McCurdy’s Crossing
Published on January 30, 2013 It was January 1911 and in Cuba there was much talk of aviation. News reached the island with frequency about the great flights underway at
Month: January 2013
Cackle Corner
Published on January 31, 2013 On January 31, 1928 — today in aviation history — the US Postmaster, Mr. Harry S. New, issued a Federal Government order to all US
“Helicopteracione”
Published on January 29, 2013 Raúl Pateras Pescara de Castelluccio was an Argentinian engineer living in France with an interest in helicopter design. By January 1924, he had nearly five
The Loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger
Published on January 28, 2013 Today in aviation history, January 29, 1985, marks a dark moment in America’s long and storied space exploration programs. At 11:38 EST, the Space Shuttle
No Visible Support
This Week’s Hints to help you along: Features a radical reduction in the number of struts for racing. Created for competition and aerobatics, especially for looping. Seemingly underpowered, but light
Accessories for the Aviator — in 1913
Published on January 27, 2013 One hundred years ago this week, the Royal Aero Club’s newsletter “Flight” carried a fascinating report on the essential accessories that every pilot should own.
The Black Knight
Published on January 26, 2013 József Kiss de Ittebe et Elemer was born on January 26, 1896 (today in aviation history). Kiss was a Hungarian and the son of a gardener
A Shared Vision
Published on January 25, 2013 On this day in aviation history, on January 25, 1930, a new airline company was founded. It was an artful creation of an investment group
The Nuclear Disaster of Kosmos 954
Published on January 24, 2013 During the Cold War, the Soviet Union launched a series of reconnaissance satellites into Earth orbit. Among them were a small number of powerful active
An Unlikely Beginning
Published on January 23, 2013 The light, twin-engined bomber was called the Douglas Model 7B. It was sleek, narrow in profile, highly maneuverable and a joy to fly. Still, the
The Nazis in Antarctica
Published on January 22, 2013 For decades, conspiracy theories have abounded about secret Nazi UFO bases in Antarctica, about secret U-Boat missions, and about Hitler surviving the war and holing
A Strange Twist of Fate
Published on January 21, 2013 By Thomas Van Hare Three weeks into 1944, the Allied bomber onslaught had accelerated, threatening to bring Germany to its knees. The RAF’s Bomber Command
A Red Firecracker
This Week’s Hints to help you along: A two-seat hot rod with a 125 hp engine. Delayed by war and only a handful built. Developed further into agricultural applications. A
Key Hole and the FIA
Published on January 20, 2013 Two years ago on this day in aviation history, on January 20, 2011, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) launched a classified, Top Secret project into
Crash of Le Flesselle
Published on January 19, 2013 On the 19th of January 1784, at Lyon, France, the largest Montgolfier balloon ever constructed was readied for flight. Called “Le Flesselle”, it was 120
100 Years Ago :: Flying in Mexico
Published on January 18, 2013 One hundred years ago today, two members of the Royal Aero Club published a report about a trip they had made to the Americas, bringing
First Lost, Last Found
Published on January 17, 2013 It was past midnight when the combined strength of a coalition of 34 nations launched an unrelenting air attack against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. The singular
Desoutter’s Lesson
Published on January 16, 2013 “Young Marcel Desoutter, he is, by the way, only nineteen years of age, and withal one of the very soundest of the monoplane and biplane
“Bill, you’re in the airplane business.”
Published on January 15, 2013 Bill was a Harvard graduate and a well to do oil man. He knew nothing of airplanes except for what he read in the newspapers
Ellehammer’s Dragons
Published on January 14, 2013 Born in the Danish town of Bakkebolle, as a young man Jacob Christian Hansen-Ellehammer apprenticed as a watchmaker. Coming of age, he taught himself a
A Strange Bird
This Week’s Hints to help you along: The tail shape (and tail flash) tell a lot. Whose markings are those on the side of the fuselage? Twin-engined but so aerodynamically
Jules Vérdines and La Vache
Published on January 13, 2013 One hundred and one years ago today in aviation history, on January 13, 1912, a Frenchman named Jules Védrines set out from Pau in a
“Wildcat” Wade
Published on January 12, 2013 Today marks the anniversary of the 1944 death of one of America’s greatest aces, Lance C. “Wildcat” Wade. This East Texan scored 23 kills against
Ding Hao!
Published on January 11, 2013 By Thomas Van Hare “Col. Howard, with his group, at once engaged the enemy and himself destroyed a German ME. 110. As a result of
100 Years Ago in France
Published on January 10, 2013 At this time, 100 years ago, the French were continuing to press forward in pursuit of aviation firsts and new achievements in the air. They
The Flying Carpet
Published on January 9, 2013 Today in aviation history marks the birthday of Richard Halliburton, adventurer, aviator, author, grand lecturer and world traveler. Born in 1900, Halliburton was a graduate
The Last Enemy
Published on January 8, 2013 “September 3rd dawned dark and overcast, with a slight breeze ruffling the waters of the Estuary. Hornchurch aerodrome, twelve miles east of London, wore its
“Question Mark”
Published on January 7, 2013 Today in aviation history, on January 7, 1929, a very special airplane landed in Los Angeles at Metropolitan Airport (now Van Nuys Airport) after a
Not Quite Defiant
This Week’s Hints to help you along: No relationship to the Boulton Paul Defiant. Incredible firepower through the nose! A V-12 engine gave it extraordinary power and speed. Designed by
The Hero of My Lai
Published on January 6, 2013 By Thomas Van Hare The massacre at My Lai during the Vietnam War was a horrific event. US troops of the Army’s Americal Division, acting
Ending the Fokker Scourge
Published on January 5, 2013 Since the summer of 1914, when the Great War broke out in Europe, aviation advanced quickly. As the war progressed into 1915, the new Fokker
Splash Two MiGs
Published on January 4, 2013 On January 4, 1989 — today in aviation history — based on an intelligence advisory, two Grumman F-14A Tomcats of VF-32 “The Swordsmen” launched from
The Miracle of Saint Nazaire
Published on January 3, 2013 On January 3, 1943, exactly 70 years ago today in aviation history, the USAAF launched a bombing raid on the staging yard for U-Boat torpedoes
Miss Trehawke Davies Loops the Loop
Published on January 2, 2013 “On Friday, the 2nd inst., some New Year’s records were put up by Gustav Hamel, who looped the loop with Miss Trehawke Davies on his
The SPT Airboat Line
Published on January 1, 2012 On January 1, 1914 — 98 years ago today in aviation history — the world’s first airline made its maiden passenger flight. Using a Benoist