How Many Aircraft Are There in the World?

How Many Aircraft Are There in the World?

Mundo de la aviación

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

Mundo de la aviación

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

Mundo de la aviación

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...
Why Runways Change Their Numbers

Why Runways Change Their Numbers

Mundo de la aviación

In 2009, Fairbanks International Airport in Alaska closed a runway, sent out crews, and repainted the enormous white numbers at both ends. Runway 1L–19R became runway 2L–20R.Nothing had been built. Nothing had moved. The concrete was in exactly the same...
The Hole in Your Aircraft Window

The Hole in Your Aircraft Window

Mundo de la aviación

Next time you get a window seat, look at the bottom of the window. There is a hole in it. A real one, drilled straight through, about the size of a pinhead.Most people who notice it assume one of two things: that it is damage, or that it is there to let air in. Both...