Friday pictures: F-86 Sabre

I seem to come back to the Sabre again and again – but how can I not? Its classic design, its stirling combat record, its place in a truly impressive lineage (P-51, F-86, F-100, F-107), and the fact that it flew in an era when planes wore flashy markings all combine to great effect. The

Friday pictures: World War II archive

I apologize for skipping a few installments of Friday pictures – work and Thanksgiving derailed me a bit, but I am back with a longer entry today, in part to make up for those missed posts. With no further ado… As I say nearly every time I write these, Flickr offers an amazing chance to

Friday pictures: South African Lightnings

Earlier this month, Douglas Barrie wrote a post on Ares, my favorite blog these days, about the English Electric Lightning receiving an Engineering Heritage Award (PDF) by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. As an insular American plane buff, I gave far too little time thinking about the Lightning. Barrie makes the claim, which may be true

Friday pictures: Supermarine Spitfire

Any collection of pictures that seeks to capture the beauty and grace of aircraft will eventually include a Spitfire. This plane is one of the most iconic machines ever built, with delicate lines that ensured recognition even by those whose eyes are never turned skyward. This week’s specific Spitfire is a Mk. XVI owned by

Friday pictures: Lockheed P-38 Lightning

This post is more hurried than most, which is not fair, as the Lightning is a terrific plane, designed by Kelly Johnson, and deserves a slew of hyperlinks and background (I love the invasion stripes, for example). For the moment, I am going to have to let this picture speak for itself. Taken by  Mark