Personalities Archives - Page 2 of 5

P-38 Lightning: A country boy way out of his element

When I flew a P-38 for the first time, I had to admit that I had a hard time hearing the engines over the noise of my knees knocking. What was a grassroots pilot like me doing strapped into such a huge piece of iron? That was simple: I wanted a type-rating in the airplay […]

First African-American Military Pilot

Eugene James Bullard, was the first African-American military combat pilot.His life has been surrounded by many legends. However, Bullard, who flew for France, was unquestionably one of the few black combat pilots during World War I, along with the Ottoman Empire’s Ahmet Ali Çelikten. Bullard was born in Columbus, Georgia on this day (October 9, […]

A P-40 Fighter Pilot’s Inspiration: six year old Georgie Boy

The “greatest generation” as a whole did not need a reason to fight. Provoked by a ferocious Axis that threatened to enslave the world, hundreds and thousands of young men answered the call to arms. Preserving freedom, peace and security for future generations were the primary reason men signed up for service. Others saw it […]

Spitfire Pilot: Teenage Geoff Wellum relates his adventures

One of the “Few” Remembers. The mood was, “We’ll have a go at you.” You didn’t allow yourself to dwell on the losses, or the seriousness of the situation. You had tomorrow morning to look to. You made a resolve to do the best you could. The thought of defeat never entered our heads. Nobody […]

An Interview with a Warbird Pilot–From RC to Full-size

If you know about giant scale RC, then you’ll recognize the name Ziroli, and the father and son team of Nick Sr., and Jr. Nick the elder is known for being the father of giant scale warbirds and Nick Jr. continues to be a driving force in the RC industry. Nick Jr. took over “Ziroli […]

Howard Hughes

Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 7, 1976) was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world. He gained prominence from the late 1920s as a maverick film producer, making big-budget and often controversial films like The Racket […]

Which three famous Pilots would you invite to a Bar?

Here’s something fun. We all have our favorite pilots, whether a modern day pilot, a WW I or WW II ace, A Mustang driver from MiG alley during the Korean War, or a Wild Weasel from Vietnam, these are the guys that got the job done. Tell us who you’d like to invite to a […]

Hey, That’s My Dad!

Part of the enjoyment of viewing WW II photographs is seeing the never-ending panorama of men and women at work during the war. Young and cocky fighter pilots, winsome women serving donuts or riveting bombers, and mechanics lounging for a moment before returning to the endless tasks of keeping high-performance aircraft ready to fight. Much […]

Early Aeronautical Pioneer

Michael Holroyd Smith, a Victorian inventor and engineer, is best remembered for his pioneering work on developing Britain’s earliest street tramways. However, he was also interested in and contributed to the development of powered flight. He is known to have presented a lecture concerning the possibility of mechanically powered flight in 1879 and in 1910 […]

History: Eddie Rickenbacker

On this day in history, October 8, 1890, Edward Vernon Rickenbacker (“Captain Eddie”), was born. He grew up in a poor immigrant family in Columbus, Ohio, and left school at thirteen to work when his father died. He learned engineering through correspondence courses. He drove in four Indianapolis 500 races before 1917, became America’s “Ace […]