Lest you think that all that paraglider pilots do is hang around 🪂 all day, think again: « Paraglider Durogati Climbs Equivalent Of Two Mount Everests For New Hike-and-Fly World Record » More with link. (📸 Daniele Molineris / @RedBull.com Content Pool) | 🛩️ 🪽 📰 🥇 | 🔗 www.redbull.com/pk-en/aaron-...

We generally don't do birds (or bugs or space) except in the case of aviation-oriented studies of our feathered friends. To wit, this fascinating article by Lorna Gibson from her brand-new book 'Birds Up Close: An Engineer Explores Their Hidden Wonders' on @mitpress.bsky.social. | 🛩️ 🦅 📚 🥇 | 🧵 1/2

Okay, we'll cop to being total suckers for the yellow-green primer colour. 😍 We also love a milestone achieved, which is what @brittennorman.bsky.social reports: « First UK-Built Islander Passes 75% Completion at Bembridge, on Schedule for Delivery » | 🛩️ 📰 🥇 | 🔗 britten-norman.com/first-uk-bui...

Mini-Story 🗜️ It somehow wasn’t audacious enough to shoehorn a 1,200 horsepower Garrett turboprop into a Turbine Legend, which Innovative Wings, Inc. (IW) already has on their resume with the legendary, record-setting Legend C-GUTT. Now, … | 🛩️ 📍 🇨🇦 🥇 | 🧵 1/6 | 🔗 www.innovativewings.com?utm_source=b...

Yet another project that kind of snuck up on us, but we're happy to help spread the word now. Just out today: Cameron Levasseur writing for the @bangordailynews.bsky.social in beautiful Bangor, Maine reports on this fascinating-sounding project; we wish them the very best of luck. | 🛩️ 🎈 🪙 🥇 | 🧵 1/3

Our hunch? SAF is somewhere between 'never gonna happen’ and panacea. Now, much smarter, better-educated folks than us have published research: « WSU Study Offers Realistic Look at the Future of Sustainable Aviation Fuel » (📸 Dan Meyers via @unsplash.com) | 🛩️ ⚡️ 🏫 📰 🥇 | 🔗 news.wsu.edu/press-releas...

Last month we teased this; now, in rich detail, Duncan Aviation's Eric Anderson describes how this Pilatus PC-12 was lovingly refurbished from the ground up, and capped off with this striking livery by renowned contemporary artist Derek DeYoung. Yes, sometimes dreams do indeed come true. | 🛩️ 🌲 🥇

The new issue has dropped. 💥 Triggered by recent events, we're celebrating the Snowbirds in June. @terencecgannon.com kicks off with a personal retrospective on the team, and then segues into some thoughts about their future. Surprisingly, he thinks it's brighter than many might think. | 🛩️ ⚔️ 🥇

We're delighted to hear about Electra achieving another significant milestone in their development program: it's the best illustration yet of what they call Direct Aviation: « how regional air travel can move beyond airports to become faster, simpler, and far more accessible. » | 🛩️ ⚡️ 📹 📰 🥇 | 🧵 1/2

Spectacular news incoming: the Smithsonian, including the National Air & Space Museum, has hooked up with open-access maven Unsplash to make a generous portion of the institute’s photography more easily accessible than ever. (📸 Smithsonian on @unsplash.com) | 🛩️ ⚔️ 📰 🥇 | 🔗 unsplash.com/collections/...

Another amazing restoration of which we only recently became aware is the De Havilland DH.84 Dragon 'Iolar', Aer Lingus' very first aircraft, undertaken to celebrate the airline’s 90th anniversary. Press release linked. (📸 Aer Lingus) | 🛩️ 📰 🥇 | 🧵 1/2 | 🔗 mediacentre.aerlingus.com/news/2705202...

We love hearing from award-winning journalist @hbaskas.bsky.social, which, to be candid, isn't often enough. 😉 But we did today, to remind us that it's National Paper Airplane Day. Consider following her here on @bsky.app, and/or subscribing to her Stuck at the Airport mailing list. | 🛩️ 🪽 📹 📡

Leonardo announces that the International Test Pilot School (ITPS) « Orders Leonardo M-346 T Block 20 Advanced Jet Trainers to Meet Evolving Tactical Training Requirements » to be based out of North Bay, Ontario. Press release with link. (📸 Leonardo) | 🛩️ ⚔️ 📰 🥇 | 🔗 www.leonardo.com/en/press-rel...

Gosh, we had no idea this project was even in the works. Our hats 🎩 are off to Renault for getting behind this amazing effort, intended to enable the aircraft—one of the most beautiful ever 😍 in our humble opinion—to get back in the air, where it belongs. More details and videos with link. | 🛩️ 📹 📰 🥇

When (not if) we finally get to Australia 🌏 the Powerhouse Parramatta museum is going to be at or close to the top of our list of places to visit. Scheduled to open in late 2026, they are now assembling exhibits. Check out what's just arrived. Better yet, check out the video with the link. | 🛩️ 📍 📹 🇦🇺

Don't know how we missed this: « Outside Beyond the Lens: Jets in the Wild » from @pbs.org, which ostensibly provides a how-to on photography at the 'Sidewinder' low-level military flying corridor in Southern California. (📸 18THIRTY Entertainment) | 🛩️ ⚔️ 📍 🇺🇸 📹 🥇 | 🔗 www.rmpbs.org/shows/outsid...

It's spring in Minnesota, and with that come the grasshoppers, we assume. Well, at least one, for sure: the Piper L-4H Grasshopper undergoing meticulous restoration by AirCorps Aviation in beautiful Bemidji. Chuck Cravens provides the details. (📸 @p-51c.bsky.social | AirCorps Aviation) | 🛩️ ⚔️ 📍 🇺🇸 🥇

Our 'snips' from today's announcement about the Snowbirds. ✂️ The good news: « National Defence will procure the CT-157 Siskin II (Pilatus PC-21) for the future Snowbirds team. It too will serve as both a training and air demonstration aircraft. » | 🛩️ ⚔️ 📰 🥇 | 🧵 1/2 | 🔗 www.canada.ca/en/departmen...

For our part, we didn't realise there was actually a Junkers family member involved with the Junkers brand, which consists of aircraft, of course, as well as other luxury goods. Charlotte Junkers speaks eloquently on behalf of her famous family in this new interview. (📸 Junkers Aircraft) | 🛩️ 👩🏻‍✈️ 🥇

We just followed @professoroyola.bsky.social, and you should too. Amongst many accomplishments, she's the Ned P. Smith Distinguished Chair of Meteorology at @uwmad-aos.bsky.social *and* a student pilot. She further introduces herself in this short article just out in @madison.com. | 🛩️ 👩🏻‍✈️ 🏫 🥇 | 🧵 1/2

An excellent, albeit quite brief article from @inverting-vision.bsky.social, written for @jstor.bsky.social. A great introduction to the fraught-sounding relationship between Arctic explorers Roald Amundsen of Norway and Umberto Nobile of Italy. Lots of links to additional reading. | 🛩️ 🎈 🥇 | 🧵 1/2

With the Atlantic hurricane season looming, this in-person/online event on May 20, 2026, is timely: service members of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron—'The Hurricane Hunters'—will recount their experiences flying in all manner of terrible weather. Free, registration required. | 🛩️ ⚔️ 📅 📍 🇺🇸 🥇

« Team SkyAlyne Completes Factory Acceptance of First CT-157 Siskin II (Pilatus PC-21) Destined for RCAF » SkyAlyne, Pilatus and the RCAF keep clicking ✅ on milestones. More photos of the ceremony and a short video with link. (📸 SkyAlyne) | 🛩️ ⚔️ 📹 📰 🥇 | 🧵 1/3 | 🔗 skyalyne.ca/latest-updat...

As we've said, we love milestones achieved ✅ and this seems significant: « Unither Bioélectronique Completes World’s First Piloted Hydrogen-Electric Helicopter Circuit Flight in Québec » Canadian Advance Air Mobility press release linked. | 🛩️ ⚡️ 🚁 📰 🥇 | 🧵 1/2 | 🔗 canadianaam.com/unither-bioe...

While many are zigging and linking John Travolta's 'Propeller One-Way Night Coach' trailer, we're zagging and linking his 1997 book, the existence of which we fully admit came as news to us. Check your local used bookstore first. (📸 Apple | Warner Books) | 🛩️ 🎬 📚 | 🔗 www.abebooks.com/servlet/Sear...

« Otto Aerospace Advances DARPA Research with Successful Laminar-Flow Aircraft Flight Test | [V]alidated predicted aerodynamic efficiency of the aircraft’s laminar-flow design technology in flight. » Press release linked. (📸 Otto Aerospace) | 🛩️ ⚡️ 📡 📹 📰 🥇 | 🧵 1/2 | 🔗 ottoaerospace.com/news/otto-ae...

It's no secret that we're unapologetically nuts about our four-legged friends 🐶 here at the BluFly home office, so we can't think of a higher and better use of sometimes-maligned drone technology than this one. Spoiler alert: Toffee the dachshund is now safe and sound. 😅 | 🛩️ 📡 🥇

The Millennium Falcon? No, but it was its inspiration, as per this article: « The Real Aerial Battles That Inspired Star Wars » by Cory Graff for @smithsonianmag.bsky.social. It's Star Wars Day, and may the fourth be with you, too. (📸 See ALT) | 🛩️ ⚔️ 📍 🇺🇸 🥇 | 🔗 www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-ma...

« DLR Tests Shape-Shifting Wings in Flight » While changing the shape of an aircraft's wing can arguably be traced back to at least the Wrights, DLR is going some interesting development work in this area. (📸 @dlr-en.bsky.social under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) | 🛩️ 🏫 📡 📹 🤖 📰 🥇 | 🔗 www.dlr.de/en/latest/ne...

The new issue is out. 🎉 There is no denying the appeal of great aircraft livery, and we're celebrating it throughout the month of May. We're kicking things off with a 💥 with this great cover photo from our friend @jasonchampton.bsky.social and thence onwards to flying fish and fizzy drinks. | 🛩️ 🥇

There are sizzle reels, and then there are @shuttleworthtru.bsky.social sizzle reels. 😍 Lucky you ☘️ if you're within travelling distance of their May 10, 2026 'Season Premiere Air Show'. Full details with link provided. (📸 Shuttleworth Trust) | 🛩️ 📅 📍 🇬🇧 🥇 | 🔗 www.shuttleworth.org/events/seaso...

« Volocopter Launches New Product: VoloXPro ▫️ An electrically powered ultralight multicopter for air sports and professional passenger transport. » So, highly discerning BluFly community: would you buy one? (📸 ©2026 Kirk Smith | Volocopter) | 🛩️ ⚡️ 🚁 🗳️ 📰 🥇 | 🔗 www.volocopter.com/en/newsroom/...

Swedish planespotters who are fans of ‘Ice Pilots’ or Buffalo Airways (or both), there is an opportunity to see C-FBAE at Jönköping. It’s enroute. Consult @flightradar24.com or other flight trackers for details. If you do spot it, Mikey is looking for a picture, apparently. (📸 Buffalo Airways) | 🛩️

It would be a fair cop to say that BluFly sometimes seems to be all Future Aircrew Training (FAcT), all the time; here's another significant announcement: « Team SkyAlyne Joins the RCAF to Mark the Start of Flying Ops for CT-102B Astra II ». (📸 SkyAlyne) | 🛩️ ⚔️ 📹 📰 🥇 | 🔗 skyalyne.ca/latest-updat...

We're always intrigued when a pop culture magazine takes up the subject of aviation in a dedicated section. In this case, London-based Monocle 🧐 as exemplified by this article by Gabriel Leigh. If that name seems familiar, you may have spotted his work on no less than @flightradar24.com. | 🛩️ 🥇 📍 🇬🇱

This is cool: REGENT Craft gave us access to their B-roll footage from their recent testing of their Squire Seaglider drone, along with permission to recut it and add a soundtrack. Thanks, @boldspace.bsky.social, for helping to make this happen. | 🛩️ 📹 ⚔️ 📰 🥇 | 🔗 www.regentcraft.com/news/regent-...

Ever wonder who Brown was *before* he was part of Alcock and Brown? We hadn't, but we wish we had when we spotted @rooneyvision.bsky.social's delightful « Ted Brown's African Adventure. » It's a perfect, long-form weekend read. (📸 See ALT) | 🛩️ 🥇 | 🧵 1/2 | 🔗 rooneyvision.substack.com/p/ted-browns...

We think it's safe to say when the Bell 47 was brand-new, its designers likely never envisioned their modest little helicopter would eventually be fitted out with full night vision modifications something like eighty years later. The design certainly has had remarkable longevity. | 🛩️ 🚁 📰 🥇

Itching to get your experimental or research payload onto a suborbital flight? The State of Oklahoma is collaborating with @dawnaerospace.bsky.social on their « Runway-to-Space Spaceplane Challenge » Full details with link. (📸 Dawn Aerospace) | 🛩️ 📡 🛰️ 📰 🥇 | 🔗 www.dawnaerospace.com/runway-to-sp...

We think we may have blown the case wide open. (📸 Aleksandr Markin via Wikimedia under CC BY-SA 2.0, slightly cropped.) | 🛩️ 🪽

Further to the @spectrum.ieee.org article earlier this month, more news directly from Sceye Inc. We're wondering whether their SE2 airship would be a good candidate to track the bar-tailed godwits across the Pacific? IYKYK (📸 Sceye Inc.) | 🛩️ 📡 🛰️ ⚡️ 🎈 📰 🥇 | 🧵 1/2 | 🔗 www.prnewswire.com/news-release...

The story at @beyond-aero.com continues to evolve in intriguing ways, as supported by today's announcement of luxury and charter firm Luxaviation as the launch operator for Beyond Aero's hydrogen-electric business jet. Full press release with link. | 🛩️ ⚡️ 👩🏻‍✈️ 📰 🥇 | 🔗 stories.prowly.com/445918-beyon...

« Elysian Aircraft … has conducted a first test flight with its Scaled Flight Demonstrator (SFD) … ». Said @dannyjacobson.bsky.social, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Elysian Aircraft. “We are … developing the core electrification technologies that support broader aerospace applications … » | 🛩️ ⚡️ 📡 📰 🥇

Now that's progress. ✅ A flock of CT-102Bs (AKA Grob G 120TP) in various gestational forms at the Grob factory in Tussenhausen-Mattsies, Germany. Cannot wait to see a formation of these in Canadian skies. Many photos and the whole story linked. (📸 SkyAlyne) | 🛩️ ⚔️ 📰 🥇 | 🔗 skyalyne.ca/latest-updat...

Detailed new reporting from Chris Thatcher writing for Skies Magazine about the Canadian company using delivery drones to routinely ferry medical supplies the ten kilometres—in complex airspace—from Edmonton, Alberta, to the Montana First Nations Clinic. (📸 Volatus Aerospace Corp.) | 🛩️ 📡 🥇

Just when you think every microscopic detail of Amelia Earhart's life has been thoroughly examined, something new shows up. In this case, twenty-one seconds of her voice, brought to you by the great people of the indelibly magnificent @librarycongress.bsky.social. | 🛩️ 🎙️ 🥇

« Fast Commuter Air Transport Between Regional Pacific Northwest Cities » by Jennifer Ferrero, writing for Northwest Aerospace News. An airline flying PC-12s; a 'must-fly' route for us in the future. (📸 ©2026 Dean Cameron | Northwest Aerospace News) | 🛩️ 📍 🇺🇸 🥇 | 🔗 viewer.joomag.com/northwest-ae...

For anybody who thinks local news is dead, we offer the @theorkneynews.bsky.social as a stellar counterpoint ✨ to that point of view. Their daily newsletter is one of our favourites. For example, take a look at the gem 💎 they featured today about this significant milestone. | 🛩️ ⚡️ 📍 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🥇

Okay, colour us intrigued. 🤔 Rahul Rao, writing for @spectrum.ieee.org, provides an excellent primer on the Sceye/SoftBank partnership to seamlessly augment ground-based cellular coverage with the SceyeCELL antenna technology integrated with Sceye's stratospheric airship. | 🛩️ 📡 🛰️ ⚡️ 🎈 🥇

We kicked off the April issue with a Cosmo Kramer quote, and another one popped to mind when this showed up, what with it being April 1st and all: « Madam, I pray you're not toying with me. » Available April 4th according to the LEGO announcement. | 🛩️ 📡