Published on August 30, 2012 For the life of me, I cannot see what an aeroplane can do which is likely to be of any practical utility in warfare.” — Comte Henri de la Vaulx, France, 1908. Today in aviation history, on August 30, 1914, a German military pilot, Leutnant Ferdinand von Hiddessen, took off [...]

Published on August 30, 2012 Lawrence Sperry was a remarkable man born of a remarkable family.  An inventor like his father, Lawrence’s greatest achievement was taking one of his father’s most famous inventions, the gyro-compass, and developing an automatic flight control system that he dubbed an “autopilot”.  Put simply, the Sperry autopilot corrected an aircraft’s [...]

Published on August 29, 2012 An Englishwoman in her mid-40s and the daughter of a church vicar, Hilda Hewlett was married with two children when she attended her first aviation meet at Blackpool.  The meet spanned a week of flying from Monday, October 18 to the following Monday, October 25, 1909.  Sitting in the stands, [...]

Published on August 28, 2012 In these days of GPS, radar, radio, and a fully developed airspace system, we often forget of the pioneering efforts of those who flew into previously uncharted territories, across seas and beyond the horizon to get us to where we are today.  Often, these men (and women) pushed the limits [...]

Published on August 27, 2012 The KING has been graciously pleased to approve the following awards in recognition of gallantry displayed in flying operations against the enemy: — Distinguished Flying Cross to Acting Squadron Leader James Herbert Thompson (70671), Reserve of Air Force Officers, No. 269 Squadron and Flying Officer William John Oswald Coleman (42395), [...]

This Week’s Hints to help you along: A sight to behold — at least in the taxi trials. An unfulfilled contract with the US Army Air Corps. An all metal design, but fat — portending things to come. The roots of Consolidated. That cockpit reminds one of Doolittle’s Schneider Cup winner. So do you know [...]

Published on August 26, 2012 Mehran Karimi Nasseri’s airline oddyssey began on this date in 1988.  A refugee of the Shah’s pre-revolution Iran, his papers from the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees in Brussels authorized him to live anywhere in Europe.  He decided to reside in the UK, yet he would never make it there.  [...]

Published on August 25, 2012 On this date in aviation history in 1930, an 18-year old pilot named Eddie August Henry Schneider set three aviation records, along the way traversing America twice — once from the east coast to the west coast and then coming back again.  At age 15, Eddie had taken his first [...]

Published on August 24, 2012 In the Spring of 1924, the United States had set out with its fleet of Douglas World Cruisers, hoping to become the first nation to achieve a flight around the globe.  Seeing the successful progress of the Americans, the Italians soon sent forth their own challenge — the pride of [...]

Published on August 23, 2012 Twenty two years ago today, on August 23, 1990, President George H.W. Bush and the US Air Force took delivery of the new “Air Force One” — or, in military parlance, the VC-25A.  Fittingly, this latest model of “Air Force One” is a uniquely American design — a Boeing 747-200B [...]

Published on August 22, 2012 In the early 1950s, the Saunders-Roe S.R.45 Princess was the largest flying boat ever built in Britain and, indeed, one of the largest aircraft ever conceived in history.  It could carry 105 passengers in style and the comfort of spacious sleeper cabins on two decks within a pressurized hull.  Fine [...]

Published on August 21, 2012 On this date in aviation history in 1957, the US Department of Defense issued a cancellation notice on a very special aircraft design — an all-weather interceptor from Republic Aviation Corporation that was to be capable of speeds of Mach 3 at altitudes above 60,000 feet.  This was the XF-103 [...]

Published on August 20, 2012 “This is a present from a small, distant world, a token of our sounds, our science, our images, our music, our thoughts and our feelings. We are attempting to survive our time so we may live into yours.” — President Jimmy Carter For 35 years, a small spacecraft has worked [...]

This Week’s Hints to help you along: A surprising different Swedish type, maybe not Swedish design (inspired by Focke-Wulf?). Developed due to an embargo on Sweden (and others) imposed by the United States. A wooden wonder, built of locally available materials — and therefore very lightweight. Everywhere except high altitude, it could hold its own [...]

Published on August 19, 2012 “I fly close to my man, aim well and then of course he falls down.” — Oswald Boelcke On this date in aviation history in the year 1915, Lt. Oswald Boelcke, flying in a Fokker Eindecker E.I, scored the first schychronized machine gun victory (with the Fokker interrupter gear) over [...]

Published on August 18, 2012 The inaugural Women’s Air Derby was part of the 1929 National Air Races. In the race, women pilots were not allowed to use navigational instruments and instead had to fly by reference to commercial road maps alone (air charts were disallowed as being too complex). Likewise, to help promote safety, [...]

The Foltz-Up Edith Foltz, Portland, Ore., who finished in second in the recent air derby from Los Angeles, Calif., to the Cleveland air races, is shown above demonstrating the new flying dress suit which she calls the “Foltz-up.”  The skirt when worn with the jacket has the appearance of the ordinary ensemble, but by simply [...]

Published on August 17, 2012 Today in aviation history in 1927 marks the end of the Dole Derby, an ill-fated air race competition founded by James D. Dole, the famous Hawaiian pineapple magnate.  Seeking to capture the public relations opportunity that he saw from the recent success of Charles Lindbergh’s flight to Paris just a [...]

Published on August 16, 2012 Today in aviation history marks the combat debut of the Luftwaffe’s revolutionary Messerschmidt Me 163 Komet, the world’s first true point interceptor.  Rocket-powered, nimble and well-armed, it seemed perfect for Germany’s challenge facing the onslaught of daylight strategic bombing.  The Komet might have changed air defense theory and practice completely.  [...]

Published on August 15, 2012 In the early morning hours of August 15, 1944, the invasion of southern France began — Europe’s second “D-Day”, called Operation Dragoon.  Though little known among those who enjoy reading of the Normandy landings, Operation Overlord, the invasion of southern France was a decisive victory that was hard fought.  Notably, [...]

Published August 14, 2012 It was dawn when Gustave Whitehead, a German citizen living in Fairfield, Connecticut, powered up his Aeroplane No. 21.  “By this time the light was good. Faint traces of the rising sun began to suggest themselves in the east,” the The Bridgeport Herald newspaper report later read.  “He stationed his two assistants [...]

Published on August 13, 2012 Take one 800 hp air cooled, 9 cylinder Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial engine with 1,344 cubic inch displacement, bolt on a big propeller, and add the lightest weight, teardrop-shaped and highly streamlined fuselage behind.  Seemingly almost as an afterthought, put on a pair of stubby wings, affix the landing [...]

This Week’s Hints to help you along: A relatively obscure flying wing that was jet-powered and quite fast. Construction of the wings in two pieces, upper and lower sides! That canopy looks similar to that of the little known Saab 18 The tail design seems right for something from Scandinavia, but is it? Strange tandem [...]

Published on August 12, 2012 TOP SECRET [DECLASSIFIED]:: ATTEMPTED FIRST APHRODITE ATTACK TWELVE AUGUST WITH ROBOT TAKING OFF FROM FERSFIELD AT ONE EIGHT ZERO FIVE HOURS PD ROBOT EXPLODED IN THE AIR AT APPROXIMATELY TWO THOUSAND FEET EIGHT MILES SOUTHEAST OF HALESWORTH AT ONE EIGHT TWO ZERO HOURS PD WILFORD J. WILLY CMA SR GRADE [...]

Published on August 11, 2012 To qualify as a model aircraft, the plane weighed less than 11 pounds.  Half of that was fuel and, given that it burned only two ounces per hour, that meant that it had an endurance of just over 36 hours.  With a wingspan of just 72 inches, the little plane [...]

Published on August 10, 2012 Francis K. McClean seemed a proper gentleman.  Born on February 1, 1876, he was the son of the respected Dr. Frank McClean, F.R.S., a recipient of a Gold Medal from the Royal Astronomical Society for his scientific endeavors.  Francis was properly educated in civil engineering and had been employed in [...]

Published on August 9, 2012 “To invent an airplane is nothing. To build one is something. But to fly is everything.” So spoke Ferdinand Ferber in a dedication to Otto Lilienthal, the greatest of the grandfathers of aviation. In three short sentences, Ferber captured the very essence of flight and what it means to be [...]

Published August 8, 2012 On this day in aviation history in 1919, the French public woke to read in the newspapers of Paris that a French aviator and veteran of World War I, Charles Godefroy, had flown under the arch of the Arc de Triomphe the previous day. What is even more stunning is that [...]

Published on August 7, 2012 At 64.4 kilograms weight and with four deployable solar panels for power, the little sphere looked somehow other worldly.  It’s mission was to study the effects of cosmic rays, radiation, radio propagation issues in the upper atmosphere, geomagnetism, and micrometeorites.  Yet the little craft also carried something never before sent [...]

Published on August 6, 2012 Over the course of a little more than an hour, three B-29 Superfortresses took off from North Field, Tinian, Guam, and turned northward toward Japan.  One aircraft, dubbed “Necessary Evil,” carried a small team of scientific observers and a camera crew.  The second aircraft, “The Great Artiste,” carried a set [...]

This Week’s Hints to help you along: An early aircraft that featured a variable incidence wing. Just one was received for testing — but to which nation’s air force? As always, the tail design can be helpful in identifying the aircraft. The year was 1918 and testing took place starting in February. So do you [...]

Published on August 5, 2012 The Blériot 110 was a proven aircraft.  It’s great 600 hp Hispano-Suiza engine was perfectly tuned.  By all accounts, Rossi and Codos were well-prepared.  They were skilled at endurance flights and distance records.  The side of their plane, the “Joseph Le Brix,” carried a long list of records.  Yet such [...]

Published on August 4, 2012 The skies were clear over Paradise Ranch when the all-silver aircraft rolled out of its hangar.  Its long and graceful glider wings hung low over the taxiways as it inched forward to the runway.  Strangely, the two long spans were simply bolted to a modified F-104 Starfighter fuselage, a plane [...]

Published August 3, 2012 The little flying boat taxied out across the low waves of Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba.  The pilot blipped the power to turn it into the wind, then smoothly advanced the throttle.  The Vickers Vedette quickly accelerated.  Soon it was up “on step” and skipping over the low waves on the lake’s [...]

Published on August 2, 2012 It was 5:00 am on Friday, August 2, 1929.  Her Fokker F.VIIA called “The Spider” taxied out onto the field at Lympne Aerodrome, near Folkestone, England.  The pilot, Captain Charles D. Barnard, pushed the throttle forward and the plane’s single nine-cylinder Bristol Jupiter engine ran up smoothly.  The Fokker rolled [...]

Published on August 1, 2012 “Everyone asks me ‘how it feels to fly.’  It feels like riding in a high powered automobile, minus bumping over the rough roads, continually signaling to clear the way and keeping a watchful on the speedometer to see that you do not exceed the speed limit and provoke the wrath [...]