Afterburner - The Aviation Magazine

29 May 2026

AVIATION HISTORY

29 May 1951 – in a P-51 Mustang over the North Pole

On 29 May 1951, Charles F. Blair Jr. flew over the North Pole in a P-51C Mustang fighter aircraft. He bought the P-51C Mustang in 1950 and named it “Excalibur III”. The aircraft had already been modified for long-distance air [...]
MILITARY AVIATION

First-ever deployment of NISRF RQ-4D Phoenix UAV to Norway

According to the recent update from the NATO Allied Air Command (AIRCOM), the NATO Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Force (NISRF) reached an important milestone on 21 May 2026 with the arrival of the RQ-4D Phoenix unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at [...]
PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Boeing 757-200

Boeing 757-200 (c/n 29309-936, G-ZAPX of Titan Airways), taxiing at Franz Josef Strauss Airport, Munich Airport, October 2018. In the mid-1970s, Boeing began working on a successor to the company’s best-selling narrow-body airliner, the 727. Initially, development followed two paths: [...]
MILITARY AVIATION

T-7A Red Hawk advances towards operational service

On 15 May 2026, the US Air Force (USAF) announced that the Boeing T-7A Red Hawk programme had successfully reached Milestone C, allowing the aircraft to enter the low-rate initial production phase. The decision marks another important step towards replacing [...]
AVIATION HISTORY

22 May 1946 – first flight of DHC-1 Chipmunk

On 22 May 1946, prototype of the DHC-1 Chipmunk training aircraft successfully performed its maiden flight. The DHC-1 Chipmunk was the first post-war aircraft designed by de Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. Developed shortly after the Second World War, it [...]

From active duty to history – a short review of military aircraft retirements in 2025

FEATURED

14 January 2026

The year 2025 marked aviation history with several notable farewells to iconic military aircraft. These included both well-known workhorses from the Cold War era and relatively newer designs that proved ineffective in the modern combat [...]

First ever wingsuit foil soaring flight with altitude gain

DREAMERS AND DOERS

26 November 2025

In its press release published on 19 November 2025, the Red Bull company announced that Austrian wingsuit pioneer Peter Salzmann had once again pushed the boundaries of what is possible in human flight. This time, [...]

FEATURED