The Aviation Buffs Number 2 Website

About this website

This website is devoted exclusively to aviation, containing pictures, drawings and descriptions. It is optimised for viewing in 800x600 pixels. All pages represent thumbnailed pictures, small representations of the full-size image. Click the small image to obtain it full-sized in a separate window. The advantage of using a separate window is that you can continue looking around on this site without having to wait for the required picture to load. You can even consecutively click on several pictures, your browser window's 'Next' and 'Previous' buttons allow for easy access to all selected pictures.

All drawings and pictures represented here are own work, except if otherwise credited.

There is no ideological or political meaning behind the aircraft of symbols depicted, it is a mere record of aircraft past and present.

Website contents :

Part of my pictures and drawings are more or less categorized on individual pages. Please note that these groups are rather arbitrary and certainly not intended to give you a complete historical insight in the subject.

Aircraft pages :

The Pioneers : Powered flight started in 1903 and rapidly developed during the prewar years.

The Pioneers - lesser known and unsuccesful aircraft : Some exotic aircraft are shown on this page.

World war one : aircraft dating back to the first world war.

Fokker Dr.1 Triplane : discover some unique period photographs on this page, devoted to one of the famous fighting aircraft of the Great War.

Twenties and thirties : also called the golden age of aviation, aircraft and aerial transport developed rapidly during this period.

Classics and Antiques : significant aircraft, usually preserved in flying condition.

Warbirds : legendary aircraft of the second world war.

Warbirds - navy machines : as legendary as the previously mentioned group, but intended for use on aircraft carriers

Supermarine Spitfire : one of the best-looking fighter aircraft ever.

Military training aircraft : from ab-initio up to advanced jet training, these aircraft are intended to make pilots.

Jet fighters and attack aircraft : jet powered aircraft, especially fighters, are still the public's favourite at airshows.

Bombers : amongst the most deadly machines in military use today, bombers like the B-1 or B-52 are definite eyecatchers at airshows.

Stealthy stuff : strange looking aircraft that can be seen by the eye... but not by radar...

British Aerospace Harrier : the worlds first operational VTOL aircraft certainly needs no introduction.

Gloster Meteor : one of the first operational jet fighters, this British product proved very successful the world over.

Hawker Hunter : no jet fighter website can be complete without information on one of the most elegant war machines ever built.

General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon : one of the first fly-by-wire fighting machines, it pioneered a whole new control concept.

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter : dubbed 'the missile with a man in it', the F-104 was one of those aerodynamic wonders that emerged during the late fifties/early sixties. Even today it still looks futuristic.

Panavia Tornado : one of the first multi-nation combat aircraft ever developed, the Tornado is a state-of the art multirole combat aircraft, in service in Great Britain, Germany, Italy and Saudi Arabia.

Potez-Air Fouga CM-170 Magister : this very recognizable butterfly-tail trainer has thought several generations of military pilots to fly.

Republic Thunder -jet/-streak/-flash/-chief : after WW2's Thunderbolt, Republic switched to jet fighters and produced these remarkable machines.

Military transports : people or cargo carriers in military colors.

Propeller airliners : piston or turboprop powered airliners. Some of these aircraft are equally suited to military duty and are illustrated on the previous page as well as this one.

Fokker F-27/F-50 Friendship : of a whole range of postwar turboprop transports, only a handful proved to be a sales success. The Fokker Friendship was one of them.

Lockheed Constellation : arguably one of the most beautiful airliners ever made, this plane just deserved a place on this website !

Jet Airliners : more-or-less modern jet powered airliners and cargo aircraft.

Airbus A.300/310 : The earliest offerings of the Airbus company are still in production and widespread use today.

Airbus A.319/320/321 : As opposed to the wide-bodied A.300/310 family, the A.320 series is of narrow-body concept.

Airbus : Remaining the only significant airliner company in Europe, Airbus is in continuous battle with Boeing to obtain orders. A.330, A.340 and Beluga aircraft are shown on this page.

Airbus A.300B-1 OO-TEF : this tearjerker page shows the current state of the oldest Airbus airliner still in existence. Please HELP to conserve this airliner !

Aviation Traders ATL.90 Accountant : this virtually unknown passenger aircraft was designed as a DC-3 Dakota successor but scored no hits.

Boeing : an overview of mostly modern airliners of this American manufacturer.

Boeing 707 : the jet airliner that started comfortable transcontinental travel.

Boeing 727 : illustrations on the well-known American three-engined airliner.

Boeing 737-100 and -200 : the famous Baby-Boeing is now being produced in its third-generation versions, making it one of the most popular people carriers ever. This page shows first generation variants.

Boeing 737-300 to -800 : second and third generation versions of the Baby-Boeing.

Boeing 747 : the first true wide-bodied airliner. Who does not know the 'Jumbo Jet' ?

Boeing 757 : for the lower-density routes, Boeing diverted from the wide-body theme in designing the slim 757.

Boeing 767 : with increasing engine reliability, atlantic crossings became possible on the twin-engined 767.

British Aerospace 146 / Avro RJ : with the short-haul four-engined 146, the British airspace industry started a new breed of passenger aircraft.

McDonnell-Douglas jet airliners : always one of the major competitors to Boeing, the latter company recently absorbed MDD.

Ultralight aircraft : ultralight aircraft are not certified to the same standards as 'normal' aircraft, but they are popular flying machines nonetheless.

Homebuilts : the ultimate challenge : taking to the air in a machine you made with your ownn hands

Gliders and motorgliders : sailplanes and powered gliders.

Light aircraft : recreational air vehicles, or do you want them called 'sports aircraft' ?

Tipsy Nipper : small, nifty, single-seat... and Belgian. Get to know it right now !

Aerobatic machines : competition or training aerobatic aircraft.

Pitts Special : known the world over as one of the most capable aerobatic aircraft of the pre-1990 era.

Touring and training aircraft : single-engined general aviation machines, normally intended for either touring or training purposes but also used for lots of other air activities like paradrops, banner towing, etc...

Cessna aircraft - the singles : some of the most-built sports aircraft ever have come from this American company.

Cessna aircraft - the larger ones : over the years, a large number of twin-engined aircraft have been produced by this general-aviation company.

Piper aircraft : one of the big three in general aviation, the Piper company became famous with the pre-war Cub, a light club trainer that also saw use as a liaison and artillery observation aircraft with the US Army during World War 2.

Siai Marchetti SF-260 : this stylish design by Stelio Frati is one of those beautiful shapes in the sky. Small, fast but certainly good-looking !

Twins, corporate and business aircraft : small and not so small general aviation multi-engined aircraft, including business jets.

Workhorses of the air : some aircraft are designed with a specific role in mind, such as crop spraying. Others are true utility aircraft, being suited for the most diverse roles.

Civil helicopters : the rotary wing flying variety in civil clothes.

Military helicopters : the vertical capabilities of these flying machines have proven valuable for air forces and armies the world over.

Aerospatiale Helicopters : the rotary wings of this French company are omnipresent.

Bell Helicopters : over the years, the creations of Larry Bell have become reknown for their reliability.

Boeing-Vertol CH-47 Chinook : this large twin-rotor heli is famous for its load-hauling capacity, retaining a large degree of manoevrability.

Magni Gyro : this Italian company builds a nice range of autogyros. The M-14 to M-20 are described here.

MBB Bo 105 : a succesful small turbine-engined helicopter which is still in widespread use.

Artwork

Artwork info : this page gives you some information on my artwork drawings. If interested, follow the link to the Aviation Buffs number one website and check under the 'Artwork listing' heading.

Aviation Art by Leo Loedts : graphic artist Leo Loedts presents some of his work.

Aircraft preservation

Classic Fighters : An expanding Belgian organisation currently operating a single-seat Hunter and restoring a two-seat version. Some exciting plans are at hand...

Beauvechain Historical Center : a small but interesting aircraft museum at the active base of Beauvechain/Bevekom.

Help wanted : this feature requests help from our visitors.... aviation subjects only of course !

Certain aircraft types do not feature on this website. Take a look at the Aviation Buffs number one website , which contains more aircraft types and manufacturers.

If you enjoyed this site (or did not like it at all) and you want to give me your remarks, comments, recommendations or whatever : just send me a mail.

This website is continuously under construction, so next time you come around, you might find something new.

Last update : 19/12/02 - (c) Guido Van Roy