Connecting Skies • Bridging Continents
Airbus Defence and Space has signed the initial contract with the European Space Agency to design and build the Aeolus-2 wind sensing satellite, following the
Emirates has inaugurated its third daily flight between Dubai and Cape Town, operating the route with its new Airbus A350, while simultaneously reinstating a fourth
Avolon’s Q2 2026 business update reflects a quarter of sustained activity across fleet management, capital markets and orderbook placements, capped by an S&P upgrade to BBB that brought all three major rating agencies into alignment for the first time. S&P UPGRADE COMPLETES INVESTMENT GRADE RATING ALIGNMENT
Gulfstream’s G800 has achieved two milestones in quick succession: becoming the aircraft to secure the Gulfstream fleet’s 800th city pair speed record, and then completing the farthest-fastest flight in business aviation history with a non-stop crossing from Melbourne to Moline covering 8,303 nautical miles in under
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has been awarded an approximate $36 million sole-source contract for a new air defence missile system, adding to a growing pipeline of air defence work as the company reports increased demand from multiple customers across its defence hardware portfolio. SOLE-SOURCE AWARD
ACC Aviation’s Q2 2026 market analysis shows a significant overall contraction in global ACMI block hours, driven by sharp narrowbody declines across Europe and North America, while the widebody segment posted growth of more than 20% year-on-year and South America delivered the strongest regional increase. ACMI
Honeywell Aerospace Technologies’ latest Global Business Aviation Outlook projects operators will acquire 8,500 new business jets worth $283 billion between 2025 and 2034, with deliveries
Bell’s annual Flight Camp in Amarillo, Texas, gives local middle school students a week-long introduction to engineering, aviation and advanced manufacturing, with the programme designed
KEYVAN Aviation has released a new version of its DPilot mobile application, providing pilots and flight schools with enhanced access to certified aeronautical data, interactive
2008 – First flight of the Cirrus Vision SF50
2002 – Steve Fossett completes round-the-world balloon flight, landing after 14 days, 19hrs. He broke three balloon records along the way; fastest time around the world (13 days, 3 mins), longest distance flown solo (20,483.25 mi; 32,963.35 km), and longest time flown solo (355 hrs, 50 min).
2002 – Launch of The Comet Nucleus TOUR (CONTOUR), NASA Discovery-class space probe.
1998 – Launch of Nozomi (spacecraft), Japanese space probe designed to study the upper Martian atmosphere and its interaction with the solar wind and to develop technologies for use in future planetary missions.
1987 – 2 men, Per Lindstrand and Richard Branson, became First hot-air balloon travellers to cross Atlantic. Their balloon, at the time, is the largest ever flown at 2.3 million cubic feet of capacity.
1982 – First flight of The prototype General Dynamics F-16XL, derivative of the F-16 Fighting Falcon, with a cranked arrow delta wing, similar in appearance to the wing planform of the earlier Saab 35 Draken from Sweden, that is over twice the size of that of the standard F-16 wing.
1976 – Three Israeli Air Force C-130 Hercules carry commandos to Entebbe, Uganda to rescue the 258 passengers of an Air France Airbus hijacked six days earlier
1974 – Launch of Soyuz 14, Soviet manned spaceflight to the Salyut 3 space station
1953 – First tethered flight by the Rolls-Royce Thrust Measuring Rig VTOL aircraft
1952 – First flight of the Yakovlev Yak-24 twin engine tandem helicopter
1948 – First flight of The North American AJ Savage (later A-2 Savage), US twin engine carrier-based bomber aircraft.
1942 – First airborne test firing of a retrocrocket at Goldstone Lake, Calif., from a PBY-5 A piloted by Lt. Comdr. J. H. Hean (USN).
1937 – First flight of the Dornier Do 24
1937 – Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappear over the Pacific Ocean on a flight from Lae, New Guinea, to Howland Island, and are never seen again.
1936 – First flight of the Short Empire S.23prototype RMA Canopus. The flying boat built by Shorts as the S.23 design, makes a brief 14-min. first flight piloted by John Lankester Parker.
1933 – First flight of Tupolev ANT-16 (also known as TB-4) experimental Russian heavy bomber aircraft.
1931 – First prototype Breguet 393 T (390 T), French 3 engine sesquiplane of all-metal construction airliner, loses a propeller during test flight, pilot losing his life when his parachute failed to open after he abandoned the aircraft.
1920 – The first Royal Air Force Pageant is held, at Hendon
1886 – Birth of Giovanni ‘Gianni’ Battista Caproni, Italian aeronautical engineer, civil engineer, electrical engineer, and aircraft designer who founded the Caproni aircraft-manufacturing company.
