Very Large but Not in Charge: The Story of the Forgotten Douglas XB-19
16 Jul 2023, 19:55 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / Today, only a handful of artifacts from the great plane still exist, including two of its colossal main tires in museums.
You Can’t Upgrade the A-10 Warthog To Be Stealthy, but the Renderings Are Still Badass
16 Jul 2023, 03:31 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / To understand the reason why you can't just modify a legacy warbird to be stealthy, we need to familiarize ourselves with how radar stealth even works.
The Abrams P-1 Explorer Was a Shutterbug's Dream, a Plane Built Just for Photography
15 Jul 2023, 21:21 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / The story behind the Abrams Explorer is one of stunning innovation at a time when almost every aerospace engineer worth their salt was working for the military.
Stealth Dorito: The A-12 Avenger II Stealth Jet Walked So the F-35C Could Run
11 Jul 2023, 03:20 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / It'd take until 2019 for the Navy to finally procure their first stealth jet, the venerable Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II.
Ryan FR-1 Fireball: The WWII U.S. Navy's Idea of a Hybrid Drivetrain
9 Jul 2023, 21:38 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / Today, only a single remaining example of an FR-1 Fireball remains on display at the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, California.
Allison T40: The Tale of an Engine So Unreliable, It Made the U.S. Military Rage-Quit
8 Jul 2023, 14:05 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / The story of the American Allison T40 turboprop engine is one of innovation, blood, sweat, and several gallons of engineer tears.
Honey, I Shrunk the 747: The Story of the Boeing 747SP
13 Jun 2023, 22:34 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / Today, only a handful of 747SPs remain in service with global cargo carriers. So if you look up in the sky one day and see one, know it's very special.
It’s Time To Admit It, the Ingenuity Mars-Copter Is the Greatest Aircraft To Ever Fly
13 Jun 2023, 00:06 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / By just about every conceivable metric, Ingenuity is the embodiment of every achievement made in aeronautical engineering made by pioneers the world over
Piper PA-48 Enforcer: A World War II Icon Made a CAS King With an Engine Swap
11 Jun 2023, 19:42 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / By the end of the Cavalier Mustang II's days on sale, it was clear the old P-51's Merlin engines had reached the zenith of its aeronautical capability.
Delays With SpaceX's Starship Might Sandbag NASA's Planned Lunar Landing
8 Jun 2023, 22:58 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / In the meantime, NASA has already begun handing out service contracts for non-SpaceX vehicles to take on Moon-landing like Blue Origin's Blue Moon
Boeing T7 Red Hawk: The USAF's New Advanced Trainer Jet Stuck in Development Purgatory
8 Jun 2023, 14:45 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / As of June 2023, The Boeing-Saab T-7A's tentative introductory date has been pushed back to February 2025 and not a moment sooner
How and Why Mitsubishi's Aircraft Division Failed Even Worse Than Its Auto Brand
5 Jun 2023, 03:11 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / To those who know Mitsubishi for building mediocre cars, it's interesting to see how the company's auto brand lives on while its airliner division perishes
IAIO Qaher-313: The Story of Iran's Dank Meme Stealth Fighter That Can't Fly
1 Jun 2023, 07:27 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / At this stage, it's hard to tell whether Iran will retire its fleet of American jet fighters before its first stealth plane even makes its first flight.
Over-Budget, Over-Time, Totally Worth It: Why NASA’s "Ride-or-Die" With the SLS Rocket
1 Jun 2023, 04:01 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / Most folks would have said that humans, in all likelihood, would never step foot on another heavenly body again 25 years ago. But look at things now.
Ilyushin Il-20: What Happens When the Soviets Try To Build a Tank With Wings
24 May 2023, 07:12 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / But what happens when a Soviet aviation bureau tries to build a flying tank? You get the Ilyushin Il-20, essentially the familiar Il-2/10 with extra armor
Fairey Gannet: The Plucky Story of the Ugliest Attack Jet Ever Built
21 May 2023, 00:26 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / While British train stations and city buildings continued the arduous rebuilding process, the Royal Navy's Fairey Gannet took flight for the post-war Royal Navy
50 Years Ago: NASA's Skylab Wrote the Playbook for the ISS
20 May 2023, 19:48 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / On the 50th anniversary of Skylab's launch aboard the Saturn V, let's take a look at what made Skylab the gold standard for space stations for the next 15years.
Access Denied: These Canceled Jet Fighters Prove NATO Doesn't Always Get Its Way
11 May 2023, 01:03 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / Today, let's dive into a few military jet prototypes NATO decided not to add to the military-industrial complex for one reason or another.
Merlins Over Jerusalem: How Israel Got Their Hands on Spitfires and Mustangs After WWII
4 May 2023, 21:48 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / The story of how the fledgling Israeli state got its hands on Britain and America's favorite piston fighters is one of long odds and geo-political chess play
Ferrari in the Sky: The Story of the Italian Biplane That Flew Circles Around Spitfires
4 May 2023, 02:22 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / In many ways, the CR.42 Falco was the kind of fighter plane that only the Italians could build. It embraced the principles of low curb weight and big power