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
PZL M-15 Belphegor: The Remarkable Story of the World's Only Jet Engine Crop Duster
30 Apr 2023, 02:50 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / To understand why a Polish firm would even try fitting a turbofan engine inside a crop duster, we need to understand what living in Poland was like in the 70s.
Douglas A2D Skyshark: The U.S. Navy's Idea of an Engine Swap During the Cold War
28 Apr 2023, 20:57 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / Like an old Chevy truck waiting for an LS swap, Douglas employed the Allison Engine Company to supply a turboprop powerplant for what became the A2D program.
Northrop YF-17 Cobra: The Long Forgotten Common Ancestor of the Hornet and Super Hornet
19 Apr 2023, 06:04 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / In order to trace the heritage of the F/A-18 platform back to its most primordial routes, you have to slip the bounds of its maker to another company entirely.
Republic Rainbow: A Pretty Name for the Most Advanced Piston Airplane Ever Built
1 Apr 2023, 19:48 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / When most people think of Republic Aviation, they invariably only think of the P-47 Thunderbolt. But the XF-12 Rainbow was their most advanced piston airplane.
Caproni Ca.60 Transaero: Nine Wings, Eight Engines, Zero Bleeps Given
30 Mar 2023, 07:02 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / This is the remarkable story of the Caproni Ca.60 Transaero, a nine-winged flying boat airliner that could have only been built in Italy.
Short Empire: The Ultra-Luxurious Flying Boat Built for Pre-War British Aristocrats
26 Mar 2023, 16:26 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / In gallivants to far-off places, the Short Empire operated as an ambassador of sorts for British aviation and their continued influence.
Fokker-Republic Alliance: The Dutch-American Supersonic VTOL That Never Was
22 Mar 2023, 14:10 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / his is the story of the Fokker/Republic D.24 Alliance. The VTOL/STOL swing-wing jet fighter that gives a vibe it was designed by an acid trip.
Russia Doesn’t Want to Mess With Turkey’s F-4E Terminator 2020, Punches Above Its Weight
14 Mar 2023, 20:34 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / Not wanting to squander billions of dollars worth of surplus fighter jets, the Turkish Air Force extended the service life of existing jets.
This Pioneer Built Better Airplanes Than the Wright Bros, He Deserves Our Respect
12 Mar 2023, 20:23 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / in Europe, there's another cornerstone aviator who, in some ways, was even better at building airplanes than the Wright Brothers. His name is Traian Vuia
The F-111 Aardvark Was a Much Better Ground Strike Jet Than the A-10, Let Us Prove It
11 Mar 2023, 21:19 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / It's easy to get the wrong idea about the General Dynamics F-111. Even the U.S. Military seemed to act like the cold and dismissive to it at times.
Panavia Tornado ADV: The British Swing-Wing Attack Jet That Tried to Be a Tomcat
8 Mar 2023, 21:44 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / For so many reasons, the Tornado ADV will forever live in the shadow of not only the F-14 Tomcat but also the Tornado IDS the thing was derived from
The FA/18 Super Hornet's Days Are Numbered, Here's Why It's Not the End of the World
7 Mar 2023, 20:30 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / It's incredibly sad when a pin-up poster darling vehicle retires. But come on now, no airplane can fly forever. Not the F-15, not the F-22, and not the F/A-18.
Germany Couldn't Stand the F-104 Starfighter, But Its Finest Hour Was Simply Magical
6 Mar 2023, 14:32 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / It'd be wrong to say German Starfighters didn't have their share of highlights hidden among the considerable lowlights. Here's proof positive of that
This Canceled Soviet VTOL Jet Inspired the F-35B, Now It’s Coming to War Thunder
5 Mar 2023, 20:17 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / Though it's hard to say anything nice about the Russian Air Force right now, the Yakovlev Yak-141 showed the best and brightest of Eastern Bloc aviation
Spirit Airlines: How a Lowly Trucking Company Got Its Wings for Better or Worse
3 Mar 2023, 21:54 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / Founded in 1964 as Clippert Trucking Company by a Michigan native Ned Homfeld, what would become Spirit Airlines started with simple intentions.
These Awesome Warbirds Will Never Be Added to War Thunder, Here’s Why
2 Mar 2023, 04:37 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / Trust us. Things could have been even more polarizing had Gaijin Entertainment decided to add a few airplanes that don't make sense to add to the game
Hawker Siddeley Nimrod: The First Commercial Jet Airliner Gone Full Rambo Mode
1 Mar 2023, 21:45 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / Outside of the handful of tragic and preventable accidents at the hands of Comet 1, the British Military also flew them with distinction as the Nimrod
Beriev A-50: Russia's Prized Quad-Engine Military Jet That Was Just Attacked in Belarus
28 Feb 2023, 16:51 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / The Beriev A-50, believed to have been sabotaged and attacked by Belarusian separatists, is an interesting airplane in its own right
The Last Airworthy Lockheed TriStar Airliner Spends Its Days Launching Rockets to Orbit
25 Feb 2023, 21:40 UTC · By: Benny Kirk / As the last airworthy TriStar still kicking around, Stargazer spends its days launching space rockets instead of carrying tourists around.