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Dassault Falcon 8X: Dassault’s Most Advanced Business Jet Yet!

23Oct

By Alya KulikovaNo Comments

Executive

Dassault Falcon 8X: Dassault’s Most Advanced Business Jet Yet!

An improved variant of the Falcon 7X, the Dassault Falcon 8X was designed to be Dassault's most innovative corporate jet yet, and a replacement for its older Falcon models. Introduced on October 5 2016, the Falcon 8X has proven surprisingly popular, with over 50 having been built to date and a backlog of orders that'll keep Dassault busy for the next few years at the least! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Background Founded by Marcel Dassault in 1929, Dassault Aviation entered the private jet world in the early 1960's with their now-famed Falcon 20 jet - generally considered France's first business jet. Proving more successful than their previous non-military endeavors, Dassault spent the next four decades developing new private jets from t...

Why The Tupolev Tu-134 Was The End of an Era…

20Oct

By Salomón MarcoNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

Why The Tupolev Tu-134 Was The End of an Era…

A member of an aviation dynasty that could trace its heritage back to the Tu-16 bomber of the 1950's, the Tupolev Tu-134 never served as the basis for another aircraft, as other members of the dynasty had. Yet this wasn't due to the failure of the Tu-134 itself - it was continuously produced for over 20 years and 854 examples of the type were built in total, including two prototypes - it was due to the economic stagnation of the 1980's in the USSR and its collapse in 1991. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Background In 1955, the Soviet Union shocked the world. That year, the Tupolev design bureau unveiled the Tu-104, the Soviet Union's first jet airliner, thus making it one of only two in the entire world - the other being the de Havilland Come...

How Bill Lear Created The Modern Business Jet

16Oct

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

History

How Bill Lear Created The Modern Business Jet

Remembered for being the man behind the famed Learjet, Bill Lear did much more than just build the first modern business jet: he also built radios, cassette players, battery eliminators and much more! A high school dropout and former Navy seaman who came from a broken home, Bill had a reputation for being difficult to work with and hard on his employees, constantly pushing them to push beyond the boundaries of modern technology, almost as if he had something to prove. But beneath his rough exterior was a great sense of humor, which could make even his most serious employees cry with laughter. His sense of humor even extended to the names of his children, such as his third daughter who was called Crystal Shanda Lear! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); ...

13Oct

By Gareth SeagullNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

How The Ilyushin Il-14 Became Russia’s Longest Serving Airliner!

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Background In April 1936, the Soviet Government placed an order with Douglas for 18 DC-3s on behalf of Aeroflot. By the end of the year, a further 21 had been ordered, prompting the Soviet government to acquire a license to produce the DC-3 in the Soviet Union. Built by a team under the direction of Soviet engineer Boris Lisunov, this Soviet DC-3 was known as the Lisunov Li-2. A workhorse just like the DC-3, the Soviets built over 6,000 Li-2s between 1939 and 1952. Though the primary aircraft used by Aeroflot during the 1940's, the Li-2 had become outdated by the mid-to-late 1940's, prompting Soviet aircraft manufacturer Ilyushin to design a brand new airliner to replace it. Known as the Ilyushin Il-1...

9Oct

By Gareth SeagullNo Comments

Airlines

How Imperial Airways Laid The Foundation For British Airways

A direct predecessor to today's British Airways, Imperial Airways was the first British airline to service the majority of the British Empire's routes in the Eastern Hemisphere, before being merged into BOAC in November 1939. When Imperial Airways merged into BOAC, most of their procedures and techniques were employed by the new company, allowing it to effectively compete against Juan Trippe's Pan Am. 35 years later, when BOAC was merged into today's British Airways, those very same procedures and techniques pioneered by Imperial Airways were employed by the new British Airways... albeit significantly updated for the modern world. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Background On December 17 1903, American aviation pioneers Wilbur and Orville...

Why The Mil Mi-4 Was The Most Popular Helicopter of Its Day!

6Oct

By Alya KulikovaNo Comments

Helicopters

Why The Mil Mi-4 Was The Most Popular Helicopter of Its Day!

When it comes to Cold War-era Soviet helicopters, very few stand out among the rest. One, however, stands taller than the rest: the Mil Mi-4, which remains the sixth most produced military helicopter ever built - despite having been out of production for over 40 years! Produced between 1952 and 1979, Mil built over 4,000 Mi-4s which went on to become the workhorse of most of the Eastern Bloc's militaries. In many cases, the Mi-4 continued to serve long after the Cold War ended, whilst in others, it was retired long before. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Background In 1947, the Soviet Government established a helicopter research laboratory under the direction of Mikhail Mil, one of the Soviet Union’s foremost experts on autogyros (the precursor...

2Oct

By Charles Yongzheng1 Comment

Executive

Learjet 75: The End of an Era…

The newest addition to an aviation dynasty that's almost 60 years old - including the world's first business jet - the Learjet 75 was supposed to be just another member of an aviation dynasty almost everyone's heard of. Yet whilst it has sold over 150 times since 2013 (alongside the shorter range Learjet 70), the Learjet 75 has also marked the end of an era, as Bombardier (Learjet's parent company) ceased production of the jet in 2021. In effect, this has ended the Learjet dynasty that started all those years ago with the Learjet 23... (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Background In the early 1970's, Learjet engineers were developing a stretched variant of its popular Learjet 25 design with newer engines. Introduced to service in 1974, it wa...

How The Ilyushin Il-18 Became The Best Soviet Airliner Ever Built!

29Sep

By Salomón MarcoNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

How The Ilyushin Il-18 Became The Best Soviet Airliner Ever Built!

A contemporary of airliners like the Bristol Britannia, Douglas DC-6 and Vickers Viscount, the Ilyushin Il-18 was one of the Eastern Bloc's most popular airliners, remaining in service throughout the 1960's, 1970's, 1980's and well into the 21st century! Given the reporting name of "Coot" by NATO, at least 678 Il-18s were built between 1957 and 1985, many of which remain in service today, primarily in military service, but also in airline service too (though in a vastly reduced capacity). During its heyday, many on both sides of the Iron Curtain hailed it as the best Soviet airliner of the time... (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Ilyushin Il-18 Development Operational History Airline Air Koryo Cargo Military Museum As...

Why Sir Barnes Wallis Was The Most Important Aerospace Engineer to Have Ever Lived!

25Sep

By Alexander PaskNo Comments

History

Why Sir Barnes Wallis Was The Most Important Aerospace Engineer to Have Ever Lived!

Though most famous for his "Bouncing Bomb" that was used during the Dambusters raid (Operation Chastise), Barnes Wallis was behind much more - from airship designs, to bombs, to engine designs - a lot of which he's isn't remembered for! If you add all this up, there's a pretty strong argument that Barnes Wallis is the most influential aerospace engineer ever, perhaps only rivalled by the Wright Brothers. Without him, the Allies (and Britain in particular) may have actually lost WWII, or at least been devastated by it even more than they were in our timeline, and Britain's postwar dominance would've almost certainly been even shorter... (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Early Life Barnes Neville Wallis was born on September 26 1887 in the town...

Why The Tupolev Tu-114 Was The Most Significant Airliner of The 1960’s!

22Sep

By Gareth SeagullNo Comments

Aircraft Digest

Why The Tupolev Tu-114 Was The Most Significant Airliner of The 1960’s!

A turboprop airliner released into a world where jets reigned supreme in the long-haul market, many scoffed at the idea that the Tupolev Tu-114 could actually compete with jet aircraft, that were supposedly more reliable, faster and cheaper than their turboprop cousins. Yet the Tu-114 surprised the entire world, not only competing with other Soviet-made jet airliners, but often outshining them on the world stage. Despite airliners like the Tu-104 and Tu-124 being more advanced (at least on paper) as they were jets, the sheer size of the Tu-114 and its incredible speed set the aviation world ablaze - and for good reason. After all, it was arguably the most significant airliner of the 1960's... (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Tupolev Tu...