The Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 is almost certainly the most famous aircraft engine in history, I’m sure there are other contenders of course but I’m convinced the Merlin has them beat. Although most believe the engine is named for the famous wizard of the same name from the legend of King Arthur, it’s actually named after…
This Hangar 9 P-51D Mustang is a 1/5th scale model with a 7 foot 5 inch wingspan (89 inches) and a total weight of 26 lbs. Power is provided by a 62cc petrol engine mounted upfront where you would expect, and it has optional retractable landing gear, a steerable tailwheel, and removable wings to make…
If you’ve an aspiring James Bond villain and you’d like to buy some suitably styled furniture, your first stop should almost certainly be Plane Industries in Britain. The company is perhaps most famous for the design you see here – an original Boeing 737 jet engine cowling that’s been converted into a chair. The Boeing…
Flying boats were initially considered to be the only way to feasibly build large aircraft successfully due to the fact that they didn’t need heavy and complex landing gear, just a hull-shaped underside allowing them to touch down on water – the water itself would act as shock absorber and runway. The great benefit of…
This World War II training film covers pilot familiarization with the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, one of the most prolific and beloved fighter/bombers of the war. The P-47 Thunderbolt was famous for two things – they were almost impossible to shoot down, and they carried enough firepower to take out trains, tanks, trucks, and armored vehicles…
This B-17 Wright R-1820 Cyclone radial engine table is built from a decommissioned R-1820 engine – this is the motor that powered every wartime example of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Douglas SBD Dauntless bombers as well as countless other aircraft, armored vehicles, and tanks including the M4A6 Sherman and the M6 Heavy Tank….
At first glance this 1958 Ice Speedster looks like a prop from one of the original Star Wars films. In fact I wouldn’t be at all surprised if George Lucas had encountered one and used it as a base for the X-34 Landspeeder driven by Luke Skywalker on Tattoine. Snow Planes Those of you from…
The story of the Dambusters has become legendary, officially known as Operation Chastise, it was an attack on German dams using bombs that bounced across the water (like a stone skipping on a lake) until they hit the dam wall, detonated, and caused catastrophic damage. The dams were vital parts of the German war machine,…
The PBY Catalina one of the most famous seaplanes in history, over 3,300 were built between 1936 and 1957, and many of them saw active duty during the Second World War. So versatile was the Catalina that they served every branch of the United States Armed Forces, and were used extensively by the armed services…
The Supermarine Spitfire The Spitfire is not only one of the most consequential aircraft of the Second World War, it’s also one of the most famous aircraft of the 20th century. Originally developed in the mid-1930s, the Spitfire was designed by Supermarine to fill Air Ministry specification F7/30, calling for a modern fighter capable of…
This is an original Concorde attitude display indicator, oftentimes referred to as an artificial horizon. As with many aircraft, the attitude display indicator on the Concorde was positioned front and center for both the captain and co-pilot – directly above the horizontal situation indicator, to the right of the air speed indicator, and to the…
The Tupolev A-3 Aerosledge The Tupolev A-3 Aerosledge is an unusual curiosity from the depths of the cold war, the CIA and MI6 doubtless had thick folders on the craft as it was used for collecting both cosmonauts and crashed pilots in the remote areas of Siberia. Alexei Tupolev of the Tupolev Design Bureau originally developed…
