Heritage Archives

The GE F110: A Forty-Year Legacy of Power and Innovation

Posted on December 4, 2024December 4, 2024 by alert5

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.

Constant Peg commander remembered in Nellis tribute

Posted on November 8, 2024 by alert5

The roar of jet engines echoed across the Nevada desert on Nov. 7 as the U.S. Air Force paid tribute to a legendary fighter pilot, Col. Gail Peck, who died two weeks ago.

Photo: William Lewis & Airman 1st Class Timothy Perish
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P-38 pilot honoured with heritage jet

Posted on October 18, 2024October 18, 2024 by alert5

At 102 years old, retired Captain Jim Kunkle received a tribute that few could imagine: a KC-135R Stratotanker adorned with the colours of his wartime P-38. Kunkle, a P-38 pilot from the 401st Fighter Squadron during World War II, was honoured by the Nebraska Air National Guard’s 155th Air Refueling Wing at the Central Coast AirFest last month. The newly painted KC-135 features black-and-white invasion stripes and nose art inspired by Kunkle’s P-38.

A P-38 sits on static display next to the 155th Air Refueling Wing’s KC-135 with invasion stripes, Sept. 22, 2024, during the Central Coast AirFest at the Santa Maria Airport in Santa Maria, California. The KC-135’s heritage paint scheme honors Jim Kunkle, World War II U.S. Army Air Corps veteran. Kunkle served as a fighter pilot during WWII in the 401st Fighter Squadron which transformed into the 173rd Air Refueling Squadron, 155th ARW. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Alexander D. Schriner)

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DRAGON 437 retires

Posted on October 18, 2024October 18, 2024 by alert5

A MH-53 helicopter that was assigned to the U.S. Navy’s Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron Twelve (HM-12) has flown its final flight and retired at Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum in Florida.

Photo: U.S. Navy
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AAIB report on Spitfire IXT, G-LFIX forced landing

Posted on October 14, 2024October 14, 2024 by alert5

A Spitfire IXT (G-LFIX) experienced engine failure on May 6, leading to a forced landing at Pitsford Airfield near Sywell, Northants. Britain’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) published an incident report on Oct. 10 detailing the event. The aircraft carried one pilot and one passenger. Damage was sustained to the propeller and left wing, but both occupants were unharmed.

Alan Wilson from Stilton, Peterborough, Cambs, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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