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Aviation History

AVIATION HISTORY

Centennial Pilgrimage: A Flight To Kill Devil Hills

The soul of aviation probably has no greater Mecca than the dunes of Kill Devil Hills, on the…

⏱ 5 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

Flying the Double-Winger

When I was a kid I was always looking to the skies. One of my earliest memories is…

⏱ 7 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

From Dreams to Reality: Part 4

Success! After years of experimentation, building on the work of countless others yet furthering the science of aeronautics…

⏱ 6 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

From Dream to Reality: A Wright Brothers Primer, Part 3

We all know the story of how two bicycle-shop brothers from Ohio built and flew the first successful…

⏱ 7 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

Uncommon History: A Wright Brothers Primer, Part 2

We all know the story of the two bicycle-shop brothers from Ohio who built and flew the first…

⏱ 3 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

Uncommon History: A Wright Brothers Primer, Part 1

This Centennial of Flight finds me grateful to the Wrights for their ability to attack dangerous trial-and-error with…

⏱ 3 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

Police State

Sunday March 30, Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago sent a task force to Meigs field -- the…

⏱ 1 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

One Year Later

Get set for another "one year since 9/11" retrospective … but this time, from the point of view…

⏱ 6 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

Curve Ball for the Kaiser: The Unsung Spin Doctor

Back in aviation's formative years, spins were widely accepted as being non-habit forming -- once caught in a…

⏱ 2 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

This Week In Aviation History: The First Female Airline Captain

Fewer than ten percent of licensed pilots are women and this week we look at one of the…

⏱ 4 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

Bell’s First Chopper

While many credit Igor Sikorsky for paving the way to the successful helicopter, Sikorsky's products and progeny are…

⏱ 3 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

This Week In Aviation History: Big Russian

On December 22, 1930 a new aircraft lifted into the skies and immediately overshadowed the work being done…

⏱ 2 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

This Week In Aviation History: A Meeting In The Realm Of Heroes

If you believe that America is the greatest country in the world, it’s a fine season to recall…

⏱ 3 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

This Week In Aviation History: Be Careful What You Wish For

Thomas Selfridge, a Lieutenant in the United States Army, found himself in Canada on December 6, 1907 --…

⏱ 2 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

This Week In Aviation History: Speed Is Power

Built in secret -- and without a government contract -- the de Havilland DH 98 Mosquito prototype made…

⏱ 2 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

This Week In Aviation History: Why Helicopters Work

In Spain, on November 15, 1922, Juan de la Cierva was granted a patent that led to the…

⏱ 3 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

This Week In Aviation History: Delta Hustle

On November 11, 1956 three men took the flightdeck of the Convair B-58 Hustler for the first flight…

⏱ 3 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

This Week in Aviation History: United Flight 629

On November 1, 1955 a United Air Lines Douglas DC-6B exploded under un-natural circumstances that would later define…

⏱ 3 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

This Week in Aviation History: The End of an Era

The flight made on October 24, 1968, was number 199, and the last for the incredible North American…

⏱ 4 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

This Week In Aviation History — Powered Flight, Pre-Wright

A powered, heavier-than-air craft succeeded in taking off from the ground on October 9, 1890 -- thirteen years…

⏱ 2 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

This Week In Aviation History: Birth Of The U.S. Carrier

October 17, 1922 a converted coal supply ship accepted a landing from a Navy biplane and carrier aviation…

⏱ 2 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

This Week In Aviation History — Soviet Launch

Late in the evening of October 4, 1957, a slightly modified ICBM left a launch pad in Russia.

⏱ 2 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

This Week In Aviation History — Flying Blind

September 24, on this morning in 1929, Jimmy Doolittle saw an opportunity in the gray scene in front…

⏱ 3 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

Graf Zeppelin – The Most Successful Airship

Although a more infamous airship was to follow, perhaps the most famous airship was the Graf Zeppelin, which…

⏱ 2 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

The Battle of Britain, Sixty Years Ago — Today

'The Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin.' So…

⏱ 3 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

This Week in Aviation History: LOOK! – NO PROP!

When the sun set on this airfield in Marienehe, Germany, on August 27, 1939 turbojet power had propelled…

⏱ 2 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

Watch Out For That Last Step

On Aug 16, 1960, a redheaded Air Force test pilot by the name of Joseph Kittinger took a…

⏱ 2 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

Three Countries, One Airline, 54 years

On August 1, 1946, Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) was born.

⏱ 2 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

First Flights of a Different Kind

Space-shots from Florida's Cape Canaveral began 50 years ago on July 23rd with the flight of Bumper 8.

⏱ 2 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

The Jetliner That Rolled — and Sold

Among the first airframes to choose from as the jet airliner started to become an accepted mode of…

⏱ 3 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

This Week in Aviation History — de Havilland DH-4

In early July 1925, new purpose-built airplanes were required to replace the modified military de Havilland DH-4 aircraft,…

⏱ 2 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

This Month in Aviation History – Lindbergh

On Saturday, June 4th 1927, a mere two weeks after Charles A. Lindbergh had changed the world, a…

⏱ 2 min read
AVIATION HISTORY

This Month in Aviation History – Curtiss Flying Boats

On May 8, 1919 Three Navy--Curtiss flying boats set out to fly the same ocean. Just one made…

⏱ 2 min read