Aircraft encyclopedia: Civil

Aircraft models with their history, specifications and variants.

Airliner · 1936
Short Empire
The Short Empire was a four-engined monoplane flying boat developed by Short Brothers in the 1930s for Britain's imperial routes, carrying passengers and mail across two decks. Imperial Airways, BOAC, Qantas and TEAL operated it until…
more…
Lars Söderström (CC BY SA), vía commons
RuthAS (CC BY), vía commons
Rob Hodgkins (CC BY SA), vía commons
RuthAS (CC BY), vía commons
Ken Fielding (CC BY SA), vía commons
Richard Goring (CC BY SA), vía commons
Airliner · 1952
Bristol Britannia
The Bristol Type 175 Britannia was a British medium-to-long-range turboprop airliner, conceived by the Bristol Aeroplane Company for the Empire routes and universally remembered as "The Whispering Giant" for its quiet exterior noise and…
more…
RuthAS (CC BY), vía commons
Eduard Marmet (CC BY SA), vía commons
Alan Wilson from Peterborough, Cambs, UK (CC BY SA), vía commons
Eduard Marmet (CC BY SA), vía commons
Alan Wilson from Stilton, Peterborough, Cambs, UK (CC BY SA), vía commons
Eduard Marmet (CC BY SA), vía commons
Airliner · 1955
Handley Page Herald
The Handley Page HPR.7 Dart Herald was a British regional airliner with a high wing, a pressurised cabin and two Rolls-Royce Dart turboprops, conceived in the mid-1950s as a replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3 on short routes and…
more…
Ozzy Delaney (CC BY), vía commons
RuthAS (CC BY), vía commons
Rob Hodgkins (CC BY SA), vía commons
Tim Sheerman-Chase (CC BY), vía commons
Andrew Thomas from Shrewsbury, UK (CC BY SA), vía commons
Rob Hodgkins (CC BY SA), vía commons
Airliner · 1959
Vickers Vanguard
The Vickers Vanguard was a British four-engined turboprop airliner for short and medium-range services, designed and produced by Vickers-Armstrongs as the direct successor to the Viscount. It grew out of discussions the manufacturer had…
more…
Pedro Aragão (CC BY SA), vía commons
Pedro Aragão (CC BY SA), vía commons
Jan Heistermann - Flugzeug-Fotos.de (CC BY), vía commons
Pedro Aragão (CC BY SA), vía commons
Pedro Aragão (CC BY SA), vía commons
Pedro Aragão (CC BY SA), vía commons
Airliner · 1960
Hawker Siddeley HS 748
The Hawker Siddeley HS 748 was the regional turboprop with which Avro set out to replace the Douglas DC-3 on feeder routes around the world. It flew on 24 June 1960, and a ruggedness aimed at unprepared strips kept it working long after…
more…
Aero Icarus from Zürich, Switzerland (CC BY SA), vía commons
Swissair (CC BY SA), vía commons
VISIT YOUR LOCAL AIR MUSEUM (HawkeyeUK) (CC BY SA), vía commons
David Dixon (CC BY SA), vía commons
Swissair (CC BY SA), vía commons
Airliner · 1962
Hawker Siddeley Trident
The Hawker Siddeley Trident is a British short/medium-haul trijet airliner that first flew on 9 January 1962 and entered service with British European Airways on 1 April 1964. A total of 117 were built, and the last examples were retired…
more…
SAC Sarah Burrows (© Crown copyright) (OGL), vía commons
Cpl Laura Bibby (© Crown copyright) (OGL), vía commons
Bahnfrend (CC BY SA), vía commons
SAC Taz Hetherington (© Crown copyright) (OGL), vía commons
Richard Vandervord (CC BY SA), vía commons
Airliner · 1962
Vickers VC10
The Vickers VC10 was a British long-range jet airliner designed to operate from the short, hot and high runways of BOAC's route network. It first flew in 1962 and, after its airline career, soldiered on with the Royal Air Force until 2013.
more…
HiFlyChick at English Wikipedia (CC BY SA), vía commons
Biponacci (CC BY SA), vía commons
Cpl Rich Denton (© Crown copyright) (OGL), vía commons
Cpl Rich Denton (© Crown copyright) (OGL), vía commons
Dietmar Rabich (CC BY SA), vía commons
Cpl Rich Denton (© Crown copyright) (OGL), vía commons
General aviation · 1965
Britten-Norman Islander
The Britten-Norman Islander is a British light utility twin carrying a pilot and up to nine passengers, designed in the 1960s for short-haul work between small and poorly prepared airstrips. It first flew on 13 June 1965, was certified in…
more…
Anna Zvereva (CC BY SA), vía commons
KS-U92 (CC BY SA), vía commons
Airliner · 1980
BAe Jetstream
The BAe Jetstream was British Aerospace's rework of the small pressurised turboprop inherited from Handley Page. Renamed the Jetstream 31, it flew on 28 March 1980 and became one of the most common 19-seat airliners of the 1980s.
more…
David P Howard (CC BY SA), vía commons
Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK (CC BY), vía commons
Albinfo (CC BY SA), vía commons
kitmasterbloke (CC BY), vía commons
Aero Icarus from Zürich, Switzerland (CC BY SA), vía commons
Airliner · 1981
BAe 146
The BAe 146 is a British four-engined high-wing regional jet that first flew on 3 September 1981 and entered service with Dan-Air in 1983. Together with its modernised Avro RJ development, 394 were built, making it the most successful…
more…