RTB - the podcast for aviation geeks made by aviation geeks

With numerous variations of the aircraft, there’s an A-4 Skyhawk to suit everyone’s needs. It’s versatility, speed, and maneuverability made it a popular aircraft at a very reasonable price across the globe.

Back in the 80s, in the event of war, RAF Tornados based in West Germany would have had to penetrate the formidable air defence system of the Warsaw Pact. Their pilots were among the best in the world.

There were a lot of things the pilots couldn't do in an SR-71, but they were the fastest guys on the block, and they really loved reminding their fellow aviators of this fact...

As the British forces were landing on the Falkland Islands, Argentine Navy Lieutenant Owen Crippa was ordered to carry out a reconnaissance flight over the San Carlos Strait, but then...

In 1991, Lockheed acquired three Yak-141s and valuable test data from the Russian company for around $400 million. In 1996, the Pentagon awarded Boeing and Lockheed each $750 million to produce two prototypes for the Joint Strike Fighter program, which were test-flown five years later.

The idea to modify several F-104As to serve as “manned spacecraft transition trainers” is credited to astronaut Frank Borman who was both a student and an instructor at Edwards Air Force Base, California, home of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School.

Capt. Brett DeVries, who was flying his A-10 Thunderbolt II, landed on the runway with his aircraft whose canopy had blown off the aircraft 25 minutes before, with no main radio, and with the landing gear that would not come down...

In September 1976, an aircraft appeared out of the clouds near the Japanese city of Hakodate, on the northern island of Hokkaido... It was a MiG-25, and no one in the West had ever seen one before.

In March 1981, the US Air Force announced that it was looking to develop a new advanced tactical fighter to replace the F-111 Aardvark, and General Dynamics entered the F-16XL in the competition...

Back in 1989, at the Abbotsford International Airshow, Canadian Air Force Major Bob Wade got his hands on a MiG-29 Fulcrum, only months before the fall of the Iron Curtain...

Back in the '80s, the USAF created a special unit to expose the tactical air forces to the flight characteristics of fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

The recommended airspeed for landing an F-15 was around 150 mph. Back in 1983, this pilot brought it down to around 300 mph, and with only one wing!