Aeroplane Archive
The Key.Aero team have delved for treasure in the archive of Aeroplane Magazine dating back to 1911. Aviation history brought to life by the editors of the period.
‘Monty’s’ personal Dakota
The Dakota KN628 was used for much of its career in uniform by the famous British military leader Bernard Montgomery. In its August 17, 1956 issue ‘The Aeroplane’ looked back over its service after it sold by the Air Ministry
Developing France’s Mirage IV nuclear bomber
The Dassault Mirage IV was designed solely as a nuclear bomber and ‘The Aeroplane and Astronautics’ reviewed the aircraft’s progress to entering service in its February 3, 1961 issue
Vampires and Venoms of the Iraqi Air Force
In its September 30, 1955 issue ‘The Aeroplane’ had a fascinating article based on a visit to Iraq to see the latest jet equipment used by the country’s air force
Caribbean Canberras
In 1955 the RAF despatched Canberras and Hastings to the Carribbean and Canada on a goodwill and training visit, while the former also participated in an exercise. ‘The Aeroplane’ reported on this deployment in its December 30 issue that year
Birth of a legendary bizjet family
Arguably the most famous name in the bizjet world is ‘Lear Jet’, with the latest variant Learjet (as it is now called) still in production by Bombardier almost 60 years after the original’s first flight. We take a look back at the very early days of the programme with this article from ‘The Aeroplane and Commercial Aviation News ‘, published on May 21, 1964
‘The Aeroplane’ air tests the Viscount
The Viscount was the world’s first turboprop airliner and an impressive total of 448 examples were manufactured. ‘The Aeroplane’ published this air test report on the new propliner in its November 4, 1949 issue
Conversion King’s Dove Developments
Jack M Riley built up a good reputation for aircraft conversions and in its July 9, 1964 issue ‘The Aeroplane and Commercial Aviation News’ detailed Riley’s previous upgrade work and his company’s latest developments on the Dove
Pakistan International’s helicopter routes article uncovered
A fascinating piece from the June 11, 1964 issue of ‘The Aeroplane and Commercial Aviation News’ which reveals the operations of PIA’s S-61 helicopters
Developing the C-160
On December 14, 2021 the German Air Force retired the Transall C-160. The Franco-German transport took to the air for the first time on February 25, 1963, though it would be another five years before the air arm received its initial example. We take a look back to the early days of the programme with an article from the May 18, 1961 issue of ‘The Aeroplane and Astronautics’
When Alitalia used fighter jet trainers to teach its student pilots
In an unusual move in the 1960s Alitalia used military jet trainers to teach its students pilots. ‘The Aeroplane and Commercial Aviation News’ described this unusual training syllabus in its January 9, 1964 issue