As of 2021, the world's oldest airworthy aircraft is a Blériot XI from 1909. It's registered in the UK as G-AANG by the Shuttleworth Collection and still flies regularly¹⁾. The first plane of this type was used in the first aerial crossing of the English Channel in 1909 by aviation pioneer Louis Blériot²⁾.

The Stratofortress is a long-range, jet-powered strategic bomber designed just after the Second World War as a nuclear weapons carrier and produced in the years 1952–1962. The B-52, called BUFF (Big Ugly Fat F***), is able to carry 70,000 pounds of weapons for 8,800 miles (without aerial refueling), and was used in almost all significant conflicts since the 1950s. Thanks to continuous modifications and a versatile design, the B-52 is still in active service with the USAF and is planned to serve into the 2050s, which would make over 100 years of active military service ³⁾.