Published on March 31, 2013 With 650 miles yet to go, the winds had not turned in their favor.  The two Portuguese aviators, Sacadura Cabral and Gago Coutinho, computed that

Continue readingThe Longest Flight – Part 2 of 2

Published on March 30, 2013 When the pair of Portuguese flyers left Lisbon, they were confident of the voyage ahead.  Their aircraft, a single engine, open cockpit, Fairey IIID biplane

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“Compared with the previous Easter’s meeting, the weather conditions were, on the whole, not anything like so favourable this Easter, yet the exhibitions of flying that were given on the

Continue readingEaster Flying at Hendon

Published on March 28, 2013 The Armstrong Whitworth A.W. 154 Argosy II “City of Liverpool” was one of the key aircraft serving with Imperial Airways from Britain.  The airline crisscrossed

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Published March 27, 2013 When Captain Berry H. Young, USAF, took off that day in 1954, he had no idea that the events to come would test every ounce pilot

Continue readingThe Miracle Landing

Published on March 25, 2013 One hundred years ago this week, Flight published its Foreign Aviation News report.  The news spanned the globe, ranging from China and Japan to close

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Published on March 24, 2013 The Aerial Transit Company was established and incorporated in England “to convey letters, goods and passengers from place to place through the air….”  With the

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Published on March 23, 2013 “ACCORDING to reports that have reached us, MM. Marc Pourpe and George Verminck, two Bleriot pilots who have been giving flying exhibitions in Ceylon, have

Continue readingAerial Spies in Ceylon?

Published on March 22, 2013 On this date in aviation history, March 22, 1919, the world’s first regularly scheduled international service began operations that linked two cities, Brussels and Paris,

Continue readingThe Goliath

Published on March 21, 2013 “NOWADAYS it is safe to remark that any pupil who can keep a fairly clear head and who has quite an average amount of common

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Published on March 18, 2013 The idea of man-powered flight dates back thousands of years to the story of Icarus and Daedalus, who in ancient myth flew with wings made

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Published on March 17, 2013 One hundred years ago, in the early days of aviation’s rapid advance, the flights with model aeroplanes were highly respected and not considered, “child’s play”. 

Continue readingA Flying Model from 100 Years Ago

Published on March 16, 2013 “March 16 [1926].  Went to Auburn with S in am.  E and Mr. Roope came out at 1 p.m.  Tried rocket at 2.30.  It rose

Continue readingGoddard’s Dream

Published on March 15, 2013 By January 1916, Francisco “Pancho” Villa and his men had been declared enemies by the US Government in the aftermath of an ambush of a

Continue readingChasing Pancho Villa

Published on March 14, 2013 The invasion of France was less than three months away and Allied forces were massing across England.  As planners labored in secret in preparation for

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Published on March 13, 2013 “High Upon a Kite. The No. 1 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps carried out an extensive series of experiments with kites at Farnborough, on

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Published on March 12, 2013 One hundred years ago today, the publication Flight, from the Royal Aero Club, was arriving in the post around Great Britain carrying news of events

Continue readingBrindejonc des Moulinais Returns Home

Published on March 11, 2013 “One of the most important items recently chronicled in Flight was that recording the achievement of Lieut. J. W. Dunne, who, at Eastchurch in the

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Published on March 10, 2013 On March 10, 1956 — today in aviation history — the Department of Defense authorized the following information release: March 10, 1956/B-47/ Mediterranean Sea The

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Published on March 9, 2013 The phrase “”More lost than Lieutenant Bello” (“Más perdido que el Teniente Bello”) is a part of Chile’s linguistic heritage and refers to someone who

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Published on March 8, 2013 “Flying is the best possible thing for women.” — Raymonde de Laroche It seems fitting that today, on International Women’s Day, we should salute the

Continue readingThe Baroness of Flight

Published on March 7, 2013 The household vacuum cleaner ran smoothly for 25 minutes, slowly pushing air into the inflatable, collapsed wing, which would span 27 feet once filled.  Incredibly,

Continue readingThe Inflatable Plane

Published on March 6, 2013 Today in aviation history, on March 6, 1990, the very last US Military flight of the SR-71 Blackbird took place.  The flight originated from Palmdale,

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Published on March 5, 2013 Air Ministry Specification F.7/30 was published in 1930 and called for British firms to prepare designs for a future fighter plane, one that could achieve

Continue readingDawn of the Spitfire

Published on March 4, 2013 The date was March 4, 1942.  Just four months had passed since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  Since then, America had ramped up its

Continue readingOperation K

Published on March 3, 2013 At the height of the air war over Vietnam, the USAF and US Navy kill ratios achieved by their pilots in combat were far lower

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Published on March 2, 2013 Twice before, weather had delayed the first test flight.  High winds had dogged the plans and even today, on March 2, 1969, the winds were

Continue readingConcorde!

Published on March 1, 2013 On this date in aviation history, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) published a draft of the new, universal, worldwide phonetic alphabet to be used

Continue readingUncle Sam’s Able Fox