Afterburner - The Aviation Magazine

14th October 2021

AVIATION HISTORY FRIDAY

15 October 1933 – the first run of Rolls-Royce Merlin engine

On 15th October 1933, a liquid-cooled, V-12 piston engine designated as PV-12, had run for the very first time. It went into series production approximately three years later and became internationally famed as the Rolls-Royce Merlin. A programme focused on [...]
MILITARY AVIATION

Sixth edition of BARS live-fly exercise

On 11th October 2021, the sixth edition of joint Serbian-Russian tactical exercise ´BARS 2021´ was officially commenced. The training is being organized on the territory of the Republic of Serbia and will last until 16th October. The joint live-fly exercise, [...]
PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Cessna T-37 Tweet

Cessna T-37B-CE Tweet (c/n 40978, formerly 66-8002 USAF), exhibited in Luftfahrtmuseum Wernigerode, Germany; June 2018. From its creation in December of 1947, the independent US Air Force struggled with significantly downsized training structures. All primary and basic pilot training activities [...]
SPACE

The race for ´space movie´

On Tuesday, 5th October 2021, at 08:55:02 UTC, ´Soyuz-2.1a´ carrier rocket launched successfully with ´Soyuz MS-19´ spacecraft. Its crew consisted of three people – cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov (´Soyuz MS-19´ crewed spacecraft commander and ISS-66 mission commander, Roscosmos), spaceflight participant Klim [...]
AVIATION HISTORY FRIDAY

8 October 1939 – the first air victory in the World War II, claimed by an aircraft operating from British homeland

On 8th October 1939, a Lockheed Hudson reconnaissance aircraft, patrolling the area near Jutland, shot down a Dornier Do 18 flying boat. It was the first air victory in the World War II achieved by an aeroplane operating from an [...]

´Mumbling bee´ – the story of C-160 Transall airlifter

FEATURED

25th August 2021

Almost sixty years ago, Transall C-160 transport aircraft took-off for its maiden flight. Officially introduced in 1967, the Franco-German airlifter is currently approaching the end its active duty. And that creates a good opportunity to [...]

45 years of Boeing E-3 Sentry – a brief history of AWACS

FEATURED

31st May 2021

25th May 2021 marked exactly 45 years since the first flight of Boeing E-3 Sentry. And that makes a perfect occasion to tell the story of this iconic ‘guardian of the skies’. Origins of the [...]

FEATURED