A rare shot shows the Concorde taking off with the NASA 905 carrying the Space Shuttle

Pepsi paid millions to paint a Concorde in its iconic blue livery. But the passengers who paid first class fares to fly the iconic jet got a much slower and shortened ride as the blue paint heated the jet so much it was allowed to fly at Mach 2 speed for a mere 10 minutes. //

In the spring of 1996, one of the most ambitious and unusual marketing projects in aviation history took to the skies. Air France’s Concorde F-BTSD, known as “Sierra Delta,” was temporarily repainted in a vivid cobalt-blue Pepsi livery as part of Pepsi’s global “Project Blue” rebrand. The aircraft, instantly recognizable for its sleek, needle-like shape, now carried the bold Pepsi logo across its fuselage and tail. For several weeks, it toured major cities in Europe and the Middle East, hosting media and VIP flights. It was a spectacular sight and a daring collaboration between engineering prestige and consumer branding. Yet behind the beauty of the blue jet lay a technical limitation that few outside the project knew: this Concorde could not safely reach its full Mach 2 cruising speed. //

Dark colors absorb far more heat than they reflect, and when tested on Concorde’s aluminum skin, this quickly became a problem. The engineers at Air France Industries and Aérospatiale calculated that sustained flight at Mach 2 with the blue paint would raise surface temperatures dangerously close to the structural tolerance of the fuselage, as pointed out by Avions Legendaires. https://www.avionslegendaires.net/2025/10/actu/quand-le-concorde-se-muait-en-avion-sandwich-pour-pepsi/ //

To further protect the aircraft, a clever compromise was made. Only the fuselage received the dark blue finish, while the wings remained white. This was not a matter of design balance but thermal management, as the wings housed fuel tanks that acted as heat sinks during high-speed flight. Even with this precaution, engineers observed that the blue-painted panels heated up faster and cooled down more slowly than expected. The short-lived experiment confirmed once again that Concorde’s reflective white finish was essential for safe operation at its top speed. ///

So why did the SR-71 work better with black paint, but the Concorde had to have white paint to avoid overheating? Is it the difference between the titanium skin vs the aluminum skin and at the higher temperature of the SR-71, black paint is more effective at radiating heat and the white paint of the Concorde is more effective at reflecting heat at the lower temps?

From humble beginnings just after the second World War to the largest airline in Africa, Ethiopian Airlines now connects more people with more aircraft throughout Africa and beyond than ever before. //

On December 21st, 1945, almost 80 years ago, Ethiopian Air Lines (EAL) was founded, beginning operations on April 8th, 1946, with its first flight Addis Ababa – Asmara (Eritrea) – Cairo (Egypt) and vice versa provided by Douglas C-47 Skytrains. During its early days, this was its only route, performed on a weekly basis.

Ethiopian Air Lines, managed by the Ethiopian government and Trans World Airlines (TWA), expanded its operations in Northeast Africa and Central Africa, launching its first long-haul routes in the 1950s. With the arrival of the first jet aircraft in the 1960s and 1970s, Ethiopian further developed its network, adding new services to Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

The mysterious impact of a United Airlines aircraft in flight last week has sparked plenty of theories as to its cause, from space debris to high-flying birds.

However the question of what happened to flight 1093, and its severely damaged front window, appears to be answered in the form of a weather balloon.

“I think this was a WindBorne balloon,” Kai Marshland, co-founder of the weather prediction company WindBorne Systems, told Ars in an email on Monday evening. “We learned about UA1093 and the potential that it was related to one of our balloons at 11 pm PT on Sunday and immediately looked into it. At 6 am PT, we sent our preliminary investigation to both NTSB and FAA, and are working with both of them to investigate further.”

WindBorne is a six-year old company that seeks to both collect weather observations with its fleet of small, affordable weather balloons as well as use that atmospheric data for its proprietary artificial intelligence weather models.

The highest altitude recorded for a bird is 11,300 m (37,000 ft) for a Rüppell's vulture (Gyps rueppellii), which collided with a commercial aircraft over Abidjan, Ivory Coast on 29 November 1973. The impact damaged one of the aircraft's engines, causing it to shut down, but the plane landed safely without further incident. Sufficient feather remains of the bird were recovered to allow the American Museum of Natural History to make a positive identification of this high-flier, which is rarely seen above 6,000 m (20,000 ft).

On November, 29 1973 a bird strike occurred at an altitude of 11,300 m over Abidjan. The engine was shutdown during the collision, and was not restarted.

Altitude

The altitude is that recorded by the pilot shortly after the impact, which damaged one of the aircraft’s engines and caused it to be shut down. The plane landed safely at Abijan without further incident.

When dealing with such small tolerances between aircraft, it is important to keep in mind the limitations of ADS-B data. ADS-B data is reported in 25 foot increments, so a reported value of 50 feet is 50 feet ± 25 feet. The following values should then be taken with those qualifications in mind.

The altitude reported by the Nouvelair flight as it passed over the easyJet A320 was 50 feet. Both the Nouvelair and easyJet flights were operated by Airbus A320-214s. The A320 has a tail height of 38 feet, 7 inches.

15107 —
Submitted 7 days ago

Tom Heaverlo 4 days ago
It's a legit livery. Check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u_sXrTsYik

Jorge NoronhaPhoto Uploader about 13 hours ago
It's the livery made for the 2025 Tiger Meet in Portugal, this is a Portuguese F 16

Lockheed F-22 Raptor (02036)
Submitted 7 days ago

Raptor Demo Team
Captain Nick "Laz" Le Tourneau

Liberia’s aviation safety systems have come under critical review following an urgent inspection tour of the Roberts International Airport (RIA) and the Liberia Civil Aviation Authority (LCAA) by House Speaker Richard N. Koon.

The Speaker’s visit was prompted by reports of malfunctioning navigation and safety equipment that have left Liberia’s only international airport vulnerable and below international standards. The tour also followed revelations that the country “failed miserably” during a 2022 audit conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). ///

The airport collects a lot of money for every passenger. Why doesn't that fund all this?

Yes it does.

Seems like a lot doesn't it?

But, we must consider scale.

A 747-400 carries around 63,500 gallons of fuel, which actually makes that gallon-per-second burn rate quite efficient when you think about it.

At cruising altitude (around 35,000 feet), a 747 burns approximately 5-5.5 gallons per mile.

Works out to about 0.2 miles per gallon, which sounds terrible until you consider that the plane is moving nearly 400 people and their luggage at about 550 miles per hour.

Break it down per passenger, and you're looking at roughly 85-100 passenger miles per gallon. //

Greyhound many years ago measured its bus transport efficiency in passenger-miles/gallon. Their goal was to …wait for it… get to and maintain that very 85–100 passenger-miles/gallon number range.

If airlines are no longer required to disclose fees upfront, passengers may face a barrage of surprise charges, from baggage fees to seat selection costs. The cost of air travel could increase significantly, even if base fares appear lower. //

The proposal to eliminate the guarantee that families will be seated together without extra charges could lead to more stress for families travelling with young children. Parents may find themselves paying additional fees just to sit next to their kids. //

Airlines would have more power to decide whether or not to refund passengers for flight cancellations. //

In Europe, stricter regulations have led to fewer delays and cancellations, and the market remains competitive with budget airlines thriving under the current system. The fear is that deregulation in the U.S. could result in a situation where airlines dominate the market, and passengers are left with fewer rights and more fees.

Ep. 2.05 When You Comin' Back, Range Rider?
Republic of Liberia Government Boeing 727-25, registration EL-GOL, c/n 18253/11 built in 1963 for Eastern Air Lines.

Please note the Beechcraft King Air hidden by the stairs and cars.

You wouldn’t believe this if you saw it in a movie

If you were watching a movie and saw a 737 swerve to avoid a truck on the runway and have it narrowly pass between the nose and main landing gear, you'd think the script writers had gone too far. But that’s exactly what happened this February in Brazil. On this week’s AvTalk we walk through the incredible sequence of events. https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/avtalk-podcast/avtalk-332/

Putin en route to Anchorage

Russian president Vladimir Putin is en route to Anchorage, Alaska to meet with US president Donald Trump at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. https://www.flightradar24.com/RSD539/3bbf7fe8

According to the BBC's Future Planet, a cruising Boeing 747 burns through 0.9 gallons (4 liters) of fuel each second. This is equivalent to 3,500 gallons (13,250 liters) of fuel every hour. If a 747 is cruising at its standard cruising speed of around 580 mph (933 km/h), it is covering a mile every 6.2 seconds. Covering a mile requires 5.9 gallons of fuel. As a result, a cruising Boeing 747 can achieve just 0.18 miles per gallon.

However, this is not the full picture, as a 747 carries far more people. SeatGuru writes that Qantas Airways' 747-400 aircraft carry 364 passengers across Business, Premium Economy, and Economy classes. If we extrapolate this number of seats into the mpg that each passenger has, the data shows 65.5 mpg per passenger. According to calculatormpg.co.uk, the baseline for a good car mpg is 50. If a car is carrying two people, then the car is achieving 100 miles per gallon for each person. This suggests that flying on a 747 still uses substantially more fuel than a car carrying multiple people, but less than a car carrying one person.

For the Dreamliner, the 1B has three different model types, providing between 69,800 and 76,100 pounds of thrust. Those with a fan diameter of 111.1 inches (282 centimeters) have a baseline engine length of 184.7 inches (469 centimeters). These engines have been designed with a high-bypass function, which results in the majority of the air drawn not sucked in for combustion, but instead is ducted outside of the engine core. The GEnx has a bypass ratio of 9.1, which is one of the highest in the industry.

As a comparison, the Trent 1000, developed by Rolls-Royce, requires additional cooling as a result of lower pressure ratios. The GEnx engine, additionally, has a ten-stage high-pressure compressor, which produces a 23:1 pressure ratio. This puts it ahead of the Trent 1000 model, with an eight-stage high-pressure compressor and a 19:1 pressure ratio. While the Trent 1000 has a better bypass ratio of 10:1, the GEnx is lighter, which results in improved fuel efficiency and requires less cooling. //

The GEnx-1B is manufactured across six countries, in 12 different states at 21 manufacturing sites. According to GE Aerospace, more than 1.1 million parts make up the engine. With a high degree of popularity for the engine, it is also one of the fastest-selling high-thrust engines ever built by GE. Batesville, Mississippi, is home to a GE plant that produces the composite fan case, alongside Safran Engines in San Marcos, Texas, which lays up the third generation of the composite fan blades.

August 6th, 1955; As part of the Dash 80's demonstration program, Boeing invited representatives of the Aircraft Industries Association (AIA) and International Air Transport Association (IATA) to the Seattle's 1955 Seafare and Gold Cup Hydroplane Races held on Lake Washington

The Dash 80, Boeing's newest and biggest thing, was scheduled to perform a simple flyover. At the controls was Chief Boeing test pilot Alvin "Tex" Johnston, ex barnstormer, civilian flight instructor, U.S. Army Air Corps Ferry Command pilot, flight test engineer and winner of the Thompson Trophy at the 1946 National Air Races. (Alvin earned his nickname "Tex" because of his unique flight gear, consisting of cowboy boots and a Stetson hat)
Boeing Dash 80

Tex had other plans. As Boeing's pride and joy, approached low over Lake Washington, in front of 250,000 people, including several of the nation's top aviation executives, watched as the Dash 80 pulled nose up and gracefully entered a barrel roll, causing the crowd to drop into silence.

Vintage Wings of Canada is a not-for-profit, charitable organization with a collection of historically significant aircraft and is run entirely by volunteers. It is our mission to acquire, restore, maintain and fly classic aircraft significant to the early history of powered flight in Canada, focussing largely on the aircraft of the Second World War. We run education and flying programs with our own aircraft and in concert with the aircraft collection of our founder, Michael Potter. It is our goal to inspire and educate future generations about the historical significance of our aviation heritage and to demonstrate that these aircraft are more than just metal, fabric, and wood artifacts. We seek to keep the souls of these aircraft alive through the thundering sound of engines, the smell of leather, glycol, oil and sweat, as well as the laughter of their pilots as they dance with them in their natural element in the skies over Canada.

There may be no more iconic aircraft in America than a Goodyear blimp. A blimp is a unique advertising extravaganza and a mainstay of live aerial television coverage at every imaginable sporting event. The Goodyear blimp represents the brand, but also is every bit of Americana as can be found in aviation.

This year, two of the Goodyear NT (new technology) airships — Wingfoot One and Wingfoot Two — are in attendance in a salute to the 100th anniversary of Goodyear’s airship operations. There are three Goodyear blimps in the United States; Wingfoot Three is in for maintenance. To honor the heritage of the program, Wingfoot One is flying a livery inspired by the original Pilgrim. In 1925, Pilgrim became the world’s first commercial nonrigid airship that used helium.

MOSAIC is done. After more than a decade of work by EAA, the FAA, and numerous others, MOSAIC (Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification) is now a final rule. The rule was announced by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy on Tuesday afternoon at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2025. A generation after the creation of the original sport pilot and light-sport aircraft (LSA) rules, today we celebrate Sport Pilot 2.0 and LSA 2.0. Ninety days from now, about three-quarters of the general aviation fleet will be accessible to sport pilots and those exercising sport pilot privileges. One year from now, new and modern aircraft will begin entering the fleet with minimal certification costs. //

With MOSAIC, the weight limitation is removed. GONE! In its place is a new set of limitations; the primary limitation will now be a “clean” stall speed (VS1) of 59 knots calibrated airspeed. Aircraft with up to four seats are now allowed, although sport pilots will still be limited to one passenger. Sport pilots are also now allowed to fly aircraft with controllable-pitch propellers and retractable landing gear, with the appropriate training and endorsements.

Equally exciting to the future of aviation is the aircraft certification reform included in the rule. New aircraft are on the way! The original LSA rule proved that safe, modern aircraft could be certified with a minimum of FAA oversight by using industry consensus standards and simple forms of validation. Now, LSA 2.0 is set to deliver far more capability.