Historic

Key.Aero leads the way in the field of aviation history and heritage. Enjoy an outstanding mix of restoration and warbird features, fascinating articles on aviation history produced by some of the best writers in the business and in-depth and entertaining reports on all historic aircraft. Broad coverage spans the earliest years of flight through to the Cold War, encompassing countless aircraft types and their aerial achievements, plus Key.Aero offers the very latest historical aviation news.

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Vickers Valiant Pioneers

In the February 2016 issue of FlyPast Graham Pitchfork profiled Valiant pilots who helped to trail blaze for the Victor and Valiant

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Vickers Valiant and Britain’s first nuclear bomb

British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin’s quote about the necessity of developing an independent nuclear deterrent — “We’ve got to have the bloody Union Jack flying on top of it” — signifies the priority placed on this programme as the Cold War reared its head. It led, 70 years ago, to the first ‘special weapons’ arriving at an RAF station, and to the Vickers Valiant becoming the first platform able to deliver them 

V-Force pathfinder - the story of the unique black Valiant B2

The concept of target-marking had been proved with great success by the RAF of World War Two, but how would it translate to the jet bomber age? The Vickers Valiant was chosen to lead the role into this new era. Why, then, did the menacing and very capable ‘Black Bomber’, the Valiant B2, end up being a one-off?

Draken centre stage at Swedish exhibition

The distinctive jet is the showpiece of a recently opened exhibition, while in Spain a retired Falcon is on the move

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Vickers Valiant secret reconnaissance  

Valiants pioneered long-range, deep-penetration reconnaissance – in the February 2016 issue of FlyPast Vic Flintham revealed the shadowy world of 543 Squadron

Vickers Valiant – a brief history

The origins and history of the Valiant

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Valiant: The first V-Bomber

Overshadowed by the Vulcan and Victor, the Valiant was the only one of the V-bombers to drop a nuclear bomb, the first to see combat and the RAF’s initial operational tanker. However, its career was cut short by structural problems, as Stephen Skinner describes

Remembering artist Robert Taylor

Legendary aviation artist Robert Taylor passed away recently following a short illness – Aces High Gallery has announced a special Remembrance Weekend

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Three key men behind the Avro Vulcan’s design

Steve Beebee remembered three of the key men behind the Avro Vulcan’s design in the September 2011 issue of FlyPast

The primary aircraft for the Black Buck 1 mission was Vulcan B.2 XM598 (shown here shortly after it first arrived at Wideawake Airfield), however a cockpit window wouldn’t seal properly and so the aircraft couldn’t be pressurised. This led to the back-up aircraft carrying out the attack. Bob Shackleton/VTST Feature Premium

Planning the Vulcan raids on the Falklands

Dr Kevin Wright interviewed Sqn Ldr Andy Marson (Ret), at the time Vulcan to the Sky Trust’s navigator on XH558, who helped plan the Black Buck raids during the Falklands War. He provided his insight into these complex missions in the August 2015 issue of Aviation News

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The Latest Historic Aviation News All in One Place

This is your one stop shop for everything you could possibly want to know about historic aviation. Historic aircraft flights, displays and renovations can all be found among the categories and articles linked to from this page.

Readers can find categories for Warbirds, restoration projects by individuals and organisations such as museums, and in-depth resources on iconic aircraft from all the corners of the globe. Whether it is the Hughes H-4 Hercules Spruce Goose, Boeing C-137 Stratoliner, Aerospatiale / British Aircraft Corporation Concorde, Tupolev Tu-144, Hawker Harrier jump-jet or any other historic commercial and military aircraft, the information is here at your fingertips.

Warbird News & Projects

Warbird enthusiasts spend their time bringing iconic military aircraft back to life and in some cases even back to a state of airworthiness. The name Warbird originally referred only to World War 2 era aircraft but has since been widened to include all historical military aircraft.

Popular Warbird types include the North American P-51 Mustang, Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker Hurricane and the Messerschmitt Bf109. While one or two-seat fighters are affordable for the individual enthusiast to restore, aviation museums and groups of people take on much larger aircraft. Examples of these, include, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and the Avro Lancaster. The most famous of recent years must be the Avro Vulcan supersonic bomber, which is now on a static display in the UK but flew for several years at airshows.

See all the latest Warbird projects here

Spitfire Fighter Aircraft

The Supermarine Spitfire is arguably the most iconic World War II era European aircraft. Credited with a significant role in the Battle of Britain victory against the Luftwaffe’s assault on Great Britain in the summer of 1940, the propeller driven fighter was designed by Reginald J Mitchell at Supermarine Aviation. Mitchell designed the Spitfire with the Rolls-Royce Merlin and Griffon engines in mind because he saw their potential when combined with the aircraft’s unique aerodynamics.

The Spitfire first flew on 5th March 1936 from Eastleigh Aerodrome. However, due to production issues and limitations in Supermarine’s manufacturing process, the first production Spitfire did not take to the skies for a further 2 years. The Spitfire was born four months after the maiden flight of its partner aircraft, the Hawker Hurricane. Together they would deny Nazi Germany air superiority over England and the English channel.

Find out more about the legendary Spitfire

Aircraft Restorations

The restoration of historical aircraft is a challenge full of difficult obstacles with missing engines, control system parts, and the need for significant fuselage, wing or tail repair. The long, slow process of restoring an aircraft to a flight worthy condition or simply for static display is taken up by many individuals, but also museums and groups of enthusiasts.

The restorations undertaken can be as small as a one-seat civilian bi-plane or the always popular Warbirds, or as large as a Lockheed C-121C Constellation. Museums that tackle large scale restorations include the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum in Missouri and the Museum of Flight in Everett, Washington. These museums have restored early propeller driven passenger aircraft and the early airliners built in the USA and Europe, like the de Havilland Comet.    

Read more aircraft restoration articles

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