AAIB report on Spitfire IXT, G-LFIX forced landing

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.

Supermarine Spitfire T9 ‘ML407 - OU-V’ (G-LFIX) (19730596616)
Alan Wilson from Stilton, Peterborough, Cambs, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Continue reading “AAIB report on Spitfire IXT, G-LFIX forced landing”

‘Francis L’ arrives at the Museum of Aviation

A C-47A Skytrain aircraft, known as “Francis L”, recently made a 3,500-mile journey from a museum in Alaska to the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, where it will undergo a full restoration. The aircraft, which participated in key World War II operations, including D-Day and Operation Market Garden, will be restored to its original condition and put on display.


U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Raina Dale
Continue reading “‘Francis L’ arrives at the Museum of Aviation”

Four Horsemen pilot relives C-130 history at Peterson SFB

Retired Lt. Col. Jim Akin, a member of the first C-130 demonstration team known as the Four Horsemen, recently visited a C-130H Hercules aircraft at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. This visit brought back fond memories for Akin, who flew with the team from 1957 to 1960. Now 99 years old, Akin remarked, “It brought back memories, good memories and sad memories … It just taught me how much I miss it. That’s the finest aeroplane they ever put in the air in my opinion, the C-130.”


U.S. Air Force illustration by Tech. Sgt. Justin Norton
Continue reading “Four Horsemen pilot relives C-130 history at Peterson SFB”

Pilotless pioneers: Tracing the roots of modern drone warfare

Mark Piesing’s “The Secret History of Drones” in the Fall 2024 issue of Air & Space Quarterly delivers a comprehensive chronology of unmanned aerial vehicle development. The article meticulously traces drone evolution from Nikola Tesla’s 1898 radio-controlled boat demonstration to contemporary military applications.

Gyrodyne QH-50 rotary-wing drone at the Smithsonian NASM”s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Photo By Dane Penland

Continue reading “Pilotless pioneers: Tracing the roots of modern drone warfare”