IN PICTURES: The early days of BOAC's Comet 4
In the de Havilland Comet 4, the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) had an aircraft able to rejuvenate a bit of national pride in commercial aviation, and to consign to history memories of the disasters that befell the original Comets. In conducting pre-delivery and route-proving flights, BOAC’s new flagships demonstrated their excellent performance to the full — and The Aeroplane was there to document these occasions
de Havilland 100: MacRobertson race Rapide
Think of de Havilland
aircraft in 1934’s MacRobertson International Air Race from England to Australia...
DATABASE: Saab 37 Viggen Insights
An experienced Viggen pilot gives his impressions of the Swedish fighter...
de Havilland 100: Hornets in Malaya
The initial conception of the de Havilland Hornet as a Pacific theatre fighter seemed distant...
Memories of The Blitz, 80 years on
At 4.56pm on September 7 1940, London’s air raid sirens signalled the start of a nine-month bombing offensive by the Luftwaffe. Including one lady’s recollections from the time, Key.Aero looks back at a hugely destructive campaign – for both sides
The young black woman who changed aviation
Nearly 100 years ago, an ambitious African American woman from Chicago headed to France to become a pilot. She ended up being a trailblazer for her race and gender
Amazing warbird display marks VJ Day
Watch our 8-minute video with incredible footage of historic aircraft honouring the landmark 75th anniversary of the war’s end
80 years of the North American P-64
Celebrating the P-51 Mustang’s lesser-spotted cousin, which had a production run of just 13
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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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