| Managing Editor | David Donald[1] |
|---|---|
| Categories | Aviation |
| Frequency | Weekly |
| Publisher | Stan Morse[1] |
| First issue | 1997 |
| Final issue Number | 2002 218 |
| Company | Bright Star Publishing |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Website | Official Website |
| ISSN | 1369-6483 |
World Aircraft Information Files(WAIF) is a weeklypartwork magazine published byBright Star Publications (part ofMidsummer Books) in theUnited Kingdom. Each issue was priced at £1.70 for issues 1–163, and £1.80 for issues 164–218. Altogether, there were 218 issues in the complete set, which completed in 2002. Originally advertised as having 200 issues, the run was extended to 218 issues when approximately 576 pages were missing from the collection.[2][3] An index to the complete series was given in the final issue.
Published in 218 weekly parts, each issue comprised 32 pages, the same large page size asWorld Airpower Journal andWings of Fame. The pages were organised as a series of pull-out reference files to be slotted into ring binders. There were 1,041 file subjects – although there were only 1008 numbered files. During the production of the partwork, the publishers realised that some aeroplanes and airlines were missed from the index, necessitating additions. Hence, 'missing' files were numbered by adding the prefix"a" (and"b","c" or"d" where necessary) after the previous file number – for example, between Files 591 (Air Niugini) and 592 (Air Transat) is591a (Air Seychelles).
The subjects covered are grouped into 14 categories as follows:
| File | Title |
|---|---|
| 291 | Airbourne Early Warning [sic?] |
| 292 | Basic Fighter Manoeuvres |
| 293 | Air Defence |
| 294 | Air-to-air Gunnery |
| 295 | Air-to-air Missiles |
| 296 | Air-to-ground bombing |
| 297 | Air-to-ground missiles |
| 298 | Air-to-ground Rockets |
| 299 | Anti-armour Weapons |
| 300 | Anti-ship Missiles |
| 301 | Assault Helicopters |
| 302 | ASW Aircraft |
| 303 | ASW Helicopters |
| 304 | Attack Helicopters |
| 305 | Battlefield Reconnaissance |
| 306 | Close Support |
| 307 | Cluster Bombs and Dispensers |
| 308 | Combat Search and Rescue |
| 309 | Dumb Bombs |
| 310 | Electronic Warfare |
| 311 | Forward Air Control |
| 312 | Inflight Refuelling |
| 313 | Interdiction |
| 314 | SAM Killers |
| 315 | Long-range Interception |
| 316 | Countermeasures |
| 317 | Maritime Recce |
| 318 | Nuclear Bombs |
| 319 | Laser-Guided Bombs |
| 320 | Special Forces |
| 321 | Stand-off Missiles |
| 322 | Strategic Airlift |
| 323 | Strategic Reconnaissance |
| 324 | Tactical Airlift |
| 325 | Tactical Reconnaissance |
| File | Title |
|---|---|
| --- | Unlisted (Armenia:Հայաստանի Ռազմաօդային Ուժեր (Armenian Air Force);Brunei:Tentera Udara Diraja Brunei (Royal Brunei Air Force);Iceland:Íslenska Loftvarnarkerfið (Iceland Air Defence System),Landhelgisgæsla Íslands – Flugdeild (Icelandic Coast Guard Aeronautical Division);Malta:Armed Forces of Malta No.2 Regiment – Air Squadron;Republika Srpska:Ratno Vazduhoplovstva i Protivvazdušna Odbrana Vojska Republike Srpske (Republika Srpska Air Force);Zambia:Zambian Air Force and Air Defence Command) |
| File | Title |
|---|---|
| 801 | Criminal Action (The loss ofKanishka) |
| 802 | Landing Accidents (DHC-5 Buffalo crash at the Farnborough Air Show;Undercarriage collapse, Virgin Atlantic A340;Learjet 25B overshoot at RAF Northolt;Air Algerie 737-200 crash at Coventry) |
| 803 | Disaster on Takeoff (Collision between KLM and Pan Am Boeing 747s at Tenerife) |
| 804 | Weather (Pan Am 727 Wind sheer) |
| 805 | Engine Failure (Airtours 737, Manchester) |
| 806 | Structural Failure (JAL 747SR pressure bulkhead failure;British International Helicopters VC 234 gearbox failure;DC-10 disaster;Fateful R101) |
| 807 | Icing (Munich tragedy) |
| 808 | Human Error (San Diego air disaster;Trident deep stall;Mid-air collision! Zagreb;Tenerife taxiway;Erebus disaster) |
| 809 | Military Accidents (Catastrophe at Ramstein;The Bermuda Triangle – includesFlight 19 andStar Tiger/Star Ariel;Disaster at Farnborough;Over the edge;Last ride of the Valkyrie;YF-14A hydraulic failure;A clos intercept;Mig-29 at Paris;MiG mayhem at Fairford;EP-3 collision) |
| File | Title |
|---|---|
| 810 | Competitive aerobatics (Competitions,Basic aerobics,Advanced aerobatics, Contemporary Acts: AeroSuperbatics) |
| 811 | Civilian Autogyros |
| 812 | Ballooning |
| 813 | Business Aviation (Introduction,Global reach) |
| 814 | Club trainers (Learning to fly) |
| 815 | Gliders |
| 816 | Hang-gliders |
| 817 | Helicopters |
| 818 | Homebuilts |
| 819 | Joyriding |
| 820 | Microlights |
| 821 | Parachuting |
| 822 | Racing aircraft |
| 823 | Sightseeing |
| 824 | Touring aircraft (Cessna,Piper,Beech,SOCATA) |
| 825 | Vintage Aircraft |
| 826 | Veteran Aircraft |
| 827 | Warbirds |
| 828 | Aeromedical research |
| 829 | Agricultural aircraft |
| File | Title |
|---|---|
| 859 | Aerodynamics |
| 860 | Airships |
| 861 | Altitude |
| 862 | Avionics |
| 863 | Balloons |
| 864 | Bomber Development |
| 865 | Carrier aircraft (includingVTOL,STOVL andSTOBAR) |
| 866 | Compound helicopters |
| 867 | Convertiplanes |
| 868 | Engine testbeds |
| 869 | Fighter development |
| 870 | Flying-boats |
| 871 | Gliders |
| 872 | Helicopters |
| 873 | Maneuverability |
| 874 | Propulsion systems |
| 875 | Radar |
| 876 | Range |
| 877 | Reconnaissance aircraft |
| 878 | Floatplanes |
| 879 | Search for Speed (includesSchneider Trophy,Bell X-1,DH.108,XB-70 Valkyrie,X-15) |
| 880 | Short take-off (includesRATO: Rocket-Assisted Take-Off) |
| 881 | Russian bombers (including TB Class (TB-3,TB-7), DB class (DB-1,Yer-2), SB class (SB/SB-2,PB-100/Pe-2)) |
| 882 | Soviet fighters |
| 883 | Undercarriage Experiments |
| 884 | Unmanned Aircraft |
| 885 | US Bombers (USAAF,USAF) |
| 886 | US Fighters (USAAF,USAF) |
| 887 | Vertical take-off |
| 888 | Weapons |
| File | Title |
|---|---|
| 915 | Pre-1903 part 1 (c.1250 – 1896) (Pre-18th century,18th century,1800–1880) |
| 916 | Pre-1903 part 2 (1880–1902) (1880s, 1890s, 1900, 1901) |
| 917 | 1903, 1904, 1905 |
| 918 | 1906, 1907, 1908 |
| 919 | 1909, 1910, 1911 |
| 920 | 1912–1913 |
| 921 | 1914 |
| 922 | 1915 |
| 923 | 1916 |
| 924 | 1917 |
| 925 | 1918 |
| 926 | 1919 |
| 927 | 1920 |
| 928 | 1921 |
| 929 | 1922 |
| 930 | 1923 |
| 931 | 1924 |
| 932 | 1925 |
| 933 | 1926 |
| 934 | 1927 |
| 935 | 1928 |
| 936 | 1929 |
| 937 | 1930 |
| 938 | 1931 |
| 939 | 1932 |
| 940 | 1933 |
| 941 | 1934 |
| 942 | 1935 |
| 943 | 1936 |
| 944 | 1937 |
| 945 | 1938 |
| 946 | 1939 |
| 947 | 1940 |
| 948 | 1941 |
| 949 | 1942 |
| 950 | 1943 |
| 951 | 1944 |
| 952 | 1945 |
| 953 | 1946 |
| 954 | 1947 |
| 955 | 1948 |
| 956 | 1949 |
| 957 | 1950 |
| 958 | 1951 |
| 959 | 1952 |
| 960 | 1953 |
| 961 | 1954 |
| 962 | 1955 |
| 963 | 1956 |
| 964 | 1957 |
| 965 | 1958 |
| 966 | 1959 |
| 967 | 1960 |
| 968 | 1961 |
| 969 | 1962 |
| 970 | 1963 |
| 971 | 1964 |
| 972 | 1965 |
| 973 | 1966 |
| 974 | 1967 |
| 975 | 1968 |
| 976 | 1969 |
| 977 | 1970 |
| 978 | 1971 |
| 979 | 1972 |
| 980 | 1973 |
| 981 | 1974 |
| 982 | 1975 |
| 983 | 1976 |
| 984 | 1977 |
| 985 | 1978 |
| 986 | 1979 |
| 987 | 1980 |
| 988 | 1981 |
| 989 | 1982 |
| 990 | 1983 |
| 991 | 1984 |
| 992 | 1985 |
| 993 | 1986 (includesRutan Voyager) |
| 994 | 1987 |
| 995 | 1988 |
| 996 | 1989 |
| 997 | 1990 |
| 998 | 1991 |
| 999 | 1992 |
| 1000 | 1993 |
| 1001 | 1994 |
| 1002 | 1995 |
| 1003 | 1996 |
| 1004 | 1997 |
| 1005 | 1998 |
| 1006 | 1999 |
| 1007 | 2000 |
| 1008 | 2001 |
Since each subject was covered in only 2 or 4 sides (in a "file"), the depth of coverage could be limited, although for many subjects, this was overcome by including many sheets on different aspects of the same subject (for example, different variants, different uses, etc.).
TheA-Z of aircraft was based on previousAerospace Publishing publications with some updating. The bias towards aircraft types early in the alphabet was accentuated in the partwork, with letters A through F making up fully 64% of the total while letters P through Z made up 9%.[5]
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