10 Airplanes You Won't Believe are Still Flying

10 Airplanes You Won’t Believe are Still Flying

FLYING Staff

Tuesday, July 28, 2015 at 05:11 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

The article highlights several vintage and rare aircraft designs that are surprisingly still airworthy and flying today, often thanks to the dedicated efforts of enthusiasts and organizations.
These "dead or alive" planes encompass a range of aviation history, from military aircraft like the Avro Vulcan and Bell P-63 Kingcobra to unique designs such as the Beechcraft Starship, Northrop N9MB Flying Wing, and even early pioneers like the Blériot XI.
Many of these aircraft are among the last of their kind, offering a unique opportunity to witness aviation history in action, though some, like the Vulcan (as of 2015) and JetStar, faced impending retirement or regulatory challenges.

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Dead or alive? Just as with certain celebrities who have been around for so long we might forget whether they’re still with us, or not, airplanes of a certain vintage can be hard to keep track of. How many, if any, of a long abandoned design are still flying? Sadly, the answer most often is, “none.” But sometimes you get a nice surprise, and thanks to the dedicated work of a few fanatics, a number of rare birds are still taking wing. With that in mind, here’s a small collection of airplanes that you probably thought were dead (or at least permanently mounted to a post in the ground) but which happily are still flying up a vintage storm.