History & Legends, Military Aviation
Quick Facts Date March 27, 1999 Aircraft Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk (serial 82-0806, callsign “Vega 31”) Pilot Lt. Col. Dale Zelko, USAF Weapon Isayev S-125 Neva/Pechora (NATO: SA-3 Goa) surface-to-air missile Fired By 3rd Battery, 250th Air Defence Missile Brigade,...
History & Legends, Military Aviation
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 Lt. Col. Ed...
History & Legends, Military Aviation
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, mechanics, commanders...
History & Legends, Military Aviation
Quick FactsNationalityGerman 🇩🇪Aerial Victories80 (official record, WWI)Aircraft FlownAlbatros D.I–D.III, Fokker Dr.I TriplaneWarsWorld War IBorn / Died2 May 1892 – 21 Apr 1918 (age 25)UnitJagdgeschwader 1 (Richthofen Circus) Manfred von Richthofen (the Red Baron)...
History & Legends, Military Aviation
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 Office$356 million worldwide (1986 dollars)Navy Recruitment...
History & Legends, Military Aviation
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 MethodAir-dropped from...
Aviation World, History & Legends
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 km/h / 1,354...
History & Legends, Military Aviation
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 IIB)Pilots~100...
Aviation World, History & Legends
In the year 875 AD, a 70-year-old man climbed to the top of a mountain near Córdoba, strapped a pair of wings to his body, and jumped. He was not a madman. He was one of the most brilliant minds in the world. Abbas ibn Firnas was an Andalusian polymath — a musician,...
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