Afterburner - The Aviation Magazine

8 October 2026

AVIATION HISTORY FRIDAY

Clément Ader and the first powered flight of an aeroplane

On 9 October 1890, French aviation pioneer Clément Ader made the first manned flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft in history. Although the flight was uncontrolled and only reached a height of around 20 centimetres, this event marked an important [...]
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Macron’s vision for European space autonomy — how close is it to reality?

At this year’s International Space Summit in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron presented an ambitious vision for Europe’s future in space. As we reported in one of our previous articles, within two years, he wants to see the European Nyx [...]
PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Mil Mi-6PZh2

Mil Mi-6PZh2 / Ми-6ПЖ2 (c/n 9683901V, formerly “41” of the Soviet Air Force / Военно-воздушные силы СССР), exhibited at the Central Air Force Museum (Центральный музей Военно-воздушных сил РФ) in Monino, July 2017. In the early 1950s, OKB-329 (commonly known [...]
MILITARY AVIATION

PÉGASE 26 – French Rafales train with US, Japanese and South Korean fighters

In September 2026, the PÉGASE 26 deployment by the French Air and Space Force entered another important phase, with French crews operating alongside their American, Japanese and South Korean counterparts. Following the crossing of the North Atlantic and the Arctic, [...]
AVIATION HISTORY

2 October 1918 – maiden flight of the Kettering Aerial Torpedo

On 2 October 1918, the experimental unmanned aircraft, officially designated the Kettering Aerial Torpedo (aka the Kettering Bug), performed its maiden flight. Development of this aircraft, at that time known as an aerial torpedo and being a forerunner of the [...]

Macron’s vision for European space autonomy — how close is it to reality?

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7 October 2026

At this year’s International Space Summit in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron presented an ambitious vision for Europe’s future in space. As we reported in one of our previous articles, within two years, he wants [...]

Europe sets out new ambitions for human spaceflight and lunar exploration

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23 September 2026

On 9 and 10 September 2026, the International Space Summit took place in Paris, bringing together world leaders, government ministers, representatives of the space industry and astronauts to discuss the future of global space activities. [...]

DREAMERS AND DOERS