William Quartermain's "Aërotransitor” ornithopter of 1887 after attempts to create a motor driven by “gases generated from vegetable products” failed, Quartermain turned to a human-powered flapping mechanism - much to the apparent disdain of his good wife 1/2

From a longer poem called “The First Airman”, circa 1920 This excerpt appeared in the intro to the book “No Echo in the Sky”, by Westland test pilot Harald Penrose. He was also very much into birds, and wrote various tales of his observations while flying #WorldCurlewDay

Great to see this church back in the news!

Inherited a nice camera and gannets - my favourite British bird - were a perfect test subject

NO, YOU’VE got an unfinished 1/72 model of a PZL.23 Karas in the back of your (very dirty) 1.6Xi Subaru Impreza 🤷‍♂️

The opening sentence of BOMBERS (1942), by Charles Grey Grey - founding editor of THE AEROPLANE magazine (To his colleagues: “a gentle and kindly man”. Elsewhere: big fascist sympathiser with extreme right-wing views 🤷‍♂️)

For no reason whatsoever, I was wondering if a F-15 (RIP) has ever been photographed alongside (or even in the same shot as) a member of the Sukhoi “Fitter” (RIP) family Maybe during one of the early 80s “Bright Star” exercises between the US and Egypt, but I think the Sukhoi was retired by then(?)

a 1/144 model of the "Titov V" spaceplane from 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY this appears briefly in the novel, and in the movie script - but made it to screen only as a blurry model on a desk in the space station's Hilton Hotel (Aeroflot cabin crew are visible in the scene) 1/2

“The Space Shuttle Challenger, atop a mobile launch platform, slowly moves through Florida fog to Launch Pad 39A in preparation for its first liftoff, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, US, 30th November 1982" (via www.flickr.com/photos/sdasm...)

"I'm not being controlled, I'm standing up for myself for the first time in my life...I wake up every morning grateful for the life I chose, and have found peace and relief"

in 1843, Frenchman Émile Gire patented a steam-powered (aeolipile) balloon, armed with bombs and a cannon “FR-1843-11213: Means and Methods of Directing Aerostats, Without Using Ballast, and Their Application as a War Machine” this was one of the first “serious” proposals for an armed aerial craft

Supermarine Spitfire “TZ138” at the 1949 Cleveland Air Races. It survives, registered as C-GSPT, in Vancouver This has a heady history, like so many from the era. Owners across North America, accidents and incidents, e.g. "damaged in Florida by Castro supporters" aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDoss...

I'd like to exclusively reveal my new OnlyFantans™ content. For just £23.99/month, you'll receive - every minute - the hottest and most exclusive photos of the Nanchang Q-5 Fantan #OnlyFantans

Her Majesty's V-Bomber Force (taken by ME - of all people, can you Adam and Eve it - at the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum back in 2013. these are now all at different locations)

Post a pic of the venue where you saw your first concert and the band or artist

For Hayao Miyazaki’s birthday, two creations that I put together over the Xmas break. The Laputa robot model was in a box for over a decade, and it felt like time to build it

“L-R: George Palmer Putnam, Mrs. Putnam, the former Amelia Earhart, Mrs. Amy Mollison nee Johnson and Capt Jim Mollison basking in the sand at Rye, New York on 29/07/33. The flying Britons celebrated their first wedding anniversary with the Putnams." apimagesblog.com/historical/2... 1/2

imagining an alternate reality where ungainly, gold-embossed Louis Vuitton helicopters splutter across idyllic countryside vistas - these were his grandchildren! "Prototype Jean et Pierre VUITTON, 1909"

A pleasant -13°C NYE-afternoon in Norway. Lying in deep snow for a second, after being thrown off on a minor turn, I actually contemplated stuff for 2026 Hoping for more presence and content than this year. Weirdness and exoticness is a good thing Best wishes to all x

The Fairey Tail of Newark..

Lt Stuart Culley launches from a "lighter" - a barge used to tow flying boats - fitted with a take-off platform, to attack Zeppelin L53 off the coast of the Netherlands, 11/08/1918.. incredible art by Keith Ferris (keithferrisart.com/product/just...) 1/2

the fantastic rear of the Parseval PL25 German patrol airship, which becomes some kind of alternate-universe dreamliner in its own right

to me, every worthy/serious Bond argument or opinion just ends at a dead end right here:

Came across this in my bookmarks today, from 1989 I might start implementing the old-fashioned five seconds of silence, before the continuity announcer inhales, into everyday life youtu.be/ApYXnCaNG0Y

I recently got a birding scope for a significant birthday. With a phone attached, I took this photo - I think it’s the Moon - yesterday evening, low in the smoky French countryside

The “president shitting on his people” video is awful on many levels - including that AI has a reasonable chance of crashing the US stock market - but it also highlights that there is only one jet-powered fertiliser-spraying aircraft that matters 👹

“We choose to go to Button Moon. We chose to go to Button Moon. Yahahahah. We choose to go to Button Moon in this decade and do the other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Shut your cakehole" - Sid James, Ipswich Polytechnic, 1978

“It's just one of those days when you don't wanna wake up Everything is f*cked, everybody sucks You don't really know why But you wanna justify THE NEED FOR A MORE COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF TURBULENT MOTION” (From the Aeronautical Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, March 1971)

Perhaps of the few aircraft that could be deemed worthy to survive the rapture: the Evangel 4500 - designed by bush pilot Carl Mortenson ("no formal education in aeronautical engineering") for STOL missionary work. only 8 made - most came to an end in S America, but the 1st is still going (N4501L)

“A photon rocket glides swiftly across the face of the Triffid Nebula, bound for some remote part of our Galaxy" art by David A. Hardy - featured in EXPLORING SPACE, by Heather Couper, 1985 (archive.org/details/expl...)

It was also, often, a communal journey - as the Internet was something you usually accessed in college or uni computer rooms I remember a whole row of desks losing their minds when someone found the “Thundercats outtakes”

I like to imagine - 6 billion+ years from now - some residents of the remnants of this clumpy galaxy starting their own deep space survey, looking at our pretty galaxy as it is now, and wondering how things are going within one of the minor spiral arms 👋

“the hell are you wiseguys all staring at?! Scram, capish? Badda-bing badda-boom”

apparently, yesterday was National Hummingbird Day, and it reminded me of something I saved off the other place a few years ago - someone (I’ve lost who, sorry) made this KC-135 Hummingbird feeder! It got me thinking about a fighter-sized bird.. 1/3

"On 16 November 1982, Columbia approaches Edwards AFB bringing to an end STS-5” (photo by Erik Simonsen (author of PROJECT TERMINATED! crecy.co.uk/project-term...)

from “Encyclopedic Dictionary of Young Technician”, a Soviet kid’s science and engineering book, 1987 (archive.org/details/luKr...)

“from the private collection of a Luftwaffe pilot of Fighter Wing JG 54, taken in 1943 at 9/JG54’s airfield at Schwerin-Görries. The ”Staffel Umbrella“, with hand-painted ”Devil’s Head“ emblem, created by members of the Staffel (squadron), appears to be made of parachute silk..”

I know its World <Something> Day pretty much every day, but earlier I found out its World Dog Day while smoking a cigar in a monoplane and listening to Shakira, and I was iiiinstantly reminded of this banger: “Monoplane", and his co-pilot - Shakir Jerwan. Moisant aviation school, Long Island 1/

“Welcome to <actual> Conair!” “A mid 70s shot of the Conair [firefighting] Fleet at Abbotsford Airport (YXX), including TBMs, A-26s and the Venerable DC6. This was also the period in time when Conair transitioned from 337 Skymasters to TS60 Aerostars as air attack platforms” (rb.gy/p69gq)

MEGATHREAD™ the Star Wars original trilogy movies are strewn with objects that are aeronautical in origin. let's try and round up as many as we can not covered: prequels, sequels, spin-offs main credits/links at the end 1/

#AlienDay greebly detail being added to the Narcissus shuttle, via a variety of Airfix kits as with Star Wars, vehicle/ship model kits were generally preferred over aircraft ones - though the Nostromo and its refinery used over 200 space shuttle (and dozens of Darth Vader TIE fighter) kits 1/3

Happy #AlienDay from this Hunslet AT77 air towing tractor

the unofficial insignia of the 509th Bomb Wing during the period of B-2 bomber test flights. the 509th was based at Roswell Army Airfield during that totally obscure UFO incident of 1947.. "TO SERVE MAN" - from a Twilight Zone episode “GUSTATUS SIMILIS PULLUS” ("Tastes like chicken")

starting the week going through my blocked and muted content ⚠️

someone recently recommended this as a “doomscrolling relief” account, and I appreciate that 🙏 I’ve fallen into the spiral of brief doomscrolling, and then not posting - as I fight the urge each time to bury my devices in an ancient barrow and scatter with magic snapdragon and toadflax petals

Roses are red, violets are blue, the Pink Aviation Services Short Skyvan OE-FDN is coming for YOU 💋💋💋

happy 6th birthday to this important piece of WW2 social impact analysis

an illustration of the American aerial acrobat Leona Dare, which was used in some of the posters for her shows across Europe in 1888 - including a weekly Saturday ascent at the Crystal Palace throughout June she would hang suspended by an "iron jaw" "an iron WHAT?" I hear you cry 1/2

“ESSA B-57 N1005 in flight” a great shot of the aircraft used by the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA), which then became the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.. (from the NOAA Digital Collections - grab it while you can, www.noaa.gov/digital-coll...) 1/2

Jacob Ellehammer's co-axial helicopter hovering, 1914. it is not believed to have done much more Ellehammer was a Danish inventor - creating a variety of different machines. this helicopter is on display at the Norsk Tekniske Museum, after being rediscovered and rebuilt in 2005