Articles
What's flying overhead
Short, sourced reads on aircraft, airports and how to tell what you are looking at.
Archange: France's Falcon 8X Signals Intelligence Jet
France's Archange is a Dassault Falcon 8X trijet converted for signals intelligence. What it is, what it replaces, where it is based and why sources disagree…
KLM's First A350 Now Flies Passengers: Toronto, Montreal and Beyond
KLM's first Airbus A350-900, PH-ZNA, has stopped being a delivery photograph and become a timetable entry. Aviation reports say it operated its first…
Emirates Puts the A350 on Dubai to Mauritius
From 1 November 2026 Emirates puts the Airbus A350 on one of its three daily Dubai to Mauritius flights, replacing a Boeing 777 and bringing its new Business…
Que Sera Sera: First Aircraft to Land at the South Pole
On 31 October 1956 a US Navy DC-3 named Que Sera Sera became the first aircraft to land at the South Pole. Here is what the sources agree on, and the one date…
Pan Am Flew a 747SP Round the World Over Both Poles
On 28 October 1977 Pan Am Flight 50 left San Francisco in a 747SP and flew round the world over both poles. What the sources agree on, and where they differ.
Discover's last A330-200 lands in Frankfurt
Airlines retire aircraft quietly, most of the time. A final flight lands, the ground crew wave, and the jet goes to a storage field or a lessor. Discover…
Canadair Launched the Challenger 600 in 1976, From Bill Lear's Idea
On 29 October 1976 Canadair launched the programme that became the Challenger 600, from Bill Lear's idea. What the sources agree on, and where they split.
The First Airbus A300 Flew 54 Years Ago
On 28 October 1972 the first Airbus A300 took off from Toulouse. Here is what Airbus and other sources say about the flight, and where they differ.
Qantas Plans Sydney-Las Vegas Nonstop on a 787-9
Qantas plans a seasonal Sydney to Las Vegas nonstop on a 787-9 from 29 December 2026, three times a week, subject to regulatory approval. What is confirmed…
How the A350-900ULR Reaches 9,700 Nautical Miles
The Airbus A350-900ULR is rated for up to 9,700 nautical miles. What Airbus says about the fuel, what was taken out of the aircraft, who flies it and why the…
The Tiger Moth Prototype That First Flew in 1931
The de Havilland Tiger Moth prototype first flew on 26 October 1931. Here is what the sources agree on about the wing change, the RAF trainer it became and…
RAF Chinooks and A400Ms to Fight UK Wildfires
The government says RAF Chinooks and A400Ms will be equipped to fight UK wildfires for the first time. Here is what the announcement says, and what it leaves…
The Prototype That Became the P-51 Mustang, 86 Years On
On 26 October 1940 the NA-73X, the prototype that became the P-51 Mustang, made its first flight at Mines Field in Los Angeles. What it was, what powered it…
Virgin Atlantic Starts Heathrow to Phuket on the 787-9
Virgin Atlantic's seasonal Heathrow to Phuket service on the 787-9 began on 18 October 2026, flying Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Here is what the sources…
Japan Airlines' First Flight, 75 Years Ago: Mokusei
Japan Airlines flew its first service on 25 October 1951, 75 years ago, in a Martin 2-0-2 named Mokusei with a leased crew. Here is what three sources say…
The Saab 35 Draken: The Double Delta That First Flew in 1955
The Saab 35 Draken first flew on 25 October 1955. Here is what the sources say about its double-delta wing, its licence-built Rolls-Royce Avon engine and Mach…
The Convair YF-102: Which Day Did It First Fly?
The Convair YF-102 Delta Dagger first flew from Edwards in October 1953. Wikipedia's text says 23rd, other sources say 24th, and the aircraft could not reach…
Orville Wright Soared for 9 Minutes 45 Seconds in 1911
On 24 October 1911 Orville Wright stayed up for 9 minutes 45 seconds in an unpowered glider at Kill Devil Hills. Here is what the sources agree on, and where…
British Airways Returns to Colombo From Gatwick
British Airways' winter schedule has it flying from Gatwick to Colombo three times a week from 23 October, then daily to Barbados from 25 October. Here is…
Santos-Dumont's 14-bis: 120 Years Since Bagatelle
Santos-Dumont flew the 14-bis at Bagatelle on 23 October 1906. Here is what the sources say about the distance, the prize and why it counts as a first in…
Macchi M.C.72: The Seaplane That Hit 709 km/h
On 23 October 1934 Francesco Agello flew the Macchi M.C.72 seaplane to about 709 km/h over Lake Garda. Here is what the sources say about the runs, the…
Lufthansa Will Fly Munich to Phoenix From August 2027
Lufthansa will fly nonstop from Munich to Phoenix from 3 August 2027 on an Airbus A350-900. Here is what the airport, One Mile at a Time and The Points Guy…
The Republic F-105 Thunderchief Prototype First Flew in 1955
The Republic YF-105A, prototype of the F-105 Thunderchief, made its first flight on 22 October 1955. Here is what the sources say about the flight, the pilot…
Delta Plans a Daily Boston to Reykjavik 757 for 2027
Delta has announced a daily Boston to Reykjavik service from 12 April 2027, flown by a Boeing 757-200 with no Delta One cabin. Here is what the three sources…
Concorde's Farewell Tour Reached Manchester in 2003
British Airways Concorde visited Manchester on 22 October 2003 as part of its farewell tour of UK airports. Here is what the sources say about that day, and…
The FAA Has Certified the Boeing 737 MAX 10
The FAA certified Boeing's 737 MAX 10 on Tuesday 20 October 2026. Here is what the sources say about the seats, the orders, the launch customer and when the…
The 1934 MacRobertson Air Race Left Mildenhall for Melbourne
The MacRobertson Air Race left RAF Mildenhall on 20 October 1934, bound for Melbourne. Here is who won, where the sources disagree on the time and the…
The Douglas X-3 Stiletto: Which Day Was Its First Flight?
The Douglas X-3 Stiletto made its official first flight on 20 October 1952. Wikipedia's infobox says 15 October, so here is what the sources say about the…
The Bell XH-40 Flew 70 Years Ago and Became the Huey
The Bell XH-40, prototype of the UH-1 Huey, first flew on 20 October 1956 by Bell's own account, though other sources say 22 October. Here is how the date…
TWA's Super Constellation Coast-to-Coast Service, 1953
On 19 October 1953 TWA began what several sources call the first scheduled non-stop coast-to-coast service in the US, on the Super Constellation. Here is what…
Concorde First Landed at New York JFK in 1977
Concorde made its first landing at New York JFK on 19 October 1977, two days after the US Supreme Court refused the Port Authority's request to keep it out.…
The Airbus A330-900 First Flew on 19 October 2017
The first Airbus A330-900, the larger A330neo, made its first flight at Toulouse on 19 October 2017. Here is what the contemporary reports say about the…
Vulcan XH558 Flew Again 19 Years Ago Today
Avro Vulcan XH558 flew again on 18 October 2007 from Bruntingthorpe after a restoration. Here is how long the flight lasted, what the restoration cost…
The MD-80 First Flew in 1979 as the DC-9 Super 80
The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 first flew on 18 October 1979 as the DC-9 Super 80. Here is how the date holds up across sources, when Swissair started flying it…
Lufthansa's Last Scheduled A340-600 Flights: 18 October
Lufthansa has scheduled its last A340-600 passenger flights for Sunday 18 October 2026, on its Frankfurt routes to Washington Dulles and New York JFK. Here is…
The Last Vickers Vanguard Flight Was Into Brooklands, 1996
On 17 October 1996 Vickers Vanguard Merchantman G-APEP flew into Brooklands in Surrey and was donated to the museum. Thirty years on, what the sources say…
The Sikorsky YUH-60A Flew 52 Years Ago: Birth of the Black Hawk
The Sikorsky YUH-60A prototype first flew at Stratford, Connecticut on 17 October 1974. How it was born from the US Army's UTTAS requirement, what had to be…
The Caspian Sea Monster: 60 Years Since the KM First Flew
On 16 October 1966 the 92-metre Soviet KM, nicknamed the Caspian Sea Monster, made its first flight. How ten jet engines and ground effect made one of the…
Britain's First Powered Flight: Cody at Farnborough, 1908
On 16 October 1908 Samuel Cody flew British Army Aeroplane No 1 about 1,390 feet at Farnborough. What the sources say, where they differ, and where the…
Tata's First Flight, 15 October 1932: Karachi to Bombay by Puss Moth
On 15 October 1932 JRD Tata flew air mail from Karachi to Bombay in a Puss Moth, and Nevill Vintcent took it on to Madras. Here is how that day is recorded…
The First Airbus A380 Was Handed Over on 15 October 2007
On 15 October 2007 Airbus delivered the first A380 to Singapore Airlines in Toulouse, 19 months late. Here is what the sources say about the handover, the…
Cork Airport Opened on 16 October 1961, 65 Years Ago Friday
Cork Airport officially opened on 16 October 1961, 65 years ago on Friday. What the sources agree on, where they disagree about the aircraft, and two…
The Boeing 777-300 First Flew on 16 October 1997
The Boeing 777-300 first flew on 16 October 1997. What Boeing said about the flight, Cathay Pacific's first delivery, and the 777-300ERs that crossed my screen.
Jet2's Last Classic 737-300s Are Due to Go by Winter 2027/28
Jet2 is the only UK operator of the Boeing 737-300 in passenger service. What Simple Flying and Aeroroutes report about its seven aircraft, and the three that…
Delta Once Had 18 Boeing 777s. Here Is What Came Next
In May 2020 Delta said it would retire all 18 of its Boeing 777s. Here is what it said, what it kept, and what the A350-900 and A330-900 that followed look…
Japan Airlines' First and Tenth A350-1000 Both Crossed My Screen
Japan Airlines numbers its A350-1000s in delivery order. JA01WJ was the first and JA10WJ was reported as the tenth, and both crossed my screen on 27 September…
The First 747-8 Freighter Was Delivered 15 Years Ago Today
The first Boeing 747-8 Freighter was handed to Cargolux on 12 October 2011, three weeks late and without a ceremony. What was said, what was delayed, and the…
The Global Express Turns 30 on 13 October 2026
Bombardier's Global Express first flew on 13 October 1996, a 2 hour 46 minute flight from Downsview, Toronto. The first flight, the test plan, the 148 built…
The First Airline Meal Was Served on 11 October 1919
On 11 October 1919 Handley Page Transport served a three-shilling lunchbox on its London to Paris service, the first airline meal on record. What is known…
Luxair's €1bn Fleet Renewal, and the Q400 on My Screen
Luxair says it will spend over €1bn renewing a 25-aircraft fleet by the mid-2030s. What has arrived so far, what is on order, and the Dash 8-400 I caught…
American's First Retrofitted 777-300ER Crossed My Screen Three Times
American's first retrofitted 777-300ER has 70 Flagship Suites with doors and no First cabin. What the airline says changed, and the three times N718AN crossed…
Icelandair Is Taking the 737 MAX 8 to St. Louis From May 2027
Icelandair announced Keflavik to St. Louis on 7 October, flown by 737 MAX 8s from 14 May 2027. The dates, the flight times and the MAX 8 I caught heading for…
The 767-400ER, Boeing's Longest 767, First Flew on 9 October 1999
The Boeing 767-400ER, the longest 767, first flew on 9 October 1999. What Boeing said about the flight, who ordered it, and the Delta jet that crossed my…
Jet2's Callsign Is Channex, and It Still Flies the 737-300
Jet2's radio callsign is Channex, a name from the freight airline that launched it. Where it comes from, the 737-300, and three I logged on 6 October 2026.
BA's Retro A319 G-EUPJ Was Due to Retire in 2020
BA's A319 G-EUPJ was painted in BEA colours in 2019 and due to retire in 2020. Its story, storage and return, and the day it crossed my screen.
KLM Turns 107, Still Flying Under Its Original Name
KLM was founded on 7 October 1919. Who started it, how the first flight went, a 777 named after its first director, and the KLM jets caught on my screen.
Allegiant Will Put First Class in the 737 MAX 8-200 Ryanair Launched
Allegiant plans 8 first-class seats on its 737 MAX 8-200s from 17 March 2027. The jet Boeing launched with Ryanair, plus three Ryanair ones on my screen.
Loganair's Last Dundee to Heathrow Flight Is 23 October
Loganair's Dundee to Heathrow route ends on 23 October 2026. The schedule, what it leaves Dundee with, and the ATR 42 I caught on both legs.
The Boeing 777-200ER Turns 30, and BA Still Flies It
The first Boeing 777-200ER flew on 7 October 1996. British Airways, its launch customer, still flies it from Heathrow, and five crossed the BBBRadar screen on…
Emirates Puts an A380 on Dusseldorf for Winter 2026/27
From 1 December 2026 to 31 January 2027 Emirates schedules an A380 on one of its two daily Dubai to Dusseldorf flights. The times, the 777-300ER swap, and how…
Airbus's A350 Freighter Has Flown: What It Is and Who Wants It
Airbus's A350F freighter flew for the first time on 29 September 2026. What it is built from, how big its door is, and why Atlas Air is its biggest customer.
Virgin Atlantic's Registrations Are Puns on the Jet's Name
Every Virgin Atlantic jet is registered G-V plus three letters that pun on its name. Rosie Lee is G-VTEA, Miss Moneypenny is G-VSPY. How the habit began.
KLM's First A350 Is Named The Night Watch: 331 Seats, One Catch
KLM took its first Airbus A350-900 on 2 October 2026: 331 seats, a Rembrandt name, and business class seats that are not yet certified.
Icelandair's 757 and 767 Are Leaving: What the Schedule Says
Icelandair is phasing out its Boeing 757s sooner than planned, and its last 767s go too. The reason given, the dates as filed in July, and the two jets I…
Air Astana's A321LR: Heathrow to Almaty Nonstop, Two Years On
Air Astana flies the Airbus A321LR nonstop between Almaty and Heathrow, using extra fuel tanks. What the airline announced in 2024, and the A321neo I caught…
The Gulfstream II at 60: a British engine on an American jet
The Gulfstream II first flew on 2 October 1966 on British Rolls-Royce Spey engines. A Gulfstream IV, two models on, crossed my radar on 27 September 2026.
Drago 144: Italy's Fire Corps AW139 in Sardinia
A friend's photo from Sardinia shows an Italian fire and rescue AW139, VF-144, radio name Drago 144. What the 115 on its nose means and what the helicopter is…
LN-LNO: The Dreamliner That Went From Roald Dahl to Raet
A Norse Atlantic 787 crossed my radar on the way from Athens to New York. LN-LNO used to carry Roald Dahl on its tail, and now it is named after a Norwegian…
The Red Dot Over My Desk: Ireland's New Falcon 6X
A red dot on my desk radar turned out to be the Irish Air Corps' new Falcon 6X, serial 290. What it replaces, what it does, and how the screen marks military…
Why a Tracker Calls a 777 Freighter a 777-200LR
Flight trackers label every Boeing 777 freighter as a 777-200LR. The reason is a shared four-letter ICAO type code, B77L, and it catches out 747 freighters too.
Three Airbus A300-600s in One Day, and Why They Still Fly
Three Airbus A300-600s crossed my desk radar in one day, each with a different history. Here is who flies the type now and why it is still working.
The First 747 Rolled Out 58 Years Ago, and Three Crossed My Screen
The first Boeing 747 was rolled out at Everett on 30 September 1968. Fifty-eight years on, three 747s still crossed a desk radar in a single day.
The First Transatlantic Jet Service: BOAC's Comet 4, October 1958
On 4 October 1958 BOAC flew the first transatlantic jet passenger services with two Comet 4s. One of them, G-APDB, still survives at Duxford.
The Jets Passing Over Britain Pay to Cross: How Airspace Charges Work
The airliners at 36,000 to 39,000ft are often just passing over the UK, and almost every one is billed for the airspace. How the charge works, and roughly…
The Boeing 767 at 45, and the Airline That Launched It Still Flies It
The Boeing 767 first flew on 26 September 1981. Forty-five years on, United, the airline that launched it, still flies it across the Atlantic.
Why Jets Circle Over London: Heathrow's Four Holding Stacks
Why jets circle over London before landing at Heathrow. The four holding stacks, how they work, and what Time-Based Separation has done to the queue.
The Day a Floatplane Landed at Westminster: Alan Cobham, 1926
On 1 October 1926 Alan Cobham landed a de Havilland DH.50 floatplane on the Thames by the Houses of Parliament, at the end of a flight to Australia and back.
easyJet's 18 New Routes for Summer 2027, From Edinburgh to Tivat
easyJet has announced 18 new UK routes for summer 2027, including the first-ever Edinburgh to Tivat link and its first UK flights to Girona.
Concorde's First Non-Stop Atlantic Crossing, 26 September 1973
On 26 September 1973 Concorde 02, F-WTSA, flew Washington Dulles to Paris Orly non-stop, the first time a Concorde had crossed the Atlantic without stopping.
Jetstream 41 at 35: The 29-Seater From Prestwick
The Jetstream 41 first flew from Prestwick on 25 September 1991. Just 100 were delivered, and the last UK passenger flights ended in October 2025.
The 787 at 15: Three Years Late, Then Everywhere
Boeing delivered the first 787 Dreamliner to ANA on 26 September 2011, about three years late. Fifteen years on, it is everywhere over the UK.
Welsh Wings: The Factory Behind Half the Sky
Airbus builds the wings for every A320, A330 and A350 at Broughton in North Wales. This week it put £150m into reopening the old A380 wing shed to build more…
Ballerina: The Tiny 1947 Racer That Won Goodwood
A 1947 Formula One air racer with a wingspan under six metres won the aviation concours at the 2026 Goodwood Revival. This is the story of G-ARUL, Ballerina.
The Registration That Gives It Away
An Alaska Airlines 787 crossed the radar as ASA100, but its registration ended in HA. Those two letters are the whole story of the aircraft, and of two merged…
Oktoberfest Fortnight: Munich's Busiest Sixteen Days
Oktoberfest brings millions of people to Munich in sixteen days, and about a fifth of them arrive from abroad. What that looks like from the air, and the new…
The 737-700 That Wasn't Scrapped
TUI's last Boeing 737-700 was retired in December 2025 and reported as heading for scrap. Nine months later a friend photographed it coming in to land in…
The Flight That Goes Round a Triangle
From May 2027 British Airways will fly a 777 from Gatwick to Kilimanjaro, hop 240 miles to Zanzibar, then fly home overnight. How a triangle route works, leg…
Why the Callsign Doesn't Match Your Flight Number
Why a British Airways flight shows on a tracker as BAW28F rather than BA28, and the surprisingly careful rules airlines follow to stop two callsigns sounding…
The Chinook Is 65: The Helicopter That Never Went Out of Date
On 21 September 1961 a Boeing Vertol YHC-1B lifted off for the first time. Sixty-five years on, the shape it introduced is still in production and still…
Odd East, Even West
Cruising altitudes are not arbitrary. Aircraft tracking east fly odd flight levels, aircraft tracking west fly even ones, and once you know it you cannot read…
The First Turboprop Flew 81 Years Ago
On 20 September 1945 a Gloster Meteor flew with propellers on the front. It was the first turboprop ever to fly, and it gave its engine name to half the…
The Challenger That Isn't One
The Challenger 300 shares its name with the Challenger 600 and almost nothing else. Bombardier drew it from scratch and called it the Continental.
Your flight starts landing a lot earlier than you think
A flight home from Verona spent 28 of its 96 minutes descending, starting near Amiens, about 120 nautical miles out. Here's why every flight does the same.
Britain is building Islanders again
On Thursday 3 September, at 2.25 in the afternoon, an aeroplane took off from Bembridge on the Isle of Wight that hadn't been possible for more than fifty…
How to spot a Gulfstream from across an apron
I was standing on the apron at Verona this morning, about ten o'clock, wet concrete and low cloud, when this taxied past and parked. OE-ICS. I knew what it…