Aeroplane Archive
The Key.Aero team have delved for treasure in the archive of Aeroplane Magazine dating back to 1911. Aviation history brought to life by the editors of the period.
Lufthansa’s Boeing 727 debut
The Boeing 727 proved to be a very successful design, with it being operated by many carriers around the world. The first in Europe to do so was Lufthansa, as detailed in the April 23, 1964 issue of ‘The Aeroplane and Commercial Aviation News’
Cross Channel Car Ferries of the Air
For a few decades it was possible to cross the English Channel by booking onto an aircraft which could carry a car and its occupants. The development of this service was covered in the history of British United Air Ferries, which was featured in a supplement on Air Holdings (that owned a number of carriers) in the January 21, 1965 issue of ‘The Aeroplane and Commercial Aviation News’
Low-cost long-haul 1950s style
Read about a new type of service Pan Am was offering with its DC-6Bs, as described in the May 9, 1952 issue of ‘The Aeroplane’
BEA Elizabethan ‘Silver Wing’ Luxury Service
‘The Aeroplane’ was invited to sample ‘Silver Wing’, a new BEA luxury service to Paris, and in its May 9, 1952 issue gave its impressions as well as that of the Elizabethan aircraft utilised
HFB 320: The bizarre bizjet with backward wings
The Hansa Jet had an unusual design with forward-swept wings, which gave a number of benefits including a more spacious cabin due to the wing spar being further back. The April 8, 1965 issue of ‘The Aeroplane and Commercial Aviation News’ covered the bizjet’s first visit to the UK
S-64 Skycrane Flying Lounge Trials
In its May 31, 1967 issue ‘Aeroplane’ detailed trials of a novel intermodal concept for how to travel to an airport with a lounge being attached to a helicopter
Fokker F-28 roll-out
After the success of the Friendship the Fellowship had a hard act to follow. In the April 19, 1967 issue ‘Aeroplane’ detailed the plans for certifying the aircraft
Viscounts for sale
The Vickers Viscount was the world's first turboprop airliner which first flew on July 16, 1948 and achieved significant success. Here are a selection of artistic adverts that appeared in 'The Aeroplane'
Early days of the ’125 bizjet
In addition to de Havilland, the 125 would go on to be built by Hawker Siddeley, British Aerospace, Raytheon and Hawker Beechcraft in a number of different variants with around 1,700 examples produced. This article, which appeared in the March 21, 1963 issue of ‘The Aeroplane and Commercial Aviation News’ provides a glimpse into the certification of the Bristol Siddeley Viper 20 engine. The aircraft featured in this article, G-ARYC, survives as an exhibit at the de Havilland Aircraft Museum in Hertfordshire
Pan Am’s groundbreaking Boeing 707 freighter services
Pan Am was a pioneering airline in many ways with this article on its Boeing 707 -321Cs, from the June 27, 1963 edition of ‘The Aeroplane and Commercial Aviation News’, an example of how it was at the vanguard of exploring new opportunities