As one of the few parts of the British Isles (and here someone may wish to correct my geographical ignorance) occupied by the Germans in the Second World War, Jersey has a rich inheritance of fortifications left over from that period and, among the older generation, a difficult relationship with their former occupiers. So quite what they made of the return, in 1967, of these Luftwaffe aircraft (a Messerschmitt Bf 109 - with Rolls-Royce engines, apparently - and a Heinkel He 111) we can only guess. Apparently they stopped off briefly in the Channel Island on their way to film The Battle of Britain. Thanks to local photographer Mick Bellee for the images.

Alright, it's a poor headline but I was struggling for a suitable pun. Anyway, just released by the good folk in Toulouse is this image of the vertical tail section for the first A380 for Qatar Airways. It's fresh from the company's paint shop in Hamburg where it took 10 days to complete. The carrier has 10 of the super-enormo-jumbos on order with first delivery due early next year.

Another great picture from AirSpace regular Hounddogone, this time of an Emirates Airbus A380 on a damp take-off roll at London Heathrow.

Spotted on Flightglobal's AirSpace gallery is this excellent shot by user Viper28 of a BAE Systems Hawk T1 trainer being flown by the Royal Air Force. Our World Air Forces directory lists the service as operating 58 of the type.

To coincide with today's big news that Turkish Airlines is to order up to 95 Boeing 737s (and also to enable me to use this puntastic headline) here's a brilliant shot of a Turkish Airlines 737-900ER from AirSpace user Martin Needham.

Today marks the 80th anniversary of the historic first flight over Mount Everest, when in 1933 The Squadron Commanding Officer Lord Clydesdale, and his 'B' Flight Commander Flight Lieutenant David McIntyre, flew two Westland Wallace biplanes on an extended flight over the world's highest peak.

The legacy left by these two pioneers is a strong aviation hub at Prestwick of which BAE Systems Regional Aircraft - the direct descendant of Scottish Aviation - is a key part.

 

 

 

A Qantas A380 and Emirates A380 flew in formation over Sydney Harbour this morning, to mark the commencement of the global aviation partnership between Emirates and Qantas.

The deal announced in September, provides extensive partnership to collaborate on routes and frequent flyer benefits. Read the full story here

I've no idea why this picture has just appeared on EADS' Flickr stream as it was taken in August last year, but it is rather nice. It shows an Airbus Military A400M and the Patrouille de France display team in their Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jets soaring over the mountains.