Aircraft Digest | International Aviation HQ

27Jun

By Alexander PaskNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

17 Fastest Aircraft in the World

Since the invention of the first airplane, engineers have tried to push the limits of speed. What were the fastest aircraft two decades ago, look like snails compared to the aircraft of today. But which are the fastest? When the jet engine was invented during WWII, fighter jets and later commercial airliners became far faster than they ever had been. As jet engine technology progressed, so did top speeds, up until today and beyond! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 17. Concorde (Mach 2.04) The Concorde was one of the biggest achievements of the Cold War. In the West, the Concorde is known for being the fastest successful commercial aircraft to have ever flown. Both BAC and Aerospatiale marketed the Concorde base solely on its speed. You could ...

17 Strangest and Weirdest Aircraft Designs from History

3Jun

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

17 Strangest and Weirdest Aircraft Designs from History

History has had its fair share of weird and strange aircraft designs. However, some have been more so than others, but which are the weirdest aircraft designs? Some of these designs are weird, others are just strange and others are just completely wacky! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 17. Vought V-173 The Vought V-173 has perhaps the weirdest aircraft design. It was nicknamed the "Flying pancake" and for good reason too! The V-173 does indeed look like a pancake. The V-173 had the "Tail dragger" design of many WWII aircraft, however featured many design elements that would become a staple of Cold War-era aircraft. However, the V-173 also featured dual rudders on a fighter aircraft. Whilst this had been used on bombers and helicopters be...

27May

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

15 Safest Aircraft Models from History

A while ago we covered the most dangerous aircraft. Today, we will cover which are the safest aircraft models from history, and which you can still fly on! Whilst some of these aircraft have been involved in accidents, even some high profile ones, these aircraft have the lowest fatal crash rate per million flights. If you find yourself flying on one of these aircraft, you know that there's a strong likelihood you won't crash! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 15. Boeing 757 The 757 was developed with the same technology as the 767. Just like the 767, the 757 is one of the safest aircraft you can fly on! Just as with the 767, the 757 has been involved in its fair share of aviation accidents. Perhaps the most notable of these was when two Boei...

13 Most Dangerous Aircraft Models From History!

1Apr

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

13 Most Dangerous Aircraft Models From History!

Whenever we fly, there's always a slight worry that the aircraft may crash. However, not all aircraft are created equal. Some are more dangerous than others. Here are the most dangerous aircraft models. Whilst it's highly unlikely that by flying on mainstream airlines, you will board one of these aircraft, it's always good to stay vigilant! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 13. Boeing 737-200 The current 737 MAX debacle has been a serious dampener on the 737 brand. But before the 737 MAX though, Boeing's 737-200 was known as being one of Boeing's most dangerous aircraft! The 737-200 over its lifetime has been involved in 68 air accidents. This has led to 2910 fatalities and countless more injuries. For most of these flights, the accident...

14Mar

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

The 9 real reasons planes crash…

It's often said that flying by plane is safer than driving a car. Occasionally, we see one of these planes crash, but there are always reasons why planes crash. Here are the seven real reasons planes crash! First of all, plane crashes are a sensitive subject. For many, plane crashes are engraved in their memories and their tragedies. Whether their tragedies are shared by the entire nation or just a few hundred others. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 9. Computer error Computers do more of the flying than pilots do! That's what a friend of mine once said, and I do agree with him in all honesty. As a result, it only takes one minor error in the system, whether in the aircraft's navigation systems, engines or something entirely different...

Lockheed YF-12: The Fastest Jet Fighter we Never Got…

25Dec

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

Lockheed YF-12: The Fastest Jet Fighter we Never Got…

The Lockheed YF-12 is the older brother to the more famous SR-71. Whilst both were used by both the USAF and NASA, they were both used for completely different things! However, whilst the SR-71 prospered, the YF-12 gained traction before slowly fading away. So why did the Lockheed YF-12 fail when all other Blackbird family members prospered? (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-YF-12 The late 1950's had seen not only the Korean War, but also the beginning of the Vietnam War. Whilst the conflict itself was the US's first real failure of the Cold War, it did yield a lot in terms of new aircraft requirements. Prior to this, the newly-formed USAF had been utilizing some of the first generation jet aircraft. These aircraft served in several differ...

Grumman X-29: The World’s Most Unconventional Aircraft Design

18Dec

By Gareth SeagullNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

Grumman X-29: The World’s Most Unconventional Aircraft Design

In recent decades, the concept of swing wings has become widely adopted. However, most of the time, they aren't forward swing wings, like the Grumman X-29! Despite Grumman and the USAF spending millions of dollars developing the jet, much of its technology has since been proven to be useless. So what exactly did the US get out of the program? And why did it fail? As a result of the aircraft's technology and primary objective, the X-29 has arguably the weirdest aircraft design in history! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-X-29 The concept of forward-swept wings is not a new one. Rough sketches of forward swept aircraft date back to the time of the Wright Brothers! However, these designs proved to be ultimately futile. During WWII, the ...

Boom Overture: luxury business aviation and Concorde 2.0?

9Nov

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

Boom Overture: luxury business aviation and Concorde 2.0?

On Wednesday, we covered the Aerion AS2, nicknamed "the son of Concorde", but the Boom Overture is truly the son of Concorde. The Boom Overture is a new supersonic aircraft that will soon be flying in our skies. Just like the Concorde, and unlike the AS2, the Overture will be used as a long haul jet for businessmen going to meetings across the world. According to Esquire and Boom's website, the Boom will have 55-75 seats. According to Boom's website, the Overture will have the ability to cross the Atlantic, JFK to Heathrow in 3 hours, 15 minutes. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Who will fly the Boom Overture? When it was the Concorde, there was major interest from the two biggest airlines from both of the manufacturing countries. With the Overture being deve...

6Nov

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

Aerion AS2: The son of Concorde

When I was a child, the fastest commercial aircraft available was the Concorde, in 2003, Concorde was retired. Since then, supersonic passenger transport has been something of the past and of sci-fi novels. But, the passion for supersonic passenger aviation, has not died down, it has merely simmered, waiting to be reignited. Now, we have seen the re-ignition- two companies, Boom and Aerion, are in the process of developing their own supersonic passenger aircraft. We will cover Boom in the future, for today is Aerion's turn, with their Aerion AS2 jet. What is the Aerion AS2? The Aerion AS2 will be the successor to the Concorde, however there are a few main changes from it's father. The Aerion AS2 will have 3 turbofan engines that propell the aircraft to speeds of 1.4 Mach according to ...

19Oct

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

15 Largest Helicopters in the World

Ever since Igor Sikorsky invented the first helicopter, helicopter manufacturers have strived to make helicopters larger than their predecessor. This begs the question, which are the largest helicopters in the world? (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 15. NHIndustries NH90 Not only is the NH90 one of the fastest helicopters on the planet, but it is also one of the largest helicopters on the planet! In fact, it is due to the NH90 being so big that it was forced to become one of the fastest. As with most other helicopters in this article- the NH90 is a utility helicopter, often serving as a cargo or troop transport helicopter, thus having the need for the NH90 to be quite big. NHIndustries (a joint venture between Europe's largest helicopter man...