Classics/Vintage

First flown on December 17, 1935, the Douglas DC-3, an iteration of the DC-1 and DC-2, married reliability with performance and comfort in a way no other airplane had before. So much greater than the sum of its parts, an apt description for an airplane that has earned the right to be called “timeless” more […]

The workers and staff at Doug Matthews’ Classic Fighters of America are excited about the impending maiden flight and evaluation trials of a North American F-86F Korea-Era fighter soon to begin. Global Aviation Management in Titusville, Florida sits at the center of the work and is funding the efforts to create a nearly brand-new edition […]

(function(d, s, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) return; var js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = ‘//cdn4.wibbitz.com/static.js’; d.getElementsByTagName(‘body’)[0].appendChild(js); }(document, ‘script’, ‘wibbitz-static-embed’)); The Commemorative Air Force, a nonprofit with 79 units across 25 states, restores, maintains and flies iconic warbirds, largely through the help of volunteers. Through airshows and making rides in the WWII-era airplanes available […]

Drivers, motorcyclists, bikers and pedestrians craned their heads to the skies as military trainers, combat fighters, bombers and reconnaissance aircraft made their way over the city in a series of formations, commemorating the 70th anniversary of V-E Day (victory in Europe). World War II was a special era in the history of aviation, the likes […]

Another historic airplane model has flown its final leg as the last flying Boeing 247 landed this week at King County International Airport/Boeing Field in Seattle, the same airport where it was built more than eight decades ago. The Boeing airplane will become a part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Flight. As […]

On May 1, she will turn 70 years old and, I am not exaggerating, she is just as beautiful today as she was on the day I first met her. That was 50 years ago, and I swear she has changed very little. Boy, do I wish I could say the same for me! What can I […]

A historic airplane has returned to the skies as Columbine II, a 1948 Lockheed C-121A Constellation that holds the claim to fame of being the very first airplane to be called Air Force One, took off yesterday from the Marana Regional Airport in Marana, Arizona, where it has been parked since 2003. After being available […]

July 22, 1921: The Douglas Aircraft Co. incorporates, with its main base in Santa Monica, California, in an old movie studio. April 1936: The first Douglas Sleeper Transport is delivered to American Airlines. 1943: The 2,000th C-47 rolls out of the production hangar at Long Beach. 1944: More than 100 C-47s fill the skies over […]

They were a big Irish family in Hamilton, Ohio. I’m not sure if Bernie or Joe was the oldest, but Art and Bill came along about 10 years later with another brother and three sisters somewhere in between. In 1929, after a neighboring farmer, “Pop” Muhlburger, taught the two oldest boys to fly in his […]

It’s easy to forget one of the reasons I became an airline pilot in this age of aviation technology that includes FMS, RVSM, ADS-B, RNAV/RNP, ACARS, VNAV and CAT III, plus the effects of 9/11, bankruptcy, retirement plan terminations, contentious contract negotiations and the normal stresses of a professional aviation career. Not that I completely […]