Civilian Archives - Page 95 of 175

‘Memphis Belle’ Visits Florida

The four-engine bomber bristling with machine guns brings to mind the anxiety of the men who ran Hitler’s gauntlet in the skies over Europe in the bleak days of World War II. The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress was a mass-produced piece of American military history, but only a handful remain. One is right here in […]

Kansas Museum Gala About Honors, Fun

The Kansas Aviation Museum’s annual gala, called “Fly Me to the Moon,” will have a different look and atmosphere from galas of the past. It won’t include a dry chicken dinner or a boring speaker, said Lon Smith, Kansas Aviation Museum executive director. “Our whole gala … over the past couple of years has been […]

P-51 Doing Its Part to Help Vets

It was an experience U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jason Deming said he couldn’t say no to. “This is bucket-list stuff right here,” he said. Deming was referring to taking a ride in a North American P-51D Mustang World War II fighter airplane, named “Charlotte’s Chariot,” as part of a Wounded Warrior Association (WWA) trip […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1895 – Birth of Clyde Edward Pangborn, also known as “Upside-Down Pangborn;” he was an American aviator, stunt pilot and the first person to fly non-stop across the Pacific Ocean along with Hugh Herndon, Jr. 1931 – Royal Air Force Squadron Leader O.R. Gayford and Flight Lt. D.L.G. Bett land their Fairey Long-range Monoplane after […]

New Zealand Gets 787 Service

The first commercial Boeing 787 Dreamliner to fly to New Zealand landed at Auckland International Airport on Monday afternoon. The China Southern Airlines plane will now fly daily from the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou to Auckland. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner replaces the Airbus A330 currently used on the daily Guangzhou to Auckland route, and […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1908 – Birth of Karl Hermann Gotthard Handrick, German gold-medal Olympian and flying ace during the Spanish Civil War and World War II. 1937 – Hanna Reitsch sets a world record for helicopters when she flies a Focke-Wulf Fw 61 67 miles from Stendal, Germany, to Berlin. 1951 – Japan Airlines flies its first post-World War […]

British Airways: Concorde Stays Grounded

Ten years ago today, our ever-shrinking world got a little bit bigger again. Three Concordes, built by Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC), landed in a procession at London Heathrow airport, while thousands of emotional fans looked on. After 27 years, the world’s most famous plane had been pensioned off – first by Air France and then by British […]

Air Serbia Begins Service

By The Associated Press Air Serbia, the Balkan country’s new national carrier partly owned by Etihad Airways, formally starts flying this weekend, spelling the end for the old loss-making JAT Airways. Air Serbia’s chief manager, Dane Kondic, said Friday the company’s inaugural flight will take place Saturday to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He says […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1912 – Harry Hawker wins the British Empire Michelin Cup for endurance and Altitude . He flies for 8 hours and 23 minutes in a Burgess-Wright airplane. 1919 – Birth of Frank Piasecki, American engineer and helicopter aviation pioneer; he later pioneers tandem rotor helicopter designs and creates the compound helicopter concept of vectored thrust […]

VIDEO: How to Hang an Airplane

Story and video by the Missouri History Museum Charles Lindbergh’s plane, which had previously hung in Terminal 1 at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport since 1979, has returned to its place of welcoming passengers to the St. Louis airport. The famous aviator’s 1934 Model D–127 Monocoupe, an iconic symbol to many St. Louis travelers, has been […]