By Rob Neil This year’s Australian International Airshow at Avalon was—surprisingly—the first I have been able to attend personally; every other time the show has been held, something has cropped up that has prevented me from attending. So I was extremely interested to compare Avalon with major international shows like Paris, and quality New Zealand shows like Wanaka and Omaka. The 2011 ...

By Donald Harward The nose pitched up gently to around two degrees above the horizon as we started a slow climb to flight level 330. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the air was smooth in the climb. The jet was operating like the finely tuned machine it was designed to be, passing effortlessly through the atmosphere at .80 ...

By Peter Cooper. Britain led the world with the introduction of the V/STOL jet but despite its second-to-none capability, after 41 years of successful operation, the Harrier is now a thing of the past in British service. Peter Cooper looks back at the Harrier’s genealogy and offers images of the final day of Harrier operations at RAF Cottesmore. Back in ...

By Don Harward Those who have read my previous letters will already be familiar with my good friend Matt. This particular Matt story took place in the mid-90s and began back at sunny Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where Matt and I were stationed together. Matt was the company’s safety officer and I was its standardisation instructor pilot—sort of a catch-all flight standards/operations/lead ...

In a state that is around 10 times bigger than the UK, it’s no wonder that fly in, fly out (FIFO) operations are used so widely in Western Australia to ferry workers to and from remote Outback mine sites. Getting up in the early hours of the morning when most city workers are still hours away from catching the bus ...

By Mike Friend. Upon entering the grounds of this year’s EAA Oshkosh AirVenture, I was surprised to come upon an aircraft that I had assumed had long since disappeared into the mists of time. During my young aeroplane-mad childhood, frequent perusals of Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft had led me to believe that this aircraft—the Fletcher FD-25—would have been the perfect ...

If the magic of flight is what drives a person to learn to fly, then there cannot possibly be a better place to fly than Queenstown. The joy that floods an aviator’s heart once he or she leaves the ground is magnified a hundred-fold by the magical grandeur of the area’s scenery. The view of the Remarkables from the balcony of ...

By Donald Harward I consider myself to have been very fortunate. For a start, I believe that to have been selected to become an Army aviator was probably more than I deserved. Then having served an entire career, retiring, becoming a civilian and subsequently continuing to fly for several more years (far longer than I ever imagined, way back when)—especially when it’s ...

Article by John Kokshoorn. The US National Air Race championship is in its 47th year and “Australia” is about to have its first competitor (a Kiwi) in the Jet class. John Kokshoorn—better known in air racing circles as Johnny Rocket—has traded his 250 mph Formula One aircraft Outrageous for a jet in which he will compete with up to seven other ...

Once again, Pacific Wings was right in the action at Farnborough International 2010. Peter Cooper was there all week not only as Pacific Wings’ UK correspondent, but also as Farnborough Airport’s semi-official historian and photographer. Farnborough is unquestionably the cradle of British aviation. One hundred and two years ago, it was the site of the first powered flight in the UK. ...