Flight International
British aviation magazine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Flight International, formerly Flight, was a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport";[1] until 2025 it was the world's oldest continuously published aviation news magazine.[2]
Flight International cover, 9 April 2019 | |
| Editor | Craig Hoyle |
|---|---|
| Categories | Aerospace |
| Frequency | Weekly to September 2020, thereafter monthly, from January 2025 quarterly. Ceased completely at the end of 2025. |
| Total circulation | 26,000 (December 2019) |
| Founder | Stanley Spooner |
| Founded | 1909 |
| First issue | 2 January 1909 |
| Final issue | December 2025 |
| Company | DVV Media Group |
| Country | England |
| Based in | Sutton, London |
| Language | British English |
| Website | www |
| ISSN | 0015-3710 |
Flight International is published by DVV Media Group. Competitors include Jane's Information Group and Aviation Week & Space Technology. Former editors of, and contributors include H. F. King, Bill Gunston, John W. R. Taylor and David Learmount.[3]
History
The founder and first editor of Flight was Stanley Spooner. He was also the creator and editor of The Automotor Journal, originally titled The Automotor Journal and Horseless Vehicle.[4] From around 1900, the journal had a separate section relating to aviation and aeronautical matters. The 5 April 1908 issue of The Automotor Journal included a diagram of patent drawings of a plane made by the Wright brothers.[5] Stanley kept in contact with them via his friend Griffith Brewer.[4][6][7] Eventually, Spooner decided that a journal focused solely on matters relating to flying should be published—and so, Flight magazine was established as an offshoot of The Automotor Journal.[1][5]
Claiming to be the first aeronautical weekly in the world, Flight first appeared on 2 January 1909 as the official journal of the Aero Club of the United Kingdom (later the Royal Aero Club).[1] In April 1934, Flight was acquired by Iliffe & Sons, who were proprietors and printers of technical magazines, one of which included Autocar.[8][9] On 4 January 1962, the magazine was renamed Flight International.[1] In October 1968, Aeroplane: The International Air Transport Journal—commonly known as Aeroplane—merged with its sister publication, Flight International.[10]
In August 2019, Flight International and its associated divisions (except analytics and consulting divisions, which were retained by RELX as Cirium) were sold to DVV Media Group.[11] In September 2020, Flight International switched from a weekly to monthly publication,[12][13] in January 2025 to quarterly publication.[14]
Since the end of 2025, publishing a printed version of Flight International has been completely discontinued after 117 years of existence.
See also
- Aviation Week & Space Technology, a similar aerospace sector industry magazine
- FlightGlobal