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McDonnell Aircraft Corporation’s F-4 Phantom was quickly becoming the do-all fighter by the mid 1960s, able to lug thousands of pounds of bombs on one mission and then strictly air-to-air missiles the next. The potential for evolving the already successful Phantom became especially attractive as high-end combat aircraft programs of the ‘60s began to sputter, namely the Navy’s F-111B. Enter the F-4(FV)S variable-geometry wing Phantom concept. The F-4(FV)S concept took the F-4 fuselage and omitted its low, bent-wing configuration. In its place was a redesigned highly-mounted swing-wing mated to large wing-root extensions. Within these extensions were the pivot points for...

For all aviation and model hobbyists on FR, this is fascinating. This is a two hour video of the world's largest HO scale model Airport assembled at Miniature Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany. Miniatur Wunderland computer control room It is completely computer controlled where Aircraft of various kinds take off, land, taxi around, park on the tarmac, maneuver into and out of hangers, have emergencies such as engine fires to be met by emergency vehicles, and even have a Space Shuttle landing or a humorously over-sized bumble bee take off (around 18 minutes into the video). The longest video of the...

The federal government will announce a new plan requiring anyone buying a drone to register the device with the U.S. Department of Transportation, NBC news has learned. The government has been concerned about the rise in close calls between unmanned drones and aircraft flying into and out of some of the nation's biggest airports. The plan is expected to be announced Monday. In July, there was a dangerously close encounter between a drone and a passenger jet with 159 people aboard setting up to land at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

A-10 Warthogs to Ämari Air Base in Estonia during a stunning atmospheric phenomenon known as Aurora Borealis, Estonian photographer Gen Vagula pounced on the opportunity to take these gorgeous pictures.

PRESS RELEASE -Visitors to the Warbirds Over Wanaka International Airshow next Easter will be treated to a display which has never been performed at any other airshow in the world.Auckland-based pilot Liz Needham will be at the controls of a P-40 Kittyhawk aircraft as she strafes the airfield with six x .50 caliber machine guns.The display was first performed at Warbirds Over Wanaka by Garth Hogan in 2008 followed by Frank Parker. Liz Needham, who is married to Frank, then performed the display in 2012.The P-40 aircraft was restored some years earlier by Garth Hogan and Charles Darby and the...

It's the end of the line for US Airways. The airline that started as a tiny airmail service 76 years ago is retiring as part of a 2013 merger with American Airlines. The final US Airways flight is scheduled to take off from Philadelphia on Friday.

Russian Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot ground-attack planes perform during the Aviadarts military aviation competition at the Dubrovichi range near Ryazan, Russia, August 2, 2015. As the Syrian military begins its push to take back opposition-held areas in northwestern Syria, Russia has provided backing through an intensifying aerial campaign. Among the planes Moscow has used to back the Syrian military's attempted advance is a Russian combat aircraft that some have compared to the US's venerated A-10 Warthog. The Russian Su-25 Frogfoot is a low-flying tank-like plane that specializes in providing aerial cover and attacking ground targets. The Frogfoot is a sturdy plane,...

The rivalry between Japan and China over islands in the East China Sea has triggered close encounters between the two sides in the air. Chinese fighters have intercepted Japanese aircraft patrolling the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Islands to China), resulting in Japanese fighters being scrambled to intercept. These aerial encounters in the Western Pacific highlight the People’s Liberation Army Air Force and the Japan Air Self Defense Force. China’s Su-27 and J-11 air superiority fighters are well known to outsiders, as are Japan’s equivalent, the F-15J Eagle. Less well known are the single-engine multi-role fighters that back up their large, twin-engined...

A teenager hunting for birds in the jungle of a Philippine island claims to have stumbled upon a fuselage “full of skeletons” and a Malaysian flag, and authorities believe it could be from missing Flight MH370. The coastal wreckage in Tawi Tawi was under investigation by local authorities in Malaysia’s Sabah region Monday. The finding was reported by Jamil Omar of Borneo, 46, who says his nephew made the grim discovery in September, but didn’t realize what it was as he has no access to television or newspapers.

The Berlin children knew exactly when he came. For hours she sometimes waited at the fence of the airport, to a DC-4 came in who wiggled his wings. He, Gail Halvorsen was. Just before the fence flew little parachutes out of the plane, because chocolate and candy. The gesture of a US officer made the Berlin Airlift popular worldwide. They intensified shortly after the war In addition, the German-American friendship and missed the pilot a nickname to which it is proud to present: "Uncle Wiggly Wings" is 95th Halvorsen now lives on a farm in Utah. "I'm doing excellent," he...

ItÂ’s been a tough week for terrorists in Syria. Over seven days Russia delivered over a hundred airstrikes at various jihadist facilities across the country, reportedly igniting panic among some groups. Russia launched its air campaign in Syria on September 30, making 120 combat sorties that hit 110 targets in just over a week, according to the Defense Ministry. Among the objects destroyed are: 71 armored vehicles 30 other vehicles 19 command facilities2 communication centers23 depots with fuel and ammunition6 plants used to make IEDs, including car bombs several artillery piecesseveral training camps 'Terrorists on the run' The apparent goal...

An American Airlines pilot became incapacitated and later died during an early red-eye flight from Phoenix to Boston on Monday. The company has yet to release the pilot's name or details on what caused his death. The plane's co-pilot took over the controls of the Airbus A320 and safely landed the 147-passenger flight in Syracuse around 7AM ET in an emergency attempt to get the pilot medical attention. The flight originally departed shortly after midnight on Monday.

An airline captain has reportedly died at the controls despite a flight attendant with medical training trying to revive him. In a recording, the first officer is heard radioing in the emergency to ground control explaining that the captain has become 'incapacitated.' American Airlines flight 550 was en-route to Boston from Phoenix earlier this morning when the pilot was taken ill at the controls. An air stewardess - apparently a former nurse - fought to save his life but to no avail.

As if they suddenly came to an epiphany, the United States Air Force brass is now admitting what many of us have been screaming about for so long: We didn’t build nearly enough F-22s, and the F-35 cannot simply pick up the slack.

The world's last flying Avro Vulcan is preparing for its final ever flights after the decision was made to permanently ground the Cold War veteran jet. The four-engined bomber, which saw action in the Falklands, is undertaking two final missions on October 10 and 11, flying long loops of the country from north to south. Chief pilot Martin Withers, who broke the record for the world's longest bombing mission in April 1982, is currently preparing a route for the final flights, which are being designed so as many people as possible will be able to see the jet.

What a great time! What a crowd! What amazing racing! This was the best year in a long time! The week started out with great weather but lots of smoke from the many fires in California. When the wind blew in, the smoke blew out – but the winds brought a new set of issues. The wind was so bad on Sunday, several classes had to stand down from their allotted course time because the winds were above their limits – as addressed in the Rules of Competition. But by Monday, everyone was back on the course and qualifying began...

Mine was built in 1944 by Buick in Flint, Mich., with a 975-cubic inch airplane engine in it. According to my records, it was sold as surplus after World War II to the Yugoslavian military, where it was used in the civil war there in the 1990s. “Would whoever owns the 1984 Camaro, please move it, or we’re going to have it towed away.” Of course, nobody moved it. With everyone watching, I fired up the tank destroyer and crushed that Camaro. The crowds loved it.

As Donald Trump's campaign for the White House kicks into high gear, the bombastic billionaire will be jetting across America on his private Boeing 757-200 airliner. Unlike most presidential candidates, The Donald actually owns his campaign plane. "Trump Force One" — as some have dubbed the jet — will be one of the most visible symbols of Trump's run for the Oval Office. Trump has owned the Boeing airliner— registration N757FA — since 2011 and has customized the aircraft to his liking. Have a closer look at Donald Trump's personal Boeing 757-200 jet.

An overwhelming treasure trove on the early days of stealth technology. A plethora of imagery, blueprints,numerous videos on the early days of stealth technology kept very hush hush on the stealth aircraft pioneered by Boeing. For years, all the aviation world knew about Boeing’s secret stealth project from the 1960s was limited to a name and a single mysterious photo. It seemed like a relic out of time, possessing many stealthy design features that wouldn’t exist until decades later, and even then, only in highly classified black projects. Lockheed's Senior Peg: The Forgotten Stealth Bomber Perhaps because it was built...

Can anyone ID the planes on video?