The Aviation Show

@theaviation.show

3215 Followers 362 Following

The Aviation Show (formerly The Damcasters) celebrates flight from monks jumping off towers to today and beyond | Brought to you in association with the Pima Air and Space Museum | Hosted by @boneyabroad.com

Image: ESA ESA Caption in part: ESA astronaut Tim Peake took this photo from inside Cupola last month, showing a 7 mm-diameter circular chip gouged out by the impact from a tiny piece of space debris, possibly a paint flake or small metal fragment no bigger than a few thousandths of a millimetre across. The background just shows the inky blackness of space. “I am often asked if the International Space Station is hit by space debris. Yes – this is the chip in one of our Cupola windows, glad it is quadruple glazed!” says Tim. To cater for such possibilities, the Station is provided with extensive shielding around all vital crew and technical areas, so that minor strikes, like this one, pose no threat.
Thumbnail for our latest episode discussing Space Hazards with Ryan French, which shows the remarkable ClearSpace1 system capturing a defunct satellite.
Nasa Caption: Astronomers have used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to photograph the iconic Horsehead Nebula in a new, infrared light to mark the 23rd anniversary of the famous observatory's launch aboard the space shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990. Looking like an apparition rising from whitecaps of interstellar foam, the iconic Horsehead Nebula has graced astronomy books ever since its discovery more than a century ago. The nebula is a favorite target for amateur and professional astronomers. It is shadowy in optical light. It appears transparent and ethereal when seen at infrared wavelengths. The rich tapestry of the Horsehead Nebula pops out against the backdrop of Milky Way stars and distant galaxies that easily are visible in infrared light.
Original NASA Caption: The Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-45) roars into space in this photo showing a close-up of the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) and the external tank. Atlantis' mission included experiments on the Atmospheric Lab for Applications and Sciences (ATLAS). ATLAS-1 measures long-term variability in the total energy radiated by the sun and determines the variability in the solar spectrum.
A photo of the cover of Breaking Rommel: The Struggle for Air Supremacy over El Alamein, July 1942 by Michele Palermo, Marco De Poli and Andreas Biermann. The cover image is of a German ground crewsman cleaning the barrel of a Bf 109's cannon in the Northern Desert.
NASA Caption: A witch appears to be screaming out into space in this new image from NASA's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. The infrared portrait shows the Witch Head nebula, named after its resemblance to the profile of a wicked witch. Astronomers say the billowy clouds of the nebula, where baby stars are brewing, are being lit up by massive stars. Dust in the cloud is being hit with starlight, causing it to glow with infrared light, which was picked up by WISE's detectors. The Witch Head nebula is estimated to be hundreds of light-years away in the Orion constellation, just off the famous hunter's knee. WISE was recently "awakened" to hunt for asteroids in a program called NEOWISE. The reactivation came after the spacecraft was put into hibernation in 2011, when it completed two full scans of the sky, as planned. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
This image from Library and Archives Canada shows LACs John Wittington and Bert Lee rearming a 266 Squadron RAF Hawker Typhoon's 20mm cannons, having already loaded up eight RP-3 rockets.
Text from the YouTube comment: I have to congratulate the makers of this video on their research and presentation. However this is just re-hashing an old fact. The Tank Busting Tiffys were a complete fabrication. It was a poor aircraft and nothing more than a novelty. The Germans used all of their war materials in Russia. The allies only fought roughly 10% of the OKW during Normandy. So a very good rehash of some wartime propaganda but it's already been disproved.
A response by Jorge to Wired's story on Meta charging the users of their pervy glasses that calls them: Pay-per-perv. Genius.
Intro to our new video on the Hawker Typhoon and its RP-3 rocket.
The single prototype of the RAF's Bristol Type 142M Blenheim Mk.I K7033 flying above a cloudy sky in minimal markings.
The X-15 flight markings on the side of NB-52A 52-0003 'The High and Mighty One', which show each of the X-15 missions the aircraft flew. The trademark wrinkles are seen on the fuselage skin, and the sun pokes over the aircraft giving the image a touch of lens flair. Image: Matt Bone
An image of a WW2 British Operational Research Section report with the map coordinates for three radar stations in Normandy.
NASA Caption: The ALOFT mission, Airborne Lightning Observatory for Fly’s eye simulator and Terrestrial gamma ray flashes, is a collaboration between NASA and the University of Bergen, Norway. NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s ER-2 aircraft flies just above the height of thunderclouds over the Floridian and Caribbean coastlines to collect data about lightning glows and terrestrial gamma ray flashes. Scientists expect to collect more accurate data than ever before that can advance the study of high-energy radiation emissions from thunderstorms. Image Credit: NASA/Carla Thomas Image Ref: AFRC2023-0106-176
Amelia Earhart photographed in 1928 before the trans-Atlantic flight. Earhart is wearing a shirt and tie with a leather flying coat and leather helmet, which later sold at auction for over $800,000. Image: Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
The cover of the July 2026 issue of Aeroplane which shows an RAF pilot of 2TAF showing his Hawker Typhoon's rockets to a couple of Army bods, including a chap in a skirt. If my Scottish wife is reading this, I'm sorry love, I couldn't help myself.
My Dad standing beneath the port engine of D-Day veteran C-47 'Night Fright' while she was undergoing restoration at Coventry Airport in May 2021. IMage: Matt Bone
North American Aviation FJ-3 Fury, BuNo 135868, at the Intrepid Museum, NYC, in the colours of VF-33 AF-203. Image: Matt Bone
A North American FJ-3M Fury, a Navalised Sabre, sits on the forward catapult of USS Kearsarge during her Pacific cruise of 9 August 1957 - 2 April 1958. Then jet blast deflector is raised with another Fury, its wings folded, waits behing it.
The members of 440 Squadron RCAF at RAF Hurn in May 1944. Left to Right: Front: Roger McCurdy, Wally Ward, Don Wright, Jim Beatty Standing: John Dewar, Dick Watson, Ron Doidge, Hal Gooding, Cliff Hicks, Don Campbell Wing: "Buck" Jenvey, Sandy Colville, Currie Gardner, Frank Crowley
Loose Minute - AIR 37/798 Typhoon Bomber To: W/Odr. Ops. 7 You may consider the following to be of historical interest: At 10.30 hrs today, an officer of the Air Ministry, Whitehall, telephoned to state that it was not yet possible for the Air Ministry to "clear" Typhoon aircraft for the carriage of 1,000 lb bombs and that the M.A.P. was being asked to carry out an investigation into the question. As you are, no doubt, aware, we have for the past two months been fitting 1,000 lb. bomb racks to Typhoon aircraft, and the Typhoon carrying 2 x 1000 lb bombs is our primary weapon against certain tactical targets. It was suggested to the Air Ministry official concerned that he might like to take the following action:- (i)Try to stop A.E.A.F. from putting 1,000 lb bombs onto Typhoons. (ii) Recover any 1,000 lb bombs which may already have been dropped by Typhoons and explain to the recipients that the bombs were dropped in error. L.E. HEALY, Wing Commander, Arm.1 June 6, 1944.
John Saville's memorial on Gurensey - Image: Nick Le Huray
F/L John Saville in a press shot climbing into a Typhoon. Saville was around 31 years old in 1944 and was from Vancouver, BC, Canada. He is remembered on the Runnymede Memorial.
The error message in my YouTube Studio stating "Oops, something went wrong", in my comments section. Given the cesspit that is the comments to my latest video, I completely agree with this error message.
A Facebook comment on my post for my upcoming video on the issue with aviation art and Nazi pilot signatures. The post reads: "I’ve got an Erik Hartman signed book and a Hans Rudell signed book and Stuka picture. None of which are going anywhere. Met both of them. Rudell was at a airshow and had group of A-10 and F-111 crews around him listening to stories of destroying Soviet tanks. Hartman was laughing and joking with Robin olds and a couple of other U.S. aces at a convention. Using your logic we should get rid of any signatures of pilots from United Islamic Kingdom."
The Bell YFM-1 Airacuda shown in flight in bare metal finish with US Army Air Corps colours. The aircraft was powered by two pusher Allison V-1710-41 engines in wing nacelles that also housed a gunner with 37mm M4 cannons. The V-1710s suffered in a pusher config, as the cooling was never sufficient. Image: Jay Miller Collection - SDASM Archive
The cover of Edward Abel Smith's new book, A Hateful Decision. The cover shows a flight of Fairey Swordfishes above two warships of the French fleet.
A portrait of Helen Richey in her ATA uniform. Image: SDASM Archive.
Beechcraft Staggerwing 1-17R on display at the Beechcraft Herritage Museum in Tullahoma, TN. The restored prototype is painted in bright red with darker red on the engine cowelling. This aircraft had a fixed undercarriage with heavily streamlined fairings over the wheels.
My daughter's view of the queue for Olivia Rodrigo tickets at the O2 in the artist pre-sale, where, upon opening, she was 25091st in the queue.
The Sikorsky JRS-1 that survived the Pearl Harbor attack as seen at the Udvar-hazy Center in Virginia in Feb 2025. The flying boat is shown in a three-quaters shot, displaying the wear and tear of her age as the aircraft awaits further restoration and preservation by NASM, which is happening currently.
Lockheed Constellation N90831 on display at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona, USA. The aircraft is seen here in her TWA 'Star of Switzerland' colours under a stunning blue sky. Image: Matt Bone, Feb 2024.
Douglas B-23 Dragon in her executive colours following her restoration at the Pima Air and Space Museum. The twin-engined former medium-bomber is finished in dark green, with a white pinestripe and gold on the nose, down the fuselage and on the engine cowlings. Image: Matt Bone.
A B-1B Lancer departs RAF Fairford in April 2026. Image courtesy of Ed Parsons Photography.
A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer, assigned to 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, flies behind a U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker, assigned to 506th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, during a Bomber Task Force mission over the Pacific Ocean, June 25, 2022. Bomber Task Force missions provide opportunities to train alongside our allies and partners to build interoperability and bolster our collective ability to support a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Nicholas Priest)
The earth seen from Artemis II as the spacecraft rounds the Moon. The earth is seen over the horizon of the Moon and looks as lovely as always, from a distance.