Aircraft carriers don't have to float – they can also fly. The United States Navy's interwar Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk was a parasitic fighter bi-plane carried by airborne aircraft carriers. The first manned flight was not by the Wright Brothers in 1902 but was achieved by the French 120 years earlier in 1782 in a balloon. Balloons (and airships) are lighter-than-air aircraft, while the Wright brothers created the first sustained-heavier-than-air powered flight. The Sparrowhawks and their airship motherships were a (short-lived) marriage between lighter-than-air and heavier-than-air aircraft.
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Old, But Not Going Anywhere: American Airlines’ Boeing 777-200ER Fleet
- Guest authors
- October 4, 2025
- 0
Over on our Long Haul channel – the YouTube channel we use for longer explainer videos – we recently went over the fleet of American Airlines. One part of this video discussed the carrier’s 777-200ER fleet and that it was coming due for replacement. While American will need to replace these jets eventually, some insider info has revealed that the airline has decided to extend the life of these jets by investing in newer cabins.