The exhilarating experience of flying on a Ford Tri-Motor
She may fly at a rather modest speed but she accelerates every enthusiast’s heartbeat. Andreas Rohde takes us onboard the iconic Ford Tri-Motor
Inside HARS: Maintaining Australia's rare classic airliners
Australia’s Historical Aircraft Restoration Society is home to several rare commercial aircraft, lovingly looked after by a team of volunteers. Chris Frame tells us more
Sea Venom arrives at Bruntingthorpe
The Leicestershire-based jet collection has received a de Havilland Sea Venom
Pathfinder Force wartime buildings for sale
Buildings formerly used by 35 Squadron, including a dance hall visited by Glenn Miller, are for sale for the first time in 50 years
World War Two aircraft carrier wreck site discovered
US Naval History and Heritage Command confirmed the identity of a wreck site as USS Ommaney Bay on July 10
Wartime Mosquito pilot to be Stow Maries guest of honour
Jim Dearlove, now 102, will appear at the Great War Aerodrome’s Propwash event on July 23
Inside a Canadian Hawker Typhoon restoration project
The Typhoon Legacy Company, based in Comox, British Columbia, is adopting its own singular approach to returning its example of the Hawker fighter-bomber to airworthiness
Messerschmitt Me 262 arrives in UK
Europe's only flying replica of the wartime jet has touched down at Fairford
Historic Aviation Quiz: Supermarine
Founded in 1913 as Pemberton-Billing, Supermarine went on to become one of the most regarded aircraft manufacturers the world has ever seen. In fact, it could be said one of its products, the Spitfire, is arguably the most iconic aeroplane of all time. Producing countless aeroplanes and designs up until its incorporation in the British Aviation Corporation in 1960, how many of these lesser-known ones can you identify?
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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.
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.
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.
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