Antoine Roels Aviation Photography.

28/08/2022

August is a big month in the history of the Museum's F-104. In August 1956, it was flown for the first time by the NACA (now NASA) after being received at Edwards Air Force Base that month. NASA flew the aircraft for 19 years and it was transferred to the Museum in August 1975.

27/08/2022

August 27th, 1990; the Black Widow took to the skies on her maiden flight. The Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 was an American single-seat, twin-engine stealth fighter aircraft technology demonstrator designed for the United States Air Force (USAF). The design was a finalist in the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) competition, battling the Lockheed YF-22 for a production contract. Two YF-23 prototypes were built with the nicknames "Black Widow II" and "Gray Ghost".

In the 1980s, the USAF began looking for a replacement for its fighter aircraft, especially to counter the USSR's advanced Sukhoi Su-27 and Mikoyan MiG-29. Several companies submitted design proposals; the USAF selected proposals from Northrop and Lockheed. Northrop teamed with McDonnell Douglas to develop the YF-23, while Lockheed, Boeing and General Dynamics developed the YF-22.

The YF-23 was stealthier and faster, but less agile than its competitor. After a four-year development and evaluation process, the YF-22 was announced the winner in 1991 and entered production as the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.

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26/08/2022

The 'chrome' F-35C recently arrived at Point Mugu in California, which is hosting other specialized test aircraft for a major exercise.

26/08/2022

25/08/2022

Let's take a closer look at the giants of aviation.

25/08/2022

Mack Rutherford piloted a Shark.Aero Shark ultralight aircraft across five continents and two oceans.

25/08/2022

Guinness World Records has declared 17-year-old British-Belgian national Mack Rutherford the youngest pilot to fly solo around the world.

25/08/2022

The U.S. Air Force secretary has confirmed that the service could buy the Australian drone as part of the NGAD tactical air combat program.

25/08/2022

The X-47Bs accomplished great things during their short lives, and it was hoped they could do even more, but now they're museum bound.

23/08/2022

23 August 1954: The first of two Lockheed YC-130 Hercules four-engine transport prototypes, 53-3397, made its first flight from the Lockheed Air Terminal at Burbank, California, to Edwards Air Force Base. The flight crew consisted of test pilots Stanley Beltz and Roy Wimmer, with Jack G. Real (a fut...

23/08/2022

Today in 1954, a prototype of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft made its inaugural flight. It wasn't flashy, but it got the job done. More: s.si.edu/2zjb8Ac

22/08/2022

On August 21, 1961, a Douglas DC-8 became the first commercial airliner to break the sound barrier during a test flight. The aircraft exceeded Mach 1—the only intentional supersonic flight by an airliner other than the Concorde and the Tu-144. More: https://s.si.edu/3wgETiL