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Tower Air: The US’s Largest Charter Airline

13Jan

By Charles Yongzheng1 Comment

Airlines

Tower Air: The US’s Largest Charter Airline

At one point in time, Tower Air and World Airways were the two largest charter airlines in the world. For the most part, World Airways was immortalized in popular culture, whilst Tower Air was forgotten! During its prime, Tower Air had a fleet of 17 aircraft, some were configured for passengers, whilst others were configured for cargo. On top of a series of passenger and cargo contracts, the airline also had military contracts too. However, in 2000, their empire would crumble and they'd cease operations. So what went so wrong? (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Tower Air In 1951, Morris K. Nachtomi joined Israeli flag carrier, El Al. Over the next 30 years, Nachtomi worked in several different divisions of El Al, including: finance, operat...

Boeing B-17 vs B-29: The Best WWII Bomber?

9Jan

By Alya KulikovaNo Comments

Aircraft Compare

Boeing B-17 vs B-29: The Best WWII Bomber?

The B-29 was designed to be the replacement for the B-17. However, WWII saw both bombers be used on a mass scale, often alongside one another, often not. Since then, people have often wondered which aircraft was better! Whenever it comes to the best WWII aircraft, or those WWII aircraft that made a large impact, both the B-17 and B-29 are often featured on them! You'd be hard pressed to find another WWII-era bomber that made a similar-sized impact on the aviation industry as either the B-17 or B-29. The only real contender might be the British-made Avro Lancaster! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Boeing B-17 vs B-29: What is a Heavy Bomber? Both the B-17 and B-29 are a type of bomber called a "Heavy bomber". To many, even those familiar with ...

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...

Dassault Falcon 900: Dassault’s Best Private Jet Yet!

2Jan

By Charles YongzhengNo Comments

Executive

Dassault Falcon 900: Dassault’s Best Private Jet Yet!

Today, Dassault is known for making some of the best business jets currently for sale. For the longest time, the Dassault Falcon 900 has been among these jets, often leading them from the front! Dassault were among the first aircraft manufacturers to produce business jets, producing the Dassault Mystère 20. The Mystère 20, otherwise known as the Falcon 20, is often cited as one of the best and first business jets! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Development Since the 1960's, Dassault had developed some of the leading business jets of its day, starting with the immensely successful Dassault Falcon 20. In the 1970's, it had released the Dassault Falcon 50, which sold even better than the Falcon 20! However, the late 1970's had yielded a number ...

30Dec

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

History

15 Most Important WWII Aircraft

WWII was the first conflict that saw mass uses of aircraft. As such, it should stand to reason that there are a lot of WWII aircraft, all of whom played their part during the war. But which played the most significant role? Over the course of the war, a staggering 750,000 aircraft were built. The vast majority of these saw conflict, as fighters, bombers, reconnaissance aircraft etc. However, a large minority were prototypes for new aircraft as well! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 15. Supermarine Spitfire For most Brits, the Supermarine Spitfire has been engrained into them as one of the best WWII aircraft. Indeed, for many in Britain, the only reason they weren't conquered by Germany was because of the Spitfire! In 1936, Supermarine were con...

World Airways: The World’s Most Diverse Airline. Ever.

26Dec

By Salomón MarcoNo Comments

Airlines

World Airways: The World’s Most Diverse Airline. Ever.

At its height, World Airways was one of the largest and most successful airlines of its time. However, in March 2014, 66 years almost to the day, the airline was forced to cease operations. So what went so wrong? Over the course of its history, World Airways has performed just about every type of aviation-related job, possible. In part, this has helped to make it so successful, but it was also partly the reason why it failed! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-World Airways WWII was the largest war in human history. No conflict before or since it has managed to match the size and scope of the conflict. Due to the sheer size of the war, everyone, both young and old were asked to help with the war effort. Part of this meant that young men h...

P-47 vs P-51: America’s Best WWII Fighter?

23Dec

By Alexander PaskNo Comments

Aircraft Compare

P-47 vs P-51: America’s Best WWII Fighter?

During WWII, the Republic P-47 and North American P-51 served alongside one another in almost every battle. Since the end of the war, and the retirement of the aircraft, people have wondered which was better, the P-47 or the P-51? A while ago, we covered the Hurricane and Spitfire, by all accounts, the British equivalent to the dynamic duo of the iconic Thunderbolt and Mustang. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); P-47 vs P-51: What is a Fighter? Today, the term "fighter aircraft" has become a very term. Today, the general public believes that any small, comparatively fast aircraft is a fighter aircraft, when that is simply not the case. For the most part, this is due to a few wildly successful aviation-themed movies. Perhaps the worst culprit of...

19Dec

By Gareth SeagullNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

Convair 880: Too Fast Too Soon

When the Convair 880 was first introduced in May 1960, it was the fastest commercial aircraft ever built. Subsequent variants of the aircraft would hold this record until 1968, when the supersonic Tu-144 was introduced. Even today, at a time when all commercial aircraft fly subsonic (for the minute anyway!) the Convair 880 is still among the fastest airliners in history! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Convair 880 During WWII, American aircraft manufacturers Convair and Vultee were among the largest manufacturers in the country. In 1943, both companies chose to merge with one another forming Consolidated Vultee (otherwise known as Convair). For the most part, both manufacturers had only ever made military aircraft. In 1951, the company ha...

Dassault Falcon 50: Dassault’s Most Famous Jet Yet!

16Dec

By Alya KulikovaNo Comments

Executive

Dassault Falcon 50: Dassault’s Most Famous Jet Yet!

Today, Dassault is known for making some of the most famous and most expensive business jets currently on the market. Perhaps its most famous jet was the Dassault Falcon 50. Dassault has been in the business jet industry since almost the beginning, having created one of the first private jets, in the form of the Falcon 20. This is a jet that would serve as the basis of the Falcon 50! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Development Dassault had released the Dassault Falcon 20 (otherwise known as the Mystère 20) in 1965. As with most other early business jets, the Falcon 20 was immensely successful, selling over 500 copies. However, by the mid-1970's, other business jets like the Lockheed JetStar had been introduced. Many of these business jets we...

12Dec

By Charles YongzhengNo Comments

History

What was the First Aircraft Carrier?

There are several contenders for the title of first aircraft carrier. Several navies claim to have had the first as a part of their navy, many ship builders also claim to have made the first as well. When it comes to military aviation, naval aviation is often overlooked, carrier-based aviation even more so! Aircraft carriers are at the front of naval aviation but what was the first aircraft carrier? (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Wright Brothers Aircraft Carriers Before 1903, before the Wright Brothers' first flight of their Wright Flyer, there were ships that launched airborne weapons, similarly to how modern aircraft carriers launch. Balloon Carriers Balloon carriers were the first modern iteration of an aircraft carrier. As the nam...