This Douglas C-47B “Skytrain”, affectionately known as “Second Chance” is a unique original un-modified C-47B built in 1944 and supplied to the USAAF and flown to England where it was transferred to the British Royal Air Force in 1945.

Just two legends sharing the sky. Can't believe the Concorde is flying alongside a classic bomber like that. What a sight!

The DFS Sperber (Sparrow Hawk) Junior was a high-performance glider custom-built for the petite stature of the greatest aviatrix in history, Flugkapitän Hanna Reitsch, at the 17th Rhön Gliding Competition (Rhönwettbewerb), which was the premier soaring championship of the era, August 1936 at the Wasserkuppe mountain in Hesse, Germany. It was flown by Hanna during the 10-day event, where she placed fourth overall.

The competition was intensely contested by Germany's elite soaring pilots. Hanna's 4th-place finish was highly celebrated, as she was the only woman competing in the master-class division and was piloting a newly completed, one-off aircraft variant. Beyond her distance and duration scoring flights over the Rhön mountains, Hanna used the event to visually demonstrate the extreme structural integrity of Hans Jacobs' wing designs.

She performed radical aerobatic routines, pushing the aircraft into multi-turn spins and steep dives. This performance directly solidified her selection as a lead demonstration pilot for the gliding exhibition held just days later at the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics. While she utilised her custom Sperber Junior at the Rhön mountains just prior, for the official Olympic flight showcases she shifted focus to demonstrating the structural feats of the newly developed DFS Habicht (Hawk).

This was the world's first fully aerobatic specialised sailplane. The primary purpose of her performance was to secure gliding's official acceptance into future Olympic line-ups. Though it was approved to become an official medal sport for the planned 1940 Tokyo Games, those Olympics were ultimately canceled due to the outbreak of World War II

Historic moment in Canadian History

Ewart Sconiers was the last MIA from Stalag Luft III. I was personally involved in searching for him since early 2000s, until the happy ending in 2018. Here my detailed story of searching for Ewart.

When the US government restarted searching for WWII MIAs in Poland in late 1990s, I was the local history expert they worked with. I shared a lot if information, helped identify many crash sites, and used my experience, knowledge, and network, all to help the effort to bring closure to families.

Ewart was the first man found in Poland after the fall of the Soviet Block. Eight more MIAs were identified in the last few years, and there are 150+ Americans still missing from WWII in Poland. Here is Ewart’s story.

https://sserwatka.substack.com/p/ewart-sconiers-the-last-man-out-of?r=42ks37&utm_medium=ios

I finally got to check out the new Hickory Aviation Museum in Hickory and honestly this place was amazing. I'm not a huge aviation expert but I did really enjoy the experience and learning more about them while I was there.

It just just went through a massive remodel in May, so it’s still pretty brand spanking new. We hadn't even made it to the ticket counter yet and were already standing underneath a giant Cobra helicopter lol.

Once you get inside there is so much to look at. They have over 20 historic aircraft along with military memorabilia, old uniforms, models, photographs and some really cool artwork on the planes.

The F14 Tomcat was definitely one of my favorites. Seeing these aircraft in pictures is one thing, but actually standing beside them is completely different. Some of them are absolutely massive.

One of my favorite parts was getting to actually climb inside one of the cockpits. Getting myself into it wasn't exactly graceful 😂 but once I got in there it was pretty awesome.

I also have to mention the people working there. Everyone we talked to was incredibly welcoming and friendly and you can tell there are people there who genuinely care about preserving this history.

I included some pictures because there is honestly way too much there to show in one post.

Is there another aviation museum you would recommended or something similar?

Hickory North Carolina Aviation Museum

I went to RIAT25 and had almost front row seats in the aptly named 'First Class Lounge'. I saw this RAF Search and Rescue Sea King Airborne, that engine sound!

Airborne video: RAF Sea King Helicopter Turns Heads (and Rotors) — Sound Up!

RAF Westland Sea King HAR.3

Last Military Serial: XZ588

Built: 1977 and delivered in 1978

Used for RAF Search and Rescue until July 2015

Construction Number: WA0854

Civil Registration: G-SEAK (by Historic Helicopters in August 2020)

Photo and video by AspieTravels

A nostalgic reminder of the yellow Sea Kings that were once such a familiar part of RAF Search and Rescue.

RIAT26 was unfortunately cancelled.

And why hasn’t some rich dude made their own supersonic jet like the Concorde?

Found a box full of negatives at an antique store. Only one I found with an old plane.