Flight Journal - Page 11 of 286 - Aviation History | History of Flight | Aviation History Articles, Warbirds, Bombers, Trainers, Pilots

D-DAY INVASION: JUNE 2024

1930'S FIGHTER FLIES AGAIN: APRIL 2024

The Legend of Maj. Paul "Pappy" Gunn

Their Finest Hour

Butcher Bird Hellcat & Corsair: A test pilot recalls

Stinson’s Big-Guy L-Bird

Stalin’s Flying Hammer

LATEST

T-7A Tip-Stall Fix

Designing aircraft to be less prone to tip stalls is critical, and a tip stall is more likely to occur with tapered wings, and the result can be an aircraft dropping a wing to the side in the roll axis. Without corrective action, the plane can enter a spin. To recover from a stall, the […]

Convair Model 48 “Charger”–Behind the scenes of an unsuccessful project

Beginning March 19, 1964 at the Convair facilities in San Diego some thirty engineers and production workers dropped out of sight and were not seen on the job again for six months. Eventually approximately 200 Convair people “disappeared.” What happened to these people? Where did they go? What were they doing? This is the story […]

Beautifully hand-crafted furniture salvaged from aviation boneyards

From the Cockpit to the Workshop

Though it is a potentially overused aphorism to suggest that aviation is a lifestyle, passion, or any other axiom; certain people fortify this notion by exploring aviation in every outlet imaginable. For these possessed individuals, flying is not just a profession, hobby, or point of interest; it really is everything. When examining the world of […]

The Andermat Aeroplane Saga

I am a volunteer at my local historical society in Sunnyvale, California. When the Covid-19 pandemic began, I started to research the spread and impact of the Spanish flu 100 years prior. I began looking through the local paper, the Sunnyvale Standard from 1916, starting earlier so that I could find the first mention in […]

Butcher Bird Hellcat & Corsair: A test pilot recalls

During WW II, we in the military were not allowed to save notes, keep diaries or take pictures, and being a Boy Scout type, I lived by the rules. Now, decades later, when I’m called to write about some of my flight experiences, I wish that I had bent the rules a little. Thank goodness […]

8 Things You May Not Know About Memorial Day

From its Civil War origins to its modern-day traditions, find out more about America’s most solemn holiday. Memorial Day and its traditions may have ancient roots. While the first commemorative Memorial Day events weren’t held in the United States until the late 19th century, the practice of honoring those who have fallen in battle dates […]

The Grumman Skyrocket

Intended for use on carriers, the Grumman XF5F-1 Skyrocket had folding wings and was intended to have an airspeed of over 300mph. It used two Pratt & Whitney Wright R-1820 engines, and first flew on April 1, 1940. Although it had good flight characteristics and a maximum speed of 383mph at 20,000 feet, it had […]

Building the Rogallo Wing & Mercury Recovery Capsule

You have probably read accounts about the recovery systems for space capsules. I was an employee in the Flight Engineering Department at Ryan Aeronautical Company in San Diego, California and participated in this and many other aviation projects. This was a time, beginning after the end of WWII, that no longer exists in the field […]

Travelair Mystery Ship: Model “R” for Racing

Dawn of a New Era It was September 2nd, 1929 and before the day was over, the world of military airplanes had been changed forever.As Doug Davis roared across the finish line and took the checkered flag at Cleveland that afternoon, he had done more than win a race. He and the red and black […]

Creating the Military “IoT”

On Dec. 9, the joint force took another step toward achieving a military Internet of Things (IoT) when fifth-generation aircraft overcame long standing connectivity limitations to share actionable operational data in their native secure digital “languages” with and through multiple sources for the first time. This test was the latest demonstration of the transformative warfighting […]