Are you an aviation enthusiast or pilot? Sign up for our newsletter, full of tips, reviews and more! The Theory The purported hazard of the downwind turn is one of the most controversial topics in all of aviation. Despite it being widely debated for many decades, it maintains a hold on the popular pilot imagination because more »

Are you an aviation enthusiast or pilot? Sign up for our newsletter, full of tips, reviews and much more! Oldest flyable aircraft: Two Blériot XIs Year built: 1909 Located at: The Shuttleworth Collection (UK) and the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome (U.S.) Oldest person to get a pilot’s license: Lt. Col. (ret.) James Collins Warren Age at which more »

Are you an aviation enthusiast or pilot? Sign up for our newsletter, full of tips, reviews and more! The Mystery Does new photographic and forensic evidence answer the question of what happened to the pair of aviators, who disappeared in 1937 while on an around the world flight? The Backstory When we last wrote about the more »

Are you an aviation enthusiast or pilot? Sign up for our newsletter, full of tips, reviews and much more! Model 35 first flight: December 22, 1945 First delivery: 1947 Years before comparable Cessna (retractable gear, opposed engine, variable speed/adjustable prop, no-strut wing) appeared: 20 Construction: All-metal*, low-wing, monoplane *Note on construction: First few dozen Bonanzas had more »

The Question Is “The Step” just a myth? Or is there really something to it? The Backstory The subject of aerodynamics is a slippery one, with any one effect having many plausible-sounding explanations. One of the most vexing aerodynamic theories is the one that claims that certain airplanes can achieve faster cruise speeds when they more »

FAA minimum pilot height requirement: None Air Force pilot minimum height: 64 inches standing (5’4”) Shortest fixed-wing takeoff/landing: Bobby Breeden, 44 ft total Smallest multi-engine plane: Colomban Cri-Cri, 13 ft long, 16-ft wingspan Smallest single: Stits DS-1 Baby Bird, 6-ft wingspan, length 11 ft Smallest successful single (biplane): Stits SA-2A Baby Bird, 10 ft long, more »

The Mystery What was the real fate of pioneering pilot Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, who disappeared on July 2, 1937, before reaching their Pacific Island destination on an attempted circumnavigation of the earth? The Backstory The mystery of what happened to Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan when their flight disappeared over the more »

Tallest height allowable for USAF pilots: 6’7” Heaviest powered paraglider pilot: 440 pounds Highest max takeoff weight: Antonov AN-225, 1.3 million pounds Greatest payload: AN-225, approximately 560,000 pounds Max takeoff weight, Boeing 787: about 502,000 pounds (no, it won’t fit inside the AN-225) Largest piston engine: Lycoming XR-7755, 36 cylinders, 7,750 cubic inches, dry weight, more »

The Backstory The popular story of who flew first is easy. It was the Wright Brothers, at Kill Devil Hills (Kitty Hawk), North Carolina, December 17, 1903. Orville was at the controls, and there are photographs of the plane, the Wright Flyer, on that very flight, which lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. To more »

First woman to receive a pilot’s license, worldwide: Raymonde de Laroche, March 8, 1910 (France) Other aviation accomplishments: women’s altitude (12,869 feet, 15,700 feet) and distance (201 miles) records Death: killed co-piloting a test flight, July 18, 1919 First woman to receive a pilot’s license, U.S.: Harriet Quimby, August 1, 1911 Previous career: Journalist/writer Quimby’s more »

The Myth While flying is something that creatures other than people have been doing for millions of years, we’ve only been actively exploring this realm for around 200 years and flying heavier than air machines for just over a century. But just as we know how gravity behaves and how to make good use of more »

Nickname of first plane capable of flight: Flyer Nickname of first successful seaplane: Hydravion Three planes with unofficial nickname of “Aluminum Overcast:” Convair B-36; Lockheed C-5 Galaxy; Douglas  C-124 Globemaster Nickname of EAA’s Boeing B-17: Aluminum Overcast Nickname of Boeing B-17: Flying Fortress Official nickname of Convair B-36: Peacemaker B-36 Purpose: Heavy bomber (including nukes) more »