The M-2 Skywave is one of a new series of carbon fibre two-seat light sport aircraft introduced to the market in the 21st Century and is similar in appearance to the Icon M-5 from the United States and the Vickers Wave produced at New Plymouth in New Zealand.

The Slepcev Me 109G-2 was a 75% per cent scale replica of the Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2 fighter aircraft of World War II.

On 8 September 2006 the Cessna Aircraft Company was granted a type certificate for the Citation Mustang, the Model 510, making it the world’s first fully-certified, new-generation entry level business jet.

In 1980 the Cessna 425 Corsair was introduced to the Cessna range. Based on the airframe of the Model 421 Golden Eagle, the Corsair was fitted with Pratt & Whitney PT6A turboprops.

The PZL 101 Gawron is a single engine rugged utility aircraft which was built in some numbers in Poland for the Eastern Europe market, being produced by WSK-Okecie, this company later becoming known as PZL Warszawa-Okecia and is a development of the Soviet-built Yakovlev Yak 12M.

In May 1937 a specification was issued for a two-seat co-operation aircraft for the Japanese Army and to meet this Mitsubishi put forward the Ki-35 and Tachikawa the Ki-36. In the event only Tachikawa received an order for a prototype to be built, the aircraft being designed by a team

The Tachikawa Aircraft Co Ltd was founded in 1924 and was basically known for producing primary trainers for the Japanese Air Force from 1927. In 1940 work began on the Y-39, a low-wing twin-engine monoplane, which was built in a variety of variants to meet a number of needs.

Work on the Ki.84 series commenced in early 1942, being aimed at eventually replacing the Ki.43 in Imperial Army service. The prototype was rolled out in March 1943 at Ojima airfield.

In 1963 a specifications was evolved by the US Navy for a Light Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft with mission profiles to cover armed reconnaissance, close air support, helicopter escort, personnel and cargo transportation, photographic and target reconnaissance, and forward air control.

The “Oscar”, as it was known to the allies, proved to be a very successful fighter in combat early in its career.

Following the decision to fit the Rolls Royce Merlin in the Mustang, the Packard Motor Co began licence production of the engine at its Detroit facility, the engine to be fitted to the P-51B.

The Nakajima Ki-49 series known as the Donryu (Storm Dragon) was designed to supercede the Mitsubishi Ki-21 bomber, which was then just entering Japanese Army service, and the prototype (c/n 4901) was first flown in August 1939.

In 1954 the USAF issued a requirement for a supersonic trainer and the Northrop Corporation entered the N-156T trainer, at the same time developing a single-seat variant known as the N-156F. The two-seater became the T-38 Talon, the prototype making its first flight at Edwards Air Force Base on 10

Following the conclusion of World War II large numbers of ex-RAAF aircraft were sold from military bases in Australia as the aircraft were no longer required, most being scrapped for their metal value. Amongst these were Avro Ansons and Airspeed Oxford twin-engine trainers.

The P-61 Black Widow was built to meet a USAAF specification issued in 1940 for a large heavily armed night fighter.

Edouard de Nieuport, one of the pioneers of early flight, began design of a monoplane in 1905, and set up a facility at Suvesnes in 1909 where a number of advanced designs were built under the name Nieuport.

Development of the Nieuport series continued during World War I, and new models introduced included the Types 23, 24 and 27.

The AJ-1 Savage was the first aircraft in the category of bomber with a strategic capability designed and built for the US Navy. On 13 August, 1945 a design competition was announced for a carrier-based aircraft capable of carrying a 4,536 kg (10,000 b) bomb, the contract being awarded to

The B-25 Mitchell was probably the best all-round light-to medium twin-engine bomber to be operated on the Allied side during World War II. Named after Colonel William (Billy) Mitchell, an exponent of aircraft for bombing, the type became well known when a flight of Mitchells was flown from the flight

In November 1944 North American initiated the design (NA.134) of a high-performance fighter aircraft to be powered by a turbojet engine and in May 1945 a contract was received for three XP-86 single-seat fighters.

When production ceased, some 15,000 North American NA-16s in a variety of versions had been built in the USA, or under licence in the Netherlands, Sweden, Japan, Canada, and, in Australia in much modified form as the Wirraway.

The J1N1 Gekko (moonlight) was conceived by the Japanese Naval Bureau of Aeronautics in June 1938 for a twin-engine fighter, and the Nakajima Hikoki K K put forward a proposal designed by a team lead by Katsuji Nakamura, which was accepted, a contract being awarded in 1939, and the prototype

The O-47 was an observation aircraft built for the US Army. Accommodation was provided for three in tandem under a large canopy.

The B5N series (Type 97 Attack Bomber) was designed by the Nakajima Aircraft Co Ltd of Ota, Japan as a carrier-borne dive bomber, the prototype fitted with a 574 kw (770-hp) Nakajima Kikari 3 radial engine, first flying in January 1937.

The Orion has been described as arguably the most versatile tool in the RNZAF inventory. The process of the RNZAF obtaining the Orion commenced on 24 March 1964 when the New Zealand Minister of defence announced approval in principle for the purchase of five P-3A Orion aircraft to replace the

In 1937 the team of Hal Hibbard and Clarence “Kelly” Johnson commenced the design of a new twin-engine fighter for the USAAF powered by two 858 kw (1,150-hp) Allison V-1710-C engines fitted with the General Electric turbo-supercharger, featuring twin-booms, a tricycle undercarriage, and cannon armament.

One of the most notorious research aircraft, the Lockheed U-2 series has become known in the media over the years as a “spy” aircraft, one example flown by Frances Cary Powers having been shot down on such a mission over the Soviet Union.

The prototype of the Lockheed Vega, powered by a 168 kw (225-hp) Wright J-5 radial engine, was flown for the first time on 4 July 1927. A Vega was the first aircraft to fly over both the north and south pole.

In June 1940 The Vega Aircraft Division of the Lockheed Aircraft Corp at Burbank, California, was awarded a contract by the British Purchasing Commission to supply 875 examples of a new bomber derived from the Lockheed 18 airliner.

The Lockheed Martin F-35 – or the Joint Strike Fighter as it was initially known - represents potentially the single largess and most ambitious military aircraft development for many years and is aimed at providing one aircraft to meet the requirements of a number of military services.

In April 1944 the US Navy placed a contract for two prototypes of the Neptune long-range patrol bomber, designated SP2V-1. The prototype XP2V-1 (BuAer 48237) was rolled out at the company’s Burbank, California facility in May 1945, making its first flight on 17 May. The initial production model was

The P2V-7 was a development of the earlier versions, and was the last model built, some 726 being delivered from Lockheed’s plant at Burbank between the first flight on 26 April 1954 and April 1962.

Developed as a successor to the Lockheed P2V Neptune maritime patrol bomber from the Lockheed L-188 Electra commercial transport, the prototype YP3V-1 Orion (148276), which had a fuselage 2.1 m (7 ft) shorter than the commercial aircraft, was flown for the first time on 25 November 1959.

The Swordfish had its genesis in 1932 when Fairey built a two-seat torpedo bomber/three-seat spotter reconnaissance biplane as a private venture.

General Hirschauer, the Director of military aviation in France in 1915, sought that the Farman brothers, Henry and Maurice, design an aircraft to replace the MF-7 and MF-11 and they designed it around a cockpit which was ovoid in shape and was suspended between the wings and had a more

The Farman brothers, Henry and Maurice established a collaborative business to produce aircraft, although they retained their independent activities. In 1910 Maurice began experimentation with a design which lead to the Farman MF-7, an unequal-span biplane with a multiplicity of struts and bracing wires and fitted with a pusher engine,

The Mirage III emanated from Dassault’s Mirage I, which was powered by two 1,640 lbst Armstrong Siddeley Viper turbojets with provision for a rocket motor in the rear fuselage.

The F-16 series was designed as a small, lightweight agile fighter for the US armed services and is one of the most prolific aircraft of its type in the world.

On 21 December 1964 the first F-111 flew at Carswell Air Force Base, Texas. It was the product of 25 million man-hours of planning, design, and construction, and 2,100 hours of wind-tunnel testing.

The Barracuda was one of a number of designs put forward to meet specification S.24/37 in January 1938 for a long-range torpedo bomber.