Latest from Key.Aero
Explore the latest news and features by our world-class aviation journalists. Stay up to date on the latest military aviation developments, commercial airline news, historic restoration projects, flight simulation releases and much more.
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Historic
What made the Spitfire better than the Bf-109?
With nearly half its weight coming from the Merlin engine, the Spitfire’s light body gave it speed and manoeuvrability – two qualities that helped it defeat its Messerschmitt rival.
Remembering ‘The Few’
FlyPast reports from Aero Legends’ weather-stricken Battle of Britain Airshow...
B-25 OLD GLORY: Pacific Odyssey
As Laura DiRado explains, while most of this year’s end of World War Two anniversary events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic...
HANDLEY PAGE HP.42: 'Built-in Headwind'
Ken Ellis explains why the Handley Page HP.42 was the Concorde of its day...
Military
Royal Norwegian Air Force and the F-16: the complete story
The Royal Norwegian Air Force has bade farewell to the Lockheed Martin F-16 after more than 40 years of pivotal service defending the Scandinavian country and serving NATO’s air-policing system. Paulo Mata reports
Reinforcing Europe: How the USAF has helped bolster NATO's eastern flank
Babak Taghvaee details how USAF fighters, tankers and intelligence-gathering aircraft have been used to bolster NATO’s eastern flank in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Romania suspends all MiG-21 LanceR flight operations
The Romanian Air Force has suspended all flight activities with its ageing Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Lancer B/C fleet to improve aviation safety and prevent further attrition events involving the Soviet-era fighter
Commercial
O’Leary Fury at ‘State-Aided Junkies’
European low-cost carrier, Ryanair has said that it will use the COVID-19 crisis as a vehicle to reduce its cost base in a bid to emerge from the pandemic stronger. Michael O’Leary, the airline’s CEO told an investor conference call, attended by Airliner World, that it now had to compete with “state-aided junkies” such as Alitalia and Lufthansa which he said will be engaged in below cost selling once flying resumes.
Delta Accelerates Fleet Retirements
In an effort to reduce cash burn amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Delta Air Lines has revealed that it will retire all its Boeing 777s from its fleet by the end of 2020. Bosses at the firm have described the move as “strategic” saying they are making “cost-effective” changes to respond to the impact of the pandemic.
Boom Supersonic Mounts Wings to XB-1 Demonstrator
Denver-based start-up Boom Supersonic has successfully mounted the wings to the fuselage of its XB-1 demonstrator aircraft. The process is the next step in the company’s journey to develop a scale version of its production supersonic passenger airliner Overture.
Schiphol Trials ‘TaxiBot’ Semi-Robotic Taxiing System
One of Europe’s busiest airports has used the slowdown in traffic caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to test out a new way of getting aircraft from the gate to the runway. TaxiBot, which has been developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), is a pilot-controlled tow vehicle that allows the aircraft’s engines to remain turned off during the taxi, consequently producing fuel savings.
Azul Announces Embraer E2 Deferral
Brazilian carrier Azul Airlines has reached an agreement with Embraer to defer the delivery of 59 E195-E2s until at least 2024. Deliveries of the next generation narrowbodies were expected to start this year and continue through to 2023.
Flight Simulation
Mariana Islands Map for DCS Incoming
Eagle Dynamics (ED) has announced a second, free map for DCS World, the Mariana Islands.
X-Plane Touches Down in Honolulu
The latest destination to be released over at x-plane.org is PHNL - Honolulu International Airport.
Karachi for Prepar3D
MSK Productions has announced Jinnah Intl Airport Karachi is now available for Prepar3D version 4.
