Happy Birthday: Aircraft

[lordroel]

Happy birthday to:

46 years ago, test pilot Alexander Fedotov made the first flight of the prototype Mikoyan MiG-29A at Zhukovsky Flight Centre, Moscow (Oct 6, 1977). Fast, powerful, and extremely agile, the Fulcrum became the Soviet answer to the American F-16.

[lordroel]

Happy birthday to:

68 years ago, company test pilot C.B. Ardery made the first flight of the Republic F-105 Thunderchief (Oct 22, 1955). The big, tough, and fast F-105 became a true icon of the 1960s.

[lordroel]

Happy birthday to:

64 years ago, the Lockheed P-3 Orion, the four-engine turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft, made its first flight (Nov 26, 1959). For 50 years, the Orion remained the mainstay of US Navy’s (Western) ASW capability.

[stevep]

Nov 26, 2023 13:29:38 GMT lordroel said:

Happy birthday to:

64 years ago, the Lockheed P-3 Orion, the four-engine turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft, made its first flight (Nov 26, 1959). For 50 years, the Orion remained the mainstay of US Navy’s (Western) ASW capability.

  Bloody hell.  Didn't realise that's as old as me!

[lordroel]

Nov 26, 2023 14:09:33 GMT stevep said:

Nov 26, 2023 13:29:38 GMT lordroel said:

Happy birthday to:

64 years ago, the Lockheed P-3 Orion, the four-engine turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft, made its first flight (Nov 26, 1959). For 50 years, the Orion remained the mainstay of US Navy’s (Western) ASW capability.

  Bloody hell.  Didn't realise that's as old as me!

A lot of aircraft are old and still serving.

[lordroel]

Happy birthday to:

28 years ago, company test pilot Fred Madenwald made the first flight of the then McDonnell Douglas F/A-18E Super Hornet at the company’s plant in St. Louis, Missouri (Nov 29, 1995). The mighty Rhino was born.

[lordroel]

Happy birthday to:

35 years ago, company test pilot Stig Holmström made the first flight of the Saab JAS 39 Gripen (Dec 9, 1988). Akin to the F-16 and the MiG-29, the Gripen is considered by many to be one of the best and most cost-efficient 4th Gen fighters in the world

[lordroel]

Happy birthday to:

72 years ago, company pilot Alvin M. "Tex" Johnston took the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress into the air for the first time (April 15, 1952) Seventy-two years and the might BUFF is still going strong! It is expected to remain in USAF service until 2040.