Aviation Archives - Mechtraveller

Rare MiG-17 booked for Hampshire Air Festival

Alastair — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:16:17 +0000

The new Hampshire Air Festival has confirmed the appearance of a rare MiG-17F in the festival’s opening year flying display. Taking place at Thruxton Aerodrome on 12–13 September 2026, Hampshire Air Festival is a new two-day aviation weekend created to celebrate “The Age of Flight” through flying displays, static aircraft and a Saturday evening extravaganza […]

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Air New Zealand launch Economy Class Bunk Beds

Alastair — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:57:07 +0000

Air New Zealand (ANZ) have unveiled their new economy class ‘Skynest’ mini dormitories, featuring six bunks that will be available to book on flights from 18 May 2026. Each Skynest bunk (“pod”) provides a quiet, private space with a full-length mattress, bedding, ambient lighting, ventilation and charging ports (USB C & A). The six-bunk Skynest […]

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Hispano-Suiza 18.Sb Aero Engine

Alastair — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 17:12:52 +0000

The Hispano-Suiza 18.Sb is a rather quirky but powerful 18-cylinder aero-engine that kinda got lost in history! It was designed originally as the Hispano-Suiza 18R to compete in the 1929 Schneider Trophy for seaplanes. It was ordered by the French Air Ministry who needed a 1200 horsepower engine to put in two competing aircraft; the […]

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Chinese eVTOL Developer Unveils the World’s First 5-Ton Class eVTOL Aircraft

Alastair — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 16:51:35 +0000

One of the earliest eVTOL developers, Autoflight, has revealed Matrix, the world’s first 5-ton class electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Matrix successfully completed a public full transition flight demonstration this week at the company’s low-altitude flight test facility centre in Kunshan,Jiangsu Province. During the demonstration (flying alongside AutoFlight’s 2-ton CarryAll cargo eVTOL), Matrix […]

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The Rotabuggy

Alastair — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 15:53:40 +0000

Designed in 1943 by Austrian aeronautical engineer, Raoul Hafner, for the British Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment (AFEE), the Hafner Rotabuggy was a standard Willey’s Jeep converted into an autogyro*. What is an autogyro? Well, like a helicopter it has rotor blades, but unlike a helicopter they are not powered. The blades autorotate with forward motion, […]

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XPENG is promoting its personal eVTOL aircraft carrier in the Middle East

Alastair — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 13:22:16 +0000

A Chinese company’s combination multi-rotor, 2-seat eVTOL aircraft and state-of-the-art transporter vehicle, is already taking orders, especially in the Middle East where it has recently completed its first global public manned flight. In the UK, hardly anyone has heard of XPENG but it is one of China’s foremost and most technologically advanced EV manufacturers. Their […]

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There’s a new aviation museum coming to El Reno, Oklahoma

Alastair — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 15:00:08 +0000

The Caldwell Collection at Mustang Field, will be opening to the public in October at the El Reno Regional Airport just west of Oklahoma City. The museum will have approximately two dozen historic aircraft on display from the pioneering years of aviation in the 1920s & 30s. Oklahoma entrepreneur, Tony Caldwell, started flying quite late […]

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Voisin 10 – Armed to the Teeth!

Alastair — Sun, 31 Aug 2025 11:13:02 +0000

This is the fuselage, or ‘gondola’, of the rather extraordinary French WW1 Voisin X bomber and gunship. The Voisin X was a two-seat pusher biplane produced either as a night bomber or a gunship armed with a 37 mm (1½”) Hotchkiss cannon and a defensive 7.7mm machine gun. As it turned out, the canon was […]

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First electric flight lands at London Gatwick

Alastair — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 13:56:18 +0000

The first ever electric flight to land at London Gatwick airport, did so yesterday (9 July) as part of the VINCI Airports Network Elektro Tour. The Elektro Tour is taking place over 17 days with a Pipistrel Velis Electro* light aircraft flying between nine VINCI airports in France and London Gatwick to showcase innovation in […]

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Bicester Vertiport ready for eVTOLs

Alastair — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 10:17:06 +0000

Skyports Infrastructure held a preview last week of its now complete vertiport at Bicester Motion in Oxfordshire. This is one of the UK’s first testing grounds and hubs for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) flights. Vertiports are a key component of the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industry, which will not only operate the new […]

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