When the going gets tough, the tough write things on a list; herewith the best of Flightglobal’s 2014 news-inspired best-evers:
Top 10 last-minute aviation Christmas gifts on eBay
This festive season, why brave the shops when you can shop from the comfort of your home? Aviation-inspired gifts abound, but some are not recommended for readers on fixed or – even normal – incomes.
Airbus wing flap office desk
Endangered species: Our Top 10 rare military aircraft
Publication of our annual World Air Forces directory led us to pose the question, what are the rarest machines still in military service?
Shorts SC.7 Skyvan
Peter Foster
Rotor club: Our top 10 most influential helicopters
To mark the maiden flight of the Bell Helicopter 505 Jet Ranger X, we ran down a (entirely subjective) list of the most influential helicopters of all time, presented here in order of age.
Sikorsky VS-300
Sikorsky
Robospace: Star moments in robotic space exploration
At the end of a week that saw the European Space Agency turn heads the world over by achieving the first soft landing on a comet, we looked at the most dazzling achievements in five decades of robotic space exploration.
Saturn, by Cassini
NASA/ESA
Good neighbours: Our Top 10 Anglo-French aviation projects
In the week that the UK and France advanced their ambitions to test a jointly-developed unmanned future combat air system, we looked at notable examples of Anglo-French aerospace collaboration.
Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle
Rex Features
Unforgiving void: Spaceflight tragedies remembered
Following a sobering week in spaceflight that saw the fatal Virgin Galactic crash and a spectacular but non-fatal launch failure of an uncrewed International Space Station resupply mission, we remembered those astronauts who have perished in the pursuit of humankind’s loftiest – or at least highest-altitude – ambition.
Soyuz 11 crew
FLYERS OF SCOTLAND: Scotland's top 10 contributions to aviation
Following the Scottish vote on independence on 18 September, Flightglobal celebrated 10 contributions the saltire nation has made to the world of aviation.
Alexander Graham Bell
Rex Features
Big in Japan: Tokyo’s Top 10 aircraft projects
To mark the historic roll-out of the Mitsubishi MRJ, Japan’s first new indigenous airliner in half a century, we rounded up some of the nation’s other high-profile aerospace products.
ShinMaywa US-2
Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force
Kings of the swingers: Top 13 swing-wing aircraft
As the operators of Europe’s Panavia Tornado marked the 40th anniversary of its first flight, we brought together a baker’s dozen of variable geometry aircraft – most of which made it into operational service.
Tupolev Tu-22
Rex Features
After 'Boris Island': 10 other airport follies
The UK's Airports Commission rejected a plan for a new hub airport in the Thames Estuary. We couldn’t resist this list of airports that never were, fell short of expectations or are still waiting for the go-ahead.
Prestwick, Scotland
Rex Features
Source: FlightGlobal.com
