International Aviation HQ | International Aviation HQ

What Was Barnstorming? The History of Barnstorming Explained!

27Jul

By Alya KulikovaNo Comments

History

What Was Barnstorming? The History of Barnstorming Explained!

At air shows today, you may see pilots perform all sorts of crazy maneuvers, from high-G stunts, to creating shapes and symbols with the help of other aircraft to drawing pictures in the sky with smoke from their engines. But none of this can rival the thrilling display of barnstormers. Barnstormers were out-of-work military pilots who used the supposedly useless Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" biplanes of the First World War to perform dangerous air stunts to entertain the many Americans who had never seen an aircraft before. Barnstorming made heroes of many of the former military men who embraced it. From doing remarkable acrobatic maneuvers while parachuting to doing unbelievable stunts on a plane, barnstormers did not just become heroes but inadvertently set the pace for civil aviation...

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...

5 Best Aviation Games You Can Download Today!

1Jun

By Alya KulikovaNo Comments

Opinion

5 Best Aviation Games You Can Download Today!

Even before the Wright Brothers' first flight in December 1903, people have occupied themselves with aviation themed games. This is a trend that's continued to this very day, with literally thousands of aviation games available on a variety of platforms. But as with most things in life, some games stand out from the rest; be it for their intuitive user interfaces, hyper-realistic features or just for capturing the sheer enthusiasm of an avgeek! So what are the best aviation games available today? For the purposes of this article, we are only mentioning solely aviation-related games (rather than other games with a large aviation focus), which are available on a variety of platforms, including but not limited to mobile devices, games consoles and/or online. (adsbygoog...

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...

Inside The Reuben Brothers’ Aviation Empire!

21May

By Alya KulikovaNo Comments

Analysis

Inside The Reuben Brothers’ Aviation Empire!

Best known for their extensive property empire, the Reuben Brothers are also at the helm of a rather impressive aviation empire, consisting of an airport, a heliport and a now-defunct airline. Though not as large as the aviation holdings owned by a solely-aviation investor Kenn Ricci, the brothers' aviation empire neatly fits into the brothers' real estate holdings without suffering overdiversification problems. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Who Are The Reuben Brothers? The Reuben Brothers - David and Simon - are Indian-born British businessmen and property investors worth an estimated £16 billion ($20 billion), whose properties include London's Millbank Tower, AMEX's London HQ and Hampton House. Born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India in 19...

Why Have They Stopped Production of The Quadjet?

18May

By Gareth SeagullNo Comments

History

Why Have They Stopped Production of The Quadjet?

During the Golden Age of Aviation, four-engine aircraft, otherwise known as quadjets, were all the rage. They scattered airfields both civil and military the world over. No one could seem to get enough of them. Quadjets like the Boeing 747, Airbus A380, de Havilland Comet and Concorde became emblematic of the aviation industry as a whole and among the most produced airliners of their day. Yet today, most aircraft manufacturers are ending production of what few quadjets remain in production. But why? Though the COVID-19 pandemic hastened many manufacturers' decision to end production of quadjets, other factors such as the extension of ETOPS regulations, their comparatively higher cost and a change in how we fly all contributed to the downfall of the mighty quadjet. Although ...

14May

By Alexander MonteverdeNo Comments

History

Why Did They Stop Making Trijets?

Looking through my father's old pictures of Heathrow Airport from the seventies and eighties, I can't help but notice all the trijets. Aircraft like the 727, TriStar and DC-10 are seemingly everywhere, whilst twinjets an quadjets were a rarity. Look at it today, however, it is the complete opposite; twinjets are the most common, quadjets, whilst still popular are nowhere near as common as before and trijets are seemingly nonexistent. So why did trijets fall so much out of favor? Though the extension of ETOPS regulations is the most common reason why manufacturers stopped producing trijets, it was also a combination of comparable higher operating costs and a change in the way we fly that ultimately sealed the fate of trijets. Most production of trijets ceased in the 1990s...

Cessna Citation Bravo: The Perfect Successor?

11May

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

Executive

Cessna Citation Bravo: The Perfect Successor?

The successor to the wildly successful Citation II, the Cessna Citation Bravo was arguably the perfect successor; capturing the market previously filled by the Citation II without directly competing with it. Genius. Produced between 1995 and 2006 (when the entire Citation II family was retired from production in favor of newer jets), a total of 338 Citation Bravos were produced for a variety of customers - not bad considering the entire Citation II family sold 1,186 times! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Background Development Operational History Private Jet Charter Military Price Prior to Cessna ceasing production the Citation Bravo in 2006, it was possible to pick up a brand new one for around $6.2 million, or a little under ...

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...