General Dynamics F-16 – The Rebirth of the Dogfighter | PlaneHistoria
Do you know the General Dynamics F-16 – the rebirth of the dogfighter? This is the fighter that took air combat to the next level. This is the fighter that redefined the art of the possible. This is the fighter that made you king of the skies. The F-16 was the product of a group of maverick pilots and engineers who were unafraid to think outside the box. They were...
The Antonov An-225 Mriya, which means Dream in English, is a heavy strategic cargo aircraft. It is the largest and heaviest fixed-wing plane in the world. The Mriya was developed for long-range and heavy payloads. The An-225 was first flown in 1988 and first flew commercially in 1989. The An-225 can carry up to 225,000 kg of payload over 6,000 nautical miles. There are only two An-225 planes in the world, with one based in Russia and one in Ukraine....
Edgley EA-7 Optica – The Flying Eye | Plane Historia
The Edgley EA-7 Optica is a small, agile, and heavily armed series of spacecraft for reconnaissance and fighter escort duties.
The EA-7 started out as the F-7A and F-7B, the successor to the A-7 Corsair II and B-7 Avenger respectively. The F models were intended to fill the role of an all-weather, low-cost strike aircraft, while the B model was designed to fulfill the requirements of a fleet replacement for the A...
Douglas X-3 Stiletto – The Flying Shoe
The Douglas X-3 Stiletto was a series of experimental, VTOL aircraft developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It would have been the first practical VTOL aircraft, and represented the technical limit for the aircraft at the time.
The first X-3 was released in 1945 – with only one prototype being built. The airframe was a large single-seat, low-wing monoplane with an unconventional tailplane arrangement. The prototype X-3 used a four-stroke radial engine. After testing the...
The English Electric Lightning was the first British jet aircraft to enter service, and like all early jets it suffered from severe airframe buffeting. This was caused by the shockwaves produced as the air rushing past the rear of the aircraft created a ‘wake’, or disturbance in the airflow behind the aircraft. The Lightning was also highly fuel inefficient.
Despite these disadvantages it was a very capable aircraft. It had excellent range, payload and climb rate, and could operate from short,...
The EA-7 Optica is a British-designed and built aircraft for low-speed observation work that could loiter extremely slowly and for long periods. The design is based on the BAe Puma, but with several modifications intended to improve performance. The most obvious change is the use of a turboprop engine instead of the piston engine and drivetrain combination used in the Puma. Another important modification was the addition of an aft-mounted door, which allowed the aircraft to be quickly and easily...
