Portal:Aviation/Selected picture archive
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[edit] January
The first ejector seats were developed during the war by Heinkel. Early models were powered by compressed air and the first aircraft to be fitted with such a system was the Heinkel He 280 prototype jet fighter in 1941. One of the He 280 test pilots, Dipl.-Ing. Rudolf Schenk, flying for Argus, became the first person to escape from a stricken aircraft with an ejector seat on January 13, 1942. During a flight with the still engine-less V-1 towed by a Heinkel He 111 he had to leave his airplane because he could not release the towing cable due to icing of the coupling. By December 2003, Martin-Baker ejector seats had saved 7028 lives. The total figure for all types of seat is unknown but must be considerably higher.
Photo credit: U.S. Air Force
[edit] February
The airship USS Akron (ZRS-4) flying over the southern tip of Manhattan circa 1931–1933. The Akron was a commissioned 'ship' of the United States Navy, built for them by the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation in Akron, Ohio. She cast off for her maiden voyage on 2 November 1931, but crashed less than two years later.
Photo credit: U.S. Naval Historical Center
[edit] March
The planes that serve as Air Force One can be operated as a military command center in the event of an incident such as a nuclear attack. Operational modifications include aerial refueling capability, electronic countermeasures (ECMs) which jam enemy radar, and flares to avoid heat-seeking missiles. The heavily shieleded electronics onboard include around twice the amount of wiring found in a regular ?.
Photo credit: United States Air Force
[edit] April
During a winch launch, a glider is pulled by a wire cable like a kite, raising it to an altitude of around 1000 ft (300 m). For the rest of its flight, being un-powered, the heavier-than-air aeroplane is always falling. However a pilot can gain height by circling within a strong thermal — a column of air that is rising at a faster rate than the plane is falling. On a good day, an experienced pilot can travel hundreds of miles before landing.
Photo credit: www.whiteplanes.com
[edit] May
The Controlled Impact Demonstration was a joint project between NASA and the FAA in which a Boeing 720 was deliberately crashed in order to test the ability of the fuel additive FM-9, to inhibit the ignition and flame propagation of Jet-A fuel.
Photo credit: NASA
[edit] June
An airfield traffic pattern is a standard path followed by aircraft when taking off or landing at an airport.The pattern (or circuit) is used to coordinate air traffic, and differs from straight-in approaches and departures in that aircraft remain in close proximity to the airport. Circuits are usually employed at small general aviation (GA) airfields and military airbases.
Illustration credit: Ericg
[edit] July
A C-141 Starlifter leaves vapour trails over Antarctica
[edit] August
Hot air balloons are the oldest successful human flight technology, dating back to the Montgolfier brothers' invention in Annonay, France in 1783. The first manned flight was made in Paris by Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes. Unmanned hot air balloons are mentioned in Chinese history. Chu-ko Kung-ming (諸葛 孔明) in the three kingdoms era used airborne lanterns for military signalling.
[edit] September
A test firing of twin linear XRS-2200 Aerospike engines. The aerospike engine is a type of rocket engine that maintains its efficiency across a wide range of altitudes through the use of an aerospike nozzle.
A standard rocket engine uses a bell shaped nozzle to contain and direct the exhaust gases. However the optimum shape of the bell depends on the air pressure which reduces as the rocket climbs. An aerospike uses the air flowing past the rocket to form half of a 'virtual bell' which automatically compensates for the reducing pressure.
Photo credit: NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center
[edit] October
The F-15 Eagle is a multi-role tactical fighter designed by McDonnell Douglas. The first flight of the F-15A was in July 1972, but since then it has been produced in six model variations with both single seat and dual seat versions.
The original and largest operator of the F-15 is the United States Air Force, but it is also operated by the air forces of Israel, Japan, Saudi Arabia and soon South Korea too.
The F-15 can climb at a rate of 50,000 ft/min.
Photo credit: Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Allen, USAF
[edit] November
U.S. F/A-18 Hornet flying at transonic speeds. In aerodynamics, the sound barrier is a physical boundary that was once thought to be stopping large objects becoming supersonic. When an aircraft is near to the speed of sound, an unusual cloud sometimes forms. A drop in pressure, in this case due to shock wave formation, causes water droplets to condense and form the cloud.
Photo credit: John Gay
[edit] December
The Wright Flyer was the first powered aircraft designed and built by the Wright Brothers in 1903. It is generally considered to be the first successful powered, piloted aircraft.
In this photograph of the first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville Wright is at the controls, lying prone on the lower wing with hips in the cradle that operated the wing warping mechanism. Wilbur Wright running alongside, has just released his hold to balance the machine.
Photo credit: John T. Daniels (1903)
