Photos and story by Don Linn Philadelphia sports teams, as do all other major teams, use their team jets to recruit high value players and coaches. Sending the team jets to their hometown and fly them back to Philadelphia to visit the stadium, meet key personnel, or a quick tour of the city’s historical districts, giving them the “star” treatment all in an effort to sign that valuable player or coach that could give them a winning season, or better still a championship. Two examples I captured on departure from PHL are Philadelphia Eagles’ Bombardier BD-700-A11, in a striking green and … Continue reading Philadelphia Sports Jets

Canadair Challenger 601-3R Bill Lear began the LearStar 600 project as an intercontinental corporate jet design.  In 1976, Canadair Ltd. bought the rights to the design and continued to refine it into the Canadair Challenger 600. Although the new bizjet’s … Continue reading Canadair/Bombardier Business Jets

France’s Dassault Aviation can trace its roots back to the beginning of the 20th century. While working with other designers, Marcel Bloch contributed to French aviation during the First World War by designing a superior propeller for fighter aircraft. In 1929, he began his own company, designing and building mail and passenger aircraft. Throughout the 1930s, a stream of transports were turned out, including the four-engined Languedoc, operated by Air France. At the same time, a series of fighters were built for the French Air Force. At the beginning of World War II, Marcel Bloch refused to work for the … Continue reading Falcon Jets… France’s Sleek Corporate Transports

Did you know that the Grumman Corporation built airliners? In the years just prior to the beginning of World War II, Grumman – who has produced a legendary line of naval fighters and bombers – began to build a small … Continue reading Grumman Amphibians…Another Side of the Legendary Iron Works

A whole new source of energy for aviation is on the horizon, and the first rays of light from this “green” energy source have emerged from an old power source… that being electricity. Sure, electricity is a key ingredient in most aircraft now, be it in avionics, in-flight entertainment, and even in flight controls. But until recently, electricity for main powerplants for aircraft haven’t been perfected enough for mass production. That’s changing at a rapid pace, and with the vision of more earth-friendly and carbon neutral flight operations gaining headlines, there’s plenty of optimism for electricity to assist in attaining … Continue reading Electric-Powered Flight on the Horizon

Stead Airport, Reno, Nevada Photos and article by Jeff Serpa The Reno Air Races. If you know, you know.  If you don’t, you should.  The Reno Air Races have been taking place for more then 50 years, featuring several racing classes, a large display of static aircraft with military and civilian flight demonstrations.  Officially known as the STHL National Championship Air Races since 2016, this is a multi-day event is tailored to the aviation community that takes place each September at Stead Airport, in Nevada. September 14th, 2022 kicked off multiple days of qualifying and racing at Stead Airport.  The … Continue reading Reno Air Races 2022