The Space Shuttle Atlantis (OV-104) is currently one among the three operational spacecraft in the Space Shuttle fleet of NASA. It was named after the two-masted boat of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts from 1930 to 1966 and it served as the primary research vessel.

Atlantis’ maiden flight was on October 1985. Atlantis went seven straight flights to the Russian space station Mir. The spacecraft served as the on-orbit launch site for many notable and noteworthy spacecrafts, including planetary probes Magellan and Galileo. In 1991, it deployed the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. Atlantis underwent refitting operations and modifications including the installation of a glass cockpit. Atlantis completed an 11-day mission to the International Space Station, involving three space walks in October 2002.

During September 9-24, 2005, Atlantis was scheduled for its 27th launch though the mission was suspended by NASA due to the complications during Discovery’s launch of mission STS-114 and there are subsequent suspensions of all future shuttle launches. Atlantis was scheduled to fly the STS-121 mission, but the mission was flown by Discovery instead.

In the recent years, Atlantis has delivered several vital components, the U.S. laboratory module, Destiny, the Joint Airlock Quest and multiple sections of the Integrated Truss structure that serves as the backbone of the International Space Station.

As of September 2006, Atlantis completed 28 flights, spent 220.40-days in space, completed 3,468 orbits and flown 89,908,732 nautical miles in total.

Atlantis is scheduled to remain operational until 2010, the Shuttle program’s projected end, but is not currently scheduled for any missions further in 2008.

Panavia Tornado, RAF

The Panavia Tornado is a jet engine fighter-bomber jointly developed as the Multi-role combat aircraft - or MRCA - by Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom. It first flew on August 14th, 1974. International co-operation continued after its entry into service within a tri-nation training and evaluation unit operating from RAF Cottesmore in Rutland in the English Midlands.

The Panavia Tornado has three variants namely the fighter-bomber strike/reconnaissance Interdictor/Strike (IDS), the suppression of enemy air defenses IDS-based Electronic Combat/Reconnaissance (ECR), and the interceptor Air Defense Variant (ADV). Tornado IDS was operated by Germany, Saudi Arabia, Italy, and United Kingdom. It is said to be the world’s most sophisticated, capable interdiction and attack aircraft. It has a large payload, long range, and high survivability. Tornado ADV was operated by Saudi Arabia and United Kingdom. The difference between the IDS and ADV was the fuselage. The ECR was operated by Germany and Italy. On the 21st of May 1990, the ECR was delivered for the first time. It has an emitter locator system designed to locate enemy radar sites.

The Tornado worked with different countries and associations. On the 14th of August 1974 with Luftwaffe, it flew for the first time from Manching to West Germany. On the 27th of July 1979, the first service delivery was made. The Tornado with Italian Air Force took part in the first Gulf War in 1991. They lost one plane to AAA. In 1999, during the Kosovo war, Aeronautica Militare used IDS for bombing and ECR for the suppression of enemy. Royal Air Force used Tornado GR1s on Gulf war. GR4 was used in 2003 invasion of Iraq and in help with UK and coalition forces in Iraq. On the 26th of March 1986 was the first flight of the Royal Saudi Arabia Tornado IDS. On the 9th of February 1989 the first Saudi ADV was delivered.

Cessna 172 Skyhawk

The four-seat single-engine high-wing Cessna 172 Skyhawk is the most successful mass produced light aircraft in history. It is also possibly the most popular flight trainer in the world. Over 40,000 172s have been built, more than any other Western aircraft. First delivered in 1956, it is still in production as of 2007. The Skyhawk’s main competitors include the Beechcraft Musketeer, the Grumman AA-5 series, the Piper Cherokee, and the Diamond DA40. The prototype first flew in November 1955.

The 172 was an overnight sales success, with over 1,400 built during its first full year of production in 1965. The 172 began as a relatively simple tricycle landing gear upgrade from the taildragger Cessna 170, with a fairly basic level of standard equipment. Early models looked almost identical to the 170, with the same straight aft fuselage and tall gear legs, although the 172 sported a straight vertical tail while the 170 had a rounded fin and rudder. Later versions incorporated revised landing gear and a lowered rear deck that allowed an aft window, marketed as “Omni-Vision”. The final aesthetic development in the mid-1960s was the sweptback tail which is still in use today.

A variant of the 172, the T-41 is used as a trainer with the United States Air Force and Army. Because of its high-wing design, stability at low airspeeds, and relatively low stall speed, the aircraft is an excellent platform for search and rescue operations and is the primary platform for the Civil Air Patrol’s operations. The US Border Patrol also uses a fleet of Cessna 172 Skyhawks for aerial surveillance along the Mexican-American border.

Boeing designed and built these big bombers with the single purpose of destroying the Japanese Empire. The B-29 entered service in October 1944.

The B-29 Superfortress is a strategic bomber type of aircraft. Its maiden flight was on the 21st of September 1942. Its primary users are the United States Army Air Force, Royal Air Force, and Royal Australian Air Force.

It is a four-engine bomber propeller aircraft flown by the US Army Air Forces in World War II and later by other military organizations. Its name Superfortress came from the well-known predecessor, the B-17 Flying Fortress. It is said to be one of the largest aircrafts in service during World War II.

The B29 Superfortress was also the most advanced bomber during that time. It has a pressurized cabin, a central fire-control system, and remote controlled machine gun turrets.

The Boeing B 29 Superfortress has many variants; each has a specific unique element. The first variant is the XB-29 which is the prototype model that was delivered to the Army Air Corps. The aircraft’s testing continued until February 18, 1943 when the second prototype crashed, causing a lot of peoples lives including a number of Boeing personnel that was involved in the aircraft’s design. After the incident, the US Army Air Forces and some congressional committee investigated the B-29 programme and later assigned the Army Air Force to take charged over its programme. The B-29 is another variant and is the original production version of the Superfortress.