Key American Airliners of the 1930sFord 5-AT – Boeing 247 – Douglas DC-3 While war drives rapid technological change competition in business is also a very strong driving force for change. The period between the two world wars in the United States saw the growth of a vibrant and highly competitive air transport industry, spurred … More The Curator’s Choice 55

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Big Supersonic JetsMyasishchev M-50 – North American XB-70 – Aerospatiale/BAC Concorde Last time we looked at the early days of aviation when the force of war created new advances in technology very quickly. This time I thought we’d move to the other extreme and look at the development of large jet powered aircraft capable of … More The Curator’s Choice 54

Schneider Grunau Baby IIb in 1/72 by Kovozavody ProstejovI like gliders, they are simple and elegant with their broad wingspan and fuselage unhindered by an engine (in most cases). The early ones, like this model, also have a kind of rustic charm about them, perhaps because they are not made using the strong and light … More Models for March 2023

Lesser Known German World War I FightersRoland D.II – Fokker D.VIII – Junkers D.I About the only good thing that can be said for war is that it brings on rapid technological change. Improvements which might have taken years or decades to be tested and adopted took only months or years under the pressure of … More The Curator’s Choice 53

More Douglas CommercialsDouglas DC-4 – Douglas DC-5 – Douglas DC-6 Ten weeks ago we looked at the first three Douglas Commercial airliners, the DC-1, DC-2 and DC-3. They had a major effect on the development of air travel in the 1930s and 1940s. Let’s now look at the next three Douglas airliners. Two of them, … More The Curator’s Choice 52

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This week I thought we’d look at the colours of some aircraft and what caught my eye was the camouflage colours flown by Royal Air Force aircraft at the beginning of World War II. At that time those aircraft were camouflaged in dark green and a dark brown colour called ‘dark earth’. This camouflage was … More The Curator’s Choice 51