Tuesday, October 1

Author: Charles Yongzheng

Charles Yongzheng wrote his first aviation article, when he was just 12 years old. 20 years later, Charles is still following his passion!
13Nov By Charles YongzhengNo Comments
Executive

Bombardier Global Express

Background In the mid-1970's, Learjet founder Bill Lear began designing a private unlike any previous Learjet aircraft. Rather than being a short-range business jet appealing to the lower-end of the market, this aircraft, that Lear called the LearStar 600, would be a long-range aircraft tailored to the richest of the richest 0.1% Development Operational History Private Jet Corporate Jet Fractional Ownership Charter Military Variants Global 5000 Global Express XRS Global 5500/6000 Military Specifications SpecificationsBombardier Global ExpressLength99 ft 4 in 30.28 m)Wingspan94 ft 0 in (28.65 m)Height25 ft 5 in (7.75 m)Crew2Passengers8 - 19Cruise SpeedMach 0.85 (902 km/h; 560 mph; 487 kn) Range11,200 km (6,970 mi; 6,055 nm)Service Ceiling...
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27Oct By Charles YongzhengNo Comments
History

How Sir Freddie Laker Shook up The Airline Industry

Before Michael O'Leary and Richard Branson were shaking up the airline industry, there was Sir Freddie Laker, whose Laker Airways was the first real challenger to the monopoly British Airways had enjoyed on British air travel since the 1940's. Despite (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Early Life Frederick Albert Laker was born on August 6 1922 in Canterbury in Southern England. His father Early Ventures Aviation Traders Air Charter Channel Air Bridge Laker Airways Skytrain Death Legacy
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Learjet 75: The End of an Era…
2Oct By Charles Yongzheng1 Comment
Executive

Learjet 75: The End of an Era…

The newest addition to an aviation dynasty that's almost 60 years old - including the world's first business jet - the Learjet 75 was supposed to be just another member of an aviation dynasty almost everyone's heard of. Yet whilst it has sold over 150 times since 2013 (alongside the shorter range Learjet 70), the Learjet 75 has also marked the end of an era, as Bombardier (Learjet's parent company) ceased production of the jet in 2021. In effect, this has ended the Learjet dynasty that started all those years ago with the Learjet 23... (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Background In the early 1970's, Learjet engineers were developing a stretched variant of its popular Learjet 25 design with newer engines. Introduced to service in 1974, it wa...
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Remembering North American Aviation: An Aviation Pioneer… Until it Wasn’t…
4Sep By Charles YongzhengNo Comments
History

Remembering North American Aviation: An Aviation Pioneer… Until it Wasn’t…

Famous for being the company behind the P-51 Mustang, North American Aviation was one of the largest and most respected aircraft manufacturers in the world at its height. Yet a minor blunder by one of its subsidiaries brought everything down. Aside from its famous aircraft - the P-51, F-86, X-15 - North American Aviation also designed the Saturn V rocket, the Space Shuttle orbiter and the command and service module (CSM) for the Apollo Project. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Background In 1916, Canadian-born university lecturer-turned-investment advisor, Clement Melville Keys, was asked by Glenn Curtiss (a friend of one of his former students) to help restructure his financially troubled company. Duly helping to restructure the Curtiss Ae...
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Remembering McDonnell Douglas: The Last Great American Aerospace Giant
1Sep By Charles YongzhengNo Comments
History

Remembering McDonnell Douglas: The Last Great American Aerospace Giant

Today, Boeing is an aviation giant with almost no competition. Yet before their 1997 merger, Boeing's main competitor was the famed McDonnell Douglas, with the two companies often embroiled in a game of cat and mouse to produce the best aircraft possible. Indeed, even after their merger, Boeing had so much respect for the aircraft their former rivals built, that many of the pre-merger aircraft - both civil and military alike - kept their McDonnel Douglas designations, only with newer variants holding Boeing ones. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-McDonnell Douglas: Douglas Aircraft Having been interested in aviation since he was a teenager, Don Douglas chose to pursue a career in aviation, eventually becoming the chief engineer at the Glenn ...
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How The Robinson R66 Became The Most Popular Dangerous Helicopter
7Aug By Charles Yongzheng1 Comment
Helicopters

How The Robinson R66 Became The Most Popular Dangerous Helicopter

The Robinson R66 is the latest member of the famed Robinson Helicopter dynasty which began with the Robinson R22 in 1979. Much like the R22, the R66 has proved extremely popular, selling over 1,100 times to date. Designed to be their first turbine-powered helicopter (their previous helicopters were piston-powered), the R66 has allowed Robinson Helicopter to take on giants the likes of Eurocopter, Sikorsky and Bell. And not only hold their own, but beat them too! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Robinson R66 In 1973, Frank D. Robinson, a former helicopter engineer for Cessna, McCulloch Aircraft and Bell Helicopters, resigned his position at Hughes Helicopters to pursue his dream of starting his own helicopter manufacturing company. Start...
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Hughes XF-11: The Rise And Fall of The F-11 That Could’ve Changed The World!
14Jul By Charles YongzhengNo Comments
Aircraft Digest

Hughes XF-11: The Rise And Fall of The F-11 That Could’ve Changed The World!

The heaviest and fastest twin-engine aircraft in the world at the time, the Hughes XF-11 was poised for success. Despite placing a large order for the aircraft, the US military eventually cancelled the XF-11 contract and the world was never truly the same again... Personally designed by Hughes Aircraft owner Howard Hughes to be a fighter, and later a reconnaissance aircraft, the aircraft (developed in secret) received national attention in 1946 when the aircraft crashed on its first flight, nearly killing Howard Hughes. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Hughes XF-11 In 1932, millionaire businessman Howard Hughes established the Hughes Aircraft Company as a subsidiary of the Hughes Tool Company (a manufacturer of drill bits founded by his fat...
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Bell 47: The World’s First Civilian Helicopter!
19May By Charles Yongzheng1 Comment
Helicopters

Bell 47: The World’s First Civilian Helicopter!

Today, Bell is one of the world's major helicopter manufacturers. Although they did not invent the first helicopter (that would be Igor Sikorsky) their first design, the Bell 47, would revolutionize the helicopter manufacturing industry as we know it! Produced between 1946 and 1974, Bell would produce over 5,600 Bell 47s, making it one of the most produced helicopters in recent years. The introduction of the Bell 47 would allow Bell Aircraft to establish itself as one of the world's largest aircraft manufacturers - focusing on helicopters, but also having a fixed-wing aircraft division too (which would be closed in 1966). (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Bell 47 In 1938, Russian-American aerospace engineer, Igor Sikorsky, set out to creat...
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Boeing 757-200: The Most Successful 757 Yet!
17Mar By Charles Yongzheng2 Comments
Aircraft Digest

Boeing 757-200: The Most Successful 757 Yet!

Today, the Boeing 757 is arguably one of the most famous narrow body jet airliners Boeing has ever produced! For the most part, this is down to the immense success of the the Boeing 757-200! Despite the eldest 757-200s being almost 40 years old, the majority of the fleet are still actively flying. Unlike most other 40 year-old jets, many are still used in the west on a regular basis too. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Boeing 757-200 The late 1950's and early 1960's had proven to be one of the best periods for Boeing. During this time, Boeing had released numerous new jets, which had made them billions in today's money. In 1957, Boeing saw the first flight of the 707 - their first jet airliner. Two years later would see the first flight ...
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Boeing 737-100: The Original 737
17Feb By Charles YongzhengNo Comments
Aircraft Digest

Boeing 737-100: The Original 737

Today, the 737 is one of the most famous (or should I say infamous) aircraft in our skies. However, if you trace its heritage back to the beginning, you'll find that it all starts with the Boeing 737-100, from which all other 737s are derived. If you were to ask any avgeek to name a famous airliner, chances are that they'd reply "737". Although the Boeing 737-100 is not the most famous (or infamous!) 737 variant, it is the aircraft that spawned the rest of them! Chances are that if you flew on a 737 prior to 1971, it was a Boeing 737-100... (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Boeing 737-100 During WWII, both sides were working to develop their own jet engines. By the war's end, only the Germans and British had working designs, the latter of ...
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