Aviation Blog - Page 9

What are planes made of? Mostly aluminum alloys, but the 787 and A350 are now about half carbon composite. The real material breakdowns, plane by plane.

The Lockheed CL-1201 was a 1969 study for a nuclear-powered aircraft with a 1,120-foot wingspan and 41-day endurance. What it was and why it never flew.

Carburetor vs fuel injection: how each meters fuel, why carbs ice up, hot and cold starts, and why 57% of US piston planes still run a carb.

South Korea air force in 2026: its 39 F-35As, 59 F-15Ks and KF-16s ranked, plus the new KF-21, the last F-5s, and how it measures up to the North.

How many Boeing 747s are still flying? About 420 of the 1,574 built, but only around 40 carry passengers. Here is who still flies the jumbo, and why.

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier: all 10 ships and where they are in 2026, their size and cost, why no two are alike, and when USS Nimitz retires.

Celine Dion owns no private jet on record. She flies VistaJet’s Global 7500 and once toured on Global Express N701WH. Full specs and flights inside.

US aircraft losses in the Iran war: a congressional report lists 81 lost or damaged, and 45 are MQ-9 Reapers. What the count includes and what it hides.

The fastest twin turboprop planes ranked by published top speed, from the 402-knot Piaggio Avanti EVO to the Saab 2000, Dash 8-400 and King Air.

The longest bombing mission ever was a 44.3-hour B-2 sortie to Afghanistan in October 2001. B-2 raids on Iran in 2025 and 2026 fell 7 to 8 hours short.