Last Battle of Britain pilot, John ‘Paddy’ Hemingway, dies aged 105

John “Paddy” Hemingway, the last surviving pilot who fought in the Battle of Britain, has passed away peacefully at the age of 105. The Royal Air Force (RAF) confirmed the death of Hemingway, who was a distinguished member of “the Few” that defended Britain’s skies during the Second World War.

Group Captain John Allman Paddy Hemingway (cropped)
See page for author, OGL 3, via Wikimedia Commons
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Asian Aerospace 1996: The untold story of a Taiwan-French fighter familiarization exchange in Singapore

A former Republic of China Air Force (RoCAF) pilot, identified as Huang Yang Te in a recent interview, has revealed details of an unusual exchange that saw him fly a French Air Force Mirage 2000B during the 1996 Asian Aerospace airshow in Singapore. The pilot, a former F-16 instructor and also an instructor in the Fighter Weapon School, detailed his unexpected opportunity to fly the French delta-wing fighter, which was serving as a back-up to the Rafale prototype demonstrator that was flying at the show.


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Israeli troops in Syria recover rotor head of 1974 crash

Israeli forces operating in southern Syria have recovered a key component of an Israeli Air Force (IAF) helicopter that crashed more than half a century ago. The discovery, announced on Dec. 23, brings a sense of closure to a tragic incident from the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The recovered part is the rotor head of an SA 321 Super Frelon helicopter, known in the IAF as the “Wasp”. This particular aircraft, designated number 17 in the IAF’s 114th Squadron, was involved in a deadly crash on Apr. 27, 1974, during a rescue mission.

Photo: Israel Defense Forces
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The GE F110: A Forty-Year Legacy of Power and Innovation

GE Aerospace’s F110 engine is celebrating 40 years of continuous production, a remarkable achievement for a powerplant born from what some call the “Great Engine War” of the 1980s. This war saw GE challenge Pratt & Whitney’s dominance in supplying engines for the US Air Force’s F-15 and F-16 fighter jets. The F110 ultimately emerged as a champion, powering these aircraft for the US military and 16 other nations.

The 35th Maintenance Squadron test cell, or hush house, provides a testing area for an F110-GE-129 engine March 4. Because of the engine’s proven safety track record and heritage of high reliability, the F110-GE-129 has been chosen to power more than 75 percent of the U.S. Air Force’s single engine F-16 Block 50/52 aircraft.

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