Civilian Archives - Page 120 of 175

On This Day in Aviation History

1895 – Birth of Geoffrey Forrest Hughes, Australian World War I flying ace. 1929 – First flight of the Dornier Do X, a German flying boat powered by twelve engines mounted in six tower nacelles on the wing. 1944 – The first allied jet fighter, the Gloster Meteor Mk. 1 (shown above), entered service with the Royal Air Force’s […]

Warbirds Highlight N.Y. Air Show

John Makinson has had many aviation adventures in his decades of flying. He’s flown bush planes in the Canadian Arctic and the wild’s of Alaska — possibly the only place you can fly a plane with wheels, skis or floats all in one day — where he’s landed and taken off from glaciers and landing […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1889 – Birth of Walter Richard Brookins, first pilot trained by the Wright brothers for their exhibition team and Wrights’ first pilot instructor. 1897 – Salomon August Andrée, Nils Strindberg and Knut Frænkel takes off in their hydrogen balloon “Eagle” for an Arctic expedition. 1942 – In the longest bombing raid of World War II, 1,750 Avro Lancaster […]

Post to Honor Mexican Aviation Pioneer

A brave young Mexican air force captain whose final solo flight ended in death 85 years ago still inspires veterans, and civilians, in South Jersey and beyond. Emilio Carranza’s story has everything: An idealistic hero, a daring adventure, a tragic ending. It’s about a gutsy aviator of 22 piloting a tiny Ryan B1 named “Excelsior” […]

Canadian Cadets to Fly in Warbirds

Laura Matheson admits she was “absolutely giddy” when she found out she was going to be able to fly in a vintage airplane. Matheson, a sergeant in the Royal Canadian Air Cadets, is one of 120 cadets from across Canada in North Bay for the next six weeks, and one of 50 who will be […]

Hexacopter Films SpaceX Grasshopper

In this video, a hexacopter captures video footage of the SpaceX Grasshopper as it reaches 325 meters (1066 feet)–higher than Manhattan’s Chrysler Building–before smoothly landing back on the pad. Part of a program that intends to test how rockets could return to Earth intact for a vertical landing on the launch pad instead of burning […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1894 – Birth of Frank Granger Quigley, decorated Canadian World War I fighter ace. 1919 – British rigid airship R-34 takes off from Long Island, N.Y., for a trip back to Pulham, Norfolk, for the first Atlantic double-crossing (return flight). 1938 – Howard Hughes, along with Harry Connor, Tom Thurlow, Richard Stoddart and Ed Lund, begin a record-breaking round-the-world flight […]

Flights to Survey New Madrid Seismic Zone

Beginning today and continuing for about a month, a Cessna 182 operating under contract to the U.S. Geological Survey will be making low-level flights over a 1,400-square-mile area over parts of Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee to measure the earth’s magnetic field. Blytheville, Ark., Kennett, Mo., Piggott, Ark., and Qulin, Mo., along with other parts of […]

Group Hopes to Return Kiwi Catalina to Skies

It is hoped former crowd favorite the Consolidated Catalina PBY-5A flying boat will make a return to next year’s Warbirds Over Wanaka, New Zealand, International Airshow after a wing refurbishment of the 70-year-old aircraft. One of only two in the southern hemisphere still flying, the Catalina was recently moved into a hangar at New Plymouth, […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1896 – Birth of Thomas Gantz Cassady, American World War I flying ace, World War II Office of Strategic Services intelligence officer and businessman. 1924 – The first recorded flight of a live bull takes place when champion breeder Nico V is flown from Rotterdam, Holland, to Paris, France. The bull is carried by KLM in a Fokker […]