The iconic Learjet is one of the most well-known and best-selling business aircraft in history. Bill Lear's design was inspired by the Swiss FAA P-16 combat aircraft of 1955. Proposed by...

During WWI, artillery spotting was of prime importance. Both sides used tethered observation balloons. Stopping your opponent's ability to chart your positions was one of the most dangerous jobs for...

The Hunting Jet Provost series was designed to replace the 550 hp Alvis Leonides radial engine Provost basic trainer for the RAF. The BAC 167 Strikemaster evolved from the Jet Provost as a light...

Although it has appeared under multiple company names, the Kitfox can claim over 7000 kits sold in over 40 countries. Capable of flying off wheels, skis, or floats, the Kitfox's wings can be folded...

Developed by Aerospatiale as a replacement for the 1950's vintage Alouette II, the Ecureuil was designed for civilian and military use. First flying on 27 June 1974 with a Lycoming LTS turboshaft...

The Curtiss Hawk series of fighters began with the Army's PW-8 (PW = Pursuit Water-Cooled) in 1924, and evolved from the P-1 to the P-6. The Navy followed with land and carrier-based models called...

The non-rigid airship, or blimp, came into its own during World War I with the Royal Naval Air Service use of Sea Scout, Sea Scout Zero, North Sea, and Coastal non-rigid airships for convoy escort,...

During WW II, the Red Air Force realized the importance of having dual-control fighter trainers. Thus, production versions of the Polikarpov I-16UTI, Lavochkin La-5UTI and La-7UTI, and the Yakovlev...

Military aviation began before WWI with an emphasis on observation of the enemy. A large number of "two-seaters" emerged during the Great War to be the eyes of the army. Post war, the United States...

The de Havilland company got into the jet business with the Goblin powered Vampire. Initially called the Spider Crab, the prototype first flew on 20 September 1943. Too late for service in WWII,...

Glenn Luther Martin (1886-1955) taught himself to fly in 1909 in a homebuilt pusher. He set up his first aircraft manufacturing plant in 1911 at Santa Ana, California. Not only did he build...

The Liberty powered HS-1L and HS-2L series was the only American designed and built aircraft issued to U.S. forces in France during World War I. Beginning in May 1918, HS-1L and HS-2L flying boats...

The concept of mating an airplane with an airship was trialed as early as World War I. On 26 January 1918, an Albatros D. III was released from Zeppelin L-35 (LZ-80). The pilot flew the fighter to a...

This month's mystery, the Aeronca Model LB, was literally washed away. Founded on 11 November 1928, the Aeronautical Corporation of America, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, was the first company to...

James S. McDonnell (1899-1980) qualified as an Army pilot at Brooks Field. With a master's degree from MIT, he worked for Ford, Martin, and Hamilton, before forming McDonnell Aircraft Corporation in...

In August 1989, I attended the Abbotsford Airshow in British Columbia. It was my introduction to the use of the Grumman Tracker as a firebomber. Three Conair Trackers, each with a different color...

Between the World Wars, Wichita was the center of aviation in the United States. In January 1925, Clyde Cessna, Lloyd Stearman, Walter Beech, and Olive Ann Mellor (later Mrs. Olive Ann Beech), along w...

Pfalz Flugzeug-Werke was established in October 1913 to license build Morane-Saulnier monoplanes. From these, it evolved its own series of Eindeckers fitted with synchronized machine guns. Further...

The Army Air Force needed dedicated transports, rather than adaptations of civilian airliners, to support airborne operations. These aircraft would have to carry large, sometimes bulky loads and be...

Military interest in the autogiro centered on their use for surveillance and liaison. Only the Japanese succeeded in putting autogiros into service, and these, the Kayaba Ka-1, were for...

In 1918, Kawasaki heavy industries established an aircraft and engine division. Between the wars, it produced license versions of the French Salmson 2A2 recon biplane and the Dornier Wal flying boat....

First flying on 26 August 1944 as the XBTM-1, the Mauler was one of four single-seat bomber/torpedo planes ordered for testing by the Navy in 1943. The Curtiss XBTC-2 and the Kaiser-Fleetwings XBTK-1...

The Panavia consortium, formed in March 1969, was charged with the development of the Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) for Britain, Germany, and Italy. From this program came the variable geometry...

The Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corporation of Ithaca, NY, built a series of single-seat advanced fighter trainers for the Signal Corps/Air Service beginning in 1917. The S-4B, with the unreliable 100 hp...

The C-27J is based on the Fiat G. 222 that first flew on 18 July 1970, and was delivered to Argentina, Italy, Libya, Nigeria, and Thailand. This Lockheed Martin/Alenia development with uprated...