The Bell P-63 Kingcobra first flew in December 1942 and was the successor to the Bell P-39 Airacobra. The Kingcobra featured significant improvements in design and performance but visually the most notable difference is the larger airframe and tail fin, along with the big four bladed propeller. The Bell P-39 Airacobra and P-63 Kingcobra both… Read More The Bell P-63 Kingcobra – All Hail The King!
The Seversky P-35 single seat pursuit aircraft was developed in the 1930’s and became the first all-metal monoplane fighter with an enclosed cockpit and retractable landing gear for the US Army Air Corps (USAAC). 77 P-35’s were ordered by the USAAC for delivery between 1937-38 (76 P-35’s were delivered and the 77th was converted to… Read More The Survivors: Seversky P-35 – In Pursuit Of Success
The German Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (Swallow) was the first operational jet fighter and appeared in air combat towards the end of World War Two. The Me 262 has always been one of my favourite World War Two era aircraft. It wasn’t the best jet to ever grace the skies but I have always… Read More The Survivors: Messerschmitt Me 262 – Germany’s Jet Fighter
In 1972 the USAF Lightweight Fighter (LWF) Program was launched to develop a smaller, highly maneuverable, lower cost air combat fighter to complement and conduct roles not suitable for the highly capable but expensive McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle air superiority fighter. This program ultimately pitted two contenders in a fly off, the General Dynamics YF-16… Read More The Survivors: Northrop YF-17 Cobra – The Unwanted Fighter with Quite a Legacy!
During World War One the replacement for the Sopwith Camel scout fighter was the Sopwith Snipe biplane. Designed by Herbert Smith of the Sopwith Aviation Company, the Snipe first flew in October 1917 but with developmental issues that took a year to iron out (including initial pilot complaints of an inadequate rudder that was too… Read More The Survivors: World War One’s Sopwith Snipe
SOPWITH CAMEL Designed by Herbert Smith of the Sopwith Aviation Company as a further development of the Sopwith Pup, the iconic British Sopwith Camel biplane was the most successful Allied scout fighter of World War One and became the steed of many Allied air aces. Introduced to the Western Front in 1917, the Sopwith Camel… Read More The Survivors: World War One’s Iconic Sopwith Camel
Welcome to a spin off of my Aces Flying High aviation blog. The Survivors is all about rare aircraft that I have seen at air shows and museums around the world, that are some of the last (if not the last) survivors of those that once rolled off the production line. The focus is primarily… Read More The Journey Begins
Aces Flying High - The Survivors 