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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

We will think we can get by through hiring the odd AirTractor from other countries.

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The Aviation Show @theaviation.show · 11/06/2026

Chris Gibson is showing, in his new article on the RP-3 in this month's Aeroplane, that I want to write like him when I grow up. It is a superb article. I suppose this is also why, rightly, @bendunnell.bsky.social doesn't ring anymore! 😉 www.key.aero/article/rock...

The cover of the July 2026 issue of Aeroplane which shows an RAF pilot of 2TAF showing his Hawker Typhoon's rockets to a couple of Army bods, including a chap in a skirt.

If my Scottish wife is reading this, I'm sorry love, I couldn't help myself.

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Newark Air Museum @newarkairmuseum.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

We have some exciting news to share regarding our long term future, which can now be issued. Full details can be found in the news release linked below, which has now been approved for distribution. www.newarkairmuseum.org/on-the-radar... #Project2039 #NAMtarget2039

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

Sympathies with those laid off, of course.

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

Maybe now this charade has finally been put to bed, a serious discussion can be had about, you know, real aircraft that might equip the Red Arrows and the actual - and very genuine - value of the team, instead of a pipedream beloved of little Englanders.

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

And it cannot be stressed enough: the British-designed and built offering they are all touting in certain sections of the press *does not exist*. Given that basic fact, the extent of the PR it gets is impressive, I’ll admit that.

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

For any Tory, or Tory supporter, to bemoan the lack of a decision on the Red Arrows’ replacement aircraft - and the paucity of British-built options - is the very height of hypocrisy given that they were in power for 14 years and did next to nothing to address the issue.

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

I look back so fondly on that trip!

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Quite apart from anything else, Station of Nations is a great title.

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Hush-Kit aviation news, history & satire @hushkit.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

'Miss Shilling's Orifice' is kinda funny as a nickname, but using it in the 2020s is bullshit (as well as tiresome). Tying the brilliant achievement of a female engineer to a fanny reference is not cool. I've used this term before myself and regret it.

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Could not agree more. Time to ditch it.

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James D Kightly @jdkightly.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Good series on the Dornier Do 24 et al by James. I'd add that the Dornier patent sponsons gave exceptional seaworthiness to these 'boats, and the Do 24 was a remarkable aircraft by any measure, as I explored in my Database for Aeroplane magazine in July 2024.

Cover of the Database section in Aeroplane in July 2024 by James Kightly on the Dornier Do 24.

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James D Kightly @jdkightly.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

The Vickers Wellesley's story is remarkable, inc 3 elements: A con Vickers pulled to try out what proved to be Barnes Wallis' surprisingly exceptional geodetic design; a world record that survived a world war; and being a remarkably good bomber in a left-over 1930s war. Cough: Aeroplane Oct 2025.

The cover of the Vickers Wellesley Database by James Kightly (your host here, too, and the cover of the full magazine 'Aeroplane' from October 2025, still available from Key Publishing.

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

I really do begin to wonder what happens to flying display activity in this situation.

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

I could not agree more - though the problem, arguably, isn’t down to a lack of support from the enthusiastic public.

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Thank goodness Newark found space for this under cover, given how other Varsities have been neglected by far bigger museums.

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Matt Bone @boneyabroad.com · 11/03/2026

A brilliant, devastating response to Grammarly et al by @moryan.bsky.social that you really should read. I love reading all the words that come from this "underpaid, deeply creative heart".

Because actual writers and artists and creative folks are right here! All we want is baseline respect and reasonable compensation. But the snake-oil salespeople involved in pushing these the hallucinating plagiarism machines on the rest of us think any compensation is too much! The executives ruining human discourse and the planet – they must be lavishly paid. Actual creators — we get exactly nothing. No money, no respect, no consent.

And so, from the bottom of my underpaid, deeply creative heart: Fuck you.

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

I would agree, though “alighting” is also in common usage.

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Alan Owlport 🦉 🎃 @alanallport.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

It is impossible to imagine Eisenhower saying he would fight “without mercy” even against the Nazis; nor would he have reveled in the thought of death and destruction. He would have regarded it not only as deeply un-American but also beneath his dignity as a serious career soldier.

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Nick Pettigrew @nick-pettigrew.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

The RAF Museum’s Vickers Vimy replica has gone to the National Aviation Museum of Korea. An announcement was made this morning: www.youtube.com/live/4ztXJx6...

youtube.com

[LIVE] VICKERS VIMY _ Bridging Korea and Britain [ENG]

YouTube video by 국립항공박물관

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Louise Bedford | Archaeology @louisearchaeology.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

The British Museum posted Al slop and quietly deleted it. Here's what it was and why it matters. #archaeology🏺#musuem #culture #heritage #history

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Newark Air Museum @newarkairmuseum.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Photos taken after a reflective moment in #NAMHangar2 whilst trying to process yesterday’s shameful & uninformed comments by a supposed ally! #LestWeForget

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

I’ve got a bridge to sell you if you believe this is going to happen.

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Bob @bobmm.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

If you are a non US citizen and operating an N reg aircraft this is an issue www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa... I can think of a few a/c this will effect

faa.gov

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

A shameful, deeply concerning development. And one that could happen under a far-right government in the UK, without a doubt.

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Lucy Betteridge-Dyson @lmbd1418.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

Still using X? Or even worse, paying for it? If the hate speech wasn’t a good enough reason for you to leave, I wonder if Musk’s AI stripping clothes off your daughters and wives at the request of other users is? Those with big followers in mil hist should check themselves @almurray.bsky.social etc

theguardian.com

Grok being used to create sexually violent videos featuring women, research finds

AI tool also used to undress image of the woman killed by a federal immigration agent in the US, says research

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 28/11/2025

It’s increasingly depressing that (a) so many online outlets in the aviation world think they can get away with running the most blatantly AI-generated or ‘enhanced’ written material, and that (b) a lot of people don’t seem to mind.

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

Now the only example of the type under cover in a UK museum, of course, which tells a very sad story.

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Trevon Logan @trevondlogan.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

Black American soldiers literally dug these WWII graves. Traumatic. To acknowledge that fact at a cemetery they helped construct is something the Heritage Foundation cannot accept. As Veterans Day approaches, never forget that this country both compels and disrespects Black military service. Always.

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Helen Kennedy @helenkennedy.com · 09/11/2025

Aged like roadkill in RFK’s trunk.

• whitehouse.gov
FACT SHEETS
FACT SHEET:
PRESIDENT
DONALD J. TRUMP
ENDS DEI MADNESS AND RESTORES EXCELLENCE AND SAFETY
WITHIN THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
January 22, 2025

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

When genuine one-of-a-kind airframes are being increasingly either put outside or rendered incomplete, I think ‘one of several Vulcans but with a slightly different facility around it’ ranks low on the priority list.

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

There does come a point where one is forced to conclude there are more important aviation heritage causes than this, really. One of them is even in the same ownership.

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

I should imagine the BAe 146 isn’t deemed to count because it has American engines, which strikes me as, to put it mildly, semantics.

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James D Kightly @jdkightly.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

Aeroplane Monthly magazine is out in the UK, with my latest Database (No 21!) on the Vickers Wellesley, a remarkable, under represented aircraft. Here's a lovely cartoon of it which wasn't going to be used, and a (hint) link to the website if you'd like a copy! shop.keypublishing.com/products/aer...

A cartoon of the Vickers Wellesley, ink line drawing, eggagerating the aircraft's distinctive features. Caption 'THE UNKIND UNTRUTH (With appologies in all directions) No 11: The Vickers Wesley or Sky-pilot.'

Cover of the Database feature and the Aeroplane magazine cover inset.

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Stephan Segraves @stephan.wtf · 05/09/2025

We could have won the Vietnam War had we not been so woke.

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Colleen Mondor @chasingray.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

Good to know that Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower are now to be considered "woke".

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

I can only second this. I have used it for an article for work and for private purposes, and to restrict this important facility would be a terrible limitation on all sorts of research.

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 17/08/2025

Incredibly kind. Thank you. It would be nothing without our brilliant contributors.

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Royal International Air Tattoo @airtattoo.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

As part of our 'Eyes in the Skies' theme we're pleased the U-2 will perform in the flying display on Saturday and Sunday! Plus, multiple USAF aircraft on static display, including B-1 and C-5. For the full update, visit www.airtattoo.com/the-airshow/...

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Nick Jennings @n-jennings-photog.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

Just back from a cracking day at Shuttleworth. Right at the end of the show, as the wind dropped and the sun was setting, those gathered were fortunate to see the airshow debut of the replica De Havilland DH.71 Tiger Moth. What a sight!

De Havilland DH.71 Tiger Moth (replica), Steve Jones. G-ECDX

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

Honestly, it’s a pleasure. I was most impressed.

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Flightline UK @airshows.org.uk · 10/06/2025

AIRSHOW NEWS: Bournemouth moves to cut Air Festival A report produced by BCP Council has recommended the Council “stops any further work on an Air Festival for 2026 onwards.” buff.ly/FDJkgMT #airshows #avgeek #airdisplays #bmthairfest @bmthairfest

buff.ly

AIRSHOW NEWS: Bournemouth moves to cut Air Festival

A report produced by BCP Council has recommended the Council "stops any further work on an Air Festival for 2026 onwards."

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Ben Dunnell Aviation @bdaviation.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

Very good indeed. I couldn’t agree more. I feel the end result has been rendered more offensive, were that possible, by the rise of sanitised PR-speak as a means of describing military operations. Companies use it, defence PR people use it - and then journalists start using it without thinking why.

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Royal International Air Tattoo @airtattoo.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

Another flying display confirmed for RIAT25 with the French Atlantique! Also, several additions to the static line including Royal Canadian Air Force Aurora and Hercules, Italian ATR 42 and Royal Air Force Envoy. See the full update at: www.airtattoo.com/the-airshow/...

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Newark Air Museum @newarkairmuseum.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

The #Harvard has been moved out of the #NAMworkshop and reassembled ready for the bank holiday weekend! Photo credit S Blyth

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