The First Drone
Published on August 29, 2013 By Thomas Van Hare The use of drones in military service has a long history. Many remember how German engineers created glide bombs during World
HistoricWings.com :: A Magazine for Aviators, Pilots and Adventurers
A Magazine for Aviators, Adventurers and Pilots
Published on August 29, 2013 By Thomas Van Hare The use of drones in military service has a long history. Many remember how German engineers created glide bombs during World
Published on August 26, 2013 By Thomas Van Hare The heady days of the early 1910s are long past. Today, flying a plane or helicopter is expensive and challenging —
Published on August 10, 2013 By Thomas Van Hare Squadron Leader P.K. Bundela and his wingman, Flight Officer S. Narayanan, were sitting ready at the Indian Air Force (IAF) base
Published on August 9, 2013 By Thomas Van Hare As it happened, of the ten pilots who made a showing to start the Circuit de l’Est from Issy, near Paris,
Published on August 8, 2013 By Thomas Van Hare The year 1910 was an auspicious one for aviation. Many new aeroplane designs were in the works and the early models
Published on August 7, 2013 By Thomas Van Hare The news bulletin began innocently enough with the heading: “Bleriot’s New Launching Device.” What it described, however, was something that in
This Week’s Hints to help you along: This is another experimental aircraft. Built by designers in an unexpected country. Just what are those big paddles above the wing? Influences from
Published on July 20, 2013 By Thomas Van Hare On July 20, 1969, as Neil Armstrong and “Buzz” Aldrin descended toward the surface of the Moon at a location that
Published on July 15, 2013 The Reading Eagle carried word of the mystery in its Sunday edition, on November 12, 1899, fully twenty-four years after a balloon accident that took
Published on July 9, 2013 By Thomas C. Van Hare During the night hours of July 9 and early morning of July 10, 1941 — today in aviation history —
This Week’s Hints to help you along: An experimental, secret weapon design. Three engines — two on the nose, one in the tail. The war ended before it was ready
Published on July 5, 2013 By Thomas C. Van Hare On July 5, 1972, a five-year-long program in Vietnam culminated with a final flight by the 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron
Published on June 27, 2013 by Thomas C. Van Hare As the day ended, Vice-Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa left the stricken aircraft carrier Taiho for the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer Wakatsuki.
Published on June 25, 2013 By Thomas C. Van Hare By dawn on June 19, 1944, the two opposing carrier groups were positioned with the Japanese to the west and
Published on June 19, 2013 By Thomas C. Van Hare Vice Admiral Ozawa Jisaburo had gathered his forces in secret, creating the largest naval fleet Japan had yet assembled in
Published on June 18, 2013 By Thomas C. Van Hare By 1965, the Vietnam War was rapidly expanding. US Military and South Vietnamese forces were deeply involved in a mix
Published on June 16, 2013 By Thomas C. Van Hare The day had begun normally with a morning preflight of the Martin P4M-1Q Mercator aircraft. The mission was a standard
Published on June 14, 2013 By Thomas C. Van Hare In the early stages of World War II, before the United States entered the conflict, Nazi Germany was on the
Published on June 13, 2013 By Thomas C. Van Hare During daylight hours on June 13, 1917, at the height of the Great War and 96 years ago today in
Published on June 12, 2013 by Thomas C. Van Hare Operation Black Buck 7 was the last of the series flown. Each of the flights had been extraordinarily difficult, logistically
Published on June 11, 2013 In 1943, at the height of World War II, the Allies embarked on a new offensive plan to pressure the Axis powers of Italy and
Published on June 10, 2013 By Thomas C. Van Hare It was supposed to have been a beautiful day on June 10, 1990 (today in aviation history). Vacationers filed onto
This Week’s Hints to help you along: Displayed at Harrod’s at the end of the Great War. An early “ultralight”, in a class of its own. No fixed tail —
Published on June 9, 2013 By Thomas C. Van Hare Juan de la Cierva was the son of a wealthy Spaniard who, by age 17 in 1912, was already designing
Published on June 8, 2013 By Thomas C. Van Hare Have you ever heard of “Missile Mail”? Yes, our Government in Washington had the rather harebrained idea of loading US
Published on June 6, 2013 By Thomas Van Hare In the early morning hours of D-Day, on June 6, 1944, a huge Allied invasion force was moving toward Normandy Beach
Published on June 5, 2013 When Al and Fred Key took off in their Curtiss Robin “Ole Miss” on June 4, 1935, they were supported by a committed, if small
Published on June 4, 2013 In 1935, after two failed attempts. two brothers took off on a third try, hoping to set a record and save their local airport. Their
Published on June 1, 2013 Pierre Daucourt’s flight from Paris to Berlin, having spanned 895 kilometers in a single day from sunrise to sunset, was the leading candidate for the
Published on May 28, 2013 The year was 1987. Mathias Rust was just 19 years old. He was a private pilot from Germany with 50 hours of total flight time,
Published on May 27, 2013 On this Memorial Day, we salute all veterans who have made sacrifices in the causes of freedom and liberty and also thank those who have
This Week’s Hints to help you along: A 1930s era design, from a patent filing done in the USA. Was it a US design or from Europe; what lines are
Published on May 26, 2013 Stranded on the icepack in the cold Arctic north, the survivors from the crash of the airship Italia carefully collected what supplies they could find.
Published on May 25, 2013 Umberto Nobile had already been to the North Pole once by airship, having piloted the Norge, a semi-rigid dirigible of his own design, on a
Published on May 24, 2013 Mr. Tsoe. K. Wong, a Chinese living in England, saw an opportunity to design and build a biplane which, once tested and proven, could be
Published on May 19, 2013 The German Rumpler reconnaissance plane made a low altitude pass over the American aerodrome at Gengault Aerodrome near Toul, France. There, the 94th Aero Squadron,
Published on May 18, 2013 In 1966, Sheila Scott, a British actress who had learned to fly a few years earlier, decided to pursue her passion in aviation by setting
Published on May 17, 2013 The Memphis Belle, a B-17 with the 324th Bomb Squadron of the 91st Bomb Group, flew its 25 mission at this time in history —
Published on May 13, 2013 One hundred and one years ago today in aviation history, on Monday, May 13, 1912, there was a terrible accident at Brooklands. Two men, the
This Week’s Hints to help you along: A twin-tailed plane designed for the military. Early enough that it uses wing warping! A Wright design — with Manning, however. 2,000 total