Happy Valentine's Day!

As always I'm up for a little aircraft-related history. This one is simply a card from the 20's (I guess). Happy Valentine's Day!

The Funnies - Seventh Heaven (1920)

"How far are we up, dearest?"

"The Seventh Heaven, love."

Life Magazine, January 29, 1920

Lockheed and the Land of Waterfalls

I have to admit that I didn't choose this ad for the airplane or the destination. Sure the Lockheed Lodestar was a great little airplane and that South African Airways has a storied history, but it's the falls I'm interested in talking about.the nature of waterfalls.

Notice the one featured in the ad, the one that pours into...nothing. I'm interested in the land of disappearing waterfalls. Maybe it drops thousands of feet into an underground realm peopled by trolls, orcs, and goblins? Maybe it showers down on the lost city of Shangri La? All I can say is that doesn't happen in nature.

The Funnies - Landing on Hay (1914)

A little early flight humor from Life Magazine, 1914

Indy 500 - Your Own Private Blimp?

May is the month of the blimp here in Indy, but back in 1930 Goodyear foresaw a futuristic era when we'd all hop aboard our private dirigibles for the family vacation. This ad from a 1930 issue of Boy's Life touts the company's growing fleet of airships and its usefulness as a luxurious means of long-distance transportation. Eighty four years later, in an era of airlines working on a way to charge you for the contents of your bladder, I'm not so sure the American consumer wouldn't be well served by the ability to choose LA via blimp from their list of travel options.

Everything New is Old Again - Drones II

Another look at the everything new is old again files and drone warfare, this time from the December 1940 issue of Popular Mechanics. Here we see a dawn of World War II era vision of drone warfare, only slightly different from the vehicles operated by the Air Force today.

I've always had a thing for flying boats, so the China Clipper is a fascination for me. So, while shopping images, I perked up at seeing this shot in an article on Glenn Martin and Martin's construction of bombers and clippers from the May 1937 issue of Life Magazine. Take a close look at the nose of the plane and you'll see it, China Clipper.

I'll have to take some time to do a proper entry on the clipper soon, maybe this summer when the breeze is warm and a fellow's thoughts start turning to the sea.

The Funnies - Airline Service (1927)

Life magazine, November 1927

Everything New is Old Again - Drone Attacks

With the smoke and flames of Syria in the air, here’s a little example of drone warfare as imagined in the December 1917 issue of Popular Mechanics. In June of 1944 the Axis would make the theory into a reality with its V1 flying bomb and today US drones unleash Hellfire missiles on targets in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Happy National Aviation Day

On this date in 1871 Orville Wright was born to Bishop Milton and Susan Catharine Wright in the sleepy town of Dayton, Ohio. Orville and his brother Wilbur grew up in a family that, by all accounts, was loving and encouraged the intellectual curiosity which would eventually lead the pair achieving one of the most influential accomplishments of the 20^th century.

Orville went on to serve as one of the founding members of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and remained an active member for 28 years. He received the Daniel Guggenheim Medal for great achievements in aeronautics on April 8, 1930 and became a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1936. In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed Orville’s birthday as National Aviation Day, an observance meant to celebrate the history and development of aviation.

Orville passed away on January 30, 1948 having witnessed aviation’s transformation from what was considered a hobby for crackpots to a force which shaped nations and, to a large extent, determined the outcome of two world wars.

Indy 500 - Hellcat or Wildcat?

FA31 Hellcat

One of the great things about living in the vicinity of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is you get a sidelong view of all the spectaculars that play a part in the race. The Goodyear blimp moors nearby, the drivers and celebrities are in town, and there's an assortment of mechanical marvels to ogle. Today, while making a lunchtime run to the grocery store, I saw a flight of WWII era aircraft flying in formation. They were far away enough that I couldn't make a positive identification, but their flattened wing tips suggest they are FA31 Hellcats or F4F Wildcats.

I dug into the web's archive of information and came up with a couple tells between the Hellcat and it's predecessor the Wildcat. The designers made changes to the shape of the tail and wings to improve maneuverability and control. Now, armed with knowledge from the 1943 issue of Popular Science I'll do my best to make a positive identification.

In the meantime, keep your eyes turned skyward and let me know if you see these speed demons of the past!