Afterburner - The Aviation Magazine

4 April 2025

AVIATION HISTORY

4 April 1984 – death of Oleg Antonov

On 4th April 1984, the well-known Soviet aircraft designer, Oleg Konstantinovich Antonov (Олег Константинович Антонов) died in Kiev (in now Ukraine), at the age of 78. Antonov, born in 1906 in Troitsa village, the Moscow region of Russia, was the [...]
MILITARY AVIATION

Fifty years of Red Flag – one of the most well-known military aviation exercises

The Red Flag is an advanced aerial combat training held by the United States Air Force (USAF). Since its debut on 29th November 1975, the exercise has brought together many aircrews from the USAF, the US Navy, the US Marine [...]
PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Aerotechnik L-13SW Vivat

Aerotechnik L-13SW Vivat (c/n 890307, OK-7107, formerly OK-9100), exhibited on static display during this year´s first edition of Letiště Točná (Točná Airport) open day, Prague, March 2025. The L-13 Vivat motor glider is a derivative of the world-known Czechoslovak two-seat [...]
MILITARY AVIATION

Five more MH-47G Block II Chinooks for the US Army Special Operations Aviation Command

Last week, Boeing announced the US Army Special Operations Aviation Command (USASOAC) awarded the company a contract worth 240 million USD to remanufacture five MH-47G Block II Chinook rotorcraft. The deliveries were set to begin in 2027. The MH-47 helicopter [...]
AVIATION HISTORY

28 March 1910 – maiden flight of Fabre Hydravion

On 28th March 1910, an experimental floatplane developed by Henri Fabre, performed its first flight marking the aviation history with the first successful take-off of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft from water. The first floatplane in aviation history, known as Fabre [...]

Pioneer years of the Finnish aviation – tragic flight across the Alps

AVIATION HISTORY

13 January 2025

On 7th September 1920, on their way from Italy to Finland, two crews of the Finnish Air Force made an attempt to fly across the Alps in Savoia S.9 flying boats. Regrettably, they never reached [...]

Austrian wingsuit pilot pushed boundaries of human flight by breaking three new world records

DREAMERS AND DOERS

6 November 2024

Peter Salzmann is the world-class wingsuit pilot, known for his daring flights and pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved in human flight. On 29th October 2024, he did it once again, by making [...]

CIVIL AVIATION