds (mountain wave turbulence), rapidly building cumulus (convection) Wind...
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