Afterburner - The Aviation Magazine
@afterburneravia.bsky.social
We are Afterburner - the aviation magazine created by enthusiasts for enthusiasts.
In our today's article within #aviation #history #Friday series we are recalling the events from 88 years ago. On 12 December 1937, #Japanese bomber #aircraft sank the river gunboat #USSPanay while she was patrolling on the #YangtzeRiver in #China.
Discover the full story here:
Discover the full story here:
12 December 1937 – USS Panay incident —
On 12 December 1937, Japanese bomber aircraft sank the river gunboat USS Panay while she was patrolling on the Yangtze River in China.
afterburner.com.pl
December 12, 2025 at 8:41 PM
The MQ-28 #ghostbat #UAV has just marked a major #milestone by achieving its first #autonomous air-to-air kill, showcasing the growing capabilities of #unmanned systems in combat scenarios.
What does this mean for the future of aerial warfare and autonomous teaming with crewed #aircraft? 👇
What does this mean for the future of aerial warfare and autonomous teaming with crewed #aircraft? 👇
MQ-28 Ghost Bat achieves first autonomous air-to-air kill —
The Royal Australian Air Force and Boeing recently achieved a significant milestone in the development of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programme, when the MQ-28 Ghost Bat successfully carri...
afterburner.com.pl
December 11, 2025 at 6:53 PM
The MQ-28 #ghostbat #UAV has just marked a major #milestone by achieving its first #autonomous air-to-air kill, showcasing the growing capabilities of #unmanned systems in combat scenarios.
What does this mean for the future of aerial warfare and autonomous teaming with crewed #aircraft? 👇
What does this mean for the future of aerial warfare and autonomous teaming with crewed #aircraft? 👇
Our current #photooftheweek focuses on the #Zlín Z-22 Junák, a simple sports and #training #aircraft that played an important role in the history of post-war #Czechoslovak #aviation and was a direct predecessor of the renowned Zlín Trener #aeroplane family:
Zlín Z-22 Junák —
Zlín Z-22 Junák (c/n 82, OO-FRE) light sport aircraft, exhibited at Letecké muzeum Kbely (Kbely Aviation Museum), Prague, September 2025.
afterburner.com.pl
December 11, 2025 at 2:59 AM
Our current #photooftheweek focuses on the #Zlín Z-22 Junák, a simple sports and #training #aircraft that played an important role in the history of post-war #Czechoslovak #aviation and was a direct predecessor of the renowned Zlín Trener #aeroplane family:
The Boeing Company has been officially awarded a $4.7 billion contract to build ninety-six #AH64E #Apache attack #helicopters for the #Polish Armed Forces. Deliveries are to begin in 2028, making #Poland the largest Apache operator outside the United States.
96 Apaches for Poland – the $4.7 billion contract officially awarded to Boeing —
At the end of November 2025, Boeing was officially awarded the contract to produce the AH-64E Apache attack helicopter for international customers. The contract, executed under a Foreign Military Sale...
afterburner.com.pl
December 9, 2025 at 7:58 PM
The Boeing Company has been officially awarded a $4.7 billion contract to build ninety-six #AH64E #Apache attack #helicopters for the #Polish Armed Forces. Deliveries are to begin in 2028, making #Poland the largest Apache operator outside the United States.
We’re starting the week with another #Monday #airshow photo — a dynamic shot from Aviatická pouť 2025, capturing a #Slovenian #Pilatus PC-9M #Hudournik taking-off with style. If you missed this year’s show in #Pardubice, here’s a little taste of its atmosphere:
December 8, 2025 at 8:06 PM
We’re starting the week with another #Monday #airshow photo — a dynamic shot from Aviatická pouť 2025, capturing a #Slovenian #Pilatus PC-9M #Hudournik taking-off with style. If you missed this year’s show in #Pardubice, here’s a little taste of its atmosphere:
From our #aviation archives:
CAIG Wing Loong I / Chengdu GJ-1 —
CAIG Wing Loong I / Chengdu GJ-1 (mock-up aircraft for exhibition purposes), static display at 13th International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS 2017, Zhukovsky, July 2017. The Wing Loong I is a Medium...
afterburner.com.pl
December 7, 2025 at 8:36 PM
From our #aviation archives:
Meet the #Heinkel He 162 A-2 Volksjäger — a remarkable #jet #fighter from the twilight of #WWII, conceived under pressure but born into #aviation #history.
Do you want to learn more about its origins, design and the story behind this intriguing #aeroplane? Head over to our latest Saturday shortie:
Do you want to learn more about its origins, design and the story behind this intriguing #aeroplane? Head over to our latest Saturday shortie:
Heinkel He 162 A-2 Volksjäger —
On 6 December 1944, the new German single-engine jet fighter, the Heinkel He 162, made its maiden flight.
afterburner.com.pl
December 6, 2025 at 7:18 PM
On 5 December 1941, the #prototype of the two-seat #Japanese #floatplane #Kawanishi E15K Shiun took to the skies for the first time.
Do you want to discover the full story behind this #aircraft and its design. Dive into our latest #aviation #history #Friday article to uncover all the details.
Do you want to discover the full story behind this #aircraft and its design. Dive into our latest #aviation #history #Friday article to uncover all the details.
5 December 1941 – first flight of Kawanishi E15K Shiun —
On 5 December 1941, the prototype of the two-seat Japanese floatplane Kawanishi E15K Shiun (Allied reporting name: Norm) made its first flight.
afterburner.com.pl
December 5, 2025 at 7:08 PM
On 5 December 1941, the #prototype of the two-seat #Japanese #floatplane #Kawanishi E15K Shiun took to the skies for the first time.
Do you want to discover the full story behind this #aircraft and its design. Dive into our latest #aviation #history #Friday article to uncover all the details.
Do you want to discover the full story behind this #aircraft and its design. Dive into our latest #aviation #history #Friday article to uncover all the details.
Join us as we take you on a journey through the world of #HugoJunkers, the visionary #engineer whose #pioneering work in all-metal #aircraft design and civil #aviation innovation forever changed the course of aviation #history.
Visionary engineer and aviation pioneer – the world of Hugo Junkers by Technikmuseum „Hugo Junkers“ Dessau —
In 1892, Hugo Junkers, a young German engineer, founded his first company, simply named Hugo Junkers, Civil-Ingenieur (Hugo Junkers, Civil Engineer). Within two decades, Junkers had transformed his sm...
afterburner.com.pl
December 4, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Join us as we take you on a journey through the world of #HugoJunkers, the visionary #engineer whose #pioneering work in all-metal #aircraft design and civil #aviation innovation forever changed the course of aviation #history.
Zlín-XIII is our #aircraft of the week:
Zlín Z-XIII —
Zlín Z-XIII (prototype, OK-TBZ), a Czechoslovak sports aircraft, exhibited in the National Technical Museum, Prague, April 2025.
afterburner.com.pl
December 3, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Zlín-XIII is our #aircraft of the week:
After decades in the sky, the #Beechcraft #Bonanza is officially taking its final bow. One of the most recognizable #aircraft of #generalaviation is leaving the stage, marking the end of a certain era for pilots and enthusiasts alike.
Farewell to the Bonanza, the aircraft that changed the general aviation —
Nearly eighty years ago, on 22 December 1945, the Model 35 Bonanza – a light American utility aircraft developed by the Beech Aircraft Corporation – made its first flight. The aeroplane entered serial...
afterburner.com.pl
December 2, 2025 at 7:24 PM
After decades in the sky, the #Beechcraft #Bonanza is officially taking its final bow. One of the most recognizable #aircraft of #generalaviation is leaving the stage, marking the end of a certain era for pilots and enthusiasts alike.
We are starting the new week in a similar way to how we concluded the previous one - by featuring another classic #icon of the skies - the Boeing N2S-3 #Stearman, taken
at an airshow organised at the end of the 2017 FAI World Gliding Aerobatics Championship in #Torun, #Poland.
at an airshow organised at the end of the 2017 FAI World Gliding Aerobatics Championship in #Torun, #Poland.
December 1, 2025 at 7:24 PM
From our #aviation archives:
North American P-51D-25NT Mustang —
North American P-51D-25NT Mustang (c/n 124-48293, N151W ´Excalibur´) taxiing for take-off to perform flying display during Aerofestival 2015 at Poznań-Ławica airport, Poznań (June 2015). The example o...
afterburner.com.pl
November 30, 2025 at 8:41 PM
From our #aviation archives:
87 years ago today, on 28 November 1938, the #Fockewulf #Fw200 Condor transport #aircraft began its #recordflight from #Berlin to #Tokyo, successfully completing it less than forty-eight hours later.
You can read more about this flight in our today's article from #aviation #history #Friday series.
You can read more about this flight in our today's article from #aviation #history #Friday series.
28 November 1938 – Fw 200 Condor begins its record flight from Berlin to Tokyo —
On 28 November 1938, the first prototype of the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor transport aircraft began its record flight from Berlin to Tokyo. The journey, which included stops in Basra, Karachi and Hanoi,...
afterburner.com.pl
November 28, 2025 at 8:12 PM
87 years ago today, on 28 November 1938, the #Fockewulf #Fw200 Condor transport #aircraft began its #recordflight from #Berlin to #Tokyo, successfully completing it less than forty-eight hours later.
You can read more about this flight in our today's article from #aviation #history #Friday series.
You can read more about this flight in our today's article from #aviation #history #Friday series.
Peter Salzmann, the professional #wingsuit #pilot from #Austria, used a #foilwing to achieve the #firstever wingsuit #flight with altitude gain, thus once again pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved in human flight.
Check out the full story:
Check out the full story:
First ever wingsuit foil soaring flight with altitude gain —
In its press release published on 19 November 2025, the Red Bull company announced that Austrian wingsuit pioneer Peter Salzmann had once again pushed the boundaries of what is possible in human fligh...
afterburner.com.pl
November 27, 2025 at 7:11 PM
This week we spotlight a CB-228, the #Czechoslovak variant of one of the most #iconic early #jet #bombers of the #Coldwar - #Ilyushin Il-28U. Once a familiar silhouette over Eastern Europe, today it stands as a reminder of rapid #postww2 #aviation development and the earliest steps of the jet age.
Ilyushin Il-28U / CB-228 —
Ilyushin Il-28U (c/n 610501, formerly “CD-10”, later “0501”, of the Czechoslovak Air Force), exhibited at Letecké muzeum Kbely (Kbely Aviation Museum), Prague, September 2025.
afterburner.com.pl
November 26, 2025 at 7:34 PM
A new chapter in AEW training begins!
#Saab and CAE have entered a global partnership to develop next-generation training solutions for Airborne Early Warning (AEW) operators, including the #GlobalEye platform. 📡
Discover how this partnership aims to shape the future of the #AEW training worldwide:
#Saab and CAE have entered a global partnership to develop next-generation training solutions for Airborne Early Warning (AEW) operators, including the #GlobalEye platform. 📡
Discover how this partnership aims to shape the future of the #AEW training worldwide:
Saab and CAE Launch Global AEW Training Collaboration —
On 21 November 2025, the Swedish company Saab announced that it had signed a global cooperation agreement with Canadian Aviation Electronics Inc. (CAE), to work together on providing advanced training...
afterburner.com.pl
November 25, 2025 at 7:04 PM
A new chapter in AEW training begins!
#Saab and CAE have entered a global partnership to develop next-generation training solutions for Airborne Early Warning (AEW) operators, including the #GlobalEye platform. 📡
Discover how this partnership aims to shape the future of the #AEW training worldwide:
#Saab and CAE have entered a global partnership to develop next-generation training solutions for Airborne Early Warning (AEW) operators, including the #GlobalEye platform. 📡
Discover how this partnership aims to shape the future of the #AEW training worldwide:
Let’s kick off the week with our another #Monday #airshow photo - a moment from Piknik Lotniczy Michałków 2014 in Ostrów Wielkopolski, #Poland - the master of #aerobatics, Jurgis Kairys from #Lithuania in his #Sukhoi Su-26, flying in formation with a PZL M18b #Dromader firefighting #aircraft:
November 24, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Let’s kick off the week with our another #Monday #airshow photo - a moment from Piknik Lotniczy Michałków 2014 in Ostrów Wielkopolski, #Poland - the master of #aerobatics, Jurgis Kairys from #Lithuania in his #Sukhoi Su-26, flying in formation with a PZL M18b #Dromader firefighting #aircraft:
From our #aviation archives:
Messerschmitt Me 163B Komet —
Messerschmitt Me 163B-1 Komet (c/n 191316?, formerly JG 400 of the Luftwaffe), exhibited in Deutsches Museum, Munich, October 2013. The Me 163 Komet is commonly associated with German anti-aircraft de...
afterburner.com.pl
November 23, 2025 at 8:31 PM
From our #aviation archives:
#Friday with #aviation #history:
242 years ago today, on 21 November 1783, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis d’Arlandes made history with the first-ever untethered manned #flight in a #Montgolfier hot air #balloon:
242 years ago today, on 21 November 1783, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis d’Arlandes made history with the first-ever untethered manned #flight in a #Montgolfier hot air #balloon:
21 November 1783 – the first untethered manned flight in a Montgolfier balloon —
On 21 November 1783, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis d’Arlandes made the world´s first untethered flight in a Montgolfier hot air balloon. The aerostat reached an altitude of 3,000 fee...
afterburner.com.pl
November 21, 2025 at 7:07 PM
At the #Dubai Airshow 2025, African #airlines made a major leap — Air Sénégal and Ethiopian Airlines placed orders for nine and eleven #Boeing737Max #airliners, respectively. This marks a key moment in their growth strategies and signals a big bet on connecting the continent more efficiently.
African air carriers order Boeing 737 MAX airliners at the Dubai Airshow —
According to the latest announcement from the Boeing company, Air Sénégal and Ethiopian Airlines have agreed to order a combined total of twenty Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The two agreements – for nine ...
afterburner.com.pl
November 20, 2025 at 7:35 PM
At the #Dubai Airshow 2025, African #airlines made a major leap — Air Sénégal and Ethiopian Airlines placed orders for nine and eleven #Boeing737Max #airliners, respectively. This marks a key moment in their growth strategies and signals a big bet on connecting the continent more efficiently.
It’s #Wednesday with Afterburner!
This week’s Photo of the Week features the Hatz CB-1 — a homebuilt biplane inspired by John Hatz’s late-60s vision. With its timeless lines and open cockpit, it captures the pure spirit of grassroots aviation and the joy of creating an aircraft with your own hands.
This week’s Photo of the Week features the Hatz CB-1 — a homebuilt biplane inspired by John Hatz’s late-60s vision. With its timeless lines and open cockpit, it captures the pure spirit of grassroots aviation and the joy of creating an aircraft with your own hands.
Hatz CB-1 —
Hatz CB-1 (c/n 78, HB-YSH) taking-off for the flying display during Flugtage Fricktal-Schupfart 2018, Schupfart, July 2018.
afterburner.com.pl
November 19, 2025 at 6:35 PM
It’s #Wednesday with Afterburner!
This week’s Photo of the Week features the Hatz CB-1 — a homebuilt biplane inspired by John Hatz’s late-60s vision. With its timeless lines and open cockpit, it captures the pure spirit of grassroots aviation and the joy of creating an aircraft with your own hands.
This week’s Photo of the Week features the Hatz CB-1 — a homebuilt biplane inspired by John Hatz’s late-60s vision. With its timeless lines and open cockpit, it captures the pure spirit of grassroots aviation and the joy of creating an aircraft with your own hands.
Last month, the #Czech Air Force bid farewell to its very last Mil Mi-8 #helicopter. The aircraft, tail number 0835, served with the 24th Air Transportation Base in Prague-Kbely and belonged to the Mi-8PS variant designed for VIP transport duties.
Discover the full story below. 🚁🇨🇿
Discover the full story below. 🚁🇨🇿
Czech Air Force bids farewell to its last Mi-8 helicopter —
On 23 October 2025, the Czech Air Force bade farewell to its last Mil Mi-8 helicopter. Almost six decades of the rotorcraft active service officially came to an end during a solemn ceremony held at Pr...
afterburner.com.pl
November 18, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Last month, the #Czech Air Force bid farewell to its very last Mil Mi-8 #helicopter. The aircraft, tail number 0835, served with the 24th Air Transportation Base in Prague-Kbely and belonged to the Mi-8PS variant designed for VIP transport duties.
Discover the full story below. 🚁🇨🇿
Discover the full story below. 🚁🇨🇿
