LTA Research is always quite terse in their online posts, providing little in the way of technical detail. However, this brief, intriguing Composites World article by Grace Stubbins provides a few nuggets as well as some links for those of us who want to go down the 🐇 rabbit hole. | 🛩️ 🎈 🥇 | 🧵 1/2

As we often say, we love concrete milestones achieved ✅, and Pilatus has another one to its credit, at Stans, Switzerland: specifically, the recent first production test flight of the CT-157, the new trainer for the Royal Canadian Air Force. Link includes a short video of the event. | 🛩️ ⚔️ 📹 📰 🥇

Not yet discovered @penguinormonkey.bsky.social? Check it out. We could all use a moment (or five) of zen today, and these videos deliver it in spades. Oh, and before any detractors point out the lack of a pilot, for us, it just makes it easier for us to imagine being in the pilot's seat. | 🛩️ 📹 🖥️

The next episode of Behind The Wings® is out, featuring host Rick Crandall in discussion with NASA's Cathy Bahm, Low Boom Flight Demonstrator Project Manager, and Lori Ozoroski, Commercial Supersonic Technology Project Manager. (📸 Carla Thomas | NASA) | 🛩️ 🎙️ 📍 🇺🇸 🥇 | 🔗 wingsmuseum.org/resources/po...

A brand-new issue is out. 💥 Managing Editor @terencecgannon.com hasn't been sleeping again, and he stumbled on yet another late-night, aviation-oriented gem on @tcmtv.bsky.social. Spoiler: it includes footage of the wildly over-the-top Schneider Cup racers. (📸 Mirrorpix | Alamy under license) | 🛩️ 🦆

We've made no secret of the fact that we're huge fans of the ADVANCE Paragliders email newsletter; to which you should definitely subscribe, by the way. That said, we've just been given yet another reason to think that, consisting of just two words: dogs and gliders. Does it get any better? | 🛩️ 🪽 🥇

National Aviation Day: What possessed Alexander Graham Bell to go outside in the frigid Canadian winter, we do not know. 🥶 However, on this day in 1909, Silver Dart made the first powered flight in Canada. Papers in the @librarycongress.bsky.social linked. | 🛩️ 🥇 📍 🇨🇦 | 🔗 www.loc.gov/collections/...

Meanwhile, in Australia: « On January 24, [pilot David] Jansen teamed up with local pilot Grant Anderson for a 1,266-kilometre journey from Alice Springs to Balaklava in South Australia. » Just out from Matthew Qvortrup, Stewart Brash, and Oliver Lee-Young writing for ABC News. | 🛩️ 🪽 📰🏅

The phenoms at Dawn Aerospace in New Zealand have been at it again, this time carrying a LEO-TIMS compact thermal-infrared imaging payload with collaborator Arizona State University. Article and videos with link. (📸 @dawnaerospace.bsky.social) | 🛩️ 📡 🛰️ 💺 📹 🥇 | 🔗 www.dawnaerospace.com/latest-news/...

Joanna Steidle has a well-earned reputation as a drone photography savant, providing an extraordinary view of the natural world. Kudos, Embraer, for featuring her work in your sumptuous in-house journal, 'Advantage'. (📸 @hamptonsdrone.bsky.social) | 🛩️ 📡 💺 👩🏻‍✈️ 🏅 | 🔗 embraer.bynder.com/m/6fc232a05a...

The next in historian Chuck Cravens' regular series of meticulously detailed updates as he precisely documents the rivet-by-rivet restoration of the Dakota Territory Air Museum's P-51B 'Shillelaugh'. (📸 Chuck Cravens | AirCorps Aviation) | 🛩️ ⚔️ 📍 🇺🇸 🥇 | 🔗 www.aircorpsaviation.com/p-51b-shille...

We were delighted to see and hear @geoffrbennett.bsky.social with @cherylwt.bsky.social on this evening's @pbsnews.org, where they thoughtfully discuss Ms. Thompson's new book, below. Well worth watching. Now, are the shops closed 🕘 or can we run out and buy this book this evening? | 🛩️ ⚔️ 📚 🏅

Wow, this is exciting. 💥 We’re proud to present brand-new original writing and photography from our friend Jon Davison. In this article, he regales us with a candid, behind-the-scenes account of his recent Greenland adventure in support of his new book with co-author Jude Brazendale. | 🛩️ 🚁 📚 📍 🇬🇱 🏅

Forget the trellis for the climbing roses 💐 or the reflecting pond 🎏 in the home office's Italianate garden, *this* is the DIY 🛠️ project for us. By David Price, published by @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social, and spotted at Indigo Books yesterday. | 🛩️ ⚔️ 📚 | 🔗 www.bloomsbury.com/uk/how-to-bu...

We're gently breaking our 'surface-to-Kármán' rule with this haunting, ghost-like photo of TBD-1 Devastator 'BuNo 1515' flying just *below* the surface at Jaluit Atoll in the Marshall Islands. (📸 Brett Seymour | Air/Sea Heritage Foundation) | 🛩️ ⚔️ 📍 🇲🇭 🏅 | 🧵 1/3 | 🔗 airseaheritage.org/projects/dev...

In today's email blast from the @shuttleworthtru.bsky.social: if you're one of the talented aviation history authors within earshot, convince your publisher to rent this great-looking property in Old Warden for you, strolling distance from the museum. | 🛩️ | 🔗 email.shuttleworth.org/cr/AQiMkhYQy...

We have posted previously about Lufthansa's gorgeous restoration of their Constellation Super Star. While it would set our hearts afire ❤️‍🔥 if they had chosen to get that flying, the classic livery lives on, on one of their @airbus.com A321-200s. | 🛩️ 🏅 | 🔗 newsroom.lufthansagroup.com/en/lufthansa...

Hard to believe this has rolled around again, already: Dr. Jones is running their DC-3 Peru-to-Patagonia adventure for the well-healed traveller. Technically, it's a Basler BT-67, but who wouldn't want P&W PT6 reliability over that terrain? (📸 Dr. Jones) | 🛩️ 📅 🏅 | 🔗 www.dr-jones.com?utm_source=b...

We recently remarked there's no such thing as a sure thing, but like our recent Concorde post, a photo of the achingly beautiful DH.88 Comet comes pretty close. Such as this one, from 1934. (📸 Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales) | 🛩️ 🏅 | 🧵 1/3 | 🔗 digital.sl.nsw.gov.au/delivery/Del...

From the CORGI 'Aerodrome' blog, an excellent article by Michael Clegg entitled « New Plumage for Preserved Blackburn Buccaneer ». Also lots of additional photos therein, making it a worthwhile read. And, yes, it's *that* CORGI. | 🛩️ ⚔️ | 🔗 uk.corgi.co.uk/community/bl...

The new issue has just dropped 💥 Managing Editor @terencecgannon.com kicks it off with a cure 🤞🏻 for the high cost of flying, realises BluFly has been doing alt texts wrong all along, and provides some details on that outstanding cover photo. It all starts now … (📸 ©2025 Pierre Gumy) | 🛩️ 🪽 📡 📹 📍 🇨🇭 🥇

We're wrapping up January with yet another stellar example of the aviation-oriented images found in the collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects. This Fellini-esque composition from 1937 is … (📸 Dell & Wainwright | RIBA Collections) | 🛩️ 🎨 🥇 | 🧵 1/2 | 🔗 www.ribapix.com/Municipal-Ai...

The folks at @lighthawk-org.bsky.social have been out on another interesting, worthwhile mission: they're « documenting current conditions before any construction begins » on a « proposed 5,000-acre AI data center ». (📸 ©2026 Chris Boyer | LightHawk) | 🛩️ 💺 🤖 🥇 | 🔗 www.lighthawk.org/what-we-do/c...

While we're not wading into this — we don't do politics here at BluFly — for those wanting a detailed background and hard facts on this high-profile story, @scribener.bsky.social, writing for Skies Magazine, does an outstanding job, as always. | 🛩️ 📰

Apparently, it's International LEGO Day. 🎉 Who knew? Well, we didn't. 🤦🏻‍♂️ Although we don't need much of an excuse to post about aviation-oriented LEGO sets 🧱 here’s one to mark the occasion. (📸 LEGO | US Navy via @wikimediafoundation.org in the public domain) | 🛩️ 🔍 | 🔗 www.lego.com/en-ca/produc...

Official Account Alert 🫆 We're delighted to see aviation industry heavyweight @airbus.com on @bsky.app. While not (yet?) actively posting, tag them in your posts and follow them so they're routinely reminded of our collective interest. (📸 © Eric RAZ | AIRBUS Helicopters) | 🛩️ | 🧵 1/2 | 🔗 airbus.com

We're in awe 😲 of @redbull.com's ability to get their name 'out there' in some very cool places: to wit, the Red Bull on *both* the aircraft and the low-flying, wind-powered hot rod below, at the recent SailGP event in Perth, Australia. (📸 Jason Ludlow | SailGP) | 🛩️ 🥇 | 🔗 sailgp.com/news/26/sail...

Picking up on Beyond Aero's hydrogen-related developments we shared earlier this week, here is a much more detailed treatise on a related subject brought to us by the way of @universitypress.cambridge.org. This is a very readable abstract, with a link to the complete academic paper. | 🛩️ ⚡️ 🏫 🥇

In this line of work, there is no such thing as a sure thing, but any story about Concorde comes pretty close. A new, well-written, fourteen-minute read by (clearly a fan) Francesca Street writing for @cnn.com Travel. | 🛩️ 📹

Managing Editor @terencecgannon.com feels we all might need a little light entertainment pick-me-up, given the dreary northern winter and the state of the world at the moment. This, from the August 2022 issue of the New RC Soaring Digest, is also the latest on our Avergreen imprint. | 🛩️ 📡 🪽 🌲 🥇

We were looking for a fitting way to mark Martin Luther King Day, and as @jonostrower.com of @theaircurrent.com says "there's always an aviation angle": to wit, this excellent 2019 article by Tammera L. Holmes. We also love the great collection of photos she found and included in the article. | 🛩️ 👩🏻‍✈️

« Beyond Aero has successfully completed its first wind tunnel test campaign … focused on one of the program’s most critical challenges: ensuring predictable aerodynamic performance, stability, and control for an aircraft integrating gaseous hydrogen tanks outside the fuselage … » | 🛩️ ⚡️ 📰 🥇

For those running short of weekend reading, the folks at NASA have a cure for what ails ya': a series of three free-to-download ebooks. It's been around a while, but the content is evergreen, after all. We'll import the PDFs into Apple Books for reading in — y'know — the 'library'. | 🛩️ 📚 🎈 ⚔️ 🥇

Love big round engines like we do? 😍 If so, and you're in the vicinity of El Reno, Oklahoma, then you're going to want to attend this weekend's « Radial Engines 101 » workshop at The Caldwell Collection. Details with link. (📸 See ALT.) | 🛩️ 📅 🇺🇸 📍🥇 | 🔗 www.thecaldwellcollection.org/event-detail...

We are unapologetically enthusiastic about @dawnaerospace.bsky.social: they're quietly getting things in the suborbital domain with their Aurora aircraft. Their latest short video is a great way to get up to speed on their story so far. | 🛩️ 📡 🛰️ 💺 📹 🥇 | 🔗 www.dawnaerospace.com/latest-news/...

For us, there's nothing quite like 'discovering' an aviator and a story with which we are completely unfamiliar. 🙌🏻 To wit, Gidsken Jakobsen in this detailed, copiously illustrated article, including this amazing photo. (📸 Unknown | Maihaugen) | 🛩️ 👩🏻‍✈️ 🦆 📍 🇳🇴 🥇 | 🔗 www.luftfartsmuseum.no/gidsken-jako...

Back in the day, we would have entered this in a heartbeat: « The Eighth Annual Richard Collins Writing Prize for Young Pilots » sponsored by @sportys.bsky.social. The deadline for all future Markhams, Ganns, and Bachs ✍🏻 is February 28, 2026. (📸 See ALT) | 🛩️ 🥇 | 🔗 www.sportys.com/blog/call-fo...

We've heard that paper 📄 is making a comeback. Dr. @mikepryce.bsky.social, writing for the @aerosociety.bsky.social, makes the best case we've heard so far supporting this assertion. This, and the thought of that evocative 'old paper' smell, which we raiders find oddly intoxicating. | 🛩️ ⚔️ 🥇

An interesting new article by Robb Mandelbaum writing for @spectrum.ieee.org. The story, along with an accompanying short video, primarily follows the @univofmaryland.bsky.social’s 'Team Crossfire' as they participate in the @xprize.org's 'Wildfire' competition. | 🛩️ 📡 🚁 ⚡️ 📹 🥇 | 🧵 1/2

We continue to celebrate the northern winter ❄️ with some evergreen advice on 'open cockpit' flying in this cold, snowy season. We're also of the opinion that the photos and writing from ADVANCE are amongst the best we've seen. (📸 ADVANCE Paragliders) | 🛩️ 🪽 🥇 | 🔗 www.advance.swiss/en/brand/fly...

It being the height of 'summer' in Antarctica and with all the promise of the New Year stretching out in front of you, perhaps it's time for a new career? If so, perhaps this one, eloquently described in this article by Vicky Auld, @bas.ac.uk Deputy Chief Pilot, on their @linkedin.com page. | 🛩️ 🧰 🥇

It's a New Year 🥂 and we're out with the first issue of 2026. 💥 Managing Editor @terencecgannon.com first celebrates the best of 2025. Then, he unceremoniously ushers the old year out with a salty « don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. » (📸 ©2016 Richard Davies | SupaSmokey) | 🛩️

« Next Stop, Oshkosh, USA ▫️ It’s a historic moment for The Flying Bulls: in 2026, the team will cross the Atlantic for the very first time – making its US debut at the legendary EAA AirVenture … » (📸 Sebastian Marko / @redbull.com Content Pool) | 🛩️ 📅 📍 🇺🇸 🥇 | 🔗 www.flyingbulls.at/en/stories/n...

So, Boxing Day. 📦 See what we did there? | 🛩️ 📹 📍 🇨🇦

We simply can't believe another year has come and gone already — where does the time go? 🎅🏼 In any event, all of us here at the home office wish you and yours all the best for a happy and healthy Christmas. (📸 @usnhistory.bsky.social) | 🛩️ 🚁 ⚔️ 🥇 | 🔗 www.history.navy.mil/our-collecti...

Official Account Alert 🫆 We're grateful and thankful for top-drawer @bsky.app users like @robpegoraro.com getting the word out (see below) about new, aviation-industry participants like @united.com coming on board. Please consider giving *both* a like/follow. (📸 United Airlines) | 🛩️ | 🔗 united.com

Christmas 🎄 has indeed arrived a couple of days early this year, what with this great new article 🎁 by veteran aviation journalist @markep.bsky.social writing for the National Air and Space Museum. Not to mention it's about airships, a perennial favourite around here. | 🛩️ 📡 ⚡️ 🎈 🥇

« Leveraging learnings from Wisk’s previous five generations of aircraft and more than 1,750 test flights, Gen 6 is the first-ever candidate for an FAA-certified commercial autonomous passenger aircraft in the U.S., with launch markets including Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami … » | 🛩️ ⚡️ 🚁 📰 🥇

Okay, this looks like fun, at least if you live in the vicinity of beautiful Colorado Springs or happen to be passing through. Makes us wonder how many restaurants there are where you can similarly dine inside an aircraft; do you know of one? | 🛩️ 🍽️ 📍 🇺🇸 🥇 | 🔗 theairplanerestaurant.com?utm_source=b...

From the Tekniska Museet, via the DigitaltMuseum website, an artefact with the intriguing caption reading, in part « from a box marked: "Bernt Balchen" » and furthermore marked « The glider and the C-47 after landing at the North Pole ». Just wow. | 🛩️ ⚔️ 🪽 📍 🇸🇪 🥇 | 🔗 digitaltmuseum.org/021011319916...