Afterburner - The Aviation Magazine

1 November 2025

AVIATION HISTORY

31 October 1974 – maiden flight of the IAR-93 Vultur / J-22 Orao

On 31 October 1974, the first flights of prototypes of a new ground-attack aircraft – jointly developed by Romania and Yugoslavia – took place in both respective countries. The Romanian- and Yugoslav-built prototypes both flew for the first time on [...]
AIR SHOW REPORTS

The spirit of flight returns to Pardubice – Aviatická pouť 2025

The 2025 edition of Aviatická pouť (Aviation Fair), held on 7 and 8 June 2025 at Pardubice airfield, was one of the most interesting aviation events of the season in the Czech Republic. The country’s largest civilian air show was [...]
PHOTO OF THE WEEK

American Champion 8KCAB Super Decathlon

American Champion 8KCAB Super Decathlon (c/n 1057-2007, OK-ACR), exhibited at the Letecký den Cheb 2024 air show, Cheb, August 2024. The 8KCAB Decathlon belongs to the family of popular light utility aeroplanes initially developed by the Aeronca Company (contracted from [...]
MILITARY AVIATION

Nine more CH-47 Block II Chinooks for the US Army

Last week, Boeing announced that it had been awarded two new contracts for CH-47F Block II Chinook helicopters for the United States Army. The Lot 4 and Lot 5 awards are valued at 461 million USD and include nine examples [...]
AVIATION HISTORY

24 October 1919 – Frank Piasecki is born

On 24 October 1919, Frank Nicholas Piasecki, an American engineer and pioneer of rotorcraft aviation, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Piasecki, the son of Polish immigrants, began his engineering career at a young age. During his high school years, he [...]

Austrian wingsuit pilot sets the new world speed record

DREAMERS AND DOERS

17 September 2025

It was in early November 2024 that we first wrote about wingsuit flyer Peter Salzmann and his feat of breaking three world records in a single flight. Now, almost a year later, the Austrian skydiver [...]

RWD-8 – the most-produced pre-war Polish aircraft

AVIATION HISTORY

19 August 2025

Among Polish interwar aircraft, those designed by Stanisław Rogalski, Stanisław Wigura, and Jerzy Drzewiecki — designated RWD, the name coming from the initials of their surnames — hold a special place in aviation history. Notable [...]

AVIATION HISTORY