Aircraft Digest | International Aviation HQ

McDonnell Douglas DC-10: Your Ultimate Guide

23Jul

By Salomón Marco1 Comment

Aircraft Digest

McDonnell Douglas DC-10: Your Ultimate Guide

It is 1985 and you are on a flight from Los Angeles to Copenhagen. Chances are, you are on a DC-10, but this is not by chance. The DC-10 was built for this. The DC-10 was a workhorse of its time. An icon in aviation history. The aircraft was met with scrutiny and a lack of confidence after some incidents and accidents following its introduction into service. Despite this, the DC- 10 secured its place in the history books as a reliable, easy to maintain, and economically viable jetliner. The DC- 10 family capitalized on the gap between the smaller twinjet airliners and the larger quadjet airliners like the Boeing 747. The market desperately needed an aircraft that could reach further with less. The DC-10 delivered. The DC-10 featured advanced avio...

28May

By Alya KulikovaNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

How The de Havilland Dove Became a British Aviation Icon

Background Founded in 1920 by veteran aircraft designer Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft originally made its fortune making one and two-seat biplane trainers under their now-famous Moth line. By the mid-1930's, however, de Havilland had expanded away from just producing biplane trainers, releasing a slew of single and two-engine biplane airliners like DH.83 Fox Moth and DH.84 Dragon. The company's most successful airliner - the DH.89 Dragon Rapide - wasn't released until the summer of 1934. As versatile as it was popular, the Dragon Rapide was as popular with foreign airlines as it was British ones. With the outbreak of WWII, Britain pressed its civil aircraft into military service for the war effort, including the Dragon Rapide where it was known as the Domi...

7May

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

10 Most Expensive Planes in The World

It should come as no surprise that planes are expensive. Often, they carry eyewatering price tags well into the hundreds of millions of dollars range. But not all planes are created equal, some are more expensive than others. So what exactly are the most expensive planes currently in our skies? Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most expensive planes are a combination of important military aircraft, large commercial airliners and especially glitzy private jets owned by the richest of the richest 1%! For the purposes of this article, we will be looking at both flyaway cost (the cost to buy a brand new model directly from the manufacturer) as well as the per hour operational cost. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 10. Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit - $737 M...

4May

By Gareth SeagullNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

Cheapest Planes to Buy And Operate!

To most, the owning your own aircraft is something reserved only for the richest of the rich and your wildest dreams. But this is not always the case, some planes are considerably cheaper than others. So what are the cheapest planes to both buy and fly? As you probably guessed, going down the route of buying on price means you will have to forgo brand new planes in favor of used models, which are typically quite old but nonetheless still as good as they day they rolled off the factory floor. For the purposes of this article, we will look at the two cheapest aircraft in all categories of aircraft you might find in the ownership of a typical pilot. Ultralight 1100R Mini-Max - $10,000 Airbike LS - $11,000 Single Engine Piston Cessna 150 - $25,000 The fifth m...

All The Different Types of Military Aircraft Explained!

20Apr

By Salomón MarcoNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

All The Different Types of Military Aircraft Explained!

From a young age, we are taught that the military are here to protect us. Aside from guns, tanks and ships, most militaries make extensive use of aircraft too, where they fill a variety of roles. So what are the different types of military aircraft currently in service around the world? Much like when we classify most things in life, most modern military aircraft don't just fit in one category. Rather, they fit into several categories as manufacturers produce new variants of the same aircraft to keep up with the ever-changing nature of aerial warfare. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Fighters Perhaps the type of aircraft we most associate with the military, the term "fighter" - or more often "fighter jet" - has become somewhat synonymous with...

16Apr

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

Piper Seneca: The Epitome of Luxury

With well over 5,000 produced today, the Piper Seneca is the world's best selling twin turboprop, having become a favorite of many operators. Famed for its luxury, the Seneca has become a favorite of corporate operators particularly who use it as a VIP transport. Though not continuous in its production, the Piper Seneca has been in production since 1971, both in the US with Piper Aircraft and in other countries, most notably in Brazil with Embraer and Poland with PZL. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Background In 1960, Piper Aircraft released the now-famed Piper Cherokee. Inundated with orders for the aircraft from pilots, air taxi companies, medevac operators and more, Piper began looking for a way to capitalize on its success further. Rea...

How Jettly Has Transformed Private Jet Charter

12Mar

By Gareth SeagullNo Comments

Executive, Aircraft Digest

How Jettly Has Transformed Private Jet Charter

The private jet charter industry is the last part of the aviation industry to not be truly digitized. Expedia-style flight aggregator Jettly hopes to be the company to truly bring the industry into the digital age. Through its user friendly website and app, Jettly allow customers to input their destinations and see quotes in real time, before a service representative reaches out to them to confirm the exact pricing based on their needs. Jettly's hope is that their site will circumvent the need for brokers whose large fees have deterred many from flying private before. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); A Problem Before the rise of the internet, you had two options when chartering a private jet, both of which had their drawbacks. The firs...

22Jan

By Alya KulikovaNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

All The Airports of London Explained

By far the UK's most populous city, London hosts nearly 175 million passengers each year through numerous airports scattered in and around the city. But collectively, the airports of London have a long, interesting and often intertwined history! Indeed, the city has so much air traffic that almost all airports that primarily serve the city are currently looking to increase their capacity by adding more terminals and more controversially, runways, as seen with London Heathrow. For the purposes of this article, we are defining "airports of London" as any airport that primarily serves the London metropolitan area, including both the City of London and Greater London, rather than airports just based there. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Internati...

Who Are The World’s Largest Aircraft Manufacturers?

12Jan

By Charles YongzhengNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

Who Are The World’s Largest Aircraft Manufacturers?

Though airlines get a bad rep for being somewhat of an oligopoly, when it comes to the supply of aircraft, there are remarkably few. Indeed, the two largest aircraft manufacturers - Airbus and Boeing - control nearly 90% of the market. So who are the other main players? For the purposes of this article, we are only looking at companies who physically produce aircraft - not engines, avionics and the like - and we're only talking about companies that are currently active, not ones that are defunct. Size is being determined on several factors, including the range of aircraft currently produced, number of employees, number of locations worldwide, revenue and brand recognition. Not to mention market share. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Airbus ...

8Dec

By Salomón MarcoNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

Beechcraft Baron: A Classic Beechcraft

A descendant of both the Beechcraft Bonanza (Debonair) and Travel Air, the Beechcraft Baron retains most of the "classic" features found on a Beechcraft, whilst also incorporating elements into a popular combo. Introduced in 1961, the Baron has remained continuously in production until the present day, making it one of the longest and most produced aircraft in history, with over 7,000 built to date. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Background During WWII, Beechcraft (then known as Beech Aircraft Corporation) ramped up production to help the war effort, producing their now-famed Beechcraft Model 18 transport and trainer. When the war ended and all its military contracts were cancelled, Beechcraft pivoted away from twin-engine military aircra...