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BluFly 🛩
@blufly.media
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A humans-in-the-loop feed for the aviation community. If made by people and flying between the surface and the Kármán Line you'll find it on BluFly. Read the current issue at https://blufly.media/2026/02. (📸 ©2025 Pierre Gumy)
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blufly.media
Forget the trellis for the climbing roses 💐 or the reflecting pond 🎏 in the home office's Italianate garden, *this* is the DIY 🛠️ project for us. By David Price, published by @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social, and spotted at Indigo Books yesterday. | 🛩️ ⚔️ 📚 | 🔗 www.bloomsbury.com/uk/how-to-bu...
The cover of « How to Build a Spitfire » by David Price, held up by a left hand in front of bookstore shelves.
February 10, 2026 at 6:10 PM
blufly.media
We're gently breaking our 'surface-to-Kármán' rule with this haunting, ghost-like photo of TBD-1 Devastator 'BuNo 1515' flying just *below* the surface at Jaluit Atoll in the Marshall Islands. (📸 Brett Seymour | Air/Sea Heritage Foundation) | 🛩️ ⚔️ 📍 🇲🇭 🏅 | 🧵 1/3 | 🔗 airseaheritage.org/projects/dev...
A derelict single-engine military aircraft cast in teal-blue light just below the surface of a tropical lagoon. A diver swims just above the open canopy.
February 10, 2026 at 3:19 PM
blufly.media
In today's email blast from the @shuttleworthtru.bsky.social: if you're one of the talented aviation history authors within earshot, convince your publisher to rent this great-looking property in Old Warden for you, strolling distance from the museum. | 🛩️ | 🔗 email.shuttleworth.org/cr/AQiMkhYQy...
A semi-detached, two-story brick cottage set in the English countryside, taken from the real estate website that has the property for rent.
February 9, 2026 at 3:59 PM
blufly.media
We have posted previously about Lufthansa's gorgeous restoration of their Constellation Super Star. While it would set our hearts afire ❤️‍🔥 if they had chosen to get that flying, the classic livery lives on, on one of their @airbus.com A321-200s. | 🛩️ 🏅 | 🔗 newsroom.lufthansagroup.com/en/lufthansa...
A Lufthansa A321-200, painted in their classic, curvaceous blue and yellow 'parabola' livery from the 1950s, is parked in a well-lit hangar.
February 9, 2026 at 2:59 PM
blufly.media
Hard to believe this has rolled around again, already: Dr. Jones is running their DC-3 Peru-to-Patagonia adventure for the well-healed traveller. Technically, it's a Basler BT-67, but who wouldn't want P&W PT6 reliability over that terrain? (📸 Dr. Jones) | 🛩️ 📅 🏅 | 🔗 www.dr-jones.com?utm_source=b...
A DC-3/Basler BT-67 twin-engine, propeller-driven vintage airliner, photographed from below in black and white, against a sky with high, thin stratus clouds.
February 8, 2026 at 11:06 PM
blufly.media
We recently remarked there's no such thing as a sure thing, but like our recent Concorde post, a photo of the achingly beautiful DH.88 Comet comes pretty close. Such as this one, from 1934. (📸 Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales) | 🛩️ 🏅 | 🧵 1/3 | 🔗 digital.sl.nsw.gov.au/delivery/Del...
The DH.88 Comet 'Grosvenor House' being rolled into place for display outside the Sydney Hospital and Parliament in Sydney, Australia, in 1934.
February 7, 2026 at 8:43 PM
blufly.media
From the CORGI 'Aerodrome' blog, an excellent article by Michael Clegg entitled « New Plumage for Preserved Blackburn Buccaneer ». Also lots of additional photos therein, making it a worthwhile read. And, yes, it's *that* CORGI. | 🛩️ ⚔️ | 🔗 uk.corgi.co.uk/community/bl...
The nose-on view of a Blackburn Buccaneer against a sunset sky, which is also visible through the air intakes, indicating the engines have been removed.
February 2, 2026 at 6:51 PM
blufly.media
The new issue has just dropped 💥 Managing Editor @terencecgannon.com kicks it off with a cure 🤞🏻 for the high cost of flying, realises BluFly has been doing alt texts wrong all along, and provides some details on that outstanding cover photo. It all starts now … (📸 ©2025 Pierre Gumy) | 🛩️ 🪽 📡 📹 📍 🇨🇭 🥇
February, 2026
A humans-in-the-loop feed for the aviation community — if made by people and flying up to the Kármán Line you'll find it on BluFly 🛩️
blufly.media
January 31, 2026 at 11:19 PM
blufly.media
We're wrapping up January with yet another stellar example of the aviation-oriented images found in the collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects. This Fellini-esque composition from 1937 is … (📸 Dell & Wainwright | RIBA Collections) | 🛩️ 🎨 🥇 | 🧵 1/2 | 🔗 www.ribapix.com/Municipal-Ai...
The interior of a municipal airport terminal building, while looking out of its large, picture windows at a small, parked twin-engine passenger aircraft.
January 31, 2026 at 2:25 PM
blufly.media
The folks at @lighthawk-org.bsky.social have been out on another interesting, worthwhile mission: they're « documenting current conditions before any construction begins » on a « proposed 5,000-acre AI data center ». (📸 ©2026 Chris Boyer | LightHawk) | 🛩️ 💺 🤖 🥇 | 🔗 www.lighthawk.org/what-we-do/c...
A small town set in a flat, golden-brown prairie landscape as viewed from a small plane. On the horizon, there a couple of rolling hills.
January 30, 2026 at 8:38 PM
blufly.media
While we're not wading into this — we don't do politics here at BluFly — for those wanting a detailed background and hard facts on this high-profile story, @scribener.bsky.social, writing for Skies Magazine, does an outstanding job, as always. | 🛩️ 📰
Bombardier responds to Trump tariff threat, aircraft decertification claims - Skies Mag
The Canadian OEM is closely watching developments from the White House following an incendiary social media post from U.S. President Donald Trump that shook the aviation industry here.
skiesmag.com
January 30, 2026 at 4:33 PM
blufly.media
Apparently, it's International LEGO Day. 🎉 Who knew? Well, we didn't. 🤦🏻‍♂️ Although we don't need much of an excuse to post about aviation-oriented LEGO sets 🧱 here’s one to mark the occasion. (📸 LEGO | US Navy via @wikimediafoundation.org in the public domain) | 🛩️ 🔍 | 🔗 www.lego.com/en-ca/produc...
A LEGO helicopter hovers over a photo of the ocean's surface. A rescue swimmer is being lowered by a cable to a life raft below.
January 28, 2026 at 7:40 PM
blufly.media
Official Account Alert 🫆 We're delighted to see aviation industry heavyweight @airbus.com on @bsky.app. While not (yet?) actively posting, tag them in your posts and follow them so they're routinely reminded of our collective interest. (📸 © Eric RAZ | AIRBUS Helicopters) | 🛩️ | 🧵 1/2 | 🔗 airbus.com
An Airbus Helicopters H175 is shown being loaded onto an Airbus A300-600ST Beluga. The helicopter has been prepared for shipping with its opening covered with tape and paper. It is on a flatbed lifted by the crane with four cables, and being either moved into or out of the Beluga's large interior cavity through its large, open door. The markings on the helicopter include the words « CHINA RESCUE » along with the registration number « B-72GO ». Original caption from source: « Loading two H175 MoT - Beluga » (📸 © Eric RAZ | AIRBUS Helicopters)
January 26, 2026 at 6:10 PM
blufly.media
We're in awe 😲 of @redbull.com's ability to get their name 'out there' in some very cool places: to wit, the Red Bull on *both* the aircraft and the low-flying, wind-powered hot rod below, at the recent SailGP event in Perth, Australia. (📸 Jason Ludlow | SailGP) | 🛩️ 🥇 | 🔗 sailgp.com/news/26/sail...
A modern, single-seat, aerobatic monoplane is pictured making a hard right turn using the sail of a racing catamaran sailboat as a pylon. The aircraft is trailing display smoke which arcs around the sailboat's sails below. The aircraft is low over the water; a distance estimated at fifty to seventy-five metres. The aircraft is oriented such that it's flying toward and to the left of the camera. At the moment the image was captured, it was flying from right to left in the frame. The sailboat is a conventional sloop rig, albeit with the main sail cropped square at the top, making the sail more in the shape of an aircraft wing. The hulls of the catamaran are elevated over the water with hydrofoils. The Red Bull logo is featured prominently on both the aircraft and the sailboat. The sailboat also featured the Rolex logo. The surface of the dark blue water has small waves, and the sky above is gin-clear blue. In the distance there is a scrub-covered shoreline with some structures. Other, more conventional sailboats are visible in the distance on the right. Original caption from source: « A Red Bull stunt aeroplane flies close to the Red Bull Italy SailGP Team F50 catamaran during a practice session ahead of the ORACLE Perth Sail Grand Prix in Perth, Australia. Wednesday 14 January 2026. Rolex SailGP Championship Event 1 2026 Season. » (📸 Jason Ludlow | SailGP)
January 22, 2026 at 6:31 PM
blufly.media
Picking up on Beyond Aero's hydrogen-related developments we shared earlier this week, here is a much more detailed treatise on a related subject brought to us by the way of @universitypress.cambridge.org. This is a very readable abstract, with a link to the complete academic paper. | 🛩️ ⚡️ 🏫 🥇
Turning boil-off hydrogen from a loss into a resource – a metal-hydride concept for future sustainable aviation « Engineering# « Cambridge Core Blog
Liquid hydrogen (LH2) is considered as a cornerstone of a low-carbon aviation future, yet the inevitable formation of hydrogen boil-off gas (BOG) is one of its main drawbacks.
www.cambridge.org
January 21, 2026 at 6:08 PM
blufly.media
In this line of work, there is no such thing as a sure thing, but any story about Concorde comes pretty close. A new, well-written, fourteen-minute read by (clearly a fan) Francesca Street writing for @cnn.com Travel. | 🛩️ 📹
What it was like to pilot the supersonic Concorde jet | CNN
Those who took the controls of Concorde say it was like no other airplane. Here they reveal the secrets of flying the world’s fastest commercial passenger aircraft at more than twice the speed of soun...
www.cnn.com
January 21, 2026 at 3:56 PM
blufly.media
Managing Editor @terencecgannon.com feels we all might need a little light entertainment pick-me-up, given the dreary northern winter and the state of the world at the moment. This, from the August 2022 issue of the New RC Soaring Digest, is also the latest on our Avergreen imprint. | 🛩️ 📡 🪽 🌲 🥇
La Dolce Vita
I dream of living in a place where olives and lemons grow.
blufly.media
January 20, 2026 at 3:47 PM
blufly.media
We were looking for a fitting way to mark Martin Luther King Day, and as @jonostrower.com of @theaircurrent.com says "there's always an aviation angle": to wit, this excellent 2019 article by Tammera L. Holmes. We also love the great collection of photos she found and included in the article. | 🛩️ 👩🏻‍✈️
On Wings of Justice: How Aviation Helped King’s Dream Soar
From the south, to the north, to the east, to the far east. Martin Luther King’s dream of freedom took him all over the world. Today…
medium.com
January 19, 2026 at 3:00 PM
blufly.media
« Beyond Aero has successfully completed its first wind tunnel test campaign … focused on one of the program’s most critical challenges: ensuring predictable aerodynamic performance, stability, and control for an aircraft integrating gaseous hydrogen tanks outside the fuselage … » | 🛩️ ⚡️ 📰 🥇
Beyond Aero experimentally validates hydrogen-electric architecture in wind tunnel testing
Beyond Aero’s first wind tunnel campaign marks a key step from preliminary design toward experimentally validated aircraft aerodynamics.
stories.prowly.com
January 19, 2026 at 11:02 AM
blufly.media
For those running short of weekend reading, the folks at NASA have a cure for what ails ya': a series of three free-to-download ebooks. It's been around a while, but the content is evergreen, after all. We'll import the PDFs into Apple Books for reading in — y'know — the 'library'. | 🛩️ 📚 🎈 ⚔️ 🥇
The Wind and Beyond - NASA
The airplane ranks as one of history’s most ingenious and phenomenal inventions. It has surely been one of the most world-changing. How ideas about
www.nasa.gov
January 17, 2026 at 8:05 PM
blufly.media
Love big round engines like we do? 😍 If so, and you're in the vicinity of El Reno, Oklahoma, then you're going to want to attend this weekend's « Radial Engines 101 » workshop at The Caldwell Collection. Details with link. (📸 See ALT.) | 🛩️ 📅 🇺🇸 📍🥇 | 🔗 www.thecaldwellcollection.org/event-detail...
A montage of four photos superimposed over a washed-out, full-frame fifth photo: the four photos in the foreground are tightly cropped images of the radial engines of aircraft found in the Caldwell Collection of El Reno, Oklahoma. All of the aircraft appear to be located in a tidy, well-let hangar. The fifth image, which forms the background, is of an event at the Caldwell Collection's dedicated hangar, wherein a social event is taking place. The hangar door is open, and attendees are milling around a number of cocktail tables. Parts of the words « CALDWELL COLLECTION » are visible above the hangar door. A biplane, also with a radial engine, is parked on the ramp just outside the hangar and is visible at the right side of the frame. The sky in the distance indicates that the photo was likely taken at sunset. (📸 The Caldwell Collection used here with their permission and kind assistance.)
January 14, 2026 at 5:43 PM
blufly.media
We are unapologetically enthusiastic about @dawnaerospace.bsky.social: they're quietly getting things in the suborbital domain with their Aurora aircraft. Their latest short video is a great way to get up to speed on their story so far. | 🛩️ 📡 🛰️ 💺 📹 🥇 | 🔗 www.dawnaerospace.com/latest-news/...
A screenshot from a recent Dawn Aerospace video showing the spectacular view aft from their Aurora suborbital aircraft. Snow-capped mountains, dotted with cumulus clouds, are visible far below. The sky above is dark blue trending toward black. The aircraft is turning to its right, resulting in the horizon being at an approximately forty-five-degree angle from the bottom right to the top left of the frame. Around the edges of the frame is the interior of the aft portion of the fuselage. At the bottom left of the frame is the rocket motor's cast outlet with the words « DAWN AEROSPACE » raised above the surface of the rest of the casting. (📸 Dawn Aerospace)
January 13, 2026 at 8:57 PM
blufly.media
For us, there's nothing quite like 'discovering' an aviator and a story with which we are completely unfamiliar. 🙌🏻 To wit, Gidsken Jakobsen in this detailed, copiously illustrated article, including this amazing photo. (📸 Unknown | Maihaugen) | 🛩️ 👩🏻‍✈️ 🦆 📍 🇳🇴 🥇 | 🔗 www.luftfartsmuseum.no/gidsken-jako...
An old, black and white photograph of a woman (separately identified as Gidsken Jakobsen), standing in front of a biplane mounted on floats on what appears to be a frozen lake. The aircraft is oriented such that it's pointed toward and slightly to the right of the camera position. Jakobsen is holding the lower blade of the aircraft's propeller and is looking directly at the camera. She is also wearing a leather flying helmet. There is a crowd of approximately twenty adults and children standing to her left and on the right side of the frame. The crowd is looking at a combination of her, the airplane and directly at the camera. Some are on cross-country skis. Everybody in the photo is dressed in heavy winter clothing, indicating that it was cold when the photo was taken. The aircraft has a radial engine, with the cylinders exposed to the airflow. The word « MÅSEN » is painted on the right side of the fuselage just aft of the engine and below the front seat of the two-seat, open cockpit. Further aft and although partially obscured, « N40 » is painted on the side of the fuselage in large letters. (📸 Unknown | Maihaugen used here with their permission and with the benefit of their kind assistance.)
January 12, 2026 at 3:21 PM
blufly.media
Back in the day, we would have entered this in a heartbeat: « The Eighth Annual Richard Collins Writing Prize for Young Pilots » sponsored by @sportys.bsky.social. The deadline for all future Markhams, Ganns, and Bachs ✍🏻 is February 28, 2026. (📸 See ALT) | 🛩️ 🥇 | 🔗 www.sportys.com/blog/call-fo...
An older man stands by a General Aviation aircraft. He is turned to the right side of the frame, and has his head turned to the right to look at the camera. He is smiling. He is wearing a blue-check shirt and glasses. His left hand is touching the doorframe of the aircraft, which is mostly white with horizontal red stripes. It appears to be a sunny day. Original caption from source: « Richard L. Collins beside a Piper Aztec. » (📸 N415Ros via Wikimedia under CC BY 4.0)
January 11, 2026 at 6:57 PM
blufly.media
We've heard that paper 📄 is making a comeback. Dr. @mikepryce.bsky.social, writing for the @aerosociety.bsky.social, makes the best case we've heard so far supporting this assertion. This, and the thought of that evocative 'old paper' smell, which we raiders find oddly intoxicating. | 🛩️ ⚔️ 🥇
Raiders of the Lost Archives
Are today’s engineers and researchers missing a trick by not visiting the dusty paper archives of old? Aviation historian Dr MICHAEL PRYCE thinks so.
www.aerosociety.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:28 PM