Aircraft Digest | International Aviation HQ

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 ...

Boeing 747-300: The Least Successful 747 Ever Built!

13Mar

By Alexander PaskNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

Boeing 747-300: The Least Successful 747 Ever Built!

Today, many people remember the Boeing 747-300 for being the least successful of all the 747s which follow the 747-XXX designation. So what made it so different from the other 747s, that made it so unsuccessful? When the 747-300 was introduced in 1983, it was by far the largest passenger jet of its time. It would remain as this until the 747-400 was introduced in February 1989. Chances are that if you flew on a 747 in the mid-1980's, it was probably a 747-300! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Boeing 747-300 During WWII, both the British and the Germans had invented their own jet engines. Beyond just inventing their own jet engine, the British had also developed their own jet fighter, the Gloster Meteor. Following the war, jet engin...

10Mar

By Alya KulikovaNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

Boeing 720: The Unique Boeing Jet…

In many ways, the Boeing 720 is the odd one out when it comes to Boeing jets. All other Boeing-made jets follow the "7x7" naming convention, whilst the 720 does not, much to the annoyance of avgeeks the world over! Despite this, over a nine year period, Boeing sold 154 copies of the jet, many of which would have service lives that spanned well over 40 years. In fact, one was so good, its service life spanned a total of 50 years! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Boeing 720 During WWII, both sides began developing jet engines. By the end of the war, Britain not only had a working jet engine, but also a working jet fighter, the Gloster Meteor, which entered service in July 1944. Following the war, airlines began demanding their own jet aircra...

Boeing 747-200: The Most Versatile 747 Ever Built!

3Mar

By Alexander PaskNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

Boeing 747-200: The Most Versatile 747 Ever Built!

Today, the 747 is regarded by as being one of the most iconic airliners ever built. This is mostly thanks to the Boeing 747-200, which was the most successful 747 variant until the introduction of the 747-400 over 15 years later! When the 747-200 was introduced by Boeing in 1971, it was the largest passenger jet of its time. It beat its predecessor, the Boeing 747-100, by a matter of meters. Chances are, that if you flew on the 747 on a transpacific route in the 1970's and early 1980's, you flew on the Boeing 747-200! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Boeing 747-200 In 1952, British aircraft manufacturer de Havilland created the first jet airliner, the DH106 Comet. Over the rest of the decade, other jet airliners would be introduced, such ...

24Feb

By Alexander PaskNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

Boeing 747-100: The First Jumbo Jet

If you were to ask any avgeek to name the most iconic jet airliner of the 20th century, they'd probably respond with "747". This is mostly due to the first 747, the Boeing 747-100. When it was released in 1970, the 747-100 was the largest passenger jet in the world. The 747-100 itself would be replaced by the 747-200, and then the 747-300, before being replaced by the 747-400, and most recently the 747-8. Chances are that if you flew on a 747 prior to 1975, it was probably a 747-100... (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Boeing 747-100 Throughout the 1950's, aircraft manufacturers raced to produce the world's first jet airliner. This was accomplished by Britain's de Havilland Aircraft Company in 1952, with their DH106 Comet airliner. Am...

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 ...

10Feb

By Gareth SeagullNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

Boeing 737-300: The Best 737 Classic?

When the Boeing 737-300 was introduced in the mid-1980's, it was the largest development of the 737 family to that point. It would prove to be one of Boeing's most successful 737 variants, even today! Today, we often call the 737 an "Air icon". This is mostly down to the success of the 737-300. If you flew on a 737 from the mid-1980's until the mid-2000's, chances are that you flew on the 737-300. In fact, the 737-300 was so good, that it inspired the 737 Next Generation family, which in itself was instrumental for both Boeing and the 737! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Boeing 737-300 Over the course of the 1950's, jet engine technology progressed so much that long-range airliners such as the de Havilland Comet, 707, Convair 880, DC-8 a...

All Different Types of Helicopters You Need to Know About!

3Feb

By Charles YongzhengNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

All Different Types of Helicopters You Need to Know About!

Helicopter designs have come a long way since Igor Sikorsky developed the first helicopter. In part, this has seen a number of different types of helicopters be produced, many of which would likely blow Sikorsky's mind! Last year, we covered the different types of aircraft. That article mostly covered the various different types of fixed-wing aircraft, only briefly touching on rotary wing aircraft, such as helicopters. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Military The overwhelming majority of helicopters produced in the last 80 years have been produced for the world's militaries. As such, there are a number of different types of helicopters for various different military roles. Stealth Helicopter In recent years, the concept of stealth aircraf...

Sopwith Pup: Britain’s Best WWI Fighter?

23Jan

By Charles YongzhengNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

Sopwith Pup: Britain’s Best WWI Fighter?

The introduction of the Sopwith Pup into service in 1916 was an immediate game changer. Even today, over 100 years later, most historians generally consider the Pup to be one of the most important aircraft of WWI. Arguably, the Pup is one of the most important aircraft ever built! The tactics that the Pup was built around was copied by Britain's allies and enemies alike during the war. These tactics would then be used in WWII, and even partly in the Cold War and today! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Sopwith Pup On June 28 1914, Gavrilo Princip shot and killed the Archduke of Austria and his wife. This would set off a chain reaction that would lead to the largest war in modern human history (at the time). What was then-called the G...

Vultee P-66 Vanguard: The US’s Forgotten WWII Fighter

6Jan

By Gareth SeagullNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

Vultee P-66 Vanguard: The US’s Forgotten WWII Fighter

When you think of WWII aircraft, you often think of aircraft like the P-51, Mitsubishi Zero, Bf 109, Hurricane and Spitfire. The Vultee P-66 Vanguard? Not so much... For pretty much everyone, even seasoned aviation historians, the Vultee P-66 Vanguard is forgotten. Although it was originally designed as a fighter, the Vanguard served mainly as a trainer, and partly as a fighter during WWII. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-P-66 Vultee had been established during the interwar period, by Gerard Vultee, a former Lockheed engineer. Initially, Vultee had made its money producing highly successful airliners, as had most other aircraft manufacturers. As with many other aircraft manufacturers, Vultee saw the growing market for general aviation a...