SHORT AVIATION STORIES
Christopher Draper
Christopher Draper was a British flying ace of the First World War and a stunt pilot. Born in 1892, he became famous for his incredible flights under the bridges of the River Thames and for […]
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MILITARY AVIATION
Flight of the storks – CIGONEX 2025
On 23rd April 2025, Armée de l’air et de l’espace (the French Air and Space Force) held a live-fly training, codenamed CIGONEX. It was the first joint exercise of the French ´Cigognes´ (English: storks) squadrons, […]
AVIATION HISTORY
25 April 1945 – Graf Zeppelin aircraft carrier is captured by the Red Army
On 25th April 1945, the only German aircraft carrier ´Graf Zeppelin´ was captured by the Red Army in Stettin (now Szczecin, in Poland). However, shortly before she was significantly damaged by the Germans themselves who […]
SHORT AVIATION STORIES
Transatlantic flights
The idea of crossing the Atlantic by air dates back to the era of ballooning. In the late 1850s, John Wise attempted to build a balloon capable of such a journey, but his project ended […]
MILITARY AVIATION
FARP at the Marine training course
In the middle of April 2025, the US Marine Corps helicopter crews took part in the Forward Arming and Refuelling Point (FARP) training, within the Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) course 2-25 organised by the […]
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Dassault Mirage IIIDS
Dassault Mirage IIIDS (c/n MD 470, HB-RDF, formerly ´J-2012´ of the Swiss Air Force), static display at the 75th Anniversary of Meiringen airfield, Meiringen, June 2016. In the early 1950s, the French Ministry of Defence […]
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20th anniversary of Gripen service with the Czech Air Force
Twenty years ago, on 18th April 2005, the first Swedish-made supersonic jet fighters arrived to 21. základna taktického letectva (the 21st Tactical Air Force Base) in Čáslav, therefore opening the Gripen era in the Czech […]
AVIATION HISTORY
18 April 1952 – first flight of Convair YB-60
On 18th April 1952, prototype of Convair YB-60 long-range heavy bomber, successfully performed its maiden flight. The story of YB-60 starts already in the early 1940s, when the US military authorities issued the first requirement […]
SHORT AVIATION STORIES
The Saab company
“Our country should manufacture its own weapons as much as possible. We have good shipyards and armouries, but no domestic production of warplanes”, it was these words, spoken by Per Albin Hansson in 1936, that […]
MILITARY AVIATION
Salaknib 2025 – developing MEDEVAC skills on the Philippines
Between 24th March and 11th April, at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, Philippines, the Philippine Army (PA) and the United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) conducted a joint training called ‘Salaknib’. It was part of ‘Salaknib and […]