By Garth Calitz The Cessna 172 is the premier training aircraft and the most widely used single-engine plane ever constructed. It features forgiving flight dynamics, excellent visibility, a low landing speed, and a forgiving stall. It's no surprise that very few pilots, regardless of their flying experience, do not have a C172 endorsement on their license. The Cessna 172 originated as a version of the taildragger Cessna 170, featuring tricycle landing gear and basic standard

In recent years, gyrocopters have become a common presence at airfields nationwide and at fly-ins; they have even started appearing at airshows. However, not many people are aware of the origins of these remarkable machines. Titanium Autogyro (TAG) Juan de la Cierva, a Spanish engineer and aeronautics enthusiast, took part in a design competition in 1921 to create a bomber for the Spanish military. He designed a three-engine aircraft, but during an early test flight, the bom

By Garth Calitz Originally designed and built by Curtis Pitts in 1944, the Pitts biplanes were the leading aircraft in world aerobatic competitions during the 1960s and 1970s. They continue to be a strong contender in lower-category competitions today. Curtis Pitts started designing a single-seat aerobatic biplane in 1943. Although the design has been continuously refined since the prototype's first flight in September 1944, the current Pitts S-2 remains very similar to the o

By Garth Calitz The British Monarch was the first head of state or government to have official and dedicated air transport. In 1928, two Westland Wapitis were delivered to No. 24 Squadron at RAF Northolt specifically for transporting the Royal Family. Between 1929 and 1935, Edward, Prince of Wales, acquired 13 aircraft. Although the RAF initially maintained at least one of these aircraft, the Prince of Wales eventually took full responsibility for them. When the Prince became

By Garth Calitz You've been renting a Cessna 172 or Piper Cherokee for some time. Renting and flying is both inconvenient and costly, and the rental aircraft are slow and lack excitement. An RV seems like the perfect solution... but which model? Rather than asking "which airplane," consider asking "what specific functions do I need an airplane to perform?" Numerous factors influence this decision, including personality, life stage, family, and budget—these elements form part

By Garth Calitz The Boeing 777 is a family of long-range wide-body twin-engine jet airliners developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet and has a typical seating capacity of 314 to 396 passengers, with a range of 5,240 to 8,555 nautical miles. Commonly referred to as the "Triple Seven”, its distinguishing features include the largest-diameter turbofan engines of any aircraft, six wheels on each main landing gear, a fully circu

Although there are many DC-6A and C-118 cargo versions in operation around the world, the DC-6B passenger liners were mostly "mothballed" as fiercely competitive airlines clamoured for more speed and greater seating capacities. The DC-6B represented the golden era of 'style' flying, whereas the jets that replaced them concentrated on high density and, above all, speedy transport. As a result, the DC-6Bs that weren't placed in storage were either transformed into cargo carrier

By Garth Calitz In late 1933, a team at de Havilland, led by aircraft designer Arthur Ernest Hagg, began developing a new design aimed at being a faster and more comfortable successor to the earlier DH.84 Dragon. This new aircraft was essentially a twin-engine, scaled-down version of the four-engine DH.86 Express. It shared many features with the DH.86 Express, such as tapered wings, streamlined fairings and fuselage, and the same Gipsy Six engines. However, the DH.89 did no

The A330-900's maiden flight on October 19, 2017, marked the beginning of a 1,400-hour flight test campaign. This involved three prototypes and the first production aircraft, with 1,100 flight hours dedicated to the A330-900 and 300 flight hours for the A330-800, aiming for EASA and FAA Type Certification by mid-2018. The 4-hour and 15-minute flight reached an altitude of 30,125 feet (9,182 meters) and a speed of 502 knots (930 km/h). It aims to establish specific maximum ope

By Garth Calitz The Z-50L is a cantilever low-wing single-engine monoplane featuring a fixed tailwheel undercarriage. In contrast to the Zlín Z 26 series it succeeded, the Z-50 is constructed entirely of metal, with maneuvering load limits of +9.0 and -6.0 g’s. It does not have landing flaps; instead, two-section ailerons span the full wingspan, offering an exceptional roll rate. The designers ensured ample trimming options: automatic trim tabs are present on the inboard ail