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Category Archives: Aviation History
107 Years
A century plus seven years. It is almost too much to comprehend, especially when you give some thought to the amazing accomplishments which have taken place since then. It was 107 years ago today the Wright Brothers officially “cracked the … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying
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Tagged 107 Years, 1941, aerial combat maneuvering, aerial combatants, airmail, aviation, B-25 Mitchell bombers, B-29 Superfortresses, barnstormers, Charles Lindbergh, Chuck Yeager, December 7, Douglas DC-3, H.G. Wells, history, jet fighters, Jimmy Doolittle, John Kennedy, Jules Verne, Maritime aviation, October 14 1947, open cockpit biplanes, the airline industry, the aviation industry, the Boeing 707, The Korean War, the moon, the sound barrier, the space race, the USS Hornet, the Wright Brothers, times of war, turbojets, World War I
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3 Comments
The Juan T. Trippe
These days, if you don’t know who Juan T. Trippe is, the old airplane guys can almost excuse you because we have now moved so far down the timeline away from the glorious days of airline travel. This was a time … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, Life in General
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Tagged air-taxi service, airplanes, Aviation Company of the Americas, Boeing 707, Boeing 747, Clipper flying boats, Colonial Air Transport, Cuba, Eddie Rickenbacker, Florida, Havana, Howard Hughes, international jet travel, Key West, Long Island Airways, Mojave CA, Pacific Ocean, Pan Am, Pan American World Airways, pilots, the early airline industry, The Juan T. Trippe, the Tony Jannus Award
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4 Comments
Jimmy Stewart
Jimmy Stewart, born James Maitland Stewart in Indiana, Pennsylvania on May 20, 1908, was one of the most beloved movie actors of the Twentieth Century. Stewart was a gentle man who also happened to be an excellent piano player. Moreover … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, Life in General
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Tagged 453rd Bombardment Squadron, 703rd, a natural born leader, acting, Air Force, airplanes, B-24 Liberators, building model airplanes, Captain Andy Low, Hollywood, Hollywood star, James Maitland Stewart, Jimmy Stewart, judgment, military service, Old Buckenham, pilots, Princeton, Revolutionary War, War Between the States, World War II, “Old Buc”
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1 Comment
What Makes a Cessna 172 So Safe?
OK, so I was checking out the stats on the blog and I came across this search term. Someone had actually asked the question of Google or Bing or Yahoo, “What makes a Cessna 172 so safe?” What a great … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flight Instructing, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged airplanes, Cessna, Cessna 172P, Cessna 210 Centurion, Cessnas, Clyde Cessna, engine failures, flying, gross weight, inexperienced pilots, maneuvering speed, stall speed, the 100-series Cessnas, What Makes a Cessna 172 So Safe?
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4 Comments
The Navy Corsairs
Whenever someone mentions the name “Corsair,” most aviation enthusiasts immediately think of the inverted gull-winged F-4U Corsair from World War II. A few will think of the A-7 Corsair which gained fame as a light attack bomber in Vietnam. Even … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying
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Tagged A-4 Skyhawk, A-7E Corsair, Coast Guard, Desert Storm, F-4U Corsair, F-8 Crusader, Granada, Iraq, Libya, Lyman Bullard, Marines, Navy, O2U Corsair, Panama, Pratt & Whitney, R-1340 Wasp, R-1690 Hornet, The Korean War, The Navy Corsairs, Vietnam, Vought Corporation, World War II
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1 Comment
A Brand New Airplane
Many would not know what the Ryan NYP is if asked about the airplane in that manner. The NYP is one of the most important airplanes ever designed, built, and flown and today, resides in the Air & Space Museum … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying
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Tagged A Brand New Airplane, Air & Space Museum, Charles Lindbergh, Donald Hall, Lambert Field, Le Bourget, N-X-211, Orteig Prize, Roosevelt Field, Ryan Airlines Company, Ryan M-2, Ryan NYP, San Diego, St. Louis, Wright J-5C “Whirlwind”, “New York to Paris”
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Automation
One thing which tends to strike fear into the heart of a young student pilot working on a career in aviation is the word, automation. Young people hate to hear that word because they think it might keep them from getting … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying
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Tagged airline crews, airline pilots, airplanes, Airplanista online magazine, Automation, Charles Lindbergh, FedEx, first officer, flight engineer, flying across the Atlantic, Fred Smith, fully automated cockpits, life support systems, navigator, passenger flights, pilot, pilots, professional pilots, radio operator, student pilots, unmanned aerial vehicles, Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), young student pilots
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The Super Viking
One of my students made a derogatory comment about “plastic” airplanes when I mentioned airplanes of composite construction one day in class. He said something to the effect that real airplanes are supposed to be made of metal. I thought … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying
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Tagged Bellanca 17-30A Super Viking, Bellanca Aircraft Company, Bellanca Viking, Continental IO-520, Giuseppe Mario Bellanca, Italian immigrant, Minnesota, The Super Viking, tube wood and fabric airplane, wood wing, ‘canvas’ airplanes, “plastic” airplanes
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1 Comment
The Culver Cadet
Every pilot should try to fly as many different types of airplanes as possible. One of the most unique airplanes I ever had the chance to fly was the Culver Cadet. Hubert, a friend of mine at the airport, owned … Continue reading →
The Sunshine Skyway
Yesterday my wife, her parents, and I visited her sister in Bradenton. It was a nice afternoon – except for the Gator’s game – that was a pretty hard loss to the Seminoles. Afterward, we started home to my in-law’s … Continue reading →
Posted in Aviation, Aviation History, Flying, Life in General, Personal
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Tagged B-26 Marauder, Capricorn, Captain Al Ford, commercial airline flight, Cuba, Fort Brooke, in Tampa Bay”, instrument pilot, Jimmy Doolittle, MacDill Field, Seminoles, snook, St. Petersburg, Tampa, Tampa Bay, Tampa International Airport, Teddy Roosevelt, the birth of scheduled airline flying, the Gator’s game, the Rough Riders, the Spanish American War, the Summit Venture, The Sunshine Skyway, Tony Jannus, USCGC Blackthorne, WDAE 1250 a.m. radio, World War II, “One a day
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