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Air Koryo: Inside North Korea’s Most Secretive Airline…

9Dec

By Alya KulikovaNo Comments

Airlines

Air Koryo: Inside North Korea’s Most Secretive Airline…

North Korea is one of the most secretive countries on the planet, with only a handful of airlines flying to the Hermit Kingdom. One of these airlines is Air Koryo, North Korea's national airline. As with the rest of North Korea, their national carrier is extremely secretive. Photographing their staff and aircraft is extremely difficult, not only because their staff are notoriously camera-shy but also because they don't fly to many destinations! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Air Koryo Following WWII, former Allied and Axis fighter pilots returned to their home countries. Many of these former fighter pilots became airline pilots, with those wealthier pilots founding their own airlines when they returned home. Beginning in the late 1940'...

F-16 vs F-35: The Future of The Air Force?…

5Dec

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

Aircraft Compare

F-16 vs F-35: The Future of The Air Force?…

The F-35 is supposed to be the world's most advanced fighter jet. It is supposed to replace every other aircraft in a modern air force's fleet, including the F-16. This has caused many to wonder which is better- the F-16 and F-35? In recent years, the cost of the F-35 has skyrocketed, combined with several other issues regarding the F-35, has caused many to say that we should modify existing F-16 fleets rather than buy a relatively untested aircraft. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); F-16 vs F-35: What is a Fighter Jet? Today, the term "fighter jet" is used quite a lot. Mostly, it is used as a blanket term for military aircraft, both by the media and general public. However, this is not really true, at least not in a military sense, anyway. Th...

Boeing 737-200: Boeing’s Most Dangerous 737 Variant

2Dec

By Salomón MarcoNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

Boeing 737-200: Boeing’s Most Dangerous 737 Variant

In recent years, the 737 MAX has made headlines for being among the most dangerous aircraft ever. However, it is not the most dangerous 737 variant, the Boeing 737-200 is. For all intents and purposes, the Boeing 737-200 is an air icon. If you flew on a 737 in the late 1960's or early 1970's, you probably flew on a -200, it is arguably the reason why the subsequent variants of the 737 are still flying today! Yet, its safety record is abysmal to say the least, and history has not forgotten it... (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Boeing 737-200 The first jet aircraft appeared in the 1950's, starting with the de Havilland Comet, BAC 1-11, DC-8, 707 and Convair 990. However, all of these (except the BAC 1-11) were long range airliners. ...

Lockheed JetStar: Lockheed’s Only Business Jet

28Nov

By Christopher Harrow4 Comments

Executive

Lockheed JetStar: Lockheed’s Only Business Jet

For much of its history, Lockheed, and its successor, Lockheed Martin, is/was known primarily for their military aircraft. However, The Lockheed JetStar was Lockheed's attempt to break into the corporate jet market. As one of the first business jets, the Lockheed JetStar was originally quite successful, selling 202 copies of the aircraft over the course of 19 years. Even as the aircraft approaches its sixtieth birthday, there are still a few flying! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Development In the late 1950's, the USAF became interested in a small jet-powered aircraft that could be used as a basic trainer. On top of these trainer duties, it could be used to transport high ranking officers to and from the battlefield. As such, Lockheed desi...

25Nov

By Gareth SeagullNo Comments

History

History of Marine One

Almost everyone, regardless of whether they're American or not, are familiar with Air Force One. However, what about the President's helicopter, Marine One? Why are not many people are familiar with it? People are generally unfamiliar with the president's helicopter because it is overshadowed by his famous motorcade, The Beast and by his own jet, Air Force One. As such, people tend to forget his helicopter! Recently, we covered the Vice President's private jet- Air Force Two. So now we'll cover the President's private helicopter- Marine One. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The First During his presidency, President Eisenhower wanted to travel from the White House to his summer house in Pennsylvania. The car journey was too long, making it di...

Air Florida: How Florida Competed With Southwest

21Nov

By Alya KulikovaNo Comments

Airlines

Air Florida: How Florida Competed With Southwest

Today, there are hundreds of low cost airlines around the world, with the largest being Southwest Airlines. However, at one point, there were only a few, and Air Florida was the king of them... During its heyday, the airline was one of the largest low cost airlines in the South Eastern US, and eventually, the entire eastern seaboard. Following on from other LCCs like Morris Air and PSA, the airline was among the first LCCs to expand internationally! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Formation Throughout the late 1960's and early 1970's, legislation was passed by Congress which allowed airlines to establish themselves easier. This done by lawmakers repealing a clause that stated intrastate airlines needed government-set prices. However, thos...

Boeing 747 vs 777: The Quest For Boeing’s Largest Jet…

18Nov

By Charles YongzhengNo Comments

Aircraft Compare

Boeing 747 vs 777: The Quest For Boeing’s Largest Jet…

The 747 is well over 50 years old. As such, many airlines are retiring it and replacing it with Boeing's other large airliner, the 777. As such, many have begun to wonder which is truly better, the 747 or 777? Both aircraft have also had very successful careers as cargo aircraft, mostly due to their size. Many former passenger 747s and 777s have been converted into freighters and have continued their service life as such. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Boeing 747 vs 777: Boeing's Largest Aircraft Boeing has a vary long and detailed history of creating some of the world's largest aircraft. Of the largest aircraft currently flying today, four of them were produced by Boeing. This list includes the Boeing 377-derived Guppy line of freighters,...

14Nov

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

Convair 990 Coronado: Too Fast Too Soon

Before the BAC-Aérospatiale Concorde was the fastest airliner in our skies, there was the subsonic Convair 990 Coronado. Just as with its supersonic friend, the Coronado was a complete failure. But why was that? When it was released, the airline industry was growing tremendously. Each new day, airlines were becoming larger, and were buying more airliners. So you'd think that the airliner would sell well... In its two years of production, the airliner only sold 37 copies. In the same period, the contemporary Boeing 707 sold 192 copies, whilst the DC-8 sold 83 copies. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Coronado In the years following WWII, the vast majority of airliners were turboprops, with the largest and fastest being the likes of the Bo...

Learjet 60: Learjet’s Long Range Luxury…

11Nov

By Charles YongzhengNo Comments

Executive

Learjet 60: Learjet’s Long Range Luxury…

For 21 years, between 1991 and 2012 the Learjet 60 was Learjet division of Bombardier's longest range business jet. However, in 2012, after twenty years of production, Learjet pulled the plug on the Learjet 60. Nevertheless, almost a decade later, most of the original four hundred Learjets are still flying. For most of them, they are in the hands of the people who originally bought them, although many are on the secondary market. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Development In 1981, Learjet released their latest business jet, the Learjet 55, itself being derived from the first ever business jet, the Learjet 23. This aircraft originally sold very well, but by the end of the 1990's, sales began to slow. Learjet attempted to create new variant...

7Nov

By Alexander PaskNo Comments

History

History of Air Force Two

Air Force One is arguably the most famous private jet in the world, with it being the President of the United States' private aircraft. With that being said, few remember the Vice President's Air Force Two aircraft. Due to safety concerns, the President and Vice President of the United States can never fly together. As such, both need completely different aircraft when they're traveling by air. Air Force One's history is well known, expediting through films such as Air Force One. The history of Air Force Two on the other hand, is less well known... (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Air Force One The concept of government owned aircraft predates the Wright Brothers' first flight in 1903. Many contemporary journalists saw the airship desi...